The Westernmost Country – Do you know what country Sinaumed’s is in the westernmost
part of the earth? If you look at the world map, the westernmost countries in the world are
the United States and Kiribati. The westernmost country can be identified by the
astronomical position of that country.
This can be seen through latitude, which is an imaginary line on a map or globe that is parallel to the
equator. It should be understood that the area of the United States is very large and is the
third largest country in the world. The United States of America, as the name suggests, is a
united state, whose territory is divided into several states.
Guam, is one of the dependent countries of the United States of America which is the westernmost point of
the world when viewed based on the map. Apart from the United States, which is the westernmost
point on Guam, there is also the country of Kiribati, which is the westernmost country on earth.
Kiribati is an island nation in the Pacific Ocean.
Profile of the Most Western Country in the World
1. United States
Reporting from Britannica, the westernmost point in the world is in the dependent territory of the United
States, namely Guam, which is located at Orote Point. The astronomical location of Orote Point
or the Orote Peninsula is 144°37’5.5″ East Longitude. However, if you put aside its status as a
dependent country, of course it will then be in the state.
The westernmost state of the United States is Alaska, at Cape Wrangell on Attu Island to be precise.
So, if you look at the astronomical point, the westernmost country in the world is the United
States, whether it’s seen from the territory of its state or its dependent countries.
United States of America or abbreviated as AS or AS (English: United States of America , abbreviated USA or
USA or United States , abbreviated US or US, which literally means: “United States of
America”), and is generally known as America alone, is a federal constitutional republic consisting of
fifty states and a federal district. This country is located in the central part of North
America, which is the location of forty-five contiguous states, and the capital district of Washington,
DC The United States is flanked by the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans on the west and east, bordered by
Canada on the north, and Mexico in the south.
Two other states, namely Hawaii and Alaska, are separated from the mainland United States. The
state of Alaska is located in the far northwest of North America, is bordered by Canada to the east and
Russia to the west, and is separated by the Bering Strait. While the state of Hawaii is an
archipelago located in the Pacific Ocean. The United States also has several territories in the
Pacific and the Caribbean.
With an area of 3.79 million square miles (9.83 million km2) and a population of up to 315 million
people, the United States is the third largest country in the world and the third largest by population.
The United States is a multicultural and multiethnic country in the world, just like Indonesia.
This can happen because of massive immigration from various parts of the world. The
climate and geography of the United States are also very diverse and this country is home to various species
of flora and fauna.
The Native Americans, the Indians, began migrating from Asia to the land that is now the United States of
America 15,000 years ago. After 1500 AD, the arrival of Caucasians from Europe and many disease
outbreaks slowly began to reduce the Indian population. Migration and Colonization of
Caucasians from Europe began around the 1600s, especially from the British. The United States
of America was formed from thirteen British Colonies that stretched along the Atlantic seaboard, and
developed its own democratic political and economic system that was separate from that of the British
Empire.
The current constitution was first formulated on 17 September 1787; several amendments were
made at a later date by modifying various articles, but still did not change the contents of the original
text. The first ten amendments which were carried out collectively known as the Bill of
Rights , were passed in 1791 and regulated matters of freedom and guarantees of human rights.
With the encouragement of the doctrine of ” Manifest Destiny “, during the 19th century, the United
States began massive expansion into other North American regions, then removed the indigenous
population, occupied and bought new territories gradually, and made it a state. the new one.
The Civil War that occurred in 1861-1865 led to the end of slavery in the United States.
At the end of the 19th century, the United States national economy became the most advanced
economy in the world. The victory of the United States in the Spanish-American War and
World War I further clarified the status of the United States as a world military power.
After World War II, the United States emerged as the world’s new superpower, being the first country to
develop nuclear weapons, as well as being a permanent member of the UN Security Council. The
end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union made the United States the only superpower in the
world.
The United States is classified as a post-industrial developed country, and is the country with the most advanced
economy in the world, with an estimated 2012 GDP of up to $15.6 trillion – 19% of global GDP according to
spending ability in 2011. US GDP per capita is the most number six in the world in 2010. The progress of the
United States economy is supported by the availability of abundant natural resources, high productivity, and
well-developed infrastructure.
Even though the United States is included in the group of post-industrial countries, the United States
remains the largest producer in the world. The United States is also the country that has the
highest military spending in the world, and is at the forefront of economic, cultural, and political
matters, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovation.
United States etymology
In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller made a world map which contained the word “America”
which refers to the area in the western continent. This naming was done based on an explorer
and cartographer from Italy named Amerigo Vespucci.
The first documentation related to the use of the phrase “United States of America” is in an anonymous
essay published in the Virginia Gazette newspaper in Williamsburg, Virginia on April 6, 1776. Two months
later, namely in June 1776, Thomas Jefferson used the phrase “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA” in capital letters
in the title line of the draft Declaration of Independence. However, in the final version of
the Declaration of Independence, the title was changed to “United States of America”. In 1977,
the Articles of Confederation officially stated: “The name of this Confederation shall be ‘The United States
of America’”.
