标签 美国 下的文章

阿卡迪亚国家公园上空的银河系，美国缅因州 Milky Way over Acadia National Park, Maine (© Harry Collins/Getty Images)

繁星闪烁的夜晚 Starry, starry night

Acadia National Park, Maine

This striking photo lets us showcase two noteworthy events in one day, at no extra charge. (You’re welcome.) National Public Lands Day is observed on the fourth Saturday in September, and today’s also part of the Acadia Night Sky Festival, which celebrates the starlit skies over Maine’s gem of a national park.

It’s easy to take our national parks for granted. We certainly appreciate them and enjoy visiting, but today’s commemoration reminds us that they also need our help. National Public Lands Day turns the spotlight on parks and other public lands, inviting everyone to explore but also to volunteer to plant trees, work on trail-maintenance projects, and more. As a bonus: Admission is free today at national parks, monuments, and other participating federal sites.

Acadia is one of the smallest of the nation's 63 national parks, though it attracts an impressive 3 million visitors a year. Aside from its natural beauty, Acadia has some of the most spectacular star-filled night skies in the eastern United States. The natural darkness is protected, with restrictions on outdoor lighting in the park and surrounding areas. The Acadia Night Sky Festival, which started on September 21 and continues through tomorrow, celebrates the natural darkness and the celestial star show. A favorite way to mark the occasion is by kayaking in Castine's harbor, where bioluminescent phytoplankton illuminate the water with a swirling, unearthly glow. With sparkling waters below and out-of-this-world stargazing above, it's been called Acadia's 'Floating Planetarium.'

缅因州阿卡迪亚国家公园

这张引人注目的照片让我们可以在一天内免费展示两件值得关注的事件。（不客气。）9月的第四个星期六是国家公共土地日，今天也是阿卡迪亚夜空节的一部分，庆祝缅因州国家公园瑰宝上星光灿烂的天空。

我们很容易把国家公园视为理所当然。我们当然很感激他们，也很喜欢参观，但今天的纪念活动提醒我们，他们也需要我们的帮助。国家公共土地日将聚光灯转向公园和其他公共土地，邀请每个人探索，也自愿植树，从事小径维护项目等。作为奖励：国家公园、纪念碑和其他参与的联邦网站今天免费入场。

阿卡迪亚是美国63个国家公园中最小的一个，尽管每年吸引了300万游客。除了它的自然美景，阿卡迪亚还有一些美国东部最壮观的充满星星的夜空。自然黑暗受到保护，公园和周边地区的室外照明受到限制。阿卡迪亚夜空节于9月21日开始，持续到明天，庆祝自然的黑暗和天上的星星表演。最受欢迎的庆祝方式是在卡斯廷港划独木舟，在那里，生物发光的浮游植物以漩涡般的、超自然的光芒照亮水面。它的下面和外面都是波光粼粼的海水，俯瞰着天空，被称为阿卡迪亚的“浮动天文馆”。

大理石峡谷中横跨科罗拉多河的纳瓦霍桥，美国亚利桑那州北部 Marble Canyon bridges over the Colorado River at the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area in northern Arizona (© trekandshoot/Alamy)

横跨峡谷裂缝的两座桥 Bridging the gap two ways

Happy birthday, bridges

Today we're taking a trip to a part of northern Arizona cut off from the rest of the state by the Colorado River and its deep canyons. No doubt you've heard of the Grand Canyon, but today is an important milestone to another canyon about 70 miles away. On this date in 1995, the twin Marble Canyon bridges, better known collectively as Navajo Bridge, were officially dedicated as the second bridge was installed.

The first, in place since 1929 when it was hailed as a 'modern marvel' and 'the biggest news in Southwest history,' had long been key to travel across the 834-foot gap of Marble Canyon. But as time passed, the area saw heavier vehicles and more traffic. After much debate about the impact on Native land and endangered plants, and the likelihood of debris falling into the river below, plans were developed for the $14.7 million, nearly identical second bridge. Now, Marble Canyon has two bridges, each about 470 feet over the Colorado River. The original serves as a path for humans and horses while the new bridge carries vehicles. Both bridges hold the title of ninth-highest in the United States (though the newer one is about three feet higher).

