Vocabulary notes

Survey - опрос

Adult - взрослый

Denomination – религиозная конфессия, секта

Agnostic - агностический

flour­ish - процветание

con­tribution - вклад

derive - извлекать

heritage - наследство

prima­rily – главным образом

value - ценность

significantly - существенно

impact - влияние

affiliate - присоединяться

adher­ent – приверженный

congre­gations – религиозное братство

clergy - духовенство

Orthodox -православный

Muslim - мусульманский

Rapidly - быстро

Contemporary - современный

Broadcasting - радиовещание

Content - содержание

Faiths - верование

Attend - посещать

Jews - евреи

Geography

The United States is the fourth largest country in the world, after Russia, Canada, and China. There are fifty (50) states: 48 contiguous states and Washington D.C., located in the central portion of North America plus the states of Alaska (49th) and Hawaii (50th), both joined in 1959.

Area (50 states and District of Columbia only):

Total: 9.631.418 sq km Land: 9.161.923 sq km Water: 469,495 sq km

SIZE COMPARISONS:

The United States is...

• about one-half the size of Russia,

• slightly smaller than China.

BOUNDARIES:

• 48 states: Canada on the north;

Atlantic Ocean on the east; Mexico and the Gulf of Mexico on the south; and Pacific Ocean on the west

• Alaska: Arctic Ocean on the north;

Canada on the east; Pacific Ocean on the south; and Arctic Ocean, Chukchi Sea, Bering Sea, and Bering Strait on the west

• Hawaii: Pacific Ocean

LAND USE (1992):

Cropland-25.8%

Rangeland-26.9%

Forestland-26.6%

Pastureland-8.5%

Urban, mountain, and other-12,5%

COASTLINE: 19,929 kilometers,

including Alaska and Hawaii

INLAND WATERWAYS: 41,009 kilometers of navigable inland channels,

excluding the Great Lakes

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

LONGEST RIVER: Mississippi-Missouri - 5,936 kilometers

DEEPEST LAKE: Crater Lake in Oregon - 580 meters

Elevation extremes:

HIGHEST PDINT: Mount McKinley in Alaska - 6,198 meters above sea level

LOWEST POINT: Death Valley in California - 86 meters below sea level

LARGEST STATE: Alaska

SMALLEST STATE: Rhode Island

NORTHERNMOST CITY: Barrow, Alaska

SOUTHERNMOST CITY: Hilo, Hawaii

EASTERNMOST CITY: Eastport, Maine

WESTERNMOST С1П: Atka, Alaska

Ports and harbors:

Anchorage, Baltimore, Boston, Charleston, Chicago, Duluth, Hampton Roads, Honolulu, Houston, Jacksonville, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, Port Canaveral, Portland (Oregon), Prudhoe Bay, San Francisco, Savannah, Seattle, Tampa, Toledo

Natural resources:

Coal, copper, lead, molybdenum, phosphates, uranium, bauxite, gold, iron, mercury, nickel, potash, silver, tungsten, zinc, petroleum, natural gas, timber

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

People

Population: 298,444,215 (July 2006 est.)

Ethnic groups:

White 81.7%, Black 12.9%, Asian 4.2%, Amerindian and Alaska native 1%, native Hawaiian and other Pacific islander 0.2%, others 10% (2003 est.) Note: a separate listing for Hispanic is not included because the US Census Bureau considers Hispanic to mean a person of Latin American descent (including persons of Cuban, Mexican, or Puerto Rican origin) living in the US who may be of any race or ethnic group (white, black, Asian, etc.)

The continental United States stretches from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and from Canada to Mexico and the Gulf of Mexico. Separated by Canada, it touches the Pacific and Arctic Oceans. Hawaii occupies an archipelago in the Pacific, southwest of North America. The commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the largest and most populous U.S. territory, is in the northeastern Caribbean. Deciduous vegetation and grasslands prevail in the eastern U.S., transitioning to prairies, boreal forests, and the Rocky Mountains in the west, and deserts in the southwest. In the northeast, the coasts of the Great Lakes and Atlantic seaboard host much of the country's population. With a few exceptions such as the territory of Guam and the westernmost portions of Alaska, nearly all of the country lies in the western hemisphere.

Beyond the coastal plain, the rolling hills of the Piedmont end at the Appalachian Mountains. The Rocky Mountains, at the western edge of the Great Plains, extend north to south across the continental U.S., reaching altitudes higher than 14,000 feet (4,270 m) in Colorado. Between the Appalachian and Rocky Mountains, the Interior Plains and Great Plains are relatively flat, fertile farm land. The Mississippi-Missouri River, the world's fourth longest river system, runs mainly north-south through the heart of the country. Active volcanoes are common throughout the Alexander and Aleutian Islands and the entire state of Hawaii is built upon tropical volcanic islands. The supervolcano underlying Yellowstone National Park in the Rockies is the continent's largest volcanic feature.

The States, Districts and Territories of the U.S.A.

STATES	CAPITALS	Zip Code Abbreviations
Alabama	Montgomery	AL
Alaska	Juneau	AK
Arizona	Phoenix	AZ
Arkansas	Little Rock	AR
California	Sacramento	CA
Colorado	Denver	CO
Connecticut	Hartford	CT
Delaware	Dover	DE
Florida	Tallahassee	FL
Georgia	Atlanta	GA
Hawaii	Honolulu	HI
Idaho	Boise	ID
Illinois	Springfield	IL
Indiana	Indianapolis	IN
Iowa	Des Moines	10
Kansas	Topeka	KS
Kentucky	Frankfort	KY
Louisiana	Baton Rouge	LA
Maine	Augusta	ME
Maryland	Annapolis	MD
Massachusetts	Boston	MA
Michigan	Lansing	MI
Minnesota	St. Paul	MN
Mississippi	Jackson	MS
Missouri	Jefferson City	МО
Montana	Helena	MT
Nebraska	Lincoln	NE
Nevada	Carson City	NV
New Hampshire	Concord	NH
New Jersey	Trenton	NJ
New Mexico	Santa Fe	NM
New York	Albany	NY
North Carolina	Raleigh	NC
North Dakota	Bismarck	ND
Ohio	Columbus	OH
Oklahoma	Oklahoma City	OK
Oregon	Salem	OR
Pennsylvania	Harrisburg	PA
Rhode Island	Providence	RI
South Carolina	Columbia	SC
South Dakota	Pierre	SD
Tennessee	Nashville	TN
Texas	Austin	TX
Utah	Salt Lake City	UT
Vermont	Montpelier	VT
Virginia	Richmond	VA
Washington	Olympia	WA
West Virginia	Charleston	WV
Wisconsin	Madison	WI
Wyoming	Cheyenne	WY

Washington D.C. is a federal district under the authority of Congress. Puerto Rico is a commonwealth associated with the United States. Other dependent areas include American Samoa, Baker Island, Guam, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Midway Islands, Navassa Island, Palmyra Atoll, Virgin Islands, Wake Island.