Showing posts with label Landscapes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Landscapes. Show all posts

St. Lucia



Saint Lucia is a sovereign island country in the eastern Caribbean Sea on the boundary with the Atlantic Ocean. Part of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent, northwest of Barbados and south of Martinique. It covers a land area of 617 km2 (238.23 sq mi) and has a population of 174,000 (2010). Its capital is Castries.

Yangshuo, China



Yangshuo County is a county under the jurisdiction of Guilin City, in the northeast of Guangxi, China. Its seat is located in Yangshuo Town. Surrounded by karst peaks and bordered on one side by the Li River it is easily accessible by bus or by boat from nearby Guilin. In the 1980s, the town became popular with foreign backpackers, and by the late 1990s packaged tourists began arriving in greater numbers. At that time, domestic tourism represented only a small fraction of the tourists but by 2005 domestic tourists outnumbered foreign tourists by a great margin. Today, the town has become a resort destination for both domestic and foreign travelers.There is a lot to explore in Yangshuo.

Bermuda



Bermuda also referred to in legal documents as the Bermudas or Somers Isles, is a British Overseas Territory in the North Atlantic Ocean, located off the east coast of North America. Its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, United States, about 1,030 kilometres (640 mi) to the west-northwest. It is about 1,239 kilometres (770 mi) south of Cape Sable Island, Canada, and 1,538 kilometres (956 mi) north of Puerto Rico. Its capital city is Hamilton. The first known European explorer to reach Bermuda was Spanish sea captain Juan de Bermúdez in 1503, after whom the islands are named. He claimed the apparently uninhabited islands for the Spanish Empire. Although he paid two visits to the archipelago, Bermúdez never landed on the islands, because he did not want to risk crossing over the dangerous reef surrounding them. Subsequent Spanish or other European parties are believed to have released pigs there, which had become feral and abundant on the island by the time European settlement began. In 1609, the English Virginia Company, which had established Virginia and Jamestown on the North American continent two years earlier, established a settlement. It was founded in the aftermath of a hurricane, when the crew of the sinking Sea Venture steered the ship onto the reef so they could get ashore.

Trolltunga, Odda, Norway



Trolltunga (Troll's tongue) is a piece of rock jutting horizontally out of a mountain about 700 metres (2,300 ft) above the north side of the lake Ringedalsvatnet in the municipality of Odda in Hordaland county, Norway. The cliff is located east of the Skjeggedal area, about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) east of the village of Tyssedal and the Sørfjorden (a branch off of the main Hardanger Fjord). The name translated to English is The Troll's tongue. The cliff is part of the precambrian bedrock and was formed during the ice age, approximately 10,000 years ago, when the edges of the glacier reached the cliff. The water from the glacier froze in the crevices of the mountain and eventually broke off large, angular blocks, which were later carried away with the glacier. Along the cliff itself, a gneiss, there continues to be deep cracks. The trail to Trolltunga also passes through the bedrock and washed slippery hillsides in the background also containing gneiss.

Cimon della Pala, Dolomites, Italy


Cimon della Pala, sometimes called Cimone and The Matterhorn of the Dolomites (il Cervino delle Dolomiti), is the best-known peak of the Pale di San Martino group, in the Dolomites, northern Italy. Although it is not the highest peak of the group, the Cima Vezzana being a few metres higher, its slender point, which can be seen from the Rolle Pass, dominates the landscape. The mountain lies near the town of Tonadico in Trentino, the southern part of the Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, and is the watershed between the Cismón valley and the Travignolo valley. It is the northernmost peak in the chain of the Pale di San Martino and is flanked by the Vezzana. Between the high, steep walls of the two peaks and descending to the north, lies a steep glacier called Travignolo, which is the source of a river of the same name, a tributary of the Avisio.