生日快乐，桥

今天，我们将前往亚利桑那州北部的一个地区，那里被科罗拉多河及其深峡谷与该州的其他地区隔绝。毫无疑问，你听说过大峡谷，但今天是70英里外另一个峡谷的重要里程碑。1995年的这一天，两座大理石峡谷大桥（合称纳瓦霍桥）正式投入使用，第二座大桥也安装完毕。

自1929年被誉为“现代奇迹”和“西南历史上最大的新闻”以来，第一条铁路一直是穿越834英尺高的大理石峡谷的关键。但随着时间的推移，该地区的车辆越来越重，交通也越来越多。在对当地土地和濒危植物的影响以及碎片落入河流的可能性进行了大量辩论后，为价值1470万美元、几乎相同的第二座桥梁制定了计划。现在，大理石峡谷有两座桥，每座桥跨越科罗拉多河约470英尺。最初的桥梁是人和马的通道，而新的桥梁则承载车辆。这两座桥都是美国第九高的桥梁（尽管较新的桥高约三英尺）。

大沙丘国家公园和保护区，美国科罗拉多州 Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, Colorado (© Y Paudel/Getty Images)

如沙漏中的沙子一般 Like sands through the hourglass

Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve

Today we celebrate the birthday of Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, which boasts 750-foot (and higher) sand dunes that cover more than 30 square miles. But the towering hills of sand—the tallest in North America—are just one feature of an eye-popping Colorado landscape that includes conifer forests, alpine lakes, and wetlands. The 85,000-acre park and preserve even encompasses stretches of tundra at the higher elevations, where it edges up against the base of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.

Initially proclaimed a national monument in 1932 by President Herbert Hoover, the territory was redesignated as Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve on September 13, 2004, and the size of the park was quadrupled. The park and preserve provide ample and wildly diverse activities for visitors, from sandboarding and sandsledding down the steep dunes to hiking, camping, horseback riding, and fat-tire biking.

大沙丘国家公园和保护区

今天，我们庆祝大沙丘国家公园和保护区（Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve）的生日，该保护区拥有750英尺（或更高）的沙丘，面积超过30平方英里。但北美最高的高耸沙山只是科罗拉多州令人瞠目的景观的一个特征，包括针叶林、高山湖泊和湿地。85000英亩的公园和保护区甚至包括高海拔地区的苔原，在那里，它与桑格雷德克里斯托山脉的底部相对。

1932年，赫伯特·胡佛总统首次宣布该地区为国家纪念碑，2004年9月13日，该地区被重新指定为大沙丘国家公园和保护区，公园面积增加了四倍。公园和保护区为游客提供了丰富多样的活动，从在陡峭的沙丘上划沙板和玩沙橇到徒步旅行、露营、骑马和骑自行车。

圣海伦斯山国家火山纪念区的边界小径，美国华盛顿州 Boundary Trail in Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, Washington (© Don Geyer/Alamy)

40年的休养生息 40 years of recovery

Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, Washington

Today is an important day in American history. We're standing on the Boundary Trail at Johnston Ridge in the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument. Forty years ago today, 110,000 acres within Gifford Pinchot National Forest was set aside to memorialize the deadliest and most destructive volcanic eruption in the United States. For nearly nine hours on May 18th, 1980, the Mount St. Helens erupted, forever changing the Washington landscape. The volcanic event started at roughly 8:30 on a Sunday morning with a 5.1 magnitude earthquake. This triggered what is known as a 'lateral eruption,' which means the lava blast comes out of the side of the volcano, rather than the top. The initial blast shaved more than a thousand feet off the mountain's elevation, resulting in a massive avalanche and the destruction of about 150 square miles of the surrounding forest. When the event ended, 57 people had died, 200 homes and almost 200 miles of nearby highway had been destroyed.

The monument was established by President Ronald Reagan in 1982 to preserve the area for research, recreation, and education. The land inside has been left to mostly recover naturally since the eruption. While it's believed that Mount St. Helens will erupt again sometime within the next few centuries, that has not deterred people from hiking and climbing at the monument, which has been allowed since 1986.

