America's Top Natural Wonders

Christopher Vourlias August 12, 2009

 

...And five you've never heard of

The first wagonloads of prospectors bumped into the valley on Christmas Day, 1849, drawn by tales of gold, silver and great fortunes awaiting them on the Western frontier. Hopes were high after small silver deposits were struck, but the success of the ‘49ers was short-lived. Food and water shortages left them on the brink of despair; many had to slaughter their oxen to stave off starvation, leaving behind their wagons and continuing their westward haul on foot. Nearly half the original settlement perished that winter. The survivors, lean and ragged after months of hardship, were happy to sing “Goodbye, Death Valley” as they left in search of better fortunes.

See our slideshow of America's Top Natural Wonders.

That first winter might not have played well on the tourist brochures of 19th-century California. Yet despite its grim past and a less-than-inviting name, Death Valley today is one of America’s great natural attractions. The hottest, driest, and, at 300-feet-below sea level, lowest place in North America, it attracts legions of tourists each year to its unforgiving landscape—even in the brutal heat of summer, when temperatures can top 130°F.

America’s top natural wonders are a study in extremes, from the lowest point in Death Valley to the highest peak atop Mt. McKinley. Like everything in our super-sized country, they’re also rich in superlatives: the world’s most active volcano, Mt. Kilauea, which has been spewing a flow of hot lava for nearly three decades; or the continent’s most powerful waterfall, Niagara Falls, which gushes more than 4 million cubic feet of water per minute.

For travelers, America’s iconic attractions are also places where memories are made. Casey Sheehan, now CEO of active apparel company Patagonia, remembers hiking across the Grand Canyon with a friend nearly three decades ago, cross-country skis strapped to their backpacks. After a stormy night spent huddled inside their tent, they woke to a glorious winter morning.

See our slideshow of America's Top Natural Wonders.

“We packed up our tent, and we hiked up to the top of the North Rim,” says Sheehan, “and there was this beautiful, glittering plateau of fresh powder. We skied around the North Rim, got out on some of the ledges and plateaus and took some pictures. It was an amazing trip.”

It’s a trip that Sheehan would be hard-pressed to repeat with such vigor today. “I was in much better shape then,” he concedes. He also worries that such iconic American landscapes won’t be around for his children to enjoy.

“We’ve lost so much through development all over North America,” he says, noting that with “every new golf course resort that pops up…it’s a real step back.” He likes to paraphrase the words of a favorite writer, asking, “How often is it that you look out on a field of deer and elk and reflect wistfully that all this was once condos?”

Fortunately, thanks to the work of conservationists and the National Parks Service, the dramatic landscapes of all the top wonders have been preserved, along with the lesser-known national treasures, like the shimmering shores of the Great Salt Lake or the subterranean marvels of The Lost Sea. Whether it’s a top wonder or a hidden gem, it’s worth remembering the words of Teddy Roosevelt, who looked with wonder across the Grand Canyon and remarked, “Keep it for your children, and your children’s children, and all who come after you.”

See our slideshow of America's Top Natural Wonders.

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