It's believed that the continent's first inhabitants walked into North America across what is now the Bering Strait from Asia. For the next 20,000 years these pioneering settlers were essentially left alone to develop distinct and dynamic cultures. In the modern US, their descendants include the Pueblo people in what is now New Mexico; Apache in Texas; Navajo in Arizona, Colorado and Utah; Hopi in Arizona; Crow in Montana; Cherokee in North Carolina; and Mohawk and Iroquois in New York State. The Norwegian explorer Leif Eriksson was the first European to reach North America, some 500 years before a disoriented Columbus accidentally discovered 'Indians' in Hispaniola (now the Dominican Republic and Haiti) in 1492. By the mid-1550s, much of the Americas had been poked and prodded by a parade of explorers from Spain, Portugal, England and France. The first colonies attracted immigrants looking to get rich quickly and return home, but they were soon followed by migrants whose primary goal was to colonise. The Spanish founded the first permanent European settlement in St Augustine, Florida, in 1565; the French moved in on Maine in 1602, and Jamestown, Virginia, became the first British settlement in 1607. The first Africans arrived as 'indentured labourers' with the Brits a year prior to English Puritan pilgrims' escape of religious persecution. The pilgrims founded a colony at Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts, in 1620, and signed the famous Mayflower Compact - a declaration of self-government that would later be echoed in the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution. British attempts to assert authority in its 13 North American colonies led to the French and Indian War (1757-63). The British were victorious but were left with a nasty war debt, which they tried to recoup by imposing new taxes. The rallying cry 'no taxation without representation' united the colonies, who ceremoniously dumped caffeinated cargo overboard during the Boston Tea Party. Besieged British general Cornwallis surrendered to American commander George Washington five years later at Yorktown, Virginia, in 1781. In the 19th century, America's mantra was 'Manifest Destiny'. A combination of land purchases, diplomacy and outright wars of conquest had by 1850 given the US roughly its present shape. In 1803, Napoleon dumped the entire Great Plains for a pittance, and Spain chipped in with Florida in 1819. The Battle of the Alamo during the 1835 Texan Revolution paved the way for Texan independence from Mexico, and the war with Mexico (1846-48) secured most of the southwest, including California. The systematic annihilation of the buffalo hunted by the Plains Indians, encroachment on their lands, and treaties not worth the paper they were written on led to Native Americans being herded into reservations, deprived of both their livelihoods and their spiritual connection to their land. Nineteenth-century immigration drastically altered the cultural landscape as settlers of predominantly British stock were joined by Central Europeans and Chinese, many attracted by the 1849 gold rush in California. The South remained firmly committed to an agrarian life heavily reliant on African-American slave labour. Tensions were on the rise when abolitionist Abraham Lincoln was elected president in 1860. The South seceded from the Union, and the Civil War, by far the bloodiest war in America's history, began the following year. The North prevailed in 1865, freed the slaves and introduced universal adult male suffrage. Lincoln's vision for reconstruction, however, died with his assassination.

