United States Geography Profile 2012

The United States is one of the most geographically diverse nations on Earth. Between its two coasts are rugged mountains, vast deserts and plains, the Grand Canyon and the heavily forest Pacific Northwest.

• * Northeast
   
• * Southeast
   
• * Midwest
   
• * Southwest
   
• * West

The states of Alaska and Texas are bigger than France. Located in North America, the 48 contiguous states (sometimes called "Mainland" or "continental U.S."), based on the shape of a pentagon stretch across four time zones. 4500 km separates the Atlantic coast to the east and the Pacific coast to the west. He has to travel 2500 km to link Canada to Mexico.

The United States is the fourth largest country (9,631,417 km ²), behind Russia, Canada and China. With 7% of the landmass of the planet, the size of American territory is comparable to the European continent and is 17 times that of metropolitan France.

The United States has 12.034 kilometers of land borders with Canada 8893 km (including 2.477 km with Alaska), 3141 km with 28 km with Mexico and Cuba (Guantanamo Bay). The total length of the U.S. coast is 19 924 km.

All Mississippi Missouri travels over 6000 miles inland, the equivalent of being the Amazon in South America. The last two federal states are Hawaii, a volcanic archipelago in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, western Canada. In the north-eastern Caribbean island of Puerto Rico is a state of the Commonwealth: it is also the largest and most populous of the territories of the United States.

The country's highest point is Mount McKinley (6194 meters) it is in Alaska. Off Alaska, the main peak is Mount Whitney in California. The lowest altitude of Badwater is in Valley National Park Death in California (- 86 m).

The territories of Alaska and Hawaii became the 49th and 50th sessions, the 48 contiguous (adjacent) states and the District of Columbia were known as the continental United States. These states are bounded on the north by Canada, east by the Atlantic Ocean, south by the Gulf of Mexico and the Republic of Mexico, and west by the Pacific Ocean. Alaska is separated from the main part of the country by more than 500 miles (800 km) of Canadian territory. Hawaii, a chain of volcanic islands and coral, is about 2,400 miles (3,900 km) southwest of California in the Pacific Ocean.

The U.S. has replaced Brazil as the fourth largest in the world with these 2 states . The northernmost point of the United States of Point Barrow, Alaska, 1,300 miles (2,100 km) from the North Pole, the southernmost point is Kale (Southern Cape), Hawaii Island, Hawaii, approximately the same latitude as Mexico City. The farthest point East to West Quoddy Head, Maine. The westernmost point, Attu Island, Alaska, in the southern hemisphere, eastern Siberia. The geographic center of the United States, excluding Hawaii, is in Butte County, South Dakota, 14 miles (23 km) east of where Wyoming, South Dakota, and Montana's borders meet.

Of Hawaii at 5.100 miles east of Maine measures (8,200 km) from Point Barrow to the southern tip of Florida, 4,300 miles (6,900 km). The greatest distance east to west in the 48 contiguous states is 2800 miles (4,500 km), the largest north-south, 1,650 miles (2.660 km). The border with Canada amounted to 5.527 miles (8.895 kilometers), including 1.540 miles (2.478 km) in Alaska. The Mexican border is 2.013 miles (3.240 km) long.

The coastline of the United States amounted to 12.383 miles (19.929 km), including Alaska 6.640 miles (10.686 km) and Hawaii 750 miles (1.207 km).

Land

The United States contains a wide variety of landforms, high mountains to flat, arid deserts and vast grasslands. There are old mountain systems, rounded by the action of erosion, and chains of young mountains, always large and jagged. The northern part of the country still bears the scars of the huge glaciers that covered the earth during the last glacial period. In some regions, including Alaska, the glaciers are still active. There are also active and dormant volcanoes, vast plateaus and basins, deep canyons, gorges and valleys. Some of these lakes and rivers of the United States are among the largest in the world.

