Co se kde našlo....

Over the map of the USA

Geography and climate

The USA is situated in North America and is the fourth largest country on the World. It covers the area of nearly 10 million square kilometers. It is bondered by Canada on the north, by Mexico on the south.

The Apalachian highlands are the oldest mountains and divide the eastern seaboars from the Great Lakes and the grasslands of the midwest. About a half of the continental USA is occupied by the Cordilleras in the West.On the southern part of Cordilleras the Rocky Mountains are located. The highest mountain in the USA is Mt. McKinley in the Alaska Range (6 194 m)

The longest rivers are Mississippi and Missouri. It is the third longest river system on the world Other rivers are Rio Grande, Hudson river, Colorado and Yukon (in Alaska)

There are five great lakes on the borders with Canada, they are called Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie and Ontario.Together their area is over 250 000 sq. kmLake Superior is the second largest lake in the world.

The differences across US are extreme The climate varies from arctic cold in the northen Alaska to subtropical warmth in Hawaii and the Gulf Coast States.Coast has pleasantly warm summers and mild winters, except in the south, where summers are hot and dry. The Atlantic Coast is relatively cold, occasionally with heavy snowfalls in winter, but summers may be hot and very humid. The Middle West winters are cold and long. Death Valley in California is about the hottest place on earth in summer. California, Arizona, New Mexico and Florida belong among the so-called Sun Belt States..

Government and Political system

The United States of America is a federal republic, which consists of fifty states .Each state has its own government.The federal government is responsible only for matters concerning the country as a whole: foreign affairs, defense and finance.

Each state government has to keep to the Constitution, which gives the USA the principle of a balanced power divided into three branches - legislative, executive and judicial.

The main body of the political systeme is congress that seats in the Capitol. It is devided into 2 parts: the House of Representatives and the Senate. The number of Representatives from each state is based upon its population, itconsists of 435 lawmakers who are elected for 2 years.The Senate has 100 members – 2 from each state who serve 6 years.

The President together with his Vice President is elected every 4 years President seats in the White House The two leading parties are the Democrats(liberal centre) and the Republicans (centre right)

The USA is member of all major international organizations: NATO, OSN…

Traditions

There is number of feasts celebrated all over the United States.

Halloween is celebrated on October 31^st.Kids go trick-or-treating around the neighbourhoods everybody is dressed in some spooky costume and they make laterns out of pumpkins.Christmas are celebreted on December 25^th and they are celebrated the same way as the British x-mass. Independence Day is on the 4^th July. The Americans remember foundation of US. People goes to parks to BBQ. St. Valentines Day - is on the 14^th of January. It is the holiday of lovers.They give small gifts to each other. Young people usually post Valentine's cards to each other.

Memorial Day to honor the dead of all wars, it is celebrated in September. On Veteran's Day people honor of those Americans who served in wars. Veterans go to parades and talk to people.Thanksgiving Day is one of the most important American traditions.It was first celebrated by Pilgrims that came to America in 1620. The whole family gathers and enjoys a traditional dinner a roast turkey and pumpkin pie. President's Day - formerly the birthday of the first US President, now to honors all the past US presidents.

People

The US population is about 250 mil.There are 100 major ethnic groups in the USA today.America is sometimes called „the melting pot“ or „the salad bowl“,because in the USA live people with all the races and origins,and they can mix here together.Now there are about 80% white people,12% black people and 1.5 % Asians and Pacific islanders,and litle per cent American Indians and Eskimos.The main language spoken here is American English,which differs from British English in vocabulary,pronunciation and spelling.US spelling is simpler.

Places to visit

New York is the biggest city in the USA. . It has about 118 millions inhabitants (whole metropolitan area, central area 7 Millions). It belongs to the largest in the world. New York has fire major parts: Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx. and Staten Island.
On Western coast the most well known places are Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Los Angeles is the second largest. Here we can find the famous film centre American Film Academy awards Oscars for the best film of the year Los Angeles is also the centre of crime. LA university is called California Technology Institute. There is an important space research centre and developed car industry and the biggest ZOO in the world.
San Francisco, one of the cleanest, is the victim of frequent earthquakes. It is also known for the Golden Gate Bridge spanning between the Pacific and San Francisco Bay.
In the south there are following important centres:
New Orleans is the city where jazz was born and where Mississippi flows to the Gulf of Mexico.
Houston is known with the NASA centre and Johnson Space Centre.
Florida is mainly a tourist area with long beaches on Miami.
The biggest centres in the East are:
Philadelphia is one of the oldest cities. It used to be the first US capital. Now it is the centre of machinery and chemical industry.
Chicago lies on the banks of Lake Michigan. In 1971 the highest skyscraper in the USA was built here (Sears Tower - 438m high). Chicago is the centre of steel and iron industries and it is also an important transport centre (O'Hare Airport is the busiest airport in the USA).
Detroit is the centre of USA car industry (Ford, Chevrolet, Chrysler and General Motors).
Other places: Las Vegas (rodeo festivals, casino gambling), Princeton, Dallas, Niagara Falls.

There are also many beautiful national parks such as Yellowstone,Yosemite,Grand Canyon,O lympic Sequoia, Zion, Everglades,etc.