America's trouncing of the Spaniards in 1898 marked the USA's ascendancy as a superpower and woke the country out of its isolationist slumber. The US still did its best not to get its feet dirty in WWI's trenches, but finally capitulated in 1917, sending over a million troops to help sort out the pesky Germans. Postwar celebrations were cut short by Prohibition in 1920, which banned alcohol in the country. The 1929 stock-market crash signalled the start of the Great Depression and eventually brought about Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal, which sought to lift the country back to prosperity. After the Japanese dropped in uninvited on Pearl Harbor in 1941, the US played a major role in defeating the Axis powers. Atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 not only ended the war with Japan, but ushered in the nuclear age. The end of WWII segued into the Cold War - a period of great domestic prosperity and a surface uniformity belied by paranoia and betrayal. Politicians like Senator Joe McCarthy took advantage of the climate to fan anticommunist flames, while the USSR and USA stockpiled nuclear weapons and fought wars by proxy in Korea, Africa and Southeast Asia. Tensions between the USSR and USA reached their peak in 1962 during the Cuban Missile Crisis. The 1960s was a decade of profound social change, thanks largely to the Civil Rights movement, Vietnam War protests and the discovery of sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll. The Civil Rights movement gained momentum in 1955 with a bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama. As a nonviolent mass protest movement, it aimed at breaking down segregation and regaining the vote for disfranchised Southern blacks. The movement peaked in 1963 with Martin Luther King Jr's 'I have a dream' speech in Washington DC, and the passage of the landmark 1964 Civil Rights Act and 1965 Voting Rights Act. Meanwhile, America's youth were rejecting the conformity of the previous decade, growing their hair long and smoking lots of dope. 'Tune in, turn on, drop out' was the mantra of a generation who protested heavily (and not disinterestedly) against the war in Vietnam. Assassinations of prominent political leaders - John and Robert Kennedy, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr - took a little gloss off the party, and the American troops mired in Vietnam took off the rest. NASA's moon landing in 1969 did little to restore national pride. In 1974 Richard Nixon became the first US president to resign from office, because of his involvement in the cover-up of the Watergate burglaries, bringing American patriotism to a new low. The 1970s and '80s were a period of technological advancement and declining industrialism. A conservative backlash, symbolised by the election and popular two-term presidency of actor Ronald Reagan, sought to put some backbone in the country. The US then concentrated on bullying its poor neighbors in Central America and the Caribbean by meddling in the affairs of El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama and Grenada. The collapse of the Soviet Bloc's 'Evil Empire' in 1991 left the US as the world's sole superpower, and the Gulf War in 1992 gave George Bush the opportunity to lead a coalition supposedly representing a 'new world order' into battle against Iraq. Domestic matters, such as health reform, gun ownership, drugs, racial tension, gay rights, balancing the budget, the tenacious Whitewater scandal and the Monica Lewinsky 'Fornigate' affair tended to overshadow international concerns during the Clinton administration. In a bid to kickstart its then-ailing economy, the USA signed Nafta, a free-trade agreement with Canada and Mexico in 1993. In 1994 it invaded Haiti in its role as upholder of democracy, and in 1995 committed thousands of troops to operations in Bosnia. It hosted the Olympics in 1996 and enjoyed, over the next few years, the fruits of a bull market on Wall Street.

The 2000 presidential election made history by being the most tightly contested race in the nation's history, but it was marred by a voting fiasco in Florida, which left the result in doubt for weeks. Demands for recounts and threats of lawsuits were eventually halted by the US Supreme Court, whose decision allowed George W Bush to declare victory on the strength of about 500 Florida votes.The early part of Bush's presidency was dominated by efforts to fix a rapidly weakening economy, but everything changed following the terrorist attacks on US soil on September 11, 2001. Fear and anger among Americans led to widespread support for Bush's ensuing 'War On Terror', which began with the US invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to root out the terrorists and overthrow the repressive Taliban regime that supported them. Then, in April 2003, the US launched a contentious pre-emptive strike against Iraq in order to remove Saddam Hussein's dictatorship and replace it with a popularly elected, 'democratic' Iraqi government. Nationwide arguments over the rationale for and conduct of the Iraq War split the US and led to a bitter 2004 presidential election, which George W Bush won by narrow margin over Democratic challenger John Kerry. Since then, the Bush administration's ambitious plan to rebuild Iraq has yet to be successful. As the war's costs and casualties keep rising, domestic support for the war and of Bush's policies have plummeted. With a record-breaking federal debt (topping three trillion dollars) and culture wars building over illegal immigration, gay marriage, and the environment, the US is poised once again for a divisive presidential election in 2008.

Despite its seemingly Babylon-like dangers - guns, violent crime, earthquakes, tornadoes - the USA is actually a very safe country to visit. Perhaps the single greatest danger for travellers is posed by car accidents on America's highways, and the two greatest annoyances will be auto traffic in the cities and crowds at popular sites. Outdoor activities have their own sets of dangers and annoyances, but these vary with the terrain and the sport. The best advice is to talk to rangers about any risks posed by wildlife or the elements, and whether bugs and mosquitoes will be a particular problem when you'll be visiting.In most major cities, pickpocketing is unfortunately par for the course, so take sensible precautions when dealing with your valuables.

No matter what you're into - nude bungee jumping, organic ballooning, power fishing - you'll find a spot to do it and folks to do it with in America. And it will be bigger, faster, harder and better than anywhere else in the world.

New Orleans has long seduced with its Caribbean colour, sultry Southern heat, sweet-tasting cocktails and voodoo potions. The unofficial state motto, laissez les bons temps rouler (let the good times roll), pretty much says it all. Then in August 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck, toppling levees, flooding much of the city and drastically changing everything.

Called by some 'The City That Care Forgot,' New Orleans has a well-earned reputation for excess and debauchery. It's a cultural gumbo of African, Indian, Cajun and Creole influences. Katrina caused a mass exodus and roughly 40% of New Orleans' residents have reportedly returned, but only time will tell how the city will ultimately repopulate.

They don't come any bigger than the Big Apple - king of the hill, top of the heap, New York, New York. It's got its fair share of the tired, the poor, and the huddled masses, but it also has world-class museums, big statues, even bigger buildings, outrageous excess, and a whole lot of whooo-wheee!

