Outline of the United States
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The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the United States of America:
General reference
An enlargeable map of the United States showing the population density in 2010
- Pronunciation:
i/jʊˌnaɪ.tɪd ˈsteɪts/ - Abbreviations: USA or US
- Common English country name: United States
- Official English country name: United States of America
- Common endonyms: United States, U.S., U.S.A., America
- Official endonym: United States of America
- Common exonyms: United States; America or The States (chiefly British/Commonwealth); North America (chiefly Latin America)
- Adjectivals: United States, American
- Demonyms: American (among others)
- United States#Etymology
- International rankings of the United States
- ISO country codes: US, USA, 840
- ISO region codes: See ISO 3166-2:US
- Internet country code top-level domain: .us
Geography of the United States
An enlargeable topographic map of the contiguous United States
Main article: Geography of the United States
- The United States is: a megadiverse country
- Location (50 states):
- Northern Hemisphere and Western Hemisphere (except western Aleutian Islands)
- Time zones:
- Atlantic Standard Time (UTC-04), Atlantic Daylight Time (UTC-03) (Puerto Rico)
- Eastern Standard Time (UTC-05), Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-04)
- Central Standard Time (UTC-06), Central Daylight Time (UTC-05)
- Mountain Standard Time (UTC-07), Mountain Daylight Time (UTC-06)
- Pacific Standard Time (UTC-08), Pacific Daylight Time (UTC-07)
- Alaska Standard Time (UTC-09), Alaska Daylight Time (UTC-08)
- Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time (UTC-10), Hawaii-Aleutian Daylight Time (UTC-09)
- Extreme points of the United States:
- North: Point Barrow, Alaska 71°23′15″N 156°28′52″W / 71.38750°N 156.48111°W
- South: Ka Lae, Island of Hawai'i, Hawai'i (18°54′39″N 155°40′52″W / 18.91083°N 155.68111°W)
- East: Sail Rock, just offshore West Quoddy Head, Maine 44°48′54″N 66°56′52″W / 44.81500°N 66.94778°W
- Physically East: Eastern Semisopochnoi Island, Alaska 51°57′40″N 179°46′29″E / 51.96111°N 179.77472°E
- West: Peaked Island, offshore Cape Wrangell, Attu Island, Alaska 52°55′00″N 172°26′00″E / 52.91667°N 172.43333°E
- Physically West: Western Amatignak Island, Alaska 51°16′06″N 179°09′00″W / 51.26833°N 179.15000°W
- High: Mount McKinley (Denali), Alaska at 6,194 meters (20,322 ft) 63°4′10″N 151°0′26″W / 63.06944°N 151.00722°WCoordinates: 63°4′10″N 151°0′26″W / 63.06944°N 151.00722°W
- Low: Badwater Basin, Death Valley, California at −86 meters (−282 ft) 36°13′58″N 116°46′42″W / 36.23278°N 116.77833°W
- Land boundaries: 12,034 km (7,477 mi)
- Population of the United States: 308,745,538 (2010 census) – 3rd most populous country
- Area of the United States: 9,826,630 km2 (3,794,080 sq mi) – 3rd most extensive country
- Atlas of the United States
- Cities of the United States, by population
Environment of the United States
An enlargeable satellite composite image of the contiguous United States. Deciduous vegetation and grasslands prevail in the east, transitioning to prairies, boreal forests, the Rocky Mountains in the west, and deserts in the southwest.
