Machu Picchu By: Ben There are cool places in this world. One of them is Machu Picchu. Machu Picchu was built around 1450 by the Inca Empire. It was built 70km from Cuzco, which is now the capital of the Inca civilization. Machu Picchu was found by Hiram Bingham in 1911, but it was found in ruins. There are ruins of palaces, temples,fortresses, and stone aqueducts. Scientists are trying to repair it now. People call this place the “Lost City� because the jungle had taken over until Hiram Bingham found it. The ruins were revealed after the vegetation was removed. Machu Picchu is one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. Machu Picchu has become a famous touring place all over the world. The history of Machu Picchu is very important and cool. The history all
started out after the two sacred buildings were built. The buildings are: Temple of the Sun, and Room of Three Windows also including the Intihuatana, which is a sacred stone. The Incas had no writing or wheels, but were excellent builders. The empire was made up of jungles, mountains and deserts. The Incas lived on the Andes Mountains. The Incas believed that their rulers were descended from their sun god,
Inti. They had many other gods such as the nature god, the moon god, weather god, planet god, etc. Every mountaintop was a god as well. They would hold festivals for their gods. They sacrificed animals, and sometimes human beings. There were several punishments for doing stuff against the gods, for example someone who cursed their gods were thrown off a cliff. Whoever was caught cheating had their limbs cut off. But fortunately, crime was rare in Machu Picchu. In the sixteenth century, Machu Picchu was destroyed by the Spanish. It was believed that the Spanish brought the disease, smallpox. But now Machu Picchu is now one of the new Seven Wonders of the World and is a cool place to visit.
Temple of the Sun
Intihuatana Room of Three Windows
POMPEII by:Ryan One of the best preserved ancient cities is Pompeii! It was built in 79 A.D. when the city was covered in ash. Since the city was covered in 13-20 ft. of ash,it was preserved and nothing was destroyed! The Romans were the ones who built it. It was later destroyed by the volcano Vesuvius.
Pompeii was a Roman city in Italy. When in 79 ad Vesuvius spit out 13-20 ft of ash. This ash covered the city and preserved the city. Today scientist get a look in what the ancient city was like. Since the ash covered it,is not in perfect condition,so things like paper and some wood is gone. Today Pompeii is located near Naples, Italy.
The Easter Island Statues by:Stephanie The Easter Island statues have been a mystery for many years. However, through hard studies and investigations, scientist have figured out many things about them. There are over 900 of these statues, or Moai, which is their proper name. They are located on Easter
Island, which is only 64 square
miles! There are still
some people living there, but it
is one of the most
isolated islands in the world.
Although most people
just call them Easter Island
heads, they actually have
torsos buried in the earth
beneath them. The Moai are made from the solidified volcanic ash of the Rano Raraku Volcano, and have an average weight and height of fourteen tons and 13 feet. This area is now a national park. Scientists have made many breakthroughs since they first discovered the island. Not much is known about the Moai or the people who built them. Over time, however, scientists have found clues and
speculated
what might have happened. These statues
were built
around 1250-1500 A.D., by the early Rapa
Nui people.
The Moai represented ancestors that had
died and
declared godly. They were very important to the people. The people would visit them,
laying offerings at their base. They thought that if they did this the dead would then provide them with all of the resources necessary for life. These things may include good health, fertile soil, water, food, and more. Scientists believe that the island’s natural resources were overused and the people could not live there any more. The Rapa Nui toppled the statues that remained standing after their civilization broke down. Scientists and archaeologists have now uncovered these statues and have returned them to their rightful place. Some of Easter Island’s past has been discovered, but these amazing statues leave so many more to be answered.
The Galapagos Islands By: Joshua The Galapagos Islands were found by Fray Tomas de Berlanga, the fourth bishop of Panama. He found them on March 10, 1535. They are located in the center of five ocean currents. The islands are the home to the only breeding penguin in the Northern Hemisphere. There are lizards that swim in the ocean called marine iguanas. The Galapagos Islands have more than 800 species of mollusks. There are lots of fish, but one kind of fish can only be found in the Galapagos. The islands were the home to a 90 year-old giant Pinta tortoise named Lonesome George. He died in June 2012 and may have been the only one left of his kind.
The Galapagos Islands are located 575 miles west of the continental Ecuador. They were believed to be made by the interaction of Plate Tectonics and Hot Spot
Volcanism. In 1570, mapmaker Abraham Ortelius plotted the Galapagos Islands, calling them Isolas de Galapagos, or “Islands of the Tortoises”, based on sailors’ descriptions of the many tortoises inhabiting the islands. In the 17th century the islands were a popular hideout for british buccaneers. And by the 18th century, British whalers tried to set up an industry center there. In 1807 Patrick Watkins became the first human settler on the islands. And in 1835 Charles Darwin visited the islands. And by 1934 the 1st legislation to protect the islands was enacted. Some other facts include the population on the islands is approximately 25,000. The main language on the islands is Spanish. The major islands consist of Baltra (South Seymour) Island, Bartolome (Bartholomew) Island, Darwin (Culpepper) Island, Espanola (Hood) Island, Fernandina (Narborough) Island, Floreana (Charles or Santa Maria) Island, Genovesa (Tower) Island, Isabela (Albemarle) Island (Ecuador), Marchena (Bindloe) Island, North Seymour Island, Pizon (Duncan) Island, Pinta (Abingdon) Island, Rabida (Jervis) Island, San Cristobal (Chatham) Island, Santa Cruz (Indefatigable) Island (Galapagos), Santa Fe (Barrington) Island, Santiago (San Salvador or James) Island (Galapagos), and Wolf (Wenman) Island. The minor islands consist of Daphne Major, South Plaza Island, and Nameless Island.
The Great Wall of China By Paul The Great Wall of China is 13,170 miles long. There and a lot of tours there every year.People from all around the world visit the Great Wall of China. The Great Wall of China is made out of bricks and stone. The wall is believed to be 2,300 years old. It is believed be made in 220-206 BC. The Great Wall of China is amazing.The Great Wall of Great Wall of China i.The Great Wall of China is believed to be 2,300 years old.The purpose of the Great Wall of China was for defense. The Great Wall was attacked so it was built stronger and was not easily attacked.It took 2,000 years to make.ThGreat Wall oe f China is still standing even though it is so od and its still standing.
The Mecca By Elbert The Mecca is a religious landmark that is the base of the Muslim religion. It is said that the Prophet Muhammad was born here. Many Muslims come here to worship. The Grand Mosque is the architectural building around the “sacred� black stone and was made in 7th century. If non-muslims try to go inside, the guards will stop you because only Muslims are allowed inside. The Mecca is made of black rock (meteorite), stone, and brick. At night it is lit up by electronic lights. Every year, an average of 2 million people visit and worship. Thats more people than the population of St. Louis! If travelers want to know what time it is, they can look up, way up, at the Royal Mecca Clock Tower. It is the second largest building on earth towering at 1,972 ft. So they don't only have the Mecca, they have the second largest building to view and visit.
The Taj Mahal By:Trinity The Taj Mahal is one of the most wonderful landmarks of the world. This
landmark is located in India. The
Taj Mahal was
commissioned in 1963 by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan. The Taj Mahal has been standing for more than 20 years. The tomb of Mumtaz is the Persian princess’s tomb. The Taj Mahal was named after
the Persian princess, Mumtaz Mahal. This landmark took 21 years to build. About 2 to 4 million people visit the Taj Mahal every year and nearly a quarter million of those people arrive from different countries. One of the amazing things about the Taj Mahal is it’s made of marble. The dome on the Taj Mahal is called an onion dome and is 35 meters tall. The Taj Mahal itself is 171 meters in other words 561 feet tall! That is taller than the Pyramid of Giza. The Taj Mahal has
beautiful marble in every room. The queen of Mumtaz’s tomb
is
pure marble and that is one of the most popular rooms to visit
in the
Taj Mahal.
St. Basil’s Cathedral By: Eric Miller St. Basil’s Cathedral is a stone church in Red Square, Moscow. It was built from 1555 to 1561 totalling 6 years of building the church. St Basil’s Cathedral’s full title is the Cathedral of the Protection of Most Holy Theotokos on the Moat. The cathedral was given the nickname "St. Basil's" after the "holy fool" Basil the Blessed, who at that time, was hugely popular with the Muscovites masses and even with Ivan, the Terrible, himself. The architect of St. Basil’s Cathedral was Postnik Yakovlev. Legend has it that the man who payed Postnik to design St. Basil’s Cathedral ordered the people under his command to blind Postnik so he could never design something of the same beauty. St. Basil's Cathedral was primarily built by 'Ivan the Terrible', to commemorate the capture of the Tartar Stronghold of Kazan. The cathedral was consecrated on the 12th of July, the Day of Apostles Peter and Paul, 450 years ago. Its fate is so interesting that it has been decided to hold an international academic conference named The Cathedral of the Holy Veil of the Mother of God in Russian History. There are many
legends of St. Basil's cathedral, so this one may not be true. Napoleon wanted to take the landmark from its home to his own home, France, but because of no such technology he decided to have his army blow it up. His army had the dynamite and gunpowder ready, but a rainstorm stopped anything that Napoleon’s army had set up to destroy the church.
