Huge dam spillways

Huge dam spillways:
I already discussed the biggest dam spillway in the world on this blog ( The spillway of the Robert Bourassa dam in canada ). These dam spillways are generally used to release the water from the water bassins behind a dam in case of a flood. These things are most of the time build in the construction of the dam itself like for example in the Itaipu dam in Paraguay which is one the biggest spillways ( 500 meters long and 350 meters wide) in the world in terms of water capacity. When water is released from this thing it makes a hell of a noise:



The biggest kind of spillways however can be found at earthfilled dams situated next to the dam instead in the structure of the dam itself. Like for example this huge spillway at the W.A.C Bennet dam in Canada:




It is 800 meters long and about 35 meters wide. Another huge one is this one at the Garrison Dam in North Dakota in the U.S. It is part of one of the world's largest earth filled dams which forms the Sakakawea Reservoir on the Missouri River. The spillway itself is 800 meters long and is almost 350 meters wide at the point where the water enters the spillway:



The most impressive and biggest concrete spillway in the world however is the spillway which is part of Fort Peck Lake dam in Montana in the U.S. The dam itself is the largest earth-filled dam in the world. The spillway is 1500 meters long and 150 meters wide:






Another earth filled dam ( which is also among the biggest earthfilled dams in the world) with impressive spillways is the Tarbela dam in Pakistan. This dam actually has 2 giant spillways. One of them has a lenght of 780 meters and a wide of 100 meters and the other one has a length of about 200 meters and a wide of 150 meters:





Another huge one is the spillway which is part of the Nagarjuna sagar dam in India. The spillway is build in the dam itself and is 500 meters wide:




And last but not least the giant dam spillway of the Ataturk dam in Turkey. This thing is 900 meters long and 150 meters wide:

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The tallest dams

The tallest dams:
When you are talking about the tallest dams in the world the Nurek dam near Nurex in Tadzjikistan takes the price for the heighest dam in the world. It has a height of 300 meters. It is seen very good in google earth with the terrain elevation layer turned on:

The water behind the dam is called the Vodohranili water bassin. The impact this dam made on this water bassin can be clearly seen at the surrounding landscape:

The lighter colored strips of shoreline in the picture above highlight the tidal water level caused by the Nurek dam. The price of the second tallest dam in the world would go to the Grand dixense dam in Switzerland. This dam has a height of 285 meters. Just click on the picture below and enlarge it to see how big this structure is when you are standing at the bottom.



The third tallest dam is the Inguri dam in Georgia with a height of 272 meters:



At the water bassin behind the Inguri dam the same " tidal" stripes can be seen at the surrounding hills as at the water bassin behind the Nurek dam:



The fourth highest dam has a relatively small wide compared to the dams mentioned above but when measured by height it is still 262 meters tall. This dam is located in Italy and is called the Vaiont dam. As you can see in the picture below the dam also has a cool walkway in front it from where you can see the dazzling height of the dam itself:



The fifth highest dam in the world with a height of 261 meters is the Tehri dam near the town of Tehri in India. This dam also has a very big spillway running next to it:


This dam is primary used as a hydro electric power plant. When it was still under construction the huge turbines that are used to generate the electricity where visible:

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The stepwells of India

The stepwells of India:
The stepwells in India are some pretty amazing structures which cannot be found anywhere else in the world. Stepwells, are called bawdi or baoli in India and are basically wells in which the water can be reached by descending a set of steps. The biggest of such a structure, with a lot of these steps, is found near the town of Bandikui in India. This is a large touristic attraction and the most famous stepwell in the world. It look's like some sort of an Escher drawing:





In the picture below you can see some people standing in it so you can better estimate the size of the structure:



A stepwell which is widely considered as the most beautifull of India and which ones also was one the biggest in India is the Queens stepwell near the town of Patan. Not the whole structure is visible nowadays because much of it got silted up:




Also take a look at this section view to better visualize how it is structured:



Another big stepwell (similair to the one mentioned above) is found in the village of Adalaj. This thing is slightly less big as the one in Patan but it is in a better condition:



In my opinion the most beautifull stepwell is found here near the Modhera Sun temple near Modhera town. This stepwell is part of this temple complex and is one of the biggest in India:


As you can see in the picture below the temple itself is not as large as you might think:


There are of course a lot more of these stepwells in India, but the ones mentioned above are the biggest and most famous.

