Handout Sights USA

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Ticket: USA Bus Tour

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Mount Rushmore National Memorial

location: Black Hills, South Dakota

- 1,745m high mountain, national memorial

- faces of four former American presidents carved into mountain: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln (finished in 1941)

Yellowstone

location: northwest corner of Wyoming extending into Montana + Idaho, along Yellowstone River

- oldest/first National Park in the world (first March 1872), 8,991 square kilometres

- volcanogenic landscape (home to Yellowstone Supervolcano) , geysers, hot springs, waterfalls along river

- grizzly bears, black bears, wolfs, free-roaming bison, bighorn sheep, antelope

- huge number of tourists, camping

Mesa Verde National Park

location: south-west of Colorado

- only national park in US for preservation of nature, 210 square kilometres

- consists largely of ruins of indigenous people (Anasazi-Indians)

- famous film set (e.g. for Star Wars)

Las Vegas Strip

location: Las Vegas City, Nevada

- 6.8km long, famous stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard (major road in Clark County)

- known for many resort hotels, casinos, restaurants, shops etc., neon lights

- many replicas of famous landmarks (e.g. Eiffel Tower)

Golden Gate Bridge

location: San Francisco Bay, joining San Francisco and Marin County (spanning Golden Gate)

- approximately 2,700m long suspension bridge, only orange-red colored bridge worldwide

- California icon

- built in 1930s

Yosemite Nationalpark

location: along the east side of California, on western slopes of Sierra Nevada

- founded in 1890, 3,000 sqare kilometres

- great biodiversity, sequoia trees (3 millennium-old trees)

- former Indian camp ("WaWon") as hotel

- most popular: Yosemite Valley (glacier)

Grand Canyon

location: Arizona

- 450km long canyon, dramatic cliff walls + ledges

- carved out by Colorado River

- most visited section: South Rim

Waikiki Beach

location: in Waikiki, on island O´ahu (3rd-largest of Hawaiian Islands), Hawaii

- famous Hawaiian beach

- surfers, competitions, backdrop of high waves

Kennedy Space Center

location: Florida

- popular attraction: spacecraft of NASA, history of space exploration --> entertaining + educational experience

- includes rocket garden, real Space Shuttle Atlantis, Heroes and Legends exhibit, journey of Mars exposition + many others

White House

location: Washington DC (Pennsylvania Avenue), not assigned to certain state

- official residence of the President of United States, home of every president (except George Washington)

- free tours, but early reservations

- Lafayette Park on north side, interesting characters --> great spot for group photos

- originally built in 1792 (James Hoban), after being burned down rebuilt in 1818

Times Square

location: Manhattan (district of New York City), New York

- most visited place in Manhattan, "Crossroads of the World" (formed by junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue and 42nd Street)

- major center of world´s entertainment industry

- large LED-screens (billboards + advertisements), expensive hotels, restaurants etc.

- one of the world´s busiest pedestrian areas

Niagara Falls

location: along Canada-US border, between province of Ontario (Canada) and state of New York (USA)

- one of most famous waterfalls, water from Lake Erie flows over them into Lake Ontario (Niagara River)

- set of three falls:

1.) Horseshoefalls, drop 57m (largest section)

2.) American Falls, drop 27m

3.) Bridal Veil Falls, drop 24m (thinnest section)

Statue of Liberty

location: Liberty Island in New York Habour, NYC

- colossal neoclassical sculpture, National Monument

- symbol of liberty, welcome to immigrants arriving by sea, hope, American Dream

- gift from people of France, dedicated in 1886

- 46m high, weights 225 tons

- stair climbing through pedestal with balcony access possible