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Articles by Willie Drye
Jezioro Guatavita i tajemnica mitycznego miasta El Dorado
Spis treści: Złoty człowiek i rytuał nad jeziorem Wyprawy po złote miasto Legenda, która nie przemija El Dorado od wieków rozpalało wyobraźnię – dla wielu było celem życia, dla innych przyczyną śmierci. To legendarne „zaginione miasto ze złota” zajmuje wyjątkowe miejsce w mitologii i kulturze. Inspirowało niezliczone wyprawy, książki i filmy. Ale czy naprawdę istniało? Żądza złota przenika wszystkie epoki, rasy i narodowości.
El Dorado, legendary city of gold, facts and history
El Dorado, the legendary “lost city of gold” looms large in the world of legend. It has sparked lifelong quests, books, and films. But is El Dorado real? The lust for gold spans all eras, races, and nationalities. To possess any amount of gold seems to ignite an insatiable desire to obtain more. Through the centuries, this passion gave rise to the enduring tale of a place of immense wealth led by a ruler bathed in gold.
Did these real-life events inspire the myth of Atlantis?
Atlantis is an island nation mentioned in two of the Greek philosopher Plato’s most famous dialogues, Timaeus and Critias. In them, he describes the ancient civilization as peaceful and vastly wealthy, protected by the sea god Poseidon. But although it’s one of his most famous stories, it’s almost certainly false. So why is this story still repeated more than 2,300 years after the ancient Greek’s death?
Why Hurricane Harvey May Be Deadlier Than Other Storms
Hurricane Harvey has become an emergency management director’s nightmare. The hurricane, which is the most serious storm to make landfall in the U.S. since Hurricane Wilma in 2005, combined rapid intensification with a deluge of rainfall that is expected to make it a catastrophic event for Texas. Harvey’s eye came ashore late Friday near Rockport, Texas, about 35 miles northeast of Corpus Christi. The storm began gathering strength as it approached the Texas coast Thursday and Friday.
The True Story of the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane That Hit the Florida Keys
Fred Ghent and Ray Sheldon were honest men who made a mistake. But when they underestimated an approaching hurricane, at least 250 luckless World War I vets died, caught in the path of the most intense hurricane that has ever struck the United States. It hit the Florida Keys on September 2, 1935. It was late summer, in the depths of the Great Depression. In the once-prosperous city of Key West, residents were trying to survive on an average monthly income of $7—about $125 in 2017 dollars.
Misfortune in a Morrow Mountain Gold Mine
John Fisher listened to the scrape and rattle of shovels as several workers cleared a path through a long-ago cave-in inside a horizontal shaft of the Barringer Gold Mine in Misenheimer. Fisher and the workers were about 200 feet beneath the surface of the rolling hills of northern Stanly County. Nearly a century had passed since eight miners died a sudden and horrible death here on a wet August afternoon in 1904.
Misfortune in the Barringer Gold Mine
John Fisher listened to the scrape and rattle of shovels as several workers cleared a path through a long-ago cave-in inside a horizontal shaft of the Barringer Gold Mine in Misenheimer. Fisher and the workers were about 200 feet beneath the surface of the rolling hills of northern Stanly County. Nearly a century had passed since eight miners died a sudden and horrible death here on a wet August afternoon in 1904.
Hurricane Katrina: The Essential Timeline
TUESDAY, AUGUST 23, 2005 5 p.m.: The National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida, issues its first advisory about the tropical system that will become Hurricane Katrina. The advisory notes that the season's 12th tropical depression has formed over the Bahamas. The weather system is about 350 miles (560 kilometers) east of Miami. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 24 11 a.m.: The storm has strengthened, become more organized, and been given a name.
Storm of the Century
Publisher Description In 1934, hundreds of jobless World War I veterans were sent to the remote Florida Keys to build a highway from Miami to Key West. The Roosevelt Administration was making a genuine effort to help these down-and-out vets, many of whom suffered from what is known today as post-traumatic stress disorder. But the attempt to help them turned into a tragedy. The supervisors in charge of the veterans misunderstood the danger posed by hurricanes in the low-lying Florida Keys.
