My Science School

          Kauai is a stunning volcanic island in Hawaii, US. It is believed to be the oldest of the Hawaiian Islands. One of the features of Kauai is that it is dominated by Mount Waialeale, at its centre. The summit of this mount is one of the wettest places on Earth.

          There are a few cities on the island, like the Lihue, which is the centre of business and the chief port, and Kapaa, the most populous town. The Kauai museum is among the most visited places on Kauai.

          Other attractions on the isle include the Russian Fort Elizabeth State Historical Park and the Kilauea Light-house, which contains the world’s largest lighthouse clamshell lens, although now inactive.

          However, one cannot miss the Waimea Canyon lying on the west of the island. For its grandeur, it is often called the ‘Grand Canyon of the Pacific’. 

          The Mammoth Cave National Park is a highly popular park that preserves the Mammoth cave, which has the longest cave system in the world. It is located in Kentucky in the US. Explorers have mapped more than 650 kilometres of caves here, and still continue to discover new passages.

          For the surprises inside, the Mammoth caves are nothing but a magnificent creation. There are underground lakes, rivers and numerous geologic formations that leave any visitor spell-bound. Apart from the large natural entrance, there are as well many artificial ones as well, including an access by elevator that helps visitors to enter the caves. Inside the passages live numerous animals that perfectly adapt to the cave conditions. The eyeless fish and cave crickets are two of them.

           Various kinds of birds, reptiles, animals like the white-tailed deer, foxes and opossums are some of the wild animals inhabiting the park. 

          Monument Valley is a wide expanse that is marked by enormous rock features, including mesas, cliffs, and buttes. Part of the Colorado Plateau, it lies between the borders of Arizona and Utah in the US. It is estimated that the valley covers an area of over 36826 hectares.

          The biggest attraction of Monument Valley is the buttes, or isolated hills that are steep on sides and flat on top.

          Yet another much visited site on the valley is the Mittens, which are a pair of thumb-like outcrops. In addition, there is the Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park that makes it a must-see place for travellers across the world.

          One of the features that contribute to the attractiveness of the valley is its vivid red colour. This coloration happens due to the presence of iron oxide. There are also blue-gray rocks here, making it a rare combination of beauty. 

               The Grand Canyon is one of the most celebrated sites in the world, noted for its impressive shapes and colours.

               As the name suggests, it is an extensive canyon that was cut by the Colorado River in the plateau region of Arizona. It runs almost 446 kilometres through the north-western part of Arizona and ranges from 0.2 to 29 kilometres in width. Believe it or not, there are places where the canyon is more than a kilometre deep!

               Historians note that many of the rocks in the canyon are at least 4 billion years old. Some of them even resemble temples or castles, making it a beautiful spectacle from a distance. As mentioned earlier, there is a wide range of colours one can see here. The canyon is said to be mostly red, but there are layers of rocks that appear buff, gray, green, pink, and violet.

              Below the Grand Canyon lie magnificent forests of pine, fir, spruce, and aspen. There are also a large number of wildlife in the region, including coyotes, foxes, deer, badgers, pumas, bobcats, rabbits, squirrels, and chipmunks.

 

            Lake Tahoe is a famous freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada mountain range of the United States. It is said to be the largest alpine lake in North America.

            There are many reasons why Lake Tahoe is important. One of them is that the water from the lake is supplied for the Newlands Irrigation Project in Nevada.

            Another reason is its attractiveness. For its clear water and the panorama of surrounding mountains, the lake has become one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country.

            In addition to such scenery, Tahoe is a famous spot for winter sports and summer outdoor recreation. Thousands of people visit the place in winter to enjoy activities like down-hill skiing, snow tubing, cross-country skiing, snowmobile riding and snowshoeing.

            History goes that Lake Tahoe was once the centre of the Washoe Indian territory, and the area was inhabited by the Washoe tribe of Native Americans.

            In fact, the very name of the lake comes from the Washoe Indian word meaning ‘big water’. 

          The Mount Rushmore National Memorial is a gigantic sculpture built in the Black Hills of South Dakota in the United States of America.

          It is a huge representation of the heads of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln, the former presidents of the country.

          Each of the carving is about 18.2 metres tall, and is made out of granite. The work is seen on the southeast side of Mount Rushmore, hence the name of the memorial.

          The idea of a monumental sculpture was put forward by a historian named Doane Robinson in 1923. In 1927, the work began under the sculptor Gutzon Borglum.

          He proposed that the four heads in the sculpture symbolize the first 150 years of the United States. The work was completed in 1941.

          Today, the Mount Rushmore sculpture is one of the greatest iconic images in the US. 

           Since time immemorial, valleys and mountains have remained among the most cherished places in the world. One may not be able to climb them, but the very sight of a valley itself fills our minds with joy and creates everlasting memories.

           One such is the Yosemite Valley, located in the western Sierra Nevada mountain of Northern California. Adding to the attractions is the Yosemite Falls, the highest in North America.

           The Sierra Nevada salamander, the rattlesnake, Gilbert’s skink, American black bear, chickaree are some of the wildlife here. There are birds as well, like the American dipper, dark-eyed junco and the white headed woodpecker seen. The presence of trees like sugar pines, white fir, and ponderosa pines make the region all the more lush.

          The Yosemite Valley is also known to be a dream place for hikers, with different trails around. The Yosemite Falls Trail that leads to the top of the waterfalls and the Four Mile Trail leading to the glacier point are two of them.

          The Antelope Canyon is a world famous slot canyon located in Arizona. A slot canyon is one which is formed by the wear of water rushing through rock. Normally, the depths of such canyons are larger than their width.

          There are two separate sections on the Antelope Canyon, namely the Upper Antelope and the Lower Antelope. They are both located in the LeChee Chapter of Navajo.

