Tag Archives: Water

Axolotl

By | |
1 Comment
Axolotl

Axolotls are unique but a little bit creepy.

  • Axolotls are amphibians that live permanently in water habitats, and they are native to Central America’s Mexico.
  • ‘Axolotls’ are also known as ‘Mexican salamanders’ and ‘Mexican walking fish’, and they typically grow to be 15 to 45 centimetres (6 to 18 inches) in length, and weigh 60 to 200 grams (2 to 7 ounces).
  • Axolotls have the scientific name Ambystoma mexicanum and are from the family Ambystomatidae, the family of mole salamanders, and while they are from the salamander family, they do not progress beyond the larval stage.
  • An axolotl has a large head, miniscule teeth and no eyelids, as well as external gills that appear like a frill around its neck, and a long fin running down its back.
  • Axolotls are generally black or brown in colour, although they can be gold, grey, pale pink or almost white.
Axolotl, Pink, Looking, Face, animal, Pet, Ten Random Facts, Flickr, Mexican Walking Fish
Axolotl
Image courtesy of Ruben Undheim/Flickr
  • The diet of axolotls generally consists of worms, insects and little fish, and after they have seized their food, it is pulled into their body by an internal suction.
  • Axolotls are known for their regenerating properties, regrowing limbs, as well as organs, and they can also adapt and use another’s body part.
  • Axolotls are critically endangered due to the expansion of Mexico City and the pollution it causes and remaining suitable habitats are also threatened by introduced species of fish.
  • An axolotl can lay 100 to 1000 eggs at one time and the eggs become attached to surrounding natural objects that protect them, due to their adhesive nature.
  • Axolotls can move up to speeds of 17 kilometres per hour (10 miles per hour) and live approximately 10 to 20 years, and while their predators are birds and fish, they are not often preyed upon.
Bibliography:
Axolotl, 2013, A-Z Animals, http://a-z-animals.com/animals/axolotl/
Axolotl, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axolotl

Amazon:     

Great Blue Hole

By | |
Leave a comment
Great Blue Hole

Don’t fall down the Great Blue Hole.

  • The Great Blue Hole is an underwater sinkhole or cave, located near Belize of Central America, in the Lighthouse Reef.
  • The Great Blue Hole is 300 metres (984 feet) in diameter, the largest of known blue holes in the world, and it measures 124 metres (407 feet) in depth.
  • The Great Blue Hole is part of the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System that became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996.
  • In 1971, explorer and naval officer, Jacques Cousteau from France, publicised the Great Blue Hole as one of the best scuba sites in the world.
  • The Great Blue Hole is the home to numerous limestone formations that are affected by karst phenomena, including stalactites.
Great Blue Hole, Cave, Water, Central America, Natural, Wonder, Amazing, Belize, Reef, Ten Random Facts, FlickrThe Great Blue Hole
Image courtesy of Eric Pheterson/Flickr
  • The Great Blue Hole is the home to many species of fauna that live around the reef that surrounds the outer rim of the hole, including the occasional reef shark.
  • The Great Blue Hole is a popular tourist destination and diving site, due to its great size, clear water, cave formations, and surrounding wildlife, and snorkeling is also popular.
  • The Great Blue Hole is said to have been originally a cave above sea level, that eventually filled with water and collapsed.
  • The Great Blue Hole can be viewed from the air, or accessed via watercraft, and boats can only anchor in specific areas, as they have caused reef damage in the past.
  • The official depth measurement of the Great Blue Hole was recorded in 1997 by the Cambrian Foundation, and the expedition’s primary focus was to collect seafloor samples from the hole.
Bibliography:
Blue Hole Natural Monument, 2008, Belize Audubon Society, http://www.belizeaudubon.org/?page_id=3603
Great Blue Hole, 2014, Atlas Obscura, http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/great-blue-hole
Great Blue Hole, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Blue_Hole

Amazon:     

Venice

By | |
Leave a comment
Venice

Venice is a city of history and water.

