GREENLAND

National Dress



Steam bath-house

Artic Hare

Artic Fox

Geese

Moth

Greenland is the largest island in the world and the vast majority

of it lies above the Artic Circle. It's southern tip shares the

same latitude as Oslo and the British Shetland Isles.

By contrast, the East Coast of Greenland is very remote and wild,

and its ruggedness and isolation have a direct bearing on how one

finds it today. To the west, the Inland Ice bars any overland connection to the

populous and developed west coast.

To the east and out to the sea the East Greenland Current flows

along the entire coast, dragging vast quantities of icebergs and dense Polar ice

with it, effectively blocking access to all but the most determined or

lucky seafarers, rendering it an unattractive prospect to Western colonisers and

delaying their arrival until very recently. For these reasons East Greenland

remains undeveloped and populated by only 3,000 within a handful

of settlements; an ancient Inuit hunting society with intact customs

and traditions has persisted here. Its Isolation is such that other

Greenlanders put it to the back of their minds and name it "Tunu" -

The land at the back.

Ethnic groups:....Greenlanders 87% (Eskimos & Greenland born whites)

Danish and others 13%

Religions: Evangelical Lutheran

Languages: Eskimo Dialects, Greenlandic (an Inuit dialect)

Population: 59,309 (1998)

Population growth rate = 0.9%

Birth rate: 15.83 births per 1000 population

ICELAND

Iceland is the most sparsely populated country

in Europe with an average of about three

inhabitants per square km. Almost four-fifths

of the country are uninhabited and mostly

uninhabitable, the population being concentrated

in a narrow coastal belt, valleys and the

southwest corner of the country.

Iceland's population is around 313.000, 2/3 of them

live in the capital, Reykjavik, and surrounding areas.

Iceland is a progressive modern European society

with a high standard of living and a high level

of technology and education.

Iceland is an island 103,000 kmz in the middle of the

North Atlantic Ocean between Greenland & Europe.

Iceland is unique due to it's geothermal activities,

like volcanos and hot springs which

supply the country with electricity and hot water

for heating.

The old chain saw art

All of the art work is done with a regular chain saw.

I had a beautiful Indian head carved several years ago and

it was amazing watching the creation come to life.

They are carved from cedar.

PERU

Llama in the Andes

Willoq baby


Willoq community in the scared Valley,
Near Ollantaytambo outside of Cuzco, Peru



Brown Agouti on clay lick

Local name: Anuje

Tambopata rainforest



Incan Ruins, Machu Picchu

Flamingos in the Andes

Flamingos are found in the high Andean lakes of the Puna,

Mountain valleys.

Agricultural terraces and rice fields in a valley near

the Willoq community.

Capybora - The World's largest rodent

Capybora leaving the water with a bird on it's back...
Tambopatu Rain Forest

Monkey Frog

A large tree frog found in the rain forest of Peru

Hummingbird feeding on a Heliconia flower in the

Tambopata Rain Forest

Peru has the greatest bio-diversity in the world, thanks to the

presence of the of the Andes, Amazon and Pacific.

There are over 1,800 species of birds, hundreds of mammals

including rare cats like the jaguar and pumas, bears,

and river dolphins; the coast is rich in marine life and a great place

to see sea-lions and myriad seabirds.

Wild Life of the Amazon

Toucan

The tocan is found in the wild nowhere else in the world. it's huge beak,

which can be as long as 20 centimetres which

enables it to eat large fruit.

Macaws
They are members of the parrot family.


Piranha
The Amazon is home to the piranha, one of the world's

most terrifying fish. Up to 60 centimetres long,

piranhas hunt in shoals, or packs, and can kill cattle

or humans and strip the flesh from their bones

in a few minutes.

You wouldn't want one of these in your fish tank!





Jaguar
Weighing up to 90 kilograms and measuring up to 75 centimetres

at the shoulder. The Jaguar is the largest member

of the cat family outside Asia and Africa.






Giant Horned Frog

The rainforest atmosphere is so damp that a wide

variety of frogs can thrive without living close to rivers

or streams. The huge horned frog is found only in The Amazon forest .



Anaconda
An Anaconda at rest.

When it is hungry, it will uncoil itself

and lie still in the water with only its

eyes above the surface, waiting for prey.

Many stories are told about anacondas

attacking fishermen, but it is rare for

anacondas to attack humans unless

they are being directly assualted or

agitated.





The Amazon rainforest is the home of over 300 species of mammals,

thousands of freshwater fish, tens of thousands of trees

and nearly a hundred thousand other plant species.

Also there are so many species of insects that

experts agree they will not find them all!

Some say it is 20,000. Others say it is nearer to millions!

New species of wildlife are still being discovered!


For more information go to http://www.mbarron/net/amazon/wildlife.htm

Information compiled by Michael Barron

The Amazon rain forest is the largest tropical forest
on earth, covering about 2.7 million square miles,
or 90% the size of the 48 lower States of the U.S.