The largest American state. USA states

The state is the main administrative unit of this state. States are further divided into districts, and rural areas- to townships. There are 50 states in total. The last of them (Hawaii) was annexed to the United States in 1959. Some confusion arising in the question of how many states there are in the United States arises because there are currently discussions about the possibility of joining the 51st state, but for now this did not happen.

The District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and some other territories are vying for the title of 51st state. The term “51st state” is used to refer to areas with strong American influence (Australia, Mexico, Iraq and others).

Not all administrative divisions are formally states. Commonwealths vary (e.g. Kentucky, Pennsylvania) and federal district Colombia. The capital of the United States, Washington, is located in Colombia. The principles of government for both states and commonwealths are similar. Colombia, due to the fact that it is not a state, cannot elect its representatives to the Senate. Her struggle for the right to become the 51st state of America is connected with this.

The American flag has 50 stars based on the number of states. If another administrative unit joins the country, the number of stars will increase.

US regions

The US map makes it clear to us that onfns are grouped by region, depending on their location. There are the Northeastern United States, which includes New England and the Mid-Atlantic states, the Midwest, the Southern United States, and the Western United States.

The Northeast includes Connecticut, New Jersey, Massachusetts and other states. This region is considered the most developed and richest in the country.

The Midwest region includes 12 states - Michigan, Illinois, Ohio and others. Here is the most low level unemployment in the country, industry and agriculture are well developed.

The South of the United States is also called the Black Belt. There is a traditionally large percentage of black Americans here - they were once brought to the South as slaves. The region includes 12 states and one federal district - Columbia. This region has the greatest ethnic and linguistic diversity.

The Western United States is the largest region, occupying more than half of the country's territory. It includes 13 states (Nevada, Hawaii, California and others). Lives here greatest number US national minorities.

Local government

The United States of America is federal republic. First of all, this is expressed in high level local government.

Each of the 50 states has:

• Constitution;
• governor;
• Supreme Court;
• Legislative Assembly;
• capital.

Any resident of America has, as it were, dual citizenship - the country of the United States and the state in which he lives. In addition, each state has its own flag, animal, product and even insect! All states also have mottos and nicknames, both officially approved and unofficial.

For example, the official name of the state of Indiana is the “Big State,” Missouri is the “Show Me State,” Nebraska is the “Corn Husker State,” and New York, as you know, is the “Big Apple.” There are also interesting unofficial nicknames (so-called nicknames) - “Gopher State” for North Dakota, “Pan Handle State” for West Virginia, “Land of the Midnight Sun” for Alaska and others.

State mottos are widely used in the official symbols of the country: they are minted on coins and engraved on seals. They sound like different languages: Florida - We trust in God (English), Oklahoma - Labor conquers everything (Latin), Minnesota - North Star (French) and so on.

In the state of Washington, in the city of Seattle, there is a huge wall covered with chewing gum. Oddly enough, this is the wall of a local theater. The phenomenon arose spontaneously, and at first the authorities tried to fight it, but since this failed, they decided to leave it as it was - another attraction appeared.

The state of Kansas invites you to slide down the tallest water slide on the planet: its height exceeds the height of Niagara Falls.

In general, each US state is unique and different from the other. Despite their differences, they still make up one great country - the United States of America.

The USA is divided into 50 states and has one federal district. State is the basic state-territorial unit that has a certain degree of sovereignty in internal affairs and is subordinate to the federal center in matters specified in the US Constitution. Each state has a flag and motto. Most large staff USA is . TravelAsk will tell you some facts about Alaska that you probably didn't know before.

Four kilometers from Russia

This is exactly the distance from Krusenstern Island, which belongs to Alaska, to Ratmanov Island, which belongs to Russia. They are located in the Bering Strait.

Alaska's area is 1,717,854 square kilometers, which is approximately 15% of the total area of ​​the United States. Only 736,732 people live here (as of 2014). Moreover, almost half of them live in the city of Anchorage (about 300 thousand people). Therefore, the largest state in the United States is also one of the most sparsely populated.

The most interesting thing is that Anchorage is not the state capital. The capital is Juneau, but the population here is small - just over 30 thousand people.

(VT)

Virginia (V.A.)

Wisconsin (WI)

Hawaii (HI)

Delaware (DE)

Georgia (GA)

West Virginia (W.V.)

Illinois (IL)

Indiana (IN)

California (C.A.)

Kansas (KS)

Kentucky (KY)

Colorado (CO)

Connecticut (C.T.)

