2021年8月

苏黎世湖岸边的室外游泳池，瑞士 Strandbad Tiefenbrunnen, an outdoor public pool on the shore of Lake Zürich, Switzerland (© Amazing Aerial Agency/Offset by Shutterstock)

Swim city

Switzerland may be a landlocked country in the middle of Europe, but with about 6% of Europe's fresh water flowing through its countless rivers and lakes, there are plenty of outdoor swimming spots to cool down in the Swiss summer heat. Today, we're dipping our toes in the pristine waters of Lake Zürich in Switzerland's largest city, which has developed its own urban lido culture. Dotted across Zürich, you'll find lots of lidos (public open-air swimming pools or bathing beaches) that make the most of the city's lakes. This time of year, it's common to see bankers and other workers change from business suits into bathing suits as they enjoy a quick swim during their lunch break.

The lakeside lido in our image is called Strandbad Tiefenbrunnen. There's no sand here, but it does feature a circular boardwalk built over the water that surrounds a shallow pool. Nearby, there's a 200-foot water slide spilling into the lake, diving platforms, and a sprawling lawn for sunbathing and activities including yoga, volleyball, and table tennis. And of course, as we're in Switzerland, you're never far from the mountains—the snow-clad Alps are visible from here on a clear day. Swiss bliss.

游泳城

瑞士可能是欧洲中部的内陆国家，但是欧洲大约6%的淡水流经无数的河流和湖泊，在瑞士的夏季热中有很多户外游泳场所可以降温。今天，我们在瑞士最大城市苏里希湖的原始水域中畅游，苏里希湖已经形成了自己的城市丽都文化。在苏黎世，你会发现许多丽都（公共露天游泳池或浴场）充分利用了城市的湖泊。每年的这个时候，银行家和其他员工在午餐休息时间快速游泳时，通常会从工作服换成泳衣。

在我们的图像中，湖边丽都被称为Strandbad Tiefenbrunnen。这里没有沙子，但有一条环绕浅水池的圆形木板路。附近有一个200英尺高的滑水梯，滑向湖中，有潜水平台，还有一片广阔的草坪，可以进行日光浴和瑜伽、排球和乒乓球等活动。当然，当我们在瑞士时，你永远不会远离群山，在晴朗的日子里，从这里可以看到覆盖着白雪的阿尔卑斯山。瑞士的幸福。

死亡谷国家公园里的优比喜比火山口，加利福尼亚州 Ubehebe Crater in Death Valley National Park, California (© Albert Knapp/Alamy)

When Death Valley blew its top

Deep below Death Valley's charred surface, blazing hot magma once gushed up through a geologic fault until it hit groundwater. The magma quickly turned the water to steam, and like a defective subterranean pressure cooker, the Earth's crust blew its top in a ferocious explosion. The hydrovolcanic eruption sent up a mushroom cloud of steam and spewed burnt volcanic cinders for miles. It also left the giant crater seen in this photo and 12 smaller ones spread across the surface.

The Ubehebe Crater (pronounced you-bee-HEE-bee) is a half-mile across and more than 700 feet deep. Geologically speaking, Ubehebe and the other craters here are quite young. A 2016 study concluded that the craters were all formed in a relatively brief series of explosions—a period of days or weeks—about 2,100 years ago. Another eruption could happen, but visitors need not worry about the ground below their feet—seismometers in the region will alert geologists in advance of any future volcanic unrest. A trail around the rim of the crater offers views of the colorful layers of stone along the walls. Adventurous hikers can descend to the bottom, but it's a long slog back out again, especially on a sweltering summer day.

当死亡谷爆发时

在死亡谷烧焦的地表深处，炽热的岩浆曾经通过地质断层喷涌而出，直到触及地下水。岩浆很快将水变成蒸汽，就像一个有缺陷的地下压力锅，地壳在猛烈的爆炸中炸开了顶部。水火山喷发喷出蘑菇状的蒸汽云，喷出燃烧的火山灰数英里。它还留下了这张照片中看到的巨大陨石坑，12个较小的陨石坑散布在地表。

Ubehebe火山口（发音为you bee HEE bee）宽半英里，深700多英尺。从地质学的角度来说，乌贝赫比和这里的其他陨石坑都很年轻。2016年的一项研究得出结论，这些陨石坑都是在相对短暂的一系列爆炸中形成的——大约2100年前的几天或几周时间。另一次火山喷发可能会发生，但游客不必担心脚下的地面。该地区的地震仪将在未来的火山动荡之前提醒地质学家。沿着火山口边缘的小径可以看到沿着墙壁的彩色石层。喜欢冒险的徒步旅行者可以爬到水底，但要想再次爬出来还需要很长时间，尤其是在炎热的夏天。

华盛顿特区史密森艺术与工业大厦 The Smithsonian Arts and Industries Building in Washington DC (© Ron Blunt/Courtesy Smithsonian)

175th anniversa

In 1846, when Congress authorized an institution 'for the increase and diffusion of knowledge,' no one could have predicted what the Smithsonian Institution would eventually become. Today, on our 175th anniversary, the Smithsonian is the world's largest museum, education, and research complex. And in the decades that I have worked at here—as an educator, curator, museum director, and now as Secretary—I have watched us grow into a vital and vibrant 21st-century institution: conducting groundbreaking research, becoming a national leader in K-12 education, creating new museums that represent the American experience more fully, and equipping our audiences to tackle the world's most pressing challenges.

The Arts and Industries Building (AIB), pictured here, exemplifies our role as both a cultural steward and a hub of innovation. The Smithsonian's second-oldest building, AIB opened in 1881 as the US National Museum. An architectural icon located at the heart of the National Mall, its soaring halls introduced millions of Americans to wonders about to change the world—Edison's lightbulb, the first telephone, Apollo rockets. Since the 19th century, when it hosted early flight experiments and the country's burgeoning natural history collections, AIB has been a place for creativity and invention.

This forward-looking spirit is embodied in FUTURES, the Arts and Industries Building's large-scale, dynamic exhibition opening in November 2021. Focusing on interactive discovery and collaboration, the exhibition will feature art installations, technology debuts, interactive experiences, and ideas that preview humanity's next chapter. (This entry was written by Lonnie G. Bunch III, secretary of the Smithsonian Institution.)

175周年纪念

1846年，当国会授权一个机构“增加和传播知识”时，没有人能够预测史密森学会最终会变成什么样子。今天，在我们175周年之际，史密森学会是世界上最大的博物馆、教育和研究中心。在我担任教育家、馆长、博物馆馆长的几十年里，现在作为秘书，我目睹了我们成长为一个充满活力的21世纪机构：开展开创性的研究，成为K-12教育的国家领导者，创建更充分代表美国经验的新博物馆，让我们的观众能够应对世界上最紧迫的挑战。

如图所示，艺术与工业大厦（AIB）体现了我们作为文化管理者和创新中心的角色。史密森学会第二古老的建筑，AIB于1881年作为美国国家博物馆开放。作为位于国家广场中心的建筑标志，其高耸的大厅让数百万美国人看到了即将改变世界的奇迹——爱迪生的灯泡、第一部电话、阿波罗火箭。自19世纪早期飞行实验和该国新兴的自然历史收藏开始，AIB就一直是一个创造力和发明的地方。

这种前瞻性的精神体现在2021年11月艺术与工业大厦（art and Industries Building）的大型、充满活力的展览开幕式上。该展览将以互动发现和协作为重点，展示艺术装置、技术首次亮相、互动体验和思想，预展人类的下一篇章(这篇文章是朗尼G。布奇三世，史密森学会秘书。）

纳汉尼国家公园保护区的鸟瞰图，加拿大西北部 (© Robert Postma/Getty Images)

雕刻师在矿山湾创作的岩雕作品，新西兰北岛陶波湖 The Mine Bay Māori Rock Carving of Ngatoroirangi by Matahi Whakataka-Brightwell on the edge of Lake Taupo, North Island, New Zealand (© Evgueni Zverev/Alamy)

A tribute to the ancestors

To celebrate International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples, we're on New Zealand's North Island, looking at the Ngatoroirangi rock carving in Mine Bay, by Māori artist Matahi Whakataka-Brightwell. This artwork is part of a larger collection of carvings on the edge of Lake Taupo and has become a big tourist attraction despite being accessible only by boat. Four years in the making, the work is a tribute to Māori ancestors and guardians, and the integral roles they play in the Indigenous Māori culture.

International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples was created by the United Nations to draw attention to the distinct cultures of Indigenous peoples and to support measures that protect their rights. This year's theme is 'Leaving no one behind: Indigenous peoples and the call for a new social contract.' With this focus, the UN hopes to raise awareness about the unwritten rules, or 'social contracts,' that help communities function equitably. Historically, Indigenous peoples have been excluded from these social contracts, which were often meant only for dominant populations. This year's festivities hope to address that inequity and will include a virtual commemoration for guests to discuss how communities can redesign these contracts to be inclusive of the Indigenous and their ways of life.

