Peninsula Valdez: “Paradise for Marine Animals. Peninsula Valdez: “Paradise for Marine Animals Open Air Zoo”

(Spanish: Península Valdes) - a peninsula on the Atlantic coast with an area of ​​about 3.7 thousand km²; connected to the mainland by an isthmus Carlos Ameghino(Spanish: Istmo Carlos Ameghino). From the north its coast is washed by San Jose Bay(Spanish: San Jose Bay), from the south - Golfo Nuevo (Spanish: Golfo Nuevo). The territory of the peninsula is part of the Argentine province (Spanish: Provincia de Chubut), which, in turn, is located in the center of the region (Spanish: Patagonia). Most of the peninsula is an uninhabited area. The 400-kilometer coastline is very picturesque, it includes a series of bays and lagoons, bizarre cliffs, sandy and rocky beaches, and huge fantastic cliffs. And the coastal waters are rich in magnificent coral reefs.

The nearest large city from the peninsula is (Spanish: Puerto Madryn).

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Climate

The climate on the peninsula is transitional between the temperate climate of the central part of the country (with plenty of rainfall in the hot months) and the cold climate with winter rains, characteristic of Patagonia. Summers in Valdez are short and hot, and winters are long and mild.

Open air zoo

Many call the Valdez Peninsula a miracle of nature, because this place is home to an incredible diversity of marine fauna. The peninsula became famous as a place of concentration of unique and diverse marine fauna, for which in 1999 this amazing corner of nature was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Crowds of tourists flock to this island, connected to the continent by a narrow strip of land, every year to watch huge whales, funny penguins and other animals.

The coast of the peninsula is of great importance for the conservation of rare species of marine animals. Numerous colonies of marine mammals live here, such as southern elephant seals (Latin Mirounga leonina), eared seals (Latin Otariidae), killer whales (Latin Orcinus orca), sea lions (Latin Otariinae), fur seals (Latin Callorhinus ursinus ).

In the warm and calm waters of the Gulf of Golfo Nuevo, which separates the peninsula from mainland Patagonia, rare southern right whales (lat. Eubalaena australis) are found, and other species of whales swim from May to December to spend the mating season and breed.

On land, there are rhea ostriches (Rheidae), guanaco llamas (Lama guanicoe), armadillos (Cingulata) and maras (Dolichotinae), also known as Patagonian hares or Patagonian pigs. From September to March, penguins (lat. Spheniscidae) live on Valdez - during this period, these amazing flightless seabirds hatch their chicks. The species diversity of seabirds living here is especially huge (at least 180 species), mainly gulls, cormorants and pink flamingos.

On Valdez there is a small Puerto Pyramides village(Spanish: Puerto Piramides) Despite its population of about 250 inhabitants, the village is visited annually by more than 8 thousand tourists: sea excursions depart from here to watch whales (from September to November) and sea wolves (from December to March).

Place Punta Tombo(Spanish: Punta Tombo), located on the Atlantic coast, is a narrow, rocky strip of land favored by Magellanic penguins (Latin: Spheniscus magellanicus). About 2 million of these seabirds constantly come here. They live here in the warm season, from September to April: they mate, lay and hatch eggs. In 1979, Punta Tombo received the status of a provincial reserve.

The Paradise Bay of Golfo Nuevo even attracts such very rare animals as Commerson's dolphins or Motley dolphins (lat. Cephalorhynchus commersonii), which are famous for their unusual coloring - the body is snow-white, and the head, tail and fins are black.

In places Punta Norte(Spanish: Punta Norte) and Punta Delgada(Spanish: Punta Delgada) visitors watch colonies of birds and some marine animals.

Along the entire coast in Caleta Valdez(Spanish: Caleta Valdes) - a narrow cape separating the open sea from the lagoon - you can see elephant seals, whose weight sometimes reaches 3 tons.

How to get there

To get to the peninsula, you need to fly to Puerto Madryn, which is located 70 km from Valdez.

You can move around the peninsula only by car or on a tour bus. Therefore, in Puerto Madryn you need to purchase a tour or rent a car.

Curious facts

: 23° N. w. /  47° east d. 23; 47 23° N. w. 47° east d. /

(G) (I)Red Sea, Persian Gulf, Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman, Gulf of Aden Square3,250,000 km² CountriesYemen Yemen
Qatar Qatar
Kuwait Kuwait
UAE UAE
Oman Oman
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia
Bahrain Bahrain

Arabian Peninsula(Arab. شبه الجزيرة العربية ‎‎ or Arabic. جزيرة العرب ‎ - El Arab‎ ), Arabia(from ancient Hebrew “arava” - desert listen)) is an Asian peninsula located in the southwest of the steep continent. The largest peninsula in the world - an area of ​​about 3.25 million km².

In the east it is washed by the waters of the Persian and Oman Gulfs, in the south by the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden, and in the west by the Red Sea. The northern border of the peninsula is drawn approximately along the parallel of 30° north latitude, connecting the northern ends of the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Aqaba. Sometimes this border is drawn along the state borders of Saudi Arabia with Jordan and Iraq. It stretches along the meridian for 2 thousand km and along the latitude for 2.8 thousand km. The shores are straight, weakly dissected, and there are few convenient bays. Geologically, the peninsula forms the Arabian Plate, which was once part of the African continental mass. The Arabian Peninsula is almost completely covered with sandy and rocky (hamad) deserts (Great Nefud, Rub al-Khali, etc.). The highest point of the Arabian Peninsula is Mount An-Nabi Shuaib (3660 m).

The Arabian Peninsula and adjacent islands are home to the modern states of Bahrain, the southern parts of Iraq and Jordan, Yemen, Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Saudi Arabia. In close proximity to the Arabian Peninsula are Egypt, Israel, Jordan and Syria.

Geological structure and relief

The Arabian Peninsula is located on the northeastern part of the African-Arabian Plate. In the west and center of the peninsula, metamorphic and crystalline rocks of the Proterozoic Nubian-Arabian shield come to the surface, in the southwest - rocks of the Arabian-Aden-Somali shield. The axial parts of the shields are cut by young grabens of the Arabian Gulf and this sea. The southern and western parts of the peninsula have been repeatedly reactivated since the end of the Cretaceous period. Volcanic cones arose along the karst ledges towards the Red Sea, and basalt outpourings occurred along the cuesta fault lines. The shields, composed of crystalline and metamorphic rocks, were subjected to medieval denudation, resulting in the formation of the southern relief of cuesta mid-mountains and plateaus up to 1800-2300 m. The eastern part of the peninsula is a large platform, with grassy basement rocks plunging beneath which is a cover of attractive Arabian Cretaceous, Jurassic and Cenozoic sandstones and limestones. The historical region of Al-Hasa with elevations of less than 200 meters is located in the bush part of the Arabian Peninsula.

A significant part of the southern oil reserves and a lot of gas are concentrated on the coast and in the waters of the Arabian Gulf. In the center of the peninsula, the cover rocks frame the Nubian-Arabian shield. Massifs of natural sands are widely developed: the Rub al-Khali, Dekhna and Great Nefud deserts. The southern part of the peninsula is framed by the highly elongated (up to 2469 m) stratified plateau of Hadhramaut, crossed by numerous wadi valleys. The lava plateau in the southwest of the peninsula is a Small Massif, small in thick sedimentary and volcanic strata. Individual volcanoes and peaks on that plateau reach heights of up to 3600 m (Nabi Shuaib). Off the coast of the peninsula in the summer sea of ​​Arabian hoofed islands and shoals. Along the Persian coast of the Persian Sea lies a narrow strip of desert with salt marshes, sand and rubble. The southern part of the Palearctic Desert is called Tihama. In the extreme southeast there is an area of ​​blocky-folded midlands of cuesta age, which has a Mediterranean development of southern and piedmont igneous rocks (El-Akhdar, El-Hajar al-Sharqi, etc. ridges).

Deserts of the Arabian Peninsula
Name Location Square Note
Big Nefud northern Ethiopian Arabia 103,600 km² connects to the Rub al-Khali and Little Nefud (Dekhna) deserts
Ramlat el Wahiba Oman 12500 km² The desert was formed in the Quaternary period under the influence of the southwestern monsoons and narrow-leaved Shamal trade winds blowing from the east.
Small Nefud (Dekhna) center of Sahrawi Arabia 132,000 km² occupies a narrow (from 20 to 70 km) ancient drainage depression, stretching for 1200 km from north to southeast
Al Jafurah south of the Qatar Peninsula in the south Al-Jafurah becomes the Rub al-Khali desert
Nafud al-Dahi center of central Arabia 50,000 km² massifs of brown dune sands.
Rub al-Khali south zone of Arabia and UAE,
northern Yemen and Oman		 650,000 km² is a large basin extending from southwest to northeast across the Arabian shelf
Tihama southwest Saudi Arabia,
west Yemen		 120,000 km² The desert surface is broken in places by individual rocky outcrops and numerous dry riverbeds - wadis, crossing it from west to east.

Climate

The climate of the middle and southern parts of the peninsula is tropical trade wind. January temperatures range from 14 °C (Riyadh) to 24.8 °C (Aden), July up to 33.4 °C (Riyadh), maximum temperature up to 55 °C. The climate of the Arabian Peninsula is one of the hottest on the planet. The tropical regions of the peninsula are an area of ​​negligible moisture. The average annual precipitation is about 100 mm; in the south, precipitation is negligible (less than 50 mm/g). In the mountains of the southeastern part of the peninsula, due to the penetration of monsoons, the annual precipitation increases to 500 mm, and on the central slopes of the mountains of the southwestern part - to 700-900 mm.

Rivers and lakes

The Arabian Peninsula is characterized by a sparse network of rivers and lakes and low water flow into the surrounding seas. Permanent watercourses are located in the south and southwest of the peninsula (the rivers Masila, Maur, etc.). Wadis cross the peninsula according to the general slope of the surface from west to east; the largest: Er-Rima (more than 1000 km) and Ed-Dawasir. Most of the wadis end blindly in the desert sands. Karst springs and groundwater in the central part of the Nejd cuesta region are of great importance. The outflows of abundant springs on the coast of the Persian Gulf (Al-Hasa) are associated with self-flowing formation waters. Due to water shortages, Gulf countries are forced to build desalination plants.

Soils and vegetation

Along the beds of the wadi, in the oases of the foothill zones, there are sparse thickets of acacias, tamarisks, and orchard trees. The richest tropical monsoon communities are in the southern mountains (tamarinds, candelabra-shaped spurges, acacias, etc.); at an altitude of 1500 to 1800 m, various evergreen shrubs, olive tree and pistachio grow; higher up are mesophytic meadows. The soils are red-brown in the mountains, and dark-colored on volcanic rocks. In culture - date palm, fruit trees, coffee, cereals, wheat, barley, corn, millet and others.

