Many people have found Arches National Park to be an alien planet here on Earth. It is comprised of 2,000 sandstone arches, and the park's curving landforms turn a rusty red in the setting sun. Millions of people visit the park every year. Arches national park is one of the top most tourist spots in The United States! It’s no surprise that Arches National Park is one of the top national parks in America! It is a 73,234 acre wonderland of red rock sandstone's and arches northwest of Moab. The park protects an amazing landscape that includes the largest arches in the world. Over 2,000 arches have been mapped in Arches National Park. “An arch considered an opening with one side at least 3 feet wide.” This quote above shows how large the arches can grow to be.(Utah life elevated) John Wesley Wolfe and his oldest son, Fred settled on a one hundred plus acre property along the salt wash to get to a drier climate. Eventually they grazed 1,000 head of cattle on the ranch. It has to this day been remembered as a breathtaking ranch. …show more content…
“Some abnormal plants seem to grow right out of cracks in the rock.” All plants grow in different ways some more unique than others.(NPS GOV) The vegetation in the park is a massive component of the ecosystem. Many of the plants catch dust particles from the air, which helps filter the parks natural air. There are three types of plants categorized: drought escapers, drought resistors and drought evaders. Drought escapers are plants that make use of favorable growing conditions when they exist.Drought resistors are typically perennials. Perennial plants usually last up to two years. Drought evaders, the last group, survive in riparian areas where water is plentiful.(NPS
Many variations and species of plants can be found all around the world and in different habitats. These variations and characteristics are due to their adaptations to the natural habitat surrounding them. In three of many climatic zones, the arid, tropical and temperate zone, plants that vary greatly from each other are found in these locations. In this experiment, we’ll be observing the connection between the adaptations of the plants to their environment at the Fullerton Arboretum. The arboretum is a space containing numerous plants from different environments. The plants are carefully looked after and organized into their specific habitat. Therefore, we’ll be able to take a look at the plants within multiple
Canyonlands National Park, immense amounts of wilderness and rock, is located at the heart of the Colorado Plateau (Canyonlands National Park-Geology). Millions of years have formed specific features to the rock and surrounding wilderness that make it so special. Throughout the park, you will find that the sedimentary rock has formed many features such as hundreds of colorful canyons, mesas, buttes, fins, arches, and spires. The Green and Colorado rivers have played a major role in the formation of many of these features. These rivers cut through the park forming two massive canyons. This further splits the park into three distinct zones. “Island in the Sky” sits to the north while “The Maze” sits off to the west and “The Needles” to the east (Canyonlands National Park Information Guide). “Island in the Sky” serves as Canyonlands’ observation tower; it allows tourists to see overwhelming vistas of the rest of the land. “The Maze,” as hinted at by the name has been described as a “30 square mile puzzle in sandstone” (NPS: Nature & Science» Geology Resources Division). This section of the park often ranks as one of the most remote and inaccessible areas of the United States. Lastly, “The Needles” is known for its diversity in rock features. Throughout this land, features such as sculptured rock spires, arches, canyons, grabens, and potholes can be seen. The varying names hint at the diversity of the land as a whole. As said by The National Park Service’s Geology Resources Division, “Traces of the Anasazi can be found in almost every canyon in the Needles. Many of their stone and mud dwellings and storehouses are remarkably well-preserved. Tower Ruins, built high on a cliff ledge in a side canyon of Horse Canyon, is an outstanding ex...
happens because the roots emit pigments of red color into the soil which then runs into the water. Even though the amount of red pigment released is very little, due to the large amount of cedar trees in the Pine forests, the water is affected. The main crops of the Pine Barrens include blueberries and cranberries. There are also many rare plants that can be found in the Pinelands. One of these is the pitcher plant which is related to the Venus Fly Trap. Plants such as these have an influence on how nitrogen is depleted in the Pine Barrens and also on how the Pine “Barrens” got there name, nothing like vegetables grow there. The pitcher plant helps prevent pollution from entering the lakes as well as help in preventing flooding. The lakes in the Pine forest are home to the tree frog. These forests are also home to many other animals like cranes, water snakes, turtles, salamanders, and other frogs.
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.)
