The USA

GEOGRAPHY:
The USA extend over more than one third of the North American continent, being the fourth largest country of the world after Russia, Canada and China. They border on Mexico in the south, the Atlantic Ocean in the east, Canada in the north and the Pacific ocean in the west. Part of the USA is Alaska in the north of the American continent and the Hawaiian Islands 3,200 km south-west of California.
The country can be divided into five main areas. The Appalachian Highlands are geologically the oldest. The highest mountain there is Mt. Mitchell (2,037m high). To the west from the Appalachian Highlands we can find the Appalachian Plateau divided by the river valleys.
Further to the west there is the Mississippi Basin called the Interior Plains. It comprises the Mississippi Lowlands, Central Plains and Great Plains.
About one half of the continental USA is occupied by the Cordilleras in the west. They are divided into several ranges: the Rocky Mountains reach over 4,000m, to the west of them is the Great Basin full of ranges and valleys (the deepest valley is Death Valley lying 85m below sea level). The Colorado Plateau with the Grand Canyon is also to the west of the Rocky Mountains.
The Cascade Range and Sierra Nevada with the highest peak of the continental USA Mt. Whitney (4,418m) and the Coast Range, surround the Great Californian Valley. The highest peak of the USA, however, is in Alaska - it is Mt. McKinley (6,194 m).
The USA has many rivers. The biggest river system is that of the Mississippi and the Missouri. The Mississippi is the third longest river in the world being 6,212 km long. The most important river in the east is the Hudson, connected with the great lakes. In the west we should mention the Colorado, the Columbia, and the Rio Grande on the Mexican border. The biggest river in Alaska is the Yukon.
The Great Lakes on the US - Canada border make up the biggest reservoir of fresh water in the world. They are Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Erie and lake Ontario - together they cover nearly 250,000 sq km. The Niagara River - part of the St. Lawrence River - connects Lake Erie and Lake Ontario forming the world-famous Niagara Falls 51 m high, 900 m wide on the Canadian side and 320m wide on US side. The name itself is Indian and means „the thunder of waters“. There are really two waterfalls, American and Canadian, divided by a piece of land, from which people can look down at the falling masses of water. It is also possible for the visitors to have a beautiful view of the falls from the river below. They may go by a boat for a trip as far as the base of the waterfall.
The falling water has worn away rocks behind the falls. One such place is one hundred and fifty feet high and goes back a hundred feet. It is called the Cave of the Winds. Visitors can reach this cave by a lift which takes them down to the entrance. In the cave they are greeted by a frightful thundering as thousands of tons of water pass directly before their eyes.
The climate of the USA is varied - from the Arctic climate in the north to the subtropical climate in the south. But the temperature climate prevails. Of course in the vast areas of the USA the climate cannot be the same everywhere. As the country is divided by mountain ranges the climate differs accordingly and is influenced by the oceans. So there is a great difference between the climate on the Atlantic coast and the Pacific coast, where the summer and winter are not very different. The most agreeable climate is on the Hawaiian Islands.
HISTORY:
In the Middle Ages, European exploration of the ‘New World’ began with the voyage of the Italian explorer Christopher Columbus in 1492. Sponsored by the King and Queen of Spain, he left Spain with three small ships: the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria. He was looking for a shorter route to the eastern Spice Islands, from where nutmeg and cloves were brought to Europe. Columbus didn’t know, that he reveal new continent. He thought, that he sailed to India.
Columbus thought he could sail west round the world to reach the east. Some people still believed the earth was flat and that Columbus would fall off the edge of the world. A navigation error brought him to the Caribbean sea.
The first European immigrations came to North America from three different nations at about the same time - around 1600. The Spain travelled up from Mexico looking for gold. They stayed in the Southwest, in what is now California and Arizona. The French mapped the great Lakes and the Mississippi River. The English arrived on the east coast and developed 13 British colonies there. (Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North and South Carolina, Georgia)
The Pilgrims
One of the earliest and most important settlements was Plymouth Plantation in Massachusetts. The settlers came from Plymouth, England, and called themselves ‘pilgrims’. Today, they are often referred to as the ‘Pilgrim Fathers’. They were looking for religious freedom and better life. There were 102 people and they came on a ship called the Mayflower in December 1620.
The voyage was full of danger, so was life in the new country. One half of the pilgrims died during the first winter. In the spring, friendly Wampanoag Indians helped them by teaching them how to tap maple trees for sap, where to find eels for food, how to plant corn and catch herring. So the following year the harvest help. Then this thank generalized to the custom of giving thanks to God (the Lord), for his goodness, for harvest and all good things. It has become a part of American tradition for people in America. The 16th president, Abraham Lincoln, proclaimed this custom and it was stipulated, that the 4th Thursday of November will be for Thanksgiving day.
