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beauty of scenic
nature
Nature in the broadest sense, is the natural, physical, or material
world or universe. Nature can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in
general. The study of nature is a large part ofscience. Although humans are part of nature,
human activity is often understood as a separate category from other natural
phenomena. Natural redirects here. For other uses of Nature, see Nature (disambiguation). For other uses of Natural see Natural (disambiguation).
The word nature is derived from the Latin word natura, or essential qualities, innate disposition, and in
ancient times, literally meant birth. Natura is a
Latin translation of the Greek word physis (φύσις),
which originally related to the intrinsic characteristics that plants, animals,
and other features of the world develop of their own accord. The
concept of nature as a whole, the physical universe, is one of several expansions of the
original notion; it began with certain core applications of the word φύσις by pre-Socratic philosophers,
and has steadily gained currency ever since. This usage continued during the
advent of modern scientific method in the last several centuries.
Within the various uses of the word today, nature often
refers to geology and wildlife. Nature can refer to the general realm
of living plants and animals, and in some cases to the processes associated
with inanimate objects – the way that particular types of things exist and
change of their own accord, such as the weather and geology of the Earth. It is often taken to mean the natural environment or wilderness–wild animals, rocks, forest, and in
general those things that have not been substantially altered by human
intervention, or which persist despite human intervention. For example,
manufactured objects and human interaction generally are not considered part of
nature, unless qualified as, for example, human nature or the whole of nature.
This more traditional concept of natural things which can still be found today
implies a distinction between the natural and the artificial, with the
artificial being understood as that which has been brought into being by a
human consciousness or a human mind. Depending on the particular context, the term
"natural" might also be distinguished from the unnatural or the supernatural.
Earth
Earth is the only planet known to support life, and its natural features are the
subject of many fields of scientific research. Within the solar system, it is third closest to the sun; it is
the largest terrestrial planet and
the fifth largest overall. Its most prominent climatic features are its two
large polar regions, two relatively narrow temperate zones, and a wide equatorial tropical to subtropical region. Precipitation varies
widely with location, from several metres of water per year to less than a
millimetre. 71 percent of the Earth's surface is covered by salt-water oceans.
The remainder consists of continents and islands, with most of the inhabited
land in the Northern Hemisphere.
Earth has evolved through geological and biological
processes that have left traces of the original conditions. The outer surface is divided into several gradually migrating tectonic plates. The interior remains active, with a
thick layer of plastic mantle and an iron-filled core that generates a magnetic field. This iron core is composed of a solid
inner phase, and a fluid outer phase. It is the rotation of the outer, fluid
iron core that generates an electric current through dynamo action, which in
turn generates a strong magnetic field.
The atmospheric conditions have been significantly altered from the
original conditions by the presence of life-forms, which
create an ecological balance that stabilizes the surface conditions. Despite the
wide regional variations in climate by latitude and other geographic factors, the long-term average
global climate is quite stable during interglacial periods, and
variations of a degree or two of average global temperature have historically
had major effects on the ecological balance, and on the actual geography of the
Earth.
Geology
Geology is the science and study of the solid and liquid matter that constitutes
the Earth. The field of geology encompasses the study of the
composition, structure, physical properties, dynamics, and history of Earth materials, and the processes by which they are
formed, moved, and changed. The field is a major academic discipline, and is also important for mineral and hydrocarbon extraction, knowledge about and mitigation of natural hazards, some Geotechnical engineering fields,
and understanding past climates and environments.
Geological evolution. The geology of an area evolves through time as rock units
are deposited and inserted and deformational processes change their shapes and
locations.
Rock units are first emplaced either by deposition onto
the surface or intrude into the overlying rock. Deposition can occur when sediments settle onto the surface of the Earth and later lithify into sedimentary rock, or when as volcanic material such as volcanic ash or lava flows,
blanket the surface. Igneous intrusions such as batholiths, laccoliths, dikes, and sills, push upwards into the overlying rock,
and crystallize as they intrude.
After the initial sequence of rocks has been deposited,
the rock units can be deformed and/or metamorphosed. Deformation typically occurs as a
result of horizontal shortening, horizontal extension, or side-to-side (strike-slip) motion. These structural regimes
broadly relate to convergent boundaries, divergent boundaries, and transform boundaries, respectively, between tectonic plates.
