Thursday, February 5, 2009
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6xK1lmHOQU
This is a video which is about the Victoria falls. I really liked the video because it shows you how awesome a sight the victoria falls are. Also some of the clips are very pretty showing a clear view of the rainbow gliding over the falls. You can see the spray which causes this rainbow very clearly rising up towars the sky.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
The Northern Lights, The Paricutin Volcano and The Harbor Of Rio De Janeiro
The northern lights
So how is it that this fantastic light show can exist? I'll tell you how.
http://www.somejokes.com/images/Sugar_Loaf_Mountain,_Rio_De_Janeiro,_Brazil.jpg
The harbor of Rio De Janeiro is slowly getting smaller each year due to the building of houses and homes whoch takes up room on the harbor.
The harbor is home to many fine ships and many cruise ships stop en route to Rio in order for the passengers on board to appreciate the beauty of the harbor and the rest of the city.
A lot of tourism is active in Rio. Water sports such as scuba diving, water skiing, jet skiing and snorkeling are some of the top priorities for holiday makers. The tourism is a well developed industry and takes in a lot of revenue each year.
The waters surrounding the harbor are teeming with marine life. Some of these would be turtles, sea horses colourful coral reefs and exotic tropical fish.
It is said to be a beautiful harbor and is highly recommended as a holiday destination.
So how is it that this fantastic light show can exist? I'll tell you how.
The lights main source of energy is the solar wind which flows past the earth. We can see the aurora's light when electrons change their orbits in atoms high in the atmosphere.
So in english, that means we can see the northern lights when the electrons (these spin around the centre of the artom in a circle) change direction and spin in the opposite direction. This change of direction results in this spectacular light show.
Heres a picture of an atom.....
http://www.eskom.co.za/nuclear_energy/fuel/atom.jpg
You see those spheres circulating the centre? Those are the electrons. When they change direction is when we are able to see the northern lights.
So how does the northern lights change colour?
Altitude is what makes the colurs of the northern lights change. Blue/Violet occurs when atoms or ions crash into the atmosphere 60 miles from the ground. Bright green occurs at 150 miles and above 150 miles ruby red appears.
In northern cultres, different ledgends try to explain the northern lights. Some AMerican Inuit call it aqsarniit which mean football players. They believe that the spirits of the dead ae playing football with the head of a walrus.
Other ledgends warn children to not get too close to the lights as they may sweep down and snatch you away. The name “Aurora Borealis” is credited to Galileo Galilei and means “northern dawn.”
So how long has the northern lights been on planet earth? The northern lights have been witnessed since ancient times. The earliest witness of the northern lights seems to be from a Babylonian clay tablet from observations made by the official astronomers of King Nebuchadnezzar II, 568/567 BC.
There is an ongioing debate to wether the lights are accompanied by a noise. Some people are convinced that the lights do make a sound however trying to prove this in a scientific way has been proved very difficult.
You can see the orthern lights at any time of the year provided you're in the polar regions and its nighttiime. And hopefully the lights will appear because they are like the weather....they don't always turn up when you exxpect them to. The aurora lights capitol is Yellowknife in Canada.
The Paricutin Volcano
So when did the Paricutin Volcano begin to grow, errupt and die?
It was on Feb. 20, 1943, when a cinder cone started growing in a cornfiled near the village of Paricutin, Mexico. When the volcano errupted, it buried the town of San Juan Parangaricutiro and the village of Paricutin. The reason why this volcano is so important is because Paricutin gave volcanologists the chance to see the birth, growth and death of a volcano.
It wa sgreatly studied by them. Over the first year, the cone grew 1,100 feet, the cone grew for another 8 years but only added on 290 feet to its current height.
This volcano spat out 1 biollion tons of lava during its erruption! 100 square miles within the volcano was covered with ash.
This volcano died in 1952 and despite the ampunt of lava which theis volcano spat out, no-one in the vicinity was killed!