Today there is an open-air museum where the first settler arrived. Daily life of the Pilgrims is recreated by people who live there all year round. You can visit the village and take part in events during the whole year.

LIFE IN THE USA:
Work
The majority of population works now in some service profession (in business, at schools, in hospitals). 25% of jobs are in manufacturing and construction and only 5% of jobs are in agriculture, fishing and mining. Physicians, lawyers  and dentists are paid very well and can get a yearly income of USS 100,00.
Housing
The US is a nation of urban dwellers. Over 80% of the population live either in the cities or in the huge suburban areas. There are more than 2 000 of these metropolitan regions now. Some are so large that they have begun to merge together. This new urban network is called „megalopolis“. The largest of there covers the area on the Atlantic coast from Boston, through New York south to Washington, D.C. - „Bosnywash“. This megalopolis contains more than one-sixth of the entire US population. Another feature is typical for living in an American city- a skyscraper.
Social Welfare
The majority of Americans - about 85% - are neither rich nor poor. They belong to the economic category called „middle class“. They usually buy insurance (they pay a set sum of money each month) and there are many kinds of it. Other benefits for working people are provided by the companies they work for. There are also many government programmes (either federal or state) which help people in need. Social security programme is the largest and is financed by a tax paid by all working people.
Sport
Like elsewhere in the world sports are very popular. Some of them have their origin here, e.g. baseball and American football. Besides local and national sports teams there is along tradition of school sports clubs - both at high schools and colleges. Begin healthy and keep oneself in a good shape - fitness - is part of general way of life. Many Americans exercise for good health or undergo some fitness programme (sometime it is called „fitness craze“).
The USA is the only little smaller than Europe = 9, 5 million km2. It is the 3rd largest state in the world – only Russia and Cabada have larer areas and more people live only in China and India.
It lies in the North America, with Canada to the north,  Mexico to the south, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Part of the USA is Alaska which borders on the northwestern Canada and Hawaii, which lies in the Pacific.
The USA can be divided into 6 regions: the Northeast, Central Basin, Southcast, Great Plains, Mountains and deserts, Coast Valleys.
-    In the Northeast, there is the biggest city in the USA – New York. It has more than 18 million inhabitans. This city is the financial and culutral cenre of the USA. The Statue of Liberty is a symbol of the hope and freedoom, not only for immigrants to the USA coming to this seaport at the mouth (ústí) of the Hudson and East Rivers.
-    Boston, to the north, is another great port and financial, business and industrial centre. It is an old city (founded in 1630) and the heart of the New England States. It is also known for the Boston Tea Party (not only before the War of Independence, American colonist did not want to pay taxes and British soldiers were sent to Boston; in 1773 a group of Americans, dressed as Indians, threw British tea into the Boston Harbor.)
-    Philadelphia is one of the oldest cities, it used to be the first US capital. The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were written there. Benjamin Franklin, statesman and scientist, lived in Philadelphia.
-    Baltimore is another business and industrial centre and important seaport.
-    From Boston to Washington D. C. it is only 719 km but more than 20% of the population live along this coast. Washington in the District of Columbia, is the capital city of the USA. It was named after George Washington, the first US president. The District of Columbia was named after Christopher Columbus, the discover of America. This districct is not part of any state.
-    The most important rivers in the Northeast are the Hudson and St. Lawrence River, whoch consists the Great Lakes on the border with Canada with the Atlantic Ocean. The biggest of the Great Lakes is Lake Superior, others are Lake Michigan, Huron, Eirie and Ontario.
-    The Niagara River connects Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, it forms the world – famous Niagara Falls.
-    The Northeast is a very important industrial area of rge US. Detroit is the centre of US car industry (Ford, Chrysler, General Motors).
-     Chicago lies on the shore  of Lake Michigan. It is an important transport center, it has busiest airport of the USA (O’Hare). The 1st seyscraper was built there (1882). The highest building in the worl id here – the Sears Tower. Chicago is known for its steel (= ocel) and iron (= železo) industries and alsi for its grain elevators (= silo).
-    In the Central Basin, there is The Corn Belt, where corn is produced on fertile fields. Further north is cooler.
-    Springfield, in the centre of Illinois, is where Abtaham Lincoln came as a young man to practise law, enter politics and finally be elected the 16th president.
