The Tree of Tule (Largest Tree in World), Center of Santa, Oaxaca, Mexico

The Tree of Tule is a tree located in the church grounds in the town center of Santa María del Tule in the Mexican state of Oaxaca, approximately 9 km (6 mi) east of the city of Oaxaca on the road to Mitla. It is a Montezuma cypress, or ahuehuete. It has the stoutest tree trunk in the world. In 2001, it was placed on a UNESCO tentative list of World Heritage Sites.

 

It is also one of the largest tree in the world and believed to have the widest trunk. Measurements of its circumference, as reported by various sources, vary from 137 feet to over 170 feet. The trunk is so wide that as many as thirty people with arms outstretched, joining hands are needed to encircle it. However, the trunk is heavily buttressed, thereby appearing thicker and giving a higher reading than it actually is. When this is taken into account, the diameter of the 'smoothed out' trunk comes out to be 30.8 feet, which is still slightly larger than the next most stout tree known, a Giant Sequoia with a 29.5 feet diameter.

In 2005, its trunk had a circumference of 42.0 m (137.8 ft), equating to a diameter of 14.05 m (46.1 ft), an increase from a measurement of 11.42 m (37.5 ft) m in 1982. However, the trunk is heavily buttressed, giving a higher diameter reading than the true cross-sectional of the trunk represents; when this is taken into account, the diameter of the 'smoothed out' trunk is 9.38 m (30.8 ft). This is slightly wider than the next most stout tree known, a giant sequoia with a 8.90 m (29.2 ft) diameter.

The height is difficult to measure due to the very broad crown; the 2005 measurement, made by laser, is 35.4 m (116 ft), shorter than previous measurements of 41–43 m (135–141 ft). It is so large that it was originally thought to be multiple trees, but DNA tests have proven that it is only one tree. This does not rule out another hypothesis, which states that it comprises multiple trunks from a single individual.

 

The age is unknown, with estimates ranging between 1,200 and 3,000 years, and even one claim of 6,000 years; the best scientific estimate based on growth rates is 1,433-1,600 years. Local Zapotec legend holds that it was planted about 1,400 years ago by Pechocha, a priest of the god that the Aztecs would call Ehecatl, the Aztec wind god,(this is in broad agreement with the scientific estimate); its location on a sacred site (later taken over by the Roman Catholic Church) would also support this.

The tree is occasionally nicknamed the "Tree of Life" from the images of animals that are reputedly visible in the tree's gnarled trunk. As part of an official project local schoolchildren give tourists a tour of the tree and point out shapes of creatures on the trunk, including jaguars and elephants. 

 

The tree is over 130 feet high  so tall that it dwarfs the town’s main church and its spires. Its fame so wide that it overshadows everything the town stands for. In fact, the entire town appears to be built around this particularly large cypress tree with its crafts market, church and town plaza all next to it. All life and livelihood revolves around this tree.

Traditionally, the population of Tule made their living extracting and processing lime for sale in the city of Oaxaca. In the 20th century, much of the population became farmers, growing corn, beans, chickpeas and alfalfa. With industrialization, the economy of Santa María del Tule became diverse and the tree became the hub of tourism for the community. As many as three-fourth of the town’s population rely directly on the tree for their livelihoods.

Santa María del Tule used to be a lake surrounded by marshes which included many cypress trees. This marsh was also filled with bulrushes which accounts for part of the town’s name. Today, the lake has dried up and the marshes gone. More recently, increased urbanization and irrigated farming has lowered the water table, threatening the tree's survival.

The Xiaozhai Tiankeng (World's biggest sinkhole), Fengjie County, China

The Xiaozhai Tiankeng also known as the Heavenly Pit, is the world's deepest sinkhole. It is located in Fengjie County of Chongqing Municipality.

The Xiaozhai Tiankeng is 626 meters (2,054 ft) long, 537 meters (1,762 ft) wide, and between 511 and 662 meters (1,677–2,172 ft) deep, with vertical walls. Its volume is 119,349,000 m³ and the area of its opening is 274,000 m². This material has been dissolved and carried away by the river. The sinkhole is a doubly nested structure the upper bowl is 320 meters (1,050 ft) deep, the lower bowl is 342 meters (1,122 ft) deep, and the two bowls are on average 257 to 268 m (843–879 ft) across. Between both these steps is a sloping ledge, formed due to soil trapped in the limestone. In the rainy season, a waterfall can be seen at the mouth of the sinkhole.

