First of the wonders of the great West to be brought within reach of the tourist were the Yosemite and the Big Trees, on the completion of the first transcontinental railway; next came the Yellowstone and icy Alaska, by the northern roads; and last the Grand Canyon5 of the Colorado, which, naturally the hardest to reach, has now become, by a branch of the Santa Fe, the most accessible of all.
Of course, with this wonderful extension of steel ways through our wildness there is loss as well as gain. Nearly all railroads are bordered by belts of desolation. The finest wilderness6 perishes as if stricken with pestilence7. Bird and beast people, if not the dryads, are frightened from the groves9. Too often the groves also vanish, leaving nothing but ashes. Fortunately, nature has a few big places beyond man's power to spoil—the ocean, the two icy ends of the globe, and the Grand Canyon.
When I first heard of the Santa Fe trains running to the edge of the Grand Canyon of Arizona, I was troubled with thoughts of the disenchantment likely to follow. But last winter, when I saw those trains crawling along through the pines of the Coconino Forest and close up to the brink10 of the chasm11 at Bright Angel, I was glad to discover that in the presence of such stupendous scenery they are nothing. The locomotives and trains are mere12 beetles13 and caterpillars14, and the noise they make is as little disturbing as the hooting15 of an owl16 in the lonely woods.
In a dry, hot, monotonous17 forested plateau, seemingly boundless18, you come suddenly and without warning upon the abrupt19 edge of a gigantic sunken landscape of the wildest, most multitudinous features, and those features, sharp and angular, are made out of flat beds of limestone21 and sandstone forming a spiry22, jagged, gloriously colored mountain range countersunk in a level gray plain. It is a hard job to sketch23 it even in scrawniest outline; and, try as I may, not in the least sparing myself, I cannot tell the hundredth part of the wonders of its features—the side canyons24, gorges25, alcoves27, cloisters28, and amphitheaters of vast sweep and depth, carved in its magnificent walls; the throng29 of great architectural rocks it contains resembling castles, cathedrals, temples, and palaces, towered and spired31 and painted, some of them nearly a mile high, yet beneath one's feet. All this, however, is less difficult than to give any idea of the impression of wild, primeval beauty and power one receives in merely gazing from its brink. The view down the gulf33 of color and over the rim32 of its wonderful wall, more than any other view I know, leads us to think of our earth as a star with stars swimming in light, every radiant spire30 pointing the way to the heavens.
But it is impossible to conceive what the canyon is, or what impression it makes, from descriptions or pictures, however good. Naturally it is untellable even to those who have seen something perhaps a little like it on a small scale in this same plateau region. One's most extravagant34 expectations are indefinitely surpassed, though one expects much from what is said of it as "the biggest chasm on earth"—"so big is it that all other big things—Yosemite, the Yellowstone, the Pyramids, Chicago—all would be lost if tumbled into it." Naturally enough, illustrations as to size are sought for among other canyons like or unlike it, with the common result of worse confounding confusion. The prudent35 keep silence. It was once said that the "Grand Canyon could put a dozen Yosemites in its vest pocket."
The justly famous Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone is, like the Colorado, gorgeously colored and abruptly36 countersunk in a plateau, and both are mainly the work of water. But the Colorado's canyon is more than a thousand times larger, and as a score or two of new buildings of ordinary size would not appreciably37 change the general view of a great city, so hundreds of Yellowstones might be eroded38 in the sides of the Colorado Canyon without noticeably augmenting39 its size or the richness of its sculpture.
But it is not true that the great Yosemite rocks would be thus lost or hidden. Nothing of their kind in the world, so far as I know, rivals El Capitan and Tissiack, much less dwarfs41 or in any way belittles42 them. None of the sandstone or limestone precipices43 of the canyon that I have seen or heard of approaches in smooth, flawless strength and grandeur44 the granite45 face of El Capitan or the Tenaya side of Cloud's Rest. These colossal46 cliffs, types of permanence, are about three thousand and six thousand feet high; those of the canyon that are sheer are about half as high, and are types of fleeting47 change; while glorious-domed48 Tissiack, noblest of mountain buildings, far from being overshadowed or lost in this rosy50, spiry canyon company, would draw every eye, and, in serene51 majesty52, "aboon them a'" she would take her place—castle, temple, palace, or tower. Nevertheless a noted53 writer, comparing the Grand Canyon in a general way with the glacial Yosemite, says: "And the Yosemite—ah, the lovely Yosemite! Dumped down into the wilderness of gorges and mountains, it would take a guide who knew of its existence a long time to find it." This is striking, and shows up well above the levels of commonplace description, but it is confusing, and has the fatal fault of not being true. As well try to describe an eagle by putting a lark54 in it. "And the lark—ah, the lovely lark! Dumped down the red, royal gorge26 of the eagle, it would be hard to find." Each in its own place is better, singing at heaven's gate, and sailing the sky with the clouds.
Every feature of Nature's big face is beautiful,—height and hollow, wrinkle, furrow55, and line,—and this is the main master-furrow of its kind on our continent, incomparably greater and more impressive than any other yet discovered, or likely to be discovered, now that all the great rivers have been traced to their heads.
The Colorado River rises in the heart of the continent on the dividing ranges and ridges56 between the two oceans, drains thousands of snowy mountains through narrow or spacious57 valleys, and thence through canyons of every color, sheer-walled and deep, all of which seem to be represented in this one grand canyon of canyons.
It is very hard to give anything like an adequate conception of its size; much more of its color, its vast wall-sculpture, the wealth of ornate architectural buildings that fill it, or, most of all, the tremendous impression it makes. According to Major Powell, it is about two hundred and seventeen miles long, from five to fifteen miles wide from rim to rim, and from about five thousand to six thousand feet deep. So tremendous a chasm would be one of the world's greatest wonders even if, like ordinary canyons cut in sedimentary rocks, it were empty and its walls were simple. But instead of being plain, the walls are so deeply and elaborately carved into all sorts of recesses59—alcoves, cirques, amphitheaters, and side canyons—that, were you to trace the rim closely around on both sides, your journey would be nearly a thousand miles long. Into all these recesses the level, continuous beds of rock in ledges60 and benches, with their various colors, run like broad ribbons, marvelously beautiful and effective even at a distance of ten or twelve miles. And the vast space these glorious walls enclose, instead of being empty, is crowded with gigantic architectural rock forms gorgeously colored and adorned61 with towers and spires62 like works of art.
Looking down from this level plateau, we are more impressed with a feeling of being on the top of everything than when looking from the summit of a mountain. From side to side of the vast gulf, temples, palaces, towers, and spires come soaring up in thick array half a mile or nearly a mile above their sunken, hidden bases, some to a level with our standpoint, but none higher. And in the inspiring morning light all are so fresh and rosy-looking that they seem new-born; as if, like the quick-growing crimson63 snowplants of the California woods, they had just sprung up, hatched by the warm, brooding, motherly weather.
In trying to describe the great pines and sequoias of the Sierra, I have often thought that if one of these trees could be set by itself in some city park, its grandeur might there be impressively realized; while in its home forests, where all magnitudes are great, the weary, satiated traveler sees none of them truly. It is so with these majestic64 rock structures.
