美国大峡谷北缘的天使之窗，亚利桑那州 Peekaboo view of Angels Window on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, Arizona (© Tim Fitzharris/Minden Pictures)

美国大峡谷北缘的天使之窗，亚利桑那州 Peekaboo view of Angels Window on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, Arizona (© Tim Fitzharris/Minden Pictures)

Happy anniversary to the National Park Service!

On the National Park Service's Founders Day, we're here on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona peering out at the stunning vista. Can you see the rectangular hole in the canyon wall near the top of the image? That's Angels Window. Brave hikers can make their way up to the trail above it, but the window itself is best viewed from various points along the North Rim. Far down below is the Colorado River. Beginning about 6 million years ago, it gradually carved downward through countless layers of sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic rock. The Colorado and its tributary streams continue to deepen and widen the Grand Canyon even today.

The first national park, not only in the US, but also in the world, was Yellowstone, which was designated as a park in 1872. It was followed by Sequoia, Yosemite, and Mt. Rainier. While the Grand Canyon seems like an obvious choice for a national park, land and mining moguls kept it from becoming protected as a park for years. It finally became a national park in 1919, three years after the National Park Service was created on August 25, 1916. Each year on August 25, Founders Day is celebrated in all the national parks, where entrance fees are waived in honor of the occasion.

祝国家公园管理局周年快乐！

在国家公园管理局的创始人日，我们来到亚利桑那州大峡谷国家公园的北缘，眺望着令人惊叹的美景。你能看到图片顶部附近峡谷壁上的矩形洞吗？那是天使的窗户。勇敢的徒步旅行者可以爬上它上面的小径，但是从北边的各个点上看窗户本身是最好的。下面远处是科罗拉多河。从大约600万年前开始，它逐渐向下切割无数层沉积岩、火成岩和变质岩。即使在今天，科罗拉多河及其支流仍在继续加深和加宽大峡谷。

不仅在美国，而且在世界上，第一个国家公园是黄石公园，它于1872年被指定为公园。随后是红杉、约塞米蒂和雷尼尔山。虽然大峡谷似乎是国家公园的一个明显选择，但土地和矿业巨头多年来一直没有将其作为公园加以保护。1919年，在1916年8月25日国家公园管理局成立三年后，它最终成为了国家公园。每年8月25日，所有国家公园都庆祝创始人日，为纪念这一天免收入场费。