Did You Know...? Death Valley is the hottest, driest and lowest-altitude place in North America. About 10,000 earthquakes shake Southern California each year. An estimated 20,000 gray whales migrate along the California coast annually. Furnace Creek Resort (Death Valley National Park) has the world’s lowest golf course. The 115-room Hearst
Did You Know...? Crazy Horse Memorial is the world’s largest mountain sculpture. In South Dakota, each man in the Lewis and Clark party ate about nine pounds of meat daily. It took 14 years and $1 million to carve the four presidential faces on Mount Rushmore The geographic center of
Did You Know...? Yellowstone is the world’s oldest national park (1872) and America’s second largest. Cheyenne Frontier Days is the world’s largest outdoor rodeo. Wyoming was first to give women the right to vote (1869) and to elect a woman governor (1924). Wyoming has the smallest population of the 50
Did You Know...? Wisconsin produces 350-plus varieties of cheese, more than any other state. The Kickapoo River is called the world’s crookedest river. The state’s 1.3 million dairy cows supply milk for 42M people, butter for 68M, cheese for 86M. Liberace and Orson Welles were born in Wisconsin; Houdini spent
Did You Know...? The town of Mountain was formerly named Mole Hill. Mother’s Day was first celebrated in West Virginia (1908). Berkeley Springs, incorporated as Bath in 1776, was America’s first spa town. The Golden Delicious apple originated in West Virginia. When West Virginia was created, its founders intended to
Did You Know...? There is a town called George (yes, that’s George, Washington). Father’s Day was originated by Spokane’s Sonora Louise Smart Dodd (1910). Washington is the only state named for a U.S. president. The Concorde on view in Seattle broke a transcontinental speed record getting there. Seattle’s Pike Place
Did You Know...? One-third of all Civil War battles occurred in Virginia, for 122 in the state. All or part of eight other states were carved out of territory once claimed by Virginia. Eight U.S. presidents were born in Virginia. Mount Vernon’s displays include the key to the Bastille, a
Did You Know...? Vermont has the lowest percentage of urban residents of any U.S. state. The state is the nation’s largest producer of maple syrup. Montpelier has the lowest population of any state capital (7,855 in the last census, 2010). At Haskell Opera House, much of the audience sits in
Did You Know...? Seventy percent of Utah’s population is Mormon. Rainbow Bridge is the largest known natural stone bridge in the world. Great Salt Lake is a remnant of a 25,000-year-old freshwater lake. The Family History Library in Salt Lake City is the largest genealogical library in the world. Utahans
Did You Know...? Texas has more surface fresh water (4,959 square miles) than any state except Alaska. Its largest ranch, the King Ranch in Kingsville, is slightly bigger than Rhode Island. Texas has the right to divide into five states. The Comal, at 2.5 miles, is the shortest river in
