Geography_of_the_United_States

context: From 1989 through 1996, the total area of the US was listed as 9,372,610 km2 (3,618,780 sq mi) (land + inland water only). The listed total area changed to 9,629,091 km2 (3,717,813 sq mi) in 1997 (Great Lakes area and coastal waters added), to 9,631,418 km2 (3,718,711 sq mi) in 2004, to 9,631,420 km2 (3,718,710 sq mi) in 2006, and to 9,826,630 km2 (3,794,080 sq mi) in 2007 (territorial waters added). Currently, the CIA World Factbook gives 9,826,675 km2 (3,794,100 sq mi), the United Nations Statistics Division gives 9,629,091 km2 (3,717,813 sq mi), and the Encyclopædia Britannica gives 9,522,055 km2 (3,676,486 sq mi)(Great Lakes area included but not coastal waters). These source consider only the 50 states and the Federal District, and exclude overseas territories.
qas: answers: text: 3,618,780 sq mi
question: During the period from 1989 - 1996, what was the total are of the US in miles?

answers: text: 3,794,100 sq mi
question: According to the CIA World Factbook, what is the total area of the US in miles?

answers: text: 3,676,486 sq mi
question: According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, what is the total area of the US in miles?

context: By total area (water as well as land), the United States is either slightly larger or smaller than the People's Republic of China, making it the world's third or fourth largest country. China and the United States are smaller than Russia and Canada in total area, but are larger than Brazil. By land area only (exclusive of waters), the United States is the world's third largest country, after Russia and China, with Canada in fourth. Whether the US or China is the third largest country by total area depends on two factors: (1) The validity of China's claim on Aksai Chin and Trans-Karakoram Tract. Both these territories are also claimed by India, so are not counted; and (2) How US calculates its own surface area. Since the initial publishing of the World Factbook, the CIA has updated the total area of United States a number of times.
qas: answers: text: third or fourth largest country
question: Compared to other countries, how large is the US?

answers: text: Canada
question: Which country is the worlds fourth largest?

answers: text: China
question: Who may also be the third largest country?

context: The United States shares land borders with Canada (to the north) and Mexico (to the south), and a territorial water border with Russia in the northwest, and two territorial water borders in the southeast between Florida and Cuba, and Florida and the Bahamas. The contiguous forty-eight states are otherwise bounded by the Pacific Ocean on the west, the Atlantic Ocean on the east, and the Gulf of Mexico to the southeast. Alaska borders the Pacific Ocean to the south, 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.
qas: answers: text: Canada (to the north) and Mexico (to the south),
question: Who does the US share land borders with?

answers: text: Russia
question: Who does the US share water borders with in the northwest?

answers: text: forty-eight
question: How many contiguous states are there?

answers: text: Pacific Ocean
question: Which ocean does Alaska border to the south?

context: The capital city, Washington, District of Columbia, is a federal district located on land donated by the state of Maryland. (Virginia had also donated land, but it was returned in 1849.) The United States also has overseas territories with varying levels of independence and organization: in the Caribbean the territories of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and in the Pacific the inhabited territories of Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands, along with a number of uninhabited island territories.
qas: answers: text: Washington, District of Columbia
question: What is the capital city of the US?

answers: text: Maryland
question: Which US state donated Washington, D.C.?

answers: text: Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands
question: What are the US territories overseas located in the Pacific?

answers: text: Virginia
question: Which US state also donated territory to Washington, D.C., but had it returned?

context: The five Great Lakes are located in the north-central portion of the country, four of them forming part of the border with Canada, only Lake Michigan situated entirely within United States. The southeast United States contain subtropical forests and, near the gulf coast, mangrove wetlands, especially in Florida. West of the Appalachians lies the Mississippi River basin and two large eastern tributaries, the Ohio River and the Tennessee River. The Ohio and Tennessee Valleys and the Midwest consist largely of rolling hills and productive farmland, stretching south to the Gulf Coast.
qas: answers: text: four
question: How many Great Lakes form a border with Canada?

