标签美国下的文章

莱奇沃思州立公园，纽约 Letchworth State Park, New York (© Jay O'Brien/Danita Delimont)

'Grand Canyon of the East'

It's easy to see why Letchworth State Park in New York has earned this 'Grand' title. About 60 miles southeast of Buffalo, the 17-mile long park protects a stunning section of the Genesee River that cuts through a deep gorge. The cliffs, close to 600-feet high in some places, offer knockout views of several waterfalls and the thick deciduous forest. The historic Glen Iris Inn, once the home and refuge of industrialist William Pryor Letchworth, overlooks Middle Falls. In 1906, Letchworth bequeathed his 1,000-acre estate to the state of New York. The parcel would become the heart of this 14,427-acre park that bears his name.

Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas, Nevada (© Garry Belinsky/Offset)

From the mind of Frank Gehry

Today's image features the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas, designed by world-renowned architect Frank Gehry and his firm, Gehry Partners, in 2005. The building consists of three different elements: a medical building with spaces for patient care and research; the Life Activity Center, a for-hire event space which helps fund the center's research; and a breezeway connecting the two spaces. Some have likened these elements to the hemispheres of the brain itself, with the medical building representing rational thinking and the event space giving form to creative thinking.

Texas Star, the Ferris wheel at the State Fair of Texas in Dallas (© N. Hamp/Shutterstock)

A fair that's star-studded

Meet Texas Star, one of the tallest Ferris wheels in North America and a big attraction at the State Fair of Texas. Built in 1985, on a clear day it can be seen from Fort Worth, about 40 miles away. Since 1886, locals and visitors have come to Dallas' historic Fair Park for food, rides, shows, and other attractions. About 100,000 people a day now visit the fairgrounds to experience the array of activities and treats, from the largest new car show in the Southwest to a bevy of culinary delights. You can try deep-fried shepherd's pie, fried beer, or something called deep-fried skillet potato melt. Awards are given to the tastiest concoctions. But the fair's flavor extends beyond food. The purpose is to promote Texas agriculture, education, and community. There's plenty to do after exploring and sampling one-of-a-kind bites, including live music, pig races—and don't forget to ride the Texas Star.

Merced River in Yosemite National Park, California (© Robb Hirsch/Tandem Stills + Motion)

Wild scene on the Merced River

Signed October 2, 1968, by President Lyndon B. Johnson, the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act preserves rivers with 'outstanding natural, cultural, and recreational values in a free-flowing condition for the enjoyment of present and future generations.' It covers 13,416 miles of streams and protects parts of such natural treasures as the Allagash, Salmon, Snake, Concord, Fortymile, Trinity, Missouri (the longest river in the US)—and the Merced River, which we're looking at here.

California's Merced makes its way through canyons, mountains, and foothills, flowing from the Sierra Nevada mountains, through the southern part of Yosemite National Park, into the San Joaquin Valley. Rafters enjoy the Class III and IV rapids, and visitors can camp at several sites along the river's course while also exploring the Merced River Trail.

In Hocking Hills State Park in Ohio for National Public Lands Day (© Sara Winter/Getty Images Plus)

This view is brought to you by…

Here's a nice spot to enjoy National Public Lands Day. Hocking Hills State Park, a 2356-acre park in southern Ohio, offers over 25 miles of hiking trails that pass by unusual rock formations, recess caves, and stunning waterfalls. This is Upper Falls, at one of the park's most popular hiking destinations, Old Man's Cave. This huge recess cave, as the legend goes, was named for a hermit who lived here in the 1800s. Then there's Devil's Bathtub, Conkle's Hollow, and Rock House—sites worthy of a visit for their names alone, though the scenery won't disappoint.

Held annually on the fourth Saturday of September, National Public Lands Day aims to encourage people to enjoy our public parks as well as volunteer for one of the many projects going on today, like helping with trail maintenance or tree planting. At national parks, monuments, and other participating federal sites, admission is free today. At Hocking Hills, you can join a free naturalist-led walk leaving from the Whispering Cave trailhead. Be sure to grab a free litter bag to help pack out what others have left behind.

The Nankoweap Granaries of the Grand Canyon in Arizona (© Jack Dykinga/Minden Pictures)

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.

鱼湖国家森林中的美洲山杨，犹他州 The Pando quaking aspen in Fishlake National Forest, Utah (© Don Paulson/Danita Delimont)

Fall comes to the Pando

All is not as it appears to be here at the Pando, in Utah's Fish Lake National Forest. At first glance, visitors likely see a massive grove of quaking aspen trees, their leaves dancing in the wind. But the Pando is not many trees; instead, it's a single organism. Like many aspen groves, each of the 40,000 trees in the Pando are genetically identical stems that sprout from the same root system. First discovered in 1968, the Pando made waves in the scientific world. It's become recognized as one of the heaviest known organisms—weighing 6,000 metric tons—and one of the oldest known living organisms. Scientists estimate it's upwards of 80,000 years old, having endured the last ice age and countless forest fires. It got to be so old partly because most of the organism is protected underground. So, while an individual stem can die, the organism as a whole survives.

It's only recently that human activity has threatened the Pando’s health, with drought, grazing, and fire suppression interfering with its growth. Pando translates as 'I spread out,' in Latin, a reference to the way it extends itself through cloning. But its delicate, fluttering leaves—which turn golden this time of year—have lent it another moniker: the Trembling Giant.

Astrotourism at its finest

Stay in Canyonlands National Park until after sundown so you can appreciate one of the park's most distinct features—a night sky so free of human-generated light that it's been designated a Gold-Tier International Dark Sky park. Here's another way of understanding what that means: When you're in the city you may see up to 500 stars in a moonless night sky, but here in Utah's Canyonlands, you can see more than 15,000. Many of the stars (and planets) sparkle in the Milky Way, our galactic home in the universe. It's a big reason why astrotourists and photographers visit at night, to see the light show above. But for those who follow the sun, daytime is perfect for hiking and camping, wildlife viewing, and discovering rock drawings and peckings left behind by prehistoric peoples.

Today we celebrate 55 years since President Lyndon B. Johnson made Canyonlands a national park—the largest park in all of Utah. Maybe it's coincidence, but as a native-born son of the Lone Star State of Texas, perhaps President Johnson might have had an affinity for a place big enough to see the sprawling night sky.

A toast to California!

Today we're celebrating the 169th anniversary of the golden state's admission into the Union with an appropriately golden image of a central coast winery and landscape. In 1850, just 14 months after the peace treaty to end the Mexican-American War ceded California, along with a large portion of western territory, to the US, this former self-proclaimed Republic became the 31st state. California is one of only six states admitted to the Union without first being recognized as a US territory. Some link this to the Gold Rush which began in January 1848 and increased the population by more than 1,000% in that same time frame.

Walk the line

Our homepage today shows two climbers slacklining between boulders near Bishop, California. Look closely and you’ll see something very similar to tight-rope walking: the slackliners anchor a thin strip of webbing between two points and then walk across (very carefully, of course). Bishop is near the Sierra Nevada mountain range and is a popular destination for climbers interested in both slacklining and bouldering. What's bouldering? That's rock climbing without ropes or harnesses. Instead, climbers simply shimmy up rocky crags and free-standing boulders—but no higher than 20 feet, for safety’s sake. And where there are rock climbers, you’ll likely find slackliners.

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