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GRAND CANYON – USA – NATURE’S ARCHITECTURAL WONDER

INTRODUCTION

This world famous canyon is located in the Arizona State of United States of America. Basically this canyon is steep sided and has been formed by the carving of Colorado River. When we define a canyon we say that a canyon is a deep ravine between cliffs normally formed by the carving of a river. Most of the part of Grand Canyon is situated in the Grand Canyon National Park. This canyon is the result of uplift of Colorado Plateau. Although the right time of the formation of Grand Canyon is still a point of debate among the geologists but current evidences suggest that the Colorado River started flowing through the canyon about 17 million years ago. It is really a big canyon and you can find the proof of the statement with the fact that the Grand Canyon is 277 miles long with the width of 18 miles and depth is about 1 mile. Although it is neither the deepest nor the widest canyon of the world but it is famous for its overwhelming size and specially the intricacy and colourful landscape. It was 1540 when the first European named Garcia Lopez viewed the Grand Canyon. The original inhabitants of the canyon are Peublo People who were Native Americans. TOURISM

The Grand Canyon is a big tourist attraction in United States of America. Grand Canyon National Park is one of the most famous natural attractions in the world. You can imagine that how popular is the site with the fact it attracts about 5 million people every year.  But the majority of the tourists are from the different states of America which is about 83% while the remaining 17% of the visitors come from other countries like United Kingdom, Germany, Netherlands, Canada and Japan.No doubt that the site as a whole is a wonderful place to see. Besides the normal sightseeing at Grand Canyon, there are other activities which the visitors can enjoy like rafting, hiking and helicopter tours.  If you have a plan to visit the site then you have all the options to reach and access. To reach the floor of the valley you can access by foot, muleback or by boat or raft. It is very difficult for the hikers to come down the canyon and reach back to the rim in one day.

The officials recommend because of the distance, steep and rocky trails and heat exhaustion. Recently on the west side of Grand Canyon the Hualapai tribes opened the Grand Canyon Skywalk which is glass bottomed. This gives the beautiful view indeed but it has some limitations like you can’t take cameras and personal equipment are not allowed in view of securing the glass from damage.

Imagine yourself suspended at 4000 feet over the majesty of Grand Canyon, witness the glory of the Colorado River below, amazing view of sunrise over the carved peaks of canyon.

PLANTS AND ANIMALS

Grand Canyon National Park has different types of plants. There are about 1737 species of vascular plants, 167 species of fungi and 64 species of moss. There are about dozen of endemic plants. There are 34 species of mammals of which 15 are rodents and eight are bats. The weather of the place varies according to the elevation. The forested parts of the canyon receive snowfall in winter. The weather remains dry but there is substantial precipitation twice a year. The fatalities of the place are also known.

AMAZON RAINFOREST – Best Natural Places To Visit in America

“The Largest Rainforest on Earth”

AMAZON forest

AMAZON forest usa

LOCATION & INTRODUCTION

The Amazon Rainforest is indeed the mysterious place that has powerful attraction. Amazon rainforest is the biggest rainforest on the earth. It is also called Amazonia or Amazon Jungle. This forest covers the Basin of Amazon River which is located in the South America. Amazon River is the largest river of the world in reference of water discharge and the second longest river of the world after Nile. The Basin of Amazon River goes about seven million square kilometers of which five and half square kilometers is covered by the Amazon Rainforest. We can understand the widespread area of this Basin and of the Rainforest by the fact that it passes through the nine South American countries which include Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname and French Guyana. The most part of the forest is in Brazil which is about 60%.

some paintings of AMAZON

some paintings of AMAZON

HISTORY

The Amazon Rainforest has a long history. Historians say that this rainforest came into existence about 55 million years ago when the Amazon River changed its flowing direction from West towards the East. It was formed due to reduction in tropical temperature. This all happened when the Amazon Basin got warm and the climate got moist because of the widening of the Atlantic Ocean. There is the possibility that as the climate got wetter and the dinosaurs and other animals and plants got extinct, the rainforest may have spread to cover the entire continent. There is an amazing and interesting story associated with the forest. Initially people explored the place to find gold, silver and gems. Then the Portuguese explorers believed that there is an Eldorado (a place which is completely of gold) and women warriors are safeguarding the place. The explorers started to search the place but they never found it.

wilde life of AMAZON

wilde life of AMAZON

WILD LIFE

This mysterious forest is famous for a huge variety of animal and plant species. The diversity of species here in Amazon rainforest has no match around the world. You will find the largest collection of animal and plant species in this forest. There are about 40,000 plant species found here to date. A number of bird species, freshwater fish and butterflies are also found here. This region is so populated with different kind of species that about 2.5 million insect species, 3000 fish, 1294 birds, 427 mammals, 428 amphibians and 378 reptiles have been found here. In the river you can find Electric Eels which has the ability to produce electric shock that can be life threatening. Experts believe that it is the largest plant species collection on the earth which contains about more than a thousand types of plants is found in the area of just one square kilometer. This rainforest has trees as any other forest has in the world but these trees are different from others. There are the trees which are about 120 foot high.

flowers of AMAZON

flowers of AMAZON

HUMAN LIFE

The forest is not just populated with the animals, plants and birds species. Indigenous tribes who are the natives are settled here since thousands of years ago. Other than the natives of the area, there are number of people settled here for different reasons. There are about 30 million people settled here. Many pharmaceutical companies have established there facilities for research on plants and animals.

THREATS TO AMAZON

The Amazon Rainforest was declared the candidate of new seven wonders of nature. The biological richness of the forest has not yet revealed completely. But continuous deforestation has severe threats to this mysterious forest of the world. New studies have found that by the year 2030 about 55% of the rainforests of Amazon would have gone. If it happens then it would be a great disaster for the animals, plants, birds species and for the world. Intensity of the threat can be imagined by the fact that there have been droughts for three years. This is an alarming condition for the world climate.