[ By Steph in Animals & Habitats, Art & Design, Science & Research, Technology & Gadgets. ]
Surveillance cameras flap their wings in the sky just like birds and bats. Tiny little hairs on gecko feet help a robot climb a smooth vertical surface. The impact-resistant surface of human teeth inspires light and durable aerospace materials. Just like designs inspired by the sea, insect-mimicking inventions and buildings that look like natural terrain, these 14 examples of biomimicry based on animal and human biology capitalize on the unparalleled efficiency of nature.
A Robotic Arm Like an Elephant Trunk
(image via: festo.com)
Robotics have always been bound by the limitations of the computers of their time, but as computer technology continues to evolve, more complex calculations for a wider range of movements become possible. And the capability of flexible, pliable movement has given way to more advanced designs like this one: a new ‘biomechatronic’ handling system based on an elephant’s trunk. Created by German engineering firm Festo, the Bionic Handling Assistant smoothly transports heavy loads, expanding and contracting by inflating or deflating air sacs within each ‘vertebrae’.
Solar-Powered Bat-Inspired Spy Plane
(image via: inhabitat)
Bats have unwittingly become the inspiration for a government surveillance device. The United States military commissioned the COM-BAT from the University of Michigan College of Engineering, giving them a five-year, $10-million-dollar grant to develop the design. Fitted with a solar panel in its transparent ‘head’, the 6-inch spy plane has wings shaped like those of the flying mammal. The plane must be able to collect large amounts of surveillance data while running on only 1 watt of power.
Bird Skulls Inspire Lighter, Stronger Building Materials
(image via: andres harris)
“Skulls in general are extraordinary impact-resistant structures and extremely light at the same time as they protect the most important organs of an animal body and this performance and physical property can be applied in structure or architecture design,” says architect Andres Harris, who has studied animal bones – particularly bird skulls – extensively in a bid to design a highly efficient bio-inspired surface. Harris imagines mimicking the material for a large pavilion, and the blog Biomimetic Architecture notes that this concept could also be applied to cars.
Bullet Train Has a Nose Like a Kingfisher Beak
(images via: yimhafiz, laszlo-photo)
The kingfisher dives into the water from the air without making a splash, mostly thanks to its highly efficiently-shaped beak. In a stroke of genius, engineer and bird enthusiast Eiji Nakatsu realized that the same shape could solve an annoying problem faced by Japan’s ultra-fast bullet trains, which created a loud booming sound like a thunder clap whenever they exited a tunnel. The nose of the train was pushing air at high speeds, creating a wall of wind that not only made the loud sound, but also slowed down the train. The new, kingfisher-inspired train nose eliminates this problem, making the trains up to 20 percent more fuel efficient.
Bio-Inspired Computer Takes Cues from Cat Brains
(image via: aturkus)
Sure, computer tech has advanced a lot in recent years – but even supercomputers still can’t recognize human faces as well as cats can. The University of Michigan decided to study the feline brain in order to develop an intelligent computer. The idea is that current computers execute code in a linear fashion, as opposed to the mammalian brain, which can process many things at once. Lu is in the process of developing a circuit element that behaves like biological synapses. This ‘memristor’ can remember past voltages that passed through it in a way that is similar to memory and learning in the brain. Why cats? Computer engineer Wei Lu says it was simply a more realistic goal than mimicking the brain of a human.
Bat Sonar Navigation Helps the Blind Get Around
(image via: gizmag)
It doesn’t have any cool physical features that reveal its inspiration, but the Ultracane wouldn’t be possible without study of the way bats get around in pitch blackness. In the same way that bats can “see” in the dark using ultrasonic echoes that reveal the location of obstacles, the Ultracane warns blind users of objects in their path. A number of sensors on the cane even make it possible for users to sense objects higher than head height.
Radio Chip Mimics the Human Ear
(images via: physorg, lisaw123)
Faster than any human-designed radio-frequency spectrum analyzer, this radio chip also needs very little power to operate. How is that possible? The design is based upon the human ear. MIT researchers looked at the way the cochlea converts sound waves into electrical signals sent to the brain. The sound waves create mechanical waves in the fluid of the inner ear, which activate tiny hair cells that facilitate electrical signals. Rahul Sarpeshkar used the same design principles in his artificial cochlear radio chip, which would make possible wireless devices that can receive cell phone, internet, radio and television signals.
““The more I started to look at the ear, the more I realized it’s like a super radio with 3,500 parallel channels,” said Sarpeshkar.
RoboSwift Micro-Airplane is No Ordinary Bird
(image via: science daily)
Here’s yet another invention to make you paranoid that that little flying creature above your house is no ordinary bird or bat. The RoboSwift, as implied by its name, is based upon the biology of the swift, a family of birds capable of extremely fast flight. Developed by Delft University of Technology, the RoboSwift is equipped with observation cameras that might be used either to study birds, or possibly for surveillance of human activity. Wind tunnel tests have found that its flight is remarkably bird-like thanks to the ability to fold its ‘feathers’ backwards.
Stickybot: Gecko Feet Help Robot Climb
(image via: science daily)
How can a robot climb a smooth surface like glass without using suction cups, which are slow and inefficient? The secret lies in the intricate design of a gecko’s toes. Mark Cutkosky, a professor of mechanical engineering at Stanford University, developed the ‘Stickybot’ with the same type of dry adhesive that lets those lizards cling to the most improbable of surfaces. This ‘directional adhesive’ relies on millions of hairs on the ridges of a gecko’s foot with split ends that interact with the molecules of the climbing surface.
“Other adhesives are sort of like walking around with chewing gum on your feet: You have to press it into the surface and then you have to work to pull it off. But with directional adhesion, it’s almost like you can sort of hook and unhook yourself from the surface,” Cutkosky told ScienceDaily.
Deer Antlers Inspire Basis of Super-Tough Materials
(image via: stuart.bassil)
What makes the antlers of a deer so bone-crushingly strong? Scientists at the University of York in the UK weren’t sure exactly how the moisture level in deer antlers affects their strength. They studied antlers that were cut just before the stage when stags start dueling, when they need their antlers to be at their strongest, and discovered that during this period, the antlers dry out. Dry, stiff materials are usually brittle and easily breakable, but deer antlers proved to be 2.4 times stronger than wet bone. This revelation seems to have solved a puzzling problem for engineers: making a material that is both stiff and tough. The structure of deer antlers will likely become the basis of incredibly durable industrial materials.
Human Teeth Structure and Aerospace Technology
(image via: diongillard)
Our teeth are only about a strong as glass – so how can they withstand nearly a lifetime of chomping on all kinds of hard foods? Researchers at Tel Aviv University examined thousands of extracted human teeth and found that under stress, the highly sophisticated structure that makes up the exterior of our teeth forms a network of micro-cracks instead of large ones. These tiny cracks are then able to heal over time. If engineers can find a way to replicate this ‘wavy’, multi-layered structure in a synthetic material, they could develop lighter and more crash-resistant aircraft, though the self-healing properties are probably a long way from realization.
Contact Lenses of the Future Inspired by Gecko Eyes
(image via: jurvetson)
Feet aren’t the only part of gecko anatomy that’s got engineers excited. Scientists have discovered that geckos have a series of distinct concentric zones in their eyes that make it possible for them to see colors at night, an ability few other creatures have. These zones have different refractive powers, giving geckos a multifocal optical system that allows light of different wavelengths to focus on the retina at the same time. This makes their eyes 350 times more sensitive than humans, and lets them focus on objects at different distances. The discovery may allow engineers to develop more effective cameras and possibly even multi-focal contact lenses.
