糖豆广场舞草原情哥哥:图片专辑：地球上独一无二的地方

地球上独一无二的地方

Stephanie Pappas, LiveScience Senior Writer

Date: 18 November 2011 Time: 02:48 PM ET

2011年11月18日，美国东部时间下午02:48

Unique Places

独特的地方

Credit: , Shutterstock

提供者：Matt Ragen，图片素材库

From the hottest deserts to the iciest mountains (like the slopes of Mount Rainier, above), the world is a many-splendored place. But some spots are one-of-a-kind, with sights that can't be seen anywhere else on the planet. Here, we list some of these amazing places. Let's go exploring.

Where the Clouds Roll By

卷云

Credit: Mick Petroff, distributed via a Creative Commons license.

提供者：米克·佩特罗夫（Mick Petroff）通过知识共享许可证颁布。

A rare tubular cloud formation occurs with regularity only one place on Earth: Northern Australia’s Gulf of Carpentaria. Here, ultra-long “roll clouds” form regularly in fall months. The phenomenon even has its own, geographically specific name, the Morning Glory cloud. Elsewhere in the world, roll clouds pop up only very occasionally, usually associated with sea winds or sometimes thunderstorm downdrafts. [See more images of curious clouds]

地球上只有一个地方才会有规律地出现人们很少能见到的管状云彩：它就在澳大利亚北部的卡奔塔利亚湾（Northern Australia’s Gulf of Carpentaria），一到秋天，就会有规律地形成超长时间的“卷云”。此种气象现象，甚至有了地理学上的专门名称：牵牛花云。在世界的其他地方的天空里，偶尔也会弹出卷云，通常它与海风，或者有时与雷暴雨的下降气流有关。[参看更多的古怪的云彩]

Where the Snow Is Like Knives

像匕首那样的雪

Credit: European Southern Observatory, distributed under a Creative Commons license.

提供者：欧洲南方天文台，通过知识共享许可证颁布

These sharp snow formations make the white stuff look uninviting. They’re called penitentes, and although they can form at high altitudes anywhere, there’s no place better to see them than in the Dry Andes of Chile and Argentina, way up past 13,000 feet (about 4,000 meters). 

这些锋利的雪片的形态构成了不太讨人喜欢的白色东西。人们一般称之为冰林（锯齿形几米高的小雪山堆） ，虽然在地球上任何高海拔的地区都可以形成它们，但没有其他地方可以与智利和阿根廷乾燥的安第斯山脉13000英尺（约4000米）高的山路上所容易看到的相比。

Penitentes, named after pointy hats worn by people doing penance for their sins in Christian traditions, form in very cold, dry air, where the water in snow sublimates, or turns directly into vapor without melting first. Sublimation randomly occurs faster in some areas than in others; once uneven pock-marks form in the snow, they focus the sunlight, causing those areas to sublimate ever faster. Spiky penitentes get left behind, unmelted. The tallest penitentes can reach 12 feet (4 meters) high.

冰林，是以基督教传统中人们在忏悔罪孽时所佩戴的尖帽子来命名的。它们形成于非常寒冷和干燥的空气里，是由那里雪的升华物，或者就是说，雪不先融化为水而直接蒸发成气体，再结冰而成。某些地块随机升华发生比其他地方更快一点；一旦在雪地上形成了不均匀的麻子，它们会聚焦阳光，使这些地面上的升华越来越快。最后留下这些尖锐的未被融化的锯齿形几米高的小雪山堆——冰林。最高的冰林可以高达12英尺（4米）。

Where the Lakes Explode

Credit: Jack Lockwood, 1986 (U.S. Geological Survey)

提供者：杰克·洛克伍德（Jack Lockwood）

To see a lake that can kill you without you even dipping in a toe, visit Africa. In Cameroon and on the border of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo are three deadly lakes: Nyos, Monoun and Kivu. All three are crater lakes that sit above volcanic earth. Magma below the surface releases carbon dioxide into the lakes, resulting in a deep, carbon dioxide-rich layer right above the lakebed. 

Where Tsunamis Sweep Mountains

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提供者：洪智涌(Hung Chung Chih)，图片素材库

In landlocked Bhutan, tsunamis are becoming a danger. Climate change is melting Himalayan glaciers, increasing the risk that glacial melt will break through ice dams and wipe out villages. Scientists call these flash floods, one of which killed dozens in 1994, “glacial-lake-outburst floods,” but in layman’s terms, they’re mountain tsunamis.

Bhutan is working to ease the danger by draining some high glacial lakes and shoring up their natural dams. Glacial lake outbursts can happen anywhere where glaciers are melting, but according to Bhutan’s government and the United Nations, 24 of the country’s 2,674 glacial lakes are at risk, making Bhutan the epicenter of this phenomenon. [Ice World: Gallery of Awe-Inspiring Glaciers] 

In 1984, Lake Monoun abruptly exploded, releasing waves of water and a cloud of carbon dioxide. Thirty-seven people who lived near the lake asphyxiated in the CO2 cloud, though the cause of their deaths remained a mystery until two years later, when Lake Nyos let out its own burst of carbon dioxide. This time, 1,700 people died when the carbon dioxide, which is heavier than oxygen, displaced the breathable air in their villages. 

