Death Valley, USA

The Hottest Place Resurrection


Walkers-Rail-Zabriskie-Point-Valley-Death-California-USA
Casal walks along an abrasive trail near Zabriskie Point.
bad water
Badwater Salt Flat One of the salt flats that cover Death Valley.
Erosion pattern
Eroded slope next to Zabriskie Point.
A Dantesque View
Infernal view of Death Valley from the top of a surrounding elevation.
Vastness-Dunes-Eureka-Death-Valley-California-USA
The softness of Eureka's low dunes reinforces the ruggedness of the mountains behind.
Even more DIP
Traffic sign marks an additional depression in the already deep Death Valley (86 meters) below sea level.
Erosion Sculpture
A scene worn out by the rare but abrasive rains that hit Death Valley from time to time.
Eureka
Footprints in the dunes of Eureka.
Vastness-Dunes-Eureka-Death-Valley-California-USA
The softness of Eureka's low dunes reinforces the ruggedness of the mountains behind.
Car-travels-Death-Valley-California-United States-of-America
Car travels along a straight line across a colorful but inhospitable plain of Death Valley
117 F -
Car thermometer reads 117 degrees Fahrenheit, still a few dozen kilometers from the heart of Death Valley.
Since 1921, Al Aziziyah, in Libya, was considered the hottest place on the planet. But the controversy surrounding the 58th measured there meant that, 99 years later, the title was returned to Death Valley.

It wasn't the first time we left Seal Beach, outside Los Angeles, for long road trips through California and other states in the American West.

This time, however, Aunt Lily and Uncle Guy – that's how we got used to treating these family members from across the world – seemed more restless than usual and repeated the same request over and over again: “Don't forget to call, OK ? At least when they get to the hotels. See if you don't forget!"

We resisted curiosity for some time. It's just when we're about to ask why we're so worried that Uncle Guy shows up with six or seven pallets of water bottles to put in the trunk and we solve the mystery: Death Valley!

They were afraid of Death Valley and that we wouldn't resist it.

We do our best to reassure the hosts. As soon as the mission seems accomplished, we head out onto the asphalt of Orange County, aimed at the depths of California.

Dante's View, Death Valley, California, United States of America

Infernal view of Death Valley from Dante's Viewpoint.

Toward the Dantesque Depths of California

We traveled hundreds of miles off Highway 15, largely through the Mojave Desert. We passed the lost city in the nothingness of Barstow. Shortly thereafter, we cut north.

As we complete the final miles of the route on Highway 190, the temperature visibly rises. The car's phosphor-green digital thermometer only reports it in Fahrenheit and it's with surprising leaps on this scale that we see how the furnace intensifies on the outside: 103F … 107F … 109F…

Car thermometer reads 117 degrees Fahrenheit, still a few dozen kilometers from the heart of Death Valley.

By the time we reach Dante's View, the heat is already 47.2º (117F) and we're still well above the salt-covered depression sunk by consecutive prehistoric earthquakes at the foot of the Panamint mountain range.

BadWater Basin is part of that faraway view. Marks the deepest point in North America.

There, some water springs to the surface from the subsoil, but the salinization is such that, however much thirsty mule caravans have wanted to drink throughout the history of the West, that spring only served as a salvation for intrepid algae, insects and snails that continue to colonize it.

Badwater Basin, Death Valley, California, United States of America

Badwater Salt Flat One of the salt flats that cover Death Valley.

too hot to bear

The day progresses and is cooked by solar radiation. To prevent the same from happening to us, we return to the interior of the car's greenhouse and, while inverting towards the residential heart of the valley, we turn on the air conditioning at its maximum strength.

Along the way, we still detour to take a look at the Natural Bridge Canyon and the steep but insignificant route to the first shadow afforded by the canyon proves to be a kind of torture inflicted by the burning, dry air in the lungs.

Natural Bridge, Death Valley, California, United States of America

Visitor walks along the slope that leads to Natural Bridge.

We drive along the colorful slopes of Artist Drive when we notice that the sun is already down. It occurs to us that we'd better recover from exhaustion in the refrigerated environment of Furnace Creek, before embarking on new forays.

A bar will secure us and other visitors with sprinklers the full length of its arch. Inside, we find cold lemonade and the drink complements that merciful treatment.

