ВИВЧАЄМО АНГЛІЙСЬКУ МОВУ

The United States of America is the richest and most highly developed capitalist country in the world. It is at the same time the greatest exploiter of the peoples, the chief stronghold of present-day colonialism, and the creator of numerous hotbeds of war in different parts of the world.

Geographical  Position.

The United States of America covers an area of almost 9,400,000 square kilometers. It is twice as large as all the countries of Europe combined, exclusive of the U.S.S.R. It is two and a half times smaller than the Soviet Union.

The USA is advantageously placed in the middle of the North American continent, in the temperate zone between latitudes 25° and 49° N. It is washed by the Atlantic in the east and the Pacific in the west-and controls the Panama Canal connecting these two oceans. Thus placed between two oceans it has free access to the trade routes of the world. At the same time, these vast expanses of water have always served as reliable safeguards in time of war. Its land boundaries are on countries that are no danger in case of war. In the course of the last hundred years the USA has fought many a war, but ever on foreign soil. Its own land has always remained untouched. Modern means of warfare, however, have put an end to this advantage of the United States.

Alaska, the adjacent lands and the Aleutian Islands in the north-west (over 1,500,000 square kilometers) and the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific Ocean also form part of the USA. The United States has possessions in the West Indies and in the Pacific.

Natural Features.

 Across the eastern part of the United States extend the Appalachians, a group of low and much denuded mountains. There is iron ore here and rich deposits of coal along the western slopes. Between the Appalachians and the Atlantic lie the coastal lowlands.

The north-eastern coastline is richly indented and contains many convenient bays. The lowlands continue southward into the Peninsula of Florida, which is rich in phosphor-rites. The climate of Eastern United States is temperate continental, with a heavy rainfall.lt is colder, however, than that of Europe in the same latitudes. In New York (latitude 41° N) the average January temperature is 1°C below zero, the July temperature 23 °C above zero, while in Naples the January temperature is 8° C above zero, the July temperature 24° C above zero. The mixed and broad-leaved forests that once covered this part of the country have   been cut down. Florida and the neighboring areas enjoy a wet sub-tropical climate, the average January temperature being 15° C above zero. Here there is evergreen vegetation, including magnolia, palm, and evergreen oak and different kinds of pine. In the central, boggy part of the peninsula there is cypress. In the most beautiful places there are resorts, but these can be afforded only by the rich. The centre of the country is a vast plain (called the Great Central Plain) that sinks towards the south and merges into the Mississippi Lowlands. It is drained by the Mississippi River and its tributaries, the deep Ohio flowing from the Appalachians and the long but shallow Missouri from the Cordilleras. The climate here is continental, with sharp weather changes. In the south, on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, it is subtropical. Westward the climate becomes drier gradually. The forests disappear and in their stead stretch forest-steppes and steppes (prairies). The soil almost everywhere is ploughed up and under cultivation. This is the so-called Prairie Plateau, or Great Plains.

There are rich deposits of iron ore along the shores of Lake Superior, to the north of the plain. In the central part of the Great Central Plain, south-west of Lake Michigan, there is coal and poly-metallic ore. The southern part, west of the lower course of the Mississippi, is a rich oil and gas district.

Across the western part of the United States extend the Cordilleras, a young mountain system consisting of a number of lofty ranges. Between the Rocky Mountains, on the one hand, and the Cascade Mountains and Sierra Nevada, on the other, there is a series of plateaus — the Great Basin and others. These are crossed by the Colorado and Columbia Rivers. On their way to the Pacific they cut deep canyons through the plateaus; the Grand Canyon on the Colorado River is 1,800 meters deep. These rivers are rich in water-power.