United States

The United States of America, the world’s preeminent economic and military power, is home to a number of islands and archipelagos. The United States has the world’s largest economy, and has a population of more than three hundred and ten million residents. The United States is situated in the middle of North America, between Canada and Mexico, with coastline bordering both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. America is known as being an exceptionally diverse and scenically beautiful nation, with land spanning across nearly four million square miles. The United States of America, which is named after an Italian explorer called Amerigo Vespucci, is a hotspot of scientific knowledge, technical innovation, and higher education. America’s fifty states range in size and population from the seemingly endless tundra of Alaska to the tiny state of Rhode Island. In addition to its well known fiftieth state in the middle of the Pacific, the volcanic islands of Hawaii, the United States controls a number of overseas possessions in the South Pacific and the Caribbean. Closer to home, however, the United States is home to a number of offshore islands, lake islands, and islands in the midst of rivers.

The United States and its islands are home to a phenomenal range of flora and fauna as well as a diverse range of geographical features. Some American islands are more mountainous, although the majority is relatively flat and somewhat close to sea level. The United States possesses a “megadiverse” ecology, with nearly one hundred thousand insect species, more than fifteen hundred animal species, and approximately seventeen thousand different types of plants. As with the rest of the United States, America’s islands were originally inhabited by a variety of indigenous peoples, ranging from Inuits to Sioux. The modern history of the United States dates back to the discovery of the continent by Christopher Columbus in the year 1492, following by the gradual exploration and settlement of the nation and continent by various European powers. Eventually, the British colonies gained their independence, and the rest of the modern day United States began to come under American control after a number of wars and treaties. The United States and most of its inhabited islands have an excellent infrastructure, characterized by typical first world amenities and services. The United States islands are generally within a short drive of a variety of educational opportunities, ranging from preschools to colleges and universities.

American islands are a part of the same United States culture that sets trends for much of the world, ranging from Hollywood films and different music types and a number of outstanding literary styles. The United States has a number of easily recognizable culinary styles, ranging from Cajun and Tex-Mex cooking and traditional American cuisine to fusion cooking. Many residents of United States islands enjoy American sports, including the National Football League, Major League Baseball, and the National Basketball Association. Many United States islands offer the convenience of living in the most developed and economically powerful nation in the world with the relative isolation and peace of a small island community. Most major bodies of water in the United States have at least a few small islands in them, although not all are inhabited. Some uninhabited islands are hotspots for hunting and fishing, and others are great spots for potential development or just sightseeing and camping.