西内SINE

我来大峡谷是为了看最古老的毗瑟奴片岩。我在这里已经待了一段时间了，我能够看到一些地质学家所说的。我将读一些给你们听听。
I came to Grand Canyon to see the oldest rock: Vishnu Schist. Now that I have been here awhile, I can see what some geologists have said. I will read some of this to you.

科罗纳多CORONADO

好啊，西内。你知道哪里能找到我。
Go ahead, Sine. You know where to find me.

奥拉AURA

我会清清楚楚地讲给你听的。
I’ll try to boil it down for you later.

科罗纳多CORONADO

那太好了。
That’ll be good.

西内SINE

好吧。向后靠。放松。时间长着呢。
Okay. Lean back. Relax. This is long time.

奥拉AURA

继续，西内。
Go right ahead, Sine.

西内SINE

那么，让我们看看。
So. Let’s see.

布鲁斯·巴比特编，《大峡谷:选集》(弗拉格斯塔夫:北国出版社，1978年)，第134页:
Bruce Babbitt, ed. Grand Canyon: An Anthology (Flagstaff: Northland Press, 1978), p. 134:

"埃德温·迪·麦基讲述了峡谷的地质演变过程，这是由许多地质学家在上个世纪耐心地拼凑起来的。麦基从20亿年前内峡谷的花岗岩深处开始讲起，一层一层地向上，直到峡谷边缘。麦基根据岩石和化石中的证据推断，这是一个令人难以置信的漫长序列:巨大山脉的上升和缓慢的破坏，古老的海洋在陆地、沙漠和河流三角洲上的前进和后退，以及在峡谷底部的古前寒武纪岩石中，生命从原始单细胞生物缓慢开始并加速进化的过程。
"...Edwin D. McKee tells the geological story of the canyon as it has been patiently pieced together by many geologists over the last century. McKee starts his tale two billion years ago, deep in the granites of the inner gorge, and works his way upward, layer by layer, to the rim. From the evidence in rocks and fossils, McKee infers an incredibly long sequence of the rise and slow destruction of immense mountain ranges, ancient seas advancing and retreating across the land, deserts and river deltas and the slow beginning and accelerating evolution of life from primitive one-celled organisms in the ancient Precambrian rocks at the bottom of the canyon.

埃德温·迪·麦基《大峡谷地区的古代景观》(弗拉斯塔夫:北国出版社，1978)，第2-13页：
Edwin D. McKee, Ancient Landscapes of the Grand Canyon Region (Flagstaff: Northland Press, 1931), pp. 2-13:

"……[地球上最古老的岩石表面,][内峡谷的]太古宙岩石在高原表面大约一英里......最初是由泥沙沉积而成的大的水平矿床，然后通过强大的地壳运动拱起来,直到形成阿尔卑斯山那样的高山。来自西北和东南的压力显然使他们形成了褶皱了......
"… [The oldest rock on earth’s surface, the] Archean rocks [of the Inner Gorge] beneath the plateau surface approximately a mile, … [were] built up originally as great horizontal deposits of sand and mud, … [then] bent by mighty crustal movements until high mountains, probably comparable to the present Alps, were formed. Pressures from the northwest and southeast apparently folded them.…

"[在光明天使峡谷和大峡谷的其它几个地方，发现了地球第二大地质时代的阿尔冈纪岩石...…它们代表着几千英尺厚的沉积物堆积......在沙漠景观的下方和北部(北缘皇家角的东南部)，它们形成了峡谷开阔的底部。我们到处可以看到，这个系列最显眼的地层都是鲜红色的泥岩。在大峡谷下方发现的阿尔冈纪时期的鲜红色系列是由泥浆形成的，可能是由大河流积累起来的.....
"[Algonkian age rocks, of earth’s second great geological era, are found] along Bright Angel Canyon and in several other places in the Grand Canyon, … representing accumulations of sediments several thousand feet in thickness.... Below and to the north of Desert View (southeast of Cape Royal on the North Rim) they form the open floor of the Canyon. Everywhere the most conspicuous stratum of this series is a mud rock of brilliant vermilion color The brilliant red shades of Algonkian age found in the lower parts of the Grand Canyon were formed as muds, accumulated probably by large rivers.…

"在地球历史上的第三或中[古生代]时期，大峡谷中所有明显的水平上层岩壁都形成了......这些岩石中，有些是早期海滩或沙丘地区的沙子形成的砂岩，有些是页岩——即古代三角洲地区的硬化淤泥——还有一些是由海底动植物遗骸堆积而成的石灰石......在[一些]地方，比如现在的明亮天使溪流的西部，红色阿尔冈纪岩石的小山脉(第二代)仍然还在。在它们周围，有沉积物沉积下来。鹅卵石和砂石聚集在一起，形成了一层厚厚的岩层，今天看起来就像内峡谷的棕色砂岩边缘。这些是第三代的第一批沉积物。但在这一时期，海水逐渐侵蚀陆地，海岸附近沉积的沙子逐渐被泥土覆盖，而远离海滩的地方则被石灰覆盖。今天，这一系列的沙、泥和石灰在大峡谷的滩头台地的岩石中被发现了。
"It was during the third or middle [Paleozoic Era] in the earth’s history that all of the apparently horizontal, upper layers in the Grand Canyon walls were formed.… Some of these rocks are sandstones formed from the sands of early beaches or sand dune areas, others are shales - the hardened muds of ancient river deltas - and still others are limestones built up by accumulations of plant and animal remains on sea bottoms.… In [some] places, such as to the west of where Bright Angel Creek now flows, small mountains of red Algonkian rocks (Second Era) remained. Around and against these, sediments were then deposited. Pebbles and sands accumulated, forming a thick layer which today appears as the brown sandstone rim of the Inner Gorge. These represent the first deposits of the Third Era. But the sea was encroaching upon the land during this period, and gradually the sand deposited near shore was covered by mud and this in turn by lime far out from the beach. Today this series of sand, mud and lime is found represented in the rocks of the Tonto Platform in Grand Canyon.

