Background:
Britain's American colonies broke with the mother country in 1776
and were recognized as the new nation of the United States of
America following the Treaty of Paris in 1783. During the 19th and
20th centuries, 37 new states were added to the original 13 as the
nation expanded across the North American continent and acquired a
number of overseas possessions. The two most traumatic experiences
in the nation's history were the Civil War (1861-65) and the Great
Depression of the 1930s. Buoyed by victories in World Wars I and II
and the end of the Cold War in 1991, the US remains the world's most
powerful nation-state. The economy is marked by steady growth, low
unemployment and inflation, and rapid advances in technology.
Geography United States
Location:
North America, bordering both the North Atlantic Ocean and the
North Pacific Ocean, between Canada and Mexico
Geographic coordinates:
38 00 N, 97 00 W
Map references:
North America
Area:
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
Area - comparative:
about half the size of Russia; about three-tenths the size of
Africa; about half the size of South America (or slightly larger
than Brazil); slightly larger than China; about two and a half times
the size of Western Europe
Land boundaries:
total: 12,034 km
border countries: Canada 8,893 km (including 2,477 km with Alaska),
Mexico 3,141 km
note: US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba is leased by the US and
thus remains part of Cuba; the base boundary is 29 km
Coastline:
19,924 km
Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 24 NM continental shelf: not specified exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM