<p>The Brown Hotel is a historic 16-story hotel in downtown Louisville, Kentucky, USA, located on the corner of Fourth and Broadway. It contains 293 rooms and over 24,000 ft² of meeting space. It also contains special amenities, such as a fitness center and three restaurants. It is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The Brown Hotel is a member of Historic Hotels of America, the official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The hotel which featured 600 rooms, ballrooms, shoppes, meeting rooms, and restaurants, was designed by Preston J. Bradshaw and opened in 1923, only 10 months after construction began. The hotel cost $4 million, and was funded and owned by James Graham Brown, a local entrepreneur who wanted to compete with The Seelbach Hotel just a few blocks down the street. The hotel quickly became a central part of the growing downtown Louisville economy and the social lives of the locals.</p><br>
<p>In 1926 the hotel chef Fred K. Schmidt introduced the Hot Brown sandwich, consisting of an open-faced turkey sandwich with bacon with a delicate Mornay sauce. The Hot Brown became rather popular among locals and visitors alike. The sandwich was featured on the 2002 PBS documentary Sandwiches That You Will Like.</p><br>
<p>Many famous people have visited the hotel in the past and present. David Lloyd George, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, was the first person to sign the guest register, and Queen Marie of Romania also visited. The famous soprano Lily Pons was allowed to bring her pet lion along with her, and it roamed free in her room. Actor Victor Mature was an elevator operator at the hotel before becoming famous; he lost his job after abandoning his post at the elevator and leaving a simple note so that he could go dance with a girl during one of the hotel&#39;s many roof-top parties.</p><br>
<p>The combination of Prohibition and the Great Depression led to hard times for the hotel in the early 1930s. The Brown defaulted on its loan, and the bank threatened foreclosure. Employees were asked to work for periods without pay, and the Brown was only able to stay open due to the employees&#39; willingness to do so.</p><br>
<p>When the 1937 Flood hit Louisville, the Brown&#39;s first floor was flooded. Although there was no electricity, the hotel stayed open, and many people whose homes were submerged stayed at the hotel. One resident recalled: "We were rowing down Broadway and there was The Brown Hotel. The doors were open and the place was filled with water so we just rowed our boat in one door, went through the lobby and rowed out another." A worker is recorded to have caught a two-pound fish in the lobby. WAVE radio, located on the 15th floor, was the only radio station to remain in operation in its own facilities during the flood.</p><br>
<p>Like much of the rest of the nation, economic recovery began in the buildup to World War II. Thousands of soldiers passing through from Fort Knox would stay in the area, and the hotel would frequently be filled to capacity. The week of the Kentucky Derby was and still is the most successful week of every year, celebrities such as The Duke of Windsor, Harry Truman, Elizabeth Taylor, Joan Crawford, Gene Autry, Eva Marie Saint, and Muhammad Ali have stayed here during this exciting time. Derby continues to draw many people to the hotel from those involved in the horse industry to celebrities for the Greatest Two Minutes in Sports.</p><br>
<p>As the city declined in the 1960s and 1970s, the fortunes of The Brown declined as well. Though $1.5 million was spent in 1965 to modernize the Brown and another downtown hotel, attendance remained low. Then on March 20, 1969, James Graham Brown died, this in turn led to the further decline of the hotel and in 1971 after financial shortfalls The Brown closed its doors. The building was sold to the Louisville Public Schools and became the headquarters for the city school system. When Louisville and Jefferson County schools merged in 1975 the new school system used the county schools&#39; VanHoose Education Center as its headquarters and the Brown Education Center housed other school administrative offices.</p><br>
<p>The city of Louisville began to make many moves to revitalize the downtown area in the 1980s. As part of this project the "Broadway Group" was formed, which acquired The Brown from Jefferson County Public Schools and began its renovation in 1983. The schools took a toll on the building, however, the grand public rooms were spared and were able to be saved. After the restoration of the hotel it was reopened as a Hilton Hotel. In 1993 the hotel was purchased by the Camberley Hotel Company who furthered the restoration and returned the hotel to its former glory with the exception of the roof-top patio which remains closed to the public and the once two story Bluegrass room becoming a single story room with three other meeting rooms overhead. Another alteration made to the hotel was the demolition of the dividing wall in every other room thus doubling the size of each guest room and taking the hotel from 600 rooms to its present 293 guest rooms. After the restorations and alterations were completed, Camberley sold the hotel to its present owner, 1859 Historic Hotels LTD based out of Galveston, Texas in 2006. 1859 has continued to update and modernize the hotel while also preserving it for many people to enjoy as much as others did in the past.</p><br>
<p>J. Percy Priest Lake is a reservoir in north central part of Tennessee. It is formed by J. Percy Priest Dam, located between miles six and seven of the Stones River. The dam  is located about 10 mi east of downtown Nashville and impounds a lake 42 mi long. The lake and dam are named for Congressman Percy Priest.</p><br>
<p>The lake covers portions of Davidson, Rutherford and Wilson counties and consists of 14,200 acre of water at summer pool elevation 490 ft above mean sea level. The water is surrounded by 18,854 acre of public lands; 10,000 acre are devoted to wildlife management. The site of the former town of Old Jefferson was inundated by the reservoir; the community was demolished in the early 1960s for the building of the dam.</p><br>
<p>The Percy Priest dam project was first authorized by the USA Congress in 1946 under the name “Stewarts Ferry Reservoir.” An act of Congress approved July 2, 1958, changed the name to honor Congressman Priest. The USA Army Corps of Engineers project was completed in 1967.</p><br>
<p>The dam, powerhouse, lake and public lands are operated and supervised by the Corps of Engineers Nashville District personnel. The Natural Resource Management Office maintains three campgrounds (Anderson Road, Seven Points and Poole Knobs), eleven day-use/picnic areas (Anderson Road, Cook, Damsite, East Fork, Fate Sanders, Jefferson Springs, Nices Mill, Overlook, Seven Points, Smith Springs and Tailwater) and twelve boat launching ramps (Anderson Road, Cook, East Fork, Fall Creek, Fate Sanders, Hurricane Creek, Jefferson Springs, Lamar Hill, Mona, Nices Mill, Poole Knobs, Seven Points, Smith Springs, Stewarts Creek and Viverett Creek). Marinas at the lake include Nashville Shores, Elm Hill, Four Corners, Fate Sanders, Hamilton Creek and Percy Priest. The lake is also home to a number of recreational organizations such as the Tennessee Boat Club, Percy Priest Yacht Club, Vanderbilt Sailing Club, the Vanderbilt Rowing Club and the Nashville Rowing Club.</p><br>
<p>Saginaw Bay is a bay within Lake Huron located on the eastern side of the USA state of Michigan. It forms the space between Michigan&#39;s Thumb region and the rest of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. Saginaw Bay is 1,143 square miles in area. It is located in parts of five Michigan counties: Arenac, Bay, Huron, Iosco, and Tuscola.</p><br>
<h2>Watershed</h2><br>
<p>The Saginaw Bay watershed is the largest drainage basin in Michigan, draining approximately 15% of the total land area. The watershed contains the largest contiguous freshwater coastal wetland system in the United States. The Saginaw Bay Watershed Initiative Network leads the effort to promote sustainable development in the Saginaw Bay Watershed by coordinating watershed programs and providing grants to innovative projects across the region. It is currently listed as an Area of Concern (1 of 46 in the Great Lakes) by the EPA.</p><br>
<h2>Origin of the name</h2><br>
<p>Possible origins for the name "Saginaw" could be from the Ojibwa words O-Sag-e-non or Sag-in-a-we, meaning "to flow out". It may refer to the Saginaw River, which flows out into Saginaw Bay, and eventually into Lake Huron. The name "Saginaw" is not related to Saguenay, a region in Quebec whose name is of Algonquin origin.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>This area was long settled by indigenous peoples, lastly by bands of the Ojibwe people prior to European exploration. They dominated the areas around the Great Lakes. In the early 17th century, French explorers were the first Europeans to visit the Great Lakes region. The first to visit the Saginaw Bay area was Father Jacques Marquette, a French Jesuit missionary priest, who went there in 1668 after establishing a mission in St. Ignace. In 1686, father arrived in the valley to establish an Indian mission, but his efforts failed.</p><br>
<p>France ceded its nominal control of the region to Great Britain under the terms of the Treaty of Paris of 1763 following Britains victory in the Seven Years War. Twenty years later, Britain ceded it to the newly independent United States of America. It became part of the Michigan Territory in 1805 and later was admitted to the Union as the State of Michigan.</p><br>
<p>During development of natural resources in the 19th century, Saginaw Bay was busy with shipping of lumber and other commodities to eastern markets.</p><br>
<h2>Settlements</h2><br>
<p>About 1813, Louis Campau erected an Indian trading post along the Saginaw River, which led to the development of Saginaw City, Michigan in 1816 (which was combined with East Saginaw City in March 1890 to form Saginaw, Michigan. The history of other settlements of the Saginaw Bay area was connected to this.</p><br>
<p>Bay City, Michigan is a major port at the lower end of the bay. The two Charity Islands in the middle of the bay, Charity Island and Little Charity Island, are excellent fishing grounds.</p><br>
<p>The shore areas and beaches have become popular with summer tourists.</p><br>
<h2>Weather</h2><br>
<p>Saginaw Bay Light No. 1, a navigational light 11 nautical miles northeast of the mouth of the Saginaw River, houses NOAA weather equipment providing weather conditions for the Bay.</p><br>
<p>Gravelly Shoal Light, located near Charity Island, also houses a weather station.</p><br>
<h2>Culture</h2><br>
<p>A World War II escort carrier was named Saginaw Bay.</p><br>
<p>The Saginaw Bay Yacht Club remains one of the most prestigious in the region.</p><br>
<p>Failaka Island  is a Kuwaiti Island in the Persian Gulf. The island is 20 km off the coast of Kuwait City in the Persian Gulf. The name "Failaka" is thought to be derived from the ancient Greek φυλάκιο - "outpost".</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>In 2000 B.C., Mesopotamians settled in Failaka at least a century before the Dilmun civilization.</p><br>
<p>Starting in the 3rd millennium BC, Failaka belonged to the Dilmun civilization. During the Dilmun era (from ca. 3000 BC), Failaka was known as "Agarum", the land of Enzak, a great god in the Dilmun civilization according to Sumerian cuneiform texts found on the island. As part of Dilmun, Failaka became a hub for the civilization from the end of the 3rd to the middle of the 1st millennium BC. Failaka was settled following 2000 BC after a drop in sea level.</p><br>
<p>After the Dilmun civilization, Failaka was inhabited by the Kassites of Mesopotamia, and was formally under the control of the Kassite dynasty of Babylon. Many of the artifacts found in Falaika are linked to Mesopotamian civilizations and seem to show that Failaka was gradually drawn toward the civilization based in Antioch.</p><br>
<p>Under Nebuchadnezzar II, Failaka was under Babylonian control. Cuneiform documents found in Failaka indicate the presence of Babylonians in the island&#39;s population. Babylonian Kings were present in Failaka during the Neo-Babylonian Empire period, Nabonidus had a governor in Failaka and Nebuchadnezzar II had a palace and temple in Falaika. Failaka also contained temples dedicated to the worship of Shamash, the Mesopotamian sun god in the Babylonian pantheon.</p><br>
<p>At some point following Alexander&#39;s initial advance through the region in 331 BC or in the period 324/3 BC when he returned to Mesopotamia, the ancient Greeks colonized the island, which they named Ikaros after the Greek island in the Aegean Sea and the mythical hero Icarus, apparently in the belief that the island had a similar shape of its Aegean counterpart. Some elements of Greek mythology were mixed with the local cults. "Ikaros" was also the name of a prominent city situated in Failaka. Remains of the settlement include a large Hellenistic fort and two Greek temples.</p><br>
<p>In 127 BC, the kingdom of Characene was established around the Bay of Kuwait near Failaka. Characene was centered in the region encompassing southern Mesopotamia, including Failaka island. A busy commercial station existed on Failaka island.</p><br>
<p>A Christian Nestorian settlement flourished in Failaka from the 5th century until the 9th century. Excavations have revealed several farms, villages and two large churches dating from the 5th and 6th century. Archaeologists are currently excavating nearby sites to understand the extent of the settlements that flourished in the eighth and ninth centuries A.D. An old island tradition is that a community grew up around a Christian mystic and hermit. The small farms and villages were eventually abandoned. Remains of Byzantine era Nestorian churches were found at Al-Qusur in Failaka. Pottery at the site can be dated from as early as the first half of the 7th century through the 9th century.</p><br>
<p>Prior to the Iraqi Invasion, the island had over two thousand residents and several schools. The village of Al-Zawr is situated near the middle of the northwest side of the island. It was the longest continuously inhabited location in Kuwait. During 1990 and 1991, the invading Iraqis depopulated the island, expelling all of its residents to the mainland. The Iraqi military mined the beaches and used the island&#39;s facilities and buildings for target practice. In 1991, the allied forces forced the Iraqi army forces occupying the island to surrender through bombing and psywar operations. The sewage system was destroyed and has yet to be fully repaired. Also, many old homes continue to sit empty and decaying; bullet holes can still be seen.</p><br>
<p>After the war, Failaka was cleared of mines, but it remains under military use. Nevertheless, Failaka Island is becoming a popular holiday destination from Kuwait City. The ferry Ikarus takes passengers out to the island. Currently, the ferry terminal is located in Salmiya&#39;s Marina.</p><br>
<h2>Climate, geography and the future</h2><br>
<p>Failaka Island is located in the northern part of the Persian Gulf. Springtime on Failaka Island is regarded as particularly special by Kuwaitis. Failaka has quite a different ecosystem to mainland Kuwait, and its budding flowers and changing temperatures are much appreciated. Although the island&#39;s infrastructure remains poor, Failaka is beginning to develop a local tourist industry; it provides fishing, boating, swimming, sailing and water sports.</p><br>
<p>The few remaining local residents are mostly those Failakawans who lived with their families on the island prior to the Iraqi Invasion of 1990. Most Failakawans have their own boats and some are involved in tourism, but many are reticent about letting tourism detract from the quiet island life. Some Failakawan families, although now living in mainland Kuwait, regularly go to the island on weekends.</p><br>
<p>On the mainland, in Kuwait City, there have been various schemes to build a bridge to the island and make it a vacation paradise, as has been done in Bahrain.</p><br>
<p>The museum and archaeological sites (the Ikarus and Azuk temple sites) are planned to re-open.</p><br>
<p>In July 2007, Kuwait and Greece signed an agreement allowing Greek archaeologists to continue their work on the island under the aegis of Angeliki Kottaridou and Panagiotis Hadzidakis. Other sporadic archaeological work has restarted on the island, with the discovery of 18th-century Portuguese, and later British, fortifications. A new hotel resort has encouraged many of the improvements.</p><br>
<p>Big Spring International Park  is located in downtown Huntsville, Alabama. The park is built around its namesake "Big Spring", the original water source that the city of Huntsville was built around. The park is also notable as the venue for the Panoply Arts Festival, held the last full weekend in April, Big Spring Jam, an annual music festival held on the fourth weekend in September from 1993 to 2011, and The Battle of the Buffalo, a buffalo wings competition held by the UAH Alpha Tau Omega fraternity to support cancer research.</p><br>
<h2>The Big Spring</h2><br>
<p>The Big Spring is a large, underground karst spring. Isaac and Joseph Criner had previously reached the Big Spring and considered settlement, but due to the presence of bears and mosquitoes left to settle New Market instead. During the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, the spring was Huntsville&#39;s water source, due to its massive flow. The Big Spring is the largest limestone spring in North Alabama, with its usual flow between 7 and 20 e6USgal per day, depending on the time of the year.</p><br>
<p>From 1827 to the early 1840s, what would later become the park grounds served as the site of the Fearn Canal, built from 1821 to 1824. The canal was built by the Indian Creek Navigation Company, led by local resident Dr. Thomas Fearn. It linked downtown Huntsville and the spring to the Tennessee River, allowing traders to bypass a costly wagon haul of about 11 miles South to the nearest river port, Ditto&#39;s Landing in the town of Whitesburg. The canal eventually became obsolete upon the construction of railroads.</p><br>
<p>The Big Spring also served as the source of the citys water supply from settlement to the late 1960s when the Tennessee Valley Authority built the water treatment plant on the Tennessee River. The first pumphouse was built in the 1830s. It was enclosed in the 1850s. A water turbine pushed water up the bluffs through cedar pipes to reach the citys residents. Until 1840, the city waterwork&#39;s system was privately owned by the family of settler LeRoy Pope. His son sold the land to the city cheaply on the condition his heirs received their water for free and that the space around the Big Spring Basin would be open to the public. The first pumphouse was torn down in 1860 prior to the American Civil War and replaced by the second pumphouse made out of stone. New pumps were put in but little changed during the war. In 1890, the second pumphouse was extended with a new wing and smokestack to meet the new water needs as the city expanded and the new Monte Sano Hotel opened. This pumphouse was torn down by Col. Hiram. W. Chittenden of the USA Army Corp of Engineers in 1899 and the waterworks system was moved further into the city. The third pumphouse would stand near California Street until the 1960s when the water treatment plant would be built on the Tennessee River.</p><br>
<h2>The Park</h2><br>
<p>Big Spring Park is named for a spring named "the big spring" by the indigenous Cherokee and Chickasaw. The original park site is situated in downtown Huntsville, starting from the west side of the courthouse square, and extending about two blocks southwest. This part of the park includes the spring itself and a canal extending to the rest of the park. The parks construction began September 21, 1898 under the direction of Colonel W. Hiram Chittenden of the USA Army Corp of Engineers, stationed at the park during the Spanish–American War. Col. Chittenden became interested in the park and the source of the Big Spring. While exploring the source of the Big Spring, he discovered that horse waste from the courthouse square above was seeping into the citys water supply that the Big Spring produced. Col. Chittenden and his men tore down the pumphouse located at the basin of the Big Spring, put in a fountain, and lined the canal from 1898 to 1901. The park expanded across Church Street to the space which now has the park&#39;s lagoon in 1968. In 2005, the park underwent additional expansion across Monroe Street to include a $284,000 fountain and a canal alongside the Von Braun Center.</p><br>
<p>Today the park prominently features gifts given by other countries and foreign nationals to the city of Huntsville, including a 1903 light beacon (often referred to as "the lighthouse") and a 1929 fog bell given by Norway in 1973. Other smaller gifts include a bench from the United Kingdom and a sundial from Germany.</p><br>
<p>The most recognizable gifts, however, are the iconic red Japanese bridge and cherry trees, given by Japanese Major General Mikio Kimata. From 1964 to 1966, Kimata, then a Lieutenant Colonel, attended Redstone Arsenal&#39;s Ordnance Guided Missile School program. As thanks to the city for its hospitality when hosting him, Kimata donated the original 60 Yoshino Cherry trees. He followed up on this gift with the donation of a "friendship bridge" to celebrate the United States Bicentennial. The bridge was formally dedicated on May 3, 1977. In 1998, Kimata and the Japanese Society of Alabama partially financed a major $36,000 renovation of the bridge. The bridge was restyled, expanded, and given a gentler slope.</p><br>
<p>A final gift, restored to its proper place in 1995, was the marble lion that sits near the Big Spring Fountain. The city was given the marble lion to commemorate the opening of the park. In the late 1960s, it had been pushed into the canal by vandals. It was salvaged and restored in 1995.</p><br>
<p>The park served as a major filming location in Constellation, a 2005 feature film.</p><br>
<p>The Little Roussel, also known as the Petit Ruau or Little Russel, is a channel running between the isle of Herm and Guernsey in the Channel Islands.</p><br>
<p>The main harbours of Guernsey and Herm face into the Little Roussel. There are many small rocks in the channel, including Hermetier, Castle Cornet (now joined to the mainland) and others. The Bréhon Tower (Fort Bréhon) is accessible only by boat and sits on Bréhon, an island in the Little Roussel about 1.5km northeast of St Peter Port, Guernsey, between the port and Herm.</p><br>
<p>The Herm ferry, from St Peter Port Harbour runs across the Little Roussel.</p><br>
<p>The Big Roussel (aka Great Roussel, Big Russel, or Grand Ruau), is the channel running between Herm on the west, and Brecqhou, and Sark on the east.</p><br>
<p>Big Stone Lake is a long, narrow freshwater lake and reservoir forming the border between western Minnesota and northeastern South Dakota in the United States. The lake covers 12,610 acre of surface area, stretching 26 mi from end to end and averaging around 1 mi wide, and at an elevation of 965 ft is the lowest point in South Dakota. Big Stone Lake is the source of the Minnesota River, which flows 332 mi to the Mississippi River.</p><br>