The erruption of 1943 was particularaly aggresive. Here's a picture:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/26/Paricutin_30_613.jpg
This volcano is so important and unique because scientists were able to witness the volcanoes birth, growth and death hich has never happened before with a volcano.
Where the lava was covered the land, fertile farm lands now take its place. Volcanic material is very fertile and much aggriculture can be carried out on the new fertile soil.
The harbor of Rio de Janeiro
Rio has a tropical climate and is most famous for its harbor and its statue of Jesus. The harbor is so famous becaus of it looks like the mouth of the river. When portuguese explorers first discovered the bay, they named it Rio de janeiro - River of January - in honor of the month which they arrived.
The harbor in Rio can hold 1772 vessels and its annual intake of cargo is a whopping 13,638,ooo tons!
The sugar loaf mountain rises 1325 metres into the air and cuts into the bay which the harbor is built on. It overlooks the harbor and is a source of great beauty.
http://www.somejokes.com/images/Sugar_Loaf_Mountain,_Rio_De_Janeiro,_Brazil.jpg
The harbor of Rio De Janeiro is slowly getting smaller each year due to the building of houses and homes whoch takes up room on the harbor.
The harbor is home to many fine ships and many cruise ships stop en route to Rio in order for the passengers on board to appreciate the beauty of the harbor and the rest of the city.
A lot of tourism is active in Rio. Water sports such as scuba diving, water skiing, jet skiing and snorkeling are some of the top priorities for holiday makers. The tourism is a well developed industry and takes in a lot of revenue each year.
The waters surrounding the harbor are teeming with marine life. Some of these would be turtles, sea horses colourful coral reefs and exotic tropical fish.
It is said to be a beautiful harbor and is highly recommended as a holiday destination.
Monday, February 2, 2009
The Grand Canyon and The Great Barrier Reef: A closer look
The Grand Canyon:
Scientists say that the canyon was created by the Collerado river over a 6 million year period! It is said that nearly 2 billion years of the earths history can be seen from where the Collerado cut into the rock creating these unique rock structures.
The grand canyon is completly unique. There is nothing in the world which can compare to its rock features and spectacular colours.
The grand canyon is world famous and around 5 million flock to see its individual rock structures every year.
So how was the grand canyon created?
Scientists say that the canyon was created by the Collerado river over a 6 million year period! It is said that nearly 2 billion years of the earths history can be seen from where the Collerado cut into the rock creating these unique rock structures.
The grand canyon is not the deepest canyon in the world but it is the most famous canyon because of its sheer size and its intricite colourful scenery.
There are different rims in the grand canyon, the north ring and the south ring. Temperatures are generally colder in the North Rim because of the greater elevation of the rock masses in that area are higher. However the views in the north rim tend to give a better impression of the grand canyon than at the south rim.
The north rim:
The south rim:
Thunder storms are very frequent in the grand canyon durin ght emonths of Juune, July and August. This is due to the very hot summer temperatures which contribute to the humidity of the Grand Canyon.
I myself visited the Grand Canyon around the age if 12. I remember closing my eyes as my mum led me to the edge of the canyon where a viewibng pint was. I opened my eyes and was astounded by what I saw. I'd never seen such colours glimmering on a rocks surface in the afternoon sun and what unusual carvings in the rock! I'd never seen anything like it before. As I looked out at the horizon, all I could see was these unique rock structures stretching off into the horizon, seemingly undending.
The grand canyon is an awesome sight and I would highly recommend that you go and see this spectacular wonder of the world.
The Great Barrier Reef.
Did you know?
The Great Barrier reef is so huge that it can actually be seen from outer space! Don't believe me? Here's a picture....
The light blue outline surrounding the coast is the great barrier reef.
The Great Barrier Reef is made up of a variety of 2,900 reefs! These reefs are made up of tiny orgainsms which, over time, have died and fell to the sea floor. Over time these tiny sea creatures have built up and crushed the ones underneath into solid rock! This resulting rock is a coral reef.
