Moving Rocks at Death Valley

Natural phenomenons are absolutely remarkable. Have you ever imagined rocks moving alone? Well, this is exactly what happens to the rocks of Racetrack Playa, Death Valley, they are known as a mysterious geological phenomenon. These rocks weigh the size of a human, or even more, they slide across the Death Valley all by themselves for great distances, however, no one has ever taped nor seen these rocks moving, therefore the speed that the rocks travel at, are not known. There is no theory that can explain why the rocks travel side by side, some may all of a sudden move direction to the right, left or even move back to the direction it came from. Two rocks with the same resemblance could travel uniform, and then one could burst ahead or stop dead in its track, all of this adds to their mystery.

Many people believe that paranormal forces are at work here. Possible explanations have been put forward over many years. Interested geologists think that one of the most reasonable explanations for the strange movement of the rocks is because of the powerful winds that blow through the canyons as well as in conjunction with the wet mud, but that hasn’t been proven either.

The Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon which is situated in the northern Arizona, was designated a national park of the United States in 1912. It was formed over a period of millions of years by the Colorado River which flows through the Canyon. However, the work of the Colorado River is far from complete, because each day the river as well as in combination with the powerful winds widens and deepens the Grand Canyon.

The Grand Canyon is nearly 450 kilometers long and almost 2 kilometers deep. Each year thousands of people visit the Grand Canyon. There are many trails that lead to the bottom, people usually hike down or ride on the back of mules. Rangers say that a person needs to consume at least three liters of water for going down the canyon, per day. A 440 feet long, 5 feet wide Kaibab suspension Bridge (also known as Black Bridge) was built across the Colorado River in 1928.

One of the things that I find fascinating about the Grand Canyon is the rock layers that sparkle in the sun – green, pink, yellow and violet. Each layer holds a record of geologic history containing millions of years. Fossils can be found embedded in these surfaces, and at the top part, sometimes even footprints or so of reptiles are found. The weather is, well, very odd. From top to bottom the climate gets warmer and warmer. Near the top where it is coolest, blue spruce and aspen trees can be found. Lower down, there are yellow pines. On the floor of the canyon where it is hot and desert-like, the most common plants are cacti of various kinds.

The seven natural wonders of the world

I love diamonds, emeralds, rubies, pearls and gold, but our world also possesses other riches. The flowers, trees, mountains, rivers, sea and sky of our world may not fill my pockets with money but they can make me feel rich and happy. I love to look at photos of the Kohinoor diamond, but I also love to watch flowers grow. Let me assure you that a rose is just as fine as the Kohinoor diamond and even more of a miracle. The world is indeed full of wonderful things. Some of the most beautiful things on earth are the wonders of our mother nature, which were created naturally and throughout time. The seven wonders of nature includes Mount Everest in Nepal; the Grand Canyon in USA; the Great Barrier Reef in Australia; the Aurora Borealis or Northern lights; Paricutin Volcano in Mexico; the Victorian Falls of Zambia and Zimbabwe and the Harbor of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.

As I´ve already mentioned on my blog, our planet, earth, is indeed a treasure chest. However, all treasure chests have bottoms, therefore we should learn to take care of all the riches that we have on our lovely planet. And in the long run it is far more important that we have clean air and rivers, fresh flowers, and tall trees than all the diamonds and rubies and gold of our wildest dreams.

The Great Pyramid of Khufu

One of the greatest works of ancient man is the Great Pyramid of Khufu, or Cheops at Giza in Egypt. It is considered one of the “Seven Wonders of the Ancient World” and is the only one that still stands, it also ranks as the largest pyramid ever built. According to the ancient Greek historian Herodotus, he visited Egypt around 450 BC and was told by his Egyptian guide that it took 20 years to build the pyramid, the work of just hauling the stones was broken into 3-month shifts, using the labor of 100.000 men in each shift.

Originally the Great Pyramid was covered by casing stones that formed a smooth outer surface, and what is seen today is the underlying core structure. Some of the casing stones that once covered the structure can still be seen around the base. There are three known chambers inside the Great Pyramid, it is the only pyramid known to contain both ascending and descending passages. It is believed that the pyramid was built as a tomb for fourth dynasty Egyptian King Khufu, although some have suggested that it was never meant as a tomb, but as an astronomical observatory.

