DESKTOP 1789 - GRAND CANYON

The Grand Canyon (Hopi: Ongtupqa; Yavapai: Wi:kaʼi:la, Navajo: Tsékooh Hatsoh, Spanish: Gran Cañón) is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is 446 km long, up to 29 km wide and attains a depth of 1,857 meters. The canyon and adjacent rim are contained within Grand Canyon National Park, the Kaibab National Forest, Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument, the Hualapai Indian Reservation, the Havasupai Indian Reservation and the Navajo Nation.

President Theodore Roosevelt was a major proponent of preservation of the Grand Canyon area, and visited it on numerous occasions to hunt and enjoy the scenery. Nearly two billion years of Earth's geological history have been exposed as the Colorado River and its tributaries cut their channels through layer after layer of rock while the Colorado Plateau was uplifted. While some aspects about the history of incision of the canyon are debated by geologists, several recent studies support the hypothesis that the Colorado River established its course through the area about 5 to 6 million years ago. Since that time, the Colorado River has driven the down-cutting of the tributaries and retreat of the cliffs, simultaneously deepening and widening the canyon.

For thousands of years, the area has been continuously inhabited by Native Americans, who built settlements within the canyon and its many caves. The Pueblo people considered the Grand Canyon a holy site, and made pilgrimages to it. The first European known to have viewed the Grand Canyon was García López de Cárdenas from Spain, who arrived in 1540.

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme,

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DESKTOP 1411 - YARRA BEND PARK

Vista of the Yarra River in suburban Melbourne, about 4 km from the CBD. Yarra Bend Park is an amazing nature reserve in the midst of the City.

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DESKTOP 1397 - REFLECTIONS

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DESKTOP 1356 - WILD OLIVE

This post is part of the Scenic Weekends meme,
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DESKTOP 1284 - PARKLANDS POND

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme,
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DESKTOP 1278 - WERRIBEE

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme,
and also part of the Saturday Silhouettes meme,
and also part of the Scenic Weekends meme.

DESKTOP 1201 - YARRA RIVER

Vista of the Yarra River in suburban Melbourne, about 4 km from the CBD. Yarra Bend Park is an amazing nature reserve in the midst of the City.

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and also part of the Friday Greens meme,
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DESKTOP 1194 - SUNRISE

Sunrise in Melbourne, taken from the Princes Bridge in the City.

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DESKTOP 1152 - CITY

Three bridges in Melbourne City: Sandridge Bridge in the foreground left, arched pedestrian bridge in the middle, and Princes Bridge behind it. 

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DESKTOP 1114 - FISKARDO, GREECE

Fiskardo (Greek: Φισκάρδο) is a village and a community on the Ionian island of Cephalonia, Greece. It is part of the municipal unit of Erisos. It is the northernmost port of Cephalonia, a short distance from Ithaca. Fiskardo has a small and diminishing fishing fleet. The coast around Fiskardo is mainly rocky with numerous pebble-beached coves. The port serves ferry routes to the ports of Frikes (Ithaca) and Lefkada. It is 5 km north of Vasilikades, 24 km north of Sami and 32 km north of Argostoli. Cephalonia International Airport is 61 km to the south, by road (about 1½ hours).

The community of Fiskardo consists of the villages Fiskardo, Evreti, Katsarata, Matsoukata and Tselentata.Fiskardo is also the name of the two kilometre long bay in which the port is located. Fiskardo and the dense forest in the surrounding area have been declared areas of great natural beauty and are protected under Greek law. In recent years a small tourist industry has developed, centred on luxury villas in the area around the village.

This post is part of the Travel Tuesday meme,
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DESKTOP 1083 - SURVIVOR

This post is part of the Scenic Weekends meme,

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DESKTOP 971 - WERRIBEE RIVER

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DESKTOP 950 - BLACK SWAN

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DESKTOP 873 - WERRIBEE RIVER

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DESKTOP 691 - HEALESVILLE

Countryside near Healesville in the Yarra Ranges Shire. The Shire of Yarra Ranges is a local government area in Victoria, Australia, located in the outer eastern and northeastern suburbs of Melbourne extending into the Yarra Valley and Dandenong Ranges. It has an area of 2,469.9 square kilometres, and at the 2011 census, it had a population of 144,541.It was formed in 1994 by the merger of parts of the Shire of Sherbrooke, Shire of Lillydale, Shire of Healesville and Shire of Upper Yarra. It has rich farmland, vineyards and magnificent areas of native forest.

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DESKTOP 641 - YARRA VALLEY

This post is part of the Weekly TopShot meme,
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DESKTOP 563 - ZAKYNTHOS, GREECE

This post is part of the Scenic Weekends meme.

DESKTOP 557 - NEA EPIDAVROS, GREECE

This post is part of the Spiritual Sundays meme,
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DESKTOP 414 - MELBOURNE AT NIGHT

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DESKTOP 76 - RIVERSIDE

This post is part of the Waterworld Wednesday meme,
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