12 Amazing Endangered Sights

7/30/2019 12 Amazing Endangered Sights

1/13

Here's a tip for explorers who may chance upon little-known natural wonders or underrated man-made

marvels: keep schtum. It's no coincidence some of the world's best-known tourist attractions are under

threat. Aside from being ancient, the sheer amount of footfall coupled with natural disasters is causing

no end of erosion and degradation. So, should you visit these sights before they disappear or should

you do the selfless thing and stay away? Only you can decide that, but first, take a look at the

attractions that made our at-risk list.

12 Amazing Endangered Sights12 Amazing Endangered Sights

12 of the world's greatest tourist sights in danger of destruction - and this might just be your last encounter.

Getty


2/13

Apart from perhaps the oldest tree in the world (it's a conifer in Sweden, incidentally) surely the most

important tree on Earth is Isaac Newton's apple tree at Woolsthorpe Manor, Lincolnshire. The story goes

that as he was sitting under it in 1665, an apple fell to the ground, inspiring him to come up with the

concept of gravity.

It's so popular, however, that visitor numbers have risen 50% over three years; the increase in tourists

means that the hardy tree (which survived being blown down in 1820 by re-rooting itself) could bedamaged. Footfall has begun to compact the soil around the roots, so the National Trust has erected a

two-foot-tall willow fence around the tree to prevent any harm to it.

Newton's apple tree, UK NTPL_Nick Meer_www.nationaltrust.org.uk

12 Amazing Endangered Sights


3/13

Pompeii, a partially buried Roman town near Naples, was covered in ash from a two-day eruption

from Mount Vesuvius in AD79. It lay undiscovered for more than 1,700 years before it was

accidentally found in 1749. Since then it has become Italy's number one tourist attraction, and visitors

flock to see the remarkably preserved details of Roman life.

The footfall has its downsides though - the site suffers from erosion, paintings have been damaged by

exposure to the light, and theft and vandalism have also taken their toll. Inappropriate excavation andrestoration methods haven't helped, so if you want to see this "frozen" snapshot in time, go as soon

as you can.

Pompeii, Italy

Martin Moos_LP



4/13

This mysterious prehistoric site excites like no other in the whole of Britain. How, in 2150BC, did these

'builders' move giant stones from the Preseli mountains in south-west Wales to the site 240 miles away?

Theories abound but there's no denying it's a place of deep spiritual significance - it was used as a burial

ground from its earliest beginnings. In 1977 the stones were roped off to prevent visitors from entering

the circle and touching them. This triggered battles between hippies, druids and wizards, and the police in

the 1980s. Now there's a visitor centre that many think ruins the aesthetic of the place, but at least it has

helped preserve this ancient site.

Stonehenge, UK

Chris Ison_PA



5/13

In 2007 Unesco added the Galapagos Islands - the unique habitats that inspired Charles Darwin to create his

theory of evolution by natural selection - to its World Heritage Sites in Danger list, but in 2010 they were

removed from the list because of progress made by the Ecuadorian government in terms of their protection.

That said, the islands and surrounding ocean areas are under threat from a variety of sources including non-

endemic species brought to the islands by tourists/visitors either intentionally or otherwise, a growing poultry

industry on the inhabited islands, and illegal fishing activity and poaching. Visitor numbers are tightly controlled

but the delicate balance between generating tourist income and protecting the flora and fauna of the islands is

becoming increasingly hard to maintain.

The Galapagos Islands, Ecuador

Wes Walker_LP



6/13

This huge, impressive structure, which snakes across the landscape for 8,852 kilometres, is made up of

sections of wall, trenches and natural defensive barriers such as hills and rivers. It was built to protect the

northern borders of the Chinese empire from attacks by warmongering nomadic groups. Much of the

original wall has been eroded, so these days it's really a collection of walls and barriers that have beenbuilt or rebuilt through the ages. Some sections have been extensively restored for visiting tourists but

there are plenty of sections that have fallen into disrepair.

Great Wall of China, China

Bu xiangdong



7/13

Teotihuacn, located 30 miles north-east of Mexico City, means "place where gods were born" - the Aztecs

believed the universe was created on this site. It is a stunning temple complex, one of the most important

in the world, but over the years it has suffered from a combination of commercialism and tourist numbers.

A temple of consumerism (a Walmart store) was built close to the site in 2004, triggering howls of outrage.