Timbisha's Resilient Native-Dwellers

For other reasons that only they and their gods will be aware of, the Timbisha Indians have inhabited Death Valley and the Furnace Creek oasis for centuries, and the tribe even has a reserve in the area.

There are, today, only 15 or 16 elements, but they form the majority of the local population, which has decreased to 24 people. Once upon a time, the community was far more significant and provided the artisans and workers who helped erect the Fred Harvey company's original resort buildings as well as the park infrastructure.

Long before that, other companies had explored the geological riches of the valley, such as the Pacific Coast Borax Company, which, using 20 pairs of mules, extracted the mineral and transported it across the Mojave desert to sell to chemical companies and produce the ore. his then famous Boraxo soap.

At the time, the place that hosted the facilities was called Greenland Ranch, a name that never eluded the workers, massacred by the sun day after day.

Artist Drive road sign, Death Valley, California, United States of America

A plaque identifies Artist Drive, an area so named for the color palette of the surrounding slopes

58th: Too Hot to Be True

1913 turned out to be an extraordinary weather year, with much more intense heat than usual. On July 10, the meteorological station of the village recorded 56.7º.

In that same month, a sequence of 5 days with a maximum of 54º or higher had been verified and, coincidence or not, on January 8th, Death Valley had experienced its lowest winter temperature: -10º. The positive record did not take long to have competition.

Since 1919, the Italian military stationed at a base located 55 km south of Tripoli, carried out extreme temperature measurements. Three years later, the authorities reported having obtained a 58th in Al-Aziziyah, on September 13, 1922.

This value has gained widespread acceptance of the highest temperature in the world, recorded under standard conditions. The record is still found in countless geographical works and school textbooks, but it has encountered many opponents over time.

Amilcare Fantoli and Al-Azizyah's Mismeasurement

One of them, the Italian physicist Amilcare Fantoli, analyzed the conditions under which the measurement had been carried out. He questioned them in several dedicated articles and clarified in volume 18 of the Rivista di Meteorologia Aeronautica, 1958: “in 1922, we could not help but believe in the number shown, also explicitly confirmed via radio, by the military located in El-Aziz, ( another one of Al-Azizyah's graphics) that had remained isolated for some time for strategic reasons and, shortly afterwards, by observing the record sheets… when it was possible to see these data… “.

After exhaustively describing the instruments and procedures used in the measurement, Fantoli opined that “the maximum extreme temperature would have been only 56°C”.

Valley carved by erosion, Death Valley, California, United States of AmericaA scene worn out by the rare but abrasive rains that hit Death Valley from time to time.

Last September 17th, OMM – the United Nations meteorological agency – communicated the result of an investigation carried out in 2010 and 2011 by a panel of experts from Libya, Italy, Spain, Egyptians, French, Moroccans, Argentines, North -Americans and British who concluded that there were five distinct problems with the measurement of Al-Azizyah.

Miscellaneous Flaws and the Old Record's Geographical Improbability

The first thing to consider was the problematic instrumentation: the station's usual thermometer had recently been damaged and was replaced by a conventional one similar to those used in greenhouses. It was then pointed out to a more than likely inexperienced observer who the OMM concluded to have made the measurement based on the opposite end of the cylinder inside the thermometer.

It was also noted the fact that “the measuring point is placed on an asphalt-like material not representative of the native desert soil and, finally, “the poor equivalence of that extreme temperature compared to those recorded in nearby locations and poor temperature equivalence records registered in the same place”.

Notwithstanding the hot Ghibli winds, which blow from the heart of the Sahara Desert over the Jabal Nafusah mountains and are warmed as they descend from the north-facing slopes, a distance from Al-Azizyah to the Mediterranean Sea did not seem to allow such an extreme temperature.

When checking the data from surrounding places for that date – Tripoli, Sidi Mesri, Homs, Zuara Marina, among others – all were far below expectations, in some cases as much as 20º.

Slope below Zabriskie Point, Death Valley, California, United States of America

Eroded slope next to Zabriskie Point.

99 years later, a Death Valley hotter than ever

By way of final condemnation, the experts concluded that the 1922 measurement would have been about 7 degrees centigrade higher than the real value. The agency recently announced its invalidation and the rehabilitation of the 1913 Greenland Ranch record.

