Overlooked and difficult to find, there are hundreds of thousands of U.S. government web sites that can help you accomplish a variety of tasks. At the right federal .gov destination you can locate historical documents, keep tabs on Congressional happenings, view presidential paperwork, and a whole lot more. Keep reading for the most useful U.S. government web sites out there.
USA.gov
![usa.png](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20090117001828im_/http://lifehacker.com/assets/resources/2007/07/usa.png)
Related: For more government Web portals, check out FedWorld, Students.gov, Health.gov, or one of the coolest sites I've ever seen - the New York City Maps Portal.
GPO Access
![gpo.png](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20090117001828im_/http://lifehacker.com/assets/resources/2007/07/gpo.png)
Related: You also don't want to miss the GPO's cache of congressional records, public presidential papers, or Ben's Guide.
Library of Congress
![library.png](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20090117001828im_/http://lifehacker.com/assets/resources/2007/07/library.png)
Related: The National Archives is a good place to start your historical/genealogical research - you can also view actual scanned-in archival documents, such as the Document for Today.
CIA World Factbook
![factbook.png](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20090117001828im_/http://lifehacker.com/assets/resources/2007/07/factbook.png)
Related: Find stats at the U.S. Census Bureau, federal data from FedStats, or view the National Atlas.
Occupational Outlook Handbook
![ooh.png](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20090117001828im_/http://lifehacker.com/assets/resources/2007/07/ooh.png)
Related: Don't forget the Social Security Administration or the IRS.
Science
![usgs.png](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20090117001828im_/http://lifehacker.com/assets/resources/2007/07/usgs.png)
Right next to the USGS is NASA, the home of the U.S. space program. This site is so gigantic that it's a bit difficult to summarize; however, my favorite spots have to be the image gallery, the archive of past missions, and the index of NASA World Book encyclopedia articles.
There's also the National Weather Service, the GrayLit Network, the Life Sciences Data Archives, and Science.gov, a portal for all kinds of scientific information.
And that's not all
As previously mentioned, there are literally hundreds of thousands of government web sites that are extremely useful, yet manage to fly somewhat under the radar....these picks are just the tip of the iceberg. What are your favorite government sites? Please share in the comments.Wendy Boswell, Lifehacker's Weekend Editor, enjoys getting lost in the maze of government web sites. Subscribe to her feature series Technophilia using the Technophilia feed.