Niagara Falls, one of the worlds greatest natural wonders, can only be described as breath taking. No matter what time of year, whether it’s the beautiful rainbows glistening in the mist, or the magnificent ice bridge created by the cold of winter, Niagara Falls always seems to amaze it’s viewers.
Schoolbooks called it one of the greatest wonders of the world, bringing to mind pictures of a far away, unattainable place. It seemed like a larger-than-life miracle of nature. As a child, I believed that Niagara Falls, like Mt. Rushmore and the Grand Canyon were all very real attractions of the United States. I was given the facts and numbers, but never could my young mind comprehend the actual size and greatness of the falls.
This past June, I was given the opportunity to travel to Canada and see the expansive falls with my own eyes. Perhaps the most amazing aspect of the falls is that they are not in some far away place in the country. They are right smack in the middle of a town, the town of Niagara Falls. As a child, I envisioned the falls as a giant rushing shower of water. However, I could never have imagined the great beauty and breathtaking view the falls offer.
The falls serve as a border between the U.S. (New York) and Canada (Ontario). The falls actually consist of the American Bridal Veil Falls and the Canadian Horseshoe Falls, collectively called Niagara. They were created 12,000 years ago when large glaciers retreated allowing the Niagara River to flow over large sections of rock. There are several ways to view the falls, but perhaps the best way to observe the splendor and majesty of Niagara Falls is through a tour. Our tour guide directed us through many of the unseen attractions including the man-made tunnels behind the falls. Here, several look-out points allowed us to observe the incredible speed at which the water rushed over the rock. The water flows at an amazing 212,000 cubic feet of water per second. We were also guided to the basin where the falls originated miles away. In fact, over the last 12,000 years, the falls have eroded back seven miles. The incredible history of the falls came to life when I actually viewed them with my own eyes. No schoolbook could possibly give an understanding of the vastness of the falls. Nor could a book bring to life the remarkable history behind this amazing wonder of nature.
Many will attest to the grandeur of the natural feature that exists in northern Arizona, but the formation of the Grand Canyon has befuddled geomorphologists to this day. This confusion can be attributed to the Kaibab Plateau, an anomaly considering the Colorado River traverses it seamlessly. Four prevalent hypotheses have been proposed since the 19th century, starting with the lake overflow proposition first brought up by John Newbury and then reinforced by Eliot Blackwelder. Newbury argued that a structure must have ponded an ancient lake causing an overspill to cut into the Grand Canyon. This argument holds that the river must have come after the plateau’s existence. Unbeknownst to Newbury, the structure would be the Kaibab Plateau.
5) Ramond, M. Observations on the Glaciers. From website by Miall, David. Romantic Travellers. Course Home Page. January 2005-May 2005. Dept. of English, University of Alberta. March 26, 2005. http://www.ualberta.ca/~dmiall/Travel/Glaciers.htm
When Meriwether Lewis and William Clark first explored Montana in the early 1800s, they were awestruck by the open plains and delighted by the wide range of animals that roamed the land. After reaching the Great Falls, which is on the Missouri River in what is now Montana (Av2 books). Lewis wrote in his journal that it was “the grandest sight” that he had “ever beheld.” Today much of the landscape the Lewis and Clark crossed remains unchanged. The dense forest, rugged mountains, and rushing rivers are still abundant with fish and other wildlife.
Everyone’s experience is not all the same similarly to the Grand Canyon situation that is mentioned by Percy. The individual needs to be taken into consideration. Like with me, I went to many tourists spots, such as the Valley of Ten Peaks, that are talked among many people that and have been influenced by the media, but when I got their I was left speechless by the sight of the of the Peaks. This experience is a counter point Percy’s idea, that prejudges of situations can skew the perspective of people. Percy states “[a tourist] Does not one see the same sight from the Bright Angel Lodge that Cardenas saw” (Percy 464). This quote explains how people cannot see the true beauty of a sight with these expectations that block it for us. Most of the time I have had my expectations of a sight given to me by media or other people lessen my experiences in life. This occurs because how much someone is willing to let so...
Located in the popular Yosemite National Park, Yosemite Falls is the tallest waterfall in California. Every year, mother nature’s breathtaking beauty attracts millions of people from around the world. People hike for three long and fatiguing hours in anticipation of witnessing forceful water rushing down the steep mountain from 2,425 feet above. Last summer, my family and I backpacked through the Yosemite Falls Trail and I came to learn what a truly exhausting experience it is.
