2004-8-31
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VOICE ONE:
This is Faith Lapidus.
VOICE TWO:
And this is Steve Ember with EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English.
Today we bring you the second of three programs about beautiful and
unusual places in our world. Last week, we told about structures
built hundreds or thousands of years ago. Today we tell about some
of the great natural Wonders of the World. We do not have time to
visit all these places, but here are a few from several different
countries.
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VOICE ONE:
We begin our program today high in the southeastern mountains of
Venezuela. Water falls from a mountain called Auyan-tepui (au-YAN
tay-PWEE) or Devil Mountain. The water falls from a height of nine
hundred seventy-nine meters. It ends in an area called Devil's
Canyon. The water begins to fall in a tightly controlled stream.
However it ends in a beautiful white cloud of water spray.
This waterfall is the highest in the world. The local native
people called it the Churun Meru. It is now called Angel Falls. An
American pilot named Jimmy Angel saw the beautiful waterfall for the
first time in the nineteen-thirties. He was flying alone in a small
airplane looking for gold when he saw water falling from a great
height. Some time later several friends said the waterfall should be
named after Jimmy Angel.
VOICE TWO:
A small airplane is still the best way to enjoy this beautiful
sight. You can also visit the area under the falls after a
three-and-a-half-hour boat ride and a one-hour walk through the
jungle. And you can see Jimmy Angel's little airplane if you visit
Venezuela. It is considered a national treasure.
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VOICE ONE:
From a waterfall in Venezuela, we travel to another mountain.
This one is in Japan. It is one of the most photographed mountains
in the world. It is Mount Fuji on the island of Honshu. The Japanese
call it Fujisan and they say it with love and honor.
Mount Fuji is a sleeping volcano
about three thousand seven hundred meters high. It is the tallest
mountain in Japan. Since ancient times, the Japanese people have
considered it a holy mountain. It has also been the favorite subject
of thousands of artists. Its picture has even appeared on Japanese
money.
VOICE TWO:
Mount Fuji is an almost perfectly shaped volcano. A crown of
white snow covers the top of the mountain most of the year. Mount
Fuji seems to rise sharply out of the ground into the shape most
recognized as a volcano.
A large area is missing from the side of the mountain. This is a
result of its most recent explosion in seventeen-oh-seven. But the
missing part of the mountain does nothing to decrease its beauty.
Mount Fuji is much easier to enjoy than Angel Falls in Venezuela.
On a clear day people can see it from both the major cities of Tokyo
and Yokohama. The easiest way to see the famous mountain is on a
train from Tokyo to Osaka. Or you could climb the mountain to get an
even better look. Thousands of people climb Fujisan each summer.
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VOICE ONE:
Next, we travel to the desert of the southwestern United States.
In fifteen forty, Spanish explorer Garcia Lopez de Cardenas was
searching this desert area for gold. The desert area is almost flat,
like a table.
His exploration team had been traveling north from Mexico for
several weeks. Suddenly one morning he and his group came to an area
that stopped their exploration. They could not continue. In front of
them was a huge hole cut in the ground.
Most of this canyon was more than one thousand two hundred meters
deep. It was more than three hundred kilometers long. This huge deep
canyon extended as far as the explorers could see. It was very
beautiful. The sunlight made deep shadows and seemed to change the
shape of things every minute. The colors also changed with the
movement of the sun and clouds. Often, some areas of the deep canyon
appeared bright red. Other times they were a deep brown or purple.
The exploration team tried for three days to reach the river far
down in the canyon. They failed. They could also see no way to move
around the huge canyon. A lack of supplies forced Captain Garcia
Lopez de Cardenas to return to Mexico.
VOICE TWO:
That beautiful deep canyon is the
Grand Canyon. It is a National Park that includes an area of almost
five hundred thousand hectares. It is one of the most studied
natural areas in the world. The high canyon walls are a record of
the past written in rock. Explorers have found fossils of ancient
creatures near the bottom of the Grand Canyon.
People can see many kinds of animals in or near the great canyon.
These include large deer. They do not fear the people who come to
visit the Grand Canyon. The canyon, its animals, plants and rocks
are protected in this special place.
VOICE ONE:
The Colorado River is at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. The
river took several million years to cut the deep canyon into the
face of the Earth. It is still doing this today.
Visitors today do not have a problem reaching the bottom of the
Grand Canyon and the great Colorado River. Many people take long
exciting trips in rubber boats on the river.
Millions of people from around the world visit the Grand Canyon
National Park each year. Many stay for less than a day. However,
people leave with the memory of this beautiful natural wonder that
will stay with them for the rest of their lives.
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VOICE TWO:
Next we travel across the Pacific Ocean. Our next natural Wonder
of the World is the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. It extends more
than two thousand kilometers along Australia's northeast coast. It
is the largest group of coral reefs in the world.
A reef is a limestone formation that is usually under water or
just above it. The coral that forms the reef is made of the hardened
remains of dead sea animals called polyps. Thousands of millions of
living coral polyps and plants are attached to the reef. The coral
is many different colors. The water near the reef is usually clear
and visitors can see far down into the ocean.
This natural formation supports many different kinds of fish, sea
turtles, crabs, giant clams, birds and other wild life.
Millions of visitors from around the world come every year to
enjoy the Great Barrier Reef. Many people visit in boats that have
glass bottoms so they can see the fish and the colorful coral.
Others swim among the fish using underwater breathing equipment.
Swimming along the reef is fun. But it can also be dangerous. The
huge great white shark is one of the creatures that swims near the
reef.
VOICE ONE:
Scientists believe the Great Barrier Reef is about thirty million
years old. However, in recent years, people have caused problems for
the reef. Some took coral from the reef. And boats dumped garbage or
human waste.
Now the reef is protected by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
Authority, an agency of the Australian government. Visitors are told
it is against the law to collect any of the limestone or coral or to
damage the reef in any way.
Laws prevent oil companies from drilling for oil anywhere near
the reef. The Australian government has also worked to make sure
nothing is placed in the ocean that would harm the great reef.
Scientists are working to make sure that Australia's Great Barrier
Reef remains healthy and a true Wonder of the World for years to
come.
VOICE TWO:
We would have liked to have enough time to tell about other great
wonders of the world -- Victoria Falls, for example. This huge
waterfall in southern Africa is on the border between Zambia and
Zimbabwe. Another great waterfall brings visitors to the border area
between the United States and Canada. They come to see the famous
Niagara Falls.
We also wanted to tell about the huge volcano that exploded near
the Island of Krakatoa in Indonesia. And the tallest mountain in the
world, Mount Everest in Nepal, should be on any list of natural
Wonders of the World.
It is easy to visit most of these great natural wonders if you
have a computer. If your computer can link with the Internet system
you too can enjoy these beautiful sights. Have fun exploring.
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VOICE ONE:
This program was written by Paul Thompson. It was produced by
Jill Moss. This is Faith Lapidus.
VOICE TWO:
And this is Steve Ember. Join us again next week when we bring
you the third part of our Wonders of the World series on
EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English.