The usa

Arising from the light-grey haze, slightly coloured by the dawn, America shows its beauty to us. The United States of America, commonly called the United States or simply 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 covers an area of 3,618,770 square miles (9,372,571 sq. km) and has a population of more than 249.6 mln. Being the leading capitalist country it has covered a most compli­cated and contradictory way of development in the more than 200 years of its existence. The USA past shows scientific, indus­trial, agricultural growth and welfare and alongside with this fantastic economic crises and high rates of unemployment.

The USA is divided into 50 states and the District of Columbia (the territory under the capital Washington), the seat of the na­tional government.

The USA is a country of great differences. At the same time, it has surprising similarities when one considers its size. The dif­ferences are partly a result of the geography. One cannot gener­alize about the weather, the landscape,, or even the way of living because the nation occupies nearly half of a continent. In it can be found high mountains and the flattest of prairies, tropical heat and arctic cold, fertile valleys and deserts. There is a variety of natural resources. All sorts of products are raised, and there are industries of every kind. Some of the most densely and most sparsely populated areas of the world are found in the United States.

If you want to go from San Francisco to New York by train, you must ride more than three thousand miles. On your way you will pass fertile plains of the famous fruit-rising area, the Sierra Nevada mountains with their snow-capped peaks and clear moun­tain lakes, the Salt Lake desert, the plains of sheep and cattle country known as the land of cowboys, and the richest industrial region of the country. You finally arrive in New York, the largest city in the USA.

There are many large and modern cities, but a great propor­tion of the country consists of open land dotted with farm-houses and small towns In some regions small communities are still pro­vincial. In spite of this, however, and in spite of the size of the country, there are striking uniformities in the American scene that surprise foreign observers. There is an appearance of the country as a whole that might be said to be typically American. The usual town of average size, in any part of the United States, has its "main street", with the same types of stores selling the same products. Every town has the same type of drug-store and supermarket. There is some variety of architecture, due to the differences in climate, locality, and national backgrounds of the people." Yet, many American residential areas, especially new ones, tend to have a similar look. The similarities result from the extreme mobility of the population and the interchange of goods.

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