~ Mother Earth ~
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Khao Lak
Khao Lak is a resort beach in Thailand, located 100 km north of Phuket in Takua Pa district, Phang Nga province and popular as a departure point for liveaboard scuba diving trips.
The beach at Khao Lak before the tsunami of 2004
The coast line here has a west-facing, sandy beach with tropical forest and rubber plantations on the hill slopes beyond the sand. A road runs roughly parallel with the beach and the town has grown up as a ribbon development of shops and dwellings, with tourist hotels between the road and the beach.
Economy
The local economy in the town is based on the tourist hotels, local shops and restaurants, and the diving trade. Most of the foreign tourists are European, many from Scandinavia, Germany and the United Kingdom. The wider area produces some rubber and palm oil; there is also a small amount of subsistence agriculture.
As a result of the serious damage by the tsunami in December 2004 (see below) the economy is now ruined and is expected to take about two years to recover. All the hotels have been seriously damaged and many will need to be completely rebuilt. It is likely that the Thai government will require the hotels to be relocated further from the beach.
2004 earthquake and tsunamis
Khao Lak was one of the areas of Thailand hardest hit by the tsunamis resulting from the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. Many people died including many foreign tourists. The final death toll was at least 4,000 and may exceed 5,000, evenly split between local residents and holiday visitors. Among the casualties was Bhumi Jensen, grandson of the King of Thailand. Also well-known Finnish musician and TV-host Aki Sirkesalo and his family perished.
Issue #90 -
Calcite
The mineral calcite is a calcium carbonate corresponding to the formula CaCO3 and is one of the most widely distributed minerals on the Earth's surface. It is a common constituent of sedimentary rocks, limestone in particular. It is also the primary mineral in metamorphic marble. It also occurs as a vein mineral in deposits from hot springs, and also occurs in caverns as stalactites and stalagmites. Calcite is often the primary constituent of the shells of marine organisms (e.g. plankton, bivalves, etc.). Calcite represents the stable form of calcium carbonate; aragonite will change to calcite at 470°C.
Calcite from Brushy Creek Mine, Missouri, USA.
Properties
Calcite crystals are hexagonal-rhombohedral, though actual calcite rhombohedrons are rare as natural crystals. However, they show a remarkable variety of habit including acute to obtuse rhombohedrons, tabular forms, prisms, or various scalenohedrons. It may occur as fibrous, granular, lamellar, or compact. Cleavage is usually in three directions parallel to the rhombohedron form. Its fracture is conchoidal, but difficult to obtain. It has a hardness of 3, a specific gravity of 2.7, and its luster is vitreous in crystallized varieties. Color is white or colorless, though shades of gray, red, yellow, green, blue, violet, brown, or even black can occur when the mineral is charged with impurities. Calcite reacts when it comes into contact with hydrochloric acid, which causes effervescence.
Calcite from Middle Atlas, Morocco.
Calcite is transparent to opaque and may occasionally show phosphorescence or fluorescence. It is perhaps best known because of its power to produce strong double refraction of light, such that objects viewed through a clear piece of calcite appear doubled in all of their parts - a phenomenon first described by Rasmus Bartholin. A beautifully transparent variety used for optical purposes comes from Iceland, called Iceland spar. Acute scalenohedral crystals are sometimes referred to as "dogtooth spar".
Doubly refracting calcite. The doubling is particularly obvious on the top bar of the letter T. The crystal is 1.5 inches long (4 cm).
Issue #91 -
Lake Pontchartrain Causeway
The Lake Pontchartrain Causeway consists of two bridges which are the longest in the world. Crossing over Lake Pontchartrain in Louisiana, the longer of the two bridges is 23 miles 1,538 yards (38.422 km) long. (It is 6 miles longer than the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, which is 17 miles long.)
Heading south on the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway towards New Orleans
The southern end of the causeway is in Metairie, Louisiana, a suburb of New Orleans. The northern end is at Mandeville, Louisiana.
The original causeway, a two-lane span, was opened in 1956. A parallel two-lane span, slightly longer than the original, opened in 1969. The causeway has always been a toll bridge. Until 1999, tolls were collected from traffic going in each direction. To alleviate congestion at the south shore entrance, the toll facilities were removed from the northbound span. The standard tolls for cars changed from $1.50 in each direction to a $3.00 toll collected on the North Shore from southbound traffic only.
The opening of the causeway opened up communities on the North Shore of the lake for commuters working in New Orleans, bringing the North Shore into the Greater New Orleans Metropolitan area.
Issue #92 -
Teton Dam
The Teton Dam was a dam on the Teton River in southeastern Idaho in the United States that suffered a spectacular failure on June 5, 1976. The collapse resulted in the loss of 11 lives and a monetary cost of close to US$1 billion.
Water pouring out of the reservoir of the Teton Dam in Idaho following its catastrophic failure on June 5, 1976. The reservoir was emptied within hours of the initial breach.
Description and Geology
The dam was located in the Teton Canyon approximately 44 miles (71 km) northeast of the city of Idaho Falls. It was a 305 ft. (93 m) high earthfill dam intended for irrigation, electricity, flood prevention, and recreation. The dam was built by the United States Bureau of Reclamation, which later received most of the blame for the collapse. The site of the dam is accessible to the public.
The ruins of the Teton Dam.
The dam site is located in the eastern Snake River Plain, which is a broad tectonic depression on top of rhyolitic ash-flow tuff, which is late-Cenozoic volcanic rock dating to about 1.9 million years. The tuff sits on top of sedimentary rock. The area is very permeable, but no seepage was noted on the dam itself before the date of the collapse. Several springs had opened up downstream a few days before, however.
The collapse and aftermath
At the time of the collapse, the reservoir had just filled for the first time with spring runoff. Water began seeping from the dam the Thursday before the collapse, not unexpected for an earthen dam.
On the morning of June 5 a new leak appeared. Bulldozers were sent to plug the leak, unsuccessfully. Local media appeared, and an alarm was raised to downstream residents. Two bulldozers were caught in the eroding embankment, their operators pulled to safety with ropes. At around 11:57 a.m., the dam collapsed. By evening the reservoir had completely emptied.
Cities immediately downstream, such as Rexburg, suffered horribly. The city of Idaho Falls, further downstream, had time to prepare. At the old and unstable American Falls Dam downstream, engineers released water before the flood arrived. That dam held, and the flood was over. Cleaning up took the rest of the summer.
