分类 必应美图 下的文章

Shot of Advancetown lake and forest, Gold Coast, Queensland © AzmanL/E+/Getty Images

History beneath the water

Though today the Advancetown lake and Hinze dam provide much-needed water to many areas of the Gold Coast region, it also actually submerges the original settlement of Advancetown (located south east of Brisbane) and its surrounding areas. European settlement of Advancetown is said to have begun in 1881 – slowly developing timberyards, farmland and even a local school. Jump forward a hundred years, however, and once the Hinze Dam had completed construction in 1977, not only had the school closed, but farming residents had relocated and the once booming timber industry declined. With the original settlement now beneath the water, a new township has been established above the lake – which according to 2011 Census data, only consist of around 352 people.

吉利群岛上生长着珊瑚的人工珊瑚礁，印度尼西亚 (© fenkieandreas/Getty Images Plus)

诺曼底入侵后的桑树港遗址，法国诺曼底Arromanches les Bains / Remains of Mulberry Harbour from the D-Day invasion, Arromanches les Bains, Normandy, France (© Javier Gil/Alamy)

Engineering an artificial harbor in Normandy

For the 75th anniversary of D-Day, the beginning of the end of WWII, we're focusing on the remains of the Mulberry Harbours—one of the most impressive military engineering feats of the war. Knowing that the ability to land huge numbers of men, vehicles, and supplies would be crucial to the Allies' success of the invasion of Normandy, Winston Churchill challenged his forces to come up with an artificial harbor that could be towed into place and operational within days of the initial landings.

Over 40,000 men were involved in the creation of two harbors that were installed at Omaha and Gold beaches beginning on June 9, 1944, and which were completed just six days later. The harbors included breakwaters comprised of sunken decommissioned ships, pre-built concrete caissons, 33 jetties, and over 10 miles of roadways. A violent storm on June 19th destroyed the harbor at Omaha beach, but Mulberry B, at Arromanches, survived and by the time it was abandoned six months later it had landed 2.5 million men, 500,000 vehicles, and 4 million tons of supplies into northern France.

秘鲁亚马逊坦博帕塔国家保护区中的树冠 The tree canopy in the Tambopata National Reserve of the Peruvian Amazon (© Patrick Brandenburg/Tandem Stills + Motion)

Happy trees = Clean air

We're gazing up at the tree canopy in the Peruvian Amazon. The Amazon rainforest covers 60 percent of Peru's total landmass, stretching over 37,000 square miles.

Today is World Environment Day, and this year's theme is about air quality. Why show trees to talk about air? Because a healthy forest acts like a natural air filter. Plants absorb large amounts of carbon dioxide and help filter pollutants from the air. Robust forests mean clean air for all. Thanks, trees!

摩洛哥扎戈拉附近的椰枣树林 Date palm groves near Zagora, Morocco (© Frans Lemmens/Getty Images)

Breaking the fast for Eid

Under the shadow of the twin-peaks of Zagora mountain, farmers grow date palms in the Draa River Valley, where the oasis town of Zagora is the last stop before a long journey into the Sahara. Today, the Muslim population of Zagoar will join billions of Muslims around the world to celebrate Eid al-Fitr. The food-filled holiday marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

During Ramadan, Muslims fast during daylight hours, and break the fast each day at sunset with a meal called iftar. Dates are usually the first food to break this daily fast, which is one reason why we're featuring an image of date palms on our homepage today. Ramadan is also a season for Muslims to refrain from harmful habits such as smoking, and many also engage in charity work or charitable giving. The faithful are rewarded with today's observance, Eid al-Fitr, where families and friends gather to eat, socialize, and even give gifts to children and close relatives.

