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USA & Canada

USA

The United States of America (USA) - the federal republic consisting of 50 states and a Federal District of Columbia, in which territory is located the capital of the country - Washington, DC.

The chief of state and federal government - The President - is elected for 4 year terms with a maximum of only two terms. A senior legislative body - Congress (House of Representatives and Senate). Each state has the own constitution, system of bodies of authority and executive leadership and administrative management. A Governor is elected to lead each state and has similar powers as chiefs of state of many other nations absent only the federal powers that regulate interstate matters.

Language - The most common language is English though other languages such as Spanish, Chinese, French and Russian are spoken in certain communities.

Currency - American dollar (1 $ = to 100 cents). Now in circulation there are banknotes by advantage in 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 dollars and coins by advantage in 1, 5, 10, 25, 50 cents 1 dollar. It is recommended to carry $20. banknotes rather than larger denominations. It is convenient to have credit cards (Visa, Master Card, American Express).

Time - USA lay in 4 temporary belts(zones) (without the account of Alaska and Hawaiian islands). At east coast the zone time lags behind from Moscow at 8 hours, on western - at 11 hours. Since first Sunday of April till last Sunday of October the Daylight Savings Time is recognized to stretch the working daylight time for better productivity with carry over or advance of one hour on the standard time.

Climate - Basically Temperate, Tropical in Hawaii and Florida, in Alaska - Arctic. Semiarid in the great plains west of the Mississippi River, and Arid in the Great Basin of the South-West, low winter temperatures in the North-West are ameliorated occasionally in January and February by warm chinook winds from the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains.

Religion - Christian 78% (Protestant 51%, Roman Catholic 22%, Mormon 2%), other 10%, none 10%, Jewish 1%, Muslim 1% , Atheist 1%, Agnostic 2%

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Canada

Canada - Capital - Ottawa. Location - Northern North America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, North Pacific Ocean, Arctic Ocean. Canada is the second largest country in the world, smaller only to Russia. Territory - 3.9 million sq. mi.

Major and popular cities - Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Halifax, Victoria

Government - Canada is a constitutional monarchy with Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada as head of state, and a parliamentary democracy with a federal system of parliamentary government and strong democratic traditions.

Administrative divisions - Canada is composed of ten provinces and three territories. The provinces are Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, and Saskatchewan. The three territories are the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Yukon Territory. The provinces have a large degree of autonomy from the federal government, the territories somewhat less. Each has its own provincial or territorial symbols.

Geography and climate - Canada occupies most of the northern portion of North America. It shares land borders with the contiguous United States to the south and with the US state of Alaska to the northwest, stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west; to the north lies the Arctic Ocean.

Average summer high temperatures across Canada range depending on the location. On the east and west coast average high temperatures are generally in the low 68 to 74 °F, while between the coasts the average summer high temperature range between 78 to 86 °F with occasional extreme heat in some interior locations exceeding 104 °F.

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