By area the fourth largest country in the world, the United States of America (USA), often simply known as "America" or "the States", stretches from the Atlantic to Pacific oceans. It is made up of 50 states, including Alaska—which is separated from the rest of the country by Canada—and Hawaii, a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean. Each state has its own elected government and passes its own laws. The federal government is based in the capital, Washington, D.C. The USA is the world's most important trading nation and has its most powerful military forces.

Landscapes

Running down the northeastern side of the USA are the densely forested Appalachian Mountains. To the northwest of this range lie the Great Lakes, while to the east lie the coastal lowlands, where Europeans first settled the country and where great cities, such as New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Washington, have grown up.

The basin of the Mississippi River and its tributaries forms the central part of the USA, called the Midwest—a vast, flat area of farmland. West of the Mississippi, the land gradually rises. The prairie grasslands of the Great Plains eventually meet the high Rocky Mountains. Further to the west, between the Rockies and the mountains of the Pacific coast, the climate is drier, and the landscape more rugged. Wide areas of hot desert or scrub stretch across the southwestern United States.

The Pacific coast is a land of forested mountains and fertile valleys with a warm, wet climate that makes it ideal for farming. This region has grown to become one of the richest and most densely populated parts of the United States.

Climates

The USA is a huge country and has a wide range of climates. Alaska, close to the Arctic, has a polar climate, while the southern tip of Florida lies in the tropics. The central and eastern states have very warm or hot summers, but cold winters. The southern states have mild winters. Further west it becomes drier, turning to semi-desert west of the Rockies, and full desert in the southwest. The Pacific coast is milder: California has a climate similar to the Mediterranean in Europe, while the northwest is cooler and wetter.

East coast

The USA’s eastern coast is where Europeans first settled the country and where great cities, such as New York, Boston and Philadelphia have grown up. Today it has the densest population in the United States. The Appalachians, a range of forested hills and low mountains, peppered with lakes, separate this region from the rest of the country. Urban areas crowd the coastal plains and Hudson-Mohawk valley. The six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut make up the region of New England, named after the home country of the first European settlers.

New York City

New York City is the USA’s largest: the city and its suburbs are home to around 20 million people. The city is situated by a large natural harbour at the mouth of the Hudson River. its location has helped it to grow into an important trading port and major world city. New York is built on three islands: Long Island, Manhattan and Staten Island. New land to build on is in short supply, so many people live and work in high-rise buildings or skyscrapers. New York has been a major point of entry for immigrants to the USA. New Yorkers today come from all over the world—more than a third were born overseas.

Many people consider New York to be the cultural capital of the world; its art, fashion, media and entertainment industries are amongst the world’s most important and influential. It can also be considered its financial capital: Wall Street, in Manhattan, is the world’s leading financial centre. The United Nations (UN) also have their headquarters in New York.

Great Lakes

Northwest of the Appalachians lie the Great Lakes. These enormous inland seas were filled by the meltwaters from the ice cap that once covered parts of North America during the Pleistocene Ice Ages. Lakes Superior, Huron, Erie and Ontario lie partly within Canada, while Lake Michigan is entirely within the USA. Situated on its southwestern shores is Chicago, the USA’s third most populous city.

Rust Belt

The USA’s northeastern states were once the heartland of the country’s industry. In the 19th century, they became known for their heavy industry, producing iron and steel. Companies founded by Henry Ford and Ransom Olds manufactured the first mass-production cars in Michigan in the early 1900s. Millions of migrant workers from from the southern states, Europe and elsewhere flocked to work in the factories, settling in Chicago, Buffalo, Detroit and Milwaukee.

​​​​​​​By the mid 20th century, these industries began to decline; new technologies meant many more jobs could be done by machines, and huge numbers of people lost their jobs. Many of the industrial cities fell into disrepair along with the industries that once supported them, giving region its nickname, the “Rust Belt”.

The western part of the region occupies the basin of the lower Mississippi River south of the Ohio River. The Gulf Coast, which stretches from Florida in the east round to, and beyond, the Mississippi delta in Louisiana, is made up of swampy bays and islands. Here the climate is hot and humid; the risk from flooding and hurricanes is ever-present. The southern states have a high population of African Americans, the descendants of Africans brought to the USA to work as slaves on cotton plantations since the early 17th century, but especially in the early 1800s.

Midwest

The central part of the USA, called the Midwest, is covered by a vast, flat area of farmland. In the north, crops such as wheat, maize and sugar beet are grown, while cotton, tobacco and groundnuts are cultivated farther south. A large part of this region lies in the fertile basin of the great Mississippi and Missouri rivers, which meet near St Louis. West of the Mississippi, the land gradually rises: these are the prairie grasslands of the Great Plains. Once vast herds of bison roamed here. Today, much of the land, from the Dakotas and Minnesota in the north to Oklahoma and Texas in the south, has been turned over to extensive fields of wheat and maize, and cattle are grazed on huge ranches.

Tornado Alley

More tornadoes occur in the USA than in any other country on Earth. Most of them touch down in the central states of Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and northern Texas, giving this region the nickname “Tornado Alley”. Tornadoes are most common during the thunderstorms of spring and summer. People who live in the region usually have tornado shelters in their houses. Many towns have tornado sirens to warn people of approaching tornadoes.

