rak usa 1 Flashcards
(27 cards)
Size of USA
9.8mil square km(4th largest country in the world)
Borders of USA
Atlantic, Pacific oceans, Canada, Mexico
How many states
50 states(including Hawaii and Alaska)
Capital city and other territories
Washington D.C. (District of Columbia) - capital city
-> Puerto Ricco, Virgin Islands
Biggest and Smallest states
Biggest = Alaska, Texas
Smallest = Rhode Islands
Climate of USA (in general and 5 types)
Very diverse -> size and landscape (mountains, deserts)
- continental, subtropical, tropical, arctic(Alaska), ocean climate
Typical natural disasters (5)
tsunami, volcanoes, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes
Mountain ranges (3)
The Appalachian Mountains
The Rocky Mountains
Sierra Nevada
Highest and lowest place in NA
Highest -> Mount McKinley/Denali (6194m, Alaskan Range)
Lowest -> Death Valley (-86m, California)
Rivers (7)
Hudson (New York)
Mississippi (Mark Twain)
Missouri (Longest)
Columbia
Colorado
Rio Grande
Yukon (Alaska)
Lakes (6)
the Great Lakes (Erie, Ontario, Huron, Michigan, Superior)
Great Salt Lake
The Great Lakes (5)
Erie, Ontario, Huron, Michigan, Superior
on border with Canada
-> biggest reservoir of fresh water in the world
Niagara Falls (3)
On the river Niagara
Most powerful waterfall in NA
source of hydro-electric power
National Parks (4)
Yellowstone National Park - biggest & oldest
Yosemite National Park - sequoia trees
Grand Canyon National Park
Hawaii National Park - volcanoes (Mauna Loa, biggest active in the world)
Economy (4)
- Largest, 2. most diverse, 3. most technologically powerful in the world
- Most industries, tied to a specific city/region, not distributed across the whole country
Entertainment industry
Centre: Los Angeles, Hollywood
Reasons: 1. stable, sunny weather
2. different landscape (ocean, mountains, desert) = different movie locations
-> many famous film studious
Automobile Industry
creator: Henry Ford
Centre: Detroit, Michigan
Reasons: Ford was from Michigan
Strategic position: 1. Great Lakes - easy transport of materials, 2. between Chicago and NY (centres of population)
Headquarters of the Big Three: Ford, General Motors, Chrysler
Technology Industry
Centre: Silicon Valley, San Francisco Bay Area, California
Reasons:
1. important naval base (need for technological improvement after WWII)
2. universities nearby: Stanford, Berkeley
Companies: Apple, Google, eBay, Netflix, X (Twitter)
Financial industry
Centre: Wall Street, New York (state New York) - area of banks, stock companies…
Reasons:
1. harbour – easy to navigate
2. canal connecting NY and Great Lakes
3. first entry for immigrants (population boom)
Famous banks: JPMorganChase, citibank, Deutsche Bank
Built environment
structures created by people for people and human activities (life, work, reaction)
Panama Canal
82km long
built by American workers, today belongs to Panama
connects Atlantic to Pacific
one of 7 Wonders of the Modern World
many workers died during its construction
Hoover Dam (6)
- named after President Herbert Hoover
- on the river Colorado (Arizona, Nevada)
-> Used for:
1. flood control
2. electric power production
3. irrigation, water supplies
4. sightseeing destination
Mount Rushmore (6)
National Memorial of 4 former presidents (in South Dakota)
- George Washington
- Thomas Jefferson
- Abraham Lincoln
- Theodore Roosevelt
They represent the most important events in the history of USA
NASA (6+1)
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (since 1958)
-headquarters: Washington D.C.
-science and technology connected with airplanes and space
-global leader in space exploration -annual budget- around $23 billion
-many successful projects and missions:
- Apollo program
(first man on the Moon-Neil Armstrong)
