美國大峽谷英語簡介

　　美國大峽谷(Grand Canyon)是一個(gè)舉世聞名的自然奇觀，由于科羅拉多河穿流其中，故又名科羅拉多大峽谷，它是聯(lián)合國教科文組織選為受保護(hù)的天然遺產(chǎn)之一。大峽谷位于美國亞利桑那州西北部的凱巴布高原上，是地球上最為壯麗的景色之一?？屏_拉多河在科羅拉多高原上共切割出19條主要峽谷，總面積為2724.7平方公里，其中最深、最寬、最長的一個(gè)就是科羅拉多大峽谷。它全長446公里，是世界上最長的峽谷之一。峽谷頂寬6至28公里，最深處1800米。谷底水面不足 1000米寬，夏季冰雪融水，水深增至18米。山石多為紅色。下面學(xué)習(xí)啦小編為大家?guī)砺糜斡⒄Z美國大峽英語簡介，歡迎大家閱讀!

　　美國大峽谷英語簡介：

　　A famous American John Muir said in 1898： “The Grand Canyon… as unearthly in the color and grandeur and quantity of its architecture as if you had found it after death on some other star.”

　　Like Muir， those of us who stand along the rim are prompted to wonder about the unearthliness and the forces that created and are still changing this place After more than 100 years of studies， many things are still obscure. Today visitors come by the thousands - the great and simple of the earth - all in a spirit of marvel. Travelers come from every state of the Union， from every country in Europe and Asia， pilgrims to a shrine that is the same as the creed. From the depths of the canyon comes welling silence. Seldom can you hear the roar of the river.You cannot catch the patter. Like applause， from the leaves of the cottonwoods on the shelf-like plateau below you. For all sounds are swallowed in this gulf of space. ‘It makes one want to murmur.' A woman once whispered to her companion. This silence is not the silence of death; Rather， it is a presence. It is like a great piece of music. But music made of man works up to a climax and ceases; the Grand Canyon is all climax， a chord echoing into eternity. Perhaps the most spectacular feature of the Grand Canyon，

its Redwall limestone cliff， stands about half way up the chasm and is practically vertical. Its average height is 550 feet——almost exactly that of the Washington Monument. Though it is actually gray-blue limestone， the surface of the cliff has been stained to a sunset hue by iron salts washing out of the rocks. Above the Redwall come alternating layers of red sandstone and shale 1，000 feet thick， then comes the next pale-blue layer. The topmost layers are a yellowish limestone. Now， visitors to the South Rim alone may number 18，000 in a single day. Some of that number will travel by mule train down Bright Angel Trail to the canyon's floor， cross the raging river by a suspension bridge and amount to the North Rim. Though the two rims face each other across only 12 miles， it is a journey of 214 miles by car from one to the other. Nor can you visit the North Rim except in summer; some 1，200 feet higher than the South Rim， it is snow covered much of the year except in July and August. But there is no day that you may not visit the South Rim and find the sun warm on your face and the air perfumed with the incense of smoke from an Indian hearth. The Grand Canyon is an unearthly sight. No wonder an American writer and journalist said，“I came here an atheist， and departed a devout believer.”

　　一位著名的美國人約翰?？姞栐?898年說過：“(科羅拉多河的)大峽谷……它的色彩和構(gòu)造的宏偉多樣是世上所無的，就像是人消亡以后在別的星球上發(fā)現(xiàn)的東西。”

　　和繆爾一樣，站在大峽谷邊緣的人們頓時(shí)對這里的超凡脫俗，對那種創(chuàng)造并仍在改變這個(gè)地方的神奇力量感到驚奇。

　　經(jīng)過了100多年的研究，有許多事情仍是個(gè)謎。今天，數(shù)以千記的游客——不管是普通人還是大人物——都懷著一種好奇的心情來到這里。他們來自于美國的第一洲，來自于歐洲和亞洲的每一個(gè)國家，就像朝圣者一樣虔誠地來到這座神殿。

　　峽谷深處靜寂無聲。我們很少聽見河水的咆哮聲或下面壁架式高原上三角葉楊樹發(fā)出鼓掌般的噼啪聲。因?yàn)檫@一切聲音都在這深淵的空間被吞沒了。一位女游客對同伴說，“它讓人禁不住地低聲細(xì)語。"這種寂靜不是死一般的沉寂;相反，它是萬物存在的寧靜。它就像一曲偉大的樂章。人類創(chuàng)作的樂曲逐漸進(jìn)入高潮，但也有終止的時(shí)候，而大峽谷則高潮迭起，是永遠(yuǎn)回蕩不止的和音。

　　也許，大峽谷最引人注目的風(fēng)貌特色是“紅墻”石灰石懸崖，它聳立在裂口半當(dāng)中，幾乎是垂直的。它的平均高度為550 英尺——幾乎和華盛頓紀(jì)念碑一樣高。雖然它實(shí)際上是灰藍(lán)色的石灰石，但是從巖石里滲出的鐵鹽卻把懸崖表面染上了晚霞般的色彩。在“紅墻”的上方，是紅色的沙巖和1 000 英尺厚的頁巖交替疊層，然后是淺藍(lán)色的沙巖層，最上層是淡黃色的石灰石。

　　現(xiàn)在，每天來大峽谷南緣觀光的游客大概有18000名，其中有的會乘坐小型電動機(jī)車沿著"光明天使小道"來到谷底，穿過波濤洶涌的河道上方的吊橋，然后到達(dá)北緣。

　　盡管南北兩緣面對面相隔只有12英里，可是坐車從一邊到另一邊的距離卻是214英里。北緣只能在夏天參觀;它比南緣高出1 200英尺左右;除了7、8月外，其他大部分時(shí)間都為冰雪覆蓋。

　　然而南緣任何時(shí)候都?xì)g迎人們的來訪。在那里溫暖的陽光照在人們的臉上;空氣中彌漫著印第安香爐中散發(fā)出的煙香氣。大峽谷是一道超凡脫俗的風(fēng)景。難怪一位美國作家兼記者說：“我來這里時(shí)還是個(gè)無神論者，離開時(shí)卻是個(gè)虔誠的信徒了。”