Transcript II. Focal Questions

American culture
Unit 1 GEOGRAPHY
I. Objectives
• In this chapter we will look at some general
features of America and set the scene for
the more detailed examination of particular
aspects of life there which are dealt with in
later chapters.
II. Focal Questions
• What is the full name of the American
state?
• What are the physiographic features of
America?
• What are the natural resources in America?
☆ I. Introduction to US
Official Name:
The United States of America, usually referred
to as the United States, the USA, the U.S. or
America, is a constitutional federal republic
comprising fifty states and a federal district. 48
states are continuously on American continent.
Two other states, Alaska is in the northwest of
the continent, with Canada to its east and
Russia to the west across the Bering Strait, and
the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the midPacific.
The country also possesses several
territories, or insular areas, scattered around
the Caribbean and Pacific.
The Land Area
• Location:
The country is situated mostly in central North
America, where its forty-eight contiguous states
and Washington, D.C. lie between the Pacific and
Atlantic Oceans, bordered by Canada to the north
and Mexico to the south.
Size:
• The total land area of the USA is 9,629,091 square
kilometers, after Russia, Canada, and China.
• the fourth largest country in the world.
The Capital
• Washington, D.C. is the capital of the United States of
America.
• Named after the first U.S. president, George Washington
, the city was founded on July 16th, 1790. The city is
located on the north bank of the Potomac River and is
bordered by the states of Virginia to the southwest and
Maryland to the other sides.
• Article One of the United States Constitution provides for
a federal district, distinct from the states, to serve as the
permanent national capital. The centers of all three
branches of the federal government of the United States
are located in the District, as are many of the nation’s
monuments and museums.
The National Flag , Emblem and Anthem
• The National Flag
• The National Emblem
• The National Anthem: “The
Star-Spangled Banner”
National Symbol
• Uncle Sam
•
Uncle Sam is a National Symbol. He, an
image of patriotism, is the personification of
America itself.
• Classic Image:
•
M. Flagg's 1917 poster used to recruit
soldiers for both World War I and World War II
defined the classic look of Uncle Sam, with a
white goatee and dressed in his patriotic suit and
top hat.
The Statue of Liberty
Statue of Liberty (Statue de la Liberté),
Presented to the United States by the people of France on
October 28, 1886 as a commemoration of the centennial of the signing
of the United States Declaration of Independence. As a gesture of
friendship from France to the United States, the statue stands on
Liberty Island in New York Harbor, it welcomes visitors, immigrants,
and returning Americans.
The statue is 46m tall, but with the pedestal and foundation, it is
93m tall.
Worldwide, the Statue of Liberty is one of the most recognizable
icons of the United States and was, from 1886 until the jet age, often
one of the first glimpses of the United States for millions of
immigrants after ocean voyages from Europe.
The Star-Spangled Banner
○ 4. The National Flower, Stone and Bird
• The National Flower:
•
roses, a symbol of beauty, fragrance, enthusiasm and love.
•
Adopted by the Senate in 1985 as the national flower.
• The National Stone： Sapphire
• The National Bird: white sea eagle/vulture
☆ II. Geographic Features
East
Central
West
The Eastern Highlands
Formed by the Appalachian Range.
1. An average elevation of 800 meters above the sea
level.
2. The highest peak:
Mount Mitchell (1856 m)：the highest peak
of the Appalachian Range
3. East: the narrow Atlantic Coast plain
The Central Plains
•
1. Vast plains between the Appalachian
Mountains and the Rocky Mountains
2. Drained by the Mississippi River and its
tributaries
3. Usually divided into two regions:
1) the Great Plains in the west: vast
treeless prairies in the west and agricultural areas
in the east
2) the Central Lowland in the east: from
the five Great Lakes to central Texas
2.3 The Western Mountains
•
High plateaus and mountainous country
In the United States the Cordillera branches to include the Rockies,
the Sierra Nevada, and the Cascades and Coast ranges of
Washington, Oregon, and California.
• 1. The Rocky Mountains: over 3,000 meters above the sea level
The continental divide of the United States
2. West of the Rockies:
the Columbia Plateau in the north
the Colorado Plateau in the south: Grand Canyon
the Great Basin in between
The Pacific Mountain System consists of three regions:
The Cascade Range, the Sierra-Nevada, and the Pacific Coast
Range.
The Sierras contain Mount Whitney (4421m), the highest
peak in the US outside Alaska.
Death Valley in eastern California, 85 meters below sea
level
○ 2. Rivers in the US
1) The Missouri River
• The Missouri River
is 4,090km long and
its tributaries cover
an area of about
1,502,200 sq km.