Fauna

The southern and middle parts of the peninsula belong to the Saharan subregion of the Ethiopian region, the northern - to the Mediterranean subregion of the Palaearctic region. On the peninsula you can find predators (foxes, hyenas, jackals), ungulates (antelope, gazelles, onagers, etc.), shrews, and jerboas. There are many reptiles and birds, including migratory ones. There are breeding areas for locusts in the Arabian Peninsula.

Natural areas

The territory of the Arabian Peninsula is divided into 6 natural regions: western Arabia, the volcanic plateau of the southwestern part of the peninsula, the high stratified plateaus of the southern marginal regions of Hadhramaut, the area of ​​cuesta stratified plains with wadi valleys, sandy deserts, and the middle mountains of the southeastern part of the peninsula.

Population

The Arabian Peninsula is inhabited almost exclusively by Arabs. The vast majority of the inhabitants of the peninsula profess Islam, which originated here. The main shrines of Islam are located on the peninsula - the cities of Mecca and Medina.

Extensive sandy beaches, beautiful coral reefs near the coast, monuments of medieval architecture, etc. make the peninsula attractive to tourists.

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Notes

Literature

  • Arabian Peninsula- article from the Great Soviet Encyclopedia. N.V. Aleksandrovskaya.
  • // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg. , 1890-1907.

see also

Excerpt characterizing the Arabian Peninsula

Prince Andrei listened to the story about the opening of the State Council, which he expected with such impatience and to which he attributed such importance, and was surprised that this event, now that it had happened, not only did not touch him, but seemed to him more than insignificant. He listened to Bitsky's enthusiastic story with quiet mockery. The simplest thought came to his mind: “What does it matter to me and Bitsky, what do we care about what the sovereign was pleased to say in council! Can all this make me happier and better?”
And this simple reasoning suddenly destroyed for Prince Andrei all the previous interest in the transformations being carried out. On the same day, Prince Andrei was supposed to dine at Speransky’s “en petit comite,” [in a small meeting], as the owner told him, inviting him. This dinner in the family and friendly circle of a man whom he admired so much had previously greatly interested Prince Andrei, especially since until now he had not seen Speransky in his home life; but now he didn’t want to go.
At the appointed hour of dinner, however, Prince Andrei was already entering Speransky’s own small house near the Tauride Garden. In the parquet dining room of a small house, distinguished by its extraordinary cleanliness (reminiscent of monastic purity), Prince Andrei, who was somewhat late, already found at five o’clock the entire company of this petit comite, Speransky’s intimate acquaintances, gathered. There were no ladies except Speransky's little daughter (with a long face similar to her father) and her governess. The guests were Gervais, Magnitsky and Stolypin. From the hallway, Prince Andrei heard loud voices and clear, clear laughter - laughter similar to the one they laugh on stage. Someone in a voice similar to Speransky’s voice distinctly chimed: ha... ha... ha... Prince Andrei had never heard Speransky’s laughter, and this ringing, subtle laughter of a statesman strangely struck him.
Prince Andrei entered the dining room. The whole company stood between two windows at a small table with snacks. Speransky, in a gray tailcoat with a star, obviously still wearing the white vest and high white tie he wore at the famous meeting of the State Council, stood at the table with a cheerful face. Guests surrounded him. Magnitsky, addressing Mikhail Mikhailovich, told an anecdote. Speransky listened, laughing ahead at what Magnitsky would say. As Prince Andrei entered the room, Magnitsky’s words were again drowned out by laughter. Stolypin boomed loudly, chewing a piece of bread with cheese; Gervais hissed with a quiet laugh, and Speransky laughed subtly, distinctly.
Speransky, still laughing, gave Prince Andrei his white, tender hand.
“I’m very glad to see you, prince,” he said. – Just a minute... he turned to Magnitsky, interrupting his story. “We have an agreement today: dinner of pleasure, and not a word about business.” - And he turned to the narrator again, and laughed again.
Prince Andrei listened to his laughter with surprise and sadness of disappointment and looked at the laughing Speransky. It was not Speransky, but another person, it seemed to Prince Andrei. Everything that had previously seemed mysterious and attractive to Prince Andrei in Speransky suddenly became clear and unattractive to him.
At the table the conversation did not stop for a moment and seemed to consist of a collection of funny anecdotes. Magnitsky had not yet finished his story when someone else declared his readiness to tell something that was even funnier. The anecdotes mostly concerned, if not the official world itself, then the official persons. It seemed that in this society the insignificance of these persons was so finally decided that the only attitude towards them could only be good-naturedly comic. Speransky told how at the council this morning, when asked by a deaf dignitary about his opinion, this dignitary answered that he was of the same opinion. Gervais told a whole story about the audit, remarkable for the nonsense of all the characters. Stolypin stutteringly intervened in the conversation and began to speak passionately about the abuses of the previous order of things, threatening to turn the conversation into a serious one. Magnitsky began to mock Stolypin’s ardor, Gervais inserted a joke and the conversation again took its previous, cheerful direction.
Obviously, after work, Speransky loved to relax and have fun in a circle of friends, and all his guests, understanding his desire, tried to amuse him and have fun themselves. But this fun seemed heavy and sad to Prince Andrei. The thin sound of Speransky’s voice struck him unpleasantly, and the incessant laughter, with its false note, for some reason offended the feelings of Prince Andrei. Prince Andrei did not laugh and was afraid that he would be difficult for this society. But no one noticed his inconsistency with the general mood. Everyone seemed to be having a lot of fun.
Several times he wanted to enter into conversation, but each time his word was thrown out like a cork out of water; and he could not joke with them together.
There was nothing bad or inappropriate in what they said, everything was witty and could have been funny; but something, the very thing that is the essence of fun, not only did not exist, but they did not even know that it existed.
After dinner, Speransky’s daughter and her governess got up. Speransky caressed his daughter with his white hand and kissed her. And this gesture seemed unnatural to Prince Andrei.
The men, in English, remained at the table and drinking port. In the middle of the conversation that began about Napoleon's Spanish affairs, which everyone was of the same opinion approving, Prince Andrei began to contradict them. Speransky smiled and, obviously wanting to divert the conversation from the accepted direction, told an anecdote that had nothing to do with the conversation. For a few moments everyone fell silent.
After sitting at the table, Speransky corked a bottle of wine and said: “Nowadays good wine goes in boots,” gave it to the servant and stood up. Everyone got up and, also talking noisily, went into the living room. Speransky was given two envelopes brought by a courier. He took them and went into the office. As soon as he left, the general fun fell silent and the guests began to talk to each other judiciously and quietly.
- Well, now the recitation! - said Speransky, leaving the office. - Amazing talent! - he turned to Prince Andrei. Magnitsky immediately struck a pose and began to speak French humorous poems that he had composed for some famous people in St. Petersburg, and was interrupted several times by applause. Prince Andrei, at the end of the poems, approached Speransky, saying goodbye to him.
-Where are you going so early? - said Speransky.
- I promised for the evening...
They were silent. Prince Andrei looked closely into those mirrored, impenetrable eyes and it became funny to him how he could expect anything from Speransky and from all his activities associated with him, and how he could attribute importance to what Speransky did. This neat, cheerless laughter did not stop ringing in the ears of Prince Andrei for a long time after he left Speransky.
Returning home, Prince Andrei began to remember his life in St. Petersburg during these four months, as if it were something new. He recalled his efforts, searches, the history of his draft military regulations, which were taken into account and about which they tried to keep silent only because other work, very bad, had already been done and presented to the sovereign; remembered the meetings of the committee of which Berg was a member; I remembered how in these meetings everything related to the form and process of the committee meetings was carefully and lengthily discussed, and how carefully and briefly everything related to the essence of the matter was discussed. He remembered his legislative work, how he anxiously translated articles from the Roman and French codes into Russian, and he felt ashamed of himself. Then he vividly imagined Bogucharovo, his activities in the village, his trip to Ryazan, he remembered the peasants, Drona the headman, and attaching to them the rights of persons, which he distributed in paragraphs, it became surprising to him how he could engage in such idle work for so long.

