Whale Bone Alley of Yttygran Island

Along the northern shore of the remote Siberian island of Yttygran, in the Bering Sea, is an area recognized as the “Whale Bone Alley” where once the great sea beasts were mass slaughtered and their meat stored by the local tribes. Somewhere 40 years ago, Soviet archaeologists have unearthed dozens of bowhead whale bones, and skulls, which are prudently arranged in the ground spreading more than 550 meters and running parallel to the shore. Though, the rib bones are either stuck into the ground or propped up by rocks in a double line to form a sort of alley. Down the middle of the alley were huge skulls and square pits once thought to have contained tons of meat? Though, archeologists may be researching too much into the Whale Bone Alley. Hence, the local Yupik people believes that the site was nothing more than a place where whale hunters met and jointly butchered their catches, and then they naturally stored whale meat in pits. This simple theory is well supported by the fact that the Yupik name for Yttygran is Sikliuk, which comes from the word Siklyugak, which means "meat pit" in Yupik.

Whale Bone Alley is thought to have been formed about 600 years ago by a cooperative group of native tribes massive bones that were planted into the ground, numerous pits used for storing meat were found with fossilized whale bits still in them. Archaeologists believe that the “Whale Bone Alley” was built as a shrine and sacred meeting place by the Eskimos in the 14th century. Therefore, at that time there was an impermanent ice age, that caused in extended winter and food shortages which could have led to conflicts between Inuit tribes. Thus, Whale Bone Alley may have been the indistinct place where they could come together to talk over their problems, take part in sacrificial offerings and store their meat in the square pits that once existed between the bone walls. The overall effect is of a haunting titan's boneyard.  Moreover, many archaeologists and explorers believe that the site was established as a place of mutual worship and ritual for the united tribes. Whatever the history of this place, one thing is sure, the tourists love the area. The spectacular bone formations have been enticing myriads of tourists from all over the world each year. 

Source: Charismaticplanet.com

The Incredible Beauty of Irish Coastline in a Series of Landscape shorts

An Italian photographer Marco Bottigelli (35) has captured the beauty of the Irish coastline in a stunning series of landscape shots. So, there is no wonder Irish eyes are smiling with landscapes like these! Implausible photographs taken on a 1,200-mile road trip capture the exquisiteness of the Emerald Isle's coastline, blanketed in wild flowers and dotted with castles and lighthouses, there really is nothing quite like Ireland's coast.

The photographer captured the country's unbelievable beauty as he travelled from Dublin to Kerry. He covered more than 1,200 miles; full breadth of the landscape's changing climate, nature and terrain. From the towering Cliffs of Moher to the hexagonal columns of the Giant's Causeway, he photographed the lovely coastal scenery of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Moreover, he wanted to create some inspiring collection of this part of world, and for that purpose he drove more than 1,200 miles around the Irish coastline while admiring the scenery and waiting for picture-perfect weather conditions. Ireland has always been one of the most fascinating lands in Europe.

The country is wild and welcoming all at the same time, natural landscapes, picturesque lighthouses and castles. The Ireland landscapes are truly unique and a dreamland for photographers. He said; many times, I’ve to wait for several hours for right lighting, and when it finally comes I get a deeper feeling of joy. However, sometimes, the gloomy skies never clear which can leave a feeling of disappointment. Therefore, it is almost a sense of adrenaline in landscape photography with the ever changing weather. I always try to set my goal to create emotions through my landscape photography and to inspire others to realize our valuable environment.

The Roque Cinchado: A Unique Rock Formation in Island of Tenerife

The Roque Cinchado is a rare rock formation lies within the Teide National Park in the municipality of La Orotava Canary Islands of Spain. Roque Cinchado is one of largest in the world by altitude, more than 2000 meters. The Roque Chinchado is a unique rock formation; in fact its photographs appeared on 1000 peseta bank notes with Teide in the background. Roque Chnchado is a marvouls geological freak show of twisted pinnacles of lava, formed as a result of erosion of the volcanic dykes. The Roque Cinchado worth to take a look and in this specific case, it is the most photographed rock in the world. Many archaeologists believe and considered this rock formation is equally important as the other rock formation of Uluru in Australia, Delicate Arch Utah USA, and Devils Tower Wyoming USA. The compositions of Roque Cinchado are mainly of pyroclastics, alluvial fan breccias, and conglomerates of volcanic material, phonolitic dikes crosscutting the sedimentary layers.

The Roque Cinchado is to be found about 1700 meters below the summit of Teide volcano, actually a volcanic formation; belongs to a lineup of large rock formations, leftovers of the former summit of the island, well-known as "Roques García." From every passing century, the rain and wind has gradually worn down the earth and rock formation to expose the harder rock of the dykes in all their glory. The Roque Chinchado rock is eroding faster its base then above, could be topple one day.  Important, somewhat puzzling and actually saddening is the fact the Island of Tenerife is one of massive volcanic edifice that is actually second in size after only the Island of Hawaii (Big Island). Nevertheless from the rocks, the lunar landscape of the “Llano de Ucanca” plains is just to the west of here a completely surreal landscape that just has to be seen to be believed.

Mysterious Valley of Balls, Kazakhstan

The valley of balls or Torysh, as it’s called in Kazakh, is located at the Northern tip of the Western Karatau, close to the town of Shetpe in Western Kazakhstan. The area consists of plentiful ball-like rock formations strewn across a wide range of steppe land. The balls sizes are vary, but most of them are 3 to 4 meters in diameter. So far, the phenomenon is not properly researched, however various geological explanations from mega-spherulites crystalline balls formed in volcanic ash and exposed by weathering to cannonball concretions. 

It is believed, that balls are to be concretions a hard, compact mass created by the precipitation of minerals. They’re every so often spherical and generally form in sedimentary rock or soil.  In fact this is not a rare phenomenon, because this type of concretions is found all over the world. So, questions comes in mind what is rare, the size these concretions have reached, as large as those in valley of balls are found only at some places on planet earth. The New Zealand famous Moeraki Boulders is another example. Moreover you can see a massive Lion Rock also called “Sherkala” 332 white and ochre chalk outcrop with various fissures along its rim and more rock formation at its foot. The adjacent places are also the scant ruins of the Silk Road Town Kyzylkala.