Main article: Environment of the United States
- Beaches in the United States
- Climate of the United States
- Environmental issues in the United States
- Ecoregions in the United States
- Renewable energy in the United States
- Geology of the United States
- Earthquakes in the United States
- National parks of the United States
- Protected areas of the United States
- Superfund sites in the United States
- Wildlife of the United States
Geographic features of the United States
- Fjords of the United States
- Glaciers of the United States
- Islands of the United States
- Lakes of the United States
- Mountain peaks of the United States
- The 104 highest major summits of the United States
- The 129 most prominent summits of the United States
- The 112 most isolated major summits of the United States
- Alaska Range
- Appalachian Mountains
- Black Hills
- Cascade Range
- Ozark Mountains
- Sierra Nevada
- Rocky Mountains
- Volcanoes of the United States
- Rivers of the United States
- Valleys of the United States
- List of World Heritage Sites in the United States
View from the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, a World Heritage Site
Regions of the United States
Main article: List of regions of the United States
- Belt regions of the United States
- New England
- Mid-Atlantic
- The South
- Midwest
- Great Plains
- Pacific Northwest
- Southwest
- Hawaiian Archipelago
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Physiographic divisions of the United States
The geography of the United States varies across their immense area. Within the contential U.S., eight distinct physiographic divisions exist, though each is composed of several smaller physiographic subdivisions.[2] These major divisions are:
- Laurentian Upland - part of the Canadian Shield that extends into the northern United States Great Lakes area.
- Atlantic Plain - the coastal regions of the eastern and southern parts includes the continental shelf, the Atlantic Coast and the Gulf Coast.
- Appalachian Highlands - lying on the eastern side of the United States, it includes the Appalachian Mountains, Adirondacks and New England province.
- Interior Plains - part of the interior contentintal United States, it includes much of what is called the Great Plains.
- Interior Highlands - also part of the interior contentintal United States, this division includes the Ozark Plateau.
- Rocky Mountain System - one branch of the Cordilleran system lying far inland in the western states.
- Intermontane Plateaus - also divided into the Columbia Plateau, the Colorado Plateau and the Basin and Range Province, it is a system of plateaus, basins, ranges and gorges between the Rocky and Pacific Mountain Systems. It is the setting for the Grand Canyon, the Great Basin and Death Valley.
- Pacific Mountain System - the coastal mountain ranges and features in the west coast of the United States.
Administrative divisions of the United States
States of the United States
Main articles: U.S. state and Administrative division
At the Declaration of Independence, the United States consisted of 13 states, former colonies of the United Kingdom. In the following years, the number of states has grown steadily due to expansion to the west, conquest and purchase of lands by the American government, and division of existing states to the current number of 50 United States:
Map of the United States with state border lines. Note that Alaska and Hawaii are shown at different scales, and that the Aleutian Islands and the uninhabited northwestern Hawaiian Islands are omitted from this map.
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Territories of the United States
Location of the insular areas of the United States:
The United States of America
Incorporated unorganized territory
Unincorporated organized territory
Unincorporated unorganized territory
Freely associated commonwealth
Main article: Territories of the United States
Incorporated organized territories
- none since 1959
Incorporated unorganized territories
Unincorporated organized territories
- Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
- Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
- Territory of Guam
- Territory of the United States Virgin Islands
Unincorporated unorganized territories
- Territory of American Samoa, technically unorganized, but self-governing under a constitution last revised in 1967
- Baker Island, uninhabited
- Howland Island, uninhabited
- Jarvis Island, uninhabited
- Johnston Atoll, uninhabited
- Kingman Reef, uninhabited
- Bajo Nuevo Bank, uninhabited (disputed with Colombia)
- Serranilla Bank, uninhabited (disputed with Colombia)
- Midway Islands, no indigenous inhabitants, currently included in the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge
- Navassa Island, uninhabited (claimed by Haiti)
- Wake Atoll consisting of Peale, Wake and Wilkes Islands,[3] no indigenous inhabitants, only contractor personnel (claimed by the Marshall Islands)
Geography of the states and territories
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Demography of the United States
- Main article: Demography of the United States
Demographics of the states and territories
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Climate of the United States
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History of the United States
John Trumbull's famous painting is usually incorrectly identified as a depiction of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, but it actually shows the drafting committee presenting its work to the Congress.
