Travel Forum - Traveler Mania

Iceberg B-15 - Antarctica



Iceberg B-15 was the largest ever recorded iceberg. It had an areaof 3,100 km², making it larger than the island of Jamaica, and wascreated when part of the Ross Ice Shelf broke off in March 2000. In2003, it broke apart, and one of the larger pieces (called B-15a)drifted north, eventually smashing into a glacier in 2005, breaking offan 8-km² section and forcing many antarctic maps to be rewritten. Itdrifted along the coast and eventually ran aground, breaking up onceagain. In 2006, a storm in Alaska (that’s right, Alaska) caused anocean swell that travelled 13,500km, over 6 days, to Antarctica andbroke up the largest remaining part even more. Almost a decade on,parts of the iceberg have still not melted, with the largest remainingpart, still called B-15a, having an area of 1,700 km². The pictureabove shows B-15a (top left) in 2005, after drifting west into theDrygalski Glacier (bottom), breaking the end off into several pieces.

Rotorua - New Zealand




Rotorua is a city on the southern shores of the lake of the samename, in the Bay of Plenty region of the North Island of New Zealand.The city is known for its geothermal activity, with a number ofgeysers, notably the Pohutu Geyser at Whakarewarewa, and boiling mudpools (pictured above) located in the city. This thermal activity owesitself to the Rotorua caldera on which the city lies. Rotorua is also atop adventure destination and isNew Zealand’s Maori cultural heartland. Rotorua city is renowned forits unique “rotten eggs” aroma, which is caused by the geothermalactivity releasing sulphur compounds into the atmosphere. If you areever visiting New Zealand – this is a city you must see. It was oncehome to the famed Pink and White Terraces and you can visit thermalwonderlands with sights that are truly astounding.

Socotra - Republic of Yemen




Socotra has been described as one of the most alien-looking place onEarth, and it’s not hard to see why. It is very isolated with a harsh,dry climate and as a result a third of its plant-life is found nowhereelse, including the famous Dragon’s Blood Tree, a very-unnaturallooking umbrella-shaped tree which produces red sap. There are also alarge number of birds, spiders and other animals native to the island,and coral reefs around it which similarly have a large number ofendemic (i.e. only found there) species. Socotra is considered the mostbiodiverse place in the Arabian sea, and is a World Heritage Site.

Meteor Crater - USA




Meteor Crater is a meteorite impact crater located approximately 43miles (69 km) east of Flagstaff, near Winslow in the northern Arizonadesert of the United States.Because the US Department of the Interior Division of Names commonlyrecognizes names of natural features derived from the nearest postoffice, the feature acquired the name of “Meteor Crater” from thenearby post office named Meteor. The crater was created about 50,000years ago during the Pleistocene epoch when the local climate on theColorado Plateau was much cooler and damper. At the time, the area wasan open grassland dotted with woodlands inhabited by woolly mammoths,giant ground sloths, and camels. It was probably not inhabited byhumans; the earliest confirmed record of human habitation in theAmericas dates from long after this impact. The object that excavatedthe crater was a nickel-iron meteorite about 50 meters (54 yards)across, which impacted the plain at a speed of several kilometers persecond.

Thanks for sharing such unique and amazing places on Earth. Your post is really beautiful and informative. I am a person who want to travel here and to saw different type of places and these places are really lockable. I definitely want to see all the adventurous place in my life one by one.