Though mere residual65 masses of the plateau, they are dowered with the grandeur and repose66 of mountains, together with the finely chiseled67 carving68 and modeling of man's temples and palaces, and often, to a considerable extent, with their symmetry. Some, closely observed, look like ruins; but even these stand plumb69 and true, and show architectural forms loaded with lines strictly70 regular and decorative71, and all are arrayed in colors that storms and time seem only to brighten. They are not placed in regular rows in line with the river, but "a' through ither," as the Scotch72 say, in lavish73, exuberant74 crowds, as if nature in wildest extravagance held her bravest structures as common as gravel-piles. Yonder stands a spiry cathedral nearly five thousand feet in height, nobly symmetrical, with sheer buttressed75 walls and arched doors and windows, as richly finished and decorated with sculptures as the great rock temples of India or Egypt. Beside it rises a huge castle with arched gateway76, turrets77, watch-towers, ramparts, etc., and to right and left palaces, obelisks78, and pyramids fairly fill the gulf, all colossal and all lavishly79 painted and carved. Here and there a flat-topped structure may be seen, or one imperfectly domed; but the prevailing80 style is ornate Gothic, with many hints of Egyptian and Indian.
Throughout this vast extent of wild architecture—nature's own capital city—there seem to be no ordinary dwellings81. All look like grand and important public structures, except perhaps some of the lower pyramids, broad-based and sharp-pointed82, covered with down-flowing talus like loosely set tents with hollow, sagging83 sides. The roofs often have disintegrated84 rocks heaped and draggled over them, but in the main the masonry85 is firm and laid in regular courses, as if done by square and rule.
Nevertheless they are ever changing; their tops are now a dome49, now a flat table or a spire, as harder or softer strata86 are reached in their slow degradation87, while the sides, with all their fine moldings, are being steadily88 undermined and eaten away. But no essential change in style or color is thus effected. From century to century they stand the same. What seems confusion among the rough earthquake-shaken crags nearest one comes to order as soon as the main plan of the various structures appears. Every building, however complicated and laden89 with ornamental90 lines, is at one with itself and every one of its neighbors, for the same characteristic controlling belts of color and solid strata extend with wonderful constancy for very great distances, and pass through and give style to thousands of separate structures, however their smaller characters may vary.
Of all the various kinds of ornamental work displayed—carving, tracery on cliff faces, moldings, arches, pinnacles—none is more admirably effective or charms more than the webs of rain-channeled taluses. Marvelously extensive, without the slightest appearance of waste or excess, they cover roofs and dome tops and the base of every cliff, belt each spire and pyramid and massy, towering temple, and in beautiful continuous lines go sweeping92 along the great walls in and out around all the intricate system of side canyons, amphitheaters, cirques, and scallops into which they are sculptured. From one point hundreds of miles of the fairy embroidery93 may be traced. It is all so fine and orderly that it would seem that not only had the clouds and streams been kept harmoniously94 busy in the making of it, but that every raindrop sent like a bullet to a mark had been the subject of a separate thought, so sure is the outcome of beauty through the stormy centuries. Surely nowhere else are there illustrations so striking of the natural beauty of desolation and death, so many of nature's own mountain buildings wasting in glory of high desert air—going to dust. See how steadfast95 in beauty they all are in their going. Look again and again how the rough, dusty boulders96 and sand of disintegration97 from the upper ledges wreathe in beauty for ashes—as in the flowers of a prairie after fires—but here the very dust and ashes are beautiful.
Gazing across the mighty98 chasm, we at last discover that it is not its great depth nor length, nor yet these wonderful buildings, that most impresses us. It is its immense width, sharply defined by precipitous walls plunging99 suddenly down from a flat plain, declaring in terms instantly apprehended100 that the vast gulf is a gash101 in the once unbroken plateau, made by slow, orderly erosion and removal of huge beds of rocks. Other valleys of erosion are as great—in all their dimensions some are greater—but none of these produces an effect on the imagination at once so quick and profound, coming without study, given at a glance. Therefore by far the greatest and most influential102 feature of this view from Bright Angel or any other of the canyon views is the opposite wall. Of the one beneath our feet we see only fragmentary sections in cirques and amphitheaters and on the sides of the out-jutting103 promontories104 between them, while the other, though far distant, is beheld105 in all its glory of color and noble proportions—the one supreme106 beauty and wonder to which the eye is ever turning. For while charming with its beauty it tells the story of the stupendous erosion of the canyon—the foundation of the unspeakable impression made on everybody. It seems a gigantic statement for even nature to make, all in one mighty stone word, apprehended at once like a burst of light, celestial107 color its natural vesture, coming in glory to mind and heart as to a home prepared for it from the very beginning. Wildness so godful, cosmic, primeval, bestows108 a new sense of earth's beauty and size. Not even from high mountains does the world seem so wide, so like a star in glory of light on its way through the heavens.
I have observed scenery-hunters of all sorts getting first views of yosemites, glaciers110, White Mountain ranges, etc. Mixed with the enthusiasm which such scenery naturally excites, there is often weak gushing112, and many splutter aloud like little waterfalls. Here, for a few moments at least, there is silence, and all are in dead earnest, as if awed113 and hushed by an earthquake—perhaps until the cook cries "Breakfast!" or the stable-boy "Horses are ready!" Then the poor unfortunates, slaves of regular habits, turn quickly away, gasping114 and muttering as if wondering where they had been and what had enchanted115 them.
Roads have been made from Bright Angel Hotel through the Coconino Forest to the ends of outstanding promontories, commanding extensive views up and down the canyon. The nearest of them, three or four miles east and west, are O'Neill's Point and Rowe's Point; the latter, besides commanding the eternally interesting canyon, gives wide-sweeping views southeast and west over the dark forest roof to the San Francisco and Mount Trumbull volcanoes—the bluest of mountains over the blackest of level woods.
Instead of thus riding in dust with the crowd, more will be gained by going quietly afoot along the rim at different times of day and night, free to observe the vegetation, the fossils in the rocks, the seams beneath overhanging ledges once inhabited by Indians, and to watch the stupendous scenery in the changing lights and shadows, clouds, showers, and storms. One need not go hunting the so-called "points of interest." The verge117 anywhere, everywhere, is a point of interest beyond one's wildest dreams.
As yet, few of the promontories or throng of mountain buildings in the canyon are named. Nor among such exuberance118 of forms are names thought of by the bewildered, hurried tourist. He would be as likely to think of names for waves in a storm. The Eastern and Western Cloisters, Hindu Amphitheater, Cape20 Royal, Powell's Plateau, Grand View Point, Point Sublime119, Bissell and Moran Points, the Temple of Set, Vishnu's Temple, Shiva's Temple, Twin Temples, Tower of Babel, Hance's Column—these fairly good names given by Dutton, Holmes, Moran, and others are scattered120 over a large stretch of the canyon wilderness.
