2021年3月

拉贾安帕特群岛中的瓦亚格岛，印度尼西亚 Wayag Island at Raja Ampat, Indonesia (© Amazing Aerial Agency/Offset by Shutterstock)

Paradise, found

If your dream is to experience a tropical paradise that's still largely untouched by people, you could do worse than a trip to Wayag Island, seen here. It's part of the Raja Ampat district in the province of West Papua, Indonesia. Most of the roughly 50,000 inhabitants of this district live on or around its four main islands, Batanta, Misool, Salawati and Waigeo. The remainder of Raja Ampat is made up of roughly 1,500 smaller islands, cays, and shoals–astonishingly, hundreds of these tiny islands have yet to be explored by humans.

Divers and snorkelers, especially, treasure Raja Ampat and its vast and diverse reef system, which is considered one of the most biodiverse places in the world. Located roughly seven miles above the equator, Raja Ampat covers nearly 10 million acres of land and sea, and is home to 540 types of corals, more than 1,000 types of coral reef fish, 700 types of mollusks, and a variety of warm-blooded marine animals like the dugong. The ecosystem, which is part of a larger tropical ocean area called the Coral Triangle, is so diverse it's sometimes referred to as the 'the Amazon of the seas.'

天堂，找到了

如果你的梦想是去体验一个热带天堂，那里基本上还没有被人接触过，你可能会比去瓦亚格岛旅行更糟糕，如图所示。它是印度尼西亚西巴布亚省拉贾安帕特区的一部分。这个地区大约5万居民中的大多数居住在巴坦塔岛、米苏尔岛、萨拉瓦蒂岛和怀吉岛四个主要岛屿上或附近。拉贾安帕特的其余部分由大约1500个较小的岛屿、珊瑚礁和浅滩组成——令人惊讶的是，数百个这些小岛还没有被人类探索过。

潜水员和潜水者，尤其是珍宝拉贾安帕特及其广阔多样的珊瑚礁系统，被认为是世界上生物多样性最丰富的地方之一。Raja Ampat位于赤道上方约7英里处，占地近1000万英亩，是540种珊瑚、1000多种珊瑚礁鱼类、700多种软体动物以及儒艮等多种温血海洋动物的家园。这个生态系统是一个被称为珊瑚三角洲的更大的热带海洋区域的一部分，其多样性使它有时被称为“海洋亚马逊”

黑沙滩上Reynisdrangar的玄武岩，冰岛 The basalt rock formations of Reynisdrangar on Reynisfjara Beach, Iceland (© Cavan Images/Getty Images)

Rising up from the black sand like rock gods

Any visitor to Iceland knows that driving the Ring Road rewards one with incredible changing landscapes. Today, we're taking a quick detour to visit this chiseled stretch of Iceland's southern coast, where black sand beaches meet spiky basalt sea stacks. This is Reynisfjara Beach, widely considered the most beautiful example of Iceland's black sand beaches. The sea stacks fronting the beach are known as Reynisdrangar and were formed when a volcano erupted, spewing flowing lava that cooled into these formations. Ask the locals how they formed, however, and you may get a different story, one involving trolls and a battle with a three-masted ship.

像岩石神一样从黑沙中升起

任何一个到冰岛的游客都知道，驾驶环城公路的人都会得到令人难以置信的景观变化的回报。今天，我们要绕道去参观冰岛南部海岸的这片轮廓分明的地带，那里的黑色沙滩与尖尖的玄武岩海交汇。这就是雷尼斯菲亚拉海滩，被广泛认为是冰岛黑沙滩最美丽的例子。海滩前面的海堆被称为雷诺斯德兰格，是火山喷发时形成的，喷发出的熔岩冷却成这些地层。然而，问问当地人他们是如何形成的，你可能会得到一个不同的故事，一个涉及巨魔和一艘三桅船的战斗。

斯诺登山与兰贝里斯山口，英国史诺多尼亚国家公园 Mount Snowdon and the Llanberis Pass in Snowdonia National Park, North Wales, United Kingdom (© Alan Novelli/Alamy)

A chiselled landscape

This dramatic view brings together two Welsh icons. In the distance sits the country’s highest mountain, Snowdon, while the towering walls of slate in the foreground nod to an industry which has reshaped the landscape here over the centuries. This is the former Dinorwic quarry in the county of Gwynedd, once the second-largest slate quarry in the world after nearby Penrhyn. Slate was first extracted here by the Romans but the process really gathered steam during the industrial revolution, when it became known as the industry that ‘roofed the world’.

