Category Geography

The making of the Sydney Harbour Bridge

The Sydney Harbour Bridge was officially opened on March 19, 1932. An iconic structure in Sydney and one of the best recognized, photographed, and loved landmarks of the world, it is the world’s heaviest steel arch bridge.

There are some human-made structures that are readily identified and immediately associated with the place in which they are located. Taj Mahal is one such structure that people world over connect with India. Similarly, there are two landmarks in Sydney- the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge- that have turned out to be prominent structures that people globally link with Australia.

Spanning the Sydney Harbour and connecting Sydney with its northern suburbs, the Sydney Harbour Bridge is about 1,150 m in length, with the top of the bridge standing 134 m above the harbour. Apart from having two rail lines and eight lanes for vehicular traffic, the bridge also has a cycleway for bicycles and a walkway for pedestrians.

An old idea

The site of the Sydney Harbour Bridge (both sides of the harbour) was home to Eora people (Aboriginal Australians) before the arrival of the Europeans in 1788. While the bridge came about only in 1932, the desire to span the harbour and the idea for its construction dates back over 100 years.

As early as 1815, Francis Greenway, an architect convicted of forgery in 1812, suggested the construction of a bridge across the harbour. In the decades that followed, the idea took many forms – a large cast iron bridge, a floating bridge, and even a tunnel. Some proposals were serious, some were even accepted, but nothing really materialised as the costs involved were prohibitive.

Father of the Sydney Harbour Bridge

This remained the case till the turn of the century as estimated costs meant that even satisfactory designs couldn’t be pursued. It was in 1900 that civil engineer John Job Crew Bradfield first became involved with the idea. Over the next three-plus decades, Bradfield became the project’s most vocal advocate and is even remembered as the father of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

For Bradfield, the bridge was part of his vision for the suburban railway network’s electrification. He used his influence to both promote and oversee the construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

 In 1912, Bradfield was appointed as the chief engineer of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and City Transit. Just when it looked like things were about to get moving, World War I put a halt to all plans.

International competition

 It was in 1922 that the Sydney Harbour Bridge Act was passed by parliament. Calling for worldwide tenders for the ‘Construction of a Cantilever or an Arch Bridge across Sydney Harbour’, Bradfield turned it into an international competition. After going through the 20 proposals from six companies, Bradfield and his team selected a two-hinged steel arch with abutment (substructure supporting superstructure) towers by English firm Dorman, Long & Co.

The turning of the first sod ceremony, which is a traditional ceremony in many cultures that celebrates the first day of construction, took place in July 1923. The four abutments served as the load-bearing foundation and from these the arch was built simultaneously from both ends. The construction of the arch began on October 26, 1928 and the two arches touched for the first time on August 19, 1930.

As the bridge became self-supporting once the span was complete, the bridge deck could be built and it was completed in June 1931. Load testing began in January 1932 and it was declared safe in the following weeks. While the official opening of the bridge took place on March 19, 1932, over 50,000 school children had already crossed the bridge by then in a series of “school days”.

Jobs during the Great Depression

Over 1,600 people worked in the construction of the bridge through its near decade-long construction. With the economy slowing down and encountering a worldwide depression during the period, the bridge provided much-needed jobs across various work categories. It wasn’t without danger, however, as at least 16 people died during the construction of the bridge.

In all, over 52,800 tonnes of steel was used, out of which 39,000 tonnes were employed in the arch alone. The cost of building the bridge alone was £4,238,839 and the total cost including other expenses was closer to £10 million – a debt that was paid off only in 1988. But then, the bridge handled over 200 trains, 1,60,000 vehicles, and 1.900 bicycles on average every single day in 2017. No wonder the Sydney Harbour Bridge is considered an engineering marvel.

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Kenya: Where history, nature, and culture meet

Often known as the cradle of humanity, Kenya has fossilised remains of hominids, is home to over 40 ethnic groups, and has the highest concentration of wild animals in the world.