The strongest hurricanes in recorded history-see how Michael stacks up
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The strongest hurricanes in recorded history—see how Michael stacks up
Hurricane Michael was a catastrophically powerful storm that pounced on the Florida Panhandle with vicious 155 mile-per-hour winds and a 14-foot storm surge. It was one of the most powerful landfalling hurricanes on record. As strong as Michael was, however, there have been many storms more powerful. Some are infamous for the death and destruction they inflicted. Others are all but anonymous because they never made landfall and blew themselves out harmlessly at sea.
What Forecasters Got Right and Wrong About Hurricane Florence
Hurricane Florence’s torrential rainfall has brought catastrophic flooding to much of North and South Carolina, but the convergence of several unexpected factors as the storm was about to touch land kept the hurricane from pounding the coast with devastating winds exceeding 130 miles per hour. Instead, Hurricane Florence’s peak winds were around 90 mph when it made landfall near Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina September 14.
Atlantic Hurricane Season Expected To Be Lighter Than Usual
Forecasters at Colorado State University say the approaching peak of the 2018 hurricane season will be relatively quiet in the Atlantic Basin. But a report released Wednesday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration pointed out a troubling trend that could have implications for future hurricane forecasting: Warming in the Arctic could drive future Atlantic hurricane tracks farther west and thus make a U.S. landfall more likely.
Fight for San José, 'World's Richest Shipwreck,’ Heats Up
A plan to recover what may be one of history’s greatest treasure troves from the wreck of a Spanish galleon could be set in motion on July 23. The administration of outgoing Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos has set a deadline of July 23 for prospective salvors to submit proposals for excavating the San José, a 300-year-old wreck off the Colombian coast. Estimates of the value of the San José’s cargo of gold, silver and jewels have ranged from a few billion dollars to more than $20 billion.
All It Takes To Save Unusual Fruit Grove Is A Lots Of Work And A Little Obsession
Patrick Garvey’s attorney advised him not to buy a dilapidated, overgrown fruit grove in the Florida Keys. Garvey bought it anyway and went to work restoring Grimal Grove and making it into a community garden for low-income families on Big Pine Key, about 30 miles northeast of Key West. By the summer of 2017, it looked like his against-the-odds effort was going to bear fruit, so to speak.
Six months later, many Florida Keys residents still struggling with effects of Hurricane Irma
A first-time visitor to the Florida Keys might not realize that a major hurricane ripped across the subtropical islands only six months ago. It’s the peak of the tourist season, and Alabama Jack’s—the ultra-casual, open-air waterfront restaurant and bar next to the Dade-Monroe county line—is crowded for lunch. And all appears normal driving down US 1 on Key Largo, the northernmost island in the chain.
2017 Hurricane Season Was the Most Expensive in U.S. History
An explosive September brought a spectacular end to an unusual streak of good luck that had kept major hurricanes away from U.S. shores for more than a decade, and the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season will now go down as the most expensive on record. Totals are still being calculated, but early tabulations indicate that the U.S. suffered more than $200 billion worth of damage from 17 named storms during the season, which began June 1 and ends Thursday, November 30.
Battle Begins Over World's Richest Shipwreck
The Colombian government announced in early December that they had found the San Jose, an 18th-century Spanish galleon that may be the most valuable shipwreck ever discovered. A U.S.-based salvage company, Sea Search Armada, immediately staked a claim, saying they had found the ship and registered its location in 1982. Now, Colombia has offered to allow the company to verify whether the San Jose is where the company said it was 33 years ago.
The True Story of the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane That Hit the Florida Keys
“I often thought that it was almost a crime to allow so much drinking in the camps,” said John Russell, then a Postmaster and a community leader in Islamorada, where the work program was headquartered in a hotel. “When they got paid, they would drink until it was all gone. Then they would wait until their allowances came again to get more.” Russell and other natives did what they could for the men.
