地球壮观河流之旅（2019）

地球上那些壮观的河流
Earth's great rivers.
从源头开始到奔涌入海
From source to sea,
就像是一趟非凡的旅程
make extraordinary journeys.
这些河流雕琢了广袤的大♥陆♥
Carving through continents.
孕育了古老的文明
Nurturing ancient civilisations.
同时也滋养了世界上的万千生灵
Feeding and connecting life across our world.
从尼罗河流经的山岳 沙漠
From the mountains and deserts of the Nile,
到密西西比河沿途的城市 湿地
to the cities and mysterious swamps of the Mississippi,
还有亚马逊河奔流不息的河水所包围的隐秘世界
and the steaming waters and secret worlds of the tropical Amazon,
这些壮观的河流就像地球的命脉
great rivers are the lifeblood of planet Earth.
宽阔 浑浊的密西西比河
The massive, muddy Mississippi.
是美国腹地的心脏和灵魂
The heart and soul of America's Deep South.
它激发了一代又一代作家和音乐家的灵感
The river has inspired writers and musicians for generations.
这就是熟悉的面孔
It's the familiar face of the Mississippi,
世界闻名的密西西比河
known the world over.
事实上
Yet this is, in fact,
这里是这一宏大水系最后的亮相
just the last stretch of a truly vast river system.
密西西比河有着庞大的水道网络
The Mississippi is an enormous network of waterways.
它流经31个州
It reaches into 31 states,
流域覆盖美国近一半的国土面♥积♥
gathering water from nearly half of the USA.
它起源于毫不起眼的遥远山涧
From unexpected beginnings in remote mountain streams,
数百条蜿蜒的溪流 经由开阔的大草原
winding tributaries sweep across open prairie.
汇聚成了一条奔腾不息的大河
Hundreds of rivers, coming together as one,
联结着数千公里范围内的动物与人类
linking animals and people across thousands of miles.
没有什么能像密西西比河这样将美国的
Nothing connects and unites the states of America
各州联♥系♥在一起
like the Mississippi River.
密西西比河的大部分河水来自于美国北部地区
Most of the Mississippi's water comes from across a 1,500 mile
那个地区宽约2400公里
wide swathe of the northern United States,
周围群山连绵
bordered by mountains.
密西西比河最长的支流发源于
The Mississippi's longest tributary begins here,
美国西北部
in the north-west,
怀俄明州高耸的落基山脉中
amongst the towering Rockies of Wyoming,
全长超过4000公里
over 3,500 miles upstream.
这里的冬季可达五个月
Winter here can last for five months.
在这个时节 数十亿吨♥的水
Right now, billions of tonnes of water
以冰和雪的形态存于世间
are trapped as ice and snow.
夏季 这里水流湍急
In summer, this is a fast-flowing torrent.
而现在 水獭以及其它依赖于这条河的动物
But, for now, the otters and other animals who depend on it
不得不在冰面上寻找小洞口以便捕鱼
must search for holes in the ice to allow them to fish.
而一些探险者则选择前往落基山脉
But some choose to come to the Rockies
体验密西西比河已经结冰的上游
to experience the frozen headwaters of the Mississippi.
对攀岩者而言 没什么比攀登陡峭的冰墙
For climbers, there is no greater challenge
更具挑战性了
than scaling a sheer wall of ice.
这就像追寻隐藏的宝藏
You're basically chasing a hidden treasure
有人告知你宝藏就在山上
that somebody told you was up in the hills.
我们每隔一段时间就会想去寻找一番
And every once in a while, you actually get to find it.
艾隆-马尔基是世界上最有经验的攀冰选手之一
For Aaron Mulkey, one of the most experienced ice climbers in the world,
冬季是他最爱的季节
winter is his favourite time of year.
昔日飞流而下的密西西比河冻结于峭壁之上
Here, the Mississippi is suspended in the form
变成像高塔般的冰冻瀑布
of towering, frozen waterfalls.
这里成为了美国最佳的攀冰地点之一
These provide some of the best ice climbing in the whole of the USA.
人们绝对没法想象它能被冻住
I don't think people ever really imagine these things would ever freeze.
这里的冰墙高达60米 非常壮观
100, 200 foot, massive, just a spectacular chunk of ice.
攀冰确实有点疯狂 想象一下 你要凿开冰
And sort of crazy to think that, you know, when you're chopping away,
沿着它向上爬
ice climbing at these things,
而这些冰在融化后最终流往墨西哥湾的某个地方
that that water may end up in the Gulf of Mexico at some point.
每个被冻住的冰瀑都很独特
Every one of these frozen waterfalls is unique.
他们绝不会以同样的方式被冻住两次
They never form the same way twice.
可以认为这些瀑布是活的
These waterfalls are very much alive, you know.
因为我们能看到上面有小水滴
You're watching them with the little trickle of water.
它们一直在移♥动♥和变化
They're constantly moving and shifting.
你甚至能听到冰裂开的声音 有时冰还有些松动
You can hear the ice crack and sometimes shift.
有些声响没太大问题
Some of those noises are OK.