answers: text: Lake Michigan
question: Which of the Great Lakes is entirely located in US territory?

answers: text: Mississippi River
question: Which major river is located west of the Appalachian mountains?

answers: text: rolling hills and productive farmland
question: What type of land makes up the Ohio and Tennessee valleys?

answers: text: southeast United States
question: Which section of the US contains subtropical forests and mangrove wetlands?

context: The Great Plains lie west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains. A large portion of the country's agricultural products are grown in the Great Plains. Before their general conversion to farmland, the Great Plains were noted for their extensive grasslands, from tallgrass prairie in the eastern plains to shortgrass steppe in the western High Plains. Elevation rises gradually from less than a few hundred feet near the Mississippi River to more than a mile high in the High Plains. The generally low relief of the plains is broken in several places, most notably in the Ozark and Ouachita Mountains, which form the U.S. Interior Highlands, the only major mountainous region between the Rocky Mountains and the Appalachian Mountains.
qas: answers: text: The Great Plains
question: What area is located in between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains?

answers: text: the Great Plains
question: In which area are a large number of the country's agricultural products grown?

answers: text: a mile high
question: How high does elevation rise in the Great Plains?

answers: text: Interior Highlands
question: What is the only major mountain ranged located between the Appalachian Mountains and the Rocky Mountains?

context: The Great Plains come to an abrupt end at the Rocky Mountains. The Rocky Mountains form a large portion of the Western U.S., entering from Canada and stretching nearly to Mexico. The Rocky Mountain region is the highest region of the United States by average elevation. The Rocky Mountains generally contain fairly mild slopes and wider peaks compared to some of the other great mountain ranges, with a few exceptions (such as the Teton Mountains in Wyoming and the Sawatch Range in Colorado). The highest peaks of the Rockies are found in Colorado, the tallest peak being Mount Elbert at 14,440 ft (4,400 m). The Rocky Mountains contain some of the most spectacular, and well known scenery in the world. In addition, instead of being one generally continuous and solid mountain range, it is broken up into a number of smaller, intermittent mountain ranges, forming a large series of basins and valleys.
qas: answers: text: Canada
question: Which northern country do the Rocky Mountains begin at?

answers: text: Mexico
question: Which northern country do the Rocky Mountains terminate at?

answers: text: The Rocky Mountain
question: In the US, which region is the highest by elevation?

answers: text: Colorado
question: In which state are the highest peaks of the Rocky Mountains found?

context: West of the Rocky Mountains lies the Intermontane Plateaus (also known as the Intermountain West), a large, arid desert lying between the Rockies and the Cascades and Sierra Nevada ranges. The large southern portion, known as the Great Basin, consists of salt flats, drainage basins, and many small north-south mountain ranges. The Southwest is predominantly a low-lying desert region. A portion known as the Colorado Plateau, centered around the Four Corners region, is considered to have some of the most spectacular scenery in the world. It is accentuated in such national parks as Grand Canyon, Arches, Mesa Verde National Park and Bryce Canyon, among others. Other smaller Intermontane areas include the Columbia Plateau covering eastern Washington, western Idaho and northeast Oregon and the Snake River Plain in Southern Idaho.
qas: answers: text: Intermontane Plateaus
question: What is the name of the plateau that lies west of the Rocky Mountains?

answers: text: the Great Basin
question: What is the name of the large southern portion of the Intermontane Plateaus?

answers: text: salt flats
question: What type of flats compose the Great Basin?

answers: text: Colorado Plateau
question: What region is centered around the Four Corners?

context: The Intermontane Plateaus come to an end at the Cascade Range and the Sierra Nevada. The Cascades consist of largely intermittent, volcanic mountains, many rising prominently from the surrounding landscape. The Sierra Nevada, further south, is a high, rugged, and dense mountain range. It contains the highest point in the contiguous 48 states, Mount Whitney (14,505 ft or 4,421 m) It is located at the boundary between California's Inyo and Tulare counties, just 84.6 mi or 136.2 km west-northwest of the lowest point in North America at the Badwater Basin in Death Valley National Park at 279 ft or 85 m below sea level.
qas: answers: text: Cascade Range
question: What is the name of the range where the Intermontane plateaus end?