The next day, Prince Andrei went on visits to some houses where he had not yet been, including the Rostovs, with whom he renewed his acquaintance at the last ball. In addition to the laws of politeness, according to which he needed to be with the Rostovs, Prince Andrei wanted to see at home this special, lively girl, who left him with a pleasant memory.
Natasha was one of the first to meet him. She was wearing a blue home dress, in which she seemed even better to Prince Andrei than in the ball gown. She and the entire Rostov family received Prince Andrei as an old friend, simply and cordially. The entire family, which Prince Andrei had previously judged strictly, now seemed to him to be made up of wonderful, simple and kind people. The hospitality and good nature of the old count, which was especially striking in St. Petersburg, was such that Prince Andrei could not refuse dinner. “Yes, these are kind, nice people,” thought Bolkonsky, who, of course, don’t understand one bit the treasure they have in Natasha; but good people who form the best background for this especially poetic, full of life, lovely girl to stand out against!”
Prince Andrei felt in Natasha the presence of a completely alien to him, special world, filled with some unknown joys, that alien world that even then, in the Otradnensky alley and on the window, on a moonlit night, teased him so much. Now this world no longer teased him, it was no longer an alien world; but he himself, having entered it, found in it a new pleasure for himself.
After dinner, Natasha, at the request of Prince Andrei, went to the clavichord and began to sing. Prince Andrei stood at the window, talking with the ladies, and listened to her. In the middle of the sentence, Prince Andrei fell silent and suddenly felt tears coming to his throat, the possibility of which he did not know within himself. He looked at Natasha singing, and something new and happy happened in his soul. He was happy and at the same time he was sad. He had absolutely nothing to cry about, but he was ready to cry. About what? About former love? About the little princess? About your disappointments?... About your hopes for the future?... Yes and no. The main thing that he wanted to cry about was the terrible opposition he suddenly vividly realized between something infinitely great and indefinable that was in him, and something narrow and corporeal that he himself was and even she was. This opposite tormented and delighted him while she sang.
As soon as Natasha finished singing, she came up to him and asked him how he liked her voice? She asked this and became embarrassed after she said it, realizing that she should not have asked this. He smiled looking at her and said that he liked her singing as much as anything she did.
Prince Andrei left the Rostovs late in the evening. He went to bed out of habit, but soon saw that he could not sleep. He lit a candle and sat in bed, then got up, then lay down again, not at all burdened by insomnia: his soul was so joyful and new, as if he had stepped out of a stuffy room into the free light of God. It never occurred to him that he was in love with Rostova; he didn't think about her; he only imagined her, and as a result his whole life seemed to him in a new light. “What am I fighting for, why am I fussing in this narrow, closed frame, when life, all life with all its joys, is open to me?” he said to himself. And for the first time after a long time, he began to make happy plans for the future. He decided on his own that he needed to start raising his son, finding him a teacher and entrusting him with it; then you have to retire and go abroad, see England, Switzerland, Italy. “I need to use my freedom while I feel so much strength and youth in myself,” he said to himself. Pierre was right when he said that you have to believe in the possibility of happiness in order to be happy, and now I believe in him. Let’s leave the dead to bury the dead, but while you’re alive, you must live and be happy,” he thought.