The following text, describing the main physical regions of the United States, mainly deals with the 48 contiguous states. The physical characteristics of Alaska and Hawaii are discussed in detail in separate articles.

The Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain extends along the Atlantic coast and Gulf of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Mexico. The plain was formed there are millions of years when deep marine sediments were deposited on the ocean floor. Finally, these sediments emerged to become dry. The flat coastal plain varies in width from just a few miles from New England to more than 500 miles (800 km) in the lower Mississippi River Valley. The sandy beaches, bars and borders of the islands coast, marshes and swamps are often short distance inland.

Inner margin of the Atlantic Coastal Plain is marked in part by the fall line, where rivers descend from the plateau of Piedmont, forming rapids and waterfalls. Washington, DC, Richmond, Virginia, Columbia, South Carolina, and many other southern cities are located on or near the fall line.

The Appalachian highlands is an area of mountains, valleys and plateaus extending south-west of New England to Alabama. The Appalachians are one of the oldest mountain systems in the country. Through the ages, they were brought to relatively low. The region is divided into five sections, New England, the Piedmont Plateau, Blue Ridge, Ridge and Valley and Appalachian Plateau:

New England is largely an area of low, rounded mountains. Peaks rising to over 4,000 feet (1,200 m) above sea level are mainly in the Green Mountains of Vermont and the White Mountains of New Hampshire.The Piedmont or Piedmont Plateau, which extends from the mouth of the Hudson River to Alabama, is an undulating plateau section along the Atlantic coastal plain.

Blue Ridge section rises sharply from the Piedmont Plateau, Pennsylvania to Georgia. This section includes the Great Smoky Mountain, Blue Ridge and Black Mountains. Mount Mitchell, a peak of 6,684 feet (2,037 m) in the mountains of North Carolina Black, is the culmination of the East.

Ridge and Valley to the west section of the section of Blue Ridge, consists of many steep ridges from New York to Alabama. Except for large Great Valley, which continues in Canada, the valleys between the ridges are short and narrow.

The Appalachian Plateau in the westernmost part of the Highlands, is cut by numerous deep valleys and has a mountainous aspect. Parts of this board, or Catskill Mountains in New York, the Allegheny Plateau, mostly in Pennsylvania and West Virginia and the Cumberland Plateau, primarily in Kentucky and Tennessee.

The interior plains, the largest physical region in the U.S. are located west of the Appalachian highlands, east of the Rocky Mountains and north of the Gulf Coastal Plain. larger in the region about 1,200 miles (1,900 km) east-west and 1,300 miles (2,100 km) north-south. thick layers of sedimentary rocks underlying this area of vast plains. Northern Missouri and Ohio rivers are deep glacial deposits.

About the 100th meridian, the Interior Plains are divided into the Great Plains, west and central lowlands to the east. Both sections have large expanses of flat and hilly terrain. A major difference between the two regions is the high-Great Plains are located at an altitude of 2,000 to 6,000 feet (600 to 1,800 m), the central lowlands are much lower.

The interior plains are bordered by two mountain regions, the Superior Uplands in the north and the central plateau to the south. The Uplands are higher in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan. They are part of the vast Canadian Shield and rising to a maximum height of about 2,000 feet (600 m). The central plateau are in Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma. They include the Ozark Plateau and Ouachita Mountains and Boston. The Ozarks rise to about 2,500 feet (760 m), the Ouachitas, at 3,000 feet (900 m). Rising abruptly from the Rocky Mountains and Great Plains extend north-west of northern New Mexico to Canada. Compared with the Appalachians, the Rockies are geologically young and are much more robust. Rockies are dozens of beaches, many of which are separated by wide valleys and basins. Basin of Wyoming, Wyoming, Colorado and Utah, is the largest mountain basins and divides the Rocky Mountains in the north and south branches.