A map of the territorial evolution of the United States
- Main outline: Outline of United States history
Main articles: History of the United States and Timeline of United States history
Period-coverage
- Prehistory of the United States
- Pre-Columbian era
- Colonial period
- 1776 to 1789
- 1789 to 1849
- 1849 to 1865
- 1865 to 1918
- 1918 to 1945
- 1945 to 1964
- 1964 to 1980
- 1980 to 1991
- 1991 to present
History of the states and territories
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Presidents of the United States
Main articles: List of Presidents of the United States and President of the United States
- George Washington: 1789-1797
- John Adams: 1797-1801
- Thomas Jefferson: 1801-1809
- James Madison: 1809-1817
- James Monroe: 1817-1825
- John Quincy Adams: 1825-1829
- Andrew Jackson: 1829-1837
- Martin Van Buren: 1837-1841
- William Henry Harrison: 1841
- John Tyler: 1841-1845
- James K. Polk: 1845-1849
- Zachary Taylor: 1849-1850
- Millard Fillmore: 1850-1853
- Franklin Pierce: 1853-1857
- James Buchanan: 1857-1861
- Abraham Lincoln: 1861-1865
- Andrew Johnson: 1865-1869
- Ulysses S. Grant: 1869-1877
- Rutherford B. Hayes: 1877-1881
- James A. Garfield: 1881
- Chester A. Arthur: 1881-1885
- Grover Cleveland: 1885-1889
- Benjamin Harrison: 1889-1893
- Grover Cleveland: 1893-1897
- William McKinley: 1897-1901
- Theodore Roosevelt: 1901-1909
- William H. Taft: 1909-1913
- Woodrow Wilson: 1913-1921
- Warren Harding: 1921-1923
- Calvin Coolidge: 1923-1929
- Herbert Hoover: 1929-1933
- Franklin D. Roosevelt: 1933-1945
- Harry S. Truman: 1945-1953
- Dwight D. Eisenhower: 1953-1961
- John F. Kennedy: 1961-1963
- Lyndon B. Johnson: 1963-1969
- Richard M. Nixon: 1969-1974
- Gerald Ford: 1974-1977
- Jimmy Carter: 1977-1981
- Ronald Reagan: 1981-1989
- George H. W. Bush: 1989-1993
- Bill Clinton: 1993-2001
- George W. Bush: 2001-2009
- Barack Obama: 2009–Present
Government and politics in the United States
- Main articles: Government of the United States and Politics of the United States
- Form of government: presidential, federal republic
- Capital (political) of the United States: Washington, D.C.
- Flag of the United States
- Political parties in the United States
- Elections in the United States
- Voting rights in the United States
- List of political parties in the United States
- Political divisions of the United States
- Canadian and American politics compared
- International Politics of the United States
- Politics of the Southern United States
Federal government
Main article: Federal government of the United States
Legislative branch
Executive branch
The White House
- Head of state and head of government: President of the United States, Barack H. Obama(44th)
Federal executive departments
All departments are listed by their present-day name and only departments with past or present cabinet-level status are listed. Order of succession applies only to within the cabinet; the vice president has always been first in the line of succession, and the Speaker of the House and the President pro tem of the Senate have at times been included.
| Department | Creation | Order of succession |
Modifications since creation | 2007 Budget in billions of dollars |
Employees (2007) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | 1789 | 1 | Initially named "Department of Foreign Affairs" | 9.96 | 30,266 |
| Treasury | 1789 | 2 | 11.10 | 115,897 | |
| Defense | 1947 | 3 | Initially named "National Military Establishment" | 439.30 | 3,000,000 |
| Justice | 1870 | 4 | Position of Attorney General created in 1789, but had no department until 1870 | 23.40 | 112,557 |
| Interior | 1849 | 5 | 10.70 | 71,436 | |
| Agriculture | 1889 | 6 | 77.60 | 109,832 | |
| Commerce | 1903 | 7 | Originally named Commerce and Labor; Labor later separated | 6.20 | 36,000 |
| Labor | 1913 | 8 | 59.70 | 17,347 | |
| Health and Human Services | 1953 | 9 | Originally named Health, Education, and Welfare; Education later separated | 543.20 | 67,000 |
| Housing and Urban Development | 1965 | 10 | 46.20 | 10,600 | |
| Transportation | 1966 | 11 | 58.00 | 58,622 | |
| Energy | 1977 | 12 | 21.50 | 116,100 | |
| Education | 1979 | 13 | 62.80 | 4,487 | |
| Veterans Affairs | 1989 | 14 | 73.20 | 235,000 | |
| Homeland Security | 2002 | 15 | 44.60 | 208,000 | |
| Total budget (fiscal year 2007): | 1,523.42 | 4,193,144 | |||
Commissions
Judicial branch
The United States Supreme Court building
- United States federal courts
- United States Supreme Court
- United States court of appeals
- United States district court
State and territory governments
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Politics of the states and territories
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Foreign relations
Main article: Foreign relations of the United States
International organization membership
- Member state of the Group of Twenty Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors
- Member state of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
- Member state of the Organization of American States
