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For an alphabetical index of this subject, see the List of United States-related articles.
Location of the United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its forty-eight contiguous states and Washington, D.C., the capital district, lie between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. The state of Alaska is in the northwest of the continent, with Canada to its east and Russia to the west across the Bering Strait, and the state of Hawaii is in the mid-Pacific. The United States also possesses several territories, or insular areas, scattered around the Caribbean and Pacific.

The following topic outline is provided as an overview of and introduction to the United States of America:

United States portal
Flag of the United States Flag of the United States
Flag of the United States
Great Seal of the United States

Contents


General reference

Geography of the United States

A satellite composite image of the contiguous United States. Deciduous vegetation and grasslands prevail in the east, transitioning to prairies, boreal forests, and the Rockies in the west, and deserts in the southwest.
Main article: Geography of the United States

Environment of the United States

Main article: Environment of the United States

Geographic features of the United States

Main article: Landforms of the United States
View from the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, a World Heritage Site.

Regions of the United States

Main article: List of regions of the United States


v • d • e
Geographic regions of the United States
4 Regions
9 Census Bureau Divisions
Other subregions of this region
Northeast
New England · Mid-Atlantic
Midwest
E North Central · W N Central
South
S Atlantic · E, W South Central
West
Pacific/West Coast · Mountain
Other

Physiographic divisions of the United States

The geography of the United States varies across their immense area. Within the contential U.S., eight distinct physiographic divisions exist, though each is composed of several smaller physiographic subdivisions.1 These major divisions are:

Administrative divisions of the United States

States of the United States

Main articles: U.S. state and Administrative division

At the Declaration of Independence, the United States consisted of 13 states, former colonies of the United Kingdom. In the following years, the number of states has grown steadily due to expansion to the west, conquest and purchase of lands by the American government, and division of existing states to the current number of 50 United States:

Map of the United States with state border lines. Note that Alaska and Hawaii are shown at different scales, and that the Aleutian Islands and the uninhabited northwestern Hawaiian Islands are omitted from this map.

Territories of the United States

Main article: Territories of the United States
Location of the insular areas:      The USA      incorporated unorganized Territory      unincorporated organized territory      Commonwealth status      unincorporated unorganized territory

Incorporated organized territories
none since 1959

Incorporated unorganized territories

Unincorporated organized territories

Unincorporated unorganized territories

Geography of the states and territories

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Demography of the United States

Main article: Demography of the United States

Demographics of the states and territories

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Climate of the United States

v • d • e
List of United States hurricanes
United States


v • d • e
Climate of the United States
States
Federal district
Insular areas

Government and politics in the United States

Main articles: Government of the United States and Politics of the United States
The United States Capitol


Federal government

Main article: Federal government of the United States

Legislative branch

Further information: Legislative branch

Executive branch

Further information: Executive branch

Federal executive departments
Further information: List of United States federal agencies

All departments are listed by their present-day name and only departments with past or present cabinet-level status are listed. Order of succession applies only to within the cabinet; the vice president has always been first in the line of succession, and the Speaker of the House and the President pro tem of the Senate have at times been included.

Department Creation Order of
succession		 Modifications since creation 2007 Budget
in billions
of dollars		 Employees (2007)
State 1789 1 Initially named "Department of Foreign Affairs" 9.96 30,266
Treasury 1789 2 11.10 115,897
Defense 1947 3 Initially named "National Military Establishment" 439.30 3,000,000
Justice 1870 4 Position of Attorney General created in 1789, but had no department until 1870 23.40 112,557
Interior 1849 5 10.70 71,436
Agriculture 1889 6 77.60 109,832
Commerce 1903 7 Originally named Commerce and Labor; Labor later separated 6.20 36,000
Labor 1913 8 59.70 17,347
Health and Human Services 1953 9 Originally named Health, Education, and Welfare; Education later separated 543.20 67,000
Housing and Urban Development 1965 10 46.20 10,600
Transportation 1966 11 58.00 58,622
Energy 1977 12 21.50 116,100
Education 1979 13 62.80 4,487
Veterans Affairs 1989 14 73.20 235,000
Homeland Security 2002 15 44.6 208,000
Total budget (fiscal year 2007): 1,523.42 4,193,144

Judicial branch

U.S. Supreme Court building
Further information: Judicial branch

State and territory governments

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Politics of the states and territories

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Military

Main article: United States military

Intelligence Organizations

Main article: United States Intelligence Community

Law of the United States

Main article: Law of the United States

History of the United States

Main articles: History of the United States and Timeline of the United States history
John Trumbull's famous painting is usually incorrectly identified as a depiction of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, but it actually shows the drafting committee presenting its work to the Congress.