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11.15.25 - Part 2 · Children's Hour

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  Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome to Radioized Children Story Hour. As a reminder,
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  radio is a reading service intended for people who are
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  blind or have other disabilities that make it difficult to
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  read printed material. Today, we will be reading from various
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  books on national parks. Your reader today is Diane. Our
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  first book is called Grand Canyon National Park and it
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  was published by Bell Weather Media Incorporated. Has a copyright
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  year of twenty twenty three and the author of our
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  text is Christina Leaf. The North Rim. A family is
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  ready to explore the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.
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  They start at the Walhalla Overlook. The canyon stretches out
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  before them, stripes of red and purple paint the steep
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  walls and mesas far below small streams lined through ravines.
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  Is hard to believe how huge the canyon is. Eventually
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  they cross the road to Visiwajalla Glades. Ancestral Pobloians once
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  lived at this site each summer to farm. The family
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  imagines the buildings that rose from the stones that remain.
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  Grand Canyon National Park is full of beauty and history.
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  Grand Canyon National Park preserves one of the natural wonders
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  of the world. Located in north central Arizona, The park
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  covers one thousand, eight hundred and seventy eight square miles.
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  The Navajo Nation and the Hula Pa and have Aspa
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  reservations border the park. The powerful Colorado River flows through
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  the Canyon Grand Canyons. All spiring views make it one
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  of the country's most popular national parks. Most visitors enjoy
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  the views from the south rim of the Grand Canyon.
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  Others had to the north rim or trek down to
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  the canyon floor. The Grand Canyon stretches two hundred seventy
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  seven miles long, is up to eighteen miles wide, and
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  can reach more than one mile deep. The Grand Canyon
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  began forming almost two billion years ago. Ingious and metaformic
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  rock covered the ground. Over time, layers of sedimentary rock
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  formed on top. Eventually the area was pushed upward, forming
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  the Colorado Plateau. Around five or six million years ago,
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  the mighty Colorado River began to carve the Grand Canyon.
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  Visitors can view the many different layers of the rock
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  on the canyon walls. The youngest rock layers two hundred
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  seventy million years old. The river cut through the rock quickly.
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  Its rushing waters carried rocks that wore down. The sedimentary
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  layers underneath small streams and runoff from the rim caused erosion,
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  widening the ca canyon. Today, erosion from water and wind
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  continue to shape the canyon. Water movement picks up and
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  carries rocks and sand, moving rocks and sand where away
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  more pieces of the river beds. The Green Canyon has
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  live echosystems. They occurrent different elevations. The highest elevations are
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  along the north rim. This area is thickly forested and
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  has cold, snowy winters. The next highest elevations support Ponderosa
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  pine forests along both rims. They get some snow in
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  winter and thunderstorms in summer. Just below the rim, short
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  junipers and pines form another ecosystem. Here, the weather is
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  dry with hot summers. Desert scrubland makes up the lowest
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  elevations of the canyon to the canyon floor. This is
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  the canyon's driest ecosystem. An ecosystem of lush trees and
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  plants rises along the river. It has mild winters and
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  very hot summers, plants and wildlife. The Grand Canyon is
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  full of life. Each of its ecosystems is home to
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  unique animals and plants. On the north rim, tiring spruce
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  and fir trees mixed with aspen and other trees to
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  form thick forests. Mule deer and elk search for plants
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  to munch, while bison wander flatter areas. Mountain lions roam
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  above and below the canyon rim. Cabab squirrels chatter from
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  Ponderosa's pine forest on the north rim. Spotted owls also
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  rest in these trees. Ring tails and bats come out
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  at night to hunt. Condors perch on the canyon rim
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  and search for prey below. Inside the canyon, bighorn sheep
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  scale the steep walls. Falcons and canyon rain rings nest
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  in the cliff. Bobcats hide among short pints and juniper
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  shrubs as they hunt for desert. Cottontails and the lowest
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  layer of the canyon toward us nibble on prickly pear cactuses.
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  Collared lizards lay on rocks to bask in the sun.
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  Pink rattlesnakes curl up between rocks. Cottonwood and wollow trees
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  shade the canyon floor. Tree frocks sing from their branches.
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  Great blue herons wade and the waters of the Colorado river,
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  suckers and chubs swim below them. Humans in Grand Canyan
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  National Park, ancient people were living in and around the
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  Grand more than thirteen thousand years ago. The ancestral hoblowing
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  In people arrived around two thousand years ago. They began
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  as hunter gatherers known for weaving beautiful baskets. Later they
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  began to farm and make stone homes, but they were
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  gone by thirteen CE. Other Native American groups soon moved
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  moved into the area. The Hope, descendants of the ancestral Pabloonians,
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  were among the first. The Southern Paiute lived around the
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  north rim. The Havisoupa and Hulape lived in the western
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  part of the canyon. Around one thy four hundred, the
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  canyon became home to Navajo people. The Canyan is sacred
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  to many groups. The Zuni believed they began near the
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  north rim. The Hope believe all life began in the canyon.
