Vanessa Hayes, University of Sydney Where was the evolutionary birthplace of modern humans? The East African Great Rift Valley has long been the favoured contender – until today. Our new research has used DNA to trace humanity’s earliest footsteps to a prehistoric wetland called Makgadikgadi-Okavango, south of the Great Zambezi River. Our analysis, published in […]
Category Archives: Places
Finland (Wild Scandinavia) – Amazing Video
An amazing video with scenes from the documentary Wild Scandinavia Episode 5 (Finland), with background music of the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius’ great work Finlandia, Op. 26.
The Impact of Overtourism on our Environment
When you think of the Grand Canyon or the Great Smoky Mountains, beautiful scenery immediately comes to mind. You might begin to imagine the incredible views, towering cliffs, lush landscapes and color schemes that far exceed anything you’ve ever seen in a painting.
Tadrart Rouge of Algeria – “The Mars on Earth”
Algeria’s Tadrart Rouge is probably the closest place you can find on Earth that kinda looks like Mars. Meaning “Red Tadrart”, Tadrart Rouge is a mountain range in southeastern Algeria, part of the Algerian Desert. The area is roughly 15-30 kilometers (9.3-18.6 miles) large and 150 kilometers (93 miles) long.
Venice from space – amazing photo
This perfectly-timed image of Venice from space was captured by the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission. A blanket of clouds approaches the historic city’s famous lagoon but seemingly stops short against the Lido sandbar (Lido di Venezia)! You can easily spot the S-shaped Grand Canal (Canale Grande).
The shortest international bridge in the world: El Marco
There’s a bridge called “El Marco” between Portugal and Spain. With a length of 3.2 meters (10.4 feet), it’s the shortest international bridge in the world. It connects the Spanish municipality of La Codosera (located in the province of Badajoz, Extremadura) with the Portuguese Arronches (in Portalegre District).
On Earth Day, NASA wants to see the Earth around you
NASA has tweeted this morning and said that “Good morning Europe and Africa! Celebrate the Earth Day today by sharing with NASA a photo of the gorgeous planet we call home. Show us how you #PictureEarth around you.”
Top 20 Countries having the most number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites (2019 Update)
There are a total of 1092 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the world (as of January 2019: 845 Cultural, 209 Natural and 38 Mixed). Here are the top 20 countries having the most number of UNESCO World Heritage sites. What is a UNESCO World Heritage Site? According to the Wikipedia, “A World Heritage Site is […]
Watch: The Call of Science (360° NASA Video)
NASA has recently published a 360-degree interactive video titled “The call of science”. You can join NASA Earth scientists as they head into the field to study ice in Greenland and coral reefs in Hawaii.
50 Interesting Facts About Earth
One of the most surprising facts about the Earth is how we easily forget that what an amazing and interesting planet we live on. As Carl Sagan pointed out, “It’s home, it’s us”. It is the only world known planet to support an atmosphere with free oxygen, liquid water on the surface, and, perhaps this is the […]
