Showing posts with label South America. Show all posts
Showing posts with label South America. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Walt Disney"s "Disney Land"


One day Walt Disney had a vision. It was a vision of a place where children and parents could have fun together. The more Walt dreamed of a "magical park," the more imaginative and elaborate it became.

The original plans for the park were on 8 acres next to the Burbank studios where his employees and families could go to relax. Although, World War II put those plans on hold. During the war, Walt had time to come up with new ideas, and creations for his magical park. It was soon clear that 8 acres wouldn't be enough.

Finally in 1953, he had the Stanford Research Institute conduct a survey for a 100-acre site, outside of Los Angeles. He needed space to build rivers, waterfalls, and mountains; he would have flying elephants and giant teacups;a fairy-tale ca
stle, moon rockets, and a scenic railway; all inside a magic kingdom he called "Disneyland."

Monday, June 9, 2008

The statue of Liberty


The Statue of Liberty is a giant sculpture of a woman dressed in flowing robes and wearing a spiked crown. Her right hand holds a gold torch high above her head. Her left arm holds a book of law with the date July 4, 1776, the date Americans declared their independence from Britain. The statue from base to torch is 305 feet (93 meters) high. The lady herself stands 151 feet (46 meters) tall.

The Statue of Liberty stands on Liberty Island.The people of France gave the Statue of Liberty to the United States in 1884. The gift honors the alliance between the two nations during the American Revolution. Thousands of French citizens donated the money to build the statue. French sculptor Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi designed the statue.

New torch:

A new torch replaced the original, which was deemed beyond repair because of the extensive 1916 modifications. The 1886 torch is now in the monument's lobby museum. The new torch has gold plating applied to the exterior of the "flame," which is illuminated by external lamps on the surrounding balcony platform.

Sunday, June 8, 2008

Amazon-The Largest River in the World



The Amazon is a long river in South America. The river starts in snow and tiny streams, high in the Andes Mountains in Peru. It flows east through Brazil. After 4,000 miles (6,400 kilometers), the Amazon empties into the Atlantic Ocean.

Along its route, hundreds of streams and smaller rivers empty into the Amazon. As a result, the Amazon carries more water than any other river in the world. Although the Amazon is the largest river in the world, it is not the longest. Only the Nile River in Africa is longer than the Amazon.

A vast tropical rain forest lies next to the Amazon River in Brazil and neighboring countries. More than seven times the size of Texas, it is the largest rain forest in the world