answers: text: Sierra Nevada
question: Which mountain range contains Mount Whitney?

answers: text: volcanic mountains
question: What type of mountains compose the Cascades?

answers: text: Mount Whitney
question: What is the largest point in the Sierra Nevadas?

answers: text: 14,505 ft
question: How tall is Mount Whitney?

context: These areas contain some spectacular scenery as well, as evidenced by such national parks as Yosemite and Mount Rainier. West of the Cascades and Sierra Nevada is a series of valleys, such as the Central Valley in California and the Willamette Valley in Oregon. Along the coast is a series of low mountain ranges known as the Pacific Coast Ranges. Much of the Pacific Northwest coast is inhabited by some of the densest vegetation outside of the Tropics, and also the tallest trees in the world (the Redwoods).
qas: answers: text: Yosemite and Mount Rainier
question: What are two national parks located in the mountainous regions?

answers: text: Central Valley
question: What is the name of the famous valley located in California?

answers: text: Willamette Valley
question: What is the name of the famous valley located in Oregon?

answers: text: Pacific Coast Ranges
question: What are the low mountain ranges that are located along the pacific coast called?

answers: text: Redwoods
question: What are the tallest trees in the world?

context: The Atlantic coast of the United States is low, with minor exceptions. The Appalachian Highland owes its oblique northeast-southwest trend to crustal deformations which in very early geological time gave a beginning to what later came to be the Appalachian mountain system. This system had its climax of deformation so long ago (probably in Permian time) that it has since then been very generally reduced to moderate or low relief. It owes its present-day altitude either to renewed elevations along the earlier lines or to the survival of the most resistant rocks as residual mountains. The oblique trend of this coast would be even more pronounced but for a comparatively modern crustal movement, causing a depression in the northeast resulting in an encroachment of the sea upon the land. Additionally, the southeastern section has undergone an elevation resulting in the advance of the land upon the sea.
qas: answers: text: crustal deformations
question: Why does the Appalachian Highland have the terrain it does?

answers: text: Permian time
question: During what geological period did the Appalachian mountains reach their highest formation point?

answers: text: The Appalachian Highland
question: What is the name of the mountaneous region along the Atlantic cost. 

context: The east coast Appalachian system, originally forest covered, is relatively low and narrow and is bordered on the southeast and south by an important coastal plain. The Cordilleran system on the western side of the continent is lofty, broad and complicated having two branches, the Rocky Mountain System and the Pacific Mountain System. In between these mountain systems lie the Intermontaine Plateaus. Both the Columbia River and Colorado River rise far inland near the easternmost members of the Cordilleran system, and flow through plateaus and intermontaine basins to the ocean. Heavy forests cover the northwest coast, but elsewhere trees are found only on the higher ranges below the Alpine region. The intermontane valleys, plateaus and basins range from treeless to desert with the most arid region being in the southwest.
qas: answers: text: forest
question: What originally covered the east coast of the Appalachians?

answers: text: Rocky Mountain System and the Pacific Mountain System
question: What are the two branches of the Cordilleran system?

answers: text: Columbia River and Colorado River
question: Which two major rivers are located in the Cordilleran system?

answers: text: southwest
question: Which region of the Appalachians is the most arid?

context: The Laurentian Highlands, the Interior Plains and the Interior Highlands lie between the two coasts, stretching from the Gulf of Mexico northward, far beyond the national boundary, to the Arctic Ocean. The central plains are divided by a hardly perceptible height of land into a Canadian and a United States portion. It is from the United States side, that the great Mississippi system discharges southward to the Gulf of Mexico. The upper Mississippi and some of the Ohio basin is the semi-arid prairie region, with trees originally only along the watercourses. The uplands towards the Appalachians were included in the great eastern forested area, while the western part of the plains has so dry a climate that its native plant life is scanty, and in the south it is practically barren.
qas: answers: text: Laurentian Highlands
question: What is one of the two major highlands that stretch from the gulf of mexico to the Arctic ocean?