There is a vast array of wildlife whoch calls the reef home. Much of this is harmless however some of this marine life can be fatal to humans.
The Irukandji Jellyfish.
This is a small but deadly little jellfyfish. If you get stung by one of these little things you'll get Irukandji syndrome so stay out of their way!
The Box Jellyfish
This jellyfish is the most dangerous animal throughout the great barrier reef. The box jelly fish posseses a venom which is the strongest venom throughout the entire animal kingdom!
A sting from one of these jellyfish is excrutiatingly painful and is fatal to humans.
A sting from one of these jellyfish is excrutiatingly painful and is fatal to humans.
The Blue Ringed Octopus.
Although this is a small, cute creature which can be found in rock pools and of course, the reef, it is very dangerous with a spike which can penetrate through any wetsuit and enject its venom. There is no known cure for this vemon so you must be very careful to not touch the blue ringed octupus especially when it seemes to be glowing blue, which means it's on the defence.
The Great White Shark
This famous "killing machine" actually doesn't like the taste of humans. The majority of shark attacks which have occured in the great barrier reef have been freak acciddents where the shark thought the human or diver was prey.
The Great White has a frightening set of teeth which rotate around in order for best "biting" capacity. These sharks grow to 18 feet and on average they weigh 3000 lbs!
Monday, January 26, 2009
Mt Everst and The Vicotoria Falls: A closer look.
Mount everest isn't only the tallest mountain in the world, it's also one of the most dangerous mountains to climb. To date 210 people have died while trying to conqour the monstrous peak.
Conditions are so difficult in the "death zone" that most corpses have been left where they fell, some of which are visible from standard climbing routes.
Camp 4 on the picture or the fourth traingle is the ledgendary "death zone."
Even if you do succesfully climb mt everest there may be many scars which you will have to bear. One of the most famous of these would be frostbite. Frostbite occurs when human tissue is exposed for long periods of time to cold weather. The damage which frostbite causes does not depend on how cold the temperature is but how long the human tissue has been exposed.
If skin is exposed to cold temperatures for hours at a time then a lot of damage will be caused even if the temperature is just below freezing.
The consumption of alcohol helps frost bite. Along with impairing judgement, alcohol slows the blood circulating throughout the body, making the damage to exposed skin that much worse.
So mountineers climbing Mt Everest need to make sure that their toes and fingers are always kept warm for fear of getting frostbite.
Hypothermia is also caused by long exposure to the cold. Hypothermia occurs when the body temperature drops by one or two degrees. You may think that this shouldn't cause much damage but the result is disasterous. The human body needs to maintain a temperature of 37°C and if this drops by one or two degrees, the various organs throughout the body are put at risk.
Hands and toes become numb because of a lack of circulating heat.
If the hypothermia becomes more aggresive, simple tasks with your hands will become impossible as the muscles are failing to work. The body will try to focus all of its remaining heat on keeping the vital organs warm, leaving a victim pale and fingers, toes, ears and lips turn a light blue.
If the Hypothermia becames worse, the body will shut down. The body is now at a cold temperature of 32°C. Major organs begin to fail as the remianing heat in the body is used up.
So who was the first person to reach the summit of Mt Everest?
It was the brave Sir Edmund Hillary who placed his foot on the top of the world first. He did this on the 29th of May 1953.
However Sir Geroge Everest was the first person who correctly recorded the height of Mt Everest. Due to this fact the Ameriacns called it Mt Everest in his honour.
Did you know?
Mt Everest rises a few milimetres every year due to geological forces! So the tallest mountain in the world is always becoming taller!
The Victoria Falls.
The falls are situated on the Zimbabwe river in South Aferica.
The Victoria Falls is an astounding 1708 metres wide making it the largest curtain of water in the world!
An unbelievable amount of water powers into the Zambezi gorge. The estimate figure would be 550,000 cubic metres per minute!
The local people call the falls "Mosi-oa-Tunya" which means the smoke that thunders.