圣海伦山国家火山纪念碑，华盛顿

今天是美国历史上重要的一天。我们站在圣海伦斯山国家火山纪念碑的约翰斯顿山脊的边界小道上。四十年前的今天，吉福-平肖国家森林内的110000英亩土地被用来纪念美国最致命、破坏性最大的火山爆发。1980年5月18日，圣海伦斯山爆发了近9个小时，永远改变了华盛顿的景观。火山爆发于周日早上8点30分左右，发生了5.1级地震。这引发了所谓的“侧向喷发”，这意味着熔岩喷发从火山的侧面而不是顶部。最初的爆炸使山的海拔下降了一千多英尺，导致了一场大规模的雪崩，并摧毁了周围约150平方英里的森林。活动结束时，57人死亡，200所房屋和近200英里的附近公路被毁。

该纪念碑由罗纳德·里根总统于1982年建立，旨在保护该地区的研究、娱乐和教育。火山爆发后，火山内部的土地基本上自然恢复。虽然人们相信圣海伦斯山将在未来几个世纪的某个时候再次喷发，但这并没有阻止人们前往这座自1986年以来就被允许的纪念碑进行徒步旅行和攀登。

华盛顿州北瀑布国家公园，美国 North Cascades National Park, Washington (© Ethan Welty/Tandem Stills + Motion)

令人惊叹的后花园 Amazing backyard

North Cascades National Park

North Cascades is one of three national parks in Washington state (the others are Olympic and Mount Rainier). North Cascades is also the state's newest national park, created in 1968. It is perhaps the most rugged park in the lower 48 states, containing more than 500,000 acres of steep mountain peaks, vast forests, as well as the headwaters of many waterways. It boasts the most expansive system of glaciers in the US outside of Alaska. Most of the park is protected as wilderness so there are few roads, structures, or signs of human impact. It is relatively isolated even though it's within 100 miles (as the crow flies) from the metropolises of Seattle and Vancouver, Canada. This proximity of wilderness to human development reminds us why we created the NPS, to preserve some of the nation's most special places in their natural state.

北瀑布国家公园

北瀑布是华盛顿州的三个国家公园之一（其他两个是奥林匹克公园和雷尼尔山公园）。北喀斯特也是该州最新的国家公园，创建于1968年。它可能是48个州中最崎岖的公园，拥有50多万英亩陡峭的山峰、广阔的森林以及许多水道的源头。它拥有阿拉斯加以外美国最广阔的冰川系统。公园的大部分被保护为荒野，因此几乎没有道路、结构或人类影响的迹象。尽管它距离西雅图和加拿大温哥华的大都市不到100英里（就像乌鸦一样），但它还是相对孤立。荒野与人类发展的这种接近提醒我们，为什么我们创建了自然保护区，以保护国家一些最特殊的自然状态。

夕阳下的大白鲨过山车，美国新泽西州 The Great White Roller Coaster at Wildwood, New Jersey (© John Van Decker/Alamy)

惊险之旅 Thrill ride

The Great White Roller Coaster

To really get the feel for today's photo, stop what you're doing, put your hands in the air, and imagine yourself plunging downhill at 50 miles an hour. Screaming is optional. We're waiting in line at Morey's Piers in Wildwood, New Jersey, for our ride on The Great White. A hybrid wooden and steel coaster, it's been in operation since 1996 and reaches its highest point 110 feet above the ground. Coaster enthusiasts point out the ride's dip under the pier shortly after the start as one of its highlights. It's also noted for a portion of the ride swinging out over the nearby beach.

Roller coasters have come a long way since their early days beginning in the 17th century as Russian sled rides. Eventually called Russian Mountains, those original rides were just tall, wooden ramps covered in ice. When the concept made its way to much warmer France, the sleds made their way across the tracks on wooden rollers, hence the name 'roller coasters.' Coasters saw another advancement in the 1800s when a Pennsylvania mining company built a downhill gravity railroad to transport coal. Its train cars held double duty by giving thrill rides to tourists during downtime. By 1919, coasters had entered their 'golden age' with fully formed rides all over the world. The desire to experience greater heights and faster drops mean the sky's the limit when it comes to coaster design. These days, in the United States alone, thrill seekers take roughly 1.7 billion rides per year across more than 800 coasters.

大白色过山车

为了真正了解今天的照片，停止你正在做的事情，把手举到空中，想象你以每小时50英里的速度下山。尖叫是可选的。我们在新泽西州Wildwood的Morey‘s Piers排队等候乘坐大白鲨。这是一款木制和钢制的混合过山车，自1996年起投入使用，最高点离地110英尺。过山车爱好者指出，在出发后不久，过山车在码头下的下沉是其亮点之一。它还以一部分骑行在附近的海滩上摇摆而闻名。

