Geography
• The US is the fourth largest country in the world (after Russia, Canada, China). It is situated in the southern part of the North American continent. It is washed by the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. It covers the area of about 9 million sq km and it is bordered by Mexico in the south and by Canada in the north. The US also includes Alaska in the north of the continent and the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific Ocean.
• There are lot of geographical regions. The west is very mountainous with the Sierra Nevada and Cascade mountain ranges. The Cordillera mountain range occupies one half of the continental US including the Rocky mountains in Colorado and the famous Grand Canyon. In the east there are mainly lowlands (such as Mississippi Basin). There are also mountains, the Appalachians. The highest peak can be found in Alaska – it is Mt. McKinley (6000m).
• The US has many rivers. The largest rivers are the Mississippi and the Missouri. The Hudson river connects with the Great Lakes. On the southern-eastern Canadian border there are Niagara Falls and the five Great Lakes – Lake Ontario, Erie, Huron, Michigan and Superior.
• The climate varies with the geography in the US. The Pacific coast has pleasantly warm summers and mild winters. The Atlantic coast is relatively cold, heavy snowfalls in winter, but summer may be hot. There are vast climate differences across the fifty states. The best climates can be found in Hawaii, Florida and California – where the Death Valley is about the hottest place on earth in summer (there are tropical regions). The most extreme artic climate can be found in Alaska.
The best known tourist attractions
• American National Parks are visited by million of people. In fact, the parks represent one of the finest examples of nature conservation in the world. The first National Park was Yellowstone, founded in 1872. Another famous park is the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River, located in the state of Arizona.
• 375 national parks, forests, wildlife refuges, historical sites, rectational areas
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