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Troödos Mountains
Troodos or Trodos is the largest mountain range in Cyprus, located in roughly the center of the island. Its highest peak is Mount Olympusalso known in Greek as at . Covering a third of Cyprus's area, the Troodos mountain range stretches across most of the western side of Cyprus. The mountains form a significant rainshadow on the island. There are many mountain resorts, Byzantine monasteries, and churches on mountain peaks, and, nestling in its valleys and mountains, villages which cling to terraced hills. The area has been known since antiquity for its mines, which for centuries supplied copper to the entire Mediterranean. In the Byzantine period it became a centre of Byzantine art, as churches and monasteries were built in the mountains, away from the threatened coastline. The mountains are home to Troodos Station, a listening post for both the American National Security Agency and the British GCHQ. The name ''Troodos'' probably comes from one of two sources: either + ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mount Olympus (Cyprus)
Olympus, or Chionistra, ( ''or'' Χιονίστρα; ) at , is the highest point in Cyprus. It is located in the Troodos Mountains of Cyprus. Mount Olympus peak and the "Troodos Square" fall under the territory of Platres in Limassol District. A British long range radar currently operates at Mount Olympus' peak. It has a highland warm-summer mediterranean climate. Mount Olympus is formed of ultramafic rock, dominantly serpentinized harzburgite which is part of the Troodos ophiolite. The Mount Olympus Ski resort consists of the Sun Valley and North Face areas. Each area has its own ski lifts and runs, operated by the Cyprus Ski Club: * Aphrodite or Sun Valley I, with a 125m T-bar ski lift and beginner-level slopes * Hermes or Sun Valley II, with a 140m T-bar ski lift and intermediate-level slopes * Dias/Zeus or North Face I, with a 380m chairlift and advanced-level slopes * Hera or North Face II, with a 262m T-bar ski lift and beginner-level slopes In the Sun Valley area t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ophiolite
An ophiolite is a section of Earth's oceanic crust and the underlying upper mantle (Earth), upper mantle that has been uplifted and exposed, and often emplaced onto continental crustal rocks. The Greek word ὄφις, ''ophis'' (''snake'') is found in the name of ophiolites, because of the superficial texture of some of them. Serpentinite especially evokes a snakeskin. (The suffix ''-lite'' is from the Greek ''lithos'', meaning "stone".) Some ophiolites have a green color. The origin of these rocks, present in many mountainous massifs, remained uncertain until the advent of plate tectonic theory. Their great significance relates to their occurrence within mountain belts such as the Alps and the Himalayas, where they document the existence of former ocean basins that have now been consumed by subduction. This insight was one of the founding pillars of plate tectonics, and ophiolites have always played a central role in plate tectonic theory and the interpretation of ancient mo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rose
A rose is either a woody perennial plant, perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred Rose species, species and Garden roses, tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be erect shrubs, climbing, or trailing, with stems that are often armed with sharp Thorns, spines, and prickles, prickles. Their flowers vary in size and shape and are usually large and showy, in colours ranging from white through pinks, reds, oranges and yellows. Most species are native to Asia, with smaller numbers native to Europe, North America, and Northwest Africa. Species, cultivars and hybrid (biology), hybrids are all widely grown for their beauty and often are fragrant. Roses have acquired cultural significance in many societies. Rose plants range in size from compact, miniature roses to climbers that can reach seven meters in height. Different species hybridize easily, and this has been use ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rhus
Sumac or sumach ( , )—not to be confused with poison sumac—is any of the roughly 35 species of flowering plants in the genus ''Rhus'' (and related genera) of the cashew and mango tree family, Anacardiaceae. However, it is '' Rhus coriaria'' that is most commonly used for culinary purposes. Sumac is prized as a spice—especially in Kurdish, Arab, Lebanese, Turkish, Armenian, Iranian, and other Eastern cuisines —and used as a dye and holistic remedy. The plants grow in subtropical and temperate regions, on nearly every continent except Antarctica and South America. Description Sumacs are dioecious shrubs and small trees in the family Anacardiaceae that can reach a height of . The leaves are usually pinnately compound, though some species have trifoliate or simple leaves. The flowers are in dense panicles or spikes long, each flower very small, greenish, creamy white or red, with five petals. The fruits are reddish, thin-fleshed drupes covered in varying levels of hai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Olea
''Olea'' ( ) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Oleaceae. It includes 12 species native to warm temperate and tropical regions of the Middle East, southern Europe, Africa, southern Asia, and Australasia. They are evergreen trees and shrubs, with small, opposite, entire leaves. The fruit is a drupe. Leaves of ''Olea'' contain trichosclereids. For humans, the most important and familiar species is by far the olive (''Olea europaea''), native to the Mediterranean region, Africa, southwest Asia, and the Himalayas, which is the type species of the genus. The native olive (''O. paniculata'') is a larger tree, attaining a height of 15–18 m in the forests of Queensland, and yielding a hard and tough timber. The yet harder wood of the black ironwood ''O. capensis'', an inhabitant of Natal, is important in South Africa. ''Olea'' species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) or lepidopterans is an order (biology), order of winged i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quercus Alnifolia