<p>Flow from the lake to the Minnesota River is regulated by the Big Stone Lake Dam, built in 1937 and located at the southern end of the lake. Although modest, the dam controls a maximum capacity of 205,000 acre-feet. The dam is owned and operated by the state of Minnesota.</p><br>
<p>The lake is fed by the Little Minnesota River at its north end, which flows through the Traverse Gap. Big Stone was formed at the end of the last ice age when glacial Lake Agassiz drained through the gap into Glacial River Warren. The valley of that river now holds Big Stone Lake. Big Stone Lake is shown on the 1757 edition of Mitchell Map as "L. Tinton", referring to the Lakota people, also known as Tetonwan ("dwellers of the prairie"). Big Stone Lake was named for nearby rock outcroppings.</p><br>
<p>Two state parks are located at the lake: Big Stone Lake State Park in Minnesota and Hartford Beach State Park in South Dakota. The two parks provide picnic, boat launching, trail, and camping facilities. An educational center at the lake is part of the Minnesota state park. Several vacation resorts are located along the shores of Big Stone Lake as well. Visitors are attracted to the lake especially for its fishing: walleye, northern pike, and bluegills are all popular game fish with anglers, and the lake contains over 30 other species. There are 12 public accesses for fishing use. The lake is stocked once every two years with 7,000,000 walleye fry.</p><br>
<p>The communities of Ortonville, Minnesota, and Big Stone City, South Dakota, are located at the southern tip of the lake; Browns Valley, Minnesota, is located at the northern tip.</p><br>
<h2>Sources</h2><br>
<p>. Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved July 29, 2005.</p><br>
<p>Spading, Kenton (January 2000). United States Army Corps of Engineers.</p><br>
<p>The Fairy Toot is an extensive oval barrow in the civil parish of Nempnett Thrubwell, Somerset, England.</p><br>
<p>It is an example of the Severn-Cotswold tomb type which consist of precisely-built, long trapezoid earth mounds covering a burial chamber. Because of this they are a type of chambered long barrow.</p><br>
<p>Fairy Toot was formerly a chambered cairn which is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, on the national monument register as 198102. The Fairy Toot south-southwest of Howgrove Farm is a mound 60 m long, 25 m wide and now 2.5 m high, retained by a stone wall. Its summit is covered with ash trees and shrubs. Formerly it was considerably higher.</p><br>
<p>On being opened and essentially destroyed between 1787 and 1835 by the Reverend Thomas Bere of Butcombe and the Reverend John Skinner of Camerton, it was found to contain two rows of cells, running from south to north, formed by immense stones set edgeways, and covered by others of larger dimensions. A human skull from the barrow is now in the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery.</p><br>
<p>At the time it was conjectured to be a work of the Druids, but its origins are far older and probably date from the Neolithic period.</p><br>
<p>Wade and Wade in their 1929 book "Somerset" described it as "a remarkably fine tumulus of masonry, said to have been one of the finest in Britain, in the chambers of which skeletons have been discovered. A few vestiges of it now only remain, the rest has been used as a lime-kiln."</p><br>
<p>The site was visited in the past as it was known as a place for curing warts.</p><br>
<p>The Rhaetian Alps  are a mountain range of the Eastern Alps. The SOIUSA classification system divides them into the Western and Eastern Rhaetian Alps, while the Alpine Club classification of the Eastern Alps places most of the Rhaetion subranges within the Western Limestone Alps.</p><br>
<p>They are located along the Italian–Swiss and Austrian–Swiss borders, in the canton of Graubünden in eastern Switzerland; in the state of Tyrol in Austria; and in the Italian regions of Trentino-Alto Adige and Lombardy.</p><br>
<p>The name relates to a Roman province and the Rhaetian people subdued under Emperor Augustus in 15 BCE.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>The Rhaetian Alps contain the subranges of:</p><br>
<p>#Albula Range,</p><br>
<p>#Bernina Range</p><br>
<p>#Brenta group</p><br>
<p>#Bregaglia Range</p><br>
<p>#Ortler Alps</p><br>
<p>#Rätikon</p><br>
<p>#Silvretta</p><br>
<p>The highest peak in the range is Piz Bernina at 4,049 m, located in Grisons/Graubünden canton, Switzerland, adjacent to the Italian border.</p><br>
<p>The Swiss National Park is located in the Western Rhaetian Alps.</p><br>
<p>The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland is the Cleveland-based headquarters of the USA Federal Reserve System&#39;s Fourth District. The district is composed of Ohio, western Pennsylvania, eastern Kentucky, and the northern panhandle of West Virginia. It has branch offices in Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. The check processing center in Columbus, Ohio, was closed in 2005. The chief executive officer and president is Loretta Mester.</p><br>
<p>The bank building is a 13 story 203 foot high-rise, located at Superior Avenue and East 6th Street in downtown Cleveland was designed by the Cleveland firm of Walker and Weeks and completed in 1923. Its exterior architecture emulates an Italian Renaissance palazzo, is clad in pink Sienna marble. An extension to the building designed by HOK was completed in 1998, providing new facilities for check processing and cash handling. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.</p><br>
<p>The building&#39;s entrances feature allegorical sculptures by Henry Hering representing Security and Integrity flanking the East Sixth Street entrance, while his Energy watches the Superior Avenue entry.</p><br>
<p>Its original 100 ST bank vault door is the largest in the world. The hinge has an overall height of 19 ft and weighs over 47 ST fully assembled. The door casting itself was 20 ST. It incorporates the largest hinge ever built. The vault&#39;s use was discontinued in 1997, though it is preserved intact for posterity.</p><br>
<h2>Learning Center and Money Museum</h2><br>
<p>In January 2006, the bank opened the Learning Center and Money Museum, replacing the public teller windows vacated after September 11, 2001. Over 30 hands-on exhibits focus on the history of money, its effects on societies and cultures, and its central role in peoples&#39; lives. The museum is open from Monday through Thursday, except for bank holidays, and admission is free.</p><br>
<h2>Board of directors</h2><br>
<p>The following people are listed as on the board of directors. Class A directors are elected by member banks to represent member banks. Class B directors are elected by member banks to represent the public. Class C directors are appointed by the Board of Governors to represent the public. Terms always expire on December 31 of their final year on the board.</p><br>
<p>Timmelsjoch ,  is a high mountain pass that creates a link through the Ötztal Alps along the border between Austria and Italy.</p><br>
<p>The Timmelsjoch connects the Ötztal valley in the Austrian state of Tyrol to the Passeier Valley in the Italian province of South Tyrol, as it bridges the saddle point between the Jochköpfl (3,141 m) and Wurmkogl (3,082 m) peaks to its northeast and southwest, respectively. The pass is sometimes called the "secret passage" because it is little-used compared to the much easier and lower Brenner Pass some 25 km to its east, and Reschen Pass some 60 km to its west.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>During the early Stone Age, shepherds and their flocks lived in the Obergurgl area near Timmelsjoch. By the early Bronze Age, the glaciers of the last Ice Age were retreating and various hunters, adventurers, and wandering tribes entered the higher elevations in the area in search of game and treasure. The discovery of a brooch near the Schönbodenlacke dating from the La Tène period (around 300 BC) indicates that people were passing over the Timmelsjoch during this period.</p><br>
<p>By the Middle Ages, mining influenced the development of a road network in the area. Marble quarries, semiprecious stones, and oil shales were all exploited. The ancient path over the Timmelsjoch was one of many such roads in the Tyrol which helped facilitate trade and would have a profound social, cultural, political, and religious impact on the peoples of the region. The Timmelsjoch was a particularly important route because it provided one of the most direct routes between the upper Inntal valley and Meran, the regional capital at the time, as well as Tirol Castle and St. Leonhard in Passeier, where the road forks to the Jaufenpass, down to Sterzing, and on to the Brenner Pass road. During that time, cart tracks were relatively few, and travelers, peddlars, and people leading pack animals tended to choose the shortest route.</p><br>
<p>From the end of the thirteenth century to the beginning of the fifteenth century, the Timmelsjoch facilitated increased trade. Ötztaler Kraxenträger (basket bearers) transported flax, livestock, cured bacon, lard, vinegar, wine, and spirits across the pass. These early traders routes and techniques that would later inspire modern alpinists. The name "Thymelsjoch" first appeared in 1241 in a letter written by the Bavarian Count of Eschenlohe. For centuries, the spelling "Thimmeljoch" was widely used. The current spelling came into usage only in the twentieth century during the construction of the paved road.</p><br>
<h2>Timmelsjoch Hochalpenstrasse</h2><br>
<p>The first plans to build a road across the Timmelsjoch were drawn up in 1897, when the Tyrolean Landtag (regional assembly) established a construction agenda which comprised the building of several "rival roads" including a road over the Timmelsjoch. Work would not begin until the autumn of 1955. On July 7, 1959, after four years of construction, the 12 km road was finally opened to the public. The Timmelsjoch Hochalpenstrasse was well-engineered and integrated into the landscape.</p><br>
<p>While the road up from the Ötztal valley was built for tourism purposes, the situation in the Passeier Valley (on the southern side) was very different. As in many other parts of the Italian Alps, Mussolini, the ruler from 1922 to 1945, had numerous military roads built up towards Italy&#39;s international borders. Construction of the road from Moos in Passeier, 10 km southeast from the pass, commenced in the 1930s. After the meeting between Mussolini and Hitler on the Brenner in 1939, construction work ceased. The road was narrow and rough, but had almost been completed. The last 700 m tunnel had been dug through; just the remaining 2 km stretch from its end to the pass had not been built. The tunnel partly collapsed in the following years. From 1939 to the mid-1960s, the unfinished, grassed-over road was only used for forestry purposes. Construction work resumed in the mid-1960s and the road was completed to the pass and opened to through traffic in 1967.</p><br>
<p>The road on the Ötztal valley side is called the Timmelsjoch Hochalpenstrasse. The pass is now popular with car and motorbike tourists. Due to its elevation, steepness, and narrow road, the Timmelsjoch pass is closed to lorries and vehicles with trailers. With its dramatic scenery, particularly on the southern side, the road has become popular with cyclists. On the last Sunday in August, several thousand cyclists take part in the Ötztaler Cycling Marathon crawl up the 29 km section from St. Leonhard in Passeier (672 m) to the pass, gaining 1,800 m—the fourth and final pass included in the grueling 238 km marathon.</p><br>
<h2>Timmelsjoch pass</h2><br>
<p>The Timmelsjoch pass is open to traffic from approximately the first half of June to the second half of October (the exact dates depend on snow conditions) daily from 7:00 am to 8:00 pm. The Ötztal valley side is subject to a toll charge. At the Timmelsjoch pass, the Rasthaus summit tavern offers travelers warm meals and drinks and a sun terrace. Overlooking the Rasthaus is a stone mountain hut with a summit cross nearby.</p><br>
<p>Several stone markers in the area indicate the Austria-Italy border.</p><br>
<p>Cave Hill Cemetery is a 296 acre Victorian era National Cemetery and arboretum located at 701 Baxter Avenue, Louisville, Kentucky, United States. Its main entrance is on Baxter Avenue and there is a secondary one on Grinstead Drive. It is the largest cemetery by area and number of burials in Louisville.</p><br>
<p>Cave Hill was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. Cave Hill National Cemetery, containing military graves, is also on the National Register, added in 1998.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Cave Hill was chartered in 1848 on what was William Johnston&#39;s Cave Hill Farm, then a rural property some distance east of Louisville. Johnston, who died in 1798, had built the first brick house in Louisville on the grounds circa 1788. City officials had purchased part of the land in the 1830s in anticipation of building a railroad through it, and a workhouse was built there. The railroad was built elsewhere, and the land was leased to local farmers.</p><br>
<p>In 1846, Mayor Frederick A. Kaye began investigating the possibility of developing a garden-style cemetery on the grounds, a popular concept at the time. Hartford, Connecticut civil engineer Edmund Francis Lee was hired, who planned a cemetery with winding paths, graves across the tops of hills, and lakes and ponds in the valleys. The Cave Hill Cemetery Co. was chartered in February 1848, and the cemetery was dedicated on July 25, 1848. Reverend Doctor Edward Porter Humphrey delivered the dedicatory address and elaborated on the idea of the garden cemetery, noting, among other things, that "...Reason and taste suggest that should be decorated appropriately by the beautiful productions of our great Creator..."</p><br>
<p>Before the era of large municipal parks, it was common for cities to promote a garden cemetery as a green oasis and recreation destination, and Louisville was no exception. This largely ended with the opening of nearby Cherokee Park in 1892.</p><br>
<p>After administrators sold several acres of land for the burial of Union soldiers during the Civil War, local Confederate supporters purchased nearby land as well. Several deceased patients from the Brown General Hospital and other nearby army medical facilities were interred in Cave Hill Cemetery.</p><br>
<p>Johnstons farmhouse (in what is now sections 33 and 34) was converted to the citys pesthouse, and was demolished in 1872. Also in 1872, Beechhurst Sanitarium was built near the pesthouse and the modern Grinstead entrance. Beechurst was torn down in 1936.</p><br>
<p>The grounds were expanded and remapped in 1888 to their modern size of nearly 300 acre. In the 1980s, razor wire was added to the brick walls surrounding Cave Hill to keep out after-hours visitors.</p><br>
<p>The first scenic overlook for the cemetery, Twin Lakes Scenic Overlook, opened on August 20, 2008.</p><br>
<h2>Buildings and grounds</h2><br>
<p>The signature Baxter Avenue entrance, called the Broadway Entrance by the cemetery, was completed in 1892. The Corinthian-style building includes a 2,000 lb bell in its clock tower. The tower, once the tallest structure for miles, was frequently hit by lightning and last renovated in 2001. The Grinstead Drive entrance was built in 1913.</p><br>
<p>The third public entrance on the residential street of Dearing Court was closed as of 2007. Another public entrance, also no longer in use, was built off Payne Street in 1910, closest to the military sections. There are several service entrances around the perimeter. Other buildings include the stone office building near the lake, and the Rustic Shelter House built in 1892 at a cost of $565.</p><br>
<p>The cemetery contains monuments and graves of three Union generals. The 32nd Indiana Monument, also known as the "August Bloedner Monument", is separately on the National Register.</p><br>
<p>The middle fork of Beargrass Creek runs through Cave Hill, and a source stream flowing into the creek roughly divides the cemetery in new (eastern) and old (western) sections. That stream flows from a spring near the cave that gave the property its name. The cave can be entered for about 30 ft, and then there is a marginal amount of crawl space beyond that, however the cave is officially off limits. There are also five man-made lakes.</p><br>
<p>The cemetery currently features more than 500 species of trees and shrubs, including some two dozen current state champion trees, including both native species such as pignut hickory (Carya glabra) and exotics such as Caucasian wingnut (Pterocarya fraxinifolia). It is well known as an arboretum.</p><br>
<h2>Interments</h2><br>
<p>There were about 120,000 people interred by 2002, with space remaining for 22,000 more graves. Notable among those interred in the cemetery is American Revolutionary War military war officer and founder of Louisville George Rogers Clark (1752-1818).</p><br>
<p>More than 200 Confederate soldiers are buried in Section "O" of the cemetery, with 30–40 buried in a row near the National Cemetery. The original wooden markers in Section "O" were replaced with stone markers in 1880–1881. A number of markers are marked as unknown. Included in the Section "O" burials is a Confederate Brigadier General, Alpheus Baker. There are two other Confederate generals buried in other locations in the cemetery. In the addition to Section "O" (lot 267½) are a number of residents of the Kentucky Confederate Home, who died around the start of the 20th century. The confederate flag flies over the area.</p><br>
<p>Within another USA Soldiers plot in Section E is one British war grave, of a soldier of the Machine Gun Corps, a member of the British Military Mission to the United States, who died in 1918.</p><br>
<p>Muhammad Ali, boxing champion born in Louisville, was interred on June 10, 2016. Also interred is the founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken, Colonel Harland Sanders.</p><br>
<h2>Documents</h2><br>
<p>Castle Pinckney was a small masonry fortification constructed by the United States government by 1810, in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina. It was used very briefly as a prisoner-of-war camp  and artillery position during the American Civil War. It was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970.</p><br>
<h2>Early history</h2><br>
<p>Located on Shutes Folly, a small island about one mile off the Charleston shore in the harbor, the fort was built over the ruins of an older fortification called "Fort Pinckney". The original log and earthen fort, named after the Revolutionary War hero Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, was built beginning in 1797 and was intended to protect the city from a possible naval attack when war with France seemed imminent. Completed in 1804, it saw no hostilities and was virtually destroyed by a severe hurricane in September of that year. A replacement brick-and-mortar structure called "Castle Pinckney" was erected in 1809&ndash;1810 and was garrisoned throughout the War of 1812, but it saw no action during the two-and-a-half-year conflict. Afterwards, Castle Pinckney was abandoned and fell into disrepair.</p><br>
<p>Two decades later, a sea wall was completed and the fort was re-garrisoned during the Nullification Crisis of 1832, when President Andrew Jackson prepared to collect a controversial tariff using military force if necessary. After that brief period of activity, the fort again fell into disuse and was primarily a storehouse for gunpowder and other military supplies.</p><br>
<p>By the late 1850s, Castle Pinckney was part of a network of defensive positions in the harbor, which included the larger and more strategically placed Forts Sumter and Moultrie, and other, smaller earthworks and fortifications. In 1860, Castle Pinckney&#39;s armament consisted of fourteen 24-pounders, four 42-pounders, four 8-inch howitzers, one 10-inch and one 8-inch mortar, and four light field pieces to protect its flanks.</p><br>
<h2>American Civil War</h2><br>
<p>On December 27, 1860, one week after South Carolina seceded from the Union, the fort was surrendered to South Carolina (S.C.) militia by its small USA Army garrison, which retired to Fort Sumter to join Major Robert Anderson. Castle Pinckney became the first Federal military installation seized forcefully by a Southern state government. Three days later, the Union&#39;s Charleston Arsenal joined Castle Pinckney in falling to S.C. forces. After the subsequent Confederate attack on Fort Sumter, the Charleston Zouave Cadets garrisoned Castle Pinckney.</p><br>
<p>One hundred and fifty-four Union Army prisoners of war (120 enlisted, 34 officers) captured during the First Battle of Manassas and previously incarcerated at Ligon&#39;s Prison arrived at Charleston on September 10, 1861, and were kept at the Charleston City Jail until the lower casemates of Castle Pinckney were converted into cells. According to the Charleston Mercury, Richmond officials had selected "chiefly from among those who have evidenced the most insolent and insubordinate disposition." On September 18, prisoners from the 11th NY Fire Zouaves, 69th NY ("Irish") Regiment, 79th NY Regiment, and 8th Michigan Infantry were transferred to Castle Pinckney. They were allowed to wander during the day and were confined to cells only at night.</p><br>
<p>The Castle quickly proved to be too small and inadequate, however, for permanent confinement; the prisoners were transferred back to the Charleston City Jail on October 31, 1861, after only six weeks. After the prisoners were removed, the fort was strengthened with earthen embankments and with additional mortars and Columbiads on the barbette tier. On December 12, the prisoners were transferred back to the island, following a fire which had burned a large section of Charleston and damaged the jail. They remained for just over a week with many sleeping on the inner parade ground before being transferred.</p><br>
<h2>Post Civil War and disuse</h2><br>
<p>After the Civil War, the fort was modernized for possible use during the Spanish–American War, but again it was not needed. Some sources suggest that the fort never fired a single hostile shot during its existence. Parts of the old brick walls and casements were dismantled in 1890, to make way for a harbor lighthouse, which operated into the 20th century. There was local opposition to the plans for the lighthouse; a movement had been undertaken to construct a retirement home for servicemen on the island instead. Castle Pinckney was declared a USA National Monument in 1924 by Presidential proclamation. In 1951, Congress passed a bill to abolish Castle Pinckney National Monument and transferred it back to USA Army Corps of Engineers. The island became excess property subject to sale by the Federal government in March 1956.</p><br>
