Natural wonders (презентация и реферат)

Реферативная работа

на тему:

Natural Wonders  

Выполнил

Ученик 6 «А» класса

Гимназии №524

Кошелев Лев

Руководитель: Веселова Екатерина Александровна

Санкт – Петербург

2010 год

Contents

1. Introduction………………………………………………....3
2. The USA, the state of Utah, the national park “Arches”…...4
3. The most mysterious……………….……………………….5
4. Giants Causeway………………….………………………..6
5. Rock Mushrooms………….……………………….……….7
6. Eastern wonders………………….………………………...8
7. Conclusion…………………….……………………………9
8. Reference list………………….…………………………..10

Содержание

1. Вступление…………………………………………………3
2. США, штат Юта, национальный парк «Арчес»…………4
3. Самые загадочные…………………………………………5
4. Дорога Великанов………………………………………….6
5. Каменные грибы……………………………………………7
6. Восточные чудеса………………………………………….8
7. Заключение…………………………………………………9
8. Использованный материал……………………………….10

Introduction

When we see different natural phenomena, we think of them as a wonder. This word more than others shows our admiration for harmony, power and prettiness of the world around. Nature can be the model for ideas to put in real life. For building its ideas nature uses wind, water, and, of course – Time!

With time you notice how nature improves its masterpieces and how the things which nature touched change.

Let’s come to picture information, and you’ll get excited by the difference of shapes, sizes and ideas, which won’t let you feel indifferent.

If you want to know everything about our remarkable planet, if you want to live every moment, explore every wonder, and dive into the natural world in extraordinary colour, then join it. There is no world more dangerous, more exciting than the natural one.

Our planet is unusual. There are many wonders we don’t know: natural and man-made. But they can be known, like you know your friends. You’ll be excited by how beautiful they are and by the power which built it. But also they can give us ideas for extraordinary projects, like fish, trees were ideas for houses and congress halls!

The USA, the state of Utah, the national park “Arches”

Under the action of dry winds and burning sun during millions years the diverse arches were formed: single and dual, high and low, narrow and wide, ellipsoid and rounded. One of these arches (the Landscape bridge) is the longest natural bridge in the world. Made from red sandstone, rather soft material, it’s a durable bridge –it’s never been destroyed, comparing with Kintai bridge in Japan.

Kintai bridge with other bridges in Tokyo and Nagasaki is one of three most famous bridges in Japan. It’s near the Ivakuni castle and crosses the Nishiki river. Built in 1673 the bridge was rebuilt twice. The original is dated by 1673; but in 1950 it was destroyed by the typhoon.

For its elegant forms the bridge obtained its name – Kintai, which means gold brocade sash (золотой пояс парчи). It looks like a traditional kimono belt. The unique structure of arches is so precise that the bridge was built with great durability. Bent bridge lines are especially original. The unsupported 35-meter arch was made from rather short and thin wood. Even by the modern standards of bridge building, Kintai bridge is the model of great professionalism and masterpiece of builders. Besides, the arches were built without any nails or bolts, only with steel tapes and clamps.

Later this bridge was destroyed by the flood because the stone part was too weak. It was improved, and a more durable bridge was built.

The bridge stood for 276 years, until 14th September 1950, when the typhoon destroyed it.

The loss of the bridge was a heavy loss for all people in Japan. The new bridge was built by the old projects, and modern engineers, in fact, improved nothing. It was the reconstruction of the original bridge. The bridge was rebuilt using traditional methods. After 2 years of work Kintai bridge was inaugurated on the 15th   January 1953.

In the past only samurai could use the bridge, others crossed the river by boats.

An old saying says: “Fuji symbolizes mountains, Nachi symbolizes waterfalls, and Kintai symbolizes bridges”.

The Most Mysterious

In the same national park there is another natural wonder – “Silent city”. It looks like a fortress.

Look at both photos. They look the same, don’t they? But one is natural, and the other one is man-made.

Petra town (Greek Rock) Petra is a unique town of Jordanian because all the buildings are in rocks. Historians think that the town was built by Nabataea’s – the Arabian tribes of the nomads. However, the town looks the same as an Egyptian sphinx, doesn’t it?

The next things are also impressive – the fish comfortably placed in the rock and the fish house!

