Ha Long literally means descending dragon(s) and according to local myth, the story goes as follows:
Long ago when their forefathers were fighting foreign invaders from the north, the gods from heaven sent a family of dragons to help defend their land. This family of dragons descended upon what is now Ha Long bay and began spitting out jewels and jade.

Upon hitting the sea, these jewels turned into the various islands and islets dotting the seascape and formed a formidable fortress against the invaders. The locals were able to keep their land safe and formed what is now the country of Vietnam.
 The Dragon family fell so much in love with this area for its calm water and for the reverence of the people of Vietnam that they decided to remain on earth.
Mother dragon lies on what is now Ha Long and where her children lie is Bai Tu Long.The dragon tails formed the area of Bach Long Vi known for the miles of white sandy beaches of Tra Co peninsula.










Source: http://www.vietscape.com

Antarctica might look somewhat like this at a glance, but it doesn't have the sheer flatness over an area of 10,000 square kilometers. Perhaps, then, it's more like an extraterrestrial planet with no people – just a windswept, briny atmosphere, thin in oxygen because of its height. But no – this vast expanse is right here on earth in one of our South American countries, Bolivia. It is Salar de Uyuni, the largest salt flats – and one of the most amazing sights – in the world.

Millennia ago, about 30,000 years or a little more, there was one big lake, Lake Minchin. It changed through different geological processes and ended up as two freshwater lakes and two saltwater lakes, one of those being Uyuni.

As time went by, Uyuni developed a thick salt crust of brine on top composed of lithium, magnesium and table salt.

Today, the salt is scraped up from the sheer flat surface of the flats into piles where it dries better and is easier to cart away. Some of the crust goes down meters into the brine; in other places it is just a few inches, as you can see below.

Half of the world's lithium in to be found in the brine under Uyuni's salt flats; this is extracted for use in batteries and medicines. Tourism is also one of Bolivia's biggest sources of income, and the salt flats are a must stop for most. Tourists get to stay in salt hotels: the first one built closed in 2002 because a few environmental regulations were forgotten – like what to do with waste materials – but others have been opened closer to the edge of the flats where there are roads to cart off the waste. Big blocks of salt became the bedrock of the hotels as this was the most readily available building material around. Below the man is cutting the blocks for construction.

There are also several lakes in the area that flood during the rainy season, sending cascades of water to cover Salar de Uyuni.

When it is covered in a sheet of water it becomes the largest mirror in the world.

Not only does the Salar provide salt, lithium, halide and gypsum, the proceeds of which the locals who pile it up get to divvy up as part of their cooperative; no, astronauts use the flats as well! It is one of the highest and largest flats on earth, and is smoothed from flooding every season – dissolving bumps and interference – so is ideal to use for calibrating the location of satellites.

The sun slowly sets on the flats, the golden colors shimmering back from the ground, making the whole lake look like it has turned into a fairies' party ground with fairy lights everywhere. It is a remarkable sight that is seen nowhere else in the world, nor probably in the universe.

Salar de Uyuni Attractions:
Isla de los Pescadores (Inca Huasi): Amazing place full of giant cacti that rises 150 meters above the surface of the salt lake.It also has archaeological remains from the Tiwuanaku and Inca civilizations.
Isla Cáscara de Huevo (Eggshell island)
Tunupa and Jiriri volcanoes
Laguna Colorada (Red laggon)
Laguna Verde (Green Lagoon)
Hotel de Sal (Salt hotel). Almost entirely built with salt, including furniture.

Salar de Uyuni is a fantasy world of its own you shouldn't miss.
As much as no tour to Peru would be complete without a visit to Cuzco and Machu Picchu, your Bolivia travel experience should include a visit to Salar de Uyuni, one of the greatest natural wonders in the heart of South America.


How to Get There:
By Air:
From Cochabamba (Bolivia) there are a couple of weekly flights with Líneas Aereas Canedo- around U$250 return. Check before as the Uyuni air strip was under remodeling last year.

