Followers

10 Geological Wonders you didn’t know

Friday, January 7, 2011

10 Geological Wonders you didn’t know

Published on 3/27/2009 under Cool Places - by Gracie Murano - 461,865 views




The Wave (between Arizona and Utah - USA)

A red-rock stunner on the border of Arizona and Utah, The Wave is made of 190-million-year-old sand dunes that have turned to rock. This little-known formation is accessible only on foot via a three-mile hike and highly regulated.


Antelope Canyon (Arizona - USA)

The most visited and photographed slot canyon in the American Southwest, the Antelope Canyon is located on Navajo land near Page, Arizona. It includes two separate, photogenic slot canyon sections, referred to individually as Upper Antelope Canyon --or “The Crack”-- and Lower Antelope Canyon --or “The Corkscrew.”

The Navajo name for Upper Antelope Canyon is Tse' bighanilini, which means "the place where water runs through rocks." Lower Antelope Canyon is Hasdestwazi, or "spiral rock arches." Both are located within the LeChee Chapter of the Navajo Nation.


Great Blue Hole (Belize)

Part of the Lighthouse Reef System, The Great Blue Hole lies approximately 60 miles off the mainland out of Belize City. A large, almost perfectly circular hole approximately one quarter of a mile (0.4 km) across, it’s one of the most astounding dive sites to be found anywhere on earth. Inside this hole, the water is 480 feet (145 m) deep and it is the depth of water which gives the deep blue color that causes such structures throughout the world to be known as "blue holes."




Crystal Cave of the Giants (Mexico)

Found deep inside a mine in southern Chihuahua Mexico, these crystals were formed in a natural cave totally enclosed in bedrock. A geode full of spectacular crystals as tall as pine trees, and in some cases greater in circumference, they are a translucent gold and silver in color and come in many incredible forms and shapes. The Crystal Cave of the Giants was discovered within the same limestone body that hosts the silver-zinc-lead ore bodies exploited by the mine and it was probably dissolved by the same hydrothermal fluids that deposited the metals with the gypsum being crystallized during the waning stages of mineralization.


Eye of the Sahara (Mauritania)

This spectacular landform in Mauritania in the southwestern part of the Sahara desert is so huge with a diameter of 30 miles that it is visible from space. Called Richat Structure --or the Eye of the Sahara-- the The formation was originally thought to be caused by a meteorite impact but now geologists believe it is a product of uplift and erosion. The cause of its circular shape is still a mystery.


Blue Lake Cave (Brazil)

Mato Grosso do Sul region in Brazil (and especially the quiet town of Bonito) boasts many marvelous underground lakes: Gruta do Lago Azul, Gruta do Mimoso, Aquário Natural. The world famous "Gruta do Lago Azul” (Blue Lake Cave) is a natural monument whose interior is formed by stalactites, stalagmites and a huge and wonderful blue lake. The beauty of the lake is something impressive. The Blue Lake Cave has a big variety of geological formation but impresses mainly for the deep blue colored water of its inside lake.


Giants Causeway (Ireland)

An area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the Giants Causeway is a result of an ancient volcanic eruption. Located on the north-east coast of Northern Ireland, most of its columns are hexagonal, although there are also some with four, five, seven and eight sides. The tallest are about 12 meters (36 ft) high, and the solidified lava in the cliffs is 28 meters thick in places. In a 2005 poll of Radio Times readers, the causeway was named as the fourth greatest natural wonder in the United Kingdom.


Hell Gate (Turkmenistan)

Called by locals The Door to Hell, this place in Turkmenistan is situated near the small town of Darvaz. When geologists were drilling for gas, 35 years ago, they suddenly found an underground cavern that was so big, all the drilling site with all the equipment and camps got deep deep under the ground. None dared to go down there because the cavern was filled with gas, so they ignited it so that no poisonous gas could come out of the hole, and since then, it has been burning. Nobody knows how many tons of excellent gas has been burned for all those years but it just seems to be infinite.


Wave Rock (Australia)

The Wave Rock is a natural rock formation located in western Australia. It derives its name from the fact that it is shaped like a tall breaking ocean wave. The total outcrop covers several hectares; the "wave" part of the rock is about 15 meters high and approximately 110 meters long. One aspect of Wave Rock rarely shown on photographs is the retaining wall about halfway up the rock. This follows the contours and allows rainwater to be collected in a dam. It was constructed in 1951 by the Public Works Department, and such walls are common on many similar rocks in the wheatbelt.


Chocolate Hills (Philippines)

Composed of around 1,268 perfectly cone-shaped hills of about the same size spread over an area of more than 50 square kilometres (20 sq mi), this highly unusual geological formation, called Chocolate Hills, is located in Bohol, Philippines. There are a number of hypotheses regarding the formation of the hills. These include simple limestone weathering, sub-oceanic volcanism, the uplift of the seafloor and a more recent theory which maintains that as an ancient active volcano self-destructed, it spewed huge blocks of stone which were then covered with limestone and later thrust forth from the ocean bed.

10 Most Creative Apartment Blocks

10 Most Creative Apartment Blocks

Published on 7/16/2009 under Cool Places - by Nora Vega - 120,509 views




Viennese artist, Friedensreich Hundertwasser, has designed what has become one of the more unique and visually stimulating buildings in the world. With over 1000 unique windows, individualized handles on windows and doors, a living roof, café, parking garage, restaurant, bar, playground, and a running stream, the Waldspirale in Darmstadt, Germany is an architectural wonder.
(Link)



The most recent work from New York based designers Arakawa and Gin, Reversible Destiny Lofts is an unusual apartment block based in Mitaka, Tokyo. They are eye-catching brightly painted lofts that look like a McDonald's play ground through the eyes of someone on LSD. The architecture looks like the aftermath of a size 3 earthquake, a little shaken and lopsided. The price? US$750,000 each. (Link)



Block 16 is part of the master plan designed by OMA for a new prestigious city centre in Almere, Holland. The autonomous expressive block reacts on two conditions: the billowing end marks as a kind of gatekeeper the harbour entrance. At the other end the movement is smoothened and the building fits in with the right-angled grid of the adjacent glass high-rise housing blocks. (Link)



Slovenian architects Ofis recently completed this apartment block in the centre of Nova Gorica, Slovenia. The facade is composed of a 3D “lace” pattern that generates elements such as balconies, terraces and pergolas. (Link)





This building in Copenhagen, Denmark is an apartment block made up of V and M shapes. The idea is that the blocks are formed as such to allow for daylight, privacy and views. (Link)



Liulin Apartment Building, in Sofia, Bulgaria.
(Link)



Tetris apartments in Ljubljana. Since the orientation of the building is towards the busy highway, the apartment opening together with balconies are shifted as 30 degrees window-wings towards the quieter and south orientated side. Each apartment has view towards its own balcony, sometimes there is also a glazed loggia.
(Link)



The final secular design of the Spanish surrealist Antoni Gaudí, Casa Milà Barcelona is an apartment building with a fanciful aura. Wavy walls made of rough-chipped stone suggest fossilized ocean waves. Doors and windows look like they are dug out of sand. A comical array of chimney stacks dances across the roof.

This unique building is widely but unofficially known as La Pedrera (the Quarry). In 1984, UNESCO classified Casa Milà as a World Heritage site. Today, it is used mostly for cultural expositions. (Link)



Apartments connect and stack like Lego blocks in Montreal's Habitat 67. Without a traditional vertical construction, the apartments have the open space that most urban residences lack, including a separate patio for each apartment. (Link)



Walden 7 'city in space' apartment block in Barcelona, Spain. (Link)

10 Fascinating Swimming Pools

10 Fascinating Swimming Pools

Published on 9/13/2009 under Cool Places - by Gracie Murano - 255,818 views




World's biggest swimming pool

World's biggest swimming pool
If you like doing laps in the swimming pool, you might want to stock up on the energy drinks before diving in to this one. It is more than 1,000 yards long, covers 20 acres, has a 115ft deep end and holds 66 million gallons of water. The Guinness Book of Records named the vast pool beside the sea in Chile as the biggest in the world. This pool took five years to build, cost nearly £1billion and the annual maintenance bill will be £2million. Its turquoise waters are so crystal clear that you can see the bottom even in the deep end. It dwarfs the world's second biggest pool, the Orthlieb, nicknamed the Big Splash, in Morocco, which is a mere 150 yards long and 100 yards wide. An Olympic size pool measures some 50 yards by 25 yards.
(Link)


Devil's pool

Devil's pool
Victoria Falls is on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. It is 360 feet tall. At the top is a natural rock pool, called Devil's Pool, where the water is relatively calm. From September to December, when the water level is low, you can swim in Devil's Pool. The pictures are bound to make you just a little nervous. Or a lot. (Link)


Hanging pool

Hanging pool
This architecturally-daring pool, designed by Architexas, sits atop The Joule hotel in Dallas, Texas. Ten stories above the ground, the pool projects eight feet over the edge of the building and hangs directly above Main Street, giving dippers dazzling downtown views. (Link)


World's largest indoor swimming pool

World's largest indoor swimming pool
“Ocean Dome”, located in Miyazaki, it's the biggest indoor swimming pool in the world. It's 300 meters long and 100 meters wide, and it's located 500 meter from the sea. The temperature inside the pavilion is always around 30 degrees, the roof is sky-blue and it has even “clouds”. It has an artificial volcano and also an artificial wave generation system. (Link)




World's most crowded wave pool

World's most crowded wave pool
Don't believe the photo above? This incredibly crowded wave pool is located in Tokyo Summerland. During summer, it can get really hard to actually find some water inside this pool.

(Link)


Blood-red pool

Blood-red pool
The island of Koh Samui's infamous Chaweng Beach is littered with hotels, but none of them comes close to the Library in terms of that all-out beach bliss-out factor. This elegant and modern boutique hotel is most remarkable for its amazing blood-red pool and the tall trees that seem to grow in, around and through the building. The aforementioned red pool serves as the focal point, with daybeds, Thai antiques, and an open air mini-library. (Link)


Playboy's swimming pool

Playboy's swimming pool
The new Hugh Hefner Sky Villa at the Palms Las Vegas includes this Playboy pool at the top of the tower. The swimming pool is inside and the whirlpool is outside, both with amazing views of the Strip. The swimming pool covers two acres, with a DJ, outdoor concerts, three bars and twenty-seven private cabanas with a 32" flat-screen TV, refrigerator and fan.

Can you imagine the amount of semen in this pool? (Link)


World's deepest indoor swimming pool

World's deepest indoor swimming pool
The Nemo 33 diving pool in Belgium is, oddly enough, over 33 meters deep. It is filled with 2,500,000 liters of non-chlorinated, highly filtered spring water maintained at 30 °C (86 °F) and contains several simulated underwater caves at the 10 m depth level. There are numerous underwater windows that allow outside visitors to look into the pools at various depths. (Link)


The global warming swimming pool

The global warming swimming pool
No, New York is not underwater (yet, anyhow) – that's a clever ad for HSBC by Ogilvy & Mather Mumbai ad agency in India. The bank wanted to raise awareness of the dangers of global warming, so the clever ad guys glued an aerial photo of a city's skyscrapers to the base of a swimming pool … the effect of a submerged cityscape is fantastic! (Link)


Infinity indoor pool

Infinity indoor pool
This is a cool infinity pool that looks out over a breathtaking skyline from several stories up. This is definitely a great place to enjoy the sunset at the Crown Towers Hotel in Taipa Island Macau.
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

arabella89love Copyright © 2010 Designed by Ipietoon Blogger Template Provided By Free Blogger Templates | Freethemes4all.com

Free Website templatesSEO Web Design AgencyMusic Videos OnlineFree Wordpress Themes Templatesfreethemes4all.comFree Blog TemplatesLast NewsFree CMS TemplatesFree CSS TemplatesSoccer Videos OnlineFree Wordpress ThemesFree Web Templates