3.Physical feauters
| The USA can be roughly divided into five geographical regions. Three of these are plains while the other two are mountainous regions |
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| The plains |
| > The Atlantic Coastal Plain runs down the east coast, form New England in the north down to the Mexincan border. Washington and NewYork are in this region along with Philadelphia and Boston. This is one of the most industrialised areas of the USA and 20 percent of the population lives here. |
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> The Interior Plain strtches along the Canadian border from the Great Lakes and Rocky Mountains (Rockies) in the north, down to the Atlantic Coastal plain in the south. This is agicolture heartland of the country. It is divided into two areas: the
| The Great Plains are the main wheatt-producing region |
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Central Lowland and the Great Plains. The Central Lowlands is crossed by many rivers and the soil here is very fertile - it includes the Corn Belt in the east, where three quarters of all American corn is produced. The Great Plains in the north are the main wheat-producing region and they have become kwon as the 'bread basket ' of the world. But, in addition to being a mainly agricultural area, it is also noted for its important industried, from the car manufactures in Detroit to the steel mills of Chicago.
> The Pacific Slope on the west coast includes San Francisco and Los Angeles. It has fertile farmland and several major industrial centres. Silicon Valley (where the majority of the best-known software and Internet companies are based) is situated here. The Pacific Slope os also known for its earthquakes. |
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Monument Valley, Arizona |
Mountain
> The Appalachain Mountains are an ancient mountain range form south-west to north-east for 2,400 kmalong the Coastal Plain. Most of this region is covered in forests. The mountains are low lying and rarely exceed 1,000 m in height.
>The North American Cordillera is a vast series of mountain ranges which run west from the Great Plain through the Sierra Nevada and Cascade Range. This range includes the famous Rocky Mountains, which stretch from Mexico through to the Arctic. The Grand Canyon, in north-western Arizona, is perhaps one of the most famous and impressive tourist attraction in this region. This mountain range continues into Canada and Alaska. The Alaskan section includes Mount Mckinley which, with its peak at 6,194 m, is the highest mountain in the USA. |
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Rivers and lakes
The USA has a great number of rivers and several if them are over 1,000 km long. The longest and perhaps the most famous river is the Missisipi. Named by the Native Indians, in whose language it mean 'father of waters', it flows for 3,900 km. I tform the core of America's waterways and has many tributaries including the Missouri (3,726 km) and the Ohio (1,579 km). All rivers east of the Rockies finally reach the Atlantic, while the rivers west of the Rockies reach the Pacific. |
| This is why the Rocky Mountains are often known as the 'Continental divide'. Rivers that flow into the Atlantic are the Hudson, which has New York on its banks, the Potomac, which has Washington, and the Delaware. The most important rivers which flow into the Pacific are the Sacramento in California and the Columbia, which flows throught the states of Washington and Oregon. The Rio Grande, which is around 3,000 km long, forms a natural boundary between the USA and Mexico. It is one of the longest rivers in the country. It is famous for supplying hydroelectric power to seven US states. |
| The USA is also famous for its lakes. Along tha Canadian border there are five enormous lakes: Michigan, huron, Ontario, Erie and Superior. Known as the Great Lakes, they are estimated to contain about half of the world's fresh water. The largest of these lakes Superior. Most of the lakes cross the border between the USA and Canada, but htre is one which is completely contained within the American borders: lake michigan (57,800 sq km). Another very big lake is the Great Salt lake in Utah. This lake was given its name because of the high content of salt in its waters. The capital of Utah, Salt Lake Cuty, is built on its shores. |
Niagara Falls |
