Archive for photos
Japan’s artistic gas storage tanks
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Oh The Humanity !
Is there anything in Japan that doesn’t sport a smiley face? The list is certainly short – and it just got shorter, thanks to the nice people at Shibata Gas. Like so many Japanese companies, Shibata Gas shows a friendly face to the public by employing a mascot, in this case “Nicotan”. That’s Nicotan’s blissful visage above, gazing out from the side of a gas storage tank in Japan’s Niigata prefecture, in the country’s northeast.
The Harshest, Most Volatile Corner of Earth
Posted by: | CommentsTo most of us, going on vacation means finding an idyllic location where one can indulge in favorite activities. Whether you like swimming, sunbathing, skiing, hiking or even spotting man-eating animals, there is a vacation out there for you. But there is one holiday destination that is unlike any other: Danakil Desert in northeast Ethiopia has been called “Hell on Earth,” but that doesn’t dissuade thrill-seeking travelers from flocking there to see some of the strangest conditions on the entire planet.
Shocking scenes of volcano lightning
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Red-hot lava, suffocating ash clouds and ear-splitting explosions: volcanoes assault the senses in a BIG way. Now you can add lightning to nature’s igneous arsenal, as advances in modern high-speed photography have enabled scientists to document the beauty and wonder of volcanic lightning in all its ex-static glory.
Chaitén Volcano, Chile
Cool Columnar Basalt Formations
Posted by: | CommentsColumnar basalt formations like Devils Tower and the Giant’s Causeway have amazed and mystified humans from time immemorial. We now know that these spectacular geological wonders formed when extruded molten lava cooled, crystallized and cracked along precise angles. When exposed en masse, these magnificent symmetrical pillars look anything but natural… but they are: SUPER natural!
Devils Tower, Wyoming, USA
Devils Tower, located in northeastern Wyoming, was designated America’s first national monument by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906. Geologists are not completely sure how the 1,267 ft (386 m) tall tower came to be, with most theories centering on it being the core, or plug, of an ancient volcano whose outer layers have eroded away. Though the columnar basalt on the formation’s exterior is eroding, so is the softer sandstone surrounding its base.