The Grand Canyon: A Sight Beyond Words

The Grand Canyon¹: A Sight Beyond Words

EDITOR'S NOTE: This year, the U.S. National Park Service turns 100. American’s 28th President, Woodrow Wilson, formed the National Park Service in 1916 to “protect the wild and wonderful landscapes” in the United States. President Ulysses Grant established Yellowstone National Park as the country’s first national park in 1872. Today, the National Park Service protects over 400 parks and historical sites from coast to coast. Every week, VOA Learning English will profile one of the sites within the National Park Service.

Our National Parks journey continues this week in one of the most popular and beautiful places in America: Grand Canyon National Park in the state of Arizona.

The Grand Canyon is one of the seven natural wonders of the world, and one of the largest canyons² on Earth. It stretches for 450 kilometers. Parts of the canyon are more than 30 kilometers wide and one kilometer deep.

Many writers have tried to describe the wonder of the Grand Canyon. They use words like mysterious, overpowering, and strange. But it is not possible to put human meaning to such a place. The Grand Canyon truly is beyond words.

"Is this your first time at the Grand Canyon?"

“Yes...."

And what do you think (of the Grand Canyon)? Do you have a few words to describe it?”

“Beautiful. Amazing."

"What do you think of the Grand Canyon?"

"Very huge. Very colorful.”

"Do you have some words to describe what you are seeing?"

“Magic. It’s so magic(al) when I see it at first look.”

A look back in time

The canyons of America’s Southwest are deep, ancient openings in the Earth. They look as if they formed as the earth split apart.

In reality, rivers formed these canyons.

Forty million years ago, the Colorado River began cutting through the area around the present-day Grand Canyon. The river carried dirt and pieces of stone that slowly ate away at the surrounding rock. It left a pathway of enormous rock openings. At the same time, forces deep within the Earth pushed up the surrounding land.

Rain, snow, ice, wind and plant roots rubbed away at the top of this new canyon. Below, the river continued to uncover more and more levels of ancient rock.

Some of the exposed rocks along the Grand Canyon’s walls are nearly 2 billion years old. They are among the oldest rocks on earth, with many levels of granite³, schist, limestone⁴ and sandstone.

Environment

The Grand Canyon measures 2,500 meters from the canyon floor to its highest point.

Because of its size, the weather at the top of the canyon is often much different from the bottom.

On some winter days, for example, you may find cold winds and snow at the top. But at the bottom of the canyon, you may find warm winds and flowers.

?The Grand Canyon is home to some 2,000 plant species. Some of these species can only be found in the park.

The Park is also home to more than 370 species of bird, 90 kinds of mammals and 40 kinds of reptiles⁵.

Many of the birds spend the whole lives in the Grand Canyon. Others species depend of the Canyon for food and shelter during large migrations⁶.

The Grand Canyon was named a Globally Important Bird Area in 2014 because of the role it plays in protecting many species of birds.

Humans in the Grand Canyon

Native American occupied the Grand Canyon 3,000 years ago. Bones, hair, feathers and the remains⁷ of plants have been found in deep, dry caves high in the rock walls.

The Hopi, the Paiute, the Navajo and other Native American tribes have all been in the area for at least 700 years.

In 1869, American John Wesley Powell explored the Grand Canyon. He recorded much of what we know today about the area.?

Powell and his group traveled in four boats along the Colorado River. He and his group of explorers knew very little about getting over the fast, rocky waters of the Colorado River. In many places, boast could be turned over by giant waves.

Soon after they started their journey, Powell’s group lost some of its food and equipment. Three members decided⁸ to leave the group. As they walked up and out of the Grand Canyon, they were killed by Native Americans.

The rest of Powell's group survived the journey. Starved and tired, Powell and his group reached the end of the canyon. They had traveled by boat down the Colorado for more than three months.

?John Wesley Powell’s reports and maps from the trip greatly increased interest in the Grand Canyon. But visitors did not begin to go there in large numbers until 1901. That year, a railway was built that reached the area.

Visiting the Grand Canyon

Five million people visit the Grand Canyon National Park every year. The first sight of the canyon can leave visitors speechless.

Depending on the time of day, the sun lights up the rock walls in red, orange, and golden colors. The bright colors are the result of minerals in the rock. Their appearance changes endlessly -- with the light, the time of year, and the weather.

At sunset, the canyon walls display fiery⁹ red and gold hues¹⁰. Then they take on softer colors of blue, purple, and green.

Most visitors walk along paths partway down the canyon. It takes several hours to walk to the bottom, and even longer to climb back up. Some visitors choose to ride mules¹¹ to the bottom of the canyon. Mules are strong, sturdy animals that look similar to horses.

Visitors can also explore the Grand Canyon in other ways. Hundreds of thousands of people see the canyon by air each year. They pay a helicopter or an airplane pilot to fly them above and around the canyon.

