United States

Map of United States

Official name: United States of America Capital: Washington, DC Area: total: 9,629,091 sq km land: 9,158,960 sq km water: 470,131 sq km note: includes only the 50 states and District of Columbia Location: North America, bordering both the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Pacific Ocean, between Canada and Mexico Geographic coordinates: 38 00 N, 97 00 W Comparative Area: about half the size of Russia; about three-tenths the size of Africa; about half the size of South America (or slightly larger than Brazil); slightly larger than China; about two and a half times the size of Western Europe Land boundaries: total: 12,034 km border countries: Canada 8,893 km (including 2,477 km with Alaska), Mexico 3,141 km note: US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba is leased by the US and thus remains part of Cuba; the base boundary is 29 km Coastline: 19,924 km Terrain: vast central plain, mountains in west, hills and low mountains in east; rugged mountains and broad river valleys in Alaska; rugged, volcanic topography in Hawaii Elevation extremes: lowest point: Death Valley -86 m highest point: Mount McKinley 6,194 m