Which of these facts are true?
About five million tourists visit the Grand Canyon every year
Native Americans have lived in the area for ten thousand years
It’s known as one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World
There are canyons all over the planet, and the Grand Canyon in Arizona is not the biggest. Yet because of the spectacular colors in the rock layers and fascinating formations of boulders, buttes, and mesas, it is known as one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. Starting with a brief overview of how national parks came into being, this book covers all aspects of the canyon–how it formed, which early native people lived there, and what varied wildlife can be found there now. A history of the canyon’s end-to-end exploration in the late 1860s and how the Grand Canyon became such a popular vacation spot (5 million tourists visit every year) round out this informative, easy-to-read account.
地表上的峽谷為數不少，其中，美國亞利桑那州的大峽谷並非世界之最。然而，其岩層壯麗的色彩，與巨礫、孤峰、台地等奇異的構造，使大峽谷以七大世界自然奇景之一聞名。本書一開始以簡短篇幅介紹國家公園的起源，接著逐一介紹大峽谷的種種樣貌──峽谷的誕生過程、早期的峽谷原住民，以及現今各式各樣可見的野生動植物。1860 年代晚期的大峽谷探索全紀錄，以及如何成為熱門度假勝地的記載（每年約有五百萬人次造訪），更為這本內容豐富、容易閱讀的好書更趨完美。