Thousands of people every year choose to explore the Grand Canyon by boat from the Colorado River. These trips last one to three weeks.

Most people who come to the Grand Canyon National Park visit an area known as the “South Rim¹².” That area has shuttle buses that take visitors to overlooks.

Fewer people see the canyon from the “North Rim.” The North Rim is less than 20 kilometers across the canyon from the South Rim, but visitors must drive more than 350 kilometers by car from the South Rim to access the North Rim.

Visitors can also see the Grand Canyon from a huge glass walkway called the Skywalk. The Skywalk is on the Hualapai Indian Reservation in the western part of the canyon. The Hualapai Indians built it to increase tourism at the reservation. It opened in 2007.

The Skywalk extends more than 20 meters from the canyon’s rim. It is suspended more than 1,200 meters above the bottom of the canyon, and is shaped like a giant horseshoe.

Many call the skywalk an engineering wonder. But others have criticized the skywalk and its development. They say it reduces the enjoyment¹³ of nature in the Grand Canyon.

For visitors hoping to get a view of the entire Grand Canyon, they will have to travel well beyond the state of Arizona.

The only place to see the entire canyon at once is from outer space.

Words in This Story

enormous - adj. very great in size or amount

speechless - adj. unable to speak because of anger, surprise, etc

minerals - n. a substance (such as quartz¹⁴, coal, petroleum¹⁵, salt, etc.) that is naturally formed under the ground

helicopter - n. an aircraft that can stay in the air without moving forward and that has metal blades that turn around on its top?

access - v. to be able to use, enter, or get near (something)

1 canyon   

n.峡谷，溪谷

参考例句：

• The Grand Canyon in the USA is 1900 metres deep.美国的大峡谷1900米深。
• The canyon is famous for producing echoes.这个峡谷以回声而闻名。

2 canyons   

n.峡谷( canyon的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This mountain range has many high peaks and deep canyons. 这条山脉有许多高峰和深谷。 来自辞典例句
• Do you use canyons or do we preserve them all? 是使用峡谷呢还是全封闭保存？ 来自互联网

3 granite   

adj.花岗岩，花岗石

参考例句：

• They squared a block of granite.他们把一块花岗岩加工成四方形。
• The granite overlies the older rocks.花岗岩躺在磨损的岩石上面。

4 limestone   

n.石灰石

参考例句：

• Limestone is often used in building construction.石灰岩常用于建筑。
• Cement is made from limestone.水泥是由石灰石制成的。

5 reptiles   

n.爬行动物，爬虫( reptile的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Snakes and crocodiles are both reptiles. 蛇和鳄鱼都是爬行动物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Birds, reptiles and insects come from eggs. 鸟类、爬虫及昆虫是卵生的。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 migrations   

n.迁移，移居( migration的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• It foundered during the turmoils accompanying the Great Migrations. 它在随着民族大迁徙而出现的混乱中崩溃。 来自辞典例句
• Birds also have built-in timepieces which send them off on fall and spring migrations. 鸟类也有天生的时间感应器指导它们秋春迁移。 来自互联网

7 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

8 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

9 fiery   

adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的

参考例句：

• She has fiery red hair.她有一头火红的头发。
• His fiery speech agitated the crowd.他热情洋溢的讲话激动了群众。

10 hues   

色彩( hue的名词复数 )； 色调； 信仰； 观点

参考例句：

• When the sun rose a hundred prismatic hues were reflected from it. 太阳一出，更把它映得千变万化、异彩缤纷。
• Where maple trees grow, the leaves are often several brilliant hues of red. 在枫树生长的地方，枫叶常常呈现出数种光彩夺目的红色。

11 mules   

骡( mule的名词复数 )； 拖鞋； 顽固的人； 越境运毒者

参考例句：

• The cart was pulled by two mules. 两匹骡子拉这辆大车。
• She wore tight trousers and high-heeled mules. 她穿紧身裤和拖鞋式高跟鞋。

12 rim   

n.(圆物的)边，轮缘；边界

参考例句：

• The water was even with the rim of the basin.盆里的水与盆边平齐了。
• She looked at him over the rim of her glass.她的目光越过玻璃杯的边沿看着他。

13 enjoyment   

n.乐趣；享有；享用

参考例句：

• Your company adds to the enjoyment of our visit. 有您的陪同，我们这次访问更加愉快了。
• After each joke the old man cackled his enjoyment.每逢讲完一个笑话，这老人就呵呵笑着表示他的高兴。

14 quartz   

n.石英

参考例句：

• There is a great deal quartz in those mountains.那些山里蕴藏着大量石英。
• The quartz watch keeps good time.石英表走时准。

15 petroleum   

n.原油，石油

参考例句：

• The Government of Iran advanced the price of petroleum last week.上星期伊朗政府提高了石油价格。
• The purpose of oil refinery is to refine crude petroleum.炼油厂的主要工作是提炼原油。