Courtesy of Knight map Library Archives

To the Left is a Political Map of the Peruvian state known as Cusco that Machu Picchu is located in. There are very few roads or ways to get to the rural Incan ruins because of it's location within the Andes mountain range. To the right is a topographical map of a portion of the country of Peru including the region of Cusco. The area of Machu Picchu according to the Knight library map expert has not been plotted as a specific region of importance by the Peruvian Government because it is so rural.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8480013.stm

The above is a link that discusses a occurance of a series of natural disasters that occur in Machu Picchu. The area is extremely steep and mountainous, it has a wet-dry climate seasonality therefore it recieves abundent rainfall during certain seasons, which causes landslides and mudslides to occur. Also Peru is a highly seismic land so the city was built to withstand large Earthquakes.
Vegetation in the area includes grasses, shrubs and some trees, classified as steppe with tons of rocks.It is considered a cloud forest because clouds gather around the river below and move upward.

The climate of Machu Picchu is considered a Subtropical highland climate ( for cusco) there are two distinct seasons with rainfall in November through March. Frost and hail is common although snowfall hardly ever occurs. The climate of Machu Picchu is slightly warmer than that of cusco because it is lower in elevation and the cloud cover that occurs, helps to keep the nights warmer in temperature.

http://www.mundoandino.com/peru/climate-of-peru
Temperature: 15.3 C

Precipitation: 796 mm

Peer Reviewed Article: http://onesearch.uoregon.edu/metasearch/record?group=000515&resultSet=002665&startRecord=1 the Peer review is here.

The article is here:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6V9D-4X0PBTY-3&_user=2148430&_coverDate=11/30/2009&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=search&_origin=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view

This article deals with the geology and formation of the mountains that host Machu Picchu including the movement of the tectonic plates to form the Andes mountain range.

Machu Picchu is possibly the most popular tourist destination in Peru because of the "lost city" of the Incas which remained hidden in it's mountainous terrain until the early 20th century. The structure was believed to be the offical site for the Incan rulers and it was built in 1400 AD. It was abandoned by the Incas prior to the Spanish concquest and thus was not discovered or destroyed by the Spanish.

Brazil!

The country of Brazil is located in eastern South America. It is the largest country in South America and borders the Atlantic Ocean. Brazil borders almost every country in South America except for Ecuador and Chile.

The country experiences natural disasters such as floods and droughts. Earlier this year in April they had abundant precipitation, resulting in floods that produced deadly mudslides that killed an estimated 200 people in the region of Rio de Janeiro. Droughts also have affected the people of Brazil, rivers are drying up and preventing transportation of boats and ultimately isolating entire communities. Droughts usually will occur in the Northeast territory of Brazil, while floods occur in the South. Floods cause not only the displacement of people but also the displacement of animals such as the Fire Ant that resides in the Amazon. These Ants have adapted to the increase in water level the flood brings and have learned how to navigate on the water.



Brazil has multiple biomes such as; tropical rainforest, savanna, and grassland. Which results in a wide variety of vegetation types. Central Brazil has grasses and sparse trees due to the droughts that can occur there. In the tropical rainforests, epiphytes and lichens grow on trees and provide food and habitats for animals.




The climate of Brazil is influenced by the ITCZ. Precipitation ranges in Brazil vary monthly and by region. The Amazon Basin is classified as a wet-equitorial climate and experiences a high annual precipitation. Rainfall in the region can reach over 2,000 mm annually. During the rainy season which is from December to May average temperature is around 80 degrees.

Brazil's wildlife is currently threatened by habitat loss. A Peer-Reviewed Journal I read, examined size of the environmental niche birds in the Atlantic Forests of Brazil occupied. More importantly though, how the size of the niches' are being affected by climate change and deforestation."The changes in environmental conditions that have occurred with large-scale deforestation suggest that selective regimes may have shifted and, as a consequence, spatial patterns of intra-specific variation in morphology, behaviour and genes have probably been altered."(1) It was interesting to find out not only the size of the niches was being altered by deforestation but also the genetic variability of the bird species.


1.Loiselle, Bette, Catherine Graham, Jaqueline Goerck, and Milton Cezar Ribeiro. "Assessing the Impact of Deforestation and Climate Change on the Range Size and Environmental Niche of Bird Species in the Atlantic Forests, Brazil." Journal of Biogeography, 37.7 (2010): 1288-1301.

Havasu Canyon

The Havasu Canyon is can only be reached by foot starting at the top of the canyon or by boat, traveling down the Colorado river and hiking up from there, but people take this long difficult hike to see the spectacular water. Havasu canyon is know for its bright blue green water, this is why the natives from this area are named Havasu Baaja, which in English translates to " People of the Blue Green Waters". These waters look like a tropical oasis in the middle of a desert canyon. The reasoning for the unique waters is the mineral make up of the water.
The Water that fills the Havasu Creek has a heavy concentration of Calcium Carbonate along with aragonite and clay that is made up of past and present vegetation in the area. As well as effecting the color of the water the content of the water also has to do with the formation of the travertine pools along this passage of water. Any debris that flows into the current of the water is added to the thick substance that over time adds up to make dams continuously down the creek. From the natural damming of the water, floods are very common in this area and these pools that are created can become very deep. Over time these once small creeks become hard to cross, so pioneers who wanted to discover more about these canyons used to blow apart these damns with dynamite just so the waters were easy to cross by foot or horse.

