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The pond of liquid asphalt
Peach Lake - the lake of liquid asphalt.
Heard a kid Russian folk tale in which the mention of such wonders as the rivers of milk and milk and honey? But African children's parents to seriously talk about the present asphalt lake! And this is not fiction, but a reality under the name Peach Lake, and is this natural wonder in the African country of Trinidad.
The lake is entirely composed of liquid asphalt, is not only the largest deposits of this raw material in vrsem world, but the main attraction of the country. The lake is 0, 4 square kilometers and a depth in some places reaches 75 meters. Stocks pure asphalt here are enormous - scientists estimate of more than six million tons, which should be enough even for at least four centuries.
Like any other attraction, Peach Lake has its own history and even legend. It was still open in 1595 by the English poddanym Walter Raleigh, who immediately figured out how to benefit from the huge reserves of bitumen - it was used for ship osmolki. A local legends say that the resin has risen from the bowels of the earth and swallowed a nearby village, the villagers who dared to eat a lot of sacred birds - hummingbirds.
In fact, the formation of this unusual lake more prosaic, because the bitumen tank is located on the border of two underground faults. When the oceanic plate is moved under the Caribbean, between them form a cavity that is filled with oil. The light fraction of "black gold" rose to the surface, which resulted in the formation of the asphalt lake, deep processes which do not cease to this day.
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Heard a kid Russian folk tale in which the mention of such wonders as the rivers of milk and milk and honey? But African children's parents to seriously talk about the present asphalt lake! And this is not fiction, but a reality under the name Peach Lake, and is this natural wonder in the African country of Trinidad.
The lake is entirely composed of liquid asphalt, is not only the largest deposits of this raw material in vrsem world, but the main attraction of the country. The lake is 0, 4 square kilometers and a depth in some places reaches 75 meters. Stocks pure asphalt here are enormous - scientists estimate of more than six million tons, which should be enough even for at least four centuries.
Like any other attraction, Peach Lake has its own history and even legend. It was still open in 1595 by the English poddanym Walter Raleigh, who immediately figured out how to benefit from the huge reserves of bitumen - it was used for ship osmolki. A local legends say that the resin has risen from the bowels of the earth and swallowed a nearby village, the villagers who dared to eat a lot of sacred birds - hummingbirds.
In fact, the formation of this unusual lake more prosaic, because the bitumen tank is located on the border of two underground faults. When the oceanic plate is moved under the Caribbean, between them form a cavity that is filled with oil. The light fraction of "black gold" rose to the surface, which resulted in the formation of the asphalt lake, deep processes which do not cease to this day.
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