Category Geography

What makes La Paz special?

La Paz is the world’s highest national capital. It is the administrative capital of Bolivia, which lies between 3,250 and 4,100 metres above sea level. The city centre is located in a deep, broad canyon that was formed by the Choqueyapu River.

Founded in 1548, it was first named Nuestra Senora de La Paz (Our Lady of Peace) by the conquistador Captain Alonso de Mendoza on the site of an Inca village. It was later renamed as La Paz de Ayacucho in 1825. In 1898, it was set as the seat of the national government but Sucre is still Bolivia’s constitutional capital, where the country’s Supreme Court is located while La Paz is home to the executive and legislative centres.

The city is popular for its cultural assets with places like The National Museum of Art, a children’s museum, the Museum of Ethnography and Folklore, the National Museum of Archaeology, and the Mercado de Brujas (Witches Market), where herbs and other remedies that are used by the local Aymara people are sold. In 1998, the city faced an earthquake which killed hundreds of residents and destroyed many buildings. Santa Cruz overtook La Paz in the wake of the 21st century as Bolivia’s most populous city but before that La Paz held that status for many years.

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Which is the highest mountain in the world?

Mount Everest, located in the Himalayas, is the highest mountain above sea level. The China-Nepal border is across its summit point. In 2020, the Chinese and Nepali authorities marked its elevation as 8,848.86 m. Mount Everest is highly revered by local people like most other mountains in the range and is known as Chomolungma in Tibetan. It means Goddess Mother of the World or Goddess of the Valley. It was identified as the highest point on the Earth’s surface in 1852, when the governmental Survey of India established this fact. It was previously named Peak XV but was renamed in 1865 to honour Sir George Everest, the British surveyor general of India from 1830 to 1843.

British mountaineers made the first recorded efforts to reach Everest’s summit. Nepal did not allow foreigners to enter the country at that time, so the British made several attempts from the Tibetan side. The first expedition by the British in 1921 reached 7,000 metres on the North Col, a pass connecting Mount Everest and Changste, a mountain in Tibet. Another expedition in 1922 reached up to 8,320 metres, making it the first instance of a human being’s climb above 8,000 metres. Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary reached the summit of the world’s highest mountain on May 28, 1953 at 11:30 am local time.

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Which is the longest road tunnel in the world?

The longest road tunnel in the world, the Laerdal Tunnel is situated in Norway. With a road length of 24.51-kilometres the tunnel connects Laerdal and Aurland, two municipalities in the country. The tunnel also provides a ferry-free connection between Oslo and Bergen.

The construction of this tunnel started in 1995 and it was opened in 2000. It cost a total of 1.082 billion Norwegian krone. A great deal of investment was made for ensuring the safety of the passengers. This is the first tunnel in the world to be equipped with an air treatment plant.

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What is special about Nagash painting of Saudi Arabia?

Get to know about the nagash painting of Saudi Arabia. Nagash painting, also known as Al-Qatt Al-Asiri, adorns the interior walls of traditional Arabic homes.

Tradition in Saudi Arabia dictates that the man builds the house and the woman decorates it. The women of the Asir province express their creativity by painting frescos on the interior walls of their homes. Known as Al-Qatt Al-Asiri, the traditional folk art form is recognized by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage. The paintings are paintings are also called nagash in Arabic.

The white gypsum walls provide the broad canvas for the home artists. They draw geometric lines, triangles, squares, diagonals and tree-like patterns in bright hues of blues, greens, yellows and reds. The patterns reflect the cultural and weaving heritage of the communities. While some communities draw simple open designs, others make more complex patterns edged with a black outline, adding structure to the design. Traditionally, the women used natural colours-yellow colour was extracted from  turmeric, black from coal, blue from indigo dye and green from grass. They used brushes made from camel or goat hair. Often, the painting is a communal affair where the ladies of the house invite their female guests to contribute in the beautification of the nagash.

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Why is Andes called the longest mountain range?

The Andes mountain range extends from north to south through seven South American countries and is 8900 kilometres long and about 200 to 700 kilometres wide. It is spread across Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina with an average height of 4000 metres. In fact, the Andes range has some of the tallest peaks in the world. The only mountains that are taller than the Andes are the Himalayan Mountains and their adjacent ranges like the Hindu Kush. The highest elevation in the Andes range is for Mount Aconcagua in Argentina. It is 6,962 metres above sea level. The average elevation along the range is about 3,962 metres.

The world’s highest volcano, Ojos del Salado, when measured above sea level, is part of the Andes. It is located on the Chile-Argentina border. This vast mountain range is also home to a number of cities including Huaraz and Cuzco in Peru; Quito in Ecuador; La Paz of Bolivia; Bogota and Medellin in Colombia; and Pucon and Puerto Natales in Chile.

Animals in the Andes have to be very rugged and agile. They have to keep themselves warm in order to survive the harsh climate of the region. Chinchillas are one of the popular animals of this region. Their fur gets thicker in the higher altitudes as it gets colder and their ability to jump and climb serves as a protection from predators. Llamas, alpacas and the Andean condor, which is the largest vulture in South America, are some other wild animals to be found here. The Andes is also home to a wide variety of plant population; it nurtures about 30,000 species of plants.

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What is special about Bundelkhand village?

One village in the drought-hit Bundelkhand region is an oasis. Wondering how that is possible? Find out…

Bundelkhand, spread over Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, is one of India’s most water-scarce areas. But one village here is a lush-green oasis.

Jakhni village in Banda district of Uttar Pradesh revived traditional water conservation techniques about a decade ago when it was hit by a drought. As a result, the village now has 32 wells, 25 handpumps and four ponds, all of which are brimming with water. While the groundwater level was below 24 m earlier today it is at 2.5-3 m. Many of Jakhni’s inhabitants who had left in search of water and better livelihoods, have now returned due to the remarkable turnaround. All this has been achieved by undertaking certain measures.

The inhabitants built bunds (called med bandhi) around every farmland to contain rainwater in the field itself, which in turn helps retain soil moisture for a longer time. The villagers also planted trees alongside these meds. This concept, known as med-par-ped, contributed to the rise in the water level.

Zero water wastage

They adopted the ‘zero water wastage principle every single drop of water is utilised. Small drains were constructed, each drain being connected to a house. All the wastewater from the houses gets collected at a pond and is used in the farms.

The residents replenished their ponds by desilting them and removing encroachments. They dug furrows around them and planted shrubs there. Similarly, they trenched their wells and stopped dumping garbage there.

As paddy and lentils require a lot of water, the villagers decided to grow more vegetables like brinjal, spinach, coriander and mustard-crops which can grow on soil moisture. Jakhni is today one of the best sources of fresh vegetables in Bundelkhand.

Called ‘Jalgram’*, Jakhni has become a role model to surrounding villages. There are plans to establish an environment university in Jakhni as well as a research centre for indigenous conservation methods.

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