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Stunning and Striking – The Island of Bliss

October 30th, 2009

Many marvellous places around the world can astound you. Some of them are architectural marvels that have designed with meticulous care and a lot of vivid imagination. Then there are some natural wonders scattered across the globe. One of the most fascinating places bursting with natural bounties is Socotra. If you woke up here some day and were, unable to recall how you got there in the first place then you’d think either that you’re still dreaming or that you’ve managed to transport yourself back in time to the prehistoric days.

Also known as Soqotra or Suqutra, this place is a part of Yemen and is located 220 miles off the coast of Africa. It is located in the Indian Ocean and is a group of four islands. Its existing beauty can attributed to the fact that this island is very isolated from the rest of the world and until 2002, was one of the most inaccessible places. Geographically, it continues to be isolated even today.

The photos of this place look like they have cut right out of some fantasy movie and altered with high-effects. It truly feels like this place is out of this world. It houses a myriad of flora and fauna that are extraordinary to say the least. About a third of its vegetation could not found anywhere else in the world. One can only imagine how rich the biodiversity of this place must be.

One of the strangest looking trees that founded here called Dracaena Cinnabari or more commonly, the Dragon’s Blood Tree. A weird umbrella shaped tree looks more like an overgrown mushroom with a green cap on top. The only mammals which are native to this island are bats. It is however home to several birds and aquatic animals. Another strange looking plant is the Desert Rose, also known as the Elephant’s Leg Tree. These plants have thick bottoms and trunks and thin branches with red and pink colored roses at their tips and grow right on top of rocks where there is hardly any soil. The Cucumber Tree and the Socotra Fig are other trees that founded on the island. Besides these trees, one can find over 20 different spiders and a couple of birds that are exclusive to Socotra. The climate of this region is mainly harsh, hot and dry and is one of the reasons why such diverse and unique plant and animal life has managed to sustain it here.

This place seems like a well-guarded secret that has remained hidden for long and thus unexploited. The name Socotra literally means ‘The Island of Happiness’ or ‘The Island of Bliss’. It entered UNESCO’s World Heritage Site List in 2008 and since then eco-tourism in the region has kicked off. There are however no sturdy roads or any hotels for the tourists to stay in. So if you enjoy hiking and exploring the wild this might just be the place for you. However, of course, if what you are looking for is an out-of-the-world destination then here is one, right on Earth.

Fun Facts places, Socotra, The Island of Bliss, yemen

6 Places on Earth Where There are Tons of Gold

May 5th, 2009

As we all know, gold is a treasured mineral which is loved by all people all across the globe. If given with a gold gift, for sure you will take delight in getting one. However, almost all people are thinking just where this amazing mineral originates. What are the nations that are leading when it comes to gold mining? You should know these facts. After all, your ring will not just develop a beautiful gold ring unless you bought one.

  • South Africa- Although time, the Witwatersrand in South Africa is the leading source of gold all over the globe. Commonly known as the “Rand”, the place has been the source of about 40% of gold. In fact, a large portion of gold that were not still mine are believed to stay there.
  • United State- After South Africa, United States ranks the second when it comes to gold producing counties. The most popular states to produce gold is Nevada although California, Alaska, and Colorado also have their gold mining output.
  • Australia- Next in line is the country where koala and kangaroo exists, Australia has gold too! In this place, gold was primarily discovered near Ophir in New South Wales, and these days, it is significantly mined within Goldfields-Esperance as well as Pilbara regions of the Western Australia, as well as Bendigo, Victoria.
  • China- The giant in Asia is also known to produce gold. China is popular because of its huge population but now it is hitting the market like a storm because of gold production.
  • Peru- If you met a man from Peru and is offering marriage, you better grab the chance because there is a big probability that you will be able to enjoy gold mining in the place. The main export of Peru includes gold, copper, textiles, zinc, and fish meal. Truly, even Peru is just a humble place, it has loads of things to offer that will make its inhabitants affluent and well known.
  • Russia- With 159,340 gold production, Russia is not just popular for their skills in military but it also rock the world by its gold production. This nation too possesses greens hence they are known as the “lung of Europe” due to all the carbon dioxide it absorbs. Russian people should really be proud of what they have and they should thank nature for giving them much.

All of these countries listed above are places where you can find tons of gold. So don’t get curios next time when you hit the jewelry store and found out items that are tagged as China gold, Russian gold, etc because it only denotes the places where this glittering piece of metal is sourced.

Nevertheless, if you are an inhabitant of these places, take pride because you can’t always find a region where gold can be dug in their land. Keep in mind that gold is cherished in all regions of the world; you never know if you can build up a business because of gold production in your place.

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