Theme no. 3 TRM (1)

Theme no. 3. Natural Tourist Resources

1. The forms of the relief as natural tourist resource.2. Climate.3. Hydrography.4. Vegetation.5. Fauna.6. The Tourist Landscapes.

1. The forms of the relief as natural tourist resource

Relief is the most rich and diverse attractive resource of the world. It is the core

of any landscape. The importance of relief for tourism is conditioned to the great

varieties of its forms.

The escarpments (steep cliffs or slopes formed by a fault or by erosion)

become tourist objectives through their scale, splendor, and the vertical change of

nature. Their force of attraction evolves with the relative altitude. They draw the

mountaineers (alpinists, climbers). Escarpments are often called scarps. A fault scarp is formed by a fault, which is a fracture or

break in the earth’s crust, along which one side is raised and the other is forced downward. An erosion scarp is formed by the unequal erosion of gently sloping or horizontal layers of rock. Such escarpments result when underlying, softer rocks are eroded more rapidly than the upper, more resistant rocks.

A well-known fault scarp is the eastern edge of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in the western United States. A well-known erosion scarp is the Niagara escarpment in the Great Lakes region of North America. Niagara Falls is located where the Niagara River crosses the escarpment.

The crests and the peaks represent lines and points of certain sides of the

mountains. The more unusual and higher the peaks are, the more their individuality

grows, and the more they draw travelers’ attention.

The passes and the banks play a major part in the gathering of tourists along

certain destinations. They link different regions between them. The passes intervene

between the crests and the massifs. The banks are along the river systems.

The gorges, the defiles, and the canyons constitute an imposing group of

natural resources. The gorges represent the first stage, the most savage, of the

valleys. Sometimes their cross profile is so narrow that men’s access is very difficult,

or even impossible. The defiles are more evolved gorges. The canyons represent the

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height of evolution of gorges. As role model is the Grand Canyon of Colorado in

Arizona.Canyon, deep, cliff-sided chasm or gorge created by the erosive action of a river. Canyons

most often occur in semiarid or arid regions where river erosion deepens the canyon faster than weathering (the breakdown of rocks) of the sides can widen it. The deepest and steepest canyons develop in regions with flat-lying, alternating beds of hard and soft rock. In such circumstances, the sides of the canyon resemble a staircase, with the layers of harder rocks forming cliffs and the layers of softer rock forming gentler slopes.

Canyons are particularly abundant across large areas of Arizona and Utah in the southwestern United States where there is an optimal combination of climate and rock structure. The largest example in this region is the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River, which is 446 km (277 mi) long, more than 1500 m (5000 ft) deep, but only 29 km (18 mi) across from rim to rim at its widest. The canyon was formed in a remarkably short period of about 1 million years, around 4 million to 5 million years ago. Canyons are also found in other dry regions around the world. One of the largest examples is the Fish River Canyon in Namibia, which extends for 160 km (100 mi). This canyon is 25 km (16 mi) wide and almost 500 m (1600 ft) deep in places.

The caves (caverns) have an attractive potential thanks to their important

recreational resources: their shape, varied morphology, archeological and

paleontological remains, and fossil glaciers. They represent a system of evolution.Cave is a chamber beneath the surface of the earth or in the side of a hill, cliff, or mountain.

Caves vary in size and shape, and many have large openings to the surface.Caves range in size from small hillside openings to vast interconnected subterranean systems

of many chambers and galleries. Some cave systems extend for miles underground and may have many outlets.

Natural air conditioning occurs in large caverns if the temperature varies only a few degrees yearly, and the caves are more or less constantly ventilated with fresh air. These conditions are, in part, the result of complex meteorological phenomena, mainly variations in barometric pressure.

Caves formed by abrasion commonly consist of myriads of winding tunnels and former underground waterways that show many features analogous to those of surface streams, such as deposits of sand and gravel. Abrasion-formed caves normally lack the weird formations found in caves of solution.

In caves of solution, the dissolved lime carbonate is often precipitated in such a fashion as to form grotesque deposits. The best-known structures are the stalactites, which hang like icicles from the roofs of caves, and the stalagmites, which extend upward from the cavern floors (see Stalactite and Stalagmite). If the two growths meet and join, a pillar forms, helping to support the roof. Less well-known forms of carbonate deposition include flowstone and dripstone. Depending on dissolved mineral impurities brought into the cave by the groundwaters, the formations vary in color from alabaster white to hues of dusky red and brown. The dripstone formations may be exceedingly thin and translucent. Among rare formations is the helictite, a twisted, flowerlike variety of stalactite. Many cave formations are rather delicate and easily broken, and some of the best examples have been damaged or removed by unscrupulous cave explorers and visitors to public caves.

Many formations in commercial caves have been given fanciful names, such as “Rock of Ages” and “Temple of the Sun” in Carlsbad Caverns and “Martha Washington's Statue” and “Fatman's Misery” in Mammoth Cave. Frequently recurring names include “Japanese Temple,””Frozen Waterfall,””King's Bed Chamber,” and “Great Hall.”

A practice in many large caves, particularly those administered by the U.S. National Park Service, is to illuminate the more spectacular formations for the benefit of sightseers. Many public

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caverns have miles of lighted trails, with stairways and adequate safety guards near areas considered dangerous. In some caves visitors can take all-day hiking tours.