During the flood season (February to May, peaking in April) The spray from the falls rises an amazing 400 metres and occasionly double that height! This spray can be seen up to 30 miles away!
However during the flood season, it is impossible to see the foot of the falls as they are constantly shrouded in mist. The walkways on the opposite sides of the falls are also covered in the mist from the falls.
As you can see from this picture, the falls are completly covered with mist.
The resulting mist plume of these falls is a great source of rainbows. When the sun penetrates through the mist, a rainbow can be clearly seen stretching over the falls.
The minimum flow of the falls, which occurs in November, is only a mere tenth of the flow in April!
The river's course is dotted with many islands.
There are two islands which split the curtain of water even at full flood season. These islands are called Boaruka Island and Livingstone Island.
When it isn't flood season, many more islands are revealed and these also split the curtain of water into many rivers and streams
Unlike many waterfalls, there are no mountains surrounding this mighty waterfall. However there is a flat plateau stretching out in all directions for kilometres.
If your brave enough, you can also bungee jump from these falls! However you must contact a bungee jumping instructer to avail of this experience.
Monday, January 19, 2009
So what are the seven natural wonders of the world?
They are.....
Victoria Falls in Zambia:
Great Barrier Reef in Australia
Paricutin volcano in Mexico:
Harbour of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil:
They are.....
This is the terrifing Mt Everest, the tallest mountain on the planet reaching a staggering height of 8848 metres! The mountain, which is part of the Himalaya range in High Asia, is located on the border between the Sagarmatha Zone, Nepal, and Tibet, China.
Victoria Falls in Zambia:
This is the victoria falls. These stunning falls are situated on the Zambezi river in Africa and are, by a substantiol amount, the largest waterfall throughout the world.
The picture above is a famous picture of the falls showing a rainbow gliding above the water.
The picture above is a famous picture of the falls showing a rainbow gliding above the water.
Grand Canyon in Arizona:
The Grand Canyon is a steep gorge which was carved by the Colarado river in the United States.
The grand canyon is situated in Arizona and stretches an impressive 277 miles and reaches a depth of a mile! The unique red, sulfur coulour of the sedimentary rock looks beautiful in the setting sun.
I myself have set eyes on this natural wonder and all that greeted me when I first clapped eyes on the unique rock features was speechlessness. The grand canyon had such an profound impact on me that I cannot fully describe how truely amazing this wonder is.
Great Barrier Reef in Australia
The Great Barrier Reef is undoubtedly the largest coral Reef on the globe.
It is located in the Coral Sea just off the coast of Queen's land in North East Australia.
The reef stretches an astounding 1,6oo miles over an estimated area of 133,000 square miles.
The Northern lights are my favourite wonder of the world because, in my opinion, the lights are simply mind blowing.
The Northern Lights are also known as the Auroras. To observe the northern lights, you must be in the polar regions i.e somewhere around the pole areas. Night time is the best time to observe the lights in they're full glory.
Paricutin volcano in Mexico:
This volcano can be found in the mexican state of Michoacán. Paricutin is a cinder cone volcano which stretches 3,170 metres into the sky! The Paricutin Volcano is part of the Michoacán-Guanajuato Volcanic Field which runs along central western Mexico.
Harbour of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil:
Rio de Janeiro harbour is located on the south western shore of the Guanabara Bay in Brazil. This Bay is surrounded by the city of Rio which was a former capitol of Brazil. This harbour is so famous because of its natural beauty. It is reputed that "God spent six days in creating the earth but on the seventh he concentrated on Rio!"
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Introduction.
Hi, I'm Sophie and this is my blog on the seven natural wonders of the world.
I'll be writing about the geography of these stunning wonders, why they're natural wonders of the world and about my visit to the Grand Canyon.
Well I hope you enjoy my blog and find it interesting!
I'll be writing about the geography of these stunning wonders, why they're natural wonders of the world and about my visit to the Grand Canyon.
Well I hope you enjoy my blog and find it interesting!
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