All the canyon rock-beds are lavishly painted, except a few neutral bars and the granite notch121 at the bottom occupied by the river, which makes but little sign. It is a vast wilderness of rocks in a sea of light, colored and glowing like oak and maple122 woods in autumn, when the sun-gold is richest. I have just said that it is impossible to learn what the canyon is like from descriptions and pictures. Powell's and Dutton's descriptions present magnificent views not only of the canyon but of all the grand region round about it; and Holmes's drawings, accompanying Dutton's report, are wonderfully good. Surely faithful and loving skill can go no farther in putting the multitudinous decorated forms on paper. But the COLORS, the living rejoicing COLORS, chanting morning and evening in chorus to heaven! Whose brush or pencil, however lovingly inspired, can give us these? And if paint is of no effect, what hope lies in pen-work? Only this: some may be incited123 by it to go and see for themselves.
No other range of mountainous rock-work of anything like the same extent have I seen that is so strangely, boldly, lavishly colored. The famous Yellowstone Canyon below the falls comes to mind; but, wonderful as it is, and well deserved as is its fame, compared with this it is only a bright rainbow ribbon at the roots of the pines. Each of the series of level, continuous beds of carboniferous rocks of the canyon has, as we have seen, its own characteristic color. The summit limestone beds are pale yellow; next below these are the beautiful rose-colored cross-bedded sandstones; next there are a thousand feet of brilliant red sandstones; and below these the red wall limestones124, over two thousand feet thick, rich massy red, the greatest and most influential of the series, and forming the main color-fountain. Between these are many neutral-tinted beds. The prevailing colors are wonderfully deep and clear, changing and blending with varying intensity125 from hour to hour, day to day, season to season; throbbing127, wavering, glowing, responding to every passing cloud or storm, a world of color in itself, now burning in separate rainbow bars streaked128 and blotched with shade, now glowing in one smooth, all-pervading ethereal radiance like the alpenglow, uniting the rocky world with the heavens.
The dawn, as in all the pure, dry desert country is ineffably129 beautiful; and when the first level sunbeams sting the domes130 and spires, with what a burst of power the big, wild days begin! The dead and the living, rocks and hearts alike, awake and sing the new-old song of creation. All the massy headlands and salient angles of the walls, and the multitudinous temples and palaces, seem to catch the light at once, and cast thick black shadows athwart hollow and gorge, bringing out details as well as the main massive features of the architecture; while all the rocks, as if wild with life, throb126 and quiver and glow in the glorious sunburst, rejoicing. Every rock temple then becomes a temple of music; every spire and pinnacle91 an angel of light and song, shouting color hallelujahs.
As the day draws to a close, shadows, wondrous131, black, and thick, like those of the morning, fill up the wall hollows, while the glowing rocks, their rough angles burned off, seem soft and hot to the heart as they stand submerged in purple haze132, which now fills the canyon like a sea. Still deeper, richer, more divine grow the great walls and temples, until in the supreme flaming glory of sunset the whole canyon is transfigured, as if all the life and light of centuries of sunshine stored up and condensed in the rocks was now being poured forth135 as from one glorious fountain, flooding both earth and sky.
Strange to say, in the full white effulgence136 of the midday hours the bright colors grow dim and terrestrial in common gray haze; and the rocks, after the manner of mountains, seem to crouch137 and drowse and shrink to less than half their real stature138, and have nothing to say to one, as if not at home. But it is fine to see how quickly they come to life and grow radiant and communicative as soon as a band of white clouds come floating by. As if shouting for joy, they seem to spring up to meet them in hearty139 salutation, eager to touch them and beg their blessings140. It is just in the midst of these dull midday hours that the canyon clouds are born.
A good storm cloud full of lightning and rain on its way to its work on a sunny desert day is a glorious object. Across the canyon, opposite the hotel, is a little tributary141 of the Colorado called Bright Angel Creek142. A fountain-cloud still better deserves the name "Angel of the Desert Wells"—clad in bright plumage, carrying cool shade and living water to countless143 animals and plants ready to perish, noble in form and gesture, seeming able for anything, pouring life-giving, wonder-working floods from its alabaster144 fountains, as if some sky-lake had broken. To every gulch145 and gorge on its favorite ground is given a passionate146 torrent147, roaring, replying to the rejoicing lightning—stones, tons in weight, hurrying away as if frightened, showing something of the way Grand Canyon work is done. Most of the fertile summer clouds of the canyon are of this sort, massive, swelling148 cumuli, growing rapidly, displaying delicious tones of purple and gray in the hollows of their sun-beaten houses, showering favored areas of the heated landscape, and vanishing in an hour or two. Some, busy and thoughtful-looking, glide149 with beautiful motion along the middle of the canyon in flocks, turning aside here and there, lingering as if studying the needs of particular spots, exploring side canyons, peering into hollows like birds seeding nest-places, or hovering150 aloft on outspread wings. They scan all the red wilderness, dispensing151 their blessings of cool shadows and rain where the need is the greatest, refreshing152 the rocks, their offspring as well as the vegetation, continuing their sculpture, deepening gorges and sharpening peaks. Sometimes, blending all together, they weave a ceiling from rim to rim, perhaps opening a window here and there for sunshine to stream through, suddenly lighting153 some palace or temple and making it flare154 in the rain as if on fire.
Sometimes, as one sits gazing from a high, jutting promontory155, the sky all clear, showing not the slightest wisp or penciling, a bright band of cumuli will appear suddenly, coming up the canyon in single file, as if tracing a well-known trail, passing in review, each in turn darting156 its lances and dropping its shower, making a row of little vertical157 rivers in the air above the big brown one. Others seem to grow from mere points, and fly high above the canyon, yet following its course for a long time, noiseless, as if hunting, then suddenly darting lightning at unseen marks, and hurrying on. Or they loiter here and there as if idle, like laborers158 out of work, waiting to be hired.
Half a dozen or more showers may oftentimes be seen falling at once, while far the greater part of the sky is in sunshine, and not a raindrop comes nigh one. These thundershowers from as many separate clouds, looking like wisps of long hair, may vary greatly in effects. The pale, faint streaks159 are showers that fail to reach the ground, being evaporated on the way down through the dry, thirsty air, like streams in deserts. Many, on the other hand, which in the distance seem insignificant160, are really heavy rain, however local; these are the gray wisps well zigzagged161 with lightning. The darker ones are torrent rain, which on broad, steep slopes of favorable conformation give rise to so-called "cloudbursts"; and wonderful is the commotion162 they cause. The gorges and gulches163 below them, usually dry, break out in loud uproar164, with a sudden downrush of muddy, boulder-laden floods. Down they all go in one simultaneous gush111, roaring like lions rudely awakened165, each of the tawny166 brood actually kicking up a dust at the first onset167.
