Natural Wonders: srpnja 2015

Natural wonders - Bioluminescent Phytoplankton Maldives

The surreal appearance of the Maldives beach was actually down to a massive tide of bioluminescent phytoplankton called Lingulodinium polyedrum however.The tiny organisms emit light when stressed, be it by the lapping of waves, the carving action of a surf board or other, creating what looks like a network of stars.

Natural wonders - Door to Hell

The Door to Hell is a natural gas field in Derweze (also spelled Darvaze, meaning "gate"), Ahal Province, Turkmenistan. The Door to Hell is noted for its natural gas fire which has been burning continuously since it was lit by Soviet petroleum engineers in 1971. The fire is fed by the rich natural gasdeposits in the area. The pungent smell of burning sulfur pervades the area for some distance.

Natural wonders - Cherry blossom

A cherry blossom is the flower of any of several trees of genus Prunus, particularly the Japanese Cherry, Prunus serrulata, which is called sakura after the Japanese. Cherry blossom is speculated to be native to the Himalayas. Currently it is widely distributed, especially in the temperate zone of the Northern Hemisphere such as: Europe, West Siberia, South Korea, China, Japan, United States, etc. Many of the varieties that have been cultivated for ornamental use do not produce fruit. Edible cherries generally come from cultivars of the related species Prunus avium and Prunus cerasus.

Natural wonders - Golden Cathedral

The Golden Cathedral is a unique hiking destination within lower Neon Canyon in the Grand Staircase-Escalante area. The Cathedral is locates just over 3/4 of a mile up Neon Canyon from its confluence at the Escalante River, and consists of a great, domed pour-off from upper Neon Canyon, where the water has dug three separate pothole arches into the overhang. When the sun is overhead, the daylight shines down through the arches in great, golden columns.
Getting to the Golden Cathedral is tricky, and requires a good measure of navigational skill. This hike does not take visitors the entire length of Neon Canyon—that trip is technical and strenuous, though very much worth the effort. This trip will only take visitors into the lower canyon, below the pour-off.

Natural wonders - Crystal cave Mexico

Cave of the Crystals or Giant Crystal Cave (Spanish: Cueva de los Cristales) is a cave connected to the Naica Mine 300 metres below the surface in Naica, Chihuahua, Mexico.
The main chamber contains giant selenite crystals (gypsum, CaSO4·2 H2O), some of the largest natural crystals ever found. The cave's largest crystal found to date is 12 m in length, 4 m in diameter and 55 tons in weight. The cave is extremely hot, with air temperatures reaching up to 58 °C with 90 to 99 percent humidity. The cave is relatively unexplored due to these factors. Without proper protection, people can only endure approximately ten minutes of exposure at a time.
A group of scientists known as the Naica Project have been heavily involved in researching these caverns.

Natural wonders - Bigar Waterfall

Izvorul Bigăr (English: Bigar Spring, but more commonly known as Bigar Waterfall) is a protected area (nature reserve IUCN category IV) situated in the administrative territory of Bozovici, in Caraş-Severin County in southwestern Romania.
Bigăr is one of the most unusual waterfalls in the world and one of the most beautiful in Romania. According to The World Geography, there are a number of facts that place her as number one on the list of eight unique waterfalls around the world due to the way the water spreads and falls in tiny shreds of water, and also the fact that it is located exactly on the 45th parallel north, at the halfway point between the Equator and the North Pole.

Natural wonders - Port Campbell Australia

Port Campbell National Park is located in the southwest of the state of Victoria in Australia. It is a world-famous national park about 118 miles southwest of Melbourne and 6 miles east of the town of Warrnambool. This 1,750-hectare coastal park lies next to the stunning Great Otway National Park. A collection of magnificent limestone rock formations off the coast, known as the ‘Twelve Apostles’, is the national park’s main feature and tourist attraction. The Twelve Apostles are one of Australia’s most iconic sights. In addition, there are several other rock formations that have been sculpted by waves, as well as impressive coastal cliffs.

Natural wonders - Lake Baikal

Lake Baikal is a rift lake in the south of the Russian region of Siberia, between the Irkutsk Oblast to the northwest and the Buryat Republic to the southeast.
Lake Baikal is the largest (by volume) freshwater lake in the world, containing roughly 20% of the world's unfrozen surface fresh water, and at 1,642 m, the deepest. It is also among the clearest of all lakes, and thought to be the world's oldest lake at 25 million years. It is the seventh-largest lake in the world by surface area. With 23,615.39 cubic kilometres of fresh water, it contains more water than that of all the Great Lakes combined.

Natural wonders - Spider rock Arizona

Spider Rock stands with awesome dignity and beauty over 245 m high in Arizona's colourful Canyon de Chelly National Park (pronounced da Shay). Geologists of the National Park Service say that "the formation began 230 million years ago.
Windblown sand swirled and compressed with time created the spectacular red sandstone monolith. Long ago, the Dine (Navajo) Indian tribe named it Spider Rock.

Natural wonders - Spotted Lake (Khiluk) British Columbia

Spotted Lake is a saline endorheic alkali lake located northwest of Osoyoos in the eastern Similkameen Valley of British Columbia, Canada accessed via Highway 3.
Spotted Lake is richly concentrated with various minerals. It contains dense deposits of magnesium sulfate, calcium and sodium sulphates. It also contains high concentrations of eight other minerals and lower amounts of silver and titanium.
Most of the water in the lake evaporates over the summer, revealing colorful mineral deposits. Large “spots” on the lake appear and are colored according to the mineral composition and seasonal amount of precipitation. Magnesium sulfate, which crystallizes in the summer, is a major contributor to spot color. In the summer, remaining minerals in the lake harden to form natural “walkways” around and between the spots.

Natural Wonders

četvrtak, 23. srpnja 2015.