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GEOGRAPHY
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Location:
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North
America, bordering both the North Atlantic Ocean and the North
Pacific Ocean, between Canada and Mexico |
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Geographic
Coordinates:
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38 00 N, 97 00 W |
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Map
References:
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North
America |
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Area:
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total:
9,629,091 sq km
land: 9,158,960 sq km
water: 470,131 sq km note: includes only the 50 states
and District of Columbia |
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Area
- Comparative:
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about
one-half the size of Russia; about three-tenths the size of Africa;
about one-half the size of South America (or slightly larger than
Brazil); slightly larger than China; about two and one-half times
the size of Western Europe |
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Land
Boundaries:
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0
km total: 12,248 km
border countries: Canada 8,893 km (including 2,477 km with
Alaska), Cuba 29 km (US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay), Mexico
3,326 km
note: Guantanamo Naval Base is leased by the US and thus
remains part of Cuba |
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Coastline:
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19,924
km |
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Maritime
Claims:
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contiguous
zone: 12 nm
continental shelf: not specified
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
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Climate:
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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
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Terrain:
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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 |
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Land
Use:
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arable
land: 19%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 25%
forests and woodland: 30%
other: 26% (1993 est.) |
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Irrigated
Land :
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207,000
sq km (1993 est.) |
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Natural
Hazards:
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tsunamis,
volcanoes, and 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 |
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Environment
- Current Issues:
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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; very limited natural fresh water resources in much
of the western part of the country require careful management;
desertification |
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Environment
- International Agreements:
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party
to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Antarctic-Environmental
Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Climate Change, Endangered Species,
Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation,
Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical
Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not
ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Volatile
Organic Compounds, Biodiversity, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol,
Desertification, Hazardous Wastes |
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