At its height in the late 19th century, thousands of men were employed at Dinorwic and the Welsh slate industry as a whole extracted about 485,000 tonnes a year. Slate quarrying chiselled its way into the landscape and communities grew up around it. But in 1969, Dinorwic closed, a victim of falling demand and cheaper imports. Now Dinorwic is home to the National Slate Museum of Wales, thanks in part to the efforts of the quarry’s former chief engineer, Hugh Richard Jones, who saved the 51ft (15.4m)-wide waterwheel and other equipment from being sold off.

Welsh slate has a worldwide reputation for quality and was used in the construction of Westminster Hall in London, Copenhagen City Hall and the Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne, Australia. An important part of Welsh industrial and cultural heritage, this slate landscape has been nominated by the UK government for Unesco World Heritage status.

轮廓分明的风景

这一戏剧性的景象汇集了两个威尔士图标。远处坐落着该国最高的山峰斯诺登，而前景中高耸的石板墙表明，几个世纪以来，这一行业重塑了这里的景观。这是格温内德县的前迪诺维奇采石场，曾经是仅次于附近的彭恩的世界第二大板岩采石场。石板最早是罗马人在这里开采的，但在工业革命期间，这一过程真的积聚了蒸汽，当时它被称为“给世界盖屋顶”的工业。

在19世纪末的鼎盛时期，成千上万的人受雇于迪诺维奇，整个威尔士板岩行业每年开采约48.5万吨。石板采石逐渐进入了风景区，周围的社区也随之发展起来。但在1969年，Dinorwic关闭了，成为需求下降和进口价格下降的受害者。如今，迪诺维奇是威尔士国家石板博物馆的所在地，这在一定程度上要归功于采石场前总工程师休·理查德·琼斯（Hugh Richard Jones）的努力，他挽救了这座51英尺（15.4米）宽的水车和其他设备，使其免遭抛售。

威尔士板岩的质量在世界范围内享有盛誉，曾用于伦敦威斯敏斯特大厅、哥本哈根市政厅和澳大利亚墨尔本皇家展览大楼的建设。作为威尔士工业和文化遗产的重要组成部分，这块石板景观已被英国政府提名为联合国教科文组织世界遗产。

摇篮山-圣克莱尔湖国家公园，澳大利亚塔斯马尼亚州 Cradle Mountain-Lake St. Clair National Park, Tasmania, Australia (© Paparwin Tanupatarachai/Getty Images)

The wild heart of Tasmania

This boardwalk leads to one of the many lakes that dot Tasmania's Cradle Mountain–Lake St. Clair National Park, one of the crown jewels of the island's Wilderness World Heritage area. Covering over 623 square miles in the interior of the island, the park is home to an incredible diversity of flora and fauna. Marsupials like Bennett's wallabies, quolls, Tasmanian pademelon, and the legendary Tasmanian devils, as well as short-beaked echidnas, platypuses, wombats, and Tasmanian pygmy possums can be found in its ancient forests and lakes.

In late April and into May, locals and visitors delight in the 'Turning of the Fagus' when the leaves of the deciduous Tasmanian beech trees turn brilliantly yellow, orange, and red. The Overland Track, as 65-mile-long circuit of the park is a popular route for visitors, whether exploring a portion of it over a day or taking a week to complete the entire route. Overnight hikers can stay in warming huts built along the way and spend the night dazzled by the stars and the aurora australis (aka the southern lights) in one of island's best stargazing locations.