The True Story of the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane That Hit the Florida Keys
Rescue workers gather at a makeshift dock near the village of Islamorada, Florida, awaiting an opportunity to cross Snake Creek to help victims of the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935. The hurricane is still the most intense on record to make landfall in the United States, as measured by the low barometric pressures that signal a storm's strength. Photograph by Bettmann, Getty Images Please be respectful of copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited.
How to Build a Category 5 Hurricane Like Irma
Hurricane Irma has become one of the rare storms to reach Category 5 status, transforming it into a seagoing monster with the power to shred cities. Category 5 storms are rare, and surprisingly fragile, with particular conditions required to build and maintain them. Most weaken before reaching land, but when they do hit, they’re historic events. To reach the top of the five-point Saffir-Simpson Scale, a hurricane’s peak winds must exceed 155 miles per hour.
Why Hurricane Harvey May Be Deadlier Than Other Storms
The hurricane, which appears likely to become the most serious storm to make landfall in the U.S. since Hurricane Wilma in 2005, is combining rapid intensification with a deluge of rainfall that is expected to make it a catastrophic event for Texas. Harvey’s eye is expected to come ashore late Friday or early Saturday near Rockport, Texas, about 35 miles northeast of Corpus Christi. The storm began gathering strength as it approached the Texas coast Thursday and Friday.
Florida Keys Museum Tells Story Of Wrecker’s Paradise
John Jacob Housman’s character was complex and colorful. He was an energetic entrepreneur, a shrewd businessman, a daring adventurer, a visionary developer, and it was all wrapped around the soul of a pirate. And in 1830, he found the perfect place to use these traits to his best advantage—Indian Key, a remote, tropical island in the Florida Keys, close to shipping lanes but well away from too much scrutiny by authorities.
2017 Hurricane Season Expected To Be Active
Meteorologists at Colorado State University and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration think the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season could be an active one. CSU forecasters think 14 named tropical storms will form in the Atlantic Basin, which includes the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico. The NOAA forecast covers a wider range of possibilities. During an average season, 12 named storms form.
CSU Forecasters See Signs of Below-Average Hurricane Season
Meteorologists at Colorado State University think an unusual El Niño event later this year could keep the 2017 Atlantic Basin hurricane season a little quieter than usual. CSU’s preseason forecast for the coming summer suggests that 11 named tropical storms will form in the Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean between June 1 and November 30. A tropical storm gets a name when its winds reach 35 mph.
Atlantis Legend | National Geographic
If the writing of the ancient Greek philosopher Plato had not contained so much truth about the human condition, his name would have been forgotten centuries ago. But one of his most famous storiesâthe cataclysmic destruction of the ancient civilization of Atlantisâis almost certainly false. So why is this story still repeated more than 2,300 years after Plato's death? "It's a story that captures the imagination," says James Romm, a professor of classics at Bard College in Annandale, New York.
Live-Blogging Hurricane Matthew
I’m the author of Storm of the Century: The Labor Day Hurricane of 1935, published by National Geographic Books, and the IPPY Award-winning For Sale-American Paradise: How Americans Were Sold An Impossible Dream In Florida. I’ve also been writing about hurricanes for National Geographic News since 2003. I have friends in Florida who are about to go on a wild ride as Hurricane Matthew rips its way up the Florida east coast. I’m blogging from Wilmington, North Carolina, well away from the storm.
Florida Prepares For Worst Hurricane In Decades; 10 Million Could Lose Power In Southeast
Residents along a 350-mile stretch of Florida coastline from Miami to Jacksonville are preparing for a brutal beating from powerful Hurricane Matthew as the strengthening storm barrelled northward Thursday after pounding the Caribbean and Bahamas with devastating winds. The hurricane is expected to be one of the most powerful to strike Florida in decades. Its strongest winds were blowing at around 140 mph at 11 a.m. Thursday.
