United States

• 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

• 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

total:

477 cu km/yr (13%/46%/41%)

per capita:

1,600 cu m/yr (2000)

• tsunamis;
• volcanoes;
• 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

• 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

• 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

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.75 male(s)/female

total population:

0.97 male(s)/female (2009 est.)

noun:

American(s)

adjective:

American

conventional long form:

United States of America

conventional short form:

United States

abbreviation:

US or USA

name:

Washington, DC

geographic coordinates:

38 53 N, 77 02 W

time difference:

UTC-5 (during Standard Time)

daylight saving time:

+1hr, begins second Sunday in March; ends first Sunday in November

note: the 50 United States cover six time zones

• federal court system based on English common law;
• each state has its own unique legal system, of which all but one (Louisiana, which is still influenced by the Napoleonic Code) is based on English common law;
• judicial review of legislative acts;
• has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

chief of state:

• President Barack H. OBAMA (since 20 January 2009);
• Vice President Joseph R. BIDEN (since 20 January 2009);
• note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government

head of government:

President Barack H. OBAMA (since 20 January 2009); Vice President Joseph BIDEN (since 20 January 2009)

cabinet:

Cabinet appointed by the president with Senate approval

elections:

• president and vice president elected on the same ticket by a college of representatives who are elected directly from each state;
• president and vice president serve four-year terms (eligible for a second term);
• election last held 4 November 2008 (next to be held on 6 November 2012)

election results:

Barack H. OBAMA elected president; percent of popular vote - Barack H. OBAMA 52.4%, John MCCAIN 46.3%, other 1.3%;

• Supreme Court (nine justices; nominated by the president and confirmed with the advice and consent of the Senate; appointed to serve for life);
• United States Courts of Appeal;
• United States District Courts;
• State and County Courts

• Democratic Party [Timothy KAINE];
• Green Party;
• Libertarian Party [William (Bill) REDPATH];
• Republican Party [Michael STEELE]

• environmentalists;
• business groups;
• labor unions;
• churches;
• ethnic groups;
• political action committees or PAC;
• health groups;
• education groups;
• civic groups;
• youth groups;
• transportation groups;
• agricultural groups;
• veterans groups;
• women's groups;
• reform lobbies

• 13 equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white;
• there is a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing 50 small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars (top and bottom) alternating with rows of five stars;
• the 50 stars represent the 50 states, the 13 stripes represent the 13 original colonies;
• known as Old Glory;
• the design and colors have been the basis for a number of other flags, including
  • Chile,
  • Liberia,
  • Malaysia,
  • and Puerto Rico

lowest 10%:

2%

highest 10%:

30% (2007 est.)

• wheat, corn, other grains, fruits, vegetables, cotton;
• beef, pork, poultry, dairy products;
• fish;
• forest products

• leading industrial power in the world, highly diversified and technologically advanced;
• petroleum, steel, motor vehicles, aerospace, telecommunications, chemicals, electronics, food processing, consumer goods, lumber, mining

general assessment:

a large, technologically advanced, multipurpose communications system

domestic:

• a large system of fiber-optic cable, microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, and domestic satellites carries every form of telephone traffic;
• a rapidly growing cellular system carries mobile telephone traffic throughout the country

international:

• country code - 1;
• multiple ocean cable systems provide international connectivity;
• satellite earth stations - 61 Intelsat (45 Atlantic Ocean and 16 Pacific Ocean), 5 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region), and 4 Inmarsat (Pacific and Atlantic Ocean regions) (2000)

total:

226,427 km

country comparison to the world: 1

standard gauge:

226,427 km 1.435-m gauge (2007)

total:

6,465,799 km

country comparison to the world: 1

paved:

4,209,835 km (includes 75,040 km of expressways)

unpaved:

2,255,964 km (2007)

United States Armed Forces:

• US Army, US Navy (includes
  • Marine Corps),
  • US Air Force,
  • US Coast Guard
  ;
• note - Coast Guard administered in peacetime by the Department of Homeland Security, but in wartime reports to the Department of the Navy (2009)

• 18 years of age (17 years of age with parental consent) for male and female voluntary service;
• maximum enlistment age 42 (Army), 27 (Air Force), 34 (Navy), 28 (Marines);
• service obligation 8 years, including 2-5 years active duty (Army), 2 years active (Navy), 4 years active (Air Force, Marines) (2008)

males age 16-49:

72,715,332

females age 16-49:

71,638,785 (2008 est.)

males age 16-49:

59,764,677

females age 16-49:

59,437,663 (2009 est.)

male:

2,196,124

female:

2,085,085 (2009 est.)

• the U.S. has intensified domestic security measures and is collaborating closely with its neighbors, Canada and Mexico, to monitor and control legal and illegal personnel, transport, and commodities across the international borders;
• abundant rainfall in recent years along much of the Mexico-US border region has ameliorated periodically strained water-sharing arrangements;
• 1990 Maritime Boundary Agreement in the Bering Sea still awaits Russian Duma ratification;
• managed maritime boundary disputes with Canada at Dixon Entrance, Beaufort Sea, Strait of Juan de Fuca, and around the disputed Machias Seal Island and North Rock;
• The Bahamas and US have not been able to agree on a maritime boundary;
• US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay is leased from Cuba and only mutual agreement or US abandonment of the area can terminate the lease;
• Haiti claims US-administered Navassa Island;
• US has made no territorial claim in Antarctica (but has reserved the right to do so) and does not recognize the claims of any other states;
• Marshall Islands claims Wake Island;
• Tokelau included American Samoa's Swains Island among the islands listed in its 2006 draft constitution

refugees (country of origin):

• the US admitted 62,643 refugees during FY04/05 including;
• 10,586 (Somalia);
• 8,549 (Laos);
• 6,666 (Russia);
• 6,479 (Cuba);
• 3,100 (Haiti);
• 2,136 (Iran) (2006)

• world's largest consumer of cocaine (shipped from Colombia through Mexico and the Caribbean), Colombian heroin, and Mexican heroin and marijuana;
• major consumer of ecstasy and Mexican methamphetamine;
• minor consumer of high-quality Southeast Asian heroin;
• illicit producer of cannabis, marijuana, depressants, stimulants, hallucinogens, and methamphetamine;
• money-laundering center