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Where city traffic "collides"

Where city traffic "collides":
I wondered where the busiest city cross roads in the world are. Places where city traffic metaphorically collides and traffic rulez no longer excist. I figured out that this cross road in Ho Chi Minh city might easy be the busiest and most chaotic crossroad in a city in the world. At this point 6 roads with huge amount of motorbycicles and other traffic, like seen in the picture below, come together at one point:



The number of motorcycles in Ho Chi Minh city is currently 4 million, more then in any other city in the world. There are also over 500,000 automobiles, packing the city's arterial roads and making traffic congestion and air pollution common problems. While Beijing used to be called "the City of Bicycles", Ho Chi Minh City is "the Capital of Motorbikes". Crossing a road in the centre of this city is a real achievement ( youtube video ). As you can see there are not many traffic rulez in Vietnam and due to this every year 30,000 people die as a result of road accidents in Vietnam (that doesn't include the number of people injured).

Another very busy crossroad ca be found here in Lagos in Nigeria:


At this crossroad ,in the middle of this metropol with 10 million people, two main roads come together. Most of the time this road is highly congested because of the Oshodi market nearby and the big busstation along the road. Pictures of the Oshodi market nearby can be seen below:




The roundabout of Connaught place in New Delhi in India is also among the busiest cross roads in the world. This roundabout is situated in the middle of an agglomeration with 13 million people so it probably comes as no surpise that this roundabout is congested most of the day:


When you are talking about the busiest pedestrian crossroad in the world then you have to be in Tokyo in Japan. The Shibuya crossroad in the Shibuya district in Tokyo is considered as the bussiest pedestrian crossroad in the world ( youtube). In rush hours the entire crossroad is filled with one big human crowd:


In bejing, the city of bycicles, drive 3 million cars around. This is causing really big smog problems in the city. Despite rising expenditure on prevending pollution control, Beijing is facing increasing problems as its booming economy never slows its pace. One of the most bussiest crossroads in the city is where the 3rd ringroad meets the main boulevard of Bejing:


At this point the traffic is like hell on rush hour:


In Europe a place of crazy and busy traffic in a city is the roundabout of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris where 12 roads of this city come together. At the point you enter the roundabout there are no traffic rulez anymore and the law of the strongest flourishes:

In the picture below you can see the traffic on the Champs Elysees, the main boulevard of paris, going towards the roundabout.

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Marble quarries

Marble quarries:
Marble is a metamorphic rock resulting from the recrystallization of limestone. Heat and pressure over time cause the carbonate minerals to recrystallize into an interlocking mosaic of crystals, the different colours due to the various mineral impurities such as clay, silt and sand.
One of the biggest marble quarries in the world is found in Carrara in Italy. This little town is famous for it's marble quarries in the nearby mountains. Carrara marble has been used since the time of Ancient Rome; the Pantheon and Trajan's Column in Rome are constructed of it, and many sculptures of the Renaissance, such as Michelangelo's David, were carved from Carrara marble. There are a lot of seperate quarries which together form an impressive landscape:








Another region with huge quarries is the Evora province in Portugal. Here near the village of Estremoz for example a very deep marble quarry is situated:


Further to the South East the The Rosa Portugal marble quarries are situated. This is the biggest marble production area in the world. There are at least 50 marble quarries in this area of this type:


In Rajasthan near the town of Makrana in India another huge Marble production "centre" is located. Around this town 500 marble quarries can be found. These marble quarries have an elongated shape. And if you would count them as one then the quarries stretch for 12.5 kilometers at certain points. For example here the quarries begin in the Northern part of Makrana and they end here 12.5 kilometers to the south. The world famous monument The Taj Mahal was made of marble coming from these quarries:

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Busiest road bridges

Most of the busiest road bridges are located in metropolian areas where rivers devide them in two parts. These kind of bridges have to take a huge amount of traffic each day. The George Washington bridge, linking Manhattan to New Jersey, is the most heavily used bridge in the world, with a daily traffic of over 300,000 vehicles:

When also taking in acount the amount of pedestrians using the bridge the Howrah bridge in Kolkota is the busiest bridge crossing in the world. It connects the east and the west part of this city with 15 million inhabitants. It successfully bears the weight of a daily traffic of approximately 150,000 vehicles and an unbelievable amount of 4,000,000 pedestrians:

The Oakland bay bridge in san Fransisco which is the main traffic road bewteen east and west San Fransisco is also among the busiest bridge crossings in the world. It carries approximately 270,000 vehicles per day:

In Europe the busiest bridge is the Bosphoros bridge in Istanbul. This bridge is connecting the Asian part of Istanbul with the European part. Nowadays, around 180,000 vehicles pass daily in both directions, almost 85% being automobiles:

Other bridges which are also considered one of he busiest in europe are the Kingston bridge in Glasgow in Scotland (It is carrying around 150,000 vehicles every day), and the Van Brienenoord bridge in Rotterdam in the Netherlands with over 250,000 vehicles every day.

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