Stanford Graduate Fights To Be Removed From No-Fly List
America's Most Inspiring Places to Listen
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AAAHempton's gold standard for a noise-free environment is a period of 15 minutes or longer between intrusions and transportation. In particular, the spaces avoid overflights by commercial aircraft, the number one noise polluter according to Hempton. "Modern life is a barrage of intrusions," he says, "and listening is essential for maintaining a sense of place in our lives." Scroll below to see (and hear!) Hempton's picks for the 10 most inspiring places to listen to silence in America. You'll never guess which park he calls the country's "last great quiet place."
Home to alligators, panthers, black bears and an extremely rich collection of birds, Everglades National Park offers incredible wildlife viewing opportunities for even the most casual day-tripper. The chorus that rises from the park's dense population of frogs, toads and bellowing alligators makes for an impressive acoustical backdrop to the spectacle of the River of Grass (also listen for songbirds, such as the eastern meadowlark).
SILENCE UNDER SIEGE: Air traffic from Miami and Fort Lauderdale, South Florida's busiest airports, is a major intrusion. Road noise is another problem in the park, but boat babble is particularly bothersome as sound carries further over water than land.
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The beautiful melodies of small birds, including the winter wren and the wood thrush, are among the most magical listening experiences at Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The park's hardwood forests and temperate zones are extremely bio diverse, and waterfalls create a soothing soundtrack for wildlife viewing as well.
SILENCE UNDER SIEGE: The park's proximity to major population centers in surrounding North Carolina and Tennessee make true silence extremely elusive. Near continual noise from commercial jets during daylight hours and the sound of traffic from nearby roads pulse through much of the park.
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Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park and Haleakala National Park host volcanic craters in high-elevation landscapes-settings far removed from unnatural noise. These hiker-accessible areas are among the most silent terrestrial places on the planet, with extremely low decibel readings. Natural sounds to listen for include the call of the nēnē (a goose that is the state bird oh Hawai'i) and rare native birds in the fern forests as well as the sound of Pacific Ocean swells pounding cliffs made of igneous rock.
SILENCE UNDER SIEGE: Jetliner traffic is frequent over Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, but an increasing number of helicopter tours are a more omnipresent threat to the silence.
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The layered sand dunes and broad expanses of sandy beach that define Cape Cod National Seashore make it one of the best places on the East Coast to hear the sound of surf on sand--an acoustic effect that's very different from the sound of waves over pebbled shore. Hempton also suggests walking back from the water's edge into the dunes and listening to the wind blowing through the dune grass and the sound of the crickets as the ocean beats away.
SILENCE UNDER SIEGE: The dunes provide good insulation against road noise, but commercial flights occasionally intrude on the silence.
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Named for the traders that paddled their birch bark canoes through the region on their journeys north to Canada, Voyageurs National Park is a glacier-carved lake scape that's still best explored by boat. Sounds to listen for include the eerie yodels of loons and the howling of wolves. "They're two entirely different voices, both of them calling cards for true wilderness in the lake region," Hempton says.
SILENCE UNDER SIEGE: The natural silence that largely pervades in Voyageurs National Park is sometimes interrupted by commercial aircraft.
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The diverse music the wind makes as it blows through different trees in Yosemite National Park was first described by naturalist John Muir in the 19th century. Muir was able to navigate the valley at night simply by calculating the changing sounds the wind made as the elevation and tree species changed--the longer the needle of a pine tree, the lower the pitch. Other sounds to still listen for today include the song of the ouzel. This small bird dives into frigid streams to pluck insects from rocks. Hempton describes the ouzel's song as "a perfect Arabesque of melody." The park's myriad waterfalls also sing their own unique tunes.
SILENCE UNDER SIEGE: Noise from Yosemite Village, including dumpster service in the early hours and tourist traffic, intrude on the park's natural silence. Here, too, commercial aircraft routed by the FAA over the park are a regular noise interruption, even in the park's back country.
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Mesas, canyons and buttes sculpted by climactic effects and the Colorado River have created a unique acoustical environment at Canyonlands National Park. Listen for the wind sighing through the sculpted earth here. The semi-parabolic ancient cliff dwellings of the Anasazi Indians in the park also serve to collect and amplify the sounds of the valleys they face. Also listen for the sounds of songbirds, including the canyon wren and Bewick's wren. The latter is best heard in the quiet of early morning from a listening perch in the flats below the canyon wall-position yourself as close to the wall as possible to hear a lovely reverberation of the birdsong, says Hempton. He has found that Canyonlands offers a far better listening experience than Grand Canyon National Park, where the silence is continually invaded by as many as 90,000 annual sight-seeing air tours that come from as far away as Las Vegas.
SILENCE UNDER SIEGE: Commercial aircraft routed over the park produce a sound that is deafening, particular in the late night and early morning hours when it contrasts starkly with the profound silence.
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Organ Pipes Cactus National Monument in the remote Sonoran Desert is home to 26 species of cacti, as well as many unique creatures that have adapted to the harsh heat and parched conditions. The listening lure here is the delicate sound the wind makes as it blows through cactus needles. Dawn is the best time to hear the cactus wind, which Hempton says creates "such a beautiful and delicate humming sound." Spring is the prettiest time to visit, with migrating songbirds on their journeys north and desert wild flowers in bloom.
SILENCE UNDER SIEGE: This park is one of the most ideal places in the US to appreciate the uninterrupted sound of nature, though that silence can be broken by air traffic.