Look at this mountain – if you turn the picture, there’ll be a man’s face. Don’t you think that it looks like the sculptures from Easter island – one of the most mysterious sculptures in the world? Nobody knows how they appeared. Even scientists dispute about their origin. Some of them think that it was built by the settlers, others – that it’s an alien work or that it’s a natural wonder from the nearby volcano.

Giants Causeway

Ireland, Giants Causeway According to an Irish legend, the Irish giant Finn Makkul wanted to defeat the Scottish giant Finn Gall. But no ship could take any of them through the sea – they were too big! According to this legend, Finn Makkul found the way out: he built the road across the waters of the Atlantic from his house on the coast of Antrim county in Northern Ireland to the fortress of his bitter enemy Finn Gall on the Hebrides. In order to do it he prepared hundreds of long rock posts and drove them one by one into the bottom of the sea, and then he went home to rest before the battle.

But the Scottish giant outwitted Makkul and was the first to move from his island Staffa to Ireland. When Finn Gall arrived at the house of Makkul, the wife of the Irish giant saw that the rival was bigger and stronger than her husband. So she decided to use cunning: she swaddled her sleeping husband as a baby. When Finn Gall saw this “child”, he was frightened because he couldn’t imagine how enormous the father of such a child must be. In horror he ran back to Scotland.
As soon as Finn Gall drew back to the safe distance, further in the sea, he started to destroy the road so that no one could use it any longer. Everything that remained from it is this accumulation of rock posts, which the Irishmen named Giants Causeway. In fact, 50-60 mln years ago, when magma rose to the earth's surface during the eruption of an ancient volcano, it met with salty water and as a result cracked into 40 thousand five – six-corner posts.

The same causeways were in the medieval towns and they’re called cobblestone.

Rock Mushrooms

Did you see the rock mushrooms? No? Then let’s go to the USA again, but to California. The Yellowstone national park is waiting – our  mushrooms settled there!

Did you hear about mushroom houses? Here is one of them, in the picture. The house is in the shape of a mushroom, on the thin “leg” hanging over the ground. It was developed by the professor Terry Brown, and nobody worries about the collapse of the house – Terry  Brown is a professional engineer.
People liked the house and it was sold for $400 thousand.

Eastern Wonders

In Israel, in Titman national park there are “towers” which look like the towers of Sagrada Familia (Holy Family) in Barcelona, which still hasn’t been finished. Building occurrs slowly as donations are the only form of financing. But its beauty is striking; indeed the architect was Antonio Gaudi!

In the same park there are tunnels, which look like the settlement in Petra town. It’s impossible to live there, but they look possible.

Vietnam, Ha-long bay (vietn. the place where the dragon descended into the water). Acknowledged by UNESCO “World Natural Heritage” in 1994 and “World Heritage” in 2000; the amazing bay Ha-Long is one of the miracles of nature and most splendid sights in Vietnam. Looking like paradise, the bay consists of 3 000 islands and islets by area 1500 km2 in the emerald water.

First, as a result of tropical showers, the usual karstic outliers were formed. Later they were flooded by the approached sea and partly immersed into water. Sea waves continued working with the stone, and grottos and caves were formed in the cliffs. In some caves the tracks of a prehistoric person were discovered.

There is a legend that the islands of Ha-Long Bay were created by the great dragon which lived in the mountains. When it got to the coast, it hollowed valleys and hollows by its tail. Then, when it immersed in the sea, the places dug up by its tail were filled up with water and only several visible plots of the earth remained. According to another legend the dragon, which was escaping from the god angered to it, hid in the water. But the god saw it and killed the dragon by his thunder and lightning, and these islands are the remains of its armor. This dragon can be the legend; however, seamen in the region of bay Ha-Long frequently reported about the mysterious sea essences of the enormous size, known as “tarasque”.

Dragon is a symbol of happiness in China. To my mind, that’s why the Chinese decorate their houses with dragons.

Conclusion

Sometimes you get astonished by how simple the models for great projects are. Like the trees were the models of the Sidra Tree congress Hall.

I hope you have enjoyed our journey to different corners of our planet. Now you know how many interesting things nature makes to create something uncommon and fascinating in our life.

Reference List

1. Я. Мартынова, Л. Садовская, Т. Евсеева—Чудеса природы, 2007г.
2. http://explorehalong.com
3. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/10/Ha_long_bay.jpg/800px-Ha_long_bay.jpg
4. http://www.architectura.kiev.ua/data/upload/img/articles/samieneobichnie/image022.jpg
5. http://www.novate.ru/blogs/050508/9208