Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Shaped like a triangle, a delta is a low, watery land formed at the mouth of a river. The term ‘Delta’ was coined by the Greek historian Herodotus. How is Delta formed? Delta is usually formed from the silt, sand and small rocks that flow downstream and get deposited at the mouth of a river or stream through which it enters a lake or an ocean. Thus, unlike other landforms that are formed by flowing water, a delta is not created by eroding the landscape. Instead, water builds up a delta. How does Delta nurture its habitat? Deltas have played a vital role in the history of human civilisation. The deposits brought by the river include fertile silts which provide good soil for farming. Fish life is abundant in the creeks and chan- nels as well as in the mouth of the delta due to the plentiful water, adapted vegetation and nutrients in the silt deposits. This supports the fishing industry and adds extra source of food for the people. Thus deltas serve as fishing, farming and living sites. What disadvantage does a Delta offer in spite of nurturing life? As deltas are formed on low lying and flat land, they are easily flooded. It is difficult to construct any solid foundations as the land beneath is marshy. The front or seaward side of deltas are easily eroded by tide and wave action as they are made of weak deposits and soft rocks. The river channels or distributaries crossing deltas get easily clogged up by river deposits and so have to be constantly dredged to make them navigable for ships. Trivia: The Ganges-Brahmaputra delta is the largest delta in the world. Its southern region is largely a swamp forest area of nearly 16, 900 square kilometers known as the Sundarbans and is home to the endangered Royal Bengal Tiger. Mine Matters Limestone is a type of sedimentary rock composed of the mineral calcite (CaCO3), which upon calcination, yields lime (CaO) for commercial use. n Recrystallised limestone takes good polish and is used as a decorative and building stone. This form of limestone is called ‘marble’. n Limestone is readily available and relatively easy to cut into blocks or more elaborate carving. n Limestone is extracted for roadbeds, building, landscape constructions and cement manufacture. Therefore, it is popular in architectural constructions around the world. n In India, Andhra Pradesh has about 32 per cent of the country’s total limestone reserves. n ManMade Marvels The Swaminarayan Temple of the BAPS Swaminarayan sect is located in the Chicago suburb of Bartlett, in the United States. It is one of the largest traditional Hindu Vedic stone temples outside India, based on ‘Shila Shastras’ – an ancient Hindu text about building and sculpture techniques. Inaugurated in 2004 with absolute grandeur, the estimated cost of the temple is around $19 million. Magnifying aura Built on 30 acres of land with a total area of 22, 442 square feet the temple stands at an elevation of 78 feet from the ground. The exterior of the temple is done up with Turkish Limra limestone with a marvelous main floor made of Italian Carrara marble. This huge stone temple consists of a total of 8430 tons of stone and comprises 40,000 stone pieces. Glimpses of ethnicity The temple has a huge main dome beside six other domes. A total of 129 arches 10 n Young ExplorEr n august 2009 offer a splendid view of the spectacular wall carvings. The temple stands on a rock solid foundation of 151 pillars intricately hand-carved in India; each pillar depicting a famous incident from Hindu scriptures. This apart, the temple has numerous windows with intricate carvings marking the very ethnicity of the Hindu sculptures with intricate geometric patterns and rosettes. Technical excellence The temple has centralised heating and cooling to gel with the temperatures around. An advanced technique of Gel tube floor heating is an added comfort to the devotees. The entire temple is well-lit with fiber optic lighting. Trivia Wonders of nature Geo watch The temple was awarded the ‘Best Building Suburb’ award by the Chicago Building Congress (CBC) for displaying ‘distinctive design and outstanding construction.