<p>The island was acquired by the State Ports Commission as a spoil area in 1958 for $12,000, but the Commission investigated improving part of the land and using it as a historic destination. Plans for the use of the island as a spoil area proved impractical, and no successful plans for the use of the island as a tourist destination were created by the Commission. The Commission attempted to return the island to the Federal government, but the government declined, citing the cost of operations as outweighing the historical value of the island. The Commission received offers to buy the island for uses including a private residence, a nightclub, and a restaurant; but the agency refused all of them. A fire on December 22, 1967, destroyed an abandoned house on the island, but a warehouse was saved.</p><br>
<p>A local Sons of Confederate Veterans fraternal post took over management and care of the island in the late 1960s, attempting to preserve it and establish a museum. Castle Pinckney was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970. Eventually, unable to raise the needed funds, the S.C.V. allowed the fort to revert to state ownership. Castle Pinckney has undergone some limited restoration efforts. With its location on an isolated shoal in the middle of the harbor, access is difficult; maintenance is nearly impossible. It is gradually being reclaimed by nature.</p><br>
<p>In June 2011, Castle Pinckney was sold to the Fort Sumter Camp No. 1269, Sons of Confederate Veterans, for $10 Confederate.</p><br>
<p>Funk Island is a small, barren, isolated, uninhabited island approximately 60 km northeast of Wesleyville, Newfoundland, Canada.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>The island is roughly trapezoidal in shape, with a maximum length of 0.8 km and a maximum width of 0.3 km and is nearly flat, rising 14 m out of the North Atlantic. The island is composed of feldspathic granite and is traversed by two distinct fault lines which cross the island in a northwesterly direction, almost parallel to each other. The fault lines divide the island into three separate entities. The northeastern portion consists mainly of bare rock; the central portion has scattered vegetation; and the largest portion of the island, the southwestern, which occupies over half of the land surface, is covered with grasses, lichens and mosses.</p><br>
<p>Landing on Funk Island is extremely difficult and dangerous, though in calm weather there are three points where a safe landing can be effected. Gannet Head, the southwestern corner of the island, and Landing Rock, just north of Gannet Head, are two such places. On the north side, approximately 0.17 km west of Escape Point, the easternmost tip of the island, there is a steep cliff. Set in the cliff is a natural shelf, called The Bench, approximately 1.2 m wide, which slopes up the cliff face which allow relatively easy access to the surface.</p><br>
<p>The cold Labrador Current provides good breeding ground for cold water fish which in turn support the large breeding seabird population of the island. At high tide the seas break widely against the cliffs and in particularly high seas waves break over the island.</p><br>
<p>There are two large rock bunkers which lie off the southwest side of the island. The two bunkers are washed over by the sea, and provide roosting but not nesting areas for many of the seabirds, particularly the gannets. The island and the bunkers make up what is known as the "Funks."</p><br>
<p>There are no navigational aids or lighthouses on the island despite the number of shipwrecks and the loss of life which have occurred in the area.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The name Funk, which means evil odour or vapour, is thought to have been given to the island because of the foul odour which predominates there. The smell arises from the nitrate and phosphate concentrations found in the guano deposited by the many millions of birds which have nested there over the centuries.</p><br>
<p>Some contend that the name may be traced to a Norse or Icelandic word for a haycock which the island resembles. This hypothesis appears unlikely, since the name Funk did not often appear on maps until the late 18th century. Before that time the island was usually referred to by sailors as Penguin Island.</p><br>
<p>It is believed that Gaspar Corte-Real visited the island in 1501. Shortly after that date it appears on two maps by Pedro Reinel as Y Dos Saues (1504) and Ylhas das aves (1520), both of which refer to an island of birds. A 1626 map by Pierre Mortier labels the place I des Penguins, while an Italian map dated 1661 has the island marked as I Penguin Abonda di Vecelli (Penguin Island abounding with birds). One of the earliest British maps by cartographer Herman Moll, dated 1716, refers to it as Penguin Island. The name Funk Island appears on James Cook&#39;s 1775 map as it does in the charts and surveys compiled in 1765. According to the book Pioneers in Canada (Blackie and Sons 1912) Jacques Cartier in 1534 commented on the great number of birds and polar bears on Funk Island.</p><br>
<p>Funk Island was probably called Penguin Island because the great auk used to nest on this island by thousands, and possibly tens of thousands, up to the late 18th century when its numbers declined drastically. However, the American Heritage Dictionary suggests the word "penguin", which may be derived from the Welsh pen gwyn meaning "white head", originated with the name of the island and subsequently become a synonym for "great auk".</p><br>
<h2>Demise of the great auk</h2><br>
<p>It is believed that Funk Island was visited shortly after the first native peoples settled in northeastern Newfoundland. Joseph Banks, who visited Newfoundland and Labrador in 1766, told of a type of pudding the Beothuk people made from eggs which had been collected from Penguin (Funk) Island. In earlier times, the great auk was also known as the garefowl, from the Norse, "geirfugl".</p><br>
<p>In the early 16th century, Europeans were drawn to the codfish schools off the coast of Newfoundland. "Towards the end of a long transatlantic journey, when provisions were running low, fresh meat was prized, and the ease with which auks could be picked off the slab was soon noted." Many explorers and fishing nations made trips to the Funks to acquire seabirds for food and oil for their lamps. The great auks were flightless birds that were an easy prey. In 1578, 350 Spanish and French vessels and fifty English vessels were reported fishing nearby. Later settlers along the northeast coast of Newfoundland often made the short trip to the Funks to kill birds for food and lamp oil; they also used the feathers for pillows and mattresses and gathered the eggs for food.</p><br>
<p>In 1622 Sir Richard Whitbourne told of how the birds were driven up the gang planks into the boats. He remarked that it was "as if God had made the innocency of so poore a creature to become such an admirable instrument for the sustenation of man."</p><br>
<h2>Scientific expeditions</h2><br>
<p>By 1800 the great auk was probably extinct on Funk Island, and by 1844, in the world.</p><br>
<p>Naturalists and scientists had become interested in the plight of the great auk and by June 1841 a Norwegian naturalist, Dr. Peter Stuvitz visited Funk Island with the hope of obtaining specimens of the birds, but was forced to leave due to weather conditions on the island.</p><br>
<p>The second visit of a scientific nature occurred in 1863, when Thomas Molloy, the United States Consul to Newfoundland, received permission from the Government of Newfoundland to go to the Funk Island to mine remains of the great auk. Thirty-five tons of the decomposed organic material was secured by Molloy&#39;s expedition. Of these five tons was sold locally at nineteen dollars a ton while the other thirty tons was shipped to Boston, Baltimore and Washington D.C., where it was used to fertilize the gardens of wealthy Americans.</p><br>
<p>In July 1873 seismologist and naturalist John Milne went to the island and was successful in retrieving partial skeletons and miscellaneous bones before inclement weather cut short his stay. He reported that there was an abundance of terns on Funk Island but that the murre and razorbill population had been almost destroyed by egg gatherers. In a hazardous landing and in only the one hour that was allowed by the dangerous tides and high waves surrounding the island, Milne discovered in a small, grassy hollow, the skeletal remains of no fewer than fifty birds. Some of them exceeded in size any that had before been known. His collection of great auk skeletons subsequently found its way into various public museums. In a scientific paper he wrote in 1875 describing his trip he included a detailed collection of facts relating to the extinct bird that covered five geographical regions, including prehistoric kitchen middens of Caithness.</p><br>
<p>The most successful of the early scientific expeditions to Funk Island occurred in 1887. It was sponsored by the United States Fish Commission and was under the direction of Frederick A. Lucas. After a brief sojourn in St. Johns, the groups ship, Grampus, arrived at Funk Island on July 22, 1887. They found in their search area, roughly one quarter of the land surface of the island was covered with between.6 and 1.2 m of earth. The earth contained egg shells mixed with granite pebbles in depths ranging from 5 to 30 cm. Many more skeletons were unearthed and taken away for other scientific study.</p><br>
<p>This expedition did other scientific work on Funk Island, including the collection of rock specimens. During their search of the island they also discovered several iron kettles, rusted and broken, which were believed to have been used to scald the bodies of the great auks to make removal of the feathers easier. Near the western edge of the auks&#39; breeding grounds they discovered enclosures made of granite blocks. The Auks had been herded into these compounds to make slaughtering easier.</p><br>
<p>There have been many other expeditions since, right up to 1982. In 1964 the island became a Provincial Wildlife Sanctuary and landing there was prohibited without a permit. With the creation of the sanctuary, the bird population began to be protected and monitored.</p><br>
<h2>Breeding colonies</h2><br>
<p>Eleven marine bird species have been known to breed on Funk Island.</p><br>
<p>Great auk</p><br>
<p>Arctic tern</p><br>
<p>Northern gannet</p><br>
<p>Northern fulmar</p><br>
<p>Great black-backed gull</p><br>
<p>Herring gull</p><br>
<p>Black-legged kittiwake</p><br>
<p>Razorbill</p><br>
<p>Thick billed murre</p><br>
<p>Atlantic puffin</p><br>
<p>Common murre</p><br>
<p>In 1972 the largest population on the Funk Island was that of the thin-billed or common murre, the population count was 396,461 pairs. That number accounts for 80% of the breeding population in eastern North America and makes Funk Island one of the most important of the seabird colonies in the world. In 1982 the seabird population on Funk Island was estimated at over 1,000,000 birds.</p><br>
<p>Brahma Sarovar is an ancient water pool sacred to Hinduism in Thanesar, in the state of Haryana in North India. Hinduism lays emphasis on taking bath for internal and external purity. Most religious sites have water pools or sarovar in or near the temple/gurdwara. The Hindu genealogy registers at Kurukshetra, Haryana are kept here.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>According to stories of myths, Lord Brahma created the universe from the land of Kurukshetra after a huge yajna. The Brahma Sarovar here is believed to be the cradle of civilization. The sarovar is also mentioned in the eleventh century AD memoirs of Al Beruni, called ‘Kitab-ul-Hind’. The sarovar also has a mention in Mahabharata citing its use by Duryodhana to hide himself under water on the concluding day of the war.</p><br>
<p>A sacred shrine dedicated to Lord Shiva stands within the sarovar, accessible by a small bridge. According to scriptures, bathing in this sarovar increases the sanctity of performing the ‘ashvamedh yajna’. The pool offers a breath-taking sight during the Gita Jayanti celebrations held each year in the last week of November and early December when a ‘deep daan’ ceremony of floating lamps in water and occurs. This also happens to be the time when migratory birds from distant places arrive at the sarovar. The Birla Gita Mandir and Baba Nath’s haveli and temple are the neighbouring attractions.</p><br>
<h2>At Present</h2><br>
<p>The historic Brahma Sarovar has been renovated with modern facilities and pathways. It is 3600 feet long and 1500 feet broad and is in the shape of perfect rectangle. It is considered as one of the largest man-made pools.</p><br>
<h3>Solar eclipse ritual</h3><br>
<p>The pools are especially crowded during solar eclipses because it is believed that bathing there during the solar eclipse is an ablution of sin. On 29 March 2006 a solar eclipse was visible in the region and it drew an estimated one million people to the site. Whenever an eclipse is visible from the Sarovar, hundreds of thousands gather in the pools.</p><br>
<h2>Bibliography</h2><br>
<p>Jagmohan (2005). Soul and Structure of Governance in India. Mumbai: Allied Publishers.</p><br>
<p>Kamran, Krishnam (1997). Tourism: Theory, Planning, and Practice. New Delhi: Indus Publishing.</p><br>
<p>(2006). "Kurukshetra Calling." The Statesman (India). 5 September.</p><br>
<p>Prasad, Ramanuj (2005). Know Your Puranas. Delhi: Pustak Mahal.</p><br>
<p>Radhošť  is a mountain in the Czech Republic 1129 meters above sea level with a view of the Beskydy mountains. A chapel  and a sculpture of Saints Cyril and Methodius are located on the summit and consecrate the Slavic sacred site. The mountain is a popular destination for religious pilgrimages. Referred to as the place of Slavic god Radegast Radhošť was the host of sacred ceremonies to rejoice the god during the time of Slavic antiquity.</p><br>
<p>There is a Sierra trail to mountain Pustevny with the sculpture of god Radegast on the way.</p><br>
<h2>Symbolism of sculpture</h2><br>
<p>The sculpture of Saints Cyril and Methodius was created by Czech-American sculptor Albin Polasek, head of the sculpture department of the Art Institute of Chicago at the time. The three meter statue stands before a chapel earlier dedicated to the page god, Radhost. The broken idols at the feet of the saints stands for the work these 9th century missionaries did in overthrowing idolatry. They brought the Christian faith to Bohemia, Moravia, and Slovakia- later united as Czechoslovakia. In addition to the idols, there is a triple cross, which also known as the Slavic Cross, a variation of the Orthodox cross. The final major symbol is the book that Saint Cyril (on the right) is holding. Saint Cyril is credited with creating the eponymous Cyrillic script or Early Cyrillic alphabet.</p><br>
<p>A similar statue exists at the Cathedral of Saint Paul, National Shrine of the Apostle Paul in Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA. This statue of commissioned by Archbishiop Austin Dowling in 1926 as a shrine for the Slavic immigrants in Saint Paul. This statue at Radhošť served as a suitable model for the one in Saint Paul.</p><br>
<p>Greater Caucasus  is the major mountain range of the Caucasus Mountains.</p><br>
<p>The range stretches for about 1,200 km from west-northwest to east-southeast, between the Taman Peninsula of the Black Sea to the Absheron Peninsula of the Caspian Sea: from the Western Caucasus in the vicinity of Sochi on the northeastern shore of the Black Sea and reaching nearly to Baku on the Caspian.</p><br>
<p>The range is traditionally separated into three parts:</p><br>
<p>Western Caucasus, from the Black Sea to Mount Elbrus</p><br>
<p>Central Caucasus, from Mount Elbrus to Mount Kazbek</p><br>
<p>Eastern Caucasus, from Mount Kazbek to the Caspian Sea</p><br>
<p>In the wetter Western Caucasus, the mountains are heavily forested (deciduous forest up to 1,500 m, coniferous forest up to 2,500 m and alpine meadows above the tree line). In the drier Eastern Caucasus, the mountains are mostly treeless.</p><br>
<h2>Europe—Asia boundary</h2><br>
<p>The watershed of the Caucasus is also considered the boundary between Eastern Europe and Western Asia. The European part north of the watershed is known as Ciscaucasia, the Asiatic part to the south as Transcaucasia, which is dominated by the Lesser Caucasus mountain range and whose western portion converges with Eastern Anatolia.18th-century definitions drew the boundary north of the Caucasus, across the Kuma–Manych Depression. This definition remained in use in the Soviet Union during the 20th century.</p><br>
<p>In western literature, the continental boundary has been drawn along the Caucasus watershed since at least the mid 19th century.</p><br>
<p>See e.g. Baron von Haxthausen, "Transcaucasia" (1854); review</p><br>
<p>Douglas W. Freshfield, "", Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society, Volumes 13-14, 1869.</p><br>
<p>The border of Russia with Georgia and Azerbaijan runs along the most of the Caucasus&#39; length. The Georgian Military Road (Darial Gorge) and Trans-Caucasus Highway traverse this mountain range at altitudes of up to 3,000 m.</p><br>
<h2>Watershed</h2><br>
<p>The watershed of the Caucasus was the border between the Caucasia province of the Russian Empire in the north and the Ottoman Empire and Persia in the south in 1801, until the Russian victory in 1813 and the Treaty of Gulistan which moved the border of the Russian Empire well within Transcaucasia.</p><br>
<p>The border between Russia and Georgia still follows the watershed almost exactly (except for Georgia&#39;s western border, which extends south of the watershed, and except for a narrow strip of territory in northern Mtskheta-Mtianeti and northwestern Kakheti where Georgia extends north of the watershed), while Azerbaijan in its northeastern corner has five districts north of the watershed (Davachi, Khachmaz, Qusar, Siazan, Quba).</p><br>
<h2>Peaks</h2><br>
<p>Mount Elbrus, 5,642 m, 43&deg;21&prime;18&Prime;N latitude, 42&deg;26&prime;21&Prime;E longitude is the highest mountain in Europe.</p><br>
<p>Dykh-Tau, 5,205 m, 43&deg;3&prime;N latitude, 43&deg;8&prime;E longitude</p><br>
<p>Shkhara, 5,201 m, 43.01&deg;N latitude, 43.17&deg;E longitude</p><br>
<p>Koshtan-Tau, 5,151 m, 43.05&deg;N latitude, 43.2167&deg;E longitude</p><br>
<p>Shota Rustaveli Peak, 4,859 m, 43.02592&deg;N latitude, 43.04349&deg;E longitude</p><br>
<p>Kazbek, 5,047 m, 42&deg;41&prime;51&Prime;N latitude, 44&deg;31&prime;08&Prime;E longitude</p><br>
<p>Tebulosmta, 4,493 m, 42.64&deg;N latitude, 45.32&deg;E longitude</p><br>
<p>Diklosmta, 4,285 m, 42.55&deg;N latitude, 45.80&deg;E longitude</p><br>
<p>Bazardüzü, 4,466 m, 41.27&deg;N latitude, 47.79&deg;E longitude</p><br>
<p>Babadag, 3,629 m, 41.05&deg;N latitude, 48.29&deg;E longitude</p><br>
<p>Katyn-Tau, 4,979 m, 43.03069&deg;N latitude, 43.03555&deg;E longitude</p><br>
<p>Pushkin, 5,033 m, 43.01422&deg;N latitude, 43.07001&deg;E longitude</p><br>
<p>Janga, 5,051 m, 43.01889&deg;N latitude, 43.05671&deg;E longitude</p><br>
<p>Tetnuld, 4,858 m, 43.03113&deg;N latitude, 42.99319&deg;E longitude</p><br>
<p>Ushba, 4,710 m, 43.12486&deg;N latitude, 42.65901&deg;E longitude</p><br>
<p>Ailama, 4,525 m, 42&deg;57&prime;29&Prime;N latitude, 43&deg;10&prime;43&Prime;E longitude</p><br>
<h2>Passes</h2><br>
<p>Darial Pass</p><br>
<p>Marukhis Ugheltekhili 43.38&deg;N latitude, 41.37&deg;E longitude)</p><br>
<p>Pereval Klukhorskiy 2,786 m, 43.26&deg;N latitude, 41.80&deg;E longitude</p><br>
<p>Mamison Pass 2,820 m, 42.72&deg;N latitude, 43.80&deg;E longitude</p><br>
<p>Jvris Ugheltekhili 2,379 m, 42.50&deg;N latitude, 44.45&deg;E longitude</p><br>
<p>Dübrar Pass 2,209 m, 40.96&deg;N latitude, 48.63&deg;E longitude</p><br>
<p>Holme Fell or Holm Fell is a fell in the Lake District in Cumbria, England. It is located between Coniston Water and Little Langdale, almost isolated from the neighbouring Coniston Fells by Yewdale Beck.</p><br>
<h2>Topography</h2><br>
<p>Holme Fell is an eastern outlier of Wetherlam, although the topographical connection via Great Intake and Low Tilberthwaite is rather tortuous. Further east, beyond Oxen Fell High Cross, the high ground continues to Black Fell.</p><br>
<p>The fell itself is a ridge running broadly north-south and about a mile and a half long. The summit is at the southern extremity, a flank guarded by Calf and Raven Crags. Immediately to the north is Ivy Crag, a second top sporting a large cairn, followed by the depression of Uskdale Gap. Continuing northward are a succession of lower tops, gradually descending toward the final knoll of Great How (692 ft). A swift descent to the floor of Little Langdale then follows.</p><br>
<p>The boundaries of the fell are all formed by roads and tracks, giving opportunities for circular walks. The main Ambleside-Coniston road lies to the east and the minor road along Little Langdale to the north. Yewdale Beck runs around the southern perimeter, with the narrow access lane to Hodge Close hugging its bank. From Hodge Close a bridleway runs north to Little Langdale. The southern half of the fell has much natural woodland, mostly deciduous species. There are also some larger artificial plantings to the north.</p><br>
<p>Hodge Close bears the remains of quarrying (see below), as does Uskdale Gap. To the west of the Gap are two small tarns. These were built as reservoirs for the quarry, with the water used to operate a funicular to raise slate to ground level.</p><br>
<p>A further artificial water body is Yew Tree Tarn beside the Ambleside-Coniston road. This was dammed to a depth of 10 ft (3 metres) in the 1930s by James Marshall, the landowner. The original intent was to provide fishing, and trout are still plentiful today.</p><br>
<h2>Geology</h2><br>
<p>The summit ridge is formed from the dacitic lapilli-tuff of the Lincomb Tarns Formation. Further to the north west are outcrops of the volcaniclastic sandstones of the Seathwaite Fell Formation with sills of basalitic andesite.</p><br>
<h2>Ascents</h2><br>
<p>The fell can be climbed by a number of routes, notably those starting at Holme Ground, Hodge Close quarry, Yew Tree Tarn and Yew Tree Farm, the last two easily extended back to the popular Tarn Hows.</p><br>
<h2>Summit</h2><br>
<p>Despite its modest altitude, the hill&#39;s relative isolation means it commands good views to north, south and east, including almost the full length of Coniston Water, with Wetherlam and the rest of the Coniston fells blocking distant views in the south-western quadrant.</p><br>
<h2>Name dispute</h2><br>
<p>The Ordnance Survey Explorer 1:25,000 map shows it as Holme Fell, but their Landranger 1:50,000 map has it as Holm Fell, albeit with Holme Ground to the north-west. The Ordnance Survey&#39;s Gazetteer records only Holme Fell &mdash; as the gazetteer is based on locations on the Landranger maps, this suggests that the spelling Holm Fell on that map may be an error. The spelling Holme Fell is used by Alfred Wainwright in his book The Southern Fells but Holm Fell by Alan Dawson in his book The Relative Hills of Britain.</p><br>
<p>Whichever way it is spelt, the word holm(e) is believed to derive from an Old Norse root referring to a dry place within a marshy area.</p><br>
<h2>Hodge Close Quarry</h2><br>