  • Venice is a city located in Europe, in the northeastern area of Italy, that is made of a lagoon, 118 islands, 177 canals and 409 bridges.
  • ‘Venice’ is also known as ‘La Dominante’, ‘City of Masks’, ‘Serenissima’, ‘City of Water’, ‘The Floating City’, ‘Queen of the Adriatic’, ‘City of Canals’ and ‘City of Bridges’.
  • Venice is considered as one of the most beautiful cities in the world, and it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987 due to the lagoon, canals and historical constructions.
  • Venice was the home to approximately 270,700 people in 2009, and the population count has been historically erratic due to the destructive Black Plague between the 14th to 17th centuries.
  • Venice was probably founded by numerous escapees of surrounding country invasions, and the first ruler, the doge, Paolo Lucio Anafesto, in 697 is believed to have been Exarch Paul.
Venice Canal in Dorsoduro, Europe, City, Water, Boats, Scenic, Ten Random Facts, Flickr, Place,
Part of Venice
Image courtesy of Diana Robinson/Flickr
  • From the 800s, Venice was a popular trade site, particularly once coastline pirates were defeated; and later it became well known for its famous aritsts, and it now has the most masterpieces per kilometre in the world.
  • Occasionally, Venice is flooded by high tides of the Adriatic Sea, known as ‘acqua alta’, and these especially high tides can increase water depths by up to 1.94 metres (6.36 feet), as recorded in 1966, although generally they are less than a 1.5 metre (4.9 feet) increase.
  • Historical Venice style buildings made from stone or brick, were generally built on timber poles that are embedded in clay, mud and sand, and they mostly remain in good condition, even though they have been submerged in water for hundreds of years.
  • Venice is a very popular tourist destination, with visitors attracted to the city’s incredible architecture and uniqueness, as well as the famous annual Carnival of Venice held early in the year, although the number of visitors, approximately 60,000 every day, has caused some controversy due to the sheer quantity and potential damage they can generate on various levels.
  • Typical transport in Venice includes gondolas and other boats that use the canals; automobiles and trains; and aircraft facilities are also available.
Bibliography:
Venice, 2014, Lonely Planet, http://www.lonelyplanet.com/italy/venice
Venice, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venice
Venice and its Lagoon, 2014, UNESCO WHC, http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/394

Amazon:      

Beaver

By | |
Leave a comment
Beaver

Do you beaver around a lot?

  • Beavers are rodents that are generally active at night, and their habitat is primarily water bodies in forest areas of North America, Europe and Asia.
  • Beavers spend significant quantities of time constructing and maintaining dams and other aquatic structures like lodges, that provide protection and housing, as well as water movement that allows resources to float, and they use trees that they cut down with their sharp teeth, as well as rocks, other vegetation and mud as their building materials.
  • Beavers have the scientific name Castor, while they are the only living members of the family Castoridae, and there are two extant species of beaver – Castor fiber which is known as the Eurasian species, and Castor canadensis, the North American species.
  • Beavers are able to move easily in water, and their diet consists of vegetation, particularly material from a variety of trees, including bark, leaves and twigs, as well as aquatic plants and sedges.
  • Beavers grow to lengths of 60 to 120 centimetres (23 to 47 inches), making them the second largest rodent on earth, and weigh 16 to 27 kilograms (35 to 60 pounds).
 Beaver, Brown, Two, Dam, Construction, Ten Random Facts, Flickr, Animals,
Beavers
Image courtesy of flinchlake2000/Flickr
  • Beavers have beige, red-brown, brown, almost black, or grey fur; the back feet are webbed; they have see-through eyelids; and a flat tail that acts like a rudder and provides a loud warning when slapped against water.
  • Beavers live in families in their lodges that consist of as many as ten rodents, and they are preyed on by wolves, bears and lynxes, and the animal has a lifespan of 15 to 20 years, although they can live up to 24 years.
  • Beavers body parts have been used in traditional medicine; the secretions from their castor sacs or scent glands are used in the perfume industry and as a flavouring for food; and the fur coat is a commonly poached item.
  • It is illegal to hunt or kill beavers in some countries and areas, while in other places, including parts of the United States, it is legal to trap or shoot the animal.
  • When introduced without sufficient predators, beavers can overrun habitats, causing extensive forest removal, landscape change and water flow changes, as well as other problems, and they can be a pest on farms and properties.
Bibliography:
Beaver, 2013, A-Z Animals, http://a-z-animals.com/animals/beaver/
Beaver, 2014, National Geographic, http://animals.nationalgeographic.com.au/animals/mammals/beaver/
Beaver, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaver

Amazon:     

Lençóis Maranhenses National Park

By | |
1 Comment
Lençóis Maranhenses National Park

Lençóis Maranhenses National Park has water in a ‘desert’ – who knew?

