In the Land of the Canyons - Travel Video.

DVD. Cosmos Global Documentaries. 52 Minutes. 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 kilometres 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 three thousand metres 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 metres. Over the course of millions of years erosion and the incessant force of the river have created a unique and captivating landscape. Some kilometres south of the town of Page and Lake Powell and 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 marvellous natural light effects within the canyon are quite remarkable. Canyonlands is a national park of the same name in the south east 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 eighty kilometres 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 ten million years ago and the Earth's crust started to shift upwards, the Colorado Plateau formed and thus the smaller Paunsaugunt Plateau, the geological foundation of Bryce Canyon. The natural scenery in the western region of the U.S.A. is a land of revelation, a fantastic world of mystique, power and amazing colour.