Beer-Foam-Like Bird Feather Colors Influence Optical Materials
(image via: steve patten)
The brilliantly colored feathers of the male Eastern bluebird aren’t created by pigments, like most other colors found in nature – that shade of blue is actually produced by nanostructures that self-assemble in much the same way as beer foam. Essentially, they form the same way as materials undergoing ‘phase separation’, when different substances become unstable and separate from each other. Color-producing structures in feathers start out as bubbles of water inside living cells, and are replaced with air as the feather grows. These intricate optical structures, which look like sponges with air bubbles under a microscope, are being used to create a new generation of optical materials in the lab.
Human Eye Inspires Cameras with Wider Field of View
(image via: orangeacid)
The curved surface of the human eye facilitates a wider field of view than has ever been possible using a camera. The challenge for engineers was to transfer microelectronic components onto a curved surface without breaking them. Yonggang Huang of Northwestern University and John Rogers of the University of Illinois built a digital camera of the same size, shape and layout of the human eye, and developed a mesh-like material that hold electronic components onto the curved surface. This technology would enable photographs that are entirely clear and focused, unlike today’s cameras which can focus only on certain areas. It may even enable the development of an artificial retina or bionic eye.
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From Another Udder: Nine Nutty Non-Cow Cheeses
[ By Steve in Animals & Habitats, Food & Health, History & Trivia, Uncategorized. ]
Cheese, glorious cheese! Who would imagine coagulated, acidified, moldy mammal milk could be so delicious? If you can get past that concept, consider that while most cheese is made from cow or goat milk, most any lactating varmint will suffice – Venezuelan Beavers not included. So hold your nose, grab your special knife, and get ready to cut these bizarre and unusual cheeses. And a whey we go!
Donkey Milk Cheese
(images via: Letitflow.com and Ekapija)
You might assume you’d have to pay people to eat cheese made from donkey milk, but doing so would make an ass of u and me. Actually the opposite is true: at $1,350 or €1,000 per kilogram (around $612 per lb.), donkey milk cheese is the most expensive cheese you can buy.
(image via: Luxury Insider)
Dubbed “Pule” and made from the milk of Balkan donkeys, this pale yellow semi-hard cheese is produced at the Zasavica Special Nature Reserve in Serbia. About 100 donkeys roam the reserve’s lush meadows; the sale of donkey products including Pule cheese and donkey milk liqueur (seriously) helping to pay their way. It’s said that Cleopatra owed her legendary beauty to regular baths in donkey milk, so if donkey milk cheese turns you off, you just might be in de Nile.
Moose Milk Cheese
(images via: Listverse and MedLibrary)
Moose milk is highly touted by some nutritionists – the Ivan Susanin Sanitorium in Russia serves it to their patients – but you don’t have to be committed to enjoy the sublime flavor of moose milk cheese. You do, however, have to be a big spender: we’re talking $1,000 per kilogram. Though moose aren’t rare, milking them is difficult. Milkers must spend up to 2 hours in complete silence in order to extract an average 2 litres (0.52 gallon) per sitting.
(image via: Dirwell)
Compared to cow’s milk, moose milk is higher in butterfat and solids while boasting elevated levels of aluminum, iron, selenium, and zinc. The Elk House (Älgens Hus) farm in Bjursholm, Sweden, is currently the world’s only volume producer of moose cheese and the amount made is rather small: just 300 kg (about 660 lbs.) annually. Three domesticated females named Gullan, Haelga, and Juna provide the “moose juice” required to make the cheese.
Yak Milk Cheese
(images via: Copperwiki, Chesinger and Nelo Boix)
Yakety yaks, don’t talk back… unless you milk them with cold hands, which I’m guessing is more common than not. Shaggy, placid yaks have provided Himalayan households with milk, meat and more for millennia but yak cheese is a more modern manifestation. Got a knack for yak? Good news, you don’t have to climb a mountain to find real yak cheese anymore!
(image via: Aeranthes)
Yak milk cheese produced in Tibet is now available in the United States, one example being Wish-Granting Yak brand Tibetan Nomadic Yak Cheese imported by CowsOutside. According to one taster, “The cheese had a deep, earthy, meaty, grassy (many more adjectives…) flavor that did conjure up visions of large, warm, hairy animals (and that’s meant as a compliment, should you be wondering). I would love to have more of this cheese some day. One person said that she thought that tasting it was like “licking a sheep.” Not that there’s anything baaad about that.
Horse Milk Cheese
(images via: Merymolinas, Sound Transformations and Burleson Arabians)
Mare’s milk is an age-old beverage popular in central Asia and especially Mongolia. It’s not quaffed straight from the horse, however, as mare’s milk is high in lactose and is said to have a strong laxative effect – not a good combo when you’re saddled up and ready to ride. Instead, mare’s milk is fermented into a slightly carbonated drink called Airag; the fermentation process breaks down most of the lactose. From there, mare’s milk cheese is often just a gallop or two away.
(image via: Eron Witzel)
Due mainly to economics, it’s not easy to find mare’s milk cheese at your neighborhood grocery store – the “Filly” is faux, dont’cha know. Travelers to Mongolia and parts of northern and western China, on the other hand, have many opportunities to sample locally made mare’s milk cheese.
Camel Milk Cheese
(images via: Freebase and Afrol News)
Camel’s milk has been consumed by humans for thousands of years but conversion into cheese has been problematic, mainly because unlike milk from cows, goats and sheep, camel milk does not contain proteins that allow it to curdle naturally. By adding enzymes that aid curdling, camel’s milk can be used to make a wide range of healthy, flavorful cheeses. Tiviski Dairy in Mauretania uses the added-enzyme method to produce Caravane, a $30 per pound camel’s milk cheese now available in selected U.S. east coast markets.
(image via: Connecting Places)
Across a vast swathe of central Asia and into North Africa west to the Atlantic coast, “dairy” means goat, horse or camel. Check out the humped beastie gracing the sign above at a market in Kazakhstan, for instance, and the various types of camel’s milk cheese displayed just below. Very nice, high five!
Carabao Milk Cheese
(images via: AgriPinoy.net, Le fang, le kwatsa! and Sandy’s Pizza)
Water Buffalo milk cheese is much more common than one might think – enjoying that slice of pizza with mozzarella cheese? The Carabao, on the other hand, is much less well known unless you’re in Guam or The Philippines where they’ve been THE domestic ruminant since pre-colonial times. Carabao milk can be processed into a cheese called Kesong Puti, which enterprising Filipinos sometimes use as a pizza topping.
(image via: GMA News)
Fresh Kesong Puti is a soft, white cheese made from unskimmed carabao milk to which is added salt and rennet. It may have a slightly salty taste and, if vinegar is used instead of rennet, a somewhat sour tang. Filipinos will often enjoy slices of fresh Kesong Puti for breakfast, ideally spread on freshly baked “pan de sal” bread.
Reindeer Milk Cheese
(images via: Velvet Kerfuffle, Reindeermilk.eu and Koti)
Cheese-lovers who can pronounce Juustoleipa (psst, it’s “HOO-stah-lee-pah”) or Leipäjuusto (you’re on your own) will find themselves in the Lapp of luxury, since this distinctive burnt-looking Finnish cheese is traditionally made with reindeer milk. Domestic U.S. dairies have begun producing Juustoleipa and Leipäjuusto using cow’s milk, which is said to result in a milder flavor, due to the difficulty in acquiring fresh reindeer milk the other 364 days of the year.
