CHINA'S BEAUTIFUL COLORFUL MOUNTAINS

China is a country with great diversity in people, culture, food but above all landscapes. These spectacular cliffs in the Danxia Landform in the Gansu province of China look as if they have been painted by the brush of an Impressionist. Formed of layers of reddish sandstone, the terrain has over time been eroded into a series of mountains surrounded by curvaceous cliffs and unusual rock formations. The landform is a unique type of petrographic geomorphology which is found only in China which consists of red-colored sandstones and conglomerates of largely Cretaceous age (via).

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SOME OF THE WORLD’S LARGEST/TALLEST TREES

General Sherman, Kings Canyon National Park, USA


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General Sherman is the name of a extremely huge Giant Sequoias tree in the Sequoia National Park. The tree is 83.8 m high and weights over 6000 tons. General Sherman is approximately 2,200 years old.

Hyperion, Redwood National Park, USA


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The Hyperion, a Coast Redwood in Northern California, at 115.5 m tall is the tallest tree in the world, but not the largest.

Lost Monarch, Grove of Titans, Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, USA


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The Lost Monarch, also a Coast Redwood, is measured at 7.6 meters in diameter and 98 in height. Some biologists believes that the Lost Monarch is the largest single-stem tree in the world. The Lost Monarch Tree was discovered in 1998 and is located in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park. The exact location has not been revealed to the public out of concern that excessive human foot traffic may upset that ecosystem.

Arbol del Tule, Oaxaca, Mexico

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Santa Maria del Tule is a small town in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico with its famous Arbol del Tule (tree of Tule), a ancient Cypress tree, in the chuchyard. The tree is between 2000 and 3000 years old and is approx 48 m in diameter. Arbol del Tule is Mexico's most famous tree, and some say the world's largest single biomass.

The Sunland Baobab of Limpopo, South Africa



This giant and ancient baobab at the Sunland Nursery, between Duiwelskloof and Ga-Kgapane, is the biggest specimen in the world. It has a circumference of 46,8m and carbon dating has determined its age at an astronomical 6000 years.

See THE WORLD'S ONLY 'TREE BAR'

EVER SEEN A LAVENDER FARM?

'The lavenders (Lavandula) are a genus of 39 species of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae. An Old World genus, distributed from Macaronesia (Cape Verde and Canary Islands and Madeira) across Africa, the Mediterranean, South-West Asia, Arabia, Western Iran and South-East India. It is thought the genus originated in Asia but is most diversified in its western distribution.

The genus includes annuals, herbaceous plants, subshrubs, and small shrubs. The native range extends across the Canary Islands, North and East Africa, Southern Europe and the Mediterranean, Arabia and India. Because the cultivated forms are planted in gardens worldwide, they are occasionally found growing wild as garden escapees, well beyond their natural range. However, since lavender cross-pollinates easily, there are countless variations within the species. The color of the flowers of some forms has come to be called lavender' (via).

Here are some beautiful photographs of Lavender farms.

BEAUTIFUL PHOTOS OF THE NETHERLANDS' TULIP FARMS

At first glance, it looks like a giant child armed with a box of crayons has been set loose upon the landscape. Vivid stripes of purple, yellow, red, pink, orange and green make up a glorious Technicolor patchwork. Yet far from being a child’s sketchbook, this is, in fact, the northern Netherlands in the middle of the tulip season. With more than 10,000 hectares devoted to the cultivation of these delicate flowers, the Dutch landscape in May is a kaleidoscope of giddy colors as the tulips burst into life. The bulbs were planted in late October and early November, and these colorful creations are now ready to be picked and sold as bunches of cut flowers in florists and supermarkets. More than three billion tulips are grown each year and two-thirds of the vibrant blooms are exported, mostly to the U.S. and Germany.

Their dazzling colors are thanks to the years in the 17th century when Tulip mania swept the globe and the most eye-catching specimens changed hands for a small fortune. But like a rainbow, this colorful landscape is a short-lived phenomenon. When the flowers are gone, the land will be cultivated for a rather more mundane crop of vegetables. The Netherlands produce more than nine million bulbs a year.