Designated a Unesco World Heritage Site in 1987, the city, built in about AD300, is laid out geometrically

and includes the Temple of Quetzalcoatl, the Pyramid of the Sun (the third-largest pyramid in the world)and the Pyramid of the Moon.

Teotihuacn, Mexico

Eduardo Verdugo_PA



8/13

The ultimate challenge for adventurers, Mount Everest has gone from being a peak accessible to only the

most fearless of mountaineers to one scaled by anyone with enough money, a little climbing experience

and decent fitness levels.

The mountain's base camp used to be little better than a rubbish tip - a dumping ground for litter and old

oxygen bottles, but cleaning initiatives have improved the environment there in recent years. Aside from

human impacts, the planet's rising temperatures are making it harder to climb, by exposing more rock andcrevasses, and by triggering more flash floods from melting glaciers.

Mount Everest, Nepal

Hiroyuki Kuraoka_PA



9/13

Angkor Wat is the world's largest religious building. Built for King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century

as his state temple and capital city, it was dedicated first to Hinduism and later to Buddhism. The site is

considered so important to Cambodians that an image of it appears on their national flag, and it's the

number one tourist attraction in the country.

Luckily, the site sustained relatively little damage during the country's civil war when the Khmer Rouge was

in charge during the 1970s and 1980s, and it is now on Unesco's World Heritage List. But although thesedays tourists provide essential income for upkeep and restoration work, they also contribute to the

degradation and erosion of the site.

Angkor Wat, Cambodia

Eugene Hoshiko_PA



10/13

Unesco has recently considered putting Machu Picchu on its World Heritage Sites in Danger list. It's a

fragile ruin and you can wander around it unsupervised - thousands do so every year, eroding the stones

and the site itself. This Inca city, situated 2,430 metres above sea level, perches on a mountain ridge above

the Urubamba Valley in Peru, and most archaeologists think it was built as an estate for the Inca emperor

Pachacuti (1438-1472). It was US historian Hiram Bingham, who brought it to the attention of the wider

world by 'discovering' it in 1911. Conservation measures are in place but unless they are maintained, it is indanger of being irreparably damaged.

Machu Picchu, Peru

Martin MejiaPA



11/13

Classified as one of the Seven Wonders of the World, this exquisite mausoleum located in Agra, India, is

considered the world's finest example of Mughal architecture. Construction started in the early 1630s and

was completed in 1653. Made from white marble inlaid with semi-precious stones, it was built by Shah

Jahan, emperor of the Mughal empire, as a symbol of eternal love in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz

Mahal, who died during the birth of their 14th child.

Despite anti-pollution measures - implemented in 1998 when the white marble started turning yellow - arecent report found that nitrogen oxide levels were higher than those of 12 years ago. Visit now before the

marble's brilliance is dulled by pollution.

Taj Mahal, India

Rajesh Kumar Singh_PA



12/13

The Maasai Mara National Reserve is the scene of one of the great spectacles of nature - the so-called

Great Migration, when zebra, Thomson's gazelle, and wildebeest move from the Serengeti every year from

July to October. Named after the Maasai people, who still live there, this vast expanse of African bush is

under threat from human settlements and development.

Wildlife is declining - a 2009 WWF-funded study found that between 1989 and 2003 giraffe numbers fell by95%, warthogs 80% and impala 67%. There are also concerns that a proposed new national transit road for

northern Tanzania would cut across the migration route, and lead to a crash in the ecosystem.

Maasai Mara, Kenya

Dennis Jones_LP



13/13

"The risk of introduced diseases to Antarctic wildlife grows as the number of visitors to the region increases

and, as bases and stations expand, so too do their footprints," said Peter Garett, the then-Australian

minister for Environment Protection, Heritage and the Arts in May 2010.

Its beauty is unique, but this remote wilderness and backdrop to the endeavours of Scott, Amundsen and

Shackleton, who were all trying to be the first men to reach the south pole, is under threat as tourist

numbers increase - up from 12,000 in 2001 to about 37,000 in 2009/2010. Further woe ensues: research

by the US Geological Survey indicates that rising global temperatures are causing the ice cover to melt.

Antarctica

LP


Date post:	14-Apr-2018
Category:	Documents
Upload:	ltmtan
View:	215 times
Download:	0 times

12 Amazing Endangered Sights

Documents