12/30/2007

Tien Shan mountains, Discovering the wonders of our world

Tien Shan mountains

coordinates42°02′06″N 80°07′32″E

The Tian Shan (Chinese: 天山; Pinyin: Tiān Shān; "celestial mountains"), also commonly spelled Tien Shan, and known as Tangri Tagh ("celestial mountains" or "mountains of the spirits") in the Uyghur language, is a mountain range located in Central Asia.

The now widely used name Tian Shan is a Chinese translation of the Uyghur name, which may in turn go back to a Xiongnu name, qilian (祁连) reported by the Shiji as the homeland of the Yuezhi, which has been argued[1] to refer to the Tian Shan rather than to the range 1,500 km further the east now known by this name. A nearby mountain range, the Tannu-Ola Mountains (Tuvan: Таңды-Уула Tangdy-Uula), also bears a synonymous name ("heaven/celestial mountains" or "god/spirit mountains").

The range lies to the north and west of the Taklamakan Desert in the border region of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of western China. In the south it links up with the Pamir Mountains. It also extends into the Chinese province of Xinjiang and into the northern areas of Pakistan, where it joins the Hindu Kush.

In Western cartography, the eastern end of the Tian Shan is usually understood to be just west of Ürümqi, while the range to the east of that city is known as the Bogda Shan. However, in Chinese cartography, from the Han Dynasty to the present, the Tian Shan is also considered to include the Bogda Shan and Barkol ranges.

The Tian Shan are a part of the Himalayan orogenic belt which was formed by the collision of the Indian and Eurasian plates in the Cenozoic era. They are one of the longest mountain ranges in Central Asia, stretching some 2,800 km eastward from Tashkent in Uzbekistan.

The highest peak in the Tian Shan is Jengish Chokusu which, at 7,439 metres (24,406 ft), is also the highest point in Kyrgyzstan and is on the border with China. The Tian Shan's second highest peak, Khan Tengri (Lord of the Spirits), at 7,010 m, straddles the Kazakhstan-Kyrgyzstan border. Mountaineers class these as the two most northerly peaks over 7,000 m in the world.

The Torugart Pass, 3,752 metres (12,310 ft) high, is located at the border between Kyrgyzstan and China's Xinjiang province. The forested Alatau ranges, which are at a lower altitude in the northern part of the Tian Shan, are inhabited by pastoral tribes speaking Turkic languages. The major rivers rising in the Tian Shan are the Syr Darya, the Ili river and the Tarim River. The Aksu Canyon is a notable feature in the northwestern Tian Shan.

One of the first Europeans to visit and the first to describe the Tian Shan in detail was the Russian explorer Peter Semenov in the 1850s.

Niagara Falls, Discovering the wonders of our world

Location Niagara Falls (Ontario & New York)
Coordinates: 43°04′48″N 79°04′16″W / 43.080, -79.071

Niagara Falls (French: les Chutes du Niagara) is a set of massive waterfalls located on the Niagara River, straddling the international border separating the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of New York. The falls are located 17 miles (27 km) north-northwest of Buffalo, New York, 75 miles (120 km) south-southeast of Toronto, Ontario, between the twin cities of Niagara Falls, Ontario, and Niagara Falls, New York.

Niagara Falls is composed of two major sections separated by Goat Island: Horseshoe Falls, on the Canadian side of the border and American Falls on the United States side. The smaller Bridal Veil Falls also is located on the American side, separated from the main falls by Luna Island. Niagara Falls were formed when glaciers receded at the end of the Wisconsin glaciation (the last ice age), and water from the newly-formed Great Lakes carved a path through the Niagara Escarpment en route to the Atlantic Ocean. While not exceptionally high, the Niagara Falls are very wide. More than six million cubic feet (168,000 m³) of water fall over the crest line every minute in high flow,[1] and almost 4 million cubic feet (110,000 m³) on average. It is the most powerful waterfall in North America.[2]

The Niagara Falls are renowned both for their beauty and as a valuable source of hydroelectric power. Managing the balance between recreational, commercial, and industrial uses has been a challenge for the stewards of the falls since the 1800s.


Venezuela's Lost Worlds

Canaima National Park is located in the south-east of Venezuela in Bolívar State close to the borders with Brazil and Guyana. The park protects the north-western section of the Guayana Shield, an ancient geological formation shared with Brazil, the Guianas and Colombia. The park was established in 1962 with an area of 10,000km2, but its size was increased to 30,000km2 in 1975 in order to safeguard the watershed functions of its river basins. At that time it became the world's largest national park, its area being equivalent to that of Belgium in Europe, or larger than the State of Maryland. In recognition of its extraordinary scenery and geological and biological values, the park was conceded World Heritage Status in 1994, forming one of a select list of 126 natural and natural-cultural World Heritage Sites worldwide. Canaima actually fulfilled all four of UNESCO's criteria for qualification as a World Heritage property. Ironically, the name of the park, which derives from the novel "Canaima" by Venezuelan author Rómulo Gallegos, means "spirit of evil" in the language of the Pemón, local inhabitants of the park.

