2016 ~ How Wonders

The Dead Sea

The Dead Sea, also known as the Sea of Salt, is a massive salt lake that is situated between Israel and the West Bank to the west and Jordan on the east. This body of water is 1,385 feet below sea level and its shores are believed to be the lowest in the world.

The sea itself is 1,240 feet deep, making it the deepest hyper saline lake in the world. The total salinity content is 33.7 percent.

The Golden Temple in India, which is often called the “Darbar Sahib” is one of the oldest places of worship for the Sikhs and is located in Amritsar, Punjab in India. The entire top of the temple is made of pure gold and thus adds a lot of pride and beauty to the entire temple. The temple is surrounded by a small man-made lake which has a lot of fish in it. This lake is said to consist of holy waters.

There is also a small Sikh Museum near the Ghanta Ghar, or clock house, in Amritsar which is very rich in information.

During the earlier days, this place was a huge lake surrounded by a thin line of forests. It is also said that Buddha journeyed here to find the real meaning of life and spent some considerable time in this place. It was during the time of the Fifth Guru, Arjana when the Temple was finally built in 1604.

Christ the Redeemer is a statue of Jesus Christ in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The statue is 120 ft tall and weighs 635 tons. It is now a part of the modern Seven Wonders of the World. It is located on Corcovado Mountain at its peak 700 meters, or 2,300 feet high in the Tujuca Forest National Park overlooking the city. The statue is made of concrete and soapstone. As a symbol of Christianity, it has become an important icon of Brazil, with Jesus Christ appearing to open his arms wide to embrace the entire city below.

The 1850s marked the first time it was suggested to construct a statue of Christ on the top of Carcovado by Catholic priest Pedro Maria Boss. The request of the finance was sent to Princess Isabel to build this huge religious mountain. Initially, the idea was dismissed. Finally, in 1921, the Catholic Circle of Rio proposed plans for a large statue of Christ.

During this time, in order to gain more publicity, the group organized an event for a week where donations were taken from the public and signatures were taken for those who were in favor of building the statue. Most of the donations came from the Brazilian Catholics. A lot of suggestions were given; some suggested that the cross of the Christ should be represented along with Christ, or that the statue should be of Jesus with a globe in his hands. Finally, a statue of Jesus with open arms was chosen. Construction of this religious symbol took nine years to complete, beginning in 1922 and ending in 1931. It was struck by lightning in February of 2008 during an electrical storm. Several trees were felled, but the statue was left unscathed, owing to the fact that it was made with a top layer of soapstone, which is a good insulator.

Traveling to Christ The Redeemer

Devotees flock to the site to get a sense of the peace and hope it provides, and ordinary tourists approach it to appease their curiosity regarding the spirituality that this statue evokes in many. Once in Rio, the monument can be reached by taxi or, if a more scenic route is preferred, by train from Rua Cosme Velho.

The San Francisco Bay Area is a metropolitan region that surrounds San Francisco and San Pablo Bays in Northern California. The area covers large areas like San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose. But it also covers many small rural and urban cities. The bay area has a total of 101 cities and nine counties, including Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Sonoma. In total, it covers an area of 7,000 square miles.
The total population of the Bay area is approximately 7.2 million people. San Jose is the thickest populated city in the country when comparing number of people and total area
of coverage.
The Bay Area has the 49th largest urban area in the world and it is often referred to as the Francisco-Oakland-San Jose urban areas. According to the United States Census, the Bay Area also has the highest median household income in the nation. In terms of economics, it is the second largest financial center in the country, too, following behind New York.

The San Francisco Bay Area has includes a number of military base camps, airports and national parks. It is connected through a huge network of roads, highways and tunnels. Visitors to this area will find great landmarks, beautiful attractions and other features that make the Bay Area a place to consider for a vacation.

Bali is an island in Indonesia that is located at the extreme west of the Lesser Sunda Islands, between Java and Lombok. Indonesia has over seventeen thousand islands with a population of more than 200 million. It also has almost 400 volcanoes, out of which 70 are still active. Though the primary languages are Balinese and Indonesian, English is a common third language and is used for commercial purposes.