Ranu Joardar

 Kenya, one of the countries in East Africa, has often been described as “the cradle of humanity”. It is an important business, financial, and transportation hub as about 80% of East Africa’s trade flows through its Mombasa Port.

History

Kenya’s history dates back to millions of years as some of the earliest fassilised remains of hominids have been discovered here. For instance, findings by anthropologist Richard Leakey in the Koobi Fora area along the shore of Lake Rudolf have included portions of ‘Australopithecus boisei’ and ‘Homo habilis’ (extinct species of human) skeletons.

 An important part of Kenyan history is slavery. During the 1600s and 1700s, most Kenyans were taken as slaves by the Arabs, Europeans, and Americans.

For several centuries, people from across regions have also settled in or travelled to Kenya. The Maasai tribe came to what is now known as central Kenya from north of Lake Rudolf (now called Lake Turkana in the Kenyan Rift Valley) in around mid 18th Century.

Geography

Kenya is surrounded by South Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Indian Ocean, Tanzania, Lake Victoria, and Uganda.

The 38th meridian, the longitude that extends from the North Pole to the South Pole, divides Kenya into two halves. Kenya’s terrain rises from the low coastal plain on the Indian Ocean towards the mountains and plateaus.

The country’s capital, Nairobi, is at an altitude of 5,500 feet. From the west of Nairobi, the terrain descends to the Great Rift Valley, which has jade-green waters of famous Lake Turkana.

Kenya was the first African country to tap geothermal energy (heat energy from the Earth). The Hell’s Gate National Park’s geysers and hot springs are used to harvest geothermal energy and fuel almost half of Kenya’s electricity.

Flora and fauna

Kenya’s highlands consist of patches of evergreen forest separated by wide expanses of short grass. The forests have economically valuable trees such as cedar and varieties of podo.

Kenya’s ecosystem includes deserts, swamps, and even glaciers on Mount Kenya, Africa’s second highest peak. Each region has different plants and animals suited to the area’s particular conditions. The semi-desert regions below 3,000 feet have baobab trees.

The Masai Mara, situated in south-west Kenya, is one of Africa’s greatest wildlife reserves. It is named after the Maasai tribe, the ancestral inhabitants of the area. It has the highest concentration of wild animals in the world and over 40% of Africa’s larger mammals can be found here. During the migration, over 1.5 million wildebeest migrate from southern Serengeti (in Tanzania) to the Masai Mara. They travel 800 km clockwise in a circle through the Serengeti and Masai Mara ecosystems to search for greener mineral-rich pastures and water. The annual migration at the end of the rainy season (usually in May or June) is recognised as one of the “Seven Wonders of the Natural World”.

The country’s wildlife population is mostly found outside the country’s numerous national parks and game reserves. For instance, baboons and zebras are found along the Nairobi-Nakuru highway, near human settlements and urban centres.

The rainforests in highlands have various large mammals such as elephants and rhinoceroses. Besides, bushbuck, colobus monkeys, and galagos are also found in the region. The highlands have predators such as lions, leopards, and wildcats.

People

The land is home over 40 ethnic groups such as Kikuyu, Luhya, Kalenjin, Maasai, Luo, and Kamba. The country is divided into three language groups- Bantu, Nilo-Saharan, and Afro-Asiatic.

In the 19th Century, several Indians and Pakistanis came to the region, thus influencing the country’s language – Swahili. Swahili evolved along the coast from elements of local Bantu languages-Arabic, Persian, Portuguese, Hindi, and English. It is the lingua franca, a language used as a means of communication, between populations speaking vernaculars that are not mutually intelligible. It is also the language of local trade and is used along with English as an official language in the Kenyan legislative body, the National Assembly, and the courts.

Most Kenyans live in the highlands. Most of the population is rural and live in scattered settlements. Before European colonisation, the urban areas constituted only the fishing regions, Arab trading ports, and towns that were visited by dhows (sailing boats) from the Arabian Peninsula and Asia. People began migrating from the rural to the urban areas after the country’s independence in 1963.

