Geomorphological processes in Kuwait Essay Example for Free

Geomorphological processes in Kuwait Essay The basic question of geomorphology is â€Å"why do landscapes look the way they do? † As a study of landforms, geomorphology seeks to understand the history and dynamics of landforms development. The landforms change constantly due to physical and chemic interaction between the Earth’s surface and the environment, including influences by geological processes, climate, vegetation, atmospheric processes, erosion by sea waves. In recent years the activities of man took a place of one of the basic factors influencing geomorphology. In this paper some of the geomorphological processes shall be studied using an example of Kuwait. The final purpose of the paper is to gain general understanding of geomorphological processes taking place in Kuwait and thusly obtain knowledge about the nature of geomorphological processes as they are. First and foremost it is necessary to give a definition of geomorphological process and provide their classification in order to understand what should be considered to be a geomorphological process, and what should not. Rhodes Fabridge in his â€Å"Encyclopedia of Geomorphology† speaks of it as of a science of a scenery and describes geomorphological process as processes contributing to geomorphological changes. They are classified into: 1. Erosional processes, causing erosion of earth materials, including deflation, karst, piping and washing; 2. Fluvial processes caused by behavior of rivers, including braiding and channel processes; 3. Mass movement processes – a movement of surface materials due to gravity, including snow avalanches, slow mass movement and rapid mass movement ; Periglacial and deglacial processes are also part of natural geomorphological processes, but they shall not be described, because neither of them takes place in Kuwait. However, there is another important group of processes affecting geomorphology – processes caused by human activity. They can result from willful desire to change the landscape, such as drifting or dismantling hills, building dams and artificial islands and they can be accessory result of some other activity, which is often undesirable and harmful. After a brief overview of geomorphologhical processes, we shall now apply this knowledge to Kuwait. In terms of geomorphology the territory of Kuwait is a flat sandy desert gradually slopping to the sea, with the lowest point of zero above the sea level and the highest point of 306 above the sea level (the location is unnamed) . This landscape is broken by the ridge at Jal Al-Zor – a series of low hills and shallow depressions. The highest point of the ridge is 145 meters above the sea level. The ridge is cut into two by Umm Al-Ramam Wadi. The southern part of Kuwait is flat with exception of Ahmadi hill (137 m) . Eolian processes in Kuwait Eolian processes are those geomorphological processes, which are caused by wind, including some types of erosional processes. For a desert country the eolian processes are most natural. They can be observed throughout the desert, especially on the south of Kuwait, where winds and sandstorms form the so-called sabkhas – irregular closed lowland areas. Two different types of Sabkhas are recognized: costal sabkhas and inland sabkhas. The costal ones are situated mostly in the Al-Jailaiaha and Al-Khiran areas, being extended along a costal depression. Inland sabkhas are situated in the desert areas of Al-Maqwa, Urafjan, and Al-Gurain. On the Kuwait’s west both types of sabkhas are subjected to erosional changes after sandstorms when they may be entirely filled with sand and disappear, and new sabkhas may appear. Often sabkhas are movable and change their location after storms . Sabkhas in Kuwait are often surrounded by dunes – another geomorphological form created by eolian processes. Dunes appear when wind transports sand to a particular spot of the landscape, carving out sand from the sabkhas. By their nature dunes are depositional landforms up to 25 meters high. There exist two types of dunes in Kuwait – desert dunes and costal dunes. Desert dunes are in turn classified into: 1. Barchans crescent-shaped dunes enlonged in the wind-direction with points (wings) curved downwind creating a slip-face; 2. Barchanoid Ridges – several barchans tied together similarly to a mountain ridge; 3. Transverses – long irregular dunes that form right angles to wind direction and have long slip-face; 4. Parabolic dunes crescent-shaped dunes with long axis repeating a dominant wind direction 5. Star Dunes – a large mount of sand with several sinuously radiating ridges from a central peak of sand; 6. Dome – round or elliptic dune with no slip-faces. Coastal dunes