美国第64座国家公园诞生：亚利桑那州 Chiricahua 升格国家公园，「岩石奇境」石林成新地标
位于美国亚利桑那州东南部 Cochise County 的 Chiricahua 国家纪念地已经正式升格为 Chiricahua 国家公园。美国内政部（DOI）10月20日宣布，总统特朗普当天签署《Chiricahua 国家公园法》（Chiricahua National Park Act）使之成法，这座有着「岩石奇境」（Wonderland of Rocks）之称的石林公园成为全美第64座国家公园，也是亚利桑那州继大峡谷、石化林与 Saguaro 之后的第4座国家公园。
内政部长 Doug Burgum 在宣布中说：「Chiricahua 高耸的石柱、丰富的阿帕奇文化遗产与非凡的生物多样性，使它成为美国最非同寻常的景观之一。这项新指定将让全国的目光投向亚利桑那州这颗隐藏的宝石，带来迎接更多游客、增强地方经济的机会，把这片绝美的土地分享给更多美国人。」国家公园管理局（NPS）方面，行使局长委托职权的财务主管 Jessica Bowron 表示，Chiricahua 成为国家公园系统一员已逾一个世纪，新指定为它的历史开启新篇章：「它的名字在变，我们的承诺不变：守护这片非凡的土地与文化遗产，让一代代游客前来体验、欣赏。」
Chiricahua 位于 Chiricahua 山脉的「天空之岛」之上，面积约12,000英亩，距 Tucson 约120英里。约2,700万年前的一次火山喷发造就了这里的流纹岩石柱与平衡石，如今成片的石林从山间升起。这里地处四套生态系统的交会处——Sonoran 沙漠、Chihuahuan 沙漠、落基山脉与 Sierra Madre 山脉在此相遇，造就了罕见的生物多样性，据《史密森尼》杂志报道，园内有近200种鸟类，徒步、观野生动物、观鸟与观星都是这里的招牌体验。
这片土地承载着数千年人类历史：它是 Chiricahua 阿帕奇人的故乡，也留有 Faraway Ranch 等早期拓荒家庭的遗迹。1924年，柯立芝总统将 Chiricahua 列为国家纪念地；推动升格的法案由亚利桑那州联邦众议员 Juan Ciscomani 于2023年提出，本月20日经特朗普签署成法。这也是美国六年来迎来的第一座新国家公园，上一座是2020年设立的西弗吉尼亚州 New River Gorge 国家公园及保护区。园名 Chiricahua 的读音近似「cheery-cow-uh」。
内政部表示，升格认可了这一地区自然与文化资源在全国层面的重要性。国家公园管理局将继续负责公园的保护与游客服务，纪念地时期的游览方式与管理承诺保持不变，改变的首先是名字与全国能见度。
America's 64th National Park: Arizona's Chiricahua Redesignated, the 'Wonderland of Rocks' Joins the System
Chiricahua National Monument in Cochise County, southeastern Arizona, has officially been redesignated as Chiricahua National Park. The Department of the Interior announced on October 20 that President Donald J. Trump had signed the Chiricahua National Park Act into law that day, making the stone-spire landscape known as the 'Wonderland of Rocks' the 64th national park in the United States and Arizona's fourth, after the Grand Canyon, Petrified Forest and Saguaro.
'Chiricahua's towering rock spires, rich Apache heritage and remarkable biodiversity make it one of America's most extraordinary landscapes,' Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum said in the announcement. 'This new designation will shine a national spotlight on one of Arizona's hidden gems, creating opportunities to welcome more visitors, strengthen local economies and share this incredible landscape with more Americans.' Jessica Bowron, the National Park Service comptroller exercising the delegated authority of the director, said Chiricahua has been part of the National Park System for more than a century and that the new designation marks an exciting chapter: 'While its name is changing, our commitment remains the same: protecting this remarkable landscape and its cultural heritage while providing opportunities for visitors to experience and enjoy it for generations to come.'
Chiricahua protects about 12,000 acres on a 'sky island' of the Chiricahua Mountains, about 120 miles from Tucson. Its rhyolite rock spires and balanced rocks were formed by an ancient volcanic eruption roughly 27 million years ago. The park sits at the meeting point of four major ecosystems — the Sonoran Desert, the Chihuahuan Desert, the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Madre — a crossroads that supports remarkable biodiversity, including, according to Smithsonian Magazine, nearly 200 species of birds. Hiking, wildlife viewing, birding and stargazing are the signature visitor experiences.
The land preserves thousands of years of human history: it is the homeland of the Chiricahua Apache and holds the legacy of early homesteading families at Faraway Ranch. Chiricahua was first protected as a national monument in 1924 under President Calvin Coolidge. The redesignation bill was introduced in 2023 by Representative Juan Ciscomani of Arizona and signed into law on October 20. Chiricahua is the country's first new national park in six years, following West Virginia's New River Gorge National Park and Preserve in 2020. The name Chiricahua is pronounced 'cheery-cow-uh.'
The Interior Department said the redesignation recognizes the national significance of the area's natural and cultural resources. The National Park Service will continue to manage and protect the park; what changes first is the name — and the national spotlight that comes with it.
来源：GSM·美国（原文链接）
图片来源：图：自 Massai Point 眺望 Chiricahua 国家公园的流纹岩石林（资料图，Krzysztof Ziarnek／Kenraiz 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons）。Photo: Rhyolite formations of Chiricahua National Park viewed from Massai Point (file photo by Krzysztof Ziarnek / Kenraiz, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons).
