The Cradle of Humankind is a complex system of limestone caves that has the world's highest concentration of ancient human fossils. It's located about 50 kilometres northwest of Johannesburg, South Africa. When I started working there as a PhD student ten years ago, I never thought that I would be the person making discoveries. I always saw myself as a support person who helped the palaeontologists and archaeologists.
Priceless rock extracted from Scotland's legendary Great Glen Fault could help answer 'fundamental questions about the history of the Earth'. Experts at the British Geological Survey say the extracted core sample - essentially rock pulled from Earth using a hollow drill - measures a total of about 5,000 feet. It has been taken from more than 2,000 feet below ground level along the Great Glen Fault, which stretches from Norway through Scotland to Ireland.
Roxbury puddingstone, the mottled rock quarried nearby and used for much of the old church masonry in Boston, formed 600 million years ago in violent submarine landslides off the coast of a barren volcanic microcontinent that rifted off Africa. This is so long ago thatin the course of the perpetual wander of continentsthe whole thing happened somewhere near the south pole.
"A true testament of man's impact on the land, Providence Canyon is one of the most outstanding examples of (accidental) manmade erosion, created less than 200 years ago by poor farming practices," Reba Bolton, the park's assistant manager, tells Travel + Leisure. Plus, she adds, while it may look like it's made of rock, Providence Canyon is formed by 43 different shades of sand and soil.
The avalanche of Birch Glacier in Blatten was an expected disaster, indicative of the cascading phenomena of climate change's impact on mountain stability.
Recent alarming headlines about the Pacific Northwest sinking are overstated; while sea level rise and earthquake data is worrisome, new research shows the situation is not as dire as proposed.
One hundred fifty students from East Oakland elementary, middle, and high schools will perform at Castlemont High School this weekend as part of the festival.