wwp@yahoogroups.com:
Don's essay on ELEVATION
G. Donald Bain 2008-Jun-08 23:57:00
About Themes
We expect our themes to do several things. Some participants view them
as a challenge - they go to great lengths to find and execute the most
perfect and challenging expression of the theme. That is great, and we
have had some amazing examples of this - the epitome of the theme.
Others of us simply need some ideas, a few suggestions to get our
creativity engine running. Theme essays such as this suggest a lot of
possibilities, plus most people as they read will think of more.
Discussion of the theme on the WWP list is encouraged - share your
ideas, spur each other on, help each other out. It's a collaboration,
not a competition.
Sometimes that brilliant idea you originally had turned out to be too
hard, or impossible, or illegal. Or you didn't have the time you
needed. Or you're a beginner and need a straightforward subject. The
theme gives you a chance to shoot whatever you can, then tie it into
the group endeavor with the caption. Even if, for "elevation", all you
can manage to shoot is your back yard, try to find a way to relate it
to the theme (see how the birds use elevation to stay safe from the
cat?).
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Geographic Implications of Elevation
When I was in New Orleans my office at Tulane University was exactly
at sea level, but where I lived in the Uptown District the ground was
a few feet higher. In the post-hurricane Katrina floods this was a
critical difference - the campus flooded but my neighborhood was
temporarily an island. The oldest, first-settled parts of New Orleans
were on high ground and suffered relatively little damage. But urban
growth over many years spread into former swamplands, such as the
Lower Ninth Ward, and set the stage for massive flood damage.
Similarly, in the Netherlands there is only a small difference in
elevation between the highest and lowest areas (most of the country is
within a few meters of sea level), but it is highly important. Many of
the lowest areas have been reclaimed from the North Sea with massive
engineering works, while other areas have been claimed back by it, as
in the North Sea Flood of 1953.
Coastal cities and low-lying countries in many parts of the world see
the predicted steady rise in sea level due to global warming as a
major challenge and threat. Entire archipelagoes such as the Maldives
could be submerged in a typhoon-driven storm surge. London has been
protected (for now) with a barrier across the Thames estuary, but who
will pay to similarly protect the heavily populated lowlands of
Bangladesh?
Cold air is dense and tends to flow downhill. This produces "frost
pockets" in low areas on cold nights, and thermal belts on the slopes
above, a fact of interest to those who live there, and of practical
importance to agriculture. In the San Joaquin Valley of California
oranges are grown only on the lower slopes of the foothills, never on
the valley floor. In more northerly areas the growing season can be
weeks shorter in the valley bottoms than on the slopes. In many
mountainous areas grazing animals and their owners migrate seasonally
from low winter farms (or towns) to high summer pastures - this is
known as transhumance.
Temperature inversions within the atmosphere accentuate the importance
of elevation. Many summer days when I drive to work from my home in
the Berkeley Hills to my job in the flatlands I pass through a
temperature inversion - from warm and sunny to cool and overcast in a
few minutes drive. In Southern California (also in Mexico City) a trip
up into the mountains is likely to suddenly take you through an
inversion, from orange-tinted smog to clear mountain sunshine. A
winter inversion in the steep-sided Monangahela River valley in 1948
led to lethal concentrations of polluted air. A hundred feet of
elevation in the town of Donora, Pennsylvania, during those three days
meant the difference between life and death (68 people died).
It was Baron Alexander von Humboldt who first noted the correlation
between altitude and latitude - ascending a tropical mountain (his
example was in Colombia) is, in climatic and biologic terms, similar
to traveling from the tropics to the Arctic. In the American west
biologists represent this concept with the Merriam Life Zones. In
various places around the world, notably the volcano Mauna Kea on the
island of Hawaii, one can drive in a few hours from the tropics to the
Arctic.
The relation of elevation and climate has had great importance in
human history. The settlement of Latin America by Europeans
concentrated on the highlands. Many of the major cities, though
located in the tropics, are high enough to be cool or even cold, with
snow-capped mountains in sight. Bolivia has historically had two
seasonal capitals, high cool La Paz and lower warmer Sucre. Quito,
capital of Ecuador, though located almost on the equator, is at an
elevation of 2850 meters (9350 feet) and chilly at night. The British
colonial government of India in the nineteenth century (the Raj)
packed up the entire apparatus of government and moved it (originally
using elephants) from sweltering Delhi to the hill town of Simla, then
back again, every year. Baguio in the Philippines was another mountain
refuge from seasonal heat in the lowlands.
Elevation changes in hilly areas lend a special character to the
landscape. The hills of San Francisco are part of the city's charm and
responsible for its famous views. The mountains in and around Rio de
Janeiro similarly define districts and make for spectacular scenery.
There are many examples of local elevation differences that contribute
to the character of the place - the hill towns of Italy, the Cotswold
Hills and Yorkshire Dales in England, ski resorts everywhere. A few
cities even span an abrupt elevation change - Salvador in Bahia,
Brazil, has an upper town and lower town and an historic public
elevator between them. Oregon City also has an old section by the
river and a newer part above, with a municipal elevator.
