North America is much less popular among Russian tourists than the countries of Europe and Asia. Some travelers are put off by the long flight across the ocean, while others are put off by high prices. And in addition, thanks to Hollywood, in the minds of many, the USA is either huge cities and skyscrapers or small, quiet (and boring) towns with identical two-story houses. However, America has something to boast about in terms of natural attractions, many of which are capable of striking you to the depths of your soul.
Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon is, without a doubt, the most famous natural landmark and the greatest pride of America. It is inferior to some other canyons in its beauty, but certainly wins in terms of size and grandeur – just think about it, its length is almost 450 kilometers, its width reaches 30 kilometers, and its depth is more than 2 kilometers! In order to see the Grand Canyon in all its glory, you can go on a helicopter tour and fly over it from above or look at it from one of the observation platforms, while the canyon looks completely different from different sides.
If the view from above is not enough, you can go down to the bottom. Again, the easiest and fastest way is to pay for a helicopter tour, and the most sporty is to go on a walking trek. Such a walk takes more than 10 hours and, as a rule, includes an overnight stay at the bottom, because it is almost impossible to do this hike in one day, especially in the summer, in the heat. An intermediate option between a helicopter and a walking trek is going down on horses, this method is also popular.
Antelope Canyon
Against the backdrop of the gigantic Grand Canyon, Antelope Canyon looks like a baby, but this does not prevent it from being fantastic and unrealistically beautiful! This is one of the most unusual and fascinating canyons in America – it is not visible from the outside, it is located in a crevice, and the entrance looks like a narrow crack in the ground, which you can easily pass by without noticing if you go without an escort. But as soon as you go down, your heart literally stops with delight!
Death Valley
Death Valley is another cult place, dedicated to many legends and which attracts increased attention of tourists. This is what good marketing means – it is enough to give the place an intriguing name and popularity is guaranteed =)
But this place got its unusual name not because of the high mortality rate, as it might seem, but because of the sparse vegetation and poor animal life – there are practically no inhabitants in Death Valley and almost nothing grows. However, according to one of the legends, the valley got its gloomy name due to the death of one of the members of a group of gold prospectors trying to cross the desert, so everyone can choose the story of the name to their taste.
Sequoia National Park
As you might guess from the name, Sequoia National Park is famous for its giant sequoias – the 5 largest trees in the world grow here. The largest of them, the General Sherman tree, is so huge that it would take about 14 people to clasp it at the base.
To get an even easier idea of the tree’s size, imagine that it would take up three lanes if a highway were built through it. And to estimate its height, imagine that if the tree were cut down, it would not fit on a football field.
In addition, there are more curious specimens in the park – for example, a tree lying across the road, in which a tunnel for cars was cut out; apparently, it was easier to do this than to remove it completely. There are also smaller trees; passages for people were made in them.
The park has many hiking routes – people come here to do trekking of varying lengths: from half an hour to several days.
