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Grand Canyon National Park
Ranger Minute - Microclimates (wmv)
Ranger Minutes are short audiocasts or videocasts in which a park ranger shares interesting stories and information about Grand Canyon National Park.
 

Microclimates

Little pockets of moisture and coolness exist just over the rim of the Grand Canyon and create completely different life zones. Learn about Microclimates and how they preserve plants that used to be here 10,000 years ago - when this area was much cooler.

Click on the player to activate it, then, press the play button. It may take a minute for the video to start.

 
If your playback is uneven and you would rather download the file to your computer,
cut and paste this link into your media player: (7.16MB WMV File)http://www.nps.gov/grca/photosmultimedia/upload/Rmin00804micro.wmv
Download the transcript (11kb PDF File)

 
SPRINGS PROVIDE OASES FOR FLORA AND FAUNA  

Did You Know?
Within the Grand Canyon, the type and abundance of organisms is directly related to the presence or absence of water. The Colorado River and its tributaries, as well as springs, seeps, stock tanks and ephemeral pools provide oases to flora and fauna in this semi-arid southwest desert area.

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Last Updated: April 15, 2008 at 21:17 EST