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THE GREAT 10 FAST GROWING PLANTS ON THE PLANET

by Sree DivyaUncategorizedLeave a Comment on THE GREAT 10 FAST GROWING PLANTS ON THE PLANET

A plant having a permanently woody main stem or trunk, ordinarily growing to a considerable height, and usually developing branches at some distance from the ground. The initial stage of a grown tree is the plant, so we can say that plant may or may not grow into a tree. Plants live for shorter periods than trees. Annuals live for only one growing season, bi-annuals for two seasons and perennials anywhere from five years to 100 years, such as in the case of lilacs. Trees typically live for 100 to 150 years, with some hardwoods living up to 200 years and conifers up to 300 years or more. Trees play a significant role in reducing erosion and moderating the climate. During the process of photosynthesis, trees take in carbon dioxide and produce the oxygen. They remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store large quantities of carbon in their tissues. Some trees and plants grow really fast, and can put on substantial height within just a few short years. Trees usually reproduce using seeds. Let’s take a look at the 10 fastest growing plants on the planet.
1.Bamboo

nature dust bamboo green
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Bamboo reaches maturity after only 3 to 5 years. Bamboo releases 30% more oxygen into the atmosphere and absorbs more carbon dioxide compared to other plants. bamboo greatly decreases amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and cleans the air. Individual stems of bamboo are called culms. They arise from the underground rhizome and emerge from the ground fully developed. Bamboo is a viable replacement for wood. Bamboo grows incredibly quickly, which is one reason it is often used to make sustainable, eco-friendly products. Re-planting bamboo is fairly easy thanks to the swift growth rate of the plant. The spreading root structure allows one rootstock to produce several shoots, permitting horizontal growth. Some species can literally grow 10 centimeters per day under appropriate climate conditions. If you actually had the patience to sit there all day, you would notice the growth by the end of it. The fastest growing bamboo has been found to grow at up to 35 inches per day; That’s a world record.
It is also one of the strongest building materials with a tensile strength of 28,000 psi. To help give you an idea how much this is, mild steel measures 23,000 psi. It greatly reduces erosion with a sum of stem flow rate and canopy intercept of 25%. Bamboo is often used in Asian cuisine. Various animals on the planet used bamboo in their diet. Panda’s diet is based on bamboo exclusively, while mountain gorilla and lemurs of the Madagascar eat bamboo to enrich their regular diet. Bamboo can survive more than 120 years in the wild. The Bamboos (Bambusoidaea) consists of 1439 different species in 116 genera. Bamboo has stronger structure than steel and it is widely used in the construction industry. Other than that, bamboo is used in the manufacture of floors, furniture, house walls, skateboards, bicycle frames and helmets. Bamboo is used in folk medicine to treat infections and to accelerate healing of the wounds. It was actually the first plant to re-green after the atomic blast in Hiroshima in 1945.

  1. Hybrid poplar

This species of poplar is a popular shade tree in North America and well suited for certain conditions. The tree can be effectively used by tree farmers and large property owners. Hybrid poplar is a very fast growing tree on a variety of soil types. It only takes about five years to grow poplars to harvestable height, making them popular in industry applications. Hybrid poplars can put on ten feet a year. These are selected for their superior adaptive traits for cold and drought tolerance; disease and pest resistance; growth rate and form. Hybrid poplar reduces wind erosion and traps snow, reduces environmental stress in livestock and increases the availability of habitat and food for birds and other animals. Its rapid growth makes it an attractive wood source for bio-energy and for fibre based products.
A “hybrid” plant is produced when pollen of one species is used to fertilize flowers of another species. It is a tree resulting from the combining, either naturally or artificially, of various poplar species into a hybrid. Most hybrid poplars are a landscaping nightmare when grown in yards and parks. Hybrids grow six to ten times faster than similar species. Tree farmers can see economic returns in 10 to 12 years. These are easy to plant. Hybrid poplar can be used in the process of making oriented strand board and, possibly, structural lumber. Burning wood does not increase atmospheric carbon monoxide(CO). This species of poplar is a popular shade tree. It is not as impressive as the bamboo. This is just one of the artificially created species on our list.

  1. Algae
green grass on water
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Scientists estimate that algae produce at least half of the oxygen in Earth’s atmosphere by converting carbon dioxide during photosynthesis. Today, algae actually help maintain the carbon cycle. Algae are very fast growing eukaryotes and are found all over the world. They grow so quickly that they sometimes “bloom.” Algae blooms can be dangerous for sea life because they pull all the oxygen out of the water and some types of algae bloom such as red tide can even be toxic to human health. Algae can consist of only one or large number of cells. They can be microscopically small, or extremely large. Even though some algae look like plants, they lack leaves, roots, stomata, phloem and xylem that are typical for vascular plants. Some algae have amoeba-like body and ability to actively hunt and kill the prey. Algae can range from 100-foot-long giant kelp to several varieties of microbes called cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae.
Cyanobacteria might also be in your breakfast smoothie. The “superfood” spirulina is a nontoxic cyanobacteria popular for its nutritional profile, including proteins, vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids. Plenty of larger algae are both nutritious and delicious. Researchers are even adding algae to dairy cow diets. Algae play important role in the aquatic ecosystems. They serve as food for many fish and provide shelter for various animals. The algae produces a chemical that inhibits gut microbes from making as much of the greenhouse gas. Sometimes, in fact, algae are a little too good at reducing greenhouse gases. You can thank algae for our seafood, too. Tiny phytoplankton, found worldwide, make up the base of aquatic food chains. Scientists figured that algae probably weren’t productive enough. The organisms might not even produce enough fuel to make up for the energy needed to grow them. Fossilized algae are used for the manufacture of dynamite.

  1. Duckweed

Duckweed is tiny oval-shaped plants on the water’s surface. These plants can cause some problems, but they also have benefits. This small, flowering plant is one which also grows very quickly. Duckweed mainly grows in warm, wet environments around the world, either in shade or direct sunlight. It floats,. forming a blanket over small bodies of slow-moving water. These bodies of water contain high levels of nutrients such as phosphorus or nitrogen. Duckweed can be used to help purify water by controlling algae growth and converting waste and sewage water into treated water and biomass. Every 30 hours, the species can undergo an entire life cycle. If a duckweed were able to reproduce continuously at maximum efficiency, it would theoretically be able to create four Earth-sized masses of duckweed inside of just four months.
Duckweed is a source of food for water fowl and even people in parts of Southeast Asia such as Thailand. Duckweed can multiply at an incredibly fast rate. It can cover the surface of a body of water, blocking sunlight and killing fish and aquatic plant life. To control the growth of duckweed, reduce the flow of nutrients into the water and use bubble aeration to inhibit the growth of duckweed. A duckweed plant produces a daughter bud about once a day. With ideal growing conditions, the original plant and its daughter buds can produce as many as 17,500 plants in two weeks. Koi, goldfish and grass carp eat duckweed, but grass carp will eat other plants first.

  1. Eastern Cottonwood

These species of tree may be the fastest growing tree in North America. Eastern cottonwood has thick bark which prevents damage of the inner, delicate wood. Eastern cottonwood can survive 70 to 100 years in the wild. but they have the potential to live 200 to 400 years if they have a good growing environment. The Eastern cottonwood is a producer, transforming the sun’s energy into food energy. Bark is smooth and yellow-green in young trees. Brown-grey, deeply furrowed, corky bark can be seen on the old trees. Eastern cottonwood has strong root system that can reach 15 feet in diameter. groves are typically indicitive that a water source is nearby as they consume large amounts of water in their growth cycle. Root absorbs up to 200 gallons of water per day.
Eastern cottonwood has triangular leaves with pointed tips and long petioles. Bright, emerald green color of the leaves changes into bright yellow during the autumn. Eastern cottonwood blooms during the March and April. North Americans used eastern cottonwood tree to build canoes. First European settlers used eastern cottonwood for the construction of houses and barns. Wood of eastern cottonwood is used for the manufacture of paper, pallets, boxes, lightweight furniture and as a firewood. Fragrant oils obtained from the eastern cottonwood are used in the cosmetic industry for the manufacture of lip balms and massage oils. Leaves, bark and buds of eastern cottonwood are used in treatment of fever, inflammation and pain. Essential oils of eastern cottonwood can be used in treatment of arthritis and sore muscles.

  1. Giant Sequoia
trees beside road
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Sequoia trees are best known for their mammoth size, but they are also very fast growing. Giant sequoia can reach 164 to 279 feet in height and 20 to 26 feet in diameter. THEY HAVE THE THICKEST BARK ON EARTH. One famous tree, the “General Sherman Tree,” was measured by researchers, who calculated that it had added three inches to its girth in 40 years. Their bark also doesn’t contain any flammable pitch or resin. The blaze eats up any brush or deadwood that’s accumulated on the ground while leaving behind nutrient-rich ash in which the saplings can flourish. Giant sequoias are popular tourist attraction. Giant sequoia can survive more than 3500 years in the wild. High concentration of tannin, an insoluble chemical compound found in many coniferous trees, the trees are immune to most diseases. Not only does the astringent substance protect the sequoia from fungus, it also safeguards it from insect attacks.
THEY PRODUCED THE LARGEST LIVING ORGANISM ON EARTH. onsider the height of a giant sequoia tree multiplied by that girth increase. That’s a lot of wood, and reminds us that trees grow outward and not just upward. The bark of a giant sequoia may be the thickest of any tree we know—on some specimens the outer layer of bark measures over two feet thick at the base. Animals like squirrels, chickarees, and beetles are instrumental in cracking open sequoia cones and dispersing the contents. But for a seed to germinate it needs to make direct contact with bare, mineral soil. Each cone produces around 230 seeds. They are miniature, flat and brown in color. Giant sequoia releases 300.000 to 400.000 seeds annually. They can be used only for the production of fence posts and toothpicks.

  1. Acacia

Acacia is a type of shrub or deciduous tree that belongs to the pea family. Acacia can be an impressively fast growing tree. There are over 800 species of acacia that can be found in Australia, and in the tropical and subtropical areas of America, Asia, Africa and Europe. Acacia grows on well-drained soil, in dry and sunny habitats. This allows them to experience a perpetual growing season. Most species of acacia have green, pinnate leaves. Leaves of acacia are important source of food for camels, goats, giraffes and cattle. Leaves They are also used as preservatives and have application in the pharmaceutical industry. Acacia has short lifespan. Most species live between 15 to 30 years. Gum Arabic, isolated from African species of acacia, has application in the food industry. It is used as a thickening agent in the manufacture of soft drinks, frozen desserts and confectionery.
It is also used as adhesive and cure. They are densely arranged on the branches and create impression of a giant fern. Acacia usually grows to the height of 40 feet. Some types of acacia can reach 70 feet in height and 3 feet in diameter. Swollen-thorn acacia (African species) lives in symbiosis with stinging ants. Acacia provides shelter and food. In return, ants protect plant from the herbivores. Strong and durable wood of acacia was popular and widely used for the manufacture of ships in the past. Today, acacia is mostly used for the production of floorings, furniture, toys, jewellery and tools. Acacia develops pea-shaped flowers that consist of 5 petals. Flowers of acacia are used in the industry of perfumes and cosmetics. They are yellow or white, rarely purple or red colored. Fruit of acacia is dry pod. It is elongated and filled with 5 to 6 brown or black seed.

  1. Wisconsin Fast Plants

Wisconsin Fast Plants are a rapid cycling variety of Brassica rapa that was initially developed as a research tool to improve the disease resistance of economically-valuable cruciferous crops (a large group of plants that includes mustard, radish, cabbage, broccoli, kohlrabi, and more). In order to speed up the genetic research in the crucifers, breeding has taken Brassica rapa and six related species from the family Cruciferae for shorter life cycles. The end result: petite, quick-growing plants known as Fast Plants. This trademarked strain of field mustard grows so quickly it has actually been marketed as “fast plants.” Every five weeks, it can produce a brand new generation. Small plant size and ability to grow at high plant density. These plants have high reproductive capacity. It has ability to grow under continuous fluorescent lighting in a standard potting mix.
The shortened life cycle has proven effective in reducing the time required for traditional breeding programs, which has led to advances in cellular and molecular plant research. Over 150 genetic traits have been described that are useful in research. Breeding process has decreased from six-month growth cycle to only five weeks. Professor Williams managed to establish uniform size, flowering time and growing conditions. To ensure optimal germination rates, plant seeds the same year you receive them. Germination rates decrease over time. Seeds are living and need to be kept cool and dry before planting. Plants play an integral part in the world by taking in carbon dioxide and producing oxygen.

  1. Kudzu

Kudzu, also known as Japanese arrowroot, is vine that belongs to the pea family. This is an incredibly fast-growing plant which can add a whole foot a day, and under prime conditions, may add a whole 60 feet in a single growing season. Kudzu is also known as “foot a night vine”, “mile a minute vine” and “vine that ate the south” because of it’s quick growth. This is considered quite a pest. Kudzu produces purple flowers arranged in terminal clusters that can reach 12 inches in length. Flowers emit sweet, pleasant fragrance which attracts bees. Fruit of kudzu is pod filled with seed. Fruit ripens in autumn. Kudzu grows in the mountains, fields and near the roads. It prefers shade. Kudzu has compound leaves that consist of three oval or heart-shaped leaflets. Leaves are dark green, hairy and alternately arranged on the stem. It climbs over everything and is very hard to kill. Along its way, it tends to kill other plants. It is considered extremely aggressive and invasive, and while it is native to Japan, it has spread to other locations throughout the world, including the US.
Kudzu (root) is used in traditional Chinese medicine in treatment of headache, migraine, thirst, allergies, diarrhea, hypertension, cardiovascular disorders and hypercholesterolemia. Root is also used to reduce craving for alcohol, and flowers to alleviate symptoms of hangover and facilitate detoxification of liver. Root, flowers and leaves of kudzu can be used in human diet. Starch extracted from root can be used instead of cornstarch. Flowers are used for the preparation of jelly. Kudzu has very long root that can prevent erosion and improve qualities of soil. Bacteria in the root of kudzu absorb atmospheric nitrogen and convert it into nitrate, plants-friendly type of nitrogen. It’s lifespan is more than 2 years Fibers extracted from the stem, known as ko-hemp, are used for the manufacture of paper and cloth. Kudzu is important source of food for goats and llamas in the southern parts of the USA. Kudzu can be used for the manufacture of cellulosic ethanol, type of biofuel which does not pollute atmosphere as much as conventional types of fuel.

  1. Transgenic Eucalyptus

Eucalyptus is the second most widely planted multipurpose woody tree species in the world. It is a commercially important hardwood tree for paper and wood industries. Eucalyptus are important hard wood trees, originated in Australia and belongs to the family Myrtaceae. The estimated plantation area covered by eucalyptus is 20 million hectares worldwide. The genus Eucalyptus comprises of more than 700 species and hybrids, some of which bear their economic importance as a source of paper pulp, wood, timber and essential oils. The ever increasing demand for wood, timber and shelter poses a great threat to the natural forest resources. Eucalyptus being a hardwood tree produces shorter fibers than softwoods like pines. Short fibers of this genus make it more reliable for use in paper and furniture industries. Fast growing and high yielding eucalyptus plantations with their short rotation period along with adaptation to a wide range of environments offer enormous scope as an alternative to meet the growing wood demands of the world as well as to save the natural forests from deforestation. It is the versatility and fast-growing characteristics of this genus that has aroused and still is stimulating increasing interest worldwide, particularly as the demand for pulp, fuel, and construction wood increases.
Over 8 million ha of Eucalyptus plantations have been established in Angola, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, China, Congo, India, Iran, Madagascar, Morocco, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Thailand, Pakistan, the USA, and Uruguay. More than 90% of these forests have been planted since 1955, and about 50% in the past decade. Another artificially developed plant on our list is transgenic eucalyptus, developed by splicing brassica genes with eucalyptus genes. These trees grow 30% faster than other types of natural eucalyptus, and can add 16 feet a year. Within just five years, some plants may manage to top 100 feet. Trees like the transgenic eucalyptus are praised by some, while others warn that species like this could easily overtake the planet much like the naturally invasive kudzu. The long term ecological ramifications of manufactured fast-growing plants like the eucalyptus are impossible to imagine or predict at this point of time. Leaves of eucalyptus are rich in oil that is used to alleviate symptoms of bronchitis, sore throat, nasal congestion. All parts of eucalyptus tree are used in the manufacture of dyes. Eucalyptus oil is also used as insecticide. Eucalyptus is also known as “gum tree” because of the sticky rubbery substance that flows from the injured bark. Lifespan of eucalyptus depends on the species. Most eucalyptus trees can survive more than 250 years in the wild.

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THE GREAT 10 LARGEST FLOWERS IN THE WORLD

by Sree DivyaUncategorizedLeave a Comment on THE GREAT 10 LARGEST FLOWERS IN THE WORLD

Nature often surprises us with true wonders. There are the flowers that can leave anybody speechless. The seed-bearing part of a plant, consisting of reproductive organs that are typically surrounded by a brightly coloured corolla (petals) and a green calyx (sepals) is called flower. There are many fragrant and beautiful flowers on earth, but many of them are similar in size about 1inch to 5 inches in diameter. Rose is one of the most popular and loved of the beautiful flowers. Flowers are part of the most important occasions of life and have a language of their own. Flowers’ meanings and symbolization were a key element many years ago. Plants succeeded in using their flower’s deceptive development–using color and smell to attract insects and animals for pollination.

1.Rafflesia arnoldii

Rafflesia arnoldii is one of the world’s most endangered plant species. It has a diameter of over three feet. It is also known as Rafflesia tuanmudae or Stinking corpse lily or corpse flower and is one of the largest living organisms. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classifies certain Rafflesian species, such as Rafflesia Magnifica, as “critically endangered.” This process happens once a year, when Rafflesia grows to its maximum diameter with five leathery, red spotted petals around a bowl-like center that swallows flies and insects for further sustenance. This parasitic plant is steady, not visible until it is about to bloom, with no roots, stems, twigs, or leaves. Buds arise over months to the size of the cabbage without a sign of the contaminated host plant. Corpse flower’s bloom too has a rotten corpse smell. The rafflesia feeds on a host plant to live, drinking its water and nutrients. The rafflesia’s life is tragically short. Its mouth remains open for just one week before it rots and dies. so the largest flower on Earth is on borrowed time. While the flies gain nothing from the flowers, the pollen sticks to its back as they rest on the bloom,attracted by its rotten meat scent.
When these flies pass into a female flora, the pollen is released in the flowers so they can fertilize it. Its produced fruit has thousands of seeds and is fleshy and small. Such fruits are consumed by tree shrews, which then continue to disperse the plant’s seeds. Rafflesia arnoldii is one of the three national flowers in Indonesia, the other two being the white jasmine and moon orchid. It was officially recognized as a national “rare flower”. Scientists just found one of the world’s largest flowers blooming in an Indonesian jungle. It was named Rafflesia after British colonialist Sir Stamford Raffles who spotted one in Indonesia in the early 19th Century. Rafflesia is a genus of flower with 28 known species, the second largest of which is Rafflesia kerrii, with blooms measuring 70 to 110 cm across, or over three feet. Only Rafflesia arnoldii of Sumatra exceeds its dimensions slightly, becoming the largest single flower on Earth. Rafflesia is endemic in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines.

