标签澳大利亚下的文章

卡尔巴里国家公园，澳大利亚 Kalbarri National Park, Australia (© AWL Images/Offset by Shutterstock)

What a wonderful window

From planes to cafes, many of us love a nice ‘window view’, but we’d argue that few provide sights as truly spectacular as Nature’s Window here in Kalbarri National Park. Located 485 km north of Perth, the park covers around 186,000 hectares, and traditionally sees thousands of visitors each year to enjoy its rocky terrain and quiet peacefulness.

The main attraction, however, is this sandstone stunner – formed after many years of wind erosion. Find the perfect angle you’ll be able to catch incredible glimpses of the river in the distance and its surrounding greenery. It’s also one of the best places in the country to watch the sunrise. If you prefer a little more adventure, you can take a stroll to the Kalbarri Skywalk that shows off views of the gorge, or enjoy a spot of abseiling, rafting, and canoeing.

日落时分中央海岸入口海滩上的救生员小屋，澳大利亚新南威尔士州 Lifeguard shack at sunset on The Entrance beach, Central Coast, NSW, Australia (© Yury Prokopenko/Getty Images)

Sand, surf, and sun

Serenity is the name of the game here at the Entrance beach in New South Wales’ Central Coast region, and with sunsets like these its easy to see why. A beloved destination for family holidays and weekend getaways alike, the beach and backing town gains its name by being the entrance to Tuggerah Lake off to the north – acting as a narrow channel between it and the Pacific Ocean on the opposite side.

Just over an hour’s drive from Sydney, the small town packs plenty of history, and is the home to both Norah Head Lighthouse - an operating beacon for shipping that was built in 1903 - as well as a classic carousel built in Germany during the late 1800s, which continues to delight children to this day.

But because the Entrance area has six different beaches to enjoy, most still visit for the perfect combination of sand and surf. As the weather continues to warm on our shores, it’s making us want to start packing our bags as well!

澳大利亚哈梅林浦 Hamelin Pool Marine Nature Reserve in Australia (© Abstract Aerial Art/Getty Images)

Over the boardwalk

In this shallow stretch of Shark Bay in Western Australia, a natural record of Earth's history lies just below the water's surface. Hamelin Pool Marine Nature Reserve protects our planet's biggest collections of stromatolites—small sedimentary rock towers built up over the centuries. Each layer captures fossils of the many microorganisms that populate our oceans. Some of the stromatolites in Hamelin Pool contain fossil specimens that are 3 billion years old. When you're strolling down the boardwalk of Hamelin Pool, you're walking over an unparalleled collection of biological history. The view of the Indian Ocean's not bad either.

大堡礁，澳大利亚昆士兰 Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia (© AWL Images/Danita Delimont)

The largest living organism on Earth

Today marks the second ever World Reef Day, an observance created to help focus global attention on the deteriorating health of on our planet's vital reef systems, and also to help marshal efforts to help them recover. Why should you care about the health of ecosystems such as the Great Barrier Reef, seen in this photo? Because reefs are an easy indicator of how healthy our oceans are. And right now, reefs aren’t doing too well. What can you do? Learn about reefs—not just the dangers that put healthy reefs at risk, but why reefs are such a critical part of Earth's greater ecosystems.

Summer storm from City Beach, Perth, Australia (© JohnCrux/Getty Images)

Thunderbolt and lightning…

Ever endured a scorcher of a summer’s day only to be hit with a thunderstorm soon after? That’s especially common here at City Beach in Perth, where the two go together like Vegemite and toast. Moisture and warmth are both major factors in the creation of thunderstorms, meaning when humidity and heat ramp up during the hotter months, large amounts of warm, humid air gradually rise off the ground via surface winds into an unstable atmosphere. If this atmosphere is particularly unstable that can lead to severe conditions like large hail, wind gusts of 90 km/h and uncharacteristically heavy rainfall - leading to flash flooding.

阿德莱德山的葡萄园，澳大利亚 (© Ben Goode/iStock/Getty Images Plus)

Bird's-eye view of Bronte Baths ocean pool outside Sydney, Australia (© Shay Cooper/Media Drum World/Cavan Images)

Peak summer in the Southern Hemisphere

As the Northern Hemisphere slowly creeps toward spring, our neighbors to the south are enjoying the sunny days of summer. Some are even cooling off with a trip to the pool, like the swimmers in today's image of the Bronte Baths, an ocean pool located in a Sydney suburb. While seaside swimming pools aren't unique to Australia, this island country is known for its many oceanside pools, which provide sheltered spots for swimming in places where rocky shorelines and occasional shark attacks can make ocean swimming difficult or dangerous.

Celebrating women in science

For the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we're visiting the Great Barrier Reef with oceanographer Dr. Sylvia Earle. This photo is from the 2014 documentary film 'Mission Blue,' which follows Earle, a legendary oceanographer, marine biologist, environmentalist, and National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence. The film focuses on Earle's campaign to create a global network of protected marine sanctuaries. Sometimes called Her Deepness, Earle has made immense contributions to science over her career. From leading groundbreaking research in deep ocean science to becoming the first female chief scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Earle is recognized as one of the world's preeminent oceanographers.

More recently, she started Mission Blue, an organization that promotes exploration and protection of the world's oceans. With women accounting for a disproportionately low percentage of the world's science researchers, we hope Earle can inspire girls and women alike to investigate, experiment, and leave their mark on the world of science.

阿尔卑斯国家公园豪伊特山上雾中的野花，澳大利亚维多利亚 Wildflowers in the mist on Mount Howitt in Alpine National Park, Victoria, Australia (© Australian Scenics/Photolibrary/Getty Images Plus)

Nature's most beautiful blanket

Expect colours aplenty in Alpine National Park around this time of year – as new life is breathed into the stunning landscape. The largest national park in Victoria - and measuring in at over 646,000 hectares - its home to a wide variety of native vegetation. It's no surprise that both the alpine and subalpine family are the most prevalent of the bunch, due to their ability to survive amongst high elevation and above the tree line, but snow gums and alpine ash trees are also known to litter the forest. During the springtime you'll even be lucky enough to see snow daisies and bright wildflowers spread across the ground like nature's most colourful blanket, much like they are in today's gorgeous image.

Klaus Littmann's 'FOR FOREST: The Unending Attraction of Nature' in Wörthersee Stadion, Klagenfurt, Austria ('FOR FOREST' by Klaus Littmann)

'FOR FOREST' by Klaus Littmann

When artist Klaus Littmann covered the pitch of this Austrian soccer stadium with 300 trees, he not only created the country's largest public art installation—he brought to life a vision of a dystopian future. The installation here at Wörthersee Stadium in the city of Klagenfurt made headlines around the world when it was unveiled on September 8, 2019. Titled 'FOR FOREST: The Unending Attraction of Nature,' it's inspired by a nearly identical pencil drawing created in 1970 by Max Peintner, an artist known in the European environmental movement. Littmann first saw the drawing 30 years ago and held onto his dream of turning it into a reality for decades. Through his work, he hopes to spark conversation about climate change, perception, and the relationship between nature and people. If you'd like to see it in person, you'll have to hurry. It closes tomorrow, October 27, at 10 pm.

星空迷