Interesting Tourist places and things

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Wartime Sound Mirrors at Denge



During the first World War, the Royal Air Force built gigantic acoustic mirrors, known colloquially as 'listening ears', that served as an early warning system for incoming air invasion. The parabolic shape of the mirrors collected and magnified sound waves in the air over the English Channel and directed them at a microphone positioned just in front of the parabola. The mirrors effectively gave Britain a fifteen-minute advance warning of an impending attack.



Acoustic mirrors were built at several places around Great Britain, but the ones at Denge are the best preserved. There are three acoustic mirrors in Denge - a 200 foot near vertical, curved wall, a 30 foot circular dish shaped mirror and another 20 foot mirror.



Acoustic mirrors did work, and could effectively be used to detect slow moving enemy aircraft before they came into sight. However, their use became limited as aircraft became faster. Finally in 1932, the invention of radar rendered the acoustic mirrors obsolete.



Keywords: tourist places, beautiful places, Witch's Well in Tuhala, Traditional Wooden Sculpture, Wartime Sound Mirrors

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Devils Tower at Wyoming, USA



One of the most spectacular natural creation, the Devils Tower (also called Mato Tipila, which means “Bear Lodge”), is a monolithic igneous intrusion of volcanic rock located in the Black Hillsin Crook County, northeastern Wyoming, above the Belle Fourche River. It rises dramatically 386 meter above the surrounding terrain and the summit is 1,558 meter above sea level.



Geologists believe that the tower is the eroded remains of a large mass of igneous rock poking through a layer of overlying sedimentary rock beds. As rain and snow continue to erode the sedimentary rocks surrounding the Tower's base, more of Devils Tower will be exposed.



The tower itself has been eroded over the ages. Portions, or even entire columns, of rock at Devils Tower are continually breaking off and falling. Piles of broken columns, boulders, small rocks, and stones lie at the base of the tower, indicating that it was once wider than it is today.



Keywords: tourist places, beautiful places, Witch's Well in Tuhala, Traditional Wooden Sculpture, Wartime Sound Mirror,

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A Place Called Earth



Earth is a small town in Lamb County, West Texas, United States and is possibly the only place on planet Earth that is named Earth.



Earth was established by William E. Halsell, who laid out the townsite in 1924. Originally Halsell named the town Fairlawn but in 1925 it was later renamed Earth when it was learned that there was already a town in Texas by the name of Fairlawn. In order to find a new name the townspeople sent in suggestions. The name Earth, which was submitted by Ora Hume (O.H.) Reeves, was agreed upon as the best name for the town.


Earth, Texas Main Street and water tower


Earth is a small town with a total area of 1.2 square miles, and inhabited by a population of 1,109 people as of 2000.



Keywords: interesting tourist places, indian tourism, Place Called Earth, Devils Tower, Wartime Sound Mirrors

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Hoba Meteorite is the Largest Meteorite on Earth




The Hoba Meteorite lies on the farm "Hoba West", not far from Grootfontein, in the Otjozondjupa Region of Namibia. It was uncovered by farmer Jacobus Hermanus Brits while tilling one of his fields behind his ox in 1920 when his plough got stuck. The meteorite was excavated soon after but because of it was so massive – about 60 tons - it was never moved. The Hobe meteorite is not only the largest known meteorite but also the most massive naturally-occurring piece of iron known at the Earth's surface.



The Hoba meteorite is thought to have landed less than 80,000 years ago. Curiously, the meteorite left no visible crater. It is speculated that the meteorite entered the Earth’s atmosphere at a very shallow angle, slowed down by the atmosphere to the point that it fell to the surface at terminal velocity, thereby remaining intact and causing little excavation. The meteorite is unusual in that it is flat on both major surfaces, possibly causing it to have skipped across the top of the atmosphere in the way a flat stone skips on water.




The meteorite measures 8 feet 9 inches by 3 feet. In 1920 its mass was estimated at 66 tons. Erosion, scientific sampling and vandalism have reduced its bulk over the years to an estimated 60 tons. Marks of iron saws can be recognized easily at many places on the meteorite surface.


Close up pictures of the Hoba meteorite shows marks, cuts and signs of vandalism

In the attempt to control vandalism, the Hoba meteorite was declared a National Monument in 1955. However, vandalizing of the meteorite continued until the Rössing Foundation funded a thoroughly restoration and preservation of the meteorite in 1988. Later that year, a tourist centre was opened at the site. For a small fee the Hoba iron can be visited, touched and even climbed for spectacular photo shooting. The Hoba meteorite is now visited by thousands of tourists every year.


Keywords: interesting tourist places, indian tourism, Place Called Earth, Devils Tower, Wartime Sound Mirrors,Largest Meteorite on Earth

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Tottori Sand Dunes: A Mini Desert in Japan



Who would have thought there is a desert in Japan? Well, not quite a desert but a huge sand dune that looks nearly a desert to me. It’s the Tottori Sand Dunes located near Tottori City in Honshū, Japan. The dunes stretch along the coast east of Tottori City for 16 kilometers and extend up to 2 kilometers away from the coast. The dunes are spread over an area of 30 square kilometers – not like the Sahara, but not small either.



