The United States of America (USA) is a country primarily located in central North America, between Canada and Mexico. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five self-governing territories, and several other island possessions. At 9.8 million square kilometers it is the world’s third- or fourth-largest country by total area. With a population of over 328 million, it is the third most populous country in the world. The national capital is Washington, D.C., and the most populous city is New York City.
The 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia is contiguous land is composing 83.65% of total U.S. land area. USA also include Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, and Northern Mariana Islands in the Pacific, and Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands in the Caribbean. Measured by only land area, the United States is third in size behind Russia and China, just ahead of Canada.
I have been to USA on several occasions:
- 1981: Training courses for gas turbine maintenance as part of my education + visiting friends: Evendale/Cincinati (Ohio), Ontario/Los Angeles/San Diego (California), Overland Park/Kansas City (Kansas), Denver (Colorado), Fort Collins (Colorado), Laramie (Wyoming).
- 1989: Two overnight stops in Miami Beach on my way to Cancun in Mexico.
- 2006 (April): Ship visit in Bridgeport (Connecticut), driving from Newark (New Jersey).
- 2006 (December): Ship visits in Providence (Rhode Island) near Boston and Bridgeport (Connecticut), ending up with a sightseeing tour in New York (driving from Boston to New York).
- 2007 (January): Ship visit in Portsmouth (New Hampshire – north of Boston).
- 2012 (April): Visiting friends in Portland, Oregon.