Facts about United States of America

Well its Really hard to get all the facts and figures about USA but Here you can see some of the interesting facts and a small overview of USA which will help you understand about USA:

Population: 296,483,000

Capital: Washington, D.C.; 4,190,000

Area: 9,826,630 square kilometers (3,794,083 square miles)

Language: English, Spanish

Religion: Protestant, Roman Catholic, Jewish

Currency: U.S. dollar

Life Expectancy: 77

GDP per Capita: U.S. $36,300

Literacy Percent: 97

The United States of America, the third largest country by size in the world, is a nation of staggering natural, geological, and cultural diversity. Occupying the middle portion of the North American continent, the country's varied landscapes run the gamut from tropical beaches in Florida to alpine peaks in the Rocky Mountains, from rolling prairie lands and barren deserts in the West to dense wilderness areas in the Northeast and Northwest. Interspersed throughout are some of the world's largest lakes, deepest canyons, mightiest rivers, and most populous cities.

Though a relatively young nation, the United States has enjoyed a meteoritic rise in global importance since declaring independence from Britain in 1776. Advances in the past hundred years in particular have established America as a world leader economically, militarily, and technologically.

The U.S. is generally divided into six large regions: New England; the mid-Atlantic; the South; the Midwest; the Southwest, and the West. Though loosely defined, these zones tend to share important similarities, including climate, culture, history, and geography.

New England hosted some of the first settlers in the New World. These intrepid travelers left Europe, mainly England, in search of religious freedom. Their thrift and ingenuity created an intellectual, cultural, and economic epicenter in the region that lasted nearly 200 years. Visitors flock to the states of New England—Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont—for, among other things, a dose of American history and for the world-famous explosion of colors from the region's fall foliage.

The mid-Atlantic region includes Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington, D.C. These 19th-century industrial powerhouses attracted millions of European immigrants and gave rise to some of the East Coast's largest cities: New York, Baltimore, and Philadelphia. They're also home to some of the most picturesque scenery in the nation, including the ancient peaks of the Appalachians and the tranquil Chesapeake Bay.

The South comprises Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. This most distinctive of U.S. regions took decades to recover from the devastation of the Civil War. But over the past half-century, a so-called New South has emerged, supplementing its agricultural base with modern manufacturing and industry and attracting a flock of transplants and retirees to its mild climate, laid-back lifestyle, and varied landscapes.

The American Midwest is perhaps most difficult to define culturally and geographically. Home to the Great Lakes and much of the mighty Mississippi River, the highly fertile soils in the Midwest make it the country's agricultural epicenter. Dubbed the "nation's breadbasket," the region comprises the states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

Starkly beautiful landscapes define the America Southwest. A land of prairie and desert, the Southwest is made up of Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas, although parts of neighboring states are often considered part of this region. The Southwest is home to some of the world's great natural marvels, including the Grand Canyon and Carlsbad Caverns, and many manmade wonders as well, like the ruins of the Chaco culture.

The American West, home of rolling plains and the iconic cowboy, epitomizes the pioneering image of the United States. But this region is a profoundly diverse one, ranging from endless wilderness to barren desert, coral reefs to Arctic tundra, Hollywood to Yellowstone. The states of the West include Alaska, Colorado, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

ECONOMY

• Industry: Petroleum, steel, motor vehicles, aerospace, telecommunications, chemicals, electronics
• Agriculture: Wheat, corn, other grains, fruits; beef; forest products; fish
• Exports: Capital goods, automobiles, industrial supplies and raw materials, consumer goods, agricultural products

Nankoweap Canyon, Grand Canyon National Park

The Colorado River winds through Nankoweap Canyon in Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona. North America's geologic history is writ large in the sandstone heights across the U.S. West.

Adirondack Mountains, New York

Outdoorsmen enjoy the gloaming at the North Woods Club in New York’s Adirondack Mountains, where American artist Winslow Homer often fished for trout and absorbed landscapes he would re-create in imagination and paint.

Times Square, New York 

Formerly called Longacre Square, Times Square was renamed in 1904 after the New York Times building, which became the district's new cornerstone. Famous for its endless entertainment and covered with billboards, lights, and sky-high buildings, Times Square is home to world-renowned Broadway, MTV, and other tourist attractions.

Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco 

Like the outline of a mountain peak, a tower of the Golden Gate Bridge is visible above the summer fog in San Francisco Bay. Following the rush for gold in the late 19th century, the bay’s harbor attracted sailing ships from around the globe, and a great American city was born.

Ferris Wheel, San Antonio 

High above San Antonio, Texas, a couple steals a kiss at sunset. Situated in the southern part of the state’s Hill Country, the city is home to the Alamo and the historic River Walk.