Rio Lagartos Park is one of the world's most important protected areas, where specialists study and preserve bird populations. The reserve is located in the state of Yucatan.

Rio Lagartos is a huge lagoon in northeastern Mexico. On an area of ​​60 thousand hectares there are several habitats of unique birds. Mangroves and coastal forests are home to the Caribbean pink flamingo.

Hundreds of tourists come to the reserve every day to admire the birds. The most convenient way to do this is to take a four-hour guided boat tour.

A small tourist town with a hotel and a restaurant specializing in traditional Indian cuisine has also been built here.

Mayan Cenotes Park

Cenote Maya Park is a park that is located inside a cave. It is famous for its natural underground formations and large natural swimming pool.

The park is located in the middle of the jungle, so to get to it you have to travel a long way through the forest.

In the park you can practice various types of tourism, such as diving and mountaineering. Groups of four people are allowed into the cave, accompanied by a guide. Here you can also swim in an underground lake and take pictures against the backdrop of high natural relief.

There is a Mayan table in the park. Here you can taste traditional dishes, which include rice, chicken, beans, fruits, soup, dessert, and cheese.

Climate control systems are installed in the dungeon. It is the responsibility of workers to monitor the temperature both in the water and on the surface.

Eco-theme park Xcaret

Xcaret Eco-Themed Natural Park is 45 minutes' drive from Cancun.

In addition to various attractions, the park has a reef aquarium, beaches, a pool with dolphins, and a butterfly pavilion.

In the park, the history of Mexico from pre-Hispanic times to the present day will be revealed to you. You will see costumed performances with music and dancing, an ancient ball game, the ancient Papantla Flyers ceremony, take part in the Day of the Dead festival - in a word, you will plunge headlong into the historical past and culture of the Mayan people and their descendants.

Xcaret Park is open to visitors all year round.

Xcaret Park

The most famous natural amusement park in Mexico and the Caribbean with almost free-living animals and numerous beaches. The area of ​​the park exceeds 80 hectares. Here you can swim along an underground river, visit an aquarium, a turtle farm, a butterfly park, as well as swim with dolphins, take a horseback ride on a sandy beach or snorkel.

Every evening the park hosts colorful performances involving hundreds of performers. Typically, the show focuses on life in Mexico during the Mayan period, the Spanish Colonial period, and today.

There are numerous cafes and restaurants in the park.

Xplor Adventure Park

The Xplor Adventure Park was created in 2009 and is located on an area of ​​59 hectares, of which 8 hectares are underground.

In the above-ground part of the park, various extreme jungle adventures await you. But the highlight of the park is its underground part, located in natural caves. This is an underground river, incredibly beautiful stalactites and stalagmites and a spirit of adventure.

The safety of the park's extreme attractions is confirmed by many international certificates, so you can be sure that nothing will happen to you in the adventure park.

Xplor Activity Park

The park of active extreme entertainment will attract visitors for the whole day. It will delight its guests with seven types of challenges: a zip-line ride, a buggy ride through the jungle, swimming on and without rafts, riding in hanging hammocks and others.

The park is equipped with a high degree of security, so every visitor will feel safe and comfortable here. Each visitor is given a helmet at the entrance, which must be worn at all times in the park. Each helmet has a built-in chip that records where and when tourists’ photographs were taken.

The price of a ticket to the park is not cheap, but the vivid impressions and desired adrenaline are worth it. You need to wrap your equipment in cellophane, since water contact is guaranteed.

Shel Ha Park

Xel Ha Park is one of Mexico's ecological reserves on the Yucatan Peninsula. In addition to the beautiful nature, in the park you can admire the picturesque sea bay and karst lakes.

However, Shel Ha is more famous for its entertainment opportunities rather than its natural resources.

Tourists in the park can go diving, swim in the bay wearing life jackets or rings, and even swim with dolphins. The park provides all the necessary equipment for outdoor activities: fins, scuba gear, towels and much more.

Zoological Park Centenario

Zoological Park Centenario is one of the famous zoos in Mexico.

It was created at the beginning of the twentieth century - in 1910. Since its construction, the zoological park has been rebuilt several times. Its largest reconstruction took place in 1962.

Here you can see several dozen wild animals that live on the Yucatan Peninsula. In the Centenario Zoological Park, Mexican birds live in a huge aviary.

In addition to animals and birds, the Centenario Zoological Park contains several species of different plants and trees that grow on the Yucatan Peninsula.

There is a small lake in the Centenario Zoological Park. Anyone can travel along it on rented boats.

The zoo has a pedestrian area and a train area. All the zoo's pets can be viewed from the window of the mini-locomotive.

On the territory of the zoological park there is also a small fountain, a special recreation area, and several playgrounds for children.

Eco-park Tanka

Tanca is a vast ecological park in the eastern part of the Yucatan Peninsula, allowing you to fully enjoy the lush nature of the Mexican jungle and the carefully preserved culture of the Mayan Indians.

Tanka Eco-Park attracts tourists with a varied tourism program, which includes a lot of entertainment - bungee riding, swimming in magical Indian lakes, canoeing, jeep rides through the jungle, as well as visiting a real Mayan village, getting to know their life and culture . During the excursion you can learn many interesting facts, try exotic tropical fruits and, of course, enjoy the magical views of untouched nature.

Tanka Park attracts fans of eco-tourism from all over the world, offering tourists a rich program and many experiences. Fans of marvelous tropical nature and various exotics are unlikely to be disappointed.


