1 DEEP COLORS ABOUND AT GRAND CANYON In Arizona a huge gorge stretches 277 miles 446 km and cuts one mile 1.6 km into the earth At its widest point it measures 18 miles 29 km across Sunlight makes the gorge glow in hues of red orange brown gray green pink and violet This unique place is the Grand Canyon Its massive size and range of colors attract millions of people each year The colors are from layers of rocks such as granite limestone The Grand Canyon became a national park in 1919 4
The Colorado River flows through the Grand Canyon sandstone and schist Some rocks at the bottom of the canyon are almost 2 billion years old The canyon is much younger The Colorado River began eroding the rock and creating the Grand Canyon 5 or 6 million years ago The Grand Canyon’s wildlife is as varied as its colors Plants include cactus pine sagebrush and willow Badgers bobcats chipmunks coyotes deer rabbits and snakes live there too Bald eagles glide through the skies over the canyon And trout swim in its waters VIEW FROM ABOVE In 2007 Skywalk opened at the Grand Canyon This horseshoe shaped balcony juts out approximately 70 feet 20 m from the canyon’s edge and 4,000 feet 1,200 m above the ground It is enclosed with a metal frame and glass sides The clear floor allows those brave enough to look straight down to the canyon floor far below 5 21 Number of miles 34 km people hike from the North Rim to the South Rim Location Northern Arizona Park Grand Canyon National Park Annual visitors 5 million
2 LIFE THRIVES IN DEATH VALLEY Death Valley is the hottest place on Earth and the driest in North America Summer temperatures regularly top 120 degrees Fahrenheit 49 C in the shade Rocks and sand soak up the sunlight and the heat is trapped between the high walls of the valley But the weather is much more pleasant from late autumn to spring That’s when visitors flock to Death Valley to see the surrounding landscape of desert canyons mountains and sand dunes Death Valley is in southeastern California It is approximately 140 miles 225 km long and 5 to 15 miles 8 to 24 km wide Its lowest spot Badwater Basin is 282 feet 86 m below sea level That measurement makes Death Valley the lowest place in North America The hot dry climate makes water evaporate quickly The region doesn’t have much water to begin with Less than two inches 5 cm of rain usually falls each year Though its name suggests 6 At Death Valley’s At Death Valley’s Zabriskie Point erosion has sculpted the land into sharp ridges
Death Valley is the largest national park in the continental United States 134 World record highest temperature in degrees Fahrenheit 57 C recorded in Death Valley in 1913 Location California Park Death Valley National Park Annual visitors Approximately 800,000 otherwise many living things thrive in the valley Some plants survive because their deep roots can reach water underground Many desert animals come out only at night Others spend part of the year up in the mountains where it is cooler Kangaroo rats rabbits squirrels lizards scorpions and snakes all live in Death Valley 7
