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Evidence Points To Huge Underground River Beneath Amazon
chill writes "Researchers at the department of geophysics of the Brazil National Observatory have showed evidence of the existence of an underground river that flows 13,000 feet beneath the Amazon. The newly-named Hamza is said to be 3,700 miles long, flowing 13,000 feet below the Amazon. Both rivers flow from west to east, but the Hamza flows at only a fraction of the speed of Amazon."
Geesh.... the term "underground river" evokes an image of a continuous flow of only water perhaps going through a long cave or something... not water travelling through rock, also known as an "Aquifer"
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As a scientist you're not supposed to name things after yourself or have your students name them after you.
"The underground river is now named after Valiya Hamza, the scientist of Indian origin,who has been studying the Amazon region for more than 40 years. The discovery is part of the work of doctoral student Elizabeth Tavares Pimentel, under the guidance of Hamza."
Another word for this river is, of course, a "water table".
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They named it for the Brazilian scientist who led the discovery team, Valiya Hamza. What more indigenous do you want?
Here is a better article: http://www.sott.net/articles/show/234077-Underground-River-Rio-Hamza-Discovered-4km-Beneath-the-Amazon
Flowing at a rate of 1mm/hour, this is more like a gigantic seepage of ground water. I suppose calling it a "river" gets them into the newspapers...
Enjoy life! This is not a dress rehearsal.
Is the water tessellated?
It's just like the Grand Canyon is the European name for it, while its proper name, given by Native Americans, is Weemoteeuktuk.
Cultural insensitivity aside, I think Grand Canyon is easier to remember.
The width is said to be 3700 miles long? Cool, how wide is the length said to be??
Compete with Amazon.com! "Prices? We're miles below them!" Oops - too late - someone else already took it (back in 1999).
It's under a few miles of rock. Here, let me fix that for you.
"Hamza? They couldn't come up with something more igneous?"
Try the fish!
It's just like the Grand Canyon is the European name for it, while its proper name, given by Native Americans, is Weemoteeuktuk.
A name is an identifier. There's nothing inherently more legitimate or "proper" about a name just because it's the first name used for something. Variables can take on a new name in a new scope. A new group of people can use a different name. It may be that communication between the groups will suffer for it--sometimes intentionally (consider politicians using different phrases to mean the same thing, such as "tax subsidy," "loophole," and "job-creating tax break"). It may also be that under a particular legal regime, the first person to encounter or capture something has a right to it (there are old common-law cases about fox hunts, for example). But objectively, there is nothing improper about coming across a giant hole in the ground and calling it "giant hole in the ground," even if someone else already calls it--for example--France.
-- IANAL, this isn't legal advice, and definitely isn't legal advice for you. Also, Squee!
It's just like the Grand Canyon is the European name for it, while its proper name, given by Native Americans, is Weemoteeuktuk.
Cultural insensitivity aside, I think Grand Canyon is easier to remember.
Not to the Hopi inhabitant of the region. And by the way, 'Weemoteeuktuk' is bullshit. The real name is Ongtupqa.
France is more convex than concave so more like a pile than a hole.
Native Americans don't call themselves 'Native Americans' (the name would vary depending upon the tribe), and I think Brazilians call themselves Brasilianos (although that's not too much of a stretch). However, the indigenous people of the Amazon probably didn't call Brazil 'Brazil' or the Amazon 'the Amazon.' That sort of suggests the futility in trying to have a 'native' name.
Also, I can't seem to find ANY results on Weemoteeuktuk
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Brazilians call themselves 'Brasileiros' instead of 'Brasilianos'. Interesting, 'Brasiliano' would be more appropriate from a linguistic point of view (the '-ano' suffix indicates someone who belongs or as born in a given place) than 'Brasileiro' ('-eiro' suffix indicates someone who performs a given action). 'Brasileiro' is used because the first (European) inhabitants used to perform the Brazil wood trade, hence the '-eiro' instead of the '-ano' suffix.
Well, on a second though, that's not interesting at all.
English is not my first language. Corrections and suggestions are welcome.
...while its proper name, given by Native Americans, is Weemoteeuktuk.
Proper to whom? Which group of Native Americans, there are tons of them up there. The Navajo, the Ute, the Hopi, the Paiute, the Havasupai, the Hualapai? I'm sure I'm missing some tribes.
I wasn't aware that names weren't allowed to change. The first name something is given, is its name forever. I'm sure this is going to make me loose some "cultural feel good woo" points, but I'm past the point of caring. A name is a name, it isn't a magical identifier. The proper name for the Grand Canyon, in English, is "The Grand Canyon". Why is this proper? Because if I mention it to another English speaker they will know what the hell I'm talking about. If I say "Weemoteeuktuk", no one (even most natives) won't have a damn clue. If, in whatever language, "Weemoteeuktuk" is meaningful, and common, then that is the proper name within the smaller community, though they too will recognize what I'm referring to what I say "The Grand Canyon", making the term much more useful and ubiquitous. And thus superior, and this closer to "proper".
No, I don't think some mythical sense of inclusion is more important than clarity and the ability to communicate. The latter are the point of language, the former is for the the sociologists and odd Caucasian apologists.
A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government. -edward abbey
'Cause I wouldn't have been able to resist the temptation to name it "Amazon Prime".
Ongtupqa is bullshit!
When the Grand Canyon was originally dredged by the Great Old Ones, it's name was Gthugl'ghulthahghfhgal.
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JADBP
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-14693637