Borneo (Malay: Pulau Borneo, Indonesian: Kalimantan), a giant, rugged island, is the 3rd-largest island in the World and the largest in Asia.
Borneo is politically divided among 3 countries: Malaysia and Brunei in the North, and Indonesia to the South. Approximately 73% of the Island is Indonesia territory. In relation to major Indonesian Islands, Borneo is located North of Java, West of Sulawesi, and East of Sumatra.
In earlier times, the Island was known by other names. In 977 CE, Chinese records began to use the term Po-Ni. In 1225CE, it was also mentioned by the term Chau Ju-Kua. In 1365 CE, a Javanese manuscript mentioned the Island as Nusa Tanjungnagara which means "the Island of the Tanjungpura Kingdom.
The Borneo rainforest is estimated to be around 140 million years old, making it one of the oldest rainforersts in the World. The Kapuas River, at 1000 km/620mi in length, is the longest river in Borneo.
There are about 440 freshwater fish species. Also there are about 15,000 species of flowering plants with 3,000 species of trees. In our days, half of the World's global timber acquisition comes from Borneo. In 1975, 75% of the country was covered in rain-forest. Now, only 50% is covered.
According to ancient Chinese (977 CE), Indian, and Japanese manuscripts, Wester coastal cities of Borneo had become trading ports by the 1rst millennium CE. Gold, camphor tortoise shells, hornbill ivory, rhinoceros horn, crane crest, beeswax, lakawood (a scented heartwood and root wood of a thick liana), dragon's blood, rattan, edible bird's nests and various spices were described among the most valuable items from Borneo.
Archaeological findings in the Sarawak River Delta reveal that the area was a thriving centre of trade between India and China from the 6th century until about 1300.
The Dayak people are the native people of Borneo. It is a loose term for over 200 riverine and hill-dwelling ethnic subgroups, located principally in the Central and Southern interior of Borneo, each with its own dialect, customs, laws, territory and culture, although common distinguishing traits are readily identifiable. They possess an account of their history mostly in oral literature, partly in writing in wooden records, and partly in common cultural customary practices.
Among prominent accounts of the origin of the Dayak people is the mythical oral epic that narrates that the ancestors of the Dayak people descended from the heavens before moving from the inland to the downstream shores of Borneo.
Tuesday, December 12, 2017
Sunday, April 9, 2017
THE PALM TREE AND ITS MEANING.
The palm branch is a symbol of victory, triumph, peace, and eternal life originating in the ancient Near east and Mediterranean Worlds.
A palm branch was awarded to victorious athletes in ancient Greece, and a palm frond or the tree itself is one of the most common attributes of Victory personified in ancient Rome.
The palm tree, to the Assyrians and Egyptians, was considered a tree of life, representing immortality.
It was sacred to Ishtar and Ashtarte as well as to Nut and Hathor. These deities utilized the palm tree nectars to keep the dead in a semi-animated state while they awaited their fate in the Underworld. It was believed that sometimes the fruit of the palm would keep these souls in this state of un-dead forever. The date palm was also associated with the sun god Ra, as a resurrection figurehead.
These aspects brought themes of victory, not only over the conflict between dualities, but victory over death as well.
In Christianity, the Palm Sunday, a week before Easter Sunday, commemorates the triumphal entry of JESUS into Jerusalem symbolizing the victory of the spirit over the flesh. Palm fronds were lain by His Followers on the path walked by Christ as HE rode into the city on a donkey, and called HIM "Hosanna" or "Savior." Christians see the palms as a symbol of resurrection (victory over death through the union with Christ), because it speaks about elements of attainment, welcoming, and all the wonderful qualities associated with the soul' s return to its Source.
In the account of the 4 canonical Gospels, JESUS' triumphal entry into Jerusalem takes place in the days before the Last Supper, marking the beginning of His Passion. Crowds gathered around JESUS and believed in HIM in John 12 after HE raised Lazarus from the dead, and the next day the multitudes that had gathered for the feast in Jerusalem welcome JESUS as HE entered Jerusalem. In Matthew 21, Mark 11, Luke 19, and John 12, JESUS descended from the Mount of Olives towards Jerusalem, and the crowds lay their clothes on the ground to welcome HIM triumphantly enters Jerusalem.
The palm tree, as dream symbol, shows the individual's ability to rise above conflict and spread out light brilliantly -letting it shine over the din of petty concerns- rising above disillusionment like the sun itself. It is also a message for the individual to resurrect aspects in its inner self and by doing that the person becomes a more wholly entity.
The palm tree shares its symbolic gender with predominantly energetic masculine tone together with feminine qualities found in the fruit it bears. The erect, towering trunk represent the male power rising into action, followed by a flowering, expansive display of long leaves nestling an offspring of rich, nutritious fruits. It is an icon for fertility and unification.
The palm tree, in its deeper meaning, is a symbol of androgyny as it possesses the perfect integration of both male and female attributes -to be wholly, pristinely balanced- equally united with polarity. The tree amalgamates the realms of seen and unseen -mixing them into a whole vision.
A palm branch was awarded to victorious athletes in ancient Greece, and a palm frond or the tree itself is one of the most common attributes of Victory personified in ancient Rome.
The palm tree, to the Assyrians and Egyptians, was considered a tree of life, representing immortality.
