The length of the Nile River is approximately 6650 kilometres
(4132 miles). It is believed to be the longest river in the world.
Located in Africa, the Nile River lies in the following
countries: Kenya, Eritrea, Congo, Burundi, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda,
Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia.
The Nile River has huge significance in regards to Ancient Egypt.
Most of Ancient Egypt’s historical sites are located along the banks of
the Nile River including cities such as Luxor and Cairo.
In 2004, the White Nile Expedition became the first to navigate
the entire length of the Nile River. The expedition began in Uganda and
finished in Rosetta, taking four months and two weeks to complete.
The Nile Delta in Northern Egypt is where the Nile River drains
in to the Mediterranean Sea. It is around 160 kilometres (100 miles) in
length and spreads out over 240 kilometres (149 miles) of coastline. It
is rich in agriculture and has been farmed for thousands of years.
Around 40 million people (half of Egypt’s population) live in the Nile Delta region.
In 1787, the famous Rosetta stone was found in the Nile Delta in
the city of Rosetta. This Ancient Egyptian artifact played a key role in
modern understanding of Egyptian hieroglyphics.
The Aswan High Dam was built in 1970 to help regulate flooding of
the Nile River. Before the Aswan Dam was built, years that featured
high levels of water could wipe out crops while years of low level water
could produce famines and drought. The dam helps control these water
levels.
I am sure that you know that smoking harms your body. Then why do you
continue smoking? Maybe you do it because you haven’t really become
conscious about all the effects that smoking has. There are a lot of
reasons why you shouldn’t smoke. Some of them are that smoking affects
your health, that you spend a lot of money on cigarettes, and that when
you smoke you are not respecting people around you.
The first reason why you shouldn’t smoke is that smoking affects your
health. If you smoke, your physical condition will be negatively
affected, so it will be very difficult for you to succeed in sports.
Also, smoking produces lethal diseases like cancer and reduces the
length and quality of your life. Maybe you don’t notice all the physical
effects of smoking immediately, but you surely will be sorry one day.
The second reason why you shouldn’t smoke is because of all the money
that you spend on it. Maybe you start smoking only when someone offers
you a cigarette, but there will be a day when you will feel the need of a
cigarette. By this time, you will pay whatever to smoke, and each time
you will smoke more, so you will spend more money. All the money you
would spend on cigars could have be spent in something better, don’t you
think?
The last reason why you shouldn’t smoke is out of respect for the people
around you. When you smoke, you not only harm yourself, but you also
harm all the people around you. So you mustn’t be selfish; you should at
least avoid smoking in front of people who don’t smoke. Also, many
people don’t like the cigarette’s smell, so they won’t enjoy your
company. Would you like that?
I have said just some reasons of why you shouldn’t smoke, so I hope
that now those of you who smoke are able to think a little and try to
make a smart decision. In addition to all the reasons I’ve said, I would
like you to think about how much you love yourself and then whether you
want to continue harming yourself. Think also about all the people who
love you, like your family who doesn’t want to see you suffering or
sick. If you decide to continue smoking, what a pity. But if you decide
to stop smoking, congratulations! Remember that “If you can dream it,
you can do it.”
Simply known also as the Great Stupa, the Ruwanwalisaya was
constructed by Duttagamini(King Dutugemunu) after he become king in 161
BCE. This was his most ambitious project and it is said that one of the
architects designed the done to resemble a bubble of milk . Sadly, the
king did not live to see the completion of stupa(Pagoda).
When it was finally completed, it was one of the wonder of the
ancient world, with a diameter of 91. The compound of the stupa is
surrounded by four walls with elephant figures made into them. It is
believed that relics of the Buddha are enshrined within the stupa
(Pagoda).
The Ruwanwalisaya was also designed with the teaching of the Buddha
in mind. Its dome signifies the vastness of the doctrine, the Four Noble
Truths, the concentric rings indicate the Noble Eightfold path, and the
large crystal at the pinnacle represents the ultimate Buddhist goal of
enlightenment.
