America is home to many shifting landscapes and cultures, featuring some of the most extreme, from the hottest to the coldest, the driest to the wettest, the country also offers volcanic mountains and snow-capped peaks. Here are the top five opposites to each other on the spectrum, to help plan your next travel adventure, based on what you like best.
1. Mount Hood, Oregon vs. Glacier National Park, Montana
Mount Hood is known as a volcano exceptionally active at the end of the last ice age, and after 1,500 years of dormancy, the volcano is expected to start erupting more often again.
Over one million acres wide, this national park houses at least 30 beautiful glaciers. However, due to the effects of climate change, many glaciers have been melting, like the famous Boulder Glacier, that lost more than 75 percent
of its surface area in the last 50 years, according to MSN.
2. Point Barrow, Alaska vs. Ka Lae, Hawaii
These two are the Northernmost and Southernmost points in America. Pint Barrow is part of Anchorage, home to 250,000 people, and is perfect for sledding, with its vast snowy fields and frozen rivers.
Ka Lae, on the other hand is perfect for a surfing or diving holiday, being situated in the warm tropics and surrounded by the Pacific Ocean and beautiful coral reefs.
3. Everglades, Florida vs. Death Valley, California
One of the worlds fewest ecosystems, the Everglades are an extensive flooded grassland and is a known home to many species of wildlife. The swamp also serves as a natural water treatment system for Florida Bay and the Florida Keys.
Despite being devoid of water and wildlife, Death Valley has its own natural beauty in its rolling sand dunes and red hills. Fodors also says that the area features a silence both dramatic and startling, perfect for travelers wanting some peace and quiet while watching the scenery ahead.
4. St. Augustine, Florida vs. Las Vegas, Nevada
For those wanting to take a step back in time, the oldest occupied settlement in the US is in St. Augustine, Florida, which was established in 1565 and is characterized by its Spanish colonial architecture. On the other hand, despite the hustle and bustle in this desert city, Las Vegas was barely populated before 1960, when only a few casinos were starting to put up.
5. Aspen, Colorado vs. Washington DC
Known as a photographer's paradise during the fall, Aspen never fails to impress with bright shades of yellow, red and orange come alive for the season and are further accentuated by clear lakes and snow-capped mountains.
The place to be during spring, on the other hand, is the US capital, with perfect spring temperatures. Over 3,000 cherry trees bloom every April and turn the capital's monumental Neo-Classical buildings into a scene out of a painting.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