Louisiana (L.A.)

Massachusetts (M.A.)

Minnesota (MN)

Mississippi (MS)

Missouri (M.O.)

Michigan (MI)

Montana (M.T.)

Maryland (M.D.)

Maine (M.E.)

Nebraska (NE)

Nevada (N.V.)

New Jersey (NJ)

New Mexico (N.M.)

New Hampshire (N.H.)

New York (NY)

Ohio (OH)

Oklahoma (OK)

Oregon (OR)

Pennsylvania (PA)

Rhode Island (R.I.)

North Dakota (ND)

North Carolina (NC)

Tennessee (TN)

Texas (TX)

Florida (FL)

South Dakota (SD)

South Carolina (S.C.)

Utah (UT)

Federal District

District of Columbia (DC)

Island territories

American Samoa

Baker

Guam

Howland

Jarvis

Johnston Atoll

Kingman Reef

Midway Atoll

Navassa

Northern Mariana Islands

Palmyra Atoll

Puerto Rico

Virgin Islands

Wake Atoll

A little about America andstates in the USA

Everyone is well aware of the proud Stars and Stripes flag of the United States of America, which is a global symbol of freedom and democracy, and even any schoolchild knows that there are as many stripes on it as US states. Currently, this country represents one of the main forces on the political and economic map of our planet, and forces its opinion to be taken into account, both through respect for its armed forces and nuclear potential, and through expansion into the world market of goods and services. This is also facilitated by its enormous size, overpopulation and continental isolation from the turbulent Europe that is always blazing with wars. In the north, the States border with calm, friendly Canada, in the south - with less calm, but madly respecting and fearing its older neighbor, Mexico. Existing for many years The confrontation between the two monsters of world politics, the USSR and the USA, expressed in the arms race and other political and economic actions, subsided with the advent of Perestroika. And now, although these two countries are still rivals, they compete in a completely peaceful way, kindly trying to “outshine” their long-time enemy. The States have achieved so much in their relatively short history from the point of view of human history that this country inevitably evokes deep respect and interest in its achievements.

One of largest states modern world, ranking third in terms of the number of citizens (313.2 million people) and fourth in terms of territory (9.5 million sq. km) among other countries, from an administrative point of view it is primarily divided into states. The United States consists of 50 states, which can be called absolutely equal components of the federation, with the District of Columbia standing separately. Each state in the United States has its own judicial, executive and legislative branch, its constitution. There are, as already noted, 50 states in the United States, but to date, discussions are still ongoing about the feasibility of forming the states of Lincoln, New York City, Superior, Eastern Oregon and Southern Utah. Northern Virginia, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico also continue to compete for a place on the list of US states. Therefore the question is how many states are there in the USA, is a rather slippery topic for the Americans themselves, since every resident of all these so-called “51st states” wants him to become more influential and receive more freedoms, on a par with full-fledged US states. And it is possible that in a few years, when asked how many states there are in the United States, schoolchildren in geography lessons all over the world will give a completely different number. Today, in order for the name of a territory to proudly appear as the name of a US state over time, it will have to go through a long and complex procedure, as well as the adoption of its own regional constitution. It is impossible to exclude or independently withdraw from the list of US states. The most populous is still the District of Columbia, and among the legalized states - New York. The largest in territory was Alaska, which was once sold Russian Empire States.

Similar complex administrative structure has under it all the grounds for existence, which have developed over the course of long history this state, and based on economic and social benefits. The formation of the union of states in the United States occurred in 1776. Then the British colonies in America announced their desire to leave the power of the crown and form their own free state, and unleashed the War of Independence, which ended in 1783, and already in 1787 a Constitution was approved, which stipulated the existing at that time names of US states. In addition to the approved list of US states , this document contained provisions on state system, the system of government, the rights and freedoms of citizens of this country, as well as its relations with the outside world. Subsequently, over the years, more and more new ones were added states in the USA. In the same year, the total number of states in the United States became eight with the addition of Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Next year was marked by the appearance of several names of US states at once - Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Hampshire, New York and South Carolina joined the federation. By the end of the eighteenth century, the total number of US states became 16 with the founding of North Carolina, Vermont, Kentucky, Rhode Island and Tennessee. In the next century, 29 more states were formed. At this point, the question of how many states there are in the USA did not close - at the beginning of the last century the creation of Oklahoma, New Mexico and Arizona was officially proclaimed; the last known to date were Hawaii and Alaska, the annexation of which occurred in the same year .

