COUNTRY GUIDE: A PROFILE OF THE COUNTRY

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The Great Success Story

The United States of America is a nation made up of an immense mixture of different peoples who, with little in common, apart from a desire to choose their own paths to wealth, happiness and heaven, have rallied around the ideals that were laid down in the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, to forge the richest, rather inventive and most powerful country on earth, which must be the greatest success story of the modern world.

Thanks to the cinema and television, we all seem to have impressions of what the United States of America is like, yet, nothing can prepare you for the first glimpse of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, the white sandy beaches and palm trees of Florida, your first yellow cab ride in New York, the ubiquitous hamburger joints all over the country, the vast expanses of prairie, the sweet strains of New Orleans jazz or the neon-lights of Las Vegas.

The United States of America is a huge country to explore, with 50 states to choose from, flanked by two oceans and covering an incredibly varied terrain. For five centuries, since the 'New World' was discovered by Christopher Columbus, people from every corner of the globe have come here in search of the "American Dream" and between them, they have created the richest, most powerful country on earth, with a fascinating melting pot of cultures and traditions.

The subtropical states of Florida, California and Hawaii are big tourism centre, while the winter ski resorts and the huge city metropolises are as popular at certain time of the year too. But it is the astonishing, vast landscapes that make America truly distinctive, the spectacular national parks such as Yosemite and the Everglades, the rugged ice fields, the Great Lakes and the desert plains and such awe-inspiring sights as the Grand Canyon and the Rocky Mountains, all should be on every visitor list. This is what makes America what it is.

Geography

The United States of America is about one-half the size of Russia; about three-tenths the size of Africa; about one-half the size of South America being slightly larger than Brazil, is slightly larger than China and about two and one-half times the size of Western Europe.

Its land boundaries total any area of 12,248 kilometres with borders along Canada at 8,893 kilometres (including 2,477 kilometres with Alaska) and Mexico at 3,326 kilometres. There is also a border of 29 kilometres with Cuba which is where the Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay is leased by the United States, but the territory still belongs to and remains a part of Cuba.

The United States of America comprises of 50 States and 1 District which include Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

There are also 14 Dependent Areas including American Samoa, Baker Island, Guam, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Midway Islands, Navassa Island, Northern Mariana Islands, Palmyra Atoll, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Wake Island.

Note: From 18 July 1947 until 1 October 1994, the US administered the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, but recently entered into a new political relationship with all four political units: the Northern Mariana Islands is a commonwealth in political union with the US (effective 3 November 1986); Palau concluded a Compact of Free Association with the US (effective 1 October 1994); the Federated States of Micronesia signed a Compact of Free Association with the US (effective 3 November 1986); the Republic of the Marshall Islands signed a Compact of Free Association with the US (effective 21 October 1986).

History

The origins of many of the Native peoples of North America are believed to have come from the first inhabitants of the continent, who crossed over from Asia across what is nowadays called the Bering Strait. Descendants of these people include the Apache, Cherokee, Crow, Hopi, Iroquois, Mohawk, Navajo and Pueblo who now live in various regions of the country from Arizona to New York State and from Montana to Texas.

Some 500 years before Christopher Columbus discovered the island of Hispaniola in 1492; the first European to reach North American shores was the explorer Leif Eriksson. This eventually led to the first permanent European settlement being made in Saint Augustine, in what is nowadays Florida, by the Spanish in 1565. This was followed in by the French in 1602, who settled in Maine and then the British making their presence felt in 1607, setting up a settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. In 1763 they gained control of the eastern part of North America after the Seven Years' Wars, which collectively was known as the French and Indian wars.

Discontent grew in the 1770's and Boston became the focus of this anti-British sentiment culminating in the American War of Independence beginning nearby in 1775. The Declaration of Independence was made in Philadelphia in 1776, but alas, would not be recognised by the British until 1783, which was two years after they were heavily defeated at the Siege of Yorktown. The America constitution was written in 1787, and ratified by all 13 states in 1790. President Thomas Jefferson acquired Louisiana from France in 1803 and the United States was almost doubled in size.

In 1812, Britain and the United States were at it again, but concluded nothing and after the Mexican War in 1848, with the acquisition of Oregon in 1846, the territory of the United States stretched from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. The Confederate States were formed in early 1861 when some of the Southern slave states seceded and this brought about the start of the American Civil War in April of that year. Four years later in 1865, the Confederacy surrendered, and slavery was abolished. America purchased Alaska from Russia in 1867, for $7.2 million in gold and for the next twenty years, the Americans sought out the Indians placing them into reservations and on winning the Spanish-American War in 1898, the United States gained territories both in the Caribbean and the Pacific.

The major traumatic experiences in the nation's history were the Civil War and the Great Depression of the 1930's, which started by the Stock Market crash of 1929 and most recently the 11th of September terrorist attacks. But, with victories in both World Wars and the end of the Cold War in 1991, the United States of America still remains the world's most powerful nation-state with an economy marked by steady growth, low unemployment and inflation, and rapid advances in technology.

Economy

The United States has the most technologically powerful, diverse, advanced, and largest economy in the world. In this market-oriented economy, private individuals and business firms make most of the decisions, and government buys needed goods and services predominantly in the private marketplace. US business firms enjoy considerably greater flexibility than their counterparts in Western Europe and Japan

Most American firms are at or near the forefront in technological advances, especially in computers and in medical, aerospace, and military equipment, although their advantage has narrowed since the end of the last war. The onrush of technology largely explains the gradual development of a "two-tier labour market" in which those at the bottom lack the education and the professional/technical skills of those at the top and, more and more, fail to get pay raises, health insurance coverage, and other benefits.