During the winter months snow falls over all the high plateau, usually to a considerable depth, whitening the rim and the roofs of the canyon buildings. But last winter, when I arrived at Bright Angel in the middle of January, there was no snow in sight, and the ground was dry, greatly to my disappointment, for I had made the trip mainly to see the canyon in its winter garb168. Soothingly169 I was informed that this was an exceptional season, and that the good snow might arrive at any time. After waiting a few days, I gladly hailed a broad-browed cloud coming grandly on from the west in big promising170 blackness, very unlike the white sailors of the summer skies. Under the lee of a rim-ledge, with another snow-lover, I watched its movements as it took possession of the canyon and all the adjacent region in sight. Trailing its gray fringes over the spiry tops of the great temples and towers, it gradually settled lower, embracing them all with ineffable171 kindness and gentleness of touch, and fondled the little cedars172 and pines as they quivered eagerly in the wind like young birds begging their mothers to feed them. The first flakes173 and crystals began to fly about noon, sweeping straight up the middle of the canyon, and swirling174 in magnificent eddies175 along the sides. Gradually the hearty swarms176 closed their ranks, and all the canyon was lost in gray bloom except a short section of the wall and a few trees beside us, which looked glad with snow in their needles and about their feet as they leaned out over the gulf. Suddenly the storm opened with magical effect to the north over the canyon of Bright Angel Creek, inclosing a sunlit mass of the canyon architecture, spanned by great white concentric arches of cloud like the bows of a silvery aurora177. Above these and a little back of them was a series of upboiling purple clouds, and high above all, in the background, a range of noble cumuli towered aloft like snow-laden mountains, their pure pearl bosses flooded with sunshine. The whole noble picture, calmly glowing, was framed in thick gray gloom, which soon closed over it; and the storm went on, opening and closing until night covered all.
Two days later, when we were on a jutting point about eighteen miles east of Bright Angel and one thousand feet higher, we enjoyed another storm of equal glory as to cloud effects, though only a few inches of snow fell. Before the storm began we had a magnificent view of this grander upper part of the canyon and also of the Coconino Forest and the Painted Desert. The march of the clouds with their storm banners flying over this sublime landscape was unspeakably glorious, and so also was the breaking up of the storm next morning—the mingling178 of silver-capped rock, sunshine, and cloud.
Most tourists make out to be in a hurry even here; therefore their days or hours would be best spent on the promontories nearest the hotel. Yet a surprising number go down the Bright Angel Trail to the brink of the inner gloomy granite gorge overlooking the river. Deep canyons attract like high mountains; the deeper they are, the more surely are we drawn179 into them. On foot, of course, there is no danger whatever, and, with ordinary precautions, but little on animals. In comfortable tourist faith, unthinking, unfearing, down go men, women, and children on whatever is offered, horse, mule180, or burro, as if saying with Jean Paul, "fear nothing but fear"—not without reason, for these canyon trails down the stairways of the gods are less dangerous than they seem, less dangerous than home stairs. The guides are cautious, and so are the experienced, much-enduring beasts. The scrawniest Rosinantes and wizened-rat mules181 cling hard to the rocks endwise or sidewise, like lizards182 or ants. From terrace to terrace, climate to climate, down one creeps in sun and shade, through gorge and gully and grassy183 ravine, and, after a long scramble184 on foot, at last beneath the mighty cliffs one comes to the grand, roaring river.
To the mountaineer the depth of the canyon, from five thousand to six thousand feet, will not seem so very wonderful, for he has often explored others that are about as deep. But the most experienced will be awestruck by the vast extent of huge rock monuments of pointed masonry built up in regular courses towering above, beneath, and round about him. By the Bright Angel Trail the last fifteen hundred feet of the descent to the river has to be made afoot down the gorge of Indian Garden Creek. Most of the visitors do not like this part, and are content to stop at the end of the horse trail and look down on the dull-brown flood from the edge of the Indian Garden Plateau. By the new Hance Trail, excepting a few daringly steep spots, you can ride all the way to the river, where there is a good spacious camp-ground in a mesquite grove8. This trail, built by brave Hance, begins on the highest part of the rim, eight thousand feet above the sea, a thousand feet higher than the head of Bright Angel Trail, and the descent is a little over six thousand feet, through a wonderful variety of climate and life. Often late in the fall, when frosty winds are blowing and snow is flying at one end of the trail, tender plants are blooming in balmy summer weather at the other. The trip down and up can be made afoot easily in a day. In this way one is free to observe the scenery and vegetation, instead of merely clinging to his animal and watching its steps. But all who have time should go prepared to camp awhile on the riverbank, to rest and learn something about the plants and animals and the mighty flood roaring past. In cool, shady amphitheaters at the head of the trail there are groves of white silver fir and Douglas spruce, with ferns and saxifrages that recall snowy mountains; below these, yellow pine, nut pine, juniper, hop-hornbeam, ash, maple, holly-leaved berberis, cowania, spiraea, dwarf40 oak, and other small shrubs185 and trees. In dry gulches and on taluses and sun-beaten crags are sparsely186 scattered yuccas, cactuses, agave, etc. Where springs gush from the rocks there are willow188 thickets189, grassy flats, and bright, flowery gardens, and in the hottest recesses the delicate abronia, mesquite, woody compositae, and arborescent cactuses.
The most striking and characteristic part of this widely varied190 vegetation are the cactaceae—strange, leafless, old-fashioned plants with beautiful flowers and fruit, in every way able and admirable. While grimly defending themselves with innumerable barbed spears, they offer both food and drink to man and beast. Their juicy globes and disks and fluted191 cylindrical192 columns are almost the only desert wells that never go dry, and they always seem to rejoice the more and grow plumper and juicier the hotter the sunshine and sand. Some are spherical193, like rolled-up porcupines194, crouching195 in rock-hollows beneath a mist of gray lances, unmoved by the wildest winds. Others, standing116 as erect196 as bushes and trees or tall branchless pillars crowned with magnificent flowers, their prickly armor sparkling, look boldly abroad over the glaring desert, making the strangest forests ever seen or dreamed of. Cereus giganteus, the grim chief of the desert tribe, is often thirty or forty feet high in southern Arizona. Several species of tree yuccas in the same desert, laden in early spring with superb white lilies, form forests hardly less wonderful, though here they grow singly or in small lonely groves. The low, almost stemless Yucca baccata, with beautiful lily flowers and sweet banana-like fruit, prized by the Indians, is common along the canyon rim, growing on lean, rocky soil beneath mountain mahogany, nut pines, and junipers, beside dense134 flowery mats of Spiraea caespitosa and the beautiful pinnate-leaved Spiraea millefolia. The nut pine (Pinus edulis) scattered along the upper slopes and roofs of the canyon buildings, is the principal tree of the strange dwarf Coconino Forest. It is a picturesque197 stub of a pine about twenty-five feet high, usually with dead, lichened198 limbs thrust through its rounded head, and grows on crags and fissured199 rock tables, braving heat and frost, snow and drought, and continuing patiently, faithfully fruitful for centuries. Indians and insects and almost every desert bird and beast come to it to be fed.
To civilized200 people from corn and cattle and wheat-field countries the canyon at first sight seems as uninhabitable as a glacier109 crevasse201, utterly202 silent and barren. Nevertheless it is the home of the multitude of our fellow-mortals, men as well as animals and plants. Centuries ago it was inhabited by tribes of Indians, who, long before Columbus saw America, built thousands of stone houses in its crags, and large ones, some of them several stories high, with hundreds of rooms, on the mesas of the adjacent regions. Their cliff-dwellings, almost numberless, are still to be seen in the canyon, scattered along both sides from top to bottom and throughout its entire length, built of stone and mortar203 in seams and fissures204 like swallows' nests, or on isolated205 ridges and peaks. The ruins of larger buildings are found on open spots by the river, but most of them aloft on the brink of the wildest, giddiest precipices, sites evidently chosen for safety from enemies, and seemingly accessible only to the birds of the air. Many caves were also used as dwelling-places, as were mere seams on cliff-fronts formed by unequal weathering and with or without outer or side walls; and some of them were covered with colored pictures of animals. The most interesting of these cliff-dwellings had pathetic little ribbon-like strips of garden on narrow terraces, where irrigating207 water could be carried to them—most romantic of sky-gardens, but eloquent208 of hard times.
