Stepping onto Socotra Island is like setting foot on an alien landscape.
踏上索科特拉岛,人仿佛就进入了一个世外之境。
This place is one of the most isolated landforms on Earth.
这里是世界上最人迹罕至的地方之一。
Located in the Arabian Sea, south of Yemen, the island separated from the mainland of Africa between six and seven million years ago.
索科特拉岛坐落在也门以南的阿拉伯海上,六七百万年前,这里还和非洲大陆连在一起。
There are nearly 700 endemic species on Socotra that are found nowhere else on the planet.
岛上有将近700种别处无从得见的动植物。
Perhaps the most head-turning of Socotra's species is the dragon's blood tree.
索科特拉岛最引人注目的恐怕要数龙血树了。
These strange umbrella shaped trees dot the island.
这些奇怪的伞状树散落在整座岛屿上。
Its top-heavy design is actually an adaptation to Socotra's arid climate.
为了适应索科特拉岛干旱的气候,龙血树进化出了这些硕大的树冠。
The large green crown provides shade which reduces evaporation in a place that sees very little rainfall.
在降雨极少的岛上,这些巨大的绿色树冠能够为树干庇荫,减慢蒸发。
This otherworldly gem has experienced threats to its ecology from human development.
随着人类的发展,索科特拉岛这一梦幻般的珍宝也已面临着生态破坏的危险,
But the United Nations stepped in in 2008 designating it a UNESCO heritage site.
所幸的是,2008年联合国将这里列入了世界遗产名录。