Seminar 5 US Geography

I.                  General facts about the geographical position of the country.

Area.

The United States ranks fourth in the world in area, with 3,787,403 sq. miles. Only Russia, Canada and China are larger. It is about 3,000 miles from the east coast to the west coast and about 1,500 miles from the Canadian border on the north to the Mexican border on the south. Land equals 3,536,338 sq. miles. Water equals 251,065 sq. miles.

Extreme points.

Northernmost: Point Barrow, Alaska

Easternmost: West Quoddy Head, Maine

Southernmost: Ka Lae, Hawaii

Westernmost: Cape Wrangell, Alaska  

Oceans, Seas and Gulfs.

Several large bodies of water border the United States.

Pacific Ocean: 64,000,000 sq. miles, borders the west coast of the U.S., including Alaska and Hawaii

Atlantic Ocean: 31,815,000 sq. miles, borders the east coast of the U.S.

Arctic Ocean: 5,440,200 sq. miles, borders the north coast of Alaska

Bering Sea: 884,900 sq. miles, borders the west coast of Alaska

Gulf of Mexico: 615,000 sq. miles, borders the southeastern coast of the U.S.  

Rivers.

Throughout the United States run many long rivers. Some of the longer ones are:

Mississippi:  2,348 miles, Source – Lake Itaska, Minnesota, Outflow – Gulf of Mexico

Missouri:  2,315 miles, Source – Confluence of Jefferson, Gallatin, and Madison Rivers, Montana, Outflow – Mississippi River

Yukon:  1,979 miles, Source – Yukon Territory, Canada, outflow – Bering Sea, Alaska

Rio Grande:  1,885 miles, Source – San Huan Mtns., Colorado, Outflow – Gulf of Mexico

Arkansas ; 1,459 miles, Source – Central Colorado, Outflow – Mississippi River

Colorado: 1,450 miles, Source – Grand County, Colorado, Outflow – Gulf of California  

Lakes.

Chief among the many large lakes in the United States are the Great Lakes. They are:

Lake Superior – 31,820 sq. miles

Lake Huron – 23,010 sq. miles

Lake Michigan – 22,400 sq.miles

Lake Erie – 9,930 sq. miles Lake Ontario – 7,520 sq. miles  

Deserts. 

Deserts make up a large portion of the United States, specifically, in the Southwest.

Chihuahuan: 140,000 sq. miles, Texas. New Mexico, Arizona,

Mexico Sonoran: 70,000 sq. miles, Arizona, California, Mexico

Mojave: 15,000 sq. miles, California

Colorado: 10,000 sq. miles, California, Mexico

Painted Desert: 7,000 sq. miles, Arizona 

Mountains.

The highest mountains in the United States are found in Alaska.

Mt. McKinley: 20,320 ft.,

Mt. St. Elias: 18,008 ft.,

Mt Foraker: 17,400 ft.,

Mt. Bona: 16,500 ft.,

Mt. Blackburn: 16,390 ft.

The highest mountains outside of Alaska are in California and Colorado.

Mt. Whitney: 14,494 ft., in California

Mt. Elbert: 14,433 ft., in Colorado

The two main mountain ranges run north and south: The Appalachian Mountains in the eastern part of the United States  The Rocky Mountains in the west. There is another mountain chain west of the Rockies – the Sierra Nevada and the Cascade ranges.  

National Parks.

The United States has 54 national parks. The oldest is Yellowstone National Park, established in1872, which is in part of Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho. The largest national park is Wrangell-St. Elias Park in Alaska, with 7,730,645 acres. Alaska has 8 national parks, more than any other state.

Exercise 1.

Decide if the sentences are true or false. Correct the false sentences.

1.     In land area, the United States is the largest country in the world.

2.     All the states except Hawaii and Alaska are together on the North American continent between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

3.     It is farther from the Canadian border to the Mexican border than from the east coast to the west coast.

4.     The two main mountain ranges are the Hurons and the Eries.

5.     Between the mountain chains are the Great Plains.

6.     The longest river in the United States is the Gulf of Mexico.

7.     The five Great Lakes are in the southwestern part of the country.

Exercise 2. Answer the following questions.

1.     How many time zones is the continental U.S. divided into?

2.     In which state do the highest trees in the world grow and what are they called?

3.     What is the name of the first U.S. national park and in which state is it located?

4.     Which major city in the state of Florida has the same name as a Russian city?

5.     Name the five Great Lakes – which one is entirely within the U.D.?

6.     Which American state (excluding Hawaii and Alaska) borders only one state?

7.     Name the smallest U.S. state.

III.              The States. The United States is often divided into 7 regions.

-         New England States Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont

-         Middle Atlantic States New Jersey, Ney York, Pennsylvania

-         Southern States Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia

-         Midwestern States Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin

-         Rocky Mountain States Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming

-         Southwestern States Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas

-         Pacific Coast States Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington The largest and the smallest of the United States: Alaska (615.230 sq.ml.); Rhode Island (1.231 sq.ml.)

Exercise 3. Study the facts about the states in Appendix 1. Work in pairs or groups. Make sentences with these patterns about the information in the table. Your partners will answer "true” or "false”  

1.     (Name of city) is     |   a city                     |  in |  the state of   (name of state). 

                                          |   a capital city         |  of |  

2.     (Name of state) is    |   bigger   |   in   |   land area   |  than  (name of state).                                  

                                         |  smaller |              | population |  

3.     The capital of (name of state) is (not) the largest city of the state.  

Exercise 4. Talking points

1.     Origin of some place names in North America.

2.     New England, its role in the life of the USA.

3.     The five Great Lakes, their importance in the economic life of Canada and the USA.

4.     The Corn Belt, its agricultural importance in the economic life.

5.     The Southern States of the USA, their role in agriculture and industry.

6.     The West Coast States, their resources.

7.     The Great Salt Lake.

8.     Variety of climates in the USA.

9.     Factors that have contributed to America's becoming the leading economic nation.