2) The Mississippi River
• The Mississippi River is the second longest river in the United
States, with a length of 2,340 miles (3700 kilometers) from its
source in Lake Itasca in Minnesota to its mouth in The Gulf of
Mexico. The longest river, a Mississippi tributary, is the
Missouri River measuring 2,540 miles (4000 kilometers). The
river was named by the Indians the Mississippi, meaning
“Father of Waters”, or the “Old Man River”. Along with its
major tributary, the Missouri River, the river drains all or
parts of 31 states stretching from the Rocky Mountains in the
west to the Appalachian Mountains in the east to the CanadaUS border on the north, including most of the Great Plains,
and is the fourth longest river in the world and the tenth most
powerful river in the world. When compared to other world
rivers, the Mississippi-Missouri River combination ranks fourth in
length at approximately 3902 miles (6275km)
3) The Ohio River
• The Ohio River, 1,579km long and its
tributaries is about 490,603 sq km.
• It runs from the rainy east and joins the
Mississippi at Cairo, Illinois, and finally
reaches the Great Lakes area.
• Its drainage basin, including all
tributaries, is about 490,603 sq km.
4) The Colorado River
• The Colorado River flows 2,330km which
drains an area of 629,100 sq km
5) The Rio Grande River
• The Rio Grande River runs about
3,034km which forms the border between
Texas and Mexico.
• The economic importance of the river is
restricted to areas in northern New
Mexico and Southern Texas.
• The deserts and plains remain for the
most part unaffected by the river.
6) The Columbia River
• The Columbia River, about 2,000km
long, rises in British Columbia on the
western slope of the Rocky Mountains.
• In its lower course it forms the border
between Washington and Oregon.
• The volume of the Columbia’s flow is
second only to that of the Mississippi,
among U.S. rivers.
7) Other Rivers
• The Potomac River is famous not only
because Washington D.C. is located on its
bank but also because it is the dividing
line between the South and the North.
• The Hudson River is famous because
New York stands at its estuary.
○ 3. Lakes in the US
1) The Great Lakes
• The most important lakes in America are the
Great Lakes which include five big lakes: Lake
Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake
Erie, and Lake Ontario.
• Only Lake Michigan is wholly in the United
States; the other four are shared with Canada.
• The Great Lakes cover more than 764,000 sq
km.
2) The Great Salt Lake
• The Great Salt Lake is
the largest inland salt
lake in North America.
• The Great Salt Lake is
several times more
saline (咸的) than
seawater which
contains about 4.4
billion tons of
minerals.
○ 4. Mountains in the US
1) The Rocky Mountains Ranges
• The Rocky
Mountains is a chain
of mountains in the
west of North
America, running
from the border of
the USA and Mexico
up to Canada.
Several peaks are
4,000m high.
2) The Appalachian Mountains Ranges
• The Appalachian Mountains’ highest
peak is Mountain Mitchell, 2,038m..
☆ III. Climate and Natural
Disasters
○ 1. Climate
• The climate of the United States can be
classified as temperate with some mild
subtropical zones (亚热带) and the southern
Florida and Hawaii being tropical.
• The United States is mainly situated in the
northern temperate zone, but has different
types of climate in different areas.
The climate of New England is relatively
cold.
The climate of the Middle Atlantic
States region is generally pleasant.
There are four definite seasons.
• The climate of the Midwest is temperate. This
is a largely open country, and the wind blows
freely, often bringing sudden and extreme
changes in temperature. Midwest summers are
sometimes very hot; winters are sometimes
extremely cold.
• The states west of the Rocky Mountains have
sharply different climatic conditions. The part
of Washington near the Pacific Ocean has the
largest rainfall in the country. But after
crossing these mountains, very little rain falls
and deserts appear.
○ 2. Natural Disasters
• More recently, the western U.S. experienced
widespread drought from 1999 to 2004, and signs of a
major, long-term drought across the Great Plains have
developed.
• The United States also experiences the most frequent
and powerful tornadoes(龙卷风) in the world.
Another natural disaster
are hurricanes, which can
hit anywhere along the
Gulf Coast or the Atlantic
Coast as well as Hawaii in
the Pacific Ocean.
Hurricane season runs
from June 1 to November
30, with a peak from midAugust through early
October.
• The Great Mississippi Flood happened in
1927.
• Great Flood happened in 1993.
• The American Northwest sees the highest
concentration of active volcanoes in the
United States. There are several active
volcanoes located in the islands of Hawaii
☆ IV. Natural Resources
The United States is a land rich in
natural resources, such as
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Coal: No.1 deposits
Copper （铜）
Lead
Molybdenum （钼）
Phosphates (磷酸盐)
Uranium (铀)
Bauxite (矾土)
Gold (黄金)
Iron (铁)
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Mercury(汞)
Nickel (镍)
Potash (碳酸钾)
Silver(银)
Tungsten (钨)
Zinc(锌)
Petroleum: N0. ?
Natural gas: No. 1
Timber (木材)
Water:large supplies of fresh water
which is possibly more valuable than
oil in the not-too-distant future
Forests: 1/3 of the land area is covered by
forest, mainly in the eastern and western
highlands of the country.
The oldest tree in the world: General Sherman
Tree Sequoia: 美洲杉) Height: 84.22 m,
Girth: 31.8 m, Volume: 1487 m3 ( Video
clip)