The measure was long overdue and commented on. In November 2010, the Daily Telegraph, for example, had already published an ironic article with the title “Broken Thermometer led to a record breaker".

The few inhabitants of Death Valley and the USA, in general, received the news with great pleasure. The title of the hottest place carries the same weight to meteorologists as that of Mount Everest does to geographers.

Its reconquest should bring increased notoriety and many more intrigued outsiders who, like us, visit it in the middle of the summer for the privilege of proving its harsh climate reality. But in the past, some visitors did not understand or respect it properly. It was dear to them.

The Martian View from Zabriskie Point

We lack the patience to wait for it to cool down. Furnace Creek and Death Valley are still scalding when we leave the bar and get back behind the wheel.

We point to the famous Zabriskie Point, a section of the Amargosa Range that was once submerged by the prehistoric lake of Furnace Creek that was nicknamed Christian Brevoort Zabriskie, vice president and manager of the Pacific Coast Borax Company.

From the top of the viewpoint, you can see the trails that cross the Badlands extraterrestrial surface. The course's winding lines invite adventure, but a warning from Death Valley National Park warns of the risks involved and does not shy away from describing one of the past tragedies to demobilize the most unwary.

Hikers below Zabriskie Point, Death Valley, California, United States of America

Casal walks along an abrasive trail near Zabriskie Point.

Ingrid and Gerhard Jonas: Death in the Valley. Two.

Only a few days had elapsed from Ingrid and Gerhard Jonas's North American vacation when they arrived in Death Valley. The guide they used described the eccentricity of the scenery between the Golden Canyon and Zabriskie Point. Gerhard was used to much longer walks.

Badly advised by the apparent insignificance of the 4.8km route and the proximity to the village of Furnace Creek, he dismissed the fact that it was June and it was already midday, that the temperature was 37º and would increase a lot. It was also wrong to conclude that less than a liter of water would be enough to stay hydrated.

They agreed that Ingrid would drive to the other end of the route and they would meet at Zabriskie Point, from where she could even watch him approaching in the colorful landscape.

Three hours later, Ingrid saw no sign of her husband. He warned the park rangers and they started a search under a temperature of 45°C. A brief flyover of the service plane revealed an unconscious Gerhard in the lower lands of Gower Gulch. The rangers caught up with him an hour and a half after the alert.

He had succumbed to heatstroke and exhaustion just 5 hours after leaving his wife. Death Valley lived up to its name and claimed a new victim. Since the mid-90s there have been at least twelve. Out of curiosity, the careless use of GPS's that rented vehicles are equipped with contributed to some of the cases.

Warm tones in a scorching valley

Car travels along a straight line across a colorful but inhospitable plain of Death Valley

The Extreme and Eccentric Profile of Death Valley

In terms of geology and geography, Death Valley justifies both record-breaking temperatures and some apprehension and fear. No other exhibits such a radical combination of depth and morphology, the main reason for extreme summer temperatures.

Death Valley forms a long, tight basin located 85 meters below sea level. Although depressing, it is enclosed by imminent steep mountains and more distant ones, with obvious peaks at Mount Telescope (3367 m) – the most prominent in the Panamint range – and at Mount Whitney (4.421m), this, the highest elevation in the States Contiguous United, just 136 km away.

There are four mountain ranges that retain the clouds coming from the Pacific Ocean. The same ones that force them to rise and unload in the form of rain or snow, still on their western slopes. Those coming from the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico, in particular, are too far away to be able to get there with significant frequency.

Accordingly, the air over Death Valley is dry and thin, and its sparse vegetation invites the sun to warm the desert's surface. The heat radiating from the rocks and soil rises but is trapped between the surrounding slopes and is forced down.

Downward air pockets are only slightly warmer than the surrounding air. As they return to the ground, the low atmospheric pressure puts them under a strong compression and heats up even more than at the source.

Death Valley's Panoply of Recording Temperatures

From June to October, the repetition of this process results in the highest atmospheric temperatures on the face of the Earth, a phenomenon that can drag on with no apparent end. In 2001, the Death Valley Summer had 154 consecutive days with highs above 37º.

