Well - I live in the Lightning Capital of the World.

Florida has already been covered.

Here in South Dakota we are known for
MOUNT RUSHMORE
BLACK HILLS
FRESH CLEAN AIR
CRAZY HORSE MONUMENT
LOTS OF SNOW IN THE WINTER
HOT TEMPS IN THE SUMMER
FRIENDLY PEOPLE
DEADWOOD A WHOLE TOWN OF CASINOS
I live in the middle of the state so here we are known for fields and fields of wheat, corn and sunflowers and soybeans and custom combiners to harvest all of those fields from now until November.

Colorado...

Aspen, skiing
Rocky Mountains
Denver Broncos

Jonbenet Ramsey murder
Columbine school shootings

The Grand Canyon, of course.
Tucson is also the home of the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum, and has been the location of many movies. We are a popular destination for Snowbirds in the winter, but most don't stay around for our famous "dry heat" in the summertime.

I live in Houston. The economy here is great. TX added more jobs in the past 5 yrs. than all the other 49 states put together. We just sold or house in 6 days for 20k more than we paid for it 5 yrs. ago. Had no housing "bubble" here. And the traffic on the freeways is HORRENDOUS! We"re moving back to our beloved FL. This time, Orlando. Disney. Universal. Foreign tourists who rent a car and don't know how to drive there. And the traffic is almost as bad as in Houston! But there are palm trees!

Technology ----eBay,Google,Stanford Linear,Apple, Hp and more.

The Summer of Love
The Redwoods
The Gold Rush
The weather
The agriculture
The beaches (along with the surf culture)
Death Valley --Home of the lowest elevation North America
Mount Whitney - the highest summit in the contiguous United States
Lake Tahoe the largest alpine lake in the US. (shared with Nevada state)
Hollywood
Disneyland
Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk including the 5th oldest wooden roller coaster,The Giant Dipper, considered one of the best in the world
The Golden Gate Bridge
Yosemite National Park
Birthplace of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club
Garlic capital of the world
Artichokes
The Missions
Monterey Bay Aquarium
Coastal Elephant Seal rookeries

Florida is also know for Key Lime Pie!! :o)

I forgot to mewntion, Pittsfield, Mass is also the home of Crane &co, paper manufacturer...the sole producer of paper for the U.S. Treasury Department (money paper)

Mass also had the first commercial meat packer which began exporting barrels of salt pork in 1641.

And the worlds first railroad sleeping cars (Pullman cars) began in Springfield in 1857

Springfield is also the home of Marriam Webster publishers who produced the first American English Dictionary

First baseball field to have lights for night games

and the list goes on and on and on,,,

Bratwurst, beer, cheese and of course, The Green Bay Packers! :)

Our little town was founded in the early 1700s, and has a lot of history in the Revolutionary War and the Civil War. We have Randolph-Macon Academy, Christendom College, Smithsonian's Conservation and Research Center, Skyline Caverns, Shenandoah National Park, and the start of Skyline Drive.

Monica - you forgot:

crooked politicians
dirty streets
nonexistent city services

Lots of people vacation in my part of PA. They like our mountains, lakes, forests, and skiing. A large number of summer camps are tucked away in our woods, and in summer you can always find college-age camp counselors speaking various languages around town--especially in Walmart!

Some miles away, one city has had crooked local politicians on trial, and another tried a judge who was accused of sending young people away to residential facilities that paid him a kickback. Ugh.

But our rural area is beautiful. Some people from major cities have weekend houses here.....that's how we started, back when we were living in midtown Manhattan.

highest taxes in the nation
highest gasoline prices
and we hold the record for the number of corrupt politicians.....Go ILLINOIS

Thought of a couple more I missed

Humidity
Kennedy Space Center

In addition to Lazypup's comprehensive list, I have to add many historic sites in and around Boston, apple orchards and lots of wonderful fresh sea food. We also have our share of corruption.

Most people know Florida for it's beaches, sunshine, palm trees and Disneyworld, but there's way more to the state than that. Each area of the state has it's own beauty from the panhandle to the Everglades.

Florida produces 70% of all citrus grown in the U.S.