A unique landscape formed from the oldest rocks on Earth
The best-known feature of Canaima National Park are its characteristic flat-topped mountain formations known as tepuis from the local indigenous name. These mountains were popularised in several novels from the early part of this century, many of them inspired by the 19th Century British botanist Everard Im Turn who lectured throughout Europe on his return. The most widely recognised of these novels is The Lost World by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, author of the Sherlock Holmes novels, which describes the ascent of a South American plateau inhabited by prehistoric plants and dinosaurs.
The geological history of the area is only superficially understood. There are three main geological formations. The oldest is an underlying igneous-metamorphic basement formed some 1.2-3.6 billion years ago whilst South America was joined to Africa as the supercontinent Gondwanaland. Between 1.6 and 1 billion years ago, this was overlain with a sedimentary cover. The first of these formations is too deeply buried to be visible within the park, but second (known as the Roraima Group) forms the basis of the area's extraordinary topography (Huber 1995). It consists of quartzite and sandstone strata which were probably laid down in shallow seas or large inland lakes (Briceño et al. 1990) during the Pre-Cambrian period. Lastly, during Palaeozoic and Mesozoic times magma repeatedly penetrated the existing sediments forming intrusive rocks which are typically diabases, and to a lesser extent granites.
The tepui formations, not unlike those found in the deserts of northern Arizona, came into being by a process of erosion of the surrounding lands over millions of years. The tepuis are sandstone massifs, and it is thought that what are today mountains once formed harder or less faulted strata which were more resistant to erosion.
There is an impressive array of different soil types. The low mineral content of the parent rocks of the Guayana Shield, the high rates of weathering that occur in tropical climates and the age of the sediments has produced soils which are generally acid and nutrient poor. Only where there are more basic igneous intrusions are the soils capable of supporting luxuriant forests or cultivation.
One third of the plants are found nowhere else on the planet
The vegetation of the national park is quite strikingly divided between the mainly savanna-forest mosaic of the Eastern Sector of the park, known as the Gran Sabana, and evergreen forest in the west. It is still not clear what causes this difference and, in particular, how the savanna originated. Whilst some authors are inclined to believe the savanna to be a product of a rainfall shadow caused by the eastern tepuis, others consider the formation to be entirely anthropogenic, being a product of repeated burning by indigenous peoples. The truth undoubtedly lies in a combination of the two (Schubert and Huber 1989). The presence of 107 plant species found only in these savannas (Picón 1995), demonstrates that they have existed at least long enough to allow new species to form.
The savannas are dominated by grasses, typically Trachypogon plumosus and Axonopus pruinosus, and fire-resistant sedges like Bulbostylis paradoxa which forms a small cushion on which it raises itself above the ground to avoid the worst of the savanna blazes. Stunted shrubs like Palicourea rigida are also found at low densities. The high meadows, on the other hand are composed of typically Guayanan herbs such as the broadleaved species of the genus Stegolepis, a member of the Rapataceae, a family found only in the Guayana Shield and with one genus in West Africa; members of the Xyridaceae and Eriocaulaceae are also typical. The shrublands are usually composed of shrubs and bushes up to two metres tall, most of which are hard-leaved (coriaceous) and pertaining to several genera including Bonnetia and Clusia. The evergreen montane forests are often humid and luxuriant and include tree species of the families Leguminosae, Lauraceae, Vochysiaceae, Myristicaceae, Rubiaceae, Burseraceae and Annonaceae.
