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WONDERS OF NATURE
Lesser Sunda Islands. Nature miracle
To the east of the Indonesian island of Java stretches a chain of a dozen large and a good hundred small islands and islets, bearing the common name: Lesser Sunda. Decorated with the cones of volcanoes and wrapped in green fur coats of humid equatorial forests, they hide in their mountains, gorges and impenetrable thickets a whole bunch of amazing natural phenomena.
First of all, this applies to the phenomena of living nature. In the forests of these islands, however, as well as on the neighboring large Sunda Islands, you can find a unique plant Rafflesia Arnoldi - the largest flower in the world. Its diameter reaches one meter, and its weight is more than 10 kilograms! Rafflesia does not have its own roots, stem and leaves - it grows on the stems of tropical vines and feeds on their juices. When its tiny, smaller than a poppy seed falls into a crack in the bark of the plant that will feed the "parasite", it quickly germinates and forms a huge bud, like a cabbage head. At the right time, the bud opens and a giant flower of five crimson petals, strewn with white growths that look like warts, appears. A luxurious flower exudes a disgusting smell of rotten meat, attracting flies that stick around it like a piece of carrion, and do the main thing for which Rafflesia lured them - pollinate it. Four days pass, and the flower withers, after which a large fruit filled with seeds develops and ripens within seven months. A flower usually grows on paths trodden in the jungle by elephants, and these giants of the animal world, stepping on ripened fruits, imperceptibly contribute to the spread of the giants of the world of flowering plants to new places. Rafflesia was discovered in 1818 by the French botanist Joseph Arnoldi during an expedition to the island of Sumatra, led by the English colonial official Thomas Raffles. Raffles, known in history for the fact that it was he who once founded the main outpost of Britain in the South Seas - Singapore, collected during this trip a huge collection of Indonesian plants, which he managed to safely deliver to London. Arnoldy was less fortunate - he contracted tropical malaria in the jungle and died half a month after his remarkable discovery. The miracle of the plant world brought by Raffles to Europe now rightfully bears the names of both researchers - Rafflesia Arnoldi. Grows in the Lesser Sunda Islands and an unusual "candy tree" - sweet hovenia. This tree, similar to our linden, sometimes reaches a height of fifteen meters. Hovenia fruits - nondescript dry balls - are inedible, but their thick fleshy stalks contain up to 50 percent sucrose and resemble raisins soaked in rum with their taste. Local residents, especially children, are happy to shake the trunks of hovens, then collecting whole kilograms of fallen “candies”. From one tree, you can sometimes get up to 35 kilograms of sweet natural delicacy. Another amazing plant of the Sunda archipelago - the royal primrose - prefers to settle on the slopes of active volcanoes. The "Flower of Wrath" is what the Indonesians call it. And indeed, the lush flowering of primrose, as a rule, portends an imminent volcanic eruption. As soon as it blooms, the inhabitants of the villages located near the volcano expect "the wrath of the underground gods." And never once has a royal primrose raised a false alarm. And the fruits of the keppel tree growing on the islands are so fragrant that even the sweat of a person who has eaten them begins to smell fragrant with the aroma of violets! But the main miracle of wildlife awaits us on Komodo Island. The name of this island is known to all zoologists of the world. Back in 1911, the Dutch pilot Hendik van Bosse lived for almost a year on Komodo, having had an accident on his plane. Once in the position of Robinson, the Dutchman did not lose heart - after all, he had a pistol with a supply of cartridges, a knife, matches and a compass, and being in such a mess was not new to him. It would seem that the bamboo thickets and groves of coconut palms that covered the island should have provided the pilot with food in abundance, especially since deer, wild boars, monkeys, and various edible birds were found in them. So the forced "robinsonade" in anticipation of rescue on any passing ship did not promise to be particularly difficult. But what was the amazement and horror that engulfed van Bosse when he discovered that in addition to the animals and birds familiar to him, monstrous lizards live on Komodo, as if descended from the pages of a paleontology textbook! Huge reptiles noiselessly appearing from the thickets under the cover of the darkness of the night resembled the characters of a terrible fairy tale and, with the light hand of the Dutchman, they received the well-deserved name of the "dragons of Komodo Island" Living next to them, even if having a firearm, turned out to be impossible even for a fearless pilot he eventually built a makeshift raft and, after a difficult and dangerous 57-day voyage, reached the neighboring island of Timor. His story so impressed scientists (and not only scientists!), that a scientific expedition was sent to Komolo Island, which confirmed van Bosse's message. Since then, a good dozen "scientific landings" have already been on the island, describing in detail the last living relative of dinosaurs. The giant Komodo monitor lizard (this is the scientific name of the dragon) reaches a length of three and a half meters and a weight of 150 kilograms. Deer, wild boars and even crocodiles serve as food for him. The monitor lizard does not refuse small rodents, as well as bird eggs. The powerful jaws of a predator, armed with four-centimeter teeth, allow it to easily cope with its victims, which it first knocks down with a blow from a powerful tail. The dragon's appetite is quite consistent with its formidable nickname. Scientists recorded a case when four monitor lizards ate a whole large deer in one evening. Once, in the stomach of a killed lizard, they found half a wild boar carcass swallowed whole! But after a hearty meal, the monitor lizard can go without food for up to three months. Young Komodo monitor lizards hatch from eggs slightly larger than goose eggs and live up to 50-60 years. They, like many nocturnal animals, have poor eyesight, but an excellent sense of smell. Dragons swim