It was sacred to Ishtar and Ashtarte as well as to Nut and Hathor. These deities utilized the palm tree nectars to keep the dead in a semi-animated state while they awaited their fate in the Underworld. It was believed that sometimes the fruit of the palm would keep these souls in this state of un-dead forever. The date palm was also associated with the sun god Ra, as a resurrection figurehead.
These aspects brought themes of victory, not only over the conflict between dualities, but victory over death as well.
In Christianity, the Palm Sunday, a week before Easter Sunday, commemorates the triumphal entry of JESUS into Jerusalem symbolizing the victory of the spirit over the flesh. Palm fronds were lain by His Followers on the path walked by Christ as HE rode into the city on a donkey, and called HIM "Hosanna" or "Savior." Christians see the palms as a symbol of resurrection (victory over death through the union with Christ), because it speaks about elements of attainment, welcoming, and all the wonderful qualities associated with the soul' s return to its Source.
In the account of the 4 canonical Gospels, JESUS' triumphal entry into Jerusalem takes place in the days before the Last Supper, marking the beginning of His Passion. Crowds gathered around JESUS and believed in HIM in John 12 after HE raised Lazarus from the dead, and the next day the multitudes that had gathered for the feast in Jerusalem welcome JESUS as HE entered Jerusalem. In Matthew 21, Mark 11, Luke 19, and John 12, JESUS descended from the Mount of Olives towards Jerusalem, and the crowds lay their clothes on the ground to welcome HIM triumphantly enters Jerusalem.
The palm tree, as dream symbol, shows the individual's ability to rise above conflict and spread out light brilliantly -letting it shine over the din of petty concerns- rising above disillusionment like the sun itself. It is also a message for the individual to resurrect aspects in its inner self and by doing that the person becomes a more wholly entity.
The palm tree shares its symbolic gender with predominantly energetic masculine tone together with feminine qualities found in the fruit it bears. The erect, towering trunk represent the male power rising into action, followed by a flowering, expansive display of long leaves nestling an offspring of rich, nutritious fruits. It is an icon for fertility and unification.
The palm tree, in its deeper meaning, is a symbol of androgyny as it possesses the perfect integration of both male and female attributes -to be wholly, pristinely balanced- equally united with polarity. The tree amalgamates the realms of seen and unseen -mixing them into a whole vision.
Saturday, April 1, 2017
THE SEINE RIVER.
The Seine River is a 777km/483mi river and an important commercial waterway within the Paris Basin in the North of France. Paris lies 445km/277mi from the River Mouth and the slow-moving River is navigable by ocean-going vessels from Le Havre as far as Rouen,120km/75mi from the sea.
Rouen is capital of the region of Normandy, formerly one of the largest and most prosperous cities of Medieval Europe. Rouen was the seat responsible for the collection and management of taxes and revenues of the Anglo-Norman dynasties, which ruled both England and large parts of modern France from the 11th to the 15th CE.
Over 60% of Seine's length, as far as Burgundy, it is negotiable by commercial riverboats, and nearly its whole length is available for recreational boating.
Burgundy is a historical territory and a former administrative region of East-Central France. Historically the name 'Burgundy' has referred to numerous political entities, including kingdoms and duchies spanning territory from the Mediterranean to the Low Countries (Netherlands and Belgium, and the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Meuse, Scheldt, and Ems rivers). The first known inhabitants were Celts, who were incorporated in the Roman Empire as Gallo-Romans. During 4th CE, the Burgundians and the Germanic people settled in the Western Alps founding the Kingdom of the Burgundians, which was conquered by another Germanic Tribe, the Franks, continuing for several centuries. During the Middle Ages, Burgundy was the seat of some of the most important Western Churches and monasteries.
The water of the Seine is an important resource for the Central and Western France. Electrical power stations, thermal and nuclear, pull their cooling water from the River, and 1/2 the water used in the Paris region plus3/4 of the water used in the area between Rouen and Le Havre is also drawn from the River.
The Seine River rises at Source-Seine, 30km/18mi North West of Dijon in the Alps, at an elevation of 470m/1,542ft inside a wooden area, from waters in several closely clustered ditches/depressions. What is now the Source-Seine saw Gaulic pilgrimage beginning in the 1st BC. In the late 4th CE, Roman Emperor Theodosius I ordered the closure of non-Christian temples at the Seine's source and gave their property to Christian institutions. In accordance with this edict, in the 5th CE the Abbey of Sainte-Marie-de Cestra, the closest religious institution to the Seine's source, received a donation from the Roman government. In the 17th CE, rumors of the healing powers in the Seine were circulating around Paris. This led to the construction of a grotto dedicated to Seine Nymph and financed by its residents in the 19th CE. The city of Paris officially bought the Source of the Seine in 1864.
Dijon (310km/193mi South East of Paris; 190km/118mi North West of Geneva; 190km/118mi North of lyon) is a city in Eastern France, capital of the Cote-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Compte region. It is situated at the heart of a Plain drained by 2 small converging rivers: the Suzon, which crosses it mostly underground from North to South, and the Ouche, on the Southern side of the town. Further South is the hillside (cote) of vineyards that give the department its name. The earliest archaeological finds date to 10,200 BC. Later a Roman settlement was located on the road from Lyon to Paris, named Divio, which means 'Sacred Fountain'. The province was home to Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th centuries and Dijon was the place of tremendous power and wealth, one of the great European centers for art, learning, and science.
