Izu Islands are a group of volcanic islands stretching south and east from the Izu Peninsula of Honshū, Japan. The residents of the islands are required to carry gas masks with them at all times, but need not wear them constantly. Raid alarms go off if there is a dramatic increase in the levels of sulfur in the air.
The Bijagós islands are some of the least-visited in West Africa. The Bijagós archipelago, comprising 18 major islands and dozens of smaller ones, covers 2,500 sq km of ocean. It belongs to Guinea-Bissau, a tiny former Portuguese colony wedged between Senegal and Guinea. Life on the islands, which have Unesco Biosphere Reserve status, seems to tick along much as it has done for hundreds of years. While the beaches are pristine and white, there's rarely anyone on them except the odd fisherman.
Wake Island is a coral atoll having a coastline of 12 miles (19 km) in the North Pacific Ocean. Access to the island is restricted, and all current activities on the island are managed by the United States Air Force. There is also a missile facility operated by the United States Army.
The Prince Philip Movement is a cargo cult of the Yaohnanen tribe on the southern island of Tanna in Vanuatu. The Yaohnanen believe that Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, the consort to Queen Elizabeth II, is a divine being, the pale-skinned son of a mountain spirit and brother of John Frum. According to ancient tales, the son travelled over the seas to a distant land, married a powerful lady, and would in time return. The villagers had observed the respect accorded to Queen Elizabeth II by colonial officials and came to the conclusion that her husband, Prince Philip, must be the son from their legends.
Albanian sworn virgins (burrnesha) are women who take a vow of chastity and wear male clothing in order to be viewed as men in the highly patriarchal Northern Albanian society.
The Isole di Brissago are a group of two islands located in the Swiss part of Lake Maggiore. In the 19th century they were the property of an Anglo-Irishman of the St. Leger family, Richard Fleming, who was married to a Russian-born lady, Antonietta, who developed the gardens at great expense. After the death of her husband, the writer James Joyce visited the island and stayed at her house.
Cherrapunji is a high-altitude town in northern India. The yearly rainfall average stands at 11,430 millimetres. It is one of the wettest places on Earth.
The Grotta dello Smeraldo is a sea cave that is flooded with a brilliant blue or emerald light. The quality and nature of the color in each cave is determined by the unique lighting conditions in that particular cave. The grotto, which is located along Italy’s Amalfi Coast, is partly filled with water. The surface area of the water measures roughly 45 x 32 meters, with a cavern roof about 24 meters above water level. Unlike the more famous Blue Grotto a few miles to the west on Capri, the Grotta dello Smeraldo has no natural outlet above the waterline. The only opening to the outside world is just below the water level. Refracted sunlight entering the cavern through the opening gives the water its characteristic emerald glow during daylight hours.
The Aleutian Islands are a chain of more than 300 small volcanic islands forming part of the Aleutian Arc in the Northern Pacific Ocean.
Rhodesia was an unrecognised state located in Southern Africa that existed between 1965 and 1979 following its Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965.