- Member state of the United Nations
- Member of the World Health Organization
- Member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement
- World Veterans Federation
Military
- United States Army
- United States Marine Corps
- United States Navy
- United States Navy Reserve
- United States Navy SEALS
- United States Air Force
- United States Coast Guard
- National Guard of the United States
- Army National Guard
- Air National Guard
- Naval militia
- State Defense Forces
- Uniformed services of the United States
- United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps
US Military Awards and Decorations
- Awards and decorations of the United States military
Intelligence Organizations
Headquarters of the Central Intelligence Agency
Main article: United States Intelligence Community
- Central Intelligence Agency
- Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Agency
- United States Army Military Intelligence
- Defense Intelligence Agency
- Marine Corps Intelligence Activity
- National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
- National Reconnaissance Office
- National Security Agency
- Office of Naval Intelligence
- Coast Guard Intelligence
- Federal Bureau of Investigation
- Drug Enforcement Administration
- Bureau of Intelligence and Research
- Office of Intelligence and Analysis
- Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence
- Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence
Law of the United States
- Main article: Law of the United States
- Adoption in the United States
- Age of candidacy laws in the United States
- Arbitration in the United States
- Assisted suicide in the United States
- Attorneys in the United States
- Bankruptcy in the United States
- Bicycle law in the United States
- Birthright citizenship in the United States
- Blasphemy law in the United States
- Blue laws in the United States
- Campaign finance reform in the United States
- Capital punishment in the United States
- Censure in the United States
- Census in the United States
- Censorship in the United States
- Child-related laws
- Constitution of the United States
- Copyright law in the United States
- Crime in the United States
- Polygamy in the United States
- Race and crime in the United States
- Rape in the United States
- Scientific plagiarism in the United States
- Human rights in the United States
- Abortion in the United States
- Censorship in the United States
- Civil liberties in the United States
- Freedom of association in the United States
- Freedom of information in the United States
- Freedom of movement under United States law
- Freedom of religion in the United States
- Freedom of speech in the United States
- Freedom of the press in the United States
- Gambling in the United States
- LGBT rights in the United States
- Marriage and union in the United States
- Civil union in the United States
- Domestic partnership in the United States
- Marriage in the United States
- Common-law marriage in the United States
- Divorce in the United States
- Same-sex marriage in the United States
- Same-sex marriage law in the United States by state
- Same-sex marriage legislation in the United States
- Same-sex marriage status in the United States by state
- Prisoner rights in the United States
- Pro se legal representation in the United States
- Prostitution in the United States
- Right of foreigners to vote in the United States
- Right to keep and bear arms
- Gun law in the United States
- Gun laws in the United States
- Gun laws in the United States by state
- Gun law in the United States
- Right to petition in the United States
- Rights and responsibilities of marriages in the United States
- Smoking in the United States
- Law enforcement in the United States
- Local ordinance
- Rent control in the United States
- School anti-bullying legislation in the United States
- Secession in the United States
- Securities regulation in the United States
- Speed limits in the United States
- Taxation in the United States
- Zoning in the United States
Culture of the United States
- Main article: Culture of the United States
- American humor
- American family structure
- Languages of the United States
- National symbols of the United States
- Religion in the United States
- Society of the United States
- World Heritage Sites in the United States
American cuisine
Main article: Cuisine of the United States
- Supermarket Chains in the United States
- Food Companies in the United States
- Fast Food Chains in the United States
- Vineyards in the United States
- Orchards in the United States
Historical cuisine
- Cajun cuisine
- Louisiana Creole cuisine
- Midwestern cuisine
- Native American cuisine
- Southern cuisine
- Southwestern cuisine
- Tex-Mex cuisine
Cuisine of the states and territories
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AS - GU - MP - PR - VI
Art in the United States
- American Literature
- Museums in the United States
- Music of the United States
- Theater of the United States
- Television in the United States
- Visual arts of the United States
Film