In addition to the gained independence, it is difficult to even immediately list all the achievements that the Americans have achieved. This includes the abolition of the shameful slave-owning tradition as a result of the conflict between patriarchal southerners and progressive industrialists of the north in the 1860s, and the rejection of the futile policy of isolationism after the end of the First World War, as well as many other milestones that the long-suffering American power had to go through on the long path to its prosperity. As mentioned earlier, all 50 equal subjects of the federation have full local power within their territory, but cede powers in external relations to federal representative bodies. There are as many flags as there are US states, each has its own local symbols, capital and is very proud of its sovereignty. In addition, it should be noted that, as many states as there are in the USA, so many interesting stories their names. This country has become a tight ball that has tied together many cultures, nationalities, languages ​​and traditions, which is why the origin of the names of the states comes from six sources. For example, 26 of them have Indian roots, Alaska came from the Eskimo language, Hawaii - from Hawaiian, a total of 11 states are named in English words, 6 - Spanish, 3 - French and even one, Rhode Island, taken from Dutch dialects. Only one thing, Washington, can be said to be truly directly related to US history.

The official language in all states, adopted at the state level, is English, although its American variation is slightly different from the classic Shakespearean style. The English-speaking population of the United States of America makes up more than 70% of the total population. After English, the second most common language is Spanish, which is native to 10% of residents. Next come French, Chinese, German, Turkish, Vietnamese, Italian and Korean. The eleventh position in this unique language chart is occupied by the Russian language. Education in the States, despite the widespread propaganda carried out in the world community, leaves much to be desired. For example, in 2003, according to statistics, about a quarter of the population of the corresponding age did not even have completed secondary education. About half of the residents have graduated from college, and about a quarter have a bachelor's degree. The education system has three levels of funding: local, state and federal. And, of course, material resources educational institutions deserves all the praise. The Constitutional Amendment of 1791 speaks of the separation of church and state, but today the United States can be called practically the only country in the world in which the majority of the population perceives religion as an integral part of their lives. About half of the residents profess Protestantism, almost a quarter are Catholics, and a small percentage of Mormons, Jews, Muslims, and Buddhists are also present. No more than 20% of Americans consider themselves atheists, or adherents of an abstract faith without a clear affiliation with a specific concession. There are parishes of the Orthodox Church for our Soviet emigrants.

The United States of America is a country with its own distinctive cultural and scientific tradition; it gave the world such geniuses of the pen as Jack London and Mark Twain, the great scientists James Watson and Thomas Edison. Business sharks who consider their homeland US states, rule the world, and even children have heard about the names of Ford and Rockefeller. America is vast and multifaceted; in order to even begin to understand and study it, you will have to spend more than one year, but, believe me, this country is one of those few that really deserve it.

But there are states that are in many ways larger than all others. For example: Russia, Canada, China, USA. ABOUT last country we'll talk. Or rather, about its regions or states, of which there are exactly 50. It is logical that they differ from each other in their size. From this article you will learn which are the largest US states by area.

Area: 253,348 sq. km

If you look at the map, you will see that this state, which opens the top of the largest US regions by area, has the shape of a regular rectangle. The fact is that its borders are marked by certain latitudes and meridians. Wyoming is a mountainous region of the United States. The most high point state - Gannett Peak (4202 meters). The remaining mountains rise no more than 2000 meters. The headwaters of the Mississippi, Colorado and Columbia rivers originate in this state. The most important attraction in Wyoming is national park Yellowstone, which is visited every year by a million tourists from all over the world. The state is rich in gas, coal, oil and uranium.

Area: 255,026 sq. km.

The state, one of the largest regions of the United States by area, is located on the coast Pacific Ocean. Located in a mountainous area. The highest point in Oregon is Mount Hood (3427 meters). The deepest lake in the USA - Crater - is located in this state. The most suitable cities for tourists are Portland and Salem. After all, they have many parks, gardens and various museums. Nature lovers can admire the country's deepest canyon, Hell, the Jefferson Mountains and the Three Sisters Peaks.

Area: 269,837 sq. km.

Another mountainous region on our list of the largest US states by area. Archaeologists have determined that people already lived here more than 10,000 years ago. Even their rock dwellings have been preserved. The name of the state was given by the river of the same name, so named because of the red-brown silt at its bottom. If at the beginning of the 19th century the lands of Colorado were practically uninhabited, then with the discovery of gold here, everything changed in an instant. In the early 30s of the 20th century, the state's population was 1,000,000 people. There is a lot to see in this region: numerous parks, museums and war memorials will be of interest to tourists.