<p>The slopes of Holme Fell include the massive disused green slate quarry at Hodge Close, located at. The quarry closed just before the start of the Second World War. It has flooded chambers and tunnels which are used by cave divers for sport, but it is a dangerous location and several divers have died over the years, after becoming lost in the murky waters of the tunnels. The quarry is also used by rock climbers and offers some excellent Extreme routes such as ‘First Night Nerves’ and ‘Wicked Willie’.</p><br>
<p>False Bay  is a body of water defined by Cape Hangklip -rock") and the Cape Peninsula in the extreme south-west of South Africa.</p><br>
<h2>Description and location</h2><br>
<p>The eastern and western shores of the bay are very rocky and even mountainous; in places large cliffs plunge into deep water. Notable peaks associated with the bay include Koeëlberg (1289m / 4229 feet), which rises from the water itself forming the highest point of the Kogelberg, as well as Somerset Sneeukop (1590m / 5217 feet) and Wemmershoek Peak (1788m / 5866 feet) which are clearly visible across the bay. The highest peak visible across False Bay is Du Toits Peak near Paarl (1995m / 6545 feet). The northern shore, however, is defined by a very long, curving, sandy beach. This sandy, northern perimeter of the bay is the southern edge of the area known as the Cape Flats. The bay is 30 kilometres wide at its widest point.</p><br>
<p>Some 20 kilometres across the Cape Flats, to the north, there is a smaller, C-shaped bay &mdash; Table Bay &mdash; with Robben Island guarding its entrance. The central districts of Cape Town lie around Table Bay. Devils Peak, Table Mountain, Lions Head and Signal Hill form an amphitheatre along the western edge of the Cape Flats. Suburbs of Greater Cape Town now stretch right across the Cape Flats from Table Bay to the shores of False Bay and down the eastern flank of the Cape Peninsula for many kilometres.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Bartolomeu Dias in 1488 first referred to the bay as "the gulf between the mountains" (Schirmer, 1980). The name "False Bay" was applied early on (at least three hundred years ago) by sailors who confused the bay with Table Bay to the north. According to Schirmer, the confusion arose because sailors returning from the east (The Dutch East Indies) initially confused Cape Point and Cape Hangklip, which are somewhat similar in form. Hangklip was known to the early Portuguese seafarers as Cabo Falso, or False Cape, and the name of the bay derived from the cape.</p><br>
<h2>Climate</h2><br>
<p>The climate is Mediterranean, with warm, dry summers and cool, damp winters. In winter gales and storms from the northwest are common and can be ferocious. False Bay is exposed to southeasterly winds in summer and its waters are approximately 6 °C warmer than those of Table Bay, owing to the influence of the warm Agulhas Current.</p><br>
<h2>Marine life and recreational pursuits</h2><br>
<p>Fishing is good in False Bay and at times there are large schools of snoek, an oily, barracuda-like fish that is much sought after locally. Angling from the rocky shores to either side of the bay is very popular, but dangerous. The shape of the bay creates interference patterns in the swells that come in from the Southern Ocean and these patterns occasionally combine to cause "killer waves" to rise up without warning and to sweep the sandstone ledges well above the high tide mark. Scores of fishermen have been swept away and drowned over the years, but this seems to have done little to dampen enthusiasm for the sport.</p><br>
<p>Sailing is also a popular recreational activity in False Bay. The "killer waves" mentioned earlier can wreak havoc with moored sailboats, especially if the moorings are chain based and on the leeward side when the south-easterly winds are howling up the bay. The sailing clubs in False Bay include False Bay Yacht Club in Simons Town, Fish Hoek Beach Sailing Club at the main beach in Fish Hoek, Gordons Bay Yacht Club in the Gordon&#39;s Bay Harbour, and Hottentots Holland Beach Sailing Club in Strand.</p><br>
<p>There is a small granite island in the bay (not discernible in the image above) called Seal Island, which is one of the main breeding sites for the Cape fur seal. (Seal Island can be seen in a scan in the article on the Cape Flats). The seals attract many great white sharks and some of the biggest sharks ever seen have been spotted in these waters. These sharks are famous for the manner in which they breach the surface of the water while attacking seals, sometimes jumping entirely out of the ocean. Despite this, swimming, surfing, yachting, scuba diving and so on are popular pastimes around the bay, at centres such as Muizenberg, Kalk Bay, Smitswinkel Bay, Strand and Gordon&#39;s Bay. Shark attacks are generally uncommon but by no means unknown, with two deaths since 2010.</p><br>
<h2>Naval base at Simon's Town</h2><br>
<p>The famous naval base of Simons Town is situated on the Bay, about halfway down the length of the Cape Peninsula. During the Second World War many heavy guns were dug into concrete bunkers at various points along the mountainous shores of False Bay in order to deter attacks on Simons Town. The firepower and defensive situation of these weapons were formidable and no attack was ever mounted. Although some of the guns were removed decades ago many large guns are still emplaced on the hillsides near the Redhill road.</p><br>
<h2>Development and human impact</h2><br>
<p>Although urban development of the coast is intense along some parts of False Bay, much of the shoreline remains relatively wild and unspoiled. The bulk of the development is residential; there is little heavy industry. There are a few exceptions, however: one of the largest dynamite factories in the world used to lie near the beach towards the wild and uninhabited eastern end of the bay. The nitroglycerine plant at this installation blew up twice in the second half of the 20th century and sent massive shockwaves across the bay, breaking windows and rattling walls on the distant shores. False Bay is remarkably poor in natural harbours. Almost all protection for shipping and yachts has been created by artificial means (e.g. at Kalkbaai, Simons Town and Gordons Bay).</p><br>
<p>Not to be confused with Billinge Hill, Blackburn.</p><br>
<p>Billinge Hill, also known as Billinge Lump, is the highest point in the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens in North West England. It is also the highest point of Merseyside</p><br>
<p>. It lies in Billinge, within the historic county boundaries of Lancashire. It is one of the 176 hills graded as a Marilyn in England.</p><br>
<p>A beacon tower is at the summit. Built as a summerhouse to Winstanley Hall in the 18th century, it was used for the Year 2000 celebrations. Most fireworks displays for miles around can be seen from the summit and people often gather there in small numbers to watch displays over the towns of Wigan and St Helens and the local village of Rainford. Over the years it has been covered in graffiti which was recently cleaned off and the metal panels restricting access to the inside of the beacon have been painted black.</p><br>
<p>Nearby to the north-west are several large transmitter masts which take advantage of the height and relative isolation of the land. The views are fairly extensive, notably to the south-west where, when clear, the mountains of Snowdonia, in Wales, can be seen and to the north-east Winter Hill can be seen. Looking east one sees Manchester and the Derbyshire Peak District. On a clear day, it is possible to see Blackpool Tower over thirty miles away, the town of St. Helens and the Widnes - Runcorn bridge. Depending on the conditions and direction it is facing, the telescope at Jodrell Bank can be seen to the south-east too.</p><br>
<p>Billinge Hill was also used by the Royal Observer Corps, and there was a bunker at the site, 60 yd West of and below Beacon. The Beacon itself was used for aircraft observation during and after the war. The bunker would have been used to monitor the location of nuclear blasts and the resulting fallout over Lancashire in the event of nuclear war. The post opened in January 1960 and closed in October 1968.</p><br>
<p>The Armenian Highlands  is the central-most and highest of three land-locked plateaus that together form the northern sector of the Middle East. To its west is the Anatolian plateau which rises slowly from the lowland coast of the Aegean Sea and converges with the Armenian Highlands to the east of Cappadocia. To its southeast is the Iranian plateau, where the elevation drops rapidly by about 2,000 ft to 5,000 ft above sea level. The Caucasus extends to the northeast of the Armenian Highlands. To the southwest of the Armenian Highlands is Upper Mesopotamia.</p><br>
<p>During Antiquity, it was known as Armenia Major, a central region to the history of Armenians, and one of the four geo-political regions associated with Armenians, the other three being Armenia Minor, Cilicia and Commagene. During the Middle Ages, Turkmens settled in large numbers in the Armenian Highlands.</p><br>
<p>The region was historically mainly inhabited by Armenians, and minorities of Georgians and Assyrians. The Christian population of the Western half of the region was exterminated during the Armenian Genocide of 1915 and to a smaller scale the Assyrian Genocide.</p><br>
<p>Today, the region is mainly inhabited by Armenians, Kurds, Azerbaijanis, Turks, and Georgians.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>Their total area is about 400,000 km. Historically, the Armenian Highlands have been the scene of great volcanic activity. Geologically recent volcanism on the area has resulted in large volcanic formations and a series of massifs and tectonic movement has formed the three largest lakes in the Highland, Lake Sevan, Lake Van and Lake Urmia. The Armenian Highlands are rich in water resources.</p><br>
<p>Most of the Armenian Highlands is in eastern Turkey, and also includes northwestern Iran, all of Armenia, southern Georgia, and western Azerbaijan.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>From 4000 to 1000 BC, tools and trinkets of copper, bronze and iron were commonly produced in this region and traded in neighboring lands where those metals were less abundant. It is also traditionally believed to be one of the possible locations of the Garden of Eden.</p><br>
<p>The Armenian Plateau has been called the "epicenter of the Iron Age", since it appears to be the location of the first appearance of Iron Age metallurgy in the late 2nd millennium BC. In the Early Iron Age, the Kingdom of Van controlled much of the region, until it was overthrown by the Medes and Orontid dynasty.</p><br>
<p>In Gilgamesh, the land of Aratta is placed in a geographic space that could be describing the Armenian plateau.</p><br>
<p>Throughout Classical Antiquity and the Middle Ages, during various centuries, the Armenian Highlands was a heavily contested territory of the Iranian Parthian Empire, Sassanid Persian Empire, Byzantine Empire, and the Arab Caliphate. From the early modern era and on, the region came directly under Safavid Iranian rule. Heavily contested for centuries between the Iranian Safavids and its vying archrival the Ottoman Empire with numerous wars raging over the region, large parts of the Highlands comprising Western Armenia were finally conquered by the Ottoman Empire in the first half of the 17th century following the Ottoman–Safavid War (1623–39) and the outcoming Treaty of Zuhab, while Eastern Armenia, forming another major part of the Highlands, stayed in Iranian hands up to the course of the 19th century, when it was ceded to Imperial Russia. During the later first half of the 19th century, the Ottoman held parts of the Armenian Highlands comprising Western Armenia now formed the boundary of the Ottoman sphere of influence and the Russian sphere of influence, the latter who had just recently completed its conquest of the Caucasus and Eastern Armenia at the expense of its suzerain, Qajar Iran, in about 4 major wars spanning more than two centuries.</p><br>
<p>According to Richard Hovannisian, the Armenian Genocide was the "physical elimination of the Armenian people and most of the evidence of their ever having lived on the great highland called the Armenian Plateau, to which the perpetrator side soon assigned the new name of Eastern Anatolia". Since the Armenian Genocide and dissolution of the Ottoman Empire after World War I, it has been the boundary region of Turkey, Iran and the Soviet Union and, since the 1991 dissolution of the Soviet Union, Armenia, and parts of Georgia and Azerbaijan.</p><br>
<h2>Flora and fauna</h2><br>
<p>The apricot was known by the Romans as the prunus armenicus (the Armenian plum) and was brought to Europe from the Armenian plateau.</p><br>
<h2>Notable peaks</h2><br>
<p>Montpelier was declared a National Historic Landmark and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1966. It was included in the Madison-Barbour Rural Historic District in 1991. In 1983, the last private owner of Montpelier, Marion duPont Scott, bequeathed the estate to the National Trust for Historic Preservation.</p><br>
<p>The National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP) has owned and operated the estate since 1984. In 2000, The Montpelier Foundation formed with the goal of transforming James Madison&#39;s historic estate into a dynamic cultural institution. From 2003–2008 the NTHP carried out a major restoration, in part to return the mansion to its original size of 22 rooms as it was during the years when it was occupied by James and Dolley Madison. Extensive interior and exterior work was done during the restoration.</p><br>
<p>Recently, archeological investigations have revealed new information about African-American life at the plantation. Thanks to a generous gift from philanthropist David Rubenstein, Montpelier is restoring the slave quarters in the South Yard, and finalizing a groundbreaking exhibition on slavery, The Mere Distinction of Colour, opening Spring 2017.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<h3>The Madison Family</h3><br>
<p>In 1723, James Madison&#39;s grandfather, Ambrose Madison, and his brother-in-law, Thomas Chew, received a patent for 4,675 acre of land in the Piedmont of Virginia. Ambrose, his wife Frances Madison, and their three children moved to the plantation in 1732, naming it Mount Pleasant. (Archaeologists have located this first site near the Madison Family Cemetery.) Ambrose died six months later; according to court records, he was poisoned by three enslaved African Americans. At the time, Ambrose Madison held 29 slaves and close to 4,000 acre. After his death, Frances managed the estate with the help of their son, Colonel James Madison, Sr.</p><br>
<p>Madison, Sr. expanded the plantation to include building services and blacksmithing in the 1740s, and bought additional slaves to cultivate tobacco and other crops. He married Nelly Conway Madison (1731–1829) and had 12 children.</p><br>
<p>James Madison, Sr.s first-born son, also named James, was born on March 16, 1751 at Belle Grove, his mothers family estate in Port Conway, where she had returned for his birth. James Madison spent his early years at Mount Pleasant.</p><br>
<p>In the early 1760s, Madison, Sr. built a new house half a mile away, which structure forms the heart of the main house at Montpelier today. Built around 1764, it has two stories of brick laid in a Flemish bond pattern, and a low, hipped roof with chimney stacks at both ends. His son James Madison later stated that he remembered helping move furniture to the new home. The building of Montpelier represents Phase 1 (1764–1797) of the construction. Upon completion, the Madisons owned one of the largest brick dwellings in Orange County.</p><br>
<p>Phase 2 (1797–1800) of construction began in 1797, after the son James Madison returned to Montpelier with his new wife Dolley Madison. He was then 39 and she was a young widow with a child. At this time Madison added a thirty-foot extension and a Tuscan portico to the house. Madison&#39;s widowed mother, Nelly, still resided in the house following the death of her husband, James, Sr., in 1801.</p><br>
<p>In the last period of construction, Phase 3 (1809–1812), Madison had a large drawing room added, as well as one-story wings at each end of the house and he directed construction of single-story flat-roofed extensions at either end of the house; these provided space for the separate household of the newlyweds James and Dolley Madison. After his second term as president, in 1817 Madison retired there full-time with his wife Dolley.</p><br>
<p>James Madison died in 1836 and is buried in the family cemetery at Montpelier. His widow Dolley Madison moved back to Washington, D.C. in 1837 after his death. In 1844 she sold the plantation to Henry W. Moncure. After Dolley Madison died in 1849, she was buried in Washington, DC and later re-interred at Montpelier near her husband James.</p><br>
<p>After Dolley Madison sold the estate to Henry W. Moncure in 1844, the property was held by a total of six additional owners before the du Ponts bought Montpelier in 1901. The various owners and the dates associated with the site include: Benjamin Thornton (1848–1854), William H. Macfarland (1854–1855), Alfred V. Scott (1855–1857), Thomas J. Carson and Frank Carson (1857–1881), Louis F. Detrick and William L. Bradley (1881–1900) and Charles King Lennig (1900).</p><br>
<h3>The Name Montpelier</h3><br>
<p>The origins of the name Montpelier are uncertain, but the first recorded use of the name comes from a 1781 James Madison letter. Madison personally liked the French spelling of the name Montpellier. The city of Montpellier, France was a famous resort. Clues from letters and visitor descriptions suggest these origins of the plantation&#39;s name.</p><br>
<h3>Slavery at Montpelier</h3><br>
<p>The work of Montpelier was done primarily by its about 100 enslaved African Americans during James Madison&#39;s tenure as owner. Slaves served in a variety of roles: field workers, domestic servants in charge of cleaning, cooking, and care of clothing; and as artisans for the mill, forge, wheelwright, and other carpentry and woodworking. During the time that the Madisons owned the estate, "five, six, and possibly seven generations of African Americans were born into slavery at Montpelier."</p><br>
<p>The most well-known slave from Montpelier was Paul Jennings, Madisons body servant from 1817-1835. When Jennings went to the White House at age 10, he served at table and did other work. Daniel Webster purchased Jennings and allowed him to work to pay off his freedom, but this was unrelated to the death of James or Dolley Madison.Born in 1799, Jennings was purchased from Dolley Madison and freed in 1845 by the northern senator Daniel Webster after Madisons death. Jennings continued to live in Washington, DC, where he worked and became a property owner.</p><br>
<p>In 1848 he helped plan the largest slave escape in United States history, as 77 slaves from the Washington, DC area took to The Pearl, a schooner, intending to sail up the Chesapeake Bay to a free state. They were captured and most were sold to the Deep South. Jennings was noted for his account of Madison, A Colored Man’s Reminiscences of James Madison (1865), which is considered the first White House memoir.</p><br>
<p>Archaeological research and documentary analysis has revealed much about the life of Montpelier-born slave, Catherine Taylor (ca. 1820 – after 1889). Catherine married Ralph Taylor, a house slave, and had four children with him. When Dolley Madison moved to Washington, D.C. in the years after James Madison&#39;s death, Ralph was chosen to accompany her to serve her in the capital. Dolley kept Catherine at Montpelier for several months after she brought Ralph to D.C., and then brought Catherine to D.C. later</p><br>
<p>Dolley Madison transferred (or deeded), most of the enslaved people to her son, John Payne Todd. He stipulated in his will that upon his death, the slaves would be manumitted. However, due to legal and financial complications after Todd&#39;s death, the slaves were not manumitted. The Taylors petitioned James C. Maguire, the administrator of the estate, for their freedom. After being officially freed in 1853, they chose to live in Washington, which had a large free black community and opportunities for varied work.</p><br>
<p>The Montpelier staff continues to research the enslaved community by a variety of methods: studying historical documents such as court records and autobiographies, conducting archaeological excavations, contacting current descendants, and document the contributions and sacrifices of the enslaved community.</p><br>
<h3>The duPont Family</h3><br>
<p>After some renovations in the later 19th century (c. 1855 and c. 1880), the house was acquired in 1901 by William and Annie Rogers duPont, of the duPont family. A horse enthusiast, William duPont built barns, stables, and other buildings for equestrian use. The duPonts were among several wealthy families in the Upper South who were influential in the development of Thoroughbred horse racing in the United States. The duPont family also added a Hodgson House to the property. These were known as "Americas First Organized Prefabricated House Manufacturer before Aladdin, Sears, and Montgomery Ward," emphasizing that the homes could technically be built in a day. Still located on Montpeliers property, it is now known as the "Bassett House."</p><br>
<p>William and Annie had a daughter, Marion duPont, and a son William duPont, Jr. Upon William duPont, Sr.s death in 1928, William duPont, Jr. inherited the familys Bellevue estate in Delaware, whereupon he had the estates mansion converted into a replica of Montpelier (now preserved as a state park), and Marion inherited the Montpelier estate. Marion preserved much of the core of the Madison home, gardens, and grounds as a legacy for all Americans. After her fathers death, Marion made only one change to the house; she remodeled her parents music room in the latest Art Deco style, using modern and innovative materials such as laminated plywood, chrome, glass block, and plate glass mirrors. A weather vane was installed on the ceiling, which allowed wind direction to direct the hounds for fox hunting. An exact replica of the Art Deco room can be seen in the DuPont Gallery, in the Visitors Center at Montpelier. Prior to her parents moving into the property, they enlarged the house considerably, adding wings that more than doubled the number of rooms to 55. Her parents also had the brick covered with a stucco exterior for a lighter look.</p><br>
<p>In 1934 Marion and her brother William founded the Montpelier Hunt Races, to be held on the grounds. Natural hedges were used as jumps for the steeplechase. The races continue to be held annually, the first Saturday each November.</p><br>
<p>Marion duPont Scott died in 1983 and bequeathed the property to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, with $10 million as an endowment to buy and maintain it. Her father&#39;s will had stated that if she died childless, the property would go to her brother William duPont, Jr. and his children. As he had died in 1965, his five children legally inherited the property. In 1984 the heirs of Marion duPont Scott, in accordance with her wishes, transferred ownership of Montpelier to the National Trust for Historic Preservation.</p><br>
<h2>National Trust Property</h2><br>