  1. Titan arum

Titans normally open in the evening and the intense odor only lasts for 12 hours. The bloom will stay open (with a much lighter odor) for only 1-2 days. The plant must reach 10-15 years of age before it blooms for the first time and then blooms every 3-5 years thereafter. Titan arum also known as Amorphophallus titanum or death flower, is the flowering plant with the largest unbranched inflorescence in the world, that bloom rarely for a short period. This bud started growing in April, and we believe that it will bloom in early June. It is not among best-smelling flowers as this flower releases while it is in bloom a smell, like a rotten corpse. Fluorescence of the titan arum is not as large as the talipot palm but rather branches off, unlike talipot, which makes it a bigger flower. The plant itself reaches approximately 10 to 15 feet in height, and the leaves can be as large as 13 feet(4 m). The tallest recorded bloom of corpse flower, according to Guinness Book of World Records, was 10 feet 2.225 inches tall that also makes titan arum as the tallest flower in the world.
In the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the corpse flower is classified as “vulnerable” in the Red List of Threatened Plants. But, if the conditions that affect its life and reproduction do not change, the plant may become endangered. Habitat loss and devastation are the primary threats. Titan Arums are only found in the jungles of Sumatra and produce the world’s largest floral structures. Greenhouse Manager Tammy Blume and volunteer and titan enthusiast Mariah Huffman attempted pollination by hand with pollen that was collected three weeks earlier from Rotney. This pollination was successful, and Odie produced beautiful orange and red berries, which you can see below. These seeds were collected and some were used to start new plants for our collection, while others were shared with other institutions all over the country.

  1. Talipot palm

Talipot palm is one of the world’s largest palms, having origins from South India. It has a height of up to 25 m and a diameter of stems of up to 1.3 m. It is a palm fan with a diameter of up to 5 m, a petiole up to 4 m, and around 130 leaflets. The Talipot Palm has one or more million small flowers, the largest inflorescence in any plant, 6-8 m long, on a branched trunk stitched on top of a trunk. The Talipot palms are monocarpic, which means their flowers only once at the age of 30 to 80. The plant dies after fruiting. A single tree yields more than250 kg of seeds. Talipot Palm has many uses it is as useful as coconut in its native region, and Talipot fruits, which are surprisingly tasty, are known as ice apple. Their leaves are also used extensively for wall protection, for plaiting the mats and as umbrellas during rainy season. Like other palms, the central part of the stem of Corypha umbraculifera, is a rich source of starch. Palms are felled to extract this central ‘pith’ which is dried, powdered, stored and used for preparation of bread. It is a species of palm native to eastern and southern India and Sri Lanka. It is also grown in Cambodia, Myanmar, China, Thailand and the Andaman Islands. Kerala coast and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands are also home to this species. Once the seeds fall, the tree also dies.

  1. Neptune grass (Posidonia oceanica)

The Posidonia Oceanica, which is also named “Neptune grass,” has been sequenced by a group of scientists to be around 200,000 old seaweed covering ocean floors from Spain to Cyprus. The plant has roots, twigs, leaves, flowers, and it creates fruits known as sea olives. It forms large underwater meadows that are an important part of the ecosystem. It should not be confused with algae. It flowers in the autumn. The leaves are tape-shaped, measuring between 1 cm in width and between 30 and 120 cm in length. This aquatic plant lives in the Mediterranean Sea and in certain areas south of Australia, with similar characteristics to dry land. Among the many strengths of Neptune Grass is that it oxidizes the oceans and is also a food source formany animal species.Its appearance also shows that the water is of good quality and is well stored. Biologists often term Posidonia Oceanica as “Mediterranean’s Lungs.” Balls of fibrous material from its foliage, known as egagropili, wash up to nearby shorelines. This species is found only in the Mediterranean Sea where it is in decline, occupying an area of about 3% of the basin.
Seagrasses are a paraphyletic group of angiosperm plants, which are exclusively found in estuarine and marine environments. They belong to four families, Posidoniaceae, Zosteraceae, Cymodoceaceae, and Hydrocharitaceae. Among these, the endemic species Posidonia oceanica is predominant in the Mediterranean Sea. Posidonia meadows provide breeding and nursery grounds for various fish and other marine organisms. They influence commercial fishing and shape the coastal structure by accumulating nutrients. The meadows of the seagrass posidonia oceanica are essential for the protection of the marine environment on the Spanish Mediterranean coasts. Posidonia oceanica is a Mediterranean endemic phanerogam or flowering plant which has special characteristics which must be known at the outset in order to prevent serious environmental damage through the construction of harbour works. These characteristics include a millenary life span, a need for light and clear water, very slow growth and reproduction rate, a need for sandy beds, a shedding of leaves in Autumn and the fact that they form meadows over a very long period which stabilise the shoreline by preventing the impact of the sea.

  1. Puya raimondii

Puya raimondii is the largest bromeliad species, with a height up to 15 m and is also known as the queen of the Andes. We can find this type of plant species in Bolivian and Peruvian forests from the high Andes. The flower can reach a height of up to 30 feet (9.14 m), which contains 8-12 million seeds per plant. The Queen of the Andes in the wild have only three populations. There are thousands of species comprising the bromeliad group, but Puya raimondii has less geneticdiversity. Puya raimondii is currently on a verge of extinction because of the inability to adapt to climate changeand deforestation. The species name of raimondii commemorates the 19th-century Italian scientist Antonio Raimondi, who immigrated to Peru and made extensive botanical expeditions there. The whole plant may reach as much as 15 m (50 ft) tall.
This plant can produce between 8,000 and 20,000 flowers in a 3-month period. Its reproductive cycle lasts approximately 80 years. of the Andes (Puya raimondii) is a terrestrial bromeliad. Many bromeliads are epiphytes, growing on the surface of other plants and getting their food from the air and accumulated plant matter trapped in branch crevices. Terrestrial bromeliads have their roots in soil. There are only three populations of Queen of the Andes in the wild. Most of them have many thousands of plants, but their genetic diversity is very low. They may be unable to adapt to changes in climate. Human impacts to the populations include repeated fires to generate or maintain pasture for livestock forage.

  1. Common Sunflower
yellow sunflower macro photographyt
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Sunflowers are extremely well-known worldwide. Sunflowers are mainly from North and South America, and some species are cultivated in farms for the spectacular sizes of their blossom and for their edible seeds. nowadays you can find them in numerous countries around the world. Sunflowers Their bright yellow color is their defining characteristic and makes them very striking. Sunflower seeds are used to make sunflower oil or can directly be eaten roasted. At least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight per day is needed for the sunflowers, the better if you try to maximize their potential for size. The excessive blooming of gigantic sunflowers is difficult to top. On towering stems, the Russian variety opens flowers up to 14 inches in diameter, 9 to 12 feet high. The disk flowers are brown, yellow, or purple, while the petallike ray flowers are yellow. The fruit is a single-seeded achene.
Oilseed varieties typically have small black achenes, while those grown for direct seed consumption, known as confection varieties, have larger black-and-white achenes that readily separate from the seed within. Farmers generally sow seeds in spring while they harvest the crop at the end of summer. If considered usability, Sunflower is the biggest flower in the world. The leaves are used as fodder, the flowers yield a yellow dye, and the seeds contain oil and are used for food. The oil is also used in soap and paints and as a lubricant. The sweet yellow oil obtained by compression of the seeds is considered equal to olive or almond oil for table use. These flowers with their gorgeous big and bright blooms have a unique and winning combination of offering some rather amazing benefits to us as well as being pretty to look at. It is a useful alternative and replacement for unhealthy margarine spreads and high fat butter for cakes and home bakes.

  1. Tree peony

Common peony is an exquisite flower but, its bigger counterpart, the tree peony, is a very different plant. Tree peonies are woody shrubs, with no support, as some grow at 10 feet high. They have many forms, colors, and fragrances, and their flowers are much bigger and typically bloom about two weeks earlier than herby peonies. During their bloom season, which lasts for about two weeks in April and May, plants can have more than 50 blooms at one time. For gardeners we must embrace China for they provided many of our most cherished garden flowers, including the stunningly beautiful tree peony. Chinese use them as decorative ornaments and for medicinal purposes. As the season advances, the flower buds begin to swell, reaching the size of a small apple before issuing forth in late April with a flower the size of a salad plate.
Double forms are most common with the blossoms in delicate pastel shades of red, pink, white and yellow. Tree peonies can be grown in all parts of Arkansas but are less common in gardens than their herbaceous cousins. Their rarity in cultivation is because they’re difficult to propagate. Tree peonies do best in a fertile, well drained garden soil. They will grow in full sun or light shade and are easy to grow if well sited. With so many varieties of peonies available these days, selecting the right peony for your garden can be confusing. Add terms like tree peony, itoh peony and herbaceous peony, and it can seem overwhelming. The mid to late spring blossoms of tree peonies are unrivaled in size, color and fragrance.

  1. Hibiscus
red blue and green bird on tree branch
Photo by Jean van der Meulen on Pexels.com

Hibiscus or Hibiscus sabdariffa is one of the world’s largest flower. The name ‘Hibiscus’ comes from hibiskos, the old Greek name for the common marsh mallow. Hibiscus develops large, trumpet-shaped flower without scent. Flower consists of five or more petals. There are over 200 species of hibiscus that can be found in the warm and tropical regions all over the world. These beautiful bright flowers surely beautify a home or garden but are also used as medicine. We can find these plants in various colors like white, yellow, orange, purple, pink, red or blue. Size wise, Hibiscus can be as wide as 8 inches in diameter. The hibiscus family is a mix of diverse plants–from annuals to perennials and shrubs–famed for their large, audacious bloom, often as big as a plate. It contains both male (stamen) and female (pistil) reproductive organs. Bees, butterflies and hummingbirds are main pollinators of hibiscus flowers.
Brightly colored flowers of hibiscus are rich source of natural dyes that are used in the food industry. Dried hibiscus is edible, and it is often a delicacy in Mexico. It can also be candied and used as a garnish, usually for desserts. Women in use dyes extracted from hibiscus flowers to dye their eyebrows and hair. The most popular beverage made of hibiscus is tea (made of dry flowers). Besides pleasant taste, tea made of hibiscus represents rich source of vitamin C. According to some medical studies, tea made of hibiscus lowers blood pressure and decreases cholesterol level. Hibiscus cannabinus is a species of hibiscus that is used in the paper industry. China and Thailand are the greatest producers of hibiscus in the world. Hibiscus is known as “shoe flower” in China because people use hibiscus to polish their shoes. The hibiscus is used as an offering to goddess Kali and Lord Ganesha in Hindu worship. Hibiscus is considered a very feminine flower.

9.Magnolia

The first flowering plant on Earth is believed by researchers to be magnolias. One of the world’s biggest flowering plants, as believed by many researchers. There are around 210 species of magnolia that differ in size, shape, color of the flower and type of habitat. Magnolia trees originate from Southeast Asia and North America, but they have been naturalized to almost all continents in the world because of their beauty. Fossils prove that they have been on Earth for around 100 million years, according to scientific research. Because magnolia is so old, the flowers have no real petals and sepals; they have petal-like tepals instead. Magnolia flowers come according to variety in various shapes, sizes, and colors. The magnolia family comprises high and fluffy trees with pink, white, red, purple, yellow blossoms. Magnolia blooms from April to June. First flowers develop seven years after planting.
Most magnolia varieties have wide bulbs measuring 6 to 8 inches in diameter.
The magnolia is eye-catching due to its soft colors and its large, lovely petals. It’s one of the most famous flowers in the world due to its beauty. It’s commonly used in decoration, bouquets, gifts, etc. Size of magnolia tree depends on the species. Smaller species are only 15 feet tall. Larger species can grow 80 feet in height. Magnolia produces cone-like brownish fruit that can reach 2 to 10 inches in length. Kidney-shaped seed can be red, orange or pink in color. Seed of magnolia is favorite food of many birds. Bark and flowers of magnolia are used in traditional Asian medicine. Leaves of magnolia are used for wrapping of food in Asia. Magnolia is resistant to most pests and diseases. Some species are prone to fungal infections. Larvae of certain insects eat different parts of magnolia tree. Wood of magnolia is used for the production of pallets and furniture. Flower contains both male and female reproductive organs. Flowers release sugary scent which attracts pollinators.

10.Lotus

aquatic aquatic plant beautiful bloom
Photo by SevenStorm JUHASZIMRUS on Pexels.com

The lotus flower is also known as the “Nile flower. The Nelumbo family’s white lotus flowers and pink lotus are seen as sacredness. The lotus flower is one of the world’s most recognizable and sacred flowers. The stunning flower is a universal symbol of some of history’s most influential cultures and is the national flower of India. Lotus’s color influences its important significance. The most interesting detail about this lovely flower is the lifespan of its seeds, which can sprout after many centuries. Lotus flowers can conclude a spiritual meaning of ascent, enlightenment, or renaissance in more bright colors red, purple, and blue, white. It mostly grows in murky and shallow waters and need warm sunlight to grow, but are cold climate intolerant. This flower would not flourish in winter, consequently, as it is aquatic. With its roots in the deeper sludge, this flower only thrives in under muddy still water.
Its bloom, which is above the water surface, commonly has a diameter up to 20 centimeters when fully matured. It’s an extraordinary flower that is famous worldwide, mainly because it’s an aquatic flower. It’s India’s national flower and is symbolic in Buddhism and Hinduism for wealth, prosperity, purity and fertility. The flower species is native to Asia, and most predominantly in India and China. Flower opens in the morning and closes at night. Lotus was a symbol of sun, rebirth and creation in the ancient Egypt. Dried stamens of the lotus are used for the preparation of aromatic tea. Flower, young leaves, seeds and root are edible and often used in Asian cuisine. Older and bigger leaves are used for wrapping of food. Lotus is rich in fibers and vitamins of the B group. It is also rich source of iron and other important minerals. Lotus uses rhizomes to attach itself to the ground. This flower is known by its beautiful odor.

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THE GREAT 10 BIGGEST BANKS IN THE WORLD ACCORDING TO THE BANKS’ TOTAL ASSETS

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A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be performed either directly or indirectly through capital markets. A bank is the extension of credit, and for facilitating the transmission of funds. Due to the importance of banks in the financial stability of a country, most jurisdictions exercise a high degree of regulation over banks. Here are The ranking of the 10 biggest banks are built according to banks’ total assets.

1.Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC)

The largest and richest bank in the world is the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC). ICBC’s headquarters are located in Beijing. By the total number of assets, customers, employees, loans and deposits; ICBC, as it’s often referred to, completely dominates the rest of the biggest banks in the world. ICBC has $4,322 billion total assets according to the latest data, and its market capitalization totals $424 billion. It has more than 4,60,000 employees. 70% of government-owned company ranked number one all over the 1000 Banks. ICBC’s total assets are thought to be in the region of $4.2 trillion dollars according to the latest data. Almost 1/5 of all bankings are in China only.

  1. China Construction Bank Corporation

According to the latest data, it has $3,822 billion in assets, and its market capitalization totals more than $204 billion. Originally, CCB was created for government exchanges, and only later, it was redeveloped into the commercial bank. The company operates more than 14,000 branches all around the globe, with about 372,000 employees. China Construction Bank Corp. engages in the provision of a wide range of financial services to corporate and personal customers. It operates through the following business segments: Corporate Banking, Personal Banking, Treasury, and Others. The Corporate Banking segment provides a range of financial products and services to corporations, government agencies and financial institutions, which comprises of corporate loans, trade financing, deposit taking and wealth management services, agency services, financial consulting and advisory services, cash management services, remittance and settlement services, custody services, and guarantee services.
The Personal Banking segment provides personal loans, deposit taking and wealth management services, card business, remittance services, and agency services to individual customers. The Treasury segment represents inter-bank money market transactions, repurchase and resale transactions, investments in debt securities, and trade of derivatives and foreign currency. The Others segment refers to equity investments and revenues, results, assets and liabilities of overseas branches and subsidiaries. The company was founded in October 1954 and is headquartered in Beijing, China. The company was founded in 13,629 domestic branches.

  1. Agricultural Bank of China

Agricultural Bank of China (ABC), also known as AgBank. It was founded in 1951, and has its headquarters in Dongcheng District, Beijing and ABC has nearly 24,000 representatives in the country and abroad. Total assets of the Agricultural Bank of China comprise more than $3,698 billion, and according to the latest data, its market capitalization is $147 bln. This bank was established to support agriculture. This bank today also handles loans to nonagricultural businesses and individuals. It is one of the four major state-controlled banks. Agricultural Bank of China engages in the provision of international commercial banking and financial services. This is driven by bank’s long history of receiving state support. ABC was designated as a global systematic important bank. ABC is China’s third-largest commercial bank by total assets.
The bank has one of the largest domestic networks, which extends deeply into China’s county areas. This helps the bank build a commanding franchise in rural markets and provides it with a low-cost and stable deposit base. The central government is ultimately the largest shareholder of all five state banks and has a record of providing solvency and asset-quality support. Since the late 1970s, the Bank has evolved from a state-owned specialized bank to a wholly state-owned commercial bank and subsequently a state-controlled commercial bank. The Bank was restructured into a joint stock limited liability company in January 2009. In July 2010, the Bank was listed on both the Shanghai Stock Exchange and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, which marked the completion of our transformation into a public shareholding commercial bank.

  1. Bank of China ltd

The Bank of China is one of the oldest and most reliable banks in China. It is one of the four biggest state-owned commercial banks in China. It was created in 1912 and still leads in the national banking sector. Over 70% of the company belongs to the Chinese government, and it has offices in over 20 countries. According to the data, its assets are near $3,387 billion, and its market capitalization is about $113 bln. Bank of China is legally separate from its subsidiary Bank of China , although they maintain close relations in management and administration and co-operate in several areas including reselling BOC’s insurance and securities services. Its headquarters are in Xicheng District, Beijing. In Hong Kong, Frankfurt and other financial centers across the globe, the bank functions as clearing house of the currency. The bank is also the issuer of overseas yuan-denominated bonds.

