amazing natural wonders in america

Amazing Natural Wonders in America

America is lucky to be blessed with some of the most jaw-dropping spectacles of nature. This Buzzle article lists 15 of the most beautiful ones. Have a look...

Nature forces forests, gorges, rivers, and glaciers to take such beautiful shapes and turns, that you are often left awestruck. Sometimes, you cannot help but wonder if nature plans and conspires to gift us such beautiful phenomena, that seem almost impossible to be created without constructional fanfare or architectural precision. America's most iconic outdoor spots have been created and shaped by nature. Some of the world's most stupendous natural wonders can be found in America, especially dotting the states of Arizona, Utah, and California. Be it a waterfall more than 50 meters tall, or be it a river gorge more than 270 miles long, the US is home to some of the most stunning natural features. This country is blessed with wondrous mountains, lush forests, and tranquil water bodies, all of which come together to form an awe-inspiring feast for the mind and eye.
Barringer Crater (Arizona)
50,000 years ago, a 40-meter wide meteorite struck at this spot at the speed of about 35 to 40 thousand miles per hour, creating a crater that is roughly 175 meters deep. Easily the most-studied impact crater in the world, the Barringer Crater is also a popular tourist site. The crater is square-ish in shape with rounded corners, and its rim rises slightly above the ground around it. Meteor fragments have been recovered from the site (especially around the rim) which have been widely studied by geologists and environmentalists alike.
Tip for the Traveler: Don't pack your sandwiches and sodas along. There is a Subway outlet on premises, and you are entitled to a free cookie!
Bryce Canyon (Utah)
A huge expanse of versatile geological features, the Bryce Canyon is distinctly known for its hoodoos - tall rock columns that spiral upwards. The national park encompassing the canyon area, called the Bryce Canyon National Park, is at an altitude of about 2,500 meters. This keeps the weather in Bryce Canyon cooler than its surrounding areas. Nature's marvels do not stop just at the creation of this wonder... the region is home to more than 400 plant species, some of them more than a thousand years old.
Tip for the Traveler: Bryce Canyon is a natural amphitheater. While there, do not sing Nickelback songs, or the echoes may force fellow tourists to bury you then and there.
Carlsbad Caverns (New Mexico)
This karst landscape, lying in the Guadalupe Mountains, is as old as 250 million years! Before evaporating over centuries, this spot used to house the coastline of an ancient inland sea. The size and enormity of the caves are awe-inducing. The unique blend of rock and reef formations, mud pits, stalactites, and stalagmites, make for a spectacular experience, and it's not for nothing that it attracts more than 4 million tourists every year.
Tip for the Traveler: Entrance fee is not too steep, but if your wallet does not have the strength of a superhero, drop by during National Park Week, and opt for a self-guided tour - It's Free!
Coyote Buttes (Paria Canyon, Utah/Arizona)
Millennia of blowing wind and gushing water have eroded the walls of Coyote Buttes' troughs in such a way, that the wind's orientation has lent the troughs in the buttes a wave-like look. The multicolored, multi-layered rock formations are a kaleidoscopic treat, that date back to the Jurassic era. As a matter of fact, Coyote Buttes boasts of a dinosaur trackway that consists of dinosaur footprints, which have been estimated to be 190 million years old.
Tip for the Traveler: That thing may look like a skate-park, but really, it's not. Resist the temptation to lug your skateboard along with you.
Crater Lake (Oregon)
The deepest lake in the United States is actually a caldera lake - formed when a volcano collapses post eruption. Formed nearly 7,000 - 8,000 years ago, the lake is home to Wizard Island, Phantom Ship Island, and a floating tree stump believed to be 200 years old. The water in Crater Lake is so clear that the tree can be seen right up to its base, which is about 7 - 8 meters underwater.
Tip for the Traveler: The water is crystal clear. If you drop something, you may be able to see it travel below the surface a fair distance. Just don't drop your wedding ring ... what can be seen, cannot always be recovered.
Death Valley (California)
The lowest and driest area in North America, Death Valley holds the record for the world's highest recorded temperature - Furnace Creek, 134° F (56.7° C) on July 13, 1913. It is also the place with the lowest elevation below sea level in North America. The records not concerning, Death Valley is a treat to the eye. Rock formations, a series of soil erosions that have happened over the years, salt pans, mud-stone hills, sand dunes, and mountain peaks - it is like a lot of distinct geological features rolled into one.
Tip for the Traveler: Do not collect rocks or plants from this area. It is a national monument, not a gift shop.
Delicate Arch (Utah)
It is quite an achievement to be an arch, and stand out in a park that has more than 2,000 arches. The 20-meter tall arch is a freestanding natural sandstone arch with features unique to itself. The arch forms a naturally beautiful frame for the La Sal Mountains in the background.
