Aerial America

Our country's most iconic bridge stretches across one of the world's finest natural harbors.

For twenty years, the Buffalo Soldiers at Fort Davis blazed trails for African Americans as the U.S. Army's first peacetime regiments of black troops.

The famous Hollywood sign was built in 1923--but not to publicize the growing film industry. In fact, it was constructed to advertise a new residential development with a different name.

What the farmers who settled Oklahoma's lands didn't know was that the years of plentiful rain were only a brief segment of a cycle that would bring drought, dust storms, and devastation.

In the 1960s, the Salton Sea was home to a thriving resort town frequented by celebrities like Frank Sinatra and the Beach Boys. Today, it is a ghost town, suffering from a high toxin levels in the water.

The world's biggest dam at the time of its construction, Hoover Dam solved the problem of the overflowing Colorado river with sleek design and brilliant American engineering.

The struggle for local Native American tribes of California to hold on to their lands came to a head at Lava Beds National Monument, in 1873. There, 60 members of the Modoc tribe managed to hold off 600 U.S. soldiers.

In the late 1700s, more than 60 million bison roamed the Great Plains. Over the years, demand for fur and meat drove their numbers down until, by the end of the 19th century, there were just a 1,000 left.

In the northern Arizona desert, an imposing-looking crater shows the impact of an ancient meteor crash. Until the 1960s, it was mistakenly believed to be a volcanic crater.

America is one of the most breathtaking and diverse geographical places on Earth. From monuments to mountains and canyons to coastlines, take a speedy aerial tour through our country's most stunning sites.