Mumbai holds the pride of being the wealthiest city in India, with the highest GDP of all the cities in South, West and the Central Asia. The city houses important financial institutions such as the Reserve Bank of India, the Bombay Stock Exchange, the National Stock Exchange of India, the SEBI and the corporate headquarters of numerous Indian companies and multinational corporations. Bank of China has commenced its business in India by launching the first branch in Mumbai in June 2019. The India branch works on the international network of Bank of China across the globe, with a world class banking, professional strengths and a diversified platform of the Bank across various sectors. Operating strictly in compliance with local laws and regulations, Bank of China India Branch provides comprehensive business services in Corporate Banking, Treasury and Branch Banking.

  1. JPMorgan Chase

JPMorgan Chase is one of the most eminent and popular US banks. This company was created in 2000 as a result of merging several huge banks. JPMorgan Chase HQ is located in Manhattan, New York City. It is one of the largest investment companies in the world. Now its assets total $3,139 bln, and its market capitalization is over $292 bln, which also makes it one of the most expensive companies in the world. JPMorgan Chase & Co. provides global financial services and retail banking. The Company provides services such as investment banking, treasury and securities services, asset management, private banking, card member services, commercial banking, and home finance.
JP Morgan Chase serves business enterprises, institutions, and individuals. JPMorgan Chase & Co. is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company. It is also the world’s most valuable bank by market capitalization. The Chase brand is used for credit card services in the United States and Canada, the bank’s retail banking activities in the United States, and commercial banking. Both the retail and commercial bank and the bank’s corporate headquarters are currently located at 383 Madison Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, while the prior headquarters building directly across the street, 270 Park Avenue, is demolished and replaced with a new building.

  1. HSBC Holdings plc

London’s HSBC is one of the biggest banks in Europe, totaling $2.92 tln. in assets. Originally, the purpose of its creation was to perform exchanges between Europe and China, and it still stays crucial in such actions. It also has more than 10 subsidiaries, which perform all possible operations inside this sector.
HSBC Holdings plc is a multinational investment bank and financial services holding company. HSBC traces its origin to a hong in British Hong Kong and its present form was established in London by the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation to act as a new group holding company in 1991. The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation opened branches in Shanghai in 1865 and was first formally incorporated in 1866.
HSBC has around 3,900 offices in 65 countries and territories across Africa, Asia, Oceania, Europe, North America, and South America, and around 38 million customers. HSBC is organised within four business groups: Commercial Banking, Global Banking and Markets, Retail Banking and Wealth Management, and Global Private Banking. In 2020, the bank announced that it would consolidate its Retail Banking & Wealth Management arm with Global Private Banking, to form Wealth & Personal Banking. HSBC has a dual primary listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the Hang Seng Index and the FTSE 100 Index. Key Role as European Hub: HSBC Bank plc’s Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) are driven by support from its ultimate parent, HSBC Holdings plc.

  1. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group

This Japanese holding company has $2.89 tln. in assets, which makes it one of the “best” banks in Japan. MUFG’s department network spread all around the world allows MUFG to perform in 40 different countries. The company was created in 2005 by the merger of the two largest banks of Japan, and its headquarter is located in Osaka City. MUFG has the target of 550.0 billion yen of profits attributable to owners of parent for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2021. MUFG is engaged in financial service businesses such as banking business, trust banking business, securities business and credit card/loan businesses. Because there are various uncertainties caused by economic situation, market environments and other factors in these businesses, MUFG discloses a target of its profits attributable to owners of parent instead of a forecast of its performance.
The forward-looking statements are made based upon, among other things, the company’s current estimations, perceptions and evaluations. In addition, in order for the company to adopt such estimations, forecasts, targets and plans regarding future events, certain assumptions have been made. Accordingly, due to various risks and uncertainties, the statements and assumptions are inherently not guarantees of future performance, may be considered differently from alternative perspectives and may result in material differences from the actual result. The financial information included in this financial summary report is prepared and presented in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in Japan. Differences exist between Japanese GAAP and the accounting principles generally accepted in the United States in certain material respects. Such differences have resulted in the past, and are expected to continue to result for this period and future periods, in amounts for certain financial statement line items under U.S. GAAP to differ significantly from the amounts under Japanese GAAP. For example, differences in consolidation basis or accounting for business combinations, including but not limited to amortization and impairment of goodwill, could result in significant differences in our reported financial results between Japanese GAAP and U.S. GAAP.

  1. Bank of America (BoA)

The BoA is the second largest bank in the USA. It has an extensive range of financial services in the whole country and abroad. The headquarters are located in Charlotte City, North Carolina. According to the BoA balance sheet has $2,620 bln. assets and its market capitalization is about $209 bln. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. operates as a holding company, which provides financial services through its subsidiaries. It operates through the following segments: Integrated Retail Banking Business Group, Integrated Corporate Banking Business Group, Integrated Trust Assets Business Group, Integrated Global Business Group, Global Markets and Others. The Integrated Retail Banking Business Group segment manages domestic business that provides retail banking services, which includes commercial and trust banking; securities trading; and retail product development, promotions, and marketing.
The Integrated Corporate Banking Business Group segment covers all domestic corporate businesses, including commercial banking, investment banking, trust banking, and securities businesses. The Integrated Trust Assets Business Group segment provides asset management and administration services for pension and security trusts, in addition to consultation services for pension management schemes and payouts. The Integrated Global Business Group segment covers businesses outside of Japan. The Global Markets segment offers assets and liability management, strategic investment, foreign exchange operations and financial products. The Others segment operates corporate centers of related companies. The company was founded on April 2, 2001 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

  1. BNP Paribas

BNP Paribas was created in 1999, and now it tops the financial, banking, and insurance rankings. Currently, the company has representatives all around the globe, and its headquarters are located in Geneva, Paris, and London. BNP Paribas has been named “World’s Best Bank for Corporates” and “World’s Best Bank for Financial Inclusion” 2020 by Euromoney, a publication specializing in international finance. As a European leader and a leading international banking player, BNP Paribas is recognized for the expertise of its teams and its transversal approach to its business lines, which are grouped into Corporate and Institutional Banking, Domestic Markets and International Financial Services, in order to offer the best possible service to our clients. For example, in the EMEA region, BNP Paribas’ banking teams coordinated more than €46 billion of DCM (Debt Capital Market) transactions over the past year. In addition, the Group continued to intensify its efforts in several areas to integrate sustainable development into its products and operating processes, introduce significant measures and help its clients to accelerate this transition.
BNP Paribas has thus introduced proactive sector policies, taken financial steps to promote sustainable financing, and supported its clients in integrating sustainable development into their activities through innovative financing solutions. Its assets compound to $2,336 bln and the bank has $39 bln of market capitalization. We have also invested in the products and people to provide simple and effective solutions in the world’s fastest growing markets. We are experts in capital markets, advisory and financing businesses. Our client-centric model aims to anchor its leadership position in Europe and leverage the rapid growth in Asia. BNP Paribas was one of the first banks to start a dialogue with India in 1860 begining operations in Calcutta (renamed Kolkata). We have since then spread our branches to eight key metros & mini metros and widened and enriched our product repertoire. Today, BNP Paribas is the second oldest foreign bank on the Indian soil and is positioned amongst the leading corporate banks in India. A shareholders’ Club set up in 1995, is open to “individual” shareholders holding at least 200 shares. As of today it counts more than 63,000 members. Meetings with shareholders are arranged during the year in the main regional cities: the bank’s policy is presented by senior executives of BNP Paribas and members of the Top Management.

  1. Credit Agricole

Credit Agricole is one of the largest companies in France, which successfully controls a large part of the banking sector inside the country. Credit Agricole CIB has been present in India since 1981 and is located as today in Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai and Pune. From these 5 branches, the Bank also deals with the large markets in Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Baroda. The Bank offers a comprehensive range of products and services, tailored to the needs of Indian companies, multinational companies and financial institutions. It has a balance of $1,984 bln. in assets. Gross customer capture was strong, with 416,000 new customers captured since the start of the year, and a 25,000 increase in the customer base. Lastly, commercial activity in capital markets was buoyant in order to meet customer needs in terms of hedging and bonds. In the first quarter of 2020, Credit Agricole Group’s stated net income Group share came to €908 million versus €1,350 million in the first quarter of 2019.
For Crédit Agricole S.A., the underlying net income Group share reached €1.1 bn for the second quarter of 2020, down -10.9% compared to 2019, and €1.8 bn for the first half of the year. Credit Agricole SA set aside more than expected to cover souring loans in the second quarter after the covid pandemic hit the French lender’s retail clients and large corporate customers. Provisions in the three months through June jumped to 842 million euros ($998 million), higher than the 775 million-euro estimate of analysts polled by Bloomberg. Costs to cover souring debt drove down results at some of the lender’s most important business units, including the large clients segment, which saw a five-fold increase in the cost of risk from a year earlier.
Credit Agricole is more diversified and less dependent than rivals BNP Paribas SA and Societe Generale SA on trading, though it did benefit from the volatility that boosted fixed income results at rivals. At the same time it was able to avoid the dividend-related losses that caused management upheaval earlier this week at SocGen and Natixis.

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THE GREAT LARGEST 10 HOSPITALS IN THE WORLD

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A Hospital is an institution providing medical and surgical treatment and nursing care for sick or injured people. A hospital provides the patients a treatment with specialized medical and quality is one of the most powerful ways to assess this aspect of health care, and hospital accreditation. Here are the Largest 10 Hospitals in the world in the year 2020.

1.The Mayo Clinic (Rochester, Minnesota)

Mayo Clinic is ranked number 1 in the United States for 2019-2020. It is maintaining a position at or near the top for more than 27 years. Mayo Clinic has been caring for patients from around the world for more than 100 years. Mayo Clinic is an American nonprofit academic medical center focused on integrated patient care, education, and research. It employs over 4,500 physicians and scientists, along with another 58,400 administrative and allied health staff, across three major campuses: Rochester, Minnesota; Jacksonville, Florida; and Phoenix/Scottsdale, Arizona. Mayo Clinic serves more than 1.3 million people each year in 19 hospitals across five states. It provides vital innovation for the entire medical community.
The practice specializes in treating difficult cases through tertiary care and destination medicine. William Worrall Mayo settled his family in Rochester in 1864 and opened a sole proprietorship medical practice that evolved under his sons, Will and Charlie Mayo, along with practice partners Drs. Stinchfield, Graham, Plummer, Millet, Judd, and Balfour, into Mayo Clinic. Today, in addition to its flagship hospital in Rochester, Mayo Clinic has major campuses in Arizona and Florida. It has general medical and surgical facility. The Mayo Clinic has a large integrated transplantation program.

  1. Cleveland Clinic (Cleveland)

Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland ranked No. 2 on the Best Hospitals Honor Roll. It is a teaching hospital. Cleveland Clinic, a non-profit academic medical center, provides clinical and hospital care and is a leader in research, education and health information. Cleveland Clinic is one of the largest medical providers in the world, with hospitals in the United States, Canada, and the United Emirates. The medical center’s heart and surgery program has been ranked as the best in America each year since 1995, and it was the best major medical center to combine clinical services around one organ system or disease. It has served patients from all 50 states and 135 countries. The Cleveland Clinic is an American academic medical center based in Cleveland, Ohio. Owned and operated by the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, an Ohio nonprofit corporation established in 1921, it runs a 170 acres (69 ha) campus in Cleveland, as well as 11 affiliated hospitals, 19 family health centers in Northeast Ohio, and hospitals in Florida and Nevada.
As of 2019, it has over 67,500 employees, a figure that includes over 17,000 registered nurses and advanced practice providers and over 4,520 physicians and scientists in 140 specialties. It is affiliated with the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, with which it started a physician-investigator medical school training program: the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine. The organization grew out of the surgical practice of Frank J. Weed at 16 Church Street on the near-west side of Cleveland. It includes the Taussig Cancer Institute, Global Cardiovascular Innovation Center, Cole Eye Institute, Cleveland Clinic Children’s and Pediatric Institute, and Centers for Geriatric and Diabetes Care. The hospital’s Transplant Center performed almost 700 organ transplants in 2017, and its procedures include heart, lung, liver and pancreas.

3.Massachusetts General Hospital (Boston)

Massachusetts General Hospital is located in the West End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Hospital is the teaching hospital for Harvard Medical School, has the largest hospital-based research program in the United States, with over 1,200 clinical trials being conducted at any given time, in topics ranging from the opioid epidemic to the impact of socioeconomic status on health. Massachusetts General Hospital was established to provide care to Boston’s sick, regardless of socioeconomic status. It has remained at the forefront of medicine by fostering a culture of collaboration, pushing the boundaries of medical research, educating the brightest medical minds and maintaining an unwavering commitment to the diverse community we were created to serve.
It has a keen focus on equity to serve, heal, educate and innovate at the highest levels. This Hospital’s first priority is the well-being of our patients near and far. As a team they are able to maintain a singular focus on providing the highest quality, most compassionate care to each and every patient. Many multidisciplinary care teams known worldwide for innovations in cancer, digestive disorders, the neurosciences, heart disease, orthopaedics, transplantation, urologic diseases and trauma care unite specialists across the hospital to offer comprehensive, state-of-the-art medical care.

  1. Toronto General Hospital (Toronto)

Toronto General Hospital (TGH) is one of Toronto’s oldest hospitals, dating back to 1819 when the Loyal and Patriotic Society of Upper Canada organized a trust fund to support the construction and maintenance of a hospital in the provincial capital, the Town of York. Toronto General Hospital is the teaching hospital for University of Toronto, is the largest research organization in Canada and the largest transplant center in North America. The hospital also performed the first triple organ transplant. Toronto General Hospital has been ranked one of the world’s best hospitals in a global ranking. It is cited for its world-leading Sprott Department of Surgery, Peter Munk Cardiac Centre and Soham & Shaila Ajmera Family Transplant Centre. TGH’s excellence in the fields of endocrinology, autoimmunology and diabetes, its work to provide access to high-quality care to patients in remote communities, and a strong strategic plan were also contributing factors.
It is in the top-10 list in 2020 year and it was finalized by a panel of doctors, medical professionals and administrators from across four continents. Since TGH first opened, world’s clinical use of insulin, the first successful single- and double-lung transplants, the first transplant using the Ex Vivo Lung Perfusion System, and the first successful direct stimulation of a heart that had stopped beating, the precursor of all pacemakers. The University Health Network has grown out of a series of mergers between our current hospitals, as we have adjusted and change to accommodate our growing and changing patient community in and around the GTA. It is the only Ontarian Center providing Extracorporeal Life support for respiratory and cardio-pulmonary failure. The Multi- Organ transplant program is Canada’s largest organ transplant program. More than 500 transplants are performed each year and more than 5000 recipients are followed by a multidisciplinary team.

  1. Charite (Berlin)

The Charite Universitatsmedizin Berlin is one of Europe’s largest university hospitals, affiliated with Humboldt University and Free University Berlin. It was ranked by Focus as the best of over 1000 hospitals in Germany. Charite is internationally renowned for its excellence in teaching and training. It has ablility to provide appropriate treatment for almost any diagnosed condition. In 2019 and 2020 ranked the Charite as fifth best hospital in the world and best in Europe. Charite is one of the largest university hospitals in Europe. All of our clinical care, research and teaching is delivered by physicians and researchers of the highest international standard. Charite proudly lays claim to more than half of all German Nobel Prize winners in Physiology or Medicine, including Emil von Behring, Robert Koch, and Paul Ehrlich.
Charite extends over four campuses, and has close to 100 different Departments and Institutes, which make up a total of 17 different Charite Centers. Having marked its 300-year anniversary in 2010, Charite is now one of the largest employers in Berlin, employing 15,500 staff. QS World University Rankings 2019 ranked the Charite Medical School as number one for medicine in Germany and ninth best in Europe. 4,135 nurses work at the Charite, their tireless commitment to patient satisfaction contributing to the hospital’s outstanding reputation. Each year, around 800,000 inpatients and outpatients receive professional and dedicated care and treatment here.

6.Johns Hopkins Hospital (Baltimore)

The Johns Hopkins Hospital is the teaching hospital and biomedical research facility of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, located in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, MD is ranked No. 6 on the Best Hospitals Honor Roll. Johns Hopkins Hospital serves over three million patients each year through its 40 patient care locations, four health and surgery centers, and six hospitals.
It also houses the second-highest rated medical school in the United States, which has “the most advanced clinical research in the world.” It is a general medical and surgical facility. The Johns Hopkins Health System was created in 1986, and 10 years later, it joined with the medical school to create Johns Hopkins Medicine. It includes the Brady Urological Institute, Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center and Wilmer Eye Institute. Among Hopkins’ research institutes are those dedicated to studying brain science, cell engineering, diabetes and genetic medicine. Hopkins can lay claim to a number of medical firsts, such as developing renal dialysis, isolating and crystallizing insulin and inventing the rechargeable, implantable pacemaker. Main aim of this hospital is to provide the highest quality care and service for all people in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of human illness.

  1. University Hospital Zurich, (Switzerland)

The University’s hospitals ensure the close association between medical research and clinical services. It provides primary health care and cutting-edge medicine in a central location in Zurich. We use our superior academic knowledge to treat a wide range of health issues, taking a personal touch and utilizing highly specialized and up-to-date research. The first hospital in Zurich, from which the current hospital derives, is recorded as having existed as early as 1204. The University Hospital of Zurich has clinical departments for neurology, medical oncology, cardiovascular-thoracic medicine, trauma-derma-rheuma-plastic surgery, abdomen-metabolism, imaging, diagnostics, anesthesiology-intensive care or management, and clinical research.
The quality of this clinical services and the superior care they give to their patients are their highest priorities. The University Children’s Hospital is a nonprofit private institution serving all children and adolescents. It is the largest children’s hospital in Switzerland and one of Europe’s leading centers for pediatric and adolescent medicine. The University Hospital of Zurich is the university hospital of Zurich, Switzerland. With its 43 divisions and institutes, the hospital is known for its achievements in health care, research, and teaching. A wide variety of countries prefer to come to here for treatment, another reason being that they are one of the best-rated university hospitals in Europe. University Hospital Zurich help University Hospital Zurich take a semi automated approach to medical coding, replacing a manual, complex and time-consuming process. It has created a machine learning system that accurately proposes complex medical codes to human administrators

8.Singapore General Hospital (Singapore)

Singapore General Hospital (SGH) is Singapore’s flagship hospital. SGH operates as a restructured hospital and is a not-for-profit institution with a long tradition of providing affordable tertiary healthcare. Singapore General sees more than one million people annually. The tertiary referral hospital has on-campus specialist centers, leads clinical research, and offers undergraduate and postgraduate training for students and professionals. Singapore General Hospital was ranked as the eighth best hospital in the world. The Singapore General Hospital was established in 1821, when the first General Hospital was located in the cantonment for British troops near the Singapore River.
As the bedrock of medical education, SGH continues to play a key role in nurturing doctors, nurses and allied health professionals, and is committed to innovative translational and clinical research. Our social mission and humanitarian legacy have been the driving force behind the Hospital’s efforts and achievements in service, education and research are the “three pillars” of SGH. This Hospital offers emergency care, women’s health services, cardiology, orthopedic, and oncology services. Singapore General Hospital serves its patients throughout the Singapore. Polyclinics offer a range of subsidised primary care services, including medical treatment for acute conditions, chronic disease management, women’s and children’s health services, as well as radiological, laboratory and pharmacy services.

