About United States
The United States of America, usually referred to as the United States,
the USA it is situated almost entirely in the western hemisphere, the
contiguous United States stretches from the Pacific on the west to the Atlantic
on the east, with the Gulf of Mexico to the southeast, and bordered by Canada
on the north and Mexico on the south.The United States is the world's third
largest country in population and in area. It consists of 50 states and a
federal district. Washington, D.C., is the capital of the United States, and
New York is its largest city.The state of Alaska is located in extreme NW North
America between the Arctic and Pacific oceans and is bordered by Canada on the
east, and the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific. Hawaii
occupies an archipelago in the central Pacific, southwest of North America. The
country also possesses several territories, or insular areas, scattered around
the Caribbean and Pacific.The United States possesses the vastest territories
with large resources demographic. The Appalachian Mountains divide the eastern
seaboard from the Great Lakes and the grasslands of the Midwest. The Mississippi
Missouri River, the world's fourth longest river system, runs mainly north
south through the heart of the country. The fertile prairie land of the Great
Plains stretches to the west, interrupted by a highland region along its south
eastern portion.The Rocky Mountains, at the western edge of the Great Plains,
extend north to south across the continental United States, reaching altitudes
higher than 4,300 m. in Colorado. The Sierra Nevada runs parallel to the
Rockies, relatively close to the Pacific coast. Alaska has one of the highest
peaks, Mount McKinley, consists of 6194 m. Active volcanoes are common
throughout the Alexander and Aleutian Islands, and the entire state of Hawaii
is built upon tropical volcanic islands. The super volcano underlying
Yellowstone National Park in the Rockies is the continent's largest volcanic
feature.Its climate and temperate is varied in most areas, tropical in Hawaii
and southern Florida, polar in Alaska, semi arid in the Great Plains, desert in
the Southwest, Mediterranean in Coastal California, and arid in the Great
Basin. Extreme weather is not uncommon the states bordering the Gulf of Mexico
are prone to hurricanes, and most of the world's tornadoes occur within the
continental United States, primarily in the Midwest's Tornado Alley.The U.S.
economy is the largest national economy in the world. The United States has a
capitalist mixed economy, which is fuelled by abundant natural resources, a
well-developed infrastructure, and high productivity.The United States is the
largest importer of goods and third largest exporter, though exports per capita
are relatively low. Canada, China, Mexico, Japan, and Germany are its top
trading partners.The leading export commodity is electrical machinery, capital
goods, automobiles, industrial supplies and raw materials, consumer goods,
agricultural products, while vehicles constitute the leading import. The
private sector constitutes the bulk of the economy; the United States remains
an industrial power, with chemical products the leading manufacturing field.
The United States is the third largest producer of oil in the world.It is the
world's number one producer of electrical and nuclear energy, as well as liquid
natural gas, petroleum, steel, motor vehicles, aerospace, telecommunications,
chemicals, electronics, sulphur, phosphates, and salt. The United States is the
world's top producer of corn and soybeans, other grains, fruits, beef, forest
products, fish. The New York Stock Exchange is the world's largest by dollar
volume. Coca-Cola and McDonald's are the two most recognized brands in the
world.The United States is a multicultural nation, home to a wide variety of
ethnic groups, traditions, and values. English is the national language, 82% of
the population speaks only English at home, 10% Spanish the second most common
language and other foreign languages. Both Hawaiian and English are official
languages in Hawaii by state law. New Mexico has laws providing for the use of
both English and Spanish, as Louisiana does for English and French. Other
states, such as California, mandate the publication of Spanish versions of
certain government documents including court forms.The United States has been a
leader in scientific research and technological innovation since the late nineteenth
century. The United States leads the world in scientific research papers and
impact factor.Since the early twentieth century, the U.S. film industry has
largely been based in and around Hollywood, California. Iconic figures like
John Wayne, Marilyn Monroe or producer Walt Disney were leader in cine,
animated film and movie merchandising. The major film studios of Hollywood are
the primary source of the most commercially successful movies in the world, and
the products of Hollywood today dominate the global film industry.
Acadia National Park
The Acadia National Park is the smallest national park
in the United States. Located on the rugged coast of the Down East region of
Maine, near the town of Bar Harbor, the park consists of 123 km² on Mount
Desert Island, 11 km² on Au Haut Isle and 9.2 km² on the Schoodic Peninsula.The
park is composed by small islands like the Mount Desert Island, the Au Haut
Isle, and parts of Baker Island. Traditionally occupied by Wabanaki Native
American hunters, fishers, and gatherers; the region includes mountains,
woodlands, lakes, islands and ocean, that has become the crown jewel of Maine.Also
the park consist in more than 120 miles of marked trails,18 stone bridges, and
17 mountains to climb. The Carriage Road consists of over 50 miles of broken
stone roads built by John Rockefeller, Jr. which he later donated it to the
park. The Park Loop Road is 27 miles of length. The way drives easily to the
Beach of Sand, Cadillac the Mountain, Rocks of Otter or any of 20 lakes that
find there.In the park is possible to find a great variety of fauna and flora.