"在印第安花园以东几百码的滩头小道上，人们发现了许多原始的海洋动物，它们被埋在薄薄的页岩层中.....[它们是]一些已知的最早的动物生命形式，[生活在寒武纪]......
"Along the Tonto Trail a few hundred yards east of Indian Gardens numerous primitive sea animals have been found buried and preserved in layers of thin shale.... [They are] some of the earliest known forms of animal life [and lived during the Cambrian Period]...

"地质学家发现，在以大峡谷岩壁地层为代表的大年龄序列中，[寒武纪之后的]两个漫长的历史时期是残缺的。这些消失的时期[也]属于第三代，被称为奥陶纪，那是鱼第一次在海洋中出现的时期，以及志留纪，那是千足虫和蝎子第一次呼吸空气的时期....。在这两个时期，大峡谷地区可能高于海平面，因此没有沉积物积累，岩石也没有形成。
"The geologist has found that two long periods of history [following the Cambrian Period] are lacking in the great succession of ages represented by the strata in the Grand Canyon walls. These missing periods which [also] belong to the Third Era are known as the Ordovician, the time when fish first appeared in the seas, and the Silurian, the time when millipedes and scorpions became our first air breathers.... It seems probable that the Grand Canyon region was above sea level during these two ages so that no sediments were accumulated and consequently no rocks formed.

"大峡谷最显著和引人注目的特征之一是巨大的红色石灰岩悬崖，几乎有半壁。[这种“红墙石灰岩”中的]石灰纯度表明它是在一片相对宽阔而平静的海洋中形成的。它的构成表明，它是由大量的古代动植物骨骼积累而成的。人们发现了大量的贝壳，其中有些贝壳保存得很好，非常精致。这些海洋生物清楚地表明，当时这个地区和加拿大西北部之间存在着巨大的海洋连接......
"One of the most prominent and conspicuous features of the Grand Canyon is the great red cliff of limestone about midway in its walls.… The purity of the lime [in this "Redwall Limestone"] indicates that it was built up in a relatively wide and quiet sea. Its composition represents a vast accumulation of the skeletons of ancient plants and animals. Seashells are found in great numbers, some of them preserved in delicate detail. These and other forms of ocean life clearly indicate that a great sea connection then existed between this region and that of western Canada to the north...

"在大峡谷顶部的两侧，两层浅黄色和灰色的石灰岩突显出巨大的悬崖，被树木覆盖的斜坡隔开。这些石灰岩的上部(' 凯巴布 ')形成了高原表面，从很远的地方都可以看到。这两层都是(在二叠纪时期)由于海底大量堆积的有机物和沙质物质而形成的，有些地方主要是由海洋生物的遗骸组成的——贝壳、珊瑚和海绵。在上层石灰岩中还发现了鲨鱼的牙齿。
"Along both sides of Grand Canyon at the top, two buff and gray layers of limestone stand out as massive cliffs separated by a tree-covered slope. The upper [‘Kaibab’] of these limestones forms the plateau surface and may be seen for a great distance in every direction. Both layers were formed [during the Permian Period] as the result of vast accumulations of organic and sandy materials on sea bottoms, and in places are composed largely of the remains of marine life-shells, corals and sponges. The teeth of sharks have also been found in the upper limestone.

"在这些海洋动物在这一地区生活和繁殖的早期阶段，一大片咸水从远处延伸到西部，短暂停留了一段时间，然后又从这一地区撤退。然而，很快，海水再次涌来，形成了另一个海，它的海岸线向东延伸，甚至超出了我们现在发现的大峡谷区域。在南边的弗拉格斯塔夫之外、东边的彩绘沙漠以及北边的锡安峡谷，我们可以发现第二个更大的海的证据。
"During the early stages of the period when these marine animals lived and multiplied in the region, a great body of salt water extended over its surface from far to the west, remained briefly, then retreated from the area. Soon, however, marine waters advanced once more and another sea was formed with its shoreline extending eastward even beyond the region in which we now find Grand Canyon. Evidences of the second and larger sea are found beyond Flagstaff to the south, in the Painted Desert to the east, and almost to Zion Canyon to the north.

珊瑚和鲨鱼牙齿的存在不仅表明这一地区曾不止一次被海水覆盖，还表明这些海水是温暖的，而且不深。据估计，这大约发生在2亿年前。
The presence of corals and sharks’ teeth not only indicate that this region was covered on more than one occasion by marine waters, but also suggests that these seas were warm and shallow. This is estimated to have been some 200 million years ago.

我把我正在读的相关的书分享给大家，这样大家就能知道更多的细节。
I put names of the books I was reading in this note so tourists get more detail.

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