THE USA

Nicknames

The US flag

GEOGRAPHY

7 things about

THE USA

Cultural Influence

A land of contrasts

America's National Parks

Cities of the USA

The Grand Canyion

Glacier Bay National Park (Alaska)

The Mississipi River

Mangroves, Florida

Washington D.C. is the capital. It is on the north side of Potomac river, bordering the states of Maryland and Virginia. The White House and Congress (the US parliament) are both in Washington.

The White House

Congress

New York City, the financial capital of the USA, is on the Atlantic coast. It's home to the US Headquarters, the New York Stock Exchange (the Empire State Building and the One World Trade Center), Central Park and Broadway, the world famous theatre district.

Los Angeles is the second largest city (the first is NY), it's famous for its beaches and its sunny climate. Hollywood, the center of the US film industry, is a suburb of LA.

The Everglades National Park in Florida is a unique tropical ecosystem. It consists of a river that moves down over the southern part of Florida into Florida Bay. There are swamps, mangrove forests and many animals, such as crocodiles, alligators and the Florida panther.

There are 61 national parks, 14 of these are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Yellowstone, in Wyoming, became the world's first national park. Yellowstone is unique because of its thousands hot springs and hundreds of geysers.

What's American Culture?

THE FLAG

THE STARS AND STRIPES

The stripes represent the 13 original colonies. The 50 stars represent the American states. There are 26 versions. This one was designed by a school boy. Americans are very patriotic. In every garden there is always a flag. Even on the moon!

MELTING POT OR SALAD BOWL? THE MELTING POT: it has been used since mass immigration to the country began in the 19th century. The term melting pot relates to a diverse and multicultural place made up of people of many races, religions, and cultures. THE SALAD BOWL: The salad bowl or the cultural mosaic theory has called for the integration of the diverse ethnicities of United States residents thus combining them like the different ingredients of a salad. This model has challenged the more traditional concept of cultural assimilation in the melting pot.

In the salad bowl notion various American cultures remain distinct and do not merge together into a single homogeneous society. Immigrants who favor the salad bowl assimilate into the new world culture, but at the same time keep certain cultural practices of their old world.

There are 61 national parks. 14 of these are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Yellowstone, in Wyoming, became the world's first national park. It's unique because of its thousands of hot springs and hundreds of geysers, like Old Fiathful, which erupts every 44-125 minutes.

The Everglades National Park in Florida is a unique tropical ecosystem. There's a river that moves down over the sothern part of Florida. There are swamps, mangrove forests and many animals.