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USA Geography
information?
Location:
North America,
bordering both the North Atlantic Ocean and the North
Pacific Ocean, between Canada and Mexico
Geographic
coordinates:
38 00 N, 97 00 W
Map
references:
North America
Area:
total: 9,631,418 sq
km
land: 9,161,923 sq km
water: 469,495 sq
km
note: includes only the 50 states and District of
Columbia
Area -
comparative:
about half the size of Russia;
about three-tenths the size of Africa; about half the
size of South America (or slightly larger than Brazil);
slightly larger than China; almost two and a half times
the size of the European Union
Land
boundaries:
total: 12,034 km
border countries: Canada
8,893 km (including 2,477 km with Alaska), Mexico 3,141
km
note: US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba is
leased by the US and is part of Cuba; the base boundary
is 29 km
Coastline:
19,924
km
Maritime
claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous
zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200
nm
continental shelf: not specified
Climate:
mostly temperate,
but tropical in Hawaii and Florida, arctic in Alaska,
semiarid in the great plains west of the Mississippi
River, and arid in the Great Basin of the southwest; low
winter temperatures in the northwest are ameliorated
occasionally in January and February by warm chinook
winds from the eastern slopes of the Rocky
Mountains
Terrain:
vast central plain, mountains in west, hills and
low mountains in east; rugged mountains and broad river
valleys in Alaska; rugged, volcanic topography in
Hawaii
Elevation
extremes:
lowest point: Death Valley -86
m
highest point: Mount McKinley
6,194 m
Natural
resources:
coal, copper,
lead, molybdenum, phosphates, uranium, bauxite, gold,
iron, mercury, nickel, potash, silver, tungsten, zinc,
petroleum, natural gas, timber
Land
use:
arable land: 18.01%
permanent crops:
0.21%
other: 81.78% (2005)
Irrigated
land:
214,000 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural
hazards:
tsunamis, volcanoes, and earthquake
activity around Pacific Basin; hurricanes along the
Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts; tornadoes in the
midwest and southeast; mud slides in California; forest
fires in the west; flooding; permafrost in northern
Alaska, a major impediment to development
Environment - current
issues:
air pollution resulting in acid rain
in both the US and Canada; the US is the largest single
emitter of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil
fuels; water pollution from runoff of pesticides and
fertilizers; limited natural fresh water resources in
much of the western part of the country require careful
management; desertification
Environment -
international agreements:
party to: Air
Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides,
Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine
Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty,
Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species,
Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Marine Life
Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,
Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands,
Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air
Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air
Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Biodiversity,
Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Hazardous
Wastes
Geography -
note:
world's third-largest country by
size (after Russia and Canada) and by population
(after China
and India); Mt. McKinley is highest point in North
America and Death Valley the lowest point on the
continent
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