United States - Geography

Here, let us take a look at the Geography of United States.

note 1: world's third-largest country by size (after Russia and Canada) and by population (after China and India); Denali (Mt. McKinley) is the highest point (6,190 m) in North America and Death Valley the lowest point (-86 m) on the continent

note 2: the western coast of the United States and southern coast of Alaska lie along the Ring of Fire, a belt of active volcanoes and earthquake epicenters bordering the Pacific Ocean; up to 90% of the world's earthquakes and some 75% of the world's volcanoes occur within the Ring of Fire

note 3: the Aleutian Islands are a chain of volcanic islands that divide the Bering Sea (north) from the main Pacific Ocean (south); they extend about 1,800 km westward from the Alaskan Peninsula; the archipelago consists of 14 larger islands, 55 smaller islands, and hundreds of islets; there are 41 active volcanoes on the islands, which together form a large northern section of the Ring of Fire

note 4: Mammoth Cave, in west-central Kentucky, is the world's longest known cave system with more than 650 km (405 miles) of surveyed passageways, which is nearly twice as long as the second-longest cave system, the Sac Actun underwater cave in Mexico -- the world's longest underwater cave system (see "Geography - note" under Mexico)

note 5: Kazumura Cave on the island of Hawaii is the world's longest and deepest lava tube cave; it has been surveyed at 66 km (41 mi) long and 1,102 m (3,614 ft) deep

note 6: Bracken Cave outside of San Antonio, Texas is the world's largest bat cave; it is the summer home to the largest colony of bats in the world; an estimated 20 million Mexican free-tailed bats roost in the cave from March to October making it the world's largest known concentration of mammals

note 7: three food crops are generally acknowledged to be native to areas of what is now the United States: cranberries, pecans, and sunflowers

. Mother's mean age at first birth is 27 years (2019 est.) (), whereas, the Maternal mortality ratio is 21 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)

Geographical data of 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
Tarrain 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
Natural Resources coal, copper, lead, molybdenum, phosphates, rare earth elements, uranium, bauxite, gold, iron, mercury, nickel, potash, silver, tungsten, zinc, petroleum, natural gas, timber, arable land
Natural Hazards

tsunamis; volcanoes; 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

volcanism: volcanic activity in the Hawaiian Islands, Western Alaska, the Pacific Northwest, and in the Northern Mariana Islands; both Mauna Loa (4,170 m) in Hawaii and Mount Rainier (4,392 m) in Washington have been deemed Decade Volcanoes by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior, worthy of study due to their explosive history and close proximity to human populations; Pavlof (2,519 m) is the most active volcano in Alaska's Aleutian Arc and poses a significant threat to air travel since the area constitutes a major flight path between North America and East Asia; St. Helens (2,549 m), famous for the devastating 1980 eruption, remains active today; numerous other historically active volcanoes exist, mostly concentrated in the Aleutian arc and Hawaii; they include: in Alaska: Aniakchak, Augustine, Chiginagak, Fourpeaked, Iliamna, Katmai, Kupreanof, Martin, Novarupta, Redoubt, Spurr, Wrangell, Trident, Ugashik-Peulik, Ukinrek Maars, Veniaminof; in Hawaii: Haleakala, Kilauea, Loihi; in the Northern Mariana Islands: Anatahan; and in the Pacific Northwest: Mount Baker, Mount Hood; see note 2 under "Geography - note"
Irrigated Land 234,782 sq km (2017)
Major rivers (by length in km)

Missouri - 3,768 km; Mississippi - 3,544 km; Yukon river mouth (shared with Canada [s]) - 3,190 km; Saint Lawrence (shared with Canada) - 3,058 km; Rio Grande river source ( mouth shared with Mexico) - 3,057 km; Colorado river source (shared with Mexico [m]) - 2,333 km; Arkansas - 2,348 km; Columbia river mouth (shared with Canada [s]) - 2,250 km; Red - 2,188 km; Ohio - 2,102 km; Snake - 1,670 km
note – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth
Major aquifers Northern Great Plains Aquifer, Cambrian-Ordovician Aquifer System, Californian Central Valley Aquifer System, Ogallala Aquifer (High Plains), Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains Aquifer
Land Boundaries 12,002 km
Border Countries Canada 8,891 km (including 2,475 km with Alaska); Mexico 3,111 km
Coastline 19,924 km
Climate 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
Area
Total Area
Land Area 9,147,593 sq km
Water Area 685,924 sq km
comparative Area 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; more than twice the size of the European Union
Maritime Claims
Territorial sea 12 nm
Contiguous zone 24 nm
Exclusive economic zone 200 nm
Continental shelf not specified
Elevations
Highest point Denali 6,190 m (Mount McKinley) (highest point in North America)
Lowest point Death Valley (lowest point in North America) -86 m
Mean elevation 760 m
Land Use
Agricultural land 44.5% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land: arable land arable land: 16.8% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land: permanent crops permanent crops: 0.3% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land: permanent pasture permanent pasture: 27.4% (2018 est.)
Forest 33.3% (2018 est.)
Other 22.2% (2018 est.)
Population Distribution