Mammal species include deer, squirrels, foxes, rabbits, porcupines and bats.
Other species include garter snakes, the American bullfrog, and the North
American red-bellied salamander. Also Acadia is a great place to bird watch,
with many species calling the park home. More than 273 bird species have been
identified in the park, including bald eagles, peregrine falcons, finches,
chickadees (the Maine state bird), great blue herons, cranes, ducks, geese,
woodpeckers, owls, orioles and blue jays can be seen in the park, just to name
a few of the most common. While ocean fishing is open to all, fishing in
freshwater lakes requires a Maine state fishing license.The geography of Acadia
National Park ranges from meadows, and marshes to dense evergreen forests. The
National Park Service (NPS) protects this unique resource and provides a
variety of visitor services.
Antelope Canyon
Antelope Creek is located on Navajo Nation Land in the northern part of
Arizona, just outside Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and close to AZ 98 a
few miles east of town.Antelope Canyon is a small but elegantly gorgeous
geological formation. It is not a national or state park, and it is often
ignored by many tourists who visit the area. It takes only an hour or two to
see it all, but not for it, it is lost time.Antelope Canyon is a popular
location for photographers and sightseers, and a source of tourism business for
the Navajo Nation. Antelope Canyon is the most visited slot canyon in the
Southwest partly because it is easily accessible and by far the most
publicized, and also it is extremely beautiful, with just the right combination
of depth, width, length, rock color, and ambient light; many other slot canyons
are deeper, narrower or longer, and some have rock that is even more colorful
and sculptured, but there the conditions are ideal.Antelope Canyon includes two
separate photogenic slot canyon sections: referred to individually as Upper
Antelope Canyon or The Crack; and Lower Antelope Canyon or The Corkscrew.Upper
Antelope Canyon called "Tse Bighanilini", or "the place where
water runs through rocks", is the most frequently visited by tourists, due
to two considerations. First, its entrance and entire length are at ground
level, requiring no climbing. Second, beams are much more common in Upper
Antelope than in Lower Antelope. Beams occur most often in the summer months,
as they require the sun to be high in the sky. Summer months provide two types
of lighting. Light beams start to peek into the canyon March 15 and disappear
October 7 each year.Lower Antelope Canyon called "Hasdeztwazi", or
"spiral rock arches", is located a few kilometers away. Prior to the
installation of metal stairways, visiting the Lower Antelope required climbing
with ropes and ladders in certain areas.Even following the installation of
stairways, it is a more difficult hike than Upper Antelope, it is longer,
narrower in spots, and even footing is not available in all areas. At the end,
the climb out requires several long flights of stairs. The views in Lower
Antelope Canyon change constantly as the sun moves across the sky, filtering
lights softly across the stone walls. These ever-moving sun angles bounce light
back and forth across the narrow canyon's walls, creating a dazzling display of
color, light, and shadow.Antelope Canyon is open from April to October and is
closed from November to March. But this part of the canyon is closed
temporarily from July to August, for being a season of floods one of more
dangerous station. From May to July months (the summer solstice), that are
closer, the sun shines more directly into the slot canyons. The colors are rich
and deep in the morning and afternoon, and the famous light beams occur mid-day
during the April to September.
Aurora
Aurorae are natural colored light displays in the sky
which are usually observed in the polar zone at night. They occur in the
ionosphere in this way some scientists call them “polar auroras”. The effect is
known as the aurora borealis in northern latitudes, “Aurora” is for Roman
goddess of dawn and “boreas” is for Greek name for north wind. Also called the
northern polar lights because it is only visible in the Northern sky from the
Northern Hemisphere and it most often occurs from September to October and from
March to April. The Cree call it the “Dance of the Spirits”. In southern parts
is called aurora australis or southern polar lights with similar properties,
“australis” is the latin word for “of the south”. Often it appears as a
greenish glow or sometimes a faint red, as if the sum was rising from an
unusual direction, generally it extends east-west direction. So it appears as
curtains and some times they form “quiet arcs” and active aurora evolving and
changing constantly. Each curtain consists of many parallel rays, each lined up
with the local direction of the magnetic field lines such as the aurora is
shaped by Earth’s magnetic field.Benjamin Franklin brought the attention to the
“mystery of Northern lights” and theorized the shifting lights to a
concentration of electrical charges in the Polar Regions intensified by the
snow and other moisture. The collision of charged particles from Earth’s
magnetosphere, electrons, protons and heavier particles with atoms and
molecules of Earth’s upper atmosphere produce the Auroras. The particles have
energies of 1 to 100 keV, which originate from the sun and arrive so near to
the Earth with a relatively low energy of the solar wind. Many factors
influence in the color of the aurorae, most of them are green and red emission
due to atomic oxygen, low level red and very high blue/violet aurorae are
produced by molecular nitrogen and nitrogen ions. The ionic nitrogen produces
light blue colors and the neutral nitrogen gives off the red and purple color
with the rippled edges. In addition the interacting of gases, different
compounds of oxygen and nitrogen with the upper atmosphere will produce
different colors, and the level of solar wind activity from the sun can also influence
in the color of aurorae.Aurora frequency of occurrence is common in the Poles
in temperate latitudes, when a strong magnetic storm temporarily expands the
aurora oval. The most common large magnetic storms are during the peak of the
eleven year sunspot cycle or during the three years after that peak. Actually
the geomagnetic storms that ignite aurorae occur during the months around the
equinoxes and are tied to Earth’s seasons while polar activity is not.On August
28, 1859 and September 2, 1859 as a result of the “great geomagnetic storm” are
produced the auroras, the most spectacular ever witnessed throughout recent
recorded history. Probably the aurora was produced by one of the most intense
coronal mass ejections in history, very near to the maximum intensity of the
sun. Some telegraph lines seem to have been of the appropriate length and
orientation which allowed a current to be induced in them and actually used for
communication. The following conversation occurred between two operators around
two hours using no battery power at all and working solely with the current
induced by the aurora.
