At 14,410 feet, Washington's Mount Rainier is the highest peak in the Cascades, giving national park visitors access to glaciers, rain forest and mountain meadows bursting with wildflowers. It’s no wonder an early visitor exclaimed, “This must be what paradise looks like,” giving name to the Paradise area of the park and the recently remodeled Paradise Inn.
The River of Grass, Everglades National Park, Florida, is the largest subtropical wilderness in the U.S. Only a quarter of the historic Everglades remains, but within its protection are American crocodiles, Florida panthers and West Indian manatees, which prowl and wander the mangrove tunnels, sawgrass prairies and coastlines. Though many people believe the Everglades to be a swamp, it is technically a river, flowing at the rate of about a quarter-mile a day.
Glacier National Park's rugged mountains are reflected in its stunning lakes, drawing visitors to Montana for adventurous hiking or peaceful solitude. Travelers can choose to drive the Going-to-the-Sun Road, backpack deep in the wilderness, visit lodges and chalets, learn Native American stories or simply take in the grandeur of the scenery.
Redwood National Park in California protects the tallest trees in the world, which draw visitors' eyes inexorably upward. Many of the trees tower above 300 feet; one deep in the backcountry was measured at 379 feet in 2006. Redwood forests teeter on a narrow strip along 450 miles of coastline from the California/Oregon state line to Monterey Bay. The tree is considered sacred to the Yurok Tribe, says elder and master canoe carver Glenn Moore Sr., who adds, in the park’s official visitor’s guide, “They say redwood tree has a heart.”
Rocky Mountain National Park showcases the Colorado mountains for which it’s named. The park tops out at Longs Peak at 14,259 feet, an elevation that, like the views, could be considered breathtaking. Within its 416-square-mile wilderness, at least 60 mountains exceed 12,000 feet. Not only do they muscle into the forefront of any vista, but they also shoulder delicate alpine flowers and thick forests and provide a home to a variety of wildlife, including bighorn sheep.
With two of the Earth's most active volcanoes, Mauna Loa and Kilauea, Volcanoes National Park in Hawaii has an ever-changing landscape. The park begins at sea level and peaks at the summit of Mauna Loa in rugged, high-altitude wilderness. Kilauea is more accessible to tourists and can be explored on the 11-mile Crater Rim Drive that circles the summit caldera, passes through desert and rain forest and crosses the caldera floor. Chain of Craters Road takes drivers on a steep 3,700-foot descent over 20 miles, with black-sand beaches to reward them at the bottom.
Yosemite National Park in California is best known for its waterfalls, and the Merced and Tuolumne, federally designated as wild and scenic rivers, begin within its boundaries. But the 1,200-square-mile park, one of the first wilderness parks in the U.S., also offers stunning granite cliffs, deep valleys, peaceful meadows, giant sequoias and a vast wilderness. Though the park has more than 3.5 million visitors each year, it’s still easy to find a quiet corner — most tourists concentrate in the seven-square-mile vicinity of Yosemite Valley.
Etched by rain and river and colored in part by iron oxide, the narrow canyons and deep chasms of Utah's Zion National Park range in hue from red to natural white. The park’s valley floor is at 4,000 feet elevation, while its highest points reach nearly 9,000 feet. Pinnacles, domes, arches and spires strike awe in visitors who take in the view, which is especially remarkable from the lower elevations. |
发表于 2009-8-14 14:25:39
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发表于 2009-8-14 14:40:24
