The United States of America. The United States of America is situated in the southern half of North America

The United States of America is situated in the southern half of North America. The area of the U.S.A. is 7,839,000 square km without Alaska. The area of the United States is much larger than that of 11 West Europe. The population of the USA is over 260 million people. The U.S.A. consists, of 50 states. The capital of! the U.S.A. is the city of Washington in the District of Columbia. Stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean, the U.S.A. borders with Canada in the north and with Mexico in the south. The territory of the United States may be divided into three main parts: the Appalachian Mountain system — in the east; the Cordilleras system — in the west; and the Central Plain — between them. The Great Lakes, situated on the U.S. - Canada border, are the world's largest fresh water basin; these lakes constitute a whole inland sea occupying an area of 245,000 square km. They are five in number, namely: Lake Superior, Lake Michi-gan, Lake Huron, Lake Erie, and Lake Ontario. The biggest river of the United States is the Mississippi with its tributaries — the Ohio, the Missouri, and S the Arkansas Rivers. The territory of the United States is rich in natural resources. The reserves of coal are estimated at 3,200 billion tons. The reserves of oil and of metals in the U.S.A. are also very large. The main iron ore deposits are concentrated near Lake Superior. The main cities of the United States are: New York, which together with its suburbs has a population of 12 million people, Chicago, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and Detroit.

The supreme state power in the U.S.A is represented by the president, a two-chamber congress (the House of Representatives and the Senate) and the Supreme Court.