In recesses along the river and on the first plateau flats above its gorge were fields and gardens of considerable size, where irrigating ditches may still be traced. Some of these ancient gardens are still cultivated by Indians, descendants of cliff-dwellers, who raise corn, squashes, melons, potatoes, etc., to reinforce the produce of the many wild food-furnishing plants—nuts, beans, berries, yucca and cactus187 fruits, grass and sunflower seeds, etc.—and the flesh of animals—deer, rabbits, lizards, etc. The canyon Indians I have met here seem to be living much as did their ancestors, though not now driven into rock-dens133. They are able, erect men, with commanding eyes, which nothing that they wish to see can escape. They are never in a hurry, have a strikingly measured, deliberate, bearish209 manner of moving the limbs and turning the head, are capable of enduring weather, thirst, hunger, and over-abundance, and are blessed with stomachs which triumph over everything the wilderness may offer. Evidently their lives are not bitter.
The largest of the canyon animals one is likely to see is the wild sheep, or Rocky Mountain bighorn, a most admirable beast, with limbs that never fail, at home on the most nerve-trying precipices, acquainted with all the springs and passes and broken-down jumpable places in the sheer ribbon cliffs, bounding from crag to crag in easy grace and confidence of strength, his great horns held high above his shoulders, wild red blood beating and hissing210 through every fiber211 of him like the wind through a quivering mountain pine.
Deer also are occasionally met in the canyon, making their way to the river when the wells of the plateau are dry. Along the short spring streams beavers213 are still busy, as is shown by the cottonwood and willow timber they have cut and peeled, found in all the river drift-heaps. In the most barren cliffs and gulches there dwell a multitude of lesser214 animals, well-dressed, clear-eyed, happy little beasts—wood rats, kangaroo rats, gophers, wood mice, skunks215, rabbits, bobcats, and many others, gathering216 food, or dozing217 in their sun-warmed dens. Lizards, too, of every kind and color are here enjoying life on the hot cliffs, and making the brightest of them brighter.
Nor is there any lack of feathered people. The golden eagle may be seen, and the osprey, hawks218, jays, hummingbirds219, the mourning dove, and cheery familiar singers—the black-headed grosbeak, robin220, bluebird, Townsend's thrush, and many warblers, sailing the sky and enlivening the rocks and bushes through all the canyon wilderness.
Here at Hance's river camp or a few miles above it brave Powell and his brave men passed their first night in the canyon on the adventurous221 voyage of discovery thirty-three 34 years ago. They faced a thousand dangers, open or hidden, now in their boats gladly sliding down swift, smooth reaches, now rolled over and over in back-combing surges of rough, roaring cataracts222, sucked under in eddies, swimming like beavers, tossed and beaten like castaway drift—stout-hearted, undaunted, doing their work through it all. After a month of this they floated smoothly223 out of the dark, gloomy, roaring abyss into light and safety two hundred miles below. As the flood rushes past us, heavy-laden with desert mud, we naturally think of its sources, its countless silvery branches outspread on thousands of snowy mountains along the crest224 of the continent, and the life of them, the beauty of them, their history and romance. Its topmost springs are far north and east in Wyoming and Colorado, on the snowy Wind River, Front, Park, and Sawatch Ranges, dividing the two ocean waters, and the Elk225, Wahsatch, Uinta, and innumerable spurs streaked with streams, made famous by early explorers and hunters. It is a river of rivers—the Du Chesne, San Rafael, Yampa, Dolores, Gunnison, Cochetopa, Uncompahgre, Eagle, and Roaring Rivers, the Green and the Grand, and scores of others with branches innumerable, as mad and glad a band as ever sang on mountains, descending226 in glory of foam227 and spray from snow-banks and glaciers through their rocky moraine-dammed, beaver212-dammed channels. Then, all emerging from dark balsam and pine woods and coming together, they meander228 through wide, sunny park valleys, and at length enter the great plateau and flow in deep canyons, the beginning of the system culminating in this grand canyon of canyons.
Our warm canyon camp is also a good place to give a thought to the glaciers which still exist at the heads of the highest tributaries229. Some of them are of considerable size, especially those on the Wind River and Sawatch ranges in Wyoming and Colorado. They are remnants of a vast system of glaciers which recently covered the upper part of the Colorado basin, sculptured its peaks, ridges, and valleys to their present forms, and extended far out over the plateau region—how far I cannot now say. It appears, therefore, that, however old the main trunk of the Colorado may be, all its widespread upper branches and the landscapes they flow through are new-born, scarce at all changed as yet in any important feature since they first came to light at the close of the Glacial Period.
The so-called Grand Colorado Plateau, of which the Grand Canyon is only one of the well-proportioned features, extends with a breadth of hundreds of miles from the flanks of the Wahsatch and Park Mountains to the south of the San Francisco Peaks. Immediately to the north of the deepest part of the canyon it rises in a series of subordinate plateaus, diversified230 with green meadows, marshes231, bogs232, ponds, forests, and grovy233 park valleys, a favorite Indian hunting ground, inhabited by elk, deer, beaver, etc. But far the greater part of the plateau is good sound desert, rocky, sandy, or fluffy234 with loose ashes and dust, dissected235 in some places into a labyrinth236 of stream-channel chasms237 like cracks in a dry clay-bed, or the narrow slit238 crevasses239 of glaciers—blackened with lava240 flows, dotted with volcanoes and beautiful buttes, and lined with long continuous escarpments—a vast bed of sediments241 of an ancient sea-bottom, still nearly as level as when first laid down after being heaved into the sky a mile or two high.
Walking quietly about in the alleys58 and byways of the Grand Canyon city, we learn something of the way it was made; and all must admire effects so great from means apparently242 so simple; rain striking light hammer blows or heavier in streams, with many rest Sundays; soft air and light, gentle sappers and miners, toiling243 forever; the big river sawing the plateau asunder244, carrying away the eroded and ground waste, and exposing the edges of the strata to the weather; rain torrents245 sawing cross-streets and alleys, exposing the strata in the same way in hundreds of sections, the softer, less resisting beds weathering and receding246 faster, thus undermining the harder beds, which fall, not only in small weathered particles, but in heavy sheer-cleaving masses, assisted down from time to time by kindly247 earthquakes, rain torrents rushing the fallen material to the river, keeping the wall rocks constantly exposed. Thus the canyon grows wider and deeper. So also do the side canyons and amphitheaters, while secondary gorges and cirques gradually isolate206 masses of the promontories, forming new buildings, all of which are being weathered and pulled and shaken down while being built, showing destruction and creation as one. We see the proudest temples and palaces in stateliest attitudes, wearing their sheets of detritus248 as royal robes, shedding off showers of red and yellow stones like trees in autumn shedding their leaves, going to dust like beautiful days to night, proclaiming as with the tongues of angels the natural beauty of death.
