The United States is either the 3rd or 4th largest nation in the world by area, before or after the China, depending on how two territories disputed by China and India are counted. Including only land area, the U.S. is 3rd in size behind Russia and China and just before of Canada. The continental United States reaches from the Pacific in the west to the Atlantic Ocean in the east and from Canada in the north to Mexico and the Gulf of Mexico in the south. Alaska is the largest state by area and is separated by Canada. It is surrounded by the Pacific and Arctic Oceans. Hawaii is an archipelago in the Pacific to the southwest of North America. Due to the large size and wide range of geographic features in the United States, almost every type of climate can be found. In most areas, the climate is temperate but it is tropical in Hawaii and southern Florida, polar in Alaska, semiarid in the Great Plains west of the 100th meridian, desert in the Southwest, mediterranean in coastal California, and arid in the Great Basin. Extreme weather is common in the United States. The area bordering the Gulf of Mexico is likely to experience hurricanes each summer and most of the world’s tornadoes occur within the continental United States, in an area commonly referred to as "Tornado Alley". The mostly temperate climate, rare severe drought in the major arable regions, and only occasional severe flooding help to make the USA a world leader in agriculture.
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