The tepui tops themselves are sometimes forested, with dwarf forests with members of theaceae (particularly Bonnetia roraimae), Araliaceae, Ericaceae, Compositae, Melastoataceae and Rubiaceae being prominent. In other cases, meadows prevail on the tops, typically with the composite Chimantea. One feature of these extremely nutrient poor environments is the presence of carnivorous plants, such as pitcher plants Heliamphora and sundews Drosera, which trap and digest insects as a supplement to mineral uptake through the roots. Pioneer vegetation is found on rocky outcrops with the bromeliads Brocchinia, Lindmania and Tillandsia being frequently observed (Schubert and Huber 1989).
An important formation in the lower altitudes close to the rivers and shallow valley bottoms of the Karuai, Apanwao and Yuruaní basins, are the seasonally flooded palm savannas, or "morichales", which are dominated by the "moriche" palm Mauritia flexuosa. A species rich herb layer of grasses, sedges and other plants is found with in these formations (Huber 1995).
Some 9400 species of higher plants have been recorded from the Venezuelan Guayana, of which 2322 are registered from the tepuis. This includes more than 700 species of orchid. The flora is highly endemic with 2 endemic families (Tepuianthaceae and Sacciofoliaceae), and 23 unique genera including Quelchia, Achnopogon and Chimantea of the Composite family, the Connelia bromeliads, the Tepuia heaths, the melastome Mallophyton, and Coryphothamnus of the bedstraw family. At the species level approximately 33% of the tepui species are endemic to the region with 99 species endemic to Chimantá alone (Huber 1995).
The fauna is yet to be thoroughly catalogued
Animal life is generally scarce all over the park and in all habitats, perhaps because of the extremely nutrient poor soils, which are unable to support a large biomass (Schubert and Huber 1990). In addition, there are relatively much fewer studies of animals than there are of plants, and thus our knowledge remains sketchy.
Reptiles and amphibians are poorly known. Amongst the frogs there is an endemic genus Oreophrynella with several species on the summits of the tepuis.
Some 536 bird species have been recorded from the park (Goodwin and Salas 1997). Of these, 42 are endemic to the tepui region. Examples include the Roraiman Nightjar Caprimulgus whitleyi, which is restricted to a few mountains in the south-east of the park, or the Tepui Tinamou Crypturellus ptaritepuiensis which is known from only two mountains within the park and has not been recorded for two decades.
Some 118 species of mammal have been recorded, but a further 92 are expected to occur (Ochoa et al. 1993). One of the few endemics is a small rodent Podoxymys roraimae from the summit of Roraima.
The park, being a large, relatively intact area, is important for the survival of tropical animals which are naturally found at very low densities and are elsewhere threatened with extincion. Thus, it is a refuge for large mammals such as puma Felis concolor, jaguar Panthera onca, tapir Tapirus terrestris, giant anteater Myrmecophaga tridactyla and giant armadillo Priodontes maximus. Likewise, avain top predators, like the legendary Harpy Eagle Harpia harpija, are also still to be found within the park.
Much more research is still needed in order to discover and classify the full range of species found within the park, let alone to truly understand the complex interrelationships of these basic elements and therefore the ecology of the area. This reflection has prompted entomologist Paul Spangler to comment of the tepui flora and fauna that "many of the experts who will study and classify these materials are not yet born" (in George 1989).



