General
Information
General: Information
on the USA is provided in two parts: a general overview and
individual State profiles, each of which has its own section.
Area: 9,809,155
sq km (3,787,319 sq miles).
Population: 281,421,906
(2000).
Population density: 28.7
per sq km.
Capital: Washington,
DC. Population: 572,059 (2000). Twenty other cities have
a population larger than that of Washington, DC. New York is the
largest city, with a population of over eight million. Los
Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego,
Dallas and San Antonio had populations of over one million in
2000.
GEOGRAPHY: Covering
a large part of the North American continent, the USA shares
borders with Canada to the north and Mexico to the south and has
coasts on the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic oceans, the Caribbean
Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. The State of Alaska, in the
northwest corner of the continent, is separated from the rest of
the country by Canada, and Hawaii lies in the central Pacific
Ocean. One of the largest countries in the world, the USA has an
enormous diversity of geographical features. The climate ranges
from subtropical to Arctic, with a corresponding breadth of
flora and fauna. For a more detailed description of each
region’s geographical characteristics, see the individual
State sections.
Government: Federal
Republic since 1789. Gained independence from the UK in 1776. Head
of State and Government: President George W Bush since 2001.
Language: English,
with significant Spanish-speaking minorities.
Religion: Protestant
with Roman Catholic, Jewish and many ethnic minorities. In large
cities, people of the same ethnic background often live within
defined communities.
Time: The
USA is divided into six time zones:
Eastern Standard Time: GMT - 5 (GMT - 4 from first Sunday
in April to last Sunday in October). Central Standard Time: GMT
- 6 (GMT - 5 from first Sunday in April to last Sunday in
October).
Mountain Standard Time: GMT - 7 (GMT - 6 from first
Sunday in April to last Sunday in October).
Pacific Standard Time: GMT - 8 (GMT - 7 from first Sunday
in April to last Sunday in October).
Alaska: GMT - 9 (GMT - 8 from first Sunday in April to
last Sunday in October).
Hawaii: GMT - 10.
Note: When
calculating travel times, bear in mind the adoption of Daylight
Saving Time (DST) by most States in summer. From the first
Sunday in April to the last Sunday in October, clocks are put
forward one hour, changing at 0200 hours local time. Regions not
observing DST include most of Indiana, all of Arizona and
Hawaii.
Electricity: 110/120
volts AC, 60Hz. Plugs are of the flat two-pin type (grounded
three-pin plugs are also widely used). European electrical
appliances not fitted with dual-voltage capabilities will
require a plug adaptor, which is best purchased before
arrival in the USA.
Communications:
Telephone: Full
IDD is available. Country code: 1. Outgoing international code:
011. For emergency police, fire or medical services in major
cities, dial 911. The following area codes denote toll-free (freephone)
numbers: 800, 855, 866, 877 and 888.
Mobile telephone: GSM
1900 network, with a mixture of cellular and digital (especially
in major centres) coverage. Network operators offering the
closest to nationwide coverage include Verizon (formerly
Bell Atlantic and GTE, now in joint venture with Vodafone;
website: http://www.verizonwireless.com/),
Cingular (joint venture of SBC and Bell South; website: http://www.cingular.com/)
and AT&T Wireless (website: http://www.attws.com/).
Fax: There
are bureaux in all main centres, and major hotels also have
facilities. Fax services are very widely available.
Internet: There
are Internet cafes in most urban areas. ISPs include America
Online (website: http://www.aol.com/),
Cable & Wireless (website: http://www.cw.com/),
AT&T Business Internet Services (website: http://www.attbusiness.net/)
and MSN (website: http://www.msn.com/).
Telegram: These
can be sent through all telegraph and post offices.
Post: There
are numerous post offices throughout the states. Stamps can also
be bought at stamp machines in hotels and shops and at ATMs, at
extra cost. Airmail to Europe takes up to a week. Post office
hours: 0900-1700 (24 hours at main offices in larger cities).
Press: The
most influential papers are The New York Times, Washington
Post, Los Angeles Times and the Wall Street Journal.
Owing to the high degree of self-government of each State,
newspapers tend to be regionalised, although recent economic
pressures have resulted in large-scale mergers. Even so, the USA
publishes more newspapers than any other country, and has
perhaps the bulkiest Sunday newspapers in the world,
particularly the Sunday edition of The New York Times.
Radio: BBC
World Service (website: www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice)
and Voice of America (website: http://www.voa.gov/)
can be received. From time to time the frequencies change and
the most up-to-date can be found online.