A wide-ranging controversy erupted from the dam's collapse. According to the Bureau of Reclamation site, "Today, Bureau of Reclamation engineers assess all Reclamation dams under strict criteria established by the Safety of Dams program. Each structure is periodically reviewed for resistance to seismic stability, internal faults and physical deterioration."
Issue #93 -
London Wall
London Wall was the defensive wall built by the Romans around Londinium, their strategically important port town on the river Thames in England.
Statue of Trajan in front of a section of the London wall, Tower Hill
The wall had a number of gates around the outside that led to important Roman roads, leading to other towns in the country. The original list of gates on the wall going clockwise from Ludgate in the east to Aldgate in the west were: Ludgate, Newgate, Aldersgate, Cripplegate, Bishopsgate and Aldgate. Some of the gates, though now long gone, are remembered by the areas or roads where the gates stood being named after them. Due to the rapid growth of the city, the number of gates was increased to cope with the extra traffic in the medieval period, and the walls were also strengthened and built upon.
Today all that remains of the wall are a few (albeit substantial) fragments, some of which can be seen in the grounds of the Museum of London, in the Barbican Estate and around Tower Hill. Part of the route originally taken by the northern wall is commemorated by the road also named London Wall on which the museum is located. The modern road starts in the west with a roundabout with Aldersgate then passes east past Moorgate, and eventually becomes Wormwood Street before it reaches Bishopsgate. One of the largest and most readily accessed fragments of the wall stands just outside Tower Hill tube station, with a replica statue of the Emperor Trajan standing in front of it.
The wall was constructed largely from Kentish ragstone brought by water from Maidstone. It enclosed an area of about 330 acres (1.3 km²), was 6 to 9 feet (2 to 3 m) wide and about 18 feet (5 m) high, with a ditch or fossa in front of the outer wall, measuring some 6 feet (2 m) deep by between 9 to 15 feet (3 to 5 m) wide. It included a number of bastions (at least twenty) spaced about 70 yards (64 m) apart; the best-preserved of these can be seen at the Barbican Estate, next to the church of St Giles-without-Cripplegate. The wall appears to have been built in the late 2nd century and continued to be developed until at least the end of the 4th century, making it among the last major building projects undertaken by the Romans before their withdrawal from Britain in 410.
13th century bastion on the London Wall, Barbican Estate
The wall remained in active use as a fortification for over 1,000 years afterwards. It was used to defend London against raiding Saxons in 457, and was redeveloped in the medieval period with the addition of crenellations, more gates and further bastions. It was not until as late as the 18th and 19th centuries that the wall underwent substantial demolition, though even then large portions of it survived by being incorporated into other structures. Amid the devastation of the Blitz, some of the tallest ruins in the bomb-damaged City were remnants of the Roman wall.
The wall's moat has also left its mark on London; it forms the line of the street of Houndsditch. This was once London's main rubbish disposal site and was notorious for its appalling odour; its name, according to the 16th century historian John Stow, was derived "from that in old time, when the same lay open, much filth (conveyed forth of the City) especially dead dogges were there laid or cast." The moat was finally covered over and filled in at the end of the 16th century, becoming the present street.
Issue #94 -
Torres del Paine
The three Towers of Paine (Spanish: Torres del Paine) in southern Chile are gigantic granite monoliths shaped by the forces of glacial ice. They are located in Patagonia, 400 km (244 miles) north of Punta Arenas, and about 2,500 km south of the capital Santiago.
Torres del Paine, Chile
Elevation: 3,050 m (10,006 ft)
Location: Patagonia, Chile
Range: Patagonian Andes
Coordinates: 50°59' S 72°58' W
Type: Granite
Age of rock: 12 Myr
First ascent: 1963 by Chris Bonington and Don Whillans.
Easiest route: rock climb
The Central Tower of Paine (about 3,400 m or 11,000 feet) is the highest of the three. It was first climbed in 1963 by Chris Bonington and Don Whillans.
The North Tower of Paine was first climbed by Guido Monzino and the South Tower of Paine by Armando Aste.
The Torres del Paine National Park, declared Biosphere Reserve by the UNESCO in 1978, is located there.
The national park (with an area of 2,400 km²) is a popular hiking destination. There are clearly marked paths and many refugios which provide shelter and basic services. Views are breathtaking. Hikers can opt for a day trip to see the towers, walk the popular "W" route in about five days, or trek the full circle in 8-9 days. It is a national park and thus hikers are not allowed to stray from the paths. Camping is only allowed at specified campsites, and wood fires are prohibited in the whole park.
A view of the Torres del Paine National Park
In 2005, a careless Czech backpacker camping illegally used a gas stove and caused a fire that destroyed 160 km² of the park. Replanting, with assistance from the Czech Republic, is set to begin in September.
Issue #95 -
Danube Delta
The Danube Delta (Delta Dunãrii in Romanian), located in Dobrogea, Romania and in Odes'ka oblast', Ukraine, is the largest and best preserved of European deltas, with an area of 3,446 km².
Satellite photo of the Danube Delta
Geography
Every year, the alluvium deposited by the Danube increases the width of the Delta by around 40 meters, making it extremely dynamic. Near Tulcea, the Danube is divided in three river branches before it flows into the Sea: Chilia, Sulina and Sfântu Gheorghe (Saint George), but many other channels make split the Delta into areas with reed, marshes and forests, some of which are flooded during the spring and autumn.
About 44 km of the Danube Delta lies the Snake Island, a territory which belongs to Ukraine but claimed by Romania.
In 2004, Ukraine inaugurated work on the Bistroe Channel that will provide a navigable link from the Black Sea to the Ukrainian section of the Danube Delta. The European Union urged Ukraine to shut it down, because it will damage the wetlands of the Delta. The Romanian side, committed to protecting the delta, said they will sue Ukraine at the International Court of Justice.
Nature
It hosts over 1,200 varieties of plants, 300 species of birds as well as 45 freshwater fish species in its numerous lakes and marshes. The Danube Delta has been entered onto the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites and Biosphere reserves. Around 2,733 km² of it are strictly protected areas.
Danube Delta
This is the place where millions of birds from different places of Earth (European, Asian, African, Mediteraneean) come to lay their eggs.
Around 2,500 years ago, as Herodotus says that the Danube was divided in seven branches.