Capital
The capitol is located at the eastern end of the
National Mall on a plateau, 88 feet above the Potomac River in Washington D.C.,
United States. The United States Capitol serves as the seat of government for
the United States Congress, and the legislative branch of the U.S. federal
government.The neoclassical dome of the United States Capitol building has come
to symbolize democracy for many people. America's governing, the Senate and the
House of Representatives have gathered here for almost two centuries. The
Capitol's interior reflects the Victorian style of its day. It was among the
earliest buildings to have elevators, heaters, and combination gas and steam
lights. Classical pilasters and oak paneling are used throughout the building.With
540 rooms divided among five floors, the Capitol is one of the oldest and
biggest building of the United States. The ground floor is allocated to
congressional offices. The second floor holds the chambers of the House of
Representatives in the south wing and the Senate in the north wing. Under the
dome in the center of the Capitol Building is the Rotunda, a circular space
that serves as a gallery of paintings and sculpture of American historical
figures and events.The third floor allows access to the galleries from which
visitors may watch the proceedings of the House of Representatives and the
Senate when Congress is in session. Additional offices and machinery rooms
occupy the fourth floor and the basement.The Capitol also has its own private
subway and underground tunnels connecting the main building with the
Congressional Office Buildings. The principal areas of the Capitol are: Brumidi
Corridors, The Senate Chamber, The dais in the Old Senate Chamber, The Old
Supreme Court Chamber, The Rotunda, The House Chamber, National Statuary Hall,
Cox Corridor and The Cryp (a chamber beneath the main floor).
Death Valley
Death Valley is the lowest, driest and hottest valley
in the United States. Located at the southeast of the Sierra Nevada range in
the Great Basin and the Mojave Desert, mostly located on Inyo County,
California.The Valley is located principally between the Amargosa Range to the
east and the Panamint Range to the west; the Sylvania Mountains and the
Owlshead Mountains form its northern and southern natural boundaries,
respectively.The valley registers some of the highest temperatures in the
Western hemisphere. 56.7 °C was recorded in 1913, second only to the 58 ºC
registered in El Aziza, Libya on Sept. 13, 1922. Temperatures in the Valley can
range from up to 54 °C in the day in summer, to below freezing at night in
winter. The lowest temperature (-9 °C) was registered at Furnace Creek Inn.Climate
has played its part. In recent geological time, influential forces of water,
wind, and gravity have sculptured much of the scenery that can you see today.
In the harsh environment of the floor of Death Valley, plants and animals must
inexorably adapt and specialize, or perish.The average yearly rainfall here is
less than 2 inches. Plants that do not grow near springs, have adapted and
specialized in obtain, and preserve the water, or have adapted to quick growth
and propagation through maximum use of the scant rains that fall upon them.
Disneyworld
Walt Disney World Resort is situated about 32 kilometers southwest of
Orlando, in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. But the entire property is outside of
the Orlando area. A part of the resort is in Orlando's limits, other one at
southwest of Orange County, and the rest in the south neighboring county of
Osceola,Walt Disney World, in Orlando Florida, is the biggest and the greatest
of Orlando attractions. It is a huge area that occupied approximately 120 km²,
about the size of San Francisco, or twice the size of Manhattan.The resort is a
world class entertainment center in which featuring four separate and exciting
theme parks, three water adventure parks, 32 resort hotels, 99 holes of golf on
different courses, two full service spas, Disney's Wedding Pavilion, Disney's
Wide World of Sports Complex and Downtown Disney's entertainment, shopping,
dining complex and outdoor recreation like hiking, biking, boating and
swimming.Magic Kingdom, the first theme park built at the resort, shows
diferent attractions; it is divided among in seven fantasy areas. This is the
perfect place to find all your favorite Disney characters and also attractions.Epcot
is divided into two areas: Future World and World Showcase. The attractions in
Future World are based on modern and futuristic advances in communication,
transportation, energy, agriculture and much more. World Showcase allows you to
explore culture, cuisine, shopping and entertainment from many countries
including Canada, UK, France, Japan, Morocco, US, Italy, Germany, China, Norway
and Mexico.The Disney-MGM Studios offers behind the scenes, since movies are
realized, popular TV shows, etc. There are also a number of thrilling rides or
attractions based on blockbuster movies, which provide exciting stunts and
amazing special effects.Animal Kingdom is the newest and largest theme park.