<p>Since the National Trust for Historic Preservation took ownership in 1984, the organization has worked to restore Montpelier to the Madison era. It has paid tribute to Marion duPont Scotts influence by retaining one of her favorite rooms in the newly renovated and expanded Visitors Center, along with the annual Montpelier Hunt Races.</p><br>
<p>In 2000, the National Trust established Montpelier as a co-stewardship property, administered by The Montpelier Foundation.</p><br>
<p>The Robert H. Smith Center for the Constitution provided an Education Center for students and teachers. It sponsors the "We the People" program to promote the understanding of civics for upper elementary and secondary students, along with national and state programs for teachers, such as the National Advanced Content Seminars, which focuses on historical content and teaching methods.</p><br>
<p>In conjunction with the James Madison University Field School, Montpelier has been the site of annual, seasonal archeological excavations from April to November. Under a four-year collaborative research grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, four quarters have been excavated related to the lives of enslaved African Americans: including the Stable Quarter (2009), South and Kitchen Yards (2011), Tobacco Barn Quarter (2012), and Field Quarter (2013). The excavations have revealed early structures in those areas, including possible slave quarters, as well as a variety of artifacts dating to the Madison residency and their slaves. The artifacts are helping researchers form a much broader and deeper picture of the lives of the slaves at Montpelier. "The four residential locations provide a unique opportunity to compare and contrast the conditions of chattel slavery of the period. Differences and similarities between these locations – particularly architectural styles and household goods such as ceramics, glassware, and clothing items – reflect the relationship of individual households to each other, the community to which they belong, their relationship to the overarching plantation complex, and regional patterns of both market access and cultural traditions.</p><br>
<p>From 2003–2008 the National Trust carried out a $25 million restoration to return the mansion to its 1820 state; it is again less than half the size of the expanded residence created by the DuPont family. The National Trust is conducting a search for furnishings either original to the property or of its era.</p><br>
<h3>Restoration</h3><br>
<p>A $25 million restoration project launched in October 2003 was completed on Constitution Day, September 17, 2008. A Restoration Celebration was held with major funding by National Trust Community Investment Corporation. The restoration returned Montpelier to its 1820 appearance: it demolished additions made to the house by the duPont family, removed the stucco exterior to reveal the original brick, restored the original brick exterior, and reconstructed the houses interior as it appeared during Madisons tenure as owner. Authentic materials were used in the restoration, including horsehair plaster, and paint containing linseed oil and chalk. The Collections staff and archaeologists are working to understand the decorations of each room and recreate room settings as closely as possible to what the Madisons knew.</p><br>
<p>A wing in the visitors&#39; center has been dedicated to the duPont family. It includes a restored art deco Red Room from the Marion duPont Scott era, moved from the mansion and permanently installed here.</p><br>
<h3></h3><br>
<p>Along with the existing Gilmore Cabin and the Jim Crow era Train Station, both permanent installations of Montpelier, the site solidified itself as a leader in the interpretation of slavery in 2017 with the opening of the landmark exhibition,. This exhibition, funded by a generous donation from patriotic philanthropist, David Rubenstein, explores the history and legacies of American slavery both at Montpelier and nationwide. The Mere Distinction of Colour spans the cellars of the Madison house, the south cellar exploring the Montpelier slavery story, and the north cellar analyzing the economics and legacies of slavery. The exhibition is the culmination of decades of archaeological and documentary research conducted by Montpelier staff and advisors.</p><br>
<p>One of the most unique features of this exhibition is that it was guided by living descendants of the slaves who once inhabited Montpelier and the surrounding area. Montpelier is lucky to have an active descendant community, some of which have genealogical proof of their ancestry, and others who are connected through oral histories that have been passed down through generations.</p><br>
<p>The South Cellar details the Montpelier story of slavery, complete with the voices of descendants and the names of everyone known to be enslaved on the property throughout the Madison ownership. The North Cellar analyses the national slave narrative, talking about how slavery become institutionalized in American society and how profitable the slave trade was for all of the colonies, not exclusively the south.</p><br>
<p>The Mere Distinction of Colour is free with the, and is an unguided experience that is open to the public 7 days a week.</p><br>
<h3>Today</h3><br>
<p>Montpelier is open to visitors Monday through Sunday except Thanksgiving and Christmas, with the following hours: January – March: 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m, April – October: 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., November – December: 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.</p><br>
<p>Montpelier includes the a Hands-on-Restoration-Tent open from April–October; Hands-on-Archaeology Lab and Kid-Sized Archaeology open daily; Hands-on-Cooking offered April–October; Civil War and Gilmore Farm Trail open daily; and, the Archaeology Dig open April–October. Visitors can also walk around the James Madison Landmark Forest, a 200-acre (0.81 square kilometers) stand of old growth forest.</p><br>
<h2>Annual Events</h2><br>
<p>Montpelier is the site of many annual events. Three particularly draw large crowds: the Montpelier Hunt Races, Wine Festival, and the Fiber Festival.</p><br>
<p>The annual Montpelier Hunt Races, an autumn steeplechase event, were started by Marion duPont Scott and her brother William duPont, Jr. in 1934. The races are held the first Saturday in November. Montpelier has one of the few steeplechase tracks in the country that use traditional hedgerows for jumps. Montpelier hosts seven races at this event. Guests may watch the races directly at the rail for a close experience.</p><br>
<p>The showcases distinctive arts and crafts, specialty food vendors, local agricultural products, and Virginia wine from approximately 25 different wineries in the state.</p><br>
<p>The is held each October and is a popular regional event. The event showcases every aspect of textile manufacturing, from the production of wool to the finished product. Events include sheep shearing, craft demos, and a host of other activities. The most popular feature of the Fall Fiber Festival is the Sheep Dog Trials.</p><br>
<p>Other events include: summer programs for children, such as the "Mud Camp," a barbecue held in the summer with local barbecue cuisine, civil war demonstrations, and, in December, a candlelight tour of Montpelier in the evening.</p><br>
<h2>Montpelier Forest</h2><br>
<p>A 197 acre forest on the property known as the Montpelier Forest (also known as the Landmark Forest) was designated as a National Natural Landmark by the National Park Service in 1987. The forest was recognized as being one of the best examples of a mature Piedmont forest dominated by tulip poplar and spicebush; various species of oak and hickory are also common in the forest. The relatively undisturbed forest contains several trees up to 300 years old. Ideal growing conditions at the site, including fertile soils, allow for the trees to attain great size; tulip poplars attain heights of up to 120 ft by the time they reach 50 years of age, and some trees have been measured to have diameters of up to 5 ft.</p><br>
<p>George Rogers Clark National Historical Park, located in Vincennes, Indiana, on the banks of the Wabash River at what is believed to be the site of Fort Sackville, is a United States National Historical Park. President Calvin Coolidge authorized a classical memorial and President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated the completed structure in 1936.</p><br>
<p>On February 25, 1779, Lieutenant Colonel George Rogers Clark, older brother of William Clark, led the capture of Fort Sackville and British Lt. Governor Henry Hamilton as part of the celebrated Illinois Campaign, which lasted from 1778 to 1779. The heroic march of Clark&#39;s men from Kaskaskia on the Mississippi River in mid-winter and the subsequent victory over the British remains one of the most memorable feats of the American Revolution.</p><br>
<p>In 1966, Indiana transferred the site to the National Park Service. Adjacent to the memorial is a visitor center which presents interpretive programs and displays. The center is situated on South 2nd Street in Vincennes. The site is located in the Vincennes Historic District.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The memorial is placed at the believed site of Fort Sackville; no archeological evidence has shown the exact location, but it is undoubtedly within the parks boundaries. The episode being commemorated marked the finest moment in General George Rogers Clarks life. He was sent by the state of Virginia to protect its interest in the Old Northwest. His 1778-1779 campaign included the founding of Louisville, Kentucky and the capture of British forts in the lower Ohio and Mississippi valleys. Forces under Clark&#39;s command had captured Fort Sackville months before, but when notified that British forces under Henry Hamilton had retaken the fort, Clark led a desperate march to retake the fort again for the American cause, succeeding on February 25, 1779. This led to the newly formed United States claiming control of what would become the states of Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin in the 1783 Treaty of Paris.</p><br>
<p>As Vincennes grew in the 1800s, it overran the site of Fort Sackville and its boundaries were lost. In 1905, the Daughters of the American Revolution placed a stone marker on what they believed was the location of the fort. In 1929, local residents made a major effort to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Clarks campaign. The state of Indiana chose to build a memorial to General Clarks triumph in the 1930s, with the assistance of the United States government; the various funds amounted to $2,500,000. The memorial was designed by New York architect Frederic Charles Hirons and dedicated June 14, 1936, by President Franklin Roosevelt. Though the National Park Service in 1976 called the finished memorial the "last major Classical style memorial" constructed in the United States, the New York State Memorial to Theodore Roosevelt at the American Museum of Natural History by John Russell Pope was also completed in 1936, and Pope&#39;s Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C. was completed 1939-1943, are of the same era.</p><br>
<h2>Structures</h2><br>
<p>The memorial building is a circular granite structure surrounded by sixteen granite fluted Greek Doric columns in a peripteral colonnade, capped with a saucer dome of glass panels and resting on a stylobate. The north and east corners have restrooms and various maintenance rooms. Except for the maintenance rooms, these feature plastered walls and ceilings, marble wainscoting, and terrazzo flooring. Visitors enter the memorial by climbing thirty granite steps in the northwest corner. The basement is unfinished, with fluorescent lighting revealing a ceiling and walls of exposed concrete, and a dirt floor.</p><br>
<p>Other prominent features in the park include Johns Angels granite statue of Francis Vigo, a 4 by monument overlooking the Wabash River erected in 1934 that honors the Italian-American merchant who assisted General Clark. The adjacent grounds of the Basilica of St. Francis Xavier hold a 1934 bronze statue by Albin Polasek honoring Father Pierre Gibault, another figure in the Revolutionary War. Raoul Josset designed the Lincoln Memorial Bridge across the Wabash River to compliment the memorial aesthetically. It includes relief carvings designed by a monument by Nellie Walker on the Illinois side of the bridge and celebrates the migration of Abraham Lincoln. A concrete floodwall that protects the memorial and Vincennes from Wabash flooding is also designed in a complimentary Classical style. The grounds also hold a memorial to the soldiers from Knox County who served in World War I, a marker denoting where Clarks headquarters probably stood during his siege of Fort Sackville, and the original Daughters of the American Revolution memorial, which has moved several times due to construction of the main memorial.</p><br>
<h2>Murals</h2><br>
<p>Muralist Ezra Winter executed a series of seven murals for the building.</p><br>
<h2>Purpose and significance</h2><br>
<p>The park was authorized by the Act of July 23, 1966 (PL 89-517). This law (Appendix A) contains three provisions. The first authorized the Secretary of the Interior to accept from the State of Indiana, the donation of the Clark Memorial and surrounding grounds for a national park. This was accomplished within one year of the law’s enactment. The second provision permits the Secretary to enter into cooperative agreements with the owners of other historic properties in Vincennes which are associated with George Rogers Clark and the Northwest Territory. Such properties would become part of the park, and the Secretary could assist in their preservation, renewal and interpretation. The third provision requires the Secretary to administer, protect, develop and maintain the park in accordance with the provisions of the act of August 25, 1916, which established the National Park Service.</p><br>
<p>George Rogers Clark NHP was established to commemorate the accomplishments of George Rogers Clark and the expansion of the United States into the Northwest Territory; to commemorate this story and its significance to the American people; and to cooperate in the preservation, renewal and interpretation of the sites and structures in Vincennes associated with this story. The park also commemorates the actions of Father Pierre Gibault and Francis Vigo who sided with Clark against the British.</p><br>
<p>The park is located on the site of Fort Sackville which Clark captured from the British during the American Revolution on February 25, 1779. The victory extended American land claims in the Ohio Valley and contributed to the United States acquisition of the Northwest Territory in the 1783 Treaty of Paris. No structures dating from the Revolution exist in the park today.</p><br>
<p>The historical theme represented by George Rogers Clark NHP is the “Revolution, War in the Frontier,” according to 1987 History and Prehistory in the National Park System and the National Historic Landmarks Program.</p><br>
<h2>Restoration</h2><br>
<p>August 9, 2008, George Rogers Clark National Historical Park closed for 13-months to complete a three-million-dollar renovation by Frontier Waterproofing, Inc out of Denton, Texas. Park Superintendent Dale Phillips said, "This is a once-in-a-lifetime restoration project, and is critically needed for the long-term preservation of the Clark Memorial". The main goal was to fix the drainage of the terrace, which has leaked since the 1930s, and renovate the access steps. The monument reopened September 24, 2009, and was rededicated on October 3, 2009. The 2009 Spirit of Vincennes Rendezvous was not impacted by the renovation.</p><br>
<p>Work during the renovation included demolition and installation of new parapets and rustications; repair of wall cracks; removal, temporary storage, and numbering of approximately 1,000 large granite paving stones; installation of new waterproofing on the existing concrete structural deck of the plaza and the monuments stylobate; cleaning and repair of the granite stone, steps, and veneer; installation of a new exposed aggregate concrete walking surface around the Monument plaza; and replacing the existing sprinkler system and landscaping elements. This repaired problems first identified in a 1939 structural inspection.</p><br>
<p>George Rogers Clark National Historical Park will be honored on an America the Beautiful Quarter representing Indiana in 2017.</p><br>
<p>Kalaupapa National Historical Park is a United States National Historical Park located in Kalaupapa, Hawaii, on the island of Molokai. Coterminous with the boundaries of Kalawao County and primarily on Kalaupapa peninsula, it was established by Congress in 1980 to expand upon the earlier National Historic Landmark site of the Kalaupapa Leper Settlement. It is administered by the National Park Service. Its goal is to preserve the cultural and physical settings of the two leper colonies on the island of Molokai, which operated from 1866 to 1969 and had a total of 8500 residents over the decades.</p><br>
<p>More than 7300 people live on the remainder of the island, which was a site of cattle ranching and pineapple production for decades. Much of these lands were purchased and controlled by the owners and developers of Molokai Ranch. This part of the island is also a tourist destination.</p><br>
<h2>History of Kalaupapa peninsula</h2><br>
<p>Archeological evidence has revealed human habitation by indigenous peoples for more than 900 years before European contact. The peninsula has house sites, cultivated taro fields and irrigation systems, stone walls, and temples (heiau), all constructed by ancient residents. "Historical accounts from the early to mid-1800s speak of populations of 1,000 to 2,700 people living on the peninsula, in the valleys, and in the villages" but by 1853, there were only about 140 people remaining after epidemics of Eurasian diseases.</p><br>
<h3>History of the Kalaupapa leprosy settlements, 1865 to present</h3><br>
<p>In 1865 the Kingdom legislature passed a law to try to prevent transmission of leprosy, now known as Hansen&#39;s disease after the scientist who discovered the bacterium. The disease had been introduced to the islands about 1830 by foreign workers. At the time it was incurable. Sugar planters had brought pressure on the government as they were worried about the labor supply.</p><br>
<p>The government arranged for Native Hawaiian inhabitants to be removed from the Kalaupapa to prepare for its development as an isolation settlement for persons with severe leprosy. This cut off the island people&#39;s cultural ties and associations with the aina (land), which had been established for centuries.</p><br>
<p>Bringing patients to the isolation settlements, first at Kalawao and then at Kalaupapa, led to broader dislocations across Hawaiian society. In the long term many families were affected and some divided when a member contracted leprosy. The governments of the Kingdom, and subsequently, the Territory and State of Hawaii tried to control leprosy (also known as Hansen&#39;s disease), a much feared illness, by relocating patients with severe symptoms to the isolated peninsula. Other patients were treated in quarantine at facilities on the main islands; but families were still broken up in the process.</p><br>
<p>The first settlement was started on the windward side at Kalawao, followed by one at Kalaupapa. In 1890 a total of 1100 persons with leprosy were living here, the peak of resident population. In those years, they generally had to leave family behind on other islands. The effects of both the broken connections with the aina and of family members "lost" to Kalaupapa are still felt in Hawaii today.</p><br>
<p>The settlements were administered by the Board of Health, with local financial control held by Rudolph Meyer, a German immigrant who worked for the Moloka&#39;i Ranch and lived on the island. Local supervision for decades was by superintendents of Hawaiian and part-Hawaiian ancestry, some appointed from among the patients or family members with persons with leprosy.</p><br>
<p>While there were never many medical staff, Belgian missionary priests from the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary were among those who cared for persons with leprosy on Molokai. The most well-known was Belgian-born Father Damien, who served there from 1873 to his death in 1889. For his charity he was canonized by the Roman Catholic Church as a saint in 2009, the 10th person recognized in what is now the United States. Among other missionaries and caregivers, Damien was joined in 1883 by Mother Marianne Cope, a nun and administrator of St. Josephs Hospital in Syracuse, New York. She was a member of the Sisters of St Francis of Syracuse, and brought six sisters with her to the islands to aid in the care of persons with leprosy and develop the medical facilities. She lived and worked there until her death in 1918. In 2012 she was canonized as a saint by the Catholic Church. Also serving in the colony was Brother Joseph Dutton, who went to Molokai in 1886 to aid the dying Father Damien. After Father Damiens death Dutton founded the Baldwin Home for Men and Boys in Kalawao.</p><br>
<p>The Congregation of the Sacred Hearts continued to have brothers who devoted their lives to work on Molokai and assist the residents. From the late 20th century, recent figures included Henri Systermans and Fr. Joseph Hendricks, whose death in November 2008 marked the end of this 140-year-old tradition.</p><br>
<p>Hansens disease, found in 1873 to be caused by a bacterium, has been curable since the 1940s with the use of modern antibiotics. There are no active cases of Hansens disease among residents of the Kalaupapa settlement or on the island of Molokai. After the settlement officially closed, residents of the former colony were allowed to stay if they chose to do so. They and their descendant families who wish to continue to live in the neighborhood of housing maintained on the peninsula.</p><br>
<h2>Representation in popular culture</h2><br>
<p>After being given a high award by the Kingdom of Hawaii, Belgian missionary-priest Father Damien attracted considerable publicity to the leper colony in the late 19th century; his story was recounted in popular culture and literature as an example of the European helping the "benighted natives".</p><br>
<p>Robert Louis Stevenson, who suffered from tuberculosis, then also incurable, visited the Molokai leper colony after Father Damiens death in 1889. He was moved by Damiens care for patients and described the settlement as a "prison fortified by nature." 2000-foot-high mountains cut off the settlement from the rest of the island. He published a 6,000-word open letter praising Father Damien&#39;s work.</p><br>
<p>Jack London visited in 1908 and wrote the short stories, "Lepers of Molokai" and "Koolau the Leper" in response.</p><br>
<p>The 1999 movie Molokai, featuring Peter O&#39;Toole and Kris Kristofferson, features the life of Father Damien and his work among persons with leprosy.</p><br>
<p>Alan Brennerts 2003 novel Molokai recounts some of the history of the Kalaupapa leprosy settlement through the eyes of fictional character, Rachel Kalawa, exiled there at age 8</p><br>