Historical perspective
Earth is estimated to have formed 4.54 billion years ago from the solar nebula, along with the Sun and
other planets. The
moon formed roughly 20 million years later. Initially molten, the outer
layer of the Earth cooled, resulting in the solid crust. Outgassing and volcanic activity produced the primordial atmosphere.
Condensing water vapor, most or all of which came from icedelivered by comets, produced the oceans and other water sources. The highly
energetic chemistry is believed to have produced a self-replicating molecule
around 4 billion years ago.[14]
Continents formed, then broke up and
reformed as the surface of Earth reshaped over hundreds of millions of years,
occasionally combining to make a supercontinent. Roughly 750 million years ago,
the earliest known supercontinent Rodinia,
began to break apart. The continents later recombined to form Pannotia which broke apart about
540 million years ago, then finallyPangaea, which broke apart about
180 million years ago.
During the Neoproterozoic era covered much of the Earth in glaciers and ice sheets. This hypothesis has
been termed the "Snowball Earth", and it is of particular
interest as it precedes theCambrian explosion in which multicellular life forms began
to proliferate about 530–540 million years ago.
Since the Cambrian explosion there have
been five distinctly identifiable mass extinctions. The
last mass extinction occurred some 66 million years ago, when a meteorite
collision probably triggered the extinction of the non-avian dinosaurs and other large reptiles, but spared
small animals such as mammals. Over the past 66 million years,
mammalian life diversified.
Several million years ago, a species of
small African ape gained
the ability to stand upright. The subsequent advent of human life, and the
development of agriculture and further civilization allowed humans to affect the Earth more
rapidly than any previous life form, affecting both the nature and quantity of
other organisms as well as global climate. By comparison, the Great Oxygenation Event, produced by the proliferation of algae during theSiderian period, required about 300 million
years to culminate.
The present era is classified as part
of a mass extinction event, the Holocene extinction event, the fastest ever to have
occurred. Some, such as E. O. Wilson of Harvard University, predict that human destruction of the biosphere could cause the extinction of one-half
of all species in the next 100 years. The
extent of the current extinction event is still being researched, debated and
calculated by biologists.
Atmosphere, climate, and weather
The Earth's atmosphere is
a key factor in sustaining the ecosystem. The thin layer of gases that
envelops the Earth is held in place by gravity. Air is
mostly nitrogen, oxygen, water vapor, with much smaller amounts of carbon
dioxide, argon, etc. The atmospheric pressure declines steadily with altitude.
The ozone layer plays an important role in depleting
the amount of ultraviolet (UV) radiation that reaches the
surface. As DNA is
readily damaged by UV light, this serves to protect life at the surface. The
atmosphere also retains heat during the night, thereby reducing the daily
temperature extremes.
Terrestrial weather occurs almost exclusively in the lower part of the atmosphere, and serves as a convective system for
redistributing heat. Ocean currents are another important factor in
determining climate, particularly the major underwater thermohaline circulation which distributes heat energy from the
equatorial oceans to the polar regions. These currents help to moderate the
differences in temperature between winter and summer in the
temperate zones. Also, without the redistributions of heat energy by the ocean
currents and atmosphere, the tropics would be much hotter, and the polar regions much colder.
Weather can have both beneficial and harmful effects. Extremes in
weather, such as tornadoes or hurricanes and cyclones, can expend large amounts of energy
along their paths, and produce devastation. Surface vegetation has evolved a
dependence on the seasonal variation of the weather, and sudden changes lasting
only a few years can have a dramatic effect, both on the vegetation and on the
animals which depend on its growth for their food.
Climate is a measure of the long-term trends in the weather. Various
factors are known to influence the climate, including ocean currents, surface albedo, greenhouse gases, variations in the solar luminosity,
and changes to the Earth's orbit. Based on historical records, the Earth is
known to have undergone drastic climate changes in the past, including ice ages.
The climate of a region depends on a number of factors, especially latitude. A latitudinal band of the surface
with similar climatic attributes forms a climate region. There are a number of
such regions, ranging from thetropical climate at the equator to the polar climate in the northern and southern extremes.