Inhabitants
Around 15,000 people live in the Delta, most of them are living off fishing with their traditional wooden kayaks. It includes a community of Lippovans which are descendants of the Old Rite Followers who left Russia in 1772 to avoid religious persecutions. The main center of Lippovan community in the Ukrainian part of Danube Delta is Vilkovo.
Issue #96 -
Alpine Fault
The Alpine Fault is a geological fault, known as a right-lateral strike-slip fault, that runs almost the entire length of New Zealand's South Island. It forms a transform boundary between the Pacific Plate and the Indo-Australian Plate. Earthquakes along the fault, and the associated earth movements, have formed the Southern Alps.
This true-color image provides a nearly cloud-free look at the South Island of New Zealand. The Alpine Fault is easily visible from space, running along the western edge of the Southern Alps from the south-western coast towards the north-eastern corner of the South Island. The scene was acquired by NASAÂ’s Terra satellite, on October 23, 2002. Forested areas are clearly indicated by the very dark green, particularly in the northwest and southwest. The braided Waimakariri and Rakaia rivers can also clearly be seen as they make their way to the east coast on either side of Banks Peninsula.
Beginning off the south-western corner of the South Island, the Alpine Fault runs along the western edge of the Southern Alps, then splits into three parallel faults north of Arthur's Pass. Average slip rates in the fault's central region are about 30 mm a year, very fast by global standards.
Historic Earthquakes
The Alpine Fault has experienced sizeable earthquakes in historic times:
-- 1929 - Arthur's Pass. Estimated magnitude = 7.1.
-- 1929 - Murchison. Estimated magnitude = 7.8.
-- 1968 - Inangahua. Estimated magnitude = 7.1.
-- 2003 - Fiordland. Estimated magnitude = 7.1.
Major Ruptures
Over the last thousand years, there have been four major ruptures along the Alpine Fault causing earthquakes of about magnitude 8. These occurred in approximately 1100, 1450, 1620 and 1717 AD, at intervals between 100 and 350 years. The 1717 quake appears to have involved a rupture along nearly 400 km of the southern two thirds of the fault. Scientists' best estimate is that there is a high likelihood of a similar earthquake within a few decades.
Large ruptures can also trigger earthquakes on the faults continuing north from the Alpine Fault.
Issue #97 -
Canadian National Tower
At 559.33 meters (1,865.39 feet), the Canadian National Tower is the tallest building and free-standing structure in the world. The CN Tower is located in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada and is considered the signature icon of the city. CN Tower attracts over 2 million visitors yearly.
Canadian National Tower
Built in 1976 by Canadian National Railway (CN) to demonstrate the strength of Canadian industry, the tower was originally designed as a radio and television transmitting antenna. There are microwave receivers for distant signals at about 305 meters, and the top of the transmission antenna is at the apex of the tower. However, CN soon found it was far more lucrative as a tourist attraction than a transmission tower. With over a million tourists climbing the tower each year it has yet to have an unprofitable year. The construction costs were repaid in fifteen years.
Metal staircases with 1,776 steps reach the Skypod level (447 m) and are the tallest metal staircases on earth. These stairs are intended for emergency use and are not open to the public, except for twice a year for charity stairclimb events: around Earth Day in the spring by the World Wildlife Fund; and in the fall by the United Way's Toronto chapter. The average climber takes approximately 30 minutes to climb to the base of the radome (the white ring around the bottom of the main pod), but the fastest climb on record is 7 minutes 58 seconds.
CN is the official acronym of the Canadian National Railway, but following the railway's decision to divest non-core freight railway assets during the lead-up to the company's privatization in 1995, the CN Tower was transferred to the Canada Lands Company (CLC), a federal Crown corporation responsible for real estate development. Since the citizens of Toronto wished to retain the name CN Tower, the acronym CN now unofficially stands for Canada's National rather than the original Canadian National.
CN Tower, looking directly up from ground level
From 1997 to January 2004, TrizecHahn Corporation managed the building and instituted several expansion projects including a $26 million entertainment expansion and revitalization that included the addition of two new elevators (to a total of six) and the relocation of the staircase from the cityside (north side) shaft to inside the core of the building.
At 342 m is the Glass Floor and Outdoor Observation Deck, at 346 m are Horizons Cafe and the Indoor Observation Deck, and at 351 m is the 360 Restaurant, which rotates once every 72 minutes. The restaurant has a minimum purchase requirement and a vast menu.
The Sky Pod, a small enclosed platform elevated high above the main observation floor, is located at 447 m, and is the highest public observation deck in the world. Admission to the Sky Pod requires payment of an extra charge.
Toronto Skyline during the day
Toronto Skyline at night
In 1995, the CN Tower was declared one of the modern Seven Wonders of the World by the American Society of Civil Engineers. It also belongs to the World Federation of Great Towers. The following year, the Guinness Book of World Records officially changed the CN Tower's classification to "World's Tallest Building and Free-Standing Structure".
There are many guyed towers taller than the CN Tower, the current tallest being the KVLY-TV tower in North Dakota at 628 m (2,063 feet) tall, but these are guy-wire supported structures and not classified as free-standing. The Petronius Compliant Tower (an oil platform) at 645 m (2,116 feet), is a taller free-standing structure, however all but its top is under water. If built, a 1,000 m tower for a solarthermic power station in Australia will break the record. The Burj Dubai, slated for completion in 2008, would according to present claims by its developers, become a taller free-standing land structure than CN Tower.
The builders of the CN Tower did not expect that it would hold the tallest structure record for so many years. Previous record holders had quickly been supplanted. Several rivals have been proposed and designed but none have yet been built and most schemes collapsed. In part this is because of the development of cable television soon after the tower was built which greatly reduced the need for such broadcasting centres, especially in urban areas. Only in cities, however, are there enough tourists to make such a tower viable as a tourist attraction.
On July 23, 1999 Ashrita Furman became the fastest person to go up the CN Tower using a Pogo stick. In 2001, a group of environmentalists scaled the tower to place a banner protesting the policies of United States President George W. Bush on the tower.
Issue #98 -
Namib-Naukluft National Park
Namib-Naukluft National Park is an ecological preserve in the Namib Desert in southwest Africa, thought to be EarthÂ’s oldest desert. The park is the largest game park in Africa, and a surprising collection of creatures manages to survive in the hyper-arid region, including snakes, geckos, unusual insects, hyenas, and jackals. More moisture comes in as a fog off the Atlantic Ocean than falls as rain, with the average 63 millimeters of rainfall per year concentrated in the months of February and April.