are similar to desert ones, but they are formed by strong winds blowing from the sea, often covered with vegetation. The rocky ridges in the deserts of Kuwait are also subjected to another type of eolian processes, namely wind erosion. Winds blowing over the rocks create areas of desert pavements around them – places covered with fragments of rock left after the wind has blown away the fine particles. On the top those areas are covered with desert varnish exposing to the surface. By blowing away soft rock fragment wind forms deflation basins, or minor depressions on the rocky surface. Where the rocks consisted of soft formations with dikes composed of hard rocks the wind blows the soft rocks away leaving freakish sculptured landforms called yardangs . Yardangs are not numerous in Kuwait and exist mostly in a form of low irregular pillars or peaked low crests . Additionally, rocks are affected by temperature extremes, which can be pretty high – a temperature can change for up to 30o C in one day and up to 50o C within a year. Combined with rains such extremes gradually ruin even the firmest grounds. Coastal processes in Kuwait Kuwait is washed by waters of Persian Gulf. In the centre of the country it’s coast bends forming the Gulf of Kuwait, where the capital of the country lays. The The coast of Kuwait is divided into nine geomorphological potions, out of which four are lie along the northern muddy shoreline and five in the southern sandy area. The northern part includes large portions of bays, which are filled with water during high tides and for most of the time they are areas of muddy ground. They are limited by costal sabkhas or sandy drifts. Intertidal channels form sandbars near the waterlines . At the coast the geomorphologic processes are represented by a combination of wind and waves influences. Washing processes result lead to formation of low sandy barriers along coasts, which mark the breaker line. Those barriers are made of sand partials brought by waves and are additionally affected by wind. In the northern portion of Kuwait’s shores piping processes lead to washing away soft rocks and formation of intertidal channels, tying together the sea and large portions of bays, which are filled with water during high tides and being muddy ground of the timed . In contrast to this, due to a different character of grounds, the southern portion of Kuwait’s coat is known with steep sandy beaches, narrowed by wide rocky intertidal platforms, covered with sand and other sediments, washed ashore by waves. In many places those rocky surfaces are dissected by intertidal channels and shallow gulleys. The low water line is marked by numerous sandbars. Sometimes they are formed in berms by waves . Costal dunes are often covered with vegetation binding sand together and preventing dunes from distruction. Karst processes in Kuwait Depths of Kuwait are characterized by intensive karst processes. Limestone geological formations, especially in the places where they lay close to surface, collect water from rains and other sediments like dew and this water erodes limestone forming cavities and pore spaces filled with water. Such processes are vital for Kuwait’s economy, because the country depends on them for water. In 1960 a large aquifer has been discovered in the western portion of Ar Rawdatayn geological formation, which is now used for distilled water production, covering most of the country’s needs. On the south from the city of Kuwait another water field has been discovered in the top of the limestone of the Ash Shuaybah. The water here is salty, so it is used mostly for agricultural and commercial needs. . Unfortunately, the Gulf war caused notable harm to Kuwaiti water supplies in the limestone depths. Exploding almost 700 oil wells caused oil to spill over the desert and in the rocks creating lakes of oil, which were estimated to contain 15 times more oil, than it has been spilled to the Gulf. Large amounts of oil particles are still detected in the sandy and rocky soils of Kuwait . Another effect of the war was partial destruction of the shoreline by oily spots and burning oil. The vegetation in the coastal areas suffered greatly, and this resulted in ruination of costal dunes and sabkhas. Some of the intertidal channels, especially in the northern part of the country, were littered with oil partials and do not let water pass any longer, causing drying up of minor costal bays and lakes . Works cited: 1. Rhodes Whitmore Fairbridge. Encyclopedia of Geomorphology, New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1968 2. A. Al-Hurban , and I.Gharib, â€Å"Geomorphological and sedimentological characteristics of coastal and inland sabkhas, Southern Kuwait†, Journal of Arid Environments Volume 58, Issue 1, July 2004, Pages 59-85 3. Selby, M. J. Earths Changing Surface. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995 4. Mohamed I. El-Sayed and Dhia Al-Bakri, â€Å"Geomorphology and sedimentary/biosedimentary structures of the intertidal environment along the coast of Kuwait, north-western Arabian Gulf†. International Journal of Earth Sciences. Volume 83, Number 2 / July, 1994 5. Francesca Davis Dipiazza. Kuwait in Pictures, Twenty-First Century Books, 2006 6. J. Al-Sulaimi , M. N. Viswanathan and F. Szekely. â€Å"Effect of oil pollution on fresh groundwater in Kuwait†. Environmental Geology, Volume 22, Number 3 / November, 1993, p. -246-256 7. 2007 CIA WORLD FACTBOOK. Kuwait (CD-ROM), Progressive Management, 2006 8. Geomorphological processes. Published by Ministry of Environment of British Columbia. Available at: http://ilmbwww. gov. bc. ca/risc/pubs/teecolo/terclass/geo. htm#anchor800962 (October 19, 2007) 9. The Environment and the 1991 Persian Gulf War available at: http://countrystudies. us/saudi-arabia/17. htm (October 19, 2007)

The Transcontinental Railroad And Westward Expansion Essay example --

The Transcontinental Railroad and Westward Expansion Thesis: The transcontinental railroad greatly increased Westward expansion in the United States of America during the latter half of the nineteenth century. The history of the United States has been influenced by England in many ways. In the second half of the 1800's, the railroad, which was invented in England, had a major effect on Western expansion in the United States. "Railroads were born in England, a country with dense populations, short distances between cities, and large financial resources. In America there were different circumstances, a sparse population in a huge country, large stretches between cities, and only the smallest amounts of money." ("Railroad" 85) The first American railroads started in the 1830's from the Atlantic ports of Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Wilmington, Charleston, and Savannah (Douglas 23). Within twenty years, four rail lines had crossed the Alleghenies to reach their goal on `Western Waters' of the Great Lakes or the tributaries of the Mississippi. Meanwhile, other lines had started West of the Appalachian mountains, and by the mid-1850's Chicago, St. Louis, and Memphis were connected to the East. Still other lines were stretching Westward, beyond the Mississippi. An international route connected New England and Montreal and another one crossed Southern Ontario between Niagara, New York, and the Detroit River. During the 1850's, North and South routes were developed both East and West of the Alleghenies. It was not until after the Civil War, however, that a permanent railroad bridge was constructed across the Ohio River. After the Civil War, the pace of railroad building increased. The Pacific railroads, the Union Pacific building from Omaha, Nebraska, and the Central Pacific building from Sacramento, California, had started to build a transcontinental railroad during the war to help promote national unity. They were joined at Promontory, Utah, on May 10, 1869, completing the first rail connection across the continent. Before the transcontinental railroad, the Eastern railroads had lines running only as far West as Omaha, Nebraska. The Western railroads had a few lines running North and South in California, far West of the wall of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. In between these two networks was a huge gap of about seventeen hundred mi... ...ched by wagon, which would have discouraged many if not most of the settlers going to become farmers. Unlike the gold miners of the earlier years, the farmers did not dream of getting rich quickly. They wanted to be self-sufficient, and they felt that the land on the Prairie could help them do it. The railroad was an incredible catalyst in the population of the Mid-West and without it the area might still be sparsely populated. The transcontinental railroad proved it's worth and had a tremendous impact on westward expansion. "In less than thirty years after the Civil War, all across the `enormous gap' spanned by the railroad, the interior was being conquered and domesticated." (Cooke 240) Bibliography Cooke, Alistair. Alistair Cooke's America. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1977. Douglas, George H. All Aboard! The Railroad In American Life. New York: Paragon House, 1992. Horn, Huston. The Old West The Pioneers. New York: Time-Life Books, 1974. Merk, Frederick. History of the Westward Movement. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1978. "Railroad." Compton's Encyclopedia. 1990 edition. "United States of America." The New Encyclop‘dia Britannica. 1990 edition.

