The wonders created by nature and man
The Grand canyon in Arizona and Las Vegas in the Mojave desert in Nevada is widely known and attract millions of tourists from all over the earth. One of these attractions of the American West appeared nearly a century ago, and the second is older — she, according to various estimates, from 5 to 17 million years.
Photos and text of Fame Stepanova
1. On the border of Nevada and Arizona, fifty miles East of Las Vegas is an artificial lake lake Mead (Lake Mead), or just foreign. It is the largest reservoir in the United States was formed by the construction of Hoover dam on the Colorado river and stretches for about 180 miles above the dam.
2. District of the Colorado plateau and the riverbed of the same river is a real Paradise for the geologist. Rugged landscape reveals the history of the development of the earth’s crust and tectonic phenomena in its entirety.
3. Grand canyon or Grand canyon (Grand Canyon). Formed by the channel of the Colorado river, a deep valley stretches for about 450 kilometers through the territory of Arizona.
4. The Grand canyon in its depth (to 1,800 meters) more than three times inferior to the canyon of Kali Gandaki in Nepal. However, he has no equal in extent and scope and complexity and beauty of the landscape.
5. Until recently, the age of the Grand canyon was estimated to be 5-6 million years, but modern research has pushed back the beginning of the formation of the valley for another 11-12 million years ago.
6. The Grand canyon was formed due to the fact that tectonic shifts raised the Colorado plateau. The result changed the profile of the riverbed of the same river, and the efforts of the current has eroded the limestone, then the water literally cut a gorge in the thicker shales and sandstones.
Today the canyon continues to deepen by erosion of rocks.
7. The width of the Grand canyon at the top, at the level of the plateau ranges from 6 to 29 kilometers. Down by the riverbed, less than one kilometer. In June 2013, the American tightrope Walker Nikolas Wallenda overcame 430 meters above the canyon on a steel rope with only one pole-saw without insurance. The main enemy of the world at a height of over 450 meters of steel wind, which speed reached 50 km/h.
8. In the area of the Grand canyon historically inhabited by indigenous people of North America, the native Indians created a small settlement and explore the numerous caves. Representatives of the Pueblo peoples deified the territory of the canyon, considered it sacred and made pilgrimages here.
9. The Spanish conquistadors first introduced to Grand canyon in the middle of the XVI century, after which the foot of a European set foot here for centuries. Rare American travelers, hunters, adventurers and vagabonds began to penetrate in these places in the early nineteenth century. The first geologist visited the canyon in 1858, a large scientific expedition a decade later. At the beginning of XX century the initiator and supporter of the state protection and protection of the Grand canyon became a U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt, a lover of local hunting and nature. In 1919 the Grand canyon became a National Park in the USA. Now the canyon is included in the world heritage list of UNESCO.
10. The barrage lake Mead supplies water to about 20 million residents of southern California and the desert of Nevada. Cascade reservoir lake Mead form several consecutive “basins” in the photo one of them is a virgin basin. The maximum depth of lake Mead is about 160 meters.
11. The Grand canyon is one of the largest natural attractions in the world, every year it is visited by 4 million people (mostly from the USA). In addition to passive contemplation of the landscape, tourism infrastructure and offers rafting on the Colorado river, descending into the canyon on mules, Hiking and Jogging trails, skydiving, and flying over the canyon in small planes and helicopters.
12. In June 1956 over the Grand canyon was the largest at the time in the world a plane crash in the sky faced two trunk liner, killed 128 people. Pilots made a demonstration flight around the canyon, such maneuvers at flight level then it is not forbidden. State of emergency has led to a sharp tightening of the rules of civil aviation and development of the dispatching aircraft all along the route, not only in the area major airports. By the way, the victims of the canyon became not only the passengers. With the 1870-ies of more than 50 people fell into the abyss (mainly the hapless photographers), and 80 people drowned in the Colorado river.
13. The length of the extremely rugged coastline of the reservoir lake Mead — more than 1200 kilometers.
14. The air in the Grand canyon area is considered one of the most clean and transparent in the United States. However, sometimes air quality is deteriorating due to forest fires and dust storms.
