Modern-day life is one of convenience: everything is just a button away.

While, for the most part, such continuous convenience is a good thing, our lives can be dominated by a series of beeps, dings and whatever other sound effects our mobile devices make. Combine that with the fact that more and more people are living in urban regions and you get a lot of people who just want some peace and quiet.

For those who want the ultimate peace and quiet experience, making a trip to Washington state might be your best bet. According to acoustic ecologist Gordon Hempton, a single square inch of Washington's Olympic National Park is the quietest spot in the contiguous United States.

The spot is marked by a single red pebble, left by Hempton himself when making his way through the park back in 2005. For 10 years, Hempton has dedicated himself to finding the quietest spot in the contiguous United States.

To be clear, "quiet" doesn't necessarily mean "silent": the rainforest of the Olympic National Park is bustling with a wide variety of wildlife, and the rustling of leaves or drops of rain will always make noise. Instead, "quiet" refers to the amount of man-made noise, which can include everything from footsteps to speech. Even with hikers and airlines passing through, it can take over 20 minutes to hear anything man-made at Hempton's marker.

Hempton first decided to dedicate himself to the preservation of quiet in 2005 after spontaneously losing his hearing. While it did eventually return (roughly 18 months later), Hempton continued to fight for the preservation of natural quiet. It's not an easy fight, either: between airliners, smartphones and an ever-growing population, genuine quiet is becoming harder and harder to find.

While there are some who claim that there are other, quieter spots throughout the country (one study in particular claimed that the quietest spot is the Great Sand Dunes in Colorado), it's hard to argue Hempton's claim after listening for yourself.

At the very least, taking a moment to listen through some of the recordings should be a good way to wind down after a long, stressful day of work.

For more on Hempton's work, head on over to the official One Square Inch website.


Photo
: Ralph Arveson | Flickr

ⓒ 2024 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Join the Discussion