The 3,000ft-high Golden Bridge in Vietnam, which appears to be held up by two huge hands sticking out the side of a mountain, has become a major tourist destination within a month of opening.
The bridge is reportedly part of a $2billion project to make the area more attractive to tourists and flowers line the walkways where visitors gather.
The pedestrian walkway, designed by TA Landscape Architecture in Ho Chi Minh City, sits at over 1,000 meters above sea level and extends over the treetops from the edge of a leafy cliff face, offering.
"The bridge is designed to evoke the image of the giant hands of Gods, pulling a strip of gold out of the land," said Vu Viet Anh, Design Principal at TA Landscape Architecture. "It creates a walkway
"The bridge is designed to evoke the image of the giant hands of Gods, pulling a strip of gold out of the land," said Vu Viet Anh, Design Principal at TA Landscape Architecture. "It creates a walkway
Tianzi Mountains
Located in the northwest of Wulingyuan Scenic Area, Tianzi Mountain makes up a ''golden triangle'' along with Zhangjiajie Forest Park and Suoxiyu Valley. The range undulates 40 kilometers and covers an area of 5400 hectares. The main peak of Tianzi Mountain dwarfs others and rises 1262.5 meters above sea level. What makes the distinct contrast is the Si Nan Yu, which is only 534 meters above sea level. Thanks to the advent of cable car, we are able to admire its fairy-tale landscape with the minimum effort. Besides, Tianzi Mountain provides us with some 100 natural viewing platforms.Tianzi Mountain is a geological smoking gun that illustrates how fantastic the Earth can be. The range’s formation is surprising: there were once sedimentary rocks growing beneath the waters of an ancient ocean, which ultimately became quartz sandstones. Today, the layer of quartz rocks as old as 380 million years old, as thick as 500 or 600 meters, caps the Tianzi Mountain.
The Tianzi Mountain was named as ''Qing Yan Mountain'' before Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) for green stones. It was not until the year of 1353 when Xiang Dakun, the leader of Tujia ethnic group, started a revolt, established kindom on Tianzi Mountain, and called himself ''King Xiang'' - son of heaven. In the year of 1385, they encountered the fierce siege of ten thousand soldiers commanded by Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang (1328-1398), the first emperor of Ming Dynasty. Unfortunately, King Xiang died in the battle and fell into the Sheng Tang Wan Gulf. To show their respect and support to Xiang Dakun, people set up villages along the Tianzi Mountain. The mounatin was renamed as ''Tianzi Mountain''.
Eye of the Sahara
The Richat Structure, also known as the Eye of the Sahara or blue eye of Africa, is a prominent geological circular feature in the Sahara desert in Mauritania near Ouadane. It is nearly 50 kilometers across and very visible from space. Initially interpreted as an asteroid impact structure because of its high degree of circularity, and then as a structure formed by a volcanic eruption that also seems improbable because of the lack of a dome of igneous or volcanic rock, it is now argued to be a highly symmetrical and deeply eroded geologic dome that collapsed. So it is now thought by many to have been caused by uplifted rock sculpted by erosion. But the fact that the "rings", are equidistant to the centre and that the Richat Structure is nearly circular remains a mystery.And new questions arise. Some people are amazed by the resemblance of this structure with the representation we have of Atlantis by Plato. According to Plato, the island was circular, divided into concentric circles of land and water: "There were 2 of land and 3 of water... Atlantis when sunk by the earthquake became an impossible barrier of mud to voyagers sailing from hence to any part of the ocean..." And he spoke about a mount sheltering the city by North and "and encompassing a great plain of an oblong shape in the south "...etc... Atlantis in Greek means Atlantis, nesos : the island of Atlas. And we get near the geologic eye at the North the Mount Atlas. According to Plato, Atlantis was lying "in front of the Pillars of Hercule", and we are there just in front from South and not beside from East or West as many authors are searching...
Crystal Cave
Cave of the Crystals or Giant Crystal Cave (Spanish: Cueva de los Cristales) is a cave connected to the Naica Mine 300 metres (980 ft) below the surface in Naica, Chihuahua, Mexico.The main chamber contains giant selenite crystals (gypsum, CaSO4·2 H2O), some of the largest natural crystals ever found. The cave's largest crystal found to date is 12 m (39 ft) in length, 4 m (13 ft) in diameter and 55 tons in weight. The cave is extremely hot, with air temperatures reaching up to 58 °C (136 °F) with 90 to 99 percent humidity. The cave is relatively unexplored due to these factors. Without proper protection, people can only endure approximately ten minutes of exposure at a time.
A group of scientists known as the Naica Project have been heavily involved in researching these caverns.
Naica lies on an ancient fault above an underground magma chamber below the cave. The magma heated the ground water which was saturated with sulfide ions (S2−). Cool oxygenated surface water contacted the mineral saturated heated water, but the two did not mix due to the difference in their densities. The oxygen slowly diffused into the heated water and oxidized the sulfides (S2−) into sulfates (SO42−). The hydrated sulfate gypsum crystallized at an extremely slow rate of over the course of at least 500,000 years forming the enormous crystals found today. The key to this process is the slow diffusion of oxygen from the cool, low density surface water into the hot, high density ground water.
Chocolate Hills
During the dry season, the grass-covered hills dry up and turn chocolate brown. This transforms the area into seemingly endless rows of "chocolate kisses". The branded confection is the inspiration behind the name, Chocolate Hills.
The Chocolate Hills (Filipino: Tsokolateng Burol) are a geological formation in the Bohol province of the Philippines. There are at least 1,260 hills but there may be as many as 1,776 hills spread over an area of more than 50 square kilometres (20 sq mi). They are covered in green grass that turns brown (like chocolate) during the dry season, hence the name.
The Chocolate Hills are a famous tourist attraction of Bohol. They are featured in the provincial flag and seal to symbolize the abundance of natural attractions in the province. They are in the Philippine Tourism Authority's list of tourist destinations in the Philippines; they have been declared the country's third National Geological Monument and proposed for inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Lake Baikal
In the winter, for about five months or from January to May, the lake freezes over but the water is so clear that, from the surface, you can see an astounding 130 feet below you. A photographic worthy natural phenomenon occurs around a very specific time of year, March. Wind, temperature differences, frost and sun in the ice crust cause cracks and ice hummocks to form. Transparent and shining in a turquoise color, these masses of broken ice look like shards of glass rising into the sky. They are caused by the slow and unequal pressure in the main body of the packed ice as well as by the unequal structure and temperature. Now that's one for the bucket list.
Mount Roraima
Mount Roraima lies on the Guiana Shield in the southeastern corner of Venezuela's 30,000-square-kilometre (12,000 sq mi) Canaima National Park forming the highest peak of Guyana's Highland Range. The tabletop mountains of the park are considered some of the oldest geological formations on Earth, dating back to some two billion years ago in the Precambrian.
The highest point in Guyana and the highest point of the Brazilian state of Roraima lie on the plateau, but Venezuela and Brazil have higher mountains elsewhere. The triple border point is at 5°12′08″N 60°44′07″W, but the mountain's highest point is Maverick Rock, 2,810 metres (9,219 ft), at the south end of the plateau and wholly within Venezuela.
Enchanted Well
Poco Encantado or Enchanted Well is located in the Chapada Diamantina National Park in Bahia state, approximately 400 kilometers inland from Salvador, and the capital city of Bahia. The park was established in 1985 and played a major role in Brazil’s diamond boom history. The Chapada’s landscape is a creation of the erosion process that the region suffered in the beginning of the pre-Cambrian period, forming towers of minerals known as ‘tepuy’ and the name was given by the local Indians that dominated the area. The main beauty of Chapada Diamantina National Park is that it present great scenery and is a jewel of eco-tourism. This giant sunken pool is 120 feet deep and its water is so transparent that you can even see the ancient rocks and tree trunks on the bottom. When the sun is just right, light comes through a gap and creates a blue reflection on the water, which is really worth watch view.
Access to this beautiful pond is highly controlled for the environmental protection of its rare and delicate ecosystem. This land of gold and diamond is dynamic from the rest of the world’s natural parks for two main reasons: its prodigious caverns with their pools of magical colors (although the most outstanding ones are not technically included within the boundaries of the park), and second, the hundreds of wonderful waterfalls splashed across its territory.
Zhangye Danxia Landform
Zhangye Danxia Landform is a special area, which attracts fans of unusual beauty of the landscape and history of the Earth. Such parks are protected by the state and demonstrate the history and stages of relief process. It’s very popular now to lay the routes through geological parks for tourists, excursion groups, cyclists to see the beauty of nature. Today China has the biggest number of such areas. Danxia Geopark is one of the most unusual and beautiful of them.
The park is located 40 kilometres far from Zhangye. The reason for such interest of travellers is the colour relief of this place. In many guidebooks you can see another name of the park “Multi-coloured mountains.”
The area is relatively small according to Chinese standards, but large for Europe. It is 510 square kilometers, this exceeds, for example, the area of the Principality of Andorra.
According to geological studies, in the Cretaceous period of the Mesozoic era (about 100 million years ago), there was a huge interior basin on its territory where water flows from the surrounding mountains accumulated. Due to extremely high temperature the basin dried up and sediments remaining after the reservoir underwent oxidation. Gradually, under the influence of physical processes the top layer began to take its present form.
Danxia geological park consists mainly of sandstone. Colourful and bizarre rocks – this is a result of work of wind and water with sedimentary rocks. Each layer has its own colour, which can be clearly seen on the rocks. Gradually the layers transformed into a sandstone. The rocks were further raised by water and wind erosion, which formed amazing sharp peaks and deepenings in the rocks.
Today Danxia became a popular tourist attraction. Quiet and calm Zhangye became popular among tourists from all over the world. The government took effective measures for travellers to enjoy views of the landscape.
Deadvlei
Deadvlei is a white clay pan located near the more famous salt pan of Sossusvlei, inside the Namib-Naukluft Park in Namibia. Also written DeadVlei or Dead Vlei, its name means "dead marsh" (from English dead, and Afrikaans vlei, a lake or marsh in a valley between the dunes). The pan also is referred to as "Dooie Vlei" which is the (presumably original) fully Afrikaans name. In Google there are many references to the site, its name often being translated erroneously in terms such as "dead valley"; a vlei is not a valley (which in Afrikaans is "vallei"). Nor is the site a valley; the pan is a desiccated vlei.
Dead Vlei has been claimed to be surrounded by the highest sand dunes in the world, the highest reaching 300-400 meters (350m on average, named "Big Daddy" or "Crazy Dune"), which rest on a sandstone terrace.
The clay pan was formed after rainfall, when the Tsauchab river flooded, creating temporary shallow pools where the abundance of water allowed camel thorn trees to grow. When the climate changed, drought hit the area, and sand dunes encroached on the pan, which blocked the river from the area.
The trees died, as there no longer was enough water to survive. There are some species of plants remaining, such as salsola and clumps of !nara, adapted to surviving off the morning mist and very rare rainfall. The remaining skeletons of the trees, which are believed to have died 600-700 years ago (AD 1340- 1430), are now black because the intense sun has scorched them.Though not petrified, the wood does not decompose because it is so dry.Lake Hillier
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