Among the many ranges of high mountains in the southern Rocky Mountains are the beaches before, Park, Sawatch, Colorado. Those in the Northern Rockies or the Bighorn Mountains and the Teton Range in Wyoming, the Uinta Mountains and Wasatch range in Utah, the Lost River Range, Idaho and the Bitterroot range, at the border of Idaho and Montana. Overall, the drop height of the Northern Rockies to the north while the southern Rockies become lower towards the south. The highest peaks of the Rocky Mountains are Mountains Elbert, Massive and Harvard, Colorado, all exceed by more than 14,400 feet (4,390 m) altitude. Although not as high, Colorado's Pikes Peak (14,110 feet [4301 m]) is most famous.

The Pacific coast stretches from Canada to Mexico along the Pacific Ocean and consists mainly of mountain ranges and fertile valleys intervene. Along the coast of northern Washington to southern California, are the Coast Ranges. They include the Olympic Mountains of Washington, Oregon, Coast Range, Klamath Mountains on the border of Oregon and California, and numerous small beaches in California. The altitude varies from about 2,000 feet (600 m) in the Coast Range at 9,000 feet (2,700 m) in the Klamath Mountains. In many regions of the wild coast is marked by steep cliffs and rocky promontories.

Is the Coast Ranges are the Cascades of Washington and Oregon, and the high Sierra Nevada in California. volcanic peaks scattered throughout the Cascades, which dominates the other high mountains. Mount Rainier, the highest of these ancient volcanoes, rises 14,410 feet (4,392 m) altitude. The rugged Sierra Nevada range includes Mount Whitney, which rises 14,494 feet (4,418 m) and is the highest peak outside the United States from Alaska (Mt. McKinley, Alaska Range, s pupil at 20,320 feet [6194 m]). In Death Valley, less than 100 miles (160 km) south-west of Mount Whitney, is the lowest point in the country-282 feet (86 m) below sea level. In the region of the Pacific Coast are two large plains, almost completely enclosed by mountains. The first is the Puget Sound-Willamette Valley in western Washington and Oregon, the other, the central valley of California. Intermountain Region, located between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific region is a vast arid and semi-arid lands. Among its many colorful landforms are mountains, plateaus, buttes, mesas, gorges and canyons, salt lakes, and deserts. There are three main sections of the Intermountain region of the Colorado Plateau, Basin and section of the row, and the Columbia Plateau:

The Colorado Plateau is located in the southeast. It covers parts of Colorado, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and varies in elevation from 5,000 to 11,000 feet (1500-3350 m). Many deep gorges carved on the plateau, the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River is the largest and deepest. The basin and range section, covering parts of Utah, Nevada, California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, is a vast dry area of low mountains, most of them north and south, and large basins. Some of the tracks to reach a height of 10,000 feet (3,000 m), but most are smaller. The northern Basin and Range, mainly in western Utah and Nevada, is occupied by the Great Basin. It is entirely surrounded by higher land and the waters flowing into it evaporate or drain into salt lakes.
The Columbia Plateau in parts of Washington, Oregon, Idaho and is a flat expanse of thick volcanic lava. Here Columbia and Snake rivers have cut deep canyons and gorges.

Rivers

The Continental Divide, in most areas, along the crest of the Rocky Mountains. Rivers is to divide the flight into the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, or Hudson Bay. Those with the exodus westward into the Gulf of California, the Pacific Ocean or the Great, who did not lead to the sea. The Atlantic Ocean receives water from the Great Lakes, the St. Lawrence River, and numerous rivers to the east of the Appalachian highlands. The St. Lawrence is the largest river on the east coast, but most of its course in Canada. Other rivers in the East are much shorter than the St. Lawrence, but are nevertheless of great value, especially for navigation and ports formed through the mouth. These rivers are the Penobscot, Kennebec, Merrimack, Connecticut, Hudson, Delaware, Potomac, James, Roanoke, Santee, Savannah, and Altamaha.Most rivers between the Appalachians and the Rockies are part of the Mississippi River, which empties into the Gulf of Mexico. main tributaries of the Mississippi including Ohio, Missouri, Arkansas and Red rivers. Other rivers in the Mississippi River are the Wisconsin, Illinois, Wabash, Allegheny, Monongahela, Kanawha, Kentucky, Cumberland and Tennessee, east of the Mississippi River, and Yellowstone Rivers, Cheyenne, Platte, Cimarron , and Canadian west.