Is Friar Lawrence a Good Man, Evil Character or Simply a Misguided and Bumbling Individual?

Friar Lawrence plays a strong central character throughout the play, Romeo and Juliet. The Friar is linked to both the Capulet’s and the Montague’s through religion and the church. Friar Lawrence is presented as a â€Å"holy man† who is trusted and respected by the community because he is a priest. Friar Lawrence is an advisor and close friend to Romeo. This is apparent when Romeo addresses the Friar as â€Å"father† and Friar Lawrence addresses Romeo as his â€Å"son. † Romeo goes to Friar Lawrence for help and consolation, for example, when Romeo speaks about Juliet for the first time, Friar Lawrence speaks to him about Rosaline. This shows that their relationship is close as they seem to know a lot about each other and becomes more apparent throughout the play as he influences Romeo’s decisions. This shows the irresponsibility of the Friar as he has broken the stereotype of a regular Friar because he does not always seem to speak to Romeo as a Friar but more so as a friend. Romeo asks Friar Lawrence â€Å"that thou consent to marry us to-day. † Friar Lawrence thinks at first that Romeo is moving on too quickly from Rosaline and does not think he is doing the right thing. Young men’s love then lies not truly in their hearts, but in their eyes. † Friar Lawrence’s advice seems to be good because he believes that Romeo just says that he loves anyone or says it when he thinks he is in love until the next woman comes along. A Friar would not usually say that to anyone and this is showing that their relationship is unprofessional. Whilst Friars do advise people, this seems to have been unprofessional. Friar Lawrence quickly changes his attitude and decides to unite Romeo and Juliet in marriage. He believes that this will end the feud between their two families. For this alliance may so happy, to turn your households’ rancour to pure love. † Friar Lawrence’s first motive was to create peace for their families. Friar Lawrence at the same time could have also thought of uniting Romeo and Juliet to boost his own status in Verona. He could have wanted to portray himself in a more respectable light to show that he ended the vendetta between the Montague and Capulet families. In secret, Romeo and Juliet marry, without their parent’s permission. Friar Lawrence is seen as a figure that is a highly trustworthy character of great importance. By performing the marriage, he is keeping secrets from the two wealthiest and most powerful families in Verona, which would be seen as a sin for a Friar. In going ahead with the clandestine marriage, it shows that he can be devious and untrustworthy in order to protect himself as he does not want the blame if anything goes wrong. When Romeo killed Tybalt, his punishment was banishment and was ordered to Mantua. Romeo goes to Friar Lawrence for more guidance on what to do. â€Å"Go get thee to thy chamber, hence and comfort her. Friar Lawrence encourages Romeo to go to Juliet’s home and consummate their marriage, knowing that the differences between the families are now inconsolable. Friar Lawrence knew that if Romeo was to get caught at the Capulet’s home with Juliet, Romeo would have been killed and this demonstrates that he was willing to sacrifice Romeo’s life by sending him there in order to make sure that the marriage was not annulled. Friar Lawrence was ma king sure it happened so that the plan in his mind was going to work. He thinks he will still gain power and recognition so everyone is happy in the future. Friar Lawrence is shown as a good man as Romeo and Juliet are grateful for his help in making sure they spend their wedding night together. However, giving this advice to Romeo can also illustrate that he is a bumbling individual because he is putting Romeo’s life in danger. Friar Lawrence devised another plan for Juliet to help her escape from her father and the arranged marriage. â€Å"And if thou dar’st, I’ll give thee remedy. † Friar Lawrence plans on giving Juliet a drug that will make her sleep for 48 hours, but at the same time, make her seem dead. The Friar also tells her that he will write to Romeo to inform him of the new plan. Friar Lawrence’s egotistical attitude seems to have caused more grief than comfort. By suggesting that Juliet drinks the potion, he shows a more selfish side to his personality. I believe that the Friars intensions are still good at this