美国人常说他们的国家是由几个大的地区组成的。这些地区其实属于文化区域，而不是行政单元。这是由历史和地理条件形成的，是由一个地区各部分共有的经济、文学和社会习俗塑造而成。
是什么使这些地区彼此有别呢？在很多地区内部，语言的用法各不相同，地方口音浓重。在观点和态度方面也存在地域上的差别。一个地区的多元文化传统以及年龄和职业等人口统计学上的独特特征也是各个地区各具特色的原因。
美国地表形态丰富，有森林、沙漠、山脉、高原以及肥沃的平原。大部分地区位于温带，但气候差别很大。美国本土自东部大西洋到西部太平洋，绵延4，500公里，北邻加拿大，南接墨西哥和墨西哥湾，国土总面积达900万平方公里（包括阿拉斯加和夏威夷）。在50个州中，阿拉斯加州面积最大，其次为德克萨斯州。
美国东部是阿巴拉契亚山脉，西部为落基山脉，中部地带流淌着密西西比河和密苏里河，还有它们的大小支流。密西西比河是世界上最长的河流之一；被美国人称作“众水之父”。其主要支流密苏里河的源头之水自北部落基山脉流出，历经6，400公里的漫漫长路，注入墨西哥湾的密西西比河河口。从美国地貌图上看，山脉就像凹凸不平的块，平原像广袤而开阔的空间，河流就像蜿蜒前行的丝线。现在，公路、铁路以及横贯大陆的交错航线布满整个国家，交通十分便利。就在几代人以前，这些地貌特征还暗藏着巨大的危险和艰辛。
今天，当游客在俄勒冈和华盛顿两个西海岸州的喀斯喀特山平坦的道路上驱车前行时，还可以看到岩石上有绳索的痕迹，当年拓荒者为了到达下方的富饶河谷地区，从这里艰难地把自己的马匹和篷车放下悬崖。在加利福尼亚的内华达山脉，现在有主干道横穿一个山隘，而过去，这里却窄得连马车都过不去，举家迁徙的拓荒者们只好把车拆开，背着过隘口，到达目的地再重新装好。1848年，穿过大陆的拓荒者需要109天才能完成他们的跋涉——如果他们够强壮和幸运的话。而现在，从纽约到旧金山开车只需要不到一个星期的时间。

Portrait of the USA: From Sea to Shining Sea (published by Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State) (PDF 65 KB)
Outline of American Geography (published by Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State) (PDF 560 KB)
See You in the U.S.A. (Electronic Journal, Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State) (PDF 1.60 MB)
U.S. Map with Links to State Maps (National Geographic Society) (PDF 864 KB)
World Heritage Sites in the United States (PDF 886 KB)

Americans often speak of their country as one of several large regions. These regions are cultural units rather than governmental units – formed by history and geography and shaped by the economics, literature and folkways that all the parts of a region share.
What makes one region different from another? Within several regions, language is used differently and there are strong dialects. There are also differences in outlook and attitude based on geography. A region’s multicultural heritage as well as distinct demographic characteristics like age and occupation also make regions different and special.
The United States is a varied land – of forests, deserts, mountains, high flat lands and fertile plains. The country lies mostly in the temperate zone but there is a very wide range of climate variations. The continental United States stretches 4,500 kilometers from the Atlantic Ocean on the east to the Pacific Ocean on the west. It borders Canada on the north and reaches south to Mexico and the Gulf of Mexico. The United States covers a total area of 9 million square kilometers (including Alaska and Hawaii). Alaska is the largest in area of the 50 states, and Texas is the second largest.
From the Appalachian Mountains in the East to the Rocky Mountains in the West, the center of the country is drained by the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers and their branches. The Mississippi is one of the world’s great rivers; it was known to Native Americans as the “father of waters.” Water from the source of its main branch, the Missouri River, flows about 6,400 kilometers from the northern Rocky Mountains to the mouth of the Mississippi in the Gulf of Mexico. On a topographic map of the United States, the mountains look like jagged masses, the plains like vast, open flat spaces, and the rivers like meandering threads. Today, highways, railways and transcontinental aircraft criss-cross the land, making travel easy. But only a few generations ago, the topographic features on the map represented great dangers and difficulties.
Today’s visitors, riding over a good road in the Cascade Mountains in the west coast states of Oregon and Washington, may see marks on the rocks made by ropes where pioneer settlers painfully lowered their horses and wagons down cliffs to reach the fertile river valley far below. In the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California, the main route now runs through a mountain pass which was once too narrow for a wagon to go through. Pioneer families reaching that pass had to take their wagons apart piece by piece, carry them through, and then reassemble them on the other side. In 1848, pioneers who crossed the continent made the trip in 109 days – if they were fortunate and strong. Today a New York family can drive by car to San Francisco in less than a week.
Portrait of the USA: From Sea to Shining Sea (published by Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State) (PDF 65 KB)
Outline of American Geography (published by Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State) (PDF 560 KB)
See You in the U.S.A. (Electronic Journal, Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State) (PDF 1.60 MB)
U.S. Map with Links to State Maps (National Geographic Society) (PDF 864 KB)
World Heritage Sites in the United States (PDF 886 KB)