If the Great Pyramid was indeed a tomb, what happened to Khufu´s mummy and treasure? No one knows. Widespread explorations have found no other chambers or passageways. Is it possible that, in this one case, the King and his architect outsmarted both the ancient thieves and modern archeologists and that somewhere in, or below, the last wonder of the ancient world, rests Khufu and his sacred treasure.

The Great Wall of China

The Great Wall of China is one of the world’s most amazing sights, it is known as the longest construction project on earth, though its total length is not very precise, although many people say that it´s more than 6700 km long. The Great Wall was built during various successive Dynasties, in order to defend China’s northern borders against invaders; however, the wall did not succeed on doing this. The Great wall was built exclusively by human hands, although some animals were used to bring materials to the building site.

The most famous Dynasty is the “Qin Dynasty” which dates back to the 3rd century B.C. It was the great Emperor Qin Shi Huang who ordered the construction of this gigantic undertaking. However, there are no historical records indicating the precise length and route of the Qin Dynasty wall because most it eroded away over the centuries and very little of it remains. The second dynasty to add to the Great Wall was the "Han Dynasty". The most notable contribution of the Han Dynasty is that they extended the Great Wall westwards through the Gobi Desert. The walls that we see today are of the “Ming Dynasty” (1368 – 1644), they built the biggest, longest, strongest and most elaborated Great Wall ever. The Ming devoted considerable resources to repair and reinforce the walls. Uundetected portions of the wall, built during the Ming Dynasty, were recently discovered. The sections had been submerged over time by sandstorms that moved across the arid region.

All along the Great Wall, there are many watchtowers, spaced from less than a kilometer to several kilometers apart. These watchtowers were used to transmit military messages. Fire and smoke were the most efficient means of communication – fire was used at night and smoke was used during the day.
The Great Wall is now a major attraction in China with sections of the wall being restored for this purpose – the most popular one is near Beijing. To facilitate the tourists, several sections of the wall have been made into museums.

The Great Sphinx

The Great Sphinx of Giza is a huge statue that has the body of a lion and the head of a human, and is situated near the banks of the Nile, facing east, away from the pyramid of Khafre (near modern-day Cairo), in Egypt. It is the largest statue in the world that is created from a single piece of stone, with dimensions of 240 feet long (72.55m), 20 feet wide (6m), and 65 feet high (20.22m). It was believed to have been built around the third millennium BC, which is quite a long time ago. Many believe that it was created at the will of King Khafre, who ordered his own image carved on the Sphinx´s head, however no one is completely certain that it is in fact the face of Khafre. The nose on the Sphinx´s face is missing, but no one really knows why because there are many different legends.

The statue was buried most of its life in the sand, in fact, if it had not been buried during most of the time, being built of soft-sand, it would probably have disappeared long ago. Over the years, people attempted to clear away the sand from the Sphinx but gave up, but only between 1925 and 1936, the great statue was once again exposed, since antiquity. On the other hand, the statue is falling apart today because of the climate conditions in Cairo. Therefore, today, much of the work on the Great Sphinx is not aimed at more explorations or excavations, but rather the conservation of this great wonder of Egypt.

Petroleum - Black Gold

Petroleum, or crude oil is a product that is very much valued, in fact it is also known as the "Black Gold". For those who don't know, history of it's origin relates back to at least 200 to 400 million years ago when enormous layers of organic material made up of vegetable and animal remains were carried by rivers to the bottom of the oceans and began to decay. They became mixed with other dead remains and slowly this mass of decaying material was transformed into a thick black liquid.

Some petroleum deposits lie in off-shore waters and others lie in the bottom of lakes. In fact, one of the richest deposits in the world is at the bottom of lake Maracaibo in Venezuela, South America. Other great deposits lie at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico and the Persian Gulf. Some of the richest petroleum deposits in the world have also been found under the arid deserts. In the 1930´s oil was descovered in Kuwait and since then, Kuwait has become one of the world's richest. It's reserves are about one quarter of the earth´s total.

Some examples made from oil are gasoline and fuel for heating our homes. Oil is used for making plastic wrappers that protect food. Many of the clothes we wear are made of oil products.