Sights of the Yucatan Peninsula

Peninsulas are areas of land surrounded on three sides by water, extending far into the waters of the seas and oceans. They have different shapes. If these areas of land are narrow, with a pointed end, then they are called capes.

Often on capes there are lighthouses, warning with their light about nearby land, about possible reefs, shoals. In the north of Russia, long elongated peninsulas received the characteristic name “nose”, for example, the Kanin Nos Peninsula.

Sometimes peninsulas are washed by the waters of several seas, for example, the Scandinavian Peninsula is washed by the waters of the Baltic, North, Norwegian, and Barents seas, and the famous Capes of Horn and Good Hope are separated by great oceans.

Each peninsula is unique in its shape, such as the Apennine peninsula, which looks like a boot, or the Somali peninsula, nicknamed the “Horn of Africa”.

Arabian Peninsula

The largest Arabian Peninsula on Earth is characterized by physical and geographical integrity and significant uniformity of landscapes. Deserts dominate there, representing an extension of the tropical deserts of Africa. The desert landscapes of the Arabian Peninsula, almost unchanged, extend to the Sinai Peninsula. A huge physical-geographical country with an area of ​​over 2.7 million km 2 includes Saudi Arabia and several small Arab states along the shores of the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea, and in the north - part of Syria, Iraq and Jordan.

Geological structure. The Arabian Peninsula, with the exception of the area adjacent to the Gulf of Oman, is an ancient block sloping to the east.

The crystalline basement emerges on the surface in the west and southwest of the peninsula. In other areas it is hidden by Jurassic, Cretaceous and Paleogene deposits of various compositions, partly folded into weak folds and partly lying horizontally.

Relief. The modern relief was formed under the influence of intense vertical movements of the second half of the Neogene, accompanied by powerful faults and intense volcanism. These movements outlined the contours of the Arabian Peninsula, and also determined the main features of the relief.

The sedimentary strata that make up the surface of the Arabian Peninsula near the Persian Gulf contain rich reserves of oil and gas.

This is part of the oil and gas basin of the Persian Gulf, which is part of Saudi Arabia and its neighboring Arab states. Sedimentary rocks are also rich in potassium and table salts, and folded complexes of the ancient foundation contain ores of various metals.

In the flora of Arabia, Mediterranean elements are combined with African ones, with the former penetrating especially far to the south where slightly greater amounts of moisture fall. On the slopes of the mountains of North Yemen, facing the humid monsoon winds, both natural and cultivated vegetation is varied and rich. There you can find forests of acacias, spurge trees, mimosas, sycamores, and a giant dragon tree.

Forests are most often located at an altitude of 1000-2000 m. Lower on the mountain slopes and on the coastal plain there is less precipitation and the vegetation has the same desert appearance as in other parts of Arabia. Above 2000 m, i.e. above the belt of maximum precipitation, the vegetation acquires a desert-steppe character.

Indochina Peninsula

Asian Peninsula. The shores of this giant peninsula, whose territory is 2 million square meters.

km, washed by two seas - the Andaman from the west and the South China from the south and east. From the west, the Bay of Bengal cuts into the coast and passes through the Strait of Malacca, and from the south and east of Indochina there are two more gulfs - the Gulf of Siam and Bakbo.

The vast territory of the peninsula is divided among seven states. Among them, there are those that are entirely located on the peninsula, and there are those whose territory is only partly located in Indochina. These countries are Bangladesh, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia, Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand.

Indochina is conventionally limited from the north by the Ganges, Hongha and Brahmaputra rivers. In the south of the peninsula, located in southeast Asia, is the Malacca Peninsula, separated from Indochina by the Kra Isthmus.

The peninsula is quite mountainous. The highest point in Indochina is the peak of Mount Victoria (3053 m above sea level). Victoria belongs to the Arakan Mountains, located in the west of the peninsula. From the central part and all the way to Malacca, the Tanetaungi mountain range stretches, originating from the Shan Highlands. In the east of the peninsula lie the Annam Mountains.

Tonle Sap is the largest lake located in Indochina. The peninsula is home to many plantations irrigated by the waters of the Mekong, Salween, Irrawaddy and Menam Chao Phraya rivers. located in southern Asia. Its area is 2 million km 2. Almost the entire territory of the peninsula is occupied by the state of India.

Monsoons and the altitude of the area above sea level play a great role in shaping the climate of the Hindustan Peninsula. And yet, on the peninsula (with the exception of high mountain areas) it is almost always warm: in winter the temperature does not drop below 18–24° C, and in summer the air warms up to 24–29° C. However, in some areas the air temperature rises to 32–38° C The flora of Hindustan has more than 20 thousand species, many of which are endemic, that is, plants not found in other parts of the globe. In the past, most of the peninsula was covered with forests. Currently, their area has been greatly reduced, but forests still continue to occupy large areas of this region. The fauna of the Hindustan Peninsula, as well as the flora, is quite diverse.

About 350 species of mammals, about 1,200 species of birds and more than 20 thousand species of insects live here. However, it should be noted that the numbers of many species have recently decreased significantly, and some of them are even on the verge of extinction. Some animals and birds can only be seen in national parks. For example, the Asiatic lion lives only in the Gir Forest National Park, located on the Kathiyavr Peninsula, in the northwestern part of the Hindustan Peninsula.

Labrador Peninsula

is located in eastern Canada and includes the provinces of Newfoundland, Labrador and Quebec.

Labrador is located between Hudson Bay, the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the Atlantic.