Zig-zag, back and forth, down, down, down, Jonathon, Dad, and I went into a mysterious new world. Now that I have gone into this hot, dry canyon surrounded by monstrous hoodoos, I have seen what it is really like to leave the small town of Seymour, and emerge into the greatness of this world. I have now seen several other National Parks on one of the most renowned places on earth for mysterious creations, the Colorado Plateau. Of all the beautiful places on it, even the Grand Canyon, I have found my favorite one. Bryce Canyon National Park. I thought it was amazing, because it was the most diverse to anything I have ever seen before. We hiked down into it and I felt like I was surrounded by skyscrapers. We trekked around a little, but we didn’t
Petrified Forest National Park is located in the Painted Desert in northeastern Arizona taking up 93,532.57 acres of its land. Before the national park was established, it was founded as a National Monument on December 8, 1906 when President Theodore Roosevelt signed the proclamation. Years later, the Congress passed a bill and established it as a national park on December 9, 1962. Centuries before Petrified Forest National Park was preserved as a national park, the land was preoccupied by the Paleo people. At the onset of the end of the last Ice Age, hunter-gatherers, people who lived by hunting game and only gathering edible plants, roamed the Southwest from 13,500 to 8000 B.C. Although these people enjoy meals consisting of meat and vegetables, they don’t raise livestock and grow crops. During these years of hunting and gathering, the region was cooler with a grassland environment, and people gathered wild plants for food and hunted bison and other large herd of animals. The types of bison these people hunted are now extinct. Nomads used a device called an atlatl to throw their weapons, such as spears and darts, to hunt. By 4000 B.C., during the archaic culture, the climate had changed and became similar to the one of the present. This period of hunting, gathering, and farming had lasted from 8000 to 500 B.C. In contrast to the time of the Paleo people, the climate was warmer, people extended their access to different types of food, and people began to farm and grow their crops. Due to the extinction of animals of the past, people had to expand their source of food, and they had to include many different species of plants and animals into their meals. Two hundred twenty-five million years ago, trees fell and were washe...
“I don't want to die in a car accident. When I die it'll be a glorious day. It'll probably be a waterfall.” (River Phoenix) River Phoenix may not have died in one of the best ways, a heart failure due to an overdose, but he did live a very interesting life. His life began August 23, 1970 in Madras, Oregon, and ended October 31, 1993 in front of the nightclub, the Viper Room in Los Angeles, California. River was an actor, musician and activist who got his start when he was only ten years old. Although River Phoenix died young, he lived a successful life, where he believed in and stood for many amazing things.
As a result of these factors, the flora has adapted to these conditions in a variety of ways including their shape, leaf type, root system, and color. One of the most prominent adapt...
Mesa Verde National Park, whose name can be a bit deceiving because the area is a cuesta, not a mesa, was “established in the year 1906 by Theodore Roosevelt in order to preserve the works of man” (“History & Culture”). “The only difference between a cuesta and a mesa is that a cuesta gently dips in one direction” (Service, National Park). “Mesa Verde was once home to the ancestral Puebloans living there for more than 700 years. They flourished here, building elaborate stone communities in the sheltered alcoves of the canyon walls. The park contains over 4,000 known archeological sites including cliff dwellings and the mesa top sites of pit houses, pueblos, masonry towers, and farming structures” (“Places”). The geology of Mesa Verde is what
Recently this past weekend on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, I hiked Chautauqua trail in Boulder Colorado with two of my close friends. I’ve hiked Chautauqua multiple times before, but this time we decided to take a different trail to the top, one we had not hiked before. Chautauqua is managed by the City of Boulder Park and Recreation and holds a variety of different attractions such as hiking, camping, and picnicking. The trails zig-zag across the flatirons in different types of various routes to the top. There are not many human alterations outside of the trails and dirt paths. In some areas of the trail it is completely rock and boulder climbing which was not a human alteration. To get to the trailhead you must walk across a large hill covered
The Grand Canyon in northern Arizona is considered the world’s best example of exposed geologic layering, and contains fossils ranging from Precambrian stromatolites to Ice Age. There is also a potentially active volcano on the western end of the Grand Canyon. Erosion has uncovered 1.7 billion years of geologic history.
I went to the Fairfield Osborn Preserve where I am a naturalist. I went to where the waterfall was, which was functioning for the first time in a while because of the recent rains. The whole area was alive with water. The creek was rushing past with a harsh noise, quite different than the quiet dribble of water that was there the week before. I stood in front of the waterfall, rather than sit, with sticks and leaves crunching under my muddy boots and my head and shoulders wet from the rain despite my best efforts to bundle up.
Wind Cave National Park is the 8th park to become a national park, if I were to visit I would do four things. I would watch wildlife, study cave formations, go horseback riding, and I would go on a hike. Wind Cave has been protected since 1903. Respected as sacred by American Indians, cave expeditions did not start until 1881, when the entrance was noticed by two brothers, Jesse and Tom Bingham. They heard a loud whistling noise, which led them to a small hole in the ground, which is the cave’s only essential opening.
The Grand Canyon land can leave many people in awe. The Grand Canyon is 6,100 feet deep, 277 miles long, and is filled with immense
Drought escapers are the plants that “take advantage of favorable growing conditions when they exist but go dormant when those conditions disappear,” (NPS, Plants). These plants tend to be annuals, and if they have seeds produced within the favorable growing conditions, then these seeds can be dormant for multiple years. Most grasses and wildflowers within the area are normally drought escapers. Drought resistors, however, have processes and mechanisms to compensate for the drought (NPS, Plants). Some will “drop their leaves if water is unavailable” (NPS, Plants). A lot of drought resistors tend to have much smaller leaves to combat dehydration by decreasing the amount of direct sunlight and air exposure. Yuccas and mosses are two examples of drought resistors. In order to gather as much water as possible in a short amount of time, yuccas have large root systems that lie close to the surface. Mosses have tolerability to complete dehydration, and after rainfall, mosses will green up again (NPS,