2004-7-20
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VOICE ONE:
This is Phoebe Zimmermann.
VOICE TWO:
And this is Steve Ember with
EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English. Today, we tell about one of the
most famous national parks in the United States. You can find it
high in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of the western state of
California. It is one of the most beautiful places in the country.
Its name is Yosemite.
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VOICE ONE:
Yosemite National Park is a place
of extremes. It has high mountains. It has valleys formed by ancient
ice that cut deep into the Earth millions of years ago. Water from
high in the mountains falls in many places to the green valley far
below. There are thirteen beautiful waterfalls in Yosemite Valley.
One of these waterfalls, Yosemite Falls, is the fifth highest on
Earth.
Up in the mountains are clear lakes, quick-moving small rivers,
and huge formations of rock. One huge rock is called Half Dome. It
rises more than two-thousand-seven-hundred meters into the air.
Yosemite has a beautiful slow-moving river and large grassy areas
where you can see wild animals. More than sixty kinds of animals
live in the park. Deer are very common. You can see them almost
everywhere. They have little fear of humans. You might even see a
large black bear. You can also see two-hundred different kinds of
birds.
In a place called the Mariposa Grove, visitors can see some of
the largest, tallest and oldest living things on Earth. These are
the giant Sequoia Trees. One of these trees is called Grizzly Giant.
It is more than one-thousand-eight-hundred years old. One tree is
almost ninety-meters tall. Another is more than ten meters around.
The huge old trees can make you feel very, very small.
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VOICE TWO:
The story of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and the area that is
Yosemite National Park begins about five-hundred-million years ago.
The area then was at the bottom of an ancient sea.
Scientists believe strong earthquakes forced the bottom of the
sea to rise above the water. After millions of years, it was pushed
up into the air to form land and mountains. At the same time, hot
liquid rock from deep in the Earth pushed to the surface. This
liquid rock slowly cooled. This cooling liquid formed a very hard
rock known as granite.
Many centuries of rain caused huge rivers to move violently
through this area. Over time, these rivers cut deep into the new
mountains. During the great Ice Age, millions of tons of ice cut and
shaped the cooled granite to form giant rocks. Millions of years
later these would become the giant rocks called Half Dome and El
Capitan in Yosemite Park.
VOICE ONE:
Humans have lived in the area of Yosemite for more than
four-thousand years. The people who first lived there were hunters.
Most were members of a tribe of Native Americans called the Miwok.
They lived in Yosemite Valley near the river.
During the extremely cold winters, these people would move to
lower, warmer areas. They would return when the winter months had
passed.
The first white Americans may have
been hunters looking for fur animals. A famous American hunter and
explorer named Joseph Walker passed through the area in the
eighteen-thirties. He reported about the huge rock formations and
said there was no way to reach the valley below.
VOICE TWO:
Citizens who had formed a military group were the first real
modern explorers of the valley. They were at war with the local
Indians and came into the valley. The white soldiers called the
Indians Yosemites. The valley was named for the Indian tribe. Soon,
reports of its great natural beauty were sent all the way back to
Washington, D.C.
In eighteen-sixty-four, a United States senator called for
legislation to give the Yosemite Valley to the state of California
as a public park. The legislation said the valley should be
preserved and protected. President Abraham Lincoln signed the bill
after Congress approved it.
This event was extremely important in the history of the United
States. It was the first time that a government had approved a law
to preserve and protect land because of its great beauty. The land
was to be kept for the public to enjoy. Yosemite became the first
state park. It was the first real park in the world. In
eighteen-ninety, it became a national park. The National Park
Service is responsible for the park today. It is preserved and
protected for all people to enjoy.
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VOICE ONE:
No major roads lead to Yosemite National Park. Visitors must
leave the highways and drive their cars over smaller roads. Yosemite
is about three-hundred-twenty kilometers east of San Francisco.
It is deep in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The roads leading to
the park pass over lower parts of the huge mountains. Then the road
goes lower and lower into the area of the park called Yosemite
Valley.
Visitors can stay in different kinds of places in Yosemite Park.
Several beautiful old hotels have been built on the property. Some
are very costly. Others cost less. Many people bring temporary cloth
homes called tents. It costs only a few dollars a day to place a
tent in the approved areas.
Visitors can walk through many areas in the beautiful valley and
the mountains. These walking paths are called trails. The National
Park Service has improved more than one-thousand-one-hundred
kilometers of trails. It is fun to explore these trails. Some take
only a few minutes to walk. Others can take several days to
complete.
VOICE TWO:
People come from all over the world to climb one of the huge rock
formations at Yosemite. The most famous of these is called El
Capitan. People who climb it call it "El Cap." Climbing El Cap is
only for experts. This activity is called "hard rock climbing." It
is extremely difficult and can be very dangerous.
A climber must have expert skill and great strength. The climb is
straight up the face of a rock wall. Experts say it can take about
three days to climb to the top of El Cap. The climbing is very slow.
Climbers must look for cracks in the rock. They place their hands
and feet in the cracks and then work their way up. They also use
ropes and special equipment. From the bottom of the valley to the
top of El Cap is about one-thousand-one-hundred meters.
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VOICE ONE:
In the summer months, Yosemite Park is filled with visitors.
Large buses bring people from San Francisco to spend the day. They
leave San Francisco very early in the morning and arrive back late
at night. They drive from one place to another to see Yosemite.
Other visitors come by car. Some even come by bicycle. Some visit
for just a few hours. Others take several days or weeks to enjoy the
park. Many visitors come to Yosemite again and again. About
four-million people visit the park every year.
VOICE TWO:
In the winter, heavy snow falls in the Sierra Nevada Mountains
and Yosemite. The snow usually begins to fall in the month of
November. Heavy snow forces some of the roads into Yosemite to close
during the winter months. The National Park Service works hard to
keep most of the roads open.
Drivers must use special care because of ice and snow on the
roads. They enjoy a special beauty never seen by the summer
visitors. Many winter visitors come to Yosemite to spend their time
skiing at Badger Pass. Badger ski area is the oldest in California.
It has a ski school for those who want to learn the exciting sport.
Many visitors come to enjoy the park with its heavy coat of white
snow. In some areas the snow is many meters deep. Some of the tall
mountains keep their snow until the last hot days of summer.
VOICE ONE:
Whenever visitors come to Yosemite, they experience great natural
beauty. A visit to the park provides lasting memories of what nature
has produced. Most people who come to Yosemite usually bring a
camera. They take many of pictures of the huge rocks, the beautiful
Yosemite Valley, the waterfalls and the giant trees.
But you do not really need a photograph to remember its great
natural beauty. Yosemite will leave its image in your memory
forever.
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VOICE TWO:
This program was written by Paul Thompson. It was produced by
Mario Ritter. This is Steve Ember.
VOICE ONE:
And this is Phoebe Zimmermann. Join us again next week for
another EXPLORATIONS program in VOA Special English.