Unit1thecountry.pptVIP

Part Two  The United States of America Unit 1 The Country The National Emblem It was designed by William Barton and Charles Thomson. The bald eagle The national flag The olive branch The arrows The ribbon with the words “the United States” The thirteen stars in the cloud The National Flag Stripes and Stars: 星条旗 50 stars represent the 50 states of America. 13 stripes represent the first 13 states that used to be the colonies. This pattern was approved in 1777. Then, there were 13 stars 13 stripes. Later when other states joined the federation one by one, the number of stars increased. By 1959, when the last state Hawaii was added to the federation, the number eventually became 50. From July 4 1960, the pattern remained till now. Geographic Position The USA is located in the southern part of North America an has a total area of 9,373,123 square kilometers, the fourth largest country in the world. It is exceeded in size only by Russia, Canada and China. Bounded in the north with Canada by the Great Lakes; in the southwest with Mexico by the Rio Grande; in the southeast with the West Indian Islands by the Mexican Bay; to the east with the Atlantic, to the west with the Pacific. There are altogether 50 states a special district: Washington D.C. The 48 contiguous states lie between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, Canada and Mexico. 2 states, Alaska and Hawaii, are far away from the continental United States. Alaska and Hawaii are the two newest states in American. Alaska northwestern Canada, and Hawaii lies in the central Pacific. Physical Features (1) America is a nation with an abundance of geography, but a shortage of history. Of all states of American, Alaska is the largest in area and Rhode Island the smallest. But on the mainland Texas is the largest sate of the country. The longest river: Mississippi River, over 6000 km, the longest in America, the traditional dividing line in America between “East” and “West”. The Mississippi has been cal