Transcript Assateague Island

Amazing Vacation Spots
Jennifer Arnold
Tusculum College
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Think of visiting any place in the world.
Did it look like this? Where would you go?
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Assateague Island
Vocabulary:
1. Feral- having escaped from
domestication and become wild
2. Sustain- to give support or
relief to
3. Descendent- proceeding
from an ancestor or source
4. Plausible- reasonable
5. Revert- to return
6. Inhabitant- one that occupies
a particular place regularly,
routinely, or for a period of
time.
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This park is accepting adoptive parents. For a small donation,
visitors may adopt one of its most famous inhabitants. The animals
in question stay in the park and the adoptive parents receive
pictures and newsletters.
Visitors to
Assateague Island
National Park may
enjoy many
outdoor activities,
such as: camping,
hunting, shell
collecting, biking,
surfing, and
kayaking.
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The most common reason to visit the island is
for its most famous citizens, the wild, swimming horses.
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“Assateague's wild horses are well known, even to many people
who have never been to the island. The "wild" horses on Assateague
are actually feral animals, meaning that they are descendants of
domestic animals that have reverted to a wild state.”
“Local folklore describes the Assateague horses as survivors of a
shipwreck off the Virginia coast.”
“The most plausible explanation is that they are the descendants of
horses that were brought to barrier islands like Assateague in the
late 17th century by mainland owners to avoid fencing laws and
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taxation of livestock.”
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“The horses are split into two main herds, one on
the Virginia side and one on the Maryland side of
Assateague. They are separated by a fence at
the Virginia/Maryland State line”
“Many visitors first learn about the Assateague horses from
12Marguerite Henry's famous book Misty of Chincoteague.”
“The story takes place during a traditional Chincoteague festival
called "Pony Penning.” On the last Wednesday of July, the Virginia
herd of horses is rounded up and swum from Assateague Island to
nearby Chincoteague Island. On the following day most of the young
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foals are auctioned off.”
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“It is important to limit the number of wild horses on
Assateague. Left to themselves, the horses will quickly
destroy the barrier island environment that sustains
them.”
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Vocabulary for Carlsbad Caverns:
1. Exodus- a mass departure
2. Cavern- large cave
3. Prickly pear- any of numerous type of cactus
having flat, spiny stems, yellow, orange, or
reddish flowers, and often edible fruit.
4. Chollas-any of several spiny treelike cacti the
southwestern U.S. and Mexico, having knobby
outgrowths and yellow spines.
5. Sotols- any of several plants of the agave
family, native to the southwestern U.S. and
northern Mexico.
6. Agaves- plants having spiny-margined leaves
and flowers in tall spreading panicles
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“As you pass through
the Chihuahuan Desert
and Guadalupe
Mountains of
southeastern New
Mexico and west
Texas—”
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“…filled with prickly pear, chollas, sotols
and agaves…”
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“…you might never guess there are more than
300 known caves beneath the surface.” The
caves are located in Carlsbad Caverns
National Park.
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“The park contains 116 of these caves, formed when sulfuric acid
dissolved the surrounding limestone, creating some of the largest
caves in North America."
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The cave rooms are often named after objects they resemble, such
as: Dolls Theater, Veiled Statue, Texas Toothpick, The Christmas
Tree, Witch’s Finger, The Temple of the Sun,
The Devil’s Den, and the Totem Pole, among others.
“From mid-May through mid-October,
visitors to Carlsbad Caverns National Park
can enjoy the evening Bat Flight program.”
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“…watching the incredible exodus of
Mexican free-tail bats out of Carlsbad
Cavern at dusk in the summer.”
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Denali National Park and
Preserve
Vocabulary:
1. Intrepid-resolutely
fearless
2. Massif - a compact
portion of a mountain
range, containing one or
more summits
3. Preserve-a place set
apart for protection
4. tundra-one of the vast,
nearly level, treeless
plains of the arctic
regions of Europe, Asia,
and North America.
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5. Caribou- Large, North
American deer, related to
the reindeer of the Old
World.
Roughly 400,000 intrepid travelers journey to Denali
National Park and Preserve each year, primarily between
late May and early September.
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Many come to see the tallest mountain in North
America, Mt. McKinley.
