Category Archives: Structures, History and Countries

Salar de Uyuni

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Salar de Uyuni

Salt, salt and more salt at Salar de Uyuni.

  • Salar de Uyuni is also known as Salar de Tunupa which can be translated from Spanish as ‘salt flat enclosure’.
  • Salar de Uyuni is the world’s biggest salt flat with a measurement of 10,582 km squared (4,086 miles squared), which can be found in Bolivia, South America.
  • Salar de Uyuni has a salt crust that ranges between a few centimetres up to 10 metres (32 feet) thick, that covers the area of a salt water lake that ranges from 2 to 20 meters (7-66 feet) in depth.
  • Salar de Uyuni contains a large amount of chemical metals including sodium, magnesium, potassium, and 50 to 70% of the world’s lithium resource that is extracted to make batteries.
  • Salar de Uyuni has little wildlife, but has 80 species of visiting and migrating birds, including three species of flamingos, as well as a few islands, where the main foliage is cacti, as well as hot springs and geysers.

Salt flats, Salar de Uyuni, Long, forever, cracks, dry, lake, Ten Random Facts, Bolivia, South america

Salar de Uyuni
Image courtesy of Ronan Crowley/Flickr
  • Whilst some salt is extracted from Salar de Uyuni, it is estimated that the flat contains 10 billion tonnes (11 billion tons) of salt.
  • Salar de Uyuni has a train cemetery, where trains were used in mining industries until 1940, and this has become one of the most popular attractions on the salt flat.
  • Salar de Uyuni was originally believed to be completely flat, and can make photographs look distorted, but GPSs have shown it has some tiny undulations in the surface.
  • Salar de Uyuni is sometimes covered in clear water, making the salt flat also the largest natural mirror.
  • NASA uses Salar de Uyuni, since it is unmoving and easily spottable, to figure the positioning of NASA’s satellite.
Bibliography:
Salar de Uyuni, 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salar_de_Uyuni>
Salar de Uyuni Facts, 2011, Travel Unearthed, <http://www.travelunearthed.com/salar-de-uyuni-facts>

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St Paul’s Cathedral

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St Paul’s Cathedral

Cathedral of St Paul.

  • St Paul’s Cathedral, an Anglican church, can be found on Ludgate Hill, the highest point in London City, United Kingdom, and is the home of the Bishop of London.
  • St Paul’s Cathedral was based on an English Baroque look and was designed by Sir Christopher Wren who was a well known English architect.
  • St Paul’s Cathedral was constructed between 1675 until 1711, with further work being carried out over the following years.
  • St Paul’s Cathedral at 111 metres (365 feet) in height was London’s tallest building, from 1710 to 1962, and has been popular in art and film, including Harry Potter, Star Trek, Sherlock Holmes and Mary Poppins.
  • St Paul’s Cathedral has held notable funerals, services and the marriage of the Prince and Princess of Wales, as well as Queen Victoria’s and Queen Elizabeth II’s Jubilee celebrations.

St Paul's Cathedral, White, Anglican, London, Ten Random Facts, Church, Free Digital Photos

St Paul’s Cathedral, London
Image courtesy of Vichaya Kiatying-Angsulee/Free Digital Photos

  • St Paul’s Cathedral is at least the fourth on the site after a number of blazes destroyed the previous cathedrals, the last being destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666.
  • The total cost of St Paul’s Cathedral was £1.1 million in 1716, and is worth AUD$238 million (£139 million) in 2013.
  • In World War II, St Paul’s Cathedral was the target of a number of German bombs and suffered some damage, although one of the bombs would have completely destroyed the church if it hadn’t have been quickly defused.
  • St Paul’s Cathedral has been the subject of one of the largest ever restorations in the United Kingdom, taking 15 years, from 1996 until 2011.
  • St Paul’s Cathedral is the home of many pieces of art including sculptures, mosaics, painting and a magnificent organ, as well as the tombs of some notable people.
Bibliography:
St. Paul’s Cathedral, 2013, A View on Cities, <http://www.aviewoncities.com/london/stpaulscathedral.htm>
St Paul’s Cathedral, 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Paul’s_Cathedral>

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Iguazu Falls

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Iguazu Falls

Iguazú falls, the fall of the iguanas.