The Duchy of Burgundy was a key in the transformation of Medieval Times toward Early Modern Europe.
The Seine River is France's 2nd longest River, after the Loire. The River then flows 776km/482mi before it passes between the coastal communes of Le Havre and Honfleur, on the Normandy coast, emptying into the sea at the English Channel. The average depth is about 9.5m/31ft.
Le Havre is an urban French commune in the Normandy region of North Western France. Its port is the 2nd largest in the country, after that of Marseille, for total traffic, and the largest French container port,
The name 'Le Havre' means 'The Harbor' of 'The Port.' Its inhabitants are known as Havrais(es).
The city and port was founded by the King Francis I of France in 1517. Early economic development was hampered by religious wars, conflicts with the English, epidemics and storms. It was from the end of the 18th CE that Le Havre started growing and took off 1st with the slave trade and the 1970s marked the end of its golden age. In the year 2000, the city port increased the city path of reconversion, developing the service sector and new industries (Aeronautic, Wind turbines). In 2005 UNESCO inscribed the central city of Le Havre as a World Heritage site. The Andre Malraux Modern Art Museum is the 2nd of France for the number of impressionist paintings.
Honfleur is a comune in North Western France. It is located on the Southern bank of the partially enclosed coastal body of the Seine (estuary) across from Le Havre. Its inhabitants are called Honfleurais. It is especially known for its old, beautiful picturesque port, characterized by its houses with slate-covered frontages, painted many times by artists, which contributed to the appearance of the Impressionist movement. The Sainte-Catherine church, which has a bell tower separate from the principal building, is the largest church made out of wood in France.
The 1st written record of Honfleur is a reference by Richard III, Duke of Normandy, in 1207CE. By the middle of the 12th century, the city represented a significant transit point for goods from Rouen to England. The city profited from its strategic position from the start of the 100 Years War. At the end of this period, Honfleur benefited from the boom in maritime trade until the end of the 18th CE. Trade flow was disturbed during the wars of religion in the 16th CE. The port saw the deparure of a number of explorers, in particular in 1503 of Binot Paulmierde Gonneville to the coasts of Brazil. In 1506, local man Jean Denis departed for Newfoundland island and the mouth of Saint Lawrence. An expedition in 1608, organized by Samuel de Champlain, founded the city of Quebec in modern-day Canada. After 1608, Honfleur thrived on trade with Canada, the West Indies, the African coasts and the Azores. As a result, the town became one of the 5 principal ports for the slave trade in France. The wars of the French revolution and the First Empire, and in particular the continental blockade, caused the ruin of Honfleur. It only partially recovered during the 19th century with the trading of wood from Northern Europe. Trade was however limited by the silting up of the entrance to the port and development of the modern port at Le Havre. The port however still functions today.
There are 37 bridges within Paris and dozens more spanning the Seine River outside the city. Examples in Paris include the Pont Alexandre III and Pont Neif, the latter of which dates back to 1607. Outside the city, examples include Pont de Normandie, one of the longest cable-stayed bridges in the World.
Rouen is capital of the region of Normandy, formerly one of the largest and most prosperous cities of Medieval Europe. Rouen was the seat responsible for the collection and management of taxes and revenues of the Anglo-Norman dynasties, which ruled both England and large parts of modern France from the 11th to the 15th CE.
Over 60% of Seine's length, as far as Burgundy, it is negotiable by commercial riverboats, and nearly its whole length is available for recreational boating.
Burgundy is a historical territory and a former administrative region of East-Central France. Historically the name 'Burgundy' has referred to numerous political entities, including kingdoms and duchies spanning territory from the Mediterranean to the Low Countries (Netherlands and Belgium, and the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Meuse, Scheldt, and Ems rivers). The first known inhabitants were Celts, who were incorporated in the Roman Empire as Gallo-Romans. During 4th CE, the Burgundians and the Germanic people settled in the Western Alps founding the Kingdom of the Burgundians, which was conquered by another Germanic Tribe, the Franks, continuing for several centuries. During the Middle Ages, Burgundy was the seat of some of the most important Western Churches and monasteries.
The water of the Seine is an important resource for the Central and Western France. Electrical power stations, thermal and nuclear, pull their cooling water from the River, and 1/2 the water used in the Paris region plus3/4 of the water used in the area between Rouen and Le Havre is also drawn from the River.
The Seine River rises at Source-Seine, 30km/18mi North West of Dijon in the Alps, at an elevation of 470m/1,542ft inside a wooden area, from waters in several closely clustered ditches/depressions. What is now the Source-Seine saw Gaulic pilgrimage beginning in the 1st BC. In the late 4th CE, Roman Emperor Theodosius I ordered the closure of non-Christian temples at the Seine's source and gave their property to Christian institutions. In accordance with this edict, in the 5th CE the Abbey of Sainte-Marie-de Cestra, the closest religious institution to the Seine's source, received a donation from the Roman government. In the 17th CE, rumors of the healing powers in the Seine were circulating around Paris. This led to the construction of a grotto dedicated to Seine Nymph and financed by its residents in the 19th CE. The city of Paris officially bought the Source of the Seine in 1864.