In past ages people often took shelter in caves, notably in western Europe, the Mediterranean regions, China, southern Africa, and Chile. These early cave inhabitants popularly have been called cavemen, but the term is misleading, for it implies that a race of people at one time dwelt exclusively in caves. Actually, during the Ice Age, people, like other animals, sought refuge in caves from time to time. Many artifacts of Paleolithic and Neolithic peoples have been found in refuse heaps near the entrances of caves. Primitive paintings have been found on the walls of some caves, notably in France and Spain. Modern critics acclaim the artistic beauty of these paintings, attributed to the Cro-Magnon, a race of the late Paleolithic period.

The science of cave study is termed speleology. A subdivision of geology, speleology has furthered knowledge in mineralogy, hydrodynamics, archaeology, biology, and many other formal disciplines. Speleologists use many special contrivances and methods in exploring caves. One technique is the use of dye stains to reveal the outlets of complicated underground-stream systems. Use of special shoes, safety helmets, flexible ladders and cables, and dependable lamps enables present-day speleologists to explore the recesses of large caves much more thoroughly than was formerly possible. Cave explorers occasionally stay underground for days, mapping and studying an extensive area.

2. Climate

Climate encourages or discourages the act of tourism, catalyzing or inhibiting

the tourist stay. Most tourists and specialists reduce the important of climate to fine

weather. The fine weather notion includes climatic elements such as nebulosity,

frequency of precipitations, temperature of the air, winds.

Cloudiness (or nebulosity) is a factor influencing the sun brightness time, which

is important to mountainous and coastal regions.

Frequency of precipitations (or rainfall) is a follow-up to nebulosity. Rainy

weather leads to the temporary sedentariness of the environment. Precipitations in

liquid form are unfavorable factors, while those in snow form have an opposite

effect.

Temperature of the air is taken into account when it is very high or low and it

is unfavorable to the leisure activities.

Winds. According to their length and intensity they blow differently. For

example, sea breezes reduce the temperature of coastal regions.

Weather. I. IntroductionWeather - state of the atmosphere at a particular time and place. The elements of weather

include temperature, humidity, cloudiness, precipitation, wind, and pressure. These elements are organized into various weather systems, such as monsoons (wind that changes direction with the change of seasons; the monsoon prevails mainly in the Indian Ocean), areas of high and low pressure, thunderstorms, and tornadoes. All weather systems have well-defined cycles and

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structural features and are governed by the laws of heat and motion. These conditions are studied in meteorology, the science of weather and weather forecasting.

Weather differs from climate, which is the weather that a particular region experiences over a long period of time. Climate includes the averages and variations of all weather elements.

II. TemperatureTemperature is a measure of the degree of hotness of the air. Three different scales are used

for measuring temperature. Scientists use the Kelvin, or absolute, scale and the Celsius, or centigrade, scale. Most nations use the Celsius scale, although the United States continues to use the Fahrenheit scale.

Temperature on earth averages 15° C (59° F) at sea level but varies according to latitude, elevation, season, and time of day, ranging from a record high of 58° C (140° F) to a record low of -88° C (-130° F). Temperature is generally highest in the Tropics and lowest near the poles. Each day it is usually warmest during midafternoon and coldest around dawn. Seasonal variations of temperature are generally more pronounced at higher latitudes. Along the equator, all months are equally warm, but away from the equator, it is generally warmest about a month after the summer solstice (around June 21 in the northern hemisphere and around December 21 in the southern hemisphere) and coldest about a month after the winter solstice (around December 21 in the northern hemisphere and around June 21 in the southern hemisphere). Temperature can change abruptly when fronts (boundaries between two air masses with different temperatures or densities) or thunderstorms pass overhead.

Temperature decreases with increasing elevation at an average rate of about 6.5° C per km (about 19° F per mi). As a result, temperatures in the mountains are generally much lower than at sea level. Temperature continues to decrease throughout the atmosphere’s lowest layer, the troposphere, where almost all weather occurs. The troposphere extends to a height of 16 km (10 mi) above sea level over the equator and about 8 km (about 5 mi) above sea level over the poles. Above the troposphere is the stratosphere, where temperature levels off and then begins to increase with height. Almost no weather occurs in the stratosphere.

III. HumidityHumidity is a measure of the amount of water vapor in the air. The air’s capacity to hold

vapor is limited but increases dramatically as the air warms, roughly doubling for each temperature increase of 10° C (18° F). There are several different measures of humidity. The specific humidity is the fraction of the mass of air that consists of water vapor, usually given as parts per thousand. Even the warmest, most humid air seldom has a specific humidity greater than 20 parts per thousand. The most common measure of humidity is the relative humidity, or the amount of vapor in the air divided by the air’s vapor-holding capacity at that temperature. If the amount of water vapor in the air remains the same, the relative humidity decreases as the air is heated and increases as the air is cooled. As a result, relative humidity is usually highest around dawn, when the temperature is lowest, and lowest in midafternoon, when the temperature is highest.

IV. CloudinessMost clouds and almost all precipitation are produced by the cooling of air as it rises. When

air temperature is reduced, excess water vapor in the air condenses into liquid droplets or ice crystals to form clouds or fog. A cloud can take any of several different forms—including cumulus, cirrus, and stratus—reflecting the pattern of air motions that formed it. Fluffy cumulus clouds form from rising masses of air, called thermals. A cumulus cloud often has a flat base, corresponding to the level at which the water vapor first condenses. If a cumulus cloud grows large, it transforms into a cumulonimbus cloud or a thunderstorm. Fibrous cirrus clouds consist of trails of falling ice crystals twisted by the winds. Cirrus clouds usually form high in the troposphere, and their crystals almost never reach the ground. Stratus clouds form when an entire layer of air cools or ascends obliquely. A stratus cloud often extends for hundreds of miles.

