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IMAGE CORNER => Nature / Scenic Beauty => Topic started by: Rhea Thomas on May 08, 2009, 06:56:17 AM



Title: Socotra Island is The Most Bizzare Place on Earth
Post by: Rhea Thomas on May 08, 2009, 06:56:17 AM
Socotra is a small Yemeni archipelago of four islands and islets in the
Indian Ocean off the coast of the Horn of Africa, about 350 kilometers south of
the Arabian peninsula. Socotra is one of the most isolated landforms on Earth of
continental origin. The archipelago features narrow coastal plains, a limestone
plateau with caves, and mountains which rise to 1,525 meters above sea level

(http://i328.photobucket.com/albums/l336/glamgalz/funzug/imgs/travel/socotra_island_01.jpg)


Title: Re: Socotra Island is The Most Bizzare Place on Earth
Post by: Rhea Thomas on May 08, 2009, 06:56:49 AM
Like the Galapagos Islands, this island is teeming with 700 extremely rare
species of flora and fauna, a full 1/3 of which are endemic, i.e. found nowhere
else on Earth.

(http://i328.photobucket.com/albums/l336/glamgalz/funzug/imgs/travel/socotra_island_02.jpg)


Title: Re: Socotra Island is The Most Bizzare Place on Earth
Post by: Rhea Thomas on May 08, 2009, 06:57:08 AM
Socotra is home to more than 800 species of plants, some 240 of which are
endemic to the island, and there are certainly many more plant species that have
yet to be discovered. The climate is harsh, hot and dry, and yet - the most
amazing plant life thrives there.

(http://i328.photobucket.com/albums/l336/glamgalz/funzug/imgs/travel/socotra_island_03.jpg)


Title: Re: Socotra Island is The Most Bizzare Place on Earth
Post by: Rhea Thomas on May 08, 2009, 06:58:37 AM
(http://i328.photobucket.com/albums/l336/glamgalz/funzug/imgs/travel/socotra_island_04.jpg)


Title: Re: Socotra Island is The Most Bizzare Place on Earth
Post by: Rhea Thomas on May 08, 2009, 06:58:47 AM
(http://i328.photobucket.com/albums/l336/glamgalz/funzug/imgs/travel/socotra_island_05.jpg)


Title: Re: Socotra Island is The Most Bizzare Place on Earth
Post by: Rhea Thomas on May 08, 2009, 06:59:02 AM
(http://i328.photobucket.com/albums/l336/glamgalz/funzug/imgs/travel/socotra_island_06.jpg)


Title: Re: Socotra Island is The Most Bizzare Place on Earth
Post by: Rhea Thomas on May 08, 2009, 06:59:12 AM
(http://i328.photobucket.com/albums/l336/glamgalz/funzug/imgs/travel/socotra_island_07.jpg)


Title: Re: Socotra Island is The Most Bizzare Place on Earth
Post by: Rhea Thomas on May 08, 2009, 06:59:30 AM
A Dragon’s Blood Tree (Dracaena cinnabari) is seen in front of the Skund
mountains on the island of Socotra, Yemen. The tree is so named because any
injury to the bark results in a deep red liquid excreting from the scar –
compared in the past to the "Blood of Dragons".

(http://i328.photobucket.com/albums/l336/glamgalz/funzug/imgs/travel/socotra_island_08.jpg)


Title: Re: Socotra Island is The Most Bizzare Place on Earth
Post by: Rhea Thomas on May 08, 2009, 06:59:46 AM
The branches spread out into the sky and from below appear to hover over the
landscape like so many flying saucers... and from above they have a distinct
mushroom look.

