<p class="ql-block">I took a vacation from June 18 to 24 to visit the 5 National Parks in Utah.</p> <p class="ql-block">6月18日至24日，我给自己放了一个假，去游览犹他州的五个国家公园。</p> <b>Bonneville Salt Flats</b> <p class="ql-block">The Bonneville Salt Flats is one of the most unique natural features in Utah, stretching over 30,000 acres. It is located along I-80 near the Utah-Nevada border. The Salt Flats were formed when ancient lake Lake Bonneville dried up. The lake was huge, filling much of the Great Basin. It eventually shrank below its outlet and so its water became salty. As water continued to evaporate, salt deposits were left in many areas. The Great Salt Lake is a remnant of Lake Bonneville.</p> <p class="ql-block">飞到犹他州的盐湖城，取了车从机场往西开大约一个半小时是Bonneville Salt Flats大盐滩，国内称天空之镜。约3万年前，犹他州1/3的面积都是由 Lake Bonneville 湖占据，湖水逐渐退去并蒸发后，就留下了这片大盐滩。冬季至6月，地表浅浅的积水使得一望无际的平静水面如镜子般地反射着蓝色天空的和周围的山峦，所以这里也被称为天空之镜（图1和2为网上图片）。到夏季，这里极度干旱，水分蒸发，大盐滩就会干涸结晶变成白茫茫的盐板。</p> <p class="ql-block"><b>Salt Lake City</b></p> <p class="ql-block">盐湖城(Salt Lake City，S.L.C.)是美国犹他州的首府，以紧靠大盐湖而得名，是1847年由杨百翰率领一批耶稣基督后期圣徒教会(摩门教)的信徒在此拓荒所建成的一座城市。位於犹他州盐湖城中心的圣殿广场(Temple Square) 便是 摩门教徒心中的圣地 ,这里也是摩门教的全球总部所在地（目前正在重新修建，图1是网图，图2是我们2007年来时的照片）。其州政府也号称是美国最美的州政府办公大楼（图3和4），公共图书馆在美国也是非常有名气的（图5和6）。</p> Temple Square Utah State Capital Salt Lake City Public Library <b>Capitol Reef National Park</b> Capitol Reef National Park is in Utah's south-central desert. It surrounds a long wrinkle in the earth known as the Waterpocket Fold, with layers of golden sandstone, canyons and striking rock formations. Among the park's sights are the Chimney Rock pillar, the Hickman Bridge arch, and Capitol Reef, known for its white sandstone domes. In the north are the towering monoliths of Cathedral Valley. <p class="ql-block">Capitol Reef National Park(圆顶礁国家公园)位于美国犹他州中部，景区面积近五百平方公里。这里的主要地形特征是河谷皱折，5600万年前的地壳运动升高了科罗拉多板块，圆顶礁就是位于这个板块断裂带上一个公园。 园内有些巨石或悬崖具有浅白的颜色及半球形狀，看似 美国 国会大厦的圆屋顶，因此也被称作国会礁国家公园。我今天走了Hickman Bridge Trail 和Grand Wash Trail，然后开了Scenic Drive。图2是大圆顶(Capitol Dome),，图4是希克曼天生桥(Hickman Bridge)。</p> Hickman Bridge Grand Wash Scenic Drive Chimney Rock <p class="ql-block">Sunset at Capitol Reef National Park 日落时分</p> <p class="ql-block">Sunrise at the Capitol Reef National Park 日出时分</p> <b>Utah Scenic Byway 12 犹他12号公路</b> <p class="ql-block">State Route 12 or Scenic Byway 12 (SR-12), also known as "Highway 12 — A Journey Through Time Scenic Byway", is a 122.863-mile-long (197.729 km) state highway designated an All-American Road located in Garfield County and Wayne County, Utah, United States.</p><p class="ql-block">Proceeding west to east for 122 miles (nearly 200 km), the highway starts south of Panguitch at an intersection with US-89, crosses part of Dixie National Forest and Bryce Canyon National Park, continues through the small towns of Tropic, Cannonville, and Henrieville. It crosses various parts of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (GS-ENM), continues northeast through Escalante and over the Escalante River, then over the Hogback,[2] a narrow ridge with no guardrails or shoulders and steep drop-offs on each side. It then proceeds north through more of GS-ENM, Boulder, the Aquarius Plateau, Grover, ending in Torrey at an intersection with SR-24, five miles (8 km) west of Capitol Reef National Park. The 30-mile (48 km) long portion of the highway that ascends and descends Boulder Mountain on the Aquarius Plateau is known as Boulder Mountain Highway.</p><p class="ql-block">The segment of SR-12 between the US-89 and SR-63 junctions is part of the National Highway System.</p> <p class="ql-block">犹他州的12公路是全美最美国家景观道路（The All-American Road）之一。这条 124 英里的特殊路线将S.R. 24 靠近东北部的 Torrey 与 西部靠近 美国 89 号公路 的 Panguitch ，连接园顶礁国家公园(Capitol Reef National Park)和布莱斯峡谷国家公园（Bryce Canyon National Park)，穿越了海拔 4,000 至 9,000 英尺的峡谷、高原和山谷的孤立景观。