While communism, collectivism, worms, dry rot and casual looting failed to destroy the majestic wooden churches of Russia, it may be ordinary neglect that finally does them in. Dwindled now to several hundred remaining examples, these glories of vernacular architecture lie scattered amid the vastness of the world’s largest country. Just over a decade ago, Richard Davies, a British architectural photographer, struck out on a mission to record the fragile and poetic structures. Austerely beautiful and haunting, “Wooden Churches: Traveling in the Russian North” (White Sea Publishing; $132) is the result. Covering thousands of miles, Mr. Davies described how he and the writer Matilda Moreton tracked down the survivors from among the thousands of onion-domed structures built after Prince Vladimir converted to Christianity in 988.

The mineral pyrite, or iron pyrite, also known as fool's gold, is an iron sulfide with the formula FeS2. This mineral's metallic luster and pale brass-yellow hue give it a superficial resemblance to gold, hence the well-known nickname of fool's gold. The color has also led to the nicknames brass, brazzle, and Brazil, primarily used to refer to pyrite found in coal.
In crystallography, the cubic (or isometric) crystal system is a crystal system where the unit cell is in the shape of a cube. This is one of the most common and simplest shapes found in crystals and minerals.

Ban Gioc – Detian Falls are two waterfalls on the Quây Sơn River, in Chinese Guichun River, straddling the Sino-Vietnamese border, located in the Karst hills of Daxin County, Guangxi (Chinese side), and in Trùng Khánh District, Cao Bằng province on the Vietnamese side, 272 km (169 mi) north of Hanoi. In Vietnamese, the two falls are considered as two parts of one waterfall with the sole name Bản Giốc. The two parts are called as: thác chính (Main waterfall) and thác phụ (Subordinate waterfall). Chinese texts sometimes name both falls from the Détiān falls on the Chinese side. During the summer rains the two waterfalls may join together.

Hvítserkur is 15 meters high cliff and protrudes out of the sea. The sea erosion has carved holes through its foundations and sculptured it in the unique shape it is today. Some say it is in the shape of a petrified monster.

“Suri tribes boys are collecting the blood of a cow in a calabash the vein of the animal was opened with a bow and an arrow. Like most pastoralists the Surma people are drinking fresh blood which is from the cow vein. Only some minutes after the wound at the vein is closed again the animals are back with their herd”. (Photo and caption by Anthony Pappone)

Buzludzha is a historical peak in the Central Stara Planina, Bulgaria and is 1441 metres high. In 1868 it was the place of the final battle between Bulgarian rebels led by Hadji Dimitar and Stefan Karadzha and the Ottoman Empire. The Buzludzha Monument on the peak was built by the Bulgarian communist regime to commemorate the events in 1891 when the socialists led by Dimitar Blagoev assembled secretly in the area to form an organised socialist movement with the founding of the Bulgarian Social Democratic Party, a fore-runner of the Bulgarian Communist Party. The Monument was opened in 1981. No longer maintained by the Bulgarian government, it has fallen into disuse. Buzludzha is reached by a 12 km side road from the Shipka Pass.

Angel Falls is the world’s highest waterfall as well as the inspiration for Paradise Falls in the Pixar film Up. Unless you’re planning on visiting the falls in the heart of Venezuela in person, the next best thing might be this stunning series of 360° aerial panoramas recently captured by photographer Dmitry Moiseenko over two days from a helicopter. Pan around, zoom into the scene, and become immersed in the otherworldly landscapes found at Angel Falls.

The Slauerhoffbrug (English: Slauerhoff Bridge) is a fully automatic bascule bridge (aka tail bridge) in the city of Leeuwarden in the Netherlands. It uses two arms to swing a section of road in and out of place within the road itself. It is also known as the “Slauerhoffbrug ‘Flying’ Drawbridge”. A tail bridge can quickly and efficiently be raised and lowered from one pylon (instead of hinges). This quickly allows water traffic to pass while only briefly stalling road traffic. The deck is 15 m by 15 m. It is painted in yellow and blue, representative of Leeuwarden's flag and seal.