Venice Beach, California 

A stretch of concrete extending to the sand attracts skateboarders to a park in Venice Beach. The southern California town is an eclectic host to beachgoers from nearby Los Angeles and around the world, boasting street artists, raucous beach bars, and bohemian enclaves.

Monument Valley, Arizona/Utah 

The sandstone cathedrals of Monument Valley served as the backdrop for the wild American frontier. Planted in the middle of desert lands, the valley’s rocks are the only formations that dare to break the infinite flatness of the Arizona-Utah horizon.

Yankees Fans

Diehard New York Yankees hope for an autograph at a game against the rival Boston Red Sox. "America's pastime" is big business: In recent years, more than 78 million people have attended major league games across the U.S. annually.

Fashion Show, New York 

Nicole Anderson models a pair of Manolo Blahnik stiletto heels and a white shift dress for the fashion press in New York City. A center of sartorial taste making in the U.S., the city attracts the fashion industry’s elite to its week of shows each spring and fall.

Shoshone Indians, Nevada

Members of a Shoshone Indian tribe take part in a ritual on the side of Yucca Mountain in southern Nevada. The site was the center of a heated debate between locals and government officials who wanted to spend $50 billion burying 77,000 tons of nuclear waste inside the mountain. In 2009, the Obama Administration announced the site was no longer an option.

Pistol River, Oregon 

A windsurfer carries his board and sail over sand dunes in Pistol River. Explorers discovered gold and other precious metals in the rivers and along the beaches of the area in 1852, and settlement depended primarily on water transportation. Today water transportation of a different sort is popular here—the area has several times played host to U.S. windsurfing championships.

High School Football

Members of a San Francisco high school football team run through a banner as they enter the playing field. High school football season usually runs September to November, and games can draw in large crowds.

Vermont Farm

A mechanic and his dog take a breather in Vermont's fresh air. The U.S. Northeast is packed with many such pastoral scenes, as well as pockets of heavy industry.

Basketball

A young man gets in some late-afternoon hoops in a Chicago neighborhood. The Illinois city has produced many avid basketball players and fans—including U.S. President Barack Obama.

Hotel, Miami Beach

 

Colored lights illuminate the art deco façade of what today is called the Fairwind Hotel, in Miami Beach, Florida. The city’s popular South Beach is well known for its art deco architecture, as well as its beaches, nightclubs, and beautiful people.

New Orleans Jazz 

In the backstreets where it was born, the exuberant sounds of New Orleans jazz are kept fresh by neighborhood brass bands. Sustained by their music, residents of the Big Easy beat back the blues, even through hard times.

Flamingos, Florida

Though populations of pink flamingos still reside within the swampy midst of Florida’s Everglades National Park, the colorful scenery does not betray the park’s precarious state. Fertilizer pollution, urban encroachment, and falling water levels make this the only U.S. park to have been on the World Heritage Danger List. It was removed from the list in 2007 after extensive cleanup efforts.

Nā Pali Coast, Hawaii 

The Nā Pali Coast on the Hawaiian island of Kaua'i is the scarred shoulder of an ancient shield volcano that once rose more than five miles (eight kilometers) from seafloor to summit. Many visitors to the island take the one-hour helicopter tour to get the Jurassic Park view—Nā Pali starred in that movie, as well as inKing Kong, South Pacific, and many other Hollywood fantasies.

Alaska Glacier 

A young woman takes a bracing summer swim near a glacier in waters off Valdez, Alaska. Due east of Anchorage, the town sits nestled in the Chugach Mountains, which draw winter sports enthusiasts from far and near.

Redwood National Park, California 

Nature’s own defenses give giant redwood trees the ability to survive for centuries or even millennia in California’s Redwood National Park. Because their bark and heartwood are rich in compounds called polyphenols, bugs and decay-causing fungi don't like them. And since there's not a lot of resin in their stringy bark, larger redwoods are highly resistant to fire.

Sculpture, Chicago

Though artist Anish Kapoor entitled his oblique, metallic sculpture “Cloud Gate,” ask any Chicagoan about the legume-shaped steel and they’ll tell you what it really is: the Bean. The 110-ton sculpture provides an abstract reflection of Chicago’s skyline and all those who visit it.

Skiing, Montana

Membership in Montana’s exclusive Yellowstone Club guarantees access to some of the Gallatin Mountains’ best skiing runs just miles from Yellowstone National Park.

Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D.C. 

The Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., keeps a watchful eye over the nation’s capital. It has also provided the stage for civil rights activists: Marian Anderson gave a famous 1939 concert there after being denied the use of Constitution Hall because she was black, and in 1963 Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech on the memorial steps.

Source: National Geographic