1984年，Monoun湖突然发生爆炸，排放出水浪和二氧化碳的云层。使住在湖附近的37人因CO2窒息而死，尽管其死亡原因仍然是个谜，直到两年后，当Nyos湖释放湖中的二氧化碳的爆发。由于二氧化碳比氧气重，这次二氧化碳取代了村庄里的可呼吸的空气， 造成了1,700余人的死亡。

Venting pipes have been installed in Lake Nyos and Lake Monoun in an attempt to release the carbon dioxide gas slowly and prevent future disasters. Kivu, which has never erupted, is not being vented, although local companies do extract dissolved methane from the lake to use for power generation.

在Nyos湖和Monoun湖里已经安装了排气管道，企图缓慢地释放二氧化碳以防止未来再发生灾难。Kivu湖，它从来就没有爆发过，也没有过采用排放，尽管当地的公司不断地从湖里抽取提取溶解于水的甲烷以用来发电。

Where the Rocks Walk

会走的岩石

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提供者：卢基奇(Lukich)，图片素材库

At Racetrack Playa in Death Valley, it’s not horses or stock cars that make the rounds — it’s rocks. This pancake-flat dry lakebed is marked by tracks of large rocks that seem to have wandered from here to there under their own power.

在死亡谷赛的赛马场盐湖，使岩石四边走动的不是靠马匹和运货车。这烤薄饼那样平平的干湖床面上有着巨大岩石的移动轨道的痕迹，似乎它们可以依靠自己的能力到处漫游。

In fact, the rocks (some of which weigh tens or hundreds of pounds) may require a perfect storm to get moving. According to lunar and planetary sciences researchers at NASA Goddard, wind pushes the rocks around. But for the wind to move huge boulders, there has to be little friction between the rock and the ground. Most likely, ice-encrusted rocks jdaget inundated by meltwater from the hills above the playa, according to NASA researchers. When everything’s nice and slick, a stiff breeze kicks up, and whoosh, the rock is off.

事实上，这些岩石（其中有些重达几十甚至几百磅）可能需要极大的风暴才能推动它们。根据美国宇航局月球和行星科学研究人员在戈达德（Goddard）的看法，它们的确是由风推动而到处移动。但风要移这些大石块，岩石和地面之间的摩擦力必须很小。最有可能的是从盐湖的山顶上掉下来的、被冰雪融水淹没过，还包有冰壳的岩石，根据美国宇航局的研究人员。当一切情况都很符合条件时，只要刮起一阵强风，嗖然一声，岩石就会滚动起来。

Where Crystals Dwarf Humans

晶体矮侏

Credit: Screenshot from "El Misterio De Los Cristales Gigantes," by Javier Trueba, produced by Madrid Scientific Films. 

提供者：“巨型水晶之谜”的截图，，马德里科学电影制片公司的制片人，Javier Trueba 。

Imagine an underground world where shimmering crystals crisscross caverns like a giant’s Tinkertoys. Mexico’s Cave of Crystals, buried below the Chihuahuan desert, is just that. Here, enormous crystals of selenite grow more than 30 feet (10 meters) long. 

想象有那么一个地下世界，闪闪发光的晶体纵横交错地安置在洞穴里，像是一个巨大的积木玩具。埋藏在墨西哥奇瓦瓦沙漠下面的晶体洞穴，就是这个样子。在那里，巨大的硒晶体的生长超过了30英尺（10米）。

But this fantasy world is tough to withstand. The cave is nearly 1,000 feet (300 meters) below the surface, and a magma chamber below keeps the caverns heated to about 136 degrees Fahrenheit (58 degrees Celsius), with 99 percent humidity. Explorers must wear protective gear if they hope to survive in this crystal cave for more than a few minutes. [Amazing Caves: Pictures of the Earth’s Innards]

但要在这梦幻似的世界里耽下去是很难受的。这个洞穴在地表以下近1000英尺（ 300米） ，在它们下面，有一个岩浆库把这些洞穴加热到约为136华氏度（ 58摄氏度） ，湿度高达99％。探险者如果希望在这个晶洞耽搁超过几分钟，他们必须穿戴好保护装置。 [别有洞天：地球的内部结构的图片]

Where Lightning Strikes Way More Than Twice

两次以上相同的闪电雷击方式

Credit: Thechemicalengineer, via a Creative Commons license.

提供者：Thechemicalengineer，通过知识共享许可证颁布通过

Clear skies rarely prevail at the mouth of the Catatumbo River in Venezuela. Here, it storms on average every other night, as moist, warm winds meet the nearby ridges of the Andes and explode into electrifying tempests. The lightning is so consistent that sailors have been known to navigate by its glow, which even reportedly saved the city of Maracaibo from attack by the English pirate Sir Francis Drake in 1595. According to a 1597 poem, the lightning illuminated Drake’s fleet, alerting the city to the pirate’s presence.