12/25/2007

Bourke's Luck Potholes

The Bourke's Luck Potholes are a famous tourist site in the Mpumalanga Province of South Africa. The Rock Formation was named after a miner called Tom Bourke, who found a bit gold here, but never got rich as the gold seam was located a short distance to the south of his claim.

Bourke's Luck Potholes



Devils Tower



America's First National Monument

Coordinates
44°35′25″N 104°42′55″W

Devils Tower rises 1267 feet above the Belle Fourche River. Once hidden, erosion has revealed Devils Tower. This 1347 acre park is covered with pine forests, woodlands, and grasslands. Deer, prairie dogs, and other wildlife are seen.
Also known as Bears Lodge, it is a sacred site for many American Indians.
President Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed Devils Tower the first national monument in 1906.

12/24/2007

Ao Phangnga National Park, Phangnga Province



Ao Phangnga National Park
was established as a national park in 1982 to conserve and protect one of the most important coastal mangrove areas of the entire country. It located in the area of Amphoe Muang, Amphoe Takua Thung and Amphoe Ko Yao of Phangnga. The park covers the area of 400 square kilometres, mainly comprises of many isles of different shape and size. Caves and beautiful bays together with rock formations and mangrove are some of the park's major attractions. From Ao Phangnga, there are boat services at Tha Dan Pier in Amphoe Muang and at Surakun- Pier in Amphoe Takua Thung for tourists to visit the islands and its many attractions. There are;
Ko Panyi or Panyi Island
is among the main attractions. Quite small with only around two hundred families living here; mostly fishing for a living or selling souvenirs or running tourist restaurants. The villagers are mostly Muslims. The island may be reached by boat and visitors are welcome to tour the village where villagers can be seen producing fish sauce from koey, a tiny shrimp, or making shrimp paste - a very important ingredient in a Thai kitchen. The Village houses are inter-connected and built on poles one metre above the surface of the water. The Village has forgets on either side and is built on a mangrove reserve away from the high tide marks.
Ko Khao Ping Kan
locateded in Takua Thung district, derives its name from a broken rock formation with one part learning against one side of the hill. There is also another hill, nearby, called Khao Tpu, rising from the sea and looling very much like a giant nail with the head on top and the tail resting on the water.
Here may be seen a spectacular high cliff that appears to have been cloven in two, the halves supported by leaning against each other-a sight of rare and exquisite beauty.
Ko Tapu
"Nail Island" in English, is a small island located in front of Khao Ping Kan. The Base of the rock is quite narrow but having a broad peak, giving the strange a beautiful appearance of a spike driven into the sea.
Khao Khien
Here, in a mountain cavern, primitive paintings depicting fish, water lizard, dolphin, believed to be several thousand years old, may be seen.
Ko Nom Sao
These twin islands, also called Ko Ok Meri, are located nearby Ko Panyi.
Thum Lot Cave
This cave is another spot of interest in Ao Phangnga area. Similar in appearance but larger than Ko Talu. The mouth of the cave is about 50 meters wide, 40 meters high, and small boats may pass through. There are beautiful stalactites inside the cave which its total length of about 100 meters.
Ko Talu
This island is just beyond Ko Nom Sao. The middle part of it has been eroded by water and boats pass among giant stalacities from one side of the island to the other through a water-filled cavern.
Khao Machu
Here on a hilltop, there is a rock formation resembling a chow.
Ko Yao
Ko Yao covers an area of 137.6 square kilometers consisting of 2 main island: Ko Yao Noi and Ko Yao Yai, and several surrounding islets. Beautiful beaches include: Hat Pa Sai, Hat Tha Khao, Ao Tikut, Ao Khlong Son, Hat Loparent, etc. To get to Ko Yao from Ao Phagnga pier takes about 2 hours. Boats are also available from Ao Po, Phuket, the travel takes about 1 1/2 hours. Customs Landing, this island has an interesting pearl raising farm and excellent swimming and fishing with beautiful scenery.
The best time of the year to visit these places is between December and April when good quality accommodation can be found in Phangnga bay Resort from where you can see spectacular sunrises from the hotel's balconies.
There is a mountain range backdrop to the hotel. The hotel rents out boats for private parties, with attendent crews, to make trips to Panyi Island and Tham Lot. Room rates vary between 1,200 and 2,500 baht a night.

Ko Tapu National Park



"Nail Island" in English, is a small island located in front of Khao Ping Kan. The Base of the rock is quite narrow but having a broad peak, giving the strange a beautiful appearance of a spike driven into the sea.

Guilin Hills

Guilin is a city in China, situated in the northeast of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on the west bank of the Lijiang River. Its name means "forest of Sweet Osmanthus", owing to the large number of fragrant Sweet Osmanthus trees located in the city. The city has long been renowned for its unique scenery.

History


In 314 BC, a small settlement was established along the banks of the Li River.

In 111 BC, during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Shi An County was established, which could be regarded as the beginning of the city.

In 507 AD, the town was renamed Guizhou.

Guilin prospered in the Tang and Song dynasties but remained a county. The city was also a nexus between the central government and the southwest border, and it was where regular armies were placed to guard that border. Canals were built through the city so that food supplies could be directly transported from the food-productive Yangtze plain to the farthest southwestern point of the empire.

In 1921, Guilin became one of the headquarters of the Northern Expeditionary Army led by Dr. Sun Yat-sen.

In 1940, the city acquired its present name. In 1981, this ancient city was listed by the State Council as one of the four cities (the other three being Beijing, Hangzhou and Suzhou) where the protection of historical and cultural heritage, as well as natural scenery, should be treated as a priority project.

Physical setting
Elephant Trunk Hill, the Symbol of Guilin

Area: 27,809 km² Subtropical region Typical karst formation Mountains: Diecai Hill (叠彩山), Elephant Trunk Hill (象鼻山), Seven-Star Cave (七星岩), Wave-Subduing Hill (伏波山), Lipu Mountains and Yaoshan Mountains Rivers: Lijiang






Reed Flute Cave, Reed Flute Park, some of Guillin's best scenery



Attractions
The Jingjiang Princes City is a royal complex dating from the Ming Dynasty that lies near the center of modern Guilin.

Other scenic spots around Guilin include:

Seven Star Park Seven-Star Cave and Ludi (Reed-Flute) Cave Camel Mountain and Elephant Trunk Hill Piled Festoon Hill Crescent Hill Fubo Hill Nanxi Hill Erlang Gorge Huangbu (Yellow Cloth) Beach Moon Hill

Samaria Gorge




The Samariá Gorge is a national park in the island of Crete, one of the major tourist attractions of the island.