This 2 km² park is divided into three areas: The Real, The Mythical and The
Extinct. The Real area features live animals in unusual landscapes and provides
a safari experience. In The Mythical area, guests come face to face with
magical and make believe creatures. In the Extinct Area, dinosaurs come to
life.A fairly new addition to the resort is the state of the art sports complex
where Disney hosts a wide variety of sporting events. Also there are about 18
Disney owned and operated hotels and also several non Disney hotels in the
resort. All this combined with many other attractions in the Orlando and
central Florida area can be quite irresistible.
Empire State Building
The Empire State Building located at Fifth Avenue at
34th Street in Manhattan. Ever since it was built, the Empire State Building
has captured the attention of young and old alike, every year, millions of
tourists flock to the Empire State Building to get a glimpse from its 86th and
102nd floor observatories; the image of the Empire State Building has appeared
in hundreds of ads and movies.The Building Materials on the exterior is Indiana
limestone and granite, trimmed with aluminium and chrome nickel steel from the
6th floor to the top, the interior the lobby was made by Ceiling high marble,
imported from France, Italy, Belgium and Germany. The facade is composed of
more than 200,000 cubic feet of Indiana limestone and granite, and utilizes
several setbacks to offset the optical distortion.It has height 448 meters to
top of antenna, 391 meters to 102nd floor observatory, 320 meters to 86th floor
observatory. And cover an area of 83,860 square feet. The top of the Empire
State Building is lit up at night in different colours to celebrate various
holidays. For a long time after Sept. 11, 2001, it was continuously lit red,
white, and blue. The height of the antenna has been increased from 443.2 meters
to 448.7 meters.The Empire State Building Observatory on the 86th and 102nd
floors provides incredible views of Manhattan. It's one of the most popular
tourist destinations in New York City on a clear day you can see up to 80 miles
in any direction.The observatory is open daily from 9:30am to midnight. All
visitors must enter through the Fifth Avenue entrance and security is strict so
expect a wait. You'll want to bring some quarters for the coin operated
telephoto viewers on the observation deck.
Everglades
Everglades National Park is located in the U.S. state
of Florida about 20 miles east of Biscayne National Park. It is protecting the
largest U.S. wilderness area east of the Mississippi River, the park is the
perfect and most significant place for the breeding ground and reproduction of
tropical birds that are resided in North America and America Continent, and
contains the largest mangrove ecosystem in the western hemisphere.Currently
covering 1,506,499 acres, it is the third largest national park in the
contiguous 48 states, smaller only than Death Valley and Yellowstone National
Parks.This is the largest remaining subtropical wilderness in the United
States, and its home to a veritable zoo of endangered, rare, and exotic
species. More than 350 species of birds, 300 species of fresh and saltwater
fish, 40 species of mammals, 700 plant, and 50 species of reptiles live within
Everglades National Park.The park encompasses saw grass marshes, hardwood
hammocks, mangrove swamps, lakes, and Florida Bay. Famous animal life including
the famous alligators, and 14 threatened or endangered species. The park
preserves one of the world's truly unique ecosystems.In winter time, when the
temperatures and swarms of mosquitoes abate somewhat, the park is full of a
large numbers of kayak, canoe campers, hikers, anglers, plenty of campers car,
seekers of alligators, etc. The park is visited by one million people each
year, and it is the third largest national park in the lower 48 states after
Death Valley, and Yellowstone National Park.
Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon more than an awe-inspiring view, is a
colourful, steep-sided gorge carved by the Colorado River in northern Arizona,
United States. The canyon is a great chasm carved over millennia through the
rocks of the Colorado Plateau. It contains one of the first national parks in
the US. President Theodore Roosevelt was a major proponent of preservation of
the Grand Canyon area, visiting on numerous occasions to hunt mountain lion and
enjoy the scenery. The canyon was created by the Colorado River over a
period of 17 million years according to the research released in 2008. With 446
km long, ranging in width from 6.4 to 29km and attaining a depth of more than
1.6 km. Six million years ago, the canyon started from the west, then another
formed from the east, and the two broke through and met as a single majestic
rent in the earth, it merger apparently occurred in the area known as the
Kaibab Arch.The area was inhabited by Native Americans who built settlements
within the canyon and many caves. People considered it as a holy site. The
first European, García López de Cárdenas arrived in 1540. In 1869, Major John
Wesley Powell with a thirst for science and adventure, made the first recorded
journey through the canyon as “leaves in a great story book”. The Grand
Canyon offers to visitors, amazing vistas on the rim which mean an unmatched
throughout the world. In spite of not being the deepest canyon in the world, is
known for its overwhelming size and its intricate and colourful landscape.