Monte Carlo



Monte Carlo officially refers to an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco, specifically the ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is located. Informally the name also refers to a larger district, the Monte Carlo Quarter (corresponding to the former municipality of Monte Carlo), which besides Monte Carlo/Spélugues also includes the wards of La Rousse/Saint Roman, Larvotto/Bas Moulins, and Saint Michel. The permanent population of the ward of Monte Carlo is about 3,500, while that of the quarter is about 15,000. Monaco has four traditional quarters. From west to east they are: Fontvieille (the newest), Monaco-Ville (the oldest), La Condamine, and Monte Carlo. Monte Carlo (literally "Mount Charles") is situated on a prominent escarpment at the base of the Maritime Alps along the French Riviera. Near the western end of the quarter is the world-famous Place du Casino, the gambling center which has made Monte Carlo "an international byword for the extravagant display and reckless dispersal of wealth". It is also the location of the Hôtel de Paris, the Café de Paris, and the Salle Garnier (the casino theatre which is the home of the Opéra de Monte-Carlo). The eastern part of the quarter includes the community of Larvotto with Monaco's only public beach, as well as its new convention center (the Grimaldi Forum), and the Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel & Resort. At the quarter's eastern border, one crosses into the French town of Beausoleil (sometimes referred to as Monte-Carlo-Supérieur), and just 5 miles (8 km) to its east is the western border of Italy.

Yosemite Park in California



Yosemite National Park  is a United States National Park spanning eastern portions of Tuolumne, Mariposa and Madera counties in the central eastern portion of the U.S. state of California. The park, which is managed by the National Park Service, covers an area of 747,956 acres (1,168.681 sq mi; 302,687 ha; 3,026.87 km2) and reaches across the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountain chain. Over 3.7 million people visit Yosemite each year: most spend the majority of their time in the seven square miles (18 km2) of Yosemite Valley. Designated a World Heritage Site in 1984, Yosemite is internationally recognized for its spectacular granite cliffs, waterfalls, clear streams, giant sequoia groves, and biological diversity. Almost 95% of the park is designated wilderness. Yosemite was central to the development of the national park idea. First, Galen Clark and others lobbied to protect Yosemite Valley from development, ultimately leading to President Abraham Lincoln's signing the Yosemite Grant in 1864. Later, John Muir led a successful movement to establish a larger national park encompassing not just the valley, but surrounding mountains and forests as well—paving the way for the United States national park system. Yosemite is one of the largest and least fragmented habitat blocks in the Sierra Nevada, and the park supports a diversity of plants and animals.

Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland



Vestmannaeyjar is a town and archipelago off the south coast of Iceland. The largest island, Heimaey, has a population of 4,135. The other islands are uninhabited, although six have single hunting cabins. Vestmannaeyjar came to international attention in 1973 with the eruption of Eldfell volcano, which destroyed many buildings and forced a months-long evacuation of the entire population to mainland Iceland. Approximately one fifth of the town was destroyed before the lava flow was halted by application of 6.8 billion litres of cold sea water. There are 15 islands, and about 30 rock stacks and skerries. All the islands have been built up in submarine eruptions and consist of alternating layers of palagonite tuff and lava. The oldest geological formations are in the northern part of Heimaey ("Home Island"), the largest island and the only inhabited one. Basalt columns can be seen in many places, and the sea has eroded the soft rock of the shoreline and scooped out many picturesque coves and grottos, which are among the special features of the islands.

Pucisca, Croatia



Pucisca is a settlement in the middle part of the northern part of the island Brac turned to the channel of Brac, Omis and Makarska. The settlement originated on stone, at stone and from stone. ith 1706 inhabitants, along with Supetar, this is the biggest town on Brac with original Mediterranean characteristics. Its white roofs are creating a true ambient atmosphere. It is located at the bottom of a deep bay which splits into two smaller bays: Puciski dolac and Stipanska luka. Pucisca is rich of stones and exactly the excellent local stone has contributed o the development of the town. The work with the stone and the life from it are brought over from generation to generation. Nowadays a stonemason- school is working there. Many palaces throughout the world have been built with the local stone from the renaissance age until today. The works (mainly sculptures) of contemporary domestic and foreign sculptors are set on many public places, which are from the same stone. Other economy branches are cattle-breeding and agriculture.