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  A spring in the canyon is important to the Hope
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  and the nava Ho. The first Europeans arrived in the
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  Grand Canyon in fifteen forty. Hope guides let Garcia Lopez
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  did carniness to the canyon. However, the Europeans were enabled
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  to reach the bottom. In the following centuries, few other
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  European groups tried to explore the canyon. Then, in eighteen
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  sixty nine, American John Wesley Powell boted down the Colorado
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  River and became the first white man to explore the canyon.
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  Following his trip, more people started coming to the area.
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  Miners searched for gold and other valuable items. Many ended
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  up working in tourism instead. Once the railroad reached to
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  the area, the canyon's popularity exploded. The heavy spots to
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  live within the canyon walls, but they do not live
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  within the park. Their home is in the Habitsou Canyon.
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  Many tourists visit this canyon to see its stunning waterfalls.
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  President Benjamin Harrison preserved the canyon as the Grand Canyon
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  Forest Reserve in eighteen ninety three. President Theodore Roosevelt later
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  made it a National monument in nineteen oh eight. Finally,
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  in nineteen nineteen, President Woodrow Wilson signed the law, but
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  made it a national park. In nineteen twenties and nineteen thirties,
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  government workers created trails and other structures within the park. Today,
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  Grand Canyon National Park draws around six million visitors each year.
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  Eleven Native American groups are still connected to the canyon.
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  They are looking for opportunities with the National Park Service
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  to share their cultures with visitors. They hope to restore
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  native prisons in the park. There are many ways to
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  explore the Grand Canyon. Visitors can view the canyon by
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  driving or biking along the rim. Many hike on the
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  parks hundreds of miles of trails. Mule rides take visitors
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  down to the canyon floor. Some people camp there. Rafts
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  and dories take people through the canyon on the Colorado River.
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  The park offers opportunities for learning to Museums highlight the
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  formation of the park and teach about Native American cultures.
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  Ruins also reveal Native American history. Each June, visitors can
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  appreciate the park's dark skies and learn about stars at
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  the yearly Star Party. Protecting the park, the Grand Canyon
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  faces many threats. Uranium mining began in nearby areas in
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  the nineteen fifties. Pollution from the mining can run into
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  streams that flow into the canyon just in the air
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  can harm wildlife. The Grand Canyon's popularity is also harmful.
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  More people traveling to the area leads to more buildings
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  and roads. This takes away natural lands. Too many hikers
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  can you road trails and threaten wildlife. Climate change is
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  another major problem. Warming temperatures will make the canyon even drier.
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  With less water available, plants and animals will be unable
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  to survive. Frequent droughts also make wildfires more common. Pollution
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  and smoke from wildfires can make it harder to see
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  the canyon sites. In nineteen sixty three, the Glen Canyon
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  Dam was completed on the Colorado River near the Grand Canyon.
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  The dam affects the Grand Canyon's ecosystem. It blocks important
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  sediment that would be carried by the river. Many groups
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  are working to protect the Grand Canyon. Twenty fifteen, thousands
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  of people wrote letters opposing the nearby development that would
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  threaten the water supply. They stop the development. In twenty
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  twenty one, Arizona lawmakers worked with the Havesoupey and other
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  groups on the Grand Canyon Protection Act. This bill could
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  ban new uranium mines. You can help protect the park too.
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  Stand on the trail while visiting province erosion. Taking all
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  trash with you when you leave helps keep wildlife and
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  the environment safe. Reducing water and energy use can help
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  limit the climate change. Everyone can keep this natural wonder safe.
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  Do not throw rocks. It can be tempting to throw
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  a rock from the rim into the canyon, but is
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  dangerous and against the rules. Rocks could harm hikers or animals.
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  They could even start a landslide. Grand Canyon National Park Facts.
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  The area is one thousand air and semniate square miles.
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  It has four point million visitors in twenty twenty one.
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  It is ranked the eleventh largest park. It has fourth
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  most visited park in twenty twenty one. Is designated February
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  twenty sixth, nineteen nineteen, and the highest point is Point Imperial,
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  which is eight thousand, eight hundred and three feet in
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  the north rim. A Grand Canyon timeline the twelve hundreds
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  ancestral Poblonians begin to leave the Grand Canyon area. In
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  fifteen forty Hope guides lay Spanish explores to the Canon Canyon.
