熊娟娟

有人說，不曾見過科羅拉多大峽谷便不算到過美國，這道色彩奇幻、壯闊奇絕的“地球之痕”究竟有著怎樣的奧秘？你是否也對這得天獨厚的自然奇觀充滿好奇？走進科羅拉多大峽谷，揭開它的神秘面紗吧！

入選時間（Date of Inscription） 1979 年

遴選標準（Criteria） （vii） （viii） （ix） （x）

遺產(chǎn)面積（Property ） 493，270 公頃

檔案編號（Dossier） 75

Carved out by the Colorado River， the Grand Canyon （nearly 1，500 m deep）is one of the most spectacular gorge in the world. Located in the state of Arizona，it cuts across the Grand Canyon National Park. Its horizontal strata retrace thegeological history of the past 2 billion years. There are also prehistoric traces ofhuman adaptation to a particularly harsh environment.

The Grand Canyon is among the earth’s greatest on-going geologicalspectacles. Its vastness is stunning， and the evidence it reveals about theearth’s history is invaluable. It twists and turns 445 km and was formed during6 million years of geological activity and erosion by the Colorado River on theupraised earth’s crust. The buttes， spires， mesas and temples in the canyon arein fact mountains looked down upon from the rims. Horizontal strata exposedin the canyon retrace geological history over 2 billionyears and represent the four major geologic eras.

Some people claim that the Grand Canyon， locatedin the northwest of Arizona， is the only natural wonder?visible from space. This unique geologicallandscape is a masterpiece of the ColoradoRiver， renowned as one of the world’ s largestcanyons and one of the seven wonders ofnature on earth.

The Colorado River， which it is namedafter， is a famous river that runs through sevenwestern U.S. states， carrying the melting snowof the Rocky Mountains and the rain water ofthe Pacific Ocean. The river concurs numerous1）tributaries， 2）traverses the red formations ofUtah and Arizona， and travels more than 2，300kilometers， irrigating parched and 3）barrentracts of land in the western United Statesbefore flowing into the narrow Gulf of California.

How was the stunning canyon formed？That was because the Colorado River made itthrough 4）erosion. Erosion happened when bitsof the ground was worn away. The river thenran over the ground and a canyon was madeafter many years.

In 1919， the Grand Canyon became anational park and since then it has been themost popular tourist destination in the UnitedStates. It attracts not only energetic youngclimbers but also sightseers who prefer drivingand walking. Visitors can enjoy an awe-inspiringview of the magnificent ancient canyon from thesteep cliff， which is definitely an unforgettableexperience.

Every year tourists from all over the world come to see this gorgeousnatural scenery. 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. It is universally recognized that the Grand Canyon is amagnificent geological phenomenon and a typical landmark of America’ srich cultural 5）heritage and natural splendor.

科羅拉多大峽谷深約1500 米，由科羅拉多河長年侵蝕而成，是世界上最為壯觀的峽谷之一。大峽谷位于亞利桑那州境內(nèi)，橫亙了整個大峽谷國家公園。

大峽谷的水平層次結(jié)構(gòu)展示了20 億年來地球的地質(zhì)學變遷，同時它也保留了大量人類適應當時惡劣環(huán)境的遺跡。

大峽谷是地球上最偉大的地質(zhì)奇觀之一。它的廣闊令人驚嘆，它揭示的關(guān)于地球歷史的證據(jù)是無價的。它蜿蜒曲折445 千米，是在600 萬年的地質(zhì)活動和科羅拉多河對隆起的地殼的侵蝕中形成的。峽谷中的小山丘、尖頂、臺地和寺廟實際上是從邊緣俯瞰的山脈。峽谷中暴露的水平地層追溯了20 億多年的地質(zhì)歷史，展示了四大地質(zhì)時代的變遷。

據(jù)說，在太空中俯瞰地球，唯一能用肉眼看到的自然奇觀就是這條盤踞在亞利桑那州西北部的狹長山谷——科羅拉多大峽谷。它擁有著得天獨厚的地質(zhì)景觀。科羅拉多大峽谷是科羅拉多河的杰作，被譽為世界上最大的峽谷之一，是世界七大自然界奇觀之一。

科羅拉多河是縱貫美國西部七個州的著名河流，負載著落基山的融雪和太平洋的雨水。這條河與許多支流匯合，穿過猶他州和亞利桑那州紅色地層的泥漿，長驅(qū)2300 多千米，灌溉和滋潤了美國西部大片干渴而貧瘠的土地，然后注入狹長的加利福尼亞灣。

這道震撼人心的峽谷是怎樣形成的呢？那是由科羅拉多河侵蝕而成的。當?shù)乇肀荒p，就會發(fā)生侵蝕作用，河水流經(jīng)地表，多年后便形成了峽谷。

科羅拉多大峽谷于1919 年成為一座國家公園，自此變成美國最熱門的旅游目的地，不僅適合體力充沛的登山者，也適合只愛開車、散步看美景的人們。

游客在這里可以從陡峭的懸崖邊欣賞壯觀的遠古峽谷中的狹長景色，這絕對是無與倫比的難忘體驗。

每年，世界各地的游客紛至沓來只為欣賞這道亮麗的風景。游客們第一眼看到大峽谷就被其美景美到窒息。在一天中的不同時間，太陽用紅色、橙色和金色照亮巖壁。這些明亮的顏色是巖石中含有礦物質(zhì)的結(jié)果。它們隨著光線、季節(jié)和天氣的變化而不斷變化。科羅拉多大峽谷被公認為一個令人驚嘆的自然景象，亦是美國豐富的文化遺產(chǎn)和自然風光的典型地標。