Geography of the usa

The United States territory consists of three separate parts, different in size, natural features, level of development and population:

1. the main part, the United States proper. It borders on Canada in the north and on Mexico in the south. It is washed by the Pacific Ocean in the west, the Atlantic Ocean in the east and the Gulf of Mexico in the south-east;

2. Alaska, which occupies the north-western part of the continent of North America, including a lot of islands;

3. Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean.

The USA is mostly situated in the temperate and subtropical zones. Alaska lies in the subarctic and arctic zones. The southern parts of Florida and Hawaii are situated in the tropical zone.

The coastline length of the USA proper is 22,860 km. The Atlantic coast is mostly lowland and greatly indented. The Pacific coast is mountainous, in the northern part cut by numerous fiords.

About half the United States’ territory is covered by plateaus and mountains. The eastern part of the country is occupied by the Appalachian Mountains. In the central part there are two Plains – the Great Plain and the Central Plain. The Mexican Lowland stretches along the Gulf coast and fringed by a strip of marshes. The western part of the country is made up of high mountain ranges, tablelands and plateaus of the Cordillera system.

As the United States of America occupies a large territory, it is natural that a great diversity of climatic conditions can be observed in different parts of the country.

The northern part of the Pacific coast enjoys a moderate climate of temperate zones with a cool summer and a rather warm winter without a permanent snow cover and abundant rainfall on the western slopes of the Cascade Mountains.

The southern part of the Pacific coast (California) has a Mediterranean climate: a hot, cloudless and dry summer and a cool and rainy winter.

The climate on the Atlantic coast is continental-marine with cool summers and rather warm winters with a permanent snow cover in mountainous regions.

The longest river of the USA is the Mississippi with its tributary Missouri in the west and Ohio River in the east. Other important rivers of the country are the Hudson River, the Columbia River and the Colorado River.

World-famous is the region of the Great Lakes, situated in the north-east of the United States bordering Canada. It’s a system of five lakes – Lake Superior, L. Michigan, L. Huron, L. Erie and L. Ontario – joined together by natural channels. The Niagara Falls, great rapids situated on the short Niagara River joining Lakes Erie and Ontario, are famous all over the world and attract lots of tourists.

Thanks to the great diversity of climatic conditions the nature of the United States is rich in its diversity too. In the north-east of the country and in the region of the Great Lakes there are mixed forests of pine, fir, silver-fir, lime and ash. Further south they are replaced by broad-leaf forests of oak, maple, tulip-tree and plane-tree; still further south there appear magnolia, laurel, and other evergreen plants. In the Great Basin there are deserts and semi-deserts. The vegetation in the Cordillera is represented by coniferous forests. In California one can across sequoia, or red-wood, a tree that attracts many tourists because it reaches up to 100 meters high and lives for many hundreds of years.

The mixed forests zone is the home of the brown bear, lynx, glutton and marten. In the forests of the Appalachians there is Virginia deer, red lynx, chipmunk, mole, different kinds of bats. The Southeast is represented by alligator, turtle, peccary, opossum, coyote, rattle-snake and many kinds of pole-cats, badgers and gophers. Of birds there is flamingo, pelican, humming-birds. The semi-desert and desert zones are inhabited by different rodents and reptiles. On the Cordillera there is Rocky Mountain goat, Rocky Mountain sheep, grizzly bear, and further south – jaguar and armadillo.

Ex. 2. Answer the questions.

1. Who were the first settlers of North America? How did they move there?

2. Who was the first explorer of the American continent?

3. Did he plan to find new world there?

4. Who agreed to invest in his exploration?

5. Why did Christopher Columbus call people he had found in new lands Indians?

6. Did adventures find the rich of their hope?

7. Why was Columbus reproached and censured?

8. Was he aware of the greatness of his discovery?

9. Whom was a new continent called after?

10. How many parts are there in the USA? Where are they situated?

11. Describe the climate of the USA? How does it vary in different parts?

12. What can you say about the landscape of the country?

13. What is the USA flora and fauna represented by?

Ex. 3. Make up a project. You work at the tour agency and you have to attract tourists in the USA. Make a colorful and informative poster or a booklet to advertise your tour. Work out the route. Find some additional information about the USA.