New York City (NY)

NYC is the largest city in the state of New York

(NY), and in the whole of the USA, with 8.4 million

people. People from NYC are called New Yorkers.

New York City is made up of 5 areas – Brooklyn,

Queens, Manhattan, the Bronx, and Staten Island –

which were joined together to make one city in 1898.

The city covers an area of 469 square miles and is

built along the Hudson River as it enters the Atlantic

Ocean.

The Statue of Liberty symbolises freedom, and lights

the way for new settlers who come to live in the USA.

New York City has been nicknamed the ‘Melting Pot’

because of this mixture of different races and

religions. It is also famously called ‘The Big Apple’,

and ‘The City That Never Sleeps’.

55 million people visit each year. Tourist destinations

include the Empire State Building and Times Square.

Now fly to Boston (BOS)

Los Angeles (CA)

Los Angeles is the largest city in the state of California

(CA), and 2nd the whole of the USA, with 3.9 million

people. LA covers an area of 503 square miles and is built

on the west coast of the USA, by the Pacific Ocean.

The name Los Angeles is Spanish and translates as City of

Angels. People from LA are called Angelenos, they are

from 140 countries, and speak 86 different languages.

The city was officially founded in 1781, although Spanish

people had been living there for centuries. LA was

captured by Mexico in 1821, but the USA bought it back

in 1848.

LA is the film and television capital of the USA,

therefore it is nicknamed ‘Tinseltown’ because of the

shiny and bright life of the Hollywood stars.

Tourists in LA can visit the Hollywood sign and the Walk

of Fame. Many people go on tours to see the mansions

that the stars live in. Now fly to Las Vegas (LAS)

New Orleans (LA)

New Orleans is the largest city in the state of

Louisiana (LA) with 380,000 people. The city

covers an area of 350 square miles and is built

along the Mississippi River. New Orleans was

founded by the French in 1718.

New Orleans is famous for jazz music, with stars

such as Louis Armstrong playing in bars in the

French Quarter of the city. It was nicknamed ‘The

Big Easy’ after people found it easy to buy alcohol

there even after it was made illegal in the USA in

the 1930s.

New Orleans has tropical weather and is

surrounded by swamps. It has had many hurricanes

and tropical storms.

Every year a festival called Mardi Gras brings

thousands of tourists to the city for a huge

carnival. People dress up in colourful costumes and

masks, and dance in the streets to celebrate (). Now fly to Orlando (MCO)

Washington DC

Washington DC has 660,000 people and the city

covers an area of 68 square miles. People from

Washington DC are called Washingtonians.

The city was founded in 1791, and named after George

Washington who was the first president of the USA.

DC is the centre of politics in the USA. The president

lives here with his family in a mansion called the

White House. DC is therefore not part of a state,

because it governs over all of the 50 states equally.

The Supreme Court is also in DC, which rules over the

largest legal cases in the country.

DC has lots of memorials and statues for famous

leaders. The Lincoln Memorial is the most famous, and

was built in memory of Abraham Lincoln (president of

the USA in the 1860s ). Lincoln was known as

‘Honest Abe’, so people visit his statue for advice.

Now fly to New York City (JFK)

Detroit (MI)

Detroit is the largest city in the state of

Michigan (MI), and 18th the whole of the USA,

with 680,000 people called Detroiters.

The city covers an area of 143 square miles and is

built along the Detroit River that separates the

USA and Canada.

In the 1950s Detroit was famous for making

cars, consequently it was nicknamed ‘Motor City’.

Henry Ford built his car factory in Detroit in

1903, and other car companies followed.

Today, cheap cars are imported from Japan and

China so people have left the city as the car

factories shut down.

Detroit is also famous for Motown music, with

singers such as Diana Ross and the Jackson 5

(including Michael Jackson) becoming world

famous. This music brought lots of tourism and

money.

Now fly to Chicago (ORD)

Houston (TX)

Houston is the largest city in the state of Texas

(TX), and 4th the whole of the USA, with 2.2 million

people who call themselves Houstonians.

The city was officially founded in 1836, and named

after Sam Houston (a former leader of Texas).

The city covers an area of 628 square miles and is

built around a slow river called Buffalo Bayou.

Houston has the nickname ‘Space City’. The NASA

space centre is based in Houston and leads the way

in space research and exploration. This is why in

films you may hear astronauts say ‘Houston can you

hear me?’ The Space Center has many exhibits

including moon rocks and a shuttle simulator.

