Geography of the USA

The United States shares its borders with Canada in the north, Mexico in the South, the Atlantic Ocean in the
east and Pacific in the West, as well as the Gulf of Mexico in the southeast. The country also has maritime
borders with Russia, Cuba and the Bahamas in addition to Canada and Mexico. Did you know the Canada-USA
land border is the longest border shared by only two countries in the world? Alaska borders the Pacific Ocean to
the south and southwest, the Bering Strait to the west, and the Arctic Ocean to the north, while Hawaii lies far to
the southwest of the mainland in the Pacific Ocean.
The United States is the third largest country by area and has a vast array of geographic variation. By in large,
the country is divided into hills and low, unbroken mountains (Appalachians) in the east; a wide central plain and
high, rugged mountain ranges (Cordillera) with occasional river valleys in the west and north. But this simple
division is nowhere close to properly identifying all the diversity of the land – which you can further divide into
24 sub-regions. Hawaii varies too, but is largely of volcanic origin. Despite a large population, the size of the
country means that population density is relatively low – ranging from full and bustling cities to wide stretches of
all but uninhabited land.
North Carolina has the Appalachian Mountains (including the Blue Ridge and the Great Smoky Mountains) in
its western part, a central plateau and a low lying coastal plain covering almost half of the state. The coastal plain
is covered by thick forests of pines and other evergreens; due to the sandy soils, it is difficult for many deciduous
trees to grow. The easternmost portion of the state contains the Outer Banks (sandy islands that do not have coral
reefs to attach to and thus are constantly shifting their locations). The Outer Banks are known as the ‘Graveyard
of the Atlantic’ because numerous ships have been wrecked along their beaches and shoals due to storms and
strong tides.
In Nevada, much of the northern part of the state is within the Great Basin; a mild desert that experiences hot
temperatures in the summer and cold temperatures in the winter. This is broken up with mountains and valleys
which are home to lush forests and vegetation. The southern part of the state is much lower and made up largely
of desert (where you find the infamous Las Vegas).
California, which would be the eighth largest economy in the world if it were a country, is quite diverse
geographically, it has fertile farmlands in the central regions (Sierra Nevada), as well as the Mojave desert in the
south and also high, sometimes snow-tipped, mountains.
And, Oregon, which actually boasts the nation’s fastest talkers, has pristine lakes, mountains, rainforest and
desert as well as a claim to the shortest river in the world: the D River.
Given the vast range of landscapes and terrain, the climate of the States is similarly diverse. As a general rule,
the further south you travel the warmer it becomes and the further west you travel the drier it becomes (until you
reach the West Coast). The climatic experience ranges from Mediterranean (on the California coast), semi-arid
(west of the 100th Meridian), humid continental (north and east of the 100th Meridian) and humid subtropical (in
the Gulf and South Atlantic regions). Spring starts at the end of March/beginning of April, summer stretches
from June to August, autumn from September to November and winter from December to February/March.
In California, mid-summer temperatures can reach the mid 30 ℃s with average lows of 14 ℃ while mid-winter
brings average highs of around 12℃ and average lows of 3 ℃. In Santa Cruz, however, where the
accommodation is, summer highs sit more around 24℃ and winter highs are around 17 ℃ (with average lows of
12℃ and 5℃ respectively). Precipitation occurs almost solely in winter, autumn and spring. However, the
project involves camping and exploring multiple national parks in the region and so the weather may also be
variable depending on where the camp is made for the night.