Every building is seen to be a remnant of once continuous beds of sediments,—sand and slime on the floor of an ancient sea, and filled with the remains249 of animals,—and every particle of the sandstones and limestones of these wonderful structures to be derived250 from other landscapes, weathered and rolled and ground in the storms and streams of other ages. And when we examine the escarpments, hills, buttes, and other monumental masses of the plateau on either side of the canyon, we discover that an amount of material has been carried off in the general denudation251 of the region compared with which even that carried away in the making of the Grand Canyon is as nothing. Thus each wonder in sight becomes a window through which other wonders come to view. In no other part of this continent are the wonders of geology, the records of the world's auld252 lang syne253, more widely opened, or displayed in higher piles. The whole canyon is a mine of fossils, in which five thousand feet of horizontal strata are exposed in regular succession over more than a thousand square miles of wall-space, and on the adjacent plateau region there is another series of beds twice as thick, forming a grand geological library—a collection of stone books covering thousands of miles of shelving, tier on tier, conveniently arranged for the student. And with what wonderful scriptures254 are their pages filled—myriad forms of successive floras255 and faunas256, lavishly illustrated257 with colored drawings, carrying us back into the midst of the life of a past infinitely258 remote. And as we go on and on, studying this old, old life in the light of the life beating warmly about us, we enrich and lengthen259 our own.
THE END
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
invitingly
|
|
| adv. 动人地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
pulpy
|
|
| 果肉状的，多汁的，柔软的； 烂糊； 稀烂 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
starry
|
|
| adj.星光照耀的, 闪亮的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
ascending
|
|
| adj.上升的，向上的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
canyon
|
|
| n.峡谷，溪谷 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
wilderness
|
|
| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
pestilence
|
|
| n.瘟疫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
grove
|
|
| n.林子，小树林，园林 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
groves
|
|
| 树丛，小树林( grove的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
brink
|
|
| n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
chasm
|
|
| n.深坑，断层，裂口，大分岐，利害冲突 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
mere
|
|
| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
beetles
|
|
| n.甲虫( beetle的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
caterpillars
|
|
| n.毛虫( caterpillar的名词复数 )；履带 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
hooting
|
|
| （使）作汽笛声响，作汽车喇叭声( hoot的现在分词 )； 倒好儿； 倒彩 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
owl
|
|
| n.猫头鹰，枭 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
monotonous
|
|
| adj.单调的，一成不变的，使人厌倦的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
boundless
|
|
| adj.无限的；无边无际的；巨大的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
abrupt
|
|
| adj.突然的，意外的；唐突的，鲁莽的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
cape
|
|
| n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
limestone
|
|
| n.石灰石 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
spiry
|
|
| adj.尖端的，尖塔状的，螺旋状的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
23
sketch
|
|
| n.草图；梗概；素描；v.素描；概述 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
canyons
|
|
| n.峡谷( canyon的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
gorges
|
|
| n.山峡，峡谷( gorge的名词复数 )；咽喉v.（用食物把自己）塞饱，填饱( gorge的第三人称单数 )；作呕 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
gorge
|
|
| n.咽喉，胃，暴食，山峡；v.塞饱，狼吞虎咽地吃 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
alcoves
|
|
| n.凹室( alcove的名词复数 )；（花园）凉亭；僻静处；壁龛 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
cloisters
|
|
| n.（学院、修道院、教堂等建筑的）走廊( cloister的名词复数 )；回廊；修道院的生活；隐居v.隐退，使与世隔绝( cloister的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
throng
|
|
| n.人群，群众；v.拥挤，群集 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
spire
|
|
| n.(教堂)尖顶，尖塔，高点 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
spired
|
|
| v.（教堂的） 塔尖，尖顶( spire的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
32
rim
|
|
| n.(圆物的)边，轮缘；边界 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
gulf
|
|
| n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
extravagant
|
|
| adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
prudent
|
|
| adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
abruptly
|
|
| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
appreciably
|
|
| adv.相当大地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
eroded
|
|
| adj. 被侵蚀的，有蚀痕的 动词erode的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
augmenting
|
|
| 使扩张 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
dwarf
|
|
| n.矮子，侏儒，矮小的动植物；vt.使…矮小 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
dwarfs
|
|
| n.侏儒，矮子（dwarf的复数形式）vt.（使）显得矮小（dwarf的第三人称单数形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
belittles
|
|
| 使显得微小，轻视，贬低( belittle的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
precipices
|
|
| n.悬崖，峭壁( precipice的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
grandeur
|
|
| n.伟大，崇高，宏伟，庄严，豪华 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
granite
|
|
| adj.花岗岩，花岗石 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
colossal
|
|
| adj.异常的，庞大的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
fleeting
|
|
| adj.短暂的，飞逝的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
domed
|
|
| adj. 圆屋顶的, 半球形的, 拱曲的 动词dome的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
dome
|
|
| n.圆屋顶，拱顶 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
rosy
|
|
| adj.美好的，乐观的，玫瑰色的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
serene
|
|
| adj. 安详的，宁静的，平静的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
majesty
|
|
| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
noted
|
|
| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
lark
|
|
| n.云雀，百灵鸟；n.嬉戏，玩笑；vi.嬉戏 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
furrow
|
|
| n.沟；垄沟；轨迹；车辙；皱纹 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
ridges
|
|
| n.脊( ridge的名词复数 )；山脊；脊状突起；大气层的)高压脊 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
spacious
|
|
| adj.广阔的，宽敞的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
alleys
|
|
| 胡同，小巷( alley的名词复数 )； 小径 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
recesses
|
|
| n.壁凹( recess的名词复数 )；（工作或业务活动的）中止或暂停期间；学校的课间休息；某物内部的凹形空间v.把某物放在墙壁的凹处( recess的第三人称单数 )；将（墙）做成凹形，在（墙）上做壁龛；休息，休会，休庭 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
ledges
|
|
| n.（墙壁，悬崖等）突出的狭长部分( ledge的名词复数 )；（平窄的）壁架；横档；（尤指）窗台 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
adorned
|
|
| [计]被修饰的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
spires
|
|
| n.（教堂的） 塔尖，尖顶( spire的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
crimson
|
|
| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
majestic
|
|
| adj.雄伟的，壮丽的，庄严的，威严的，崇高的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
residual
|
|
| adj.复播复映追加时间；存留下来的，剩余的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
repose
|
|
| v.(使)休息；n.安息 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
67
chiseled
|
|
| adj.凿刻的，轮廓分明的v.凿，雕，镌( chisel的过去式 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
68
carving
|
|
| n.雕刻品，雕花 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
69
plumb
|
|
| adv.精确地，完全地；v.了解意义，测水深 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
70
strictly
|
|
| adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
71
decorative
|
|
| adj.装饰的，可作装饰的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
72
scotch
|
|
| n.伤口，刻痕；苏格兰威士忌酒；v.粉碎，消灭，阻止；adj.苏格兰(人)的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
73
lavish
|
|
| adj.无节制的；浪费的；vt.慷慨地给予，挥霍 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
74
exuberant
|
|
| adj.充满活力的；（植物）繁茂的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
75
buttressed
|
|
| v.用扶壁支撑，加固( buttress的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
