Halong bay. Nature miracle

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Halong bay. Nature miracle

Wonders of nature

In the film "Avatar" by American director James Cameron, one of the scenes of the film takes place among the Flying Rocks. Huge blocks of stone hang in space without any support, forming something like an archipelago in the air. Cameron and his colleagues created the imaginary world of the planet Pandora very carefully, working out the smallest details. They tried to make the world they invented live a natural life according to their own, well-defined laws. However, a rock hanging in the air is a complete fantasy? Not quite so, the physicist will answer.

Halong Bay

Scientists know the so-called Meissner effect. It is based on the phenomenon of superconductivity, which occurs at very low temperatures. The magnetic field does not penetrate the superconductor. Therefore, if a magnet is placed on the surface of a flat superconductor, it will hang in the air. Such a phenomenon in physics is called the "coffin of Mohammed". According to legend, the coffin with the body of the great prophet hung in space without any support. Therefore, if the rock has the properties of a huge magnet, and the plateau under it is a superconductor, then, in principle, it can hang in the air.

Such a long preface was needed only to inform: on our planet, floating rocks do exist in reality. Of course, they do not hang in the air without support, but that is the impression they make. We are talking about sea coastal rocks in some regions of Southeast Asia. The most famous of these places is Halong Bay in the Gulf of Tonkin. Its waters wash the coast of Vietnam on one side and the Chinese island of Hainan on the other.

Translated from Vietnamese, Halong means "descended dragons". An old legend tells: when the Mongolian fleet moved to the shores of Vietnam in the old days, a family of giant reptiles descended from the mountains to help people. Their bodies were covered with huge scales and tires sticking out to the sides. Waiting for the enemy, the dragons lay down in the bay, partially submerged in the water, and so they froze forever. A fairy tale, of course, however, when you look at a map of Halong Bay, a scattering of numerous islands really resembles reared and submerged scales. This is not surprising. The area of the Gulf of Tonkin exceeds one and a half thousand square kilometers. Almost two thousand islands are located here, more precisely - 1969. About a thousand of them have names. The rest are small and nameless. The islands in the bay form a real labyrinth. Only local fishermen, and even then only the most experienced, can reliably navigate it.

By the way, the story of the Mongol threat is not a legend. In the XNUMXth century, Mongolian troops invaded Vietnam three times. At that distant time, sharp bamboo stakes were kept in one of the many grottoes of the bay. The Vietnamese commanders wanted to drive them into the mouth of the Batdang rock, so as not to allow the Mongolian ships to go upstream. This cave is now called the Pillar Grotto and is shown to tourists.

There are many similar grottoes and caves in the bay. They are located at the base of rocks sticking out of the water. Some of them are shaped like giant baseball bats upright, never losing their balance. Others resemble cockscombs in outline. Still others make you think of a giant crocodile sticking its nostrils and part of its head out of the water. The names of some islands directly indicate their shape - "Head of a Man", "Two Roosters", "Turtle", "Dog", "Elephant", "Incense Burner", "Kissing Rocks *". One of the islands is named after our compatriot - cosmonaut Herman Titov When he visited Vietnam in 1962, the then leader of the country, Ho Chi Minh, renamed the island of Cat Nang in his honor.

In general, the islands of Halong Bay resemble a fantastic installation. Nature has been creating it over the past 250 million years. Most are made of fairly soft limestone, so that the wind and water had something to work on.

The bay is full of life from sunrise to sunset. Fishing boats scurry about, wooden ships move slowly, motor boats rush. Gradually, Halong Bay becomes famous. This unique place is recognized as an object of world natural and cultural heritage. All visitors are told the legend of dragons descending from the mountains. At the same time, they add that a huge creature was sometimes noticed in the waters of the bay. The Vietnamese call it "tarasque". For a fee, you can rent a boat and look for this monster in the labyrinth of the straits. You will hardly find it, but the impressions of such a sea trip will remain for a long time.

Author: Afonkin S.Yu.

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