Have you ever thought that some day we may be in trouble? Well oils will be dried up because man is using up this product too fast.

birthstones

In ancient times, people used to think that the gems found on this planet had celestial origins – in other words they used to think that there was a connection between the mineral world and the planets and stars. From this idea the superstition was born that certain gems possessed magical virtues and would bring good fortune to those born under the signs of the zodiac to which the gems belonged. Some people still like to wear their birthstones in a ring or necklace. Using the chart above, you can easily find out which stone is associated with your zodiac sign.

The astrologers called the imagined path of the sun, moon and planets the zodiac. The zodiac was divided into 12 different signs or constellations. Those who were born under a certain sign of the zodiac was thought to be protected by the jewel associated with that sign.

Pearls

Pearls are composed primarily of aragonite (a form of calcium carbonate) which is a mineral. Among the mollusks (a family of creatures that includes clams, mussels, octopuses and oysters), only the pearl oyster produces pearls of gem quality. Two species of pearl oyster carry on most of the work of pearl making. One species lives in salt water and the other lives in fresh-water Rivers and lakes.
There are two ways in which man can obtain pearls, he can dive for oysters and gather “natural pearls” or he can help nature and become involved in the oysters work, this method is called “cultured pearls”.

When an oyster forms a natural pearl, it means that a particle of sand or a tiny living creature has been drawn into the oyster´s shell while the oyster is gathering food. The oyster then secretes a substance called mother-of-pearl around the unfamiliar object and in this way a pearl is progressively formed. Cultured pearls are formed when man takes oysters from their homes and inserts a particle of unfamiliar matter into their shells in order to produce a pearl. The oysters are placed in nets and are lowered back into the water. After a period of 3 to 6 years, the oysters are pulled back up and the pearls they have “manufactured” are taken out.
The pearl´s value is determined by its perfection of form, its color and its luster.

Diamond cutting

In order to qualify as gems, stones must have beauty, they must be hard and tough enough to take considerable wear, and they must be rare enough for people to prize them. Diamonds, rubies and emeralds have all these qualifications and are the most prized gems. Gemstones, with only four exceptions, are minerals. These four exceptions are pearl, amber, coral and jet which are made of organic materials formed by plants or animals.

The beauty of the gemstone often depends on the way it is cut. The most crucial moment in diamond cutting is when the cutters make the first cut in the preparation of a fine gemstone. The slightest error or poor cutting could destroy or diminish the value of the diamond. With proper cutting, brilliant reflections should appear across the entire stone. These reflections also help to develop the strength of the color, in a stone, as well as its brilliancy. This method of cutting is called facet cutting and is used only with transparent stones. Experts may take months to plan their cutting of a great stone.

The cabochon cut is the method of smoothing and rounding out a stone. Long ago, before men learned facet cutting, all gemstones were given cabochon cutting. The only stones now cut in this way are opaque stones and stones with special cat´s-eye effects, asterism, or opalescence.

Diamonds

The Diamond is the gem that holds first place in the scale of values. The word “diamond” comes from a Greek meaning “the invincible one”. The beauty of this gemstone comes from its fire and brilliancy, as most diamonds are colorless. The few diamonds that do have color, like the Blue Hope diamond and the Apple-green Dresden diamond, are especially valuable. The most common colors of diamonds are brown and yellow. Yellow diamonds, however must not be too pale because the value of the diamond will be reduced. Extremely rare are olive-green, aqua-marine and pink diamonds. Rarer still are the sapphire-blue ones, and finally the red diamonds are the rarest. Diamonds are one of the hardest materials known. Due to their hardness, they are able to resist scratching and chipping. Diamonds can also take a steady, hard pressure without being worn down. But they can easily be shattered by a hard blow.

One of the world’s most famous diamonds is the Cullinan diamond which was found in a South African mine called the Premier Mine in 1905. It is known as the largest rough gem-quality diamond ever found. The largest diamond that was cut from the Cullinan stone after it was split into a number of stones is the famous Star of Africa (Cullinan I). It weighs 530.20 carats and was the largest cut diamond in the world until the discovery of the Golden Jubilee Diamond. The second largest diamond cut from the Cullinan stone is the Lesser Star of Africa (Cullinan II) and is considered the fourth largest cut diamond in the world. Both of these diamonds are now among the British Crown Jewels.