Fog is a cloud that touches the ground. In dense fogs, the visibility may drop below 50 m (55 yd). Fog occurs most frequently when the earth’s surface is much colder than the air directly above it, such as around dawn and over cold ocean currents. Fog is thickened and acidified when the air is filled with sulfur-laden soot particles produced by the burning of coal. Dense acid fogs that killed thousands of people in London up to 1956 led to legislation that prohibited coal burning in cities.

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Optical phenomena, such as rainbows and halos, occur when light shines through cloud particles. Rainbows are seen when sunlight from behind the observer strikes the raindrops falling from cumulonimbus clouds. The raindrops act as tiny prisms, bending and reflecting the different colors of light back to the observer’s eye at different angles and creating bands of color. Halos are seen when sunlight or moonlight in front of the observer strikes ice crystals and then passes through high, thin cirrostratus clouds.

V. Precipitation Precipitation is produced when the droplets and crystals in clouds grow large enough to fall to

the ground. Clouds do not usually produce precipitation until they are more than 1 km (0.6 mi) thick. Precipitation takes a variety of forms, including rain, drizzle, freezing rain, snow, hail, and ice pellets, or sleet. Raindrops have diameters larger than 0.5 mm (0.02 in), whereas drizzle drops are smaller. Few raindrops are larger than about 6 mm (about 0.2 in), because such large drops are unstable and break up easily. Ice pellets are raindrops that have frozen in midair. Freezing rain is rain that freezes on contact with any surface. It often produces a layer of ice that can be very slippery.

Snowflakes are either single ice crystals or clusters of ice crystals. Large snowflakes generally form when the temperature is near 0° C (32° F), because at this temperature the flakes are partly melted and stick together when they collide. Hailstones are balls of ice about 6 to 150 mm (about 0.2 to 6 in) in diameter. They consist of clusters of raindrops that have collided and frozen together. Large hailstones only occur in violent thunderstorms, in which strong updrafts keep the hailstones suspended in the atmosphere long enough to grow large.

Precipitation amounts are usually given in terms of depth. A well-developed winter storm can produce 10 to 30 mm (0.4 to 1.2 in) of rain over a large area in 12 to 24 hours. An intense thunderstorm may produce more than 20 mm (0.8 in) of rain in 10 minutes and cause flash floods (floods in which the water rises suddenly). Hurricanes sometimes produce over 250 mm (10 in) of rain and lead to extensive flooding.

Snow depths are usually much greater than rain depths because of snow’s low density. During intense winter storms, more than 250 mm (10 in) of snow may fall in 24 hours, and the snow can be much deeper in places where the wind piles it up in drifts. Extraordinarily deep snows sometimes accumulate on the upwind side of mountain slopes during severe winter storms or on the downwind shores of large lakes during outbreaks of polar air.

VI. WindWind is the horizontal movement of air. It is named for the direction from which it comes—

for example, a north wind comes from the north. In most places near the ground, the wind speed averages from 8 to 24 km/h (from 5 to 15 mph), but it can be much higher during intense storms. Wind speeds in hurricanes and typhoons exceed 120 km/h (75 mph) near the storm’s center and may approach 320 km/h (200 mph). The highest wind speeds at the surface of the earth—as high as 480 km/h (300 mph)—occur in tornadoes. Except for these storms, wind speed usually increases with height to the top of the troposphere.

VII. PressurePressure plays a vital role in all weather systems. Pressure is the force of the air on a given

surface divided by the area of that surface. In most weather systems the air pressure is equal to the weight of the air column divided by the area of the column. Pressure decreases rapidly with height, halving about every 5.5 km (3.4 mi).

Sea-level pressure varies by only a few percent. Large regions in the atmosphere that have higher pressure than the surroundings are called high-pressure areas. Regions with lower pressure than the surroundings are called low-pressure areas. Most storms occur in low-pressure areas. Rapidly falling pressure usually means a storm is approaching, whereas rapidly rising pressure usually indicates that skies will clear.

Climate - the long-term effect of the sun's radiation on the rotating earth's varied surface and atmosphere. It can be understood most easily in terms of annual or seasonal averages of temperature and precipitation.

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Temperature is an important aspect of climate and can be used to grade climatic zones on a scale of five: (1) Tropical, with annual and monthly averages above 20° C (68° F); (2) Subtropical, with 4 to 11 months above 20° C, and the balance between 10° and 20° C (50° to 68° F); (3) Temperate, with 4 to 12 months at 10° to 20° C; (4) Cold, with 1 to 4 months at 10° to 20° C, and the rest cooler; and (5) Polar, with 12 months below 10° C.

Within each hemisphere, eight basic climatological zones can also be recognized in terms of precipitation: (1) Equatorial: rain in all seasons; (2) Tropical: summer rain with winters dry; (3) Semiarid Tropical: slight summer rain; (4) Arid: dry in all seasons; (5) Dry Mediterranean: slight winter rain; (6) Mediterranean: winter rain, summers dry; (7) Temperate: precipitation in all seasons; (8) Polar: sparse in all seasons.

3. Hydrography

The hydrographic elements have picturesque attributes, physical and chemical

features, and some water dimensions.

The main forms of hydrography’s presence in tourism are:

River systems;

Lakes;

Sea and ocean water;

Waterfalls;

Geysers;

Mineral, thermal, and thermo-mineral springs;

Glaciers.

