The USA occupies the middle of North America along with Alaska and Hawaii, and is governed from Washington, D.C.
Its landscapes shift from the Appalachian forests of the east through the Mississippi basin and Great Plains to the southwestern deserts and the Pacific Northwest. The country gave rise to jazz, blues and rock and to Hollywood. Typical itineraries take in the Smithsonian museums, Route 66, the Florida Keys, Chicago's architecture and Alaska's glaciers.