Dijon (310km/193mi South East of Paris; 190km/118mi North West of Geneva; 190km/118mi North of lyon) is a city in Eastern France, capital of the Cote-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Compte region. It is situated at the heart of a Plain drained by 2 small converging rivers: the Suzon, which crosses it mostly underground from North to South, and the Ouche, on the Southern side of the town. Further South is the hillside (cote) of vineyards that give the department its name. The earliest archaeological finds date to 10,200 BC. Later a Roman settlement was located on the road from Lyon to Paris, named Divio, which means 'Sacred Fountain'. The province was home to Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th centuries and Dijon was the place of tremendous power and wealth, one of the great European centers for art, learning, and science.
The Duchy of Burgundy was a key in the transformation of Medieval Times toward Early Modern Europe.
The Seine River is France's 2nd longest River, after the Loire. The River then flows 776km/482mi before it passes between the coastal communes of Le Havre and Honfleur, on the Normandy coast, emptying into the sea at the English Channel. The average depth is about 9.5m/31ft.
Le Havre is an urban French commune in the Normandy region of North Western France. Its port is the 2nd largest in the country, after that of Marseille, for total traffic, and the largest French container port,
The name 'Le Havre' means 'The Harbor' of 'The Port.' Its inhabitants are known as Havrais(es).
The city and port was founded by the King Francis I of France in 1517. Early economic development was hampered by religious wars, conflicts with the English, epidemics and storms. It was from the end of the 18th CE that Le Havre started growing and took off 1st with the slave trade and the 1970s marked the end of its golden age. In the year 2000, the city port increased the city path of reconversion, developing the service sector and new industries (Aeronautic, Wind turbines). In 2005 UNESCO inscribed the central city of Le Havre as a World Heritage site. The Andre Malraux Modern Art Museum is the 2nd of France for the number of impressionist paintings.
Honfleur is a comune in North Western France. It is located on the Southern bank of the partially enclosed coastal body of the Seine (estuary) across from Le Havre. Its inhabitants are called Honfleurais. It is especially known for its old, beautiful picturesque port, characterized by its houses with slate-covered frontages, painted many times by artists, which contributed to the appearance of the Impressionist movement. The Sainte-Catherine church, which has a bell tower separate from the principal building, is the largest church made out of wood in France.
The 1st written record of Honfleur is a reference by Richard III, Duke of Normandy, in 1207CE. By the middle of the 12th century, the city represented a significant transit point for goods from Rouen to England. The city profited from its strategic position from the start of the 100 Years War. At the end of this period, Honfleur benefited from the boom in maritime trade until the end of the 18th CE. Trade flow was disturbed during the wars of religion in the 16th CE. The port saw the deparure of a number of explorers, in particular in 1503 of Binot Paulmierde Gonneville to the coasts of Brazil. In 1506, local man Jean Denis departed for Newfoundland island and the mouth of Saint Lawrence. An expedition in 1608, organized by Samuel de Champlain, founded the city of Quebec in modern-day Canada. After 1608, Honfleur thrived on trade with Canada, the West Indies, the African coasts and the Azores. As a result, the town became one of the 5 principal ports for the slave trade in France. The wars of the French revolution and the First Empire, and in particular the continental blockade, caused the ruin of Honfleur. It only partially recovered during the 19th century with the trading of wood from Northern Europe. Trade was however limited by the silting up of the entrance to the port and development of the modern port at Le Havre. The port however still functions today.
There are 37 bridges within Paris and dozens more spanning the Seine River outside the city. Examples in Paris include the Pont Alexandre III and Pont Neif, the latter of which dates back to 1607. Outside the city, examples include Pont de Normandie, one of the longest cable-stayed bridges in the World.
Saturday, March 18, 2017
KNOWING THE VOLCANO ETNA.
THE MOUNT ETNA is an active volcano on the East Coast of Sicily, Italy, in the metropolitan city of Catania. between the cities of Messina and Catania.
The name Etna originated from the Phoenician word "Attuna" meaning "furnace" or "chimney."
The Volcano lies above a convergent plate margin between the African Plate and the Eurasian Plate.
Etna is the tallest active volcano in Europe, currently 3,329m/10,922 ft high, though this varies with summit eruptions. It is also the highest peak in Italy South of the Alps.
Etna covers an area of 1,190km2 / 459sq mi with a basal circumference of 140km. This make Etna by far the largest of the 3 active volcanoes in Italy, being about 2 1/2 times the height of the next largest, Mount Vesuvius.
Only Mount Teide in Tenerife (owned by Spain) surpasses Mount Etna in the whole of the European-North African region. In Greek Mythology, the deadly monster Typhon was trapped under Mount Teide in Tenerife by Zeus, the god of the sky and thunder and king of gods, and the forges of Hephaestus were said to also be located underneath it.
Mount Edna is one of the most active volcanoes in the World and is in an almost constant activity. The fertile volcanic soils supports extensive agriculture, with vineyards and orchards spread across the lower slopes of the Mountain and the broad Plain of Catania to the South.
Volcanic activity first took place at Etna 500,000 years ago, with eruptions occurring beneath the sea off the ancient coastline of Sicily. About 300,000 years ago, eruptions began occurring to the South West of the summit then, before activity moved towards the present centre 170,000 years ago. Eruptions at this time built up the first major volcanic edifice, forming the volcano in alternating explosive and effusive eruptions. The growth of the mountain was occasionally interrupted by major eruptions, leading to the collapse of the summit forming a large cauldron-like (cooking pot) depression.
Etna experienced some highly explosive eruptions, generating a large and fast-moving current of hot gas and volcanic matter up to 700km/h (450mph), which left extensive ash deposits composed of glass shards and crystal fragments. The ash was found as far away as South of Rome's border, 800km/497mi to the North.