向祖先致敬

为了庆祝世界土著人民国际日，我们来到新西兰北岛，观看由毛利人艺术家Matahi Whakataka Brightwell在Mine Bay创作的Ngatoroirangi岩雕。这件艺术品是陶波湖边缘更大的雕刻收藏的一部分，尽管只能乘船前往，但它已成为一个巨大的旅游景点。经过四年的创作，这部作品向毛利人的祖先和监护人以及他们在土著毛利人文化中所起的不可或缺的作用致敬。

联合国设立了世界土著人民国际日，以提请人们注意土著人民的独特文化，并支持保护其权利的措施。今年的主题是“不抛弃任何人：土著人民和呼吁新的社会契约”。联合国希望以此为重点，提高人们对帮助社区公平运作的不成文规则或“社会契约”的认识。从历史上看，土著人民被排除在这些社会契约之外，而这些契约往往只针对占主导地位的人口。今年的庆祝活动希望解决这一不平等问题，并将包括一个虚拟的纪念活动，供客人讨论社区如何重新设计这些合同，使之包含土著人及其生活方式。

伊丽莎白女皇码头桥，澳大利亚珀斯 Elizabeth Quay Bridge in Perth, Australia (© Amazing Aerial Agency/Offset by Shutterstock)

Bridge to infinity

Infinity Day has us visiting Perth, Australia, and the Elizabeth Quay Bridge. From this aerial view, the bridge closely resembles a tilted ∞, the common symbol for infinity first popularized in a 17th-century mathematical text. We recognize this unofficial holiday every August 8, because the number 8 resembles the infinity symbol, and the eighth day of the eighth month is an infinitely superior day to celebrate the infinite.

View this bridge from ground level and you'll quickly realize that the graceful figure-8 seen from above is something altogether different when viewed from below. The architects behind this bridge designed it to dramatically link the Swan River with the city. The upper left and bottom right curves seen in this image are actually double arches that loop up and then under a 360-foot pedestrian and bicycle pathway. This pathway offers striking views of Perth's central business district and links the area with the newly developed Elizabeth Quay mixed-use development, featuring shops, cafés, apartments, and bars. If you do ever have a chance to take a walk on this bridge, we recommend taking a moment to ponder the infinite, just like the mathematicians and philosophers of the 17th century did.

通向无限的桥梁

“无限日”让我们参观了澳大利亚的珀斯和伊丽莎白码头大桥。从鸟瞰图上看，这座桥非常像一座倾斜的桥∞, 无穷大的通用符号首次在17世纪的数学文本中普及。我们每年8月8日都会庆祝这个非官方的节日，因为数字8类似于无限的符号，而8月的第八天是庆祝无限的一个非常好的日子。

从地面上看这座桥，你会很快意识到从上面看到的优美的8号图形与从下面看到的完全不同。这座桥背后的建筑师将其设计成戏剧性地将天鹅河与城市连接起来。图中左上角和右下角的曲线实际上是双拱门，在一条360英尺长的人行道和自行车道下循环。这条小路可以看到珀斯中央商务区的醒目景色，并将该地区与新开发的伊丽莎白码头（Elizabeth Quay）混合用途开发区连接起来，以商店、咖啡馆、公寓和酒吧为特色。如果你有机会在这座桥上散步，我们建议你花点时间思考一下无限，就像17世纪的数学家和哲学家那样。

乌尤尼盐沼上的锥形盐堆，玻利维亚 Salt cones on the Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia (© John Shaw/Minden Pictures)

Salt of the earth

This shimmering white expanse could easily be mistaken for Antarctica. But what we're looking at isn't snow and ice—it's a surreal landscape of endless salt high in the Andes of southwest Bolivia. Located at a lofty altitude of about 12,000 feet above sea level, Salar de Uyuni is the world's largest salt flat (or salt pan), spanning just over 4,000 square miles. It was formed when prehistoric lakes dried up over centuries, leaving behind a desert of bright white salt that can be seen from space. During the rainy season (December to April), a thin layer of water covering the salt transforms the area into a giant mirror that reflects the beautiful Bolivian skies. If you're driving across the surface at such times, it can appear as though you are navigating through a highway of clouds.

Salar de Uyuni contains more than just a pinch of salt; there's an estimated 11 billion tons of it here, with about 25,000 tons extracted annually. Local salt gatherers—'saleros'—scoop the raw mineral into mounds to let it dry under the sun before it's transported to the nearby village of Colchani, where it's processed and turned into table salt, which is then sold in Bolivia and other countries. But the real treasure is buried beneath the salt crust: Just below the crystalline surface lies the world's largest untapped lithium reserve that could one day power the batteries in our smartphones, laptops, and electric cars.