  1. Sheba Medical Center at Tel HaShomer, Israel

Sheba Medical Center has been ranked by Newsweek among the World’s Top 10 Hospitals for the past two years. We are an international leader in medical innovation, collaborating with health centers around the globe to develop groundbreaking techniques and life-saving treatments. Our all-inclusive hospital features 159 medical departments and clinics, and we treat over 1 million patients yearly. Along with continuously advancing our technologies and a wide range of services. Our Sheba team is deeply committed to providing patient-focused, compassionate, and personalized care. In 2020, it is ranked as the 9th-best hospital in the world. It includes 200,000 emergency visits annually, and conducts more than two million medical tests of all types each year, on a $320 million annual budget.
The medical center is also home to the Israel National Center for Health Policy and Epidemiology Research, the internationally acclaimed Israel National Center for Medical Simulation, the Israel National Blood Bank and Cord Blood Bank, and the Safra International Congenital Heart Center. Other major centers at Sheba include the Sheba Cancer Treatment and Research Centers, the Sheba Heart Center that was donated by Lev Leviev, and the Tel Hashomer Medical Research, Infrastructure and Services Co. Ltd., which provides global consulting and training services. Sheba provides services to patients from across the Middle East, including many patients from the Palestinian Authority. It also provides guidance and mentoring in the planning, construction and operation of healthcare systems and hospitals around the world.

  1. Karolinska University Hospital, Sweden
A man walks to the entrance of Karolinska hospital in Stockholm on March 30, 2012 as former French Prime Minister Michel Rocard was taken into intensive care at the hospital earlier today. Rocard, an 81-year-old Socialist veteran, has fallen ill in the Swedish capital and was treated in intensive care, the French foreign ministry said Friday. AFP PHOTO (Photo by JONAS EKSTROMER / SCANPIX SWEDEN / AFP) (Photo by JONAS EKSTROMER/SCANPIX SWEDEN/AFP via Getty Images)

The Karolinska University Hospital is a teaching hospital affiliated with Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden, with two major sites in the municipalities of Solna and Huddinge. It covers areas such as biochemistry, genetics, pharmacology, pathology, anatomy, physiology and medical microbiology, among others. It is recognised as Sweden’s best university and one of the largest, most prestigious medical universities in the world. The Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute awards the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Healthcare at Karolinska is now organized in patient care flows. For example, patients with heart and vascular conditions are treated in an integrated manner, with specialists from functions such as emergency medicine, imaging and cardiology working together – often in the same building or corridor. The hospital network is the second largest in Sweden.
In 2014, Karolinska and the Stockholm County Council established a 14-year strategic innovation partnership with Philips to help bring this vision to life with joint innovations that increase the value of care for patients. It has 15,800 employees and it gives treatment for 1.6 million patient visits per year. It has two sites in the Swedish capital of Stockholm: Huddinge and Solna. The building will augment our ability to carry out our assignment to provide highly specialised care, not only for patients in Stockholm, but for those from other parts of Sweden and other countries, too. The new facilities will also optimize the expertise and equipment at our disposal, enhancing our ability to take care of the most severely injured and seriously ill patients.

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BIGGEST GREAT 10 GOLD MINES BY RESERVES IN THE WORLD

by Sree DivyaUncategorizedLeave a Comment on BIGGEST GREAT 10 GOLD MINES BY RESERVES IN THE WORLD

A Gold mine is a place where gold is dug from the ground. Something that produces something desired (such as money). Gold mines remain important hubs of industry around the world as prospectors gamble on striking it rich with one of the world’s most valuable metals. Demand remains high for the precious metal, particularly in jewellery-making and as a relatively safe investment opportunity. Gold often occurs in free elemental form in rocks, veins and alluvial deposits in the form of nuggets or grains. A mine is a source of great wealth or profit. According to Mining Technology, Here are the 10 Biggest Gold Mines by reserves in the world in the year 2020.

1.Carlin, USA. 411 koz.

The Carlin Trend hosts one of the largest gold concentrations in the western hemisphere. Total Carlin’s production is 4% of world Production. Carlin deposits are 75% of US production. It has good hunting grounds for big deposits. On July 1, 2019, Barrick’s Goldstrike (including 60% share of South Arturo) and Newmont’s Carlin were contributed to Nevada Gold Mines and are now referred to as Carlin. This gigantic integrated operation located west of the city of Elko on the geologic feature known as the Carlin Trend, Stretching 56km (35mi). Nature concentrates the metals by a process of partially melting Crustal rocks at the depth, letting them melt arise through the crust and on the way cool and dumping valueless minerals such as Feldspars and amphiboles and then concentrating the useful minerals and metals in the remaining magma or hydrothermal fluid. Carlin–type gold deposits are sediment-hosted disseminated gold deposits. These deposits are characterized by invisible gold in pyrite and arsenopyrite. This dissolved kind of gold is called “Invisible Gold”, as it can only be found through chemical analysis.

  1. Olimpiada. 277 koz.

Located in one of Russia’s most prolific gold mining provinces, Olimpiada is largest gold mine in Russia, one of the largest gold mines on the globe. It is operated by Polyus. Olimpiada is Polyus’ largest gold operation and accounts for almost half of its total gold production. The company’s Olimpiada and Blagodatnoye mines are part of its Krasnoyarsk business unit, which is the second-largest gold asset in the world by output. The combined production from the two operations represents 63.7% of the company’s total gold output. This ore mined at the site is processed at three plants with a combined capacity of 13 million tonnes of ore annually. Olimpiada is located in the Severo-Yeniseysky District, 25km away from the village of Yeruda. The site is approximately 500km from the city of Krasnoyarsk in the Krasnoyarsk Territory of Western Siberia. It is situated at a distance of 20km from Blagodatnoye mine. Polyus Gold has claimed the Olimpiada gold mine is estimated to contain proven and probable reserves of around 28 million ounces. The mine produced 1.38Moz of gold in 2019 and 1.32Moz of gold in 2018.

  1. Pueblo Viejo, Dominican Republic. 238 koz.

The Pueblo Viejo mine is a gold mine located in the north-central region of the Dominican Republic in the Sanchez Ramirez Province. It is the largest gold mine in the Americas and eighth largest in the world. This mine produced 581,000 ounces of gold in 2018 and 6.55 million ounces of gold in reserve. The mine comprises two major oxide deposits known as Monte Negro and Moore and three other small deposits. The Pueblo Viejo mine in the Dominican Republic is about 100 km northwest of the capital city of Santo Domingo. The mine is operated by the Pueblo Viejo Dominicana Corporation — a joint venture between Barrick (60%) and Newmont (40%). Pueblo Viejo has a mine-life of more than 30 years and is expected to produce over one million ounces of gold per annum. It is the largest undeveloped gold mine in the world.

  1. Cortez, USA. 208 koz.

Cortez Gold Mine is a large gold mining and processing facility in Lander and Eureka County, Nevada, United States, located approximately 75 miles (120 km) southwest of Elko and comprises the Pipeline and South Pipeline deposits and the Cortez Hills deposit. Pipeline and South Pipeline are open pit mines, while Cortez Hills is an underground and open pit mining operation. On July 1, 2019, Cortez was contributed to Nevada Gold Mines, a joint venture between Barrick and Newmont Corporation. It consists of three distinct units: the Cortez open pit and two Carlin-type disseminated gold deposits – Pipeline and South Pipeline. The entire Pipeline complex contained 23 million ounces of gold between the original orebodies, the Pipeline orebody and the later discoveries of South Pipeline, Crossroads and Gap. It will also retain a contingent royalty interest in the future production of the property.

  1. Kibali, DRC. 202 Koz.

The Kibali gold mine is located in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), approximately 220 kilometres east of the capital of the Haut Uele province, Isiro, 150 kilometres west of the Ugandan border town of Arua and 1,800 kilometres from the Kenyan port of Mombasa. It is expected to produce 600,000oz of gold per annum for the first 12 years. The Kibali gold mine is located within the Moto greenstone belt. The gold mineralisation is scattered throughout the region. Kibali is co-owned by AngloGold Ashanti (45%), Barrick Gold Corporation (45%) following its merger with Randgold Resources, and Société Minière de Kilo-Moto (SOKIMO) (10%), a state-owned gold mining company. Kibali produced 807,000 ounces of gold in 2018. It comprises an integrated open pit and an underground operation as well as a 7.2Mtpa processing plant. The mine is named for the nearby Kibali River. There are two zones: Kibali-Durba-Karagba trends north-east, and Pakaka-Mengu trends north-west. Gold-bearing deposits are found throughout the region. Facilities include a sulphide and oxide plant that can process 7.2 million tonnes of ore per year, three 44MW hydroelectric stations, a 32MW backup thermal power generator and separate storage facilities for cyanide and flotation tailings.

6.Cadia East, Australia. 195 koz.

Cadia produces gold doré from a gravity circuit and gold-rich copper concentrates from a flotation circuit at Cadia. The gold dore is then refined at the Perth Mint and concentrates are piped to a dewatering plant at nearby Blayney and sent by rail to Port Kembla in New South Wales for export. The Molybdenum Plant is expected to deliver an additional revenue stream in the form of a molybdenum concentrate which will be a by-product credit to AISC per ounce. Newcrest’s Cadia is made up of the Cadia East underground panel cave mine and the Ridgeway underground mine (currently in care and maintenance). Cadia East mine in the Cadia valley produced 752,000 ounces of gold in 2018.
Cadia East is the biggest gold mine in Australia despite 11% production decline in March Quarter 2020. The Cadia East orebody is one of the world’s largest gold deposits, comprising a Mineral Resource of 2,347Mt containing 33.2Moz of gold and 6.59Mt of copper, along with a current Ore Reserve of 18.7Moz of gold and 3.16Mt of copper. It will underpin production from the Cadia Valley for at least the next 30 years. Initial exploration pointed to an underground mine similar to Ridgeway Deeps, however, more recent drilling has revealed that a much larger zone of mineralisation exists, likely to support both underground and open cut mines.

  1. Lihir, PNG. 187 koz.

Newcrest’s Lihir operation on Aniolam Island in the New Ireland Province of Papua New Guinea is 900 kilometres north-east of the capital Port Moresby. The gold deposit at Lihir is within the Luise Caldera, an extinct volcanic crater that is geothermally active.
The Lihir mine produced 976,000 ounces of gold in 2018, a 6% improvement over 2017. Most of the ore extracted from Lihir is treated through pressure oxidation and conventional leaching. The mine produced 933,000oz of gold in the financial year ending June 2019. The mine is expected to produce 1Moz of gold in 2020. Lihir is looking to stabilise throughput at or slightly above these levels and increase focus on lifting recovery rates to maximise overall gold production and cash flow in the future. It employs approximately 4,500 residential and fly-in-fly-out workers.

  1. Loulo-Gounkoto, Mali. 176 koz.

Barrick’s Loulo-Gounkoto complex comprises two distinct mining permits, Loulo and Gounkoto, and is situated in western Mali, bordering Senegal and adjacent to the Falémé River. Barrick Gold Corporation’s Loulo-Gounkoto complex has demonstrated its mettle, exceeding its 2019 guidance with production of 714,802 ounces of gold. An intensive exploration program in the Kenieba region, Loulo-Gounkoto has significant growth potential and is well-placed to meet all the targets. Société des Mines de Loulo SA (Loulo) owns the Loulo gold mine, and Société des Mines de Gounkoto (Gounkoto) owns the Gounkoto gold mine. Both Loulo and Gounkoto are owned by Barrick (80%), and the State of Mali (20%). This is also the product of a long and constructive partnership between the government of Mali and ourselves, and in this regard it is gratifying to report that we have made significant progress towards settling the dispute between us over tax and related issues which allows us to look forward to continuing to grow our partnership with the Mali government and its people

  1. Fekola, Mali. 164 koz.

The Fekola Mine is located in southwest Mali, on the border between Mali and Senegal, approximately 500 km due west of the capital city, Bamako. B2Gold acquired the world-class Fekola Gold Project through a merger with Papillon Resources Limited in October 2014. The Fekola Mine generated almost US$134 million in revenue for the Government of Mali in 2019. B2Gold will continue to monitor the situation and work to ensure that its mining operations continue normally, providing economic benefits and job creation both to the communities around the mine and to regional and national governments. Foreign investment and political stability in Mali are crucial for the country. B2Gold is a low-cost international senior gold producer headquartered in Vancouver, Canada. Founded in 2007, today, B2Gold has operating gold mines in Mali, Namibia and the Philippines, and numerous exploration and development projects in various countries including Mali and Colombia. In 2020, B2Gold forecasts consolidated gold production of between 1,000,000 and 1,055,000 ounces.

  1. Fosterville, Australia. 160 koz.

Kirkland Lake’s Fosterville Mine is second highest-grade and one of the lowest-cost gold mine globally, located 20km from the city of Bendigo in the State of Victoria, Australia. The Fosterville Mine features growing gold production at increasingly high grades, as well as extensive in-mine and district scale exploration potential. In March Quarter 2020, Kirkland Lake achieved 25% y-o-y production growth at Fosterville. In particular, the Swan Zone contributed 532,000 ounces at an average grade of 58.8 g/t Au (281,000 tonnes) to the updated Mineral Reserve estimate. The mine is located in an area with well-developed infrastructure and is accessible by paved roads. Fosterville’s ore is processed at the Fosterville Mill, a 2,275 tonne per day processing facility.

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LARGEST 10 GREAT ECONOMIES IN THE WORLD AND THE SOURCES OF ECONOMY

by Sree DivyaUncategorizedLeave a Comment on LARGEST 10 GREAT ECONOMIES IN THE WORLD AND THE SOURCES OF ECONOMY

Economy means the state of a country or region in terms of the production and consumption of goods and services and the supply of money. Economies determine how resources are distributed among members of a society, they determine the value of goods or services. The political and legal structure of a society will govern how wealth can be accumulated, how wealth and resources are distributed, and the manner of competition permitted between different participants in the economy. There are three big economic systems in use by modern governments: capitalism, socialism, and communism. We wanted to understand how the top 10 largest economies in the world measured by GDP(Gross Domestic Product). We took historical GDP figures from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2020.

1.United States

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The U.S. has retained its position of being the world’s largest economy since 1871. economy of the United States is that of a highly developed country with a mixed economy. It is the world’s largest economy by nominal GDP and net wealth. U.S. Nominal GDP: $21.44 trillion – U.S. GDP (PPP): $21.44 trillion.
The size of the U.S. economy was at $20.58 trillion in 2018 in nominal terms and is expected to reach $22.32 trillion in 2020. The U.S. is often dubbed as an economic superpower and that’s because the economy constitutes almost a quarter of the global economy, backed by advanced infrastructure, technology, and an abundance of natural resources.
When the economies are assessed in terms of purchasing power parity, the U.S. loses its top spot to its close competitor China. In 2019, the U.S. economy, in terms of GDP (PPP), was at $21.44 trillion, while the Chinese economy was measured at $27.31 trillion. United States has the most technologically powerful economy in the world and its firms are at or near the forefront in technological advances, especially in computers, pharmaceuticals, and medical, aerospace, and military equipment. The largest U.S. trading partners are China, Canada, Mexico, Japan, Germany, South Korea, United Kingdom, France, India, and Taiwan. The nation’s economy is fueled by abundant natural resources, a well-developed infrastructure, and high productivity. It is the world’s largest producer of petroleum and natural gas. U.S. not only has the largest internal market for goods, but also dominates the trade in services.

2.China

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China Nominal GDP: $14.14 trillion – China GDP (PPP): $27.31 trillion
China has experienced exponential growth over the past few decades, breaking the barriers of a centrally-planned closed economy to evolve into a manufacturing and exporting hub of the world. China is often referred to as the “world’s factory,” given its huge manufacturing and export base. However, over the years, the role of services has gradually increased and that of manufacturing as a contributor to GDP has declined relatively. The IMF projects a growth of 5.8% in 2020. China has experienced exponential growth over the past few decades. It is a manufacturing and exporting hub of the world. China is often referred to as the “world’s factory,” given its huge manufacturing and export base. However, over the years, the role of services has gradually increased and that of manufacturing as a contributor to GDP has declined relatively.

3.India ($12.36 T )

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The economy of India is characterised as a developing market economy. India was the world’s fastest growing major economy and Historically it is the largest economy in the world. The long-term growth perspective of the Indian economy remains positive due to its young population and corresponding low dependency ratio, healthy savings and investment rates, and is increasing integration into the global economy. Apart from private consumption, India’s GDP is also fueled by government spending, investment, and exports. India has one of the world’s highest number of billionaires and extreme income inequality.
According to World Bank, to achieve sustainable economic development India must focus on public sector reform, infrastructure, agricultural and rural development, removal of land and labour regulations, financial inclusion, spur private investment and exports, education and public health. India’s ten largest trading partners were USA, China, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, Iraq, Singapore, Germany, South Korea and Switzerland. India ranks second globally in food and agricultural production. India’s telecommunication industry is the world’s second largest by number of mobile phone, smartphone, and internet users. It is the world’s tenth-largest oil producer and the third-largest oil consumer.

