A FOURTH OF JULY TRIBUTE
O n the Fourth of July, Americans celebrate both the founding of our nation and the beauty and variety of our land and its bounty.
From the cities, rivers, and fields by the
Atlantic Ocean to the states bordered by the
Pacific -- and on to Alaska and Hawaii -there are scenic wonders to swell every
American’s heart with pride.
The celebration begins with that beloved incarnation of the American spirit: the Statue of Liberty in New York.
Statue of Liberty, New York Harbor (© Photospin).

The glamour of it all! New York!
-- Charlie Chaplin, actor
New York, New York
Filming fireworks over the Statue of Liberty (© AP Images/Ron Frehm).

New York, New York
Left, skaters at Rockefeller Center, New York City (© AP Photo/Ed Bailey). Right, the Empire State Building, in foreground, and the Chrysler
Building dominate the midtown Manhattan skyline (© Ambient Images Inc. / Alamy).

Everyone must take time to sit and watch the leaves turn.
-- Elizabeth Lawrence, writer and gardener
Harrison, Maine
Fall foliage in Harrison, Maine (© AP Images/Portland Press Herald, Herb Swanson).

Fall foliage in Waynesboro, Pennsylvania (© AP Images/Hagerstown Herald-Mail, Ric Dugan).
Waynesboro, Pennsylvania

If ever the spirit of liberty should vanish from the rest of the
Union, it could be restored by the generous share held by the people in this brave little State of Vermont.
-- Calvin Coolidge, U.S. President, 1923-29
Elmore, Vermont
Left, winter in Calais, Vermont. Right, Town Hall meeting, Elmore, Vermont (Both, © AP Images/Toby Talbot).

The freedom and happiness of man ... [are] the sole objects of all legitimate government.
-- Thomas Jefferson, U.S. President, 1801-1809
Washington, D.C.
Left, baseball Opening Day ceremonies, Washington, D.C. (Photo by Tim Brown). Right, Thomas Jefferson Memorial and cherry blossoms, Washington, D.C. (© Bruce Dorrier/Superstock).

"I'm going back to dignity and grace. I'm going back to
Charleston, where I belong."
-Rhett Butler, character in “Gone With the Wind”
Charleston, South Carolina
From left to right: Colonialera houses in Charleston (© Damir Frkovic/Masterfile); houses on East Battery, part of Charleston’s
Historic District (© Jon Arnold Images/Superstock); traditional handicrafts in South Carolina (National Geographic/Superstock).

There are no other Everglades in the world. They are, they have always been, one of the unique regions of the earth; remote, never wholly known .
-- Marjory Stoneman Douglas, environmentalist
Florida Everglades
A great egret in the Florida Everglades (© Peter Johannes/Ravenwood Studios).

Florida Everglades
Left, former tribal chairman Buffalo Tiger drives his airboat through the Florida Everglades near the Miccosukee Indian
Reservation. Right, an alligator swims through an Everglades wildlife refuge (Both © AP Images/J. Pat Carter).

Butcher, tool maker, stacker of wheat, player with railroads and freight handler to the nation.
Chicago, Illinois
-- Carl Sandburg, poet
Chicago, Illinois, at dusk (© Robert Frerck and Odyssey Productions, Inc.).

Chicago, Illinois
Chicago is proud of its many ethnic heritages. From left, dancers at a Polish Heritage Festival; Chinese-Americans celebrate the
Autumn Moon Festival (both, © 2007 Russell Gordon and Odyssey Productions, Inc.); butchers display German delicacies; everyone is Irish on Saint Patrick’s Day (both, © Robert Frerck and Odyssey Productions, Inc.).

When I find a well-drawn character in fiction or biography I generally take a warm personal interest in him, for the reason that I have known him before -- met him on the river.
-- Mark Twain, writer and wit
Itasca State Park, Minnesota
Northern Minnesota’s Itasca State Park, where the Mississippi River begins its 4,107-kilometer journey to the Gulf of Mexico (Greg Ryan/Sally Beyer).

St. Louis, Missouri
Left, the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri (© SuperStock); right, Hernando de Soto Bridge over the Mississippi River connects cities in
Tennessee and Arkansas (ThinkStock/SuperStock).

A tanker ship on the Mississippi River glides past New Orleans, Louisiana (© AP Images/David J. Phillip).
New Orleans, Louisiana

The farmers … are the founders of human civilization.
-- Daniel Webster, statesman and orator
Whitman County, Washington
Farm and buildings in Whitman County, Washington (Terry Donnelly).

