The Passenger Pigeon, which numbered once in the tens of billions, lived in North America east of the Rocky Mountains. Their flocks, a mile wide and up to 300 miles long, were so dense that they covered the entire sky for hours as the flock passed overhead. Population estimates from the 19th century ranged from
The Dire Wolf is an extinct North American species of wolf which was a great deal larger than our wolves of present day. For about 100,000 years it lived alongside its cousins, the Gray Wolves, although they are not directly linked. The Dire Wolf was much larger than the Gray Wolf, and in fact was
Steller’s Sea Cow was a mammal which ate vegetation and adapted to living entirely in the water. Could an animal that supposedly went extinct in 1768 still be in the waters of the Pacific? Discovered by a naturalist, Georg Steller while exploring with Vitus Bering to a sea that is now named after him. The
At one time wolves were very common throughout Great Britain. Just a mere two thousand years ago, they were said to have numbered nearly ten thousand and to live in mainland Britain. There is a great deal of evidence to back up this claim, including the naming of many children after the wolf, and tribal
The Dodo was a non flying bird that lived on the island of Mauritius, and stood about 40 inches tall. The Dodo nested entirely on the ground. It became extinct only a few hundred years ago, in the late 17th century.. The extinction of the Dodo bird is directly involved in human intervention. Sadly this
Taking the honors for the greatest earthquake ever felt is Chile, in 1960. The reason it is entitles the greatest is not the amount of damage or the number of deaths it caused, but instead the amount of energy that was measured during the active rumblings of the earthquake. About 100 miles off the coast
Location: 19.5N, 102.2W Elevation: 10,400 feet (3,170 m) Volcanologist don’t often get to see the birth, entire growth and the death of a volcano. One of the very few volcanoes to provide this opportunity is Paricutin, in Mexico. The eruption that began Paricutin started in 1940s and continued until 1952. Paricutin Most of the explosive
In the year 1883, on a volcanic island in the Sunda strait a series of the most extreme volcanic activity ever felt was experienced by Krakatoa. The ash from the volcanic activity was sent over fifty miles up into the atmosphere and the explosions were heard over two thousand miles away. On that single day
Located on the Churun river, which is a tributary of the Carrao, Angel Falls is the highest freshwater, freefalling waterfall in the world. It has an uninterrupted fall of 2,648 feet with an overall fall of 3,212 feet. First seen by and explorer Ernesto Sanchez La Cruz, the western world was not aware of this
Located in Great Britain in the county of Wiltshire, near Salisbury, Stonehenge is one of the most famous monuments in the world. It is considered a prehistoric site. Made of earthworks in a circular area it is comprised of large standing stones which archeologists think were erected around 2000 BC. Stonehenge The earth bank and
Legends tell of Sioux girls who were out picking flowers one day when they found themselves chased by bears. The Great Spirit who felt sympathy for them lifted the ground beneath their feet and raised them to safety. The bears were not able to climb the rocks and fell, leaving scratching marks down the side
The legends say that John Houchins was hunting and chased a wounded bear to the entrance of a large cave, which opened near the Green River to find the inside of what was Mammoth cave. He found one of the greatest cave systems know from which many different native American remains were recovered. Mummified remains
Ocean reefs form under water, and may be formed from, coral, rock, or sand. Generally the top of the reef is positioned from two to three feet below the surface. Coral reefs are located in shallow, clean ocean water. Among the most amazing of this type is the Great Barrier Reef. It is actually a
Located in Southern New Mexico, Carlsbad Caverns National Park is situated in the Guadalupe mountains, about 18 miles southwest of Carlsbad New Mexico. Explorer Jim white named many of the rooms, and prominent features, such as the totem pole, and the witches finger. On October 25, 1923, it was named a National Monument, and then
Located primarily in the Bernalillo and Sandoval counties of New Mexico, the Sandia mountain range is north of the city of Albuquerque. Nearly encased and surrounded by the Cibola national forest it is also home to the Sandia mountain wilderness area. The highest point in the ranges is Sandia Crest, which rises nearly to a