- Cinema of the United States
- Academy Award
- Golden Globe Award
- Highest-grossing films
- Film production companies
Music in the United States
Genres
- Alternative rock
- Bluegrass music
- Blues music
- Country music
- Folk music
- Gospel music
- Hardcore punk
- Heavy metal
- Hip hop
- Jazz
- Punk rock
- R&B music
- Rock music
- Soul music
Music in the states and territories
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Radio
Sports in the United States
- Main article: Sports in the United States
- Football in the United States
- Baseball in the United States
- Little League Baseball
- Soccer in the United States
- Stadiums in the United States
List of Major Sports Leagues in the United States
- Main article: Major North American professional sports leagues
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Sports by state and territory
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Sports Museums in the United States
- National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
- Pro Football Hall of Fame
- Hockey Hall of Fame
- International Boxing Hall of Fame
- International Tennis Hall of Fame
- NASCAR Hall of Fame
- Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
- World Golf Hall of Fame
Education in the United States
- Main article: Education in the United States
Education in the states and territories
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Economy and infrastructure of the United States
- Main article: Economy of the United States
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| The United States is the world's largest economy (IMF, 2010). |
- Currency of the United States: US$
- ISO 4217: USD
- Banking in the United States
- Communications in the United States
- Companies of the United States
- Economic history of the United States
- National debt by U.S. presidential terms
- United States public debt
- Energy in the United States
- Electricity sector of the United States
- Energy conservation in the United States
- Energy policy of the United States
- U.S. Lighting Energy Policy
- United States energy independence
- Nuclear energy policy of the United States
- United States Department of Energy
- United States energy law
- United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
- United States House Committee on Energy and Commerce
- United States Wind Energy Policy
- Petroleum in the United States
- Health care in the United States
- Industry trade groups in the United States
- Tourism in the United States
- Transportation in the United States
- Airports in the United States
- Highway system in the United States
- Rail transport in the United States
- Trade policy of the United States
- North American Free Trade Agreement
- Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
- World Trade Organization
- Wealth in the United States
- Water supply and sanitation in the United States
Economy by state and territory
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Tourism in the United States
See also
- Topic overview:
- All pages beginning with "United States"
- All pages beginning with "American"
- All pages with titles containing "United States"
- All pages with titles containing "American"
References
- ↑ The total length of the land border between Canada and the United States is the longest between any two countries.
- ↑ "Physiographic Regions". United States Geological Survey. 2003-04-17. Retrieved 2008-01-30.
- ↑ DOI Office of Internal Affairs http://www.doi.gov/oia/Islandpages/wakepage.htm
External links
United States travel guide from Wikivoyage
- Government
- Official U.S. Government Web Portal Gateway to governmental sites
- White House Official site of the President of the United States
- Senate Official site of the United States Senate
- House Official site of the United States House of Representatives
- Supreme Court Official site of the Supreme Court of the United States
- Library of Congress Official site of the Library of Congress
- Overviews and Data
- Portrait of the United States Overview from the U.S. Information Agency
- United States CIA World Factbook entry
- United States Encyclopædia Britannica entry
- U.S. Census Housing and Economic Statistics Wide-ranging data from the U.S. Census Bureau
- State Fact Sheets Population, employment, income, and farm data from the U.S. Economic Research Service
- The 50 States of the U.S.A. Collected informational links for each state
- History
- Historical Documents Collected by the National Center for Public Policy Research
- U.S. National Mottos: History and Constitutionality Analysis by the Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
- USA Collected links to historical data
- Maps
Wikimedia Atlas of the United States- National Atlas of the United States Official maps from the U.S. Department of the Interior
- Other
- U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Official government site
| Outlines for each U.S. state |
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| Article indexes for each U.S. state |
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