塔斯马尼亚的野心

这条木板路通往点缀塔斯马尼亚摇篮山的众多湖泊之一——圣克莱尔湖国家公园，是该岛荒野世界遗产区的王冠明珠之一。这个公园占地623平方英里，是岛上动植物多样性令人难以置信的家园。像贝内特的小袋鼠、小袋鼠、塔斯马尼亚的帕德梅隆和传说中的塔斯马尼亚魔鬼，以及短嘴针鼹、鸭嘴兽、袋熊和塔斯马尼亚侏儒负鼠等有袋动物都可以在其古老的森林和湖泊中找到。

在4月下旬到5月，当地人和游客都喜欢“水青冈的转变”，因为每年落叶的塔斯马尼亚山毛榉树的叶子都会变成明亮的黄色、橙色和红色。陆上赛道，作为公园65英里长的赛道，是游客的热门路线，无论是探索一天的一部分，还是花一周的时间完成整个路线。夜间徒步旅行者可以住在沿途建造的温暖小屋里，在岛上最好的观星地点之一度过被星星和南极光（又名南极光）所眩目的夜晚。

温尼伯湖沿岸的春日冰雪，曼尼托巴 Spring ice along the shore of Lake Winnipeg, Manitoba (© Mike Grandmaison/Jaynes Gallery/DanitaDelimont.com)

A hub for fishing

Located in central Manitoba, Lake Winnipeg is the sixth largest freshwater lake in Canada. It is 435 kilometres long and at least 109 kilometres wide. With an area of approximately 24,400 square kilometres, Lake Winnipeg boasts a shoreline consisting of pristine white sand beaches, limestone cliffs and boreal forests. Hence, this area sits as a huge nesting ground for birds like pelicans, gulls and cormorants. Additionally, abundant fish species can be found here as well. As a matter of fact, Lake Winnipeg is a commercial fishing hub and contributes significantly to Manitoba’s fishing industry revenue. So, whatever the season may be, professional anglers and general fans of fishing can be spotted here all year-round.

钓鱼的中心

温尼伯湖位于马尼托巴省中部，是加拿大第六大淡水湖。它长435公里，宽至少109公里。温尼伯湖面积约24400平方公里，拥有由原始的白色沙滩、石灰岩悬崖和北方森林组成的海岸线。因此，这个地区是鹈鹕、海鸥和鸬鹚等鸟类的巨大筑巢地。此外，这里还有丰富的鱼类。事实上，温尼伯湖是一个商业渔业中心，为马尼托巴省渔业收入做出了重大贡献。因此，无论季节如何，这里终年都可以看到专业钓鱼者和钓鱼爱好者。

座头鲸妈妈将她熟睡的幼鲸推到水面，夏威夷毛伊岛 Humpback whale mother pushes her sleeping calf to surface, Maui, Hawaii (© Ralph Pace/Minden Pictures)

A whale of a picture

The family drama you see playing out here in the Pacific Ocean near Maui, Hawaii, is a humpback whale calf getting a little nudge from its mom. She presumably wants the sleepy youngster to practice surfacing, something these amazing marine mammals are famous for doing in dramatic fashion. Winter is calving season, when thousands of humpbacks swim to the warm waters off Hawaii, making them a common sight from November until April. Because they're known to hang around near the ocean's surface, breaching or slapping the water with their tails, humpbacks are a favorite of whale watchers everywhere.

Most humpbacks are nomadic and can be found in all the oceans of the world, with some populations migrating distances of up to 5,000 miles as they move from breeding grounds in warmer, tropical waters, to colder areas where food is more plentiful. And when they eat, they don't mess around, consuming up to 2,000 pounds of food each day. They eat tiny crustaceans called krill, as well as small fish. Once on the verge of extinction because of commercial whaling, legislative protections in the US and around the world have helped the humpback population to rebound to somewhere around 80,000 worldwide.