High dunes in the Namib desert
The winds that bring in the fog are also responsible for creating the parkÂ’s towering sand dunes, whose burnt orange color is a sign of their age. The orange color develops over time as iron in the sand is oxidized (like rusty metal); the older the dune, the brighter the color. These dunes are the tallest in the world, in places rising above the desert floor more than 300 meters (almost 1,000 feet). The dunes taper off near the coast, and lagoons, wetlands, and mudflats located along the shore attract hundreds of thousands of birds.
Issue #99 -
Boka Kotorska
Boka Kotorska (Bay of Kotor, Bocca di Cattaro) in western Montenegro is a winding bay on the Adriatic sea.
Location of Boka Kotorska
The bay was considered by some to be Europe's southernmost fjord. In fact it is a submerged river canyon of the once called Bokeljska reka which had its springs in the high mountain plateaux of Mount Orjen. The Boka river was running in a bend from Grahovo polje through Dragaljsko polje towards todays port of Risan. Very intensive tectonics and karstification processes led to the disintegration of the river. Parts of the river system are still intact and after heavy rain dry valleys can become active for a short periode like the famous waterfall of Sopot spring at Risan. The Bay is composed of several smaller broad gulfs, united by narrower channels, forming one of the finest natural harbours in Europe.
View of Boka Kotorska from Mt. Lovcen
The outermost gulf is the Gulf of Tivat (Teodo), and a small naval port. On the seaward side, there is the Gulf of Herceg Novi (Castelnuovo), which guards the main entrance to Boka. The inner gulfs are the Gulf of Risan to the northwest and the Gulf of Kotor to the southeast.
Wider region of the Bay of Kotor and glacial traces on Orjen
On the landward side, the long walls running from the fortified old town of Kotor to the castle of Saint John, far above, formed a striking feature in the landscape; and the heights of the Krivošije (Krivoscie), a group of barren plateaux in Mount Orjen, were crowned by small forts.
Boka Kotorska - Landsat satellite image (circa 2000)
There are many interesting places on the shores of the Boka Kotorska. Herceg Novi has an Orthodox convent of St. Sava nearby (monastery Savina), standing amid beautiful gardens. It was founded in the 16th century, and contains many fine specimens of 17th century silversmith work.
There is a Benedictine monastery on a small island opposite to Perast (Perasto), eight miles east of Herceg Novi. Perast itself was for a time an independent state in the 14th century.
The close by hamlet of Risan (Risano), was a thriving Illyrian city of Rhizon as early as 229 BC, and gave its name to the Boka, then known as Rhizonicus Sinus. Rhizon submitted to Rome in 168 BC, at the same time Ascrivium, or Ascruvium, the modern Kotor (Cattaro), is first mentioned as a neighboring city.
Kotor itself has been fortified since the early Middle Ages, and was one of the more influential Dalmatian city-states throughout the period. It later passed to Bulgaria and then to Serbia, until becoming a semi-independent republic under the protectorate of medieval Serbian kings. Its merchant fleet and importance gradually increased, and after the fall of Serbia to the Ottoman Empire in the late 14th century, Kotor was seized by the Venetian Republic.
In the 19th century, the region passed to Austria, shortly to French Illyrian provinces, then again Austria, and in the 20th century to Yugoslavia. Since the 1990s it is part of Serbia and Montenegro.
Population
The traditional inhabitants of Boka are Serbs with some Croats (not Montenegrins, which are from Cetinje, etc), and they are often collectively referred to as the Bokelji. In modern times, however, this national delineation is mostly replaced, as there are many more declared Montenegrins.
The three municipalities making up Boka Kotorska have a total population of 71,443:
- Kotor 23,481
- Tivat 13,991
- Herceg Novi 33,971
Of this, 76% are Serb Orthodox and 11% are Catholics.
Issue #100 -
Mount Kilimanjaro
Kilimanjaro is a mountain in northeastern Tanzania. It includes the highest peak in Africa. Although believed to be extinct by many, this volcano is very much active. Fumaroles emit gas in the crater on the main summit of Kibo. Scientists in 2003 concluded that molten lava is just 400 metres below the summit crater. Although new activity is not expected, there are fears the volcano may collapse causing a major eruption similar to Mount St. Helens. Several collapses and landslides have occurred on Kibo in the past, one creating the area known as the western breach.
Mount Kilimanjaro
Elevation: 5,895 metres (19,340 feet)
Coordinates: 3°4' S 37°21' E
Location: Tanzania
Type: Stratovolcano
First ascent: 1889 by Hans Meyer and Ludwig Purtscheller
Easiest route: Scrambling
Although there is no recorded history of eruptions, local legend speaks of activity around 170 years ago.
The highest point is Uhuru Peak on the volcano Kibo, 5,895 metres. It is therefore considered one of the Seven Summits. The summit was first scaled and climbed by the German Hans Meyer and Austrian Ludwig Purtscheller in 1889.
Two other peaks are also extinct volcanoes: Mawensi (5,149 metres), the third highest peak in Africa (after Mount Kenya) and Shira (3,962 m). An ascent of Mawensi requires rock climbing and/or snow/ice climbing skills.
The climb to Uhuru Peak is considered to be a relatively straightforward endeavour, however ample time must still be provided for proper acclimatization to prevent altitude sickness. The three easiest routes, Marangu, Rongai and Machame can be climbed by a person of good health, and require no mountaineering experience. Other routes such as the Polish Glacier and the Western Breach are much more technical in nature. Annually, approximately 15,000 people attempt to climb the mountain, of whom 40% reach the summit.
Due to the an equatorial location as well as huge height, climbers can experience most every climate type on earth during the journey to the top.
Current conditions
While the volcano appears to be dormant on the inside, it is the events that are taking place on top of the mountain that are drawing global attention recently.
The snow cap that has covered the top of the mountain for the past 11,000 years since the last ice age is rapidly melting. Over the past century, the ice cap volume has dropped by more than 80% (see link). In 2002, many experts in the field were predicting that within 15 years all of the snow on top of Africa's tallest peak would be gone. In March 2005, it was reported that the peak was now almost bare, for the first time in 11,000 years (see link).