The Eastern flank of Etna experienced a catastrophic collapse, thousands of years ago, generating an enormous landslide that left an enormous depression in the side of the volcano, known as Valley of the Ox. Researchers suggest that this occurred around 8,000 years ago, now below sea level, was suddenly abandoned around that time.
Etna's most recent collapse event is thought to have occurred about 2,000 years ago, forming what is known as the Piano Cauldron (Caldera). This cauldron has been almost entirely filled by subsequent lava eruptions, but is still visible as a distinct break in the slope of the mountain near the base of the present-day summit cone.
Etna's eruptions follow a variety of patterns. Most occur at the summit, where there are currently 5 distinct craters. Others eruptions occur on the flanks, which have more than 300 vents ranging in size from small holes in the ground to large craters hundreds of meters across.
Summit eruptions can be highly explosive and spectacular, but rarely threaten the inhabited areas around the volcano. In contrast, flank eruptions can occur down to a few hundred meters altitude, close to or even well within the inhabited areas. Since the year 1600 CE, at least 60 flank eruptions and countless summit eruptions have occurred; nearly half of these have happened since the start of the 20th century. Since the year 2,000, Etna has had 4 flank eruptions.
The 1st known recorded Etna's eruption is that of Diodorus Siculus, a Greek historian, known for writing the Universal History (Bibliotheca Historica), much of which survives, between 60 and 30BC.
The first covers mythic history up to the destruction of Troy, arranged geographically, describing regions around the World from Egypt, India, and Arabia to Greece and Europe. The second covers the Trojan War to the death of Alexander the Great. The third covers the period to about 60 BC. He was born at Agyrium in Sicily (now called Agira). The city was ruled by the Tyrants, one of whom, Agyris, was the most powerful ruler in the centre of Sicily. He was a contemporary of Dyonysius the Elder, and with him successfully resisted the Carthaginian forces led by Mago when they invaded Agyrium in 392 BC. Agirium was not colonized by the Greeks until the Corinthian general Timoleon drove out the last Tyrant in 339BC, settled 10,000 Greeks and erected various splendid buildings. In 396BC, an eruption of Etna thwarted the Carthaginians in their attempt to advance on Syracuse during the Second Sicilian War. Diodorus Siculus credits Heracles with the foundation of pieces of land marked off from common uses and dedicated to sacred cults, such as of Iolaus (Heracles'nephew and lover, through his daughter Leipephilene, he was considered to have fathered the mythic and historic line of the kings of Corinth) and of Geryon (a giant who dwelt on the island Erytheia, and often described as a monster with human faces). The Geryon of Dante's 14th century epic, has become the Monster of Fraud, a beast with enormous dragon-like wings with the paws of a lion, a reptilian body and a scorpion's poisonous sting at the tip of his tail, but with the face of an "honest man." Then Agyrium passed through many hands and in about 1400 it became state property of Sicily. Over the years the town has been influenced by Spanish and Jews arrivals, both leaving their architectural mark, the latter a synagogue.
A particularly violent explosive summit eruption occurred in 122BC, and caused heavy fragments falls to the South East, including the Town of Catania, where many roofs collapsed. To help with the reconstruction after the devastating effects of Etna, the Roman government exempted the population of Catania from paying taxes for 10 years.
Etna's most destructive eruption since 122BC started on March 11, 1669 and produced lava flows that destroyed at least 10 Villages on its Southern flank before reaching the city walls of Catania Town five weeks later, on April 15. The lava was largely diverted by these walls into the sea to the South of the city, filling its harbor. A small portion of lava eventually broke through a fragile section of the city walls on the Western side and destroyed a few buildings, without reaching the centre of the Town. There were not a great number of casualties, however, a strong earthquake 22 years later devastated South East Sicily, including Catania, leaving a great number of casualties.
A large lava flow from an eruption in 1928 led to the destruction of a population centre since the 1669 eruption. The eruption started high on Etna's North East flank on November 2. Then new eruptive fissures opened at decreasing elevations down the flank. The 3rd and most vigorous of these fissures opened late on November 4 at an unusually low elevation, approximately 1,200m/3,937ft above sea-level. The event was used by Benito Mussolini's fascist regime for propaganda purposes, with the evacuation, aid, and rebuilding operations being presented as a models of fascist planning.
Other major eruptions occurred in 1949, 1971, 1981, 1983, and 1991-1993. The eruptions have been remarkable similar. In the 1991-1993 eruption, lava flow was successfully diverted saving the Town of Zafferana from being destroyed by it. Initially, such efforts consisted of the construction of earth barriers built perpendicularly to the flow direction; it was hoped that the eruption would stop before the artificial basins created behind the barriers would be completely filled. Instead the eruption continued, and lava surmounted the barriers, heading directly towards the town. Engineers then decided to use explosives near the source of the lava flow, to disrupt a very efficient lava tube system through which the lava travelled for up to 7km/4mi without essentially losing heat and fluidity. The main explosion destroyed the tube and forced the lava into a new artificial channel, far from the town, and it would have taken months to re-establish a long lava tube. Shortly after the blasting, the rate of lava emission dropped, and during the remainder of the eruption the lava never advanced close to the town again.
