USA AREA STUDIES UNIT
1. GEOGRAPHY AND POPULATION
Official Name - United States of America
Capital City - Washington D.C. (District of Columbia)
Flag -
13 alternating red & whites stripes (representing the original 13
colonies),
50 white stars (representing the 50 states) upon a square blue
field in the upper left corner.
- the first flag dates from June 4, 1777 of 13 stars
on a square blue field and 13 alternating red & white stripes.
- White signifies Purity and Innocence; Red
signifies Hardiness and Valor; Blue signifies Vigilance, Perseverance
and Justice.
Coat of Arms - Adopted in 1782. The Shield represents
Congress and States; Eagle signifies Authority of Congress; 13 olive leaves,
arrows and stars symbolize the original 13 states; Arrows symbolize Military
Readiness; Olive Branch symbolizes Peace; Motto- “E Pluribus Unum”, One out of
many, on the scroll.
Motto - “In God We Trust” (printed on all
currency of coin and paper.
Anthem - “The Star-Spangled
Banner”
Borders - of land - Canada
on the north; Mexico on the south; of
water - Pacific Ocean to the west; Atlantic Ocean to the east; Gulf of
Mexico in the southeast; the Five Great Lakes on the northeast.
Natural Regions -
Major Ranges - Appalachians on the east; Rocky Mountains, Sierra
Nevada on the west; Cascades on the northwest;
Aleutian and Brooks in
Alaska; Koolau Range in Hawaii.
Notable Peaks - Mt. McKinley, North peak, Foraker, Bona, Blackburn,
Sanford, Vancouver, all in Alaska.
Major Rivers -
Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio (central); Columbia (west); Colorado, Rio Grande
(southwest).
Major Lakes - Erie, Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Superior (north,
five Great Lakes), Salt Lake (Utah).
Climate - northern region is
cold, freezing and artic; northeastern is cold and freezing, humid in summer;
southeastern is warm, humid and subtropical; southwestern is warm to hot;
northwest is cold to freezing.
Population - 267 million Life
Expectancy – 74 men; 75 women Major
Language – English
Ethnic Groups - from countries all around the world.
Major Religions - Catholics, Protestants, Jewish,
Islamic and Buddhist.
Four Largest -
east - New York City, New York (7.3 million), west - Los Angeles, California
(3.4 million),
north - Chicago, Illinois
(2.7 million), south – Houston, Texas (1.6 million).
Six – Agriculture, Mining, Manufacturing,
Imports, Exports and Trading (Canada, Japan, Mexico, Great Britain, Germany,
Saudi Arabia.
Five Levels - Schools -
Elementary & High Schools (K-12th grade); Universities (4 years), Libraries,
Museums and Art Galleries.
Form of Government A Federal Republic Constitution – Ratified in 1788 A
Democracy
Executive - President, Vice-President, Secretary of State
(term of 4 years) and Cabinet - 13 Heads of Departments.
Legislative - 2 Houses; the Senate (100 seats, 2 from each
state, 50); the House of Representative (435 members)
Judicial - Supreme Court – a
Chief of Justice with 8 Associate Justices, selected by the President and
confirmed by the Senate. Term of Service is for life.
Voting Age -18
Statue of Liberty - New York City Harbor; Washington
D.C.; Grand Canyon - Arizona; Yellowstone National Park - connects Wyoming,
Montana and Idaho; Hollywood, California; and a lot more places.
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