Tattoos Avenged

Monday, January 3, 2011

Probably the most important of the mythological birds, and a favorite motif in tattoo artwork, the phoenix was known in ancient Egypt, Greece, China and the Middle East. In the many stories that surround it, two aspects remain constant though -- its unmatched splendor and the immortality it derived by rising from its own ashes.

Its name comes from the Greek word for "red", the color of fire. According to the Greek historians Herodotus and Plutarch, it came originally from Ethiopia. For the ancient Egyptians, though, a heron was the first animal to land on the hill that rose out of the primordial ooze. Benu, as they named it, was worshipped as a manifestation of the sun god and thought to appear only once every 500 years. In ancient China, the feng-huang bird was able to unite both yin and yang and was used as a symbol of marriage. In ancient Rome, it was stamped onto coins to symbolize the endurance of the empire.
In some versions of its story, it flew to distant lands gathering fragrant herbs which it returned to its altar, setting them afire and burning itself to ashes – rising three days later. In other versions, when the time of its death would draw near, it built a nest of aromatic twigs in which it would burn, simply from the heat of its own body. However, no matter the details of its origin, life, or death, it has become a symbol not only of the undying soul, resurrection, and immortal life but also one of triumph and a rebirth in this life.

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Natural Wonders of the World

Mount Sanqingshan National Park

China's Mount Sanqingshan National Park is one of eight new members of the World Heritage List, a United Nations accounting of the world's most beautiful and extraordinary natural and cultural sites. (The other seven new inductees follow.) Mount Sanqingshan's forested and fantastically shaped granite pillars and peaks can be appreciated by visitors from suspended walking trails.

Joggins Fossil Cliffs

CanadaÂ’s Joggins Fossil Cliffs have been termed the Â“coal age GalÃ¡pagosÂ” and are the world reference site for the Coal Age, which is about 300 million years ago. The site bears witness to the first reptiles in EarthÂ’s history, which are the earliest representatives of the amniotes, a group of animals that includes reptiles, dinosaurs, birds, and mammals.

The Lagoons of New Caledonia

The tropical lagoons and coral reefs of France's New Caledonia form one of the three most extensive reef systems in the world. They are home to an exceptional variety of coral and fish species and have intact ecosystems with healthy populations of big fish and top predators.

Surtsey

Surtsey is a new Icelandic island and was formed by volcanic eruptions in 1963-67. It has been legally protected from its birth and, as such, provides the world with a pristine natural laboratory, free from human interference. It has provided a unique scientific record of the process of colonization of land by plants and animals.

Saryarka

Saryarka is a largely undisturbed area of Central Asian steppe and lakes in the Korgalzhyn and Naurzum State Nature Reserves in Kazakhstan. These are key stopover points for globally threatened species and provide feeding grounds for up to 15-16 million birds. They are also home to the critically endangered saiga antelope (Saiga tatarica).

Swiss Tectonic Arena Sardona

The Swiss Tectonic Arena Sardona, which includes the Glarus Overthrust, shows how mountains were formed through continental collisions and it has been studied since the 18th century.

Socotra Archipelago

The Socotra Archipelago, of Yemen, has been dubbed the GalÃ¡pagos of the Indian Ocean. It is especially rich in flora and fauna. About 37% of SocotraÂ’s plant species, 90% of its reptile species and 95% of its land snail species cannot be found anywhere else in the world.

Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve

The three core zones of the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve protect eight overwintering colonies of the monarch butterfly in the oyamel fir forests of central Mexico. Perhaps a billion monarch butterflies overwinter here in close-packed clusters every year after a 2,100- to 2,800-mile journey. Witnessing this unique phenomenon is an exceptional experience of nature.

Most Incredible Natural Arches On Earth

10. Grosvenor Arch, Utah, USA

Found in southern Utah, Grosvenor Arch is a unique sandstone double arch that while not the biggest in this list is still hugely striking in appearance. Teetering atop stony stilts, this splendid natural formation is accessible by road, though unlike some such landforms offers no natural passageway below that visitors can walk through. As a natural arch, Grosvenor is a product of erosion, the elements having found weaknesses in the softer rock of a cliff and gradually worn them away.

