@ The Great Salt Lake contains 6,000 tons of salt

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@ The Salton Sea is located 80 m below the sea level and has tons of soda.

D) Climate & Weather

The climatic conditions of the USA vary greatly. Thus, one can say that it has practically climatic zones. The main landmass of the country lies in the temperate zone.

The climatic conditions are determined by:

a) the relief (mountains)

b) the wind (the prevailing winds are western ones, which gather above the ocean and circle from west to east blown by the storms)

Climatic Regions

E) Mineral Resources

The territory of the country possesses over 100 kinds of various minerals.

It occupies:

The USA is also rich in other minerals like: oil, iron ore and various metallic ores.

But at the same time the country lacks some minerals needed for modern industries: tin, nickel, manganese, chrome, cobalt and industrial diamonds.

Important minerals & major deposits

F) Flora & Fauna of the USA

The territory of the country can boast of great variety and richness of the flora and fauna.

Vegetation

Being a country possessing almost all climatic zones, in the USA one can find rich forests of a temperate zone as well as moist tropical forests. The eastern part of the country is covered with the thick forest, which stretches westwards for about 1,600 km. If you move farther to the west you get into the world of grassy prairies, where you can find only vast treeless lands. Farther west to the prairies the vegetation map looks quite mixed. The mountains that catch enough rainfall are covered with forests, and the high mountain valleys are decorated with grassy meadows. But unlike high regions, the lowlands usually have the vegetation common to arid regions with dry bushes and tall grass.

Well, the most striking feature of the country is located on the north-west coast. It’s the longest-living plants on the planet – sequoia trees, which can only be found on the eastern part of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Some of the samples are 3,000 years old. The trees used to be cut because of their valuable timber, but nowadays they are protected by law and preserved as a national treasure. The citizens of the US have a wonderful opportunity to admire these trees in one of the numerous national parks – Kings Canyon & the Sequoia National Park.

The richest stands of softwood timber are found on the well-watered Pacific Highlands. Washington, Oregon and Northern California are the leading sources of sawmill timber in the US. The coastal margins of Alaska are mild enough for large coniferous trees. But much of the interior and the north is covered with sparsely distributed, stunted trees or tundra.

In the east the dominant trees are hardwoods, but valuable pine forests are found in the Upper Lakes region and in parts of the Gulf Atlantic plain. The trees used to be cut and later replaced by less valuable trees. Now more care is taken of what remains of the former vast forests.

Over a quarter of the country is still under forest, which ranges from the mangroves and swamp-forests of Florida to the huge firs and redwoods of the Pacific States, and from the hickory, walnut and oak of the east-central states to the pines of Minnesota and the Rockies. More than 1,000 varieties of forest trees have been described.

Wildlife

During the early years of the development of the country wildlife used to be one of the chief resources. Today wildlife isn’t looked upon as a natural resource, but for some fur-bearing animals and fish. It is highly protected in the numerous national parks of the US.

The most common animals for the mixed forest zone are:

v brown & black bear

v grizzly

v polar bear

v lynx

v wolverine

v Virginia deer

v grey wolf

v moose

v caribou

v raccoon

v opossum

v bison (only reserves)

The animals of the south-east: alligator

Deserts and semi-deserts are occupied by various rodents and reptiles.

Alaska is settled by the tundra and taiga animals.

The chief fur-bearing animals are musk-rats, skunks, raccoons, beavers, minks, marten and red fox.

In some parts of the country farms have been established where certain animals (esp. silver-fox & mink) are grown.

Fish, caught off the Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf Coasts of the US are important natural resource. It also provides an important industry on the Great Lakes. The coastal waters of New England have excellent fishing grounds, where cod, herring and mackerel abound. The Pacific coastal waters of Alaska are rich in salmon. Besides, there are plenty of sea-fowl, but walrus, sea lion and sea otter have diminished.

As in many countries, fishing in the USA is not entirely a commercial undertaking, but also a popular sport. In summer many tourists in various parts of the country try their luck in rivers and lakes.

National Parks

A great deal of importance is paid to the protection of the American biodiversity. The government tries to protect the unique ecosystems of the country through numerous laws and national parks and reserves. The American nation was one of the first to pay attention to the preservation of nature. This happened in the second half of the 19^th century, when the first national parks started to appear. Their existence was especially supported by various Acts or Laws. For example, the Organic Act of 1916 created the National Park Service (an agency of the Department of the Interior)"to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and wildlife therein, and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations." Today there about 59 National Parks in the USA that are operated by this agency. Some of them are quite old, but some are quite new.

