Learn About USA - Important General Information

USA - An Introduction

The United States of America which is usually abbreviated as U.S or U.S.A comprises 50 states. It is the fourth largest country in the world and has its capital in Washington. The horizontal width of the country is 2860 miles and the vertical length of the country is 1582 miles. Geographically, it has Canada on its north, The Atlantic Ocean on its south, and the Pacific Ocean on its west. The United States became the first country to gain independence from the European colonizers in 1783.

The current U.S. flag was designed by a high school student known as Robert G. Heft. There are 13 stripes on the American National flag, representing the original thirteen colonies perhaps. And in that version of the flag, there were thirteen stars arranged in a circle. Today the flag has 50 stars for 50 states. It is important to note that the flag has had 27 versions since it was created. "The Star-Spangled Banner" is the name of the National Anthem of the country and the national symbol is the Bald Eagle.

English is the language that is the most spoken in the United States and Spanish is the second most common language spoken in the U.S. However, it is interesting to note that the U.S. does not have any official language! Islam is the third most followed religion in number in the U.S. after Christianity and Judaism.

There is a lot of variety in the terrain of the United States as it has rugged mountain peaks as well as flat plains, arid deserts to tropical rainforests. The Death Valley is the lowest point in the continent and Mt. McKinley is the highest point. As far as population is concerned it has densely populated areas as well as areas that are severely underpopulated. In fact, it is the third most populated country in the world after China and India. Also, the United States has a diversity in its population that to a great degree is because of an immense and sustained global immigration. The United States has 16 territories out of which five are permanently inhabited such as Puerto Rico, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and American Samoa.

The United States is arguably the world’s greatest economic power which is measured in terms of the gross domestic product (GDP). Its wealth is because of its rich natural resources and its enormous agricultural output, but more due to the country’s highly developed industry. In fact, its exports and imports represent major proportions of the world total. The country has the world’s largest coal reserves.

Most of the United States is marked by sharp differences between winter and summer owing to its geographical and climatic diversity. It even experiences the highest rate of tornadoes of any country in the world. In fact, the country experiences more than 1000 tornadoes every year.

On the defence front, the United States of America has the world’s largest air force. It was founded on September 18, 1947. The USAF with more than 5,369 military aircraft is the most technologically advanced air force in the world. It is also the first country to have developed nuclear weapon and the only country to have used them in combat.

A fun fact about the country is that more than 100 acres of pizza are served in the U.S. every day! This explains why a large portion of the population is obese.

Let us undertake the herculean task of exploring the country: the various types of flora and fauna particular to the country, the education system of the country and a bit about its history and geography. Click on the following links to read more about this unique country: