PAVAN MICKEY

Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Kutkhiny Baty, A Beautiful Valley of Kamchatka Krai, Russia

Kutkhiny Baty an amazing place in terms of geology and extraordinary in its beauty, located in Ust-Bolsheretsky district, Kamchatka Krai, Russia, near the place where the river headed originates from Kuril Lake and the lake are formed by large volcanic explosions, First 41,500 radiocarbon years ago and the second around 6440 BC. The huge amount of material ejected during the second explosion, comparable to some of the largest eruptions in recorded history, produced by thick pyroclastic flow deposits around the countryside, and some ash fell more than 1000 km away on the Asian mainland. Thus formed porous rock - pumice. Over time, this place was covered with earth and raised new forests. But things are changing. And the small creek began to grind the rock, and the wind completed the initiative and opened it for public gaze the white cliffs. The beautiful valley Kutkhiny Baty, appears in the middle of the green mountains like an white oasis in this view from the air, it is a natural depression formed by unique rock pumice, also known as pumice.

Photo credit Commons.Wikimedia

Name Kutkhiny Baty or Kuthiny baht went legend about the main character of Kamchatka - Kutkh. Usually Kutkh appeared before the people in the guise of a crow. According to ltelmen's or the native tribes also have a legend explaining how the valley was formed – they believed that the valley is a storage place for a god’s canoes. Kutkhu - the Lord and the Creator of Kamchatka - used to live on the Kurile Lake for some time, and used to go fishing on the lake and to the ocean in these canoes. Before leaving Kamchatka, Kutkhu put up his boats "Baty", and since then this place has been considered sacred among the locals. There are many stories on this topic, while local artisans can be purchased Kutkh figurines of wood, as well as bone.

The valley is made from whitish pumice stone. Pumice is a very light volcanic rock. Pumice is created when super-heated, highly pressurized rock is violently ejected from a volcano. The unusual foamy configuration of pumice happens. This is how famous "Kutkhiny Baty", "obelisks" made of pumice and resembling gigantic canoes left to dry, look like from a helicopter. Each "boat" is approximately 16 stories tall. Kurile Lake is a national wildlife preserve and a national monument. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the listings of composition of the volcanoes of Kamchatka.

Photo credit Photo credit Eugene Kaspersky

Kutkhiny Baty Pumice stone reserve. Photo credit Eugene Kaspersky

Photo credit Eugene Kaspersky

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American Stonehenge

The Georgia Guidestones, also known as the "American Stonehenge," is a granite monument erected in Elbert County, Georgia, USA in 1979. Engraved in eight different languages on the four giant stones that support the common capstone are 10 Guides, or commandments. The origin of that strange monument is shrouded in mystery because no one knows the true identity of the man, or men, who commissioned its construction. But in June 1979, a well-dressed, articulate stranger visited the office of the Elberton Granite Finishing Company and announced that he wanted to build an edifice to transmit a message to mankind. He identified himself as R. C. Christian, but it soon became apparent that was not his real name. no one knows who R. C. Christian really was, or the names of those he represented. Several things are apparent. The messages engraved on the Georgia Guidestones deal with four major fields: (1) Governance and the establishment of a world government, (2) Population and reproduction control, (3) The environment and man's relationship to nature, and (4) Spirituality.

Photo credit Arthur Mullis

19 feet 3 inches tall, made from six granite slabs weighing 107,840 kg in all. One slab stands in the center, with four arranged around it. A capstone lies on top of the five slabs, with a set of 10 guidelines is inscribed on the structure in eight modern languages that is English, Spanish, Swahili, Hindi, Hebrew, Arabic, Chinese, and Russian, A shorter message is inscribed at the top of the structure in four ancient language scripts: Babylonian, Classical Greek, Sanskrit, and Egyptian hieroglyphs. An additional granite ledger has been set level with the ground.

THE MESSAGE OF THE GEORGIA GUIDESTONES

1. Maintain humanity under 500,000,000 in perpetual balance with nature.

2. Guide reproduction wisely - improving fitness and diversity.

3. Unite humanity with a living new language.

4. Rule passion - faith - tradition - and all things with tempered reason.

5. Protect people and nations with fair laws and just courts.

6. Let all nations rule internally resolving external disputes in a world court.

7. Avoid petty laws and useless officials.

8. Balance personal rights with social duties.

9. Prize truth - beauty - love - seeking harmony with the infinite.

10.Be not a cancer on the earth - Leave room for nature - Leave room for nature.