improvements of the river in the Mississippi basin were mainly for navigation, combat against floods, recreation and conservation. On some streams, however, as the power of the Tennessee, Cumberland, and Missouri, much water has been developed. Except for the tributaries of the Mississippi River on the coastal plain of the Gulf stream directly into the Gulf of Mexico. From east to west, these rivers include the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Mobile Alabama-Coosa, Tombigbee, Pearl, Sabine, Trinity, Brazos, and Rio Grande. Northern Red River and its tributaries in Minnesota and North Dakota are the largest rivers that flow north to Hudson Bay. The Rocky Mountain West, numerous rivers descend from the high mountains and plateaus. There are, however, some major rivers, except for rivers in the Yukon, Kuskokwim, Columbia, Snake, and Clark Fork, in the north, the rivers of Colorado, green, and Gila, south, and Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers in the Central Valley of California. Among these, the Colorado empties into the Gulf of California and the rest empty into the Pacific Ocean. Rivers flowing into the Great did not lead to the sea, the Humboldt River, Nevada, is the most important of these. Western rivers are widely used for food and water for irrigation.

Lakes

Great Lakes Superior, Huron, Michigan, Erie and Ontario are the largest lakes in the United States. Of the five, only Lake Michigan is entirely within the United States. The rest is shared with Canada. A total of 60.440 square miles (156,540 km2) of the Great Lakes is part of the United States. Small lakes abound in several sections. In the north, the land of Minnesota to New England is dotted with thousands of lakes that were formed during the glacial period of the earth. The biggest of them is Lake of the Woods in Minnesota and Canada. In dry areas of the West are many salt lakes, including the Great Salt Lake, Utah, is the most important. Small salt lakes include the Salton Sea, California, and Pyramid Lake in Nevada. In the high mountains of the West are some of the most picturesque lakes in the nation. Among them are Lake Tahoe, California and Nevada, Crater Lake, Oregon and Yellowstone and Jackson Lake, Wyoming.
Among the many lakes and lagoons in the region of the Gulf Coast, Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana, and Lake Okeechobee, Florida, are the greatest.

Climate

The climates of the United States vary considerably from section to section. Temperatures have reached such proportions that: - 80 ° F. (-62 ° C) in Alaska and 134 ° F. (57 ° C) in California. Annual precipitation also varies greatly at a record high of 460 inches (11.680 mm) in the center of Kauai, Hawaii, at an annual average of less than 2 inches (50 mm) in the deserts of the Southwest. Overall, the interior of the country's fastest-seasonal variation in temperature. It heats up quickly in summer and winter cools rapidly. In some coastal areas, due to the influence of ocean currents offshore, there is relatively little change throughout the year. Except for Alaska and Hawaii, the U.S. is located in the middle latitudes, the area known as temperate. Here, masses of cold polar air of northern air masses meet warm subtropical in the south. The meeting of these air masses produces cyclonic storms, which are transported eastward across the country by the prevailing westerly winds. Most of the nation rains and snow occurs in conjunction with cyclonic storms.