<h2>Park description</h2><br>
<p>Kalaupapa National Historical Park, established in 1980, preserves the physical settings of the historic Hansens disease settlements of Kalawao and Kalaupapa. The community of Kalaupapa, on the leeward side of Kalaupapa Peninsula, is still home for a few elderly surviving former Hansens disease patients. Some were disfigured by the disease before being cured and wanted to continue refuge here. They have shared their memories and experiences of their ordeals and of life on the island.</p><br>
<p>Surviving structures at Kalawao, on the windward side of the peninsula, are the Protestant church of Siloama, established in 1866, and Saint Philomena Catholic Church, which is associated with the work of St. Father Damien.</p><br>
<p>Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park is a United States National Historical Park located in the Kona District on the Big island of Hawaii in the USA state of Hawaii. It includes the National Historic Landmarked archaeological site known as the Honokōhau Settlement. The park was established on November 10, 1978, for the preservation, protection and interpretation of traditional native Hawaiian activities and culture.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Kaloko and Honokōhau are the names of two of the four different ahupuaa, or traditional mountain-to-sea land divisions encompassed by the park. Although in ancient times this arid area of lava rock was called kekaha aole wai (lands without water), the abundant sea life attracted settlement for hundreds of years.</p><br>
<h3>Kaloko</h3><br>
<p>Kaloko (meaning "the pond" in the Hawaiian language) is a site of fishponds used in ancient Hawaii is on the North end of the park.</p><br>
<p>The first reference to the pond comes from the story of Kamalalawalu, about 300 years ago.</p><br>
<p>The kuapā (seawall) is over 30 feet wide and 6 feet high, stretching for 750 feet. Constructed by hand without mortar, the angle and gaps between the stones deflected the surf better than many modern concrete seawalls.</p><br>
<p>Aimakapā fishpond is an important wetland area protecting native birds including the koloa maoli (Hawaiian duck, Anas wyvilliana), alae keokeo (Hawaiian coot, Fulica alai), āeo (Hawaiian stilt, Himantopus mexicanus knudseni), aukuu (black-crowned night heron, Nycticorax nycticorax), among others.</p><br>
<p>The area is currently under reforestation, after the removal of non-native invasive plants.</p><br>
<p>It was added to the Register of Historic Places in 1978 as site 78003148.</p><br>
<h3>Honokōhau</h3><br>
<p>Honokōhau means "bay drawing dew" and refers to the ancient settlement</p><br>
<p>on the south part of the park.</p><br>
<p>This area can be reached via trails from the park visitor&#39;s center, or from the small boat harbor access road on Kealakehe Parkway.</p><br>
<p>Features include loko ia (Ancient Hawaiian aquaculture fishponds), kahua (house site platforms), kii pōhaku (petroglyphs), hōlua (stone slides) and heiau (religious sites).</p><br>
<p>The Aiopio Fishtrap is a 1.7 acre pond, with a stone wall forming an artificial enclosure along the naturally curved shoreline of a bay.</p><br>
<p>Small openings allowed young fish to enter from the sea, but as they grew larger (or at low tide) they were easily caught with nets inside the trap as needed.</p><br>
<p>It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1966 as site 66000287.</p><br>
<h2>Recreation</h2><br>
<p>Several restored trails include about one mile of the Māmalahoa Trail.</p><br>
<p>It was built in the mid-19th century, and evolved over the years into the Hawaii Belt Road which encircles the entire island.</p><br>
<p>The coastal trail is part of the Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail.</p><br>
<p>The Honokōhau boat harbor provides a launching area for traditional canoes, fishing boats, Scuba diving and snorkeling tours of the area.</p><br>
<p>Natchez National Historical Park commemorates the history of Natchez, Mississippi, and is managed by the National Park Service.</p><br>
<p>The park consists of three separate sites:</p><br>
<p>Fort Rosalie is the site of a former fortification from the 18th century, built by the French. It was later renamed Fort Panmure and controlled in turn by Great Britain, Spain, and the United States. The fort site is not open to the public.</p><br>
<p>The William Johnson House was the home of William Johnson, a 19th-century free African American barber and resident of Natchez whose diary has been published.</p><br>
<p>Melrose was the estate of John T. McMurran, a lawyer, state senator, and planter who lived in Natchez from 1830 until the Civil War.</p><br>
<p>Both Melrose and the William Johnson House contain furnishings related to life in antebellum Natchez and other exhibits. The collection at Melrose&#39;s two-story Greek Revival mansion and its slave quarters include painted floor cloths, mahogany, a punkah, a set of Rococo Revival parlor furniture, a set of Gothic Revival dining room chairs, and bookcases with books dating to the 18th century. These were collected from Natchez families, including the McMurran family. The collection in the Johnson house includes furnishings from his life and family. Archaeological objects found in the park are also on display.</p><br>
<h2>Legal history</h2><br>
<p>The National Historical Park was authorized on October 7, 1988. The William Johnson House was added to it on September 28, 1990. As with all historic areas administered by the National Park Service, the park was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.</p><br>
<p>Fort Rosalie was already included in the National Register as part of the 1972 NRHP-listed Natchez Bluffs and Under-the-Hill Historic District; the William Johnson House, at 210 State St., is a few blocks from the Fort Rosalie site and is both separately NRHP-listed and also included in the Natchez On-Top-of-the-Hill Historic District. Melrose is located about two miles southwest of Fort Rosalie.</p><br>
<p>New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park is a USA National Historical Park in the Tremé neighborhood of New Orleans, near the French Quarter. It was created in 1994 to celebrate the origins and evolution of jazz.</p><br>
<p>Most of the historical park property consists of 4 acre within Louis Armstrong Park leased by the National Park Service. There is a visitor center at 916 North Peters Street and a concert venue, several blocks away in the French Quarter. The Park provides a setting for sharing the cultural history of the people and places which helped to shape the development and progression of jazz in New Orleans. National Park Service staff present information and resources associated with the origins and early development of jazz, through interpretive techniques designed to educate and entertain.</p><br>
<h2>Perseverance Hall No. 4</h2><br>
<p>The centerpiece of the site is Perseverance Hall No. 4. Originally a Masonic Lodge, it was built between 1819 and 1820, making it the oldest Masonic temple in Louisiana.</p><br>
<p>Perseverance Hall was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 2, 1973. The entire National Historical Park was administratively listed on the Register on the date of its authorization, October 31, 1994.</p><br>
<p>Shining Tor is a hill in the Peak District of England, between the towns of Buxton and Macclesfield, lying on the border between Derbyshire and Cheshire. Its summit is the highest point in modern Cheshire, with Black Hill near Crowden being the historic county top of Cheshire. The word tor means a high rock, and is a loan word from Old Brythonic.</p><br>
<p>(There is another hill named Shining Tor, above Dovedale in Derbyshire, at grid reference.)</p><br>
<h2>Ascent</h2><br>
<p>The hill can be climbed by many routes, perhaps most commonly from the Goyt valley by Errwood reservoir, perhaps combined with a walk along the ridge north from Shining Tor over Cats Tor. It can also be gained with less climbing from the Cat and Fiddle Inn.</p><br>
<h2>Views</h2><br>
<p>As it is the highest point around (it is some 8 m higher than the summit of Axe Edge Moor above Buxton), the views are pleasant, though the relatively flat uplands mean they are not extensive in all directions: the view to the southwest of the peak of Shutlingsloe above Wildboarclough is particularly notable, and in clear conditions Winter Hill near Bolton, the city of Manchester and much of the Cheshire Plain can be seen, including the radio telescopes at Jodrell Bank 20 km to the west. In very clear but not unusual conditions North Wales and even Snowdonia can be seen.</p><br>
<h2>Geology</h2><br>
<p>The north–south ridge of Shining Tor including the summit itself is formed from the Chatsworth Grit, a thick sandstone of Namurian age which occurs widely across the Peak District. The beds dip moderately steeply to the east into a north–south-aligned syncline known as the Goyt Trough. Shining Tor is thought to have stood above the ice sheet during the last ice age and so is free from glacial deposits. The eastern dipslope and shallower parts of its western flanks are covered by peat up to several metres deep.</p><br>
<p>Lafitte&#39;s Blacksmith Shop is a historic building at corner of Bourbon Street and St. Philip Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana. Constructed in the French/Spanish colony during the early 18th century, it is one of the oldest surviving structures in New Orleans and has been called the oldest structure in the USA housing a bar.</p><br>
<p>According to legend, the privateer Jean Lafitte, aka John Lafitte, owned a business here early in the 19th century. As with many things involving the Lafittes, such as possibly using this place to plot illegal seizures and the sale of contraband, no documentation exists. (It was only after the Lafitte brothers were long gone that Jean&#39;s signature was found on a document, finally ascertaining how their family name was spelled: LAFFITE.)</p><br>
<p>It is purported to be one of the more haunted venues in the French Quarter. The name Blacksmith Shop may not be coincidental. Lafittes associates may have operated a smithy here during the days of reliance upon horses, who had to be shod. Jeans older brother Pierre Lafitte was a blacksmith, and their associate Renato Beluche may have once owned this building.</p><br>
<p>The current business traces its roots to Roger Tom Caplinger, who in the mid-1940s turned the old abandoned shop into Café Lafitte. The cafe became a popular night spot that attracted a bohemian clientele, including the gay community and celebrities like Noël Coward and Tennessee Williams. However, Caplinger never held clear title to the property and the building was sold in 1953. He soon opened a second cafe at the other end of the same block named Café Lafitte in Exile, which maintains that it is the oldest gay bar in the USA</p><br>
<p>The building was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1970. It is a rare extant example of briquette-entre-poteaux construction.</p><br>
<h2>In fiction</h2><br>
<p>Lafitte&#39;s Blacksmith Shop is featured in the historical novel Anthony Adverse by Hervey Allen. As depicted in the novel, the blacksmith shop was mainly a cover for maintaining a gang of exceptionally tall and strong black slaves &ndash; who were ostensibly engaged in shoeing horses while being used by the Lafitte brothers for intimidation, extortion and other criminal activities in and around New Orleans.</p><br>
<p>Sarez Lake is a lake in Rushon District of Gorno-Badakhshan province, Tajikistan. Length about 75.8 km, depth few hundred meters, water surface elevation about 3,263 m above sea level and volume of water is more than 16 km³. The mountains around rise more than 2,300 m above the lake level.</p><br>
<p>The lake formed in 1911, after a great earthquake, when the Murghab River was blocked by a big landslide. Scientists believe that the landslide dam formed by the earthquake, known as the Usoi Dam, is unstable given local seismicity, and that the terrain below the lake is in danger of catastrophic flood if the dam were to fail during a future earthquake.</p><br>
<p>Shadau Lake is a small water body southwest of the Usoi Dam and west of Sarez Lake.</p><br>
<h2>Formation</h2><br>
<p>The formation of Sarez Lake is described in the book by Middleton and Thomas:</p><br>
<p>Aihole , also referred to as Aivalli, Ahivolal or Aryapura, is a historic site of ancient and medieval era Buddhist, Hindu and Jain monuments in north Karnataka  dated from the fourth century through the twelveth century CE. Located around an eponymous small village surrounded by farmlands and sandstone hills, Aihole is a major archaeological site featuring over one hundred and twenty stone and cave temples from this period, spread along the Malaprabha river valley, in Bagalakote district.</p><br>
<p>Aihole is 22 mi from Badami and about 6 mi from Pattadakal, both of which are major centers of historically important Chalukya monuments. Aihole, along with nearby Badami (Vatapi), emerged by the 6th century as the cradle of experimentation with temple architecture, stone artwork, and construction techniques. This resulted in 16 types of free-standing temples and 4 types of rock-cut shrines. The experimentation in architecture and arts that began in Aihole yielded the group of monuments at Pattadakal, a UNESCO world heritage site.</p><br>
<p>Over one hundred Aihole temples are Hindu, a few are Jain and one is Buddhist. These were built and coexisted in close proximity. The site is spread over about 5 km&sup2;. The Hindu temples are dedicated to Shiva, Vishnu, Durga, Surya and other Hindu deities. The Jain Basadi temples are dedicated to Mahavira, Parshvanatha, Neminatha and other Jain Tirthankaras. The Buddhist monument is a monastery. Both Hindu and Jain monuments include monasteries, as well as social utilities such as stepwell water tanks with artistic carvings near major temples.</p><br>
<h2>Location</h2><br>
<p>The Aihole monuments are located in the Indian state of Karnataka, about 190 km southeast of Belgaum and 290 km northeast from Goa. The monuments are about 14 mi from Badami and about 6 mi from Pattadakal, set midst rural villages, farms, sandstone hills and Malprabha river valley. The Aihole site preserves over 120 Hindu, Jain and Buddhist monuments from the 4th—12th century CE. The region is also a site for pre-historic dolmens and cave paintings.</p><br>
<p>Aihole has no nearby airport, and is about 4 hours drive from Sambra Belgaum Airport (IATA Code: IXG), with daily flights to Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai. Badami is the closest town connected by railway and highway network to major cities of Karnataka and Goa. It is a protected monument under the laws of the Indian government, and managed by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Aihole is referred to as Ayyavole and Aryapura in its inscriptions and Hindu texts from 4th to 12th century CE, as Aivalli and Ahivolal in colonial British era archaeological reports.</p><br>
<p>Aihole has been a part of Hindu mythologies. It has a natural axe-shaped rock on the Malaprabha river bank north of the village, and a rock in the river show a footprint. Parashurama, the sixth Vishnu avatar, is stated in these legends to have washed his axe here after killing abusive Kshatriyas who were exploiting their military powers, giving the land its red color. A 19th-century local tradition believed that rock footprints in the river were those of Parashurama. A place near the Meguti hillocks show evidence of human settlement in pre-historic period. Aihole has historical significance and has been called a cradle of Hindu rock architecture.</p><br>
<p>The documented history of Aihole is traceable to the rise of the Early Chalukya dynasty in 6th century. It became, along with nearby Pattadakal and Badami, a major cultural center and religious site for innovations in architecture and experimentation of ideas. The Chalukyas sponsored artisans and built many temples in this region between the 6th and 8th centuries. Evidence of wooden and brick temples dating to 4th-century have been unearthed. Aihole started the experimentations with other materials such as stone around the 5th century when the Indian subcontinent saw a period of political and cultural stability under the Gupta Empire rulers. Badami refined it in 6th and 7th centuries. The experimentations culiminated in Pattadakal in the 7th and 8th centuries becoming a cradle of fusion of ideas from South India and North India.</p><br>
<p>After the Chalukyas, the region became a part of the Rashtrakuta kingdom who ruled in the 9th and 10th century from the capital of Manyakheta. In the 11th and 12th century, the Late Chalukyas (Western Chalukya Empire, Chalukyas of Kalyani) ruled over this region. Even though the area was not the capital or in immediate vicinity from 9th to 12th centuries, new temples and monasteries of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism continued to be built in the region based on inscriptional, textual and stylistic evidence. This likely happened, states Michell, because the region was prosperous with a substantial population and surplus wealth.</p><br>
<p>Aihole was fortified by Late Chalukya kings in the 11th and 12th centuries, in an approximate circle. This indicates the strategic and cultural importance of Aihole to the kings whose capital was far away. Aihole served as a hub of Hindu temple arts in this period with guild of artisans and merchants called the Ayyavole 500, celebrated for their talent and accomplishments in the historic texts of the Deccan region and South India.</p><br>
<p>In the 13th century and thereafter, the Malprabha valley along with much of Deccan became a target of raids and plunder by the Delhi Sultanate armies devastating the region. From the ruins emerged the Vijayanagara Empire which built forts and protected the monuments, as evidenced by inscriptions in the fort at Badami. However, the region witnessed a series of wars between Vijayanagara Hindu kings and Bahmani Muslim sultans. After the collapse of Vijayanagara Empire in 1565, Aihole became a part of the Adil Shahi rule from Bijapur, with some of the Muslim commanders using the temples as residence and their compounds as garrison for storing weapons and supplies. A Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva came to be called Lad Khan temple, named after the Muslim commander who used it as his operational hub, and a name that has been used ever since. In late 17th-century, the Mughal Empire under Aurangzeb gained control of the region from Adil Shahis, after which Maratha Empire gained control of the region. It again changed hands with Haider Ali and Tipu Sultan conquering it in late 18th century, followed by the British that defeated Tipu Sultan and annexed the region.</p><br>
<p>The monuments at Aihole-Badami-Pattadakal show the existence and a history of interaction between the early northern style and early southern style of Hindu arts.</p><br>
<h3>Archaeological site</h3><br>
<p>Aihole became a significant archaeological site and attracted scholarly attention after the British India officials identified and published their observations. The colonial era scholars hypothesized that the Apsidal shape Durga temple in Aihole may reflect the adoption by Hindus and Jains of the Buddhist Chaitya hall design and the influence of early Buddhist arts. They also identified historically significant 7th-century inscriptions.</p><br>
<p>For much of the 20th-century, Aihole remained a neglected site. Until the 1990s, the site consisted of houses and sheds built up to and in some cases extending into the historical monuments. The walls of the ancient and medieval temples were shared by some of these homes. Investments in infrastructure, land acquisition and relocation of some residences has allowed limited excavations and created a few dedicated archaeological parks including one for the much studied Durga temple at Aihole. Excavated ancient and medieval era artifacts and broken temple pieces, including a complete life size nude Lajja Gauri in birthing position and with a lotus head, now resides in an ASI museum next to the Durga temple in Aihole. Many temples and monasteries continue to be set midst narrow streets and congested settlement.</p><br>
<p>The Aihole site and artwork are a major source of empirical evidence and comparative studies of Indian religions and art history in the Indian subcontinent. The Aihole&#39;s antiquity, along with four other major 5th to 9th century sites – Badami, Pattadakal, Mahakuteshvara and Alampur – is significant to scholarship relating to archaeology and religions. These, states George Michell, display a "meeting and fragmentation of different temple styles and the creation of local variants". This fusion and exploration of arts and ideas later became a part of northern and southern Indian architectural repertoires.</p><br>
<h2>Chronology</h2><br>
<p>Aihole monuments preserve evidence of North Indian temple architecture styles that are missing elsewhere. The Gaudar Gudi temple mimics a wooden temple design with stone, with no superstructure but a flat temple raised on a plinth with stairs, square sanctum, a circumambulatory path and southern style columned hall with northern style shrine niches. The roof mimics sloping wooden version and has log-like stone strips. The Chikki temple is another such example, that innovates by adding stone screens for light inside the temple. The stone temples are dated to the first quarter of the 5th-century, suggesting the prior temples to centuries before.</p><br>
<p>According to James Harle of Oxford Ashmolean Museum, Aihole was a meeting place of styles but one of several around the 6th-century CE, that were on "their way to development elsewhere". They became preserved in Aihole probably because building and cultural activity stopped there around the 12th-century. Though excavations have yielded evidence that scholars disagree in dating, states Harle, it is probable that the earliest surviving temples in Aihole are from the 6th century and later.</p><br>
<p>Gary Tartakov links the temples at Aihole to 2nd century CE style and arts found in the Ajanta Caves, adding that while the Ajanta and Aihole monuments share some organizational features, there are distinct differences that suggest a "leap in time" and parallel developments in cave-based Ajanta and Aihole stone temple designs.</p><br>
<p>According to Christopher Tadgell – a professor in Architectural History, the Aihole apsidal temples were influenced by the Buddhist chaitya-griha, but not directly. The immediate precedent for these is found in the mid 5th-century Hindu temple at Chikka Mahakuta, another place where artists and architects explored temple construction ideas.</p><br>
<h2>Hindu Monuments</h2><br>
<p>Aihole was an early medieval era meeting place and a cradle for experimentation of Hindu arts, particularly temple architecture. The regional artisans and architects of Aihole region created prototypes of 16 types of free-standing temples and 4 types of rock-cut shrines to express in stone the theology of Hinduism. Though there is a sprinkling of Jaina monuments in Aihole, the temples and relief artworks are predominantly Hindu.</p><br>