The gorge is in the prefecture of Chania in the South West of Crete. It was created by a small river running between the White Mountains (Lefká Óri) and Mount Volakias. There are a number of other gorges in the White Mountains. Some people say that the gorge is 18 km long but this distance refers to the distance between the settlement of Omalos on the northern side of the plateau and the village of Agia Roumeli. In fact, the gorge is 16km long, starting at an altitude of 1250m, at the northern entrance, and taking you all the way down to the shores of the Libyan sea in Agia Roumeli. The walk through the National Park of Samaria is 13 km but you will have to walk the extra 3 km to Agia Roumeli from the exit of the National Park making it 16 km. The most famous part of the gorge is the section known as the 'Iron Gates', where the sides of the gorge close to about 4 meters in and reach up to 500 meters high.

The gorge became a national park in 1962, particularly as a refuge for the rare Kri-kri (Cretan goat), which is largely restricted to the park and a small island just off the shore of Agia Marina. There are several other endemic species in the gorge and surrounding area, as well as many other species of flower, bird, etc.

The village of Samariá lies just inside the gorge. It was finally abandoned by the last remaining inhabitants in 1962 to make way for the park. The village and the gorge take their name from the village's ancient church Óssia María (St Mary).



Coordinate
35° 16′ 16″ N, 23° 57′ 41″ E
Decimal
35.271111°, 23.961389°

12/17/2007

Dadès River




Dadès River (French: Oued Dadès) is a river in Morocco, located at 31.0025° N 6.5266667° W. It rises in the High Atlas and then turns south crossing through the Dadès Gorge, thence westward between the High Atlas and Anti-Atlas mountain ranges. Finally river meets Ouarzazate River and enters Draa River. The Dades Gorge is easily accessible by taxi from nearby Tinerhir. The scenery is significant with views of interesting rock formations. The valley itself is made lush and green by the river, while the surrounding area is rocky desert. There are simple communitities still living here in traditional houses. Women can be seen washing laundry in the river and laying it to dry on the surrounding bushes.

Hydrology

Flow rate of the river is highly seasonal with peak flows in the January to April period following the high precipitation and ensuing snowmelt. The water quality is alkaline, and summer water temperatures are in the range of 23 to 28 degrees Celsius. Electrical conductivity of the water is relatively high. (Hogan, 2006)

Ahaggar Mountains


Country Algeria Highest point Mount Tahat - elevation 3,003 m (9,852 ft) - coordinates 23°17′N 05°31′W The Ahaggar Mountains (Amazigh: idurar uhaggar), also known as the Hoggar, are a highland region in central Sahara, or southern Algeria near the Tropic of Cancer. They are located about 1,500 km (900 mi) south of the capital, Algiers and just west of Tamanghasset. The region is largely rocky desert with an average altitude of more than 900 metres (2,953 feet) above sea level. The highest peak is at 3,003 metres (Mount Tahat). Assekrem is a famous and often visited point where le Père de Foucauld lived in the summer of 1905.

Description
The mountain range is mostly volcanic rock and contains a hot summer climate, with a cold winter climate (temperature fall below 0°C in the winter). Rainfall is rare and sporadic. However, since the climate is less extreme than most other areas of the Sahara, the Ahaggar Mountains are a major location for biodiversity and host relict species. The Ahaggar Mountains compose the West Saharan montane xeric woodlands ecoregion. The main city nearby the Ahaggar is Tamanghasset, built in a desert valley or wadi.

Today, the Ahaggar region is a prime tourist destination in Algeria.

Cultural
SignificanceThe Ahaggar massif is the land of the Tuaregs or Kel Ahaggar. The tomb of Tin Hinan, the god believed to be the ancestor of the Tuareg is located at Abalessa, an oasis near Tamanghasset. According to legend, the origins of Tim Lam are from Tafilalt region in the Moroccan Atlas Mountains.

12/15/2007

Tassili N'Ajjer, Algeria

Tassili n'Ajjer National Park IUCN Category II (National Park) Location Tamanrasset Province, Algeria Coordinates 25°10′″N 8°10′″E / Expression error: Unexpected / operator, Expression error: Unexpected / operator Area 72,000 km² Established 1972

Geology
The range is composed largely of sandstone. Erosion in the area has resulted in nearly 300 natural rock arches being formed, along with many other spectacular landforms.

Ecology
Because of the altitude and the water-holding properties of the sandstone, the vegetation is somewhat richer than the surrounding desert; it includes a very scattered woodland of the endangered endemic species Saharan Cypress and Saharan Myrtle in the higher eastern half of the range.

