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Posts archive for: February, 2008
  • River

    The water in a river is usually restrained to a channel, made up of a stream bed between banks. In larger rivers there is also a wider flood-plain shaped by flood-waters over-topping the feed. Flood plains may be very wide in relative to the size of the river channel. This dissimilarity between river channel and flood-plain can be blurred especially in urban areas where the flood-plain of a river channel can become greatly developed by housing and industry.

    The river channel itself typically contains a single stream of water but some rivers flow as several interconnecting streams of water, producing a braided river. All-embracing braided rivers are found in only a few regions worldwide, such as the South Island of New Zealand. They also occur on peneplains and some of the larger river deltas. Anastamosing rivers are similar to braided rivers. They have multiple graceful channels carrying large volumes of sediment. Due to the dynamics of this type of system, they are also quite rare.

    A river flowing in its channel is a source of energy which acts on the river channel to change its shape and form. In steep torrential zones this can be seen as erosion channels through hard rocks and the creation of sands and gravels from the devastation of larger rocks. In U shaped glaciated valleys, the consequent river valley can often easily be identified by the V shaped channel that it has carved. In the middle reaches where the river may flow over flatter land, loops (meanders) may form through eroding of the river banks and declaration on the inside of bends. Sometimes the river will cut off a loop, shortening the channel and forming an oxbow lake or billabong. Rivers that carry large amounts of deposit may develop conspicuous deltas at their mouths, if conditions permit. Rivers, whose mouths are in brackish tidal waters, may form estuaries. River mouths may also be fjords or rias.

  • The Lion

    The lion is a member of the family Felidae and one of four "big cats" in the genus Panthera. With extraordinary large males exceeding 250 kg (550 lb) in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger. Wild lions presently exist in sub-Saharan Africa and in Asia with a dangerously endangered residue population in northwest India, having disappeared from North Africa, the Middle East, and western Asia in historic times. Until the late Pleistocene, the lion was the most pervasive large land mammal beside humans. They were found in most of Africa, much of Eurasia from western Europe to India, and the Bering land bridge and, in the Americas, from the Yukon to Peru.

    Lions live for approximately 10–14 years in the wild, while in confinement they can live over 20 years. They typically occupy savanna and grassland, although they may take to bush and forest. Lions are unusually social compared to other cats. A arrogance of lions consists of related females and offspring and a small number of adult males. Groups of female lions typically hunt together, preying mostly on large ungulates. The lion is an apex and keystone killer, although they will resort to scavenging if the opportunity arises. While lions, in general, do not selectively hunt humans, some have been known to become man-eaters and seek human victim.

    The lion is a exposed species, having seen a possibly irretrievable population refuse of 30 to 50% over the past two decades in its African range; populations are unsound outside designated reserves and national parks. Although the cause of the decline is not well-understood, habitat loss and conflicts with humans are currently the greatest causes of concern. Lions have been kept in menageries since Roman times and have been a key species sought after and exhibited in zoos the world over since the late eighteenth century. Zoos are cooperating worldwide in breeding programs for the endangered Asiatic subspecies.

    The male lion is highly individual and is easily recognized by its mane. The head of the male lion, is one of the most widely recognized animal symbols in human culture. It has been depicted extensively in literature, in sculptures, in paintings, on national flags, and in fashionable films and journalism.

  • Mango

    The mango is now widely cultivated as a fruit tree in frost-free humid and warmer subtropical climates throughout the Indian subcontinent, North, South and Central America, the Caribbean, south and central Africa, Australia and Southeast Asia. It is easily sophisticated and there are now more than 1,000 cultivars, ranging from the "turpentine mango" (named for its strong taste of turpentine, which according to the Oxford Companion to Food some varieties essentially control) to the huevos de toro.

    The mango is a popular fruit with people around the world. However, many mango farmers accept a low price for their produce. This has led to mangoes being available as a just trade item in some countries. Dwarf or semi-dwarf varities, such as Nam Doc Mai can be grown and fruit in containers. They will need constant care and scale maybe difficult.

    The pigment euxanthin, usually known as Indian yellow, is often described as having been produced from the urine of cows fed on mango leaves; the practice is described as having been outlawed in 1908 after having been found to cause starvation in the cows. However, Victoria Finlay has shown that these descriptions of the pigment's origin all rely on a single undependable source, that there exist no other records of the pigment being produced in such a fashion, and that Indian legal records do not mention any such practice ever being outlawed. As such, the capability of the pigment's making from mango-leaf-fed cows is unknown.

  • Indian Ocean

    The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering about 20% of the water on the Earth's face. It is bounded on the north by Asia (including the Indian subcontinent, after which it is named); on the west by Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and Australia; and on the south by the Southern Ocean (or, traditionally, by Antarctica). One module of the broad World Ocean, the Indian Ocean is delineated from the Atlantic Ocean by the 20° east meridian running south from Cape Agulhas, and from the Pacific by the 147° east meridian. The northernmost extent of the Indian Ocean is approximately 30° north autonomy in the Persian Gulf and, thus, has asymmetric ocean circulation. This ocean is nearly 10,000 kilometres (6,200 mi) wide at the southern tips of Africa and Australia; its area is 73,556,000 square kilometres (28,400,000 mi˛), including the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf.

    The ocean's volume is estimated to be 292,131,000 cubic kilometers (70,086,000 mił). Small islands dot the continental rims. Island nations within the ocean are Madagascar (formerly Malagasy Republic), the world's fourth chief island; Comoros; Seychelles; Maldives; Mauritius; and Sri Lanka. Indonesia borders it on the east. The ocean's importance as a transit route between Asia and Africa has made it a scene of conflict. Because of its size, however, no nation had effectively dominated most of it until the early 1800s when the United Kingdom controlled much of the surrounding land. After the refuse of the British Empire, the ocean has been conquered by India and Australia.

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