Holliday Lights Around the World

Fireworks illuminate the world's biggest floating Christmas tree on Dec. 5, in the opening ceremony at Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Christmas lights illuminate the Diagonal Avenue in Barcelona, Spain.
Christmas decorations glow in the old town of Vienna, Austria. The city was lit up on Nov. 27, in anticipation of the holidays.
A Christmas tree with lights and fireworks are displayed during the holiday season at the Reforma Avenue in Mexico City, on Dec. 5. The artificial Christmas tree measures 367 feet at its highest point.
Pedestrians make their way underneath the Christmas lights on Oxford Street shortly after their official switching on on Nov. 3, in London, England. The two main retail streets in London's West End of Oxford Street and Regent Street had a joint switching on ceremony by actors Jim Carrey and Colin Firth.
People gather around the Children's Museum which is decorated with Christmas lights in San Jose, Calif., on Dec. 1. More than 500 lights illuminate the museum during the Christmas season.
The Sleeping Beauty Castle is illuminated during the Disneyland Magic Christmas Season Launch at Disneyland Resort in Paris on Nov.
People walk past Christmas lights in the town of Varna, east of the Bulgarian capital Sofia, on Dec. 7.
The Christmas market in Frankfurt, Germany, opened on Nov. 25. The traditional market takes place through Dec. 22.
Children take pictures of the interior of a 6-story Christmas tree outside of a shopping mall in Singapore, on Nov. 26.
A steeple is covered with red cloth to form the world's largest candle at the Christmas market in Schlitz, Germany. The candle is made of a stone tower which measures 36 meters in height and is covered with more than 1,000 square meters of cloth. Approximately 140 light bulbs are adjusted to the steepletop in the form of a flame.
Christmas decorations adorn a street in the New Jdeideh neighborhood of Beirut, Lebanon, on Nov. 29.
The 77th annual Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree was lit up in New York on Dec. 2.
The parliament building is decorated with a Christmas tree and decorations in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Dec. 6.
A New Orleans home is decorated with Christmas lights in the Upper Ninth Ward. People across the country are getting into the holiday spirit as Christmas approaches.
Christmas illuminations are lit along Champs Elysees Avenue on Nov. 23, in Paris.
People walk near the Medelin River on the first day Christmas decorations are lit up in Medelin, Spain, on Dec. 5.
Onlookers pass by Saks Fifth Ave. before the 77th annual Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting ceremony in New York.
People attend the annual Christmas lighting ceremony in front of the Royal Castle in Warsaw, Poland, on Dec. 5.
A Christmas tree shaped lighting decorates the slopes of Mount Ingino in Gubbio, in the Perugia district in Italy on Dec. 7. The tree, measuring 650 meters long, will remain on Mount Ingino until Jan. 10.
The U.S. Capitol and the Capitol Christmas tree are seen on Dec. 8 in Washington, D.C., during the tree lighting.

18 Places to Feel Dwarfed by Nature

1. Uluru, Australia
The massive rock - a.k.a. Ayers Rock - is climbed by 250 every day, despite pleas from local indigenous groups to refrain from doing so.


2. Diving with whale sharks
The whale shark is the world's largest fish species and can grow to be longer than 40 feet. This shot was taken off Christmas Island, Australia, in January 2005.


3. Cotopaxi, Ecuador
This volcano just south of Quito reaches an elevation of 5,897m (19,347ft) - often higher than the clouds.


4. Redwood country, California
Taken in Stout Grove, Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park


5. Sea Kayaking, solo
Big water, small boat. Shot taken walking the Southwest Coast Path from Land's End to Plymouth, England.




6. Great Ocean Road, Australia
The coast along one of the world's most spectacular roads is also good for a walk.


7. Ponoras Cave, Romania
Things can get large underground too. Here, spelunkers from CSA explore "Mammoth Hall" in Romania's Transylvania region. The light trail was produced by a fast-moving caver with a headlamp.


8. Snowfields, Rocky Mountains
This is no photoshop. It's Matador senior editor David Miller getting in some late-season turns in Rocky Mountain National Park.


9. Desert, southern Peru
Sand accumulates into massive dunes in one of the driest deserts on Earth. Notice the city of Ica, Peru, in the distance - also dwarfed.


10. Camping under the stars
So many stars. And camping the best way to let them overwhelm you. This shot was taken near Maupin, Oregon.


11. Mount Bromo, Indonesia
This very active Javanese volcano attracts lots of tiny visitors up to its steaming rim.

12. Yosemite National Park, California


13. Antarctica
Travelers to Antarctica report losing all sense of distance - the geographic scale is so immense and the ice fields so flat and white. This is Lake Fryxell.


14. Preikestolen, Norway
This rock has a great view of Lysefjorden and is a good place to get close to the edge.


15. Mont Blanc, France
Europe's tallest mountain tops out at 4,810m (15,782ft)


16. Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia
This salt plain is the world's largest and traps rainwater during wet winter months, creating a tripped-out sky mirror.


17. On a cliff ascent
This one happens to be the curved limestone face of Malham Cove, North Yorkshire, England.

18. Iguazu Falls, Brazil
The majority of the falls lies in Argentina, but according to the photographer, "the great thing about the Brazilian side of Iguazu is that there are no limits on taking pictures at any time of day….(unlike the Argentinian side)."

Bridge water flows into river

The first picture of the photos below has holes that can be seen on the road of the bridge. These holes are present to let water that settles on the bridge to run through the troughs which lead to drain pipes that are used to lead the water into the river. The bridge is old and not in the best of conditions and this is done to avoid more weight from being settled into the structure. The water does not settle and does not cripple the structure more than it already is. This design of installing holes to remove water formation is known as deformation seam and is mainly done to avoid thermal stains on the bridge. The bridge is made up of several segments and is slightly deformed because of the temperature differences and the vibrations from the vehicles that run on top of it.