Posted on 02/21/2007 8:10:27 AM PST by cogitator
Grab bag; a rare picture of Kerguelen from space (usually cloud-covered) and a nice picture of Bryce Canyon. Sorry I missed last week.
If you click the Kerguelen picture, you get a 250-meter resolution version. Even though there have been surveys, supposedly there are still places on Kerguelen that have never been visited by a human being in recorded history.
Bryce Canyon from Bryce Point
ping!
I was privileged to take several geology field trips up to that area. I love it love it love it.
WEATHER
Kerguelen's weather is harsh, with rain, sleet or snow falling more than 300 days a year; it is not unusual to get snow at sea level in the middle of the summer. Winds blow continuously from the west, as the islands lie in the path of the "Furious Fifties". Averaging 68 m.p.h. (110 km/hr) year-round, sustained winds of 93 m.p.h. (150 kph) are commonplace, and gusts of up to 124 m.p.h. (200 kph) have been recorded. Appropriately enough, the lone chapel on the island is called Notre Dame des Vents.
As Kerguelen lies on the Antarctic Convergence where upwelling cold water from the Antarctic mixes with the the warmer waters of the Indian Ocean, birdlife and marine mammals are abundant. The state of the sea reflects the high wind speeds, with wave heights of 40-50 ft. (12-15m) being common. The sea around Kerguelen is, however, ice free.
Not exactly my next vacation spot.
I agree my favorite part of the country. And a well (sorta) known secret is that there are several "bryce-type" canyons in the area. No crowds and just as scenic. Kodachrome basin is the next most well known, but we saw others.
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