Culture

Over the years the United States of America has brought together such a varied combination of peoples from all over the world, each with different cultural, religious and racial backgrounds and many of whom still retaining the traditions and ways of their original homelands. This has given way to a mixing bowl model, in which individual pieces, whilst still retaining their flavour, now contribute to the whole.

There are a multitude of regional accents of so called "American English" with New Yorkers being renowned for their abrupt nasal delivery, many Californians for their flat sounds and abundant beach slang and most Southerners for their slow drawn out drawl. Spanish have in some cases become the lingua franca and has effective dual language status in many parts of southern California and Florida as well as New Mexico and Texas, yet there are still over some 400,000 speakers of Native American dialects.

Modern American culture though is still made famous by its great abundance of fast food joints, offering anything from hamburgers and hotdogs to tortillas and salsa; from fried chicken and fried potatoes to soup and a salad. It owes as much to clever marketing tactics, communications technology and techniques in mass production as it does to entertainers and artists. From films to music radio and from television to the Internet, there is some company in American that if not having invented or discovered it, has packaged and distributed it to as many customers as is possible as well as making it cheap and convenient to boot.

Funnily though, American sport seems to have developed along completely different lines from that of the rest of the world and consequently, there are many games such as baseball, football and basketball that dominate the countries sports scene. Although the United States of America was host to the World Cup in 1994, which raised the profile of soccer, ice hockey still continues to dominate the scene and is the most popular runner-up to the established three games.

Nearly every city in America has its famous skyscraper and those are often more well know to visitors from around the world than such wonders as the Grand Canyon and Niagara Falls. There is New York City boasting probably the biggest share of stunners, including the Empire State Building, the Flatiron Building and the Art Deco Chrysler Building. Chicago also has its gems too, with buildings such as the Manhattan Building and the Tribune and Sears towers, which is a living museum of high-rise development.

Facts for Visitors

Passports - All visitors are required to possess a valid passport for entry into the United States of America and Canada.

Visas: Most visitors to the United States of America require a visa. However, Canadians need only proof of citizenship and a reciprocal visa-waiver program allows citizens of the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland to stay up to 90 days without a visa if they have an onward or return travel ticket.

Travel Restrictions - At certain times, travel restrictions may be put in place for travel to any particular country. Please check with the appropriate government department of your country:

For the UK:  http://www.fco.gov.uk/travel/

Health risks: None, but since the tragic attacks that were made in both New York City and Washington on 11th September 2001 along with a high profile anthrax-laced mailing exposures, the entire nation had been on a heightened state of alert. The chances of falling victim to a terrorism attack are rather slim, but one can never be sure,. It is highly likely that a variety of very much increased and rather tighter security procedures, particularly when it comes to air travel, both to and from as well as within America will be experienced.

Electricity: 110V
Weights & Measures: Imperial

Time Zones: The United States of America lies across 6 different time zones, most of which have a Daylight Saving Time during the Summer period from March/April to October/November where the clocks are put one hour ahead.

Climate & Terrain

The climate in the United States of America is 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 south-west. Low winter temperatures in the north-west are ameliorated occasionally in January and February by warm Chinook winds from the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains.

The terrain varies from the 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 hazards include tsunamis, volcanoes, and earthquake activity around Pacific Basin; hurricanes along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts (mainly from August through to October); tornadoes in the midwest and south-east; mud slides in California; forest fires in the west; flooding and permafrost in northern Alaska, which, of course, is a major impediment to its development.

Average Temperatures in °Celsius

Money & Costs

The currency in America is the US Dollar with US$1 = 100 cents. Notes are in denominations of $1, $5, $10, $20, $50, $100 and $1,000 with coins in 1 cent (penny); 5cents (nickel);10 cents (dime) and 25 cents (quarter)

If you intend to carry your money in the form of traveller's checks, save yourself a lot of hassle and expense by buying them in US dollars from the outset. Restaurants, hotels and most stores accept US dollar traveller's checks as if they were cash, others would have to be changed at a bank.

Major credit cards are widely accepted; and you'll find it hard to perform certain transactions (such as renting a car or reserving tickets over the phone) without one of these handy pieces of plastic. Depending on the sophistication of your home banking network, you should also be able to access your bank account using ATM machines, which are almost everywhere.

Tipping is expected in restaurants and better hotels with the going rate in restaurants at 15% of the bill and never tip in a fast-food or self service environment. Taxi drivers, bartenders and hairdressers depend on similar-sized gratuities. Sales taxes vary from state to state but are typically 5%-8%, though some states have no sales taxes at all.

When to Go

The summer months of June through August are the most popular times for travellers to visit the United States of America, which is also a popular time for Americans to travel within the country themselves too. We therefore recommend that to avoid the crowds, it may be rather easier to travel during the early spring or later summer and into early autumn periods. One of the best times to visit though is the autumn, when the leaves on the trees start to change colour and are at their best at this time, right across the New England states in the north-eastern part of America.

Most of the area east of the Rockies can be rather hot and humid during summer months, especially the further south you go. The southern coastline of California is quite temperate most of the year, but if you want to be sure of being able to get in some sunbathing, then it may well be best to visit between the months of June and September. Between the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada's running along the eastern edge of California, there are deserts, which, especially in the southwest can be very hot and dry during the summer months.

Events

National (public) Holidays

On these days all post offices and banks and some museums, libraries, stores and restaurants and night-clubs are closed. In addition various states and regions observe their holidays too.