The river systems are a first-rate tourist resource thanks to the opportunity

given by swimming, fishing, and landscapes’ varieties.

Lakes, contrary to the current water, have a greater tourist contribution thanks

to landscapes, salt lakes with healing properties, the picturesque quality of glacial and

volcanic lakes, etc.

Sea and ocean water is important for tourism due to the morpho-hydro-climatic

complex of coastal regions.

River System - main channel of a river together with all tributary rivers and streams that flow into it. Major North American river systems include the Mississippi, Colorado, and Columbia, each consisting of a major river together with several major tributary rivers and many smaller tributary rivers and streams. The area draining into a river system is called a drainage basin (see Basin: Drainage Basins). The Mississippi river system drains an area of 3,250,000 sq km (1,250,000 sq mi) and extends from the Canadian border in the north to the Gulf of Mexico in the south, and from the Rocky Mountains in the west to the Appalachian Mountains in the east. The larger tributary rivers of major river systems are important river systems in their own right. For example, the Ohio, Missouri, and Tennessee rivers are tributaries of the Mississippi.

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The boundaries between individual river systems are called drainage divides. Rain falling on opposite sides of a drainage divide will flow into separate river systems. Continental divides are drainage divides that separate groups of river systems that drain into different oceans. The main continental divide in the United States lies along the crest of the Rocky Mountains and separates the rivers that flow into the Pacific Ocean from the rivers that flow into the Gulf of Mexico.

The smallest tributaries of river systems, called fingertip tributaries, are small gullies. As the various tributaries of a river system successively join together downstream, they form a treelike network with the fingertip tributaries as twigs, larger tributaries as branches, and the main river channel as the trunk. As the amount of water being carried through the river system becomes greater downstream, the size of the channels that carry the water also increases, as does the size of the valleys that the water carves. The outlet, or mouth, of a river system is usually located at the coast of an ocean or at the shoreline of a lake. In arid regions, however, rivers may gradually disappear as they flow downstream as the water evaporates or seeps into the ground.

Lake - large, inland body of fresh or salty standing water. Lakes are distinguished from bodies of water such as bays and gulfs, and some seas, that have an interchange with the ocean and are subject to tides. Lake basins are formed by many geologic processes, such as buckling of stratified rock into large folds, displacement of large masses of rock by faults, and blocking of valleys by landslides. Lakes also form by glaciation. Glaciers carve out large basins by scooping up bedrock and redistributing loose material. Many of the lakes of North America formed this way, including the Great Lakes and New York's Finger Lakes. The source of lake water is atmospheric precipitation that reaches the lake directly and by means of springs, brooks, and rivers. The primary mineral constituent of salt lakes is common salt; bitter lakes contain sulfates; alkali lakes contain carbonates; borax lakes contain borates; and some lakes contain combinations of these substances.

Lakes form at all altitudes and are distributed throughout the world. Almost one-half of the world's lakes are in Canada. Lakes are abundant in high latitudes, particularly in mountain regions subjected to glacial action. Many lakes are important commercially as sources of minerals and fish, as shipping arteries, and as vacation resorts.

The largest lakes in the world include the Caspian Sea, Lake Superior, and Lake Victoria. The Dead Sea is the world's lowest lake, 408 m (1,340 ft) below sea level. The Caspian, the world's largest lake, covers an area of 370,998 sq km (143,243 sq mi). Lake Baikal is the deepest freshwater lake in the world, with a maximum depth of 1637 m (5371 ft).

Sea - general designation for all the salt water in all the specific oceans and seas that cover a large area of the surface of the earth. The name is particularly given to bodies of salt water such as the Mediterranean Sea that are partially landlocked and are smaller than the ocean to which they are generally connected. The name is also used to designate inland bodies of salt water, such as the Caspian Sea, and has occasionally been given to inland bodies of fresh water, such as the Sea of Galilee (Lake Tiberias).

Waterfall – sudden sheer descent of a stream or river over a steep drop in its bed, sometimes in a free fall. The term cataract, usually designating a series of rapids in a large river, is often applied to waterfalls of large volume. A waterfall of any height that has a small volume of water or is one of a series of falls is called a cascade. The term cascade is also applied to a waterfall if, while plunging, it maintains contact with the streambed. The highest waterfalls frequently are cascades. Waterfalls are valuable today as sources of hydroelectric power.

Especially voluminous or spectacular waterfalls include Angel Falls (979 m/3212 ft) in Venezuela; Tugela (948 m/3110 ft) in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa; Cuquenan (610 m/2000 ft) in Venezuela; Takakkaw (503 m/1650 ft) in British Columbia; Great Fall (488 m/1600 ft) in Guyana; Krimmler (381 m/1250 ft) in Austria; Silver Strand Falls (357 m/1170 ft) in California; Wollomombi (335 m/1100 ft) in Australia; Jog Falls (253 m/830 ft) in India; and Iguacu Falls. The given length measurements for some of these falls involve more than one leap.

Geyser - hot spring that erupts intermittently in a column of steam and hot water. Some geysers erupt at regular intervals, but the majority erupt irregularly, the intervals ranging from a matter of minutes to years. The length of time of the eruption varies with the geyser, from seconds to hours. The height of the column ranges from about 1 m (about 3 ft) to about 100 m (about 328

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ft), and the amount of water ejected in a single eruption varies from a few liters to hundreds of thousands of liters.