Angkor Wat Temple by: Jacob The Angkor Wat Temple is the center of the city of Angkor Wat. It was built of stone in the 12th century. The city that surrounded it covered more land that modern day Paris and used more stone than the Great Pyramid. It was built by the Camar people and took them 30 years to build. It was stumbled upon by a Cambodian Natural Scientist. travelers can now go in it along with the sea of other people that go to see this amazing monument. With all the people that go there and all the great pictures, it is definitely a hot spot.
The history of Angkor Wat is pretty cool. Angkor Wat was originally built for the god Vishnu. There was a lot of mystery surrounding why it was built. Some researchers think it was to bury the King Suryavarman II or to become a temple for the city, Angkor Wat. There were a lot of Camar people so it was built rather fast for back then. In 1860, a Cambodian naturalist stumbled across it and that is how we know about it. Since then it has been a big attraction for many travelers in or around Cambodia. The temple and city of Angkor
Wat will remain a great place for a very long time.
The Eiffel Tower by: Mikayla The Eiffel Tower a great place where everyone dreams of going, but most people do not pay attention to the history of this great monument. Only one person was killed while building the Eiffel Tower. It took 50 engineers, 5300 blueprints, and 121 workers to build the Eiffel Tower. It took about 2 years to build the Eiffel Tower and cost 1.5 million dollars to build it.The Eiffel Tower was built by Alexandre Gustave Eiffel. Also, it is made of 9,941 tons of steel. The tower is 984 ft. tall and has 18,038 individual pieces. It is made of 4 base legs that are 80 meters apart from each other. Also, it is 50 meters above the ground. The Eiffel Tower has been painted 6 different colors in its history. All of the different colors were shades of brown. It takes 50 tons of paint to color the Eiffel tower. It was built from 1887-1889. The Eiffel Tower is a great place to go and brings a lot of tourist to Paris.
The Eiffel Tower has a great amount of history behind it. This tower was built a little bit after the French Revolution had ended. The
Eiffel Tower was built for 2 things: the French Revolution and to honor Alexandre Gustave Eiffel.The Wright brothers had taken off in their first biplane in Paris, France the same place were the Eiffel Tower was built. The Eiffel Tower built for the international Exhibition of Paris of 1889 commemorating the centenary of French Revolution. It gained such importance to the French people that there was no more thought of demolishing it.
Petra By: Eli
Petra is a tall structure carved into the side of a mountain near the city of Ma’an, in the country of Jordan. It is referred to in the bible as the cleft in the rock, or as the rock. It was
established as early as
312 B.C.E. Scientist think that
settlements had begun
around Petra as early as the
eighteenth dynasty of
Egypt (1550–1292 B.C.E). The
city was made relatively
late in the ancient world.
580,000 people visited it in
2007. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was filmed in Petra. Petra was chosen by the Smithsonian Magazine as one of the "28 Places to See Before You Die.” The Battle of Giza was fought when Petra was built. It was described as "a rose-red city half as old as time," said John William Burgon. He also wrote this poem about Perta. The Poem was awarded the in Newdigate Prize in 1845.
The poem is called Petra: It seems no work of Man's creative hand, by labour wrought as wavering fancy planned; But from the rock as if by magic grown, eternal, silent, beautiful, alone! Not virgin-white like that old Doric shrine, where erst Athena held her rites divine; Not saintly-grey, like many a minster fane, that crowns the hill and consecrates the plain; But rose-red as if the blush of dawn, that first beheld them were not yet withdrawn; The hues of youth upon a brow of woe, which Man deemed old two thousand years ago, match me such marvel save in Eastern clime, a rose-red city half as old as time.
The Great Petra was
built to worship the Egyptian gods.
The habits of the original
natives may
have influenced the
Nabataean custom of burying
the dead and offering worship in
half-excavated caves. The
temple was mainly used for
religious purposes. Leading
into Petra there is a long, narrow,
passageway called Siq. The
narrow gorge is only 9.8 feet wide
in some areas.
Petra is carved in a mountain called en-Nejr. Petra is one of the best tourist attractions in the world. UNESCO described is as “one of the most precious cultural properties of man’s cultural heritage.” All around Petra is a great place to visit, at least I think so!
