THE USA. GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION. CLIMATE. RICH RESOURCES

        The United States of America stretches from the Atlantic Ocean across North America and far into the Pacific.

         Because of such a huge size of the country the climate dif­fers from one part of the country to another. The coldest climate is in the northern part, where there is heavy snow in win­ter and the temperature may go down to 40 degrees below zero. The south has a subtropical climate, with temperature as high as 49 degrees in summer.

         The continental part of the USA consists of the highland regions and two lowland regions. The highland regions are the Appalachian mountains in the east and the Cordillera in the west. Between the Cordillera and the Appalachian mountains are the central lowlands which are called the prairie, and eas­tern lowlands called the Mississippi valley.

There are many mountains especially in the west and south­west. The Rocky mountains extend all the way from New Me­xico to Alaska.

        Many rivers cross the country. The most important are the Mississippi, the Missouri, the Colorado, the Sacramento. The main lakes in the USA are the Great Lakes in the north.

        The nation’s natural advantages and resources are proba­bly greater than those of any other area of equal size.

        The land is as varied as it is huge. There are plains and mountains, grasslands and forests, sandy soil, clay and rich, dark loams. The mineral resources vary from precious gold and rare uranium to common lead and zinc. Coal, oil, iron, copper and other minerals are abundant. They form basis of modern industry.

QUESTIONS:

1.   Does the climate differ from one part of the country to another?

2.   How many parts does the continental part consist of?

3.   Are there many mountains in the USA?

4.   What are the most important rivers?

5.   Is the USA rich in natural resources?

6.   What forms basis of modern industry?

VOCABULARY:

to stretch — простираться

to consist — состоять

to extend — простираться

advantage — преимущество

equal — равный

clay — глина

precious — драгоценный