The Southwest United States is home to a mainly rural and desert environment, with several national parks, such as Grand Canyon National Park. Despite the typical rural environment, the Southwest United States is home to several large cities, such as Phoenix, Dallas, and Houston. Read below to learn more about this area of the United States.

Places to Visit and Things to Do:

• Arizona: Home to plenty of well known outdoor attractions, including Grand Canyon National Park, Monument Valley, Hoover Dam, Glen Canyon, and Sedona. Arizona is also famous for Antelope Canyon, a well photographed slot canyon

• New Mexico: Besides being the home to the Netflix series Breaking Bad, New Mexico is known for White Sands National Park, Carlsbad Caverns National Park, the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, and plenty of alleged UFO sightings

• Texas: Home to several large cities, Texas has some well-known attractions, such as the Riverwalk and Alamo in San Antonio, the 6th Floor Museum and JFK Memorial in Dallas, and the Johnson Space Center in Houston. Texas is known for having arguably the best BBQ in the United States, along with the most passionate football fans. Being next to the border with Mexico, the Lone Star State is also known for its Tex Mex food

• Oklahoma: The capital city of Oklahoma City is home to the Oklahoma City National Memorial, which honors those affected by the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995. Oklahoma also hosts many rodeos and horse shows throughout the year. The famous Route 66 runs through Oklahoma, with many quirky roadside attractions

Travel Tips:

• The southwest United States is known for their desert climate, which means warms temperatures during the day. However, deserts are known for extreme temperature swings throughout the day, sometimes up to 50 degrees difference between the high and low in a particular day. Even if temperatures reach 90 degrees during the day, you will likely need a jacket when outside at night

• Due to the low population density in many of these states, transportation and rideshare through most of these states are not readily available, meaning you will need to have a rental car to travel around

• Everything is bigger in Texas! This goes for stadiums, universities, vehicle size, food portions, gas stations, and much more