VERITAS (Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System) is a major ground-based gamma-ray observatory with an array of four 12m optical reflectors for gamma-ray astronomy in the GeV - TeV energy range. VERITAS uses the Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescope technique to observe gamma-rays that cause particle showers in Earth's upper atmosphere. The telescope design is based on the design of the existing 10m gamma-ray telescope at the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory. It consists of an array of imaging telescopes deployed such that they permit the maximum versatility and give the highest sensitivity in the 50 GeV - 50 TeV band (with sensitivity from 100 GeV to >10 TeV).