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Visitor to Denali can enjoy many activities including:
camping, bus touring, hiking, hunting, cycling,
mountaineering, flightseeing, and photographing wildlife.
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“Congress created this park in 1917 specifically to protect
the wildlife living along the slopes and in the valleys of the
Alaska Range.” The park is home to many species,
including caribou.
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Only as an addition in 1980, when Congress
tripled the park in size, did the entire massif of
Mt. McKinley get squeezed into the boundaries
of Denali National Park and Preserve.
“… Denali National Park and Preserve is home to both
black bears and grizzly (brown) bears. Black bears inhabit
the forested areas of the park, while grizzly bears mainly
live on the open tundra. “
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“Wildlife in Denali are not caged or
trained.”
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Everglades National Park
Vocabulary:
1. subtropical - a region
between tropical and
temperate; semitropical.
2. Endangered species- a
species at risk of extinction
3. Biosphere - the part of the
earth's crust, waters, and
atmosphere that supports life.
4. Wetland- land that has a
wet and spongy soil, as a
marsh, swamp, or bog.
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5. Diverse - of various
kinds or forms
6. Verdant- green
with vegetation
“Everglades National Park, the largest subtropical
wilderness in the United States, boasts rare and
endangered species.”
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“It has been designated a World Heritage Site,
International Biosphere Reserve, and Wetland of
International Importance, significant to all people of the
world.”
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“Since its dedication in 1947, Everglades National Park
has been touted as one of the great biologic wonders
of the world. Taking center stage is the diverse array of
animals that call this place home.”
“Camping, boating, hiking…are all possible. Many have
enjoyed exploring some of the 156 miles (251 km) of
canoe/kayak and walking trails and 47 designated
wilderness campsites...”
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“Thriving amidst a
verdant,
expansive
wetland, the
wildlife of the
Everglades
encompasses the
tiniest grass frog
to the biggest
American
crocodile.”
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This vast array of
species includes
birds. “Over 360
species have been
recorded in the
park and the list
continues to grow.”
The Little Blue
Heron is one of
those.
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Find out what shouldn’t be in this picture.
What non-native species is wreaking
Havoc on the Everglades ecosystem.
“Whether you have just an
hour, or a whole week to
explore, the vast
Everglades may seem
overwhelming as you plan
your visit.”
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Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
Vocabulary:
1. Migration-a movement
or change of position
2. Distinct-unquestionably
exceptional or notable
3. Thrust- to push or force
one's way
4. Astounding-to overwhelm
with amazement
5. Trade winds- any wind
that blows in one
regular course, or
continually in the same
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direction.
6. Archipelago- A large
group of islands
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“Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park displays the results of
70 million years of volcanism, migration, and evolution -processes that thrust a bare land from the sea and
clothed it with unique ecosystems, and a distinct human
culture.”
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“The park highlights two of the world's most active
volcanoes…” “…the ongoing eruptions of Kilauea Volcano and
the periodic eruptions of Mauna Loa,
offers opportunity for the scientist and casual observer alike, to
witness the formation of an array of astounding geologic
features…”
“…including
new cinder
cones,
glowing pit
craters, rivers
of lava and
fountains of
spatter.”
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“The island of Hawai’i actually consists of five volcanoes as part of a
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Moisture from trade winds creates extremes in
rainfall within the Park supporting a wide
diversity of lifezones and habitats.
“Welcome to a world
that shelters an array
of Hawaiian native
species including
a host of fascinating
birds, carnivorous
caterpillars, the largest
dragonfly in the United
States, crickets partial to
new lava flows,
endangered sea turtles…
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“Most native animal species in
the Hawaiian
Archipelago are
descendents of those that
were able to fly here, such as
birds, bats
and insects; those light
enough to be
carried by birds, such as
snails, some
insects and spiders; and those
blown
here or washed ashore.” One
example is that of the happy
face spider.
Superb voyagers, Polynesians
from the Marquesas Islands
migrated to Hawai`i over
1,600 years ago. Navigating
by the sun
and stars, reading the winds,
currents, and the
flight of seabirds, Polynesians
sailed
across 2,400 miles of open
ocean in great
double-hulled canoes.
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Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park is a fascinating world of active
volcanism, biological diversity, and Hawaiian culture, past and
present.