THE USA by Monica Mariani https://padlet.com/prof_mariani_monica/nldzhbj4rm9t Realizzato con un alone di mistero en-us 2017-11-27 15:21:47 UTC 2017-12-04 13:57:26 UTC hello@padlet.com The United States of America consists of a federation of fifty states, forty-eight of which are on the mainland; the other two are Alaska, which lies northwest of Canada, and Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean. Because of its size it has 4 different time zones; going west, there is one hour difference between each zone, so when it is 9:00 a.m. in New York, it is 6:00 a.m. in Los Angeles. The landscape of the USA is varied; there are forests, deserts, mountains and plains. The three main mountain ranges are the Pacific Range and the Rocky Mountains in the west and the Appalachian Mountains in the east. The highest peak is Mt. McKinley in Alaska. It is 6,194 metres high.The central part of the country is a vast plain crossed by two of the longest rivers in the country: the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. The United States is rich in lakes. The largest are along the Canadian borders and are called the Great Lakes. They are Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. You can find every kind of climate on this country’s territory. There is an arctic climate in Alaska and a subtropical climate in Florida. The USA is often called “The Melting Pot of the World”. In fact, there are about 250 million Americans of different races and origins. The American flag has thirteen stripes which represent the original thirteen states that formed the United States, and fifty stars, the number of states which form the present federation. The American Constitution, signed on 25th June 1787 and adopted by the 13 original states in 1788, was the first written Constitution. The major languages are American English and Spanish. prof_mariani_monica https://padlet.com/prof_mariani_monica/nldzhbj4rm9t/wish/212839369
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS
The USA is a Presidential Republic. It is a federal country made up of 50 states each of which has its own government, governor, laws, taxes, police force and is subjected to both State and Federal Government. 
Washington D.C. (District of Columbia) is the capital and seat of the US government. It is an independent state.
According to the American Constitution the government is divided into three branches: the Legislative branch led by Congress, the Executive led by the President and the Judiciary branch that is led by the Supreme Court. 
Congress consists of two elements: the House of Representatives and the Senate. The House of Representative has 435 members, the Senate 100 members. The House of Representatives introduces bills and passes them. The bills then have to be debated and voted by the Senate. Finally they are signed by the President. 
The President, who is the head of the state and head of the government, appoints the Supreme Court Judges and is Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces. The American President is elected every four years. The election takes place at the beginning of November. The President enters the White House, his official residence on 20th January. 
The USA has a two party system: the main parties are the Republican Party, symbolically represented by an elephant, and the Democratic Party whose animal emblem is a donkey. 







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