1. Introduction
   1. Russia
      1. twice as big
   2. comparable to China
   3. population
      1. 3rd
      2. 300 million
   4. access to 2 oceans
      1. east
         1. the Atlantic Ocean
      2. west
         1. the Pacific Ocean
   5. 50 states
      1. 2 separated
         1. Alaska
         2. Hawaii
      2. under control, no states
         1. Puerto Rico
         2. Guam
         3. Virgin Islands
2. The size of the USA
   1. distances
      1. NY to LA
         1. 4500 km
      2. travelling by plane
   2. time zones
   3. climate zones
3. Geographical features
   1. eastern parts
      1. lowlands
   2. western parts
      1. mountainous
   3. 3 major ranges
      1. the Appalachians
         1. east
         2. coal mining
      2. the Rockies
         1. west
         2. the highest
      3. Sierra Nevada
         1. west
   4. plains
      1. Eastern coast
      2. middle
      3. Great Plains
         1. the area between west of the Mississippi river and east of the Rocky Mountains
   5. Great Lakes
      1. the second biggest reservoir of fresh water in the world
   6. Death Valley
      1. Between the Rockies and Sierra Nevada
      2. desert
   7. Grand Canyon
      1. one of the Wonders of the Natural World
      2. carved by the Colorado River
      3. 450 km long
4. Natural disasters
   1. Hurricanes
      1. form every summer in the Northern Atlantic Ocean
      2. hit southern-east states
      3. every has its own name
      4. Katrina
         1. New Orleans
   2. Tornadoes
      1. Tornado Alley
         1. east
      2. underground storm shelters
   3. Earthquakes
      1. California
         1. two tectonic plates
            1. the Pacific
            2. the North American
5. Regions
   1. the Northeast
      1. 9 states
      2. 1/4 of USA GDP
      3. 55 million people
      4. oldest part of the country
         1. settlement
         2. political organization
      5. New England
         1. Harvard, Yale
      6. Northeast/Boston-Washington megalopolis
      7. New York, Philadelphia
   2. The South
      1. region of contast
      2. poverty rate
      3. Civil Rights Movement
         1. 1950s/1960s
      4. service sector
      5. 25 million people
      6. Bible Belt
         1. most people in the South are conservative Protestants and the church attendance is very high here
      7. Dixie/Dixieland
         1. cultural differences between this part of the country and the rest of the USA
      8. Houston, Dallas, Miami and Atlanta
      9. Sun Belt
         1. mild winters and warm weather
      10. Florida
          1. Cape Canaveral with NASA Space Centre
   3. The Midwest
      1. America’s breadbasket
      2. 67 million
      3. Chicago, Detroit and Indianapolis
      4. Corn Belt
         1. Iowa, Illinois, Indiana and Nebraska
      5. Rust Belt
         1. The Eastern parts of the Midwest and the western Northeast
         2. industrial centre of the USA
      6. small towns, huge farms
      7. "American provincialism"
         1. concentrating on one’s own local matters
   4. The West
      1. 19th c.
      2. the territory west of the Appalachians
      3. officially the West region today comprises the Rocky mountains only
         1. +Alaska
      4. 71 million
      5. Los Angeles and San Francisco
      6. states
         1. federal land
            1. cannot decide about or take profit from the natural resources they possess
      7. water scarcity
      8. California
         1. farming centre
         2. high tech industry
            1. Silicon Valley
         3. 13% of USA GDP
         4. 9th largest economy (world)
6. East Coast/West Coast divide
   1. East Coast
      1. stability and tradition of the first English immigrants
      2. well established values
   2. West Coast
      1. concentration on everything that is modern, looking into future, and enjoying life
7. Urbanization
   1. 70%
      1. urban areas
8. Non continental USA&neighbours
   1. Alaska
      1. biggest American state
      2. least populated state
      3. federal land
         1. more than half
      4. gas,oil
   2. Hawaii
      1. 1959
      2. Honolulu
      3. tourist destination
   3. Puerto Rico
      1. archipelago of islands in the northeastern Caribbean Sea
      2. migration to USA
         1. legally
      3. more Puerto Ricans live now in the USA than in their homeland
   4. Cuba
      1. 1956
         1. under American control
         2. Fidel Castro
      2. Guantanamo
   5. Mexico
      1. Mexican-American border
      2. illegal immigrant workers