Grand Canyon 大峡谷

Though the theory is still up for debate, experts think this colossal canyon was formed 17 million years ago, when the Colorado River carved through the gorge, eroding the rock. A breathtaking 277 river-miles long, 18 miles wide and a mile deep, the famous landmark drew just under 4.5 million visitors in 2009. Photo by Shutterstock.

尽管理论尚处于争论之中，但专家们认为这条巨大的峡谷是一千七百万年前，科罗拉多河流横穿峡谷腐蚀岩石而形成的。有着令人惊叹的277英里的河长、18英里的宽度和1英里的深度，这处著名的景观2009年吸引了接近450万人次的游客。由 Shutterstock拍摄。

Haystack Rock 草垛岩

On a remarkable stretch of Oregon's coast called Cannon Beach sits a mammoth monolith that formed as a result of lava flow 10 to 17 million years ago. At 235 feet tall, the rock formation is the third tallest intertidal structure in the world. Surrounded by shallow tide pools, it allows up-close-and-personal access, which draws in 200,000 visitors annually. Photo by Shutterstock.

随着1亿到1.7亿年前熔岩流过，在俄勒冈州（Oregon）海岸一块引人注目的叫做坎农海滩（Cannon Beach ）的外延海滩处形成了一座庞然大物。凭借着235英尺的高度，这座岩层成了世界第三高的潮间带结构。岩层由浅潮带环绕，允许近人们距离接触，由此每年吸引了200,000游客。由 Shutterstock拍摄。

Mono Lake 莫诺湖

An estimated 760,000 years old, this California landmark has, as a consequence of Los Angeles's water diversion efforts, become a stunning sightseeing location. While 100,000 people walk through the doors of the visitors' center annually, many more visit the lake. By 1982, the lake had lost 51 percent of the surface area it had before the diversions began in 1941, revealing once-submerged tufa (limestone), which now forms scenic, jutting towers across the water's surface. Photo by Shutterstock.

这处加利福利亚景观是洛杉矶（ Los Angeles's ）引水分流作用的结果， 大约有760,000年的历史，是一处令人叹为观止的观光地点。在每年100,000人走过游客中心的大门时，有更多的人是在参观这片湖。自从1941年开始改道，一直到1982年，这片湖已经流失了51%的表面面积，露出了曾一度淹埋在水下的凝灰岩（石灰石），像塔一样耸立在水面，形成了一道独特的风景。由 Shutterstock拍摄。

Niagara Falls 尼亚加拉大瀑布

Formed over the last 12,000 years by melting glaciers and water erosion, Niagara Falls is marveled at for its great width rather than height, the largest crest stretching 2,600 feet wide. Spanning the Canadian-American border, the site attracts 12 million visitors annually. Photo by Shutterstock.

由12,000多年前的融化冰川和流水侵蚀所形成，尼亚加拉大瀑布让人们惊讶的不是它的高度而是它的宽度，其最宽的地方达到2,600英尺。横跨加美边境，每年吸引了一千两百万人次的游客。由 Shutterstock拍摄。

Crater Lake 火山湖

Formed by the collapse of the Mount Mazama volcanoes approximately 6,850 years ago, this caldera (crater) lake is located in Oregon. It features a century-old, vertically floating tree stump dubbed the "Old Man of the Lake,” which helped attract just fewer than 500,000 visitors last year. Photo by Shutterstock.

这座位于美国俄勒冈州（Oregon）的火山湖是大约6,850年前马扎玛火山（Mount Mazama ）坍塌形成的。它有一块很有特色的垂直漂浮了一个世纪之久名为“湖的老人”的树桩，这也为它在去年吸引来了接近五百万的游客。由 Shutterstock拍摄。

Yellowstone National Park 黄石国家公园

Located mostly in Wyoming and partly in Montana and Idaho, the park's lakes, canyons, rivers and mountains span 3,472 square miles. Preserved by President Ulysses S. Grant in 1872, the park has attracted 2 million visitors almost every year since the mid-1960s, and was up to 3.3 million last year. Photo by Shutterstock.

这座拥有横跨面积为3,472平方公里的湖泊、峡谷、河流和山脉的公园主要坐落在怀俄明州（Wyoming）及蒙大拿州（Montana）和爱达荷州（Idaho）部分地区。由尤利西斯·格兰特（Ulysses S. Grant）总统于1872年保存，从19世纪60年代中期开始这座公园便每年吸引了两百万的游客，而去年竟达到了三百三十万人次。 由Shutterstock拍摄。

Yosemite Falls 优胜美地瀑布

At 2,425 feet tall, Yosemite consists of three breathtaking drops. Located in Sierra Nevada, California, the falls—believed to be centuries old—attract up to 3.7 million visitors annually. Photo by Shutterstock.

优胜美地瀑布高2,425英尺，由三处令人叹惊的瀑布流组成。坐落在塞拉内华达州（Sierra Nevada）、加利福利亚州（California），这条估计已有几百年历史的瀑布每年吸引了三百七十万的游客。由Shutterstock.拍摄。

Grand Teton National Park 大提顿国家公园

Established in 1929, this 484-square-mile park—named after the 13,775-foot Grand Teton, the tallest mountain in Teton Range—is located in the mesmerizing 48-mile-long, mountain-encompassed Jackson Hole valley. In 2009, the Wyoming wonder received approximately 2.5 million visitors. Photo by Shutterstock.

这座以提顿山脉最高峰——13,775英尺高的大提顿——命名的公园，修建于1929年，面积为484平方千米，坐落在48公里长、群山环绕的迷人的杰克逊·荷尔山谷（Jackson Hole valley）。2009年， 这处怀俄明（Wyoming）奇迹迎接了大约两百五十万游客。由Shutterstock拍摄。

Hoover Dam 胡佛大坝

Located in the Black Canyon on the Arizona-Nevada border, this concrete arch-gravity dam—which stands at a jaw-dropping 726 feet tall—attracts approximately 1 million visitors each year. Funded by Congress during the Depression, the dam controls floods, provides irrigation water and produces hydroelectric power. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.

这座位于亚利桑那州（Arizona）-内华达州（Nevada）边界黑峡谷的混凝土拱形重力大坝，以令人瞠目结舌的726英尺高度站立着，每年吸引了大约一百万的游客。这座由国会在经济大萧条时期修建的大坝，控制着洪流、提供着灌溉用水并且生产着水力发电的能量。照片由维基百科（Wikipedia）提供。

Mount Rushmore 拉什莫尔山

Though most notably a memorial to former U.S. presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln, the 60-foot granite sculpture—carved by Gutzon and Lincoln Borglum between 1927 and 1941—is also a work of art. Located in South Dakota, the manmade landmark attracted over 2 million people last year. Photo by Shutterstock.

尽管以其纪念美国前任乔治·华盛顿（George Washington）总统、托马斯·杰斐逊（Thomas Jefferson）总统、西奥多·罗斯福（Theodore Roosevelt）总统和亚伯拉罕·林肯（Abraham Lincoln）总统而出名，这座由格鲁（Gutzon）和林肯·波格伦（Lincoln Borglum） 于1927年至1941年间雕刻而成的60英尺高花岗岩雕像同样也是件艺术作品。，这座坐落在南达科塔州（Dakota）的人造景观每年吸引了超过两百万的游客。由 Shutterstock拍摄。