The ecology of the Tassili n'Ajjer is more fully described in the article West Saharan montane xeric woodlands, the ecoregion to which this area belongs. The literal English translation of "Tassili n'Ajjer" is 'Plateau of the rivers'; indicating a time when the climate was repeatedly far more wet than today

Prehistoric art
The range is also noted for its prehistoric rock paintings and other ancient archaeological sites, dating from neolithic times when the local climate was much moister, with savannah rather than desert. The art depicts herds of cattle, large wild animals including crocodiles, and human activities such as hunting and dancing. The art has strong stylistic links to the pre-Nguni Art of South Africa and the region, executed in caves by the San Peoples before the year 1200 CE.

Grisedale Tarn


Grisedale Tarn is a tarn in the Lake District between Fairfield and Dollywagon Pike.

It is the legendary resting place of the crown of the kingdom of Cumbria, after the crown was conveyed there in 945 by soldiers of the last king, Dunmail, after he was slain in battle with the combined forces of the English and Scottish kings.

Grisedale Tarn is around 1,770 ft in altitude and has a depth of around 110 ft. It holds brown trout, perch and eels. The outflow is to Ullswater to the north east, picking up all of the rainfall from the eastern face of Dollywagon Pike.

The Tarn is the subject of a poem by the Rev. Frederick William Faber printed in 1840.

12/14/2007

Cratere du Nouveau Quebec



The New Quebec Crater, or Pingualuit Crater, is a young meteorite crater, by geological standards, located in the Ungava Peninsula of Quebec, Canada.

It is 3.44 km in diameter and the age is estimated to be 1.4 ± 0.1 million years (Pleistocene). The crater is exposed to the surface, and a 250 meter deep lake fills the depression.

12/13/2007

Krakatoa

Elevation 813 m (2,667 ft) Location Sunda Strait, Indonesia Coordinates 6°6′27″S 105°25′3″E / -6.1075, 105.4175Coordinates: 6°6′27″S 105°25′3″E / -6.1075, 105.4175 Type Volcanic caldera

Krakatoa or Krakatau or Krakatao is a volcanic island in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra in Indonesia. The name is used for the island group, the main island (also called Rakata), and the volcano as a whole. It has erupted repeatedly, massively, and with disastrous consequences throughout recorded history. The best known eruption culminated in a series of massive explosions on August 26-27 1883.

The 1883 eruption ejected more than 25 cubic kilometres of rock, ash, and pumice [2], and generated the loudest sound historically reported: the cataclysmic explosion was distinctly heard as far away as Perth in Australia approx. 1,930 miles (3,110 km), and the island of Rodrigues near Mauritius approx. 3,000 miles (5,000 km). Near Krakatoa, according to official records, 165 villages and towns were destroyed and 132 seriously damaged, at least 36,417 (official toll) people died, and many thousands were injured by the eruption, mostly from the tsunamis which followed the explosion.

The eruption destroyed two thirds of the island of Krakatoa. Eruptions at the volcano since 1927 have built a new island in the same location, called Anak Krakatau (child of Krakatoa).

North Atlantic Current

The North Atlantic Current (North Atlantic Drift and the North Atlantic Sea Movement) is a powerful warm ocean current that continues the Gulf Stream northeast. West of Ireland it splits in two. One branch (the Canary Current) goes south while the other continues north along the coast of northwestern Europe where it has a considerable warming influence on the climate. Other branches include the Irminger Current and the Norwegian Current. Driven by the global thermohaline circulation (THC), the North Atlantic Current is also often considered part of the wind-driven Gulf Stream which goes further east and north from the North American coast, across the Atlantic and into the Arctic Ocean.

Climate change, especially global warming, may have a significant effect on the current.

Humboldt Current

Humboldt Current
The Humboldt Current is a cold, low salinity ocean current that extends along the West Coast of South America from Northern Peru to the southern tip of Chile. The waters of the Humboldt Current system flow in the direction of the Equator and can extend 1,000 kilometers offshore. The Humboldt Current Large Marine Ecosystem (LME), named after the Prussian naturalist Alexander von Humboldt, is one of the major upwelling systems of the world, supporting an extraordinary abundance of marine life.

The Humboldt Current LME is considered a Class I, highly productive (>300 gC/m2-yr), ecosystem. It is the most productive marine ecosystem in the world, as well as the largest upwelling system. The cold, nutrient-rich water brought to the surface by upwelling drives the system’s extraordinary productivity. The Humboldt’s high rates of primary and secondary productivity support the world’s largest fisheries. Upwelling occurs off Peru year-round but off Chile only during the spring and summer, because of the displacement of the subtropical center of high pressure during the summer.