Music and storytelling are important parts of the Kenyan culture. For centuries, the tribes used songs, stories, and poems to pass on their beliefs, history, and customs. Though school is free of cost, most children have to help their families by working the land, tending cattle, cooking, or fetching water.

Government

The country was a colony of the United Kingdom from 1920 till its independence on December 12, 1963 (known as the Jamhuri Day). The first President Jomo Kenyatta was an icon of the liberation struggle, who led Kenya from 1963 until his death in 1978, when Vice-President Daniel arap Moi took power in a constitutional succession.

According to the first constitution after independence, the Prime Minister was appointed as the head of a cabinet chosen by a bicameral National Assembly. Over the years, several constitutional reforms were made, and in 2010 a new constitution was promulgated. The country is now a republic, with a President, a national assembly, called the Bunge, and a legal system.

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Ecuador: Complex legacy of indigenous, colonial pasts

Named after Equator, the country was colonised by the Inca and Spanish empires before achieving independence in 1833. It has also been a part of several key scientific expeditions.

Ranu Joardar

Ecuador is located in northwestern South America. It is one of the most environmentally diverse countries and has even contributed to the environmental sciences such as establishing basic theories of modem geography and evolutionary biology.

Geography

Ecuador is named after Equator, which is the imaginary line around the Earth. While the Equator divides the country in two, most parts of it lie in the Southern Hemisphere. The country is bordered by Colombia and Peru. Andes Mountains are the backbone of the country; the Oriente in the east of the Andes is rich in oil Cotopaxi in the Andes is the highest active volcano in the world.

The Galapagos Islands, which lie 900 km west of Ecuador, are home to unique reptiles, birds, and plants. In the Costa or coastal plain region, most of the bananas in the world are grown.

Though Mount Everest's peak is the highest altitude above sea level, Ecuadors Mount Chimborazo is the highest point above Earth's centre. It is located at a degree south of the Equator where Earth's bulge is greatest. Despite having a height of only about 20.702 feet, it is the closest point on Earth to the stars.

History

Ecuador is a mixture of indigenous and colonial pasts. Most parts of the country were part of the Inca empire, the largest political unit of pre-Columbian America, Peru-centred Inca Empire in the 15th Century. A century later, it became a Spanish colony and remained under its rule for 300 years. The country gained independence from Spain in 1822.

However, the country's history dates back to long before even the Inca conquest. Pottery figurines and containers dating from 3000 to 2500 BC have been discovered, which makes them one of the earliest ceramics in the New World. By the 1400s,

Ecuador was divided among warring chiefdoms. Though the country had sophisticated raised-field cultivation systems and trade networks, it lacked cities and States until after the Inca conquest.

Flora and fauna

The wet lowlands of the Oriente and the northern and southeastern parts of the Costa are covered with tropical rainforests. Balsa trees, found in the Guayas River valley, are heavily exploited for their light wood. Meanwhile, the cinchona trees in the eastern forest have been a valuable source of quinine (medications to treat malaria) before its synthetic equivalents.

The rainforest is home to a wide variety of monkeys and carnivorous mammals such as jaguars, ocelots, foxes, weasels, otters, skunks, raccoons, coatis, and kinkajous. Besides, tapir, deer, and peccary are also found in the region. The region is home to about 1,500 species of birds such as condors, hummingbirds, blue-footed boobies, and parrots.

People and culture

The ethnic population includes several indigenous language-speaking people and highland and lowland Spanish-speaking mestizos (people of mixed indigenous and European descent). Most people describe themselves as mestizo.

The population also includes descendants of Africans and more-recent immigrants from countries such as Lebanon, China, Korea, Japan, Italy, and Germany.

Though Spanish is the official language, there are dialectal differences between Sierra and Costa Spanish. Sierra Spanish is influenced by Quichua. Quichua and Shuar (both of which are official intercultural languages) as well as other ancestral languages are spoken by the indigenous people.

