标签亚利桑那下的文章

雷暴下的大峡谷国家公园，亚利桑那州 Grand Canyon National Park during a thunderstorm, Arizona (© spkeelin/Getty Images)

天气预报的重要性 The importance of weather prediction

World Meteorological Day

Did you check the weather forecast today? Does it look like rain? Will it turn colder? What's the outlook for the weekend? These may be some of the most frequently asked questions anywhere. Given our reliance on weather prediction, let's tip the rain hat to the world's weather experts on World Meteorological Day, celebrated each March 23 by the United Nation's World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

The 2022 theme for World Meteorological Day is 'Early Warning and Early Action. Hydrometeorological and Climate Information for Disaster Risk Reduction.' That's a mouthful, but it essentially boils down to the importance of predicting high-precipitation weather events and mitigating or preventing the damage caused by them.

Worldwide, floods cause more than $40 billion in damage each year. They're the most common type of natural disaster. In the United States flash floods claim more lives than tornadoes, hurricanes, or lightning. But with accurate predictions and appropriate warning systems, people living in an area likely to flood can know the severity of upcoming threats and plan accordingly. Thanks to the study of hydrometeorology, forecasts can predict the impact days and even weeks in advance. Long-term projections can even give an idea of what's coming several months from now. And we thought that weather app was just to tell us whether or not we'll need an umbrella.

世界气象日

你看过今天的天气预报了吗？看起来要下雨吗？天气会变冷吗？周末的前景如何？这些可能是任何地方最常被问到的问题之一。鉴于我们对天气预报的依赖，让我们在每年3月23日由联合国世界气象组织（WMO）庆祝的世界气象日向世界气象专家致敬。

2022年世界气象日的主题是“预警和早期行动”。减少灾害风险的水文气象和气候信息。”这是一口空话，但本质上可以归结为预测高降水天气事件以及减轻或防止它们造成的损害的重要性。

在世界范围内，洪水每年造成超过400亿美元的损失。它们是最常见的自然灾害类型。在美国，山洪暴发夺走的生命比龙卷风、飓风或闪电还多。但是，有了准确的预测和适当的预警系统，生活在可能发生洪水的地区的人们可以知道即将到来的威胁的严重性，并据此制定计划。由于对水文气象学的研究，预报可以提前几天甚至几周预测影响。长期预测甚至可以给出几个月后的情况。我们以为天气应用程序只是告诉我们是否需要雨伞。

有着丰富石化木材的石化林国家公园，美国亚利桑那州 Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona (© Ian Shive/Tandem Stills + Motion)

Petrified Forest National Park

The burliest lumberjack with the best-oiled chainsaw couldn't slice the massive 'timbers' found in Petrified Forest National Park. So why are these giant stone logs segmented in such symmetrical stumps?

Each of these smooth splits occurred in an instant as the brittle quartz cracked under geologic pressure. But each of those instants was eons in the making. First, 225 million years ago, the trees were buried by torrents of river silt. Then mineral deposits slowly seeped into the trees and replaced the decaying wood. Much later, around 60 million years ago, the entire Colorado Plateau began shifting, generating crushing forces that finally divided the petrified logs.

The fossilized trees, surrounding land, and the many plants and animals that live here have enjoyed protection since December 8, 1906, when President Theodore Roosevelt created Petrified Forest National Monument. It was designated as a national park in 1962, lending still greater protection.

石化森林国家公园

最结实的伐木工人和最好的油锯无法切割石化森林国家公园中发现的巨大“木材”。那么，为什么这些巨石原木被分割成如此对称的树桩呢？

当脆性石英在地质压力下破裂时，每一个光滑的裂缝都会在瞬间发生。但是，每一个瞬间都在酝酿中。首先，2.25亿年前，这些树木被河流淤泥的洪流所掩埋。然后，矿物质慢慢渗入树木，取代了腐烂的木材。很久以后，大约6000万年前，整个科罗拉多高原开始移动，产生了最终分裂石化原木的压碎力。

自1906年12月8日西奥多·罗斯福总统创建石化森林国家纪念碑以来，这里的树木化石、周围的土地和许多动植物一直受到保护。1962年，它被指定为国家公园，提供了更大的保护。

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。

波浪谷中的砂岩层和积水，亚利桑那州朱红悬崖国家纪念碑 Sandstone formation and pools of water in 'The Wave,' Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, Arizona (© Dennis Frates/Alamy)

A sea of swirling stone

By showing you this coveted sight, we're saving you a bit of an ordeal. For close-up view like this of 'The Wave,' a whorled sandstone formation in the northern Arizona wilderness, you'd have to navigate a rugged and mostly trail-free route with a permit in your pocket (only a small number are available, offered via a daily lottery). But that's just one day hike of many in the expansive Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, which encompasses almost 300,000 acres of Arizona and Utah canyonland.