A geyser erupts when the base of a column of water resting in the earth is vaporized by hot volcanic rock. The force with which the water column is expelled depends on its depth. The weight of the water column increases with its depth. The weight, in turn, increases the pressure exerted on the base of the column, thereby increasing the boiling point of the water there. When the water finally boils, it expands, driving some water out into the air. With the weight of the column reduced, the pressure correspondingly drops, and the boiling point of the water remaining in the column falls below its actual temperature. Thereupon, the entire column instantly vaporizes, causing the geyser to erupt. Eruption intervals depend on such variables as the supply of heat, the amount and rate of inflow of subsurface water, and the nature of the geyser tube and its underground connections.

Almost all known geysers are located in three countries of the world—New Zealand, Iceland, and the United States. A famous geyser is Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park, which expels about 38,000 to 45,000 liters (about 10,000 to 12,000 gallons) at each eruption. Old Faithful usually erupts at intervals of between 30 and 90 minutes, its column rising as high as 52 m (170 ft), but natural changes in the underground water system have recently made the timing of the eruptions less reliable. The geyser gives warning of its impending activity by ejecting jets of water 3 to 8 m (10 to 25 ft) high.

Mineral Water - spring water that contains mineral salts or gases, and which consequently may have an action on the human body different from that of ordinary water. As a remedial agent, mineral waters have been used from early times, and were familiar to the ancient Greeks and Romans. They are usually classified as alkaline, saline, chalybeate or iron-containing, sulfurous, acidulous, and arsenical. Many effervescing carbonic-acid waters are used as table beverages and to dilute spirits or wines. Saline waters are taken for their medicinal effects.

Mineral springs are numerous in the U.S. Among the eastern states, New York is the leading producer, and the springs at Saratoga, New York, have an international reputation and compare favorably to foreign spas. In the Appalachian Mountains are the celebrated hot springs of Berkeley Springs, Virginia, and White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. Of the south-central states, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Arkansas are the chief producers; the hot springs of Arkansas are among the most important in the country. Other well-known hot springs include those of Waukesha, Wisconsin, Las Vegas, N. Mex., San Bernardino, California, and Medical Lake, Washington. One of the widely known springs in the U.S., French Lick Springs, Indiana, produces the Pluto waters, which rival the famous Hunyadi Janos waters of Hungary as a purgative.

The most noted of the European mineral waters include Vichy and Appollinaris, both alkaline; Apenta, Hunyadi Janos (Hungary), and Friedrichshall, saline waters rich in sulfate; Karlsbad and Marienbad, rich in sodium chloride; Tunbridge Wells, chalybeate; Aix-la-Chapelle, Baden, and Aix-les-Bains, sulfurated; and Bath and Baden, arsenical.

Mineral Water, spring water that contains mineral salts or gases, and which consequently may have an action on the human body different from that of ordinary water. As a remedial agent, mineral waters have been used from early times, and were familiar to the ancient Greeks and Romans. They are usually classified as alkaline, saline, chalybeate or iron-containing, sulfurous, acidulous, and arsenical. Many effervescing carbonic-acid waters are used as table beverages and to dilute spirits or wines. Saline waters are taken for their medicinal effects.

Glacier - large, usually moving mass of ice formed in high mountains or in high latitudes where the rate of snowfall is greater than the melting rate of snow. Glaciers can be divided into four well-defined types—alpine, piedmont, ice cap, and continental—according to the topography and climate of the region in which the glacier was formed.

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4. Vegetation

Vegetation is closely linked to relief and climate. The tourist role of vegetation

resides in:

The make-up of plant associations (it can be seen through type of

vegetation; for instance, equatorial forest, rain forest, etc.);

The presence of certain endemic and relic plants (baobab, sequoia,

eucalyptus (or gum tree), cedar of Lebanon and Atlas cedar);

Dimension and age of some plants;

The annual evolution rhythm;

The periphery effect and the island effect (the edge of a forest, tourists

concentrating in clearing and glades);

Elements of a spiritual nature in contact with vegetation.

FOREST I. INTRODUCTIONForest – plant community, predominantly of trees or other woody vegetation, occupying

an extensive area of land. In its natural state, a forest remains in a relatively fixed, self-regulated condition over a long period of time. Climate, soil, and the topography of the region determine the characteristic trees of a forest. In local environments, dominant species of trees are characteristically associated with certain shrubs and herbs. The type of vegetation on the forest floor is influenced by the larger and taller plants, but because low vegetation affects the organic composition of the soil, the influence is reciprocal. Disturbances such as a forest fire or timber harvesting may result in a shift to another forest type. Left undisturbed, ecological succession will eventually result in a climax forest community. Human intervention is practiced to maintain some desirable forest types.

II. CLASSIFICATION Forests may be divided into the following eight general types on the basis of leaf

characteristics and climate.1. Deciduous forests of the temperate regions are the typical formation of the eastern

United States. Two subtypes exist; forests of the same latitude in the northern and southern hemispheres are radically different, probably due to the continental climate of the northern hemisphere and the oceanic climate of the southern.

2. Deciduous monsoon forests are characteristic of Bengal and Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) and common throughout Southeast Asia and India; they are also found along the Pacific coastal regions of Mexico and Central America. The climate is characterized by heavy daily rainfall, seasonally relieved by dry periods during which the trees shed their leaves.

3. Tropical savanna forests are found in regions such as the campos of Brazil, where forest and grassland meet. Savannas, which occur widely in Africa and South America, are dominated by grasses and sedges, with open stands of widely spaced trees that are frequently thorny. Some savannas are created by fire or by grazing and browsing mammals.

4. Northern coniferous forests form a worldwide belt in subarctic and alpine regions of the northern hemisphere. Gnarled scrub trees dominate at the northern tree line and on mountaintops. Spruce and fir trees are characteristic of the more northerly forests; pine, larch, and hemlock dominate farther south. These forests usually occupy formerly glaciated regions and occur in association with lakes, bogs, and rivers.

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5. Tropical rain forests are characteristic of central Africa and the Amazon watershed. Plant growth is profuse, and because the fall and regrowth of leaves occur gradually throughout each year, the forest is always active. Tree species are highly diverse but usually have smooth, straight trunks and large, simple leaves. Large vines are common, but the tangled growth of a jungle occurs only where the normal forest area has been abused or at a river’s edge.

6. Temperate evergreen forests are found in the subtropical regions of North America and the Caribbean islands that have a warm maritime climate. The type is best developed along the Gulf Coast and in the Florida Everglades. The characteristic trees are live oak, magnolia, palms, and bromeliads.

7. Temperate rain forests, with broad-leaved evergreen trees, are common on Mediterranean coasts. Rainfall may be low, but the ocean-cooled air is moisture laden, and fogs are frequent. In the United States the temperate West Coast rain forests are dominated by hemlock, cedar, spruce, fir, and redwood.

8. Tropical scrub forests occur in regions of slight rainfall, bordering wetter forests.Unusual treesThere are many types of unusual trees around the world that exhibit a variety of interesting

characteristics. Among these are prehistoric relics, trees that exhibit bizarre growth patterns or formations, and trees with interesting strategies for obtaining the air, water, and nutrients necessary for growth.

Like the ginkgo, the dawn redwood is old enough to be considered a living fossil. Its fossilized remains were studied and identified in the 1800s, and scientists believed that the tree had become extinct about 20 million years ago. In 1941, however, a Chinese botanist discovered living trees in an isolated valley in central China. Since then, the tree has been found in other places in China, and the fossil record indicates that millions of years ago it grew in Greenland and in North America as far south as California. Like other sequoias, the dawn redwood grows well from seeds, and seedlings have been planted throughout the Pacific Northwest and in Alaska. Specimen trees have also been successfully grown in many of the milder parts of the East Coast of the United States. Unlike other sequoias, the dawn redwood is deciduous and loses its leaves in the fall.

Although the banyan tree begins life with a single trunk, aerial roots grow down from its spreading limbs and take root. These roots enlarge, eventually becoming trunklike, and in old age a single tree may have the appearance of a small forest. The largest banyan, found on the island of Sri Lanka, has 350 major trunks and several thousand smaller ones. The name of the tree comes from a Hindu word for trader, because in many regions where banyans are found, traders and merchants use the tree’s shade while displaying their wares.

The baobab tree, the closely related bottle tree, and certain cactus trees have trunks with fleshy centers. These trunks store large amounts of water, enabling the trees to survive the arid conditions under which they grow. The trunk of the baobab may measure 9 m (30 ft) in diameter. The bottle tree has a bulging bottle-shaped trunk. Cacti, although frequently covered with spines, can yield water to a lost hiker even in the driest desert.

Although it is native to Africa, the sausage tree is cultivated as an ornamental in warm areas such as southern Florida and Hawaii. The sausage tree has large deep red flowers, which are replaced eventually by giant sausage-shaped fruits about 60 cm long. Both the flowers and fruits are borne on long stems hanging from the limbs of the tree.

The pencil tree, a native of Asia, is grown as an ornamental in Hawaii and elsewhere because of its odd twigs, which are swollen, pencil-like, and bright green. The twigs serve the tree in place of leaves, which are almost totally lacking. The pencil tree has strongly caustic sap. On contact with the skin the sap causes a rash, and it may even cause temporary or permanent blindness if it touches the eye.

Bald cypress trees, deciduous needle-leaf trees that grow in swampy areas, are unusual because of special breathing organs known as cypress knees. These organs are extensions from the root system that project above the usual water level and absorb oxygen from the air for use by the roots.

Strangler fig trees are an example of a parasitic method of development that occurs in several plant families. A seed is deposited by a bird, monkey, or other animal in a depression or a

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crotch of a limb. The seed sprouts and begins to develop, and roots eventually find their way to the ground, sometimes traveling 25 m (82 ft) or more. There the roots take hold and begin to enlarge toward each other, enclosing the trunk of the host tree. Finally, the roots join side by side to restrict the growth of the original tree, which eventually rots away, leaving the parasite standing as an independent plant.

Baobab – common name for a tropical African tree (see Mallow). The baobab tree grows only to the height of a large maple tree, but extensive lateral growth makes it one of the largest trees. The trunk of the baobab sometimes attains a diameter of 9 m (30 ft), and the branches, frequently as thick as the trunks of other large trees, form a hemispherical mass of foliage often 45 m (150 ft) in diameter. The fruit, called monkey bread, is about the size of a citron; the pulp, which has a pleasing acid taste, is used in the preparation of cooling drinks. The bark of the tree yields a strong cordage fiber. The baobab, native to Africa, is now cultivated in many tropical countries throughout the world.

Scientific classification: The baobab belongs to the family Bombacaceae. It is classified as Adansonia digitata.

Eucalyptus – genus of trees and some shrubs of the myrtle family. This genus, which includes about 450 species, forms the preponderant vegetation and most valuable timber trees of western Australian forests. Eucalyptus trees are characterized by leathery, whitish leaves that hang vertically, their edges facing the sun, and their ragged bark and peculiar aroma. Some trees in the genus are among the tallest trees known. One specimen of mountain ash with a height of at least 97 m (at least 318 ft) was found near Melbourne, Australia.