Update (04-2011): The new airstrip is operational, with a length of 4km. According to the Bolivian government, Uyuni Airport will turn international by 2012.

By Bus:
From La Paz: around 12 hours ride.
From Potosi: 7 hours.
From Oruro: 4 hours.
There are also buses from San Pedro de Atacama, Chile.

By Train:
Uyuni town is an important transport hub in the region and several lines cross it.
If coming from Argentina, take a train at Villazon, border with Bolivia. Around four times a week at the price of U$D8.00.
There is also a train connection from/to Calama, Chile.

Where to Stay:
Tonito Hotel: Ferroviaria 60, Uyuni. ph. 591 2 (693 3186)
Hotel Julia: Corner of Ferroviario and Arce, Uyuni
Hotel Avenida: Ferroviaria 11, Uyuni. ph. 693-2078
Hostal Sajama: Potosí 35, Uyuni. ph. 693-3099






Source: http://www.unique-southamerica-travel-experience.com, http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com

The formation of the Niagara gorge (downriver) and the maintenance of the falls as a cataract depend upon peculiar geologic conditions. The rock strata from the Silurian Period (about 445 to 415 million years ago) in the Niagara gorge are nearly horizontal, dipping southward only about 20 feet per mile (almost 4 metres per km). An upper layer of hard dolomite is underlain by softer layers of shale. Water exerts hydrostatic pressure and only slowly dissolves the dolomite after infiltrating its joints. Dolomite blocks fall away as water from above infiltrates and rapidly erodes the shale at the falls itself. The disposition of the rock strata provides the conditions for keeping the water constantly falling vertically from an overhanging ledge during a long period of recession (movement upstream) of the cataract. As blocks of dolomite are undercut they fall off and are rapidly destroyed by the falling water, further facilitating the retreat of the falls and the maintenance of a vertical cataract.
The water flowing over the falls is free of sediment, and its clearness contributes to the beauty of the cataract. In recognition of the importance of the waterfall as a great natural spectacle, the province of Ontario and the state of New York retained or acquired title to the adjacent lands and converted them into public parks.

In recent years the very large diversion of water above the falls for hydroelectric-power purposes has lessened the rate of erosion. Elaborate control works upstream from the falls have
maintained an even distribution of flow across both the U.S. and Canadian cataracts, thereby preserving the curtains of the waterfalls. A large part of the great river above the falls is diverted and disappears into four great tunnels for use in the power plants downstream. Owing to concern over the possibility of major rockfalls, water was diverted from the American Falls in 1969, and some cementing of the bedrock was done; an extensive boring and sampling program was also carried out. River flow was returned to the American Falls in November of that year, and it was decided that safety measures for the viewing public should be implemented and that measures to stem natural processes were both too expensive and undesirable.

Excellent views of the falls are obtained from Queen Victoria Park on the Canadian side; from Prospect Point of the U.S. side at the edge of the American Falls; and from Rainbow Bridge, which spans the Niagara gorge about 1,000 feet (300 metres) downstream from Prospect Point. Visitors may cross from the U.S. shore to Goat Island by footbridge and may take an elevator to the foot of the falls and visit the Cave of the Winds behind the curtain of falling water. The Horseshoe Falls, which carry about 90 percent of the river’s discharge, receded upstream at an average rate of about 5.5 feet (1.7 metres) per year in 1842–1905. Thereafter, control works and the diversion of water decreased the erosion rate, which is presently so slow at the American Falls that large blocks of dolomite accumulate at the base of the falls, threatening to turn it into rapids.

Location
The Niagara falls is located 17 miles (27 km) north-northwest of Buffalo, New York, 75 miles (120 km) south-southeast of Toronto, Ontario, between the twin cities of Niagara Falls, Ontario, and Niagara Falls, New York.

