11 Incredible Photos

The photos given below are 11 incredible photos taken from space which illustrate just a few of earth’s fascinating geographical features and nature’s frightening unpredictability.

click on all pictures for humongous versions.

1. sri lankan coast, 26th december 2004

(above) the ocean rapidly retreats 400 metres on the south-western coast of sri lanka, just 5 minutes prior to the arrival of a devastating tsunami.

(above) the swirling waters continue to batter the coast just moments after the main wall of water has hit.

2. an alluvial fan, xinjiang province, china

(above) covering an area 56.6 x 61.3 km and taken on may 2nd, 2002, this photo shows an alluvial fan that formed on the southern border of the taklimakan desert in china. an alluvial fan usually forms as water leaves a canyon, each new stream eventually closing up due to sediment - the result being a triangle of active and inactive channels. the blue ones on the left are currently active.

3. retreating glaciers in the bhutan-himalaya

(above) a beautiful but clear sign that glaciers are slowly melting due to global warming. easily visible are the ends of most of these glacial valleys’ surfaces turning to water to form lakes, a trend which has been noticed only in the last few decades.

4. hurricane isabel, 2003

(above) this terrifying photo of hurricane isabel was taken on the international space station in 2003 and illustrates the immense size of the hurricane’s eye. this particular hurricane was the deadliest of 2003 and winds reached 165 mph at its peak.

5. greenland’s eastern coast, august 21st, 2003

(above) the fractal coastline of greenland and its numerous fjords as seen from space.

‘little spots of white in the water seem to be ice originating from the deeper fjords that reach all the way to the icecap covering most of the island.’ link

6. aurora borealis

(above) an astounding and spooky photo of the natural phenomenon known as aurora borealis, taken on-board space shuttle atlantis during the sts-117 mission.

7. a total solar eclipse from space, 1999

(above) the shadow of the moon covers part of earth on august 11th, 1999 in this photo taken from mir space station. this shadow raced across earth at 2000 km/h, all areas under the centre of it plunged into darkness during a total solar eclipse. this was apparently one the final photos taken from mir.

8. egmont national park, new zealand

(above) mt. egmont volcano last erupted in 1755 and is now situated at the centre of egmont national park. park regulations have ensured the survival of a forest which extends at a 9.5 km radius from the summit of the volcano, the result of which can be seen from space in the form of huge dark green disc. this photo was taken during the sts-110 mission, april 2002.

9. mt. etna eruption, october 2001

(above) taken from the international space station in 2001, this is a photo of a particularly violent eruption on the island of sicily which produced a cloud of ash that travelled as far as libya. on the humongous version of the photo lighter coloured smoke can be seen near the volcano - this was caused by lava igniting nearby forests.

10. richat structure, mauritania

(above) the cause of the richat structure in the sahara desert of mauritania has been debated for many years. at first it was thought to be a meteor impact crater due to its circularity but this has since been disproven due to the lack of shock-altered rock in its vicinity. this massive (30 mile diameter) oddity is now believed to have been a rock dome sculpted over time by erosion. this incredible image was taken by the advanced spaceborne thermal emission and reflection radiometer (aster) on october 7th, 2000.

CREATIVE STAIRCASES

stairs are generally pretty boring.

don’t get me wrong: if the staircase gets me from one level to another, it’s succeeded as a design. i just wish they were a bit more exciting.

here are a few examples that might actually keep me amused for a few minutes before i realise i’m wheezing.

1. storage staircase

designer: unicraft joinery

i can’t believe this type of staircase isn’t already widely used in homes - for people with very little storage space this could be extremely valuable. simply use each step as a drawer and no-one will even notice.

2. musical stairs

information about the musical staircase in the sony building in ginza, tokyo seems to be sparse. check out the video below for a demo. to actually make a tune on these steps would involve jumping up and down like a mental case trying to hit the correct note, possibly breaking bones on the way. it’s like a hardcore version of the king-size piano in ‘big’.

3. crooked stairs

designers: gabriella gustafson and mattias ståhlbom

these abstract stairs look brilliant but i can’t help thinking that the chances of falling down them would be significantly higher than normal. if i woke up crusty-eyed in the morning with these in my house i’m pretty sure i’d attempt to walk down the middle and quickly become unconcious again.

4. slide staircase

designer: rodney miller @ wood innovations

multi-millionnaire scott jones decided to splash his cash on a spiral staircase-slide and instantly made a lot of people jealous. local craftsman rodney miller was called upon to create this 17 ft mahogany toy, a job which took a whopping 15 months to finish. the slide also includes fibre-optic lights which can change to 8 different colours.

5. internal log staircase

designer: dave stewart

thought to be the world’s only internal log staircase, this beauty has been carved from one giant 140 ton kauri log. the beast took a total of 500 man hours to carve and finish and can be found at ‘ancient kauri kingdom’ in new zealand.

6. retractable staircase

designer: aaron tang

industrial designer aaron tang created these futuristic retractable stairs using ’simple hinges and pistons’. they could be used where living space is limited or where access to a certain level of a building needs to be restricted.

7. steel ribbon stairs

designer: thomas heatherwick

london-based designer thomas heatherwick created this amazing 55 ton steel staircase for the opening of the new longchamps store in new york last year and has since recieved praise from all angles. the construction of the staircase was apparently a logistical nightmare, each of the 17 seperate units having to be installed precisely, stretching up to the ceiling.

