Cosmos Global: In the Land of the Canyons

Television Director: Ullman, Frank

Producer: Scarson, Peter O.

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Catalogue Number: CDG-DVD-116

UPC: 883629300399

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Even in daytime, the moon seems to watch over the magnificent and fascinating world of the Grand Canyon, one of the world's most famous natural wonders. This incomparable and beautiful canyon extends for several hundred kilometers in the northwest of Arizona. The secrets of the Canyon's huge rock walls and deep valleys lay hidden for many years. Archaeological discoveries have shown that the Anasazi, a tribe of Native American Indians, were the first to settle within this region.

From its source in the Rocky Mountains to its estuary in the Gulf of Mexico, the Colorado River flows at an altitude of nearly 3,000 meters above sea level. The rocks, sand and mud that are carried along with the water cut relentlessly into the stony ground.

The deepest point of the canyons descends for 1,800 meters. Over the course of millions of years, erosion and the incessant force of the river have created a unique and captivating landscape.

Some kilometers south of the town of Page, in the middle of a Navajo Indian reservation, is a further natural masterpiece, Antelope Canyon. The bizarre, smooth walls and red sandstone formations, as well as the marvelous natural light effects within the canyon are quite remarkable.

Canyon Lands is a national park of the same name in the southeast of Utah, where numerous canyons and steep river valleys seem to touch the horizon.

The Valley of Fire is situated in the oldest national park in Nevada and is also the location of Fire Canyon. Approximately 80 kilometers from Las Vegas, the environment here provides a healthy and relaxing atmosphere compared to the neon lifestyle of the biggest gambling paradise in the world.

When the Rocky Mountains began to develop more than 10 million years ago and the Earth's crust started to shift upwards, the Colorado Plateau formed, along with the smaller Paunsaugunt Plateau, the geological foundation of Bryce Canyon.

The natural scenery in the western region of the USA is a land of revelation, a fantastic world of mystique, power and amazing color.