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by paarthaw

by paarthaw

Fast facts about United States of America:

Continent: North America

Capital: Washington D.C.,

Legislature: Congress

Upper House (Senate),

Lower House (House of Representatives)

Area: Ranked 4th

Borders: Shares land borders with Canada and Mexico and maritime (water) borders with Russia, Cuba, and The Bahamas in addition to Canada and Mexico

Canada (13 states share the border, largest being that of Alaska with Canada) & Mexico (California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas).

Highest point: Mount McKinley, Alaska (20,320 ft)

Lowest point: Death Valley, California (282 ft below sea level)

Longest river: Missouri (2540 miles)

Largest river: Mississippi (2340 miles) (in terms of water volume)

Largest lake: Lake Superior

States: 50 of which 48 are contiguous states, where as Alaska which is not included in the term contiguous United States, is at the northwestern end of North America, separated from the Lower 48 by Canada. The State of Hawaii is an archipelago in the Pacific Ocean.

Largest State: Alaska

Smallest State: Rhode Island

Largest City (Population): New York City

Key points about USA:

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its forty-eight contiguous states and Washington, D.C., the capital district, lie between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. The state of Alaska is in the northwest of the continent, with Canada to the east and Russia to the west, across the Bering Strait. The state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific. The capital is Washington, D.C. and the largest city of the country is New York City.

USA declared independence from Great Britain on July 4, 1776. Originally the country consisted of 13 colonies (Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts Bay, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia, New York, North Carolina, and Rhode Island and Providence Plantations) which declared their independence from Great Britain on July 4, 1776 and became independent states.

Early in the country's history, three new states were organized on territory separated from the claims of the existing states: Kentucky from Virginia; Tennessee from North Carolina; and Maine from Massachusetts. Most of the other states have been carved from territories obtained through war or purchase by the U.S. government. One set of exceptions comprises Vermont, Texas, and Hawaii: each was an independent republic before joining the union. During the American Civil War, West Virginia broke away from Virginia. The most recent state—Hawaii—achieved statehood on August 21, 1959. The states do not have the right to secede from the union.

The United States acquired the Louisiana territory from France, Florida from Spain, part of the Oregon Country from the United Kingdom, Alta California and New Mexico from Mexico, and Alaska from Russia, and annexed the Republic of Texas and the Republic of Hawaii.