Mount Kilimanjaro (Kilima Njaro or "mountain of god" in chagga), the highest point in Africa, reaches 5,895 meters (19,340 feet) above sea level, tall enough to maintain a permanent snow cap despite being just 330 kilometers (210 miles) south of the equator. It is the tallest free-standing mountain on the Earth's land surface world, rising about 4,600 meters (15,000 feet) above the surrounding plain. Kilimanjaro is a triple volcano (has three peaks) that last erupted perhaps more than 100,000 years ago but still exudes volcanic gases. It is accompanied by about 20 other nearby volcanoes, some of which are seen to the west (left) in this view, prominently including Mount Meru, which last erupted only about a century ago. The volcanic mountain slopes are commonly fertile and support thick forests, while the much drier grasslands of the plains are home to elephants, lions, and other savanna wildlife. This 3-D perspective view was generated using topographic data from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), a Landsat 7 satellite image, and a false sky. Topographic expression is vertically exaggerated two times.
Issue #101 -
Italian Riviera
The Italian Riviera is a part of the coast shared between France and Italy, on the Tyrrhenian Sea, or the Italian coast on the Adriatic Sea.
The Italian Riviera is the coast both on the west and the east of Genoa, known as Liguria, extending from France to Tuscany. In Italian, the term "Riviera" includes the Riviera di Levante, from Genoa toward Tuscany, and the Riviera di Ponente, from Genoa to France. The Riviera di Ponente ends at Ventimiglia, a former customs post for traffic with France.
Portofino's small harbor on the Italian Riviera
It is famous for its particularly mild climate, which rendered it a well-known and frequented tourist destination even in winter.
Many villages and towns in the area are internationally known, such as Portofino, Bordighera, Lerici, and the Cinque Terre.
A part of the Riviera di Ponente, centered in San Remo, is called "Riviera dei Fiori", due to the characteristic production of flowers.
Issue #102 -
Brent oilfield
The Brent oilfield is one of the most productive parts of the United Kingdom's offshore oil assets, although now in steady decline.
Situated in the East Shetland basin, the Brent is the archetype for many of the fields in the area, consisting of a tilted fault block exposing the eponymous Brent formation next to bounding faults which allowed migration from deeper adjacent "kitchen" areas where the Kimmeridge Clay Formation becomes fully mature and releases hydrocarbons. Unusually on a world-wide scale (but common in this basin), the seal or cap rock for the reservoir (which stops the hydrocarbons from migrating further towards the surface) is also the Kimmeridge Clay. The field supplies oil via a pipeline to the terminal at Sullom Voe, while gas comes ashore at St. Fergus on the north east coast of Scotland.
Location of the Brent Oilfield
The Brent field is exploited by 5 platforms in an irregular SSW- NNE line. The first in place was the steel-jacket Brent-A (as of 2004, decommissioning is in progress), then three concrete legged platforms (Brent B, C, D) were emplaced to the NNE. A fifth installation, the floating Brent E served as a storage and tanker loading buoy and was installed early in the field's construction. The "spar" design of this installation lead to the name by which it became the best known of the Brent installations (outside the oil industry) - as the infamous "Brent Spar".
Issue #103 -
Columbia River Plateau
The Columbia River Plateau lies across parts of the states of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho.
USGS map of volcanic areas in US Pacific Northwest. The Washington towns of Spokane, Vantage, Yakima and Pasco, and the Oregon town of Pendleton, lie on the Columbia River Plateau.
During late Miocene and early Pliocene times, one of the largest flood basalts ever to appear on the earth's surface engulfed about 63,000 square miles (160,000 km²) of the Pacific Northwest, forming a large igneous province. Over a period of perhaps 10 to 15 million years lava flow after lava flow poured out, eventually accumulating to a thickness of more than 6,000 feet (1.8 km). As the molten rock came to the surface, the earth's crust gradually sank into the space left by the rising lava. The subsidence of the crust produced a large, slightly depressed lava plain now known as the Columbia Basin or Plateau.
The ancient Columbia River was forced into its present course by the northwesterly advancing lava. The lava, as it flowed over the area, first filled the stream valleys, forming dams that in turn caused impoundments or lakes. In these ancient lake beds are found fossil leaf impressions, petrified wood, fossil insects, and bones of vertebrate animals.
Issue #104 -
Bartolomeu Dias
Bartolomeu Dias (Anglicized: Bartholomew Diaz) (c. 1450 - May 29, 1500) was a Portuguese explorer who sailed around the Cape of Good Hope, the southern tip of Africa, in 1488, the first European known to do so since ancient times.
Bartolomeu Dias rounding the Cape of Good Hope
In 1481 Dias had accompanied Diogo de Azambuja on an expedition to the Gold Coast. Dias was a cavalier of the royal court, superintendent of the royal warehouses and sailing-master of the man-of-war "San Christovao". King John II of Portugal appointed him on October 10, 1486 as the head of an expedition which was to endeavor to sail around the southern end of Africa in hopes of finding a trade route leading to Asia. The Chief purpose of the expedition was to find the country of the legendary Christian African king known as Prester John, concerning whom recent reports had arrived through João Alfonso de Aveiro and with whom the Portuguese wished to enter into friendly relations.
After ten months of preparation, Dias left Lisbon in August 1487 with a fleet consisting of three ships, two armed caravels of fifty tons each and one supply-ship. Among his companions were Pêro de Alenquer, who wrote a description of Vasco da Gama's first voyage, João Infante, �lvaro Martins, and João Grego. The supply-ship was commanded by Bartolomeu's brother, Pêro Dias. There were also two Negroes and four Negresses on board who were to be set ashore at suitable spots to explain to the natives the purpose of the expedition.
Dias sailed first towards the mouth of the Congo River, discovered the year before by Diogo Cão and Martin Behaim, then, following the African coast, he entered Walvis Bay. From 29° south latitude (Port Nolloth) he lost sight of the coast and was driven by a violent storm, which lasted thirteen days, far beyond the cape to the south. When calm weather returned he sailed again in an easterly direction and, when no land appeared, turned northward, landing in the "Bahia dos Vaqueiros" (Mossel Bay) on February 3 1488. Dias rounded the Cape of Good Hope with two caravels, then Cape Agulhas, the southernmost point of Africa, in 1488.
