USA Travel Guide

About U.S.A.

Americans often speak of their country as one of several large regions. These regions are cultural units rather than governmental units -- formed by history and geography and shaped by the economics, literature and folkways that all the parts of a region share. What makes one region different from another? A region's multicultural heritage as well as distinct demographic characteristics like age and occupation make regions different and special. Within several regions, language is used differently and there are strong dialects. There are also differences in outlook and attitude based on geography.

Geography

Area (50 states and District of Columbia only):
Total: 9.631.418 sq km
Land: 9.161.923 sq km
Water: 469,495 sq km
Climate:
Mostly temperate, but tropical in Hawaii and Florida, arctic in Alaska, semiarid in the great plains west of the Mississippi River, and arid in the Great Basin of the southwest; low winter temperatures in the northwest are ameliorated occasionally in January and February by warm chinook winds from the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains
Terrain:
Vast central plain, mountains in west, hills and low mountains in east; rugged mountains and broad river valleys in Alaska; rugged, volcanic topography in Hawaii
Elevation extremes:
Lowest point: Death Valley -86 m
Highest point: Mount McKinley 6,194 m
Natural resources:
Coal, copper, lead, molybdenum, phosphates, uranium, bauxite, gold, iron, mercury, nickel, potash, silver, tungsten, zinc, petroleum, natural gas, timber

People

Population:
298,444,215 (July 2006 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 20.4% (male 31,095,847; female 29,715,872)
15-64 years: 67.2% (male 100,022,845; female 100,413,484)
65 years and over: 12.5% (male 15,542,288; female 21.653.879) (2006 est.)

Languages:

English 82.1%, Spanish 10.7%, other Indo-European 3.8%, Asian and Pacific island 2.7%, other 0.7% (2000 census)

Religions

Protestant 52%, Roman Catholic 24%, Mormon 2%, Jewish 1%, Muslim 1%, other 10%, none 10% (2002 est.)

Transportation

Railways:
total: 227,736 km (2003)
Roadways:
total: 6,407,637 km
paved: 4,164,964 km (including 74,950 km of expressways)
unpaved: 2,242,673 km (2004)
Waterways:
41,009 km (19,312 km used for commerce) (2004)
note: navigable inland channels, exclusive of the Great Lakes

USA - Places of Interest

Hawaii	Las Vegas	Los Angles
Miami	New York	Orlando
San Francisco	Washington

CANADA - Places of Interest

Alaska	Montreal	Ottawa
Toronto	Niagara	Vancouver

HAWAII

Honolulu
Sure, it’s got wide beaches, waving palms and balmy weather, but Honolulu (‘Sheltered Bay’) isn’t just a stage-set for beachcombing. It boats a 150-year history as the state capital and a beguiling multi-ethnicity that emerges most toothsomely in a feast of different cuisine’s.

Honolulu is a harbor city at the southern end of Oahu, the most visited island of the Hawaiian archipelago. The city lies 2550 miles (4100km) southwest of Los Angles; 3860 miles (6220km) southeast of Tokyo; 5060 miles (8150km) northeast of Sydney; and 1470 miles (2370km) north of the equator. Not surprisingly, it’s a major hub for trans-PacifiCare travel.

Downtown Honolulu contains all Oahu’s state and federal government buildings, including the state capitol and Iolani Palace once home to Hawaii’s last few monarchs and still the only royal palace in the USA. Chinatown is a few blocks northwest of the palace; the Aloha Tower and cruise ship terminals are a few blocks west, Southeast of downtown, Waikiki is the epicenter of all things tourist: all the big resorts and much of the city’s nightlife are found here. Just southeast of Waikiki, 760 ft (230m) Diamond Head rises up as the city’s favorite geological landmark. All of these sites are within the boundaries of greater Honolulu.

ATTRACTIONS

Chinatown
A walk through Chinatown is a bit like a whirlwind tour across Asia – although it’s predominantly Chinese, there are sizable Vietnamese, Thai and Filipino communities as well. The bustling market area could be right out of a Hong Kong back street, and the fire-breathing dragons curried around the red pillars of the Bank of Hawaii are as celestial as any you’re likely to run across. In these few blocks, you can get a tattoo, consult as herbalist, much moon cakes or slurp a steaming bowl of pho, and there are plenty of temples, shrines, noodle factories, antique shops and art galleries to explore.

The heart of Chinatown is along Mauna kea St around N King and N Hotel Sts. Head south on N Hotel St and you’ll be treated to a tour of Chinatown’s seamiest side, with peepshows and nude bars sporting evocative names like Club Hubba Hubba. Heading north on N Hotel St you come to Wo Fat, a big pink restaurant shaped like a Chinese temple at the corner of Mauna kea St. The River St. Pedestrian Mall, three blocks north of Wo Fat, is lined with food stalls and old men playing mah jong and checkers. Towards its eastern end is a Taoist temple and, just across Nuuanu Stream, a Shinto shrine, Respectful visitors are welcome in both.

At the eastern end of the pedestrian mall on Chinatown’s northern boundary is a former royal estate that now houses the city’s finest greenbelt, the Foster Botanical Garden, Near the entrance to Chinatown is the Chinatown Gateway Plaza at Hotel and Bethel Sts, five bocks north of Iolani Palace.

Diamond Head
Diamond Head is a tuff cone – a hill composed volcanic ash – formed by a violent steam explosion deep beneath the island’s surface long after most of Oahu’s volcanic activity had stopped. Its peak provides a majestic backdrop to the flair of Waikiki and, as such, it’s one of the best-known landmarks in the Pacific.

The Hawaiians called the hill Leahi, and at its summit they built a luakini helau, a type of temple used for human sacrifices. But ever since 1825, when some British sailors noticed calcite crystals sparkling in the sun and quickly mistook themselves for rich men, the hill’s been known as Diamond Head.

The best reason to visit Diamond Head is to hike the trail to the crater rim, where those who persevere are treated to a shows topping 360 0 panorama of the entire Southeastern coast of Oahu. Buses from Waikiki stop near Diamond Head – it’s about a 15-minute walk from the bus stop to the trailhead. If you come by car or taxi, the trail begins at the parking lot off Diamond Head Rd on the crater’s northeastern side.

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