well, although they hunt mainly on land. They live in deep burrows, which they dig with their mighty clawed paws. In total, there are about 5000 monitor lizards on Komodo, but due to the abundance of game in the Komodo forests, they practically do not cause trouble to the inhabitants of the only small settlement on the island. Inanimate nature, as if not wanting to be left behind, also presents us with many surprises on the islands. Let's talk about just one of them - the amazing multi-colored lakes of Keli Mutu, hidden on the island of Flores. This island struck the Spanish sailors who once saw it with the lush flowering of tropical plants in coastal thickets. The Spaniards called it "Isla de Flores" - the island of Flowers. The island of Flores bears this name even now. In the eastern part of Flores rises almost two kilometers flat, similar to a loaf of bread, the mighty peak of the shield volcano Keli Lepembusu. Three times over the past centuries, its major eruptions have occurred, and each time, as a result of the outpouring of a huge volume of liquid lava, the crater of the volcano fell into the void formed under it, creating a depression-caldera. The three volcanic calderas at the top of the Keli Lepembusu shield filled with rain to form the Keli Mutu Lakes, each with a distinct color of water. The first - Tivoye Ata Polo ("Lake of Enchanted People") - is purple-red, the second - Tivoye Noea Moeri Koo Fai ("Lake of Young Men and Maidens") - is distinguished by dark green water, and the third - Tivoye Ata Mboepoe - is filled with tender and clear malachite green water. At the same time, the lakes are located literally nearby - the lava bridges separating them do not exceed a width of ten to fifteen meters. How could such multi-colored reservoirs be formed so close to each other? And how could water acquire such unusual colors? The fact is that the rocks that form the bottom and banks of the Tivoe Ata Polo have a very high iron content. Dissolving in the waters of the lake, it then reacts with atmospheric oxygen and forms iron oxide, which has a red-brown color. The lava that formed the basins of the other two lakes has a different composition (this is often the case with volcanoes: at different periods of their life they pour out magma of different composition). In addition, at the bottom of both of these lakes there are solfataras (this is how volcanologists call the outlets of volcanic gases containing hydrogen sulfide and hydrogen chloride). Hydrogen sulfide emitted by solfataras, combining with oxygen, turns into sulfuric acid in the waters of lakes, a solution of hydrogen chloride in water is nothing more than hydrochloric acid. The high content of free acids is what gives the waters of Tivoe Ata Mboepoe and Tivoe Noea Moeri Koo Fay a green color. As a result of the action of acids on these lavas, the water of the lakes acquired a different mineral composition, which was also reflected in its color. The one-of-a-kind spectacle that opens up to the eye of a traveler who has climbed to the top of the volcano could not help but amaze the locals. And it is no coincidence that a poetic fairy tale is composed on the island, explaining the origin of the three multi-colored lakes in the Keli Mutu caldera in a completely different way, as geologists say. Once, a long time ago, it says, three mighty and terrible dragons flew to Flores from a distant island: Jade, Ruby and Emerald. They sat down on the top of the volcano and started talking. Evil monsters roared menacingly, and their roar carried a menacing rumble far across the neighborhood. The jade dragon roared, "I hate humans! At night, I will descend into the valley and destroy everyone I can overtake." Ruby hissed: "And I will kill all their cattle: and buffaloes, and goats, and even dogs." And the Emerald laughed: "And I will destroy all their crops with fire so that not a single grain of rice remains in their fields. Then surely no one on the island will remain alive!" But then there was a whistle of mighty wings, and a huge diamond bird landed on the top next to the dragons. Dragons rushed at the bird, and a great battle began. A roar and a roar resounded the island, huge pieces of rocks rolled down with a roar from the top. For three days and three nights the brave bird fought with the dragons and defeated them. Then it threw their corpses into the crater of the volcano, rose into the air and turned into a white cloud. Rain poured from the cloud, and three lakes with multi-colored water formed in the crater: in one - dull dark green, like jade, in the other - blood red, like a ruby, and in the third - transparent emerald. So the inhabitants of Flores were saved from the evil dragons. And the diamond bird still flies to the island. Every year it envelops the top of the volcano with a white cloud, and then the rainy season begins. And people rejoice at the return of a wonderful bird, and the rice fields are irrigated with fertile moisture ... " Caldera lakes, in principle, are not such a rare occurrence. They are also found in Kamchatka (for example, Kurile Lake in the south of the peninsula), and in New Zealand, and in the American Cordillera, and in other volcanic regions of the world. There are many lakes among them, which are distinguished by a special color of water. So, on the island of Kunashir in the southern part of the Kuril ridge there is a lake of milky white color. In addition, the water in it is always in a boiling state. However, this liquid can only be called water by conditionally hot volcanic gases rising through cracks in the bottom of the lake, turning it into a mixture of concentrated sulfuric and hydrochloric acids. They also heat the lake water to a boil. There is a lake with white water on the island of Java. And in Lake Kankaiji in Japan, the water is red. There are also blue, green and yellow lakes. But only the lakes of Keli Mutu are distinguished by such an unusual color scheme, which makes them a unique phenomenon even in Indonesia, which is so rich in manifestations of volcanism. (There are one hundred and thirty volcanoes in this country, of which more than fifty are active.) And the distant island of Flores, lost in the south of the Malay Archipelago, can rightly be considered the seat of one of the amazing natural phenomena - the three-colored lake necklace of Keli Mugu. Author: B.Wagner
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