One of the Great Plains States of Middle America, Iowa with its 55,965 square miles stretches from the Mississippi to the Missouri Rivers. Some of the most fertile farmland land in the world makes up 90% of this State, and agriculture is the prime industry. Native Indians account for 10% of the population here, the highest concentration of any state.


Iowa Capitol Building - Des Moines

The climate is extreme, from scorching hot to freezing cold, with everything in between from tornadoes to balmy spring-like days. 1993 saw disastrous floods here following endless rain, when crops were destroyed. Historically, the Dust Bowl of the 1930s represented the opposite type of disaster when endless drought and high winds for several seasons forced people to move to the more temperate region of California.

Nevertheless, the beautiful river valleys, the lush blond cornfields and the green vegetation lure visitors to taste the unsophisticated life of these hardworking farming families. The vast expanses of fields uninterrupted by any dwelling, the endless skies, and the sense of space take you back to an America seen by the pioneers. This is raw rural America at its best.


Des Moines City Skyline

Des Moines is the State Capital, situated in the middle of the State on the Des Moines River, the heart and centre of the grain and livestock belt. It is a financial and cultural centre with a state university and has a busy industrial centre. The name Des Moines is a corruption of the French phrase for River of the Monks. Its State Capitol has a captivating gold leafed dome. There are various museums and art galleries to visit.

The university is sited in Iowa City, formerly the State capital, where nowadays the former Capitol building has been preserved as a museum on the university campus. Herbert Hoover grew up in this area, and the cottage where he spent his youth has been restored, along with neighbouring properties, to form the Herbert Hoover National Historic site.


Old Cable Car - Dubuque

Dubuque is the oldest city in the State and retains a lovely old cable car that links the residential hilltop area to the riverfront city centre. It is quite a tourist attraction today. In the city is the Mississippi River Museum that chronicles the river’s history and ecology with a series of walk-by aquariums that tell the story.

Sioux City at the foot of the Loess Hills is a busy Missouri River port and has the main railway junction from where trains go all over the country.


John Wayne Birthplace

Winterset is the childhood home of John Wayne and the house he grew up in is preserved and open to the public as a museum.

There are seven Amana Colonies along the Iowa River. These were originally a German religious sect that settled here in 1857 and built the Amana Woollen Mill which still operates today. Originally operated as a commune, communal living was relinquished in 1932 and nowadays a profit sharing way of life is enjoyed. There are five museums here that trace the history called The Museums of the Amana Heritage Society.

Getting there

Des Moines International Airport is the main airport serving Iowa with several other smaller airports in the State.

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