Most of the local population is either Hindu or Muslim, but there are pockets of Christianity and Buddhism as well. The first people to inhabit Bali were Austronesians in 200 B.C. who had initially migrated from Taiwan. The Bali culture had a lot of influence from Indian and Chinese culture.

Bali is one of the most commercial places in all of Indonesia. It attracts tourists because it is known for its beautiful rice terraces, temples, art, dance, painting, leather and music. Tourists come from all over the world to see its culture, natural beauty, art, and paintings.

Bali has no rail tracks and there are only coastal roads. The entire island is enclosed by coral reefs. The beaches in the south have white sand and the ones on the north and west have black sand.

Taj Mahal is a tomb situated in Agra, India. It was built by the Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan in memory of his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal. The Taj Mahal is one of The Seven Wonders of the World and is said to be one of the finest exhibitions of Mughal art and architecture. The architecture has a mixture of Persian, Ottoman, India and Islamic influence. It was made a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1983. Some legends say that after the Taj was built, the Mughal Emperor cut off the hands of all the men who built it so that the same

The Great Barrier Reef of Australia is an extensive complex of islets, shoals and, of course, coral reefs. It is located off of Australia’s northeastern coastline in the Pacific Ocean. The Reef expands over 1,250 miles to the northwest-southeast, at about 10 to 100 miles offshore and is about 135,000 square miles in area. This wonder has been characterized as the biggest structure that living creatures have ever built.

There are actually 2,100 reefs and 800 fringing reefs around the Great Barrier Reef.

Parícutin is also called Volcán de Parícutin and is found in Mexico, about two hundred miles from Mexico City. This cinder cone volcano is considered one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. The volcano is quite unique because its creation to extinction has been witnessed and studied by people.

It is one section of the Michoacán-Guanajuato, which is a volcanic field that covers a large part of western central Mexico. Since 1952, this volcano has not experienced any eruptions.

The Grand Canyon is the largest known rift in the world. The canyon is a steep-sided gorge that was made by erosion from the Colorado River in northern Arizona. It is because of heavy mineral deposits that the canyon is bright red, brown and orange in color.

This canyon is a part of the large Grand Canyon National Park designated by former president Theodore Roosevelt. The park is almost 277 miles long and varies from 4 to 18 miles wide. The canyons are the main point of attraction in the nation park.
Theodore Roosevelt used to come to the national park for relaxation and hunting.

Science shows that the canyons were carved out by the Colorado River some six million years ago with the deepest canyon depth being of over one mile. It is said that the river started cutting layers of rocks from the west initially and gradually moved to the east. The area was inhabited by Native Americans who lived within the caves. The Grand Canyon was considered a holy place for many pilgrims. The first European to explore this part of the world was Garcia Lopez de Cardenas who arrived from Spain in 1540. During the year 1869, Major John Wesley Powell made the first recorded journey down the Green and Colorado rivers through the Grand Canyon.

Some of the best adventures that a tourist can indulge in are river rafting, helicopter tours and other guided tours via land. Visitors can stay in the upscale Grand Canyon hotels and lodges to make the journey even more memorable.

Victoria Falls is located on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe and is one of the world’s most spectacular natural wonders. The Zambezi River flows placidly until it reaches a broad edge measuring 1700 meters and plunges 100 meters into the frothy, thunderous abyss below.

The first European to see the falls was David Livingstone in November of 1855. However, records show that other foreigners had visited the falls before him. Livingstone first viewed the

falls from the island before the first drop. He named the site Victoria Falls in honor of the queen, and the island was called Livingstone Island after him.

Even though it is not the highest or the widest waterfall, Victoria Falls is considered the biggest waterfall in the whole world as it has the widest sheet of falling water in the world. The falls have become a very popular place for visitors to go white water rafting, river boarding, and even bungee jumping. The downstream rapids of the river after the falls provide some of the scariest river boarding and white water rafting for beginners, as well as for those with experience.
Bungee jumpers also enjoy the thrill of Victoria Falls. Adventurers can jump down 111 meters off of the bridge by the falls, which was just recently named the highest commercial bungee jump in the world. Aside from rafting and bungee jumping, however, visitors can also enjoy bird watching, aerial trips on a helicopter, walking trails, and shopping.