Nature Journal

  When you follow Highway 180 along the south fork of the King's River , the road leads you down into one of the deepest canyons in north America, the Kings Canyon in Kings Canyon National Park. The descent in to the Kings Canyon takes around 1.5 hours on  steep grade mountanous winding road that’s around 40 miles long from the  Kings Canyon visitor centre. Highway 180 is the only route into the canyon, which then terminates  deep in the canyon and at the end of the road's is a  visitors car park. A walk from there take you deep in to the nearby forest and Zumwalt Meadows. The trail to the meadow begins about a mile before the road ends. From the beginning of the trail head you can view  the free flowing Kings river  with a granite mountain in the   background. The water is cold and refreshing. Not many people on the day I visited. So, you feel its only you  and nature around you. There is a feelin...

  Abyss Pool is a hot spring in the West Thumb Geyser Basin of   the Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming,  United States.   The colour of the water is turquoise blue and it is so clear that you can almost see through the water but you can't see the bottom. Hence the name Abyss pool. It is 53 feet deep and is the largest hot spring pool in Yellowstone Lake at West Thumb.  Although it is a dormant now it has been an active geyser in the past.  Last time it irrupted was in 1992 with plums of water reaching 30 -80 feet in the air.

  Aradana Gala is where the Arhat Mahinda arrived from India.   Aradanagala is a  boulder on the summit of Mihintale mountain. This is from where Arhat Mahinda addressed king Devanampiyatissa for the first time. King was  hunting deer below the rock in the mango forest on the mountain plateau. Arhat Mahinda, the missionary and son of Emperor Ashoka of India, came to Mihintale to officially inaugurate Buddhism in the country in 263 B.C. Ashoka became an emperor  in India 218 years after Lord Buddha passed away. He converted to Buddhism  after seeing the mass deaths of Kalinga war which he won. Emperor Asoka promoted the spread of Buddhism across Asia.    The historical meeting of Monk Mahinda and the king 2,329 years back is commemorated annually in June on a full moon day by Buddhists across the country with Mihintale being the focal point. They make an annual pilgrimage to Mihintale summit and other historical locations i...

   World Rainforest Day This year, the theme of this day is ‘Protected Together. Now. Forever’. World Rainforest Day falls on 22 June 2021. The day is observed to raise awareness about preservation of rainforests.   Mahauskanda rainforest is a regenerated tropical rainforest bordering  Bambaragala forest reserve in Deniyaya, Rathnapura in  Sri Lanka. This land was a degraded  rubber estate  before the project to convert the plot of land to  regenerate a tropical rainforest by an environmentalist.   The reason to initiate World Rainforest Day in 2017 was to protect rainforests across the world as they are an integral part of the ecosystem. Rainforests play an important role in balancing climate change, providing fresh water and clean air to people. Deforestation, is the biggest threat to protect the forest reservation.   Attached picture is of Mahauskanda, captured in 2011.

 

  World Ocean Day is observed on 8th June every year since 2009. This years theme is, The Ocean : Life and Livelihoods. Ocean day is observed to increase awareness and knowledge about the importance of the ocean on earth and the role it plays on our lives. The idea of a World Ocean day was first proposed in 1992 at the Earth Summit held in Rio De Janeiro in Brazil, but the day was officially established by the United Nations only in 2008. This year also marks the beginning of the UN decade of ocean science for sustainable development from 2021 to 2030.  Ocean plays a major role in sustaining life on earth. Initiating discussions on the conservation and protection of the ocean is important as much as other ecosystems on the planet, because larger part of our survival depends on the ocean and related activities. The Ocean provides around 50% of the oxygen we breath and absorb 30% of the carbon dioxide on planet earth. The Ocean is earths largest habitat and covers 70% of the ear...

  The world environment day is initiated by the United nation to create awareness about the significance of nature to the public to protect the environment. The day was established in 1972 at the first Human environment conference in Stockholm and observed on June 5th every year. This years the theme is Ecosystem Restoration : Reimagine. Recreate. Restore. It is very applicable to Sri Lanka given the current situation with the e-press pearl ship disaster off Colombo harbour . We will have to Reimagine. Recreate and Restore our ocean, beaches and marine life. With the environment day this year UN is launching "A Decade of Eco System Restoration" project to heal our planet by reviving damaged ecosystems. We can grow trees and change our life style to restore our environment to protect the rivers ,ocean and forest for future generations. #GenerationRestoration .

 

 

  Crystal Cove state Park in California is blessed with several beautiful beaches of the pacific coastline and beautiful sunsets. Gorgeous sunsets can be witnessed from the beach all year around unless it is a foggy day. . There are several lookout spots to view the sunset at the beach. You can view the sunset from above the cliffs or at ground level at the beach. what ever location you choose the sunset at Crystal cove never disappoint you.

Mount Lavinia, a suburb nestled in a beautiful beach front not far from the capital in Sri Lanka, gives a panoramic view of the turquoise blue Indian Ocean and the Colombo city skyline.The Mt Lavinia Beach is the go to place for photographers to capture gorgeous sunsets and very popular with wedding photographers who wants to capture the sunset and the waves both. The Mount Lavinia beach is frequently visited by the locals through out the day. The rocks behind the Mount Lavinia hotel is one of the best spots for fishing. The fishermen start their day even before the sunrises claiming their spot on the rocks.

  I visited the  West Thumb Geyser basin in the Yellowstone National Park on 28.09.20.  It is a hot Spring situated along the southern western border of the Yellowstone lake shore and extends few feet in to the lake. The spring look like a miniature pool and the water is so clear that you could see several feet below  from the surface. The scenic view from the West Thumb Geyser is spectacular. It gives you a view of the geyser with the lake and the mountains surrounding the lake as the backdrop. . . You can walk around the thermal and the lake along the wooden foot path, but make sure you never go off the recommended trails as the West Thumb and other springs along the lake are active hot springs and boiling hot. The West Thumb was created from a small volcanic eruption created 150, 000 years ago and the heated water from the West Thumb Geyser continues to flow in to the Yellowstone lake. It is the first thermal spring in the area that was described in...

  Wonderful cloud formation above Abaya Wewa in Anuradhapura built by King Abaya in 400 B.C

 Crystal Cove is one of the state beaches in Newport Beach, Orange County in the state of California.

  Grand Teton national park's most photographic location is the Oxbow bend.   It is the most iconic image of the park with the meandering snake river with the Mount Moran las the perfect backdrop and the aspen trees that line along the snake river bank. It is a must see place if you visit Grand Teton and Yellowstone. If you visit Yellowstone via Jackson Hole your route will be  through Teton National park and you can pass scenic overlook on your way. The Oxbow bend overlook is along highway 89 close to Jackson lake junction and Moran junction.  . The Oxbow bend is a photographer's ideal place to capture fall colors  in Autumn as the aspen trees change to yellow, gold and red during end of September.  You could capture the reflection of the mount Moron on Snake river surface  water  giving you the mirror look. It is a spectacular view not to be missed.   . The Oxbow bend scenic over look at Teton provide a breathtaking...