Category Archives: Structures, History and Countries

Amazon River

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Amazon River

One of the longest rivers…

  • The Amazon River is in South America and crosses most of the continent, and runs all the way across the top of Brazil.
  • The Amazon River is generally named the second largest river in the world.
  • There is a debate about the Amazon River being the second longest river in the world. More accurate measuring systems in recent years suggests that the Amazon River is longer than the Nile (supposedly the longest river), which reaches 5,499 to 6,690 km (3,417 – 4,160 miles) in length, whereas the Amazon River is said to be 6,259 to 6,800 km (3,889 – 4,200 miles) in length.
  • The Amazon River discharges more water than the other top seven largest rivers combined, with an average discharge of approximately 209,000 m3/s (7,381,000 cu ft/s).
  • The Amazon River has the largest river basin in the world being 7, 050, 000 square km (2, 720, 000 square miles) and contains many river systems.

Amazon River, Aerial View, Green, Blue, Landscape, Ten Random Facts, Flickr, CIFOR

Amazon River
Image courtesy of CIFOR/Flickr
  • The Amazon River ranges in width, depending on the season, being 1.6 – 10 km (1 – 6.2 miles) wide in the dry season, and in the wet season the river can reach up to 48 km (3o miles) wide.
  • The Amazon River starts its flooding season in November and continues to around June.
  • The Amazon River is the home to many animals, most notably the Amazon River dolphin (boto) and the anaconda snake.
  • The Amazon River is the home of over 5,600 known fish species.
  • The Amazon River has an underground river, called Hamza, flowing underneath it, which is about 6,000 km (3, 730 miles) in length, and generally follows a similar path to the Amazon.
Bibliography:
Amazon River 10 February 2013 , Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_River>

Big Ben

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Big Ben

Listen to the bells ringing…

  • Big Ben is the nick name of the clock tower of the Palace of Westminster, London, and specifically the bell of the clock.  The origin of the nick name is uncertain.
  • Big Ben’s official name is the Elizabeth Tower, only recently renamed from “Clock Tower” in 2012.
  • The Big Ben, a free-standing clock tower, is the third tallest in the world, and holds the largest four faced clock that chimes.
  • Big Ben was completed in 1858 and has become the symbol of London and England.
  • Big Ben is named after Queen Elizabeth II, as a tribute to her in her Diamond Jubilee year.
Big Ben, Elizabeth Tower, London Palace of Westminister, Clock Tower, Ten Random Facts, Free Digital Photos, England Big Ben
Image courtesy of  Vichaya Kiatying-Angsulee/ Free Digital Photos
  • Big Ben measures 96 meters (315 feet) in height, around the size of a 16 story building.
  • Although Big Ben is a popular tourist attraction, it is only open for those who are residents of the United Kingdom.
  • The Big Ben has a tilt that can be seen by the naked eye, and it currently tilts a further 0.9 mm each year due to nearby tunnels.
  • On 27 May, 2005, Big Ben’s clock mysteriously stopped at the time of 10:07 pm and again at 10:20 pm, stopping for 90 minutes.
  • Big Ben consists of one main bell, and four quarter bells which play play G#, F#, E and B notes.
Bibliography:
Big Ben 4 February 2013, Wikipedia,  <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Ben>

Black Forest

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Black Forest

The forest isn’t black… It’s green!

  • The Black Forest is a forest of many trees on a mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, in South East Germany.
  • The Black Forest is situated on a layer of sandstone and contains mainly pine and fir trees.
  • The Black Forest is known as Schwarzwald in German, and was dubbed by the Romans as the “Black Forest”, due to its very dense growth of trees which makes it very dark in the forest.
  • The highest mountain in the Black Forest is Feldberg, 1, 493 meters (4,898 feet).
  • The Black Forest is the home of the giant earthworm, which hasn’t be discovered in any other region.

 Schwarzwald, Germany, Black Forest, Fir, Pine, Lanscape, View, Flickr, Ten Random Fact, Gerrit van Aaken

Black Forest
Image courtesy of Gerrit van Aaken/Flickr
  • Since the early 18th century, cuckoo clocks have been, and still are, a popular souvenir of the Black Forest.
  • In medieval times the Black Forest contained significant mines, some of which have been re-opened for public viewing.
  • The Black Forest is the home of many rivers including the Danube.
  • The Black Forest measures 150 km (93 miles) in length.
  • A cherry liquor from the Black Forest region was originally one of the significant ingredients in the world famous Black Forest cake, hence the name Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte – ‘Black Forest cherry torte’.
Bibliography:
Black Forest 26 January 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Forest>

Eiffel Tower

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Eiffel Tower

La Tour Eiffel: “The Eiffel Tower” in French!

