Exploring the United States

Explore the links provided here to learn more about the United States and the diverse people that populate them.

Regions/Traveler Information:  These links provide general information to different regions and states of the U.S.  You can find information on local history and culture, as well as information pertinent to travel.

• American Park Network   Information on National Parks in the United States.  The "Parkfinder" option will give you a map and driving directions to any park.  Produced and maintained by the American Park Network (APN).
• America's Heartland    This site has been produced by tourism offices in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Oklahoma.  Here you can find facts and information about each of those states.
• Desert USA    A  travel guide to the Southwest.  Includes monthly articles, message boards, history, maps, travel guides, and more.
• Destination Northwest    This site covers the states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming.  Just choose a state on the map, and find detailed information on what to do, where to go, and the best time to do it.
• Excite Travel    More links to travel resources for the United States, organized by state.
• Eye on the World    A listing of good regional web sites for each state.
• Fodor's Travel Online   Create your own travel guide for a number of popular destinations in the United States.
• New England.com    This site offers travel information, weather, and news for the New England area (Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island).   It is provided by Yankee Magazine.  Find out about current events and places to stay.
• Official City Sites    A listing of web sites for cities in the United States.
• Tourism Offices World Wide Directory   Choose a state, and this site will provide links to various tourism offices located within that state.
• Trip South    Find travel information for any of the south-eastern states.  Requires user to search by airport/major city.  Choose the closest airport to the area you are interested in, and you will find a listing of surrounding places to go, things to do, and where to stay.
• The United States Network    A web site devoted to providing information on travel and life in the United States.
• The USA City Link  Lots of links to web sites devoted to cities around the nation.
• Yahoo! Travel    Yahoo!'s comprehensive listing of travel web sites for all of the United States.

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Culture: These sites focus on traditions, characteristics, and the history of the people and places of the United States.

• American Folklife Center    A site maintained by the Library of Congress to "preserve and present American folk life".  You can explore their site for a vast amount of resources pertaining to culture in the United States, or simply visit the Archive of Folk Culture, their publications, or their ethnographic studies resources.
• Amish-Heartland.com   Learn about a group of people in the US that has maintained their traditional lifestyle in a modern nation.  Useful features of this site include articles, travel information, and a chat room.
• Blue Ridge Online   Learn about Appalachia, a very unique area of the eastern United States.  Best features include folklore, Native Americans, recipes, story telling, and crafts.
• The Charleston Multimedia Project    If you are interested in the "Old South", Charleston, South Carolina would be a good place to visit.  Go to the topic section for readings about the people of Charleston.
• Cowboys   A short essay on cowboy life in the United States, provided by the United States Network.
• Cross-Cultural Communication Guide    A handy reference for foreign students unfamiliar with customs in the United States.  Includes information on classroom behavior and friendships in the U.S.
• Directory of Southern Culture Online    More links to cultural information on the southern United States.
• Hobo Times    Have you ever heard of a hobo?  If not, read What is a hobo?  Learn what distinguishes hobos from bums and tramps.  This home page features articles by hobos, based on their travels.  Pay attention to the informal writing style.  What makes it different than formal writing?
• New York City Reference    A complete listing to web sites from New York city, arguably the most famous city of the United States.  This site may download slowly, but is well worth the wait if you would like to learn about the city.
• Roadside America    Visit this wacky American travel page, and find unique places to visit that are "off the beaten path".  What kind of places?  Read to find out.  Use their electric map to explore the state of your choice.
• Roadside Online       Visit this site devoted to diners across the United States.  If you don't know what a diner is, check out their  FAQ Page.  Find the latest breaking diner news on the home page.  Visit diners across the US via the scrapbook or "diner to diner" features.
• San Diego Historical Society    Learn about some of the factors that helped shape the community in this southern California city.  This site also includes a photo gallery and historical postcard tours.
• San Francisco History   Features articles organized by order of a time line.  Also includes historical maps, a genealogy of the area, and census data.
• Seattle Community Network  If  you think the Pacific Northwest would be an interesting destination, Seattle, Washington would be a good place to start your trip.  Find out what is important to the community in this city.
• Texas Highway's Roadtrips    Find out what makes Texas so unique.  Features short articles written on interesting destinations, complete with photos and traveler information.  Visit the home page for general travel information.
• US Holidays    An extensive listing of holidays observed in the United States.  There is a brief description for each holiday, explaining its significance.  Search by month, or scroll down to see the entire year.  Compare this list with holidays celebrated in the rest of the world (World Wide Holiday and Festival Page ).   Which holidays are unique to the U.S.?
• Welcome to the USA  This site is actually produced by an online magazine in China, but offers good articles on culture in the United States.  Choose the culture link on their site to find them.

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Media Resources: Local news is an excellent resource for information on destinations.  With these links, one can learn about current events, local attractions, the local economy, and much more.

• CNN Interactive   One of the best national resources for news.  Take their quiz to test your knowledge of current events.
• Lycos US Newspaper Directories    This directory is organized by regions of the United States.
• NPR Online   A favorite and respected source for news.  If you have Real Audio 14.4 or 28.8 or Windows Media, you can listen to the news, as you read the key points.
• US Newspaper Links     Microzoo's listing of US news resources.  Find today's news for any region of the United States.  Also included are links to network television sites, weather, and even the National Inquirer (a popular gossip column)
• USA Today  This daily newspaper covers current events for the entire nation.
• Yahoo! News and Media    This link connects you to a listing of newspapers published for specific cultures and groups in the United States.  Scroll down to find the links.

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Photos/Virtual Tours:    Take a virtual tour using one of the links below, and write about it for your next journal entry.

*Photos often take more time to download to your computer.

DCN's USA Web Cam    Images of the United States, captured by World Wide Web fans using their World Wide Web cameras.  You will be required to choose a state, and then narrow your search to the specific area you would like to see.  Then you will be provided with a link to that web cam.

Downtown Chicago    Take a virtual tour of Chicago, by using Chicago Mosaic's  interactive map.

Four Corners:  A Literary Excursion Across America Join Dan Phillips, editor of the Web Surfer Travel Journal, as he travels across the United States.  Follow along as he writes about his adventures.

Passages West   Photo gallery of the Southwest.  Choose the links following each photo to learn more.

GlobaLearn    Take a virtual trip with GlobaLearn.  Includes a weekly guide for each departure, as well as a map and facts about each destination visited.

Road Trip USA   Take a virtual tour with the  Moon Travel Handbook site.  The tour includes a map indicating your course of travel, and text describing the areas along the way.

World Safari    Take a virtual safari.  Travel to a new destination every month.

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Maps and Directions:  Use these sites to find out how to get to your destination.  Note the vocabulary used for giving directions.  One activity you could do: make up your own directions.  Choose two points on a city map, and write down directions on how to get there.  Compare your directions to those given by the web site, or share the directions with a classmate.  See if they arrive at the destination you have chosen.
 

• How far is it?   This is a handy reference for those traveling by car.  It indicates the distance between two points, and provides directions to get you there.
• MapBlast    More maps of the United States can be found at this web site, although I find MapQuest to be more useful.
• MapQuest    This is a handy reference which includes maps, driving directions and distances, and a travel guide.
• USA City Map   Lonely Planet's guide to cities in the United States.  Includes maps and a brief description for each city.

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