  1. Japan ( $5.89T )
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The economy of Japan is a highly developed free-market economy. With this low growth rate, the national debt of Japan has expanded due to its considerable social welfare spending in an aging society with a shrinking tax-base. The scenario of “Abandoned homes” continues to spread from rural areas to urban areas in Japan.
A mountainous, volcanic island country, Japan has inadequate natural resources to support its growing economy and large population, and therefore exports goods in which it has a comparative advantage such as engineering-oriented, research and development-led industrial products in exchange for the import of raw materials and petroleum. The nation’s large and varied forest resources, which covered 70 percent of the country. Japan is among the top-three importers for agricultural products in the world in total volume for covering of its own domestic agricultural consumption. The nation, therefore, built up the manufacturing and processing industries to convert raw materials imported from abroad.
Japan is the world’s largest single national importer of fish and fishery products. This strategy of economic development necessitated the establishment of a strong economic infrastructure to provide the needed energy, transportation, communications, and technology. Tokyo Metropolitan Central Wholesale Market is the largest wholesale market for primary products in Japan. Although many kinds of minerals were extracted throughout the country, most mineral resources had to be imported in the postwar era. Iron ore, copper, bauxite, and alumina must be imported, as well as many forest products. Local deposits of metal-bearing ores were difficult to process because they were low grade. Deposits of gold, magnesium, and silver meet current industrial demands, but Japan is dependent on foreign sources for many of the minerals essential to modern industry. Japan lags behind other developed countries in labor productivity. Early European visitors were amazed by the quality of Japanese craftsmanship and metalsmithing. This stems from the fact that Japan itself is rather rich in natural resources found commonly in Europe, especially iron.

  1. Germany ( $4.59T )
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It has the largest national economy in Europe. The economy of Germany is a highly developed social market economy. The top 10 exports of Germany are vehicles, machinery, chemical goods, electronic products, electrical equipment, pharmaceuticals, transport equipment, basic metals, food products, and rubber and plastics. The economy of Germany is the largest manufacturing economy in Europe and it is less likely to be affected by the financial downturn and conduct applied research with practical industrial value and sees itself as a bridge between the latest university insights and industry-specific product and process improvements, and by generating a great deal of knowledge in its own laboratories as well. Germany is rich in timber, lignite, potash and salt. Some minor sources of natural gas are being exploited in the state of Lower Saxony. Until reunification, the German Democratic Republic mined for uranium in the Ore Mountains.
Energy in Germany is sourced predominantly by fossil fuels (30%), followed by wind second, then nuclear power, gas, solar, biomass and hydro. Germany is the first major industrialized nation to commit to the renewable energy transition called Energiewende. Germany is the leading producer of wind turbines in the world. Germany is the world’s top location for trade fairs. Around two thirds of the world’s leading trade fairs take place in Germany. Over time, other German states joined the customs union and started linking their railroads, which began to connect the corners of Germany together. The growth of free trade and of a rail system across Germany intensified economic development which opened up new markets for local products, created a pool of middle managers, increased the demand for engineers, architects and skilled machinists, and stimulated investments in coal and iron.

  1. Russia ( $4.52T )
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The economy of Russia is an upper-middle income mixed and transition economy. Russia contains over 30 percent of the world’s natural resources. Russia relies on energy revenues to drive most of its growth. Russia has an abundance of oil, natural gas and precious metals, which make up a major share of Russia’s exports. Russia is considered an “energy superpower”. It has the world’s largest proven natural gas reserves and is the largest exporter of natural gas. Russia has a large and sophisticated arms industry, capable of designing and manufacturing high-tech military equipment, including a fifth-generation fighter jet, nuclear powered submarines, firearms, and short range/long range ballistic missiles. Top military exports from Russia include combat aircraft, air defence systems, ships and submarines. the wealth held offshore by rich Russians is about three times larger than official net foreign reserves, and is comparable in magnitude to total household financial assets held in Russia.
Russia had undergone a radical transformation, moving from a centrally planned economy to a globally integrated market economy. Especially in the production of oil, gas, and electricity and in the chemical industries—there was a marked diversification in industrial output, including a limited expansion in consumer goods. Major components of the reforms included establishing privately owned industrial and commercial ventures and privatizing state-owned enterprises. To encourage privatization, the government issued vouchers to Russian citizens that enabled them to purchase of shares in privatized firms, though in practice these vouchers frequently were sold for cash and were accumulated by entrepreneurs. A commodity- and stock-exchange system also was established. For business growth, taxes on medium and small enterprises were moderated, and the government began to offer incentives for reinvesting profits into the domestic economy. By the early 21st century, the measures had begun to have a positive effect on the Russian economy, which showed signs of recovery and stable growth. Steady earnings from oil exports permitted investments in factories, and the devalued currency made Russian goods more competitive on the international market.

  1. Indonesia ( $4.01T )
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Indonesia is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It has charted impressive economic growth since overcoming the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s. The world’s 10th largest economy in terms of purchasing power parity, and a member of the G-20. Furthermore, Indonesia has made enormous gains in poverty reduction, cutting the poverty rate by more than half since 1999, to 9.78% in 2020. It aims to further strengthen Indonesia’s economy by improving the country’s human capital and competitiveness in the global market. The Indonesian economy has been climbing steadily higher. Indonesia is the world’s largest island country .
Indonesia is composed of some 17,500 islands, of which more than 7,000 are uninhabited. It is the 14th-largest country by land area, at 1,904,569 square kilometres (735,358 square miles). The country’s capital, Jakarta, is the second-most populous urban area in the world. In the early 21st century Indonesia was the fourth most populous in the world. The name Indonesia derives from Greek Indos and the word nesos, meaning “Indian islands”. The economy of Indonesia is the largest in Southeast Asia and is one of the emerging market economies of the world. As an upper-middle income country and member of the G20, Indonesia is classified as a newly industrialised country.

  1. Brazil ( $3.60T )
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Brazil is one of the world giants of mining, agriculture, and manufacturing, and it has a strong and rapidly growing service sector. The country was heavily dependent on one or two major agricultural products, whose prices fluctuated widely on international markets. The Brazilian government in the 20th century attempted to diversify the country’s production and reduce its dependency on agricultural exports by strongly encouraging manufacturing. The government initiated several key industries, including a modern shipbuilding program, a petrochemical sector led by the huge Petrobras company, a burgeoning microelectronics and personal computer industry, and aircraft manufacturing by the Embraer corporation, including commercial jetliners, aviation and surveillance equipment, and aircraft for the Brazilian air force. It established a motor vehicle industry in the 1950s to replace U.S. and German imports and assembly plants. The government privatized dozens of financial institutions, manufacturers, and mining companies in the 1990s, including several major steel producers and the Rio Doce Valley Company.
The CVRD, Brazil’s giant mining and shipping conglomerate, was apportioned into separate mining and shipping units. The government also sold a minority of its Petrobras shares to private investors and partially opened the petroleum industry to competition. At the beginning of the 21st century, serious problems marked the Brazilian economy, aggravated by political uncertainties. Inflation, financial instability, and unemployment (or underemployment) remained constant threats, and political and financial scandals periodically erupted throughout the country. Brazil still has one of the world’s most lopsided distributions of wealth. It is a leading producer of a host of minerals, including iron ore, tin, bauxite (the ore of aluminum), manganese, gold, quartz, and diamonds and other gems, and it exports vast quantities of steel, automobiles, electronics, and consumer goods. Brazil is the world’s primary source of coffee, oranges, and cassava (manioc) and a major producer of sugar, soy, and beef.

  1. UK ( $3.24T )
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The economy of the United Kingdom is a highly developed social market and market-orientated economy. In 2019, the UK was the fifth-largest exporter in the world and the fifth-largest goods importer. It also had the second-largest inward foreign direct investment, and the third-largest outward foreign direct investment. UK is one of the most globalised economies, and it is composed of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The service sector dominates, contributing around 80% of GDP, the financial services industry is particularly important, and London is the second-largest financial centre in the world. The currency of the UK is the pound sterling, which is the world’s fourth-largest reserve currency. The economy of the United Kingdom has slowly been climbing the ranks of the mostly free for the past decade. Although some economic disruptions are likely, the U.K. will also have new opportunities to expand economic freedom, especially by reducing the tax burden and government spending and pursuing new trade agreements with the United States and other countries.
UK economic output shrank by 20.4% in the second quarter of 2020, the worst quarterly slump on record, pushing the country into the deepest recession of any major global economy. Britain already faces a tough 2021 as the country battles the twin shocks of coronavirus and Brexit. But failing to secure an agreement with the United Kingdom’s biggest export market would amplify the pain. With a limited trade agreement, the UK economy is due to bounce back with growth of 4.6% in 2021 before losing some momentum between 2022 and 2024, according to IFS and Citi projections. Failing to reach a trade deal with Europe would shave as much as one percentage point off that level of growth.

10.France ($3.16T )

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The economy of France is highly developed and free-market-oriented. France is one of the major economic powers of the world, ranking along with such countries as the United States, Japan, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom. It included the large industrial companies such as Renault. France is also the most visited destination in the world, as well the European Union’s leading agricultural power. France IS the largest Foreign Direct Investment recipient in Europe in 2020. Paris is a leading global city and it has one of the largest city GPD in the world. Paris has been ranked as the 2nd most attractive global city in the world in 2019 by KPMG. 31 companies that are part of the world’s biggest 500 companies are existing here. It is the world’s fourth largest private oil company.
Another indicator of improved living standards is the growth of ownership of various household and consumer goods, particularly such items as automobiles and computers. Here indirect taxation in the form of a value-added tax (VAT) is relatively high. The top individual income tax rate is 45 percent, and the top corporate tax rate is 31 percent. Other taxes include a value-added tax. The overall tax burden equals 46.2 percent of total domestic income. The overall managerial environment is bolstered by France’s modern business culture, mature financial markets, skilled entrepreneurs, and well-protected intellectual property rights. The total value of exports and imports of goods and services equals 63.4 percent of GDP. State ownership is primarily concentrated in transport, defense, and broadcasting.

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LARGEST 10 GREAT HYDROELECTRIC DAMS IN THE WORLD IN TERMS OF INSTALLED POWER

by Sree DivyaUncategorizedLeave a Comment on LARGEST 10 GREAT HYDROELECTRIC DAMS IN THE WORLD IN TERMS OF INSTALLED POWER

A hydroelectric dam is one of the major components of a hydroelectric facility. A dam is a large, man-made structure built to contain some body of water. In addition to construction for the purpose of producing hydroelectric power, dams are created to control river flow and regulate flooding. In some rivers, small scale dams known as weirs are built to control and measure water flow. Dams fall into the category of retaining structures, or structures that are built to create large standing bodies of water known as reservoirs. These reservoirs can be used for irrigation, electrical generation, or water supply. Hydroelectricity is one of the fore-runners of the renewable energy industry. Here are 10 Largest hydroelectric Dams in the World in terms of installed power.

1.Three Gorges Dam, China

The Three Gorges Dam has been the world’s largest power station in terms of installed capacity (22,500 MW) since 2012. In 2018, the dam generated 101.6 terawatt-hours (TWh). As well as producing electricity, the dam is intended to increase the Yangtze River’s shipping capacity. The dam is located 44km from the city of Yichang in Hubei province. The project has 34 generators, which includes 32 main generators. The other two are power generators with a capacity of 50MW each. When construction of the dam officially began in 1994, it was the largest engineering project in China. At the time of its completion in 2006, it was the largest dam structure in the world. The height of Three Gorges is about 594 feet (181 meters (m)) and the length is about 7,770 feet (2, 335 m).
The dam creates the Three Gorges Reservoir, which has a surface area of about 400 square miles (1,045 square kilometers) and extends upstream from the dam about 370 miles (600 kilometers). The gorge controls approximately one million square kilometres of drainage area and averages a runoff of 451 billion cubic metres annually. Ecology and environmental monitoring information system for the project was opened in 2007. Fish Nurturing Centre Base was also built for the conservation of Asian carp and other species through the eco-scheduling process. The official total cost of the Three Gorges Dam project was estimated as CNY203bn ($29bn).

2.Itaipu Dam, Brazil and Paraguay

The Itaipu Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Parana River located on the border between Brazil and Paraguay. The volume of this Dam is 12,300,000 m3 (430,000,000 cu ft) and total capacity is 29 km3 (24,000,000 acre⋅ft). It’s location is Foz do Iguacu, ‎Hernandarias. Itaipu Hydroelectric Dam is the world’s second-largest operational hydroelectric power plant in terms of installed power. With an installed generation capacity of 14GW, the plant is operated by Itaipu Binacional and located on the border between Brazil and Paraguay. Energy generated by Itaipu helps to meet the demands of the two countries. Approximately 90% of the energy generated by the plant is used by Brazil. Itaipu has 20 generating units, each with a capacity of 700MW. The dam’s reservoir, which covers an area of 1,350km² with Spanning of 170 kilometers in length.
The name “Itaipu” was taken from an isle that existed near the construction site. In the Guarani language, Itaipu means “the sounding stone”. To ensure water quantity and quality, Itaipu has created an environmental conservation area, planting more than 44 million trees. The protected areas now total over 100,000 hectares, including reserves and wildlife refuges in both countries and the biological forest corridor that protects the reservoir.Recently, Itaipu became the first hydroelectric plant in the world to have its own protected areas and supporting landscapes which are now recognized by UNESCO as a Biosphere Reserve. Although forest conservation is an essential safety measure for water security, it also depends on other environmental priorities, especially those that relate to land use. It regularly surpasses the production of the larger dam and holds the world record for energy produced, achieving 103.1 terawatt-hours (TWh) in 2016.

3.Xiluodu Dam, China

The Xiluodu Dam is an arch dam on the Jinsha River, i.e. the upper course of the Yangtze in China. It is located near the town of Xiluodu in Yongshan County of Yunnan Province but the dam straddles into Leibo County . The primary purpose of the dam is hydroelectric power generation and its power station has an installed capacity of 13,860 MW. The primary purpose of the dam is hydroelectric power generation and its power station has an installed capacity of 13,860 MW. Additionally, the dam provides for flood control, silt control and its regulated water releases are intended to improve navigation downstream. Xiluodu power plant offsets approximately 150m tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions a year. It reduces the consumption of 41 million tonnes of coal for electricity generation. The Xiluodu plant generates 64bkWh of electricity a year.
The Xiluodu plant is made up of two power houses located on both sides of the dam. The power house comprises 18 Francis turbine-generators and an air-cooled generator with 855.6MVA output. The reservoir has a total storage capacity of 16.5 billion cubic yards, of which six billion cubic yards are for flood control. The construction of the dam was carried out using belt conveyors, crawler tractors, hydraulic excavators, rock trucks and wheel loaders. The water discharge structures of Xiluodu Hydropower Station are composed of 7 surface holes of the dam body, 8 deep holes and 4 spillway tunnels on the bank. The main task of flood control operation of Xiluodu Hydropower Station is to control the flood of the Chuanjiang River section and enhance the flood control standard of cities such as Yibin along the bank, while ensuring the safety of the hydro-complex project.

4.Guri Dam, Venezuela

The Guri power project, also known as the Simon Bolivar hydroelectric power station, is located on the Caroni River in the Bolivar State of southeastern Venezuela. Installed Capacity is 10,235 MW. The power plant consists of 20 generating units of different capacities ranging between 130MW and 770MW. Surface Area of this dam is 4,250 km2 (1,641 sq mi). The Guri dam measures 532ft in height and 4,314ft in length. To free a greater proportion of the country’s petroleum for sale and export, the Venezuelan government made the bold move to transition from hydrocarbon- to hydroelectric-generated power as the country’s primary electricity source. The economic efficiency of Guri Dam’s construction can be attributed to its phased development. While other concepts called for the dam to be built to the final height at the first stage a much easier design the region would not have been able to absorb all of the generated power, making it more difficult to finance.
In addition, the compact and incremental design of the dam resulted in inexpensive power at the time approximately US$550 per kW, which attracted aluminum and iron ore smelting industries to the area. Fulfilled government’s goal to significantly decrease dependence on petroleum as a domestic power source: ability to generate more than 10,000MW and produce up to 50,000GWh per year—the equivalent of 300,000 barrels of oil per day. Alstom was awarded two contracts in 2007 and 2009 to refurbish four 400MW units and five 630MW respectively. Andritz received a contract to supply five 770MW Francis turbines for the powerhouse II of Guri in 2007. The Guri power station supplies approximately 12,900GW/h of energy for Venezuela. The plant provides approximately 50,000GW/h of energy to the country annually.

5.Belo Monte Dam, Brazil

The Belo Monte power station is owned and operated by Norte Energia. The Belo Monte hydropower project under construction on the lower reach of the Xingu River, in Para, Brazil, was installed with 9.39GW generating capacity as of September 2019. The project comprises two dams and two powerhouses, including a main powerhouse equipped with 18 Francis turbines of 611MW capacity each, and a supplemental power house with six 38.85 MW Bulb turbines. The capacity of the dam is 11,233 megawatts (MW). This Dam is the second largest hydroelectric dam in Brazil. Brazil’s rapid economic growth over the last decade has provoked a huge demand for new and stable sources of energy, especially to supply its growing industries. In Brazil, hydroelectric power plants produce over 85% of the electrical energy. The aim is to stimulate the country’s economic growth by building a huge infrastructure of roads and dams, mainly in the Amazon region. The controversial Belo Monte mega-dam in Para state has done significant socio environmental harm to the Xingu River and the indigenous and traditional people living beside it.
Important Brazilian Panel on Climate Change report warned that global warming could drop water levels all across the Amazon basin, putting hydropower in serious jeopardy. Brazil needs Belo Monte and 60 other major dam projects in the Amazon to meet its growing energy demand. Belo Monte’s 668km2 reservoir will flood over 400km2 of forest, generating enormous qualities methane, a greenhouse gas that is 25 times more potent than CO2. Like other big dams, Belo Monte would cause considerable direct and indirect environmental destruction. Belo Monte is only one dam complex, not a series of upstream dams. The government is aware that Belo Monte’s seasonal inefficiency can only be managed by creating more dam reservoirs upstream, allowing technicians to regulate river flows for the entire year. As such, project plans continue to point to the eventual construction of four dams in addition to Belo Monte: Altamira, Iriri, Pombal, and Sao Felix.

6.Tucurui Dam, Brazil

A more modest hydroelectric facility on a small river north of Manaus supplies that city with power. The Tucuruí Hydropower Complex situated on the lower Tocantins River in Tucurui, Para, Brazil. It involved installation of 11 generating units with 370MW capacity each. It is the first large-scale hydroelectric project in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest. The installed capacity of the 25-unit plant is 8,370 megawatts (11,220,000 hp). The power station delivers electricity to the Belem town and the surrounding area. It is located about 350 kilometers from the state’s capital Belém, it caused the flooding of an area of about 3,014 km2 and displaced about 32,000 people. A case study on the social impacts of the Tucuruí dam by Fearnside (1999) reported a systematic overestimation of the plant’s benefits by public authorities, while social and environmental impacts have rather been downplayed, making it an example of Brazil’s unlearned lessons in hydroelectric development.
It notes that most generated power was used for the highly subsidized aluminum industry in Barcarena and Sao Luis. Additionally, dams disturb the flow and composition of the water within rivers and channels. Water released downstream from dams has unnaturally high energy and very little sediment, which causes “hungry water” to run forcefully, eroding the riverbeds, without sufficient sediment concentration to slow it down. This deepens the riverbed compared to the surrounding water table, which causes the ground water to rush into the channel and become surface water – a process known as incision.