The Xiaozhai Tiankeng has been well known to local people since ancient times. Xiaozhai is the name of an abandoned village nearby and literally means "little village", and "Tiankeng" means Heavenly Pit, a unique regional name for sinkholes in China. A 2,800-step staircase has been constructed in order to facilitate tourism.

The Tiankeng formed over the Difeng cave, which in turn had been formed by a powerful underground river which still flows underneath the sinkhole. The underground river starts in the Tianjing fissure gorge and reaches a vertical cliff above the Migong River, forming a 4-metre (13 ft) high waterfall. The length of this underground river is approximately 8.5 km (5.3 mi) and during these 8.5 kilometres, it falls 364 metres. (1,194 ft) The median annual flow of this river is 8.77 m³ per second, but its flowrate can reach 174 m³/s. Both the river and Difeng Cave were explored and mapped by China Caves Project in 1994.

1,285 species of plants, including ginkgo, and many rare animals like the clouded leopard have been found in the sinkhole. It contains corridors, halls, craters, collapsed rocks, stone pillars and a type of formation called cave pearls - small, round stones polished smooth by water and deposited in cave crannies, where they sit undisturbed.

A shaft in the large cave hall was found to connect to an underground river, which feeds into the nearby Panyang River.

The Corpus Museum (Human Biology Museum), Netherlands

The Corpus Museum is a human biology interactive museum, located near Oegstgeest in the Netherlands. Museum is a unique journey through the human body by literally going through a giant building shaped like a human body. The tour and exhibition explains how our bodies work, how the different organs relate to each other and what we can do to keep it healthy.

Museum provides both education and entertainment through a combination of permanent and variable collections. Opened in 2008 by Queen Beatrix, the museum is the world's first museum of its type. It takes you on a journey through the human body and will give you a great inside look in to the human body. The audience goes through the various organs of the human body. Each participant receives an audio tour at the entrance that provides text and explanations during the guided tour accompanied by film, smell and light effects.

This unique museum explains young and old how our bodies function. How does the heart work? What do red blood cells do? What happens when you sneeze? In a trip from head to toe you’ll discover the answers to thousands of questions about the human body. CORPUS uses the latest techniques to make you understand how the human body works. Sounds, 5D effects and gigantic replicas create the illusion of traveling through an actual body. 

 

The giant orange body at the Corpus Museum is cut in its center by the glass walls of the building, making it appear to be a silhouette. In reality, the orange man is a full body resting half inside and half outside of the museum. The sculpture immediately catches the eye of cars passing down Leiden’s A44 Highway, beckoning them to the unusual museum.

The Corpus Museum’s hour-long tour begins with an escalator ride up the leg to the knee, where visitors will step inside an open wound. Next comes the genital area, where visitors will put on 3D glasses to witness a sperm cell fertilizing an egg. Farther up the giant body come the intestines, where you can witness the digestion of a cheese sandwich before your eyes. After passing through the ventricles of the human heart, visitors reach the head. Here, adults can observe pulsing neurons in the brain, while children can jump atop a giant tongue as a burping sound erupts from a speaker system.

The museum’s upper floor features multiple interactive activities and a cafeteria. As visitors eat, they can look at the giant orange man jutting through the glass walls beside them.

For more information  - Official Website

Hin Sam Wan (Three Whale Rock), Phu Sing Buengkan, Thailand

Hin Sam Wan, which means Three Whale Rock, is a 75 million-year-old rock formation jutting majestically out of the mountains. It earned its name because from the right perspective, it looks like a family of whales. The rocks bear a remarkable resemblance to a family of whales – father, mother and baby and offer one of the most beautiful viewpoints in Phu Sing.

Reachable by an extensive network of trails, a hike to these impressive stone leviathans makes for a breathtakingly memorable, not to mention eco-friendly way for visitors to explore the amazing views and surrounding forests. From the vantage point atop these “whales”, you can see the beaches of the Mekong, the mountains in Pakkading district of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, and Phu Wua Forest.  

It’s very easy to dedicate an entire day to the Three Whale Rock. Visitors can choose from nine different routes to hike. On these hikes, you can find waterfalls, a wide variety of plant and animal life, and even a little bit of peace and quiet. While here, stay for the sunset if you have the time. There’s nothing quite like watching the sun go down over Thailand from the back of a giant stone whale.

Nearby is the equally impressive Phu Sing rock, the result of a geological change in the earth’s crust and a place of immense natural beauty. Phu Sing has important natural features including the Phu Sing Tham Field, the Lan Tham Viewpoint, Ruesi Cave, Hin Chang, Hin Railway, Lan Hin Lai and Phu Sing Rock Wall.