USA
The United States is made up of 50 States and a federal district, the USA is mainly in the centre of North America where it is between the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean also boarded by Canada towards the north and Mexico to the south. The United States are the largest national economy in the world, with an estimate of $14.3 trillion GDP in 2008. The USA also has a population of around 307 million people, with their total area being spread across 3.79 million square miles, making it the third largest country in regards to the total area. The USA is also the third largest country in terms of the largest land area and population. It is also known for being one of the world's most ethnically diverse, dynamic and multicultural nations.
The US was originally part of Great Britain with it being founded by thirteen colonies of Britain along the Atlantic seaboard. However they became independent from Great Britain in 1776 when they were given their Declaration of Independence. After the Second World War in 1945 the United States came out as the first country with nuclear weapons. After the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union left the United States with leading position in the international system.
The USA has so many breath taking sites to see that are all hugely popular and attract millions of tourist every year. Below we have summarised just a few of what the amazing USA has to offer;
Times Square - a big part of Manhattan, New York City, is between the famous Broadway and Seven Avenue also stretching along West 42nd and West 47th Streets, it has blocks along Sixth and Eighth Avenues from the east and west, West 40th, West 53rd Streets and south to north - this makes up Midtown Manhattan. Times Square was originally called Longacre square but was renamed in 1904 when the Times Building was built. On an average weekday every 15 minutes there is an estimated 2,000 pedestrians along Seventh Avenue! Times Square is known for the famous Broadway and 42nd Street, it's also known for its large digital advertising signs. There are a number of tours available along Times Square from walking to bike to bus or even limo tours - showing you the glitz and glamour of the fabulous Manhattan!
Las Vegas Strip, Nevada - originally called the Los Angeles Highway, is 6.1km along the Las Vegas Boulevard South in Clark Country, Nevada. Nineteen of the world's largest hotels are located along the Las Vegas Strip - bearing in mind in total there are 25 of the largest hotels altogether meaning the Strip along holds 19 of the 25! Not only does it hold some of the largest hotels, it also includes some of the largest casinos. The Strip is known for its dramatic and modernized buildings which dominate the skylines; this is just one of the reasons why the Strip is so popular with tourists. Vegas is obviously hugely known for its gambling ever since the first casino was built in 1931, the casino was named Pair-o-Dice Club, the first casino actually built on the Strips was the El Rancho Vegas in 1941.
National Mall & Memorial Parks, Washington DC - the Nation Mall is located in downtown Washington, the park gets around 24 million guests a year. The idea first came from Pierre Charles L'Enfant, in 1791, but the ideas weren't actually realised until the early 20th century, when the McMillan Commission plan was also thought of. The National Mall was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1966 and in 2003 the US congress passed the Reserve Act to prevent anymore construction work taking place on the park. The park takes over 1,000 acres which includes Washington monument, Lincoln and Jefferson memorials and the Korean & Vietnam was veteran's memorials.
Faneuil Hall Marketplace, Boston, MA - was built by John Smibert in 1740-1742 in the style of an old English country marketplace, which was made up of an open ground floor and an assembly room above. The Market place is not far from the Government Centre in Boston and has been the centre of a number of famous speeches by several people including James Otis, who were pushing for independence from Great Britain. The hall is now part of the Boston National Historical Park. The marketplace is also well known for its shopping and over 100 restaurant facilities; along the promenade in the marketplace is a number of street entertainer's such as jugglers, clowns, musicians and mine acts. The hall gets around 20 million visitors a year who come to see the hall, Quicy market, North and South markets.
Disney Worlds Magic Kingdom, Lake Buena Vista, FL - the Magic Kingdom is part of the Walt Disney World Resort and was the first park on the resort to be built in 1971. In 2008 the park saw around 17 million visitors pass through its gates. Work started on the Magic Kingdom in 1967 after the death of Walt Disney - though he was very much involved in the planning before his death. The Magic Kingdom is actually built on an elevation of 107 feet due to the fact Walt wanted tunnels that characters were able to pass through, he wanted this as once saw one of the Cowboy characters walking through Tomorrowland, he wanted to stop this keep the illusion of the characters and so came up with the idea of having tunnels the character could pass through. When the park first opened it had 23 attractions which included 20 copies of the attractions at Disneyland and 3 unique to the park, the attractions were also split into 6 themes, 5 of those were the same as Disneyland's and they had their own special Liberty Square.
Tourism