Area: 286,367 sq. km.

Nevada is the driest region of the United States. Most of the state's territory is occupied by the Cordillera mountain system, whose height exceeds 3.5 km, and the rest is semi-desert. The highest point in the region is Mount Boundary Peak (4005 meters). Southern Nevada, considered one of the largest US states by area, is home to the Mojave Desert.

In view of small quantity Because of the amount of precipitation that falls in the region, the rivers and lakes here often dry up.

The territory bears the unofficial nickname "Silver State" since silver deposits were discovered here in 1859. It was then that numerous gold diggers, robbers and adventurers flocked here.
Tourists should visit Las Vegas, one of the most famous cities in the world. It is famous for its casinos and other gambling establishments. There is a replica of the Eiffel Tower here.

For the comfort of the traveler, he will be offered a choice of many luxury hotels and hotels. Nature lovers will choose excursions to parks and mountains. And extreme sports - rock climbing and skiing.

Area: 295,254 sq. km.

Arizona's topography is varied. It consists of an alternation of mountains and deserts that smoothly turn into a plateau. The state has a unique forest of yellow pine trees. And the Sonoran Desert is considered one of the most “living” on the planet: there is a lot of flora and fauna here. In the northwest of the state there is a desert with sparse vegetation - the Mojave.

Arizona attracts many tourists due to the presence of the Grand Canyon, which is considered one of the main natural wonders Sveta. Also in the region you can see with your own eyes the trace of a meteorite: a crater in the form of a huge funnel is located in the center of the Colorado Plateau.

Art lovers will be delighted by the Art Museum (Phoenix), which houses 18,000 exhibits from all over the world. You can learn new things about Indian art at the Head Museum, also located in the capital of the state, which ranks 6th on the list of the largest regions of the United States by area.

Area: 315,194 sq. km.

One of the most beautiful states in the USA. It was even called the “Land of Enchantment.” The region will provide the opportunity to admire dense forests, river canyons and mountains. In New Mexico, which occupies the middle of the top of the largest US states by area, you can visit the village of Taos Pueblo, which is part of the reservation. The Indians living there retained their customs and built houses that were no different from the buildings of their ancestors who lived 100-200 years ago. The state attracts astronomy enthusiasts with 10 remote observatories.

Area: 351,156 sq. km.

It is in this state that the source of the Missouri River and one of the highest Rocky Mountains is located - Grand Peak, 3904 meters high. In the depths of the region there are such minerals as coal, oil, gas, gold, silver, lead, and silver. That's why Montana's unofficial name is the "Treasure State."
Tourists will be interested in the picturesque forests and waterfalls, majestic mountains and glaciers located in the state. This is part of Yellowstone Park and is home to a bison sanctuary. In the cities of the state, which ranks 4th in the list of the largest regions of the United States by area, mansions and churches of the 19th century have been preserved.

Area: 423,970 sq. km.

California is the most populous state in the United States by area. Famous cities such as San Francisco, San Diego and Los Angeles are located in this region. The weather here is very unpredictable. The population is diverse. California leads other US regions in terms of GDP. The state has developed information Technology, agriculture and oil production. The region, which took bronze in the ranking of the largest US states by area, is known for the presence of Silicon Valley - the location of the largest American companies involved in computer technology.

Area: 696,241 sq. km.

The state of Texas, which ranks second in the ranking of the largest US regions by area, is a leader in the area agriculture, oil production. Main financial center countries. The region is famous for its abundance of rivers. All of them are part of the Gulf of Mexico basin. The Rio Grande and Brazos are the deepest rivers in Texas.
Tourists should visit the city of Dallas, because it is home to the famous arts district, where museums, parks, galleries and gardens are collected. The city of Houston has many universities, and travelers will find plenty of cultural and entertainment options in San Antonio.

Area: 1,717,854 sq. km.

The northernmost state of the United States is becoming the leader in the ranking of the country's largest regions by area. Separated from the rest of the mainland by Canada. Occupies the territory of the Alaska Peninsula and the Aleutian Islands. It is also the smallest US state by population. It is washed by the waters of two oceans: the Pacific and the Atlantic.
Tourists are drawn here by the amazing nature, abundance of lakes and rivers. There are several large mountain ranges here. And McKinley is the most high mountain America! Its height is 6,194 meters. Alaska - region with volcanic activity, rich in gold, oil, coal and gas.