NB! The Yellowstone National Park is the oldest park in the US, created in 1872 by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant . The name of the park comes from the river, which was called by the Native Americans as “Rock Yellow River”. But the origin of the river’s name isn’t clear. Although it is commonly believed that the river was named for the yellow rocks seen in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.

The park occupies a huge territory (of some 8, 983 km²), covering the states of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho. The Park can boast its wildlife and its many geothermal features and also numerous lakes, canyons, rivers and mountain ranges. Yellowstone Lake is one of the largest high-altitude lakes in North America and is centered over the Yellowstone Caldera, the largest super volcano on the continent. Half of the world's geothermal features are in Yellowstone, fueled by this ongoing volcanism.

The park is the centerpiece of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, the largest remaining nearly-intact ecosystem in the Earth's northern temperate zone. Hundreds of species of mammals, birds, fish and reptiles have been documented, including several that are either endangered or threatened. The vast forests and grasslands also include unique species of plants. Yellowstone Park is the largest and most famous mega fauna location in the Continental United States. Grizzly bears, wolves, and free-ranging herds of bison and elk live in the park. The Yellowstone Park bison herd is the oldest and largest public bison herd in the United States.

Yellowstone has numerous recreational opportunities, including hiking, camping, boating, fishing and sightseeing. Paved roads provide close access to the major geothermal areas as well as some of the lakes and waterfalls.

NB! The Sequoia National Park is one of the oldest in the country, established in 1890. It spans for 1,635.18 km² and is located in the Southern Sierra Nevada east of Visalia, California. Together with Kings Canyon it is protected by the National Park Service.

The main treasures of the park are, of course, the sequoia trees. They grow in the Giant Forest, which is the house of the 5 oldest trees in the world. There is a very bizarre tradition to name the biggest trees after some famous people. So, the park has got its own General Sherman, which is the oldest and biggest on Earth (diameter 11 m)!

The lower elevations of the park around Ash Mountain contain the only National Park Service-protected California Foothills ecosystem, consisting of blue oak woodlands, foothills chaparral, grasslands, yucca plants, and steep, mild river valleys. The foothills region is also home to abundant wildlife: bobcats, foxes, ground squirrels, rattlesnakes, and mule deer are commonly seen in this area, and more rarely, reclusive mountain lions are seen as well. At higher elevations the landscape becomes mountainous forest-dominated coniferous belt. Found here are Ponderosa, Jeffrey, sugar, and pine trees, as well as abundant white and red fir. Found here too are the mighty giant sequoia trees, the most massive living single-stem trees on earth. Between the trees, spring and summer snowmelts sometimes fan out to form lush, though delicate, meadows. In this region, visitors often see mule deer, Douglas squirrels, and American black bears, which sometimes break into unattended cars to eat food left by careless visitors.

The park is home to over 240 known caves, and potentially hundreds more. The only commercial cave open to park visitors remains Crystal Cave and remarkably well-preserved for the volume of visitation it receives annually. The cave is a constant 9 °C, and only accessible by guided tour. Caves are discovered every year in the park; in fact, 17 have been discovered since 2003 alone. Park caves are valued by scientists and cavers alike for their pristine beauty, variety, and endemic cave life.

NB! Kings Canyon is another oldest park, established in 1890. It’s due to John Muir that the area received recognition and later on protection from the state. The park is located on the territory of some 186,965 ha in the Southern Sierra Nevada east of Fresno, California. Like the Sequoia National Park it is notable for its unique flora, fauna and unsurpassed beauty. Kings Canyon National Park consists of two sections. The small, detached General Grant Grove section preserves several groves of giant sequoias, including the General Grant Grove, with the famous General Grant Tree (diameter 8,8 m), and the Redwood Mountain Grove, which is the largest remaining natural grove of giant sequoias in the world. The park's Giant Sequoia forests are part of old-growth forests shared by Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. This section of the park is mostly mixed conifer forest, and is readily accessible via paved highways.

The remainder of Kings Canyon National Park is located to the east of General Grant Grove and forms the headwaters of the South and Middle Forks of the Kings River and the South Fork of the San Joaquin River. Both the South and Middle Forks of the Kings Rivers have extensive glacial canyons.

Both parks can offer great facilities for recreation: hiking, camping, fishing, and guided tours.

Population of the USA

A General Facts

American nation has always been known as the nation of immigrants. Since the very early days of its existence the North American Continent has been flocked with various peoples: from the Native Americans/ Indians to the present day immigrants from all over the world. It’s estimated that about 50mln people came to the USA throughout its history. Even today approximately 900,000 immigrants arrive there on the legal basis annually.

The USA is considered the 3d populous country in the world after China and India. It has the population over 300 mln people.