          As per historical records, the canyon was formed after an erosion of Navajo Sandstone, caused mainly by flash flooding. As some of you might know, a flashflood is the occurrence of sudden, unexpected local flood.

          However, the Antelope Canyon is presently the most important point of tourism in the Navajo Nation, contributing to its economy. It is also a popular destination among photographers, because of the spectacle it offers.

 

          The Florida Keys is an interesting chain of islands located off the coast of southern Florida. It begins in the Atlantic Ocean, south of the Miami Beach and curves into the Gulf of Mexico.

          What makes the Keys special is their incomparable ecological richness and coral reefs. It is said that the John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park here contains the largest living coral formations in North America.

          The Key Largo is the largest of the keys, extending long 50 kilometres. But the most populated and economically developed area is the Key West. The Overseas Highway that runs from the mainland to the Key West connects all of the islands. It consists of 42 bridges, and is one of the longest overwater roads in the world.

 

          The Great Smoky Mountains is a popular mountain range in the United States. Geographically, they form a segment of the Appalachian Mountains in eastern Tennessee and the western North Carolina. Also known by the name Great Smokies or Smokies, the place is highly praised for its rich ecosystem.

          The most important part of the Great Smoky Mountains is the national park with the same name.

          Trees like hemlock, black cherry, black walnut, yellow birch etc. can be found inside the park. Also, there are many species of wildlife like the black bears, white tailed deer, ruffed grouse, wild boars, raccoons and numerous attractive song-birds, that make the Great Smoky National Park all the more fascinating.

          There are as well a number of historical structures maintained within the Smokies Park as well, like those at the Cades Cove, and the Elk-mont. As per records, more than 9 million people visit the place every year. 

          Acadia was the name of a colony established by the French in North America. It included the places that we now know as Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and parts of New Brunswick, the Gaspe Peninsula, and Maine. The colony was important for its geographic position as it was close to fishing grounds, shipping routes and the British colonies along the Atlantic coast.

          However, there are more reasons that add to the relevance of Acadia. It stood out in beauty and diversity that captivated any visitor. As a result the Acadia National Park was founded in the US state of Maine in the early 20th century.

          The biggest attractions of the park are the mountains, wood-lands, lakes, and an ocean shoreline.

          It spreads across more than 49,000 acres, including 30,000 acres on the Mount Desert Island, and on smaller islands close by.

 

          The Bazaruto Archipelago is one of the most riveting places in the continent. It is located off the southern coast of Mozambique. Bazaruto, Benguerra, Magaruque, Santa Carolina and Bangue are the five islands that make up the cluster.

          The deep blue waters, unspoiled sandy beaches, palm trees and coral reefs are what make the islands an international travel destination. The rock island of Santa Carolina, particularly, has three beautiful beaches with coral reefs. It is regarded as the ‘gem’ of the islands, and sometimes, also called the Paradise Island.

          Besides such attractiveness, the islands are also said to be home to a large number of marine animals on the Indo-Pacific region. These include the humpback whales, spinner, humpback and bottlenose dolphins, marlins, barracudas, marine turtles and dugongs, a marine mammal.

          In 1971, the archipelago became a national park, ensuring more protection to the species. 

               Mount Mulanje or the Mulanje Massif is a large rock hill located in Malawi. The peculiarity of the mount is that it rises sharply from the plains of Chiradzulu that surrounds it, and the tea-growing Mulanje district.

               There are as many as 20 rocky peaks on the plateaus, out of which the Sapitwa is the highest point. It stands at a height of 3002 metres.  

               Incidentally, Mount Mulanje is one of the biggest in Africa. The mountain is rich in wildlife, where one can spot tiny ante-lopes like the klipspringer to various other small mammals. There are as well a variety of birds as well, like the buzzard, and black eagle.

               In fact, it is part of the protected Mulanje Mountain Forest Reserve. It is also home to the famous Mulanje cypress, a tree that is heavily logged and thought to be endangered.

               For its natural ecosystem and beauty, the Mount Mulanje remains one of the most popular hiking and climbing destinations in Africa, with thousands visiting it each year.

 

 

          The Spitzkoppe is a world famous group of rounded granite mountains seen in the Namib Desert. They are located between the towns of Usakos and Swakopmund and are more than 120 million years old. Standing at a height of 1784 metres, the Spitzkoppe is a very popular spot among climbers across the world. The first ascent was recorded in 1946 by Hans and Else Wong-schofsky and J. de V. Graaf.

          There are many features that attract visitors to the Spitzkoppe. The ‘Small Spitzkoppe’ that stands at a height of 1584 metres above sea level and the dome-like Pondok Mountains are two of them.

          On the eastern side lies the Bushman’s Paradise, a cave that offers a walk up the steep incline through a fixed steel cable. In these parts, one can see remains of Bushman paintings and rock art. Sadly, most of it has been damaged in the course of time. However, there are some rock paintings still preserved at the Small Bushman’s Paradise and Golden Snake sites. 

               The Sossusvlei is best known for its sand dunes, which are believed to be the highest in the world. It is located in the southern part of the Namib Desert.

                Geologically, Sossusvlei is a claypan that holds rain water to form a lake. In other words, it is a circular shaped depression filled with water in the heart of the Namib. Due to its high clay content, this pan retains water for a long time, making it a rare sight. There are many animals that live in the Sossusvlei. These include those which can survive with little water, like the anthropods, rodents, jackals, reptiles, antelopes etc.

              As a matter of fact, sand dunes are present in various parts of the world. But what makes the dunes in Sossusvlei special is their colour composition.

               The varying shades of red, depending on the age of the dunes, define the stark beauty of the Namib Desert.