answers: text: Arctic Ocean
question: How far north do the Interior Highlands reach?

answers: text: Canadian and a United States
question: Which two nations are the central plains divided in?

answers: text: Gulf of Mexico
question: Where does the Mississippi discharge?

context: Due to its large size and wide range of geographic features, the United States contains examples of nearly every global climate. The climate is temperate in most areas, subtropical in the Southern United States, tropical in Hawaii and southern Florida, polar in Alaska, semiarid in the Great Plains west of the 100th meridian, Mediterranean in coastal California and arid in the Great Basin. Its comparatively favorable agricultural climate contributed (in part) to the country's rise as a world power, with infrequent severe drought in the major agricultural regions, a general lack of widespread flooding, and a mainly temperate climate that receives adequate precipitation.
qas: answers: text: subtropical
question: What is the climate like in the Southern United States?

answers: text: tropical
question: Hawaii has what type of climate?

answers: text: California
question: Which state is known for its Mediterranean climate?

answers: text: agricultural climate
question: What contributed to the rise of the US as a world power?

answers: text: temperate
question: What is the climate like in most areas of the US?

context: The Great Basin and Columbia Plateau (the Intermontane Plateaus) are arid or semiarid regions that lie in the rain shadow of the Cascades and Sierra Nevada. Precipitation averages less than 15 inches (38 cm). The Southwest is a hot desert, with temperatures exceeding 100 °F (37.8 °C) for several weeks at a time in summer. The Southwest and the Great Basin are also affected by the monsoon from the Gulf of California from July to September, which brings localized but often severe thunderstorms to the region.
qas: answers: text: The Great Basin and Columbia Plateau
question: Which areas have arid regions?

answers: text: 15 inches
question: What is the precipitation average in the Intermontane plateaus?

answers: text: 100 °F (37.8 °C)
question: In the southwest, how high do temperatures get?

answers: text: July to September
question: During which months are portions of the US affected by the monsoon from the Gulf of California?

answers: text: severe thunderstorms
question: What type of weather do monsoons bring?

context: Much of California consists of a Mediterranean climate, with sometimes excessive rainfall from October–April and nearly no rain the rest of the year. In the Pacific Northwest rain falls year-round, but is much heavier during winter and spring. The mountains of the west receive abundant precipitation and very heavy snowfall. The Cascades are one of the snowiest places in the world, with some places averaging over 600 inches (1,524 cm) of snow annually, but the lower elevations closer to the coast receive very little snow.
qas: answers: text: Mediterranean
question: What is the most prevalent type of climate nCalifornia?

answers: text: October–April
question: During what time of the year does California receive the most rainfall?

answers: text: Pacific Northwest
question: Which region of the US experiences rain year round?

answers: text: The Cascades
question: Which region in the US is also one of the most snowiest places in the world?

answers: text: 600 inches
question: How many inches of snow do regions of the Cascades receive?

context: On average, the mountains of the western states receive the highest levels of snowfall on Earth. The greatest annual snowfall level is at Mount Rainier in Washington, at 692 inches (1,758 cm); the record there was 1,122 inches (2,850 cm) in the winter of 1971–72. This record was broken by the Mt. Baker Ski Area in northwestern Washington which reported 1,140 inches (2,896 cm) of snowfall for the 1998-99 snowfall season. Other places with significant snowfall outside the Cascade Range are the Wasatch Mountains, near the Great Salt Lake, the San Juan Mountains in Colorado, and the Sierra Nevada, near Lake Tahoe.
qas: answers: text: mountains of the western states
question: Which mountainous region receives the highest snowfall on Earth?

answers: text: Mount Rainier
question: Which mountain in Washington receives the most amount of snowfall?

answers: text: 1,122 inches
question: What is the record amount of snowfall at Mount Rainer?

answers: text: 1998-99
question: In what year did Mount Rainer receive a record amount of snowfall?

answers: text: Lake Tahoe
question: The Sierra Nevadas are located near which lake?