<p>The Aihole temples experimented with two layouts: sandhara (with circumambulatory path) and nirandhara (without circumambulatory path). In terms of towers above the sanctum, they explored several superstructures: shikhara (tapering superstructure of discrete squares), mundamala (temple without superstructure, literally, garland with shaved head), rekhaprasada (smooth curvilinear superstructure also based on squares prevalent in northern and central India), dravidian vimana (pyramidal style of southern India) and kadamba-chalukya shikhara (a fusion style). The layout typically followed squares and rectangles (fused squares), but the Aihole artists also tried out prototypes of an apsidal layout (like a Buddhist or Church hall). In addition, they experimented with layout of mandapa within the shrines, the pillars, different types of windows to let light in, reliefs and statues, artwork on mouldings and pillars, bracket designs, ceiling, structure interlocking principles and styles of friezes. In some temples they added subsidiary shrines such as Nandi-mandapa, a prakara (wall) and styles of pratoli (gateway).</p><br>
<h3>Durga temple complex</h3><br>
<p>The Durga temple is the best known and studied of the Aihole temples. It has a misleading name, because the temple is not named after goddess Durga. According to one theory, it stands near the ruins of a fort-like enclosure or durg during a time of late medieval era Hindu Muslim conflict in the region. The temple was dated by early scholars to the 5th century CE, but variously revised to be from between the late 6th and early 8th century.</p><br>
<p>The Durga temple is the principal attraction for Aihole visitors and iconic in its apsidal layout. This shape is similar to 2nd or 1st century BCE Buddhist chaitya halls found in Ajanta Caves. The Durga temple stands on a high moulded adisthana and a damaged tower that had a curvilinear shikhara. The damaged tower&#39;s amalaka crown lies on the ground. A colonnaded and covered ambulatory passage with major carvings runs around the sanctum. The mukha mandapa (main hall) and the sabha mandapa (community hall for functions) show intricate carvings.</p><br>
<p>The Durga temple reverentially displays gods and goddesses from Shaivism, Vaishnavism and Shaktism traditions of Hinduism. The included near life-size statues include Shiva, Vishnu, Harihara (half Shiva, half Vishnu), Durga in her Mahishasuramardini form killing the buffalo demon, goddesses Ganga and Yamuna, Brahma, Surya, avatars of Vishnu such as Varaha and Narasimha. The temple has friezes to tell the story of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Further, the temple has artwork showing scenes of daily life and couples, including several amorous couples in various stages of courtship and mithuna.</p><br>
<p>The Durga temple complex consists of seven Hindu monuments. Next to the Durga temple is the Suryanarayana temple with a pyramidal shikara on top. It has a Surya statue with each hand holding a lotus flower in its garbha griya (sanctum), in a chariot and seven small horses carved at the bottom. The temple outline is intact, but most of the details are damaged.</p><br>
<p>The Lad Khan Temple is near the Durga temple and has been variously dated to "about 450 CE", or from 6th to 8th centuries. The temple is named after the Muslim commander under Adil Shahi Sultan who briefly stayed here about a thousand years after it was built. He used it to coordinate his military campaign in the region. The temple embeds three concentric squares, facing the sanctum with a Shiva linga. Inside the inner third square is a seated Nandi. The two square mandapas surrounding it create the sabha mandapa or community hall, providing ample space for devotees and community to gather for functions. The second concentric square is supported by a set of 12 intricately carved pillars. The wall has floral designs. The temple inside is lit with natural sunlight coming in from lattice windows of the north Indian style. The temple roof stones include log-shaped stone strips suggestive of an attempt to mimic more ancient timber temple construction.</p><br>
<p>The Ladkhan temple includes iconography from the Shaivism, Vaishnavism and Shaktism traditions of Hinduism. On the lintel of the sanctum with Shiva Linga, for example, is a Garuda image who carries Vishnu. The temple has reliefs showing goddesses Ganga and Yamuna, as well as other deities. A set of stone stairs connect the lower level to the second floor where upon is a damaged square shrine. On three sides of this upper level are Vishnu, Surya and Ardhanarishvara (half Shiva, half Parvati). Like other Aihole Hindu temples, the temple includes scenes from daily life, including amorous couple in courtship and kama scenes.</p><br>
<p>Gaudargudi temple stands next to the Ladkhan temple, built on the lines of Ladkhan temple but more open from all sides. According to George Michell, the temple is older than the Ladkhan temple. It too has log-shaped stones, where its timber like form is integrated to serve its structural function. The sanctum is empty but has a Gajalakshmi on its lintel. An inscription engraved on the lintel states that the temple has been dedicated to goddess Gauri (an aspect of Parvati). There is evidence that the sanctum, the inside mandapa and niches on outer walls had carved statues, but these are now empty. Gaudargudi was among the earliest temples when architects included pradakshina patha (circumambulatory path) in a Hindu temple design.</p><br>
<p>Next to the Gaudargudi (also spelled Gaudergudi) temple is a large stepwell for utility water storage whose walls have ancient carved sculptures. This stepwell is between the Gaudargudi and Chakragudi temple. According to Himanshu Ray, the stepwell with its Hindu shrine was likely added in the 10th or 11th century. The Chakragudi is notable for its preserved 7th or 8th century Nagara-style tower superstructure. The temple shows signs of later addition of a mandapa, whose style suggests 9th-century Rashtrakuta extension. To the southwest of the Durga temple complex is the Badigargudi (also spelled Badigergudi) temple with pyramidal tower that explores a squat and shrinking discrete squares-topped design with a large cubical sukanasa containing a Surya (Sun god) icon. Much of the Badigargudi relief artwork has been damaged and eroded.</p><br>
<p>The Durga temple complex houses the Aihole Museum and Art Gallery, managed by the Archaeological Survey of India. The museum has outdoor display of excavated statues, artwork, hero stones, and temple parts demolished in past. It also has an indoor collection with best preserved pieces of statues and temple parts found in the region. The collection includes images of Shiva, Parvati, Vishnu, Lakshmi, Brahma, Saraswati, Durga, Saptamatrika, Surya, Indra and others. The life size Lajja Gauri with lotus head, found in Aihole, is a part of the indoor collection.</p><br>
<h3>Ravana Phadi cave</h3><br>
<p>Ravanaphadi is one of the oldest rock cut cave temples in Aihole, located less than a kilometer uphill, northeast from the Durga temple complex. The temple dates to the 6th century. The entrance has an eroded fluted column and seated Nandi facing the temple sanctum, with several other small monuments. Inside the cave are three near square mandapas, the innermost featuring the Shiva linga and connected to the entrance mandapa by a rectangular space.</p><br>
<p>The entrance of the Ravanaphadi cave has a Nidhi and seated guardian on each side. Then, on left, is an image of Ardhanarishvara portraying the equivalence and essential interdependence of the masculine left Shiva and feminine right Parvati. Past this fused image, is the first mandapa to the left of which is a niche carved space. In it is 6th century artwork showing dancing Shiva (Nataraja) with Parvati, Saptamatrikas or seven mothers of Shaktism tradition, Ganesha and Kartikeya. On the right side of the main mandapa is Harihara portraying a fused image of Shaivism and Vaishnavism, with left Shiva and right Vishnu. On the opposite wall of Harihara is Shiva with three primary river goddesses of Hindu theology, and he stands with Parvati and the skeletal ascetic Bhringi.</p><br>
<p>The main mandapa connects to two other near square mandapas. To its north is the sanctum, flanked by Shaiva guardians at its entrance, then Vaishnava Varaha or Vishnu&#39;s boar avatar rescuing goddess earth on its left. To the right is a carved image of Shakti Durga as Mahishasuramardine spearing the buffalo demon. To the east of the main mandapa is an empty monastery like chamber. The ceiling of the cave has reliefs. One, for example, shows Vishnu with Lakshmi flying on winged Garuda, another shows the Vedic god Indra with Indrani on an elephant.</p><br>
<p>According to James Harle, the Ravanaphadi cave is stylistically unique in the Aihole region, and the closest artwork and style is found in the Rameshwara cave of Ellora in north Maharashtra. According to Pia Brancaccio, the Ravanaphadi cave bridges the style and design of "the rock-cut tradition of the Deccan with that of Tamil Nadu".</p><br>
<h3>Hucchappayya matha</h3><br>
<p>The Huchappayya matha temple is about a kilometer south of the Durga temple complex on the other side of the Aihole village, relatively isolated from other temple clusters. It consists of two Hindu monuments, the front larger one is a Shiva temple and the other a monastery no longer in use. The temple is walled on all sides with stone, has steps leading into a doorway of the mandapa. The temple faces east towards the sunrise, is mostly simple and blank, but has four columns with amorous couples on each. They are in various stages of courtship and mithuna. One of the couple carvings humorously places a horse-headed woman seeking the attention of a man, who carries a shocked expression on his face.</p><br>
<p>Inside the doorway is the mandapa whose ceiling has three large intricate and circular carvings, one each showing Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva on their respective vahanas. A Nandi sits in the middle of the mandapa floor facing the sanctum wherein is the Shiva Linga. The temple has two inscriptions in old Kannada, as well as a standing Shiva and standing Ganesha. The mandapa walls also show various friezes and reliefs, including more amorous couples. The temple is flat on the top, lacking a superstructure. The temple is likely from the 7th century.</p><br>
<h3>Hucchappayya gudi</h3><br>
<p>The Huchappayya gudi is a Hindu temple located few hundred meters southwest of the Huchappayya matha, in the farmlands towards the river, away from the village. It is simple east facing 2x2 square temple, with square front portico, a square sabha mandapa (main community ceremony hall, 24x24) and an almost-square sanctum. The portico has four pillars, as does the sabha mandapa. The main hall is supported by four pillars placed in a square of the same size as the portico. The temple has North Indian style Rekhanagara tower with rotating squares rising in a curvilinear smooth towards the sky. The tower is damaged, the top amalaka finial and kalasha missing.</p><br>
<p>The temple is notable for its intricate pillar carvings both in the portico and inside, as well as the artwork on its inner walls and ceiling. The carvings show religious themes (Vishnu&#39;s avatar Narasimha and Shiva Nataraja on wall, Shaiva dvarapalas, Garuda man-bird clasping two serpents), as well as the daily life of the people (dancers, musicians, individuals in Namaste posture, couple carrying offerings for prayers, flowers and animals). Some panels are humorous such as young women with horse head embracing bearded older men found on the eastern porch column. Outside, there is a slab carved with Saptamatrikas (seven mothers) of the Shaktism Hindu tradition. The temple also has an inscription in old Kannada on one of the pillars inside the main hall.</p><br>
<p>Hucchappayya gudi is dated to Early Chalukya period (6th-7th century).</p><br>
<h3>Ambigergudi temples complex</h3><br>
<p>Ambigergudi group is one of the archaeologically significant Aihole complexes situated immediately west of the Durga temple complex, near its entrance ticket office. It consists of three monuments, all aligned to the east-west axis. The easternmost monument is square monument walled on its east, north and south, and it lacks a tower. It faces the middle monument, which is largest of the three. The middle monument is experiments with an open verandah design concept with sloping slaps for roof cover. The sanctum is inside, and it contains a damaged Surya (Sun god) image whose crown is visible. These eastern two monuments are from 6th to 8th century, the Early Chalukya period.</p><br>
<p>The third monument in the Ambigergudi complex is a Late Chalukya design from about the 11th century. Its structure and layout features all elements of the Hindu temple but it is damaged, the image inside the sanctum is missing and the face, nose and limbs of most of its intricate carvings on the walls are defaced. The structure experiments with square and cubic shaped elements and arrangement of space. The Dravida design stands out above the sanctum walls, with repeated motifs of resonating tower structure as it rises upwards. Like other elements of this temple, the capping roof and finial is missing.</p><br>
<p>The archaeological significance of the Ambigergudi temple is from the results of limited excavation near the rear wall of the sanctum foundation. This yielded red-ware bowls dated to the 1st and 3rd century CE, as well as an outline of a single cell more ancient brick temple, which probably the stone temple replaced.</p><br>
<h3>Jyotirlinga temples complex</h3><br>
<p>The Jyotir linga group of monuments contain sixteen Hindu monuments including a large stepwell water utility tank. It is located east of the Durga temple complex compound across the road and to the south of the Ravanaphadi cave. The temples are dedicated to Shiva, with most monuments small to moderate size. The complex is largely in ruins, except for the Nandi mandapas and standing pillars inside the temples some of which show intricately carved but damaged images of Ganesha, Karitikeya, Parvati and Ardhanarishvara (half Shiva, half Parvati). The temples are likely from the Early Chalukya and Rashtrakuta Hindu dynasties.</p><br>
<h3>Mallikarjuna temples complex</h3><br>
<p>The Mallikarjuna temple complex features five Hindu monuments. The main temple in this complex is dated to the Early Chalukya period, likely around 700 CE. The temple tower experimented with square mouldings of diminishing area stacked concentrically as it rose towards the sky. On top is a crowning amalaka and then kalasa (pot used in Hindu festivals and rites-of-passage functions). The smaller shrines in this complex were likely built in the Late Chalukya period.</p><br>
<p>The outer walls of the temples here are simple, clean surfaces. The walls inside of the Shiva temple, particularly the pillars are intricately carved with religious themes such as a seated Vishnu man-lion avatar Narasimha, Ganesha and Padmanidhi, as well as of daily life such as a female dancer accompanied with two female musicians with their instruments. The pillars also show amorous couples in various stages of courtship and intimacy. Many of the images inside the shrines show signs of intentional damage inside the mandapa, such as the Karegudi (black pagoda) and Bilegudi (white pagoda). The complex is dedicated to Shiva, and includes a Nandi-mandapa monument. Outside the temples, within the complex, is a carved slab of Saptamatrikas (seven mothers) of the Shaktism tradition. Near the temple, is a large stepwell as a water utility.</p><br>
<p>According to Vinayak Bharne and Krupali Krusche, the main Mallikarjuna temple illustrates with simplicity the core elements of a Hindu temple. It consists of three squares. A front square portico faces the east, invites the devotee to rise up the stairs and enter, leads him into a square sabha mandapa (public gathering space). The main mandapa links to a square sanctum, above which is the tower superstructure. The mandapa has 4 (2x2) pillars set in a square, each centered to form four circles that enclose the community hall space. The stairs at entrance too are in a square footprint, with two pillars. The larger temples similarly combine squares and circles as a generative pattern to create the temple space.</p><br>
<h3>Ramalinga temples group</h3><br>
<p>Ramalinga complex, also called Ramalingeshvara temples, is a group of five Hindu temples. These are located on the banks of the Malaprabha river, about 2.5 kilometers south of the Durga temple complex. They are clustered close to the Veniyar and the Galaganatha monument groups in a hilly terrain.</p><br>
<p>The Ramalingeshwara temples are an active Shiva worship complex. It is periodically refurbished, white washed and redecorated for seasonal festivals. Its entrance has a modern wooden chariot with old stone wheels used for annual processions. The entrance portal has a Shiva Nataraja and two lions carvings, while the main temple consists of three shrines that connect with a common mandapa. Two of the shrines have pyramidal towers with shrinking squares concentrically placed, as does the main shrine, but two have their amalaka and kalasa a bit lower and intact. The mandapa is covered with a slopping stone roof. The temple incorporates an arched gate with a path to the river.</p><br>
<h3>Veniyar shrines complex</h3><br>
<p>The Veniyar shrines group, also called Veniyargudi, Vaniyavar, Veniyavur or Eniyar group, consists of ten Hindu temples. The Veniyar shrines are south of the village, near the river bank, close to the Ramalinga temples group. They are mostly in ruins, with substantial damage, and had a thick forest growth over them till late 20th-century. Archeological Survey of India cleared and recovered the space. A similarly named Veniyavur complex is also in the south side of the town, near Rachigudi temple. The largest temple here is an 11th century temple. The temple has a southern entrance, though the main hall and shrine has again an east-west alignment. The pillars experiment a square base and octagonal member followed by inverted kalasha on top with square finish. The lintel has a Gajalakshmi. The hall consists of two fused squares (6.5x13). The door frame to the sanctum has tiny carvings, and the temple has some of the most miniature carvings of themes in Aihole.</p><br>
<p>The Veniyar temples are dated to between the 9th and the 11th century, and represented a breakthrough in experiments by Aihole medieval artists to balance stone weight that the foundation and pillars could support while arranging a functional form, space and light within the temple consistent with the theological ideas. The so-called Temple number 5 of the Veniyar group combined function and form, creating a much taller madhyashala than any previous Aihole temple and a two storey sanctum temple structure by nesting the stones. A simpler idea but with less fruitful results were tried in the triple Jaina temple found in Aihole village.</p><br>
<h3>Galaganatha temples group</h3><br>
<p>Galaganatha group of temples, also referred to as Galagnath temples, is a large cluster of over thirty medieval Hindu temples and monuments on the bank of the Malaprabha River in Aihole. It is located about 2.5 kilometers south of the Durga temple and ASI museum complex, near the river dam, close to the Veniyar and Ramalinga shrines. The Galaganatha group of temples are dated to between 7th and 12th centuries.</p><br>
<p>The Galagnath temples compound has three main sub-clusters, almost all aligned in east-west direction. Most are partly or wholly in ruins with signs of intentional damage, but the remnants standing have significant details and artwork. The main shrine of the Galaganatha complex is dedicated to Shiva, yet has Brahma, Vishnu and Durga artwork integral in its mandapa. The Shiva panel from its ceiling, along with several of its artwork has been moved to a Mumbai museum. This main temple is from Early Chalukya period (6th or 7th century), has a Kadamba-Nagara style pyramidal shikhara of shrinking squares concentrically placed. It includes images of river goddesses Ganga and Yamuna at the entrance to this shrine. A few other notable temples in this complex that remain in reasonably preserved shape and form include one with a nearly complete 9th-century temple with South Indian Dravida style tower, another with North Indian Rekhanagara style tower.</p><br>
<p>The artwork found in the Aihole Galaganatha temple complex includes various styles of auspicious pot motifs (now common in Hindu ceremonies), Durga, Harihara, Maheshvari, Saptamatrikas, mythical makaras, foliage and flowers, birds, and others. The Galaganatha temples complex is the site where archaeologists found the 7th-century complete life-size nude Lajja Gauri in birthing position and with a lotus head, now at ASI Aihole museum near the Durga temple.</p><br>
<p>The Galaganatha temples, states Ajay Sinha – professor of Art History, show evidence of unfinished wall panels in addition to the abundance of panels that represent the secular local folklore and social life as well as the religious mythologies and deities. The Galaganatha complex has a diversity of temples and styles with a pastiche effect, states Sinha, which is perhaps evidence of "the degree to which interaction of architectural ideas was taking place in this period in this merchantile town".</p><br>
<h3>Maddin temples group</h3><br>
<p>The Maddin cluster consists of four Hindu temples. It is one of the groups that is in the heart of the village, midst homes and sheds. The largest temple faces north, and has two small linked shrines on its east and west. The temple experiments with different pillar designs.</p><br>
<p>The main mandapa of the largest Maddin temple is square and supported on four pillars made of stone unlike others used in Aihole, a greenish color stone that is not local and was imported from somewhere else, possibly from Dharwad region of the Deccan. The artists polished it, moulded a square base and then lathe-turned it intricately all the way to its neck in a manner similar to Hoyasala designs. The temple features a Nataraja, the dancing Shiva with a damaru in his right hand and trishula in the left. Near him is a intricately carved lion. In distance, facing the Shiva linga is seated Nandi in the antarala of the temple. On the lintel of the sanctum is Gajalakshmi.</p><br>
<p>The towers of the Maddin temples are all stepped pyramidal concentric squares.</p><br>
<h3>Triyambakeshvara temples group</h3><br>
<p>The Triyambakeshvara group, also spelled Triambakesvara group, has five Hindu temples. It is within the village. The main temple of this group faces south and is set on a high platform. Two smaller connected shrines are to its east and west. Stone steps lead to an open mandapa, a sabha mandapa (community hall) which connects to the sanctum. The open portico has two square pillars and two pilasters. The lintel on the entrance has Gajalakshmi. The sabha mandapa is square (15.6x15.6), itself supported on four square moulded pillars set within the space in a square, while the side walls have twelve pilasters. The upper part of the four square pillars are circular. It is connected to an antechamber and the sanctum. The sanctum is dedicated to Shiva linga, while a near life size Nandi sits facing the sanctum inside the shrine. On the lintel to the sanctum is carved another Gajalakshmi (Lakshmi with two elephants spraying water). The damaged towers of the main and the attached smaller shrines are all stepped pyramid of shrinking concentric squares as the tower rises towards the sky.</p><br>
