The United States of America

The territory of the Untied States of America stretches from the Atlantic seaboard, across the central plains, over the Rocky Mountains to the densely populated west coast, and then to the island state of Hawaii.

America is a land of physical contrasts, including the weather. The southern parts have warm temperature year round. The northern states have extifemely cold winters. The United States is also a land of rivers and lakes. The northern state of Minnesota is known as land of 10,000 lakes. The broad Mississippi River is the world's third river after the Nile and the Amazon. A canal south of Chicago joins one of the tributaries of the Mississippi to the five Great Lakes. A wealth of minerals provides a solid base for American industry.

The United States of America, a federation of 50 states, was se up by the Constitution in 1787. The Constitution adopted in 1787 for two centuries has been the fundamental law of the country. 26 amendments have been introduced since then. The first 10 amendments are known as the Bill of Rights. Today the Constitution sets the basic forms of the US government.

The USA is called the "nation of immigrants". The country was settled, built and developed by generations of immigrants and thei children. Many different cultural traditions make up the people o the USA.

There are many big cities in the USA, such as New York Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, etc. The nation's capital Washington, DC is the largest metropolitan area in the country. It was the world's first city especially planned as a centre of government.

The USA became the world leading country at the beginning of the twentieth century.