Hobbies And Interests
Half Dome
Half Dome is a mountain in Yosemite National Park in California. The mountain appears in the shape of a halved dome of solid granite. It rises 5,000 feet above the eastern end of Yosemite Valley. The mountain was named "Tis-sa-ack" by American tribes whose face is supposedly seen in the side of the mountain. Today, Half Dome is depicted on the Californian state quarter and the Sierra Club logo.
Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon in Arizona is a 277 mile-long canyon through that has been cut by the Colorado River. The canyon is up to 18 miles wide in some parts and a mile deep. The canyon is largely the result of erosion caused by the Colorado River's course, which set itself about 17 million years ago. The native Pueblo people of the area once built homes and villages in the canyon walls. Today much of the canyon is protected by the U.S. National Park Service and open to visitors.
Devil's Tower
Devil's Tower in Wyoming is a 1,267-foot tall natural monument composed of an igneous intrusion in the surrounding soil. Geologists believe the formation occurred when hot molten rock pushed through the surrounding soil in the form of a volcano or volcanic plug. Over time, the molten rock hardened while the softer sedimentary rock was washed away. The native Lakota tribe called the formation Bear Lodge because the monument appears to have bear claw marks as part of a local legend. Today the area is protected by the National Park Service.
The Amazon Basin
The Amazon Basin covers 2,722,00 square miles of land around the Amazon River and shelters the Brazilian Amazon rainforest. The basin is shielded by the Guiana Highlands to the north, the central Brazilian Plateau in the south and the Andes Mountains to the west. This prevents severe wind from stunting plant life and allows massive amounts of water to drain down into the basin. So much water gathers in the Amazon from the basin that the annual average discharge of the river into the Atlantic is 6,350,000 cubic feet per second, the largest river outlet anywhere in the world.
The Roraima Tepui
Mount Roraima in South America is an example of a tepui landform. These landforms are also called "tabletop mountains" and consist of large, raised plateaus. The Roraima sits at the corner of Venezuela, Brazil and Guyana and is guarded by 1,312 foot tall cliffs. Mount Roraima rests on the Guiana Shield and helps protect the neighboring Amazon Basin. This formation is believed to be one of the oldest on Earth, forming sometimes during the Precambrian era 2 billion years ago. Today Mount Roraima is partially located in Venezuela's Canaima National Park.
Perito Moreno Glacier
Argentina is home to the Perito Moreno Glacier in Los Glaciares National Park. The ice formation is 97 square miles in area and 19 miles in length. The end of the glacier is 3 miles wide and has cliffs that reach 240 feet. It receives water from the southern Patagonian Ice Field of the Andes. The Perito Moreno is one of only three Patagonian glaciers that continues to grow and one of few in the world that is advancing. Today the glacier receives the most tourism of any Argentinean glacier and can be walked on by park visitors.