United States

The United States of America, also known as the USA, US, United States, U.S., or simply America, is a country composed of 50 states, five major self-governing territories, a federal district, and various possessions. The contiguous United States consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states in North America between Mexico and Canada. Based on total area, the United States is the world's third or fourth largest country. This has given the country a wide and diverse geographical landscape, as well as population distribution. The United States is highly populated with a population concentrated in both urbanized and rural small, medium and large cities alike. The capital city of the US is Washington, D.C., while the most populous city is New York City. There is no official language of America at the federal level, however some laws standardize English, while Spanish is the second most common language and most widely taught second language. Certain states and territories recognize their own native or secondary languages, such as Hawaii, Alaska, California, and Puerto Rico. The Paleo-Indians that migrated from Siberia to the North American mainland over 12 thousand years ago predates the founding of the United States. European colonization did not begin until the 16th century when the U.S. was formed from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Several disputes between Great Britain and the American colonies led to the 1775-1783 American Revolutionary War and granted Independence. Throughout the 19th century, the United States expanded vigorously across North America, acquiring new territories and states until spanning much of the middle and southern North America.