This morning (Forth of July, Independence Day) at 5.46am, just minutes before the sunrise, Jaakuaraq successfully planted the glorious Greenlandic flag on the seabed of Death Valley at 282 feet below sea level. +46C at the moment of the installation. Forecasted temperature for the day - +51C (+123F).
Death Valley is in "the hottest place of the world"! Well, the second hottest after Libya. (+134F versus +136F record temperatures). Not to be forgotten that the ground temperature of Death valley is 40% hotter than the temperature of surrounding air. Little Jaaku's polar bear pants are smoking. Now he is a "man on fire".
It is the land of brutal environmental extremes and some randomly roaming humans (from Uummannaq, Greenland).
Who else lives here? Rattlesnakes, black widows and other scary spiders. And scorpions, of course!
Cool-minded and resourceful Jaakuaraq is ready to adapt. He is fully prepared to be salt and drought resistant.
And who says it is not Greenland? Dressed for desert success, Jaakuaraq is hunting a big game at 282 feet below sea level.
It is still an hour before the sunrise, but our blood is already boiling. Our minds drift and far on the horizon we see mirages - water, the cold ocean. We run towards them ..and find nothing. Just more salt and more heat. The heat is becoming unbearable, even for those of us who do not fashion polar bear pants this morning. The expected temperature for the day is +124F (+51C).
From 4:30 to 7am this morning, 6 Greenlandic Flags have been installed on the bottom in Death Valley - starting from Badwaters and finishing with Zabriskie Point.
The sun finally rises, but the horizon is still hidden in the smog. Neon glowing Las Vegas sends here all its junk by air. Acid rains in Death Valley are now a reality. It should be the cleanest place on Earth, sterile and intact, like Arctic, yet pollution here is now as visible here as it is in Uummannaq, Greenland.
But the good news is that even in Death Valley Jaakuaraq gets to live on Greenland Boulevard. So the Greenland of Death Valley is a reality too. And we are happy about it! Qujanaq!
Death Valley is in "the hottest place of the world"! Well, the second hottest after Libya. (+134F versus +136F record temperatures). Not to be forgotten that the ground temperature of Death valley is 40% hotter than the temperature of surrounding air. Little Jaaku's polar bear pants are smoking. Now he is a "man on fire".
It is the land of brutal environmental extremes and some randomly roaming humans (from Uummannaq, Greenland).
Cool-minded and resourceful Jaakuaraq is ready to adapt. He is fully prepared to be salt and drought resistant.
And who says it is not Greenland? Dressed for desert success, Jaakuaraq is hunting a big game at 282 feet below sea level.
It is still an hour before the sunrise, but our blood is already boiling. Our minds drift and far on the horizon we see mirages - water, the cold ocean. We run towards them ..and find nothing. Just more salt and more heat. The heat is becoming unbearable, even for those of us who do not fashion polar bear pants this morning. The expected temperature for the day is +124F (+51C).
From 4:30 to 7am this morning, 6 Greenlandic Flags have been installed on the bottom in Death Valley - starting from Badwaters and finishing with Zabriskie Point.
The sun finally rises, but the horizon is still hidden in the smog. Neon glowing Las Vegas sends here all its junk by air. Acid rains in Death Valley are now a reality. It should be the cleanest place on Earth, sterile and intact, like Arctic, yet pollution here is now as visible here as it is in Uummannaq, Greenland.
But the good news is that even in Death Valley Jaakuaraq gets to live on Greenland Boulevard. So the Greenland of Death Valley is a reality too. And we are happy about it! Qujanaq!
Wonderful story, wonderful photos! Thanks, Galya!!
ReplyDeleteFantastic!
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