-    Back across the Appalachian Mountains there is Southeast. Richmond in the state of Virginia was the capital of the South during the Civil War. Frm Virginia to Texas cotton was grown. There used to be big plantations where slaves worked. After the Civil War the area was the poorest part of the US. In the south there is Florida, where subtropical fruits and vegetables grow all the year round. There is Cape Canaveral where spaceships are launched (vypouštěny), the JFK Space center and Miami teach, a popular holiday area.
-    To the west, on te Mississippi Rive is a bir river – and seaport: New Orleans. It was founded by the French and the French influence can still be seen in the French Quarter. New Orleans is also the cradle of jazz, it was born about a century ago among the Black musicians of the town. Mark Twain, on of the greatest US authors, worked as a pilot on the Mississippi River. His best books are based on his own experience along the Mississippi – The adventures of Tom Sawyer a nd The Adventures of Hucklberry Finn.Mississippi, which flows from the Rocky Mountains to the Gulf of Mexico, is the 3rd longest river in the world.
-    Houston, in the south Texas is an important oil centre and te NASA centre.  The centre of the Southwest is Dallas. It is known for its oil industry and cotton market. President JFK was assassinated (spáchat antentát) there in 1963.
-    The Great Plains is quite different from the Corn Belt. Summers are very hot, winters ate very cold, the wind blows from the Canadian norder to Texas. There isn’t enough rain. It rains very little and in dey years the farmers can be ruined. In the past, omly the Red Indians knew how to live there. The captured wild horses and hunted the buffalo (bizon) that gone them food and clothing. Later the Indians, cownoys and the farmers were fighting there, it was the time of The Old Wild West. Even now there are few towns on the plains. Most are small, only Denver, in the west , near the Rocky Mountains, is a large industrial city.
-    Like the Great Plains, the Mounstains and Deserts did not attract people to live there. But when gold, silver, copper (Cu) and tine (Sn) was fonnd in the mountains, people went there. After the mines were closed, only deserted ghost towns were left there.
-    The river Rio Grande flows to the south from this region and forms a natural boundary between Mexico and the US.
-    The Rocky Mountains are the long bakcbone of the Continent, they are in Utah and Colorado. Other mountain ranges are e.g. the coasr Range, Cascade Range, Sierra Nevada with the highest part of the continental USA Mt. Whitney. There are many beautiful places especially in national parks, auch as Yosemite Giant Valley National Parr in Sierra Nevada or Death Valley in California.
-    Las Vegas in Nevada is famous for roddeo festivals and casino gambling. Not far from there, but in Arizona, there is another famous place: The Granf Vanyon of the Colorado River.
-    There is one large city in the middle of this region: Salt Lake City near a large salty lake.
-    Yeloowstone National Park in the Rocky Mountains is the largest and the oldest nature reserve in the US. There are 3000 geysers and hor springs.
-    If we return to the south, we can find on the map Los Angeles, the world’s largest city. It was founded by the Spanish. Thois city is known for Hollywood, the centre of the film industry. L.A. university is called California Technology Institute. Walt Disney opened 40 years ago Disneyland here.
-     The 6th region is called the Coast Valleys. There is rich fertile soil, a lot of water and mild climate. There are 3 coast states: Californina, Oregon and Washingtown, they face toward the Pacific Ocean. San Francisco is a very old city, it was founded by the Spanish and it became a big city during the California Gold Rush ( zlatá horečka). It is known for the Golden Gate Bridge. One of the city’s mayn quarters with a large Chinese Community is called China – town. SF is famous for its Berkley University. There are often earthquakes.
-    Seattle, the capital of the state of Washington, is the gate to Laaska, the 49th state. You must drive through Canada or také a boat or plane to get to Alaska. It is the largest of America’s 50 states, but the number of inhabitants is very low. The capital is Juneau, other cities are e.g. Fairbanks, Anckorage etc. There are high mounatains. The biggest river in Alaska is Yukon. Because Alaska is so far north, in winter re long, summer short, it has the Arctic climate. Alaska us rch in raw materials. Near the Klondyke River in canada, just across the Alaska border, gold was discovered in 1896. Jack London became very popular when he described the gold rush.
-    The 50th State of Hawai is a chain of 8 major islands over 3000 km out in Pacific. The largest island is called Oaku, It is visited by millions of tourists every year. Pineapple planations and Waikiki Beach are world famous. Another world – famous name is Pearl Harbor, whoch was attacked by the Japanese in 1941, the Usa then entered in the 2nd World War. The capital is Honolulu.