THE WORLD'S MOST REMARKABLE JELLYFISH

1. The Giant Jellyfish aka Nomura’s Jellyfish


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These giants of the deep sea, armed with thousands of deadly tentacles, grows up to 2 m and weights up to 200 kg. Since 2005, these life-threatening creatures have been wreaking havoc in the waters off the coast of Japan. These giant jellyfish destroys fishermen nets and poisons all their catches leaving them inedible. These creatures have even managed to sink a ten ton fishing boat (read full article). The overpopulation of these creatures leads to the over consumption of planktons, disturbing the natural food chain of the sea. They are also known for blocking seawater pumps used to cool the reactors in nuclear power stations. The worst is that these menacing beasts causes injuries to and often also fatalities of unfortunate fishermen and swimmers. Scientists have various reasons for the sudden influx of these creatures, however there is no solution yet to combat the burgeoning numbers of these massive, stinging blobs in the Sea of Japan.


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The picture above shows a diver surrounded by hundreds of Numura's jellyfish.



These giant jellyfish destroys fishermen nets and poisons all their catches leaving them inedible. They have also managed to to sink a ten ton fishing boat.

Sources:
scienceray.com
www.environmentalgraffiti.com

2. Mastigias Jellyfish from Jellyfish Lake


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Jellyfish Lake is a marine lake located on Eil Malk island in Palau. Jellyfish lake is somewhat older than 12,000 years. Today the lake is a famous site for snorkeling and snorkeling only, since scuba diving causes disturbance of the toxic layers of the lake and the air bubbles harms the fish. Thousands of golden jellyfish migrate across its surface daily.


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Since the conditions of the lake differs from the conditions of nearby lagoons it caused some species, such as the Mastigias or Golden Jellyfish to evolve differently. This jellyfish – unlike their closest relative the spotted jellyfish that inhabits the lagoons – has no spots, clubs and appendages attached to their tentacles. Although they have stinging cells, the jellyfish are not powerful enough to cause harm to humans.

Mastigias swims in the direction of the sun (counter-clockwise), while swimming their bodies receive heat from the sun and causing them to appear gold. The jellies need sunlight to sustain algae-like zooxanthellae within their tissues; the zooxanthellae in turn help to sustain the jellies. At night, the jellyfish swim down 40 feet and return to the east end to await dawn.


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Aerial view of Jellyfish Lake, Palau, Micronesia


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Sources:
www.nytimes.com
wikipedia.org

3. The Flower-hat Jellyfish


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The flower hat jelly is a rare species of jellyfish occurring primarily in waters off Brazil, Argentina, and southern Japan. They are characterized by lustrous tentacles that coil and adhere to its rim when not in use. The flower hat jelly's bell is translucent and pinstriped with opaque bands, making it easily recognizable.The flower hat jelly can grow to be about 15cm in diameter. Its sting is painful but non-lethal to humans.

wikipedia.org

4. The Crystal Jellyfish


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Crystal Jellyfish are almost invisible in the water. Crystal jellyfish glow when disturbed because of hundreds of tiny, light-producing organs surrounding its outer bell. Osamu Shimomura of Japan and US duo Martin Chalfie and Roger Tsien have won the Nobel Chemistry Prize for a fluorescent protein derived from the jellyfish that has become a vital tool in research.

wikipedia.org

5. The Red Paper Lantern Medusa


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The Red Paper Lantern Medusa (aka-chochin kurage) was first discovered in the Bering Sea in 1913, but details about its distribution and life cycle have long remained a mystery.

The Red Paper Lantern Medusa has a transparent, bell-shaped hood measuring about 10 centimeters in diameter and 17 centimeters from top to bottom, with between 14 and 30 tentacles that extend up to 6 times the length of its body. Inside the transparent hood is a deep red colored mantle that can crumple up or expand like a paper lantern, hence the name. JAMSTEC researcher Dr. Dhugal Lindsay is credited with coming up with the name.

The gelatinous creature is commonly found at depths of between 450 to 900 meters in warm and temperate waters around the world. Observations have been reported in the Antarctic Ocean, but never in the Arctic Ocean.

pinktentacle.com

6. The Atolla Jellyfish


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Atolla is a jellyfish specie that can be found in depths from about 500 to 4,500 meters – where there is still a small amount of sunlight. Where there is light, its red color looks black, making it hard to see. It also produces brilliant bioluminescence often called a 'burglar alarm', possibly to frighten predators.

Sources:
oceanexplorer.noaa.gov
www.pbs.org

7. The Mediterranean Jellyfish


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The Mediterranean jelly or fried egg jellyfish. It is commonly found in the Mediterranean Sea, Aegean Sea and Adriatic Sea. Capable of growing as large as 35 cm in diameter with a bell up to 60 cm, the Mediterranean jelly, unlike many other jellyfish, is capable of autonomous movement without relying on the current.

en.wikipedia.org