These thick sequences of ancient rocks are beautifully preserved and exposed in
the walls of the canyon. Also the Grand Canyon National Park is one of the
world’s premier natural attractions with around five million visitors per year.Colorado
Plateau has been created by the movements of sediments thousands of feet
upward. The higher elevation has resulted in greater precipitation in the
Colorado River drainage area, but still not enough to change the semi-arid
characteristic. The uplift of the Colorado Plateau is uneven, and the
north-south trending Kaibab Plateau that Grand Canyon bisects is over a
thousand feet higher at the North Rim than at the South Rim. Colorado River
flows in a curve around the higher North Rim part of the Kaibab Plateau and
closer to the South Rim part of the plateau is also explained by this
asymmetry. The result is deeper and longer tributary washes and canyons on the
north side and shorter and steeper side canyons on the south side. In addition
the best views of the expanse of the canyon are from the North Rim, so
temperatures and lower because of the greater elevation, but heavy rains are
common on both rims during the summer months. The uplift has steepened the
stream gradient of the Colorado River and its tributaries which has increased
their speed and thus their ability to cut through rock due to the great depth
of the Grand Canyon. During the ice ages, weather conditions increased the
amount of water in the Colorado River drainage system. Approximately 5.3
million years ago the Gulf of Californian changed the base level and course of
the Colorado River when it opened and lowered the river’s base level. About one
million years ago, volcanic activity deposited ash and lava over the area,
which at times completely obstructed the river, but these volcanic rocks are
the youngest in the canyon.
Mount Rushmore
Mount Rushmore National Memorial is located near
Keystone at 40 km southwest of Rapid City, in the Black Hills of South Dakota.Mount
Rushmore is a memorial to the growth and development of the United States of
America and represents the first 150 years of the history of the United States
of America. The sculptured busts of Presidents George Washington, Thomas
Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln represent the American
character.The entire memorial covers 5.17 km2 and is 1,745 m above sea level.
The massive sculpture was carved into the rim of Mount Rushmore 150 m above the
valley floor and each face is 20 m tall.It is managed by the National Park
Service, a bureau of the United States Department of the Interior. The memorial
attracts approximately two million people every year from around the globe.
Nigara Falls
Niagara Falls is massive waterfalls on the Niagara
River, which is right on the border between Canada and the United States. Falls
are located 27 km north-northwest of Buffalo, New York and 120 km
south-southeast of Toronto, Ontario, between the twin cities of Niagara Falls,
Ontario, and Niagara Falls, New York.Niagara Falls is composed of three
separate water falls on the Niagara River, the Horseshoe Falls, Bridal Veil
Falls and American falls. Niagara Reservation State Park, which surrounds
mighty Niagara Falls, is the oldest state park in the United States. The park
is made up of numerous islands, as well as the famous Prospect Point area. The
magnificent Great Lakes Garden greets visitors entering the park. The smaller
Bridal Veil Falls also is located on the American side, separated from the main
falls by Luna Island.The Observation Tower has elevators that take visitors 180
feet down to the base of the tower for a close-up view of the American Falls.
While in the park ride the world famous Maid of the Mist Boat and get wet while
at the Cave of the Winds attraction. Visitors can also hike, bike and fishMore
than six million cubic feet of water falls over the crest line every minute in
high flow, and almost 4 million cubic feet on average. It is the most powerful
waterfall in North America. From above there appears to be two separate
waterfalls, the larger of which is the Horseshoe Falls and is positioned
against the end of a gorge filled with water from the Niagara River. The area
is surrounded by the hydroelectric plant which makes use of the rivers energy
to created power and the two cities buildings.
Rocky Mountain National Park
Rocky Mountain National Park is located in the north central region of
the U.S. state of Colorado in the Rockies, and includes the Continental Divide
and the headwaters of the Colorado River.The park is surrounded by Roosevelt
National Forest on the north and east, Routt National Forest on the northwest,
and Arapaho National Forest on the southwest. Rocky Mountain National Park
encompasses approximately 1,076 km2 of land in Colorado's northern Front Range.The
park is separate by the Continental Divide, which gives the eastern and western
portions of the park a different character. The east side of the park tends to
be drier, with heavily glaciated peaks and cirques.Also the park contains 578
km of trails, 150 lakes and 720 km of streams. The park contains over 60 named
peaks higher than 3,700 m, and over one fourth of the park resides above tree
line. The highest point of the park is Longs Peak, which rises to 4,345 m above
sea level. Several small glaciers and permanent snowfields are found in the
high mountain cirques, including Andrews Glacier, Sprague Glacier, Tyndall
Glacier, Taylor Glacier, Rowe Glacier, Mills Glacier, and Moomaw Glacier.The
lowest elevations in the park are montane forests and grassland. The ponderosa
pine, which prefers drier areas, dominates, though at higher elevations.