(http://i328.photobucket.com/albums/l336/glamgalz/funzug/imgs/travel/socotra_island_09.jpg)


Title: Re: Socotra Island is The Most Bizzare Place on Earth
Post by: Rhea Thomas on May 08, 2009, 07:00:01 AM
(http://i328.photobucket.com/albums/l336/glamgalz/funzug/imgs/travel/socotra_island_10.jpg)


Title: Re: Socotra Island is The Most Bizzare Place on Earth
Post by: Rhea Thomas on May 08, 2009, 07:00:16 AM
(http://i328.photobucket.com/albums/l336/glamgalz/funzug/imgs/travel/socotra_island_11.jpg)


Title: Re: Socotra Island is The Most Bizzare Place on Earth
Post by: Rhea Thomas on May 08, 2009, 07:00:30 AM
There is also the Desert Rose (adenium obesium) which looks like nothing so much
as a blooming elephant leg.

(http://i328.photobucket.com/albums/l336/glamgalz/funzug/imgs/travel/socotra_island_12.jpg)


Title: Re: Socotra Island is The Most Bizzare Place on Earth
Post by: Rhea Thomas on May 08, 2009, 07:00:47 AM
(http://i328.photobucket.com/albums/l336/glamgalz/funzug/imgs/travel/socotra_island_13.jpg)


Title: Re: Socotra Island is The Most Bizzare Place on Earth
Post by: Rhea Thomas on May 08, 2009, 07:00:59 AM
A Socotran Fig Tree (Dorstenia gigas) with a bizare swollen trunk that almost
has human proportions grows against a limestone rock face on the island of
Socotra. The plants are one of over 300 plant species endemic to the island.

(http://i328.photobucket.com/albums/l336/glamgalz/funzug/imgs/travel/socotra_island_14.jpg)


Title: Re: Socotra Island is The Most Bizzare Place on Earth
Post by: Rhea Thomas on May 08, 2009, 07:01:11 AM
(http://i328.photobucket.com/albums/l336/glamgalz/funzug/imgs/travel/socotra_island_15.jpg)


Title: Re: Socotra Island is The Most Bizzare Place on Earth
Post by: Rhea Thomas on May 08, 2009, 07:01:22 AM
(http://i328.photobucket.com/albums/l336/glamgalz/funzug/imgs/travel/socotra_island_16.jpg)


Title: Re: Socotra Island is The Most Bizzare Place on Earth
Post by: Rhea Thomas on May 08, 2009, 07:01:37 AM
(http://i328.photobucket.com/albums/l336/glamgalz/funzug/imgs/travel/socotra_island_17.jpg)


Title: Re: Socotra Island is The Most Bizzare Place on Earth
Post by: Rhea Thomas on May 08, 2009, 07:01:51 AM
(http://i328.photobucket.com/albums/l336/glamgalz/funzug/imgs/travel/socotra_island_18.jpg)


Title: Re: Socotra Island is The Most Bizzare Place on Earth
Post by: Rhea Thomas on May 08, 2009, 07:02:02 AM
(http://i328.photobucket.com/albums/l336/glamgalz/funzug/imgs/travel/socotra_island_19.jpg)


Title: Re: Socotra Island is The Most Bizzare Place on Earth
Post by: Rhea Thomas on May 08, 2009, 07:02:14 AM
(http://i328.photobucket.com/albums/l336/glamgalz/funzug/imgs/travel/socotra_island_20.jpg)


Title: Re: Socotra Island is The Most Bizzare Place on Earth
Post by: Rhea Thomas on May 08, 2009, 07:02:31 AM
(http://i328.photobucket.com/albums/l336/glamgalz/funzug/imgs/travel/socotra_island_21.jpg)


Title: Re: Socotra Island is The Most Bizzare Place on Earth
Post by: Rhea Thomas on May 08, 2009, 07:02:41 AM
(http://i328.photobucket.com/albums/l336/glamgalz/funzug/imgs/travel/socotra_island_24.jpg)


Title: Re: Socotra Island is The Most Bizzare Place on Earth
Post by: Rhea Thomas on May 08, 2009, 07:02:54 AM
(http://i328.photobucket.com/albums/l336/glamgalz/funzug/imgs/travel/socotra_island_22.jpg)


Title: Re: Socotra Island is The Most Bizzare Place on Earth
Post by: Rhea Thomas on May 08, 2009, 07:03:05 AM
(http://i328.photobucket.com/albums/l336/glamgalz/funzug/imgs/travel/socotra_island_23.jpg)