USA

The US area is almost 9.4 million km2. In terms of territory, this state ranks fourth in the world.

The economic and geographical position of the United States is very advantageous, primarily due to the vast maritime frontiers in the west and east (12,000 km).

The 48 states that make up the main territory of the United States are located in the central part of North America, which borders the Atlantic Ocean in the east and the Pacific in the west. The United States borders Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. The 49th state of the USA, Alaska (1.5 million km2), occupies the extreme northwest of North America and is separated by the Bering Strait from the extreme northeast of Russia. The 50th state, the Hawaiian Islands, an archipelago of 24 islands (16.7 thousand km2), is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean.

About half of the country’s territory is occupied by the ranges, plateaus and plateaus of the Cordillera; the eastern outskirts of the Cordillera belt form the ridges of the Rocky Mountains (4000 m). The highest point in the country is Mount McKinley (6193 m) in Alaska. In the east of the United States are the Appalachian Mountains (2037 m). Between the Cordillera and the Appalachians stretched vast inland plains (Central, Great) and the Mexican Lowland. The development of the earth’s interior played an important role in the prosperity of the United States. Today the United States ranks first in the Western world in terms of coal and uranium reserves, and second in gas, copper, zinc, and iron ore.

The country’s water resources are plentiful and varied, but they are concentrated mainly in the east. Here, on the border with Canada, is the largest lake system in the world — the Great Lakes. The main rivers of the USA are the Mississippi with its tributaries the Missouri and Ohio, the Columbia, the Colorado, and the Yukon.