Engelmann Spruce and Subalpine Fir trees are common in this zone. These forests
tend to have more humidity than the montane and tend to be denser. Above tree
line, at approximately 3,500 m, trees disappear and the vast alpine tundra
takes over. Due to harsh winds and weather, the plants in the tundra are short
with very limited growing seasons.Bear Lake, in the heart of the park, is a
popular destination and trailhead. The lake rests beneath the sheer flanks of
Hallett's Peak and the Continental Divide. The Bear Lake Road is open year
round, though it may temporarily close due to adverse weather conditions.The
Mummy Range is a small mountain range in the north of the park. The Mummies
tend to be gentler and forested than the other peaks in the park, though there
are some heavily glaciated areas, particularly Ypsilon Mountain and the area
around Mummy Mountain.The snow capped Never Summer Mountains are found in the
west side of the park. The mountains are the result of volcanic activity and
are very craggy, frequently covered in deep snow. This area saw the most
extensive mining activity in the park, and trails lead past old mines and ghost
towns.Rocky Mountain National Park is one of the most beautiful parks with a
view to its majestic mountains, with a variety of wildlife, varied climates,
and forested environments easily accessible.
Sequoia National Park
The Sequoia National Park is located in the southern Sierra Nevada at
east of Visalia, California. It spans over 404 acres. In the park are 35 groves
of giant sequoias, spectacular granite mountains, and deep canyons.The park is
well known for its Giant Sequoia trees, many groves of the giant sequoia are
found along the moist, west slopes of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, between
elevations of 5,000 and 7,000 feet. The scale and grandeur of these reddish
giants trees are extremaly extraordinary, also includes many walking trails
that pass through the woods, which makes an ideal place to contemplate the
atmosphere of the forest.The park is famous for the General Sherman Tree (83 m
high and 11 m in diameter at its widest point), is the largest and one of the
oldest living in the world, estimated to be more than 3,500 years old. The
General Sherman tree grows in the Giant Forest, which contains five out of the
ten largest trees in the world, in terms of wood volume.Most visitors come only
to see some sequoias, but these trees are found in a moderately small area; the
majority of the national park protects a large part of the Sierra Nevada range
like canyons, lakes, waterfalls and high mountains, including Mount Whitney,
the highest peak in the contiguous United States.The park also contains over
100 marble caves such as Crystal Cave, more than 2600 lakes and ponds, and a
wide range of ecosystems near the Ash Mountain entrance to the peak of Mt.
Whitney.Besides to hiking, camping, fishing, and backpacking, the park has
attractions such as the Tunnel Log a fallen sequoia that automobiles can drive
through; the Crystal Cave protected since 1918 and the only one of over 200
caves in the two adjoining parks which can be toured; and crescent meadow of
Sequoia that John Muir called the "gem of the Sierra".The park is
open year round, and is seldom crowded. Most weekends, even in mid-summer.
However, the lower parts of Kings Canyon is close from November 1, through
mid-May. Winter visitors will find the giant sequoias decked with snow, but it
is the opportunity to see the magnificent Kings Canyon.
Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty is one of the most renowned
symbols of American freedom. It is located on Liberty Island in the middle of
the Hudson River in New York City Harbor.The formal name of the statue is
"Liberty Enlightening the World" also known affectionately as
"Lady Liberty" has become a symbol of freedom and democracy. The
classical appearance derives from Libertas (an ancient Rome's goddess of
freedom against oppression and tyranny).The statue is of a woman holding a
torch; it is made of a cover of pure copper, hung on a framework of steel with
the exemption of the flame of the torch, which is coated in gold leaf. It
stands atop a rectangular stonework pedestal with a base in the shape of an
irregular eleven pointed star. The statue is 46 m tall, but with the pedestal
and foundation, it is 93 m tall. The face on the Statue of Liberty measures
more than 2.4 m. tall. Total weight of the Statue of Liberty is 225 tons.There
are 354 steps inside the statue and its pedestal. There are 25 viewing windows
in the crown. The seven rays of Liberty's crown symbolize the seven seas and
seven continents of the world. Her torch signifies enlightenment. The tablet in
her hand represents knowledge and shows the date of the United States
Declaration of Independence, in roman numerals, July IV, MDCCLXXVI. The statue
is the central part of Statue of Liberty National Monument, administered by the
National Park Service.
Golden Gate Bridge
The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning
the Golden Gate, the opening of the San Francisco Bay onto the Pacific Ocean.
As part of both U.S. Route 101 and State Route 1, it connects the city of San
Francisco on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula to Marin County.The
Golden Gate Bridge had the longest suspension bridge span in the world (4,200
foot) when it was completed in 1937 and has become an internationally
recognized symbol of San Francisco and California.Despite its red appearance,
the colour of the bridge is officially an orange vermilion called international
orange. The colour was selected by consulting architect Irving Morrow because
it blends well with the natural surroundings yet enhances the bridge's
visibility in fog.The bridge's two towers rise 746 feet making them 191 feet
taller than the Washington Monument. The five lane bridge crosses Golden Gate
Strait which is about 400 feet, or 130 meters, deep. The bridge consists of two
towers of 746 feet this makes it 191 feet higher than the Washington Monument.