像鲸鱼一样的图片

你在夏威夷毛伊岛附近的太平洋上看到的家庭剧，是一头座头鲸幼崽被它妈妈轻轻推了一下。她大概是想让这个昏昏欲睡的年轻人练习浮出水面，这些神奇的海洋哺乳动物以戏剧化的方式出名。冬季是产犊季节，成千上万的座头鲸游到夏威夷附近温暖的水域，使它们从11月到4月成为常见的景象。因为众所周知，座头鲸在海面附近游荡，用尾巴冲破水面或拍打水面，所以座头鲸是各地鲸鱼观察者的最爱。

大多数座头鲸都是游牧民族，分布在世界上所有的海洋中，当它们从温暖的热带水域的繁殖地迁徙到食物更丰富的寒冷地区时，有些座头鲸的迁徙距离可达5000英里。当他们吃东西的时候，他们不会乱来，每天消耗多达2000磅的食物。它们吃被称为磷虾的微小甲壳类动物，以及小鱼。由于商业捕鲸一度濒临灭绝，美国和世界各地的立法保护帮助座头鲸数量反弹至全球约8万头。

马尼亚河的卫星图像，马达加斯加 Satellite image of the Mania River in Madagascar (© NASA Earth Observatory image by Joshua Stevens, using Landsat data from the US Geological Survey)

Uncommon clouds are gathering

A satellite view of the Mania River in Madagascar allows us to see a curious cloud pattern. It's common for cool, moist marine air to rise and form dense clouds over bodies of water, then for the clouds to evaporate as they drift over warmer, drier land. The opposite is happening here: Puffs of clouds are forming over land, but not over water. That's because Madagascar's tropical rainforests are warm and wet enough that evaporating moisture rises as the day heats up. When it rises high enough, the moisture encounters cooler air, which condenses the water into clouds. Generally speaking, clouds will form where the air is rising, which in this case is only over the land. Above the river, the air is cooler and descending, so no clouds are forming there.

If learning about an unusual weather pattern puts you on cloud nine, then join the United Nations in celebrating World Meteorological Day today. The UN created the annual observance back in 1950 as a day to recognize the contributions of meteorologists to our safety and well-being. We may not all know our cirrus from our cumulus, but we can at least thank meteorologists for letting us know if we should pack an umbrella or sunscreen.

不寻常的云彩正在聚集

马达加斯加马尼亚河的卫星图像让我们看到了一个奇怪的云层模式。很常见的情况是，凉爽潮湿的海洋空气上升，在水体上方形成浓密的云层，然后云层在温暖干燥的陆地上飘浮时蒸发。相反的情况正在这里发生：云层在陆地上形成，但在水面上没有。这是因为马达加斯加的热带雨林足够温暖和潮湿，随着天气变暖，蒸发的水分会上升。当它上升到足够高的位置时，湿气会遇到较冷的空气，从而将水凝结成云。一般来说，在空气上升的地方会形成云，在这种情况下，云只在陆地上形成。在河的上方，空气是凉爽的和下降的，所以那里没有云层形成。

如果你了解到一个不寻常的天气模式，你会感到非常沮丧，那么今天就加入联合国庆祝世界气象日吧。早在1950年，联合国就设立了一年一度的纪念日，以此来表彰气象学家对我们安全和福祉的贡献。我们可能不都知道我们的卷云来自我们的积云，但我们至少可以感谢气象学家让我们知道我们是否应该带伞或防晒霜。

Military art

Overlooking the valley linking France to Switzerland (the Cluse de Pontarlier), Joux castle – with its keep, towers, drawbridges, surrounding walls and fort – offers fantastic evidence of the way fortifications have developed over the years. Built in the 11th century, then modified by Vauban in the 17th century, people will discover 10 centuries of history there.