(image via: Neatorama)
If the thought of eating cheese sourced from Santa’s sleigh-pullers isn’t odd enough, consider that one of the traditional ways Finns enjoy Juustoleipa is by dipping it in their coffee before eating. Ho Ho Huh?
Sheep’s Milk Cheese – Casu Marzu
(images via: IT Thing)
This post has focused on cheeses made from the milk of mammals other than the Big Three (cows, goats and sheep) but there’s one particular sheep’s milk cheese that demands inclusion. The internet-savvy among you have probably heard of it: Casu Marzu. Most descriptions merely mention the fact that Casu Marzu is from Sardinia, it’s made from Pecorino cheese, and it’s crawling with maggots that can jump up to 6 inches if disturbed. What more do you really need to know?
Here’s a (thankfully) short video of two gentlemen getting up close & personal with a ripe Casu Marzu – a “moving” experience, to say the least:
Casu Marzu, via Marcelmaatkamp
Here’s another, longer video that shows how Pecorino and Casu Marzu cheeses are made. The narration is in German but if you don’t sprechen ze Deutsch that’s fine – for some things, words aren’t necessary:
casu marzu, via Marcelmaatkamp
(image via: Culinary Schools)
Casu Marzu is barred from entry into the United States because of health issues. It seems the Cheese Fly maggots that infest Casu Marzu and add flavor via their digestive liquids can survive their trip through the gourmand’s stomach, wreaking havoc in their small intestine. One solution is to place the oozing hunk of Casu Marzu inside a sealed paper bag in order to suffocate the larvae. It’s said one can hear a delicate “pitter-patter” sound as the maggots try to escape their festering prison. Another, better solution is to simply stay the heck away from Casu Marzu in the first place.
Human Milk Cheese
(images via: METRO and Oh Hell No You Didn’t)
What, you thought we weren’t going to cover cheese made from human milk? Breast milk, to be precise? Never fear, we remambered…er, remembered. Human breast milk can be processed into soft, slightly hazelnut-flavored chick cheese without too much trouble. New moms whose cups runneth over may find that an oversupply of boob broth can be a boon, babe. Is the world really ready for human breast milk cheese, though? We could ask Congressman Bob Barr, who was infamously served what Borat referred to (after the fact) as cheese made by his sister from her own breast milk but we’re guessing that’s one encounter he’d very much like to forget.
(images via: Why Travel To France and Le Petit Singly)
In France, at least, lactating lasses have another option for their extra output: ship it to Le Petit Singly, who will add their lady lait to the mix. Sooner than you can say Grand Tetons, Le Petit Singly’s cheesemakers will form a flurry of femme fromage in 250 and 500 gram rounds. The company’s website even offers recipe suggestions for their girly gouda, such as souffles that presumably won’t fall flat when you open the oven door too soon.
(image via: Cheesevine)
There you have it, nine non-bovine cheeses you won’t find in your average cheese shop, most especially the grandiosely named National Cheese Emporium run by Mr. Wensleydale. That miserable excuse for a cheese shop doesn’t even stock cheddar, “the single most popular cheese in the world!” At least they play lovely bloody bouzouki music… for a while.
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Siberian Rusty: Russia’s Despoiled Wrangel Island
[ By Steve in Animals & Habitats, History & Trivia, Nature & Ecosystems. ]
There are few places on earth more hostile to human life than Russia’s Wrangel Island – when it comes to climate, comfort & communication, even Siberia seems cozy. That hasn’t stopped people from trying, however, though the price paid in attempts to colonize this lonely outpost have left a poisonous legacy of environmental despoliation on a massive scale.
(images via: USA State Department and TrekEarth)
Wrangel Island (not to be confused with Alaska’s Wrangell Island) is named after Baron Ferdinand von Wrangel (1797–1870), who in the early 1820s searched for an island mentioned in local legends but never found it. The island that bears his name is located northwest of Siberia’s Chukchi Peninsula along the 180° meridian at 71° north latitude. Its harsh “severe polar climate” (the record low temperature was -57.7°C or -71.9°F) is at its bone-chilling worst during the 2 months between November 22 and January 22 when the 2,800 square mile (7,300 sq km) island doesn’t see a sunrise.
(images via: Lyn Gualtieri, Visions 2200 and Cameron Davidson)
The polar opposite – literally – of a tropical paradise, Wrangel Island is thought to have been the stomping grounds of the world’s last Woolly Mammoths though the remains found on the island indicate these holdouts against extinction were a much smaller variety. These insular dwarf mammoths, Mammuth primigenius wrangelensis, may have survived into the second millennium BC, thousands of years after their larger cousins vanished into history.
(images via: Lyn Gualtieri and Gigazine)
The remoteness of Wrangel Island probably shielded the last mammoths from human predators. Though prehistoric Siberian hunters and Russian fur traders visited on a temporary basis, it wasn’t until 1926 that the first permanent settlement on the island was established at Ushakovskoye.
(image via: RussiaTrek)
Though the first child born on Wrangel Island was recorded at the settlement in 1928, villagers have had to be evacuated a number of times. Ultimately, Ushakovskoye was not sustainable: Vasilina Alpaun, the village’s last resident, was killed outside her home by a polar bear on October 13, 2003.
(images via: Corbis and Sergey Gorshkov)
Various attempts to colonize Wrangel Island in the 20th century by Russia, Canada, the United States and the Soviet Union have left a bitter and unsightly legacy: environmental degradation on a massive scale. The pollution is striking in a visual sense but more insidious is what is unseen – slow but steady contamination of the island’s soil and groundwater by leaked petrofuels. Though Wrangel Island is a horribly cold place much of the year, temperatures rise to 15°C or 60°F during the all-too-brief summer months from June through August. Not uncoincidentally, summer is when Wrangell Island sees an astonishing burst of plant and animal life.
(images via: Gigazine and Sergey Gorshkov)
Biologists estimate over 400 species of plants flourish on Wrangel Island, twice the number found on any other Arctic tundra territory of similar size. The island is a favored polar bear breeding ground and other animals found in abundance include Arctic Fox, Arctic Wolves, Snow Owls, Snow Geese, lemmings, seals and walruses.
(image via: RussiaTrek)
Migrating birds consider the island a crucial stopover point and introduced large mammals such as reindeer and musk ox have thrived. The government of the USSR, in a rare pro-environmental move, established the Wrangel Island State Reserve in 1976. The 1,730,000 acre (700,000 ha) reserve was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2004.
(images via: Sergey Gorshkov)
These worthwhile green initiatives clash with the extreme despoliation that has occurred on other parts of Wrangel Island. Seemingly endless rows of used oil drums litter the treeless landscape while structures and buildings meant to be temporary are gradually being reduced by arctic winds and relentless freeze/thaw cycles. How to explain this disfiguring mess?
(images via: Sergey Gorshkov)
The expansive garbage dumps on Wrangel Island result from a combination of its extreme isolation and forbidding climate. Human settlements in frosty climes require fuel, typically shipped in standard 55-gallon oil drums.
(image via: Sergey Gorshkov)
Transportation by ship is expensive; by helicopter even more so – and bringing empty drums back to their original shipping point by those methods isn’t economically feasible. And so the drums are stacked outdoors, each one containing small amounts of residual fuel that leaks onto (and into) the ground as the drums slowly corrode.
(images via: Russian Geographical Society and RussiaTrek)
Russian wildlife photographer Sergey Gorshkov (above, left) has spent years visually documenting the oft-savage beauty of Russia’s far eastern regions. “I have begun shooting wild nature imperceptibly, taking pleasure which I can’t compare with anything,” says Gorshkov. “I want to photograph the native wildlife such what it is, what it always was and what it should remain for our children.”
(images via: Sergey Gorshkov)
Gorshkov’s eerily beautiful record of Wrangel Island’s spoiled landscape adds a new dimension to his photographic style, capturing the island’s wildlife amidst the flotsam and jetsam of human profligacy. Regardless of the post-apocalyptic scenery surrounding them, Gorshkov’s subjects manage to maintain their essential dignity and natural, timeless beauty. That’s more than can be said for the people who created the mess in the first place.
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Stoned Souls: Bizarre Human-Shaped Rocks Sculpted By Nature
[ By Steve in Geography & Travel, History & Trivia, Nature & Ecosystems. ]
The phenomenon known in psychological terms as pareidolia – seeing human features, especially faces, where they don’t actually exist – often raises its head when we observe certain natural rock formations. These two dozen plus bizarre human-shaped rocks illustrate what happens when pareidolia meets petrology face to face.
Ploumanach’s People
(images via: Getty Images, Schnapz and Getty Images)
The “Cote de Granit Rose” at Ploumanach in France’s northwestern province of Brittany offers the serious pareidoliac a virtual field day. Wave erosion over millions of years have carved the pretty pink granite rocks scattered along the shore into a plethora of anthropomorphic figures and faces, a sampling of which is shown above.
Turkish Delights
(images via: R.V. Dietrich)
Mimetoliths, rocks “the shape of which resembles something else”, range from loose stones to large natural topographic features. These 6 examples are from Turkey and have been named (clockwise from above left) by photographer Algis Kemezys as Armored Warrior, Sad Widow, Toothed Ancient and Zues’ Disdain.
(image via: R.V. Dietrich)
Above is one more Turkish mimetolith, dubbed The Goat Herder – looks more like The Goat Eater if you ask me… lookout, Billy!
Old Man Of The Mountain
(images via: Outdoors Webshots, Absolute Astronomy and Travel Webshots)
One of the most famous human-shaped natural rock formations in the United States, if not the world, sadly crumbled to dust and pebbles on May 3rd, 2003. The “Old Man of the Mountain” was more than a landmark, it symbolized the rough and stoic character of its home state, New Hampshire. Discovered by surveyors in 1805, the petrified profile has been New Hampshire’s state emblem since 1945 and continues to grace the state’s license plates, highway-route signs, and the back of New Hampshire’s 2000 Statehood Quarter.
(image via: The Epoch Times)
Immediately following the formation’s collapse, popular dismay was so great that people visited the base of Cannon Mountain to leave bouquets of flowers as a tribute to the Old Man’s passing. Gone but not forgotten, the Old Man of the Mountain Revitalization Task Force installed coin-operated viewfinders that overlay an image of the Old Man prior to the collapse onto its current appearance.
Wish You Were Here!
(image via: Minnesota Museum of the Mississippi and Matt Bergstrom)
The above assortment of rocky human heads and profiles have been noted by so many people over a long enough time that they’ve been immortalized on picture postcards.
Stone outcrops that resemble generic human heads are one thing, those that evoke the countenance of an actual person are something else altogether! This startling likeness of the late President John Fitzgerald Kennedy in natural black lava can be found at Black Gorge in Iao Valley on the Hawaiian island of Maui. The so-called JFK Profile stands about 50 feet (15 m) high and is easily visible from the scenic road that winds its way through the Iao Valley.
Hot Rock Lincoln
(images via: Minnesota Museum of the Mississippi and Matt Bergstrom and Philadelphia Biblical University)
Say what you want about America’s 16th president, Abraham Lincoln, but the dude totally rules. At the very least, he rocks… enough to have a strikingly familiar stony outcrop labeled Lincoln Rock in his honor. Located in – where else? – Lincoln State Park overlooking the Columbia River, Lincoln Rock
(image via: Texas Mountain Trail)
Here’s another natural Lincoln doppelganger, located in West Texas’ Davis Mountains. The above scenic photo showing a restful and recumbent Lincoln was taken on Hwy 67 between Marfa and Presidio. Though not as “in your face” as the JFK Profile, both Lincoln Rock and Lincoln Profile show a distinct resemblance to ol’ Abe… honest!
Queen’s Head
(images via: Viet Collection and Digital Taiwan)
Combining the haughtiness of a “we are not amused” Queen Victoria with the imperious regal countenance of an Egyptian princess, Queen’s Head is located neither in England nor Egypt, but Taiwan. The formation is one of many that dot the 5,580-ft (1,700 m) long cape at Yehliu located on the north coast of Taiwan, between Taipei and Keelung. Besides “Queen’s head”, Yehliu’s other named sea stacks include “Fairy’s Shoe”, “Bee’s Hive”, “Ginger Rocks” and “Sea Candles.”
(image via: Skyscraper City)
Though nominally protected by its inclusion within the Yehliu Geopark, Taiwan scientists estimate that continual exposure to the same ocean winds, waves and weathering that created the Queen’s Head over the past 4,000-odd years will cause it to collapse – possibly within just a few years. Knowing this sad yet inevitable fact, both natives and tourists travel to Yehliu to get their pictures taken with the Queen while they can!
The Badlands Guardian
(images via: PC World)
Impressed by the Mars Face? The Badlands Guardian, as the above geomorphological feature is called, is much closer to home though one still needs to view it from a fair ways above. Located near the city of Medicine Hat in southeastern Alberta, Canada, this natural silt formation appears to be a proud Native Canadian chief who’s tuning into the modern age via the use of headphones – actually an oil well and the access road leading to/from it.
http://atlasobscura.com/place/the-badlands-guardian
The Badlands Guardian is notable in that it exercises two different types of psycho-visual phenomena: Pareidolia and the Hollow-Face Illusion. The latter comes into play when an image, in this case a concave valley, appears to be a raised feature due to the brain’s preference to see it that way.
Here’s a video on The Badlands Guardian that originally aired in 2006 on CHAT-TV:
Amah Rock
(images via: Hong Kong Yearbook 2008, Hi2 World and TravelPod)
Amah Rock (“the stone that is gazing out for her husband”) is a 50-ft (15 m) tall natural rock formation located on a hilltop in Hong Kong’s Sha Tin district. The rock is said to resemble the figure of a woman carrying a baby on her back.
According to legend, Amah Rock was once a fisherman’s wife who climbed a hill each day to look out over the sea and await her husband’s return. One day he did not return, having drowned at sea, but the woman still climbed the hill hoping that he was merely delayed by a storm. Looking down at this example of faithfulness and devotion, the Ancient Chinese Gods took pity upon the woman and turned her to stone. Geez, Ancient Chinese Gods, couldn’t you have just revived her hubby and sent him home?
Grand Teton Goes Solo
(images via: Rocketnews24, Horizon472, Next Dimension and Foodpia-Olive)
“Grand Teton” might mean Big Tit in French, but Wyoming’s famous peaks have got nothing on this solitary beached breast from Japan. Congealed from volcanic lava explosively expelled from nearby Mount Unzen, the monstrous mammary looks almost TOO real – somebody call Playboy’s airbrush specialist, stat!
