USA lie on the North hemisphere and are surrounded by Pacific Ocean on the west, Atlantic Ocean on the East and Alaska on the North of Canada is surrounded by Arctic Ocean. USA borders only two states - Canada on the north and Mexico on the south. The federation is divided into the 50 states including Hawaii Islands in the Pacific ocean and Alaska on the north of Canada. Each state has its own capital and the capital of the federation is Washington D. C. which is situated on the east coast.
The official language is English but a lot of immigrants spoke their native language so you can hear Spanish, French, Chinese and many others.
History
America was officially discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1492 but we know that Vikings were there first. The land was named after Amerigo Vespucci who explored the area.
The first settlers from Europe came mainly from France and Britain. They were fugitives and they established colonies on the East Coast. The first colony was founded in 1607 in Virginia. More and more people came to America during the next century and they settled the east coast. The colonists wanted same rights as Britons had and they wanted complete independence.
The war for independence begun in 1775 at Lexington. On the 4th of July 1776 the colonists proclaimed the Declaration of Independence, whose author was Thomas Jefferson. The war lasted until 1783 when Britain acknowledge America as a new independent state. The first president - G. Washington - was elected in 1789.
Nearly hundred years later in 1861 came the Civil War. It was caused by the big difference between the North and the South. The North was industrial and has capitalist system but the South still used the slave system. On April 1865 Northern army captured Richmond – the capital of South and it was the end of this war.
USA didn’t participated on the First World War but they influenced the Second World War very much. In December 1941 Japan attacked Pearl Harbor and that was the reason why USA entered the Second W. W. In the end of the war they dropped Atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki (6 a 9 August 1945).
Geography
The western part of the land is mountainous we can find here the Cordilleras. In the center there is central lowland including the Great Lakes, which make the natural border with Canada. They are Lake Erie, Ontario, Michigan, Huron and Superior. The lake Michigan belongs only to USA. Between the Atlantic and the Mississippi plain lie the Appalachians. The highest mountain is Mt. McKinley, which lies on Alaska. The biggest river is the Miss, which flows into the Gulf of Mexico. Another important river is St. Lawrence River, which collect water from Great Lakes and flows into the Atlantic Ocean. There are a lot of big rivers like Missouri, Rio Grande, Colorado, Potomac, and Hudson.
Climate
The climate is very various because the area is very large. Hawaii Islands lie in the tropical zone that means there are high temperatures whole year and also strong rains.
Completely different is Alaska - snow and ice whole year and temperatures under zero.
The pacific coast has mild but foggy winters and sunny and hot summers. The central part has mild climate. Winters on the Atlantic coast are cold with snowfalls and summers are hot and very humid.
Economy
USA has (had?-doplňte podle aktuální situace) very strong and healthy economy. The key industries are the electrical and electronic engineering, concentrated in California, oil and gas industry, food products, textile and automobile industry. The biggest industrial cities are New York, Detroit, Pitts, Chicago and Seattle.
USA is rich in almost every natural resource because on Alaska there are big stocks of that. They mine also oil and gas near the Gulf of Mexico, coal on the Appalachians, salt, kaolin. Agriculture is on high level. Almost 50 percent of the total area are used for agriculture. USA is big exporter of food. They product cereals, fruit, vegetable, spice and tobacco.
Government
Each of 50 American states can have its own laws. So there are big differences between the laws in each state for example some of them have the capital punishment and some not.
The seat of the federal government is the capital Wash D. C. The head of the federation is president elected every 4 years. He lives and works in the White House. Wash is also seat of the Congress which is divided into two parts – the House of representatives and the Senate.
There are two main political parties in the USA – the Democratic and Republican party which rules now.
Places of interest
You can visit a lot of interesting places in America. Beginning with National parks and ending with big cities. It depends on what you prefer. On the west is situated the Rocky mountain Region, where you can visit beautiful national parks like the Yellowstone which stretches across three states, the Rocky mountain n. p. and Grand Canion – the largest and oldest natural reservation in US. The big cities on the west coast are known all over the world. L. A. – the center of the movie industry with famous suburbs like Hollywood and Beverly Hills. San Francisco with breathtaking Golden Gate Bridge. Frisco is also famous for the cable cars going through its streets. Las Vegas – the city of night live and casinos.
In the south you can visit several N. P. for example in Florida. The famous city is New Orleans also called the birthplace of jazz.
The Northeast is characterised by industry, city life and heavy traffic. We can find here the capital Washington which lies in the District of Columbia. This is a special district named after Christopher Columbus. In the center of the city is the Capitol, where Congress meets. There are many memorials to honor important people in American history like George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and others. New York is known in the whole world as the Big Apple. It has another nickname “the city that never sleeps “ because it’s alive at all hours of the day and night. The symbol of the city is the Statue Liberty given by France in the 19th century and designed by Gustave Eifell.

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