英语学习,英语考试,大学英语,美国,英语pptchapter 1 Geography.pptVIP

外国语学院英语专业 An Introduction to the United States of America Chapter 1 Geography Land Area The United States is composed of a number of self-governing states united by a federal government on the continent of North America. It has an area of 9,166,598 square kilometers. It is the fourth largest country in the world after Russia，Canada, and China. The United States consists of 48 contiguous states and the noncontiguous states of Alaska and Hawaii. Geographical Position The continental United States stretches 4,500 kilometers from the Atlantic Ocean on the east to the Pacific Ocean on the west. It borders Canada on the north, and extends south to Mexico and the Gulf of Mexico. Its total land boundaries are 12,034 kilometers, including 8,893 kilometers with Canada and 3,141 kilometers with Mexico. Its coastline is 19,924 kilometers long. Natural Regions The United States may be divided into seven broad physiographic divisions from east to west: the Atlantic-Gulf Coastal Plain; the Appalachian Highlands; the Interior Plains; the Interior Highlands; the Rocky Mountain System; the Intermountain Region; and the Pacific Mountain System. Natural Resources Coal Coal is one of the true measures of the energy strength of the?United States.?? One quarter of the world’s coal reserves are found within the United States Natural Gas While coal is the nation’s major fuel for electric power,?natural gas?is the fastest growing fuel.? ?More than 90% of the power plants to be built in the next 20 years will likely be fueled by natural gas.? Domestically produced and readily available to end-users through the existing utility infrastructure, natural gas has also become increasingly popular as an alternative transportation fuel. Oil The production, processing and marketing of such petroleum products as gasoline and oil make up one of America’s largest industries. Oil is the lifeblood of America’s economy.? Currently, it supplies more th