In February 1488 he rounded the southern coast of Africa as far the Great Fish River. After it was clear that India could be reached by this route, he turned back. It was only on his return voyage that he discovered the Cape of Good Hope in May 1488. Dias returned to Lisbon in December 1488 after an absence of sixteen months and seventeen days. He explored a total of about 2,030 km of unknown African coast.
He originally named the Cape of Good Hope the "Cape of Storms" (Cabo das Tormentas). It was later renamed by John II as the Cape of Good Hope (Cabo da Boa Esperança) because of the opening of a route to the east. The discovery of the passage around Africa was significant because for the first time Europeans could trade directly with India and Asia bypassing Middle East overland routes and middle men. This would eventually lead to a rise of Atlantic trading countries and a general decline of Middle East and Mediterranean countries for centuries afterwards.
In 1497 Dias accompanied, but in a subordinate position, Vasco da Gama's expedition to India. He followed Gama with one ship to Cape Verde. He also accompanied Pedro �lvares Cabral on the voyage that resulted in the discovery of Brazil in 1500. He died off the Cape of Good Hope in a storm; his vessel was one of those wrecked not far from the Cape of Good Hope.
An official report of the expedition to the Cape of Good Hope has not yet been found. Dias' grandson Paulo Dias de Novais was a Portuguese colonizer of Africa in the 16th century.
Issue #105 -
Lake Superior
Lake Superior is the largest of North America's Great Lakes. It is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface area with Lake Baikal in Siberia having more volume. (The Caspian Sea is larger, but contains salt water.) Lake Superior has a surface area of 82,000 km² (32,000 sq. mi.), larger than the Czech Republic. It has a maximum length of 350 mi (563 km) and maximum width of 160 mi (257 km). Its average depth is 489 ft (149 m) with a maximum depth of 1,333 ft (406 m). Lake Superior contains 2,935 cubic mi (12,232 cubic km) of water. The shoreline of the lake stretches 2,730 miles (4393 km) (including islands).
The Great Lakes from space; Lake Superior is on the upper left.
It borders Ontario in Canada, and Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan in the United States of America. It is an important shipment route for iron ore and is part of the Great Lakes Waterway.
The lake is fed by over 200 rivers. The largest include the Nipigon River, the St Louis River, the Pigeon River, the Pic River, the White River, the Michipicoten River and the Kaministiquia River. Lake Superior drains into Lake Huron by the St. Marys River. The rapids on the river necessitate the Sault locks (pronounced "soo"), a part of the Great Lakes Waterway, to move boats over the 25 foot height difference from Lake Huron.
Water levels, including diversions of water from the Hudson Bay watershed, are governed by the International Lake Superior Board of Control which was established in 1914 by the International Joint Commission.
Important towns on Lake Superior include the twin ports of Duluth, Minnesota and Superior, Wisconsin, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Marquette, Michigan, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, and Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.
Lake Superior, viewed from Au Train Bay in Alger County, Michigan
Among the scenic places on the lake are the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, Isle Royale National Park, Pukaskwa National Park, Grand Island National Recreation Area, and Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.
The lake is called "Gitche Gumee" ("big water") in the language of the Ojibwe who have inhabited the area for over five hundred years. The lake was named Lac Supérieur by French explorers because it was the highest in elevation of all the Great Lakes. The land surrounding the lake in Ontario, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan has proved to be rich for mining. Commercial concerns have mined copper, iron, silver, gold and nickel. Many towns are either current or former mining areas, or engaged in processing or shipment. The sparsely populated Lake Superior country with its rugged shorelines and wilderness attract tourists and adventurers, making tourism a large modern industry.
The largest island in Lake Superior is Isle Royale.
The Anishinabe were primarily located around the Great Lakes region.
According to an old sailor's tale, Lake Superior never gives up her dead. This is because the lake is much colder and deeper than most other bodies of water. Bodies tend to sink and (unlike the ocean) never surface again.
The last major shipwreck on Lake Superior was that of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald in 1975.
Issue #106 -
Lulworth Cove
Lulworth Cove is a cove near the village of West Lulworth, on the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site in Dorset, south England. The cove is one of the finest examples of such a landform in the world, and is a popular tourist location, with over 1 million visitors a year.
Lulworth Cove, Dorset, England.
It was featured on the TV programme Seven Natural Wonders as one of the wonders of the South.
Formation of Lulworth Cove
The cove has formed because of there are bands of rock of alternating resistance running parallel to the shore (a concordant coastline). At sea the clays and sands have been eroded away. A narrow (< 30 m) band of relatively resistant Portland limestone forms the shoreline. Behind this is a narrow (< 50 m) band of slightly less resistant Purbeck limestone. Behind this are 300-350 metres of much less resistant clays and greensands (Wealdon clays, Gault and Upper Greensand). Forming the back of the cove is a > 250 metre wide band of chalk, which is considerably more resistant than the clays and sands, but less resistant than the limestones.
The entrance to the cove is a narrow gap in the limestone bands. This was formed by a combination of erosional processes by wave action and glacial melt waters. The wide part of the cove is where the weak clays and greensands have been eroded. The back of the cove is the Chalk, which the sea has been unable to erode.
How coves form. Lulworth cove has been produced as in example A, while Stair Hole (see below) is in stage two of example B.
Stair Hole
The cove is a particularly good example as less than 1/4 km away is Stair Hole, an infant cove which shows what Lulworth Cove would have looked like a few hundred thousand years ago. The sea has made a gap in the Portland and Purbeck limestone here, as well as small Arch. The sea has made its way through to the Wealdon clays and begun eroding these. The clay shows obvious signs of slumping, and in Geological time it is eroding very rapidly. The Purbeck limestone in Stair Hole shows one of the best examples of limestone folding (the Lulworth crumple) in the world, caused by movements in the earth's crust (tectonics) millions of years ago.
Conservation, Tourism, Education & Management
West Lulworth acts as a gateway to this part of the Jurassic Coast. As well as the cove, across Hambury Tout (the large chalk hill to the west) is Durdle Door, a natural arch. To the east there is a fossilised forest. Lulworth is also close to Kimmeridge, famous for its rocky shore and fossils. The sea floor in and around the cove yields many fossils, and oil sands beneath the sea bed form the largest British oil field outside the North Sea area, and contain the highest quality oil in Europe.
Geologists and geographers have been interested in the area since the beginning of the 19th century, and in the 1830s the first serious study of the area took place. Since then the area has drawn geology students from all over Europe. In 2001 the coast's unique geology was recognised and it was granted World Heritage Site status by UNESCO.