In 1996, it was forty days above the 48th and one hundred and five over 43rd. On the morning of the 12th of July, Death Valley beat two other not-so-happy but relevant records. Just before sunrise, Furnace Creek's thermometer had dropped from a daytime high of 53.3° to a modicum of 41.7°.

Thus, the highest minimum temperature on the face of the Earth and its highest average temperature in 24 hours were recorded: 47.5º.

Eureka Dunes, Death Valley, California, United States of America

Footprints in the dunes of Eureka.

On the date we explore it, instead, the late afternoon provides a fairly acceptable respite that we take advantage of to examine other nooks and crannies: the small bus station at Stovepipe Wells, the ruins of the Harmony Borax Works, the Mustard Canyon, and the expansions of dunes of Mesquite and Eureka.

However, the big star falls behind the Panamint mountain range. Shadow sets in, then twilight and then darkness. Despite the pseudo-coolness of the night, Death Valley was, once again, the hottest place on the planet's surface.

Key West, USA

The Tropical Wild West of the USA

We've come to the end of the Overseas Highway and the ultimate stronghold of propagandism Florida Keys. The continental United States here they surrender to a dazzling turquoise emerald marine vastness. And to a southern reverie fueled by a kind of Caribbean spell.
Damaraland, Namíbia

Namibia On the Rocks

Hundreds of kilometers north of Swakopmund, many more of Swakopmund's iconic dunes Sossuvlei, Damaraland is home to deserts interspersed with hills of reddish rock, the highest mountain and ancient rock art of the young nation. the settlers South Africans they named this region after the Damara, one of the Namibian ethnic groups. Only these and other inhabitants prove that it remains on Earth.
tombstone, USA

Tombstone: the City Too Hard to Die

Silver veins discovered at the end of the XNUMXth century made Tombstone a prosperous and conflictive mining center on the frontier of the United States to Mexico. Lawrence Kasdan, Kurt Russell, Kevin Costner and other Hollywood directors and actors made famous the Earp brothers and the bloodthirsty duel of “OK Corral”. The Tombstone, which, over time, has claimed so many lives, is about to last.
Grand Canyon, USA

Journey through the Abysmal North America

The Colorado River and tributaries began flowing into the plateau of the same name 17 million years ago and exposed half of Earth's geological past. They also carved one of its most stunning entrails.
Monument Valley, USA

Indians or Cowboys?

Iconic Western filmmakers like John Ford immortalized what is the largest Indian territory in the United States. Today, in the Navajo Nation, the Navajo also live in the shoes of their old enemies.
Las Vegas, USA

Where sin is always forgiven

Projected from the Mojave Desert like a neon mirage, the North American capital of gaming and entertainment is experienced as a gamble in the dark. Lush and addictive, Vegas neither learns nor regrets.
Navajo nation, USA

The Navajo Nation Lands

From Kayenta to Page, passing through Marble Canyon, we explore the southern Colorado Plateau. Dramatic and desert, the scenery of this indigenous domain, cut out in Arizona, reveals itself to be splendid.
Atacama Desert, Chile

Life on the Edges of the Atacama Desert

When you least expect it, the driest place in the world reveals new extraterrestrial scenarios on a frontier between the inhospitable and the welcoming, the sterile and the fertile that the natives are used to crossing.
Las Vegas, USA

World Capital of Weddings vs Sin City

The greed of the game, the lust of prostitution and the widespread ostentation are all part of Las Vegas. Like the chapels that have neither eyes nor ears and promote eccentric, quick and cheap marriages.
Las Vegas, USA

The Sin City Cradle

The famous Strip has not always focused the attention of Las Vegas. Many of its hotels and casinos replicated the neon glamor of the street that once stood out, Fremont Street.
Florida Keys, USA

The Caribbean Stepping Stone of the USA

Os United States continental islands seem to close to the south in its capricious peninsula of Florida. Don't stop there. More than a hundred islands of coral, sand and mangroves form an eccentric tropical expanse that has long seduced American vacationers.
Miami, USA

A Masterpiece of Urban Rehabilitation

At the turn of the 25st century, the Wynwood neighbourhood remained filled with abandoned factories and warehouses and graffiti. Tony Goldman, a shrewd real estate investor, bought more than XNUMX properties and founded a mural park. Much more than honoring graffiti there, Goldman founded the Wynwood Arts District, the great bastion of creativity in Miami.
Miami beach, USA