  • The Eiffel Tower is a steel framework tower located in Paris, France.
  • The Eiffel Tower is named after Gustave Eiffel who was an engineer and owned the company that built the tower.
  • The Eiffel Tower is the largest structure in Paris, but not in France, standing 320 meters (1,050 feet) in height which is approximately the height of an 81 storey building.  It weighs approximately 10,000 tonnes.
  • The Eiffel Tower saw 7.1 million visitors in 2011, and it is the most popular ticketed monument in the world.  It had seen 250 million visitors by 2010.
  • The Eiffel Tower has three floors and nine elevators.
Eiffel TowerEiffel Tower
Image courtesy of Matt Banks/ Free Digital Photos
  • The Eiffel Tower construction started in 1887 and was finished in 1889. The grand opening was on the 31st of March 1889, and was made for the World Fair that year.
  • 300 workers were first hired to construct the Eiffel Tower and during the two years of construction, there was only one worker death.
  • The names of 72 male French scientists and engineers, as well as other notable people, were first engraved on the Eiffel Tower when it was built.  The names were painted over in the 20th century, and were then restored in 1986 – 1987.
  • Every seven years, the Eiffel Tower is painted over with 50-60 tonnes of paint to prevent rust.
  • The Eiffel Tower is the home of two restaurants: Le 58 Tour Eiffel and Le Jules Verne and at the top is a broadcaster for television and radio.
Bibliography:
Eiffel Tower January 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eiffel_Tower>

Mount Fuji

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Mount Fuji

It is tall, large and snowy.

  • Mount Fuji is an active stratovolcano – a volcano that is tall and conical, made up of many layers of ash, lava, and other rock.
  • Mount Fuji is located on the island of Honshu, the largest Japanese island.
  • Mount Fuji is 3, 776.24 meters (12, 389 feet) in height and is the tallest mountain in Japan.
  • Ancient samurai (Japanese warriors) trained at the bottom of Mount Fuji.
  • The temperatures at the summit of Mount Fuji range from -38°C to 17.8°C, -38°C being the lowest temperature recorded and 17.8°C being the highest.

 

Mount Fuji, Japan, Stratovolcano, Autumn, Honshu Island, Free Digital Photos, Ten Random Facts

Mount Fuji
Image courtesy of John Kasawa/Free Digital Photos
  • In 2009, around 300,000 people climbed Mount Fuji.
  • Scientists believe that Mt Fuji is likely to erupt in the not so distant future due to the build up of pressure in the magma chamber resulting from the major 2011 Japanese earthquake and tsunami.
  • Mount Fuji  erupted last on 16th December, 1704 through to January 1, 1705.
  • There are eight peaks surrounding Mount Fuji’s crater all of which can be accessed by climbers.
  • Paragliding is a popular sport on Mount Fuji.
Bibliography:
Mount Fuji 10 January 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Fuji>

Niagara Falls

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Niagara Falls

Pretty but dangerous.

  • The Niagara Falls is a group of three waterfalls: the Horseshoe Falls, the American Falls and the Bridal Veil Falls and sits on the border of the US state of New York, and Ontario, Canada.
  • The Niagara Falls are very wide and at their highest point are 51 meters (167 feet) in height.  They are most significant due to the enormous volume of water that falls over the edge, on average approximately 110,000 m3 (4 million cubic feet) per minute.
  • The Niagara Falls produces large amounts of  hydroelectricity power for the surrounding cities.
  • The Niagara Falls erodes easily, and is estimated in 50,000 years there will be no falls at all.
  • The name ‘Niagara Falls’ is from the American-Indian tribe the Mohawks.

Niagara Falls, America, Ten Random Facts, Free Digital Photos, Ontario, Canada, waterfall,

Niagara Falls
Image courtesy of George Stojkovic/ Free Digital Photos
  • Fifteen people have intentionally gone over the falls; some jumped, some were protected by barrels; some died, some survived with injuries.
  • The first person to go over the Niagara Falls was a 63 year old school teacher from Michigan, Annie Edison Taylor, in October, 24, 1901, in a barrel.
  • A number of people have tight-roped over Niagara Falls, the first was Jean François ‘Blondin’ Gravelet.  Tight-roping and going over the falls is now banned and is illegal.
  • Niagara Falls as been featured in many movies, including ‘Superman II’.
  • In 2009, it was estimated 28 million people visited the Niagara Falls that year.
Bibliography:
Niagara Falls 31 December 2012 , Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niagara_Falls>
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