Weather is also influenced by the seasons, which result from the Earth's axis being tilted relative to its orbital
plane. Thus, at any given time
during the summer or winter, one part of the Earth is more directly exposed to
the rays of the sun. This exposure
alternates as the Earth revolves in its orbit. At any given time, regardless of
season, the northernand southern hemispheres experience opposite
seasons.
Weather is a chaotic system that is readily modified by small
changes to the environment, so accurate weather forecasting is limited to only a few days. Overall,
two things are happening worldwide: (1) temperature is increasing on the
average; and (2) regional climates have been undergoing noticeable changes.
Water on Earth
Water is a chemical
substance that is composed of hydrogen and oxygen and is vital for all
known forms of life.[24] In typical usage, water refers only to its liquid form or state, but the substance
also has a solidstate, ice, and a gaseous state, water vapor or steam. Water covers 71% of the Earth's surface.[25] On Earth, it is found
mostly in oceans and other large water bodies, with 1.6% of water below ground
in aquifersand 0.001% in the air as vapor, clouds, and precipitation. Oceans hold 97% of surface
water, glaciers and polar ice caps 2.4%, and other land
surface water such as rivers, lakes and ponds 0.6%. Additionally, a
minute amount of the Earth's water is contained within biological bodies and
manufactured products.
Ecosystems
A river is a
natural watercourse,[33] usually freshwater, flowing toward an ocean, a lake, a sea or
another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up
completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be
called by several other names, including stream, creek, brook, rivulet, and rill; there
is no general rule that defines what can be called a river. Many names for
small rivers are specific to geographic location; one example is Burn in
Scotland and North-east England. Sometimes a river is said to be larger than a
creek. but this is not always the case, due to vagueness in the
language. A river is part of the hydrological cycle. Water within a river is generally collected from precipitation
through surface runoff, groundwater recharge, springs, and the release of stored water in natural ice and snow
packs (i.e., from glaciers).
Streams
A stream is a flowing body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. In the United States a stream is classified as a watercourse less than 60 feet
(18 metres) wide. Streams are important as conduits in the water cycle, instruments in groundwater recharge, and they serve as corridors for fish and wildlife migration. The biological habitat in the immediate vicinity of a stream is called a riparian zone. Given the status of the ongoing Holocene extinction, streams play an important corridor role in connecting fragmented habitats and
thus in conserving biodiversity. The study of streams and waterways in
general involves many branches of inter-disciplinary natural science and
engineering, including hydrology, fluvial geomorphology, aquatic ecology, fish biology, riparian ecology and others
Life
Although there is no universal agreement on the definition of life,
scientists generally accept that the biological manifestation of life is
characterized by organization, metabolism, growth,adaptation, response to stimuli and reproduction.[42] Life may also be said to be simply the
characteristic state of organisms.
Properties common to terrestrial
organisms (plants, animals, fungi, protists, archaea and bacteria) are that they are cellular,
carbon-and-water-based with complex organization, having a metabolism, a
capacity to grow, respond to stimuli, and reproduce. An entity with these
properties is generally considered life. However, not every definition of life
considers all of these properties to be essential. Human-made analogs of life may also be considered to be life.
The biosphere is the part of Earth's outer
shell – including land, surface rocks, water, air and the
atmosphere – within which life occurs, and which biotic processes in turn alter or transform.
From the broadest geophysiological point of view, the biosphere is the
global ecological system integrating all living beings and their relationships,
including their interaction with the elements of the lithosphere (rocks), hydrosphere (water), and atmosphere (air). The entire Earth contains over
75 billion tons (150 trillion pounds or about 6.8×10 kilograms) of biomass (life), which lives within various
environments within the biosphere. Over nine-tenths of the total biomass on
Earth is plant life, on which animal life depends very heavily for its
existence. More than 2 million
species of plant and animal life have been identified to date, and estimates of the actual number of
existing species range from several million to well over 50 million. The
number of individual species of life is constantly in some degree of flux, with
new species appearing and others ceasing to exist on a continual basis. The total number of species is in
rapid decline.
