Earth’s Fractal Brain From Above [PICS]

Thu, Jan 15, 2009

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brain fractal
All images by Hector Garrido

If anyone close to you has lost their mind recently, we might be able to help. Hidden off the beaten track within Parque Nacional de Doñana (Doñana National Park), Andalucía is something that bears a remarkable resemblance to the human brain.

fractal landscape

Discovered by photographer Hector Garrido during an investigation of the National Park on behalf of the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (Scientific Investigation Council), this awesome image shows natural fractals from vegetation at the end of a small river delta. It looks as if the clearing was once a small lake within the marshland but has since dried up considerably, leaving a brain-like appearance to the landscape.

delta fractal

Although not an exact fractal by definition – the shapes aren’t identically replicated throughout the pattern – the clearing does have self-repeating quality of a fractal, as does the brain. These other images by the same photographer in various other parks in the south of Spain demonstrates just how often the fractal pattern is seen throughout nature, something we wouldn’t be able to spot within the help of these great images.

close up

Located within the provinces of Huelva, Sevilla and Cádiz, Parque Nacional de Doñana has grown around the delta of the Guadalquivir River and is one of Europe’s most prominent wetland reserves and conservation centers. It covers an immense 1,300 sq km area and is popular with a huge variety of migrating birds, including five threatened bird species and the critically endangered Iberian Lynx.

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This post was written by:

Linda McCormick - who has written 175 posts on Environmental Graffiti.

Linda is a writer and editor, currently based in London. Growing up in N Ireland, she craved sunnier climes so set off around the world, forever chasing the sun. On her travels she discovered she was much more passionate about the environment than she realised – although never quite got the whole tree-hugging thing – and has always had a penchant for the unconventional and creative side of life, so working at Environmental Graffiti suits her just fine.

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4 Comments For This Post

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  1. chris Says:

    that’s not fractal

  2. Friedbeef Says:

    Simply stunning images, thanks for sharing!

  3. Goldwing Guy Says:

    these are some amazing pictures. really just beautiful examples of mother nature at work

  4. Holidays GeTS Says:

    Wonderful pic… Its taken from space or some other place??

3 Trackbacks For This Post

  1. JK-NETZWELT » So weit ist es gekommen… Says:

    [...] schon das Hirn dieses Planeten zu sehen ist: http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/featured/earths-fractal-brain-above/6004 Posted by admin | Filed in [...]

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    [...] From:http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/featured/earths-fractal-brain-above/6004 Tags: beaten track, do±ana national park, earth, fractal, human brain, parque nacional de do±ana, remarkable resemblance [...]

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