过山车从17世纪开始作为俄罗斯雪橇运动以来已经走过了漫长的道路。这些最初的游乐设施最终被称为俄罗斯山脉，它们只是覆盖着冰的高大木质坡道。当这个概念传播到气候暖和得多的法国时，雪橇在木制滚轮上穿过轨道，因此得名“过山车”19世纪，当宾夕法尼亚州的一家矿业公司建造了一条下坡重力铁路来运输煤炭时，过山车迎来了另一个进步。它的火车车厢承担着双重职责，在停工期间为游客提供惊险刺激的乘坐体验。到1919年，云霄飞车已进入其“黄金时代”，全世界都有完整的云霄飞行设施。想要体验更高的高度和更快的下降速度，这意味着在过山车设计方面，天空是极限。如今，仅在美国一地，寻求刺激的人每年就要乘坐超过800辆过山车，约17亿次。

圆顶礁国家公园里的希克曼桥，美国犹他州 The Hickman Bridge at Capitol Reef National Park, Utah (© Tim Fitzharris/Minden Pictures)

走上这条人迹常见的小径 Take the trail more traveled by

Happy Birthday Capitol Reef National Park

You won't find a lot of solitude on the Hickman Bridge Trail, a 1.7-mile route in Capitol Reef National Park that leads to this magnificent natural arch. The trail is used by hikers, runners, and nature lovers drawn by incredible rock formations, gullies, and remnants from the Fremont Culture Native American civilization from the early part of the 20th century. Hickman Bridge itself is one of the best-known geologic features of the park.

Capitol Reef National Park was first established as a national monument on this day in 1937, then became a national park in 1971. Capitol Reef is named for its massive rock domes that reminded nearby residents of that famous rotunda of the US Capitol Building back in Washington, DC. Why Capitol 'Reef,' though? Because the imposing formations were major obstacles to travelers through the region, the same way a coral reef is an obstacle to sailors.

The geology of the park is defined by the nearly 100-mile Waterpocket Fold, a wrinkle in the Earth's crust that formed around the end of the dinosaur era. Wind, rain, and time have eroded the Navajo Sandstone into colorful canyons, buttes, and natural arches like Hickman Bridge. The dramatic rock formations make Capitol Reef a favorite destination in the American West.

生日快乐国会山珊瑚礁国家公园

在希克曼大桥小径上你不会发现太多的孤独，这条小径位于国会山礁国家公园，全长1.7英里，通往这座宏伟的天然拱门。这条小径供远足者、跑步者和自然爱好者使用，它们由难以置信的岩层、沟壑和20世纪早期弗里蒙特文化-美洲原住民文明的遗迹绘制而成。希克曼大桥本身就是公园最著名的地质特征之一。

国会山礁国家公园于1937年的今天首次作为国家纪念碑建立，然后在1971年成为国家公园。国会山礁以其巨大的岩石圆顶而命名，这让附近的居民想起了位于华盛顿特区的美国国会大厦的著名圆形大厅。然而，为什么国会大厦是“暗礁”？因为壮观的地形是该地区旅行者的主要障碍，就像珊瑚礁是水手的障碍一样。

公园的地质特征是近100英里的水袋褶皱，这是在恐龙时代末期形成的地壳褶皱。风、雨和时间把纳瓦霍砂岩侵蚀成了五颜六色的峡谷、山丘和希克曼大桥那样的天然拱门。引人注目的岩层使国会山礁成为美国西部最受欢迎的目的地。

北狼丘里的"波浪谷"，美国亚利桑那州 'The Wave' sandstone formation in Coyote Buttes North, Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, Arizona (© Dennis Frates/Alamy)

乘风破浪 Ride the wave

The Wave at Coyote Buttes

By showing you this coveted sight, we're saving you a bit of an ordeal. For a 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 hiking route in typically scorching temperatures. You'd also need to have a permit in your pocket. To protect the landscape, only a small number are available, offered through a daily lottery. But maybe for you the journey is at least as important as the destination? If so, this is just one hike of many in the expansive Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, which protects more than 100,000 acres of Arizona and Utah canyonland.

郊狼丘上的波浪

通过向你们展示这一令人垂涎的景象，我们为你们省去了一点磨难。要想近距离拍摄“The Wave”，这是亚利桑那州北部荒野中的一个螺纹砂岩地层，你必须在典型的酷热天气下，沿着崎岖不平、几乎没有足迹的徒步路线行走。你还需要口袋里有许可证。为了保护景观，只有少数人可以通过每日彩票获得。但也许对你来说，旅程至少和目的地一样重要？如果是这样的话，这只是帕里亚峡谷朱红色悬崖国家纪念碑中众多徒步旅行中的一次，该纪念碑保护着亚利桑那州和犹他州超过10万英亩的峡谷地。

山下盛开的箭叶脂根菊，美国大提顿国家公园 Balsamroot wildflowers bloom below the Teton Mountains in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming (© Mike Cavaroc/Tandem Stills + Motion)

壮丽的景色 A grand view

Grand Teton National Park

These arrowleaf balsamroot wildflowers, commonly known as Oregon sunflowers, have a grand view of the Grand Tetons from the valley below the towering range. The region's harsh weather means that only the hardiest of wildflowers can survive, and the bright yellow arrowheads fit the bill. The plants are drought tolerant, winter hardy, tenacious against trampling, and even fire resistant, with a taproot which regenerates leaves and flowers after the top has burned.

