The United States of America is a federal republic located in North America. It is composed of 50 states, a federal district-Washington, D.C., and several territories. The USA is known for its diverse population, democratic government, economic power, cultural influence, and varied geography. Its population was 333,287,557 in 2022.

The Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Highlands range. The mountain range is located in the Eastern United States and extends 550 miles southwest from southern Pennsylvania through Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia.

The Mississippi River is the main river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second longest river in the United States, after the Missouri River. From its traditional source, Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it flows south for approximately 2,340 miles (3,770 km) to the Mississippi River delta in the Gulf of Mexico.

Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the only Great Lake located entirely within the United States, stretching 307 miles and surrounded by Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Indiana; the other four lakes lie between the United States and Canada.

Long Island Sound is a tidal bay and estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It is an estuary where saltwater from the ocean mixes with freshwater from rivers flowing inland. Estuaries are among the most productive ecosystems on Earth. They serve as feeding grounds, breeding sites, and nurseries for many species that spend most of their adult lives in the ocean.

Lake Champlain is a large natural freshwater lake in North America. Measuring 172 km in length and covering a surface area of ​​over 1,295 km², the lake lies primarily between the US states of New York and Vermont, but also extends north into the Canadian province of Quebec. Thirty-one species of Vermont birds live on, near, or depend on Lake Champlain.