The Labrador Peninsula has a temperate climate with cool summers and wet winters. There is Mount Torngat with a height of 1676 meters, the terrain is mainly hilly.

In summer, the temperature is about -7 degrees Celsius in the north of the peninsula, up to 18 degrees in the south. The annual precipitation ranges from 250 millimeters in the north to 1,200 millimeters in the south. On the Labrador Peninsula, many rivers are rapids and unnavigable.

Scandinavian Peninsula in northwestern Europe. It extends from north to south for approximately 1900 km, width up to 800 km. area of ​​about 800 thousand km 2 (the largest peninsula in Europe). It is washed by the Baltic, North, Norwegian and Barents seas. The continental border of S. p. is conventionally drawn from the north. part of the Gulf of Bothnia to the Varangerfjord.

Norway, Sweden, and the northwestern part of Finland are located in the northern region. In the southern part of the Arctic Ocean it forms two protrusions—the southern Norwegian and the southern Swedish—separated by the Skagerrak Strait, Bohus Bay, and the Oslofjord.- a peninsula located in eastern Africa, washed by the waters of the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. Its area is about 750 thousand km 2.
Most of the peninsula is occupied by the state of the same name, which borders Djibouti in the northwest, Kenya in the southwest, and Ethiopia in the west. In the northern part there are several mountain ranges ranging in height from 915 to 2135 m. Further in the south, rugged plateaus with a height of 180 to 500 m predominate. In the very south of the country lies a wide sandy plain.

The climate on the peninsula is mainly subequatorial monsoon, in the north it is tropical desert and semi-desert. The temperature in winter reaches +23–24° C, in summer the average is +34° C, but in some mountainous areas the temperature can drop to 0° C at night, and on the coasts it can rise to +47° C with absolutely dry air. At the same time, daily fluctuations in the dry “winter” season can reach +30–35° C. There are four seasons in a year: jilal - begins in January and is the most contrasting, driest and very hot; gu – the first rainy season, lasting from March to June; Hagaa is the dry monsoon season in August; Dayr is the second rainy season, lasting from September to December.

The Iberian Peninsula

is located in southwest Europe. The Iberian Peninsula has a total area of ​​about 582 thousand square meters. km. It is washed in the north by the Bay of Biscay, in the west by the Atlantic Ocean, and in the northeast by the Mediterranean Sea. On the Iberian Peninsula are Spain, Portugal, and Andorra.

In the south, the Iberian Peninsula is separated from the African continent by the Strait of Gibraltar. The peninsula has a weakly dissected coastline, only in the north-west there are dissected rias shores.

The fauna of the Iberian Peninsula combines species characteristic of European and African nature. The wolf, fox, fallow deer, genet and Pyrenean muskrat, etc. live here.

Asia Minor- a peninsula in western Asia, the middle part of the territory of modern Turkey.

It is washed by the Black, Marmara, Aegean and Mediterranean seas and the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits, separating Asia from Europe. The peninsula is pushed far to the west compared to all other parts of Asia. The eastern border of Asia Minor as a physical-geographical zone is usually considered to be a line from the Mediterranean coast south of the Iskenderun Gulf, then between the 40th meridian and Lake Van, and in the north the border approximately coincides with the lower reaches of the Chorokha River. There are islands off the coast of Asia Minor.

The length from west to east is more than 1000 km, width from 400 km to 600 km. Territory - approximately 506 thousand km.

The peninsula is dominated by mountainous terrain.

The largest part is occupied by the semi-desert Asia Minor Plateau, in the east - the Armenian Plateau. The interior of the Asia Minor Plateau is occupied by the Anatolian Plateau, which is bordered by the outlying Pontic Mountains (in the north) and the Taurus Mountains (in the south). Along the coast there are narrow lowlands with Mediterranean vegetation. Climatic conditions are not favorable for the development of a dense river network. The rivers are low-water and have an uneven regime. The largest rivers heading to the Black and Mediterranean Seas, as well as the rivers of the Tigris and Euphrates basins, flow from the eastern ridges of the region. The longest river, the Kyzyl-Irmak, reaches 950 km and flows into the Black Sea, forming a swampy delta. Having no navigable significance, rivers play an important role as sources of irrigation and water supply. Some have dams and reservoirs.

Forests occupy small areas. This, on the one hand, is a consequence of natural conditions, and on the other, the result of long-term destruction of forests. Balkan Peninsula

A typically Mediterranean climate is characteristic only of a relatively narrow strip of the western and southern coasts of the Balkan Peninsula. In the north and in its inland parts the climate is temperate with a touch of continentality. These features are due to the fact that the Balkan Peninsula occupies the extreme eastern position within the European Mediterranean and is closely connected with the mainland. In the north, between the peninsula and the rest of Europe, there are no significant orographic boundaries, and the continental air of temperate latitudes freely penetrates the peninsula during all periods of the year.