15. Rock The Head (“head”).
16. Lake Mead is a national recreation area. Among the most popular activities here is boating, swimming, water skiing, sunbathing, fishing. On the shoreline of the reservoir created several artificial bays marinas with sandy beaches. In addition, in the lake district of the Ministry of foreign Affairs operates a Botanical garden with large collection of cacti and other specimens of the flora of the Mojave desert.
17. The Colorado river is one of the most controlled in the world. The boom of construction of hydraulic structures in her pool began at the turn of XIX and XX centuries. Since then, Colorado has erected about three dozen dams to provide water and generate electricity. One of the largest and most well — known Hoover dam on the border of Nevada and Arizona.
18. The Hoover Dam (Hoover Dam).
The dam was built in 1931-1936, and by then the tradition was named in honor of the 31st U.S. President Herbert Hoover. The dam is second in the U.S. in height (221 meters), it spent $ 3.3 million cubic meters of concrete, the dam at that time was the most massive building on earth. Electricity for hydro generators produce 17 a total capacity of over 2 gigawatts.
19. Until 2001, the dam was organized traffic, but after the September terrorist attacks it severely limited. In October 2010, over the Black canyon, half a kilometer South of the Hoover dam opened 4-lane Memorial bridge Mike O’callaghan — Pat Tillman (Mike o’callaghan — Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge).
20. Las Vegas (Las Vegas). The largest city in Nevada and 28th most populated cities in the United States. Vegas is often called the world capital of excitement and even Sin City.
21. The townspeople prefer to call Las Vegas the world capital of entertainment: this resort city, a major center not only gambling money, but also relax in a broader sense, shopping, fine dining, rides, shows, and nightlife. Las Vegas attracts tourists and various architectural landmarks, among them, for example, is a reduced copy of the Eiffel tower.
22. Las Vegas Strip (Las Vegas Strip).
The main street of the town stretches for only 7 miles, but boasts the highest concentration of hotels and casinos. 14 of the 25 largest by number of rooms hotels in the world are working on the Las Vegas Strip (General Fund local hotels is about 67 thousand numbers). The appearance of the Las Vegas Strip is constantly changing and is flexible: for example, a few dozen hotels and casinos were closed and demolished due to their owners change or the business model, their location on valuable land in Las Vegas immediately occupied by new objects.
23. The city each year attracts millions of visitors, not only tourists in search thrill but also business people in Las Vegas with its well-developed hotel infrastructure are many big forums and business conferences. The permanent population of Las Vegas about half a million people. In the XX century it became the most dynamically developing city in the U.S. — a leader in the growth of the population less than a hundred years since the Foundation. (In the nineteenth century, the fastest growing city in the country was Chicago).
24. Exotic resort in the middle of the desert. Complex Mandalay Bay located at the southern end of the Las Vegas Strip. This 43-storey hotel with a casino in the area of two football fields! The main attraction of the hotel — sandy beach and several large pools, including wave height up to 1.8 meters.
25. In Spanish, Las Vegas means “fertile valleys”. This oasis of clean water in the Mojave desert in 1829 found the members of the wayward trade caravan from Mexico to Los Angeles. A powerful impetus to the development of Las Vegas in 1931 gave the legalization of gambling and the influx of people to the construction of Hoover dam. After the Second World war in Vegas have invested, on the one hand, mobsters like the famous gangster Bugsy Segal, on the other hand, bankers-Mormons. In modern Las Vegas is the fraction of the business Empire, the current President of the USA of Donald trump.
26. Built in 1997, the “area” of new York in Las Vegas: building, copying the iconic skyscrapers in the largest metropolis of the United States, other well-known objects and a mini copy of the statue of Liberty. In addition to the hotel and casino entertainment complex “new York, new York” includes “roller coaster” stylized new York taxi.
27. 350-meter high tower of the complex “stratosphere” — the tallest building in Las Vegas.
28. On top of the stratosphere tower, in addition to the observation deck and restaurant, arranged a few rides, in particular, the carousel beyond the boundaries of the building.
29. International airport Mak-Curran (McCarran International Airport). “The gates of Las Vegas” serve more than 45 million passengers a year.
30. Ships from McCarran airport, make non-stop flights to dozens of U.S. cities and the main centers of Europe and Asia. Every year at the airport make more than 600 thousand take-offs and landings. For relief of McCarran in Las Vegas is planned to open additional Ivanpah airport.
31. Leaving Las Vegas. The fact that this city never sleeps — not an exaggeration.
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