Garda Lake




Lake Garda is the largest lake in Italy. It is a popular holiday location and is located in northern Italy, about half-way between Brescia and Verona, and between Venice and Milan. Glaciers formed this alpine region at the end of the last Ice Age. The lake and its shoreline are divided between the provinces of Verona (to the south-east), Brescia (south-west), and Trentino (north). The northern part of the lake is narrower, surrounded by mountains, the majority of which belong to the Gruppo del Baldo. The shape is typical of a moraine valley, probably having been formed under the action of a Paleolithic glacier. Although traces of the glacier's actions are evident today, in more recent years it has been hypothesised that the glacier occupied a previously existing depression, created by stream erosion 5 to 6 million years ago. The lake has numerous small islands and five main ones, the largest being Isola del Garda. Nearby to the south is Isola San Biagio, also known as the Isola dei Conigli ("Island of the Rabbits"). Both are offshore of San Felice del Benaco, on the west side. The three other main islands are Isola dell'Olivo, Isola di Sogno, and Isola di Trimelone, all farther north near the east side. The main tributary is the Sarca River, others include Ponale River, Varone River and various streams from both mountain sides, while the only outlet is the Mincio River. If the water level of the Adige river is too high, excess water is diverted to the lake through the Mori-Torbole tunnel.

Loch Lomond, Scotland



Loch Lomond is a freshwater Scottish loch which crosses the Highland Boundary Fault. It is the largest inland stretch of water in Great Britain by surface area. The loch contains many islands, including Inchmurrin, the largest fresh-water island in the British Isles. Loch Lomond is a popular leisure destination and is featured in the song "The Bonnie Banks o' Loch Lomond". The loch contains thirty or more other islands. depending on the water level. Several of them are large by the standards of British bodies of freshwater. Inchmurrin, for example, is the largest island in a body of freshwater in the British Isles. As in Loch Tay, several of the islands appear to be crannogs, artificial islands built in prehistoric periods.
English travel writer, H.V. Morton wrote:
What a large part of Loch Lomond's beauty is due to its islands, those beautiful green tangled islands, that lie like jewels upon its surface. One of the loch's islands, Inchconnachan, is home to a colony of wallabies.

Crater Lake, Oregon




Crater Lake is a caldera lake in the western United States, located in south-central Oregon. It is the main feature of Crater Lake National Park and is famous for its deep blue color and water clarity. The lake partly fills a nearly 2,148-foot (655 m)-deep caldera that was formed around 7,700 (± 150) years ago by the collapse of the volcano Mount Mazama. There are no rivers flowing into or out of the lake; the evaporation is compensated for by rain and snowfall at a rate such that the total amount of water is replaced every 250 years. At 1,943 feet (592 m), the lake is the deepest in the United States, and the seventh or ninth deepest in the world, depending on whether average or maximum depth is measured. Crater Lake is also known for the "Old Man of the Lake", a full-sized tree which is now a stump that has been bobbing vertically in the lake for over a century. The low temperature of the water has slowed the decomposition of the wood, hence the longevity of the bobbing tree. Two islands are in Crater Lake; Wizard Island formed from a cinder cone that erupted after Crater Lake began to fill with water, and the smaller Phantom Ship has seven different trees living on it. There are also colonies of violet green swallows and several varieties of wildflowers and lichens living there. While having no indigenous fish population, the lake was stocked from 1888 to 1941 with a variety of fish. Several species have formed self-sustaining populations. Since 2002, one of the state's regular-issue license plate designs has featured Crater Lake. The commemorative Oregon State Quarter, which was released by the United States Mint in 2005, features an image of Crater Lake on its reverse.

Lulusar Lake, Pakistan



Lulusar is group of mountain peaks and a lake in the Kaghan Valley in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The word "sar" means "top" or "peak" in Pashto. The highest peak has a height of 11,200 ft (3,410 m) above sea level (N35.0804 E73.9266). The locale is famous for the scenic and large Lulusar Lake, which is a popular tourism attraction. Lulusar Lake, at 3,410 m (11,190 ft), is the primary headwaters of the Kunhar River. It flows southwest through the entire length of Kaghan Valley passing Jalkhand, Naran, Kaghan, Jared, Paras and Balakot until its confluence with the Jhelum River. Lulusar Lake marks the historic place where fifty-five participants of the 1857 Indian war of independence were arrested. The lake is much larger than other lakes in the Kaghan Valley, and has mirror-like water reflecting the surrounding snowcapped Lulusar mountains, creating a natural tourist attraction. In the summer many domestic and international visitors make the lake and Lulusar-Dudipatsar National Park a destination. From Gittidas east of the lake the Naran-Babusar road goes through the Babusar Pass, which is the highest point in the Kaghan Valley (el.4,173 metres (13,691 ft)), to the Karakoram Highway and mountaineering hub of Gilgit.