Many species are known as gum trees because of their resinous exudations. Among these are the blue gum and the cider gum, the lumber of which is widely used. Other species are known as stringybarks because of their fibrous inner bark. The peppermint trees, black peppermint and Sydney peppermint, are also included in this group. The ironbarks have hard gray bark and yield good timber. Botany Bay kino, a dark red, odorless gum employed as an astringent and a hemostatic drug and for tanning and dyeing, is derived from the ironbarks. The bloodwoods have reddish wood and also yield Botany Bay kino. Dragon's blood, tannin, oils, dyes, tars, and acids are yielded by other species of eucalyptus.

Cedar (tree) – common name for three or four species of large trees native to mountainous areas of North Africa and Asia. Cedar trees belong to the pine family, the members of which have needlelike leaves and, like all conifers, bear their seeds on scales clustered into cones. They differ from other members of the family in their evergreen four-angled leaves borne on short side-branches. The genus produces fragrant, durable, red-colored wood used in construction and cabinetry. Although no true cedars are native to North America, they are planted as ornamentals in milder areas, and various horticultural varieties, based on growth form and leaf color, exist.

The best-known cedar is the cedar of Lebanon, mentioned often in the Old Testament; the First Temple of Solomon was built of this wood (see 1 Kings 5:6). It is native to Asia Minor, and today only a few original groves remain, although they contain some trees of great age. Trees may reach 30 m (100 ft) in height and produce spreading branches that split off from the main trunk, unlike most conifers, which have a single dominant trunk. The dark to bright green leaves are about 2.5 cm (about 1 in) long, and the upright cones are about 10 cm (about 4 in) long. The Cyprus cedar, usually considered only a variety of the cedar of Lebanon, occurs on the island of Cyprus in the Mediterranean. The Atlas cedar is closely related to the cedar of Lebanon and occurs in the Atlas Mountains of North Africa. The remaining cedar, deodar, occurs in the Himalayas and is an important timber tree in India. Unlike the other species, which have horizontal branches and cones flat at the apex, the deodar has pendulous branches and rounded cones.

The name cedar is also applied to other conifer trees with fragrant wood (see Cypress). The well-known white cedar grows in swamps of the eastern United States and reaches a height of 24 m (80 ft). An arborvitae is also called cedar; western cedar and eastern white cedar are both important timber trees in the United States. Eastern red cedar, widespread in the eastern United States, is a juniper. A flowering tropical American mahogany is known as Spanish or West Indian cedar.

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Sequoia. I. INTRODUCTION Sequoia – common name for a group of huge, majestic evergreen trees characterized by a

columnar, reddish-brown trunk rising 30 m (100 ft) or more above a buttressed base. Sequoia species are conical in shape, with needlelike leaves and small, oval cones. The trees are named for the Cherokee leader Sequoya.

Once widespread in the North Temperate Zone, most sequoias suffered extinction with the advancing glaciers of the last ice age over 11,000 years ago. Only three species survived—the giant sequoia and coast redwood in California, and the dawn redwood in southwestern China. Fossil remains of sequoia trees have been found in geological strata as old as the Jurassic Period, between 180 million and 135 million years ago—tannins in the wood protected it from decay. The Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona consists largely of extinct sequoia species.

II GIANT SEQUOIA The giant sequoia, or “big tree,” is found in a narrow strip about 300 km (about 200 mi) long

on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada range at elevations between about 900 and 2400 m (about 3000 and 8000 ft). It is the most massive of all living forms. The largest specimen, the General Sherman Tree in Sequoia National Park, is 84 m (275 ft) tall, has a diameter of 11.1 m (36.4 ft) at the base, and was estimated in the early 1990s to weigh about 2500 metric tons. Other trees range from 46 to 99 m (150 to 325 ft) in height, with diameters up to 9 m (30 ft). A count of annual rings on stumps has verified ages as great as 2300 years. Some living trees, however, are believed to be close to 4000 years old.

The leaves of the giant sequoia are scalelike and lie close to the branches. The bark of the trunk is fluted and is spongy in texture; in large trees it reaches a thickness of 60 cm (2 ft). The wood is light, coarse-grained, and highly resistant to insects and fire. Most of the giant sequoia groves are included within the National Park System or are otherwise under government protection—cutting of the big trees is prohibited.

III COAST REDWOOD The coast redwood grows along the humid Pacific coast from southern Oregon to central

California. Its height ranges from 30 to 112 m (100 to 367 ft), a size approached only by the eucalyptus of Australia, one specimen of which measures at least 97 m (at least 318 ft). The diameter of the trunk measures up to 7.5 m (25 ft). The life span of the coast redwood is believed to be 2500 years. The leaves are bluer in tone than the giant sequoia and are more needlelike. The wood is similar but even-grained. Unlike most other conifers (cone-bearing trees), the stump of the coast redwood produces sprouts after cutting that can grow to considerable size in just 40 years. For this reason, and because the tree is more plentiful and its wood harder than the giant sequoia, it has been cut extensively. Some irreplaceable old-growth specimens are preserved in state and national parks, but survival of the redwood groves elsewhere is in question.

IV DAWN REDWOOD The dawn redwood was at one time the most common sequoia tree in North America and is

thought to be ancestral to the California redwood. It attains a height just under 30 m (100 ft) and averages 1.8 m (6 ft) in diameter. Its leaves are flat and grow in slender, opposite branches. Unlike the evergreen sequoias, the dawn redwood is a deciduous tree. Fossil specimens were collected in the 1800s, and in 1941 living trees were found in China. Seeds and seedlings collected in 1948 by the Arnold Arboretum in Massachusetts have been successfully propagated in North America.