在驾驶这条风景路象一段穿越时空的旅程，您会遇到考古、文化、历史、自然、娱乐和风景的特点！</p> <b>Bryce Canyon National Park</b> <p class="ql-block">Bryce Canyon National Park (/braɪs/) is an American national park located in southwestern Utah. The major feature of the park is Bryce Canyon, which despite its name, is not a canyon, but a collection of giant natural amphitheaters along the eastern side of the Paunsaugunt Plateau. Bryce is distinctive due to geological structures called hoodoos, formed by frost weathering and stream erosion of the river and lake bed sedimentary rocks. The red, orange, and white colors of the rocks provide spectacular views for park visitors. Bryce Canyon National Park is much smaller, and sits at a much higher elevation than nearby Zion National Park. The rim at Bryce varies from 8,000 to 9,000 feet (2,400 to 2,700 m).</p> <p class="ql-block">布莱斯峡谷国家公园(Bryce Canyon National Park)是犹他州面积最小的国家公园，位于美国犹他州西南部。其名字虽有峡谷一词，但其并非真正的峡谷，而是沿着庞沙冈特高原东面，由侵蚀而成的巨大自然露天剧场。其独特的地理结构称为岩柱（hoodoos），由风、河流里的水与冰侵蚀和湖床的沉积岩组成。成千上万的石柱，形态生动、橙红炫丽、有的如利剑直插云霄，有的如少女婷婷玉立；又据说是作恶的坏人被化作石柱，困在这里…让人不得不感叹大自然的鬼斧神工。</p><p class="ql-block">我走了Queen’s Garden步道和Navajo Loop步道，下到谷底去探究这些石柱。</p> Queen's Garden Trail Navajo Loop Sunset at Sunset Point <p class="ql-block">Sunrise at Bryce Canyon National Park 日出时分</p> <p class="ql-block">莱斯峡谷地区由白垩纪后期至新生代初期出现沉积运动，其沉积运动在公园内不同位置有著不同程度：</p><p class="ql-block">达科他沙岩与特罗皮克页岩被沉积至暖、浅的白垩纪海路的水里，并在其内加工（其岩石显露面在公园边界外不远处被发现）。</p><p class="ql-block">·公园内五颜六色的精巧的岩柱，其由6千3百万年至4千万年前的水流与湖所形成的冷却系统所造成的沉殿物在经过千百年的侵蚀后形成像雕刻品的奇观（由古新世纪至始新世）。不同的沉积物沉积在湖里，使湖变浅，并使海岸线与河流的三角洲迁移。</p><p class="ql-block">此外亦有少数其他形成物，于其后两个地壳隆起的世代因侵蚀作用而形成：</p><p class="ql-block">·拉拉米造山运动在7千万年前开始，影响了整个北美洲，并持绩了数百万年。这次运动帮助了落矶山脉的形成，并与白垩纪海路时期接近。那些悬崖、Wahweap与Kaiparowits高原的形成为此时地壳隆起的结果。</p><p class="ql-block">·科罗拉多高原在1千万年至1千5百万年前隆起并被细分为不同的高原 - 每个高原与其邻近的高原被断层分隔，因此各自的隆起速率不同。塞维尔河的形成在此隆起期被分离出来。</p><p class="ql-block">垂直节理经由此次隆起产生，最终（现在仍然）被优先侵蚀。最易被侵蚀的粉红悬崖上的荒原上较易形成被称为岩柱的平底尖柱形岩石，而较大抗蚀力的白岩悬崖则会形成独石柱。粉红色是因为氧化铁与锰。此外还形成了拱状岩石、天然石桥、墙壁与窗。岩柱则由软沉积岩组成，并且被较硬、不易被侵蚀的岩石覆盖，以保护其下的圆柱。布莱斯峡谷是地球上岩柱含量最高的地方之一。</p><p class="ql-block">在此公园里的形成物为整个大阶梯的一部分。而这连续地层的最古老部分在大峡谷里显露出来，中间层在宰恩国家公园里显露出来，而最年轻的部分则裸露地横卧在布莱斯峡谷地区。在各国公园里与附近地区，大阶梯的地层有少量的重叠。</p> <b>Zion National Park</b> <p class="ql-block">Zion National Park is an American national park located in southwestern Utah near the town of Springdale. A prominent feature of the 229-square-mile (590 km2) park is Zion Canyon, which is 15 miles (24 km) long and up to 2,640 ft (800 m) deep. The canyon walls are reddish and tan-colored Navajo Sandstone eroded by the North Fork of the Virgin River. The lowest point in the park is 3,666 ft (1,117 m) at Coalpits Wash and the highest peak is 8,726 ft (2,660 m) at Horse Ranch Mountain. Located at the junction of the Colorado Plateau, Great Basin, and Mojave Desert regions, the park has a unique geography and a variety of life zones that allow for unusual plant and animal diversity. Numerous plant species as well as 289 species of birds, 75 mammals (including 19 species of bat), and 32 reptiles inhabit the park's four life zones: desert, riparian, woodland, and coniferous forest. Zion National Park includes mountains, canyons, buttes, mesas, monoliths, rivers, slot canyons, and natural arches.</p> <p class="ql-block">宰恩国家公园（英文：Zion National Park），亦译为锡安国家公园，是一个位于美国西南部犹他州斯普林代尔附近的国家公园。这个占地共229平方英里（593平方公里）的国家公园的首要景点是宰恩峡谷，长15英里（24公里），并且有半英里（800米）深，其红色与黄褐色的纳瓦霍砂岩（Navajo Sandstone）被维琴河（Virgin River）北面支流所分割。其他著名特色有白色大宝座（Great White Throne）、棋盘山壁群、科罗布拱门（Kolob Arch）、三圣父与维琴河隘口（Virgin River Narrows）等。宰恩与科罗布峡谷地带的地质包含了九个意味着由150,000,000年前的中生代沉积作用而成的岩层。在该段时间的不同时期，暖流、浅海、小河、池塘与湖泊、大量沙漠和干澡的近岸环境覆盖了此地区。与科罗拉多高原形成有关的隆起运动使得该地区由10,030,000年前开始逐渐隆起了10,000英尺（3,000米）。</p>