The USA.

The United States of America stretches across the North American continent from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. In the north the USA borders on Canada, in the south it is bounded by Mexico and the Gulf of Mexico.

The United States of America covers an area of 3 million square miles. It is the fourth largest state in the world after the Russia, China and Canada.

There are many valleys, hills and mountains in the country. The highest and the most important are the Rockies in the west and the Appalachian Mountains in the east. The Mississippi with its tributaries the Missouri and the Ohio is the longest river in the country. In the north-west of the USA there are many lakes. The largest of them are Ontario, Superior, Erie, Huron and Michigan.

The climate of the country varies from subtropical in the south to very cold in the north. Grassland and scrub dominate the western part of the country, forest covers the eastern part.

The United States is rich ill coal, oil, iron ore, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, salt, natural gas and other minerals.

The USA is a multinational country. Its population is more than 200 million. 10.5 per cent are black. The aboriginal Indians number 800 thousand. All the languages of the world are spoken in this country, but not all the nationalities inhabiting it have equal political rights.

Washington is the capital of the USA. Its population is about 900,000. The largest cities in the country are New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Detroit and Houston.

The USA is a powerful country with highly developed agriculture and industry. Farmers grow wheat, oats, cotton, tobacco and all kinds of vegetables and fruit. The USA holds the leading position in the capitalist world in the production of aircraft, ships, automobiles, machine-tools, farm and household machinery, electronic devices and oilier goods.

The United States is a bourgeois federal republic. The form of government is based on the 1787 Constitution. The federal government is divided into three branches: executive (the US President and his Administration), legislative (the US Congress) and judicial (the Supreme Court). The White House is the official residence of the President, the US Congress consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Capitol Building is the seat of the US Congress. The national flag has 13 white and red stripes equal to the number of the former colonies which on July 4, 1776 declared their independence from Great Britain. 50 stars on the blue background represent the 50 States. The red stripes proclaim courage, the white stripes proclaim liberty, the field of blue stands for loyalty. The Coat-of-Arms of the US is an eagle. Each state has its own government and its own capital city and within each state there are smaller subdivisions of local government such as counties, townships, cities and villages.

There are two leading political parties in the United States, the Democrats and the Republicans. Both parties are supported and controlled by big business, that is why the American people see no difference between them.

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