The short form of “United States” is also often used as the standard form of this country.
Other common forms are “US”, “USA”, and “America”. Its daily designation is “US of
A.”, and internationally it is sometimes simply referred to as “the States”. “Columbia”, the
word that was popular and used in poetry and songs in the late 1700s, was taken from the name of Christopher
Columbus; this word became the basis of the name “District of Columbia”.
The standard term that is often used to refer to citizens of the United States, namely “American”.
“United States”, “American” and “US” are also used to refer to things related to the United States.
In English itself, the term “American” is rarely used to refer to subjects that have nothing to do
with the United States. Despite the fact that America is a continent and there are many other
countries within the continent, the term “America” is generally used only to refer to anything related to
the United States of America.
In non-English languages, the name of this country is often translated from the phrase “United States” or
from “United States of America”, and in general it is also known as “America”. Additionally,
initials or abbreviations are sometimes used. For example, in Spanish, the general designation
for “United States” is “Estados Unidos” which comes from the words “states” and “united”, then abbreviated
as “EE.UU.”; the double letters indicate that the word is used in the plural in Spanish.
In Indonesian, the name used is the United States of America, derived from the phrase “United
States of America”, with the abbreviated form AS, and in general it is also called “America”.
2. Kiribati
Kiribati is a small country in the Pacific Ocean. Despite having a relatively small area of
only 811 square kilometers, in fact Kiribati is an archipelago. The country of Kiribati has
33 islands in it, and Banaba Island is the westernmost point of the country of Kiribati. Its
name is a transliteration of “Gilberts” which is the English name for the largest group of islands, the
Gilbert Islands in Kiribati.
Banaba Island is located at 169°32’13” East Longitude (East Longitude). So, the westernmost
point in the world in the Republic of Kiribati is on Banaba Island, most of whose territory is located in
the western hemisphere.
Kiribati has been independent from the United Kingdom since 1979. Its capital is South Tarawa, which is today the
most densely populated area, consisting of many smaller islands connected by a series of causeways that cover
about half the area of Tarawa atoll.
Kiribati is a member of the South Pacific Community (SPC), Commonwealth of Nations, IMF and World Bank, and
became a full member of the United Nations in 1999.
Kiribati is inhabited by a Micronesian ethnic group who used a common type of Oceanic language for
approximately 2,000 years before coming into contact with people from European nations. The
islands were named the Gilbert Islands in 1820 by an Estonian admiral named Adam von Krusenstern and a
French captain, namely Louis Duperrey; Derived from the name of Thomas Gilbert, who crossed the
Kiribati archipelago in 1788.
In 1892, the Gilbert Islands formed a protectorate of Great Britain along with the adjacent Ellice Islands.
Both became colonies in 1916 and finally became autonomous regions in 1971. In 1943, the Battle of
Tarawa took place in the capital city of Kiribati on the island of Tarawa.
In 1978, the Ellice Islands became an independent nation with Tuvalu, and Kiribati also became independent on
July 12, 1979. After Kiribati’s independence, the United States withdrew all claims to Phoenix Island and all
islands in the Line Islands (except three islands) that later became the territory of Kiribati.
Kiribati etymology
The name Kiribati was adopted at independence. Kiribati is the local pronunciation of the word
Gilberts . The name is derived from the main islands that make up this country. At
first, the island was named the Gilbert Islands, which was taken from the name of an English explorer,
Thomas Gilbert. Thomas saw many of the islands in 1788 while charting the outer route from Port
Jackson to the Guangzhou area, China.
The Kiribati Islands were given the name Îles Gilbert (Gilbert Islands), around 1820, by Russian admiral
Adam von Krusenstern and French captain Louis Duperrey. Both of their maps, published in 1820,
were written in French. In English, the islands were often referred to as Kingsmills in the
19th century, although the name Gilbert Islands is increasingly being used, including in the Western Pacific
Order in Council in 1877.
Kerap kali diusulkan bahwa nama lokal untuk Kepulauan Gilbert adalah Tungaru (dilakukan oleh Arthur Grimble pada
tahun 1989). Akan tetapi, nama Kiribati dipilih sebagai nama negara merdeka yang baru dengan melalui konsensus
lokal yang alasannya, yaitu nama tersebut lebih terdengar modern serta sebagai pengakuan atas dimasukannya
pulau-pulau seperti Kepulauan Phoenix dan Kepulauan Line yang sebelumnya tak pernah dianggap menjadi bagian dari
rantai kepulauan Tungaru (atau Gilberts).
The pronunciation is different: Kiribas is the official pronunciation because ti in Gilbert sounds s.
Kiribati. The country was inhabited by a Micronesian ethnic group who spoke a common type of
Oceanic language for 2,000 years before coming into contact with Europeans. The islands were
named the Gilbert Islands in 1820 by an Estonian admiral, Adam von Krusenstern, and a French captain, Louis
Duperrey; Derived from the name of Thomas Gilbert, who crossed the archipelago in 1788.
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