The Beach of All Vanities

Few coasts concentrate, at the same time, so much heat and displays of fame, wealth and glory. Located in the extreme southeast of the USA, Miami Beach is accessible via six bridges that connect it to the rest of Florida. It is meager for the number of souls who desire it.
Little Havana, USA

Little Havana of the Nonconformists

Over the decades and until today, thousands of Cubans have crossed the Florida Straits in search of the land of freedom and opportunity. With the US a mere 145 km away, many have gone no further. His Little Havana in Miami is today the most emblematic neighborhood of the Cuban diaspora.
Mount Denali, Alaska

The Sacred Ceiling of North America

The Athabascan Indians called him Denali, or the Great, and they revered his haughtiness. This stunning mountain has aroused the greed of climbers and a long succession of record-breaking climbs.
Juneau, Alaska

The Little Capital of Greater Alaska

From June to August, Juneau disappears behind cruise ships that dock at its dockside. Even so, it is in this small capital that the fate of the 49th American state is decided.
Talkeetna, Alaska

Talkeetna's Alaska-Style Life

Once a mere mining outpost, Talkeetna rejuvenated in 1950 to serve Mt. McKinley climbers. The town is by far the most alternative and most captivating town between Anchorage and Fairbanks.
San Francisco, USA

San Francisco Cable Cars: A Life of Highs and Lows

A macabre wagon accident inspired the San Francisco cable car saga. Today, these relics work as a charm operation in the city of fog, but they also have their risks.
Mauna Kea, Hawaii

Mauna Kea: the Volcano with an Eye out in Space

The roof of Hawaii was off-limits to natives because it housed benevolent deities. But since 1968, several nations sacrificed the peace of the gods and built the greatest astronomical station on the face of the Earth.
pearl harbor, Hawaii

The Day Japan Went Too Far

On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked the Pearl Harbor military base. Today, parts of Hawaii look like Japanese colonies but the US will never forget the outrage.
Residents walk along the trail that runs through plantations above the UP4
City
Gurué, Mozambique, Part 1

Through the Mozambican Lands of Tea

The Portuguese founded Gurué in the 1930th century and, from XNUMX onwards, flooded it with camellia sinensis the foothills of the Namuli Mountains. Later, they renamed it Vila Junqueiro, in honor of its main promoter. With the independence of Mozambique and the civil war, the town regressed. It continues to stand out for the lush green imposing mountains and teak landscapes.
Skipper of one of the bangkas at Raymen Beach Resort during a break from sailing
Beach
Islands Guimaras  e  Ave Maria, Philippines

Towards Ave Maria Island, in a Philippines full of Grace

Discovering the Western Visayas archipelago, we set aside a day to travel from Iloilo along the northwest coast of Guimaras. The beach tour along one of the Philippines’ countless pristine coastlines ends on the stunning Ave Maria Island.
Esteros del Iberá, Pantanal Argentina, Alligator
safari
Iberá Wetlands, Argentina

The Pantanal of the Pampas

On the world map, south of the famous brazilian wetland, a little-known flooded region appears, but almost as vast and rich in biodiversity. the Guarani expression Y bera defines it as “shining waters”. The adjective fits more than its strong luminance.
Herd in Manang, Annapurna Circuit, Nepal
Annapurna (circuit)
Annapurna Circuit: 8th Manang, Nepal

Manang: the Last Acclimatization in Civilization

Six days after leaving Besisahar we finally arrived in Manang (3519m). Located at the foot of the Annapurna III and Gangapurna Mountains, Manang is the civilization that pampers and prepares hikers for the ever-dreaded crossing of Thorong La Gorge (5416 m).
Sirocco, Arabia, Helsinki
Architecture & Design
Helsinki, Finland

The Design that Came from the Cold

With much of the territory above the Arctic Circle, Finns respond to the climate with efficient solutions and an obsession with art, aesthetics and modernism inspired by neighboring Scandinavia.
The small lighthouse at Kallur, highlighted in the capricious northern relief of the island of Kalsoy.
Aventura
Kalsoy, Faroe Islands

