1. Geography of the United States (SOL WG.4) FGMS Geography 8

2. Basic USA Facts The USA has 50 states plus various territories. Recently Puerto Rico voted to become a state too. The population is around 315 million, making it the 3rd biggest country by population. The income per capita is $49,601 making it the 15th richest country per person in the world. Most of the 14 countries with richer citizens are tiny in comparison.

3. USA facts (continued) The US has no official federal language, although more than half of its states have English as their official language and most Americans speak English. Spanish is another major language, particularly in the South West. 52% of Americans are Protestant Christians of various denominations, 24% are Catholics. Many more religions have significant followings and an increasing number of Americans do not have a religion. The US has the largest military in the world by money spent on it, dwarfing the spending of the next countries combined.

4. USA facts (continued) The US economy is diverse, from car manufacturing to internet technology, agriculture, and almost everything in between. The USA is bordered to the North by Canada and to the South by Mexico. It has a free trade agreement with these countries called NAFTA.

5. USA Climate Facts The United States has climate zones ranging from: semi-arid steppe (the Great Plains) frozen tundra (Alaska), humid subtropics (the Southeast) deserts and highlands (the Southwest).

6. USA Natural Disasters Hurricanes regularly batter the eastern seaboard and the Gulf of Mexico. Examples: Hurricane Katrina, striking the Gulf of Mexico and particularly New Orleans in 2005, and Hurricane Sandy, ravaging the Mid-Atlantic and New England in 2012, have been the costliest.

7. USA Natural Disasters (continued) Tornados are more common in the United States than in any other country. Notable floods in United States include the Great Dayton Flood, which killed 360 people in Ohio in 1913, and the Great Mississippi Floor of 1927. Blizzards have also wreaked significant destruction in the U.S. The 1993 “Storm of the Century” devastated the entire Eastern United states, killing 310 people and causing $6.65 billion in damage.

8. Blizzard of 1980 (“The Circus Blizzard”). Circus elephants had to walk through the snow after the show.

9. Circus Blizzard of 1980. Circus goers had to spend at least two nights at the Scope Coilseum.

10. Circus Blizzard of 1980. Downtown Norfolk.

11. 1980 Blizzard Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-7eBCd3VtQ