The
wildlife of a canyon is interesting as well. At the bottom lays a typical
Mexican landscape with varied cacti, agaves, yuccas. While ascending
oaks, birches, willows appear, making room for more resistant trees – pines
and junipers – on the top. The rich fauna includes more than
100 types of birds and about 60 types of mammals among which are also
extreme rare types. And everywhere one can find the caution about rattle
snakes. Dinosaurs were turned into other animals!
As for the climate, at night-time the temperature may fall to zero degrees.
In spring and fall in Arizona deserts the short-term storm rains leading
to high waters are frequent, and then very fast a gorge turns into a mad
river flow sweeping everything on its way, carrying huge stones, rock fragments
and sand to the ocean. The river changes its color to reddish; no wonder, “crimson” is
the translation of “Colorado” in local native language. It
is counted that annually a quarter of millimeter of rocks is vanished because
of that river flows revealing more ancient parts of the cliffs. Perhaps
this is the phenomenon that makes it an important place for archeological
research. They say that Indians knew about the Grand Canyon thousands years
ago: the oldest rock carvings found were made about 3 thousand years ago.
And here one finds messages concerning to dinosaurs.
The guide usually tells an amusing story about Arizona. In 1540 the Grand
Canyon was found by a group of Spanish soldier under Garsii Lopez's de
Cardenas command, which travelled in searches of gold. Some of these Spanish
soldiers accompanied by the members of Hopi Indian tribe tried to go down
at the bottom of a canyon, but had been compelled to return because of
lack of potable water. Since then the canyon was not visited by Europeans
for more than two centuries.
Then in 1776, two Spanish priests, accompanied by small group of soldier,
in searches of a way from Santa Fe to California travelled lengthways the
Grand Canyon. But the first scientific expedition to the Grand Canyon,
headed by the veteran of Civil war and the professor of university John
Uizli Powell, was lead in 1869. It was Powell who investigated and described
the canyon. Since then more complicated and well-grounded researches take
place.
It takes two days to walk the Grand Canyon National Park through on foot
and about 5 hours to drive it by car. However one should be very careful.
Most part of the state Arizona is a desert, and it is not the right place
to sunbathe. A hat, long-sleeve shirt made from cotton, long linen trousers
and a bottle of water will protect you against direct solar affect and
help you enjoy your trip.
|