A Lighthouse at the End of the Faroese World

Kalsoy is one of the most isolated islands in the Faroe archipelago. Also known as “the flute” due to its long shape and the many tunnels that serve it, a mere 75 inhabitants inhabit it. Much less than the outsiders who visit it every year, attracted by the boreal wonder of its Kallur lighthouse.
Tiredness in shades of green
Ceremonies and Festivities
Suzdal, Russia

The Suzdal Cucumber Celebrations

With summer and warm weather, the Russian city of Suzdal relaxes from its ancient religious orthodoxy. The old town is also famous for having the best cucumbers in the nation. When July arrives, it turns the newly harvested into a real festival.
Hiroshima, city surrendered to peace, Japan
Cities
Hiroshima, Japan

Hiroshima: a City Yielded to Peace

On August 6, 1945, Hiroshima succumbed to the explosion of the first atomic bomb used in war. 70 years later, the city fights for the memory of the tragedy and for nuclear weapons to be eradicated by 2020.
Fogón de Lola, great food, Costa Rica, Guápiles
Lunch time
Fogón de Lola Costa Rica

The Costa Rica Flavour of El Fogón de Lola

As the name suggests, the Fogón de Lola de Guapiles serves dishes prepared on the stove and in the oven, according to Costa Rican family tradition. In particular, Tia Lola's.
intersection
Culture
Hungduan, Philippines

Country Style Philippines

The GI's left with the end of World War II, but the music from the interior of the USA that they heard still enlivens the Cordillera de Luzon. It's by tricycle and at your own pace that we visit the Hungduan rice terraces.
Spectator, Melbourne Cricket Ground-Rules footbal, Melbourne, Australia
Sport
Melbourne, Australia

The Football the Australians Rule

Although played since 1841, Australian Football has only conquered part of the big island. Internationalization has never gone beyond paper, held back by competition from rugby and classical football.
Streymoy island, Faroe Islands, Tjornuvik, Giant and Witch
Traveling
streymoy, Faroe Islands

Up Streymoy, drawn to the Island of Currents

We leave the capital Torshavn heading north. We crossed from Vestmanna to the east coast of Streymoy. Until we reach the northern end of Tjornuvík, we are dazzled again and again by the verdant eccentricity of the largest Faroese island.
Colonial Church of San Francisco de Assis, Taos, New Mexico, USA
Ethnic
Taos, USA

North America Ancestor of Taos

Traveling through New Mexico, we were dazzled by the two versions of Taos, that of the indigenous adobe hamlet of Taos Pueblo, one of the towns of the USA inhabited for longer and continuously. And that of Taos city that the Spanish conquerors bequeathed to the Mexico, Mexico gave in to United States and that a creative community of native descendants and migrated artists enhance and continue to praise.
View of Fa Island, Tonga, Last Polynesian Monarchy
Got2Globe Photo Portfolio
Got2Globe Portfolio

Exotic Signs of Life

Gothic couple
History

Matarraña to Alcanar, Spain

A Medieval Spain

Traveling through the lands of Aragon and Valencia, we come across towers and detached battlements of houses that fill the slopes. Mile after kilometer, these visions prove to be as anachronistic as they are fascinating.

Women at Mass. Bora Bora, Society Islands, Polynesia, French
Islands
Bora-Bora, Raiatea, Huahine, French Polynesia

An Intriguing Trio of Societies

In the idyllic heart of the vast Pacific Ocean, the Society Archipelago, part of French Polynesia, beautifies the planet as an almost perfect creation of Nature. We explored it for a long time from Tahiti. The last few days we dedicate them to Bora Bora, Huahine and Raiatea.
Hikers walk on snowshoes in the Urho Kekkonen National Park
Winter White
saariselka, Finland

Through the (not so) highlands of Finland

West of Mount Sokosti (718m) and the immense Urho Kekkonen National Park, Saariselkä has developed as a nature escape hub. Having arrived from Ivalo, it is there that we set up base for a series of new experiences and adventures. Some 250 freezing km north of the Arctic Circle.
Cove, Big Sur, California, United States
Literature
Big Sur, USA