Historical Importance
In 1604, Frenchman Samuel de Champlain visited the area during his exploration of Canada. In 1677, the Belgian Father Louis Hennepin, observed and described the Falls after traveling with explorer René Robert Cavelier and Sieur de la Salle. In early 1700s, the Finnish-Swedish naturalist Pehr Kalm, explored the area and wrote his experience. Credible evidence says that French Jesuit Reverend Paul Ragueneau visited the falls some 35 years prior to Hennepin's visit.

Nearby Attractions
Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort
It is a 2.5 million square foot complex that includes more than 3,000 slot machines and 150 gaming tables, a 368-room five-star hotel, fine-dining restaurants, 50,000 square feet of meeting/conference space, a health spa, a retail facility, and a 1,500-seat theatre.

Skylon Tower
It offers a spectacular view 775 feet (236 meters) above Niagara Falls from its Observation Deck.

MAX Theatre Niagara Falls
It offers the thunderous power of Niagara Falls from a heart-thumping perspective. The IMAX Theatre Niagara Falls features more than six-story high screen and 12,000 watts of floor shaking digital surround sound.

Marineland
Marineland features park rides and marine shows that include beluga whales, killer whales, dolphins and other wildlife, such as deer and bears.

Butterfly Conservatory / Botanical Gardens
The Butterfly Conservatory is part of the Niagara Parks Botanical Gardens close to Niagara Falls. It has an indoor, climate-controlled facility that features a network of paths in a tropical rainforest setting where thousands of butterflies breed.

How to reach
By Air - Niagara Falls can be reached by Air and the nearest airports are Buffalo Niagara International Airport in Cheektowaga, New York.
Toronto Pearson International Airport in Mississauga, Ontario. Hamilton/John C. Munro International Airport in Mount Hope, Ontario. By Rail - Amtrak Station - Toronto and New York City
By Road - Bus facilities are available from Greyhound Canada to Toronto and Buffalo and also from Coach Canada to Toronto and Buffalo.


There are taxis available from Buffalo, New York to Niagara Falls, Ontario and Toronto.

Souece:http://info.newkerala.com

These truths or half truths of the past include the idea of a “vast Amazonian emptiness”, the incapacity of the soil to support farming and livestock breeding activities and the low contribution from this region towards national economy. Among the myths or near myths of old and today, some of the obvious ones to highlight are the concept of a “virgin land” and the idea of being “the lung of the world”, aside from the persistent notion that “neocolonial powers want to invade the Amazon”. One can also add to these the so-called importance of the forest resources for lumbering and the feasibility of sustainable management, as well as the much-promoted usefulness of the ecologic and economic zoning to organize the use of the territory. There are also a series of new realities that two decades ago were not taken seriously, such as urban concentrations in the Amazon, the evidence of global climate changes, the existence of an already considerable infrastructure, which is quickly growing, Brazil’s predominant role within the territories of neighboring Amazonian countries and, among others, the acknowledgement of major territories belonging to the indigenous people as well as a growing political function of the Indian population of the Amazon.


One cannot address in a single article, even less so with the necessary depth, so many complex themes. But one can make an attempt to explain them as an introduction to the subject, hoping that they will inform and encourage others to think more about this region which is being increasingly transformed and in a more intense manner.


Amazonian emptiness, virgin territory and brave natives


The first theme is the one that refers to the so-called “Amazonian emptiness” and, by extension, to the “virgin land or forest” and of the existence of “brave natives”, today euphemistically referred to as “those who live in volunteer isolation”. To begin with, today we have many scientific evidences that show that the Amazon, including its plain, has supported human populations in much greater numbers than thought of hitherto, especially before the conquest of South America by the Spanish and Portuguese and that, according to several evidences, was already home to many cultures and civilizations which unexpectedly developed. Their disappearance, such as so many other tropical forest cultures on the planet, is and will continue to give rise to debates; however they do not dispel the notion that the Amazon never was an “empty space” and where these cultures had settled there was nothing close to resembling “virgin land”.