(image via: Fines Moth Black)
The humongous hooter is somewhat of a local tourist attraction in the southern Japanese seaside town of Reihoku, and helpful city workers have even set up signs directing all and sundry to the Oppai Ishi (breast stone)… as if anyone could really miss a 5-ft (1.5 m) wide disembodied boob. Uh, easy there girls, you don’t want to arouse an earthquake or anything, hmm?
Space Face Fuss
(images via: Trek United, Neatorama and Niketalk)
Human-shaped rocks seem to be pretty common here on Earth, so it’s no surprise they’re being found OFF the earth in places no human has ever been. The much-ballyhooed Mars Face, yet another Mars Face and now a tiny, perfect rock fairy that looks like it escaped from a Roman fountain. If that doesn’t cinch the Wet Mars theory, what does?
(images via: Astronomie.de, Maid-Ez, NASA and Space.com)
The original Mars Face was spied on old Viking 1 Orbiter images of the Red Planet that were alarmingly low res. It was the Seventies, fer pete’s sake! Most everyone knew that when sharper images of the Cydonia plain became available, what was once thought to be a monumental alien head would be resolved to a monumental alien… hill. So it goes, and maybe it’s just as well Jupiter only has only one Great Red Spot.
(image via: Den Of Geek)
Rock Men are cool, just ask the Rock Man from Nilsson’s animated classic film The Point. Rock Women are cool too, just scroll back a bit and you’ll remember why. Maybe it’s just as well, though, they’re made of rock and can’t move – except incrementally via erosion and suddenly when gravity wins its long and patient battle.
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23 Bizarre Animal-Shaped Rocks Sculpted By Nature
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Animal Architecture: 14 (More!) Modern Homes for Pets
[ By Steph in Animals & Habitats, Art & Design, Home & Garden. ]
Forget dowdy carpet-covered cat houses, plain jane dog crates and ugly plastic hamster cages – homes for household pets can be stylish, too. From unbelievably pricey luxury pooch palaces to simple IKEA hacks that make modern pet furniture accessible to all, these 14 abodes for cats, dogs, birds, hamsters, rabbits, chickens and even fish are anything but ordinary.
Stackable Cube-Shaped Fish Hotel
(image via: design milk)
Give each fish a luxurious private room of its very own with the modern cube-shaped ‘fish hotel’ by Teddy Luong. The design is stackable so you can even create a fish skyscraper.
Geometric ‘Lulu’s Hideaway’
(image via: gnr8.biz)
For those whose homes are so carefully outfitted that an ordinary dog bed would stick out like a sore thumb, there are creations like the $550 ‘Lulu’s Hideaway’ by Pet Project. Resembling a piece of modern art or perhaps a stool more than pet furniture, this geometric acrylic shelter pleases fans of Danish design.
Prefab Platform Dog House
(image via: prefabs.blogspot.com)
Dog on a hot tin roof? This prefab modular dog house, made from IPE hardwood and painted cement board and topped with corrugated aluminum, would look right at home beside many modern home designs.
Duplex Aquarium/Bird Cage
(image via: gizmodiva)
If you’ve got household pets of both the feathered and finned variety but limited space to keep them in, this unusual ‘duplex aquarium cage’ could be an option. A dome beneath the fish bowl actually allows visual interaction between the two pets.
Sleek Cat House by Leo Kempf
(image via: leo kempf)
A cozy bed, some cardboard for scratching and a great view: what more could a pampered kitty wish for? Designer Leo Kempf made this modern cat house for his own cat, Olive, saying “She enters through a door in the bottom side and then ascends a ramp, which boosts her to the upper level. The front wall is plexi-glass, the floor is 2.5 inch thick old sheepskin rug, and my wife made some small paintings that hang on the walls.”
$382,000 Pooch Palace
(image via: the daily mail)
How much is too much to spend on a dog house? Some might balk at anything over a couple hundred bucks, but one unidentified surgeon in England spent more than most of us do on our own houses. For $382,000, the doctor’s two Great Danes get temperature-controlled beds, a spa, automatic food and water dispensers and a 52-inch plasma TV with state-of-the-art stereo playing dog-friendly programs.
Egg-Shaped Nogg Chicken Coop
(image via: contemporist)
Backyard chicken farmers, take heart – you don’t have to build an ugly wire-and-wood contraption to hold your birds. “The Nogg” is a modern egg-shaped chicken coop for 2-4 chickens, made from cedar wood, stainless steel and glass. It even has a little round window at the top so you can peer in and check the progress of your uber-fresh eggs.
IKEA Hack Hamster Home
(image via: ikea hacker)
Hamster fcages are nearly always an eyesore, seemingly available only in brightly colored plastic. So Martina of Australia took matters into her own hands and transformed an IKEA ‘Expedit’ bookshelf into a surprisingly beautiful hamster home that gives her dwarf hamster plenty of room to roam.
‘Solo’ Blown Glass Cat House
(image via: modern cat)
Blown glass is so beautiful, but it doesn’t have to be limited to art objects in the home – why not make it more functional? Like a huge glass vase turned on its side, the Solo cat house by designers Compressed Pattern and glass blowing studio esque gives cats a cozy place to sleep while also allowing them to see their surroundings.
Chic Bunny Hutch
(image via: design sponge)
An even simpler and more beautiful IKEA hack has the ‘Besta’ shelf unit serving as a modern, super-simple rabbit hutch. Nicole used non-toxic materials to make this home for her Holland Lop bunny and shared the instructions over at Design Sponge.
BowHaus Modern Dog Crate
(image via: denhaus)
“Meant for a home where cocktails and canines mix it up”, the BowHaus home for small dogs by DenHaus makes style top priority with a powder-coated steel design that also functions as a side table. The starburst design provides ventilation while maintaining a cozy feel for its four-legged inhabitant.
Cat Capsule by Christian Ghion
(image via: contemporist)
Mod and comfy, the cat capsule by Christian Ghion bravely boasts an all-white sheepskin-lined design that will look lovely as long as your beloved feline isn’t a puker. So stylish, you’ll want a matching human-sized one for yourself.
Hamster Cabin with Tiny Stairs
(image via: zooplus)
Don’t want to give over an entire section of a room to your pocket-sized pet? Sometimes a smaller home will still do, especially when that home is thoughtfully created from high-quality materials. This “small pet cage phoenix” is like a cabin for your hamster, complete with a ridiculously adorable little set of stairs leading to a loft-like sleeping compartment.
Cubix Modern Dog House
(image via: dog milk)
No dog-loving fan of Bauhaus architecture could pass the Cubix Modern Dog House without a second look. Made of varnished wood with break-proof glass windows that can withstand all weather conditions, this dog house is worthy of a highly visible location in your yard.
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Animal Architecture: 14 (More!) Modern Homes for Pets
[ By Steph in Animals & Habitats, Art & Design, Home & Garden. ]
Forget dowdy carpet-covered cat houses, plain jane dog crates and ugly plastic hamster cages – homes for household pets can be stylish, too. From unbelievably pricey luxury pooch palaces to simple IKEA hacks that make modern pet furniture accessible to all, these 14 abodes for cats, dogs, birds, hamsters, rabbits, chickens and even fish are anything but ordinary.
Stackable Cube-Shaped Fish Hotel
(image via: design milk)
Give each fish a luxurious private room of its very own with the modern cube-shaped ‘fish hotel’ by Teddy Luong. The design is stackable so you can even create a fish skyscraper.
