I love this topic!  I often post photos of the power of Nature, and we have lots of those elements right here in the Pacific Northwest.  My very favorite subject is Snoqualmie Falls, which is just a half-hour drive from our home.  We go there often, just to stand behind the chain-link fence and view the waterfall, in all its majestic glory.  The Snoqualmie River has been harnessed to provide hydroelectric power since the very early 20th Century, and it will be doing so, far into the future.  Once the power-plant was built, as a marvel of American engineering, it takes comparatively little additional effort to run.

This is the Falls, in Spring flood, when the river is enhanced by runoff from melting Cascade Mountain snows.

And this picture is in the winter, when there is very little runoff.  Both pictures, however, reflect the power of Nature’s water, and our successful attempt to harness that power.  The river never stops flowing through the power-plants, supplying the cleanest, most natural, form of power for all of our activities.  The only way for you to really get a feel for how powerful this waterfall is, would be video.

One more thought on water.  I have always believed that the sound of running water is Nature’s original music.  From the roar of a big waterfall, to the trickle of a stream bubbling over rocks, I love the sound of running water.  It is very soothing to the soul.  At the very beginnings of Earth, there was running water, before there was even an atmosphere to create wind.

Nature also provides us with a demonstration of its Fire Power.  The Hawaiian Islands are a part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, which includes land and under-sea volcanoes.  This fire comes from far beneath the surface of the Earth.  Before we had the knowledge of Plate Tectonics, early humans thought the gods or spirits made volcanoes, and various civilizations appeased those gods in different ways.  Some cultures sacrificed their own people to the gods, in the hopes that the gods would not send volcanic lava to destroy their villages and temples.  Those sacrifices weren’t terribly effective.

These days, scientists study volcanoes, and tourists take pictures.  Like these, of the Kilauea Volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii.

Clouds embody two of the elements, Water and Air.  I have always loved watching the clouds, and admiring the many different forms they take.  For instance, in 2010, on our driving trip to Hillsdale College in Michigan, we outran a thunderstorm in Iowa.  Literally, all the way from Des Moines to Indiana, we were at the leading edge of a big thunderstorm, and I managed to get a picture through the windshield of the car.

This unusual cloud formation was near the top of Pike’s Peak in Colorado.

There must have been some weird air currents that day.

And this unusual sunset picture in Hawaii shows “Vog”, or “volcano fog”, caused by the erupting volcano on the other side of the island (see above for pictures of the volcano itself).

Yes, children, Mother Nature is more powerful than we humans are.  And Mother Nature and the Sun control the Earth’s climate, not we humans, so don’t ever believe anyone who tells you that we are responsible for the changing climate.  It has changed all the time, since long before there were any people on Earth.  Even if we aren’t changing the climate, we can sure observe all the #Elements that make up our environment, and give thanks to God for putting us on such a beautiful planet.

Here’s the link to Terri’s Original Post.