Interestingly, people here identify more with their region or village than with the country. It can be said that the country may be divided into a dozen major folk-cultural regions such as norteno mestizo, northern Quechua, Esmeraldeno blacks, Shuar (Jivaro), and Amazonian Quechua.

Their holidays are associated with particular foods or drinks, and music. During Easter, the popular food, especially in the mountain highlands, is fanesca, which is a traditional Ecuadorian soup made with grains, vegetables, and hard-boiled eggs. Chilli sauce is part of most meals. In the coastal regions, the popular food is seviche, which is made with shrimp or shellfish or even mushrooms pickled with lemon juice, cilantro, and onions.

The country is a favourite tourist destination for its jazz, poetry readings, folk music, and arena rock concerts.

There are numerous architectural masterpieces in Ecuador such as the large tolas (pre-Inca ramp mounds) of the northern highlands, those protected at the Cochasqui archaeological park: the Inca stone walls of Ingapirca near Canar; the great colonial churches of Quito (especially San Francisco and La Compania) with their paintings and gilt wood carving. The old urban centre of Quito was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1978, as was that of Cuenca in 1999.

Football is Ecuador's national sport. Their other fovourite sports include basketball and volleyball.

Scientific marvels

The first scientific expedition to measure the Earth's circumference, led by Charles-Marie de La Condamine of France, was in Ecuador. Renowned naturalists Alexander von Humboldt of Prussia and Charles Darwin of England conducted research in Ecuador to establish basic theories of modern geography, ecology, and evolutionary biology.

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Which place is known as the ‘Cradle of Humankind’?

It is a complex of dolomite caves in South Africa where fossils of early plants, animals and hominids have been found. Read on to know more about the caves where human life originated

About 50 km from Johannesburg in South Africa lies a complex of dolomite caves from where the fossilised remains of a number of early plants, animals and hominids have been found. The cluster of about three dozen caves, of which the Sterkfontein caves are the most famous, are together named the ‘Cradle of Humankind’. They boast over 850 hominid fossils, one of the world’s richest and oldest concentrations of such remains. The site was declared a World Heritage Site in 1999.

The caves offer a window to the past, throwing light on how our ancestors evolved. In 1947, paleontologist Robert Broom found an almost complete skull of a female Australopithecus Africanus, nicknamed ‘Mrs Ples’, dating back 2.8 million years, at Sterkfontein.

More recently in 1997, Ronald Clarke discovered ‘Little Foot, an almost complete hominin skeleton, estimated to be about 3.5 million years old.

Sustained excavation activities since 1966 have so far yielded an impressive 500 hominid specimens from the caves. The hominid remains corroborated the scientific view that the first humans lived in Africa. The fossil evidence has led scientists to believe that early human lineage separated from the apes in Africa about 5-6 million years ago.

The fossil remains from Broom’s excavations are housed in the Transvaal Museum in Pretoria while the finds from 1966 onwards are housed at the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.

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What are the solutions for a warming world?

With a warming planet searing us, we are desperate to find cool solutions. In a seeming paradox what contributed to the climate change crisis such as coal plastic and oil rigs also hold the key to eco-friendly solutions. But how? Let’s find out…

Coal is a fossil fuel that is largely blamed for the current climate change crisis. Now, in a seeming paradox, energy experts are turning to long-abandoned coal mines as a source of carbon-free power! These mines are estimated to contain millions of gigawatt hours or GWh of heat, with the potential to store more. Today, there are many ongoing projects across the UK and in Europe to tap this energy source, especially in places where plants that treat toxic mine water from closed mines already exist.

Once a mine is shut down, the shafts fill with water. The water may be surface water (from rainfall or flooding), or groundwater that seeps up from below. The water is naturally warm as it is deep underground, with temperatures ranging from 15 degrees C to 20 degrees C. It is hot enough to heat homes in winter and cool enough to keep them mild in summer. Mine water energy is also 10 per cent cheaper.