7.Grand Coulee Dam, USA

The Grand Coulee hydropower project located on the Columbia River in Washington, US. The annual generating capacity of the plant is more than 24TWh. It consists of total 18 Francis turbines rated 125MW and three 10MW additional units. The Grand Coulee is an ancient river bed in the U.S. state. This area has underlying granite bedrock, formed deep in the Earth’s crust 40 to 60 million years ago. The land periodically uplifted and subsided over millions of years giving rise to some small mountains and, eventually, an inland sea. The dam has four power plants. It is 550 feet (167.6 meters) tall, measured from its foundation in solid granite, or approximately 350 feet (106.7 meters) from the downstream river surface to the top of the dam. It is 5,223 feet (1,592 meters) long, or 57 feet short of a mile. The two original power plants. The total generating capacity is 6,809 megawatts and its average annual energy output is about 2,300 megawatts, or enough power to continuously supply the needs of two cities the size of Seattle.
Hydropower accounts for 79.7 percent of Grand Coulee’s authorized purposes, the others being irrigation and flood control. While hydropower is the primary purpose of the dam today, the public desire for irrigation was the driving force behind its construction. Hydroelectric power plants provide a very efficient, renewable method of generating electricity without producing air pollution. Hydroelectricity produced electricity currently accounts for nearly 7% of the total electricity generated in the United States. However, currently less than 3% of all dams in the United States are used to generate electricity. This discrepancy presents a great opportunity to increase the use of renewable energy production through hydroelectric power. There are many factors which make hydroelectric energy a desirable alternative to the burning of fossil fuels, yet the construction and operation of hydroelectric plants also involves a number of disadvantages. These drawbacks include environmental changes which could adversely affect the health of humans and animals.

8.Xiangjiaba, China

Xiangjiaba is built on the outlet of Jinsha River canyon, which is located Yibin City of Sichuan and Shuifu County, Yunnan, China. The reservoir area is 458,800km² and the reservoir capacity is 5.163 billion cubic metres. The power plant is installed with eight units of 800MW each and comprises various structures for flood discharge, diversion, power generation, and ship lift. The Xiangjiaba is gravity dam with 162m-high and has a crest elevation of 384m. The annual generating capacity of the power plant is 30.88kWh. The Xiangjiaba hydropower facility exploits the lower mainstream water of Jinsha River, a tributary of the Yangtze River. After the successful launch of the Three Gorges hydro power project in 1994, the CTG was authorised for building four hydropower plants namely Xiluodu, Xiangjiaba, Wudongde and Baihetan, all located either on the mainstream or on the tributaries of the Yangtze River. The power output of the Xiangjiaba hydroelectric plant is supplied to central China and east China via the 800kV Xiangjiaba-Shanghai UHVDC (Ultra High Voltage Direct Current) transmission link.
Xiangjiaba will be the third largest hydropower project in the country, after Three Gorges and Xiluodu. As an important part of China’s Great Western Development Programme, the project is expected to drive local social and economic development. It will primarily supply power to China’s central and eastern regions, while at the same time meeting power demand in the Sichuan and Yunnan provinces. The project Xiangjiaba hydro project includes eight turbine generator sets. Major benefits are from power generation to CO2 reduction and flood control. The Xiangjiaba hydropower project brings major flood control benefits, and its combined operation with the Xiluodu hydropower project will improve flood prevention in the downstream coastal cities of Yibin, Luzhou and Chongqing.

9.Sayano-Shushenskaya, Russia

The Sayano-Shushenskaya hydropower plant located on the Yenisei River in Sayanogorsk, Khakassia, Russia. It is operated by RusHydro. An arch-gravity dam 242m tall and 1,066m long was constructed as part of the project. The power plant consists of ten Francis generating units with a capacity of 640MW each. It generates 23.5TWh of energy a year, of which 70% is delivered to four aluminium smelters in Siberia. It is the largest power plant in Russia and the 9th-largest hydroelectric plant in the world, by average power generation. Plant operated ten hydro turbines manufactured at the Leningradsky Metallichesky Zavod, each of which at 194-metre (636 ft) head. The destruction of the turbines and auxiliary equipment at Russia’s Sayano-Shushenskaya Hydro Power Plant in August 2009 claimed the lives of 75 workers and wrecked an indispensable source of electricity that will take years to fully restore.
The disaster, as this report explains, was predictable and preventable. technicians were operating multiple hydroelectric turbines at the plant, including Unit 2, and plant maintenance work on other equipment was continuing. About 70% of the energy generated by RusHydro goes to United Company Rusal’s aluminum smelters, which produce about 12% of the world’s aluminum. It consists of a solid left-bank dam 246.1 metres long, a power dam 331.8 metres long, a spillway dam 189.6 metres long and a solid right-bank dam 298.5 metres long. The dam supports the Sayano-Shushenskoe reservoir, with a total capacity of 31.34 km3, useful capacity of 15.34 km3 and surface area of 621 km2.

10.Longtan Dam, China

The Longtan hydropower project located on the Hongshui River in Tian’e County, Guangxi, China, is the sixth biggest in Asia. The hydroelectric power station consists of nine Francis 700MW generating units. The Longtan dam is a roller-compacted concrete gravity dam 216.5m in height and 832m in width. The dam is intended for hydroelectric power production, flood control and navigation. The dam contains seven surface spillways, two bottom outlets and an underground power station. This gravity dam more than 700 feet tall, So this is the tallest of its type in the world. The hydroelectric power station consists of 9 power generating units with a capacity of more than 17.3 billion kilowatt hours. This system of valves provides a high quality, reliable solution to the stringent requirements of one of the largest and most advanced hydroelectric generation plants of its kind, ensuring optimal utilization of available natural resources. The project is owned by Longtan Hydropower Development. The dam’s newest hydroelectric turbine was installed in 2009. The design and construction of the dam have applied the state of the art of modern RCC and it also represents the highest level of present RCC construction. After reservoir impoundment, the dam’s operation is normal and presents good performance.

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THE GREAT 10 FRESH WATER LAKES IN THE WORLD BY SURFACE AREA

by Sree DivyaUncategorizedLeave a Comment on THE GREAT 10 FRESH WATER LAKES IN THE WORLD BY SURFACE AREA

Freshwater lakes are bodies of still, unsalted water surrounded by land. They are usually found in low lying areas and are fed from streams, rivers and runoff from the surrounding area. Lake, any relatively large body of slowly moving or standing water that occupies an inland basin of appreciable size. Definitions that precisely distinguish lakes, ponds, swamps, and even rivers and other bodies of non oceanic water are not well established. Fresh water can be defined as water with less than 500 parts per million (ppm) of dissolved salts. Water is critical to the survival of all living organisms. 3% of the earth’s water is fresh. 2.5% of the earth’s fresh water is unavailable: locked up in glaciers, polar ice caps, atmosphere, and soil; highly polluted; or lies too far under the earth’s surface to be extracted at an affordable cost. 0.5% of the earth’s water is available fresh water. Here are the top 10 largest freshwater lakes by Surface Area in the world.

1.Lake Superior

Lake Superior is the Largest fresh water lake by surface area. It has taken into the account of the saline Caspian sea. Lake Superior has been described as “the most oligotrophic lake in the world.” It is also the second largest lake in the world. It is shared by the USA and Canada, also the part of the Great Lakes of North America. Lake Superion occupies an area of 82,400 square kilometers. These magnificent freshwater lakes are not only beautiful, but also essential for human survival. Lake Superior is home to 88 species of fish. Lake Superior contains 10% of all the earth’s fresh surface water. The deepest point in Lake Superior (about 40 miles north of Munising, Michigan) is 1,300 feet (400 meters) below the surface. Lake Superior has over 400 islands, the largest of which is Isle Royale, with a size of 207 square miles. The lake has an island called the Isle Royal, which contains many smaller lakes, which in turn have their own islands as well. The Lake Superior shoreline, if straightened out, could connect Duluth and the Bahama Islands.
The average underwater visibility of Lake Superior is 27 feet, making it easily the cleanest and clearest of the Great Lakes. Underwater visibility in places reaches 100 feet. The lake is home to many endemic species of fish, however, some have been wiped out due to overfishing and exotic species being introduced. The lake’s primary inflows are the Nipigon River, the St. Louis River, the Pigeon River, the Pic River, the White River, the Michipicoten River and the Kaministiquia River. The only outflow of Lake Superior is the St. Mary’s River. We must srtive to protect these from further degredation, for our sake, and for the sake of their intrinsic value. Water in Lake Superior is retained, on average, 191 years. Migrating birds of prey funnel down Lake Superior’s north shore in great numbers each fall. On a single day at Duluth’s Hawk Ridge as many as 100,000 birds of prey might pass by. Lake Superior rests mostly on Precambrian rock at the southern edge of the Canadian shield, the largest exposure of such bedrock on the planet.

2.Lake Victoria

Lake Victoria is the world’s largest tropical lake and the second largest freshwater lake. It has 69,485 square kilometres area and is shared by Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. It covers with a maximum depth of 80 m it is relatively shallow. A population of over 30 million people live in its basin. Lake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes and is named after Queen Victoria. There are 84 islands inside the lake itself. In Lake Victoria the water hyacinth caused a reduction in fish through de-oxygenation of water, blocking of the in flow and out-flow of the lake, and disruption in fishing activities and lake transportation in late 1990s. Water hyacinth is a fresh water plant capable of vigorous growth. It was introduced on the African continent as an ornamental plant in early 20th century, and since then has spread rampantly. This massive lake, commonly known as Nyanza, is twice the size of Wales, and forms a natural boundary between Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. The lake is the heart of the African continent, the source of its mightiest river, the Nile.
This mighty body of water is rich in fish life, with shimmering shoals of colourful cichlids and large Nile Perch. The ecological health of Lake Victoria has been affected profoundly as a result of a rapidly growing population, clearance of natural vegetation along the shores, a booming fish-export industry, the introduction of several exotic plant and animal species, the disappearance of about 50 % of its fish species, prolific growth of algae, and dumping of untreated effluent by several industries and human settlements. It has suffered tremendously in terms of biodiversity due to the introduction of new exotic species and water pollution. As a result, the fishing industry of the area has also suffered. The lake receives water from annual rainfall, as it lies in the tropical regions. Lake Kagera is also one of the sources of water. The lake’s outflow is the river Nile, which is most famous.

3.Lake Huron

West of Lake Michigan is Lake Huron, which is shared between USA and Canada. The lake reaches a maximum depth of 750 ft. It has a surface area of 59,600 square kilometres but has lower volumes of water than Lake Michigan. The name of the lake is derived from early French explorers who named it for the Huron people inhabiting the region. The Huronian glaciation was named due to evidence collected from Lake Huron region. The northern parts of the lake include the North Channel and Georgian Bay. Lake Huron was originally called La Mer Douce, or “the freshwater sea,” by French explorers. It has the longest shoreline of the Great Lakes. Mackinac Island is a popular tourist attraction. It is home to the Manitoulin Island, which is the largest island to be found in any lake throughout the world.
Lumbering and fishing have been important economic activities in the Lake Huron region, and many resorts line the lake’s shores. The Saginaw River basin is intensively farmed and contains the Flint and Saginaw-Bay City metropolitan areas. The lake was once home to a number of fish and other species of animals, but this has suffered due to the introduction of exotic and invasive species post colonisation. As part of the St. Lawrence Seaway, the lake supports heavy commercial traffic in iron ore, grain, and limestone. The primary inflows of the glacial lake are the Straits of Mackinac, the St. Marys River. The main outflow of this river is the St. Claire River. The lake is 206 mi (331 km) long from northwest to southeast, and its maximum width is 183 mi.

4.Lake Michigan

Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Lake Michigan is the only one of the Great Lakes located entirely within one country, the United States. Dipping the toes into the freshwater and watching a Pure Michigan sunset will become a great experience in the life. It is shared, from west to east, by the states of Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan. Green Bay is a large bay in its northwest and Grand Traverse Bay is in the northeast. Michigan’s western Great Lakes region benefits from a unique climate, which creates a favorable environment for growing a wealth of agricultural products. The word “Michigan” is believed to come from the Ojibwe word Michi Gami meaning “large lake”. This lake is with a water surface area of 22,300 square miles. The lake also contains numerous islands, notably the Beaver Island archipelago and the North and South Manitou Islands located between the Upper and Lower peninsulas. Approximately 100 streams flow into the lake, only a few of which are of appreciable size. The Manistee, Pere Marquette, White, Muskegon, Grand, Kalamazoo, and St. Joseph rivers enter the lake from the east.
There are 59 lighthouses that stand on the beaches of Lake Michigan as reminders of the importance of the centuries-old shipping industry, a story told well at the Michigan Maritime Museum in South Haven. The state is a leader in many crops including blueberries, cherries, asparagus and grapes for juice and wine. Approximately 12 million people live along the shores of Lake Michigan. There are a number of beaches along the coast, and the Great Lakes are sometimes referred to as the “Third Coast” behind the Pacific and Atlantic. Some of the most popular “beach” towns on the Michigan side of the lake include St. Joseph, South Haven, Grand Haven and Holland. The water of Lake Michigan has an unusual circulatory pattern. Winds and resulting waves keep Lake Michigan from freezing over, but it has been 90 percent frozen on a number of occasions. The lake’s average water depth is 279 feet (85 meters) and its maximum depth is 925 feet (282 meters).

5.Lake Tanganyika

Lake Tanganyika is an African Great Lake With a maximum depth of 1470 m and an area of 32 900 km². Its volume of 18 880 km³ It is the second-oldest freshwater lake in the world, the second-largest by volume. It is the deepest lake in Africa and holds the greatest volume of fresh water, accounting for 16% of the world’s available fresh water. Tanganyika is considered one of the most biologically rich lakes on the planet. According to the World Conservation Union (IUCN), “no place on earth holds such a variety of life.” Of the 2000 plus species found in the lake, over half are found nowhere else. At least 90% of the water influx is from rain falling on the lake’s surface and at least 90% of the water loss is from direct evaporation. The clear waters host more than 350 different species of fish and is well known for aquarium fish exports and excellent angling. The major river flowing into the lake is the Ruzizi River, formed about 10,000 years ago, which enters the north of the lake from Lake Kivu. Lake Tanganyika has a remarkably uniform temperature. The lower regions are only a mere 3° C colder than the surface.
The reason for this strange phenomenon has yet to be discovered. The lake has a complex history of changing flow patterns, due to its high altitude, great depth, slow rate of refill, and mountainous location in a turbulently volcanic area that has undergone climate changes. Lake Tanganyika is an ancient lake. Its three basins, which in periods with much lower water levels were separate lakes, are of different ages. It’s water tend to be brackish. Though fed by a number of rivers, the lake is not the centre of an extensive drainage area. The largest rivers discharging into the lake are the Malagarasi, the Ruzizi, and the Kalambo, which has one of the highest waterfalls in the world (704 feet [215 metres]). Lake Tanganyika is also an evolutionary showcase due to its great age and stability. Ninety eight percent of the lake’s cychlids (which comprise two thirds of all the lake’s fish) are unique to Tanganyika. Also endemic are all seven of its crabs, five out of the thirteen bivalve molluscs, more than half of its gastropod molluscs and eleven of its thirty three copepod crustaceans. Sport fishing is very popular here and catches include the goliath tigerfish and Nile perch.

6.Lake Baikal

Situated in south-east Siberia, the 3.15-million-ha Lake Baikal is the oldest (25 million years) and deepest (1,700 m) lake in the world. It is the largest freshwater lake by volume in the world, containing 22–23% of the world’s fresh surface water With 23,615.39 km3 (5,670 cu mi) of fresh water. It contains more water than the North American Great Lakes combined. With a maximum depth of 1,642 m (5,387 ft) Baikal is the world’s deepest lake. It is considered among the world’s clearest lakes. Baikal is home to thousands of species of plants and animals, many of which are endemic to the region. It is also home to Buryat tribes, residing on the eastern side of the lake, raising goats, camels, cattle, sheep, and horses, where the mean temperature varies from a winter minimum of −19 °C to a summer maximum of 14 °C. Known as the ‘Galapagos of Russia’, its age and isolation have produced one of the world’s richest and most unusual freshwater faunas, which is of exceptional value to evolutionary science. It is home to approximately 1,700 to 1,800 endemic plant and animal species. Lake Baikal has historically played a large role in the Russian imagination.
It represents the unspoiled beauty of Russia and is sometimes referred to as the Sacred Sea. It attracts more than 500,000 tourists a year. The lands around Lake Baikal are generally warmer than the rest of the area because large bodies of water have a moderating force. There are 27 mostly uninhabited islands in Lake Baikal. More than 300 streams and rivers feed into Lake Baikal, but the Angara River is the only outlet. It carries out about 60 cubic km (15.8 trillion gallons) of water per year into the Yenisei River. During the summer, when the lake is full of melted ice from the Siberian mountains, it is sometimes possible to see more than 130 feet (39 m) down. The stunning clarity is the result of the melted ice’s purity, plankton that eat floating debris and a lack of mineral salts in the lake , according to Baikal World Web. There are several theories about what could have caused the unification, including sinking earth, falling rocks, erosion and earthquakes. Likely, it was a combination of all factors. Lake Baikal is in a rift valley and up to 2,000 earthquake tremors are detected each year.

7.Great Bear Lake

Great Bear Lake, lake in northern Fort Smith region and southeastern Inuvik region, Northwest Territories, Canada, lying astride the Arctic Circle. The Great Bear Lake is a lake in the Canadian boreal forest. It is the largest lake entirely in Canada. The fourth-largest in North America, and the seventh-largest in the world. The name originated from the Chipewyan language word satudene, meaning “grizzly bear water people.” The Sahtu Dene people are named after the lake. Grizzly Bear Mountain on the shore of the lake also comes from Chipewyan, meaning, “bear large hill.” Irregular in shape and containing many small islands, Great Bear Lake is roughly 200 miles (320 km) long and 25–110 miles (40–175 km) wide and has a maximum depth of 1,356 feet (413 m). Its area of 12,096 square miles (31,328 square km) makes it the largest lake entirely within Canada and the fourth largest in North America. The 70-mile- (113-kilometre-) long Great Bear River, which drains the lake westward through marshes into the Mackenzie River, forms an important transportation link during its four ice-free months.