#2 nationally in U.S. production of fresh fruits and vegetables

Provides 80% if fresh vegetables consumed in the U.S. in Jan., Feb. and March

Agriculture is the second largest industry after toursim with 10,000,000 acres of farmland

71% of sugar cane produced in the U.S. is grown in Florida

My area is known as the home of Silver Springs, one of the first amusement parks in Florida. You can still take the glass-bottom boat rides, but from what I hear it has gone to pot. But it still pulls in top country-western singers to perform.

We also are known for our horse farms. The country is hilly and it's so pretty to drive out in the country and see all the white wooden fences with the horses grazing. And you don't have to go far--Ocala isn't very big!

We also have the highest unemployment rate around, but not due to the economy as much as the fact a very large mortgage company that employed 1500 people, was shut down by the FBI suddenly one day in 2008. Because of the economy those people are not able to find jobs. The president of the company, Lee Farkas, is in prison for 30 years. Very shocking story in our community.

The average price of an existing house is a little over $79,000. Lots of short sales. Sure is a good time to buy, though. You should see the homes for sale for under $150,000, Wowzer!

According to the U.S. Department of Labor the largest industry in the state of Florida is "Probation" and the second largest is "Incarceration"

The current motto is..

Arrive on vacation,
Leave on Probation,
Return on Violation

Gulf Breeze,Fla is in the Guiness book of world records as the only law enforcement agency to ever write a speeding ticket on a jogger and get a conviction in court. The Jogger was radar clocked at 11.2mph on a bicycle path that was posted at 10mph....LOL

They also wrote a speeding ticket on a skate board for 14mph on the bike path.

Whoever that jogger was better enter the Boston marathon. Wouldn't take long to knock down those 26 miles!

Along with the other things about Pa., we have
the Steelers, Penguins and the Pirates....
The city with 2 rivers
Hershey
Gettysburg
Another Grand Canyon
Poconos
Penn State and Pitt and numerous other colleges....
A great state to live in and visit.....

I'm living in Long Island NY, famous for its' potatoes and white ducks. I'm growing four kinds of potatoes in my garden but I haven't seen a duck or duck farm in years.

You've already gotten the message about Chicago and Illinois pollitical corruption. (Are our voters somehow more STUPID than others? Are we fat and happy with our choices? Maybe we prosecute our pols more than other places?)

My town is famous for building the first 'shopping mall' in the US. It's a 'Tree City' and has a great beach. Many of the early movers and shakers of Chicago (polictially connected, of course) built homes here after Fort Sheridan was established between the city and here -- in the wake of the Haymarket Rebellion.

The most famous battle ever fought in US..Gettysburg, Phila. home of the liberty bell and the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the PHILLIES. Lancaster county and PA Dutch living, Harrisburg, state capitol. Hersheypark, and the chocolate town itself. Longwood Gardens, Brandywine museum. Poconos, where many vacation in the mountains. Great skiing at many resorts, and hot oppressive summers!!!

Lilly,

Pa also had the first oil well in America at Oil City

Oklahoma.. where the wind comes sweeping down the plains and the waving wheat can sure smell sweet when the wind comes right behing the rain... but not lately..you saw Moni's photo of our rain gauge now..

Known for:
The Dust Bowl
Oil Boom
Rich Indain heritage
The Tall Grass Prairie
We do have some beautiful lakes
AND occasionally on National Geographic or show like that... Toothless, Skoal Spitting.. toothless Catfish noodlers...

Oldgardener pretty much covered it. Except for several National Parks,our ferry system,the San Juan Islands,the Columbia River and a few serial murderers like Ted Bundy..

I saw a film on the Discovery Channel about those guys who do that catfish noodling...all I can say is, I don't like catfish well enough to go wadding and waving my noodle at them....LOL

Mine's the same as Jodi's,only i'm further south than she is.
So i would have to add

TERMITES(LOL)
Our beaches,and Harbor
Camp Pendleton(main gate 5 minutes from my door)
Mission SanLuis Rey
Great weather year round.
San Onofre nuclear station
Surfing
Lego land,8 to 10 minutes away,depending on traffic
Quail botanical gardens
san diego zoo
wild animal park
sea world old town and many other tourist places within a half hour to 45 minutes.
OH yeah,can't forget the Border and Tijuana to the south in less than an hour,and of course,illegals.They come with living close to the border.
kathi