context: In the east, while snowfall does not approach western levels, the region near the Great Lakes and the mountains of the Northeast receive the most. Along the northwestern Pacific coast, rainfall is greater than anywhere else in the continental U.S., with Quinault Rainforest in Washington having an average of 137 inches (348 cm). Hawaii receives even more, with 460 inches (1,168 cm) measured annually on Mount Waialeale, in Kauai. The Mojave Desert, in the southwest, is home to the driest locale in the U.S. Yuma, Arizona, has an average of 2.63 inches (6.7 cm) of precipitation each year.
qas: answers: text: northwestern Pacific coast
question: Which region of the US receives the most amount of rainfall?

answers: text: 137 inches
question: What is the average amount of rainfall that the Quinault rainforest in Washington receives?

answers: text: Great Lakes and the mountains of the Northeast
question: Which regions in the East receives the most amount of snowfall?

answers: text: Hawaii
question: Which state receives an average of 460 inches of rainfall per year?

answers: text: Mojave Desert
question: What is the name of the desert that is located in the driest region in the US?

context: In central portions of the U.S., tornadoes are more common than anywhere else on Earth and touch down most commonly in the spring and summer. Deadly and destructive hurricanes occur almost every year along the Atlantic seaboard and the Gulf of Mexico. The Appalachian region and the Midwest experience the worst floods, though virtually no area in the U.S. is immune to flooding. The Southwest has the worst droughts; one is thought to have lasted over 500 years and to have hurt Ancestral Pueblo peoples. The West is affected by large wildfires each year.
qas: answers: text: central portions of the U.S.
question: Where are tornadoes most common on Earth?

answers: text: spring and summer
question: During which seasons are tornados most common?

answers: text: Appalachian region and the Midwest
question: Which regions experience the worst flooding in the US?

answers: text: Southwest
question: Which region experiences the worst droughts in the US?

answers: text: wildfires
question: What type of disasters affects the western US every year?

context: Occasional severe flooding is experienced. There was the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927, the Great Flood of 1993, and widespread flooding and mudslides caused by the 1982-1983 El Niño event in the western United States. Localized flooding can, however, occur anywhere, and mudslides from heavy rain can cause problems in any mountainous area, particularly the Southwest. Large stretches of desert shrub in the west can fuel the spread of wildfires. The narrow canyons of many mountain areas in the west and severe thunderstorm activity during the summer lead to sometimes devastating flash floods as well, while Nor'Easter snowstorms can bring activity to a halt throughout the Northeast (although heavy snowstorms can occur almost anywhere).
qas: answers: text: 1927
question: The Great Mississippi occurred during what year?

answers: text: desert shrub
question: What fuels wildfires and causes them to spread in the west?

answers: text: Nor'Easter snowstorms
question: What type of storms can cause most activity to stop?

answers: text: El Niño
question: What is the name of the event that caused major flooding in the western US?

context: The West Coast of the continental United States and areas of Alaska (including the Aleutian Islands, the Alaskan Peninsula and southern Alaskan coast) make up part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, an area of heavy tectonic and volcanic activity that is the source of 90% of the world's earthquakes.[citation needed] The American Northwest sees the highest concentration of active volcanoes in the United States, in Washington, Oregon and northern California along the Cascade Mountains. There are several active volcanoes located in the islands of Hawaii, including Kilauea in ongoing eruption since 1983, but they do not typically adversely affect the inhabitants of the islands. There has not been a major life-threatening eruption on the Hawaiian islands since the 17th century. Volcanic eruptions can occasionally be devastating, such as in the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens in Washington.
qas: answers: text: Pacific Ring of Fire
question: What is the area in the pacific known for heavy volcanic activity?

answers: text: Kilauea
question: Which Hawaiin volcano has been erupting since 1983?

answers: text: 90%
question: The Pacific Ring of Fire contains what percentage of the earthquakes on Earth?

answers: text: 17th century
question: When was the last time that the Hawaiin islands experienced a life threatening volcanic eruption?

answers: text: 1980
question: What year did Mt St. Helens erupt causing devastating damage?