Sweet_girl - The United States

The United States of America

The USA is one of the largest countries in the world. It is situated in the central part of the North American continent. The area of the USA is over nine million square kilometres. It is washed by the Pacific Ocean and by the Atlantic Ocean. The most northern part of the USA is Alaska, the largest state, separated from the rest of the country by Canada.

The official language of the country is English. The capital of the country is Washington. It was named in honour of the first President, George Washington.

As the USA is a large country, the climate is different in different regions. For example, the Pacific coast is a region of mild winters and warm, dry summers, but the eastern continental region is watered with rainfall. The region around the Great Lakes has changeable weather.

There are many mountains in the USA. For example, the highest peaks of the Cordillera in the USA are 6,193 and 4,418 metres.

The main river of the country is the -Mississippi. But there are many other great rivers in the USA: the Colorado in the south and the Columbia in the north west. There are five Great Lakes between the USA and Canada.

The USA produces more than 52 per cent of the world's corn, wheat, cotton tobacco.

There are many big cities in the country. They are Washington (the capital of the country), New York (the city of contrasts, financial and business centre of the USA), Boston (there are many colleges and universities in it), Chicago (one of the biggest industrial cities in the USA), San Francisco, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Detroit (one of the biggest centres of the automobile industry).
The USA has an Academy of Sciences. There are many scientific institutions, museums, libraries, theatres and other interesting places in the country.

The USA is a highly developed industrial country. The USA is rich in mineral resources, such as aluminium, salt, zinc, coppers, and others. The country is rich in coal, natural gas, gold and silver, too. It holds one of the first places in the world for the production of coal, iron, oil, natural gas.

Such industries as machine-building, ship-building are highly developed in the country.

American agriculture produces a lot of food products: grain, fruit, vegetables.

The USA is a federal republic, consisting of fifty states. Each of these states has its own government. Congress is the American Parliament which consists of two Chambers.

The president is the head of the state and the government. He is elected for four years.

American holidays

There is a number of holidays in the USA which are celebrated every year. Here are some of them.

The 1st of January is New Year's Day. People do not go to bed until after midnight on December 31. They like to see "the old year out and the new year in”. Many people give parties on New Year's Eve.

Another one is Memorial Day, it was first called Decoration Day. It is celebrated on the last Monday of May. After World War I ended in 1918, Decoration Day became a day to remember everyone who died, fighting in the US wars.

The Independence Day (July, 4) is like a big national party. It takes place through over the country: in neighborhoods, beaches or in parks. Some towns and cities have parades with bands and flags and many politicians try to give a patriotic speech if there are any listeners. Families have beach parties with hot-dogs and hamburgers, volleyball, fireworks and rockets at night.

Thanksgiving day is celebrated on the forth Thursday of November. It was first celebrated in 1621 when the first settlers came to America. The Indians helped the first settlers to survive during the difficult winter. The Pilgrims celebrated the first harvest festival in November and invited the Indians to thank them.

St' Valentine's Day, February 14th, is sweethearts' day when people who are in love express their affection for each other in gay and merry ways. The cards may be different but the message is the same: "Will you be my Valentine?".

Halloween means "holly evening". It takes place on the 31st of October. It is connected with witches and ghosts. At parties people dress up in strange costumes and pretend they are witches. They cut horrible faces in potatoes and pumpkins and put a candle inside which shines through the eyes. People may play different games such as trying to eat an apple from a bucket of water without using their hands. In recent years children dressed in white sheets knocked on doors at Halloween and ask if you like trick or treat. If you give them smth nice - a treat - they go away. But if you don't they play a trick on you, such as making a lot of noise or pilling floor on your front doorstep.