''Quercus alnifolia'', commonly known as the golden oak, is an evergreen oak species of Cyprus. Its common English name refers to the golden coloured lower surface of its leaves. ''Quercus alnifolia'' belongs to the endemic flora of the island and it is confined to the igneous geological complex of the Troodos Mountains. In February 2006, the parliament of Cyprus selected the golden oak to be the country's national tree. Description The golden oak is a much branched evergreen shrub or small tree up to high. Due to its short stature (in relation to other oaks) it is sometimes referred to as the ''dwarf oak''. Its leaves are simple, obovate to suborbicular, long, wide, glabrous and shining dark green above and densely golden or brownish tomentose below, with serrate margins and raised nervation. The petioles are strong, long and pilose. The flowers are unisexual; the male catkins are greenish-yellow forming spreading or pendulous clusters at the tips of the branches; the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pinus Brutia
''Pinus brutia'', commonly known as the Turkish pine and Calabrian pine, is a species of pine native to the eastern Mediterranean region. The bulk of its range is in Turkey, but certain varieties are naturalized as far east as Afghanistan. It is also known as East Mediterranean pine, Afghan pine, and Brutia pine. The name "Calabrian pine" comes from an introduced grove in the Calabria region of southern Italy; historically this region was called Bruttium, which is likely where the specific epithet "brutia" comes from. ''Pinus brutia'' bears many similarities with other, closely related species such as '' Pinus halepensis'' and '' Pinus canariensis''. Turkish pine forms a species complex with the former. Description ''Pinus brutia'' is a medium-size tree, reaching tall with a trunk diameter of up to , exceptionally . The young bark is thin and red-orange, maturing to grey-brown to orange in color, fissured to flaky in texture. The leaves are needle-like, slender, long, dark gree ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prodromos (Cyprus)
Prodromos () is the highest village in Cyprus at above sea level. It is the island's main centre for winter sport, with three ski slopes located on nearby Mount Olympus. The village is part of the Limassol District. The number of inhabitants has decreased steadily over the years; by there were only 123 permanent residents, although there are over 240 residences that are temporarily occupied, mostly during the summer and other holidays.LIVING QUARTERS, HOUSEHOLDS AND POPULATION ENUMERATED BY DISTRICT,MUNICIPALITY/COMMUNITY AND POSTAL CODE (1.10.2011), Cyprus Statistical Service. http://www.cystat.gov.cy/mof/cystat/statistics.nsf/populationcondition_22main_en/populationcondition_22main_en?OpenForm&sub=2&sel=2 Topography Built at an altitude of 1,390 meters on the mountainside and covered in the dense mountainous vegetation of Troodos, Prodromos of the about 80 residents is a village that wins its visitors’ hearts throughout the year, because of the snow that covers everything ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mediterranean Climate
A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typically have dry summers and wet winters, with summer conditions being hot and winter conditions typically being mild. These weather conditions are typically experienced in the majority of Mediterranean-climate regions and countries, but remain highly dependent on proximity to the ocean, altitude and geographical location. The dry summer climate is found throughout the warmer middle latitudes, affecting almost exclusively the western portions of continents in relative proximity to the coast. The climate type's name is in reference to the coastal regions of the Mediterranean Sea, which mostly share this type of climate, but it can also be found in the Atlantic portions of Iberia and Northwest Africa, the Pacific portions of the United States ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sea Floor Spreading
Seafloor spreading, or seafloor spread, is a process that occurs at mid-ocean ridges, where new oceanic crust is formed through volcanic activity and then gradually moves away from the ridge. History of study Earlier theories by Alfred Wegener and Alexander du Toit of continental drift postulated that continents in motion "plowed" through the fixed and immovable seafloor. The idea that the seafloor itself moves and also carries the continents with it as it spreads from a central rift axis was proposed by Harold Hammond Hess from Princeton University and Robert Dietz of the U.S. Naval Electronics Laboratory in San Diego in the 1960s. The phenomenon is known today as plate tectonics. In locations where two plates move apart, at mid-ocean ridges, new seafloor is continually formed during seafloor spreading. Significance Seafloor spreading helps explain continental drift in the theory of plate tectonics. When oceanic plates diverge, tensional stress causes fractures to occur in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ian Graham Gass
Ian Graham Gass, FRS, geologist, was Professor of Earth Sciences and Head of Discipline at the Open University, Milton Keynes and he was President of the IAVCEI (1983–87). He was married to Mary Pearce (1955, one son, one daughter). At the close of the 1960s, a paradigm shift in scientific understanding occurred that changed the static field of geology into a more dynamic Earth Science. By showing that the Troödos Mountains, Cyprus is a remnant of seafloor spreading, Ian Gass played a role in that transformation. He was educated at the University of Leeds The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Y ... under Prof William Quarrier Kennedy FRS FRSE. Selected publications * * * References Further reading Obituary: Professor Ian Gass {{DEFAULTSORT:Gass, Ian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pillow Lava
Pillow lavas are lavas that contain characteristic pillow-shaped structures that are attributed to the extrusion of the lava underwater, or ''subaqueous extrusion''. Pillow lavas in volcanic rock are characterized by thick sequences of discontinuous pillow-shaped masses, commonly up to one meter in diameter. They form the upper part of Oceanic_crust#Composition, Layer 2 of normal oceanic crust. Composition Pillow lavas are commonly of basaltic composition, although pillows formed of komatiite, picrite, boninite, basaltic andesite, andesite, dacite or even rhyolite are known. In general, the more felsic the composition (richer in silica - resulting in an Intermediate composition), the larger the pillows, due to the increase in viscosity of the erupting lava. Occurrence They occur wherever lava is extruded underwater, such as along marine hotspot (geology), hotspot volcano chains and the Divergent boundary, constructive plate boundaries of mid-ocean ridges. As new oceanic crust is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