Geometric ‘Lulu’s Hideaway’
(image via: gnr8.biz)
For those whose homes are so carefully outfitted that an ordinary dog bed would stick out like a sore thumb, there are creations like the $550 ‘Lulu’s Hideaway’ by Pet Project. Resembling a piece of modern art or perhaps a stool more than pet furniture, this geometric acrylic shelter pleases fans of Danish design.
Prefab Platform Dog House
(image via: prefabs.blogspot.com)
Dog on a hot tin roof? This prefab modular dog house, made from IPE hardwood and painted cement board and topped with corrugated aluminum, would look right at home beside many modern home designs.
Duplex Aquarium/Bird Cage
(image via: gizmodiva)
If you’ve got household pets of both the feathered and finned variety but limited space to keep them in, this unusual ‘duplex aquarium cage’ could be an option. A dome beneath the fish bowl actually allows visual interaction between the two pets.
Sleek Cat House by Leo Kempf
(image via: leo kempf)
A cozy bed, some cardboard for scratching and a great view: what more could a pampered kitty wish for? Designer Leo Kempf made this modern cat house for his own cat, Olive, saying “She enters through a door in the bottom side and then ascends a ramp, which boosts her to the upper level. The front wall is plexi-glass, the floor is 2.5 inch thick old sheepskin rug, and my wife made some small paintings that hang on the walls.”
$382,000 Pooch Palace
(image via: the daily mail)
How much is too much to spend on a dog house? Some might balk at anything over a couple hundred bucks, but one unidentified surgeon in England spent more than most of us do on our own houses. For $382,000, the doctor’s two Great Danes get temperature-controlled beds, a spa, automatic food and water dispensers and a 52-inch plasma TV with state-of-the-art stereo playing dog-friendly programs.
Egg-Shaped Nogg Chicken Coop
(image via: contemporist)
Backyard chicken farmers, take heart – you don’t have to build an ugly wire-and-wood contraption to hold your birds. “The Nogg” is a modern egg-shaped chicken coop for 2-4 chickens, made from cedar wood, stainless steel and glass. It even has a little round window at the top so you can peer in and check the progress of your uber-fresh eggs.
IKEA Hack Hamster Home
(image via: ikea hacker)
Hamster fcages are nearly always an eyesore, seemingly available only in brightly colored plastic. So Martina of Australia took matters into her own hands and transformed an IKEA ‘Expedit’ bookshelf into a surprisingly beautiful hamster home that gives her dwarf hamster plenty of room to roam.
‘Solo’ Blown Glass Cat House
(image via: modern cat)
Blown glass is so beautiful, but it doesn’t have to be limited to art objects in the home – why not make it more functional? Like a huge glass vase turned on its side, the Solo cat house by designers Compressed Pattern and glass blowing studio esque gives cats a cozy place to sleep while also allowing them to see their surroundings.
Chic Bunny Hutch
(image via: design sponge)
An even simpler and more beautiful IKEA hack has the ‘Besta’ shelf unit serving as a modern, super-simple rabbit hutch. Nicole used non-toxic materials to make this home for her Holland Lop bunny and shared the instructions over at Design Sponge.
BowHaus Modern Dog Crate
(image via: denhaus)
“Meant for a home where cocktails and canines mix it up”, the BowHaus home for small dogs by DenHaus makes style top priority with a powder-coated steel design that also functions as a side table. The starburst design provides ventilation while maintaining a cozy feel for its four-legged inhabitant.
Cat Capsule by Christian Ghion
(image via: contemporist)
Mod and comfy, the cat capsule by Christian Ghion bravely boasts an all-white sheepskin-lined design that will look lovely as long as your beloved feline isn’t a puker. So stylish, you’ll want a matching human-sized one for yourself.
Hamster Cabin with Tiny Stairs
(image via: zooplus)
Don’t want to give over an entire section of a room to your pocket-sized pet? Sometimes a smaller home will still do, especially when that home is thoughtfully created from high-quality materials. This “small pet cage phoenix” is like a cabin for your hamster, complete with a ridiculously adorable little set of stairs leading to a loft-like sleeping compartment.
Cubix Modern Dog House
(image via: dog milk)
No dog-loving fan of Bauhaus architecture could pass the Cubix Modern Dog House without a second look. Made of varnished wood with break-proof glass windows that can withstand all weather conditions, this dog house is worthy of a highly visible location in your yard.
Want More? Click for Great Related Content on WebEcoist:
Sustainable Style: 12 Contemporary Green Home Designs
Living in a sustainable home doesn’t mean giving up your design sensibilities. While some are content with simple earthen Hobbit houses, fans of modern architecture can find a balance between aesth…
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Social Entrepreneur: Sari Revkin from Israel | Global 3000
Yedid means friend in Hebrew. It’s also the name of the largest Israeli organization dedicated to helping the country’s poor and underprivileged. It was founded by Sari Revkin 13 years ago. Sari Revkin was born in the United States but has lived in Israel since 1983. The aim of her organization is to empower others to help themselves, by offering an advisory service that is free of charge. People often come for advice about money problems or debts, or to learn about their rights at work or welfare entitlement. Most of the workers at Yedid are volunteers. There are now 23 Yedid centers spread throughout Israel, advising over 35000 people a year.
Hard Woods: 10 Amazing Petrified Forests
[ By Steve in 7 Wonders Series, Geography & Travel, Nature & Ecosystems. ]
Here’s something that’ll stump your chainsaw: wood from petrified forests! The mineralized branch you hold today just might have been nibbled on by a dinosaur in some long-ago Jurassic brunch. These beautifully colored remnants of long-vanished landscapes are important links to the world as it was many millions of years ago.
Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona, USA
(images via: Arizona Leisure and Virtual Tourist)
Perhaps the most famous of the world’s petrified forests can be found in the Petrified Forest National Park, located in northeastern Arizona state. The park features a number of distinct concentrations of petrified wood which have been given names such as the Black Forest, the Crystal Forest, the Rainbow Forest and so on.
(images via: Park Vision)
Most of the trees in the park are Araucaria-like conifers that grew about 225 million years ago in the Triassic Period, an era in which the first dinosaurs were emerging and the planet’s land masses were clumped together in the supercontinent of Pangaea.
(images via: NPS, Terra Galleria and Ellen Simper)
The area now encompassed by Petrified Forest National Park was occupied by various Native American tribes in pre-Columbian times. Around the year 900 AD, an eight-room pueblo was built from petrified wood cemented with clay mortar – a log cabin that was fireproof, to say the least! Called the Agate House and situated in the Rainbow Forest, the pueblo was partially reconstructed in the mid-1930s as a make-work project during the Great Depression.
(images via: Arizona Highways Magazine and ScienceViews)
One of the most striking features of Arizona’s Petrified Forest is the Agate Bridge, a 110-foot (34 meter) long petrified tree trunk that spans an arroyo dug out gradually over many centuries. In 1911, concern about safety issues and the propensity of park visitors to sit on or walk across the log compelled authorities to set up masonry pillars to support the log. Six years later, the pillars were replaced with a more aesthetically pleasing span of concrete.
Here’s a video showcasing the best sights of Petrified Forest National Park:
Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona, via jjwanser
Ginkgo Petrified Forest, Washington, USA
(images via: Posters Guide, Ice Age Floods and Reisen/USA)
A lush forest of Gingko, Sequoia and up to 20 other tree species flourished 15 million years ago in central Washington state. Many of these trees found their way to the bottom of Lake Vantage, which was buried by a series of volcanic eruptions. The ash and lava protected the dead trees from decomposition by insects and bacteria while water percolating down through the cooled lava brought minerals and chemical salts that gradually replaced the organic matter, petrifying the wood.
