Lakes Gallery

Wind turbines along coastline, North Holland, Netherlands

Offshore wind power or offshore wind energy is the use of wind farms constructed in bodies of water, usually in the ocean on the continental shelf, to harvest wind energy to generate electricity. Higher wind speeds are available offshore compared to on land, so offshore wind powera??s electricity generation is higher per amount of capacity installed, and NIMBY opposition to construction is usually much weaker. Unlike the typical use of the term 'offshore' in the marine industry, offshore wind power includes inshore water areas such as lakes, fjords and sheltered coastal areas, utilizing traditional fixed-bottom wind turbine technologies, as well as deeper-water areas utilizing floating wind turbines

© Copyright © Peter Adams Photography / Danita Delimont

Badami Ghats, Badami, Karnataka

Badami, formerly known as Vatapi, is a taluk in the Bagalkot district of Karnataka, India. It was the regal capital of the Badami Chalukyas from 540 to 757 AD. It is famous for rock cut and other structural temples. It is located in a ravine at the foot of a rugged, red sandstone outcrop that surrounds Agastya lake.The name Vatapi has origin in the Vatapi legend of Ramayana relating to Sage Agastya. There were two demon siblings Vatapi and Ilvala. They used to kill all mendicants by tricking them in a peculiar way. The elder Ilvala would turn Vatapi into a ram and would offer its meat to the guest. As soon as the person ate the meat, Ilvala would call out the name of Vatapi. As he had a boon that whomsoever Ilvala calls would return from even the netherland,[citation needed] Vatapi would emerge ripping through the body of the person, thus killing him. Their trick worked until Sage Agastya countered them by digesting Vatapi before Ilvala could call for him, thus ending the life of Vatapi at the hands of Ilvala. Two of the hills in Badami represent the demons Vatapi and Ilvala.Badami was the capital of the Early Chalukyas, who ruled much of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh between the 6th and 8th centuries

An aerial view shows people at a beach on the shores of the Silbersee lake on a hot

An aerial view shows people at a beach on the shores of the Silbersee lake on a hot summer day in Haltern, Germany, July 4, 2015. A widespread, long-lasting heatwave will affect much of France, Britain, Belgium, the Netherlands and western Germany. REUTERS/Ina Fassbender - GF

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