Rainbows are among the most beautiful nature’s displays. Neither it is a “thing,” nor does it exist in a particular “place.” A rainbow is rather an optical illusion or phenomenon that is not controlled by human beings and appears when sunlight and atmospheric conditions are just right and also the viewer’s position to see it….
The Himalayas are an Asian mountain range, which includes the countries of Pakistan, Nepal, Afghanistan, Tibet, India, and Bhutan. The Himalayan mountain range includes Mt. Everest, the highest mountain on earth. The lofty Himalayas are among the most dramatic and visible creations of plate-tectonic forces. The Himalayas and Tibetan plateau trend east-west and stretch 2,900…
Rivers are geographical phenomena where freshwater flows through dry land from one place to another. They also serve as natural drainage systems. Rivers occur naturally in all continents around the world, including Antarctica. Rivers play quite an important role in daily life and activities of man, as well as the vegetation and resident organisms within…
Planet Earth! It’s a beautiful place filled with vast oceans, rugged mountains, and magnificent plateaus. But is this always the way our planet has looked? According to Geologists, billions of years ago, the landmasses were all bunched together as one massive supercontinent. This supercontinent then broke apart due to constant pushing and pulling and formed…
The word Terrain originated from the Latin “Terra” which translates to Earth. The terrain is a word usually used when describing the lay of the land and maybe also be called Topography or relief. This word is most common among geographers, as they are known to study the various unique and different land surfaces found…
Of all the 118 elements in the periodic table, gold has captured the minds and motivations of mankind. And, of all the forms taken by gold, gold nuggets stand out the most. Perhaps this is owed due to its inherent rarity, or the tantalizing color. Whatever it is about gold nuggets, pirates to miners are…
Thousands of mountain peaks jut out of the Canadian wilderness, towering high above lush green valleys and towns. Head west of the country, you’ll find yourself in British Columbia, Alberta, and Yukon Territory – home to a myriad of mountain ranges including the St. Elias Range. Rugged mountain peaks, icefields, and glaciers make up the…
Simply put, Biology is the study of life, in all of its grandeur. It concerns all life forms, from unicellular algae to the largest African Elephants. Coined by the French biologist Jean-Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet de Lamarck in 1802, the word biology comes from the Greek words ‘bios’, meaning life, and ‘logos’, meaning study….
Take a look around the home. Have you ever thought about what unites that cutlery you are eating with or the sterling stud you are wearing? They are all composed of metal or metal alloys and they play a BIG PART in our everyday life. This article is all about the common metals we interact…
Continental glaciers are those vast masses of ice sheets covering stretches of land, mainly found in Antarctica. Such glaciers flow over large areas that are unconfined, where they bury the landscapes underneath. The more ice it deposits, the more accumulation occurs, and the force applied on the snow is equally distributed over the surface to…
A glacier that is surrounded by mountains is called an alpine or mountain glacier. They are a persistent body of snow that moves under its weight at a slow pace. Alpine glaciers are a sheet of snow that forms over a cirque or high rock basin. The iceberg’s uppermost layer is brittle, but the ice…
Sand is more than something that blankets beaches and deserts. It is ubiquitous, much more diverse and, an authentic relic. As Rachel Carson, the American marine biologist once quoted, “In every curving beach, in every grain of sand, there is a story of the Earth.” So, what is sand? Where does sand come from? What’s…
Quartzite (from German Quarzit) forms when quartz sandstones are metamorphosed. The term quartzite also implies its high quartz content. Most quartzites contain 90% quartz by volume, but the percentage can go up to 99% in the case of the purest quartzite forms. Quartzite looks similar to its parent rock but it is much harder than…
Limestone, or calcium carbonate, is the common rock found throughout the world. Oldest and perhaps slightly overlooked, limestone is very much part of our everyday life. It may be hidden with your walls, in the water you drink, the food you consume, or in the cosmetics. First discovered by Belsazar Hacquet in 1778, Limestone is…
Almost fifteen decades back, the President of the United States, Ulysses S. Grant approved a new law for preserving wildlife. The law called for reserving a whopping 2+ million acres of land in a bid to conserve plants and animals. This land later came to be known as the Yellowstone National Park and it was…