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The United States of America is the richest and most powerful country in the world. In this introduction, I want to give you an overview of this great country. The United States of America, often written USA, US, the United States, America, or simply "the States", is a country in North America. Covering an area of 9.83 square kilometers (3.79 square miles), it is the fourth largest country by area behind Russia, Canada and China.
Washington, D.C. is the capital of the United States. It was founded on 16 July, 1790. While the city was being made ready, New York City and Philadelphia served as interim capitals.
Williamsburg's Governor's Palace, Virginia
Author: Agriculture (Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0)
The United States has a population of 307 million people, making it the third most populous country behind China and India. The main part of the country, where forty-eight contiguous states and the capital Washington, D.C., are located, is bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. The United States also has the world's largest national economy, with an estimated gross domestic product of US$14.4 trillion in 2008, accounting for one fourth of the world's GDP and one fifth of it by purchasing power parity.
The United States was created following the Declaration of Independence on the 4th of July, 1776, when thirteen British colonies on the Atlantic seaboard proclaimed their right to self-determination. These thirteen colonies, namely Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia, New York, North Carolina, and Rhone Island, were joined by other states, the last being Hawaii on 21 August, 1959, to form a total of fifty states in the federal union today. It includes the state of Alaska, which was purchased from the Russian Empire in 1867 for US$7.2 million, and many small islands in the Caribbean and the Pacific Oceans, which are all part of US territories.
Fast Facts about the United States
West Chop Lighthouse, Martha's Vineyard
Author: Bruce Tuten (Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic)
Hotels in the United States
Before booking your hotel room in the US, it is always wise to check what is the best rate offered by different online booking websites. You will quickly realise that different popular sites offer different prices for the same hotel room. As no website is consistently the cheapest, it is recommended that you check according to when you are going. Use our research engine below. We provide you an overview of the best rate offered by different booking sites, allowing you to quickly select the booking website that offers that most attractive rate.|
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Mesa Verde Native American Settlement
Author: Elaine (Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic)
The United States of America by region
The 48 contiguous states can be grouped by region as follows:Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont
Located on the northeastern corner of the country, New England has some of the smallest as well as oldest states of the union. The earliest English settlements in the New World started here. Boston in Massachusetts is the largest city in New England.
Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania
This is the nation's most densely populated region. It includes New York City, the largest city in the United States, and Washington, D.C., the country's capital.
Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia
A region famous for its cooking and dishes such as jambalaya, music such as jazz and blues.
A category all its own, Florida is a state with huge resorts such as Walt Disney World, cities like Miami with its Cuban culture, and a place many choose for their retirement.
Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Wisconsin
Within this region are the farmland as well as industrial heart of America. The population is concentrated around the Great Lakes, where we find huge cities such as Chicago and Detroit.
The second largest state after Alaska, and the biggest among the 48 contiguous states, Texas is like a country in itself (and at one time, it was). Images of Texas is one of cattle ranches and oil wells.
North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma
A sparsely populated region of grassland called the prairie, the Great Plains extend from the forests in the east to the steppes of the High Plains.
Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming
A mountainous region that lends itself to outdoor pursuits from hiking to skiing, the Rocky Mountain states has much to offer in natural beauty.
Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah
This region is where you find fantastic landscape in the form of canyons and desert, and ancient remains of native Americans.
This state is home to the country's entertainment capital, Hollywood, but there is more to California than that. It is also blessed with a beautiful coastline, and is a major producer of fruits and wine, as well as being a centre for information technology.
Washington, Oregon
The region has temperate rain forest, beautiful coastline with jagged mountains and the occasional volcanic eruptions. The city of Seattle was once the home of the country's aircraft manufacturing, but is today more closely regarded as home to Microsoft.
The biggest state in the United States makes up one fifth of its land area but is sparsely populated. Clad mostly in mountainous wilderness, Alaska is rich in oil and other minerals.
Located over two thousand miles off the west coast of the US mainland, Hawaii is regarded as a tropical vacation paradise.
Bourbon Street, New Orleans
Author: Adrian Pingstone (public domain)
When to visit the United States of America
The United States is so vast and so diverse that any time is a good time.Getting into the United States
There are flights to many cities in the United States. The main entry point on the East Coast is New York City while in the West Coast it is Los Angeles.
Checkerboard Mesa, Zion National Park
Author: Daniel Mayer (public domain)
Useful Resources
- Budget Travel to US for Women: here's a website I discovered which may be useful to women budget travelers
Money matters in United States
At time of writing (Oct 2007), €1.00 = US$1.42. For the latest exchange go to the Oanda Currency Converter.More Photos of the United States of America
Hidden Lake, Glacier National Park
Author: Ultratomio (public domain)
Chicago Skyline
Author: Joe M500 (Creative Commons Attribution 2.0)
EPCOT Center, Walt Disney World
Author: Thomprod (Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0)
Monterey, California
Author: Urban (public domain)
Find lowest price for your Hotel RoomBefore booking a hotel room, make sure you are getting the lowest price for it. Different hotel booking websites offers the same room at different prices. If you stick with one site all the time, you could be paying more for the same room. Now why pay more?The form below is a Research Engine. It doesn't take bookings. Instead it lets you find the hotel booking website that offers the room you want at the lowest price. You can see and compare what different sites are offering, and then click to choose the one with the best price. Do this, and you're guaranteed to save a whole lot of money on your room reservations!
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