The Leaning Tower of Pisa By Ellie The Leaning Tower of Pisa is in the city of Pisa, Italy. Pisa got its name in 600 BC from a Greek word meaning “marshy land.” The tower has the height of 55.86 metres, a weight of 14,500 tons, and is made made of marble and stone. It has 294 steps and is located in the Piazza Dei Miracoli. Throughout the tower’s history, the tilt got even worse than it was before. In June 2001, engineers said that the tower was safe for people to go and see. The Leaning Tower of Pisa is viewed by many people, who like to go inside and look down from the top of the tower. The Tower of Pisa is fun to learn about. It is a symbol of national pride for Italy. It was upright for five years, but during construction the ground under the tower settled unevenly and caused the tower to lean toward the south. It took almost 800 years to completely finish. It was closed to the public in January 1990, because the structure was dangerously close to collapse.
AMAZON RAINFOREST By: Olivia The Amazon Rainforest is the largest rainforest in the world.It covers over five and a half million square
kilometers,
in the countries of Brazil,
PerĂş,
Venezuela, Ecuador,
Colombia,
Guyana, Bolivia,
Suriname,
and French Guiana.10%
of the
world’s known animal
species
and 20% of the world's
known bird
species live in the
Amazon
Rainforest. Dangerous species such as the cougar, jaguar, and the anaconda live there also. Rainfall is very important to the Amazon,it falls approximately 250 days a year.
In 2005 the Amazon Rainforest suffered from a severe drought that
killed off large amounts of
vegetation. People are
the main cause of forest
destruction. During the
last 40 years, close to 20% of
the Amazon was cut down. People were and still are trying to cut down the Amazon Rainforest for timber, firewood, pulp for making papers, agriculture for both small and large farms, grazing land for cattle, road construction, extraction of minerals, energy, and market lumber. The Rainforest Foundation was founded in 1989 to help protect the Amazon Rainforest from being destroyed.
STONEHENGE By: Chloe Stonehenge is located in London, England. Scientists believe it was built anywhere from 3,000 B.C. to 2,000 B.C. They also believe it was built by the Windmill People and the Baker People. Stonehenge is made of stones, which gives it its name. It took 1250 years to build, which is about 1,500 B.C. to 750 B.C. when it was finished. People can take tours in it, and it costs 3 pounds (British money) for parking, and 10 pounds for buses. Today, it still stands as strong as it did when it was built.
Most of the history about Stonehenge remains a mystery. Scientists have found little about it. They have found that is was built to align with the summer and winter solstice, on an Ice Age landform. Scientists have recently found that they have been digging in the wrong place for 90 years looking for the stones they used to build the
monument. They have found a human bone on the bank and ditch where it was dug. Even though very little is known about Stonehenge, it is a wonderful sight to see.
Burj Khalifa By:Charlie This is the Burj Khalifa. It has been the tallest building in the world since 2010, and stands at 839.8 m tall. It is located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The building proceeded the Shanghai Tower in height to be the tallest building in the world. The Burj Khalifa has won 28 awards. Dubai build it for its diversity with them already having a city of skyscrapers including the Burj Al Arab. The Burj Khalifa holds 18 records. A couple of movies have been shot here including Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol. The Burj Khalifa is 4 yrs. old, the building is multi purposed, but is used mostly as a hotel. Its floor
area is 309,423m2 (3,331,100
sq. ft). The Burj Khalifa also
has 211 floors, and the architect
was Adrian Smith. An
interesting fact is that a man
named Alain Roberts
climbed to the top spire of the
Burj Khalifa on Mar, 28, 2010 it took him six hours.
The Burj Khalifa is one of the most astonishing structures ever made by man. The Burj Khalifa’s construction began September 21, 2004 and was finished October 1,
2009. This building has a famous structure right outside of it called the Dubai Fountain. Something very terrible happened at the Burj Khalifa about 2 years after it was finished a man on
May 10, 2011 committed suicide
by jumping off the 147th
floor falling 39 floors landing on the
observation deck on the
108th floor, it is the first known
suicide to this building the
man was 39. The man chose to
commit suicide because his company refused leave. The building has returned the title as the largest freestanding structure in the Middle East which the Great Pyramid of Giza held for almost four millennia before being passed by the Lincoln Cathedral in 1311. This structure was designed to be the centerpiece of a large scale. Which it has no doubt accomplished. To this day The Burj Khalifa still amazes us with its beauty. http://filmvetter.com/2012/05/07/mission-impossible-ghost-protocol-3-5-stars/ http://www.burjdubaiskyscraper.com/ http://www.emirates247.com/impossible-but-true-tom-cruise-upside-down-half-a-mile-in-the-air-1.312845 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burj_Khalifa
Christ the Redeemer Antonio Christ the Redeemer is a statue. It is located in Rio de Janeiro. It is made of soapstone and concrete. It was built in 1926-1931. It cost $250,000 dollars. It honored God. It was built to celebrate 100 years of freedom. The history of Christ the Redeemer is that was open in October 12,1932.The statue was built as a symbol of Brazilian Christianity.The idea came up when a Catholic Priest suggested it in the 1850.The statue became a seven wonders of the world in July/7/2007.