In July- August 2001, following 6 years of unusually intense activity at the summit, Etna produced again a flank eruption, involving activity from 7 distinct eruptive fissures mostly on the South slope of the mountain. It was a mass-media eruption, because it occurred at the height of the tourist season and numerous reporters and journalists were already in Italy to cover the G8 summit in Genoa. It was a rather modest-size event by Etna standards.
In 2002-2003, a much larger eruption threw up a huge column of ash that could easily be seen from space and fell as far as Libya, 600km/370mi South across the Mediterranean. The activity caused the Eastern flanks to slip by up to 2 meters.
On September 4, 2007 a spectacular episode of lava fountain occurred from the new vent on the East side of the South East Crater, also producing a plume of ash which fell over the East flank. A lava flow travelled about 4.5km/2.8mi into the Valley of Ox. It was visible far into the Plains of Sicily.
On May 13, 2008 an eruption immediately to the East of Etna's summit was accompanied by a swarm of more than 200 earthquakes and significant ground deformation in the summit area. It continued at a slowly diminishing rate for 417 days, until July 6, 2009 making this the longest flank eruption since the 1991-1993 eruption that lasted 473 days. Previous eruptions had lasted 3 weeks , 3 months, and 6 months, respectively. Lava flows advanced 6.5km during the first few days of this eruption but thereafter stagnated at much minor distances from the vents; during the last months of the eruption lava rarely advanced more than 1km down the slope.
On December 3, 2015 an eruption in the Voragine Crater exibited a lava fountain which reached 1km / 3,300ft in height, with an ash plume which reached 3km/9,800ft in height. The activity continued in the following days, with an ash plume that reached 7km/23,000ft in height that forced Catania airport to shut down for a few hours.
On March 16, 2017 an eruption injured 10 people, including a BBC News television crew, after magma exploded upon contact with snow.
The name Etna originated from the Phoenician word "Attuna" meaning "furnace" or "chimney."
The Volcano lies above a convergent plate margin between the African Plate and the Eurasian Plate.
Etna is the tallest active volcano in Europe, currently 3,329m/10,922 ft high, though this varies with summit eruptions. It is also the highest peak in Italy South of the Alps.
Etna covers an area of 1,190km2 / 459sq mi with a basal circumference of 140km. This make Etna by far the largest of the 3 active volcanoes in Italy, being about 2 1/2 times the height of the next largest, Mount Vesuvius.
Only Mount Teide in Tenerife (owned by Spain) surpasses Mount Etna in the whole of the European-North African region. In Greek Mythology, the deadly monster Typhon was trapped under Mount Teide in Tenerife by Zeus, the god of the sky and thunder and king of gods, and the forges of Hephaestus were said to also be located underneath it.
Mount Edna is one of the most active volcanoes in the World and is in an almost constant activity. The fertile volcanic soils supports extensive agriculture, with vineyards and orchards spread across the lower slopes of the Mountain and the broad Plain of Catania to the South.
Volcanic activity first took place at Etna 500,000 years ago, with eruptions occurring beneath the sea off the ancient coastline of Sicily. About 300,000 years ago, eruptions began occurring to the South West of the summit then, before activity moved towards the present centre 170,000 years ago. Eruptions at this time built up the first major volcanic edifice, forming the volcano in alternating explosive and effusive eruptions. The growth of the mountain was occasionally interrupted by major eruptions, leading to the collapse of the summit forming a large cauldron-like (cooking pot) depression.
Etna experienced some highly explosive eruptions, generating a large and fast-moving current of hot gas and volcanic matter up to 700km/h (450mph), which left extensive ash deposits composed of glass shards and crystal fragments. The ash was found as far away as South of Rome's border, 800km/497mi to the North.
The Eastern flank of Etna experienced a catastrophic collapse, thousands of years ago, generating an enormous landslide that left an enormous depression in the side of the volcano, known as Valley of the Ox. Researchers suggest that this occurred around 8,000 years ago, now below sea level, was suddenly abandoned around that time.
Etna's most recent collapse event is thought to have occurred about 2,000 years ago, forming what is known as the Piano Cauldron (Caldera). This cauldron has been almost entirely filled by subsequent lava eruptions, but is still visible as a distinct break in the slope of the mountain near the base of the present-day summit cone.
Etna's eruptions follow a variety of patterns. Most occur at the summit, where there are currently 5 distinct craters. Others eruptions occur on the flanks, which have more than 300 vents ranging in size from small holes in the ground to large craters hundreds of meters across.
Summit eruptions can be highly explosive and spectacular, but rarely threaten the inhabited areas around the volcano. In contrast, flank eruptions can occur down to a few hundred meters altitude, close to or even well within the inhabited areas. Since the year 1600 CE, at least 60 flank eruptions and countless summit eruptions have occurred; nearly half of these have happened since the start of the 20th century. Since the year 2,000, Etna has had 4 flank eruptions.
The 1st known recorded Etna's eruption is that of Diodorus Siculus, a Greek historian, known for writing the Universal History (Bibliotheca Historica), much of which survives, between 60 and 30BC.