Feeding these populations and producing a surplus that could enable cultural development and create a relationship with other cultures could only be achieved through significant impacts on nature. Another aspect is that after these civilizations were extinct, the forest recovered the spaces used, wiping away the more evident traces of their presence, but not all of them. On the other hand, the indigenous population of the Amazon that replaced the previous cultural developments, while in general was of a very low density, also occupied almost all of the territory based on the technique of rotation of planting fields and hunting, gathering and fishing areas. In the last two centuries, but especially in the last 50 years, the so-called “brave” natives disappeared and today we only have a few thousands which are now known as natives who live under a volunteer regime of isolation. In other words, in the Amazon there are no empty spaces, and no land which is truly virgin, or even less so, brave natives to be feared.


Moreover, the Amazon considered as a forest, in other words, the portion covered by jungle, has undoubtedly lost more than 40% of its extension in the last 300 years. The older losses during colonial times and during the first century or more of independent life, not registered in the current deforestation measuring systems, were in the Andean mountains of Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia, between 4,000 and 2,000 meters above sea level, where the Andean population arrived to breed cattle extensively and to practice an itinerant form of agriculture which was inadequate for the topographic and ecologic reality of the region. Millions and millions of hectares of mountain slopes are today devoid of vegetation in mute testimony of such practices.


In the last 50 years, especially in Brazil, but also in the other countries, attacks on the Amazon Rainforest occurred through the opening of deeper and deeper roads that bit into the forest with the pretext of ensuring national presence on the borders and to enable the territory for livestock breeding expansion and agriculture, as well as for the looting of valuable wood. According to the governments, experts in hiding the truth when it is convenient, this last stage of deforestation only means an average reduction (added to the historical one) of approximately 18% of woodlands. However, independent evaluations double these numbers and also show that governmental statistics and those of the United Nations that are their louder voice, carefully leave out information on the degradation of forests, which easily affects more than 60% of the woodlands that are still standing.


One must also add to these that the Amazonian population, although its density continues low, grew a great deal, representing almost 16% of Brazil’s population and more than 13% of Peru’s. The census of 2010 showed that there are 16 million people in the Brazilian Amazon. Aside from that, the Amazonian population is the one with the fastest annual growth in modern days.


In other words, actually, it’s not only false that the Amazon is a wide abandoned space consisting of virgin forest teeming with wild beasts and warrior natives, but it is also a lie that this region, seen as a forest, is as large as believed. However and curiously, this type of argument continues to be a major part of the speeches and proposals of ignorant or unscrupulous politicians, megalomaniac visionaries, ultranationalist geopoliticians and by businessmen that place their interests above those of the majority.


It is sad to see that many still use the argument that the Amazon is the “lung of the world” to justify defending the Amazonian forest, but actually performing a very poor service in its cause. Impressively enough, this idea was scientifically discarded decades ago. The Amazon Rainforest, as many others, supplies many essential environmental services, such as carbon sequestering, but they are not primary producers of oxygen. Aside from that, the image used in this case is inadequate, because lungs do not expel oxygen out of the body. Actually, lungs compete for oxygen with the lungs of other air breathers. They capture oxygen from the air and make it available to the cells in the body or to the being to which they belong, in this case, figuratively speaking, the plants themselves that make up the Amazonian forest.


Another thing is to speak of the forests in terms of the reality represented by the relatively new knowledge and their confirmation regarding the increase of CO2 in the atmosphere and, in this case, the proper role of woodlands such as the Amazonian one in sequestering carbon in the biomass and in the soil, which can compensate for emissions of this gas produced by human activities. This is, for sure, a weighty argument to keep the forest standing and free from any degradation, since, as it has been demonstrated by ecologists and economists, the cost of maintaining woodland is much smaller than the cost of avoiding air contamination or to reduce carbon levels in the forest. There are already businesses of this type underway, and many others will come, when finally international negotiations are concluded, which can still take a while, but that nonetheless points to an inevitable path to be followed. It has also been shown scientifically that to conserve the forest for carbon businesses can be a much more profitable endeavor than raising cattle in an extensive manner, as continues to be the practice in most of the deforested areas.