The Great Barrier Reef By: Lauren The Great Barrier Reef stretches for more than 1,600 miles and is the worlds largest reef system. It is composed of over 2,900 individual reefs. More than 400 different kinds of coral make up the Great Barrier Reef. It covers an overall area that is larger than the size of Italy! It draws over one million visitors from all over the world each
year. Around 10% of
the worlds
total fish species can
be found
just within the Great
Barrier
Reef. There are
more than
1,500 fish species that live on the reef. Thirty
species of whales, dolphins, and porpoises have been recorded in it. Six species of turtles come to the reef to breed. Seventeen species of sea snakes live on the Great Barrier Reef. Near the reef the water is clear and warm. It has over 900 islands stretching for over 2,600 kilometers. Also it has 215 species of birds visit the reef or nest or roost on the islands.It is so big that it can be seen from outer space! Today’s Great Barrier Reef, located off the northeastern coast of Australia, is 20,000 years old. It is one of the Seven Natural Wonders
of the World. Many generations of dead coral have built themselves into great walls of stone covered in a diverse range of living organisms. It is the world’s biggest structure made out of living species. During periods of glacial activity, the area of the Great Barrier Reef was dry with large flat coastal plains. This reef structure is composed of and built by billions of tiny organisms, known as coral polyps. It was first discovered by James Cook when he crashed his ship into the reef in 1770.
The CN Tower By Matt This building is the 5th tallest man-made structure in the world. The tower is located in downtown Toronto. Used as a communications and observations tower, it stands 1,815 feet high! CN stands for Canadian National, and annually brings in about 2 million tourists a year! It was created on February 6, 1973. It cost 63,000,000 Canadian dollars. It has a total of 147 floors from top to bottom. People can walk across an edge walk to see all of downtown Toronto. The CN Tower is made of steel. These are some great features of the CN Tower. The CN Tower has a lot of mystery around it
This tower lights up in different
colors depending what “special� day it is. Once a year, the CN Tower lights up red for Canada Day for honoring Canada. On on a blue day, it lights up for the loss of the wives and infants that have died from a disease such as cancer or a different disease. It was made for a railroad company that desired a TV and communications tower to show the great building industry of Canada and to honor Canada. The Vietnam War and the opening of the WTC opening also happened during the building of the CN Tower.
Big Ben By: Lauryn J What is Big Ben? Big Ben is the nickname for the bell inside of the famous London landmark, Elizabeth Tower. The clock on the tower is known for its reliability, and has rarely ever failed in its long lifetime. The Elizabeth tower rises 316 feet high, and unfortunately, is not accessible by the public. Big Ben weighs 13 tons and can be heard from 9 miles away. It chimes about every 15 minutes, and when it does, the tower shakes. The hour hand on Big ben is 9 feet long! Big Ben is the name of the bell located in Elizabeth’s Tower. It weighs about 17 tons, and is not accessible by the public. Big Ben is often taken as the tower it is housed in, but it is only the bell, not the clock or the tower. The bell chimes every 15 minutes, and some people near when it rings, (5 miles away) say the ground shakes! Elizabeth Tower has 13 floors and a special light glows on one of the clock faces when Parliament is in session. Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin was mostly in charge of the construction of Big Ben. The structure was designed by Edward John Dent and Edmund Beckett Denison. There were MANY other people, but these are just a few that were mostly in charge. Big Ben itself is not accessible by the public, but you can go inside the tower.
The bell has a special light that is lit when the parliament is in session. The total height of the tower is 316 feet. A golden inscription, written in Latin, can be found at the base of each clock dial. It reads“Domine Salvam Fac Reginam Nostrum Victoriam Primam,’’ meaning “O Lord, keep safe our Queen Victoria the First.’’
CREDITS! http://www.bigben.freeservers.com/facts.html http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Who_built_Big_Ben#slide4 http://www.localnomad.com/en/blog/2012/08/31/10-interesting-facts-about-londons-big-ben/