Approximately 18-20% of the world’s fish catch comes from the Humboldt Current LME. The species are mostly pelagic: sardines, anchovies and jack mackerel. The LME’s high productivity supports other important fishery resources as well as marine mammals. Periodically, the upwelling that drives the system’s productivity is disrupted by the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) event. When this occurs, fish abundance and distribution are significantly affected, often leading to stock crashes and cascading social and economic impacts. These events have led to sequential changes, where sardines and anchovies have replaced each other periodically as the dominant species in the ecosystem. These species changes can have negative consequences for the fishing industry and the economies of the countries that fish the system.

The Humboldt Current is also largely responsible for the aridity that prevails in northern Chile and coastal areas of Peru and southern Ecuador. Marine air is cooled by the current and thus is not conducive to generating precipitation (although clouds and fog are produced).

The Peru current consists of cold water and runs on the northwest coast of Peru.

12/11/2007

Benguela Current

Benguela Current


The frigid waters of the north-flowing Benguela current move from the western coast of South Africa, Namibia and Angola towards north and northwest up to the line where it joins the southern equatorial current which is already a warm current. Its waters are cold because there are very deep waters that were brought upward due to the rotation of Earth from west to east. This upward movement of deep waters are sometimes increased by planetary winds from east to west (southern Trade winds) which blow west from the Kalahari Desert towards the ocean. Obviously, this wind creates a displacement of top ocean waters from the African coast to the west deviating to the northwest (to the left) because of the Coriolis Effect and this displacement causes deep waters to move upwards to replace coastal waters moving west.




Boundaries


The Benguela current forms the eastern boundary of the South Atlantic subtropical gyre. Its sources include Indian and South Atlantic subtropical thermocline water; saline, low-oxygen tropical Atlantic water; and cooler, fresher deep water. The Benguela current is 2-300 km wide and widens further as it flows north and northwest. Its western, seaward edge is ill-defined, with many temporary and seasonal eddies.




Effect


Where the icy Benguela and the warm, south-flowing Agulhas current mix, there is a richly productive marine ecosystem off the Cape of Good Hope but storms and turbulence above.

The cold current creates the desert conditions of the shore of Namibia, and the persistent fogs of the Skeleton Coast and Namib Desert. A Benguela El Niño effect has been detected, less intense and less frequent than the Pacific Ocean phenomenon.

Porcelain


Porcelain is a ceramic material made by heating refined materials, often including clay in the form of kaolinite, to high temperatures in a kiln at temperatures between 1,200 °C (2,192 °F) and 1,400 °C (2,552 °F). The toughness, strength, and translucence of porcelain arise mainly from the formation at these high temperatures of glass and the mineral mullite within the fired body.

Porcelain was named after its resemblance to the white, shiny cowry, called in old Italian porcella (little pig), because the curved shape of its upper surface resembles the curve of a pig's back. Properties associated with porcelain include low permeability and elasticity; high strength, hardness, glassiness, durability, whiteness, translucence, resonance, brittleness; high resistance to chemical attack and thermal shock.

For the purposes of trade, the Combined Nomenclature of the European Communities defines porcelain as being "completely vitrified, hard, impermeable (even before glazing), white or artificially coloured, translucent (except when of considerable thickness) and resonant." However, the term porcelain lacks a universally agreed definition and has "been applied in a very unsystematic fashion to substances of diverse kinds which have only certain surface-qualities in common" (Burton 1906).

Porcelain is used to make table, kitchen, sanitary and decorative wares, objects of fine art and tiles. Its high resistance to the passage of electricity makes porcelain an excellent insulating material and it is widely used for high-voltage insulators. It is also used in dentistry to make false teeth, caps and crowns.

Grandes Jorasses


Grandes Jorasses

The Grandes Jorasses (4,208 m) is a mountain in the Mont Blanc range.

The first ascent of the highest peak of the mountain (Pointe Walker) was by Horace Walker with guides Melchior Anderegg, Johann Jaun and Julien Grange on 30 June 1868. The second-highest peak on the mountain (Pointe Whymper, 4,184 m) was first climbed by Edward Whymper, Christian Almer, Michel Croz and Franz Biner on June 24, 1865, using what has become the normal route of ascent and the one followed by Walker's party in 1868.