(images via: Celebrate Big and Trip Advisor)
Catastrophic floods at the end of the last ice age stripped away millions of tons of topsoil, exposing the petrified forest where it fell. The remains of this ancient ecosystem is now preserved at Ginkgo Petrified Forest State Park. The park has had ongoing problems with theft and to prevent it, some of the more outstanding specimens of petrified wood have been “caged” in concrete and steel mesh enclosures.
Petrified Forest of Lesbos, Greece
(images via: Petr Kraumann, Lachlan Hunter and Global Geopark)
The Greek island of Lesbos (or Lesvos) is home to the Lesvos Petrified Forest, perhaps the largest such accumulation of petrified wood in Europe. Dating from 15 to 20 million years of age, the trees were preserved and fossilized by a series of volcanic eruptions that buried entire swathes of forest in thick blankets of ash. In 1995 the Natural History Museum of the Lesvos Petrified Forest was founded to showcase and study this unique record of the past, as well as protect it from damaging exploitation.
(images via: Lachlan Hunter)
The Lesvos Petrified Forest contains the largest plant fossils ever found anywhere in the world, a prime example being the massive tree trunk above that measures an astounding 28 feet (8.58 meters) in circumference and stands 23 feet (7 meters) high, though it originally stood much, much taller. The longest fallen tree trunk yet found in the Lesvos Petrified Forest measures 72 feet (22 meters) in length. Many of the upright trees bear a striking similarity to the ionic marble columns used by architects of Classical Greece… perhaps the likeness is no coincidence?
Mississippi Petrified Forest, USA
(images via: TravelPod and Fossils Rocks Minerals)
Around 35 million years near what is today the town of Flora, Mississippi, a raging river in flood created a mighty logjam of ancient Fir and Maple trees swept from a thousand-year-old primeval forest. Shortly after this event, the trees were buried in mineral-rich Mississippi mud and the process of petrification began. Today the rock-like trunks and branches of trees that once stood 100 feet (30.5 meters) tall once again see the light of day after having been exposed by erosion. One of the most outstanding examples of petrified wood at this location is “The Frog”, a battered portion of a once-mighty tree trunk that is estimated to weight 14,940 pounds or 6,776 kg.
(image via: Fossils Rocks Minerals)
Since 1976, petrified wood from the Mississippi Petrified Forest has served as the state’s official stone. The Mississippi Petrified Forest was registered as a National Natural Landmark in 1966. It is the only officially designated petrified forest in the eastern United States, though petrified wood has been found in other eastern and northeastern states.
Blue Forest of Eden Valley, Wyoming, USA
(images via: Susan Kay Jewelry and eBay)
The petrified Blue Forest in Eden Valley, Wyoming, was formed from fallen trees that lived about 50 million years ago in a swampy area. When the trees died and fell into the swamp, they were rapidly covered with algae – this was a good thing. The algae formed casts that preserved the original bark surfaces of the trees and kept them from decaying. The wood shrunk and eventually it, the algae casts and the spaces between them were filled in by minerals, often in exquisite, crystalline form.
(image via: Sticks In Stones)
Blue agate is one of the beautiful minerals displayed by petrified trees from the Blue Forest, and it’s even more appealing when complemented by white quartz crystals and golden Calcite inclusions as seen in the specimen above.
Monumento Natural Bosque Petrificado, Argentina
(images via: Photographers Direct and Imagenes de Argentina)
About 140 million years ago, the Andes had yet to rise and what are today the arid steppes of Argentine Patagonia were moist and misty, shaded by old growth forests of gigantic Araucatis Mirabilis trees reaching up to 330 feet into the sky.
(image via: Bikes On Tour)
This idyllic scenario was not to last – the Andes were born in a burst of volcanic eruptions that drowned the majestic forests in successive waves of ash and lava. Erosion has worked to remove the layers of volcanic rock, revealing Monumento Natural Bosque Petrificado, one of the most spectacular petrified forests in South America.
(images via: Stones & Bones)
The fineness of the volcanic ash often served to cushion the more fragile parts of the trees against the heat and violence of the volcanic eruptions, resulting in the astonishingly detailed petrified pine cones shown above.
Yellow Cat Flat, Utah, USA
(images via: Tom Wolfe Minerals and Rockhounding Videos)
The western United States is best known archaeology-wise as a hotbed of dinosaur fossils but scattered among the bones are copious remains of the trees dinosaurs roamed among, nibbled upon and trampled underfoot. Some of the most noteworthy specimens of petrified wood come from Yellow Cat Flat, just north of Moab, Utah. Much of the petrified wood found here has eroded out from the Morrison Formation; rocks laid down around 150 million years ago in the Jurassic period.
(image via: Jay Bates)
Yellow Cat petrified wood is famous for its rich red color and orange to yellow highlights that result from the presence of iron and other metal compounds. Known as Carnelian, this deep reddish petrified wood has been worked into jewelry and arrowheads for many centuries. Visitors to the area should be advised that Yellow Cat Flat and the surrounding area is extremely desolate and dry (the ground water is contaminated with uranium and arsenic). There’s no food, bathrooms, accommodation or cell phone service… much like it was back in the Jurassic.
Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota
(images via: Terra Galleria, NDGS and Photographers Direct)
The badlands of western North Dakota have a lot of good to show you, if you’re interested in petrified wood. Dating from the Paleocene Era (about 55 million years ago, after the dinosaurs went extinct), petrified wood can be found in scattered chunks, eroded logs and truncated trunks that still stand upright.
(image via: NDGS)
One of the best places in North Dakota to find an ancient frozen forest is in the South Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park, located off Interstate 94 near Medora, about 130 miles west of Bismarck, ND. The petrified trees belong to many species but the largest stumps (up to 12 feet or 3.65m in diameter) belong to the genus Metasequoia – the Dawn Redwood. Those who happen to be in Bismarck can check out a 120-foot (36.5 meter) long, 6-ft (1.82m) wide petrified Metasequoia log that’s been installed on the grounds of the state capital building.
Prehistoric Kauri Forest, New Zealand
(images via: Unearthed, Arroyo Hardwoods and The Woodturner’s Studio)
Not all petrified wood is stone, and the process of petrification is anything but instant. Take New Zealand’s Prehistoric Kauri Forest as an example. Kauri trees – many of them huge, exceptionally wide specimens – grew in a swampy part of New Zealand’s North Island tens of thousands of years ago, and most of those designated as “Ancient Kauri” have been buried for up to 45,000 years. They’re partially petrified, and considered to be “the oldest workable wood in the world.”
(image via: TDPRI)
The largest Ancient Kauri log extracted from the ground measured 75 feet (23 meters) long, 37 feet (11.3 meters) wide and weighed in at a staggering 140 tons. Examination of the tree’s growth rings determined that it was 1,087 years old when it died. Part of the log was turned into a unique spiral staircase that can be seen at the showroom and retail outlet of Ancient Kauri Kingdom in Awanui, New Zealand.
Mummified Forest, Axel Heiberg Island, Canada
(images via: White Rose Paleobiology Group and Science News for Kids)
How do you make a Mummified Forest? Take one lush, old growth forest of Dawn Redwood trees and situate it 700 miles from the North Pole. Oh, you’ll also have to go back in time about 45 million years, to an era when global warming wasn’t a threat, but the norm.
