Why do mountains in a desert contain fossils of sea life?
沙漠里的山，怎么会有海里的化石？
美国瓜达卢佩山的周围是沙漠，山中的一些石头却有海里的化石。
Desert surrounds the Guadalupe Mountains in the United States, yet some rocks in the mountains contain fossils of sea life.
这些化石，是古老生物留下、保存在石头里的痕迹。
These fossils are traces of ancient life preserved in rock.
海里的东西，怎么会出现在山上呢？
How did traces of the sea end up in the mountains?
很久以前，这里有一片海，海里有一个叫卡皮坦的礁。
Long ago, there was a sea here, with a reef called Capitan.
礁是水下的一大片岩石。
A reef is a large mass of rock under water.
这里的一些海里生物留下了硬的部分，它们慢慢堆积、连在一起，形成礁中的岩石。
Hard parts left by some sea organisms here gradually accumulated and joined together, forming rock in the reef.
后来，泥和其他物质不断落到海底。
Later, mud and other material kept settling on the sea floor.
一层又一层的物质，渐渐把礁盖住了。
Layer after layer of material gradually covered the reef.
再后来，地面下的岩石发生移动。
Still later, rock beneath the ground moved.
在很长的时间里，含有古礁的那一大块岩石被慢慢抬高了。
Over a very long time, the large block of rock containing the ancient reef was gradually raised.
被抬高的是岩石，不是一整片海水。
It was the rock that was raised, not an entire body of sea water.
风和雨又慢慢带走了上面较软的物质。
Wind and rain then gradually wore away the softer material above it.
下面较硬的礁石，就露出来了。
The harder reef rock underneath was exposed.
今天，我们看到的山，保留着这片古礁的一部分。
Today, the mountains we see preserve part of that ancient reef.
石头里的化石，也留下了古老海洋的线索。
The fossils in the rock also hold clues to the ancient sea.
所以，要读懂这里的山，只看今天的沙漠还不够。
So, to understand these mountains, looking only at today's desert is not enough.
我们还要想到石头曾经在哪里，以及它后来怎样被盖住、抬高和露出来。
We also need to consider where the rock once was, and how it was later covered, raised and exposed.