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  In eighteen sixty eight, John Wesley Palley's an expedition through
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  the canyon by boat. In nineteen nineteen, President Woodrow Wilson
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  signs a law established in Grand Canyon National Park In
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  nineteen seventy five, the US government returns one hundred eighty
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  five thousand acres of to the half A Soupay people.
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  In nineteen seventy nine, the park has made a UNESCO
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  World Heritage Site. Our next book is Joshua Tree National
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  Park and it was published by Children's Press, an imprint
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  of Scholastic Incorporated. It has a copyright year of twenty
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  nineteen and the author is Jody Shepherd's I Am Ringja
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  Red Fox Your Tour Gun. Are you ready for an
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  Amazing Adventure? Joshua Tree. Welcome to Joshua Tree National Park.
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  Joshua Tree is in southern California. It was made a
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  National park in nineteen ninety four. People visit national parks
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  to explore nature. The park's name comes from the strange,
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  spikey Joshua trees that grow there. Joshua Tree National Park
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  is the meeting place of two deserts, the Colorado Desert
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  and the Hire in cooler Mohave Desert. Different plants and
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  animals live in each area. Long ago, Native Americans lived here.
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  They carved pictures and cymbals into the rocks. Later, ranchers
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  and gold and silver miners made the area of their home.
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  Chapter one. A weird Rocky World. Joshua Tree is known
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  for its giant, strange shaped boaters. The unusual shapes were
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  formed when ice and strong rains and wind wore away
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  parts of the rocks. Scientists believe that the oldest rocks
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  in the park are about one point seven billion years old.
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  There are many mountains in the park. The tallest is
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  the Quail Mountain, but only the most experienced hikers can
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  get to the top. There are no developed trails on Quail.
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  Visitors can trek to the top of Ryan Mountain, though
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  Ryan is the second tallest mountain in the park. Chapter two.
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  Water in the desert, Joshua Tree does not get a
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  lot of rain, so every drop is important. Two sources
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  of water in the park are oasis and springs. Oasis
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  is a small green area where water can be found.
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  Springs of water bubble up from underground streams. Oases and
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  springs made it possible for Native Americans to live in
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  the area long ago. Ranchers who came later needed the
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  water for their cattle. The miners who arrived in the
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  eighteen hundreds used the springs for drinking water and to
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  wash the gold they found. The park is animals and plants.
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  I'll need water to live. There are nearly three hundred
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  abandoned gold and silver mines in the park. Chapter three.
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  The Parks Trees and plant The Mohabi Desert is the
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  only place on Earth where the Joshua tree grows. Even
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  though it looks like a cactus, it is not one.
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  It is not a tree either. It is a type
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  of yucca plant. The park's Black Rock Canyon is also
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  home to punknown juniper in oak trees. More than seven
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  hundred and fifty kinds of plants grow in the park.
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  They are all very good at surviving in the dry desert.
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  Cocti can store water for a long time. Desert flowers
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  only bloom after the winter rains. If rains don't come,
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  they save their water and wait until the next year
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  to flour. Chapter four. At Home in the heat. Is
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  not easy for animals to live in the desert. Most
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  mammals in the park are small rodents. They hide underground
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  or among rocks to escape the heat of the day.
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  They are active at night when it is cooler. Joshua trees.
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  Road runners can't fly far, but they can run fast. Kangaroo.
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  Rats don't need to drink. They use water stored in
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  the seeds they eat. Reptiles are all well adapted to
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  desert life too. They get the water they need from
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  the food they eat. Many lizards and snakes never drink.
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  There are seven different kinds of rattles snakes that live
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  in Joshua Tree. Thousands of different kinds of insects and
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  spiders also live in the park. The honeypot ants store
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  so much food in its abdomen that it's hard for
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  the ant to move. It is shaped like a honey jar.
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  Joshua Tran National Park is an awe inspiring place to visit.
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  Whether you're hiking, climbing over boaters, or looking up at
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  the night sky, you are sure to see something you
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  have never seen before. Visitors to the park can see
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  millions of stars at night. Imagine you could visit Joshua
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  Trean National Park. What would you do there? Here's some
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  of the amazing animals that live in Joshua Tran National Park.
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  The desert bighorned sheep, the gambles quail, western pigmy blue butterfly,
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  desert scorpion, desert kit fox, red spotted toad, coast as
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  humming bird, desert black tailed jack rabbit, mojave desert tortoise,
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  California mountain lion. Wildlife by the numbers, the park is
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  home to about two hundred and fifty types of birds,
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  fifty two types of mammals, forty six types of reptiles
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  and amphibians, and zero native fish species. Our next book
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  is titled Zion National Park and it was published by
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  Children's Press and Imprint of Scholastic Incorporated. It has a
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  copyright year of twenty eighteen and the author of the
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  book is Jody Sheppard. I am Ranger Red Fox, your
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  tour guide. Are you ready for an amazing adventure in Zion?