I live in San Luis Obispo County, CA.
We have Hearst Castle State Park....an amazing place to tour.
We have acres and acres and acres of wine grapes with lots of wineries to visit.
Also our area grows many acres of strawberries.
We have Morro Rock at Morro Bay, a lovely fishing village with lots of fresh fish markets and restaurants and the village of Cambria, a quaint little place with lots of places to shop.
We have two prisons and a university, Cal Poly at San Luis Obispo. Its sister school, Cal Poly Pomona built a float for the Rose Parade and usually has a winner.
We have ranches and beaches and some of the world's best sand dunes.
We have the only beach in California who allows cars on the beach. (Most locals hate that but it brings lots of tourists.)
The weather is probably the best reason people live here...our town, Nipomo, has the most 70 degree F days in the nation.
People are friendly, lots of great places to eat and the views are outstanding.
Come visit and I will show you the sights.

Chisue, if you are talking about Woodfield Mall that is where I had my first job at 16 at Albert's Hosiery.

Here in Northern Wisconsin we are known as vacationland. Lakes in the summer and winter sports in the winter. The world famous cross country ski race, the Birkenbeiner, is close. Right now the world finale lumberjack contest is going on. I've actually never been to that, but we sure have traffic.

University of Wisconsin and all that goes with that including the famous marching band (oh, and the football team and all the other award winning sports teams). and Madison which is usually on the "best of" places to live.

Superbowl champs the Green Bay Packers
Summerfest in Milwaukee

And we can't forget Rosemary's nefarious relative in Lake Mills, Enoch Fargo.

I live in Ohio...I have no idea what it's famous for except unemployement...HA! This state totally sucks! I call it the armpit of the US!

A few more things not mentioned about Pennsylvania...

Mushroom capital of the world (Kennett Square)
Home to Philly cheese steaks, scrapple, soft pretzels, water ice, TaskyKakes (I love them all)
VERY historic
Known as The City of Brotherly Love (Philadelphia)
The US Mint
Actor Jimmy Stewart born and raised
Groundhog Punxsutawney Phil
Where Betsy Ross made the first American flag (Philadelphia)

sleeperblues -- My mistake. I should have said 'first shopping *center*', not 'mall'. I've visited Woodfield, although Hawthorn and Old Orchard are closer. Oh, and Gurnee isn't far; we lived in an apartment there for a few months until our house was finished. How'd you get from Schaumburg to northern WI? (Good move, I'd say!)

I live in Northern Virginia. About 15 miles outside WashingtonDC. 2.5 million people. Which may account for the bad traffic :(

We are home to Mount Vernon-George Washington's home; Gunston Hall-George Mason's home & George Mason University. Robert E Lee also lived here, and tons of other historical places!

We have the Pentagon, CIA and Arlington Cemetary. The movie Remember the Titans is based on a high school here. We also had the DC Sniper attack here

I read this on a Wiki website: Fairfax County is the most affluent county in the US. and Northern Virginia, has the highest life expectancy rate in the nation. Nice to know!

Hosting the Winter Olympics twice 1932 and 1980 in Lake Placid a couple of hours away from me.
Kittywhiskers

For the next 5 weeks, Saratoga Racetrack reigns (no pun intended). After that, a lovely little city and beautiful surrounding rural orchards and farmlands.

St. Paul MN
Home of F. Scott Fitzgerald--he lived in several houses in
the Cathedral Hill district
Fabulous, huge Cathedral of St. Paul
The longest and best preserved street of late
19th/early 20th century mansions in the country: Summit
Avenue
Great capitol building
Beautiful parks, walks along the Mississippi River
That other city across the river that one might
occasionally want to visit if the mood strikes
A recent, unprecedented and long government shutdown!