The importance of elevation is often relative rather than absolute, a
concept known as local relief. The highest point in south Florida is a
sand dune, known as Hobe Mountain, and in the Mississippi delta
country the river levees tower over the flat landscape. Emigrants in
the covered wagon trains heading west on the Oregon Trail were
impressed with Blue Mound, a minor swell in the flatlands of eastern
Kansas, and overwhelmed by the grandeur of Scotts Bluff (800 feet/240
meters) in Nebraska. By the time they got to some real mountains in
Utah, Idaho and Oregon, they were jaded and hardly mentioned them in
their journals.
Language and Perception of Elevation
Elevation is a matter of up and down. Ask an actor to portray
inspiration or joy and they are likely to look up, ask them for
sadness and despair and they look down. To signal yes we gesture
thumbs up, to say no it is thumbs down.
When we are happy we say our mood is elevated, when depressed we are
down. Chemically induced elevation of spirits is often referred to as
"getting high".
Almost every culture has a tradition of a bright paradise above and a
grim netherworld below. Traditional elite entertainment (grand opera,
for example) is known as high culture. Things considered culturally
(or morally) bad are said to be debased (as in gone down) or simply
low. When we stand upon our principles we are said to have taken the
high ground. In the other direction sometimes we get down and dirty.
Practical Uses of Elevation
It is elevation that currently provides our greatest source of
sustainable energy - hydroelectric power. Water that originates on
high ground (as in snow falling on mountains) has great potential
energy and almost everywhere is harnessed with dams large and small.
Many of the most famous have a large head (elevation difference) and a
spectacular dam - I was just at Glen Canyon Dam on the Colorado River,
583 feet (178 meters) high, and the feeling of elevation from the
bridge next to it was intense.
The All-American Canal on the border between California and Mexico
takes water from the Colorado River at about sea level, and drops it
to 300 feet (100 meters) below sea level through a series of power
plants. On the other hand the California Aqueduct takes water from the
Sacramento delta at sea level and pumps it uphill for over 400 miles,
over a mountain range at almost 4000 feet (1200 meters), to Southern
California. This makes it one of the largest single energy users in
the world. It's all about relative elevation.
Another use of elevation is to improve and extend our line of sight.
Broadcast and communications antennas are built on tall towers, or on
hilltops and mountains whenever available, as are fire lookouts.
Elevation is a form of distance, so we build factory chimneys tall to
get the pollutants away from us.
Many cities and recreation areas have developed vista points on nearby
hills. High elevations are also widely visible from below and so are
often used for religious and other monuments. Superior elevation has a
strategic advantage and many hills in Europe are crowned with
fortifications, from Bronze Age forts to Medieval castles.
Elevation for Status and Thrills
In many cities the elite residential neighborhoods are (or were,
historically) on the heights - Nob Hill in San Francisco, Beverly
Hills, Brooklyn Heights. Elevation confers status and denotes
superiority.
Cities have been competing to have the world's tallest buildings for
many years. Originally it was New York versus Chicago, but now the
tallest are mostly in Asia - and new record elevations are planned.
The Burj Dubai, under construction in the United Arab Emirates will
soon be the new record (160 floors, 2111 feet/643 meters, plus a spire/
antenna).
The most prestigious offices and the most expensive hotel rooms are
always on the top floors of highrise buildings. I once stayed in the
old Sands Hotel in Las Vegas (since demolished) where the floor
numbering skipped floors 10 through 19, to make the upper floors seem
higher.
Some towers have been built primarily to be a tourist attraction and
viewpoint. The CN Tower in Toronto (1815 feet/553 meters), the
Ostankino Tower in Moscow (1771 feet/540 meters), and the Stratosphere
Hotel in Las Vegas (1149 feet/350 meters) all fall into this category.
We use elevation for entertainment. It began with the Ferris Wheel at
the Chicago Worlds Fair in 1893, a calm safe ride to a previously
unattainable height above the city. It was just the beginning of a
long series of similar rides, from little wheels with traveling
carnivals to the huge London Eye. Roller coasters and similar use
elevation to scare us and thrill us. Have you ever noticed how often
movies exploit our natural fear of heights?
Elevation is the key to certain forms of recreation and aspiration.
Mountain climbing, peak bagging, big wall climbing, bouldering are all
part of the same idea of gaining significant elevation. People flock
to certain peaks because they are the highest in a range or a state -
Mount Whitney isn't the best peak to climb in the Sierra, but it's the
highest, so it gets 90% of the traffic. A simple matter of elevation.
Bungee jumping and BASE jumping - losing elevation, fast. Perhaps the
ultimate exploitation of elevation for raw adrenaline-pumping thrills
is in Las Vegas. There is a roller coaster on the roof of the
Stratosphere Tower - and a bungee jump even above that, a thousand
feet above the Strip.
Hope this helps!
Don