Landscape Archives - Page 65 of 88

Marker

Before the development of clearly defined ports, mariners were guided by fires built on hilltops. Since raising the fire would improve the visibility, placing the fire on a platform became a practice that led to the development of the lighthouse. In antiquity, the lighthouse functioned more as an entrance marker to ports than as a warning signal for reefs and promontories, unlike many modern lighthouses. The most famous lighthouse structure from antiquity was the Pharos of Alexandria, Egypt, although it collapsed during an earthquake centuries later.

3 April 2018Landscape, Picture of the day

Ocean

The word « ocean » comes from the figure in classical antiquity, Oceanus, the elder of the Titans in classical Greek mythology, believed by the ancient Greeks and Romans to be the divine personification of the sea, an enormous river encircling the world. Although many people believe that the oceans are blue because the water reflects the blue sky, this is actually not true. Water has a very slight blue color that can only be seen when there is a lot of water. However, the main cause of the blue or blue/green color of the oceans is that water absorbs the red part of the incoming light, and reflects the green and blue part of the light. We then see the reflected light as the color of water.

29 March 2018Landscape, Picture of the day

Calm

Rietvlei dam was built during the great depression (from about 1929 to early 1930’s) and was completed in 1934. Manual laborers were paid 4 shilling a month and soil was carted away by mule carts. Feeding the dam is the Sesmyl (Six Mile) Spruit, five fountains (one is located on an adjacent property) and five boreholes. Upstream from Rietvlei dam is the Marais Dam which acts as a sludge dam for Rietvlei Dam. Starting in 1988 a two year project raised the dam and made other improvements. Originally the dam was not open to the public but the city council of Pretoria did plan the reserve ecologically and introduced a number of game species to the reserve. The Nauture Reserve was proclaimed in 1948. Rietvlei dam provides Pretoria with 15% of it’s water. The reserve covers an area of 3800 hectares and can support up to 2000 head of game.

27 March 2018Landscape, Picture of the day