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The churning, bubbling and popping sounds resulting from geothermal activity at Yellowstone National Park make it a prime place to revere natural silence. The music of mineral springs and natural geysers erupting from the earth is best appreciated at night, says Hempton, who calls the experience a "fountain of sounds, with each spring spouting a different tune."
SILENCE UNDER SIEGE: Sizeable periods of quiet can be enjoyed here, but snowmobiles, air tours and commercial air traffic are reliable intrusions.
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Hempton gives Olympic National Park the seat of honor for America's finest place to enjoy the natural sounds of silence. And he's working to keep it that way. His non-profit organization, One Square Inch, is devoted to passing legislation that would designate the park a no-flight zone for civilian aircraft. The one-million-acre park is the Northern Hemisphere's best example of a temperate rainforest. Some of the planet's tallest Douglas fir and cedar trees tower over 300 feet here, "[creating] a beautiful acoustic structure similar to our finest cathedrals," says Hempton. Other sounds to listen for include the bugling echoes of Roosevelt elk and the call of the winter wren. Accordign to Hempton, one of the most incredible listening experiences a visitor can experience comes by sticking your head inside one of the huge Sitka spruce logs that wash ashore at the park. "The acoustic energy of the surf pounding on pebbled shore is enough to excite wood fibers inside nature's largest violin," he says.
SILENCE UNDER SIEGE: While Olympic National Park is the least noise-polluted park in the nation, the FAA has designated commercial jet routes over the park, according to Hempton. Still, natural quiet periods between overflight intrusions commonly approach an hour or longer.
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One place and area that they left-off was The Tetons @ Jackson Hole, Wyoming. I think the sound there was tremendous. You could be at the very top of a hill and hear all the sounds down in the valley - even the cowboys talking...and, not to mention the dogs & even the wolves.
August 22 2010 at 4:31 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyGreat Smokies has three roads within its 800 square miles... guess the writer didn't get more than 100 feet off the road if he/she thinks that traffic noise is a problem. And commercial airlines noise?? I've lived 1 mile from the Park for 22 years and never once have I heard a commercial airliner! No factchecking on this story!
March 26 2010 at 12:08 PM Report abuse Permalink +1 rate up rate down ReplyAny of the redwood/sequoia state or national parks in California are ideal if you're looking for solitude. Because of the shade of the giant trees (close to 400 feet high up near the Oregon border), there is very little undergrowth. Because of the characteristics of redwood bark, there are relatively few insects. And because of that, there are fewer birds. The overall effect is like walking into a great cathedral. Awesome, and not to be missed.
March 21 2010 at 6:10 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplySonoita, Arizona should be on your quiet list, with thousands of acres of public lands. It's so quiet that one can hear the air being dispersed as a raven flies by. The sound of the cottonwood leaves dancing with the breeze is like a caress from our Creator. It's a great birding area as well and the scenery is serenely beautiful. Unfortunately, this silence is threatened by the possibility of a huge open pit copper mine just across the highway from the Las Cienegas NCA. Silence, along with such beauty is special and rare and these areas must be saved for now and the future.
March 21 2010 at 11:12 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyI was tempted to say something sarcastic, but hesitated...to not break the tranquility of this thread -- but Zed broke the spell (I used to teach in Newark)! So, here goes: as soon as our liberal Congress approves the amnesty bill for illegal immigrants, these places of peace will fill up with noise and low-income housing units.
March 21 2010 at 6:57 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyDevils Canyon in the pryor mountain national wild horse range is the quietest, stillest place I have ever ( or rather never) heard.It was so still and quiet there you could practically hear your hair growing. Also Where can I get a CD of all his recordings? I would love to own one.
March 21 2010 at 6:18 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyI spend summers living next to the Cape Cod National Seashore Park. 3/4th of the year it is noisy. Winter is when you find solititude at the Park.
What the article fails to mention is the public beaches run by the National Park are uber crowded in summer and early Fall. They are filled with screaming children and obnoxious adults who still inisit on using boogie boards and ride the surf. Must I say, they schlepp 1/2 their worldly possessions to the beach; the most important one, the inflatable plastic whale beach toy, made in China, that lifegaurds insist be used outside thier watch area.
Towards Provincetown, the Cape Cod National Seashore Park allows dune buggies and trucks and SUVs with 4 wheel drive to drive on the beach. Most people park their gass guzzlers, surf cast (fish), drink beer, and party. Do you think one can hear the sound of the rare piping plower chick call for its mother when you have public vehicles, with legal sanctioned beach stickers, driving on pristine parts of the CCNSS beach causing track marks in the sand? Many (but not all) of these vehicles that drive on the beach have bumper stickers that read "Piping Plovers Taste Like Chicken."
Then around 2 in the afternoon, one looks overhead and sees the international flights coming in from Europe. They leave vapor trails that ruin the picture perfect afternoon view of the sky.
So yes and no.........I would say to find peace and tranquility you must visit the park in winter when the beach goers are gone and the beach buggy folks are gone too.
Cape20codder---who has family who have traveled to Cape Cod since 1937.
one of the quietiest places Ive seen is in southwest texas called guadalupe peaks park. this area along the texas new mexico boundry is pretty far removed. once you've climbed to the top of guadalupe peak at almost 9000 feet all you can hear is the wind and your heart beat, as you look out to the south west over the salt flats.
March 21 2010 at 5:28 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyNorthEast Georgia. Southern Appalachians.
Hummingbirds sound like 747s!
NORTH PADRE ISLAND TEXAS ,ENDLESS BEACHES AND WATERFRONT A TRUE ISLAND ,AND PARADISE
March 21 2010 at 4:07 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyHot 5 Deals
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