Seven Wonders of the West (1973)

This nature documentary, narrated by television personality Jack Smith, focuses on the American West. The wonders referred to in the title are not specific locations, but broad categories such as mountains, deserts and redwood country. Smith serves as tour guide during the film, which begins in Alaska, on top of the continent's highest mountain, Mount McKinley, and continues to Oregon's Mount Hood. Skiing sequences and a blizzard are featured in the mountain scenes. The film next moves to the largely unexplored Colossal Caves in southern Arizona and Utah's Canyon Lands National Park, then takes the viewer on an aerial ride over Arizona's Monument Valley. A steam locomotive tour beginning at Fort Bragg goes through the redwood forests in Northern California and stops at the ghost town of Bodie. Then, on the Durango-Silver line, the trip continues to Glacier National Park, Jackson Hole and Yellowstone Park. A canoe ride into river otter country includes underwater footage of the animals and a white water rafting trip goes down the Snake River with the Grand Teton mountains in the background. Then, switching to the desert, the plants and animals of Death Valley are examined and the expedition ends at the Pacific Ocean.