Celilo Falls Celilo Falls, named after the "Si-le-lah" tribe, is located about one hundred and two miles from Portland, Oregon. Today, Celilo Falls no longer exists because the Dalles Dam was built March 10, 1957; it was covered up by what is now Lake Celilo. Celilo Falls is a very important place for Native Americans nearby. Many tribes used the falls for fishing. Fishing platforms were built next to the water and men would spend much of their days catching salmon.
Somewhere in Nova Scotia, there exist a beautiful park with fascinating scenery. It is in an island that’s surrounded by bodies of water that sparkles like crystals as the sun shine on it. This park must be a creation of aphrodite and it is also known as Cape Breton Highlands Park. It is located at Cheticamp and Ingonish, Cape Breton island, Nova Scotia. It has an area of
Hudson River is one of the beautiful rivers in the state of New York . Hudson river was named after Henry Hudson but was founded by another man named Giovanni da Verrazzano.Hudson river is a very nice place to go site seeing. On the river boats, jet ski’s, and other automobiles. Hudson river is a river that is in between New Jersey and New York.
The mountains were tall (11,000 feet +) and covered with bright powdery snow. It was like nothing I had ever seen before. I was eager to set-up camp and prepare for our nine day hunt. But, Dad said that we had to drive around and check out all the good places, just to make sure that we were in the best area. This was partially understandable, but since I am a teenager I'm not supposed to understand anything! So, we spent another several hours driving. We went up and down through the mountains and then we saw it. The spot was beautiful; it was right on the edge of a vertical drop-off, over looking everything. It was like paradise, but colder!
A couple of years ago during one of those, on a whim after spending a few days in Arches National Park, my wife and I detoured to the snowy, icy south rim of the Grand Canyon. We journeyed toward it from the east side but got turned back at the National Parks’ gate; the road was snowed under from there on up. After retracing our steps, we traveled down to Flagstaff and spent the night, driving in my four by four truck up to the South Rim the next day. It was an eerie experience to stand on the edge of the South Rim and see only cloud; fog shrouded the canyon’s great gap, leaving us with visual doubts that anything was really there. Defeated, we hit the Visitor’s Center and gathered information so we could go back sometime in the spring or fall with weather more to our liking.
Yellowstone Park is the world’s first national park and the 8th largest national park in the United States. The park is primarily located in Wyoming and parts of Idaho and Nevada (56 Interesting Facts About . . . Var Addthis_config = ) It is a tourist attraction due it’s 5,000 to 15,000 years old geysers, over 45 waterfalls, canyons, rivers, hot springs, and its massive concentration of natural wildlife. Two of the most popular park attractions are the Old Faithful geyser and the Grand Prismatic springs. ("Fun Facts." - 32 Interesting Facts Yellowstone National Park.)
Seneca Falls In the early 1800's, many of the women in the United States were plain and simple getting fed up with their lack of writing. Men had dominated everything in the past, and they were still continuing to do so. Women are finally ready to come forward and voice their opinions about how men and women are created equal. It is now time for women to go out and become what ever they want to be and not have to worry about the fact that they are females.
I was the first person to ski off of the chairlift that day; arriving at the summit of the Blackcomb Mountain, nestled in the heart of Whistler, Canada. It was the type of day when the clouds seemed to blanket the sky, leaving no clue that the sun, with its powerful light, even existed anymore. It was not snowing, but judging by the moist, musty, stale scent in the air, I realized it would be only a short time before the white flakes overtook the mountain. As I prepared myself to make the first run, I took a moment to appreciate my surroundings. Somehow things seemed much different up here. The wind, nonexistent at the bottom, began to gust. Its cold bite found my nose and froze my toes. Its quick and sudden swirling movement kicked loose snow into my face, forcing me to zip my jacket over my chin. It is strange how the gray clouds, which seemed so far above me at the bottom, really did not appear that high anymore. As I gazed out over the landscape, the city below seemed unrecognizable. The enormous buildings which I had driven past earlier looked like dollhouses a child migh...
Quebec-Labrador Foundation – QLF.(2005). A Background Study for Nomination of The Ottawa River Under The Canadian Heritage Rivers Systems. Available Online: http://www.ottawariver.org/pdf/11-ch2-9.pdf
The atmosphere of the people there and the color of the blossoms is just breathtaking, it is not something you can just look at from a photo, for a photo cannot capture the true beauty of it. Also to see the national monuments through the colors of the trees on a beautiful spring day adds to the scenic view.