Recent Books Recount Horror of 1928 Lake Okeechobee Hurricane (Part 2)
Eighty-eight years ago, a savage hurricane tore across the Caribbean, killing thousands. Its winds probably reached 160 mph at times. The storm turned and crossed the Bahamas before smashing ashore at West Palm Beach, Florida on September 16-17, 1928. It tore across the Everglades to giant, shallow Lake Okeechobee, where uncounted thousands of migrant workers were harvesting fall crops. Although it had weakened some, its winds were still screaming at around 150 mph.
Recent Books Recount Horror of 1928 Lake Okeechobee Hurricane
Eighty-eight years ago, a savage hurricane tore across the Caribbean, killing thousands. Its winds probably reached 160 mph at times. The storm turned and crossed the Bahamas before smashing ashore at West Palm Beach, Florida on September 16-17, 1928. It tore across the Everglades to giant, shallow Lake Okeechobee, where uncounted thousands of migrant workers were harvesting fall crops. Although it had weakened some, its winds were still screaming at around 150 mph.
Rare Double Hurricane May Be Good News for Hawaii
An unusual meteorological event known as a Fujiwhara Effect—a sort of mid-ocean do-si-do movement of two hurricanes—could alter the course of a pair of storms in the Central Pacific Ocean and steer at least one of them away from Hawaii and its 1.4 million residents. As of midday Wednesday, the center of Hurricane Madeline was about 350 miles east-southeast of Honolulu, Hawaii’s state capital and largest city.
How the American Dream Took Its Modern Form in Florida Nearly a Century Ago
National Geographic news correspondent and book author Willie Drye provides a synopsis of his latest book, For Sale–American Paradise: How Our Nation Was Sold an Impossible Dream in Florida. The book, published by Lyons Press, tells the story of the great Florida Land Boom of the 1920s, when millions of Americans flocked to Florida seeking fun, sun and wealth in a tropical Paradise.
Battle Begins Over World's Richest Shipwreck
The discovery of the San Jose shipwreck has all the elements of a great drama: international political intrigue, a treasure of gold and emeralds worth up to $17 billion, and now, accusations of lies and treachery. The Colombian government announced in early December that they had found the San Jose, an 18th-century Spanish galleon that may be the most valuable shipwreck ever discovered.
NOAA Expects 2015 To Be Warmest Year On Record
October 2015 was the warmest October since record-keeping began in 1880, and scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Thursday that 2015 likely will become the warmest year on record. Temperatures last month averaged 1.76 degrees Fahrenheit above the averages for the 20th century, said Jon Gottschalck, chief of NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center-Operational Prediction Branch in College Park, Maryland.
Ten Years of Hurricanes and Tropical Storms in One Graphic
Scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration knew in June 2005 that all the ingredients were in place for a stormy summer in the Atlantic Ocean, including warm ocean water to fuel hurricanes and minimal upper-level winds to prevent or impede their development. “The main uncertainty in this outlook is not whether the season will be above normal, but how much above normal it will be,” NOAA’s preseason forecast noted.
Blackbeard's Ship Confirmed off North Carolina
Editor's Note: This article was updated on July 24, 2017 to reflect the current legal status of the shipwreck. The struggle for Blackbeard's legacy is continuing 300 years after history's most infamous pirate was killed in the coastal waters of North Carolina. The state of North Carolina is defending itself against two lawsuits brought by private interests in the excavation of the wreck of the Queen Anne’s Revenge, the flagship of Blackbeard’s small fleet of pirate ships.
Why This Hurricane Season May Be Quiet for Atlantic Ocean
Cooler waters and the meteorological phenomenon known as could mean a quiet summer in the Atlantic Ocean, with only eight named tropical storms expected to form during the 2015 hurricane season, which starts Monday. The forecast, released Monday by meteorologists at , predicts that three tropical systems could intensify into hurricanes with winds of at least 74 miles per hour (119 kilometers per hour).
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