Large urban clusters are spread throughout the eastern half of the US (particularly the Great Lakes area, northeast, east, and southeast) and the western tier states; mountainous areas, principally the Rocky Mountains and Appalachian chain, deserts in the southwest, the dense boreal forests in the extreme north, and the central prarie states are less densely populated; Alaska's population is concentrated along its southern coast - with particular emphasis on the city of Anchorage - and Hawaii's is centered on the island of Oahu

People and Society

In United States, the different Ethnic groups are such that we have: White 61.6%, Black or African American 12.4%, Asian 6%, Indigenous and Alaska native 1.1%, Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 0.2%, other 8.4%, two or more races 10.2% (2020 est.)

Population
Pop growth rate 0.67% (2024 est.)
Birth rate 12.2 births/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Death rate 8.5 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Health expenditure 18.8% of GDP (2020)
Physicians Density
Hospital bed Density 2.9 beds/1,000 population (2017)
Total fertility rate 1.84 children born/woman (2024 est.)
Gross reproduction rate 0.9 (2024 est.)
Contraceptive prevalence rate 73.9% (2017/19)
Est married women (ages 15-49) 51.9% (2023 est.)
Literacy
Education expenditures 6.1% of GDP (2020 est.)
Net Migration rate 3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Nationality American | American(s)
Languages English only 78.2%, Spanish 13.4%, Chinese 1.1%, other 7.3% (2017 est.)
Religions Protestant 46.5%, Roman Catholic 20.8%, Jewish 1.9%, Church of Jesus Christ 1.6%, other Christian 0.9%, Muslim 0.9%, Jehovah's Witness 0.8%, Buddhist 0.7%, Hindu 0.7%, other 1.8%, unaffiliated 22.8%, don't know/refused 0.6% (2014 est.)
Age Structure
0-14 years 18.1% (male 31,618,532/female 30,254,223)
15-64 years 63.4% (male 108,553,822/female 108,182,491)
65 years and over 18.5% (2024 est.) (male 28,426,426/female 34,927,914)
Dependency Ratios
Total dependency ratio 53.7
Youth dependency ratio 28
Elderly dependency ratio 25.6
Potential support ratio 3.9 (2021 est.)
Median Age
Total 38.9 years (2022 est.)
Male 37.8 years
Female 40 years
Urbanization
Urban population 83.3% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization 0.96% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Major urban areas (Pop) 18.937 million New York-Newark, 12.534 million Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, 8.937 million Chicago, 6.707 million Houston, 6.574 million Dallas-Fort Worth, 5.490 million WASHINGTON, D.C. (capital) (2023).
Sex Ratio
At birth 1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years 1 male(s)/female
65 years and over 0.81 male(s)/female
Total population 0.97 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
Infant Motality
Total 5.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)
Male 5.4 deaths/1,000 live births
Female 4.7 deaths/1,000 live births
Life Expectancy at birth
Total population 80.9 years (2024 est.)
Male 78.7 years
Female 83.1 years
Drinking Water Sources
Improved: urban urban: 99.9% of population
Improved: rural rural: 99.7% of population
Improved: total total: 99.9% of population
Unimproved: urban urban: 0.1% of population
Unimproved: rural rural: 0.3% of population
Unimproved: total total: 0.1% of population (2020 est.)
Sanitation facility acess
Improved: urban urban: 99.8% of population
Improved: rural rural: 98.9% of population
Improved: total total: 99.7% of population
Unimproved: urban urban: 0.2% of population
Unimproved: rural rural: 11.1% of population
Unimproved: total total: 0.3% of population (2020 est.)
Alcohol consumption per capita
Total 8.93 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Beer 3.97 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Wine 1.67 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Spirits 3.29 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Other alcohols 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Tobacco use
Total 23% (2020 est.)
Male 28.4% (2020 est.)
Female 17.5% (2020 est.)
Demographic profile
All Important Facts about United States

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United States is found in North America