The Cardamom Hills are part of the southern Western Ghats located in southeast Kerala and Southwest Tamil Nadu in South India. Their name comes from thecardamom spice grown in much of the hill’s cool elevation, which also grow pepper and coffee. The Western Ghats, Periyar Sub-Cluster including the Cardamom Hills, is under consideration by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee for selection as a World Heritage Site.
Hanging Valleys November 8, 2009
Depending on the topography, the rock types and the climate, a lot of transitional forms between V-, U- and plain valleys exist. Their bottoms can be broad or narrow, but characteristic is also the type of valley shoulder. The broader a mountain valley, the lower its shoulders are located in most cases. An important exception are canyons where the shoulder almost is near the top of the valley’s slope. In the Alps – e.g. the Tyrolean Inn valley – the shoulders are quite low (100-200 meters above the bottom). Many villages are located here (esp. at the sunny side) because the climate is very mild: even in winter when the valley’s floor is completely filled with fog, these villages are in sunshine. In some stress-tectonic regions of the Rockies or the Alps (e.g. Salzburg) the side valleys are parallel to each other, and additionally they are hanging. The brooks flow into the river in form of deep gorges or waterfalls. Usually this fact is the result of a violent erosion of the former valley shoulders. A special genesis we find also at arêtes and glacial cirques, at every Scottish glen, or a northern fjord. Bridal Veil Falls in Yosemite National Park flowing from a hanging valley. A hanging valley is a tributary valley with the floor at a higher relief than the main channel into which it flows. They are most commonly associated with U-shaped valleys when a tributary glacier flows into a glacier of larger volume. The main glacier erodes a deep U-shaped valley with nearly vertical sides while the tributary glacier, with a smaller volume of ice, makes a shallower U-shaped valley. Since the surfaces of the glaciers were originally at the same elevation, the shallower valley appears to be ‘hanging’ above the main valley. Often, waterfalls form at or near the outlet of the upper valley
Altai Mountains October 30, 2009
The Altai Mountains (Russian: Алтай, Altay; Mongolian: Алтай; Chinese: 阿尔泰山脉,) are a mountain range in central Asia, where Russia, China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan come together, and where the rivers Irtysh and Ob have their sources. The Altai Mountains are known as the Turkic peoples’ birthplace. The northwest end of the range is at 52° N and between 84° and 90° E (where it merges with the Sayan Mountains to the east), and extends southeast from there to about 45°N 99°ECoordinates: 45°N 99°E, where it gradually becomes lower and merges into the high plateau of the Gobi Desert.
Alpide belt October 30, 2009
The Alpide belt is a mountain range which extends along the southern margin of Eurasia. Stretching from Java to Sumatra through the Himalayas, the Mediterranean, and out into the Atlantic, it includes the Alps, the Carpathians, the mountains of Asia Minor and Iran, the Hindu Kush, the Himalayas, and the mountains of Southeast Asia. It is the second most seismic region (5-6% of earthquakes and 17% of the world’s largest earthquakes) in the world. The Pacific Ring of Fire is the most seismic region.