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  Welcome to Zion National Park. Zion is in southern Utah.
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  It was Maine National Park in nineteen nineteen. People visit
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  national parks to explore nature. The word Zion means safe,
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  peaceful place. The park is filled with beautiful canyons. It
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  is home to incredible animals and plants. American Indians called
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  this place Mukinshuop. This means straight up canyon. Visitors to
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  Zion stand at the bottom of the canyon. They look
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  up at the steep orange and red colored cliffs. The
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  view is amazing. The layers of rocks were formed over
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  millions of years ago. Chapter one Rock the Park. Zion
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  did not always look this way. About two undred and
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  fifty million years ago, the area was covered by a
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  shallow sea. Over millions of years, the sea became lakes.
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  Then the area turned into desert. Forces under the earth
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  pushed up huge sandstone cliffs. The land is still changing.
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  You're after your wind and water reshape the cliffs. If
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  you take your car to the park, you can drive
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  right through the cliffs. The Zion Mount Caramel Tunnel open
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  in nineteen thirty. The tunnel was famous. It was hard
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  to dig a road through the rock. It is about
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  a mile long and it took three years to build.
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  There are six windows carved into the tunnel. They let
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  in light and fresh air. They also let in amazing use.
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  Just outside the tunnel, visitors passed checkerboard Mesa. Many visitors
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  stop their cars to get a good look at the
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  unique rock formation. Chapter two. Let it grow. Some parts
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  of Zion are high and others low, so there are
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  many habitats. There are desert areas and woodlands. Wetlands line
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  the river banks. Each habitat is home to different types
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  of trees and plants. These range from desert cacti to
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  the pine trees that grow in the park's highest spots.
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  The prickly pear cactus grow in the lower part of
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  the park. Golden coalbindes grow in the hanging gardens. Water
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  seeps through the rocks, allowing plants to grow there. In
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  Zion's famous Hanging Garden, plants seem to grow straight out
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  of the rocks. The gardens are home to many unique plants.
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  They are also home to the world's smallest snell. The
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  Zion snell looks like a tiny black spot on the
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  rocky cliffs. This tiny creature can be found only in
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  this park. Chapter three, Watch Out for Water. Much of
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  Zion is desert, but water is still an important part
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  of the park. Animals need the water to live. The
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  Virgin River and smaller streams that empty into it wind
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  through the park. A trail called the Narrows leads hikers
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  along the river at the bottom of the canyon. Flash
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  floods are a danger. They happen when heavy rainfall causes
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  the river's water level to rise suddenly. The part of
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  the park known as the colaw Be Canyons gets more
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  rain than the rest of Zion. Spring rains bring beautiful
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  waterfalls to this quiet area. The skies over Zion are
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  very dark at night. That makes the star gazing out
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  of this world. Chapter four Wonderful Wildlife. Zion is home
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  to all kinds of animals. Some are in danger. That
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  means few or left desert. Bighorn sheep had disappeared from
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  Zion completely, then scientists brought some back to the park.
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  Now there are more than four hundreds. Then dagere California
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  condors the largest bird in North America. Mule diaer easy
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  to spot in the park. They get their name from
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  their large mule like ears. Their sense of smell is
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  about one thousand times as good as a person's. Tarantulas
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  are not dangerous to humans, but watch out for scorpions.
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  Seeing a mute dear baby or fawn has spotted coat
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  for the first few months of its life. Vizard explore
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  Zion National Park and lots of waste. They may ride
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  horses or bicycles. They may go rot climbing, or hiking.
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  Any way you choose. This park is always a wild adventure.
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  Imagine you could visit Zion. What would you do there?
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  There are just here are just some of the incredible
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  animals that make their home in Zion. Red fox, Western rattlesnake,
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  giant desert hairy scorpion, mule deer, paragrine falcon, California condor,
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  Mexican spotted out horns, a leopard, lizard, desert big horn sheep,
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  kingan tree frog, mountain lion. Wildlife by the numbers, the
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  park is home to about two hundred and ninety one
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  types of birds, seventy eight types of mammals for four
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  types of reptiles and amphibians, and eight types of fish.
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  That is really all the time that we have for today.
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  So this concludes our story our for today. Please join
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  us next time as we will read more stories, fables
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  and fairy tales. Thank you for listening and please stay
• 23:21
  tuned for the Lex and Herald Leader on RADIOI