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AMERICANORTH
AMERICA
EUROPE- CHICHÉN ITZÁ, MEXICO
Kukulkan Pyramid
The 79-foot Maya step pyramid
Kukulkan, aka “El Castillo” (the
castle), sits at the center of the
archaeological site of Chichén
Itzá. If you stand at the bottom
of the steps and clap your
hands, you get this incredible
chirping sound. Whether it was
constructed deliberately to make
this noise or the sound is an
accidental sonic marvel remains
a matter of debate. The regular
pattern of sound bouncing off the
treads of the staircase is responsi-
ble for the chirp.- SVALBARD, NORWAY
Bearded seals
Listen to the call of a bearded seal,
and it’s hard to believe that this is
natural. It sounds more like a sound
effect from a sci-fi movie. Male
bearded seals descend underwater
in spirals, singing and releasing
bubbles. They create long drawn-
out whistling glissandi, with the
pitch of the sound gradually drop-
ping. It’s thought that the longer
the glissando, the more attractive
the male is to females. To hear this
sound, you need to use a hydro-
phone, an underwater microphone.- SALFORD, ENGLAND
Silent anechoic chamber
In this ultrasilent room, sound does
not reflect from the foam-studded
walls. But you don’t hear silence.
Instead you often get the discon-
certing exper ience of hearing
body sounds like your blood
pumping. It’s an oppressive place
in which some people last only a
few minutes. The chamber at the
University of Salford is open to
the public a couple of days a year.
Chambers can also be found in
Minnesota and California.AGE FOTOSTOCK/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO (MOSQUE),
RUSSELL MILLNER/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO (SEAL); NG MAPS
TREVOR COX ( @trevor_cox) is a professor of acoustic engineering at the
University of Salford, U.K., and author of The Sound Book.- Gong Rocks, Serengeti, Tanzania 2. Ancient theater, Epidaurus, Greece
- Gol Gumbaz, Vijayapura, India 4. Emanuel Vigeland Mausoleum, Oslo,
Norway 5. Symphony Hall, Boston, MA 6. Sea Organ, Zadar, Croatia - Great Stalacpipe Organ, Luray, VA 8. Thurgoland railway tunnel, York-
shire, England 9. Superb lyrebird, Australia 10. Imam Mosque, Isfahan, Iran - Singing sand dune, Altyn-Emel, Kazakhstan 12. Musical road, Lancaster,
CA 13. Kukulkan Pyramid, Chichén Itzá, Mexico 14. Silent anechoic
chamber, Salford, England 15. Bearded seals, Svalbard, Norway