The Coast of All Refuges

Over 150km, the Californian coast is subjected to a vastness of mountains, ocean and fog. In this epic setting, hundreds of tormented souls follow in the footsteps of Jack Kerouac and Henri Miller.
Incandescent Mouth, Big Island Hawaii, Volcanoes National Park, Lava Rivers
Nature
Big Island, Hawaii

Searching for Rivers of Lava

There are five volcanoes that make the big island of Hawaii grow day by day. Kilauea, the most active on Earth, is constantly releasing lava. Despite this, we live a kind of epic to envision it.
Sheki, Autumn in the Caucasus, Azerbaijan, Autumn Homes
Autumn
Sheki, Azerbaijan

autumn in the caucasus

Lost among the snowy mountains that separate Europe from Asia, Sheki is one of Azerbaijan's most iconic towns. Its largely silky history includes periods of great harshness. When we visited it, autumn pastels added color to a peculiar post-Soviet and Muslim life.
Soufrière and Pitons, Saint Luci
Natural Parks
Soufriere, Saint Lucia

The Great Pyramids of the Antilles

Perched above a lush coastline, the twin peaks Pitons are the hallmark of Saint Lucia. They have become so iconic that they have a place in the highest notes of East Caribbean Dollars. Right next door, residents of the former capital Soufrière know how precious their sight is.
Jerusalem God, Israel, Golden City
UNESCO World Heritage
Jerusalem, Israel

Closer to God

Three thousand years of history as mystical as it is troubled come to life in Jerusalem. Worshiped by Christians, Jews and Muslims, this city radiates controversy but attracts believers from all over the world.
female and cub, grizzly footsteps, katmai national park, alaska
Characters
PN Katmai, Alaska

In the Footsteps of the Grizzly Man

Timothy Treadwell spent summers on end with the bears of Katmai. Traveling through Alaska, we followed some of its trails, but unlike the species' crazy protector, we never went too far.
Surf Lesson, Waikiki, Oahu, Hawaii
Beaches
Waikiki, OahuHawaii

The Japanese Invasion of Hawaii

Decades after the attack on Pearl Harbor and from the capitulation in World War II, the Japanese returned to Hawaii armed with millions of dollars. Waikiki, his favorite target, insists on surrendering.
Boat on the Yellow River, Gansu, China
Religion
Bingling Yes, China

The Canyon of a Thousand Buddhas

For more than a millennium and at least seven dynasties, Chinese devotees have extolled their religious belief with the legacy of sculpture in a remote strait of the Yellow River. If you disembark in the Canyon of Thousand Buddhas, you may not find all the sculptures, but you will find a stunning Buddhist shrine.
Serra do Mar train, Paraná, airy view
On Rails
Curitiba a Morretes, Paraná, Brazil

Down Paraná, on Board the Train Serra do Mar

For more than two centuries, only a winding and narrow road connected Curitiba to the coast. Until, in 1885, a French company opened a 110 km railway. We walked along it to Morretes, the final station for passengers today. 40km from the original coastal terminus of Paranaguá.
Pachinko Salon, Video Addiction, Japan
Society
Tokyo, Japan

Pachinko: The Video Addiction That Depresses Japan

It started as a toy, but the Japanese appetite for profit quickly turned pachinko into a national obsession. Today, there are 30 million Japanese surrendered to these alienating gaming machines.
Women with long hair from Huang Luo, Guangxi, China
Daily life
Longsheng, China

Huang Luo: the Chinese Village of the Longest Hairs

In a multi-ethnic region covered with terraced rice paddies, the women of Huang Luo have surrendered to the same hairy obsession. They let the longest hair in the world grow, years on end, to an average length of 170 to 200 cm. Oddly enough, to keep them beautiful and shiny, they only use water and rice.
Amboseli National Park, Mount Kilimanjaro, Normatior Hill
Wildlife
Amboseli National Park, Kenya

A Gift from the Kilimanjaro

The first European to venture into these Masai haunts was stunned by what he found. And even today, large herds of elephants and other herbivores roam the pastures irrigated by the snow of Africa's biggest mountain.
The Sounds, Fiordland National Park, New Zealand
Scenic Flights
Fiordland, New Zealand

The Fjords of the Antipodes

A geological quirk made the Fiordland region the rawest and most imposing in New Zealand. Year after year, many thousands of visitors worship the sub-domain slashed between Te Anau and Milford Sound.