  • Iguazú falls is a collection of 275 waterfalls laid out in a ‘J’ or a horseshoe shape in the Iguazú/Iguaçu National Park that makes up part of the border of Brazil and Argentina.
  • ‘Iguazú falls’ is the Argentinian name of this group of waterfalls, while ‘Iguaçu falls’ is the Brazilian name, and they are also known as ‘Iguassu falls’ or ‘Iguazu falls’,and mean ‘great waters’ in the local indigenous language.
  • In 2011, the New Seven Wonders of the World Foundation declared Iguazú falls as one of the New Seven Wonders of Nature.
  • The total length of Iguazú falls measures 2.7km (1.7 miles, while the waterfalls reach anywhere from 60 to 82 meters (1097 to 269 feet) in height.
  • Argentina is the home of approximately 220 of the waterfalls of Iguazú falls, while the other 55 waterfalls can be found in Brazil.

Iguazu Falls, Iguacu, Water, Splash, Spray, Overveiw, Many, Argentina, Brazil, Waterfalls, Border, Ten Random Facts, Flickr

Iguazu Falls
Image courtesy of Patrick Nouhailler/Flickr
  • Iguazú falls has the second largest water flow of all waterfalls on Earth, second to Niagara Falls, with an average of 1,750 meters cubed (62,000 feet cubed) of water per second.
  • Iguazú falls has dry periods for a few weeks every year, where the waterflow is significantly reduced, but in the drought of 2006, the water of the waterfalls was reduced for a significantly longer period.
  • The best seasons to view Iguazú falls is during spring and autumn, which are the rainy seasons, as the waterfalls reach its greatest velocity.
  • The mist produced by Iguazú falls reaches up to 30 – 150 meters (100 – 490 feet) in height, depending on the location.
  • The power of Iguazú falls has been used to create hydroelectricity, creating 40% of the electricity need of both Argentina and Brazil.
Bibliography:
Hamre B, Iguazu Falls, 2013, About.com, <http://gosouthamerica.about.com/cs/southamerica/a/IguazuFalls.htm>
Iguazú Falls, 2013, Welcome Argentina, < http://www.welcomeargentina.com/puertoiguazu/iguazu-falls.html>
Iguazu Falls, 2013, Wikipedia, < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iguazu_Falls>

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Forbidden City

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Forbidden City

The city is not forbidden but entered by many.

  • The Forbidden City is found in the centre of China’s capital city, Beijing, and is now a museum as well as a major tourist destination in China, attracting almost 10 million visitors annually.
  • The Forbidden City is a 720,000 square meter (7.8 million square feet) rectangular complex, surrounded by a 10 metre (32 ft) high wall and a 52 metre (71 ft) wide moat.
  • The Forbidden city was built to accommodate emperor Zhu Di, and has housed 24 emperors from 1420 until 1912, although the last emperor, Puyi stayed on in the Inner Court until his eviction in 1924.
  • The Forbidden City is a complex of over 800 buildings, including palaces, temples and halls as well as rivers, parks, lakes and other outdoor beauties.
  • The Forbidden City is also known as the ‘Palace Museum’, the ‘Imperial Palace’ and the ‘Forbidden Palace’.

 Forbidden City, dark, Red, Sunlight, people, front, red, Beijing, 2011, flickr, Ten Random Facts

Forbidden City
Image courtesy of Daniel Thornton/Flickr
  • Until 1912 no one was allowed to enter the Forbidden City unless they gained the Emperor’s permission, however, due to the Chinese emperor’s abdication in 1912, the outer court became open to the public.
  • It is said that over a million people worked on the Forbidden City from 1400 to 1420 AD, including 100,000 artisans.
  • The Forbidden City was originally decorated with dragons, stone animals, arches, rails, beams and staircases lined with yellows and reds, and a process of major repair and restoration began in 2005 on the ‘city’, which was said to take more than 15 years.
  • The Forbidden City was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987 and is sited as the largest group of  historic wooden structures.
  • The Forbidden City has over 1 million artifacts, and to preserve these during the Japanese invasion of China, they were packed and moved to three different locations in 1933, where they stayed for approximately 12 years.
Bibliography:
Bonavia D, Peking, 1978, TIME-LIFE International, Amsterdam
Forbidden City, 2013, Wikipedia, < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forbidden_City>

Williams B, Ancient China, 1996, Heinemann Children’s Reference, Great Britain

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Preikstolen

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Preikstolen

Preikstolen is a high, high cliff.