Rockies

Rising steeply from the Great Plains are the Rocky Mountains, a chain of rugged peaks continuing from over the border with Canada in the north and extending to the Mexican border in the south. The highest peaks of the Rockies rise in Colorado state. Forests grow on the mountain slopes, and valleys between the peaks are covered by alpine scrubland. The mountains attract thousands of tourists each year who come to ski, snowboard, hike and camp in their wild places.

West of the Rockies lies the Great Basin, a huge, arid expanse of low mountains and wide valleys. Among the features of this landscape are mesas (steep-sided, tabletop mountains), buttes (isolated, flat-topped hills), salt lakes, sandy deserts and plateaus. To the south is the Mojave Desert, lying between California and Nevada, which contains Death Valley. Surrounded by high mountains, this long, narrow basin, which lies at 86 metres (282 feet) below sea level, is one of the hottest and driest places on Earth.

​​​​​​​Lying to the southeast of the Great Basin is the Colorado Plateau. It is cut through by deep gorges, including the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River.

Pacific Coast

Rising on the western edge of the Great Basin are the high peaks of the Sierra Nevada. On their western slopes grow the giant sequoia trees, the world's largest living things. Lying between this range and the Coast Range—which runs the length of the Pacific Coast—are the warm, wet lowlands of the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys in California. Grapes and citrus fruits are grown in what is some of the USA’s most productive farmland.
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The states of California and Washington have become some of the wealthiest and most densely populated parts of the United States. Some of the world's largest and most important hi-tech businesses, including aerospace, computer hardware and software and internet, are located here.

Silicon Valley

The southern part of San Francisco Bay Area, centred on the Santa Clara Valley, is home to many of the largest technology companies in the world. It was nicknamed “Silicon Valley” after the high number of companies making semiconductors—computer and electronic components made from the chemical element silicon. It was in Silicon Valley that the microprocessor and microcomputer were first developed.

Alaska

The northern state of Alaska is separated from the rest of the USA by Canada. It is by far the largest state, but the least populated. Most of Alaska is a mountainous wilderness. The icy northern tundra lies within the Arctic Circle. Winters are long, cold and dark, while for much of the summer, the sun never sets. In the south are glaciers and snowcapped mountains with forested slopes. Alaska’s jagged coast is scored deep with inlets and fjords; it has more coastline than all the other US states put together. Most Alaskans work in the fishing or timber industries, or are involved with mining, drilling for oil and natural gas.

Hawaii

The state of Hawaii is made up of the Hawaiian Archipelago, a group of volcanic islands spread out over 2400 kilometres (1500 miles) of the Pacific Ocean. Most people live on the islands of Oahu and Molokai. Hawaii’s population is made up of people of Japanese, Filipino, Chinese, German and native Hawaiian descent. Tourism is Hawaii's most important industry. Hawaii has warm, humid weather all year round.

America's people

America's vast population has ballooned in recent centuries with several waves of immigrants. The first people to live in the USA were Native Americans. They had the whole of North America to themselves for around 10,000 years before the first European settlers arrived in the 16th century. Between the 17th and 19th centuries, Africans arrived, brought by European settlers to work as slaves on their plantations. Immigration from Europe boomed in the 19th century. By the late 20th century, large numbers of Mexicans and other Hispanic (Spanish-speaking) peoples migrated north from Latin America.

Cities

Most Americans live in towns and cities. Some cities have spread out so extensively, their suburbs have merged together to produce a megalopolis of tens of millions of people. This is particularly the case in parts of northeastern USA and California. There are still many remote regions of the USA—deserts, mountains, forests and wilderness—that are sparsely populated. Although the USA is an extremely wealthy, developed country, around 15% of Americans live in poverty. Some of its poorest people live in the countryside.

Economy

The USA has the world’s largest and most powerful economy. Although it is rich in natural resources such as oil, natural gas, coal and timber, its giant manufacturing industry has brought about much of its success. The Midwest was once a major centre for the production of cars, trucks and other vehicles. This region, home to most of the country’s farmland, also has a large food-processing industry. Chemicals—including soaps and medicines—are another major industry, especially in the northeast.

Around a third of Americans work in service industries such as tourism, banking, education and government. Many of the world’s biggest software and technology companies are based in California's Silicon Valley and the Seattle area in the northwest.

Facts about the United States of America

Population 340,110,988 (2024 estimate)

Area 9,826,675 sq km

Highest point Denali (Mt McKinley, Alaska, USA) 6194 m (20,321 ft)

Capital Washington, D.C, population 5,174,759

Other major cities New York (pop. of urban area 19,426,449), Los Angeles (12,237,376), Chicago (8,671,746), Miami (6,077,522), Houston (5,853,575), Dallas-Fort Worth (5,732,354), Philadelphia (5,696,125), Atlanta (5,100,112)

Languages English, Spanish

Religions Christian (Protestant) 51%, Christian (Roman Catholic) 24%, Christian (Mormon) 1.5%, other Christian 1.5%, Jewish 1.5%, others and none 20.5%

Ethnicity white 65%, Hispanic 15%, black 13%, Asian 4%, native American/Alaskan 1%, native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 0.1%, others 1.9%

Currency United States Dollar (USD)

Chief exports chemicals, vehicles, computers, fruit and vegetables, corn, soybeans, medicines, crude oil