Chisue, the short version is that DH is a cheeser and wanted to live in the state. Bought a cabin in the northwoods, loved it, got jobs, tore down the cabin and built a house. I have now lived in Wisconsin for as long as I lived in Illinois (26 years). Both kids are born cheesers having been born in Madison. Mom still in Arlington Heights, so I go back fairly frequently. We will see her next week. Going to lollapalooza on Sunday.

marita40 -- My town embittered Fitzgerald and gave him grist for his novels. One of my best friends is a native of St. Paul, but she has the good fortune to live near San Francisco now.

sleeperblues -- Another long-time friend is a native of Green Bay. We met when Chadbourn Hall was brand new. (Yes, we're *old*.) Are your kids Badgers as well as 'cheesers'?

DS lived in Chadbourne last year! He will be starting his junior year soon. DD graduated from Madison last year and is now working in Ukraine. She comes home in September. Both kids are/were in the band, so we go to as many home games as possible. Small world.

This year our flooding--largest on record. Also for oil, and it is a hunting and fishing state.
Cold temps
Yes people do live here
Lots of people from Norway, Germany and Russia
Lots of names hard to pronounce
Friendly people and lots of small towns
State in black instead of red, but low wages, except Oil workers with lots of jobs avaiable.
but then I am a CA transplant and really do miss those fress fruits and veggies.

My city is known for barbeque and bluegrass music.

I live in an area known as The Hunter Valley, which is about 160 km north of Sydney, and it is well known for its wineries.

I live near Buffalo NY - "lake effect" snow!

My city was known as the "Tomatopolis of the World". We grew and shipped the best tasting tomatoes to all parts of the world. California and Florida came forth producing more but we still produce the best tasting tomato. We celebrate with a Tomato Festival the last Saturday in June each year.

Ditto on all the Minnesota items mentioned.

My local town of Pine Island is known for producing the worlds largest cheese. It was made on Sept. 22nd, 1911 and shipped to Chicago on a flatbed railroad car. It weighed 6,000 pounds.

Ron

Arkansas- The Natural State. The name means "south wind". Our beautiful lakes and rivers are a main draw for people. This state is very rich in minerals and has the only open-to-the-public diamond mine in the world. Lots of forest land and we grow rice better than any other state, along with other crops.

I live near Eureka Springs, which is a tourist town also referred to as "a little Switzerland". It was attractive to people starting in the late 1800s because of the healing properties of all the springs. Ozarka water was first bottled here. Arkansas is home to Wal-Mart, too.

We moved here from FL to get away from crowds and hot, hot weather. Now we have 4 seasons and no neighbors and the closest real traffic light is about 22 miles away, in a town that has just about everything we'll ever need. :)

OH Flamingo! You make be so depressed for my old home!!!! We also moved to AR from Fl! Unfortunately a divorce and a move to Ohio took care of that dream! UGH!!!! Now I live in the most godforsaken place in the whole United States! Whatever anyone does, do not ever move to Ohio whatever you do! Can you tell I HATE IT HERE! HAHAHA!!!!!

Eureka Springs is absolutely Heaven on EARTH! IMHO anyway!

My grandparents used to live in Marion, Ohio and it was a charming little city or town. I used to love to visit there. I have several friends in the Cleveland area and they love it, so maybe you're just in a part that isn't suited for you, Arkansas Girl?

But you're right to miss AR, it really is way nicer here than the stereotypical place people think of when they think Arkansas.

I will agree that central and western Arkansas is beautiful but my personal experience with Arkansas was a two year stay on a Strategic Air Command B-52 Bomber base at Blytheville, Ark on the extreme N.E. Corner of the state.

We were so close to the Misssouri State line that the north end of our main runway was actually in Missouri and we were only about 9 miles east of the Mississippi river on the flat delta land. Absolutely nothing to see for miles except flat cotton fields and the nearest town of any size was Memphis, Tenn, a mere 70 miles away.

Believe me, when they get ready to give the world an ennema they will stick the hose in downtown Blytheville.

I'm in the NE Ohio area and it SUCKS!!!! Everyone that lives here that I talk to thinks it sucks too! HAHA! Probably because I've lived in so many different parts of the US..plus this economy has really really hit this area HARD too! Big manufacturing area! I went to Hartville a while back and it was a really neat little town. I guess Ohio as a whole is not a fair statement that it's all bad...but the NE Valley area is terrible. We've also had very extreme weather conditions ever since I moved here 6 years ago with colder winters than average with record snows to hotter summers than normal. I think it's trying to tell me something! HA!