9. Kolob Arch, Utah, USA

Located in Utah’s Zion National Park, Kolob Arch is considered the second longest natural arch in the world, its span having been measured at 287 feet – just three shy of the span of the more famous Landscape Arch, of which more later. Set just 44 feet from the cliff side it frames, this imposing landmark is reachable by various hiking trails, though trekking in the summer is discouraged, as it can get hot as hickory throughout the Colorado Plateau region.

8. Shipton’s Arch, China

Shipton's Arch, aka Tushuk Tash, meaning Hole in Heaven, is the tallest natural arch on earth. Located northwest of Kashgar, in China's Xinjiang Province, this soaring structure, while familiar to locals, was not known to the West until its discovery in 1947 by English mountaineer Eric Shipton. The span of the arch is around 212 feet, but seen from the floor of the west side canyon, its height is estimated at a jaw-dropping 1,200 feet – about the height of the Empire State Building.

7. Sipapu Natural Bridge, Utah, USA

Not technically speaking a natural arch but a colossal natural bridge, Sipapu Bridge nevertheless makes the cut here as it does a good enough impersonation of an arch. This beautiful structure boasts a span of 225 feet, making it the second longest natural bridge after the more renowned Rainbow Bridge. Sipapu is also now the longest natural arch in the world with an active trail beneath it that visitors may pass through, affording spectacular views of its underbelly.

6. Steven’s Arch, Utah, USA

A spectacular shelter arch found it Utah’s Escalente Canyon, at its junction with Stevens Canyon, Steven’s Arch is another giant on the world stage of arches, with a span believed to measure 220 feet. Forbidding at first glance, Steven’s Arch gives the illusion that there is no way to make the climb up to it, though in actual fact the hike is neither difficult not hair-raising – just downright breathtaking. Over the Escalente River, Steven’s Arch looms like a cryptic sign from Nature.

5. Double Arch, Utah, USA

Double_Arch_in_Arches_National_park,_Utah,_USA

Another of Utah's finest, Double Arch is a famous close-set pair of natural arches, and despite the competition is one of the more impressive sights in Arches National Park. This spot hit the big screen when it was used as a backdrop for the opening scene of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, in which the arches are briefly glimpsed. They were formed differently than most of the arches in the Park, the result of water erosion from above rather than the more typical erosion form the side.

4. Aloba Arch, Chad

With a height of 394 feet, Aloba Arch in Chad is the second tallest natural arch on earth, and at about 250 feet in length it is also one of the world’s longest. Yet despite its size, this magnificent landform is seldom seen due to its remote location. Aloba Arch appears to have been shaped in two stages, its upper half a buttress-type natural arch formed at the end of a slab of sandstone while its lower section is a softer sandstone layer that was subsequently eroded by a stream.

3. Rainbow Bridge, Utah, USA

Another natural bridge that snuck into our list of arches, the resplendent Rainbow Bridge, is a majestic structure that looks arch-like enough for us. A National Monument and a sacred place for Native Americans, it stands 245 feet tall, has a 234-foot span, and is 42 feet thick and 33 feet wide at its apex. This natural wonder was carved out during the last Ice Age: river waters formed a wide hairpin bend flowing around the solid fin of sandstone that would become the bridge.

2. Delicate Arch, Utah, USA

The most widely-recognized landmark in Arches National Park, Delicate Arch is depicted on Utah’s license plates and is something of an international icon too. Known to early cowboys as ‘the Schoolmarm's Bloomers’ due to its distinctive shape, the 52 feet tall freestanding arch was the site of controversy in 2006 when climber Dean Potter made the first recorded free solo ascent of the formation – an event the led to the banning of climbs on any named arch within the park year-round.

1. Landscape Arch, Utah, USA

The longest of the numerous natural arches in Utah’s Arches National Park – indeed the longest true arch on earth – Landscape Arch is a phenomenal 290 feet in length. Just as phenomenal is the fact that at its thinnest point this slender arc of rock is only 6 feet thick. Since 1991, three large slabs of sandstone measuring 30, 47 and 70 feet long have fallen from Landscape Arch's narrowest section, prompting the Park Service to close the trail that led beneath it. It could collapse at any time.