Продолжение раздела «Cultural Reader», информационные материалы о Соединенных Штатах Америки.
Перейти в начало — The United States of America (Общая информация о США).
Следующие статьи - American People (Американский народ), Main Cities of the USA (Основные Города США), American System of Education (Американская система образования), American Holidays (Американские праздники).

American Climate

The climate of the US is temperate, with four distinct seasons. The USA is a very large country, so it has several different climate zones.

The coldest regions are in the north and north-east, where much snow falls in winter. The climate of Alaska is arctic.

All along the western coast, the temperature changes little between winter and summer months, while in the north central part of the country the temperature difference between winter and summer is very great — 36 degrees centigrade and even more. In all of the heavily populated parts of the United States the summer can be extremely hot, and particularly near the eastern seaboard it is very unpleasant. In the winter, on the other hand, it can be very cold.

The climate along the Pacific coast is much warmer than that of the Atlantic coast. Parts of the Pacific Coast are very wet. It is determined by the range of mountains. The west coastal territory is favourable for agriculture.

To the east, beyond the mountains, there is a vast dry region. This dry land extends from Canada to Mexico. But still farther east, in the Southeastern United States, you can find another wet region. On the whole the East is much wetter than the West. The climate of eastern and central America is ’continental’ and more resembles Russia.

One of the most important geographical boundaries in the United States is the 50-centimeter rainfall line, which runs north and south almost through the middle of the country. East of the line, farming is relatively easy, and the population is relatively large. West of the line, there are irrigation systems, dry-farming, grazing and fewer people.

The south has a subtropical climate. The hottest places are Florida, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona.
Americans can gather several crops a year. They grow wheat and corn (in the north and the north-east), tobacco and cotton (in the south-east), grapes (in the west). In the west cattle breeding is popular (sheep, cows). On the whole agricultural conditions are very favourable.

Следующая статья о США - American People (Американский народ)