Minnesota Indiana
Clockwise from upper left, soybeans in Indiana, wheat fields in Minnesota, corn plants in Minnesota (all © age fotostock/SuperStock).

Beauty in nature nourishes us and brings joy to the human spirit.
-- Lady Bird Johnson, First Lady, 1963-69
Texas Wyoming
The state flower of Texas, the bluebonnet, blooms under an oak with another wildflower, the paintbrush (© Adam Jones/Danita
Delimont); right, elk graze in Yellowstone National Park ( © AP Images/ Kevork Djansezian).

Sunset over the Grand Canyon (Photo by Tim Brown).
Arizona

Navajo Nation
Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, Navajo Nation, which straddles parts of Arizona and Utah. (Photo by Tim Brown).

New Mexico, Arizona, Utah
Top left, adobe house in New Mexico (Stockxpert); above left, rodeo competition in Arizona (© David H. Wells and Odyssey
Productions, Inc.); center, Apache father and son in Arizona (© Jose Galvez/Photo Edit); right, barn in Capitol Reef National Park,
Utah (Stockxpert).

California dreamin’ …
--
Mamas and the Papas, ‘60s vocal group
San Francisco, California
The Golden Gate Bridge frames the San Francisco, California, skyline (Comstock).

San Francisco, California
Clockwise from above, holiday banners in San Francisco’s Chinatown (© AP Images/Eric Risberg); beach near San Diego (© AP
Images/Lenny Ignelzi); grapevines in Napa Valley (© 2007 Michael Melford).

Beauty is not caused. It is.
-- Emily Dickinson, poet
Oahu, Hawaii
Surfing off Oahu, Hawaii (Mark Johnson/Mira.com).

Northern Lights over Portage Lake and Chugach Mountains, Alaska (Alaska Stock Images).
Portage Lake, Alaska

Beauty is not caused. It is.
-- Emily Dickinson, poet
Portage Lake, Alaska
Northern Lights over Portage Lake and Chugach Mountains, Alaska. (Alaska Stock Images)

A FOURTH OF JULY TRIBUTE
Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State (http://usinfo.state.gov)
Executive Editor: George Clack; Managing Editor: Mildred Sol
á
Neely; Art Director/Design: Tim Brown; Reference Specialist: Anita N. Green

Charleston, South Carolina

Charlottesville, Virginia

Tim Brune watches sparks fly at the North Woods Club in New York's Adirondack Mountains

Alabama, 1998

Boston, Massachusetts

Boston's North Enders

Cape Canaveral, Florida, 1968

Cheyenne, Wyoming, 1999

Colebrook, New Hampshire, 1972

Custer State Park, South Dakota, 1995

Gateway Arch

Golden Gate Bridge, Francisco

Grand Canyon

Kalamazoo, Michigan, 1978

Le Mars, Iowa

Michigan - Grand Haven Lighthouse

Moonrise Over Mall Monuments

New River Gorge, West Virginia, 1999

New York, New York, 1987

New York's Broadway

Old Harbor, Alaska

Plymouth, Massachusetts, 1985

Portland, Oregon

Rancho de Taos, New Mexico

Salt Lake City, Utah, 1998

Spearfish Canyon, South Dakota

Vermont, 1997

Westmore, Vermont, 1998

Yarmouth, Maine, 1968

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Yuba City, California, 2000

Rhode Island - Newport Marina

Manmade arch bridge beneath rock.
East Temple, Zion National Park, Utah.
Overhead crane and bridge at port

Hoover Dam, cars on bridge, elevated view, Nevada border, Arizona
Tall pines stand behind old bridge over
Yellowstone River above upper falls.
Yellowstone River,
Yellowstone National
Park, Wyoming.

Traffic on viaduct, elevated view, autumn
Pennsylvania - Pittsburgh skyline

Bixby Bridge on pacific coast highway, Big Sur, California
Zakim Bridge illuminated at dusk, Boston

Vincent Thomas Bridge at night, Port of Los Angeles, California

Covered bridge Henneker, New Hampshire

Islamorada and bridge, Florida Keys, Florida
Greater New Orleans Bridge crossing
Mississippi River and cityscape, New
Orleans, Louisiana

New York, New York City, Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges

Queensborough Bridge, New York City

Multnomah Falls and footbridge, Columbia River George, Oregon

covered bridge, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, downtown skyline, dusk

Riverwalk, San Antonio, Texas
Owachomo Bridge,
Natural Bridges National Monument, Utah

Vermont, sugar maple by covered bridge, autumn

Snake River, Washington
Country Road, Vermont