From Atlantic to Pacific-
An Outline of American Geography
1 Land
1.1 National Symbols
1.1.1 The National Anthem: the Star Spangled Banner
v Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light,
v What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
v Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,
v O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
v And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
v Gave proof thru the night that our flag was still there.
v Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave,
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
1.1.2 The National Floral Emblem: Rose
1.1.3 The National Bird: American Eagle
1.1.4 The National Flag of America: the Stars and Stripes
50 Stars: 50 states
13 Stripes: 13 original colonies
Red color on the flag: Courage
White color on the flag: Freedom
Blue color on the flag: Loyalty & Justice
1.1.5 The Great Seal of America:
The Eagle with 13 arrows and olive branch: 13 arrows in the left talon and olive branch in the right talon symbolize that America has “a strong desire for peace, but will always be ready for war.”
1.2 Geographical Features
50 States (9,363,000 square kilometers)
The Biggest Countries in the World
No. 1 Russia 17,075,000 square kilometers
No. 2 Canada 9,971,000 square kilometers
No. 3 China 9,600,000 square kilometers
No. 4 America 9,363,000 square kilometers
1.2.1 Territory
------In the north: Canada;
------In the south, Mexico and the Gulf of Mexico;
------In the east, the Atlantic Ocean;
------In the west, the Pacific Ocean. Alaska (in the northwestern part) connected with the central part of North America;
------Hawaii (in the central Pacific) separated from continental United States.
------America is an ideal location for its development. Its Atlantic coast and the developed industrial countries of the Western Europe stand far apart facing each other, and its Pacific coast and Hawaii give the United States an access to the Far East and Australia. In the past, the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans served as natural barriers between USA and the rest of the world, which allowed USA to grow and become strong without more outside interference.
------The development of means of communication and transportation makes USA well connected to the rest of the world.
1.2.2 The Climate
Owing to its large size; varied land forms in the middle latitudes north of the equator; in the northern temperate zone, USA enjoys continental climate.
It varies from warm wet conditions of the Appalachian Mountains to the warm, dry conditions of some of the western states; ranges from almost winterless climates in Southern Arizona and Southern Florida to long, very cold winters in Alaska.
1.2.3 Places of interest
1.2.3.1 The Statue of Liberty
A sculpture in New York Harbor; Designed by Bartholdi in 1886; A gift from the people of France; An icon of freedom& USA; After the September 11 attacks, it was closed for reasons of safety and security. It reopened in 2004.
1.2.3.2 Hollywood
Dream factory, the makers of “movie magic”; Offering people something to dream about; The cultural messages spread around by Hollywood are so penetrating and powerful that most Americans want their lives and love to be “just like in the movies”.
1.2.3.3 The White House
Being made up of six stories, built between 1792 and 1800; The official residence and principal workplace of the President of the United States in Washington, D.C., and for the president’s administration and advisers in general.
1.2.3.4 The Five Great Lake
All between the boundary of Canada and America except Lake Michigan, Lake Huron; Lake Superior: the largest fresh water lake in the world; Lake Michigan, Lake Erie and Lake Ontario.
1.2.3.5 Hawaii
It is a resort and it is located in the central Pacific Ocean, and it has attracted tourists from all over the world every year.
1.3 A nation of melting pot& salad
It’s a nation of immigrants. In the last 4 centuries, 55 million people have immigrated to USA. People of different races and ethnic groups mix harmoniously, but at the same time keep their distinct cultures and customs. Various racial and ethnic groups were combined into one culture.
2 People
2.1 Population of the USA
As of May 14, 2012, it is estimated that the United States has a total resident population of 313,544,041, making it the third most populous country in the world after China with 1.3 billion people and India with about one billion people. The United States is the only major industrialized nation in which large population increases are projected. Its population growth rate is positive at 1%, significantly higher than those of many developed nations.
It is a very urbanized population, with 82% living in cities and suburbs as of 2008. This leaves vast expanses of the country nearly uninhabited. California and Texas are the most populous states, as the mean center of United States population has consistently shifted westward and southward. Based on the 2011 U.S. Population Estimate, New York City is the most populous city in the United States, while the other leading population centers are: Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C. (5,703,948), Miami, Atlanta and Boston
The United States has a very diverse population. White Americans are the largest racial group; German Americans, Irish Americans, African Americans, and English Americans constitute the country’s four largest ancestry groups. African Americans and Asian Americans are the first two nation's largest racial minorities.
Among all the Americans, White people are 72.4% of all Americans, Black American are 12.6%; Asian are 4.8%; American Indian and Alaska Native are 0.9%; Others are 9.3%.
In fiscal year 2011, over 1 million immigrants were granted legal residence. Mexico has been the leading source of new residents for over two decades; since 1998, China, India, and the Philippines have been in the top four sending countries every year.
2.2 A Peculiar People
They work like mad, then they give away much of what they earn. They play until they are exhausted, and they call this a vacation. They love to think of themselves as tough-minded business men, yet they are push-overs for any hard luck story. Meanwhile, they like to think of themselves as little people, average men, and they would like to cut everything down to their own size.