Lulworth was one of a number of gateway villages on the coast with a Heritage Center—part visitor center, tourist information and natural history museum—which in 2002 received 418,595 visitors. Most of the area is privately owned, but planning permission is virtually impossible, and the coast and its visitors are heavily managed.
Much of the land to the east is owned by the Ministry of Defense and used for tank training, only open on weekends and hollidays. Land to the north and around the village is owned by the Lulworth estate. Hambury Tout is owned by the National Trust.
Over a million people walk across the hill to Durdle Door annually, so this is a particular focus for management (in the aerial photograph the wide path produced by millions of walkers is visible).
Issue #107 -
Bolan Pass
The Bolan Pass is a gap through the Toba Kakar Range of mountains on the border of Pakistan. Strategically located, traders, invaders, and nomadic tribes have also used it as a gateway to and from India.
The Bolan Pass
The British took the threat of a Russian invasion of India via the Khyber and Bolan Passes very seriously so in 1837, a British envoy was sent to Kabul to gain support of the Emir, Dost Mohammed. In February of 1839, the British Army under Sir John Keane took 12,000 men through the Bolan Pass and entered Kandahar, which the Afghan Princes had abandoned; from there they would go on to attack and overthrow Ghuznee.
Traditionally, the Brahui of the Raisani tribe are in charge of the law and order situation through the Pass area. This tribe is still living in present day Balochistan in Pakistan.
In 1879 at the close of the Second Afghan War, the Treaty of Gandamak, the Bolan Pass was been brought under British control; this was when the Sind-Pishin Railway was built by the British across the pass between Kandahar and Quetta.
The British-built railroad
Issue #108 -
Château d'Amboise
The Royal Château at Amboise is a château located in Amboise, in the Indre-et-Loire département of the Loire Valley in France.
Built for defence purposes on a promontory overlooking the Loire River, the château began its life in the 12th century. Expanded and improved over time, in the mid 1400’s, it was seized by King Charles VII, after its owner was convicted of plotting the assassination of the king. Once in Royal hands, the château became a favourite of French kings during the 15th and 16th centuries, some using it to house their wife and children while they lived with their mistresses in another château.
Château d'Amboise
King François I was raised at Amboise and during the first few years of his reign, the château would reach the pinnacle of its glory. As a guest of King François I, Leonardo da Vinci came to Château Amboise and would live and work in the nearby Clos Lucé. He was buried in the Chapel of Saint-Hubert, outside the Château.
King Henri II and his wife, Catherine de Medici, raised their children in Château Amboise along with Mary Stuart, the child Queen of Scotland who had been promised in marriage to the future French King François II.
At the beginning of the 17th century, the huge château would be all but abandoned when the property passed into the hands of the brother of the Bourbon King Louis XIII. After being taken back by the Crown, it was turned into a State prison and eventually sold to a wealthy noble who planned to restore it. During the French Revolution, a great deal more destruction was done, and an engineering assessment commissioned by Emperor Napoléon Bonaparte in the early 1800’s resulted in a great deal of the château having to be demolished.
King Louis-Philippe began restoring it during his reign but with his abdication, the château was confiscated by the government in 1848. In 1873 Louis-Philippe’s heirs were given control of the property and a major effort to repair it was made. However, during the invasion by the Nazis in 1940 the château was damaged further.
Today, the descendants of King Louis-Philippe repair and maintain the château through a foundation.
Issue #109 -
Robben Island
Robben Island (Dutch for "seal island") is an island 12 km off the coast of Cape Town, South Africa located in Table Bay.
Cape Town, False Bay (top) and Table Bay with Robben Island (right) from space, February 1995.
It was first inhabited thousands of years ago when the channel dividing it from the mainland was not under water. Since the end of the 17th century, Robben Island has been used to isolate certain people, mainly as a prison. Among the prison's first permanent inhabitants were political leaders from various Dutch colonies, not only in South Africa, but also from Indonesia. From 1836 to 1931 the island was used as a leper colony, and in the 20th century it became famous as a prison for political prisoners. Notable amongst these were Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, Govan Mbeki and Robert Sobukwe.
Prison Buildings on Robben Island
All the land on the island is owned by the state, with the exception of the island church.
Today the island is a popular tourist destination and has been declared a World Heritage Site in 1999. It can be reached by ferry from the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront and is open throughout the year, weather permitting.
Issue #110 -
Outback
The outback (also called the Never-Never, back of beyond, or back o'Burke) is the remote and usually semi-arid interior of Australia. The marginally fertile parts are used for sheep or cattle farming—apart from this, tourism and scattered mining are the main economic activities in this vast and sparsely settled area. Due to the size of the outback, the total value of mining and farming is considerable.
A typical outback scene, somewhere north of Coober Pedy.
Population
Over 90% of the Australian population lives in urban settlements on the coastal fringes. Despite this, the outback and the history of its exploration and settlement provides Australians with a mythical backdrop, and stories of swagmen, squatters, outlaws such as Ned Kelly (though Ned Kelly spent virtually all his time in the relatively temperate Great Dividing Range) and so on are central to the national ethos of the country. The song Waltzing Matilda, which is about swagmen and squatters, is the popular traditional Australian song.
The outback is now the only place where Australian Aborigines still live in a more or less traditional way.
Tourism
"The Never-Never" is a term referring to remoter parts of the Australian outback. The outback is also called "back of beyond" or "back o' Burke". There are many popular tourist attractions in the outback. These include:
- Alice Springs
- Ayers Rock (Uluru)
- Coober Pedy
- Devils Marbles
- Katherine River Gorge
- Kings Canyon (Watarrka)
- The Olgas (Kata Tjuta)
- The MacDonald Range
- Stockman's Hall of Fame
Issue #111 -
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and sometimes simply called "The Garden" has been the name of four arenas in New York City, United States. The first two were located at Madison Square, thus the name. Subsequently a new 20,000-seat Garden was built at 50th Street and 8th Avenue, and the current Garden is sited on top of Pennsylvania Station at 33rd Street and 7th Avenue. The present arena is informally known to some as "The World's Most Famous Arena".
Madison Square Garden
Present operations
The present Garden is best known as the home of the New York Knicks (basketball) and New York Rangers (ice hockey), professional sports teams that play their home matches in the arena. It also hosts the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus when it comes to New York City, home games for the St. John's Red Storm (college basketball), and almost any other kind of indoor activity that draws large audiences, such as the 2004 Republican National Convention.