Aesthetics and beauty
Beauty in nature has historically been a
prevalent theme in art and books, filling large sections of libraries and
bookstores. That nature has been depicted and celebrated by so much art, photography, poetry and other literature shows the strength
with which many people associate nature and beauty. Reasons why this
association exists, and what the association consists of, are studied by the
branch of philosophy called aesthetics. Beyond certain basic characteristics
that many philosophers agree about to explain what is seen as beautiful, the
opinions are virtually endless. Nature
and wildness have been important subjects in various eras of
world history. An early tradition oflandscape art began in China during the Tang Dynasty (618–907). The tradition of
representing nature as it is became one of the aims of Chinese painting and was a significant influence in
Asian art.
Although natural wonders are celebrated in the Psalms and the Book of Job, wilderness portrayals in art became more prevalent
in the 1800s, especially in the works of the Romantic movement. British artists John Constable and J. M. W. Turner turned their attention to capturing the
beauty of the natural world in their paintings. Before that, paintings had been
primarily of religious scenes or of human beings. William Wordsworth's poetry described the wonder of the
natural world, which had formerly been viewed as a threatening place.
Increasingly the valuing of nature became an aspect of Western culture.[71] This artistic movement also coincided
with the Transcendentalist movement in the Western world. A common
classical idea of beautiful art involves the word mimesis, the imitation of nature. Also in the
realm of ideas about beauty in nature is that the perfect is implied through
perfect mathematical forms and more generally by patterns in nature. As David Rothenberg writes, The
beautiful is the root of science and the goal of art, the highest possibility
that humanity can ever hope to see.
Beyond Earth
Outer space, also simply called space,
refers to the relatively empty regions of the universe outside the atmospheres of celestial bodies. Outer space is used to distinguish it from airspace (and terrestrial locations). There is
no discrete boundary between the Earth's atmosphere and space, as the atmosphere gradually
attenuates with increasing altitude. Outer space within the Solar System is called interplanetary space, which passes over into interstellar space at what is known as the heliopa use.
Outer space is sparsely filled with
several dozen types of organic molecules discovered to date by microwave spectroscopy, blackbody radiation left over from the bang and the origin of the universe, and cosmic rays, which include ionized atomic nuclei and various subatomic particles. There is also some gas, plasma and dust,
and smallmeteors. Additionally, there are signs of
human life in outer space today, such as material left over from previous
manned and unmanned launches which are a potential hazard to spacecraft. Some of
this debris re-enters the atmosphere periodically.
Although the Earth is the only body
within the solar system known to support life, evidence suggests that in the
distant past the planet Mars possessed bodies of liquid water on the
surface. For a brief period in
Mars' history, it may have also been capable of forming life. At present
though, most of the water remaining on Mars is frozen. If life exists at all on
Mars, it is most likely to be located underground where liquid water can still
exist.
Conditions on the other terrestrial
planets, Mercury and Venus,
appear to be too harsh to support life as we know it. But it has been
conjectured that Europa,
the fourth-largest moon of Jupiter, may possess a sub-surface ocean of
liquid water and could potentially host life.
Special Places of Scenic Beauty
To protect Japan's cultural heritage, the country's government selects
through the Agency
for Cultural Affairs important items and designates them as Cultural
Properties under
the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties. Designated items are
classified in a number of categories one of which is Monuments ( kinenbutsu?). This category includes historic
locations such as shell mounds, ancient tombs, sites of palaces,
sites of forts or castles, monumental dwelling houses and other
sites of high historical or scientific value; gardens, bridges, gorges,
mountains, and other places of great scenic beauty; and natural features such
as animals, plants, and geological or mineral formations of high scientific
value.
The government further
designates "significant" monuments classifying them in three
categories: Historic Sites ( shiseki?),
Places of Scenic Beauty ( meishō?), and
Natural Monuments ( tennen kinenbutsu?). Items
of particularly high significance receive higher classifications: Special
Historic Sites ( tokubetsu shiseki?),
Special Places of Scenic Beauty
tokubetsu meishō, and Special Natural Monuments (tokubetsu tennen kinenbutsu?) respectively. As of January 20, 2016
there are 937 Natural Monuments, 1671 Historic Sites, 347 Places of Scenic
Beauty, 75 Special Natural Monuments, 61 Special Historic Sites and 36 Special
Places of Scenic Beauty. Since a single item can fall under more than one of
these categories, the total number of sites is less than the sum of
designations.
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