In 1AD, the Turkish city of Seleucia Pieria had a problem: its all-important port required regular dredging, because the river water that flowed into from the Amanus Mountains carried a large amount of sediment. During each thaw, the river would rise causing frequent floods in the city. To counter this issue, Roman Emperor Vespasian ordered…
When Birmingham, Alabama‘s Sloss blast furnaces closed for good in 1971, it brought to an end the area’s nine decades, as one of the South’s largest pig iron manufacturers. In 2009, University of Alabama alumnus Joe McCreary, secured scrap iron from long abandoned furnaces. He used it to build Goldie 1971; a striking rust colored…
There is a cave in Missouri, USA, that has a particularly storied history. It began as a mine underneath a forest in the 1930s. In the 1950s, the 17,000 square foot space became ‘Caveland’ – a roller skate rink and concert venue that played host to major pop acts, including Tina Turner. Caveland closed its…
The community of Fackler in Alabama, USA, is home to a natural phenomenon that attracts a steady stream of visitors. It interests curious hikers, hardened cave divers and photographers. Neversink Pit straddles a line somewhere between a sinkhole and a cave. But, however you define it, it is nothing less than extraordinary. The 40ft wide-pit…
Leon Weisener is a retired art professor and set painter who, by his own admission, has always used whimsy in his work. The Carabelle Bottle House, from its conception to anyone’s experience of visiting, could barely be more fitting of that description. Following his retirement to the small Florida town, Weisener had no idea why…
Utah‘s Great Salt Lake contains an extraordinary earthwork sculpture made from crystals, salt, and basalt. However, the 1,500 ft tall counterclockwise spiral can only be seen when the water level is lower than 4,197 ft. Constructed in 1970 by artist Robert Smithson, the jetty is situated on the north shore of the lake. It was…
In 1991, eight people entered Biosphere 2. It is 3,15 acre sealed glass facility in Oracle, Arizona. It had been built to mimic the environment of Earth (Biosphere 1) and contained a mini ocean, tropical rainforest, desert, wetland, and grassland. The idea was to determine, if the crew could thrive for two years in this…
Just 13 miles of Yosemite National Park, on California‘s Highway 395 you’ll find an amazing lake. Located near to the town of Lee Vining, Mono Lake is not only beautiful, but also has one of the most important ecosystems in the world. Thought to be around 760,000 years old, Mono Lake is one of the…