盐的世界

这片闪闪发光的白色区域很容易被误认为是南极洲。但我们所看到的不是冰雪，而是玻利维亚西南部安第斯山脉的一片超现实的盐碱地。乌尤尼盐湖位于海拔约12000英尺的高空，是世界上最大的盐滩（或盐田），占地面积仅4000多平方英里。它是在史前湖泊干涸几个世纪后形成的，留下了一片从太空可以看到的亮白色盐沙漠。在雨季（12月至4月），覆盖在盐层上的一层薄薄的水将该地区变成一面巨大的镜子，反射玻利维亚美丽的天空。如果您在这样的时间驾驶车辆穿越地表，它可能看起来就像您正在穿越一条云层高速公路。

乌尤尼沙拉不仅仅含有一撮盐；这里估计有110亿吨石油，每年开采约25000吨。当地的盐业采集者“saleros”用铲子将未加工的矿物铲成土堆，在阳光下晾干，然后将其运到附近的科尔查尼村，在那里加工成食盐，然后在玻利维亚和其他国家出售。但真正的宝藏埋藏在盐壳之下：就在水晶表面之下，有世界上最大的尚未开发的锂储量，有朝一日可以为我们的智能手机、笔记本电脑和电动汽车的电池供电。

Looking down upon 'The Athens of the North'

We're kicking off festival season in Edinburgh, Scotland, with this view of the capital city from Salisbury Crags in Holyrood Park. Throughout the month of August, the city is hosting a staggering number of music, theater, opera, dance, and other types of performances as part of the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, which is the world's largest international arts festival.

Located less than a half-mile southeast from Edinburgh's main shopping street, Holyrood Park provides a welcome respite from the festival hubbub. Hike up here to take in views of Edinburgh and its famous landmarks, including Edinburgh Castle, the Scottish Parliament, Holyrood Palace, the City Centre, and the New Town, which stretches out toward the sea. Formed by glaciers and volcanic activity millions of years ago, these craggy outcroppings are among the best examples of a geological sill in Europe. We're lucky that they're still here for our hiking pleasure. For two centuries, the hard dolerite was mined, broken up and shipped off throughout the UK for use as cobblestoned streets. The locals put a stop to the mining and now we can stand here to take in the views—and during festival season if we listen closely, we may hear strains of music coming from somewhere down below.

俯瞰“北方的雅典”

我们将在苏格兰爱丁堡拉开节日的序幕，从Holyrood公园的索尔兹伯里峭壁上俯瞰首都。整个8月份，该市举办了数量惊人的音乐、戏剧、歌剧、舞蹈和其他类型的表演，作为爱丁堡国际艺术节和爱丁堡边缘艺术节的一部分，这是世界上最大的国际艺术节。

Holyrood公园位于爱丁堡主要购物街东南方向不到半英里的地方，为人们提供了一个从节日喧嚣中解脱出来的好去处。徒步来到这里，可以欣赏爱丁堡及其著名的地标性建筑，包括爱丁堡城堡、苏格兰议会、霍利罗德宫、市中心和伸向大海的新城。由数百万年前的冰川和火山活动形成，这些崎岖的露头是欧洲地质岩床的最好例子之一。我们很幸运，他们还在这里是为了我们的徒步旅行。两个世纪以来，硬辉绿岩被开采、破碎并运往英国各地，用作鹅卵石街道。当地人停止了采矿，现在我们可以站在这里欣赏风景。在节日期间，如果我们仔细聆听，我们可能会听到下面某处传来的音乐。

A swim in the sky

A lap in this 'sky pool' may have you holding your breath, and not just because you're underwater. With the streets of London looming 10 stories down, the view through the pool's clear bottom is a bit freaky to all but the fearless. But swimming here is a one-of-a-kind experience, and for some lucky residents of these twin apartment blocks near the US Embassy, a convenient way to pop in on neighbors the next building over.

The pool is suspended 115 feet in the air, but its origin is even loftier: It was manufactured at 4,600 feet in the good ol' USA—Grand Junction, Colorado, to be precise—then shipped across the pond to its new home in sea-level London.

在空中游泳

在这个“空中游泳池”里跑一圈可能会让你屏住呼吸，而不仅仅是因为你在水下。随着10层楼高的伦敦街道隐约可见，游泳池清澈见底的景色对于除了无所畏惧的人以外的所有人来说都有点怪异。但在这里游泳是一种独一无二的体验，对于美国大使馆附近这两栋公寓楼的一些幸运居民来说，这是一种方便的方式，可以顺便拜访隔壁的邻居。

游泳池悬挂在115英尺的空中，但它的起源更为崇高：它是在4600英尺高的科罗拉多州的古德奥美大枢纽（good ol’USA Grand Junction）制造的，准确地说，然后穿过游泳池运到它位于海平面伦敦的新家。

星空迷