This book is a celebration. In these pages we put on splendid photographic display the glories of 1oo of America's most beautiful, most important, most intriguing places.There are vast national parks here and tiny cor ners of the country where might exist a sublime museum or a storied ballpark. From the scenic coast of Maine to the thunderous volcanoes of Hawaii, from far northern Alaska to the tip of the Florida Keys--with stops in between in San Francisco, Santa Fe and in our nation's capital, to name but three--LIFE celebrates the bounteous natural and man-made artistry that is a great source of American pride.

This book is a celebration. In these pages we put on splendid photographic display the glories of 1oo of America's most beautiful, most important, most intriguing places.There are vast national parks here and tiny cor ners of the country where might exist a sublime museum or a storied ballpark. From the scenic coast of Maine to the thunderous volcanoes of Hawaii, from far northern Alaska to the tip of the Florida Keys--with stops in between in San Francisco, Santa Fe and in our nation's capital, to name but three--LIFE celebrates the bounteous natural and man-made artistry that is a great source of American pride.

This book is a journey. In the evocative words that accompany the photographs, LIFE takes you on the road. Whether it's a slow drive through the rolling landscape of Kentucky's horse country or a dramatic descent into an underground labyrinth of caves, the frisson of being in the scene is palpable. There is history to be learned--at Gettysburg, at Concord in Massachusetts, at the Alamo. There are tips to be filed away--the best gardens to visit this summer, what's not to be missed during that getaway to Newport or Mackinac or Santa Catalina.

This book is a showcase. Herein we present portfolios from three of the finest American nature and landscape photographers ever: Joel Meyerowitz, Michael Melford and the legendary AnseIAdams. Each of these men made memorable pictures of many places, but focused intently on one place above others. And so we let Meyerowitz give us his vision of Cape Cod, Me[ford take us on a tour of the Hawaiian islands and Adams show us the monumentality of his beloved Yosemite.The photographs in these portfolios are suitable for framing, as is the bonus Ansel Adams print included in America the Beautiful.

This book is, finally, an invitation. It is meant to entertain you, certainly, but also to inspire you.There are loo places celebrated here, and it is a lucky American who gets to visit them.

So we invite you to see your country in these pages.

And, then--to get up and go.

The Maine Coast, Maine

The North Woods, Maine

Squam Lakes, New Hampshire

Stowe, Vermont

The Great Beach, Massachusetts

Concord, Massachusetts

Newport, Rhode Island

Block Island, Rhode Island

Mystic, Connecticut

The Adirondacks, New York

West Point, New York

Niagara Falls, New York

The Cloisters, New York

Main Beach, New York

The Pine Barrens, New Jersey

Cape May, New Jersey

Longwood Gardens, Pennsylvania

Fallingwater, Pennsylvania

Independence Mall, Pennsylvania

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

Winterthur Museum & Country Estate,Delaware

Chesapeake Bay, Maryland

Washington, D.C.

The New River, West Virginia

Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia

Shenandoah National Park, Virginia

The Outer Banks, North Carolina

Charleston, South Carolina

Golden Isles, Georgia

Savannah, Georgia

Sanibel Island, Florida

The Everglades, Florida

The Florida Keys, Florida

Bellingrath Gardens and Home,Alabama

Natchez, Mississippi

The Great Smoky Mountains,North Carolina arid Tennessee

Ryman Auditorium, Tennessee

Horse Country, Kentucky

Mammoth Cave, Kentucky

The Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge,Ohio

The Great Serpent Mound, Ohio

Mackinac Island, Michigan

Amish Country, Indiana

Galena, lllinois

Wrigley Field, lllinois

Door Peninsula, Wisconsin

Portfolio: Joel Meyerowitz

Voyageurs, Minnesota

The Amana Colonies, lowa

The Buffalo River, Arkansas

The French Quarter, Louisiana

The Alamo, Texas

Beavers Bend, Oklahoma

The Flint Hills, Kansas

Chimney Rock, Nebraska

Crazy Horse Memorial, South Dakota

Theodore Roosevelt National Park,North Dakota

Glacier National Park, Montana

Beartooth Highway,Montana and Wyoming

Yellowstone,Wyoming, Montana and Idaho

The Tetons, Wyoming

The Great Divide, Colorado

Telluride, Colorado

Santa Fe, New Mexico

White Sands, New Mexico

The Anasazi Ruins, Colorado,New Mexico, Arizona and Utah

Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico

Red Rock Country, Arizona

The Grand Canyon, Arizona

Monument Valley, Arizona and Utah

Bryce Canyon, Utah

The Arches, Utah

Zion National Park, Utah

Lake Tahoe, Nevada and California

The San Juan Islands, Washington

Mount Rainier, Washington

Multnomah Falls, Oregon

Umpqua National Forest, Oregon

Oregon Wine Country, Oregon

Cascade Lakes, Oregon

The Redwoods, California

Pebble Beach Golf Links, California

San Francisco, California

Yosemite, California

Big Sur, California

Death Valley, California

Balboa Park, California

Joshua Tree, California

Mission San Juan Capistrano,California

Santa Catalina Island, California

Portfolio: Ansel Adams

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska

Gates of the Arctic, Alaska

Kenai Fjords, Alaska

Katmai, Alaska

Denali, Alaska

The Big Island's Volcanoes, Hawaii

The Na Pall Coast, Hawaii

St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands

Portfolio: Michael Melford