76
gateway
|
|
| n.大门口，出入口，途径，方法 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
77
turrets
|
|
| （六角）转台( turret的名词复数 )； （战舰和坦克等上的）转动炮塔； （摄影机等上的）镜头转台； （旧时攻城用的）塔车 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
78
obelisks
|
|
| n.方尖石塔，短剑号，疑问记号( obelisk的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
79
lavishly
|
|
| adv.慷慨地，大方地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
80
prevailing
|
|
| adj.盛行的；占优势的；主要的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
81
dwellings
|
|
| n.住处，处所( dwelling的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
82
pointed
|
|
| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
83
sagging
|
|
| 下垂[沉，陷]，松垂，垂度 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
84
disintegrated
|
|
| v.（使）破裂[分裂，粉碎]，（使）崩溃( disintegrate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
85
masonry
|
|
| n.砖土建筑；砖石 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
86
strata
|
|
| n.地层（复数）；社会阶层 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
87
degradation
|
|
| n.降级；低落；退化；陵削；降解；衰变 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
88
steadily
|
|
| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
89
laden
|
|
| adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
90
ornamental
|
|
| adj.装饰的；作装饰用的；n.装饰品；观赏植物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
91
pinnacle
|
|
| n.尖塔，尖顶，山峰；(喻)顶峰 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
92
sweeping
|
|
| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
93
embroidery
|
|
| n.绣花，刺绣；绣制品 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
94
harmoniously
|
|
| 和谐地，调和地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
95
steadfast
|
|
| adj.固定的，不变的，不动摇的；忠实的；坚贞不移的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
96
boulders
|
|
| n.卵石( boulder的名词复数 )；巨砾；（受水或天气侵蚀而成的）巨石；漂砾 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
97
disintegration
|
|
| n.分散，解体 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
98
mighty
|
|
| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
99
plunging
|
|
| adj.跳进的，突进的v.颠簸( plunge的现在分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
100
apprehended
|
|
| 逮捕，拘押( apprehend的过去式和过去分词 )； 理解 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
101
gash
|
|
| v.深切，划开；n.(深长的)切(伤)口；裂缝 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
102
influential
|
|
| adj.有影响的，有权势的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
103
jutting
|
|
| v.（使）突出( jut的现在分词 )；伸出；（从…）突出；高出 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
104
promontories
|
|
| n.岬，隆起，海角( promontory的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
105
beheld
|
|
| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
106
supreme
|
|
| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
107
celestial
|
|
| adj.天体的；天上的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
108
bestows
|
|
| 赠给，授予( bestow的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
109
glacier
|
|
| n.冰川，冰河 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
110
glaciers
|
|
| 冰河，冰川( glacier的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
111
gush
|
|
| v.喷，涌；滔滔不绝(说话)；n.喷，涌流；迸发 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
112
gushing
|
|
| adj.迸出的；涌出的；喷出的；过分热情的v.喷，涌( gush的现在分词 )；滔滔不绝地说话 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
113
awed
|
|
| adj.充满敬畏的，表示敬畏的v.使敬畏，使惊惧( awe的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
114
gasping
|
|
| adj. 气喘的, 痉挛的 动词gasp的现在分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
115
enchanted
|
|
| adj. 被施魔法的，陶醉的，入迷的 动词enchant的过去式和过去分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
116
standing
|
|
| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
117
verge
|
|
| n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
118
exuberance
|
|
| n.丰富；繁荣 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
119
sublime
|
|
| adj.崇高的，伟大的；极度的，不顾后果的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
120
scattered
|
|
| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
121
notch
|
|
| n.(V字形)槽口，缺口，等级 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
122
maple
|
|
| n.槭树，枫树，槭木 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
123
incited
|
|
| 刺激，激励，煽动( incite的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
124
limestones
|
|
| n.石灰岩( limestone的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
125
intensity
|
|
| n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
126
throb
|
|
| v.震颤，颤动；(急速强烈地)跳动，搏动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
127
throbbing
|
|
| a. 跳动的,悸动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
128
streaked
|
|
| adj.有条斑纹的，不安的v.快速移动( streak的过去式和过去分词 )；使布满条纹 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
129
ineffably
|
|
| adv.难以言喻地，因神圣而不容称呼地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
130
domes
|
|
| n.圆屋顶( dome的名词复数 )；像圆屋顶一样的东西；圆顶体育场 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
131
wondrous
|
|
| adj.令人惊奇的，奇妙的；adv.惊人地；异乎寻常地；令人惊叹地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
132
haze
|
|
| n.霾，烟雾；懵懂，迷糊；vi.(over)变模糊 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
133
dens
|
|
| n.牙齿，齿状部分；兽窝( den的名词复数 )；窝点；休息室；书斋 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
134
dense
|
|
| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
135
forth
|
|
| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
136
effulgence
|
|
| n.光辉 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
137
crouch
|
|
| v.蹲伏，蜷缩，低头弯腰；n.蹲伏 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
138
stature
|
|
| n.（高度）水平，（高度）境界，身高，身材 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
139
hearty
|
|
| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
140
blessings
|
|
| n.（上帝的）祝福( blessing的名词复数 )；好事；福分；因祸得福 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
141
tributary
|
|
| n.支流；纳贡国；adj.附庸的；辅助的；支流的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
142
creek
|
|
| n.小溪，小河，小湾 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
143
countless
|
|
| adj.无数的，多得不计其数的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
144
alabaster
|
|
| adj.雪白的；n.雪花石膏；条纹大理石 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
145
gulch
|
|
| n.深谷，峡谷 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
146
passionate
|
|
| adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
147
torrent
|
|
| n.激流，洪流；爆发，(话语等的)连发 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
148
swelling
|
|
| n.肿胀 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
149
glide
|
|
| n./v.溜，滑行；(时间)消逝 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
150
hovering
|
|
| 鸟( hover的现在分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
151
dispensing
|
|
| v.分配( dispense的现在分词 )；施与；配（药） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
152
refreshing
|
|
| adj.使精神振作的，使人清爽的，使人喜欢的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
153
lighting
|
|
| n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
154
flare
|
|
| v.闪耀，闪烁；n.潮红；突发 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
155
promontory
|
|
| n.海角；岬 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
156
darting
|
|
| v.投掷，投射( dart的现在分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
157
vertical
|
|
| adj.垂直的，顶点的，纵向的；n.垂直物，垂直的位置 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
158
laborers
|
|
| n.体力劳动者，工人( laborer的名词复数 )；（熟练工人的）辅助工 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
159
streaks
|
|
| n.（与周围有所不同的）条纹( streak的名词复数 )；（通常指不好的）特征（倾向）；（不断经历成功或失败的）一段时期v.快速移动( streak的第三人称单数 )；使布满条纹 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
160
insignificant
|
|
| adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
161
zigzagged
|
|
| adj.呈之字形移动的v.弯弯曲曲地走路，曲折地前进( zigzag的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
162
commotion
|
|
| n.骚动，动乱 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
163
gulches
|
|
| n.峡谷( gulch的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
164
uproar
|
|
| n.骚动，喧嚣，鼎沸 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
165
awakened
|
|
| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
166
tawny
|
|
| adj.茶色的，黄褐色的；n.黄褐色 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
167
onset
|
|