MSG is also known for its place in the history of boxing. Many of boxing's most important fights were held at the Madison Square Garden, including many of Joe Louis, the Roberto Duran-Ken Buchanan affair, and the first Joe Frazier-Muhammad Ali bout. Before promoters such as Don King and Bob Arum moved boxing to Las Vegas, Madison Square Garden was considered the Mecca of boxing.
Seating
Seating in the present Madison Square Garden is arranged in five ascending levels. The lowest one is referred to as "rink-side" for hockey games or "court-side" for basketball games (at some events a still lower seating level, known as the Rotunda, is also provided); next above this is the First Promenade, followed by the Second Promenade, First Balcony and Second Balcony. The seats of these five levels originally bore the colors red, orange, yellow, green and blue respectively; however, this color scheme has since been abolished, mainly because the "blue seats" had become synonymous with rowdy behavior by fans, particularly those attending New York Rangers hockey games.
History
The site of the first Madison Square Garden was formerly the Union Depot of the New York and Harlem Railroad. When the depot was moved to the current site of Grand Central Terminal in 1871 the depot was sold to P.T. Barnum and converted into hippodrome called "Barnum's Monster Classical and Geological Hippodrome". In 1876 it was renamed to Gilmore's Garden.
William Henry Vanderbilt officially renamed Gilmore's Garden to Madison Square Garden and reopened the facility to the public on May 30, 1879 at 26th Street and Madison Avenue. The first arena was originally built for the sport of track cycling, which is still remembered in the name of the Madison event.
The second Madison Square Garden, designed by Stanford White, who would later be killed there, opened at this site in 1890 and remained until the third Garden opened in 1925. On February 11, 1968 Madison Square Garden III closed and Madison Square Garden IV opened.
Notable events at Madison Square Garden
Notable firsts
-- February 12, 1879 - The first artificial ice rink in North America opens at the Garden.
-- 1902 - The first indoor professional American football game is played.
-- 1934 - The first college basketball game at the Garden is played, between the University of Notre Dame and New York University.
-- February 28, 1940 - Basketball is televised for the first time (Fordham University vs. the University of Pittsburgh).
-- March 19, 1954 - Joey Giardello knocks out Willie Tory in round seven at the Garden in the first televised prize boxing fight shown in color.
-- March 31, 1985 - The WWF, now known as the WWE, presents the first WrestleMania Pay Per View event, marketed as the Greatest spectacle in professional wrestling, revolutionizing the Sports Entertainment industry.
-- June 14, 1994 - After 54 years the New York Rangers win the Stanley Cup at Madison Square Garden.
-- June 29, 1997 - The New York Liberty professional women's basketball team plays their first home game - the first professional women's basketball game to be played at the Garden in many years.
-- March 1, 2003 - Quinnipiac University defeats the University of Connecticut 4-3 in the first college hockey game played at Madison Square Garden since 1977.
Other notable events
-- June 25, 1906 - Architect Stanford White is assassinated by Harry K. Thaw on the rooftop, allegedly because he seduced the murderer's wife, Evelyn Nesbit.
-- October 20, 2001 - The Concert for New York City is held at the Garden to benefit the city and the victims of the 9/11 terrorist disaster.
-- March 14, 2004 - Wrestlemania XX, by the WWE, was held there. The 20th anniversary of WWE's Wrestlemania Series.
Issue #112 -
Estuary
An estuary is a semi-enclosed coastal body of water which has a free connection with the open sea and within which sea water mixes with fresh water. The key feature of an estuary is that it is a mixing place for sea water and a significantly-sized river to supply fresh water. A tide is a necessary component to maintain a dynamic relationship between the two waters. Though something in the nature of an estuary can exist in a non-tidal sea, such areas go by names such as lagoon, étang or laguna. In non-tidal seas, the rivers naturally form deltas rather than estuaries.
Estuaries and coastal waters are among the most productive ecosystems on Earth, providing numerous ecological, economic, cultural, and aesthetic benefits and services.
An estuary is typically the tidal mouth of a river, and estuaries are often characterised by sedimentation of silt which usually comes mainly from the sea though in some cases, that from the river predominates. The sand and mud banks and marshes are relied upon as habitat, by for example, wading birds. Estuaries are more likely to occur on submerged coasts, where the sea level has risen in relation to the land, as this process floods valleys to form rias, fjords etc, which can be classified as estuaries in cases where there is a significant river flowing into them.
The estuaries are sometimes confused with fjords. The Lim bay in Istria, Croatia, is often called "Lim fjord" although it's not actually caused by glaciation but by land erosion by the river Pazincica.
Issue #113 -
Cirrocumulus
A Cirrocumulus is a high-altitude cirriform cloud, occurring at 20,000-40,000 ft or 6000-12,000 m.
Cirrocumulus clouds
Formation
Cirrocumulus is formed from cirrus or cirrostratus clouds when they are warmed gently from below. The heating process causes air to rise and sink inside the cloud. This is why cirrocumulus is almost always associated with cirrus and cirrostratus. If this is not the case, the cloud is then an altocumulus.
Appearance
Cirrocumulus is responsible for the nice "mackerel sky" feature.
Cirrocumulus and altocumulus sometimes look alike; however, unlike altocumulus, cirrocumulus is higher, therefore cirrocumulus cloudlets appear to be much smaller and the cloud provides no shadowing.
Cirrocumulus can show beautiful coronas and iridescence, especially if appearing under the cirriform lacunosus (net-like) structure.
Structural characteristics
The cloud is made of of thin, white patches (cloudlets), each of which composed of very small granules or ripples. Like all high-level clouds, cirrocumulus consists of ice crystals. These crystals can be vaporized, and gaps between cloudlets appear. The cloud usually presents 2 systems of undulation and fibrous margins.
Varieties of cirrocumulus
Castellanus is the formation that have tower-like protuberances in their superior parts, giving the cloud a crenellated appearance. The towers are from the same basis and arranged in line.
Flocus cloud has the appearance of a cumuliform cluster whose basis is more or less jagged.
Stratiformis formations are extensive horizontally, forming a vast horizontal layer.
Lenticularis formations are lens-like or almond-like, often allongated, with a well-defined circumference showed by an irisation.
Issue #114