But to conserve the forest is not only an economically interesting prospect for carbon-based businesses. It is also attractive in order to ensure the regular functioning of the hydrologic regime and of other biochemical cycles, and obviously to maintain biological diversity. The issue of regular availability of water and its quality is a key issue with regard to social and economic themes. As it is well known, there are already many cities at the feet of Andean mountains in the Amazon that regularly suffer a serious lack of water and many other cities and townships are unable to find clean water due to the contamination caused by mining and oil exploitation activities. With regard to companies, many of them Brazilian, they contribute through mishandled environmental exploitations that deforest the Amazon in Andean countries, and also produce destruction and poverty in their own territory, causing successive floods and extreme droughts.


The quality of the soil for agriculture and ecologic and economic zoning


One of the truths hardly discussed among edaphologists, ecologists and planners, including agronomists of 30 years ago, was that on the most part, the Amazon lacks a type of soil that is capable to support farming and livestock breeding activities in a sustainable manner. In the 1970’s, the most mentioned numbers pointed at just 3% suitable for agriculture alone, and that altogether only 10 to 11% of the region could support agriculture and livestock breeding. All the rest would only be suitable for forest covering whether for production or protection. This was the argument to preserve the major part of the territory or dedicate it only to careful forest exploitation, which obviously didn’t take place.


But the percentage of land capable of being used for agricultural or livestock breeding purposes began to increase at every revision, based on the application of new criteria encouraged by the desire to expand occupation in the region, or if you prefer, colonization and, partially due to the new economic and technological variables. For example, the lack of phosphorus and an excess of aluminum and acidity, among other limitations, could be corrected if transportation were cheaper over good roads, if the market value of the products increased or if new phosphate and limestone deposits were found. Currently, this type of reasoning to avoid changing the use of the soil, in other words deforesting, has lost its legitimacy. This was clearly demonstrated with the quick occupation and successful agriculture economics of the cerrado (savannah) region in Brazil, which offers a soil which is not better than those found in the Amazon, and also with the current occupation of agriculture and livestock breeding in the portion of the Amazon that belongs to the states of Mato Grosso and Pará. Actually, as it is well known, one can cultivate in a sustainable manner almost anywhere, including in a spaceship. To do so is only a matter of need or one of cost. The technology exists and can go ahead a great deal more.


Another idea belonging to the 1970’s is the one that refers to ecologic and economic zoning, a tropical version, actually Brazilian, of the European territorial ordering. Zoning uses, in the most part, information on the capacity of soil usage. It was applied in Rondônia, in the decade of 1980 and soon spread to the rest of Brazil in the following decades and was likewise exported to Andean Amazonian countries. There have been enough discussions on the need or usefulness of ordering the territory by employing information on the potential of soils, ecology, hydrology, population distribution, available natural resources and economic demands. It is also unnecessary to counter that zoning must be the result of a socialized process, under consultation and agreement and that can also be revised. All of this is obvious. But equally obvious, thirty years after it was implemented for the first time, consuming years of efforts by professionals and having spent fortunes to prepare colored maps and organized meetings to discuss it is that besides educating, the processes amounted to nothing. All and every one of the zoning exercises performed to this date offered transitory results and were of no help to avoid the chaotic occupation of territories where they were applied. The last episode took place in the state of Mato Grosso, in Brazil, where a lengthy, careful and agreed-upon zoning task turned into a circus of interests and ignorance on the part of legislators from Brazil’s Legislative Assembly in charge of approving it. Until now, the only territorial ordering that worked to some extent is the one that resulted from establishing protected areas, territories of indigenous people and those that established the proper ownership of properties.


Marc Dourojeanni was a professor and dean of the Forest College of the National Agrarian University of Lima, in Peru, and General Forest Director of that country. Currently, he is the President of the ProNaturaleza Foundation.










Source:http://www.oecoamazonia.com