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Have a
passion and love for pricey cars? You're hardly alone. American actress
Alexandra Paul once famously said, "the cars we drive say a lot about
us." Snap CEO Evan Spiegel once said, "cars bring me sheer joy."
Brazilian politician Jaimie Lerner exclaimed that "a car is like a
mother-in-law. If you let it, it will rule your life." With that in
mind, here's a look at some of the most expensive and beautiful cars
ever sold at auction.
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Nishinoshima Volcanic Acitivity | South of Tokyo,
Japan
Nishinoshima is a volcanic island located 940 km (584 mi) south of
Tokyo, Japan. Starting in November 2013, the volcano began to erupt and
continued to do so until August 2015. Over the course of the eruption,
the area of the island grew in size from 0.06 sq km (0.02 sq mi) to 2.3
sq km (0.89 sq mi). |
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The Empty Quarter | Saudi Arabia (shown)
Rub’ al Khali, or The Empty Quarter, is the largest sand desert in the
world. It covers 650,000 sq km (251,000 sq mi), and includes parts of
Saudi Arabia, Oman, Yemen, and the United Arab Emirates. In the centre
of the desert there are a number of raised, hardened formations that
were once the sites of shallow lakes, thousands of years ago. For a
sense of scale, this Overview shows approximately 350 sq km (135 sq mi)
in Saudi Arabia, near the border with Oman. |
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Tulips | Lisse, Netherlands
Every year, tulip fields in Lisse, Netherlands begin to bloom in March
and are in peak bloom by late April. The Dutch produce a total of 4.3
billion tulip bulbs each year, of which 53% (2.3 billion) is grown into
cut flowers. Of these, 1.3 billion are sold in the Netherlands as cut
flowers and the remainder is exported: 630 million bulbs to Europe and
370 million elsewhere. |
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Eixample | Barcelona, Spain
The Eixample District in Barcelona, Spain is characterized by its strict
grid pattern and apartments with communal courtyards. This thoughtful
and visionary design was the work of Ildefons Cerdà (1815–1876). His
plan features broad streets that widen at octagonal intersections to
create greater visibility with increased sunlight, better ventilation,
and more space for short-term parking. |
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Angkor Wat | Cambodia
Angkor Wat, a temple complex in Cambodia, is the largest religious
monument in the world (first it was Hindu, then Buddhist). Constructed
in the twelfth century, the 820,000 sq m (8.8 million sq ft) site
features a moat and forest that harmoniously surround a massive temple
at its centre.
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Olives | Córdoba, Spain
Olive tree groves cover the hills of Córdoba, Spain. Approximately 90%
of all harvested olives are turned into oil; the remaining 10% are eaten
as table olives. With rising temperatures and phenomenal weather
variations in growing regions, olive groves on high hills or slopes will
probably suffer less, but groves located on low altitude areas or plains
could become totally unproductive.
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Gemasolar Thermosolar Plant | Seville, Spain
This Overview captures the Gemasolar Thermosolar Plant in Seville,
Spain. The solar concentrator contains 2,650 heliostat mirrors that
focus the sun’s thermal energy to heat molten salt flowing through a
140-m-tall (460-ft) central tower. The molten salt then circulates from
the tower to a storage tank, where it is used to produce steam and
generate electricity. In total, the facility displaces approximately
30,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions every year.
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Dadaab Refugee Camp | Northern Kenya
Hagadera, seen here on the right, is the largest section of the Dadaab
Refugee Camp in Northern Kenya and is home to 100,000 refugees. To cope
with the growing number of displaced Somalis arriving at Dadaab, the UN
has begun moving people into a new area called the LFO extension, seen
here on the left. Dadaab is the largest refugee camp in the world with
an estimated total population of 400,000.
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