Our planet is a wonderful place and there are countless gems like the Plitvice Lakes National Park in Croatia, for us to appreciate and preserve.The Plitvice Lakes National Park was granted UNESCO World Heritage status in 1979. The beauty of the National Park lies in its sixteen lakes, inter-connected by a series of waterfalls, and set in deep woodland populated by deer, bears, wolves, boars and rare bird species.The sixteen lakes are separated into an upper and lower cluster formed by runoff from the mountains, descending from an altitude of 636 meters (2,087 ft) to 503 meters (1,650 feet) over a distance of some eight km (5 miles), aligned in a south-north direction. The lakes collectively cover an area of about two square km, with the water exiting from the lowest lake to form the Korana River.
The Great Mosque of Djenné is the largest mud brick building in the world. The mosque is located in the city of Djenné in Mali on the flood plain of the Bani River. It is one of the most famous landmarks in Africa. Along with the 'Old Towns of Djenné' it was dubbed a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1988.
The date of construction of the first mosque in Djenné is unknown but dates as early as 1200 and as late as 1330 have been suggested.
The walls of the Great Mosque are made of sun-baked mud bricks called 'ferey', a mud based mortar, and are coated with a mud plaster which gives the building its smooth, sculpted look. The walls are between 16 in and 24 in (0.4 to 0.6 m) thick. The thickness varies depending on the wall's height: taller sections were built thicker because the base has to be wide enough to support the weight.Bundles of deleb palm wood were included in the building to reduce cracking caused by frequent drastic changes in humidity and temperature and to serve as readymade scaffolding for annual repairs.
The walls insulate the building from heat during the day and by nightfall have absorbed enough heat to keep the mosque warm through the night. Gutters, made of ceramic pipes, extend from the roofline and direct water drainage from the roof away from the walls. Half of the mosque is covered by a roof and the other half is an open air prayer hall or courtyard. The roof of the mosque is supported by ninety wooden pillars that span the interior prayer hall. Vents in the roof are topped with removable ceramic caps, which when removed allow hot air to rise out of the building and so ventilate the interior.
The Great Mosque was constructed on a raised platform with a surface area of 5625 m² (62,500 ft²), which has so far protected the mosque from even the most severe floods.
The Giant's Causeway lies at the foot of the basalt cliffs along the coast on the edge of the Antrim plateau in Northern Ireland. It is made up of some 40,000 massive black basalt columns sticking out of the sea.
Geological studies of these formations over the last 300 years have greatly contributed to the development of the earth sciences, and show that this striking landscape was caused by volcanic activity some 50–60 million years ago.
The Giant’s Causeway and Causeway Coast site was inscribed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986. The site is of outstanding universal value and meets two of the criteria set out in the World Heritage Convention. Firstly it is an outstanding example representing major stages of the earth’s history, including a record of life, significant on-going geological processes in the development of landforms, or significant geomorphic or physiographic features.Secondly, it contains superlative natural phenomena or areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance.
Approximately 3000 years ago the people of Cordillera created one of mankind’s most impressive landscape modification projects up to date. If this ingenious undertaking was accomplished in modern times the enormous task would seem to be less than impressive, however the fact that it was completed thousands of years ago without the use of modern apparatus and machinery makes it well worth the title of 'the world's eight wonder' it often gets referred to as.
The idea behind field terracing is simple: carve horizontal ledges into hills, essentially creating thousands of small walled fields from base to peak in which to grow crops and retain much needed water. Entire mountains, sometimes thousands of feet high is sculpted like blocks of wood. That in itself is incredible. Then there is the irrigation system: the natural streams and rivers have been diverted using a huge and complex arrangement of canals, sluices and taps. The water is pushed to the highest terraces using miles of wooden piping. When the terraces fill up they overflow and start to fill the terraced field below, and the cycle continues until the entire mountain is watered.
The rice terraces are a huge tourist attraction, however the tourism is also thought to be responsible for the start of what could be a slow death of the terraces. Firstly, the new generation of locals see the hospitality industry created by the terraces as a far more appealing line of work than the constant farming and attention needed to sustain the terraces themselves. Secondly, water isn’t as readily available as in the past due to the effects of an earthquake in 1990 and the new demand for water itself from the tourist industry. For that reason UNESCO has placed the terraces on a list of world heritage sites it believes to be ‘in danger’ in hope of starting a successful rehabilitation of the world’s most incredible agricultural engineering system.
The rice terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras, if laid out end to end, would stretch halfway around the globe