5. Fauna

Fauna (or wildlife) is the most mobile element of nature, characterized by its

structural diversity. The cognitive tourism makes these attributes attractive. In order

to know the animal kingdom of remote territories with limited accessibility one

created zoological gardens (zoos) and aquariums (fish tanks).

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The implication of fauna in tourism presupposes hunting and fishing. The

efficiency of hunting tourism is given by the game density (D) of a certain region:

D = Q / S,

where:

Q— game quantity;

S—game surface in hectares.I. Hunting. IntroductionHunting - sport of pursuing and killing wild game animals in order to provide food, or

simply for the thrill of the chase, or for the enjoyment of outdoor life. People have been hunting since prehistoric times to provide themselves and their families with food, fur and leather clothing, and hides for shelter. With the development of agriculture, animal husbandry, and, eventually, manufacturing, hunting gradually diminished in importance as a means of survival. Because of its challenge and pleasure as a sport, however, hunting has remained a popular activity even in modern times.

Game animals are hunted throughout the world. In North America, deer, elk, bear, pronghorn, caribou, rabbit, squirrel, duck, goose, pheasant, and wild turkey are hunted. Among the animals hunted in Asia are elephant, tiger, wild sheep, deer, bear, rabbit, waterfowl, and pheasant. African safari-hunting offers opportunity to bag a diversity of game: Cape buffalo, elephant, lion, antelope, and duck and other wild fowl. European hunters generally go out for wild boar, fox, red stag, rabbit, and various game birds. Jaguar, peccary, deer, duck, dove, and turkey are popular quarry in Central and South America.

II. History of huntingThe leisured nobility of ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome enjoyed hunting for sport. Greek

historian Xenophon argued that hunting is an asset to society, in that the recreation promotes the well-being and health of the hunter. The first laws designed to conserve game animals were not instituted until the 13th century, when Kublai Khan, emperor of the Mongols, forbade his subjects to hunt during animal breeding seasons. During the Middle Ages (5th century to 15th century) the feudal lords of Europe imposed extensive restrictions on hunting, effectively limiting the taking of game to the ruling classes. Stag hunts with hounds and horses and the pursuit of game birds with trained falcons (see Falconry) were popular pastimes of the nobility.

The invention of gunpowder in the 14th century and the perfection of the matchlock rifle in the 15th century drastically changed methods of hunting. Whereas the trap and snare, the bow and arrow, and falcons and hounds had previously been used, rifles now facilitated the bringing down of fleeing birds and animals at greater distances and in greater numbers.

Today, most hunters use rifles and shotguns to pursue their sport; shotguns and .22-caliber rifles are generally used for small game such as squirrels and rabbits, and larger caliber rifles are employed for animals such as deer and elk. For game birds such as ducks, geese, doves, and pheasant, 12- and 20-gauge shotguns are used. Claiming that primitive weapons make the hunt more challenging, many hunters now have gone back to the use of bows and arrows, especially for deer (see Archery), and some use muzzle-loading rifles.

6. The Tourist Landscapes

The tourist objects which belong to relief, climate, hydrography, fauna, and

flora do not exist isolated. They combine to make up tourist landscapes:

Karstic (limestone) landscapes;

Volcanic landscapes;13

Mountainous landscapes;

Coastal landscapes.Beach – gently sloping strip of land bordering an ocean or other body of water. Beaches

form by the action of rivers, waves, currents, tides, and wind, and they are usually covered with sand or gravel.

Beaches change shape from day to day and season to season. Waves, tides, currents, and the wind sometimes broaden a beach by depositing sand and sometimes narrow a beach by carrying sand away. Beaches along the ocean are divided into a foreshore and a backshore. The foreshore extends from the place the ocean reaches at low tide to the place it reaches at high tide. The backshore consists of the remaining portion of the beach that is only submerged during unusually high tides and storms. The steepest part of the foreshore is called the beach face. The backshore may contain one or more berms, ridges of sand and debris running parallel to the beach and deposited by a storm at its high-water mark. The backshore may also contain sand dunes, piles of sand built by wind blowing across a sandy beach.

Some beaches consist chiefly of materials derived from one kind of rock, which may give the beach a distinctive color. Coral or limestone produces white sand, and quartz usually produces yellowish sand. Sands formed from volcanic rock are black. Wave action tends to carry away lighter minerals, leaving behind sand that is enriched in heavier minerals. These heavier minerals often contain valuable metals, such as titanium, zirconium, uranium, and gold, and many beaches are mined for them.

Some of the world’s major recreational beaches are barrier beaches, which are formed when the action of waves and currents is not strong enough to wash sand fully to the shore. The sand is instead deposited in the water near the shore, forming a sandbar. The bar may grow outward until strong waves pile the sand high enough that it rises above water level, forming a barrier beach. Barrier beaches are generally elongated islands, but the beach may be joined to the mainland as sand and silt accumulates in the water between the two land areas. Well-known barrier beaches include those at Miami Beach, Florida; Atlantic City, New Jersey; and Coney Island in New York City.

Other famous recreational beaches are located at Acapulco on the western coast of Mexico, at Cannes on the Mediterranean coast of France, and at Sydney on the southeastern coast of Australia. Beaches along the islands of Hawaii in the United States have helped generate a large tourist industry in that state.

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