Basic elephant facts:
The elephant is the largest land animal on Earth. The African species
stands about 8.2 to 13 feet (2.5 to 4 meters) tall and weighs 5,000 to
14,000 pounds (2,268 – 6,350 kilograms). Slightly smaller, the Asian
elephant stands about 6.6 to 9.8 feet (2 to 3 m) tall and weighs 4,960 –
12,125 pounds (2,041 to 4,990 kg).
Elephants don’t start out small like some mammals. Instead, a baby
elephant typically stands about 3 feet (1 m) tall and weighs about 200
pounds (91 kg).
The most distinguishing features of the elephant are its long nose
(or trunk) and large, floppy ears. The elephant’s trunk does more than
smelling and breathing like a normal nose — it’s also used for drinking,
snagging food and sending out loud trumpeting noises.
Elephants’ floppy ears also do more than hear. With loads of tiny
veins transecting their surfaces, carrying blood to the rest of the
body, elephant ears act like a cooling system. As they flap their wet
ears the blood in these veins is cooled, and the cooled blood is
circulated around the elephant’s body.
The average lifespan of an elephant in the wild is 60 to 70 years.
As herbivores, elephants eat bark, grasses, fruits and roots. An
adult elephant can consume up to 300 pounds (136 kg) of food in one day.
Where elephants live:
The African elephant can be found in 37 countries in sub-Saharan
Africa. They typically occupy dense forest, open and closed savanna, and
grasslands, and to a lesser extent the arid deserts of Namibia and
Mali.
The Asian elephant can be found in scrub forest and the rainforest edge in India, Nepal and other places in Southeast Asia.
Conservation status: Asian (Endangered); African (Vulnerable)
The conservation status of elephants varies across species and
location, but these animals do face threats from hunters, who kill
elephants for their ivory tusks, habitat loss and human encroachment.
The African elephant species has been listed on the IUCN’s Red List
of Threatened Animals as vulnerable for West Africa and Eastern Africa;
least concern for Southern Africa; and endangered for Central Africa.
The Asian elephant is considered endangered on the Red List. Its
population is believed to be on a downward trend. This elephant lives in
regions of the world with the densest human population. Because of
their size, the elephant is one of the first animals to feel the impact
of growing human population.
Odd elephant facts:
The largest elephant on record weighed about 24,000 pounds (10,886 kg) with a height of 13 feet (3.96 m).
The elephant has such sensitive skin that it can feel a fly landing on it.
Elephants can hear one another’s trumpeting calls up to 5 miles (8 kilometers) away.
Mount Everest is one of the tallest mountains in the world. It is part
of the Himalayan Mountains. They were formed in the last few million
years. After the supercontinent of Laurasia broke up millions of years
ago, India moved slowly north towards Asia and then crashed into it. The
seabed between the two plates (the earth’s crust is divided into large
areas of land called plates) was crumbled and pushed up on the northern
rim of India to form mountains. These two plates of the earth’s crust
are still moving, so the Himalayas are being pushed up higher.
The highest mountain on the planet, Mount Everest is growing two inches
taller each year. Satellite technology says the mountain is currently
29,107 feet tall. First recognized as the highest peek in 1852, it got
its western name ten years later in 1862. Mount Everest was named for
Sir George Everest (1790-1866), a British surveyor. Surveyors don’t
agree on the height of Mount Everest. The British government in the
1800′s thought the height was 29,002 feet. In 1954 the Indian government
said it’s 29,028 feet, but a widely used unofficial figure says it is
29,141 feet!
Mount Everest sits on the border between Nepal and Tibet.
The Sigiriya Rock Fortress of Sri Lanka is situated in Matale
district near to Dambulla. It can be reached along Colombo- Habarana
highway and turning towards East from Inamaluwa. Then proceeding about
10 km from Inamaluwa and passing Kimbissa township one arrives at
Sigiriya.