The vegetation in this canyon has a much wider variate than the grand canyon area it flows to because of the rich mineral and organic make of on the water. At the base of the Grand Canyon the vegetation in mostly dry and desert like but where side canyon and creeks come in there is a ticker, green type of vegetation. In the Havasu Canyon specifically there are cotton wood trees that line the water and there are also red-bud and ash trees.

The climate of this canyon could be a wet-dry continental, monsoon or desert climate. The summer season is dry and the winter season is wet with frequent flooding. The soil is dry, coarse and does not contain much organic material so when heavy rain falls above the canyon it all runs into the canyon creating magnificent waterfalls and dangerous flash floods.

Fernando de Noronha

Amsterdam is the capital and largest city in the Netherlands. Located on the west coast of the European continent, Amsterdam was used as a major port during the Dutch Golden Age. Over the years it has expanded and grown rapidly making it the sixth largest metropolitan area in Europe and one of the most visited tourist spots in Europe, with 3.66 million tourists annually. Being a tourist in Amsterdam is actually quite easy thanks to the transportation company GVB. They offer a 3 day pass that allows people to get on any bus or transit vessel throughout the city. The transit system works like our train and bus systems with different lines going to different places, and designated times. If you do the research before leaving you are going to find it easy to get around, especially with the GVB website offering several different maps for each transit line and tourist attraction maps. The climate of Amsterdam also helps draw people to it. Due to it's placement between 3 big bodies of water, to help regulate the temperature not getting to extremely cold or hot during the seasons, although there is a definite change between the summer and winter months. Due to Amsterdam's placement between large masses of water floods have caused mayhem in the past. It has been more than 50 years since the last major flood due to the cities enhanced system of dikes and pumps to protect itself from the possibility of flooding. Although natural disasters haven't affected Amsterdam in quite some time, other things have affected the city greatly, such as the air disaster of 1992. Which occurred on October 4, 1992 when a cargo air craft crashed into a populated part of the city. After the crashed a lot of hazardous gases and materials were released into the air, the effects of these hazards are still seen today. Many studies since them have been done to assess the real damage to the air and to the health of those who were involved in the search and rescue efforts. The vegetation around Amsterdam is slim to none because the land has been exploited so much by the people due to it's size and reputation as a tourist hot spot over the years. It is a very metropolitan area covered greatly by buildings, cars and other humanized things.

Amsterdam

Wicklow Mountains National Park, Ireland

The Wicklow Mountains are located in the southeast of Ireland. The mountain rage runs in a north-south direction from the south Dublin across Wicklow and into Wexford. The mountains are made up of metamorphic rock and granite but after many tropical storms and ice sheets, much of the metamorphic rock eroded away and the granite that was once deeply buried became exposed. Then erosive forces of ice, wind and water shaped the new mountains over time into the rounded hills that can be seen today.

The Wicklow Mountains experience a marine west coast climate. Temperatures throughout the year range from 4°C to 23°C . There is abundant precipitation due to the orographic effect. The precipitation average is 6.21 cm. Summers in the mountains can vary dramatically with wide ranges in temperatures and conditions. Sometimes the weather can be dry and warm, or the weather can be cool and somewhat wet. Winters generally are wet and windy, with some cold clear days. Cold spells often occur during January and February. Unless it is a particularly cold winter, the temperatures rarely dip below zero during the day. Weather in the mountains often changes suddenly. It is possible to experience all four seasons on any given day throughout the year. The Irish are used to constant change and dress accordingly--no matter how clear it looks, always bring a jacket.

The Cloghoge Valley located in the Wicklow Mountains experienced a harsh rain storm in August 1986. This rain storm triggered four landslides, where rapid mass movement of soil transformed into high velocity that knocked down trees, stripped bark and piled mud and pebbles up to 5 m high on the side of trees. Active peat erosion is widespread in the Wicklow Mountains. There are two possible underlying causes of the erosion. One is that climatic change is either slowing peat accumulation or initiating erosion through storm damage. The second is that erosion could be from the influence of human disturbance through burning, trampling, drainage, deforestation or through industrial pollution.

The Wicklow Mountains have a great diversity of habitats which includes a blanket bog and heath and upland grassland being the most dominant. The Park also contains woodlands, glaciated corrie lakes and valleys, and exposed rock and scree. Botanists have identified and recorded more than 800 different plant species in the mountains. Some of the common trees that exist are Douglas Fir, and Silver Birch. The shrub layer includes Ivy, Honeysuckle and Bramble. The deciduous woodlands within the Park are of important conservation value due to the lack of native woodlands left in Ireland. The dominant tree within the main area of deciduous oakwood is the Sessile Oak. Wildflowers are also another common flora in the Wicklow Mountains, such as the Cuckoo flower and the Bluebell. There is also a large diversity of animals within the Park, including badgers, red deer and the Irish hare.

The primary purpose of Wicklow Mountains National Park is the conservation of local biodiversity and landscape. The Park is also an invaluable recreational space for locals and visitors alike where they can experience hiking, mountain biking, fishing, sailing and the wonderful outdoors.