The names of Houston's sports teams are all after

features of space: the Astros, the Aeros, and the

Comets.

Now fly to New Orleans (MSY)

Boston (MA)

Boston is the capital city for the state of

Massachusetts (MA), and is 24th largest city in the

USA with 650,000 people. People from Boston are

called Bostonians.

The city covers an area of 90 square miles. It is on

the east coast of the USA bordering the Atlantic

Ocean.

The city was first settled in 1630 by the British and

is one of the oldest cities in America.

Harvard University is in Boston and is often called

the best university in the world. It was created in

1636 and is the oldest university in the USA. 8 U.S.

presidents have been to Harvard.

Boston has the nickname ‘Bean Town’ because its

people used to eat beans that had been baked in

treacle (an early form of the baked beans that we

eat today!).

Now fly to Detroit (DTW)

Chicago (IL)

Chicago is the 3rd largest city in the USA, and

the largest city in the state of Illinois (IL). It

has 2.7 million people who call themselves

Chicagoans. Chicago officially became a city

in 1837.

The city covers an area of 234 square miles and

is on the edge of a huge freshwater lake called

Lake Michigan. The Chicago and Calumet rivers

run through the city.

Chicago’s largest airport is called O’Hare, and

it’s the busiest airport in the whole world, with

70 million passengers every year!

Chicago is famously nicknamed ‘The Windy City’.

Many think that this is because of the windy

weather that blows in from Lake Michigan, but

it is actually because of its politicians who make

promises that they don’t keep. Now fly to San Francisco (SFO)

Orlando (FL)

Orlando is the 3rd largest city in the state of

Florida (FL) and has 256,000 people who call

themselves Orlandoans. The city covers an area of

111 square miles.

Orlando has been nicknamed ‘The Theme Park

Capital of the World’. It is home to Disneyworld

(Magic Kingdom and Epcot), Universal Studios,

SeaWorld and Gatorland.

Disneyworld was opened in 1971, and is the most

visited tourist attraction in the whole world, with

51 million visitors each year!

57 million tourists visit Orlando each year, and in

2009 it was the most visited city in the USA.

Florida has hot weather all year, but having a

tropical climate means it can often rain, even in

summer! It is built around Lake Eola, and is

surrounded by swamps.

Now fly to Nashville (BNA)

San Francisco (CA)

San Francisco is the 4th largest city in the

state of California (CA), and the 14th largest

city in the USA. It has 838,000 people who

call themselves San Franciscans.

The city covers an area of 232 square miles

and borders the Pacific Ocean and San

Francisco Bay. It has been nicknamed ‘Fog

City’ because it regularly gets very thick fog.

The city was founded in 1776 and the name

San Francisco is Spanish for Saint Francis. In

1849, gold was found in California, so millions

of people moved to San Francisco to become

rich. This was called the ‘California Gold Rush’.

San Francisco has many famous landmarks

such as the Golden Gate Bridge. This is

repainted every year. Since it takes a year to

paint all of it, as soon as the job is finished

they start again!

Now fly to Los Angeles (LAX)

Nashville (TN)

Nashville is the capital city for the state

of Tennessee (TN), and the largest city in

the state. It has 659,000 people who call

themselves Nashvillians.

The city covers an area of 528 square

miles and is built along the Cumberland

River. It was founded on Christmas Eve in

1779.

Nashville has been nicknamed ‘Music City’

because it is home to the Grand Ole Opry.

Starting in 1925, it is the world’s longest

running radio show bringing 12 million

tourists to Nashville each year.

Nashville is therefore seen as the home of

country music, and many famous singers,

such as Dolly Parton, have performed

there. The songs ‘Jingle Bell Rock’ and the

‘Hokey Cokey’ were first recorded in

Nashville. Now fly to Washington DC (IAD)

Las Vegas (NV)

Las Vegas is the largest city in the state of

Nevada (NV), and the 30th largest city in

the USA. It has 604,000 people who call

themselves Las Vegans. The city covers an

area of 584 square miles.

Las Vegas is famous for its large casinos,

gambling, and wild nightlife. Therefore it has

been nicknamed ‘Sin City’ due to people

gambling and drinking alcohol.

Vegas is also famous for its glittering neon

lights, as all buildings down the main road are

heavily lit to attract guests.

Vegas is built in the Mojave Desert and is

surrounded by mountains. It therefore has

hot and dry weather, reaching temperatures

of above 30°C for 4 months of the year. Plus

it only rains 26 days each year!

Now fly to Houston (IAH)