Refine your search

The results of your search are listed below alongside the search terms you entered on the previous page. You can refine your search by amending any of the parameters in the form and resubmitting it.

Select all Deselect all Add selection to lightbox
Large Small
Thumbnails per page
The southernmost atoll in the Maldives and almost 500 kilometres (310 miles) from the capital Malé, Addu has a very well protected harbour lagoon only accessible through four entrances, and is surrounded by barrier reefs. There are 7 inhabited islands and 20 uninhabited islands.<br/><br/> Asia's smallest and least-known nation, the Republic of Maldives, lies scattered from north to south across a 750-kilometre sweep of the Indian Ocean 500 kilometres south-west of Sri Lanka. More than 1000 islands, together with innumerable banks and reefs, are grouped in a chain of nineteen atolls which extends from a point due west of Colombo to just south of the equator.
The Poetic Edda is a collection of Old Norse poems primarily preserved in the Icelandic mediaeval manuscript Codex Regius.<br/><br/> Together with Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda, the Poetic Edda is the most important extant source on Norse mythology and Germanic heroic legends.
Around 2000 years ago, Chinese in Sichuan province originated deep drilling. The primary motive for deep drilling in China was the search for salt. Even as recently as 1965, 16.5% of China’s salt supplies came from brine pumped out of deep boreholes, making this source of supply second only to sea salt.<br/><br/> The ancient percussive cable drilling system was called 'churn'. The derrick had a height of 11m and all parts of the rig were made from wood (mainly bamboo). A large wooden drum, 5m in diameter, was used to raise and lower the drill. A rocking movement of the balancing beam created the percussive impulses on the bit, which sometimes weighed as much as 140kg. By alternately lifting this tool and letting it fall, the Chinese could achieved a well depth of 600m.<br/><br/> The deep drilling for brine yielded natural gas (primarily methane) from time to time. The boreholes producing methane were known to the Chinese as 'fire wells', thus drilling for natural gas followed and was developed at the same time.<br/><br/> Bamboo tubes were used as pipelines, carrying both brine and natural gas for many miles, sometimes passing under roads and sometimes going overhead on trestles. Among other uses, natural gas was used to heat evaporation pans of brine to make salt.
Around 2000 years ago, Chinese in Sichuan province originated deep drilling. The primary motive for deep drilling in China was the search for salt. Even as recently as 1965, 16.5% of China’s salt supplies came from brine pumped out of deep boreholes, making this source of supply second only to sea salt.<br/><br/> The ancient percussive cable drilling system was called 'churn'. The derrick had a height of 11m and all parts of the rig were made from wood (mainly bamboo). A large wooden drum, 5m in diameter, was used to raise and lower the drill. A rocking movement of the balancing beam created the percussive impulses on the bit, which sometimes weighed as much as 140kg. By alternately lifting this tool and letting it fall, the Chinese could achieved a well depth of 600m.<br/><br/> The deep drilling for brine yielded natural gas (primarily methane) from time to time. The boreholes producing methane were known to the Chinese as 'fire wells', thus drilling for natural gas followed and was developed at the same time.<br/><br/> Bamboo tubes were used as pipelines, carrying both brine and natural gas for many miles, sometimes passing under roads and sometimes going overhead on trestles. Among other uses, natural gas was used to heat evaporation pans of brine to make salt.
The Poetic Edda is a collection of Old Norse poems primarily preserved in the Icelandic mediaeval manuscript Codex Regius.<br/><br/> Together with Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda, the Poetic Edda is the most important extant source on Norse mythology and Germanic heroic legends.