8.Lake Malawi

Lake Malawi is an African Great Lake and the southernmost lake in the East African Rift System, located between Malawi, Tanzania and Mozambique. Lake Malawi, also known as Lake Nyasa in Tanzania and Lago Niassa in Mozambique. It is the fourth largest fresh water lake in the world by volume. Lake Malawi is between 560 and 580 kilometers long and about 75 kilometers wide at its widest point. The lake has a total surface area of about 29,600 square kilometers. The lake is 706 m at its deepest point. This is the third largest and second deepest lake in Africa. Lake Malawi is a meromictic lake, meaning that its water layers do not mix. The property is an area of exceptional natural beauty with the rugged landscapes around it contrasting with the remarkably clear waters of the lake. Lake Malawi is globally important for biodiversity conservation due to its outstanding diversity of its fresh water fishes.
The property is considered to be a separate bio-geographical province with estimates of up to 1000 species of fish half occurring within the property, estimated as the largest number of fish species of any lake in the world. Endemism is very high: of particular significance are the cichlid fish, of which all but 5 of over 350 species are endemic. The lake contains 30% of all known cichlids species in the world. The property is also rich in other fauna including mammals, birds and reptiles. There are five villages included within enclaves inside the property. Here the soil is poor and crop failure frequency is high. Collaboration with the governments of Tanzania and Mozambique needs to be maintained and strengthened for the long term protection and management of the entire lake ecosystem, and consideration of the potential for its extension is required.

9.Great Slave Lake

Great Slave Lake is the second-largest lake in the Northwest Territories of Canada. It is also the deepest lake in North America at 614 metres (2,014 ft), and the nineth-largest lake in the world. It covers an area of 28,568 km2 (10,502 sq mi) in the southern part of the territory. The lake shares its name with the First Nations peoples called Slavey of the Dene family by their enemies the Cree. This place gets in our soul. It’s the endless water and endless land. It’s that feeling you get when you take off from civilization with the roar of twin otter engines in your ears – and the freedom you feel once you arrive. Great Slave has been at the heart of history, culture and recreation in the Northwest Territories. Every year some 5,000 trophy fishers come North, many bound for the Great Slave’s North Arm and East Arm. Because the lake is clean and cold, fish keep near the surface in summer. Yellow Knife, the capital of the Northwest Territories, is an isolated mining town built on gold and now sustained by diamonds—an outpost of civilization surrounded by a vast, austere landscape of rock and tundra and water—most notably, the enormous Great Slave Lake, on whose shore the city is built. Yellowknife Bay shelters a fleet of more than two-dozen houseboats, all brightly painted and lovingly adorned. Residents run their floating homes on some combination of solar power and batteries. This pretty, nautical neighbourhood even hosts its own version of a drive-in film festival, albeit with canoes and kayaks. The lake is fed by several rivers, of which the Slave River from the south is the most important, and is drained to the west by the Mackenzie River, which eventually empties into the Arctic Ocean. Many of these communities depend on the lake for its abundance of fish, which helps drive the fishing and tourism industry.

10.Lake Erie

It forms the boundary between Canada (Ontario) to the north and the United States (Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York) to the west, south, and east. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. The major axis of the lake extends from west-southwest to east-northeast for 241 miles (388 km), and the lake has a maximum width of 57 miles. Approximately twelve million people live in the watershed, including seventeen metropolitan areas with more than 50,000 residents. The lake provides drinking water for about eleven million of these inhabitants. At its deepest point Lake Erie is 210 feet (64 metres) deep. The lake was named by the Erie people, a Native American people who lived along its southern shore. The tribal name “erie” is a shortened form of the Iroquoian word erielhonan, meaning long tail. The total area of the lake’s drainage basin is 30,140 square miles (78,062 square km), exclusive of surface area, which is 9,910 square miles.
Numerous new cleanliness and wellness policies and procedures have been put into place throughout the region to ensure that our guests not only have a fun and memorable visit, but a safe one. A place where time moves a little slower, loved ones feel a little closer and there’s a Great Lake between you and your worries. From island hopping to birdwatching, record-breaking roller coasters to water parks, wineries to dockside dining, plus hidden gems that keep the fun going all year long. Algae can persist for weeks during summer by blooms carried by winds and currents eastward through the lake. Eighty percent of Lake Erie’s total inflow of water comes through the Detroit River. Eleven percent is from precipitation (rain and snow). The remaining nine percent comes from the other tributaries

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THE GREAT LARGEST 10 LIBRARIES IN THE WORLD ACCORDING TO THE COLLECTION OF ITEMS

by Sree DivyaUncategorizedLeave a Comment on THE GREAT LARGEST 10 LIBRARIES IN THE WORLD ACCORDING TO THE COLLECTION OF ITEMS

Library is a building or room containing collections of books, periodicals, and sometimes films and recorded music for use or borrowing by the public or the members of an institution. Libraries are knowledge powerhouses. They have served as the major source of knowledge transfer generation after generation regardless of the time barrier. If you get the chance to visit some of the world’s largest libraries, you’ve never seen so many books in all your life. The world has excelled in all walks with the help of knowledge that has been preserved in bookish form and stored in world’s biggest libraries. Here we bring to you a list of 10 of the world’s largest libraries based on the collection of books that each one of them possesses.

1.Library Of Congress

It is located in Washington, D.C., the Library of Congress is the national library of the United States and the largest library in the world. Collection of books are 162 million. Its collection was growing at a rate of about two million items per year. It is established in April 24, 1800. The John Adams Building, completed in 1939, received its current name in 1980 to honour the president, who is in 1800 signed the act of Congress establishing the library. The Adams Building was built in Art Deco style and faced with white Georgia marble. The Library of Congress is the largest library of the world in terms of number of items stored and shelf capacity. It officially serves the United State Congress for research purposes. The collection includes more than 32 million catalogued books and other print materials in 470 languages, more than 61 million manuscripts, over 1 million US government publications, 1 million issues of world newspapers, 33,000 bound newspaper volumes, 500,000 microfilm reels, more than 120,000 issues comic book, 5.3 million maps, 6 million works of sheet music, 3 million sound recordings, more than 14.7 million prints and photographic images including fine and popular art pieces and architectural drawings.
Some of those materials include one of the smallest books in the world (you have to turn the pages with a needle). James Billington served as the Librarian of Congress in Washington, D.C., from 1987 to 2015. He earned his doctorate from Oxford University. The Library of Congress serves members, committees, and staff of the U.S. Congress, other government agencies, libraries throughout the country and the world, and the scholars, researchers, artists, and scientists who use its resources. It is the national centre for library service to the blind and physically handicapped, and it offers many concerts, lectures, and exhibitions for the general public. The continued growth of the collection in a wide variety of formats during the 1980s and ’90s necessitated the off-site relocation of some materials to storage facilities in Fort Meade, Maryland, and to the Packard Campus for Audio Visual Conservation Center in Culpeper, Virginia, the library’s state-of-the-art facility for audiovisual preservation.

2.British Library, UK

British Library, national library of Great Britain, formed by the British Library Act (1972) and organized by July 1, 1973. British Library serves as the national library of United Kingdom which is located in London. It is also the second largest library of the world. Collection of books are more than 150 million in this library.The British Library holds more than 25 million printed books as well as hundreds of thousands of periodicals, microfilms, rare manuscripts, and titles in electronic form. Its special offerings include the Oriental and India Office Collections, the National Sound Archive, printed music, a map library, and philatelic materials. The British Library adds some 3 million items every year occupying 9.6 kilometres of new shelf space. There is space in the library for over 1,200 readers. In over 400 languages including books, magazines, manuscripts, maps, music scores, newspapers, patents, databases, philatelic items, prints and drawings and sound recordings. The British Library is a major research library, with items in many languages and in many formats, both print and digital.
An interesting fact about the British Library is that it will take you 80,000 years to see the entire collection if you are seeing 5 items daily. Their impressive collection includes handwritten Beatles lyrics and an original draft of Chapter 10 and 11 from Jane Austen’s Persuasion. Telling the stories from over 3000 years of human experience, the treasures from our collection include everything from ancient Chinese oracle bones, Magna Carta, the Lindisfarne Gospels and Leonardo da Vinci’s notebook to the Beatles’ lyrics and musical scores by Beethoven, Handel and Chopin. The British Museum library was long housed in the main building of the British Museum, in Bloomsbury, London. The centrepiece of the British Museum library was the huge round dome-ceilinged Reading Room, which was designed by Sydney Smirke in association with the librarian Anthony Panizzi and completed by 1857. The museum (with its library) was founded in 1753 on the basis of the collections of Sir Hans Sloane; Edward and Robert Harley, earls of Oxford; and Sir Robert Cotton. As the library holdings grew in the 20th century, additional space was acquired in Bloomsbury, and annexes were opened at Bayswater and other London locations. In 1962 the National Lending Library for Science and Technology was established at Boston Spa, Yorkshire. The Newspaper Library became part of the British Library in 1973. It is classified as a Grade I listed building “of exceptional interest” for its architecture and history..

  1. Library And Archives Canada

Collection of books are more than 54 million. Canada’s national library, located in Ottawa, acquires and preserves Canada’s documentary heritage. The Dominion Archives was founded in 1872 as a division within the Department of Agriculture and was transformed into the autonomous Public Archives of Canada in 1912 and renamed the National Archives of Canada in 1987. The design is the direct result of an unprecedented public co-design process that asked Ottawa residents, Indigenous communities, and Canadians from across the country to provide inspiration at every stage. The National Library of Canada was founded in 1953. In 2004, Library and Archives Canada (LAC) combined the functions of the National Archives of Canada and the National Library of Canada. LAC’s stated mandate is:
• to preserve the documentary heritage of Canada for the benefit of present and future generations;
• to be a source of enduring knowledge accessible to all, contributing to the cultural, social and economic advancement of Canada as a free and democratic society;
• to facilitate in Canada co-operation among communities involved in the acquisition, preservation and diffusion of knowledge;
• to serve as the continuing memory of the Government of Canada and its institutions.
Among its collection, plenty of antique photos are existed. LAC’s holdings include the archival records of the Government of Canada, representative private archives, 20 million books acquired largely through legal deposit, 24 million photographs, and more than a petabyte of digital content. Some of this content, primarily the book collection, university theses and census material, is available online. In homes, schools and libraries across Canada, people are looking for evidence of what it means to be a Canadian. ARCHIVESCANADA.ca is a gateway to archival resources found in over 800 repositories across Canada – it’s your gateway to Canada’s collective memory.

  1. New York Public Library

The New York Public Library is in Manhattan and it’s the fourth largest library in the world. As of 2010, the research collections contain 44,507,623 items (books, videotapes, maps, etc.), while the branch libraries contain 8,438,775 items. It is a private, non-governmental, independently managed, nonprofit corporation operating with both private and public financing. Collection of books are more than 53.1 million. The collections have been organized into more than 100 major topics, ranging from “Accents and Dialects” to “Women’s Studies” with others such as “Baseball,” “Computer Science,” “Gay and Lesbian Studies,” “Immigration,” “Judaica,” “Theatre,” and “U.S. History” in between. Very often, the expendable products of bygone ages are viewed today as treasures, and the Library’s stacks of old newspapers, including the long-defunct New York Atlas, have provided endlessly rich material for scholars and writers. The building is also home to the Library’s historic children’s materials, including the original stuffed animals that inspired the Winnie-the-Pooh children’s classics, as well as circulating collections for children.
In combination with the lending collections, it is the most comprehensive library collection ever brought together for the free use of the public. The library has branches in the boroughs of the Bronx, Manhattan and Staten Island and affiliations with academic and professional libraries in the New York metropolitan area. The New York Public Library also has four research libraries, which are also open to the general public. The “New York Public Library” name may also refer to its Main Branch, which is easily recognizable by its lion statues named Patience and Fortitude that sit either side of the entrance. The branch was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1965, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1966, and designated a New York City Landmark in 1967. Today the Library continues to make major investments in its most distinctive collections, especially in unique primary source materials.

  1. Russian State Library

Collection of books are more than 44.4 million. The Russian State Library was established in 1862, and even has a nickname: “Leninka.” It is located in Moscow. It was named the V. I. Lenin State Library of the USSR from 1925 until it was renamed in 1992 as the Russian State Library. The library has over 275 km of shelves. There are items in 247 languages of the world, the foreign part representing about 29 percent of the entire collection. The Russian State Library (RSL) is the largest library in Russia, the fifth largest library in the world. It was a part of the Moscow Public and Rumyantsev Museums. Now the Russian State Library stores in its holdings books, documents and artefacts. More than 800 thousand people visit the library annually and about 100 thousand new library tickets are issued. There are 36 reading rooms in the RSL, where more than one and a half thousand people can work at the same time. Any citizen of Russia or other state above 14 years old can become a user of the Library.
It is important for the Library not only to enlarge its collections, but also to make them as accessible as possible, paying attention to the preservation of rare and valuable editions. Access to copyrighted documents is only possible from the Library premises. At the end of 2014 by the decision of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation the Russian State Library was appointed the operator of the National Electronic Library (NEL). NEL is a modern project aimed at free access of readers to the collections of key Russian libraries through the integrated portal and search system. The Library is developing and looking for new forms of interaction with the reader. The best and the most interesting of the RSL collections is demonstrated at exhibitions. In 2016 the Russian State Library opened the new museum space for major exhibitions Ivanovsky Hall. On traditional events of LibraryNight, LibraryDay and Open Doors Day experts and everyone are welcome to acquaint with the work of the Library.

  1. National Diet Library

The National Diet Library is located in Tokyo. It was established in 1948 for the purpose of assisting members of the National Diet of Japan, in researching matters of public policy. Collection of books are more than 41.88 million in this Library. The library is similar in purpose and scope to the United States Library of Congress. The National Diet Library has been actively working on digitization of its collections. The National Diet Library (NDL) consists of two main facilities in Tokyo and Kyoto, and several other branch libraries throughout Japan. It is organized on the system of the U.S. Library of Congress, serving legislators and the nation at large through various major divisions and 35 branch libraries. It is Japan’s only national deposit library and also the country’s parliamentary library. The “Digital Library from the Meiji Era”, which was opened to the public in 2002, carries full-text digital images of about 127,000 volumes of 89,000 titles of the books published in the Meiji era (1868-1912). In addition, it has been promoting copyright clearance and digitization of most of the books published in the Taisho era (1912-1926).
The National Diet Library is the successor of three separate libraries: the library of the House of Peers, the library of the House of Representatives, both of which were established at the creation of Japan’s Imperial Diet in 1890; and the Imperial Library, which had been established in 1872 under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education. National Diet Library, Japanese Kokuritsu Kokkai Toshokan, is combining the libraries of the upper and lower houses of the Diet with the collections of the former Imperial Library. The “Web Archiving Project (WARP)” is a project to preserve information gathered from the Internet for the sake of future generations. We have collected, selected Internet resources with license agreements, and provided about 1,500 online periodicals and 1,900 websites.

  1. Bibliotheque Nationale De France

Paris is the home of the Bibliotheque Nationale de France, a national repository of everything published in France and home to the beautiful Oval Reading Room. Collection of books are more than 40 million in this Library. It contains a portion of the modern manuscripts and archive documents like brochures, programs, screenplays, press clippings, typescripts, correspondences, letters, autographs on performing arts and music from the Richelieu-Louvois Library. Books and periodicals kept in the storage and on the shelves. Documents in audio format (78 rpm recordings, phonograph records, compact discs, and audio cassettes), video format (videotapes and videodiscs), multimedia and electronic formats (CD-ROMS, DVD-ROMS, video games etc.). It contains Objects: brass, carved wood, lithographic stones, fabrics etc. It also contains Iconographic documents: prints, photographs, posters and Printed and handwritten sheet music.
Throughout its history, it has always performed the task of collecting and preserving national and global collections in its care, in any form, for the benefit of all. It is digital library, Gallica was launched in 1997. It is one of the oldest in the world, located in Paris. On the site Francois-Mitterrand, a building whose four angular towers symbolize four open books, overlooking the banks of the 13th arrondissement of Paris, more than 15 million books and printed works are preserved. The garden can be found in between the 4 towers: it can be seen from all over the Library, but entry is not permitted.

  1. National Library Of Russia

The National Library of Russia is in St Petersburg, and has been digitizing many titles — over 80,000 titles are available to view electronically. The Imperial Public Library was established in 1795 by Catherine the Great. Collection of items are more than 36.5 million in this Library. The National Library of Russia in Saint Petersburg ,is not only the oldest public library in the nation, but also the first national library in the country. It has the second richest library collection in the Russian Federation, a treasury of national heritage, and is the All-Russian Information, Research and Cultural Center. Over the course of its history, the Library has aimed for comprehensive acquisition of the national printed output and has provided free access to its collections. It is known as the Imperial Public Library. The idea of a public library in Russia emerged in the early 18th century but did not take shape until the arrival of the Russian Enlightenment.
The cornerstone of the foreign-language department came from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the form of Załuski’s Library (420,000 volumes), nationalized by the Russian government at the time of the partitions. The Polish-language books from the library (numbering some 55,000 titles) were returned to Poland by the Russian SFSR in 1921. For five years after its foundation, the library was run by Comte Marie-Gabriel-Florent-Auguste de Choiseul-Gouffier. The stocks were arranged according to a specially compiled manual of library classification. In 1810, Emperor Alexander I approved Russia’s first library law stipulating, among other things, that two legal copies of all printed matter in Russia be deposited in the Library.

  1. Royal Danish Library

The Royal Library in Copenhagen is the national library of Denmark. Collection of books are more than 35.1 million in this Library and it is largest in the Nordic countries. In 2017 it merged with the State and University Library in Aarhus to form a combined national library. The combined library organisation is known as the Royal Danish Library. The “Black Diamond” is a characteristic new library building at the waterfront of Copenhagen. The building from 1999 is designed by the Danish architects Schmidt, Hammer and Lassen. The Library building is shiny, black facets mirror the sea and the sky at the harbour front. It is an extension to the Royal Library. It is founded in 1648. It houses many ancient manuscripts, notably The Gutenberg Bible and the manuscripts and letters of Hans Christian Andersen. The name refers to the prismatic sharp edges and the black marble plates and glass of the exterior, that reflects the water of the harbour. Also from the wave-like balconies of central foyer, that cuts into the building as an 24 meter high atrium, there is a panoramic view over the harbour.
The variety of cultural activities of the new building has turned The Royal Library into a central cultural centre of Copenhagen as part of the harbour promenade. The ceiling of the bridge between the old and the new is decorated by the Danish artist Per Kirkeby. In the old building of The Royal Library a Jewish museum has been designed by Daniel Libeskind in 2004 with sloping floors and light wooden interior. The seven stories of the building contain not only traditional library functions such as the four new reading rooms, but also a concert hall, exhibition galleries, bookshop, cafe and restaurant. It contains numerous historical treasures, and a copy of all works printed in Denmark since the 17th century are deposited there. A large incision cleaves the building into two formations and gives light to the atrium inside. The atrium connects the city with the sea outside as well as the old and new library buildings. The glass facade is held by iron girders weighing approximately one metric tonne per metre.