Photo credit Robin Teagarden III

Photo credit Kevin Trotman

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Photo credit Robert Bowman

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Photo credit Kevin Trotman

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Walter’s Wiggles on Angels Landing Trail, Utah

Walter’s Wiggles on Angels Landing Trail viewed from above in Zion National Park, Utah, USA. Walter’s Wiggles are a series of 21 short switchbacks carved into the face of the cliff, the serpentine switchbacks steeply ascend the north face, each wiggle no more than 20-25 feet in length. The trail was cut from a sheer drop of solid rock in 1926 and remains one of the park’s most spectacular construction wonders. The top offers wonderful views of Zion Canyon. This area was protected as Mukuntuweap National Monument by President William Howard Taft in 1909 and was later renamed Zion National Park. Zion is located on the Colorado Plateau, but borders the Basin and Range Province.

21 sharp zigzags to a scenic plateau. Photo credit Cattle dog guy

Elevations in the park vary from 3,600 to 8,700 feet, allowing for a wide range of animal and plant life, all of which are adapted to the area’s arid conditions. Elevation differences and geologic processes such as tectonic uplift, erosion, and sedimentation have created environments ranging from high plateaus and riparian environments to deserts and deep sandstone canyons. The park is located in Washington, Iron and Kane Counties in southwestern Utah.

The top of the switchbacks at The Notch us enter the remarkable Refrigerator Canyon. This slot between the sandstone walls is stunningly beautiful and contains many pine trees and scrub foliage. Judging by the amount of sand that covers the paved walkway, there is no doubt about the occasional flash flood and heavy wind gusts that rush through. It climbs gradually northward about a quarter mile until reaching one of the highlights of this trek, Walters Wiggles. The wiggles take their name from Walter Ruesh, Zion’s first superintendent, who in 1926 began constructing this trail to Angels Landing. The concrete for the job was hauled in by helicopter, taking a total of 258 flights. Once we reach the top of Walters Wiggles, The first close-up view of Angels Landing.

Photo credit Stevo

West Rim Trail - Walters Wiggles. Photo credit Mark Bayes

Photo credit Russell Evans

Walters Wiggles, Angels Landing, Utah. Photo credit Stephanie Quillen

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Walter's Wiggles, Angel's Landing Trail. Photo credit Liz Blair

Walter's Wiggles leading down through Refrigerator Canyon into the Main Canyon. Photo credit Glenn

The Temple of 1,200 Statues in Kyoto, Japan

Otagi Nenbutsu-Ji is a Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan. The temple, originally called Otagi-ji temple, was founded in the Otagi District. This Buddhist temple is a pack of many stone figures. The 1200 Rakan figures were carved by worshipers of this temple from 1981 to 1991 to pray for the prosperity of the temple. Different from usual Buddhist figures, these Rakans seem like having been sculpted with humor and fun.

Photo credit a2zumac

The principal image of this temple is Senju Kannon (the Goddess of Mercy with 1,000 hands). People call this temple The Temple of 1,200 Rakan (the stone statues of Buddha's disciples). Otagi Nenbutsu-ji was founded by Empress Shotoku in the middle of the 8th century. Though was destroyed by the flooding of the Kamo River, it was rebuilt as an offshoot of Enryaku-ji, a nearby temple. During a civil war of 13th century, it was again destroyed. The temple was moved to its current location in 1922, later suffering typhoon damage in 1950. After 31 years in 1981 the damage structure was finally repaired, worshippers at the temple decided to donate rakan sculptures to the temple in honour of its refurbishing. A famous sculptor, Kocho Nishimura taught hundreds of sculptors, amateur and professional alike how to carve statues from stone, and the result is a delightful mix of serene and scary, somber and silly.

Photo credit Trout Monroe

Photo credit Amy Jane Gustafson

Photo credit Marisoleta

Photo credit Steve Zdawczynski

Photo credit Jack

Photo credit Trout Monroe

Photo credit a2zumac

Tuesday, June 30, 2015

The Ghost Tower of Bangkok

The Sathorn Unique, A skyscraper of unfinished 49-storey building “ghost tower” is a very different kind of attraction of Bangkok, During Thailand’s economic boom in the 1990s, it became a towering addition to the city’s skyline. It is located at the edge of old commercial town of Charernkrung meets the new international business zone of Silom-Sathorn roads. It considered as the best place for overlook at the Bangkok’s grand cityscape and the amenity of the Chao Praya river. A luxury residential skyscraper of over 659 residential homes and 54 shops. But it construction work stopped dramatically in 1997-98, The country’s economy contracted 10% in 1998 and many of the building projects came to a crashing halt, including this 49-story tower. Many towers have finally come to completion and construction is continuing, however many broke developers are still unable or unwilling to take action. Abandoned tower stands empty and dreary, Locals are convinced the building is haunted.