Located just 10 miles from Yellowstone National Park, Grand Teton National Park and the surrounding national forests constitute the almost 18-million-acre (28,000-square-mile) Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, one of the world's largest intact mid-latitude temperate ecosystems. There's something for every lover of the outdoors here, and the park is a popular destination for mountaineering, hiking, fishing, and other forms of recreation, with more than 1,000 drive-in campsites and over 200 miles of hiking trails that provide access to backcountry camping areas. Grand Teton National Park is one of the 10 most popular parks in the United States.

大提顿国家公园

这些箭叶香根野花，俗称俄勒冈州向日葵，从高耸山脉下方的山谷中可以俯瞰大提顿。该地区恶劣的天气意味着只有最顽强的野花才能生存，而明亮的黄色箭头正好符合这一要求。这些植物耐旱、耐寒、抗践踏、甚至耐火，主根在顶部燃烧后再生叶子和花朵。

大提顿国家公园距离黄石国家公园仅10英里，它和周围的国家森林构成了近1800万英亩（28000平方英里）的大黄石生态系统，是世界上最大的完整中纬度温带生态系统之一。这里有适合每一位户外爱好者的东西，公园是登山、徒步旅行、垂钓和其他娱乐形式的热门目的地，有1000多个免下车露营地和200多英里的徒步小道，可以进入偏远的露营区。大提顿国家公园是美国十大最受欢迎的公园之一。

大弯曲国家公园的塞拉庞塞和格兰德河边的悬崖，美国得克萨斯州 Cliffs of the Sierra Ponce and Rio Grande River, Big Bend National Park, Texas (© Tim Fitzharris/Minden Pictures)

奇瓦瓦沙漠中的一处偏远绿洲 A remote oasis in the Chihuahuan Desert

Big Bend National Park turns 78

Join us for a hike at one of America's least-visited national parks. Big Bend National Park may be among the country's largest national parks with an area of over 800,000 acres (about the area of Rhode Island), but it's also one of the most remote. Found in West Texas along the Rio Grande at the Mexico border, the park entrance is roughly a two-hour drive from the nearest interstate. The good thing is, even in a 'busy' year when half a million people visit, there's plenty of space to enjoy the great outdoors unhindered by crowds.

Added to the national park system on this day in 1944, Big Bend contains the largest protected area of the Chihuahuan Desert in the United States. It's also known for having the darkest night skies among the contiguous states. This makes it a 'must visit' for stargazing; thousands of stars are visible when the skies are clear, along with the Milky Way. If you head out for a hike, keep your eyes peeled for the 1,200 plant species in the park. There are also plenty of animals, though most of them tend to come out only at night. Except birds, that is. Birdwatching is incredibly popular at Big Bend–it's on the paths of annual migrations, so more than 450 different bird species have been cataloged here.

大弯国家公园78岁

加入我们，在美国游客最少的国家公园之一徒步旅行。大弯国家公园可能是美国最大的国家公园之一，面积超过800000英亩（大约相当于罗德岛的面积），但它也是最偏远的国家公园之一。公园入口位于得克萨斯州西部，沿墨西哥边境的格兰德河，距离最近的州际公路大约两小时车程。好消息是，即使是在50万人来访的“繁忙”年份，也有足够的空间来享受美妙的户外活动，不受人群的阻碍。

1944年的今天，大本德被纳入国家公园系统，是美国最大的奇瓦瓦沙漠保护区。它还因拥有邻近各州中最黑暗的夜空而闻名。这使得它成为观星的“必到之地”；当天空晴朗时，数千颗恒星与银河系一起可见。如果你要去远足，一定要留意公园里的1200种植物。这里也有很多动物，尽管它们大多只在晚上出来。就是说，除了鸟。大本德的观鸟活动非常受欢迎，因为每年都有鸟类迁徙，所以这里有450多种不同的鸟类。