Geographical features – The United States of America
The United States of America is the world’s third largest country in size. Located in North America, the country is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. Along the northern border is Canada and the southern border is Mexico.
More than twice the size of the European Union, the United States has high mountains in the West and a vast central plain. The landscape varies across the large country from tropical beaches in Florida to peaks in the Rocky Mountains, from rolling prairie lands and barren deserts in the West to dense wilderness areas in the Northeast and Northwest. Other main geographical features of the country are the Great Lakes, the Grand Canyon, the majestic Yosemite Valley, and the mighty Mississippi River. The Niagara Falls is one of nature’s most wonderful waterfalls and Alaska can also boast of over one thousand glaciers.
The Southwest is a beautiful stark landscape of prairie and desert. The American West, home of rolling plains and the cowboy, is diverse, ranging from endless wilderness to barren desert, coral reefs to Arctic tundra, Hollywood to Yellowstone.
The climate of the U.S. also varies depending on location. It is considered mostly temperate but is tropical in Hawaii and Florida, arctic in Alaska, semiarid in the plains west of the Mississippi River and arid in the Great Basin of the southwest.
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| mountain | plain | shore | peak |
| montagna | pianura | costa, riva | cima |
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| lake | canyon | valley | river |
| lago | canyon | valle | fiume |
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| waterfall | glacier | desert | coral reef |
| cascata | ghiacciaio | deserto | barriera corallina |
to be bordered – avere confini con
mountain – montagna
plain – pianura
landscape – paesaggio
to vary – variare
beach – spiaggia
peak – cima
prairie land – prateria
barren – brullo, arido
desert – deserto
dense – denso
wilderness – landa selvaggia
lake – lago
canyon – canyon
valley – valle
waterfall – cascata
glacier – ghiacciaio
stark – brullo, desolato
rolling plain – pianura ondeggiante
coral reef – barriera corallina
Artic tundra – tundra polare
to depend on – dependere da
temperate – temperato
tropical – tropicale
artic – polare
semiarid – semiarido
arid – arido
basin – bacino
