Showing posts with label South Africa. Show all posts
The Big Hole,
Open Mine or Kimberley Mine is an open-pit and underground mine in Kimberley,
South Africa, and claimed to be the largest hole excavated by hand, although
this claim is disputed. The first
diamonds here were found on Colesberg Kopje by members of the "Red Cap
Party" from Colesberg on the farm Vooruitzigt
belonging to the De Beers brothers. Source
Seychelles say is a 155-island country spanning an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, whose capital, Victoria, lies some 1,500 kilometres east of mainland Southeast Africa. Other nearby island countries and territories include Zanzibar to the west and Comoros, Mayotte, Madagascar, Reunion and Mauritius to the south. Seychelles, with a population of 90,024, has the smallest population of any African state. Source
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality. The city is famous for its harbour, for its natural setting in the Cape floral kingdom, as well as for such well-known landmarks as Table Mountain and Cape Point. Located on the shore of Table Bay, Cape Town was originally developed by the Dutch East India Company as a victualling (supply) station for Dutch ships sailing to East Africa, India, and the Far East. Jan van Riebeeck's arrival on 6 April 1652 established the first permanent European settlement in South Africa. Cape Town quickly outgrew its original purpose as the first European outpost at the Castle of Good Hope, becoming the economic and cultural hub of the Cape Colony. Source
A swing bridge is a movable bridge that has as its primary structural support a vertical locating pin and support ring, usually at or near to its center of gravity, about which the turning span can then pivot horizontally as shown in the animated illustration to the right. Small swing bridges as found over canals may be pivoted only at one end, opening as would a gate, but require substantial underground structure to support the pivot. In its closed position, a swing bridge carrying a road or railway over a river or canal, for example, allows traffic to cross. When a water vessel needs to pass the bridge, road traffic is stopped (usually by traffic signals and barriers), and then motors rotate the bridge horizontally about its pivot point. The typical swing bridge will rotate approximately 90 degrees, or one-quarter turn; however, a bridge which intersects the navigation channel at an oblique angle may be built to rotate only 45 degrees, or one-eighth turn, in order to clear the channel. Source