New York is a densely packed mass of humanity and all this living on top of one another makes the New Yorker a special kind of person. It's hard to put a finger on what makes the place buzz so hard, but the city's hyperactive rush keeps drawing more and more people to it.

In a city that is so much a part of the global subconscious, it's pretty hard to pick a few highlights - wherever you go you'll feel like you've been there before. For iconic value, you can't surpass the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, Central Park and Times Square. The Museum of Modern Art is one of the world's top museums, and the Guggenheim Museum and American Museum of Natural History aren't far behind. Bookshops, food, theatre, shopping, people: it doesn't really matter what you do or where you go in New York because the city itself is an in-your-face, exhilarating experience.

San Francisco has an atmosphere of genteel chic mixed with offbeat innovation and a self-effacing quality so blatantly missing from brassy New York and plastic LA. Its hilly streets provide some gorgeous glimpses of the sparkling bay and its famous bridges.

The treats of San Francisco are not just for locals. The basic pleasures of life here - wonderful food, sparkling nightlife and those glorious views - are there for everyone. Watch the white fog fill the Golden Gate as the sunset lights up the windows across the bay, and prepare to leave your heart.

The best way to explore San Francisco's neighbourhoods is on foot. A leisurely stroll through North Beach, with its relaxed European charm, leads smack into bustling Chinatown. A hike up hoity-toity Nob Hill segues down to the troubled Tenderloin. South of Market, a busy warehouse district during the day, transforms into nightclub central at night. The Mission District is varied: many of its streets are Latino enclaves, but a continuous flow of hip young invaders has redefined many of the district's crossroads. The nearby Castro was claimed by gay men in the 1970s, and it remains predominantly gay today, projecting an assured, almost mainstream air.

The name itself evokes all that is harsh and hellish - a lifeless place hotter than Satan's hoof. Well, not quite. Closer inspection reveals Death Valley as a timeless medley of canyons, sand dunes, oases and sculpted mountains. Bring plenty of water for yourself and your vehicle. Wildflower groupies will want to visit in March and April.

Furnace Creek

California

California highway 190 (Visitor Center)

in the Furnace Creek resort area

Furnace Creek is 48km (30mi) from Death Valley Junction to the E, and 39km (24mi) from Stovepipe Wells Village to the N and W.

telephone or fax: 

Web: http://www.nps.gov/deva

This great statue is an American icon and New York's best-known landmark. Unfortunately, visitor experience has been significantly marred by post-September 11 concerns. You can no longer go up into the body of the statue, just glimpse it from the base, where a specially designed glass ceiling lets you look up into the striking interior.

Liberty Island

New York Harbour

New York

telephone or fax: 

Web: http://www.nps.gov/stli

open hours:09:30-17:00

prices:

Carved 18m (60ft) tall in the granite of a Black Hills outcrop, the stony faces of past presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt, look like they're emerging from the mountain. One of the most famous images in the USA, Mt Rushmore is visited by over 3 million visitors a year.

South Dakota

Keystone

Highway 244

telephone or fax: 

Web: http://www.nps.gov/moru

Misty sprays and the majestic scale of this roaring cascade make it a marvellous spectacle. Split between New York and Canada, the Canadian side of the Falls has the more stunning views (as well as a strip of Vegas-like attractions including a towering casino), while the New York side has a handful of low-key, natural-park offerings.

Niagara Falls

New York state

692km (430mi) NW New York City

telephone or fax: 

Web: http://www.nfcvb.com

The majority of the Black Hills' attractions lie within a 1875-sq-mile mixture of protected and logged forest, perforated by pockets of private land along most roads. The best way to explore is on any of the 568km (353mi) of hiking trails or along the many scenic byways and gravel 'fire roads'. Good camping abounds in the forest.

SW South Dakota

stretches from Spearfish to Angostura State Recreation Area

Great Plains

telephone or fax: 

Web: http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/blackhills

In America, the rich are getting much, much richer. 20% of Americans earn 55% of the nation's annual income. The top 1% earns around 17% of all income and controls 35% of the nation's wealth.

Your main option for getting to the US is either by air or, from the closer countries, by road or train. The main international airports are in Boston, New York, Washington, Miami, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Atlanta, Denver, Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles, with hundreds of smaller airports dotted all over the country.For those travelling into the US from Canada and Mexico, you have the option of driving, catching a bus or an Amtrak train.

The choices for traversing this massive country are myriad, be it via subway, bus, rail, bike or your own two feet.