8. suspended stairs

designers: jürg conzett and rolf bachofner

it’s not often you see a stairway used to bridge a gorge. swiss designers jurg conzett and rolf bachofner decided this would be the best way to cross the traversinertobel in switzerland as the only safe opposing points were at different elevations, meaning a traditional bridge could cause a few problems. the incredible staircase-bridge measures 56 metres in length.

9. ‘impossible’ spiral staircase

designer: unknown

there are many mysteries surrounding the construction of the spiral staircase at loretto chapel and many believe the appearance of it to be a miracle. design-wise, the staircase is extremely impressive - there is no visible central beam to hold the staircase up and no nails have been used during its creation. however the central spiral is so narrow that it does indeed act as a support beam for the staircase.

WORLD'S LARGEST SWIMMING POOL

Already drawing the crowds in the South American resort of San Alfonso del Mar in Chile, this artificial lagoon and swimming pool is eight hectares in size and contains an incredible 250,000 cubic meters of water. Acknowledged by Guinness World Records as being the world’s largest swimming pool, the lagoon trounces all other record holders in the category, including the Orthlieb pool in Casablanca, Morocco, itself a huge 150 meters by 100 meters – the San Alfonso pool is 1km in length. The revolutionary clear water artificial lagoons, transparent to a depth of 35 meters and unprecedented in design and construction methods, are the brainchild of Crystal Lagoons founder, biochemist and Chilean businessman Fernando Fischmann. Equivalent in size to an incredible 6,000 standard domestic pools, details of its technology are to be unveiled for the first time at Cityscape Dubai later this month.

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THE ROCKS ROCK!

1. meoto iwa

situated just off the coast of mie, japan, meoto iwa (wedded rocks) are meant to signify marriage, the larger being male and the smaller female. the rope connecting the rocks (the shimenawa) weighs over a ton and is replaced throughout the year during various ceremonies.

2. kjeragbolten

wedged between the walls of a mountain crevice in norway is a rock called kjeragbolten. the rock is often stood on by tourists for a crafty photograph whilst attempting not to look down at the 3000ft+ drop. i’m assuming the sheep/goat in the picture below was a local.

3. the idol rock

this precarious little bugger is a member of the brimham rocks family in north yorkshire, 50 acres of strange rock formations visited regularly by members of the public. the idol rock pictured weighs 200 tonnes and balances on a rock a fraction of its size.

4. kyaiktiyo pagoda

situated in burma, the rock at this incredible buddhist pilgrimage site was (according to locals) placed on the cliff edge by spirits and the pagoda resting on top apparently contains a hair belonging to the buddha.

5. mushroom rock

this brilliantly eroded mushroom rock formation resides in the aptly named mushroom rock state park in kansas. the park doesn’t just contain rocks shaped like mushrooms though, apparently there’s one that resembles a giant shoe.

6. rockall

rockall is an unsurprisingly uninhabited sea-rock in the north atlantic ocean and is also the most isolated part of the british isles. numerous landings have been made on the rock and various disputes have arisen over its ownership, a matter which is still unresolved.

7. piedra del peñol

i couldn’t find much information on the intertubes about this beast so forgive me. all i know is that you have to pay to get to the top and that the stairway that sits in the rock’s crevice must’ve been an absolute ball-ache to construct. click on the pic for a larger version and you’ll realise just how mental it is.

SOME WEIRD PLANTS IN THE WORLD

Weird is relative. What seems weird to me might not seem weird to you. In the plant kingdom, however, there are definitely some species that most people would acknowledge are highly unusual. In the wack spirit of Halloween, some of my findings follow.

1. Rafflesia arnoldii: this parasitic plant develops the world's largest bloom that can grow over three feet across. The flower is a fleshy color, with spots that make it look like a teenager's acne-ridden skin. It smells bad and has a hole in the center that holds six or seven quarts of water. The plant has no leaves, stems, or roots.




2. Hydnora africana, an unusual flesh-colored, parasitic flower that attacks the nearby roots of shrubby in arid deserts of South Africa. The putrid-smelling blossom attracts herds of carrion beetles.

Image Credit: Martin Heigan (via creative commons)

3. Dracunculus vulgaris: smells like rotting flesh, and has a burgundy-colored, leaf-like flower that projects a slender, black appendage.





4. Amorphophallus: means, literally, "shapeless penis." The name comes from the shape of the erect black spadix.






5. Wollemia nobilis: This bizarre-looking tree was known only from 120 million-year-old fossil leaves before 1994; fewer than one hundred exist in the wild. They have strange bark that looks like bubbles of chocolate, multiple trunks, and ferny-looking leaves growing in spirals. They can grow up to 125 feet tall.



6. Welwitschia mirabilis consists of only two leaves and a stem with roots. Its two leaves continue to grow until they resemble an alien life form. The stem gets thicker rather than higher, although this plant can grow to be almost six feet high and twenty-four feet wide. Its estimated lifespan is 400 to 1500 years. Mirabilis grows in Namibia, and is thought to be a relic of the Jurassic period.




7. Drakaea glyptodon: an orchid. It is the color of, and smells like, raw meat. Pollinated by male wasps.

8. Wolffia angusta: the world's smallest flower. A dozen plants would easily fit on the head of a pin and two plants in full bloom will fit inside a small printed letter "o."