The first covers mythic history up to the destruction of Troy, arranged geographically, describing regions around the World from Egypt, India, and Arabia to Greece and Europe. The second covers the Trojan War to the death of Alexander the Great. The third covers the period to about 60 BC. He was born at Agyrium in Sicily (now called Agira). The city was ruled by the Tyrants, one of whom, Agyris, was the most powerful ruler in the centre of Sicily. He was a contemporary of Dyonysius the Elder, and with him successfully resisted the Carthaginian forces led by Mago when they invaded Agyrium in 392 BC. Agirium was not colonized by the Greeks until the Corinthian general Timoleon drove out the last Tyrant in 339BC, settled 10,000 Greeks and erected various splendid buildings. In 396BC, an eruption of Etna thwarted the Carthaginians in their attempt to advance on Syracuse during the Second Sicilian War. Diodorus Siculus credits Heracles with the foundation of pieces of land marked off from common uses and dedicated to sacred cults, such as of Iolaus (Heracles'nephew and lover, through his daughter Leipephilene, he was considered to have fathered the mythic and historic line of the kings of Corinth) and of Geryon (a giant who dwelt on the island Erytheia, and often described as a monster with human faces). The Geryon of Dante's 14th century epic, has become the Monster of Fraud, a beast with enormous dragon-like wings with the paws of a lion, a reptilian body and a scorpion's poisonous sting at the tip of his tail, but with the face of an "honest man." Then Agyrium passed through many hands and in about 1400 it became state property of Sicily. Over the years the town has been influenced by Spanish and Jews arrivals, both leaving their architectural mark, the latter a synagogue.
A particularly violent explosive summit eruption occurred in 122BC, and caused heavy fragments falls to the South East, including the Town of Catania, where many roofs collapsed. To help with the reconstruction after the devastating effects of Etna, the Roman government exempted the population of Catania from paying taxes for 10 years.
Etna's most destructive eruption since 122BC started on March 11, 1669 and produced lava flows that destroyed at least 10 Villages on its Southern flank before reaching the city walls of Catania Town five weeks later, on April 15. The lava was largely diverted by these walls into the sea to the South of the city, filling its harbor. A small portion of lava eventually broke through a fragile section of the city walls on the Western side and destroyed a few buildings, without reaching the centre of the Town. There were not a great number of casualties, however, a strong earthquake 22 years later devastated South East Sicily, including Catania, leaving a great number of casualties.
A large lava flow from an eruption in 1928 led to the destruction of a population centre since the 1669 eruption. The eruption started high on Etna's North East flank on November 2. Then new eruptive fissures opened at decreasing elevations down the flank. The 3rd and most vigorous of these fissures opened late on November 4 at an unusually low elevation, approximately 1,200m/3,937ft above sea-level. The event was used by Benito Mussolini's fascist regime for propaganda purposes, with the evacuation, aid, and rebuilding operations being presented as a models of fascist planning.
Other major eruptions occurred in 1949, 1971, 1981, 1983, and 1991-1993. The eruptions have been remarkable similar. In the 1991-1993 eruption, lava flow was successfully diverted saving the Town of Zafferana from being destroyed by it. Initially, such efforts consisted of the construction of earth barriers built perpendicularly to the flow direction; it was hoped that the eruption would stop before the artificial basins created behind the barriers would be completely filled. Instead the eruption continued, and lava surmounted the barriers, heading directly towards the town. Engineers then decided to use explosives near the source of the lava flow, to disrupt a very efficient lava tube system through which the lava travelled for up to 7km/4mi without essentially losing heat and fluidity. The main explosion destroyed the tube and forced the lava into a new artificial channel, far from the town, and it would have taken months to re-establish a long lava tube. Shortly after the blasting, the rate of lava emission dropped, and during the remainder of the eruption the lava never advanced close to the town again.
In July- August 2001, following 6 years of unusually intense activity at the summit, Etna produced again a flank eruption, involving activity from 7 distinct eruptive fissures mostly on the South slope of the mountain. It was a mass-media eruption, because it occurred at the height of the tourist season and numerous reporters and journalists were already in Italy to cover the G8 summit in Genoa. It was a rather modest-size event by Etna standards.
In 2002-2003, a much larger eruption threw up a huge column of ash that could easily be seen from space and fell as far as Libya, 600km/370mi South across the Mediterranean. The activity caused the Eastern flanks to slip by up to 2 meters.
On September 4, 2007 a spectacular episode of lava fountain occurred from the new vent on the East side of the South East Crater, also producing a plume of ash which fell over the East flank. A lava flow travelled about 4.5km/2.8mi into the Valley of Ox. It was visible far into the Plains of Sicily.
On May 13, 2008 an eruption immediately to the East of Etna's summit was accompanied by a swarm of more than 200 earthquakes and significant ground deformation in the summit area. It continued at a slowly diminishing rate for 417 days, until July 6, 2009 making this the longest flank eruption since the 1991-1993 eruption that lasted 473 days. Previous eruptions had lasted 3 weeks , 3 months, and 6 months, respectively. Lava flows advanced 6.5km during the first few days of this eruption but thereafter stagnated at much minor distances from the vents; during the last months of the eruption lava rarely advanced more than 1km down the slope.
On December 3, 2015 an eruption in the Voragine Crater exibited a lava fountain which reached 1km / 3,300ft in height, with an ash plume which reached 3km/9,800ft in height. The activity continued in the following days, with an ash plume that reached 7km/23,000ft in height that forced Catania airport to shut down for a few hours.
On March 16, 2017 an eruption injured 10 people, including a BBC News television crew, after magma exploded upon contact with snow.
Friday, February 24, 2017
FOG AND ITS BEHAVIOR.