Before Sigiriya became a Kingdom, the Sigiriya Rock base and the
places such as Pidurangala which were endowed with many Caves and a
temple had been dwelled by Buddhist monks from around 3rd Century BC. It
is also found that these areas had been inhabitant by people prior to
King Kassapa’s rein. Many Caves also have Brahmi Inscriptions dating
back from 3rd Century BC to 1st century AD.
After King Mahanama who ruled Anuradhapura from 410- 432 AD, a Prince
named Dhatusena became the King of Anuradhapura in 459 AD, defeating
the Indian invader ‘Pandu’. The King Dhatusena was the ruler who
constructed Kala Wewa or the Kala Wewa Tank, by building a dam across
Kala Oya , which is a small river type. The man made 54 mile long Yoda
Ela, which takes water from Kala Wewa to Tissa wewa is considered as an
Irrigation engineering wonder even at the present day. It has a gradient
of just 6 inches per mile along the first 17 miles , which means the
level different is just over 8 feet even after the 17 th mile along the
canal. During his rein the famous full relief Aukana Buddha statue also
was constructed out of a rock which stands 42 feet high.
He had two sons from two queens. Mugalan [ also called as Moggallana ]
from the head queen and Kassapa’s [ also called as Kashyapa ] from a
companion queen. Prince Kashyapa, with the help of the general of the
army of King Dhatusena, named Migara, got his father killed and became
the King. Prince Mugalan, fearing for his life, escaped to India. The
Buddhist Bhikkus and the people were against his conduct and favoured
Price Mugalan for the rulership. Fearing that Mugalan will come with an
army from India to avenge him at a later day, King Kassapa decided to
make Sigiriya as his kingdom. During his rule of eighteen years from 477
AD to 495 AD Sigiriya Kingdom was created. It is believed that he
sought the refuge of Sigiriya rock for his safety fearing for his life.
After 18 years, Prince Mugalan came with an army from India to fight
with King Kassapa. During the battle Kassapa killed himself thus Mugalan
became the King. He went back to Anuradhapura and ruled the country
from there and handed over Sigiriya back to the Buddhist priests.
Sigiriya as a Kingdom was abandoned in around 1150 AD and was almost
forgotten for the next seven centuries Though King Kashyapa is not
regarded in high esteem in Sri Lankan history due to his dubious
conduct, he is credited as a ruler with unsurpassed imagination put into
reality to create a Sri Lankan style marvel of high calibre art and
engineering skills that could even challange the outer world structures
at that time, which definitely is amazing even in the 21st century with
whatever is remaining as ruins of Sigiriya.
ANGEL FALLS is the highest waterfall in the world! This is what
makes it such a wonder. It is located on the Churun River of the Guiana
Highlands in southeastern Venezuela.
Believe it or not, Angel Falls was unkown to Venezuelans until the
early 1930′s. With out the invention of the airplane (see pages on
Airplane under Inventions of Man on this site) the Venezuelans might not
have ever found Angel Falls. The falls are only accessable by boat or
aircraft because of steep slopes and thick jungle surrounding them.
Though discovered by the Venezuelans Angel Falls was named after
James Angel. He was an American adventurer who crashed his plane near
the falls 2 years after they were discovered.
It is said the water appears to be leaping from a flat-topped plateau called Auyan-Tepui, which means “Devils Moutain”.
Here are some other amazing facts about Angel Falls:
The height of the longest uninterrupted drop is 2,640 feet (807 meters)
About 20 times higher than Niagra Falls
It stands 3,212 ft.(979 meters)
Is 500 ft (150 meters) wide at its base
Although Angel Falls is difficult to reach, tourists travel from all
parts of the world to visit it. Visitors may go to the falls with guides
on prearranged tours. In 1975, one of those visitors was my Dad!
In 1971 three Americans and an Englishman were able to climb the
sheer rock face of the falls. This adventure took them 10 days to
complete.