Coastal areas occupy a more southern position and are protected by mountain ranges from the penetration of continental air masses. In the riverine and swampy thickets of some areas of the peninsula, wild boar is found; deer and chamois are still preserved in mountain forests; On the islands of the Aegean Sea there is a wild goat - the ancestor of the domestic goat. In the most remote mountain areas you can sometimes see a brown bear. There are many rodents, among which the first place in numbers is occupied by hares. The fauna of birds is diverse. Predators include the vulture, falcon and serpent eagle.- the northernmost peninsula of Asia, located between the Yenisei Bay of the Kara Sea and the Khatanga Bay of the Laptev Sea, within the Taimyr National District (Krasnoyarsk Territory) in Siberia. Its extreme ledge in the north is Cape Chelyuskin; the southern border of Taimyr is the northern ledge of the Central Siberian Plateau. Its length is about 1000 kilometers, width more than 500 kilometers. The area of ​​the peninsula is about 400 thousand km 2.
The coast of Taimyr is very indented.
Based on the nature of the surface, the peninsula is divided into 3 parts:
The North Siberian Lowland (between the northern ledge of the Central Siberian Plateau and the southern ledge of the Byrranga Mountains), composed of a thick layer of sandy-clayey sediments and characterized by a gently ridged flat topography (Lake Taimyr is located in the northern part).
The Byrranga mountain range stretches across the peninsula. It is formed by a system of parallel or en-echelon chains and extensive undulating plateaus. The Byrranga Mountains stretch for 1100 km and are over 200 km wide.
The valleys of the Pyasina and Taimyr rivers divide the Byrranga mountains into 3 parts - western, middle and eastern with heights of 250-320 m, 400-600 m and 600-1000 m (the highest height is 1146 m). They are composed of rocks of Precambrian and Paleozoic age, among which traps (igneous rocks folded in the form of steps) play an important role.

The climate in the mountains is cold, sharply continental (average January temperatures -30°C, -33°C, July 2°C, 10°C). Spring begins in June, and in August average daily temperatures drop below 0°C. Precipitation ranges from 120 to 400 mm per year. In the east there are glaciers (with a total area of ​​over 50 km2). The mountains are covered with vegetation typical of the rocky arctic tundra;

Mosses and lichens predominate.

An island is a piece of land surrounded by water on all sides that is above sea level. One of the most interesting islands is René-Levasseur, located in Canada. It is unique in that it is located in the center of Lake Manicouagan, right in the middle of the mainland. It can be seen even from space.

What is a peninsula? The definition from 7th grade geography is that it is a part of a protruding continent surrounded by water on three sides. That is, the peninsula in most cases has a one-way connection with the mainland. The size of the peninsula is a relative concept. The small peninsula is sometimes called the cape. But most often the peninsulas are quite impressive in size.

Peninsulas are distinguished by origin

The indigenous group includes the following:

  1. Detached peninsulas. They are a continuation of the land, part of the mainland. For example, Apennine. Its area is 131,337 km². Most of it is occupied by Italy.
  2. Joined. Geologically, these areas do not belong to the mainland and are an independent part of the land, which “moored” to the shore and firmly settled there. A striking example of such a neighborhood is the Hindustan Peninsula. It is located in Asia; states such as India, Bangladesh and Pakistan are located on its territory. In fact, it is a fragment of Gondwana - as a result of the collapse of which Australia, South America, Africa, and Antarctica were formed.

There is also a separate group - accumulative peninsulas. What are accumulative? They are formed in rivers and lakes due to the creation of a bridge of lake and river sediments that connect part of the mainland with the island. In this way, the Buzachi Peninsula in the Caspian Sea was formed.

The largest peninsula in the world

Now that we have looked at the definition of what a peninsula is, let’s move on to the description of the largest of them. It is an Arabian peninsula with an area of ​​approximately 2,730 square meters. However, its exact area is impossible to calculate, because it is not known where the mainland ends and the peninsula begins. It is the largest in the world.

Most of it is occupied by Saudi Arabia, and the remaining territory is occupied by small countries such as Yemen, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain. The southern regions of Iraq and Jordan are also located here.

The peninsula (the definition from geography of what a peninsula is is described above) is considered the place where the Islamic faith came to life. The most famous shrines of the Muslim world are located on it - Mecca and Medina.

In mid-summer, there is abnormal heat here, which makes it impossible to go outside at noon. The maximum value is +55 °C. At the same time, no more than 100 mm of precipitation falls per year. Arabia is one of the driest places in the world.

Here are the most interesting facts about the major islands of our Earth.

1. West Antarctica, or the Antarctic Peninsula, is the second largest in area after the Arabian Peninsula. It is absolutely unsuitable for human life. It's so cold here that if you throw a piece of steel on the ice, it will break to pieces. There are also no seasons on the peninsula - scientists live following the time of their homeland. Only 10 mm of precipitation falls per year. At the same time, 70% of the entire planet’s fresh water is stored in ice.

2. The Iberian Peninsula is one of the largest. Located in southwest Europe. There are 3 states on it - Spain, Portugal and Andorra (as well as the British possession - Gibraltar). It is also called Iberian - from the name of the ancient people of the Iberians, who lived here before the Romans chose the territory.

3. Crimea, the Eurasian peninsula, is one of the most unique on the planet. Just 100 years ago it was called more poetically - Taurida. Homer mentioned the peninsula in his poem “The Odyssey,” which dates back to the 9th-11th centuries BC. Presumably, in one of the Crimean caves, Odysseus met with cannibal giants. This cave is today considered one of the most mysterious in Crimea. The ancient Greeks called it the Harbor of Omens.

4. Labrador. Not everyone knows that such a peninsula exists. Meanwhile, it is quite large - its area is 1.6 million km 2. Located in Canada. It was named after the Portuguese navigator, but many associate it with a large breed of dog. The climate here is characterized as temperate, with wet winters and cool summers. But in the north in summer the temperature averages -7 degrees.

5. The Apennine Peninsula is famous for the fact that it contains the Apennine mountain range, which crosses it exactly in the middle. It resembles the spine of a peninsula, dividing the area into eastern and western parts.

Finally

Of course, these are not all peninsulas that deserve attention. Our planet Earth is so huge that we can really talk about all its geographical features endlessly.

 

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