The Tottori Sand Dunes were created by sediment deposits carried from the Chūgoku Mountains by the Sendai River into the Sea of Japan. Sea currents and wind help bring the sand from the bottom up onto the shore, where the wind constantly rearranges their shape. The highest dunes reach around 90 meters above sea level and can reach 40 degree slopes. Technically, its not a desert but the temperature of the sand can easily soar above 50C on sunny summer days. A number of hardy species of plants and animals also thrive in sections of the dunes.



The dunes have existed for over 100,000 years, but the area of the dunes has been steadily decreasing due to a government reforestation program following World War II. Additionally, concrete barriers erected to protect the coast from tsunamis have disrupted the currents responsible for bringing the sand to shore.



The Tottori Sand Dunes attract some two million visitors each year, mostly from within Japan and East Asia.


Keywords: travel, tourist attractions, interesting tourist place, Tottori Sand Dunes

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Located near Medicine Bow, Wyoming, along US Route 30 lies one of USA’s oddest roadside attraction. It’s a cabin constructed out of fossilized dinosaur bones. It contains 5,796 pieces of bones recovered from the nearby Como Bluff, one of the major sites for the early discovery of dinosaur.







Keywords: interesting tourist places, indian tourism. world tourism,

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The Ice Road to Tuktoyaktuk



The Tuktoyaktuk Winter Road is an ice road that connects the Northwest Territories communities of Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk in Canada. It is open to traffic only during the winter (December to March) when the water of the Mackenzie River Delta freezes tracing a natural road over the length of the river and parts of the Arctic Ocean. During summer the road melts and forms a flowing river. During this season the village of Tuktoyaktuk can be reached only by plane or boat.



The Tuktoyaktuk Winter Road is part of the Dempster Highway that connects the Klondike Highway in Yukon, Canada to Inuvik. During the winter months, the highway extends another 194 km to Tuktoyaktuk, when the ice freezes and the road materialize.



The ice that make up the road is about 8 feet thick and is littered from place to place with cracks and ridges, making it one of the most dangerous stretch of road. The road is soon going to be replaced by a bridge currently under construction and is scheduled to open in late 2011.





Keywords: interesting tourist places, indian tourism. world tourism, Ice Road

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Spectacular Caves and Rocks at Staffa Island



The island of Staffa in Scotland is probably best known for its unique geological features, such as the many caves and the unique shape of the basalt columns which are also found in the Giant's Causeway. This remarkable little island, located south-west off the isle of Ulva and halfway between the Ross of Mull and the Treshnish Isles is one of the smallest in the Southern Hebrides.



On the east coast of Staffa are Goat Cave and Clamshell Cave. The latter is 10 m high, about 6 m wide at the entrance, some 45 m long, and on one side of it the ridges of basalt stand out like the ribs of a ship. On the southwest shore are Boat Cave and Mackinnon’s Cave, which has a tunnel connecting it to Cormorant Cave. Staffa's most famous feature is Fingal's Cave, a large sea cave located near the southern tip of the island some 20 m high and 75 m long formed in cliffs of hexagonal basalt columns.



The island was once inhabited in the 1700s by as much as 16 people but nowadays seabirds and tourists have taken over their place. The island came to prominence in the late 18th century after a visit by Sir Joseph Banks. He and his fellow travellers extolled by the natural beauty of the basalt columns and by the island's main sea cavern which Banks re-named 'Fingal's Cave'. Their visit was followed by that of many other prominent personalities throughout the next two centuries, including Sir Walter Scott, William Wordsworth an English poet, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, Jules Verne and Dr David Livingstone, to name a few.



Keywords: interesting tourist places, indian tourism. world tourism, Ice Road , Caves and Rocks at Staffa Island

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Tree Museum of Zurich Switzerland



A high-design homage to the tree has officially opened in Zurich, Switzerland. The Tree Museum, this silent and stoic stonehenge sits not far from the banks of Lake Zurich, stocked with nearly 2,000 species of trees as curated by Oppenheim Architecture and Design.



Each tree is exhibited in a stunning fashion, shown against a backdrop of smooth stone and green grass. The museum stretches across 2.5 acres, with a special selection of 50 trees planted around the stonework designs.





Keywords: interesting tourist places, indian tourism. world tourism, Ice Road , Caves and Rocks at Staffa Island ,

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Ranikot Fort Deware Sindh - World Largest Fort



Ranikot Fort is located in the Kirthar Range, about 30 km southwest of Sann, in Jamshoro District, Sindh, Pakistan. It is approximately 90 km north of Hyderabad. The Pakistani people called this fort as Great Wall of Sindh also known as Deware Sindh because of it's resemblance to the Great Wall of China. It is the world's largest fort with a circumference of about 26 km or 16 miles. Since 1993, it has been on the list of tentative UNESCO World Heritage Sites.




Within Ranikot Fort, there are two more fortresses Meerikot Fort and Shergarh Fort, both have 5 bastions each. The main Ranikot and the inner Meerikot have similar entrances curved, angulated with a safe tortuous path. From the military point of view, Meerikot is located at a very safe and central place in the very heart of the Ranikot with residential arrangements including a water-well.



Currently, only the Gabol Baloch tribe occupies the area within Ranikot. The area has become a virtual village for the Gabol's over the past century who earn their livelihood by offering tours to many of the visitors, as well as by small scale farming. Today, the Gabol tribe chief Nabil Gabol is trying to attract the Sindh government's funds to develop the area into an international tourist site.



Keywords: interesting tourist places, indian tourism. world tourism, Ice Road , Caves and Rocks at Staffa Island , interesting tourist things, ranikot-fort