  • Lençóis Maranhenses National Park is a national park in northern Brazil’s state of Maranhão, in South America.
  • Lençóis Maranhenses National Park is a sandy area with sloping dunes that incorporates lagoons, and while it appears to be a desert, due to the lack of any obvious vegetation across much of the area, it receives too much rain to be classed as one.
  • Lençóis Maranhenses National Park covers an area of 1550 square kilometres (600 square miles) and includes approximately 70 kilometres (43.5 miles) of coastline and stretches as far as 50 kilometres (31 miles) inland.
  • Lençóis Maranhenses National Park became a national park in 1981 and in 2014, it was managed by the Brazilian Chico Mendes Institute for Conservation of Biodiversity (ICMBio – Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade).
  • Lençóis Maranhenses National Park cannot be entered by any vehicle type except 4-wheel drives, and tours are available for a fee.
Lençóis Maranhenses National Park, Desert, Water, Amazon, South America, Natural, Wonder, Flickr, Ten Random Facts
Part of Lençóis Maranhenses National Park
Image courtesy of Danielle Pereira/Flickr
  • The blue-green freshwater lagoons of Lençóis Maranhenses National Park are formed by the 1194 to 1524 millimetres (47 to 60 inches) of rain that falls each year.
  • Lençóis Maranhenses National Park is a popular tourist destination, and the best time to visit is said to be from July to September when the lagoons are full, and during this time, fish inhabit the ponds, including the mud-dwelling wolf fish.
  • Even though Lençóis Maranhenses National Park receives significant rain, due to persistent winds it has only small quantities of vegetation in certain areas.
  • Fisherman, during the wet season, fish in Lençóis Maranhenses National Park, but work in agricultural sites during the dry season, when most of the lagoons have dried up.
  • Lençóis Maranhenses National Park sand dunes can reach heights of 40 metres (131 feet), and there are no public facilities like toilets and food outlets in the park.
Bibliography:
Geiling N, How Do Thousands of Clear Blue Lagoons End Up In These Brazilian Sand Dunes?, 2014, Smithsonian, http://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/Lencois-maranhenses-brazil-thousands-clear-blue-lagoons-in-sand-dunes-180951756/?no-ist
Tours in Lencois Maranhenses, n.d, Parque Lençóis, http://www.parquelencois.com.br/english/lencois_maranhenses_passeios.php
Lençóis Maranhenses National Park, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Len%C3%A7%C3%B3is_Maranhenses_National_Park
Murano G & Wilkinson J, Coastal Dunes, Lençóis Maranhenses, Brazil, 2014, Coastal Care, http://coastalcare.org/2011/06/coastal-dunes-lencois-maranhenses-brazil/
National Park of Lençóis, n.d, ICMBio, http://www.icmbio.gov.br/parnalencoismaranhenses/guia-do-visitante.html

Amazon:     

Li River

By | |
Leave a comment
Li River

Scenic views are along Li River.

  • Li River is a green-blue coloured river located in Asia, in the Guangxi region in southern China, and is a popular tourist destination.
  • ‘Li River’ is also known as ‘Lijiang’, ‘Lí Jiāng’ and ‘Lijiang River’ and it is not linked to the city of Lijiang that is located in a different area in China.
  • Li River is formed in the Xing’an County in China, in the mountain of Mao’er Shan (Cat Mountain), and merges into the larger Gui River towards the south.
  • Li River combined with the Gui River is 437 kilometres (271.5 miles) long and it winds its way south, towards the South China Sea.
  • The most popular area for Li River cruises is along an 83 kilometre (51.6 mile) stretch, that starts in the city of Guilin and passes through the hilly Yangshuo County.
Li River, Scenic, China, Hills, Silhouette, Asia, Ten Random Facts, Flickr, Amazing*
Part of Li River
Image courtesy of Oarranzli/Flickr
  • Li River has a historical man-made canal, the oldest of its type in the world, that connects the river to the Xiang River, and the canal has contributed to water conservation in the area.
  • Along Li River, picturesque, tall rocky hills can be seen, similar to those of Halong Bay in Southeast Asia’s Vietnam.
  • Tourists can hire a wide variety of boats along Li River, from small rafts to bigger crafts, and most cruises depart from Zhujiang Wharf, which is 40 minutes by car from Guilin.
  • Many features can be found along Li River, including mountains, ancient villages, Half Side Ferry Crossing, and groves of bamboo.
  • Li River is commonly visited on rainy days, as the hills silhouette against the sky and mist and fog contribute to the enchanting scenery.
Bibliography:
Li River, 2009, Visit Guilin, http://www.visitguilin.org/index.php/en/sightseeing/57-attraction-list/92-li-river
Li River (Guangxi), 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li_River_(Guangxi)
Li River, n.d, My China Tours, http://www.mychinatours.com/guilin-travel/guilin-attractions/li-river/

Amazon:      

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...