point, however he could be trying to save himself from the situation as he may have doubts about the upcoming events, showing that there is a very unforgiving side to him. Friar Lawrence has to be devious in order to carry out the new idealistic plan. As a priest, he should not lie in any situation. Friar Lawrence asks â€Å"come, is the Bride ready to go to church? † to the Capulet family. He already knew full well that the wedding was not going to go ahead, however by saying this to the family, he is pretending that he knows nothing and gets prepared to bury Juliet. This shows how deceptive the Friar can be as he remains very composed throughout the day, which only reinforces his superiority and confidence amongst the community. As Juliet awakes from her planned long sleep, she asks Friar Lawrence â€Å"where is my Romeo? † He tells her he â€Å"lies dead. At this point, Friar Lawrence would have been very worried about his actions and he tries to cover up the lies to fix what happened. He asks Juliet to â€Å"come, I’ll dispose of thee, among a sisterhood of holy Nuns. † Friar Lawrence is afraid of his actions and of being exposed as a failure and liar. Proposing this to Juliet would have been the l ast desperate attempt to help him remain in a good light and not ruin his reputation for good. Friar Lawrence asked Juliet to become a Nun to forget about Romeo and start a new life, however, I believe that he only suggested this because he panicked and is afraid that the secrets will be unfolded. In Friar Lawrence proposing this, it shows he has a weak side to his personality as he is portrayed as a bumbling individual who shows concerns, only for himself. Friar Lawrence may have got involved in Romeo and Juliet’s plans so much that he found it hard to let go and thought he could keep helping. The Friar knew in his mind that it was wrong to help Romeo run away with his lover, (Juliet) however, because he was more than a priest to Romeo and Juliet, he knew they were in a desperate situation and did genuinely want to help. To conclude, Friar Lawrence was a good man. Friar Lawrence played a controlling role into being responsible for the marriage, all aspects of the plans, meetings/reunions and the potion. The Friars motive never intended for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet to occur as he did come across to be genuine to both families (Montague’s and Capulet’s) by wanting to end the feud. Each narrow minded plan was planned to allow, the loved up teenagers (Romeo and Juliet) to be happy together as they were hopeful that their families would be united by their love. Friar Lawrence started off being honourable to both Romeo and Juliet as he could tell they were both in love, however as their plans go off track, one by one, he had to abuse his trusted role more and more. Friar Lawrence’s plans were intelligent because he used his knowledge in medicines and flowers to provide the potion for Juliet. With his experience of herbs and remedies, it enabled him to carry out the potion plan and without him; Juliet would not have been able to fake her own death. Some people may feel that this was a cunning and calculative plan. It can e viewed that the plan was evil as well as the character of Friar Lawrence. In my opinion, l think that the Friar wanted to help and tried to rectify matters as they went wrong to the best of his abilities, he did not think clearly about the consequences of the plans of what potentially could have gone wrong and only thought about the positive outcomes. This could be because he never had the time to sit and think thoug h it, however l thought his plans were simple and effective. Friar Lawrence always wanted to â€Å"do the right thing† since his reputation was paramount to him. In contrast to being a good character, Friar Lawrence does show an evil side to him. His behavioural response when he finds Juliet in the tomb, for example, instead of remaining with her and preventing her death, he flees when he hears the sound of people coming. In his actions, it shows his fear of accepting responsibility and his selfishness. Although Friar Lawrence’s plans seemed achievable at the time, he was naive in his assessment of the feud between the Montague and Capulet households and he hadn’t reflected fully on the implications of Romeo and Juliet’s secret and concealed marriage.

Religions Around The World Today - 1158 Words

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