The five lanes of the Golden Gate Bridge are about 400 feet or 130 meters deep.The
towers that support the Golden Gate Bridge's suspension cables are smaller at
the top than at the base, emphasizing the tower height of 500 feet above the
roadway Coit Tower is another San Francisco landmark with an Art Deco design.Linking
San Francisco with Marin County the Golden Gate Bridge is a 1.7 mile-long
suspension bridge that can be crossed by car, on bicycles or on foot. On an
average day 118,000 vehicles cross the bridge. The bridge has six total lanes
of vehicle traffic, and walkways on both sides of the bridge.The speed limit on
the Golden Gate Bridge was reduced from 55 mph (89 km/h) to 45 mph (72 km/h) on
1 October 1983. The eastern walkway is for pedestrians and bicycles during the
weekdays and during daylight hours only, and the western walkway is open to
bicyclists on weekday afternoons, weekends, and holidays.It united three
Boroughs of New York: Manhattan, the Bronx, and Queens. It remains the largest
vertical-lift bridge in the world. It joins three giant bridges into one and
consists of 13,500 feet of elevated viaduct and fourteen miles of roadway, all
travelling over Randall's and Ward's Islands. Since its completion, the span
length has been surpassed by eight other bridges. It still has the second
longest suspension bridge main span in the United States, after the Verrazano
Narrows Bridge in New York City.
White House
The White House Complex is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in
Washington, D.C. The building contains a total of 132 rooms; it includes living
quarters for the president, the presidential family, and staff and public rooms
for dinners, concerts, and receptions. In conclusion six floors: two basements,
two public floors, and two floors for the First Family.The presidential
apartment is separate from the rest of the mansion, which is open to visitors
and public tours as a museum. The complex includes the Executive Residence, the
West Wing (the Oval Office, Cabinet Room, and Roosevelt Room), the East Wing
(office of the First Lady and White House Social Secretary), and the Old
Executive Office Building (offices of the President and Vice President).The
Blue Room has been located above the Diplomatic Reception Room, and this room
is always used as a reception room. The room was decorated in blue color during
the presidency of Martin Van Buren in 1837, so the new decoration changed the
Oval Room to the Blue Room.The State Dining Room which sits as many as 140
guests is used during formal dinners for visiting heads of state. The White
House Library has a collection of 2700 books written by American authors or
about American history. It is frequently used for small meetings and tea.The
Green Room has been served different purposes as a "Lodging Room", or
a "Dining Room" for Thomas Jefferson, as a "Sitting Room"
for James Madison, and as a "Card Room" for Monroe. This room was
decorated in different styles by different presidents until the time of
Theodore Roosevelt, with many pieces made by the famous New York cabinet maker
Duncan Phyfe.The Red Room has been decorated by different style of furniture.
It is one of the four state reception rooms at the White House. The China Room
displays a collection of Chinese porcelain from several different presidents.
The Diplomatic Reception Room in the White House serves as an entrance from the
South Lawn. The China Room and Diplomatic Reception Room are not part of the
White House tour.The Vermeil Room or the Gold Room has been used as a Display
Room, or a Ladies Sitting Room for formal occasions. The room has been
decorated in green background and gold silk highlights, and furnished by a
table in the Empire style, the gold walls also were covered by the seven First
Ladies' portraits.The East Room is used for different purposes such as dances,
award presentations, weddings, funerals, bill-signing ceremonies, press
conferences, and generally for large gathering.
Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park is situated primarily in northwestern Wyoming
and partly in southern Montana and eastern Idaho. The park includes the greatest
concentration of geothermal features of the world.The park covers 8,983 square
km and consists mostly of broad volcanic plateaus with an average elevation of
2,440 meters. Among the mountain ranges that protrude into the park are the
Gallatin Range on the northwest, the Absaroka Range on the east, and the Tetons
along the park’s southern boundary. The park is also surrounded by the Custer,
Shoshone, Teton, Targhee, Beaverhead, and Gallatin national forests.The
mountains of Yellowstone are beautiful and varied but lack the precipitous
vertical features of the Teton Range south of the park. The mountain ranges
surrounding Yellowstone and its valleys provided shelter, protection, and food,
also exist protective natural highway between Wyoming and Montana.The park was
the first of its kind, and is known for its wildlife and its many geothermal
features, especially Old Faithful Geyser, one of the most popular areas in the
park. It also has the world's largest concentration of geysers, more than 300
geysers, or two thirds of all those on the planet.The Yellowstone Volcano
Observatory monitors earthquakes and volcanic activities in the Yellowstone
National Park. There are permanent stations that monitor earthquakes,
deformation, and hydrologic data in real-time. There are also historic data
available from field surveys that are not in real-time.The park is one of the
largest intact temperate zone ecosystems remaining on the planet. Hundreds of
species of mammals, birds, fish and reptiles have been documented, including several
that are either endangered or threatened. The vast forests and grasslands also
include unique species of plants. Grizzly bears, wolves, and free-ranging herds
of bison and elk live in the park.To the north of what is now Yellowstone Park
flows one of its great rivers, the Yellowstone River. The Yellowstone River
Valley offers little protection, in several hundreds of miles, for travelers
who travel downstream from the Yellowstone Valley; also Indians are subject to
attack from warring Indian Tribes.You can also hiking, camping, fishing,
enjoying exhibits, films, and attending Ranger-led programs are among the many
ways you can enjoy Yellowstone National Park.
Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park is located in the central Sierra Nevada of
California, at the eastern portions of Tuolumne, Mariposa, and Madera counties
in east central of California. The park covers an area of 3,081 km² and reaches
across the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountain chain. The park is
approximately the size of Rhode Island State.Yosemite was made during the last
Ice Age . The granite bedrock was turned into bare peaks, sheer cliffs, rounded
domes and huge monoliths. Yosemite is one of the largest and least fragmented
habitat blocks in the Sierra Nevada. Now flowering meadows fill the valley and
beautiful waterfalls surround it. Geological evolution, and Biological
adaptation is evident. Breathtaking panoramas of rugged scenery, thousands of
lakes, 2,600 km of streams, 1300 km of hiking trails, 560 km of roads, and huge
variety of plant and animal life are incomparable this valley.The park has an
elevation range from 600 to 4,000 m. and contains five major vegetation zones:
wooded area of oak trees, groves of low mountains, high mountain vegetation,
sub alpine vegetation, and alpine vegetation. Of California's 7,000 plant
species, about 50% is in the Sierra Nevada and more than 20% within Yosemite.Elsewhere
in Yosemite National Park has vast areas of unspoilt and sometimes inaccessible
wilderness, as is the case with Kings Canyon and Sequoia, the other national
parks in Sierra Nevada.There are three groves of giant sequoia trees, two near
Crane Flat, but the most famous is the Mariposa Grove of Big Trees in the
southwest corner, near the private village of Wawona. Another gigantic type of
tree is the Grizzly Giant, estimated for having almost 3,000 years old, in the
park exist more than 400 trees of this type that grow on the hillsides.The
weather can be moderately warm and dry through the summer, but nights may be
cool. In the winter, it can be rather cold with frequent snowfalls that
sometimes create dangerous driving conditions. Tioga Pass and the higher
elevations of the park are normally closed from November through May due to
heavy snow accumulation. Spring and fall are transition periods that rotate
between nice weather and wet or snowy conditions.Summer offers the warmest
weather but is the busiest tourist season. Spring, with its heavy extra of snow
melt offers the most spectacular waterfall show. Fall, with its multicolored
foliage and usually pleasant weather is a scenic time to visit. Although winter
often produces some beautiful snow covered landscapes. Independently of the
station you decide to visit Yosemite, is wise to take a variety of clothes, for
the constant changes in the climate.
Zion National Park
Zion National Park is located in the southwest corner of Utah east of
I-15 (Interstate highway 15 in Utah). It is roughly 300 miles south of Salt
Lake City, near Springdale and 160 miles northeast of Las Vegas. Zion National
Park encompasses some 150,000 acres of natural canyon country east of St.
George, Utah, including the narrow, multicolored Kolob Canyons to the north and
many miles of largely impenetrable mountain wilderness.Zion offers probably the
best, most varied hiking of all national parks, including the famous Narrows
Trail along the upper stretches of the Virgin River. The park is known for its
incredible canyons, including The Narrows, which attract canyoneers from around
the world.The main canyon in Zion is reached by a turning off state highway 9;
the through road continues east via a dramatic tunnel into more open land in
route to Mount Carmel Junction and onwards to Bryce Canyon National Park.Zion
National Park contains the richest diversity of plants in Utah with almost 800
native species. Differences in elevation, sunlight, water, and temperature
create "microenvironments", like hanging gardens, forested side
canyons, and isolated mesas that lend to this diversity75 species of mammals,
271 birds, 32 reptiles and amphibians and 8 fish make their home in Zion
National Park. Commonly seen animals include mule deer, rock squirrels,
lizards, and many species of birds. Rare or endangered species include the
Peregrine Falcon, Mexican Spotted Owl, Southwest Willow Flycatcher, desert
tortoise, and the Zion snail, found nowhere else on earth.Evidence of ancestral
peoples, formerly known as the Anasazi, date from about 2,000 years ago;
Paiutes from about 800 years ago to present. Mormon settlers arrived in
southern Utah in the 1860s. The Virgin River now serves as a natural corridor
for exploring the park. There are several easy, self guiding trails along the
river, along with more challenging hikes where the river and its tributaries
cut through narrow canyons.The world famous scenery of Zion National Park
attracts hikers and climbers from around the world. A rich history, unique
geography, and an unusual diversity of plants and animals have made Zion one of
North Americas most popular National Parks hosting almost three million
visitors each year.
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