但有些声响就很令人担心
Some of them are much more concerning.
是冰
Ice!
攀冰非常特别
Ice climbing is pretty unique.
攀岩意味着山就在那里 而且永远在那里
You know, if you go rock climbing, it's there, it's always going to be there.
但是冰可能今天还在 第二天就没了
But ice is there one day and gone tomorrow.
现在整个大地都被冰冻住了
For now, though, this whole landscape is frozen.
但不管天气有多冷 流淌在落基山脉的几条溪流
But no matter how cold it gets, a few streams here in the Rockies
全年都能养育这里的野生动物
throw the local wildlife a year-round lifeline.
黄石公园里有冒着热气的间歇泉
Yellowstone National Park's steaming geysers spew out boiling water
它们在冰封的荒野中喷涌出热水
into the middle of this icebound wilderness
这让冰天雪地中也能有宝贵的流水
keeping precious streams flowing through the snow.
这就是麦迪逊河
The Madison River,
密西西比河的一条偏远支流
a remote tributary of the Mississippi.
虽然有时气温低至零下40度
Despite the air sometimes dropping to 40 below,
但这条河却依旧在流淌
the river never freezes over.
对生活在黄石公园的郊狼来说 冬季是非常难熬的
Winter is especially hard for Yellowstone's coyotes,
它们只能不停的寻找吃的
endlessly searching for something to eat.
有些郊狼知道这条河里
A few have learned that this particular river
可能会有食物
holds a potential meal.
郊狼并不是生来就会捕鱼的
Fishing doesn't come naturally to coyotes.
但这条雌性郊狼决心学会这一本领
But it's a skill this female is determined to master.
它把自己弄得越湿
The wetter she gets,
患上低温症的风险就越高
the greater the risk of hypothermia.
在忍♥受了4小时的寒冷之苦
But after four hours of enduring the bitter cold
却仍一无所获之后
and catching nothing,
它最终抓到一条半米长的虹鳟
finally, a half-metre-long rainbow trout.
它是极少数能掌握这种捕鱼方式的
She's one of the only coyotes in the world
郊狼之一
who's learned to fish this way.
这要感谢得天独厚的自然条件 温暖的河水让郊狼
And it's only possible thanks to the steaming waters
不再因冰面的阻隔而饥肠辘辘
of this unique Mississippi headwater.
穿过冰封的北部地区
All across the frozen north,
季节开始更迭
the season starts to change.
在山区 有时直到六月冰雪
In the mountains, the spring melt sometimes doesn't happen
才会开始融化
until as late as June.
随着温度的缓慢提升
Slowly, the temperatures rise.
大地渐渐苏醒
And the thaw begins.
密西西比河源头的河水终于被解放出来
The headwaters of the Mississippi are finally unleashed.
数十亿吨♥河水流动起来
Billions of tonnes of water are on the move.
他们会淹没旅途中的一切
They can engulf everything in their path.
这一剧烈的转变标志着
This dramatic transformation
密西西比河流域内每年一度焕发生机的时刻到来了
marks the annual reawakening of life across the Mississippi.
尤其是在阿巴拉契亚山脉
Nowhere is this more true than in the Appalachian Mountains,
它位于落基山脉东部2400公里处 那是北美大♥陆♥的另一端
1,500 miles east of the Rockies, on the other side of the continent.
在田纳西州和弗吉尼亚州
Here, in Tennessee and Virginia,
山间的溪流是许多动物的安身之所
upland streams are a haven for an incredible variety of life.
北美大鲵是蝾螈的一个稀有种类
Hellbenders, a rare species of salamander that can grow
它能长到超过60厘米长
to over 60 centimetres long.
大批鱼群
Huge shoals of fish,
比如这些牛胭脂鱼
like these buffalo suckers,
聚集到一起产卵
mass to spawn.
在河床上
While on the river beds,
北美吸口鱼用石头筑起巢穴来保护鱼卵
chub build stony nests to protect their eggs.
有一类动物它们用奇特的方式
But one group of animals has come up with an astonishing way
来保护自己的后代
of giving their young the best possible start.
它们就是淡水蚌
Freshwater mussels.
在繁殖期它们的外套膜组织会伸展开来
During the breeding season, part of the mantle which runs
看起来就像一条小鱼
along the edges of their shell is unfurled.
在河水里游动着
It begins to resemble a small fish swimming in the current.
而小鱼正是大鱼想吃的食物
A small fish that larger fish might want to eat.
隐藏在这些诱饵内部的是
Hidden inside these lures are sacs containing thousands
成千淡水蚌的后代
of tiny mussel larvae.
要想扩散开并想找到一处新家
To disperse and find a new home,
这些幼体需要黏附在大鱼的鳃上
the larvae need to latch onto the gills of a large fish.
为了实现这一目的
For this to happen,
成年河蚌需要哄骗大鱼啃咬诱饵
the adult mussels need to trick a fish into biting their lure.
幼体吸附上去之后开始从
The larvae clamp on and begin to suck nutrients
鱼血中汲取养分
from the fish's blood.