It is not a new idea. In 1989, a packaging firm in the town of Springhill, in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, dug the world’s first borewell to draw up water from dormant coal mines near it to heat its office building.

Futuristic fabric

An American apparel startup called LifeLabs Design set up by a research team from Stanford University, has created clothing from polyethylene (PE) that keeps the wearer’s skin cool in the heat and warm in the cold. The first is called Cool life and the second, you guessed it, WarmLife!

Polyethylene is the type of plastic found in cling wrap and the thin, transparent bags used by grocery stores to pack items. The inventors discovered that the plastic allowed infrared radiation to pass right through it. Most fabrics trap infrared radiation or heat generated by the skin. CoolLife fabric lowers the wearer’s skin temperature by at least 1 degree Celsius when compared to cotton.

The company’s WarmLife fabric works on the principle of reflectivity. The side that touches the skin has a ‘nano coat’ or a microscopic aluminium layer that reflects the body’s infrared radiation and traps that heat inside an inch-thick layer of insulation. The fabric is 30 per cent warmer than clothing of similar weight and bulk.

The company’s WarmLife fabric works on the principle of reflectivity. The side that touches the skin has a ‘nano coat or a microscopic aluminium layer that reflects the body’s infrared radiation and traps that heat inside an inch-thick layer of insulation. The fabric is 30 per cent warmer than clothing of similar weight and bulk.

Polyethylene is the most sustainable among synthetic and natural textiles. The fabrics made from PE are ecologically friendlier than other synthetic and even natural fabrics. Polyester, wool and cotton use large amounts of fuel and water in their entire production process. WarmLife jackets and vests use much less fuel and water in their manufacture. The fabric is 97 per cent recycled material from single-use plastics.

Rigs to reefs

There are more than 12,000 offshore oil and gas platforms worldwide. There comes a time when the rigs produce too little oil and gas for extraction to be profitable. The well is sealed off, but it is too expensive to dismantle the massive structure entirely. The platform which is above the surface is easier to cart away, but the huge steel pylons below it are not. One would expect these rusting hulks to damage marine ecosystems, but surprisingly, they have had the opposite effect!

Offshore oil and gas rigs that have been decommissioned have become safe havens for a variety of marine life! The subsurface rig (the part below the water) provides the ideal skeleton for coral reefs to build on! Decommissioned oil rigs in America are the most productive man-made marine habitats in the world. They provide marine wildlife with food, shelter from predators and a safe breeding ground.

Since 1984, the U.S. government has encouraged states to turn defunct rigs into reefs. Oil companies on the east coast in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, have converted more than 500 rigs into artificial reefs. In fact, the rigs in the Gulf of Mexico have become hotspots for diving, snorkelling and recreational fishing.

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Which is the smallest island nation?

The world’s smallest republic as well as the smallest island nation is Nauru. Located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, this island is about 1,300 km to the northeast of the Solomon Islands. Its closest neighbour is the island of Banaba in Kiribati, which is about 300 km to the east. Nauru does not have an official capital, but its government offices are located in the district of Yaren.

People from Micronesia settled here around 1000 BCE, and Nauru was made a colony by the German Empire in the late 19th century. After World War I, the League of Nations authorised Australia, New Zealand, and the Kingdom to jointly administer Nauru. Later, during the Second World War, it was occupied by Japanese troops. After the war came to an end, the country became a part of the United Nations trusteeship and gained its independence in 1968. It became a member of the Pacific Community (PC) in 1969.

Nauru’s constitution offers fundamental rights and freedoms for individuals. The country has a government that combines parliamentary and presidential systems. Its parliament has members elected by Nauruan citizens aged 20 and older, and it serves a tenure of three years unless dissolved by a vote of no confidence. This parliament elects the president, who acts as the head of both the state and the government. Nauru accepts aid from Australia and is sometimes called a client state of Australia.

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