军事艺术

俯瞰连接法国和瑞士的山谷（Cluse de Pontarlier），Joux castle及其要塞、塔楼、吊桥、围墙和堡垒为多年来防御工事的发展提供了极好的证据。建于11世纪，17世纪被沃邦修缮，人们将在那里发现10个世纪的历史。

覆盖了Hallerbos森林地面的蓝铃花，比利时佛兰德 Bluebell flowers carpet the Hallerbos forest floor, Flanders, Belgium (© Jason Langley/plainpicture)

A glimpse of the 'Blue Forest'

What color do you normally associate with a forest? Well, in the Hallerbos forest of Belgium, that would be blue, for reasons you can clearly see here. For about 10 days every year, usually in late April or early May, this very old forest floor is transformed as bluebell hyacinths wake up from their winter slumber and carpet the forest floor in blue.

Even though it's a bit early for the fleeting blooms, today would be a good day to visit the 'Blue Forest,' for this is the day that the United Nations recognizes the International Day of Forests. The theme of this year's observance is reforestation, another thing that Hallerbos is known for. Large swaths of the ancient forest were destroyed by occupying forces during World War I, which prompted the Belgian government to roll out an extensive reforestation project starting in the 1930s. Within 20 years, Hallerbos was well on its way to being a healthy forest again, as the depleted native beech and oak trees were restocked.

“蓝色森林”一瞥

你通常认为森林是什么颜色的？好吧，在比利时的哈勒博斯森林，那将是蓝色的，因为你可以清楚地看到这里的原因。每年大约有10天，通常是在4月底或5月初，当风信子从冬眠中醒来，用蓝色地毯铺在森林地板上时，这片古老的森林地板就发生了变化。

尽管现在花开得有点早，但今天是参观“蓝林”的好日子，因为今天是联合国承认国际森林日的日子。今年纪念活动的主题是植树造林，这是哈勒博斯另一个著名的活动。在第一次世界大战期间，大片的古老森林被占领军摧毁，这促使比利时政府从20世纪30年代开始实施大规模的重新造林项目。20年内，随着耗尽的本地山毛榉和橡树重新进货，哈勒波斯又一次成为一片健康的森林。

It's time for spring

This 40-foot sundial stands atop the Parnidis Dune, one of the scenic highlights of Curonian Spit, a UNESCO World Heritage Site shared by Lithuania and Russia. Built in 1995, the sundial was damaged by a hurricane a few years later and rebuilt in 2011. It accurately tells time by creating shadows on the steps, with notches for hours and half hours, as well as months, equinoxes, and solstices.

March 20 marks the spring (or vernal) equinox in the Northern Hemisphere, meaning that for the next six months daylight hours will outlast nighttime darkness. When it's winter in the Northern Hemisphere, those of us above the equator are tilted away from the sun, giving us shorter days and longer nights. In summer, we're tilted toward the sun, but the equinox is right in between. It's the moment during Earth's annual revolution around the sun when its axis is neither tilting away nor tilting toward the sun, giving everyone on the planet an equal split of day and night. This phenomenon happens twice a year—in March and again in September. In the Southern Hemisphere, everything's flipped. There, it's the autumnal equinox today—and, yes, winter is coming.

春天到了

这座40英尺高的日晷矗立在帕尼迪斯沙丘上，这座沙丘是立陶宛和俄罗斯共同拥有的联合国教科文组织世界遗产库伦吐谷（Curonian Spit）的一大亮点。日晷建于1995年，几年后被飓风破坏，2011年重建。它通过在台阶上创建阴影来准确地显示时间，刻痕为小时和半小时，以及月份、分点和至点。

3月20日是北半球的春分（或春分），这意味着在接下来的六个月里，白天的时间将比夜间的黑暗时间还要长。当北半球是冬天的时候，我们这些在赤道以上的人会远离太阳，使我们白天变短，夜晚变长。在夏天，我们向太阳倾斜，但春分正好在两者之间。这是地球每年绕太阳公转的一个时刻，它的轴既不向太阳倾斜，也不向太阳倾斜，使地球上的每个人都有一个平等的日夜之分。这种现象每年3月发生两次，9月又发生一次。在南半球，一切都在翻转。在那里，今天是秋分，是的，冬天来了。

星空迷