When they meet, they are always telling each other, “Take it easy.” Then they rush off like crazy in opposite directions. They play games as if they were fighting a war, and fight as if playing a game. They marry more, go broke more often and make more money than any other people. They love children, animals, mother, father, work, excitement, noise, nature, television shows, comedy, the underdog, spectator sports, the national flag, Christmas, jazz, shapely women and muscular men, ice-cream, do-it-yourself, and a working week trimmed to 40 hours or less. Americans love work. It is meat and drink to them. In recent years, they have learned how to play, but they regard work as seriously as play.
Americans believe no one stands still. If you are not moving ahead, you are falling behind. This attitude results in a nation of people committed to researching, experimenting and exploring.
2.3 Time is Money.
Americans see time as a valuable limited resource. Time is the element that Americans save carefully. They often say “Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!” And almost every American wears a watch, and, in nearly every room in an American home, there’s a clock.
All these familiar sayings reflect the American obsession with promptness and efficiency. This desire to get the most out of every minute often makes Americans impatient when they have to wait. The pressure to make every moment count sometimes makes it difficult for Americans to relax.
Americans are slaves to nothing but the clock. Time is treated as if it were something almost tangible. They budget it, save it, waste it, steal it, kill it, cut it, and account for it; they also charge for it. It is a precious commodity.
Foreigners’ first impression of the US is likely to be that everyone is in a rush---often under pressure. The view of time affects the importance we attach to patience. In the American system of values, patience is not a high priority.
Even Americans would admit that no one can master time. Time---like money---slips all too easily through our fingers. And time---like the weather--- is very hard to predict. Therefore, time is one of life’s most precious gifts.
Money is valued both as a symbol of success and also for a more obvious reason---its purchasing power. Americans love to make a lot of money to spend it on themselves ---to buy things that save time, give them pleasure, or serve as status symbols. However, Americans are also very generous and very willing to donate money to good causes. The American character includes a strong sense of obligation to help those in need.
The majority of Americans would certainly deny the sole aim of most Americans to make money and possess luxuries which could be called excessive, though most feel proud to amass wealth and possessions through hard work. In the US, about 90% of the population is well-off enough to expect a brighter future.
The USA still has one of the highest standard of living in the world, although, at the present time, 10% are below what the Government considered to be the “poverty line”. While these underprivileged receive the help from the Government, they have no high hope for future. Americans are beginning to realize that this terrible problem of poverty is their problem and not just their government's. It has been said that an individual American is generous, but that American nation is hard.
2.4 The American Character
Without exception, foreigners to the United States found the most striking feature of the American character to be the obsession with business and wealth. The foreigners cite this preoccupation with money as the reason for other “American” traits, such as their hurried manner, serious expression, and even their loose morals.
Americans love science and technology because these fields involve new discoveries. The US has embraced the age of communication with great enthusiasm. From preschoolers to senior citizens, Americans are learning to use computers at school, at work, and at home. Love of change is closely tied to faith improvement. Americans have always been optimistic, believing in the perfectibility of people, the basic goodness of their country, and the ability of American ingenuity to improve the quality of life.
Most Americans have great vigor and enthusiasm. They prefer to discipline themselves rather than be disciplined by others. They pride themselves on their independence, their right to make up their own minds. They have courage and do not give in easily. They will take any sort of job anywhere rather than be unemployed. They do not care to be looked after by the government.
Americans have a warmth and friendliness which is less superficial than many foreigners think. They are considered sentimental. When on ceremonial occasions they see a flag, or attend parades celebrating America's glorious past, tears may come to their eyes. Reunions with family and friends tend to be emotional, too. They like to dress correctly, even if "correctly" means flamboyantly. They love to boast, though often with tongue in cheek.
They can laugh at themselves and their country, and they can be very self-critical, while remaining always intensely patriotic. They have a wide knowledge of everyday things, and keen interest in their particular city and state. Foreigners sometimes complain, however, that they have little interest or knowledge of outside world. The Americans have a passion for grandeur. Their skyscrapers, bridges and dams often have a splendor which matches in beauty and scale the country’s natural wonders.
2.5 American Family Life
In 2007, 58% of Americans age 18 and over were married, 6% were widowed, 10% were divorced, and 25% had never been married. Women now mostly work outside the home and receive a majority of bachelor’s degrees. They work because the family needs the money, or they work because they find it more interesting than being full-time homemakers. However, when Mother is employed, the lives of her spouse and her children are affected. When Mother has less time for child care and housekeeping, her husband and older children usually become more involved in these tasks.
In recent decades, the typical American family has been getting smaller. The statistical average is now 3.2 people, because it is expensive to raise children and mothers need to work, most couples have only one or two children. But it is common in the US for a family to span 4 generations --- from great-grandparents to infants.
The majority of Americans live in or near large cities, but small-town living is still widespread. For the typical American family, home may be in a different place every 5 or 6 years. The average American changes his or her job nine or ten times during his or her working life.