The population of the country is about 240 mln. The capital is Washington, DC.

     The largest cities are: New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Boston.

     The climate of the USA varies in its different parts from tundra in Alaska to tropical in California and Florida. The great climatic and surface variations in the central part of the country are determined by the various mountain ranges that traverse the country from north to south.

     Between the Appalachians and the Rocky Mountains lies the great interior plain of the U. S. The Mississippi River runs through the centre of this plain. In the north of it are the Great Lakes: Lake Michigan, Superior, Huron, Erie and Ontario. The greatest rivers of the USA are the Colorado in the south, flowing into the Gulf of California and the Columbia, flowing into the Pacific.

     The eastern continental region is well watered with rainfall. The climate of the prairie lands lying to the west is dry. The Pacific coast is a region of mild winters and moderately warm, dry summers. On the whole the climate of the USA is favorable for farming. The country produces 52% of the world's corn, soya-beans, vegetable oils, rice, tobacco, wheat, cotton and barley. The US harvests vegetables and citrus fruits.

     The USA is rich in a variety of mineral resources- natural gas, coal, iron ore. It is the world leader in the production of aluminum, copper, lead, uranium and zinc.

     About, оnе-third of the US is forestland. The forests include pine, oak, maple and birch. The fauna of the country includes the white-tailed deer, antelope, bighorn sheep, mountain goat, black bear and many others.

     The history of the United States began in 1620 when a small ship "Mayflower" left England with about 100 people on board. In January 1621 they built the first European settlement and called it New Plymouth. In the 18th century there were thirteen colonies in North America under the British rule. Britain laid heavy taxes on its American colonies. Finally, the discontent grew so high that in 1773, when the British ships came into Boston port with a largo of tea several men dressed like Indians got on board the ship after dark and threw the boxes with tea into the water. This incident was named the Boston Tea Party. That was the beginning of the War for Independence. It lasted from 1775 to 1783 and was won by the American Army. The day when the Declaration of independence was adopted on July 4 1776 is the birthday of the American nation. After the end of the War for Independence in 1783, 16 states were formed and they chose George Washington as their first President.

     The USA is a highly developed industrial country. It is world-famous for the achievements in such fields of industry as: aircraft and machine-building, automobile industry and electronics.

     The USA is a federal republic. The Congress of the USA (the American parliament) consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate. There are 100 senators and 435 congressmen. (A senator's term is 6 years and a representative's term is 2 years). The President is the head of the US and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. The major political parties are the Democratic Party and the Republican Party.

     Washington, the capital of the USA, is situated on the Potomac River in the District of Columbia. The district has an area of 10 square miles and it does not belong to any state. It was named in honor of Columbus. It was George Washington who chose the place for the District and in 1790 laid the foundation stone of the Capitol, the seat of the Congress The population of the capital now is about 1 mln people. W. is a one-industry town and that industry is Government. There are a lot of historical places in Washington, such as The White House, The Washington Memorial , The Capitol, The NASA Museum, The Pentagon, The National Art Gallery.