Saturday, 29 March 2014

The Aqueduct Veluwemeer Netherlands


Cold Geysers of Madagascar

We cannot close the chapter of African Geysers without mentioning the Analavory geysers, nearby Lake Itasy on the island continent of Madagascar. Distinct the African rift geysers, they have no direct link with geothermal and are termed cold water geyser. Actually there’re four unusual geysers almost twelve kilometers north-east from the town of Analavory. Surprisingly, there’s no volcanic activity observed underneath of Analavory that superheats underground water and forces them up as steam. The warm water gushing out from the mouth of these limestone mounds which is not hot in fact.  The unusual Geysers are situated in an area nearby to some aragonite mines. The Analavory geysers aren’t natural at all, as excess water from the mines are removed by metal pipes that terminate at the bank of Mazy River.
The water is rich with carbonic acid which can be easily dissolves large amounts of lime along its way. Moreover the warm water goes through iron pipelines and carbonic acid dissolves iron as well. The carbon dioxide rich water rushes along the pipe under pressure and it emerges at the end of the pipeline, the abrupt decrease in pressure reasons the dissolved carbon dioxide gas to erupt in bubbles fabricating a geyser like phenomenon. This is akin to opening an aggravated bottle of soda. But over the time; the dissolved lime and iron precipitates into big mounds of travertine, a type of limestone, around the mouth of the outlet. The rusty orange color comes from the iron. The mounds are more than 4 meters high and will last to grow.
For most time the carbonated water spouts 20-30 cm, but occasionally when the vents are blocked by the precipitated lime, the obviously buildup of pressure produces spouting to numerous meters once uncovered. Geysers such as those at Analavory are often called cold water geysers, and there’re only a handful of natural cold water geysers on earth. The best recognized examples are Crystal Geyser, in Utah, the Wallender Born and Andernach Geyser in Germany, and one in Slovakia, Herľany. A geyser very akin to in appearance to Analavory Geyser is the Fly Geyser in Nevada, which is an artificial geyser. Before becoming a tourist place, this lovely site was used by the Malagasy who came to perform ancestral rites, the "Fanasinana" in the hope of having children, to recuperate health after any disease, or to get a solution from their daily problems. In that time, the "mpimasy", the traditional healers, were the only masters of the place.

Kaindy Lake Kazakhstan

The beautiful Kaindy Lake is a 400 meter long lake in Kazakhstan’s portion of the Tian Shan Mountains actually located 129 kilometers from the city of Almaty. The Kaindy Lake came into existence after enormous limestone landslide in 1911 that triggered a big landslide blocking the gorge and forming a natural dam. Subsequently, rainwater filled the valley and formed the lake. The track leads to Lake Kaindy has numerous scenic views to the Saty Gorge, the Chilik Valley, and the Kaindy Gorge, but dried-out trunks of submerged Picea schrenkiana trees rise above the surface.

The Kaindy Lake is popular for its scenic exquisiteness mainly the submerged forest and the imposing trunks of spruce trees that rises out of the lake water. Moreover the above water, the sunken trees appear as large masts from lost ghost ships, or perhaps the spears of a mysterious army hiding and waiting for the right time to emerge. The water is so cold even in summer the temperature does not surpass 6 degrees that the great pines still remain on the trees, even hundred years later, and the clear mountain water, you can observe deep into the depths of the lake. In winter, the lake surface is freezes over and during this time, Lake Kaindy becomes a great spot for trout fishing and ice diving. 

The lake water itself is often of a somewhat kryptonite hue and strange coloration is mainly caused by lime and other mineral deposits which have been seeped into the water since the lake’s creation. Yet once you get closer to the lake the water appears crystal clear and you can see the trout which were introduced in to the lake in the 1930s. Very surprisingly the lake has few visitors, partly because lake is overshadowed by the more famed Bolshoe Almatinskoe Lake and the Kolsay Lakes, all of which are close by, but far easier to reach from Almaty. Thus, notwithstanding its proximity to a city with a populace of more than one million, the lake retains a peaceful atmosphere.

Friday, 28 March 2014

Fort Zverev Russia

Fort Zverev is situated on the shores of the Baltic Sea in northern Kronstadt lies completely ruins nowadays. But Fort Zverev tranquil inspires the imaginations of tourists to the artificial island, just north of Kronstadt, nearby St Petersburg, where the remains stand overlooking the sea. Fort Zverev was actually built in the middle of 18th century (1860s) by engineer Konstantin Zverev. Later on, Fort named was associated with him in order to strengthen the northern fairway of Gulf of Finland. The Zverev fort had a mushroom shape with curved ceiling a new design different from all Konstantin Zverev had built before. Zverev Fort was successfully applied asphalt as a building material completely floors was covered with natural asphalt solution, and this was first in Russia at that time. In the start of 20th century the fort was transformed into sea mines warehouse and ammunition dump, and continued to remain on duty long after World War II ended and used as military training and practical shooting.
In 1970’s the fort was described as 'hell on earth' the rusting bunker was destroyed by a savage fire that tore through the structure and blaze ignited with massive fire and spread to engulf a network that raged for many weeks and tThe blast swept through the basement, sparking an uncontrollable inferno as the fuel lit and fire finally subsided and fort cooled down enough to enter in the basement, which was entirely unrecognizable the smooth chamber walls once stood, a dark and rough cave was left in its wake. The inferno was too much hot that it factually melted the bricks above which dripped down like stalactites. It’s was not figured what kind of material fueled the fire but from the nature of the damage, it was apparent that it was something that burned penetratingly hot. Even though normal household fire, strong brick does not melt, and requires too much temperature perhaps less than 1,800 degrees centigrade. 
For comparison, a large gasoline fire produces temperature of around 1,100 degrees. Various speculates that the Russians were testing a innovative kind of weapon perhaps a high phosphorus containing compound alike to napalm that burned which is  reaching temperatures of 2,000C, the fire was so hot the brick walls and ceiling melted, leaving strange icicle-like formations hanging from the ceiling. According to another version, the fort was a cesspool of lubricants and decommissioned ammunition, bilge water and waste from ships that was accidentally set fire by careless tourists. But actual truth will never be known. Source: Charismatic Planet