| n.进攻，袭击，开始，突然开始 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
168
garb
|
|
| n.服装，装束 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
169
soothingly
|
|
| adv.抚慰地，安慰地；镇痛地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
170
promising
|
|
| adj.有希望的，有前途的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
171
ineffable
|
|
| adj.无法表达的，不可言喻的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
172
cedars
|
|
| 雪松，西洋杉( cedar的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
173
flakes
|
|
| 小薄片( flake的名词复数 )； （尤指）碎片； 雪花； 古怪的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
174
swirling
|
|
| v.旋转，打旋( swirl的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
175
eddies
|
|
| （水、烟等的）漩涡，涡流( eddy的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
176
swarms
|
|
| 蜂群，一大群( swarm的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
177
aurora
|
|
| n.极光 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
178
mingling
|
|
| adj.混合的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
179
drawn
|
|
| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
180
mule
|
|
| n.骡子，杂种，执拗的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
181
mules
|
|
| 骡( mule的名词复数 )； 拖鞋； 顽固的人； 越境运毒者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
182
lizards
|
|
| n.蜥蜴( lizard的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
183
grassy
|
|
| adj.盖满草的；长满草的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
184
scramble
|
|
| v.爬行，攀爬，杂乱蔓延，碎片，片段，废料 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
185
shrubs
|
|
| 灌木( shrub的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
186
sparsely
|
|
| adv.稀疏地；稀少地；不足地；贫乏地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
187
cactus
|
|
| n.仙人掌 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
188
willow
|
|
| n.柳树 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
189
thickets
|
|
| n.灌木丛( thicket的名词复数 )；丛状物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
190
varied
|
|
| adj.多样的，多变化的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
191
fluted
|
|
| a.有凹槽的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
192
cylindrical
|
|
| adj.圆筒形的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
193
spherical
|
|
| adj.球形的；球面的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
194
porcupines
|
|
| n.豪猪，箭猪( porcupine的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
195
crouching
|
|
| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
196
erect
|
|
| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
197
picturesque
|
|
| adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
198
lichened
|
|
| adj.长满地衣的，长青苔的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
199
fissured
|
|
| adj.裂缝的v.裂开( fissure的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
200
civilized
|
|
| a.有教养的，文雅的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
201
crevasse
|
|
| n. 裂缝，破口；v.使有裂缝 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
202
utterly
|
|
| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
203
mortar
|
|
| n.灰浆，灰泥；迫击炮；v.把…用灰浆涂接合 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
204
fissures
|
|
| n.狭长裂缝或裂隙( fissure的名词复数 )；裂伤；分歧；分裂v.裂开( fissure的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
205
isolated
|
|
| adj.与世隔绝的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
206
isolate
|
|
| vt.使孤立，隔离 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
207
irrigating
|
|
| 灌溉( irrigate的现在分词 )； 冲洗（伤口） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
208
eloquent
|
|
| adj.雄辩的，口才流利的；明白显示出的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
209
bearish
|
|
| adj.(行情)看跌的，卖空的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
210
hissing
|
|
| n. 发嘶嘶声, 蔑视 动词hiss的现在分词形式 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
211
fiber
|
|
| n.纤维，纤维质 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
212
beaver
|
|
| n.海狸，河狸 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
213
beavers
|
|
| 海狸( beaver的名词复数 )； 海狸皮毛； 棕灰色； 拼命工作的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
214
lesser
|
|
| adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
215
skunks
|
|
| n.臭鼬( skunk的名词复数 )；臭鼬毛皮；卑鄙的人；可恶的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
216
gathering
|
|
| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
217
dozing
|
|
| v.打瞌睡,假寐 n.瞌睡 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
218
hawks
|
|
| 鹰( hawk的名词复数 )； 鹰派人物，主战派人物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
219
hummingbirds
|
|
| n.蜂鸟( hummingbird的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
220
robin
|
|
| n.知更鸟，红襟鸟 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
221
adventurous
|
|
| adj.爱冒险的；惊心动魄的，惊险的，刺激的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
222
cataracts
|
|
| n.大瀑布( cataract的名词复数 )；白内障 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
223
smoothly
|
|
| adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
224
crest
|
|
| n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
225
elk
|
|
| n.麋鹿 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
226
descending
|
|
| n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
227
foam
|
|
| v./n.泡沫，起泡沫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
228
meander
|
|
| n.河流的曲折，漫步，迂回旅行；v.缓慢而弯曲地流动，漫谈 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
229
tributaries
|
|
| n. 支流 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
230
diversified
|
|
| adj.多样化的，多种经营的v.使多样化，多样化( diversify的过去式和过去分词 )；进入新的商业领域 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
231
marshes
|
|
| n.沼泽，湿地( marsh的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
232
bogs
|
|
| n.沼泽，泥塘( bog的名词复数 )；厕所v.（使）陷入泥沼， （使）陷入困境( bog的第三人称单数 )；妨碍，阻碍 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
233
grovy
|
|
| 树丛的，树丛般的，在树丛中的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
234
fluffy
|
|
| adj.有绒毛的，空洞的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
235
dissected
|
|
| adj.切开的，分割的，（叶子）多裂的v.解剖（动物等）( dissect的过去式和过去分词 )；仔细分析或研究 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
236
labyrinth
|
|
| n.迷宫；难解的事物；迷路 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
237
chasms
|
|
| 裂缝( chasm的名词复数 )； 裂口； 分歧； 差别 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
238
slit
|
|
| n.狭长的切口；裂缝；vt.切开，撕裂 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
239
crevasses
|
|
| n.破口，崩溃处，裂缝( crevasse的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
240
lava
|
|
| n.熔岩，火山岩 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
241
sediments
|
|
| 沉淀物( sediment的名词复数 )； 沉积物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
242
apparently
|
|
| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
243
toiling
|
|
| 长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的现在分词 )； 艰难缓慢地移动，跋涉 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
244
asunder
|
|
| adj.分离的，化为碎片 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
245
torrents
|
|
| n.倾注；奔流( torrent的名词复数 )；急流；爆发；连续不断 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
246
receding
|
|
| v.逐渐远离( recede的现在分词 )；向后倾斜；自原处后退或避开别人的注视；尤指问题 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
247
kindly
|
|
| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
248
detritus
|
|
| n.碎石 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
249
remains
|
|
| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
250
derived
|
|
| vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
251
denudation
|
|
| n.剥下；裸露；滥伐；剥蚀 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
252
auld
|
|
| adj.老的，旧的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
253
syne
|
|
| adv.自彼时至此时，曾经 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
254
scriptures
|
|
| 经文，圣典( scripture的名词复数 )； 经典 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
255
floras
|
|
| n.（某地区或某时期的）植物群，植物区系，植物志( flora的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
256
faunas
|
|
| 动物群 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
257
illustrated
|
|
| adj. 有插图的，列举的 动词illustrate的过去式和过去分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
258
infinitely
|
|
| adv.无限地，无穷地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
259
lengthen
|
|
| vt.使伸长，延长 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |