මට එක තැනක ඉන්න බැහැනෙ.. ඉතින් මම ගමනක් යනකොට (ඉන්ටර්නෙට් එකේ)මට හම්බ උනා විශ්වාස කරන්න අමාරු අපේ පෘතිවිය මතු පිට තියන ලස්සන දේවල් ටිකක්..
Mount Roraima
Venezuela, Brazil and Guyana
Mount Roraima is a pretty remarkable place. It is a tabletop mountain with sheer 400-metre high cliffs on all sides. There is only one ‘easy’ way up, on a natural staircase-like ramp on the Venezuelan side – to get up any other way takes and experienced rock climber. On the top of the mountain it rains almost every day, washing away most of the nutrients for plants to grow and creating a unique landscape on the bare sandstone surface. This also creates some of the highest waterfalls in the world over the sides (Angel falls is located on a similar tabletop mountain some 130 miles away). Though there are only a few marshes on the mountain where vegetation can grow properly, these contain many species unique to the mountain, including a species of carnivorous pitcher plant.
The Great Dune of Pyla
France
Since Europe has no deserts, you’d think the title of “Europe’s largest sand dune” would go to something that wasn’t particularly impressive. But you’d be wrong. The Great Dune of Pyla is 3km long, 500m wide and 100m high, and for reasons I will probably never understand, it seems to have formed in a forest. The dune is very steep on the side facing the forest and is famous for being a paragliding site. At the top it also provides spectacular views out to sea and over the forest (since the dune is far higher than any of the trees surrounding it).
Socotra
Republic of Yemen
Socotra has been described as one of the most alien-looking place on Earth, and it’s not hard to see why. It is very isolated with a harsh, dry climate and as a result a third of its plant-life is found nowhere else, including the famous Dragon’s Blood Tree, a very-unnatural looking umbrella-shaped tree which produces red sap. There are also a large number of birds, spiders and other animals native to the island, and coral reefs around it which similarly have a large number of endemic (i.e. only found there) species. Socotra is considered the most biodiverse place in the Arabian sea, and is a World Heritage Site.
Rotorua
New Zealand
Rotorua is a city on the southern shores of the lake of the same name, in the Bay of Plenty region of the North Island of New Zealand. The city is known for its geothermal activity, with a number of geysers, notably the Pohutu Geyser at Whakarewarewa, and boiling mud pools (pictured above) located in the city. This thermal activity owes itself to the Rotorua caldera on which the city lies. Rotorua is also a top adventure destination and is New Zealand’s Maori cultural heartland. Rotorua city is renowned for its unique “rotten eggs” aroma, which is caused by the geothermal activity releasing sulphur compounds into the atmosphere. If you are ever visiting New Zealand – this is a city you must see. It was once home to the famed Pink and White Terraces and you can visit thermal wonderlands with sights that are truly astounding.
Guaíra Falls
Brazil-Paraguay border
Located on the Parana river the Guaíra Falls were, in terms of total volume, the largest waterfall on earth. 1,750,000 cubic feet of water fell over this waterfall each second on average, compared to just 70,000 cubic feet per second for Niagra Falls. However, the falls were flooded in 1982 when a dam was created to take advantage of this massive flow rate. The Itaipu Dam is now the second most powerful hydroelectric dam in the world, after the Three Gorges Dam. The Itaipu Dam supplies 90% of the power consumed by Paraguay, and 19% of the power consumed by Brazil, including Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo.
Iceland
Steam, bubbles, rocks and ice combine into breathtaking, though, alien-looking landscape. This is Iceland. The island with no trees, few people and the biggest glacier in Europe called Vatnajökull. Yes! This is Europe, not the moon.
Mauritania
The Eye of the Sahara called Richat Structure has a diameter of almost 50 kilometers (30 miles). Placed in Mauritania, it is so huge it can be visible from the space. A meteorite impact? An effect of erosion? A symmetrical uplift? Or maybe three in one? Geologists do not really know how the structure was created.
Socotra Island
A long geological isolation and dry, hot and harsh climate made Socotra Island looks like a grotesque computer animation. Hyperbolic plants, funky-looking trees and pink flowers can be great inspiration for graphic designers. The island is situated in the Indian Ocean 250 km from Somalia and 340 km from Yemen and it was isolated from mainland Africa for the last 6 or 7 million years
Spain
An ancient, acidic river in Spain - Rio Tinto – is a favourite environment for acid- and metal-loving extremophiles. It does not look like human-friendly and, in fact, it is not, but surely it could quench the Terminator's thirst.
Mount Roraima
Venezuela, Brazil and Guyana
Mount Roraima is a pretty remarkable place. It is a tabletop mountain with sheer 400-metre high cliffs on all sides. There is only one ‘easy’ way up, on a natural staircase-like ramp on the Venezuelan side – to get up any other way takes and experienced rock climber. On the top of the mountain it rains almost every day, washing away most of the nutrients for plants to grow and creating a unique landscape on the bare sandstone surface. This also creates some of the highest waterfalls in the world over the sides (Angel falls is located on a similar tabletop mountain some 130 miles away). Though there are only a few marshes on the mountain where vegetation can grow properly, these contain many species unique to the mountain, including a species of carnivorous pitcher plant.
The Great Dune of Pyla
France
Since Europe has no deserts, you’d think the title of “Europe’s largest sand dune” would go to something that wasn’t particularly impressive. But you’d be wrong. The Great Dune of Pyla is 3km long, 500m wide and 100m high, and for reasons I will probably never understand, it seems to have formed in a forest. The dune is very steep on the side facing the forest and is famous for being a paragliding site. At the top it also provides spectacular views out to sea and over the forest (since the dune is far higher than any of the trees surrounding it).
Socotra
Republic of Yemen
Socotra has been described as one of the most alien-looking place on Earth, and it’s not hard to see why. It is very isolated with a harsh, dry climate and as a result a third of its plant-life is found nowhere else, including the famous Dragon’s Blood Tree, a very-unnatural looking umbrella-shaped tree which produces red sap. There are also a large number of birds, spiders and other animals native to the island, and coral reefs around it which similarly have a large number of endemic (i.e. only found there) species. Socotra is considered the most biodiverse place in the Arabian sea, and is a World Heritage Site.
Rotorua
New Zealand
Rotorua is a city on the southern shores of the lake of the same name, in the Bay of Plenty region of the North Island of New Zealand. The city is known for its geothermal activity, with a number of geysers, notably the Pohutu Geyser at Whakarewarewa, and boiling mud pools (pictured above) located in the city. This thermal activity owes itself to the Rotorua caldera on which the city lies. Rotorua is also a top adventure destination and is New Zealand’s Maori cultural heartland. Rotorua city is renowned for its unique “rotten eggs” aroma, which is caused by the geothermal activity releasing sulphur compounds into the atmosphere. If you are ever visiting New Zealand – this is a city you must see. It was once home to the famed Pink and White Terraces and you can visit thermal wonderlands with sights that are truly astounding.
Guaíra Falls
Brazil-Paraguay border
Located on the Parana river the Guaíra Falls were, in terms of total volume, the largest waterfall on earth. 1,750,000 cubic feet of water fell over this waterfall each second on average, compared to just 70,000 cubic feet per second for Niagra Falls. However, the falls were flooded in 1982 when a dam was created to take advantage of this massive flow rate. The Itaipu Dam is now the second most powerful hydroelectric dam in the world, after the Three Gorges Dam. The Itaipu Dam supplies 90% of the power consumed by Paraguay, and 19% of the power consumed by Brazil, including Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo.
Iceland
Steam, bubbles, rocks and ice combine into breathtaking, though, alien-looking landscape. This is Iceland. The island with no trees, few people and the biggest glacier in Europe called Vatnajökull. Yes! This is Europe, not the moon.
Mauritania
The Eye of the Sahara called Richat Structure has a diameter of almost 50 kilometers (30 miles). Placed in Mauritania, it is so huge it can be visible from the space. A meteorite impact? An effect of erosion? A symmetrical uplift? Or maybe three in one? Geologists do not really know how the structure was created.
Socotra Island
A long geological isolation and dry, hot and harsh climate made Socotra Island looks like a grotesque computer animation. Hyperbolic plants, funky-looking trees and pink flowers can be great inspiration for graphic designers. The island is situated in the Indian Ocean 250 km from Somalia and 340 km from Yemen and it was isolated from mainland Africa for the last 6 or 7 million years
Spain
An ancient, acidic river in Spain - Rio Tinto – is a favourite environment for acid- and metal-loving extremophiles. It does not look like human-friendly and, in fact, it is not, but surely it could quench the Terminator's thirst.
[*]Arizona
[*]The Antelope Canyon, located on Navajo land near Page, Arizona looks more like an oil painting than a rock formation. Not without reasons it is the most visited canyon in the southwest America.
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[*]Yellowstone National Park
[*]The terraces of Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park, in the USA, are created by heat, water, limestone, and rock fracture. The formation is like a living sculpture that is constantly changing by flowing water and erosion. Well...the trees are very much alive as well
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[*]Planet Earth
[*]The icy forms of glaciers are located around the world. That’s how I imagine Pluto and Neptune, the coldest planets in the solar system.
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[*]Bolivia
[*]Salar de Uyuni, the world's largest salt flat, is located in southwest Bolivia. The salt desert surrounded by cactuses, volcanoes and geysers looks as if it was a remote planet, far from our solar system.
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