漩涡石海

通过向你展示这令人垂涎的景象，我们给你省了一点痛苦。像这样近距离观看“海浪”是亚利桑那州北部荒野的一个螺纹砂岩地层，你必须在口袋里带着许可证（只有很少的一部分是可用的，通过每天的抽奖提供）在崎岖不平且几乎没有踪迹的路线上航行。但这仅仅是许多人在广阔的朱红悬崖国家纪念碑上一天的徒步旅行，这座纪念碑覆盖了亚利桑那州和犹他州近30万英亩的峡谷。

图森北部托托利塔山麓上空的雷暴，亚利桑那州索诺拉沙漠 Lightning storm in the Tortolita Mountain foothills, north of Tucson, Arizona, in the Sonoran Desert (© Jack Dykinga/Minden Pictures)

The monsoon arrives in the desert

Lightning strikes are common during the summer monsoon of the American Southwest. In Arizona and New Mexico, powerful thunderstorms roll in most every afternoon from early July until mid-September. Here, in the Sonoran Desert north of Tucson, Arizona, the severe weather over the saguaro cactus makes for a dramatic scene.

The monsoon–which refers to the entire season and not just a single storm—is caused by intense daytime heat, which drives shifts in wind patterns that bring moist air to the generally arid Southwest. Mornings typically begin fair, but as temperatures rise throughout the day, precipitation gathers into clouds that finally burst in periods of heavy rain during the late afternoon and evening. The monsoon storms also bring huge dust storms called 'haboobs,' borrowing the name from similar storms in Sudan.

In Arizona, the monsoon can account for nearly half the state's annual rainfall, which averages little more than 7 inches. Water is precious in the desert, and the region relies on this weather pattern to fill reservoirs and maintain the fragile ecosystem. While dry lightning early in the season can spark wildfires, as the monsoon rain starts to fall, it helps reduce local fire danger.

大峡谷哈瓦苏溪上的海狸瀑布，亚利桑那州 Beaver Falls on Havasu Creek in the Grand Canyon, Arizona (© Edwin Verin/Alamy)

Don't go chasing waterfalls

The stunning limestone travertine steps of Beaver Falls are the last in a series of five waterfalls along Havasu Creek, near the bottom of the Grand Canyon. The water gets its turquoise color from calcium carbonate, which reflects the beautiful hue and creates an ever-changing tableau; the minerals are deposited, moved, and redeposited to create new formations.

Getting to Beaver Falls is only for the adventurous—and lucky. First, you need a permit for Havasupai campground, which typically sell out in a day. From there, it's a 4-mile strenuous hike on rugged terrain with frequent water crossings, narrow ledges, and chains and ladders to assist when the trail gets especially precarious.

Your persistence is rewarded with pools for swimming, a natural waterslide, and stunning red rock canyon views. It's no wonder this region is sacred to the Havasupai, whose name means 'people of the blue-green water.'

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从Toroweap Overlook俯瞰大峡谷和科罗拉多河，亚利桑那州大峡谷国家公园 Grand Canyon and Colorado River from Toroweap Overlook, Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona (© Matteo Colombo Travel Photo/Shutterstock)

The last thing seen by Wile E. Coyote

We'd say, 'Don't look down,' but that'd kind of be missing the point: Verticality is what put Toroweap Overlook on the map. Situated on the Grand Canyon's elevated north rim, it offers an unmatched view down a sheer 3,000-foot drop straight to the Colorado riverbed.

It's just one of the payoffs for those who take the road less traveled to the remote North Rim—only about 10% of park visitors. Since the 'other side' is about 1,000 feet higher on average than the touristy South Rim, its climate is chillier and given to harsher weather, so it is typically open only from today, May 15, to October 15.

Sky island views

Though it's December, it isn't cold and snowy everywhere in North America. Here, near Tucson, Arizona, the Sonoran Desert stays warm year-round. In this photo, we're looking at a 'sky island'—an isolated, high-elevation woodland surrounded by radically different lowland environments. In this case, the desert land at the base of the mountain is peppered with saguaros—a stately cactus recognized for its long arms. The snow-capped Santa Catalina Mountains in the distance are part of the Madrean Sky Islands and are home to Mount Lemmon Sky Valley, which is the southernmost ski destination in the US. The ski area covers the slopes of Mount Lemmon, which reaches 9,150 feet at the summit and gets about 180 inches of snow annually.

Have you turned off your electric device?

If you're already in the air looking down at this bird's eye view of Sky Harbor International in Phoenix (or some other airport), well then, congrats. You've made it through the terminal on one of the busiest travel days of the year. Wait for a second, isn't the day before Thanksgiving the absolute busiest day to travel? Well, according to travel industry experts, traffic is actually heaviest on Fridays during the lazy, hazy days of summer. That's when crowds of people clog the highways and skyways to get out of their respective towns and go on vacation. You, on the other hand, can relax. Unless your plans are to host a table full of hungry guests on Thanksgiving. In which case, may we suggest yoga and meditation tonight? (And turn off this electronic device before the flight attendant comes by again.)

Ancient storage in the Grand Canyon

Around 1100 CE—a good 400 years before Spanish conquistadors would glimpse the Grand Canyon—the Ancestral Puebloans tended terrace farms along the banks of the Colorado River. In order to store their crops during the rainy season, when floods might destroy food stores, and to keep animals from eating the harvest, they created the Nankoweap Granaries high up in the canyon walls.

The fourth Friday in September is Native American Day, a state holiday in California and Nevada. Yes, our photo was taken in Arizona, but in the spirit of the holiday, we wanted to shed light on how thoroughly Native American cultures shaped North America.

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