Tip for the Traveler: The arch very much looks like a goalpost, but you are no Beckham - put off any ideas of pulling off silly stunts under or around the arch.
Grand Canyon (Arizona)
The 18-mile wide gorge of the Colorado River is one of the official Seven Natural Wonders of the World. The Colorado River is believed to be eroding, deforming, and restructuring the canyon's formation for over 17 million years. Home to Native Americans for hundreds of years, the Grand Canyon was first explored by Spanish explorer Captain García López de Cárdenas in 1540. Further American and European explorations by scientists and explorers alike, led to the true value and beauty of the gorge to come to the fore.
Tip for the Traveler: The weather in Grand Canyon National Park oscillates between extremes; try to act surprised if a drizzle is followed by a dehydratingly hot day.
Grand Prismatic Spring (Wyoming)
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Forget it, look on the ground - it's a rainbow. The Grand Prismatic Spring, located in the Midway Geyser Basin in Yellowstone National Park, is the largest hot spring in the United States - 90 meters in diameter. As a result of pigmented bacterial mat around the lake, its edges display colors ranging from orange, red to yellow, and even gold!
Tip for the Traveler: Try not to make 'Wyoming would be off the map if not for Yellowstone' jokes... Wyomians are a bunch of self-respecting folks with a lot of self-pride.
Hubbard Glacier (Alaska)
North America's largest tidewater glacier, the ice on Hubbard's terminal face is over four centuries old. Primarily known for its advance and retreat qualities, it is home to whales, harbor seals, otters, brown bears, moose, and even black-tailed deer. And on a lucky day, you may even see an entire assortment of sea birds fly across.
Tip for the Traveler: So a part of it is in Canada - no reason for war. America took Pamela Anderson in exchange.
John Hopkins Glacier (Alaska)
The 12-mile long glacier's ice melt rate stands at about 2.5 meters a day! John Hopkin Glacier has been advancing since it was first studied in 1924, and that includes submarine ice calving. A variety of seabird species can be seen diving in the glacier's inlet waters - quite a treat to the eyes, if you manage to get there that is!
Tip for the Traveler: You don't need one. Tour the glacier on Google Earth. The submarine ice formations are broken, which makes ship-travel extremely difficult, and helicopter/ski plane permits are hard to come by, unless you are a billion-users-billion-dollars-dotcom-entrepreneur-turned-corporate-giant from Silicon Valley.
Niagara Falls (New York)
A coadunation of three different waterfalls, the Niagara Falls stand on the US-Canada border between New York and Ontario. More than 168,000 m3 of water falls over at the Niagara Falls every minute. Renowned for its beauty world over, more than 30 million tourists come visiting the Niagara Falls every year.
Tip for the Traveler: Try renting the 1953 movie 'Niagara' a day before you are going to visit; Marilyn Monroe is bound to double the beauty of the Niagara Falls experience.
Old Faithful (Wyoming)
Located in the Yellowstone National Park, the Old Faithful Geyser erupts every 90-odd minutes to throw up 3,700 to 8,400 gallons of boiling water to a height ranging between 32 to 60 meters. Easily the most known and visited thermal phenomenon in the world, the Old Faithful Historic District has plenty of lodging and dining options for the herd of tourists that throng the Park.
Tip for the Traveler: Free natural hot water and all is fine, but don't carry your shampoo and body wash along; it is inappropriate to bathe in public.
Redwood National Park (California)
A designated heritage site, Redwood National and State Parks span the Humboldt County and Del Norte County in California. Consisting of 38,982 acres of millennia old forestation, the area is famous for its Redwood trees (Sequoia sempervirens) - most of them, the tallest and oldest in the world. Some of the Mature Coast Redwoods are believed to be about 2,000 years old, one of the oldest living organisms on Earth. The park is also home to a number of exotic (and possibly on the verge of extinction) species of flora and fauna - some of which come under the highly-endangered category.
Tip for the Traveler: Get laid. With the camera. On the ground, I mean. There is no sane way to capture a redwood right up to its upper branch by just bending backwards.
Shoshone Falls (Idaho)
The Niagara of the West, Shoshone Falls, located on the Snake River in Twin Falls, are actually 14 meters higher than the Niagara Falls. Interestingly, the upper and lower rivers of the falls house very distinct sea habitation. While the Lower Snake River houses plenty of salmon, the Upper Snake River is home to trouts, crabs, and snails.
Tip for the Traveler: The water from the falls is clean. Keep it clean. Washroom facility is available in the visitor information center. Use it.
With these naturally gorgeous geological formations, enchantment is not far away. They grip our mind and reinforce in us the amazing ability of nature.

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