美國十大最美景觀
Grand Canyon 大峽谷
Though the theory is still up for debate, experts think this colossal canyon was formed 17 million years ago, when the Colorado River carved through the gorge, eroding the rock. A breathtaking 277 river-miles long, 18 miles wide and a mile deep, the faMous landmark drew just under 4.5 million visitors in 2009. Photo by Shutterstock.
儘管理論尚處於爭論之中，但專家們認爲這條巨大的峽谷是一千七百萬年前，科羅拉多河流橫穿峽谷腐蝕岩石而形成的。有着令人驚歎的277英里的河長、18英里的寬度和1英里的深度，這處著名的景觀2009年吸引了接近450萬人次的遊客。由 Shutterstock拍攝。
Haystack Rock 草垛巖
On a remarkable stretch of Oregon's coast called Cannon Beach sits a mammoth monolith that formed as a result of lava flow 10 to 17 million years ago. At 235 feet tall, the rock formation is the third tallest intertidal structure in the world. Surrounded by shallow tide pools, it allows up-close-and-personal access, which draws in 200,000 visitors annually. Photo by Shutterstock.
隨着1億到1.7億年前熔岩流過，在俄勒岡州（Oregon）海岸一塊引人注目的叫做坎農海灘（Cannon Beach ）的外延海灘處形成了一座龐然大物。憑藉着235英尺的高度，這座岩層成了世界第三高的潮間帶結構。岩層由淺潮帶環繞，允許近人們距離接觸，由此每年吸引了200,000遊客。由 Shutterstock拍攝。
Mono Lake 莫諾湖
An estimated 760,000 years old, this California landmark has, as a consequence of Los Angeles's water diversion efforts, become a stunning sightseeing location. While 100,000 people walk through the doors of the visitors' center annually, many more visit the lake. By 1982, the lake had lost 51 percent of the surface area it had before the diversions began in 1941, revealing once-submerged tufa (limestone), which now forms scenic, jutting towers across the water's surface. Photo by Shutterstock.
這處加利福利亞景觀是洛杉磯（ Los Angeles's ）引水分流作用的結果， 大約有760,000年的歷史，是一處令人歎爲觀止的觀光地點。在每年100,000人走過遊客中心的大門時，有更多的人是在參觀這片湖。自從1941年開始改道，一直到1982年，這片湖已經流失了51%的表面面積，露出了曾一度淹埋在水下的凝灰岩（石灰石），像塔一樣聳立在水面，形成了一道獨特的風景。由 Shutterstock拍攝。
Niagara Falls 尼亞加拉大瀑布
Formed over the last 12,000 years by melting glaciers and water erosion, Niagara Falls is marveled at for its great width rather than height, the largest crest stretching 2,600 feet wide. Spanning the Canadian-American border, the site attracts 12 million visitors annually. Photo by Shutterstock.
由12,000多年前的融化冰川和流水侵蝕所形成，尼亞加拉大瀑布讓人們驚訝的不是它的高度而是它的寬度，其最寬的地方達到2,600英尺。橫跨加美邊境，每年吸引了一千兩百萬人次的遊客。由 Shutterstock拍攝。
Crater Lake 火山湖
Formed by the collapse of the Mount Mazama volcanoes approximately 6,850 years ago, this caldera (crater) lake is located in Oregon. It features a century-old, vertically floating tree stump dubbed the "Old Man of the Lake,” which helped attract just fewer than 500,000 visitors last year. Photo by Shutterstock.
這座位於美國俄勒岡州（Oregon）的火山湖是大約6,850年前馬紮瑪火山（Mount Mazama ）坍塌形成的。它有一塊很有特色的垂直漂浮了一個世紀之久名爲“湖的老人”的樹樁，這也爲它在去年吸引來了接近五百萬的遊客。由 Shutterstock拍攝。
Yellowstone National Park 黃石國家公園
Located mostly in Wyoming and partly in Montana and Idaho, the park's lakes, canyons, rivers and mountains span 3,472 square miles. Preserved by President Ulysses S. Grant in 1872, the park has attracted 2 million visitors almost every year since the mid-1960s, and was up to 3.3 million last year. Photo by Shutterstock.
這座擁有橫跨面積爲3,472平方公里的湖泊、峽谷、河流和山脈的公園主要坐落在懷俄明州（Wyoming）及蒙大拿州（Montana）和愛達荷州（Idaho）部分地區。由尤利西斯·格蘭特（Ulysses S. Grant）總統於1872年保存，從19世紀60年代中期開始這座公園便每年吸引了兩百萬的遊客，而去年竟達到了三百三十萬人次。 由Shutterstock拍攝。
Yosemite Falls 優勝美地瀑布
At 2,425 feet tall, Yosemite consists of three breathtaking drops. Located in Sierra Nevada, California, the falls—believed to be centuries old—attract up to 3.7 million visitors annually. Photo by Shutterstock.
優勝美地瀑布高2,425英尺，由三處令人嘆驚的瀑布流組成。坐落在塞拉內華達州（Sierra Nevada）、加利福利亞州（California），這條估計已有幾百年歷史的瀑布每年吸引了三百七十萬的遊客。由Shutterstock.拍攝。
Grand Teton National Park 大提頓國家公園
Established in 1929, this 484-square-mile park—named after the 13,775-foot Grand Teton, the tallest mountain in Teton Range—is located in the mesmerizing 48-mile-long, mountain-encompassed Jackson Hole valley. In 2009, the Wyoming wonder received approximately 2.5 million visitors. Photo by Shutterstock.
這座以提頓山脈最高峯——13,775英尺高的大提頓——命名的公園，修建於1929年，面積爲484平方千米，坐落在48公里長、羣山環繞的迷人的傑克遜·荷爾山谷（Jackson Hole valley）。2009年， 這處懷俄明（Wyoming）奇蹟迎接了大約兩百五十萬遊客。由Shutterstock拍攝。
Hoover Dam 胡佛大壩
Located in the Black Canyon on the Arizona-Nevada border, this concrete arch-gravity dam—which stands at a jaw-dropping 726 feet tall—attracts approximately 1 million visitors each year. Funded by Congress during the Depression, the dam controls floods, provides irrigation water and produces hydroelectric power. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.
這座位於亞利桑那州（Arizona）-內華達州（Nevada）邊界黑峽谷的混凝土拱形重力大壩，以令人瞠目結舌的726英尺高度站立着，每年吸引了大約一百萬的遊客。這座由國會在經濟大蕭條時期修建的大壩，控制着洪流、提供着灌溉用水並且生產着水力發電的能量。照片由維基百科（Wikipedia）提供。
Mount Rushmore 拉什莫爾山
Though most notably a memorial to former U.S. presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln, the 60-foot granite sculpture—carved by Gutzon and Lincoln Borglum between 1927 and 1941—is also a work of art. Located in South Dakota, the manmade landmark attracted over 2 million people last year. Photo by Shutterstock.
儘管以其紀念美國前任喬治·華盛頓（George Washington）總統、托馬斯·傑斐遜（Thomas Jefferson）總統、西奧多·羅斯福（Theodore Roosevelt）總統和亞伯拉罕·林肯（Abraham Lincoln）總統而出名，這座由格魯（Gutzon）和林肯·波格倫（Lincoln Borglum） 於1927年至1941年間雕刻而成的60英尺高花崗岩雕像同樣也是件藝術作品。，這座坐落在南達科塔州（Dakota）的人造景觀每年吸引了超過兩百萬的遊客。由 Shutterstock拍攝。
