115 (D-16) Extraordinary contrasts!

115 (D-16) California! Can you believe that in this short time we have gone from Death Valley to the Sierra Nevada and Yosemite and then now this beautiful coastline?

David, a friend of mine who lives in California, sent me this information for the blog:

Mt. Whitney, California, at 14,494 feet (4,421 meters), is the highest point in the continental United States (48 contiguous states). Death Valley, California, at 282 feet (86 meters) below sea level, is the lowest point in the United States and in the entire western hemisphere. Mt. Whitney and Death Valley are a very short distance apart. [Mt. McKinley, Alaska, at 20,320 feet (6,194 meters), is the highest point in the United States and North America.]

And what a beautiful contrast this coastline is!

Next, we go to visit the city where David lives: San Francisco! The last leg of our journey.

Jane

PS. I forgot to give you this VOA link when we were in Death Valley. Some things you know already; some things you will learn about, Scotty's Castle for example.

Try listening without the text to see how much you can understand. It is long, but we are still on holidays (last day)!

http://www1.voanews.com/learningenglish/home/a-23-2009-08-25-voa1-83140912.html

(Remember, you only need to click here to open the site; it isn't necessary to type these long addresses!)

VOCABULARY;

The last leg of a journey is the last part of a trip.