Fog refers to a phenomenon which is apparent in the sky, involving thick clouds, that inhibit sight over a considerable distance. Fog forms a deck of visible and stable water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air, that are produced when a cool air mass is trapped underneath a warm air mass at a relative humidity nearly 100%.
Fog can be considered a type of low-lying cloud that is heavily influenced by water, topography and wind conditions, affecting shipping, traveling and warfare. The only difference between mist and fog is visibility and the phenomenon is called fog if the visibility is less than 1 km/ .62mi for pilots, and for driving purposes less than 100 m /.062mi)), whereas mist causes lesser impairment of visibility.
Fog forms in a number of ways, depending on how the cooling that causes the condensation occurred. It starts to form when water vapor condenses into tiny liquid water droplets suspended in the air, and in the way it is formed suddenly and rapidly it also fade away.
The thickness of a fog layer is largely determined by the altitude of the inversion boundary above which the air mass is warmer and drier. The inversion boundary varies its altitude primarily in response to the weight of air above it, which is measured in terms of atmospheric pressure.
Radiation Fog is most common in autumn and early winter and is formed by the cooling of land after sunset by thermal radiation in calm conditions with clear sky. All matter with a temperature greater than zero emits thermal radiation when inter-atomic collisions causes change in the energy possessed by the body due to its motion. The warm ground produces condensation (high relative humidity) in the nearby air by heat conduction. In perfect calm winds and rapid cooling during the night the fog layer can be less than a meter deep but turbulence can provoke a thicker layer that usually do not last after sunrise, but they can persist all day in the winter months because of the density of the cold air.
Fog in dreams symbolizes your spiritual energy and practical work, showing that things in life may not be what they seem. In most dreams fog represents spiritual blindness because of the reluctance applied in each individual in finding out its true character. In connection to the weather, the environments in which the individual is enclosed indicates the moods and emotions felt in the waking hours.
Positives changes that come out when the individual wakes up from a fog's dream are: -when the fog suddenly cleared in the dream means that the person is able to see clearly; there is no feeling of confusion; the negative connections that the problem or person produced in the insight of the dreamer are not experienced or disappear in the dream hours since the fog is the representation of it.
When in a dream the person is traveling through thick fog indicates an encounter of future problems and the coming out of it will likely reflect that problems will be resolved.
Dreaming about fog usually develops in association with the following scenarios in the waking life:
- The individual's personal judgment have clouded other people's judgment in a situation related to work or home.
- The individual's belief system has been questioned.
- The use of personal energy for a project that is likely to fall.
- The lack of certainty of what is in store for the individual in the future.
- The individual's judgment is clouded.
- There are obstacles that the individual needs to overcome.
- At home or work, a situation is going to arise bringing confusion, which will require patience.
Fog will always be a symbolic sign of clouded judgments, confusion, and the inability of the individual to recognize a bigger picture.
Fog can be considered a type of low-lying cloud that is heavily influenced by water, topography and wind conditions, affecting shipping, traveling and warfare. The only difference between mist and fog is visibility and the phenomenon is called fog if the visibility is less than 1 km/ .62mi for pilots, and for driving purposes less than 100 m /.062mi)), whereas mist causes lesser impairment of visibility.
Fog forms in a number of ways, depending on how the cooling that causes the condensation occurred. It starts to form when water vapor condenses into tiny liquid water droplets suspended in the air, and in the way it is formed suddenly and rapidly it also fade away.
The thickness of a fog layer is largely determined by the altitude of the inversion boundary above which the air mass is warmer and drier. The inversion boundary varies its altitude primarily in response to the weight of air above it, which is measured in terms of atmospheric pressure.
Radiation Fog is most common in autumn and early winter and is formed by the cooling of land after sunset by thermal radiation in calm conditions with clear sky. All matter with a temperature greater than zero emits thermal radiation when inter-atomic collisions causes change in the energy possessed by the body due to its motion. The warm ground produces condensation (high relative humidity) in the nearby air by heat conduction. In perfect calm winds and rapid cooling during the night the fog layer can be less than a meter deep but turbulence can provoke a thicker layer that usually do not last after sunrise, but they can persist all day in the winter months because of the density of the cold air.
Fog in dreams symbolizes your spiritual energy and practical work, showing that things in life may not be what they seem. In most dreams fog represents spiritual blindness because of the reluctance applied in each individual in finding out its true character. In connection to the weather, the environments in which the individual is enclosed indicates the moods and emotions felt in the waking hours.
Positives changes that come out when the individual wakes up from a fog's dream are: -when the fog suddenly cleared in the dream means that the person is able to see clearly; there is no feeling of confusion; the negative connections that the problem or person produced in the insight of the dreamer are not experienced or disappear in the dream hours since the fog is the representation of it.
When in a dream the person is traveling through thick fog indicates an encounter of future problems and the coming out of it will likely reflect that problems will be resolved.
Dreaming about fog usually develops in association with the following scenarios in the waking life:
- The individual's personal judgment have clouded other people's judgment in a situation related to work or home.
- The individual's belief system has been questioned.
- The use of personal energy for a project that is likely to fall.
- The lack of certainty of what is in store for the individual in the future.
- The individual's judgment is clouded.
- There are obstacles that the individual needs to overcome.
- At home or work, a situation is going to arise bringing confusion, which will require patience.
Fog will always be a symbolic sign of clouded judgments, confusion, and the inability of the individual to recognize a bigger picture.
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