The following broad types of climate are:

Humid continental

From the Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma eastward to the Atlantic Ocean. In this region there are two phases of the climate of the north "and a phase south. Phase occurs in the Northern States North Dakota and Maine. Summers are short and cool and winters are long, snowy and extremely cold. Temperatures in Duluth, Minnesota, for example, average 39 degrees F (4 ° C) per year, 9 ° F (-13 ° C) in January, and 66 ° F. (19 ° C) in July. Annual rainfall averages 30 inches (760 mm) snowfall, 78 inches (1,980 mm). (Precipitation figures are melted snow and sleet.)
The phase of the South is characterized by long hot summers and short winters and cold. For example, temperatures in St. Louis, Missouri, 56 ° F on average (13 ° C) each year, 31 ° F (-1 ° C) in January, and 79 ° F. (26 ° C) July. average annual rainfall of 36 inches (910 mm) snowfall, 19 inches (480 mm).

Humid subtropical

Extending from eastern Texas to the Atlantic coast. Overall, the region receives the largest amount of rainfall in the country, 40 to 60 inches (1,000 to 1,500 mm) per year. Summers are long and hot and winters are short and sweet. In Jackson, Mississippi, for example, average temperatures of 65 ° F. (18 ° C) per year, 47 ° F. (8 ° C) in January, and 82 ° F (28 ° C) in July. The average annual rainfall is 49 inches (1,240 mm) snowfall, about 1 inch (25 mm).

Rain

Located at the southern tip of Florida and Hawaii. Warm weather prevails throughout the year, rainfall is abundant, and snow is unknown. Temperatures in Miami, for example, an average of 75 ° F. (24 ° C) per year, 67 ° F. (19 ° C) in January, and 82 ° F (28 ° C) in July. It is normally about 60 inches (1,520 mm) of rain per year. Honolulu winters a little warmer than Miami, warmer summers and less rain.

Mediterranean

In central and southern California. As its name implies, this type of climate is similar to the regions bordering the Mediterranean Sea. The climate is marked by low rainfall, long hot dry summers and short, mild winters and wet. Snow and frost are rare. For example, temperatures in downtown Los Angeles averaged 65 ° F. (18 ° C) per year, 57 ° F. (13 ° C) in January and 73 ° F. (23 ° C) in July. Annual precipitation is about 14 inches (360 mm).

Marine West Coast

Extending along the Pacific coast of northern California to the Canadian border. Because of the protection provided by the Cascade Mountains and the moderating influence of the Pacific Ocean, the climate varies little during the year. Winters are mild and summers are cool. In Seattle, Washington, for example, average temperatures of 52 ° F. (11 ° C) per year, 40 ° F. (4 ° C) in January and 66 ° F. (19 ° C) in July. Annual rainfall averages about 36 inches (910 mm) snowfall, about 8 inches (200 mm). A slightly cooler this climate, with rainfall much lies along the southeastern coast of Alaska.

Steppe and desert Latitude East

Predominant on the Great Plains and most of the Intermountain region. Rainfall, scarce and unreliable throughout the area, decreasing towards the south-west, where deserts are found in parts of Nevada, Utah, California and Arizona. Across the region, the summers can be hot and extremely cold winters. Winters in the north are particularly long, cold and snowy. In Great Falls, Montana, for example, average temperatures of 45 ° F. (7 ° C) per year, 21 ° F. (-6 ° C) in January, and 69 ° F. (21 ° C) in July. Annual rainfall averages about 15 inches (380 mm) snowfall, about 58 inches (1470 mm).

Tropical desert

In the southwest and south-eastern California Arizona. The climate is marked by extreme drought, an abundance of sun, long hot summers and mild winters. For example, Phoenix, Arizona, on average 70 ° F (21 ° C) per year, 91 ° F (33 ° C) in July, and 51 ° F. (11 ° C) in January. The average annual rainfall of about 7 inches (180 mm).

Subarctic

inside of Alaska and along the Bering Sea and Arctic Ocean coasts. The winters are extremely cold, averaging -12 ° F (-24 ° C) in Fairbanks and -16 ° F (-27 ° C) at Barrow in January. July temperatures average 61 ° F. (16 ° C) in Fairbanks and 39 ° F (4 ° C) at Barrow. There is considerable snow, but generally limited annual rainfall.