  1. The National Library of China

The National Library of China in Beijing has many rare Chinese items such as ancient books, oracle bones and tortoise shells from the Shang dynasty, and Buddhist manuscripts from the sixth century. Collection of items are more than 35.1 million in this Library. In 1916, the library received depository library status. In July 1928, its name was changed to National Peiping Library and was later changed to the National Library. The design of KSP Jurgen Engel for the new National Library of China in Beijing was the winning entry in an international competition. It is founded in 1909. The tripartite design of the library, symbolizing the past, present and future, consists of a solid base, a glazed center section enclosing structural cores and a steel-clad volume at the top. The stone-clad plinth houses the books and documents, representing China‘s rich cultural tradition. The steel box at the top houses the digital library. Weighing 10,388 tons, the 120 × 105 m earthquake-proof steel of the roof structure is designed as a steel lattice framework. Six reinforced cores transfer this load to the base, thus enabling the column-free floating ceiling over the grand reading room.
The glazed center section accommodates the public information area, access to reading rooms, foyer and cafeteria – all activities anchored to the present. The NLC faces the challenges of readership in the technological age. The creation of the National Digital Library is part of a strategy to combat this trend and to provide integrated services that include the availability of 10,000 e-books, mobile phone enabled library services and the use of RFID technology for the ease of locating items. Web pages, e-journals, blogs and so on – that appear only electronically.” With only 20 % of the National Library’s holdings available to the public in digital form in 2008, the Digital Library will greatly increase the reach of the National Library.

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THE LARGEST 10 ANIMALS IN THE WORLD ACCORDING TO VARIOUS CATEGORIES

by Sree DivyaUncategorizedLeave a Comment on THE LARGEST 10 ANIMALS IN THE WORLD ACCORDING TO VARIOUS CATEGORIES

Our world is full of creatures big and small, short and tall. Largest 10 animals in the world, classified by various categories such as mammals, reptiles, birds, amphibians etc are given below. There’s an incredibly detailed list of some of the world’s largest organisms.

1.The Largest Animal:
The Blue Whale

photo of whale underwater
Photo by Elianne Dipp on Pexels.com

These magnificent marine mammals rule the oceans at up to 100 feet long and upwards of 200 tons. Their incredible size is only possible because of their aquatic lifestyles and the buoyancy provided by seawater. Blue whales are among the loudest animals on the planet. Blue whales live in all the world’s oceans, except the Arctic. Blue whales are among Earth’s longest-lived animals. Their tongues alone can weigh as much as an elephant. Their hearts, as much as an automobile. Krill are considered as the main source of food for many larger animals. Blue whales reach these mind-boggling dimensions on a diet composed nearly exclusively of tiny shrimplike animals called krill. During certain times of the year, a single adult blue whale consumes about 6 tons of krill a day. Fish and copepods (tiny crustaceans) may occasionally be part of the blue whale’s diet. Blue whales look true blue underwater, but on the surface their coloring is more a mottled blue-grey. Their underbellies take on a yellowish hue from the millions of micro organisms that take up residence in their skin.
The blue whale has a broad, flat head and a long, tapered body that ends in wide, triangular flukes. These graceful swimmers cruise the ocean at more than five miles an hour, but accelerate to more than 20 miles an hour when they are agitated. They emit a series of pulses, groans, and moans, and it’s thought that, in good conditions, blue whales can hear each other up to 1,000 miles away. Like all whales, blue whales are mammals and give live birth to very large calves that they nurse for six or seven months. A baby blue whale emerges weighing up to 3 tons and stretching to 25 feet. Average lifespan is estimated at around 80 to 90 years. Today, a primary threat to blue whale recovery is accidental interactions with fishing gear and with ships, but their numbers are slowly increasing. To compound their trouble, however, blue whales’ preferred food source – krill – is now fished commercially.

2.The Heaviest Land Animal in the World:
The African Bush Elephant

elephant near plants and trees
Photo by RENATO CONTI on Pexels.com

The African bush elephant is the largest of the three elephant species. They are slightly larger than their Asian cousins and can be identified by their larger ears that look somewhat like the continent of Africa. It is also known as “ecosystem engineers.” Adults reach up to 24 feet in length and 13 feet in height and weigh up to 11 tons. As herbivores, they spend much of their days foraging and eating grass, leaves, bark, fruit, and a variety of foliage. They need to eat about 350 pounds of vegetation every day. African elephants live up to 70 years. An elephant’s trunk is a strong appendage, with more than 40,000 muscles and tendons that can lift more than 400 pounds at once. Elephants are fond of water. Elephants suck water up through the trunk and then blow it into their mouths for drinking or onto their backs as a cooling mist. Elephants use their tusks to pull bark off trees, dig up roots and water holes, and for protection. Because elephants require substantial amounts of food and a large area in which to forage, habitat destruction across their range is a major threat to survival. As of late, poaching has caused the most serious damage to African bush elephant populations, with approximately 25,000 being lost every year.
The Nature Conservancy is using a comprehensive three-pronged approach to elephant protection. During the dry season, they use their tusks to dig up dry riverbeds and create watering holes many animals can drink from. Their dung is full of seeds, helping plants spread across the environment and it makes pretty good habitat for dung beetles too. In the forest, their feasting on trees and shrubs creates pathways for smaller animals to move through, and in the savanna, they uproot trees and eat saplings, which helps keep the landscape open for zebras and other plains animals to thrive. Elephant ears radiate heat to help keep these large animals cool, but sometimes the African heat is too much. Females give birth to a single calf after a 22 month gestation, the longest gestation period among mammals.

3.The Tallest Land Animal in the World:
The Giraffe

brown giraffe walking on brown grass
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

The Giraffe is an African even-toed ungulate mammal and the tallest living terrestrial animal with coat pattern of irregular brown patches on a light background in the world. It stands 5–6 m (16–20 ft) tall and has an average weight of 1,930 kg (3,500 lb) for males and 1180 kg (1,800 lb) for females. The giraffe has an extremely elongated neck, which can be over 2 m (6 ft 7 in) in length, accounting for nearly half of the animal’s vertical height. It’s prehensile tongues almost half a metre long. The tail may be a metre in length and Speeds of 50 km (31 miles) per hour can be maintained. When the giraffe lowers its head to the ground, special vessels at the base of the brain control blood pressure.
They have excellent eyesight, and when one giraffe stares, for example, at a lion a kilometre away, the others look in that direction too. Giraffes live up to 26 years in the wild. Giraffes prefer to eat new shoots and leaves, mainly from the thorny acacia tree. Cows in particular select high-energy low-fibre items. They are prodigious eaters, and a large male consumes about 65 kg (145 pounds) of food per day. Giraffes obtain most water from their food, though in the dry season they drink at least every three days. Gestation is 15 months. If lions or hyenas attack, a mother sometimes stands over her calf, kicking at the predators with front and back legs. About half of very young calves are killed by lions and hyenas.

4.The Largest Carnivora in the World:
The Southern Elephant Seal

Male Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina) trying to mate with a recently weaned pup on Sea Lion Island in the Falkland Islands.

There are two species of elephant seals, the northern and southern. The southern elephant seal is a true seal and is the largest pinniped and carnivoran in the world. Southern elephant seals live in sub-Antarctic and Antarctic waters that feature brutally cold conditions but are rich in the fish, squid, and other marine foods these seals enjoy. Southern elephant seals are grayish brown in colour and are covered with thick blubber. Southern elephants are the largest of all seals. Males can be over 20 feet long and weigh up to 8,800 pounds. But these massive pinnipeds aren’t called elephant seals because of their size. Southern elephant seals have been recorded diving up to 2,133 meters (7,000 feet) and can stay underwater for nearly two hours. Southern elephant seal diet is largely composed of squid, mollusks, krill, cephalopods, and algae.

Elephant seals were aggressively hunted for their oil, and their numbers were once reduced to the brink of extinction. Historically, southern elephant seals were hunted to very low numbers because of the value and volume of their blubber, which was rendered into oil. Fortunately, populations have rebounded under legal protections. Adult males are enormous at least six times larger than polar bears and nearly twice the size of the next largest seal that is the northern elephant seal. Southern elephant seals are open ocean predators and spend much of their time at sea. Large southern elephant seals have few predators, but killer whales, leopard seals, and some large sharks are known to feed on this species. Potential impacts of expanding Southern Ocean fisheries and ongoing climate change on the populations of this seal are not well known, so it is important to continue to study and monitor this and other Antarctic seals. Southern elephant seals breed on land but spend their winters in the frigid Antarctic waters near the Antarctic pack ice. The current population is estimated at 650,000 individuals. The larger males fight one another to establish dominance over a particular section of beach. Females give birth to a single pup each year after an 11-month pregnancy and continue to nurse their pups.

5.The Largest Land Carnivores in the World:
The Polar Bear and Kodiak Bear

brown bear in body of water during daytime
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

The Kodiak bear, also known as the Kodiak brown bear, sometimes the “Alaskan brown bear”, inhabits the islands of the Kodiak Archipelago in southwest Alaska. The Kodiak bear, on the other hand, commonly reaches sizes of 300 to 600 kg (660 to 1,320 lb), and has even been known to exceed weights of 680 kg. Stability of the Kodiak bear population have arisen. Kodiak bear will eat a large variety of plant and animal species. When standing on its hind legs the Kodiak bear is as tall as 10 ft (3 m). Females, called sows, are typically about 20-30% smaller than males, which are referred to as boars. The largest island in the archipelago is known as Kodiak Island. It is the second-largest island in the USA and is considered the heart of the Kodiak bear’s range. With food being abundant, bears live in relatively high density and their home ranges overlap significantly. They will feed on mainly salmon during this time while building up their fat reserves for winter. Hunters frequently seek the rare species to harvest its meat or simply claim it as a trophy. Cubs are typically born about 8 months later. Young bears will remain with their mothers for about 3 years before setting out on their own. The polar bear is a hypercarnivorous bear whose native range lies largely within the Arctic Circle. It is the largest recognized subspecies or population of the brown bear, and one of the two largest bears alive today, the other being the polar bear.
There is generally much variation in size between brown bears in different areas, most usually weigh between 115 and 360 kg. a sow (adult female) is about half that size of boar(adult male). Many body characteristics of Polar bear are adapted for cold temperatures, for moving across snow, ice and open water, and for hunting seals, which make up most of its diet. Although most polar bears are born on land, they spend most of their time on the sea ice. For thousands of years, the polar bear has been a key figure in the material, spiritual, and cultural life of circumpolar peoples, and polar bears remain important in their cultures. Polar bears swim in that region’s coastal waters. They are very strong swimmers, and their large front paws, which they use to paddle, are slightly webbed. Some polar bears have been seen swimming hundreds of miles from land. Polar bears live in one of the planet’s coldest environments and depend on a thick coat of insulated fur, which covers a warming layer of fat. Polar bears live in one of the planet’s coldest environments and depend on a thick coat of insulated fur, which covers a warming layer of fat. Under their fur, polar bears have black skin – the better to soak in the sun’s warming rays. polar bears will also consume carcasses, such as those of dead whales. Polar bears are attractive and appealing, but they are powerful predators that do not typically fear humans, which can make them dangerous.

6.The Largest Reptile in the World:
The Saltwater Crocodile

Large Australian Saltwater Crocodile lies of a river bank in Broome, Western Australia.

Saltwater crocodiles or estuarine crocodiles, are enormous creatures and the world’s largest living reptiles. The average male is 5m in length and weighs around 500kg, while females are significantly smaller, with the average female saltwater crocodile measuring a little under 3m in length and weighing less than 100kg. A huge male saltwater Crocodiles are estimated to have weighed a staggering 1500-2000kg. The animal most likely to eat a human—is the saltwater or estuarine crocodile. Saltwater crocodiles, or “salties,” as Australians affectionately refer to them, have an enormous range, populating the brackish and freshwater regions of eastern India, Southeast Asia, and northern Australia. They are excellent swimmers. They can travel long distances by sea, sometimes as much as 900km.
They’ll feed on anything they can get their jaws on, including water buffalo, monkeys, wild boar, and even sharks. Without warning, they explode from the water with a thrash of their powerful tails, grasp their victim, and drag it back in, holding it under until the animal drowns. Saltwater crocodiles have long life spans, with many living to more than 65 years, longer than any other crocodile species. It’s possible that some saltwater crocodiles may live for over a century. Only 1% of newborn saltwater crocodiles will survive to adulthood. Australian legend has it that crocodiles sleep with one eye open – and scientists have now proved it to be true. It involves shutting down only one half of their brain at a time, keeping the other half alert to danger. The central nervous system is wired up such that the right eye remains open when the left side of the brain is awake, and vice versa. They typically feed on fish, mammals and birds, preferring to hunt at night. It is is capable of killing and eating pretty much anything that comes into its territory, including sharks and humans.

7.The Largest Amphibian in the World:
The Chinese Giant Salamander

Hong Kong Ocean Park

Chinese giant salamander once had the world at its wet, stubby feet. It’s a “living fossil,” having seen the dinosaurs come and go, and it is currently the largest amphibian on the planet. It is Capable of growing nearly 6 feet in length (1.8 meters). This makes the giant salamanders one of the most evolutionarily isolated families on the amphibian tree of life, residing at the tips of a long, solitary branch. The Chinese Giant Salamader lives and breeds in large hill streams, normally in forested areas. It is a mottled grayish or greenish and brown, with a long, thick body with four stubby limbs, and a blunt head with tiny eyes (with no eye lids) behind its nostrils. Its tail makes up over half of its body length.
The Japanese giant salamander is a bit smaller than its Chinese counterpart, while North America’s largest salamander, the hellbender, may reach 28 inches (70 centimeters) in length. These three giants make up the family Cryptobranchidae. This creature lives underwater yet does not have gills—it absorbs oxygen through its skin. there could be at least five distinct giant salamander species that developed independently in isolated locations over millions of years. the main threat to Chinese giant salamanders is humans hunting them with nets and hooks. As apex predators, they are used to slurping up a wide variety of aquatic creatures, and can accidentally swallow or become tangled in lines of hooks.

8.The Largest Rabbit/Hare in the World:
The Flemish Giant

The Flemish Giant rabbit is a very large breed of domestic rabbit, normally considered to be the largest breed of the species. Flemish Giants are historically a utility breed bred for fur and meat.. The breed is also known for being docile and patient in being handled, resulting in the large animals commonly being kept as pets. The Flemish Giant is an ancestor of many rabbit breeds all over the world, one of which is the Belgian Hare, imported into England in the mid 19th century. It is one of the more popular breeds at rabbit shows because of its unusually large size and its varying colors. They come in seven colours. The National Federation of Flemish Giant Rabbit Breeders recognizes Black, Blue, Fawn, Light Gray, Steel Gray, Sandy, and White as the official color varieties. The male and female have different head shapes. As one of the largest breeds of domestic rabbit, the Flemish Giant is a semi-arch type rabbit with its back arch starting behind the shoulders and carrying through to the base of the tail giving a “mandolin” shape.
Flemish Giant Rabbits weigh 6.8 kilograms (15 lb) on average, through the biggest ones can weigh up to 10 kilograms (22 lb), and the longest one on record, measured about 1.3 metres (4 ft 3 in) long. “The American Rabbit Breeders Association Standard of Perfection” dictates that a rabbit under six months and at least 6.5 pounds is eligible for entry in the Junior class, one between six and eight months is considered Intermediate, and eight months and older must be entered as a Senior. Their originsare highly contested among Flemish Giant rabbit historins. Other giant rabbit breeds named for different places exist, including the Continental Giant, German Giant, and British Giant. Each breed differs a bit from the Flemish Giant. The Rabbit Geek website posted information about this from a rabbit show judge and member of the British Rabbit Council.

9.The Largest Bats in the World:
The Giant golden-crowned flying fox

The golden-crowned flying fox is one of the largest bat species in the world, it can be incredibly hard to find. The giant golden-crowned flying fox, also known as the golden-capped fruit bat, is a species of megabat endemic to the Philippines. It is primarily frugivorous, consuming several kinds of fig. However, its diet also includes some leaves. As it eats fruits, primarily figs, it distributes their seeds all over the forest, contributing to reforestation in the Philippines. It also will sometimes eat fruit grown for agricultural use, but only if it is near undisturbed forests. It forages at night and sleeps during the day in tree roosts. The giant golden-crowned flying fox, also known as the golden-capped fruit bat, is a species of megabat endemic to the Philippines. It is one of the largest bat species in the world, weighing up to 1.4 kg (3.1 lb)—only the Indian and great flying fox can weigh more. It has the longest documented forearm length of any bat species at 215 mm (8.5 in). Owing to deforestation and poaching for bushmeat, it is an endangered species. It is still affected by human disturbance via tourists who intentionally disturb them during the day. can be found in forest patches near human population centers, including along roads and on resort grounds. In all cases, this species enjoys having other bat neighbors, as they share their roosts with several flying fox species—most commonly the large flying fox. Local communities hunt bats for sale, sport and personal consumption. In addition, more than 90 percent of the Philippines’ old-growth forests have been destroyed, and the species has completely disappeared from several of its old roosting sites on multiple islands. It gives birth annually from April through June, with females having one pup at a time.

10.The Largest Rodent in the World:
The Capybara

The capybara is twice that big—the biggest rodent on Earth. These impressive semi-aquatic mammals are found throughout much of northern and central South America, though a small invasive population has been seen in Florida. Capybara, also called carpincho or water hog. Like beavers, capybaras are strong swimmers. South American capybaras may be 1.25 metres (4 feet) long and weigh 66 kg (145 pounds) or more. Panamanian capybaras are smaller and weigh about 27 kg. They are shy and associate in groups along the banks of lakes and rivers. Small eyes, noses, no tail, and hairless ears are located high on their heads so that their faces remain exposed and alert when most of their body is submerged. Like other rodents, capybaras’ teeth grow continuously, and they wear them down by grazing on aquatic plants, grasses, and other plentiful plants. Their pig-shaped bodies are adapted for life in bodies of water found in forests, seasonally flooded savannas, and wetlands. Their toes are partially webbed for paddling around, and their reddish to dark brown fur is long and brittle—perfect for drying out quickly on land. Their favorite snack foods are snakes like the boa constrictor, crab-eating foxes, small cats, and birds of prey like the caracara and black vulture. Females usually have one litter of four to five young per year. Though considered to have a stable population overall, in some areas capybaras are severely threatened by people who hunt them for their skin, and some local populations have been wiped out.

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