|
Location: North America, bordering both the North Atlantic
Ocean and the North Pacific Ocean, between Canada and Mexico
Geographic coordinates: 38 00 N, 97 00 W
Map references: North America
Area:
total: 9,629,091 sq km
land: 9,158,960 sq km
water: 470,131 sq km
note: includes only the 50 states and District of Columbia
Area - comparative: about one-half the size of Russia; about
three-tenths the size of Africa; about one-half the size of South
America (or slightly larger than Brazil); slightly larger than China;
about two and one-half times the size of Western Europe
Land boundaries:
total: 12,248 km
border countries: Canada 8,893 km (including 2,477 km with
Alaska), Cuba 29 km (US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay), Mexico 3,326
km
note: Guantanamo Naval Base is leased by the US and thus
remains part of Cuba
Coastline: 19,924 km
Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 24 nm
continental shelf: not specified
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: mostly temperate, but tropical in Hawaii and Florida,
arctic in Alaska, semiarid in the great plains west of the Mississippi
River, and arid in the Great Basin of the southwest; low winter
temperatures in the northwest are ameliorated occasionally in January
and February by warm chinook winds from the eastern slopes of the
Rocky Mountains
Terrain: vast central plain, mountains in west, hills and
low mountains in east; rugged mountains and broad river valleys
in Alaska; rugged, volcanic topography in Hawaii
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Death Valley -86 m
highest point: Mount McKinley 6,194 m
Natural resources: coal, copper, lead, molybdenum, phosphates,
uranium, bauxite, gold, iron, mercury, nickel, potash, silver, tungsten,
zinc, petroleum, natural gas, timber
Land use:
arable land: 19%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 25%
forests and woodland: 30%
other: 26% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 207,000 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: tsunamis, volcanoes, and earthquake activity
around Pacific Basin; hurricanes along the Atlantic and Gulf of
Mexico coasts; tornadoes in the midwest and southeast; mud slides
in California; forest fires in the west; flooding; permafrost in
northern Alaska, a major impediment to development
Environment - current issues: air pollution resulting in
acid rain in both the US and Canada; the US is the largest single
emitter of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels; water
pollution from runoff of pesticides and fertilizers; very limited
natural fresh water resources in much of the western part of the
country require careful management; desertification
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Antarctic-Environmental
Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Climate Change, Endangered Species,
Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation,
Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical
Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic
Pollutants, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Biodiversity,
Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes
Geography - note: world's third-largest country (after Russia
and Canada)
Geography
Covering a large part of the North American continent, the United
States of America shares borders with Canada, Mexico, the Atlantic,
Pacific and Arctic Oceans, the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico.
The State of Alaska, in the northwest corner of the continent, is
separated from the rest of the country by Canada, and Hawaii lies
in the central Pacific Ocean.
One of the largest countries in the world, the USA has an enormous
diversity of geographical features.
Climate
The climate is mostly temperate, but tropical in Hawaii and Florida,
arctic in Alaska, semiarid in the great plains west of the Mississippi
River, and arid in the Great Basin of the southwest; low winter
temperatures in the northwest are ameliorated occasionally in January
and February by warm chinook winds from the eastern slopes of the
Rocky Mountains.
Background:
United States of America is the third largest country in the world
in population and the fourth largest in area. China and India are
the only countries with more people. Only Russia, Canada, and China
have larger areas.
The United States covers the entire midsection of North America,
stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean
in the west.
It also includes Alaska, in the northwest corner of North America;
and Hawaii, far out in the Pacific. The United States is often called
the U.S., U.S.A., or America.
Buoyed by victories in World Wars I and II and the end of the Cold
War in 1991, the US remains the world's most powerful nation-state.
The economy is marked by steady growth, low unemployment, low inflation,
and rapid advances in technology.
The biggest cloud over this affluent society is the distribution
of gainssince 1975 most of the increase in national income has
gone to the 20% of people at the top of the income ladder.
The United States became the world's first modern democracy after
its break with Great Britain (1776) and the adoption of a constitution
(1789).
During the 19th century, many new states were added to the original
13 as the nation expanded across the North American continent and
acquired a number of overseas possessions.
The two major traumatic experiences in the nation's history were
the Civil War (1861-65) and the Great Depression of the 1930s. Buoyed
by victories in World Wars I and II and the end of the Cold War
in 1991, the US remains the world's most powerful nation-state.
The economy is marked by steady growth, low unemployment and inflation,
and rapid advances in technology.
|