  • Preikstolen is a flat plateau 25 x 25 m (82 x 82 feet) cliff that is situated 604 meters (1982 feet) above the Lysefjord, ‘light fjord’, in Ryfylke, Norway.
  • Preikstolen is also known as ‘Prekestolen’ in Norwegian and ‘Pulpit Rock’ or ‘Preacher’s Rock’ in English.
  • Preikstolen is the one of the most famous and most visited destinations in Norway.
  • It takes 1 to 3 hours to hike the 3.8 km (2.4 mile) walking distance to Preikstolen from the car park, one way.
  • In 2012, Preikstolen had 150,000 to 200,000 visitors, and this has led to a new path being constructed which should be completed by early 2014.

Preikstolen, Pulpit's Rock, Cliff Hanger, Rock, Grey, Overhang, Water, River, Norway, Ten Random Facts, Landform

Preikstolen
Image courtesy of L.C. Nøttaasen/Flickr
  • Preikstolen is not often visited in winter and spring as the hiking trail becomes frozen and can be dangerously slippery, so the most common time to visit is from April to October.
  • Although Preikstolen is so high up, there have been no accidents, and there has been no safety barrier constructed around the rock so as not to interrupt the amazing views of the surrounding areas and the beauty of the cliff.
  • Although Preikstolen could be regarded as a suicide destination, there have only been a few reported suicides and attempts, although it is believed that many have suicided there even though there has been no media coverage on it so as not to encourage others.
  • There is a large crack between Preikstolen and the mountain, which suggests that one day Preikstolen will fall away, although no-one can see this happening in their lifetime and is deemed safe at this stage.
  • Preikstolen was originally named ‘Hyvlatånnå’, meaning ‘planed tooth’.
Bibliography:
Preikstolen, 2013, Wikipedia, < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preikestolen>
Pulpit Rock – Preikstolen, 2013, Norway, < http://www.visitnorway.com/en/Product/?pid=31157>


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Dubai

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Dubai

One of the fastest growing cities in the world…

  • Dubai is a city located in the Arabian Desert and on the southeastern part of the Persian Gulf located in the United Arab Emirates, Middle East, and occupies an area of 4,110 square km (1,588 square miles).
  • In 2012, Dubai was the wealthiest city in the Middle East and the 27th wealthiest city in the world and is nicknamed the ‘City of Gold’, due to its significant trade in gold, and includes 250 gold retail outlets in the city.
  • The main religion of Dubai is Islam, and Arabic is the official language with English being the second.
  • Dubai is the home of its ruler, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who is also the Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates.
  • Dubai’s population of over 2 million people originate from over 200 countries, with only a little over 15% of them being nationals, and over 50% of the expatriates are Indian.

Dubai, Houses, Resident, City, Middle East, United Arab Emirates, Towers, Burj Khalifa, Hotel, Tourist, Destination, Panorama, Overveiw, Skyscraper Distance, Flickr, Ten Random Facts

Dubai
Image courtesy of Robert Young/Flickr
  • Up until the 1930s, Dubai was a significant exporter in pearls, when the industry gave way due to war, the Great Depression and the production of artificial pearls.
  • Dubai has an important role in trade, as the city is located near the Persian Gulf, a main trading water route, which really kicked off in the 1900s, and then in 1966, oil was found in Dubai, which contributed to a huge increase in the population, mainly expatriates, although the oil industry now only makes up a small percentage of the city’s revenue.
  • Dubai is a great tourist destination attracting visitors with no less than 70 shopping malls and 600 fancy hotels, and attracted 10 million people in 2012, ranking it in the top ten most visited cities in the world.
  • Dubai achieved the world’s tallest skyline in 2010, and is home to some of the largest and most unique hotels, gardens, buildings and entertainment centres, and one hotel is nicknamed as a ‘seven star hotel’.
  • Dubai is the home to the Burj Khalifa, an apartment and office building, which became the tallest building in the world in 2010, measuring 829.8 meters (2,722 feet) in height.
Bibliography:
Dubai, 2013, Wikipedia, < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dubai>
Dubai Department of Tourism, 2012, Dubai Government, < http://www.dubaitourism.ae/en>

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