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United States - USA
The United States of America is a large country in North America, often referred to as the "USA," the "U.S.," the "United States," "America," or simply "the States". It has a land area of about 9.6 million sq km (about half the size of Russia and about the same size as China). It also boasts the world's third largest population after China and India, with over 300 million people. It includes both densely-populated cities with sprawling suburbs, and vast, uninhabited and naturally beautiful areas. With its history of mass immigration dating from the 17th century, it is a "melting pot" of cultures from around the world.
The United States is largely regarded as the world's wealthiest and most powerful nation. The country continues to play a dominant role in the world's cultural landscape, and is famous for its wide array of popular tourist destinations, ranging from the skyscrapers of Manhattan and Chicago to the natural wonders of Yellowstone to the warm, sunny beaches of Florida, Hawaii and Southern California.
Mapa de Estados Unidos
The contiguous United States or "Lower 48" (the 48 states other than Alaska and Hawaii) are bounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west, with much of the population living on these two coasts. Its only land borders are shared with Canada to the north, and Mexico to the south. The U.S. also shares maritime borders with Russia, Cuba, and the Bahamas.
The country has three major mountain ranges. The Appalachians extend from Canada to the state of Alabama, a few hundred miles west of the Atlantic Ocean. They are the oldest of the three mountain ranges and offer spectacular sightseeing and excellent camping spots. The Rockies are, on average, the highest in North America, extending from Alaska to New Mexico, with many areas protected as national parks. They offer hiking, camping, skiing, and sightseeing opportunities. The combined Sierra Nevada and Cascade ranges are the youngest. The Sierras extend across the "backbone" of California, with sites such as Lake Tahoe and Yosemite National Park, then give way to the even younger volcanic Cascade range, with some of the highest points in the country.
La Casa Blanca, Washington
The Great Lakes define much of the border between the eastern United States and Canada. More inland seas than lakes, they were formed by the pressure of glaciers retreating north at the end of the last Ice Age. The five lakes span hundreds of miles, bordering the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York, and their shores vary from pristine wilderness areas to industrial "rust belt" cities. They are the second-largest bodies of freshwater in the world, after the polar ice caps.
Regions
The United States is composed of 50 states, as well as the city of Washington, D.C., a federal district and the nation's capital. Below is a rough grouping of these states into regions, from the Atlantic to the Pacific:
- New England (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont)
Home to gabled churches, rustic antiques, and steeped in American history, New England offers beaches, spectacular seafood, rugged mountains, frequent winter snows, and some of the nation's oldest cities, in a territory small enough to tour (hastily) in a week.
- Mid-Atlantic (Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania)
Ranging from New York in the north to Washington, D.C., the Mid-Atlantic is home to some of the nation's most densely populated cities, as well as historic sites, rolling mountains, the New Jersey Pine Barrens, the Lehigh Valley, and seaside resorts like the Long Island beaches and the Jersey Shore.
- South (Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia)
The South is celebrated for its hospitality, down-home cooking and its blues, jazz, rock 'n' roll, and country music traditions. This lush, largely subtropical region includes cool, verdant mountains, agricultural plantations, and vast cypress swamps.
Quinta avenida de Nueva York
- Florida
Northern Florida is similar to the rest of the South, but not so the resorts of Orlando, retirement communities, tropical Caribbean-influenced Miami, the Everglades swamp, and 1200 miles of sandy beaches.
- Midwest (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Wisconsin)
The Midwest is home to farmland, forests, picturesque towns, industrial cities, and the Great Lakes, the largest system of freshwater lakes in the world, forming the North Coast of the U.S.
- Texas
The second biggest state in the nation, it's like a whole other country (and in fact, once was). The terrain ranges from southeastern swamplands to the cattle-ranching South Plains to the sandy beaches of South Texas to the mountains and deserts of West Texas.
- Great Plains (North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma)
Travel westward through these supposedly flat states, from the edge of the eastern forests through the prairies and onto the High Plains, an enormous expanse of steppes (shortgrass prairies) nearly as desolate as in the frontier days.
- Rocky Mountains (Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming)
The spectacular snow-covered Rockies offer hiking, rafting, and excellent snow skiing as well as deserts, and some large cities.
Southwest (Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah)
Heavily influenced by Spanish and Mexican culture, this area is home to some of the nation's most spectacular natural attractions and some flourishing artistic communities. Although mostly empty, the region's deserts have some of the nation's largest cities.
- California
Like the Southwest, California has a history under Spanish and Mexican rule and is heavily influenced by Spanish and Mexican culture. California offers world-class cities, deserts, rain forests, snowy mountains, and beautiful beaches. Northern California (around the Bay Area) and Southern California (around Los Angeles) are culturally distinct.
- Pacific Northwest (Washington, Oregon)
The pleasantly mild Pacific Northwest offers outdoor pursuits as well as cosmopolitan cities. The terrain ranges from spectacular rain forests to scenic mountains and volcanoes to beautiful coastlines to sage-covered steppes and deserts.
- Alaska
One fifth as large as the rest of the United States, Alaska reaches well into the Arctic, and features mountainous wilderness.
- Hawaii
A volcanic archipelago in the tropical Pacific, 2,300 miles south west of California (the nearest state), laid-back Hawaii is a vacation paradise.
Politically, the U.S. is a federation of independent states each with its own rights and powers (hence the name). The U.S. also administers a motley collection of non-state territories around the world, the largest of which are Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands in the Caribbean plus American Samoa, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands in Oceania.
Golden Gate, San Francisco
Cities
- White House south facade, Washington, D.C.The United States has over 10,000 cities, towns, and villages. The following is a list of nine of the most notable. Other cities can be found in their corresponding regions.
- Washington, D.C. — the national capital, filled with major museums and monuments, along with multi-cultural communities
Boston — best known for its colonial history, its passion for sports, and its university students
- Chicago — heart of the Midwest and transportation hub of the nation, with massive skyscrapers and other architectural gems
Los Angeles — home of the film industry, with beautiful mild weather, great natural beauty from mountains to beaches, and endless stretches of freeways and smog
- Miami — attracts sun-seeking northerners and home to a rich Caribbean culture
- New Orleans — the "Big Easy" and the birthplace of jazz music, known for its quaint French Quarter and annual Mardi Gras celebration
- New York City — the country's largest city, home of the financial services and media industries, with world-class cuisine, arts, architecture, and shopping
- San Francisco — the City by the Bay, featuring the Golden Gate Bridge, vibrant urban neighbourhoods, and dramatic fog
- Seattle — rich museums, monuments, and recreational opportunities, and five distinct climates within 200 miles
Other destinations
- The Grand Canyon, ArizonaThese are some of the largest and most famous destinations outside of major cities.
- Denali National Park, Alaska — a remote national park featuring North America's highest peak
- Grand Canyon, Arizona — the world's longest and most visited canyon
Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado — well-preserved Ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings
- Mount Rushmore, South Dakota — the iconic memorial of 4 former presidents carved into a cliff face
- Niagara Falls, New York — the massive waterfalls straddling the border with Canada
- Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee — national park in the southern Appalachians
- Walt Disney World, Florida — the most popular vacation resort destination in the world
Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming — the first national park in the US, and home of the Old Faithful geyser
Yosemite National Park, California — home of El Capitan and the famous Giant Sequoia trees
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