Manchar Lake, pakistan



Lake Manchar is the largest freshwater lake in Pakistan and one of Asia's largest. It is located west of the Indus River, in Jamshoro District, Sindh. The area of the lake fluctuates with the seasons from as little as 350 km² to as much as 520 km². The lake collects water from numerous small streams in the Kirthar Mountains and empties into the Indus River. The lake was created in the 1930s when the Sukkur Barrage was constructed on the river Indus. The lake is fed by two canals, the Aral and the Danister from the river Indus. Until recently the lake supported thousands of fisherfolk, near village Kot Lashari Bobak railway station,who depended on the freshwater fish they caught in the lake. However, the lake is now undergoing environmental degradation resulting in the water becoming saline and killing off the fish and forcing the fisherfolk to look elsewhere for employment.

Wengen, Switzerland



Wengen is a village in the Bernese Oberland in the canton of Bern, located in central Switzerland at an elevation of 1,274 m (4,180 ft) above sea level. It is part of the Jungfrauregion and has approximately 1,300 year-round residents, which swells to 5,000 during summer and to 10,000 in the winter. It is one of very few car-free resort villages in Europe, although there are a few service vehicles, local farm vehicles, electric vehicles for taxiing to and from the railway station. This creates a tranquil atmosphere throughout the village and reduces traffic noise. For ecological reasons other resorts are considering following the car-free example. Across the Lauterbrunnen valley, Murren, too, is largely car free. Wengen is serviced by the Rack railway system Wengernalpbahn (WAB), and the village is accessible directly from Lauterbrunnen, or by train from Grindelwald via Kleine Scheidegg, as well as by a series of gondola lifts from Grindelwald via Mannlichen. In Kleine Scheidegg, the mountain pass at the foot of the Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau, passengers must disembark and change trains to travel down to Grindelwald and Grund.

Cathedral Cove, Coromandel Peninsula


Te Whanganui-A-Hei (Cathedral Cove) Marine Reserve is at the Coromandel Peninsula in New Zealand overlaying an area of 840 hectares. Cathedral Cove is known as after the cave positioned there, linking Mare’s Leg Cove to Cathedral Cove. Gemstone Bay and Stingray Bay are also located within the reserve. A strolling track exists from the northern cease of Hahei seashore, and it is also feasible to stroll from the neighborhood authority automobile park at the pinnacle of the headland among Hahei and Gemstone Bay.

Zhangye Danxia Landform, China


The Danxia landform refers to various landscapes located in southeast, southwest and northwest China that “encompass a red bed characterised by using steep cliffs”. Danxia landform is fashioned from crimson colored sandstones and conglomerates of in large part Cretaceous age. The landforms appearance very much like karst topography that bureaucracy in regions underlain by limestones, however since the rocks that form danxia are sandstones and conglomerates, they have been called “pseudo karst” landforms. The first research, on what at the moment are known as Danxia landforms, had been conducted at Mount Danxia close to Shaoguan, China.

Martin's Island, Bengal



St. Martin's Island is a small island (area only 8 km2) in the northeastern part of the Bay of Bengal, about 9 km south of the tip of the Cox's Bazar-Teknaf peninsula, and forming the southernmost part of Bangladesh. There is a small adjoining island that is separated at high tide, called Chhera island. It is about 8 km west of the northwest coast of Myanmar, at the mouth of the Naf River. The first settlement started just 250 years ago by some Arabian sailors who named the island ‘Zajira’. 

Perito Moreno National Park




Perito Moreno National Park is a national park in Argentina. It is located in the western region of Santa Cruz Province on the border with Chile. It has an area of 115,000 hectares of mountains and valleys at a height of 900 metres above sea level.

Los Glaciares National Park


Los Glaciares National Park ( Parque Nacional de Los Glaciares, "Glaciers National Park") is a federal protected area in Santa Cruz Province, Argentina. The park covers an area of 726,927 ha (7,269.27 km2; 2,806.68 sq mi), making it the second largest national park in the country. Established on 11 May 1937, it houses a representative sample of the Magellanic Subpolar Forest and western Patagonian Steppe biodiversity in good state of conservation. In 1980 it was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.