The United States of America (geographical outline)

When the United States was formed there were only thirteen states.These were the thirteen colonies which in 1776 had declared their independence from Great Britain and fought a sixyear War for Independence. The thirty-seven other states were admitted to the nation one by one, as they gained enough population.

The United States of America lies in the central part of the North American continent with the Atlantic Ocean to the east, the Pacific to the west,Canada to the north, and Mexico and the Gulf of Mexico to the south. The United States of America (the USA, US) is one of the biggest countries in the world.The size of its territory places it fourth in the world ( after Russia, Canada and China);its population,numbering more than 248 million (1990), also places it fourth,after China, India and Russia.

The present territory of the USA consists of three separate parts. Two of them, the USA proper and Alaska, are situated in North America. The Hawaiian Islands, situated in the central part of the Pacific Ocean are the third part. They constitute the state of the Hawaiian Islands.

The main part of the country is the USA proper, i.e the 48 adjoining states which made up the USA long before statehood was granted to Alaska and the Hawaiian Islands.

    Alaska occupies the north-western projection of North America.It includes the islands adjacent to it and also the Aleutian Islands. Purchased by the USA from Russia in 1867,Alaska obtained statehood in 1958.

Hawaii actually came into US power at the beginning of the last quarter of the 19th century,but it was officially annexed only in 1898. The islands were declared US territory in 1900

and in 1959 given statehood.

The USA is a country of great diversity. At the same time, it has surprising similarities when one considers its size.The dissimilarities are partly a result of its geography. No general statement can be made about the weather, the landscape,or even the way of living because the nation occupies nearly half a continent.

The United States has many kinds of climate.The weather ranges from the warm,wet conditions of the Appalachian Highland to the desert conditions of some of the western states. It varies from almost winterless climates in southern Arizona and southern Florida to long very cold winters in Dakota and Montana.

The country's rainfall also varies greatly from place to place. The northwestern coast and the Gulf Coast receive large amounts of rain and have a humid climate.Most of the area between the Sierra Nevada and the southern coast of California on the west,and the 100th meridian,on the east, receives less than 20 inches of rainfall annually.

The United States has many thousands of streams. Some of these are mighty rivers which cross the state and even international boundaries. Others are tiny streamlets that rise in springs and wander across a few green fields to disappear in the waters of a local creek.

The Mississippi is one of the world's great rivers. Its waters are gathered from two-thirds of the United States, and together with its principal tributary, the Missouri,it flowes almost 4,000 miles from its northern headwaters in the Rocky Mountains to the Gulf of Mexico. One of its folk names is "father of waters".

Two of the Mississippi's branches, the Ohio River and the Missouri River, also rank among the most important rivers of the world.

    A large area in southwestern United States has no surface drainage to the sea. This desert area is known as the Great Basin. Its rivers seem to go nowhere; this region is so dry that the rivers evaporate or sink into the sands before they can reach the sea. Much of the time,they are simply dry beds. But after the sudden desert storms, they are savage torrents, irresistible and dangerous.

    The United States has thousands of lakes of all kinds and sizes. The Great Lakes make up the largest group of lakes in the country,as well as the greatest collection of fresh-water lakes in the world. Only Lake Michigan lies entirely inside the United States. Superior, Huron, Erie and Ontario form a border between north-eastern United States and Canada. They stretch 1,160 miles from east to west.This is nearly half the distance across the country.

    The highest mountain chains are the Appalachian Mountains in the East and the Cordillera Mountains in the West.

 

III. Show on the map:

   the United States of America;

the capital of the USA;

the largest state of the USA (and name it);

the main river of the USA with its tributaries;

the Great Lakes;

the Mountains of the USA.

 

IV. Find in the text English equivalents for these word-combinations:

Провозгласили полную независимость; ставит ее на четвертое место в мире; были объявлены территорией США; страна большого разнообразия; несходство (различие); разнообразный климат; ливень; сырой климат; международные границы; гладкие равнины; основной приток; зона пустыни;лежит полностью в Соединенных Штатах.

 

V.   Say what is the Russian for the following words and phrases.Use the text.

War for Independence, obtained statehood,came into US power, when one consider its side, desert conditions, large amounts of rain, annually, mighty rivers,northern head waters,savage torrents, form a border.

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