委内瑞卡塔通博河的河口处很少见到晴朗的天空。在这里，平均每隔一个晚上就有一次风暴，当潮湿和暖风在安第斯山脉附近的山脊相遇时，就会构成惊人的大风暴。闪电方向始终如一，以致水手们已经懂得怎样来根据其闪电的发光来驾驶船只，这种情况甚至保存英国海盗弗朗西斯德雷克爵士（Sir Francis Drake）于1595年攻击马拉开波市的记录里。根据一首1597年的诗，闪电照亮德雷克舰队，警告城市来了海盗。

Where the Coral Grows Like Mushrooms。

珊瑚像蘑菇般地迅速地增长

Credit: ? Conservation International/photo by Tim Werner

提供者：保护国际/摄影：蒂姆·沃纳（Tim Werner）

The only place to find this strange structure is along the northeastern coast of Brazil, in and around Abrolhos Marine National Park. This is the only spot on Earth to see chapeiroes, isolated coral columns that grow on the seafloor and have a mushroomlike structure. Chapeiroes come in different shapes and sizes, but the giant and mature chapeiroes of the Abrolhos Bank can reach more than 65 feet (20 meters) tall and 165 feet (50 meters) in diameter at their tops. According to Conservation International, an environmental group that works in the region, climate change threatens these unique reefs, so researchers are working to understand how the coral responds to changing conditions.

可以发现这种奇特结构的唯一地方是在巴西东北部的沿海岸，即在阿波罗荷斯国家海洋公园的内部和周围。它是地球上唯一现场看到的chapeiroes ，它是海底孤立生长的珊瑚柱，并有着一个蘑菇状结构。Chapeiroes有着不同的形状和大小，但阿波罗荷斯沿岸的巨大和成熟的chapeiroes的高度可以达到65英尺（ 20米）以上，顶部的直径约为165英尺（50米）。据国际保护组织，在该地区一个环保团体，气候变化正在威胁着这些独特的珊瑚礁，因此，研究人员正在努力了解珊瑚怎样来应对不断变化的气候条件。

Where Tectonic Plates Meet

地质构造板块的接触

Credit: Andrew Frassetto

提供者：安德鲁·福哈瑟托（Andrew Frassetto）

Deep in the ocean, underwater mountains form as tectonic plates spread apart, with the boundary between these spreading plates forming a mid-ocean ridge as molten rock from below rises up to fill in the gap. To see a mid-ocean ridge with your own eyes, though, travel to Iceland, the only place where the mid-Atlantic ridge runs on land. This geologically active spot, also known as the Reykjanes Ridge, marks a rather fuzzy boundary between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates. Because of unusually active volcanism at the ridge below Iceland, the area is like a blister on the top of this gash, oozing (and sometimes erupting) lava to the surface, which hardens into new crust.

在海洋的深处，在地质构造板块舒展开来的地方，形成了海底的山脉。在这些扩散板块之间的边界上，熔岩从下向上升起填补了这个缺口，由此形成了大洋中脊 。不过，若要用肉眼看到这种大洋中脊，你必须到冰岛去旅游。那里有着大西洋中的大洋中脊呈现在陆地上的唯一场所。这个地质运动活跃的地区称为雷克雅未克海脊，它标志着北美和欧亚两个地质构造板块之间的多少有些模糊的边界。由于在冰岛下面山脊的火山活动异常活跃，该地区就像是裂纹顶部的水泡，渗出（有时爆发出）的熔岩到达表面，在那里变硬而形成新的地壳。

Where the Life Is Very Old

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非常古老的生命undefined

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Credit: Monica Johansen, Shutterstock

提供者：莫妮卡·约翰森（Monica Johansen），图片素材库undefined

To get a sense of how life on Earth used to be, visit Shark Bay, Australia, one of the very few places on the planet where you can see living stromatolites. These structures are rounded towers of sediment built over thousands of years by cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae. The stromatolites at Shark Bay are a few thousand years old, but they’re nearly identical to the life that thrived on Earth 3.5 billion years ago, when oxygen made up just 1 percent of the atmosphere. Though they’re found in a few extra-salty bodies of water around the world, stromatolites are at their most diverse and most abundant at Shark Bay.

为了弄明白地球上的生命过去曾经是怎样的，你可以去访问澳大利亚的鲨鱼湾。 那里是这个星球上一个极少能够看到的还有活着的垫藻（ stromatolites）生长的地方。这些结构是几千年来由蓝藻细菌或蓝绿色水藻沉积成的圆形塔状物。鲨鱼湾的垫藻已经有了几千年的历史，可是它们与地球上35亿年前所繁衍生长的生命几乎完全一个模样，当时大气中的氧气只占有1%。虽然在世界各地超咸水域里也发现过这种菌体，可是鲨鱼湾的垫藻最为多种多样和最为丰富。