The Remarkable Halong Bay

Located in Asia, in the country of Vietnam, Halong Bay is a spectacular tourist destination. Having over 600 square miles, this location has nearly 2,000 islands, many in which unexplored. Over 18,000 years ago, scientists have discovered many signs of life. The stone axe, an ancient artifact found at this location, now acts as an important symbol at Halong Bay. In the present time, this location is known for many features. For example, many floating villages can be found at the waters of Halong Bay. Additionally, the environment around the bay is teeming with wildlife, having over 1,000 different species of marine and land animals. At some of the islands, cave formations can be found. Containing unique formations of stalagmites and stalactites dating over 3,000 years ago, these caves showcase an eye-catching display of glowy crystals and unique rocks. Overall, Halong Bay makes a popular tourist destination and is known for its caves and wildlife.

As an extension, I created and documented many prominent locations of Halong Bay on Google Earth.

I chose to use this location for the StoryMap because it reflects my personality in many ways. When I first heard of Halong Bay by researching a location for a project at school, I was interested mainly in its caves. According to some of the research I got, the caves of Halong Bay showcased spectacular displays of crystals. These caves were significant for my personality because they reflect my inquisitive nature by intriguing me to know what lies inside them. In addition, the crystals from the caves symbolize perfectionism, which matches my high expectations at school. Because the formations of the caves at Halong Bay are very unique, they represent my unique qualities. In summary, Halong Bay is an important location that accurately reflects on my personality.

Many years ago, Halong Bay has gone through many environmental changes and was inhabited by many Vietnam soldiers. During the Vietnam War, Halong Bay's geological features served many important purposes and allowed for more strategic ways to fight.

During the past, a war known as the Vietnam war raged throughout the majority of the country of Vietnam. At this time, many Vietnam soldiers used the geological features of Halong Bay strategically, which resulted in many benefits. For example, some places at Halong Bay had rocks that formed an arch. These structures allowed for the soldiers to successfully shelter their navel vessels from American airstrikes. In addition, many caves that were large enough for the soldiers to build battlefields in were used.

Because the summit of Poem Mountain, a landform at Halong Bay, was over 200 meters tall, Vietnam soldiers could conveniently build watchtowers, which allow for an easier way to see enemy ships and a direct way for communication.

Because Halong Bay was formed over 500 million years ago, many people are unsure about its geological history. Some believe that Halong Bay was originally formed by Volcano eruptions. However, this prediction is not fully supported by evidence. According to "Wikipedia," tectonic activity caused the first traces of land to appear near the area where Halong Bay is at during the present days. As the years passed, mountains were created underwater at the location of Halong Bay. After that, the tectonic plates' collisions caused these mountains to rise. During this time, erosion slowly corroded the mountains, forming islands as a result.

Halong Bay is known in many ways, but people often regard it as a place where many environmental wonders exist. As a result from erosion, thousands of islands are created, some having large caves with beautiful displays of crystals while others being unexplored. These distinctions set Halong Bay off from other recognized landmarks for its peculiarity.

Halong Bay is most known for its limestone islands and karsts. According to "Wikipedia," Halong Bay underwent 500 million years of environmental changing, causing a myriad of islands to form. Up to the present days, people have been admiring Halong Bay for its lush, distinctive landscape on some of the islands. One of which, for example, is known as the Bo Hon Island, which is home to the largest, most beautiful cave at Halong Bay - the Sung Sot Cave. Other islands contain some of the brightest beaches and hide mysteries in their caves and grottos. In summary, Halong Bay is most famous and recognized for its limestone islands mainly because of the unpredictable mysteries and stunning scenery.

The areas in and around Halong Bay generally vary between 0 and 200 meters tall, but some might reach an altitude of over 400 meters tall, which is two times the height of Poem Mountain. The map below shows the elevation levels of the areas surrounding Halong Bay.

Unlike the lively nature of some of the other locations at Halong Bay, Lan Ha Bay is often viewed to have one of the calmest atmospheres at Halong Bay. This location is distinguishable for how it is surrounded by clear, emerald-green water. Due to its seclusion, this area has a more tranquil environment while maintaining an eye-appealing view, which makes it a more unique area because of the lack of noise. In addition, many caves and areas of the Lan Ha Bay are left unexplored. Due to the bay being untouched for years, natural rock formations and lush plant life take over the areas of it, leaving a multitude of magnificent, though temporary, sights of nature.

From higher places, towering mountains from the Lan Ha Bay can be seen reaching forward into the ends of the Halong Bay.

Not only is Halong Bay recognized for its breathtaking landscape, but it is also known for its unique food. Unlike most countries, which prepare meals by cooking and roasting, the chefs at Halong Bay make their food by boiling, steaming, and frying. These distinctive styles of cooking set the food from Halong Bay off from others. In addition, some meals are made using rare ingredients. Because of this, the meals are usually more expensive, ensuring that customers have a more luxurious experience while eating.

Sa Sung is arguably the tastiest meal that is served at Halong Bay. This is because it is a serving of many worms that live deep in the sand and are very elusive. Because of this, most tourists view Sa Sung as a luxurious meal that symbolizes fortune and prosperity. In fact, some people may also view Sa Sung as a golden food, meaning it might be just as valuable as gold.

Not only known for its high value, Sa Sung is also recognized for the wide selection of ways it can be served. Some meals dry the worms to make the meal have a crunchier texture. Others leave the worms wet and place them into soups to make them taste sweeter. Overall, Sa Sung is more likely to be the most famous meal at Halong Bay than others.

Halong Bay's food is greatly recognized because of its luxurious and savory taste. This is achieved most likely by having the chefs at Halong Bay use unique techniques to prepare their food. Most restaurant locations have chefs that prepare food by roasting and baking. On the other hand, the chefs at Halong Bay does the same by using boiling, steaming, and frying techniques. As a result, the restaurants from Halong Bay tend to have crunchier and more interesting textures.

In addition, most ingredients used to prepare the food in Halong Bay are fresh from the waters surrounding the location. Because of these distinctions in the way the chefs prepare and serve food at Halong Bay, the meals from there are considered to be unique delicacies, making them gain recognition and fame around the world.

Before doing this project, I felt uncomfortable of leaving my curiosities about Halong Bay behind. When I first heard about the idea of a StoryMap, I thought excitedly about researching Halong Bay's mysteries thoroughly and including the information on this project. By doing this project, I satisfied my needs to know more about the Halong Bay by deepening my knowledge about the history, environment, and food of the bay.

I was also glad to find out that the location I researched greatly resonated with my personality. As stated above, the crystals from some of the caves at Halong Bay symbolize perfection, which relates to my sky-high expectations to perform well at school. Additionally, the bay's distinctive environmental features represent my unique personality.

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