苏格兰福斯湾的巴斯岩 Bass Rock in Scotland's Firth of Forth (© Richard Shucksmith/Minden Pictures)

An island for the birds

Those white specks scattered around the surface of Bass Rock are northern gannets—seabirds that spend their springtime breeding and nesting season on the islands and shores of the North Atlantic. At the height of the birds' Bass Rock nesting, roughly 150,000 gannets arrive to rear their chicks, making this location the largest gannet colony on Earth. There are no human inhabitants on Bass Rock—the lighthouse is automated. The tiny volcanic plug island is just over a mile off the coast of the Lothian region of eastern Scotland in the Firth of Forth.

爱荷华州中部的高架栈桥 The High Trestle Trail Bridge in central Iowa (© Kelly van Dellen/Getty Images Plus)

Hiking the High Trestle Trail

The unique 130-foot-tall bridge you see here is just a small part of a longer, 25-mile trail that connects five small towns in central Iowa. The High Trestle Trail is a rail trail—a decommissioned railroad track that’s been turned into a multiuse trail—and it follows the path of an old Union Pacific Railroad freight line. The rail-to-trail movement began in the 1960s when many railroad tracks began to be removed and people noted that the relatively flat rail corridors were perfect for hiking and biking trails. We can now enjoy thousands of miles of rail trails throughout the US. So today, on National Trails Day, find a trail near you and get outside to celebrate.

俄勒冈州Zumwalt Prairie的草原土墩 Prairie mounds at Oregon’s Zumwalt Prairie (© Michael Durham/Minden Pictures)

Mysterious prairie mounds abound

Collections of these dome-like hills are common in landscapes throughout the United States. Depending on your region, you might know them as Mima mounds, hogwallow mounds, or even pimple mounds–and their origin isn’t always clear. Theories range from seismic activity to gophers—and even just an accumulation of sediment. The prairie mounds on our homepage today are part of Oregon’s Zumwalt Prairie, a unique landscape in northeast Oregon. Encompassing some 330,000 acres, It’s of one of the largest remaining intact tracts of bunchgrass prairie in North America. Once part of an extensive grassland in the region, this portion has remained preserved due to its high elevation, which made farming difficult.

2018年曼哈顿悬日期间的克莱斯勒大厦与42号街，纽约市 42nd Street with the Chrysler Building during Manhattanhenge in 2018, New York City (© Dennis Fischer Photography/Getty Images)

A day to celebrate the sun

A few times each year, the rising and setting suns align with the east-west streets of Manhattan--commonly referred to as 'Manhattanhenge.' While the exact timing varies slightly from one year to the next, it usually occurs a few weeks before and after the summer and winter solstices. Tonight's sunset will find the full sun's golden rays streaming directly through Manhattan's major cross streets.

The name Manhattanhenge was created and popularized by NYC native and astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson as an homage to Stonehenge. But Manhattan isn't the only place you can experience a 'henge' day--cities like Chicago and Toronto are also drawing crowds trying to capture a moment where the cosmos perfectly aligns with the modern.

Stravinsky Fountain in Paris, France © Alessandro Saffo/eStock Photo

A ‘circus of chaos’ for Stravinsky

The whimsical sculptures of Stravinsky Fountain in Paris are a bold, modern contrast to the Church of Saint-Merri, seen in the background of our photo today. The fountain—designed to inspire feelings of joy and playfulness—is a tribute to the groundbreaking symphonic composer and conductor Igor Stravinsky. Though he was born near St. Petersburg, Russia, Stravinsky wrote and debuted many of his career-making works while living in France in the early 20th century. It was this day in 1913 that Stravinsky’s ballet ‘The Rite of Spring’ debuted at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées.

The ballet, choreographed by iconic dancer Vaslav Nijinksy, was not well-received by traditionalists. Those who preferred classical ballet clashed with ‘bohemian’ members of the audience who openly embraced the modern performance. The fracas soon led to heckling of the performers and fights within the crowd. The ensuing ‘riot’ is something of a legend, with most historians agreeing that it wasn’t quite the spectacle that some accounts suggest. Still, it’s fun to imagine a ballet inspiring such a passionate reaction from the audience. Imagine if the ballet fans of early 20th-century Paris had social media…