The other summits on the mountain are Pointe Croz (4,110 m), Pointe Margherita (4,065 m), Pointe Elena (4,045 m) and Pointe Young (3,996 m).
The north face
Located on the French side of the mountain, the north face is one of the six great north faces of the Alps. One of the most famous walls in the Alps, it towers 1,200m above the Leschaux Glacier, stretching 1 km from end to end. The classic route on the face is the Walker Spur (Cassin/Esposito/Tizzoni, 1938, TD+/ED1, IV, 5c/6a, A1, 1200m) which leads directly to the summit of Pointe Walker. The other major buttress on the mountain is the Croz Spur, which leads to the summit of Pointe Croz. In her solo ascents of the six north faces, Alison Hargreaves chose this route in preference to the Walker Spur.
Grandes Jorasses
Elevation 4,208 metres (13,806 feet) Location France / Italy Range Graian Alps Prominence 841 m Coordinates 45°52′N, 6°59′E Type Granite First ascent Horace Walker, Melchior Anderegg, Johann Jaun and Julien Grange, 30 June 1868 Easiest route Pointe Walker, south-west face, AD-, II, 1400m, to 45 degrees - a glacier climb

12/10/2007

cappadocia's cones














Cappadocia

In ancient geography, Cappadocia / Capadocia, or Kappadokia / Kapadokya Turkish (from Persian: Katpatuka meaning "the land of beautiful horses",[1] Greek: Καππαδοκία / Kappadokía) was the name of the extensive inland district of Asia Minor (modern Turkey). The name continued to be used in western sources and in the Christian tradition throughout history and is still widely used as an international tourism concept to define a region of exceptional natural wonders characterized by fairy chimneys and a unique historical and cultural heritage. The term, as used in tourism, roughly corresponds to present-day Nevşehir Province of Turkey.

It is impossible to define Cappadocia's limits with any real accuracy. In the time of Herodotus, the Cappadocians are supposed to have occupied the whole region from Mount Taurus to the vicinity of the Euxine (Black Sea). Cappadocia, in this sense, was bounded in the south by the chain of Mount Taurus, to the east by the Euphrates, to the north by Pontus, and to the west vaguely by the great salt lake, Lake Tuz, in Central Anatolia. But Strabo, the only ancient author who gives any circumstantial account of the country, greatly exaggerated its dimensions. It is now believed that 400 km east-west by 200 km north-south is a more realistic appraisal of Cappadocia's extension.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cappadocia

Horned Frogs


PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS:

The horned frogs of the genus Ceratophrys, in some forms, are beautifully adomed and highly aggressive creatures. Some grow to a length of eight inches and have an immense body bulk. All of the horned frogs have enormous mouths and are highly predatory, the food of some consisting almost solely of other frogs. Large specimens will attack anything which threatens them. They can inflict painful bites, holding on with bulldog tenacity. Even the tadpoles of the horned frogs are highly carnivorous.

Some species of horned frogs are small, but several grow to huge size and have beauti- fully blended coloring of reds, tans, browns, greens, and blacks. On the jungle floor, among leaves and debris, they can hardly be seen. They move about little, preferring to lie in ambush for the unwary snakes, lizards, mice, and other vertebrates which come within range of their powerful jaws.

The "horn" of the horned frogs is a curious triangular prolongation of the edge of the upper eyelid. It is not hard or sharp, as it is only a flap of skin, but perhaps it makes the wide head appear even wider and therefore less acceptable to the forest creatures that would normally dine on these frogs.

The Ornate horned frog, Ceratophrys ornata, is also known as Bell's horned frog.

It grows to 43/4inches. It is bright green with large reddish-black spots with yellow margins. The head is very large and the mouth very wide.

The Columbian horned frog, Ceratophrys calcarata, is a rather quiet and demure species, for a horned frog. The coloration varies from pale beige to darker greenish- brown with yellow. There are darker brown to black spots and irregular bands.

DISTRIBUTION and HABITAT:

The Ornate horned from is from eastern Brazil and eastern Argentina. The Columbian horned frog inhabits South America.

BEHAVIOR:

There is a belief in Argentina that if an Ornate horned frog bites the lip of a grazing horse, the horse will die from the bite.

No poison exists in the mouth of this frog, and it has probably earned this bad reputation by its extreme aggressiveness and its willingness to attack an animal many times its own size and bulk.

Horned frogs like to burrow in the moss after a good meal. Their extremely wide mouths and steel-trap jaws are certainly useful in subduing prey larger than the beetles and other small invertebrates that are customary food of the majority of other kinds of frogs.

They rarely move about, preferring to lie in wait for prey. When threatened they are surprisingly fearless and aggressive, even jumping toward the enemy and biting.

Their vocalization sounds similar to bovine bellowing.

DIET:

Ornate horned frogs will swallow prey up to their own body size, feeding on frogs, lizards, mice, and large insects.

REPRODUCTION and GROWTH:

These frogs spawn in standing waters such as jungle pools and small river lagoons.

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