(image via: Geological Survey of Canada)
Today on Canada’s otherwise desolate Axel Heiberg Island, a mummified forest grips the permafrost with gnarled roots. Not living but not petrified either, this exceptionally ancient wood can be sawed and burned if need be – and if you’re a paleobotanist thirsty for a cup of hot tea, one plays the hand they’re dealt.
(images via: DVD Beaver and Wikimedia)
Visiting a petrified forest (or watching the classic 1936 film of the same name) is a great way to interact with the past, and because these stone forests often contain so much petrified wood its easy to get up close and personal. As the great sage and eminent chicken roaster Kenny Rogers once said, “It’s the wood that makes it good”… even when the wood in question has turned to stone.
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12 (More) Volatile Volcanoes That Are Ready to Blow
[ By Steph in Geography & Travel, Nature & Ecosystems. ]
When Indonesia’s Mount Tambora erupted in 1815, the world got an all too vivid glimpse at just how far-reaching the damage can be. The largest volcanic eruption in the earth’s history killed 100,000 people and caused ‘The Year Without a Summer‘, crop-killing summer snow and freezing temperatures in the United States and Europe. Today, Iceland’s Mount Eyjafjallajökull is far from the only one to worry about.There’s an unusual amount of seismic activity happening everywhere from Washington State to North Korea, with 12 deadly volcanoes nearing potential eruption.
Katla Volcano, Iceland
(image via: earth magazine)
If you thought Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull eruption was bad, you haven’t seen anything yet. Think of the Katla volcano as Eyjafjallajökull’s fiercer, angrier, more violent sister. A Katla volcano eruption would be ten times stronger and would shoot larger plumes of ash much higher in the air. Though experts feared that Katla might be set off by the eruption back in April, it hasn’t happened yet – but that doesn’t mean it won’t.
Mount Baekdu, North Korea
(image via: wikimedia commons)
Mount Baekdu is sacred to Koreans, deeply connected to their history – the legend goes that this volcanic mountain on the border between North Korea and China is the ancestral origin of their people. But it may soon be connected to a new, less positive legend; experts believe it’s going to erupt for the first time since 947 A.D. sometime between 2014 and 2015. Last time, the amount of ash created is estimated to have been 1,000 times that of the recent Iceland eruption.
Mayon Volcano, Philippines
(image via: wikimedia commons)
In December of 2009, residents of the central province in the Philippines got the warning: evacuate, because Mayon is going to blow any time now. Tens of thousands of people fled the area as Mount Mayon began to hiss steam and spew ash into the air and lava began to pour down the mountainside. Ultimately, the volcano didn’t erupt – not yet, at least. The warning level has been lowered since then, but experts say the danger is far from past, especially as volcanic earthquakes and rockfall events continue to occur.
Mount St. Helens, Washington, USA
(image via: wikimedia commons)
30 years ago, Mount St. Helens caused utter chaos in Washington State, killing dozens of people and decimating more than 200 square miles of forest. It erupted again in 2004 – much more mildly – but another eruption is just a matter of time, and there would be very little warning once it began. Scientists estimate that Mount St. Helens would send a plume of ash 30,000 feet into the sky within five minutes.
Yellowstone Volcano, Wyoming, USA
(images via: wikimedia commons)
When Iceland’s volcano erupted in April 2010, the most damage it did was to the airline industry as billions of dollars were lost to grounded flights. But, as CBS News puts it, “If the Yellowstone volcano has a major eruption, you won’t be thinking much about flying.” That’s because this gigantic little-known volcano, which lies under the surface of one of America’s most popular national parks, would level nearby towns and cover a huge portion of the central US with dozens of feet of ash if it erupted. Right now, the rock is about 5% molten, and it needs to reach 15% before an eruption – which could happen in a matter of days, but would have to be triggered by a major event about as likely as a mile-wide asteroid hitting the earth. The Yellowstone volcano is being carefully monitored by scientists, so we’ll likely know far ahead of time if this baby gets ready to blow.
Marsili Volcano, Italy
(image via: cnn.com)
As if Southern Italy didn’t have enough volcanic threats, there’s also the possibility of a nearby undersea volcano collapsing and causing a catastrophic tsunami. In that sense, the Marsili Volcano isn’t technically “about to blow” – but it could cause just as much damage. In fact, experts at the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology say that the volcano’s walls could crumble at any time, producing shock waves that could theoretically sink the whole of Southern Italy into the Mediterranean Sea. It’s not a matter of if, but when – however, that ‘when’ may not occur for hundreds of years.
Glacier Peak, Washington, USA
(image via: herald net)
Compared to the majesty of nearby Mount Rainier and Mount Baker, Washington State’s Glacier Peak seems like a mole hill. But buy a home in Snohomish County, and you’ll be forced to sign a document acknowledging your awareness of the fact that you’ll be living within the volcano’s reach. Glacier Peak is one of 18 U.S. Volcanoes listed as “very high threat”, but it has only three siesmometers and no GPS monitoring stations. Its last major eruption was about 1800 years ago, and when it erupts again, it will be far more violent than the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens.
Mount Vesuvius, Italy
(image via: wikimedia commons)
The 1 million people who live at the base of Mt. Vesuvius don’t need to be reminded of the horrors that another eruption of that infamous volcano would bring – they know all too well. Pompeii, completely annihilated in the year 79 B.C.E., is just minutes from the bustling metropolis of Naples, Italy. Yet another eruption killed 4,000 people in 1631, while a 1944 eruption took the lives of 26. Vesuvius is now considered Italy’s “biggest public safety problem”, though no one can predict when it will next awaken. Luckily, the chance of another Pompeii-sized eruption is only around 1 percent.
Ischia Volcano, Italy
(image via: wikimedia commons)
Not far from Mount Vesuvius, just a few miles away off the coast of Southern Italy, lies yet another volcano that could potentially erupt at any time – and while it’s far less known than Vesuvius, it may be even more dangerous. Ischia last erupted 700 years ago, and scientists say that it’s experiencing a build-up of magma that may be a disturbing hint at coming events.
Mount Merapi, Indonesia
(image via: wikimedia commons)
It’s a beautiful sight, towering over the surrounding flat lands with their jumbles of bright-roofed buildings. But Mount Merapi is also deadly, and capable of meting out an incredible amount of destruction. It has earned its place among the world’s most active volcanoes, with mild eruptions occurring every 2-3 years, larger ones every 10-15 years and exceptionally lethal eruptions happening every 40-60 years. In 1930, 1400 people lost their lives and 13 villages were destroyed; in 2006, the volcano threatened to blow but seismic activity calmed down within a couple weeks.
Nyiragongo, Democratic Republic of Congo
(image via: xinhuanet)
Just like its similarly volatile neighbor Nyamuragira, the volcano Nyiragongo – located in the Democratic Republic of Congo – is extremely active, having erupted at least 34 times since 1882. A major eruption in 2002 sent lava pouring into the streets of nearby towns. Another one is likely forthcoming: in June 2010, a massive plume of molten rock associated with volcanic activity was discovered heading toward the East African Rift upon which Nyiragongo sits.
Taal Volcano, Philippines
(image via: wikimedia commons)
In the Philippines, residents are on alert for a possible eruption of the Taal Volcano, which could blow for the first time since 1997. Located just 30 miles south of the densely populated capital city of Manila, Taal could cause significant upheaval in the region including fatalities. The volcano began hissing steam last year and many high-frequency volcanic earthquakes were detected in the third week of June 2010, with magma currently moving toward the surface.
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