<p>Two smaller temples in the Triyambakeshvara group are the Desiyar temple and the Rachigudi temple. Both feature a square main community ceremony hall, but different roof than the main temple of this group. The Desiyar temple has a seated, lotus-holding Lakshmi carved on the entrance. It has a bhumi-style tower, and has a Nandi sitting outside. The Rachigudi features a sloping stone roof of the style now found in Hindu temples of southwestern India. The outside wall has floral and other carvings. The temple consists of a main shrine, plus two subsidiary shrines to its east and west. The inside of the Rachigudi temple is a square layout, set on square base pillars with rounded moulded shaft supporting the roof and a moulded inverted kalasha pot like shape at its top. The portico of the temple is square (17x17), is of kakasanas style with eight squat pillars, again with square base, followed by an exploration of octagonal form. The Rachigudi has some intricately carved artwork inside, such as of Gajalakshmi on the lintel. The door jambs explore floral and geometric designs, as do the small perforated windows in the sabha mandapa integrated to bring light into the temple. The Triyambakeshvara group including the Rachigudi Hindu temple is from the 10th to 11th centuries, bridging the Rashtrakuta and Late Chalukya periods.</p><br>
<h3>Kuntigudi complex</h3><br>
<p>The Kunti group of monuments, also referred to as the Konti-gudi group, consist of four Hindu temples. They are situated in the middle of an Aihole market street with temple walls between the houses and sheds. Gupte dates the temples to the 6th century, while Michell states some of the monuments are more likely from the 8th century. The temples feature a veranda and garbha-grihya (sanctum) without enclosed walls.</p><br>
<p>The temples have an entrance colonnade with square pillars and porch with carvings that have eroded with time. The carvings include natural themes and amorous couples (for example, man cuddles a woman&#39;s shoulder as she lovingly caresses him with one hand and holds him with other both looking at each other). Inside the main temple is a mandapa with carvings of Vaishnavism, Shaivism and Shaktism traditions. The artwork presents unusual perspective such as the top view of Vishnu as he sleeps on Sesha, without Lakshmi, but with chakra and conch not in his hand but on the top edge of the bed; Shiva in yoga asana with Parvati seated on his side and her hand on his thigh; three headed Brahma holding a pasha and kamandalu seated on lotus rather than Hamsa; Durga killing demon buffalo but from an unusual perspective. Similarly one of the pillars a damaged artwork with eight hands (mostly broken), probably Shiva, but who unusually carries trishul (Shaivism), chakra (Vaishnavism) and dhanus (Rama, Vaishnavism). Goddess Uma is shown in one carving as wearing a yajnopavita (along with Shiva with him). The temples also present standing Vishnu avatar Narasimha, Ardhanarishvara (Shiva-Parvati fusion), Nataraja, Gajalakshmi, Ganesha, standing Shiva with pearl yajnopavita, Vedic gods Agni, Indra, Kubera, Ishana, Vayu, and others.</p><br>
<h3>Other Gudis</h3><br>
<p>Chikkigudi group is at a short distance to the north of the Ambigeragudi group (7th-8th century; according to Michell, main temple has "exuburent sculptures in the interior" treasured within a plain simple outside; detailed artwork of Trivikrama Vishnu, Nataraja Shiva, Brahma-Vishnu-Mahesh Hindu trinity and others)</p><br>
<p>Tarabasappa temple (6th-7th century, earliest separation of sanctum from the main gathering hall)</p><br>
<p>Hucchimalli temple (operating in late 6th century per 708 CE inscription, an intricate carving of Kartikeya, Shaivism tradition)</p><br>
<p>Aralibasappa temple (9th century, Ganga and Yamuna river goddesses carving, Shaivism tradition)</p><br>
<p>Gauri temple (12th century, intricately carved Durga, Shaiva and Vaishnava carvings and images, now Shaktism tradition but may have belonged to the Vaishnava then Shaiva tradition earlier)</p><br>
<p>Sangameshwara temple and Siddanakolla (6th-8th century, Saptamatrikas and Lajja Gauri of the Shaktism tradition)</p><br>
<h2>Buddhist monuments</h2><br>
<p>There is one Buddhist monument in Aihole, on the Meguti hill. It is a two storeyed temple, a few steps below the crest of the hill and the Jain Meguti hill temple. In front of the temple is a damaged Buddha statue, one without a head, probably taken out from inside the temple. The two levels of the temple are open and feature four full carved square pillars and two partial pillars on two side walls. Each pair of pillar goes into the hill to form a small monastery like chamber. The doorway to lower level chamber is intricately carved, while the central bay on the upper level has a Buddha relief showing him seated under a parasol. The temple is dated to late 6th-century.</p><br>
<h2>Jain monuments</h2><br>
<p>Aihole preserves four collection of about ten Jain monuments from the 6th to 12th century CE, associated with the Meena Basti (also referred to as Mina Basadi). These co-exist with the Buddhist and Hindu monuments, and are found on the Meguti hill, Chanranthi matha, Yoginarayana complex and an early Jaina cave temple near a Hindu cave temple south of the village.</p><br>
<h3>Meguti hill</h3><br>
<p>The Meguti Jain temple is on the level-topped Meguti hill, above the two storeyed Buddhist temple, surrounded by the Aihole fort. The north-facing temple is dedicated to a Jain Tirthankara. The word "Meguti" is a corruption of the word "Megudi" and means "upper temple".</p><br>
<p>The temple has an open portico, leading the devotee into a mandapa and the sanctum. The entire temple sits on a raised platform like many of the Hindu temples in the village. However, the layout inside is distinct. It has a pillared square mukhya-mandapa (main hall), which enters into a narrower square antarala divided into two compartments at different levels. A stair connects the slightly higher level, which leads to the larger square shaped chamber and sanctum. This section consists of two concentric squares, the inner square being the sanctum, and the space between the outer square and inner square being the pradakshina patha (circumambulation path). However, in the back of this path, a later construction sealed the circumambulation passage, making it more suitable for storage. Inside the inner square is a relatively crude carving of a Tirthankara. In contrast to the crudeness of this carving is the intricate carving of Ambika with attendant female Jaina deities and her lion mount below of the temple, now preserved in the ASI museum in Aihole. A similar carving is found attending the Mahavira in Jain Ellora Caves, and it is therefore likely that this temple was a dedication to the Mahavira. The temple includes a stone stair connecting the lower level to its upper. Though badly damaged, the upper level has a Jain image. It is also a viewpoint to look over the fort as well to watch the Aihole village below.</p><br>
<p>The temple foundation moldings rhythmically project the pilastered walls of the temple. The temple is not complete, as the niches and walls where carvings would be, are either cut but empty or left uncut and left raised. The temple had a tower, but it is lost and has been replaced by a rooftop watch room like empty chamber added much later and that does not flow with the rest of temple. The moldings around the foundation have carvings of Jaina motifs such as seated Jinas meditating.</p><br>
<h4>Meguti Aihole inscription</h4><br>
<p>The Meguti temple is historically important for its Aihole Prashasti inscription. A slab on the outer side wall of the temple is in Sanskrit language and Old Kannada script. It is dated to Saka 556 (634 CE), and is a poem in a variety of Sanskrit meters by Ravikirti about the Hindu king Pulakeshin II. The inscription mentions the Hindu poets Kalidasa and Bharavi, whose Mahabharata-related compositions are subject of friezes in Badami-Aihole-Pattadakal region. The inscription records the Chalukya family and his royal patron&#39;s support in the construction of the Meguti Jain temple.</p><br>
<h3>Jain cave temple</h3><br>
<p>The Jain cave temple is to the south of village, on the Meguti hill. It is likely from the late 6th century or early 7th. The outside is plain, but the cave is intricately embellished inside. The carvings carry symbolic Jain motifs, such as the mythical giant makaras disgorging tiny humans and lotus petals decorations. Inside its vestibule, on each side are two major reliefs of Parshvanatha with snake canopy above him and Bahubali with vines wrapped around his two legs. Both these images have female attendants next to them. The vestibule leads to the sanctum, flanked by two armed guards who also hold lotuses, with an enthroned seated inside. The cave has a side chamber, where too is a seated Jina surrounded by mostly female devotees with offerings and worship position.</p><br>
<h3>Yoginarayana group</h3><br>
<p>Another cluster of Jain monuments is the Yoginarayana group, near the Gauri temple. It consists of four temples, dedicated to the Mahavira and the Parshvanatha. Two face the north, one west and another east, all likely from the 11th century. The pillars of the temples have intricate carvings. Their towers are same as the stepped squares found in Hindu pyramidal-style shikaras in Aihole. This collection has a polished basalt image of Parshvanatha, with a five headed snake hood. He sits on a platform with lions carved in its niches. Another image from this Jain temples cluster is now at the ASI museum in Aihole.</p><br>
<h3>Charanthi matha group</h3><br>
<p>The Charanthi matha group consists of three Jain temples and is dated to the 12th century CE. It features the Late Chalukya style.</p><br>
<p>The main Jain temple in the Charanthi matha group faces north. It is flanked by two smaller shrines, while it consists of a portico, a almost-square mandapa (16x17), an antarala, sanctum. The mandapa entrance has the image of Mahavira with two female attendants, inside are four pillars laid out in a square pattern, and the design on them look similar to pillars found in nearby Hindu temples. At the entrance of the antarala is another image of the Mahavira. The square antechamber leads to sanctum where there is another image of the Mahavira seated in the padmasana yoga position, on a lion throne flanked by two attendants. The smaller shrines also feature the Mahavira. The tower above the Charanthi matha group temples are stepped shrinking concentric squares pyramidal style.</p><br>
<p>The second and third temple in the Charanthi matha group face south. These share a common veranda. The temples resemble monastic sanctuaries. A six bay veranda connects to these two, and the doorways have miniature Jinas carved on the lintels. The pillars of these temples are ornately carved, and both are dedicated to the Mahavira.</p><br>
<p>The matha consists of twin basadi with one porch serving both, with each housing 12 Tirthankars. An inscription here records the date of construction as 1120 CE.</p><br>
<h2>Aihole dolmens and inscriptions</h2><br>
<p>Scattered in the pre historic period meghalithic site behind the Meguti temple are many dolmens, numbering about 45 and more are destroyed by treasure hunters. Local people call it Morera mane (Morera tatte) or Desaira Mane. Each dolmen has three sides upright square slabs and large flat slab on top forms roof, front side upright slab had circular hole.</p><br>
<h2>Significance</h2><br>
<p>The Hindu temples at Aihole reflect a "meeting and fragmentation of styles", one that became a creative cradle for new experiments in construction and architecture yielding their local variants, states George Michell. These ideas ultimately influenced and became a part of both the northern and southern styles of Hindu arts. They are also a possible mirror to early wood-based temples whose natural decay led to innovations with stone, where the early stone temples preserved the heritage, the form and the function of their timber ancestors. The early temples at Aihole may also be a window into the more ancient Indian society, where temples were built around and integrated into the "santhagara village meeting hall" as the mandapa.</p><br>
<p>The Aihole temples are built at different levels, likely because the river Malaprabha flooded and its path changed over its history. The more ancient temples have a lower level. This is evidenced by the limited excavations done by Rao near the foundation of a few select temples where red polished ware have been found. These ceramic ware pieces are dated to between 1st century BCE and 4th century CE, and likely deposited with silt around the older temples during river floods. Extensive excavation studies at the Aihole done have not been done, but the studies so far suggest that the site preserves archaeologically significant information.</p><br>
<p>The Jain temples of Aihole are significant in helping decipher the spread, influence and interaction of Jainism and Hinduism traditions in the Deccan region. According to Lisa Owen, the comparison of the artwork in Aihole-Badami Jain monuments and other sites such as the Ellora Caves, particularly the attendants, deities and demons provides a means to decipher the development of Jain mythology and the significance of the shared iconography.</p><br>
<h3>Early Chalukya style of architecture</h3><br>
<p>Badami Chalukyas King Pulakeshin II (610–642 A.D.) was a follower of Vaishnavism. The inscription of Ravikirti, his court poet, is a eulogy of the Pulakeshin II and is at the Meguti temple. It is dated 634 CE and is written in Sanskrit language and old Kannada script. The Aihole inscription describes the achievements of Pulakeshin II and his victory against King Harshavardhana. Aihole inscription of Pulakeshin II mentioned as akrantatma-balonnatim Pallavanam patim: that means the Pallavas had attempted to nip in the bud the rise of the Badami Chalukyas: The conflict of the two powers before the campaign of Pulakeshin II against the Pallavas. In the Aihole inscription referred that Mangaleshas (Paramabhagavat) victory over the Kalachuris and the conquest of Revatidvipa. According to the Aihole inscription of Pulakeshin II, a civil war between Mangalesha and Pulakeshin II, due to Mangaleshas attempt to secure the succession for his son, which was the end of Mangalesha&#39;s reign.</p><br>
<p>Meidum, Maydum or Maidum  is an archaeological site in Lower Egypt. It contains a large pyramid and several mud-brick mastabas. The area is located around 62 miles  south of modern Cairo.</p><br>
<h2>Pyramid</h2><br>
<p>The pyramid at Meidum is thought to be just the second pyramid built after Djosers and may have been originally built for Huni, the last pharaoh of the Third Dynasty, and was continued by Sneferu. The architect was a successor to the famous Imhotep, the inventor of the stone built pyramid. The collapse of the pyramid is likely due to the modifications made to Imhoteps pyramid design as well as the decisions taken twice during construction to extend the pyramid. Because of its unusual appearance, the pyramid is called el-heram el-kaddaab &mdash; (Pseudo Pyramid) in Egyptian Arabic.</p><br>
<p>The second extension turned the original step pyramid design into a true pyramid by filling in the steps with limestone encasing. While this approach is consistent with the design of the other true pyramids, Meidum was affected by construction errors. Firstly, the outer layer was founded on sand and not on rock, like the inner layers. Secondly, the inner step pyramids had been designed as the final stage. Thus the outer surface was polished and the platforms of the steps were not horizontal, but fell off to the outside. This severely compromised the stability and is likely to have caused the collapse of the Meidum Pyramid in a downpour while the building was still under construction.</p><br>
<p>Franck Monnier and others believe the pyramid not to have collapsed until the New Kingdom, but there are a number of facts contradicting this theory. The Meidum Pyramid seems never to have been completed. Beginning with Sneferu and to the 12th dynasty all pyramids had a valley temple, which is missing at Meidum. The mortuary temple, which was found under the rubble at the base of the pyramid, apparently never was finished. Walls were only partly polished. Two Steles inside, usually bearing the names of the pharaoh, are missing inscriptions. The burial chamber inside the pyramid itself is uncompleted, with raw walls and wooden supports still in place which are usually removed after construction. Affiliated mastabas were never used or completed and none of the usual burials have been found. Finally, the first examinations of the Meidum Pyramid found everything below the surface of the rubble mound fully intact. Stones from the outer cover were stolen only after they were exposed by the excavations. This makes a catastrophic collapse more probable than a gradual one. The collapse of this pyramid during the reign of Sneferu is the likely reason for the change from 54 to 43 degrees of his second pyramid at Dahshur, the Bent Pyramid.</p><br>
<p>By the time it was investigated by Napoleons Expedition in 1799 the Meidum Pyramid had its present three steps. It is commonly assumed the pyramid still had five steps in the fifteenth century and was gradually falling further into ruin, because al-Maqrizi described it as looking like a five-stepped mountain, but Mendelssohn claimed this might be the result of a loose translation and al-Makrizis words would more accurately translate into "five-storied mountain", a description which could even match the present state of the pyramid with four bands of different masonry at the base and a step on top.</p><br>
<h2>Excavations</h2><br>
<p>The Meidum Pyramid was excavated by John Shae Perring in 1837, Lepsius in 1843 and then by Flinders Petrie later in the nineteenth century, who located the mortuary temple, facing to the east. In 1920 Ludwig Borchardt studied the area further, followed by Alan Rowe in 1928 and then Ali el-Kholi in the 1970s.</p><br>
<p>In its ruined state, the structure is 213 ft high, and its entrance is aligned north-south, with the entrance in the north, 66 ft above present ground level. The steep descending passage 57 ft long leads to a horizontal passage, just below the original ground level, that then leads to a vertical shaft 10 ft high that leads to the corbelled burial chamber itself. The chamber is unlikely to have been used for any burial.</p><br>
<p>Flinders Petrie was the first Egyptologist to establish the facts of its original design dimensions and proportions. In its final form it was 1100 cubits of 0.523 m around by 175 Cubits high, thus showing the same proportions as the Great Pyramid at Giza, and therefore the same circular symbolism. Petrie wrote in the 1892 excavation report that "We see then that there is an exactly analogous theory for the dimensions of Medum to that of the Great Pyramid; in each the approximate ratio of 7: 44 is adopted, as referred to the radius and circle..." These proportions equated to the four outer faces sloping in by precisely 51.842° or 51° 50&#39; 35", which would have been understood and expressed by the Ancient Egyptians as a seked slope of 5½ palms</p><br>
<h2>Mastabas</h2><br>
<p>Located nearby is a mastaba of an unknown noble, the burial chamber of which can be entered via a robber&#39;s tunnel. This tunnel is steep, extremely narrow and confined. Once traversed however, the chamber and hallway are relatively spacious, and contain the first example of a red granite sarcophagus known in antiquity. Another mastaba is the Mastaba of Nefermaat, the son of the Fourth Dynasty founder Pharaoh Sneferu.</p><br>
<p>The stone sarcophagus remains within the unmarked and undecorated granite built chamber. The tunnel goes farther on into the darkness, and as of 2002 remains unexplored.</p><br>
<p>Archangelos  is a town and a former municipality on the island of Rhodes, in the Dodecanese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Rhodes, of which it is a municipal unit.</p><br>
<h2>Location and population</h2><br>
<p>Archangelos is located about 30 kilometers south of the town of Rhodes on the islands east coast at an elevation of 160 meters. Its population according to the 2011 census was 5,384 making it the fifth largest town of the island (after the capital Rhodes, and the town of Trianta (Ialysos), Kremasti and Afantou. The towns name derives from Archangel Michael who is also considered its patron.</p><br>
<p>The municipal unit of Archangelos has a land area of 115.375 km², and includes several other towns, the largest of which are Malónas (pop. 982) and Másari (1,004). Its total population was 7,615 at the 2011 census.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Numerous small settlements existed in the broader area of Archangelos during the Hellenistic era, others on the coast and others inland. After the 7th century AD the settlements near the coast were abandoned due to the frequent invasions of pirates and their inhabitants settled on existing inland settlements or founded new ones in more secure areas. Over time the various settlements of the area were merged in one forming the town of Archangelos.</p><br>
<p>After the fall of Constantinople in 1453, the Knights Hospitaller who were occupying the island of Rhodes since 1309, built a fortress (some sort of an Acropolis) on top of one of the town&#39;s nearby hills to protect from a possible Ottoman invasion on the island. Ruins of this (castle of Saint John) fortress remain today.</p><br>
<h2>Economy</h2><br>
<p>Major economic resources include tourism, agriculture (main agricultural products are olive oil and citrus fruits), stockbreeding and pottery. Pottery was always one of the major occupations of the people of Archangelos. It is said that the dome of Hagia Sophia was built using light bricks from Archangelos.</p><br>
<h2>Tourist attractions</h2><br>
<p>church of the Saint Michael Archangel</p><br>
<p>Nearby:</p><br>
<p>castle of Saint George ruins</p><br>
<p>cave of Koumellos</p><br>
<p>Pike of Blisco, or Pike o&#39; Blisco, is a mountain in the Lake District in Cumbria, England. Located between the valleys of Great Langdale and Little Langdale, its relative isolation from neighbouring fells together with slopes falling away immediately from the summit in all directions mean it has excellent views: the view of the Langdale Pikes across Great Langdale is particularly arresting.</p><br>
<p>The name Pike of Blisco is the form used on Ordnance Survey maps. The influential guidebook writer A. Wainwright preferred Pike o&#39; Blisco (he refers to Pike of Blisco as its "Sunday name"), and wrote, "the man has no blood in his veins who does not respond eagerly to its fine-sounding, swashbuckling name".</p><br>
<h2>Topography</h2><br>
<p>Pike of Blisco stands on the complex ridge of high ground descending south-eastward from the Scafell massif. The ridge incorporates Esk Pike, Bow Fell, Crinkle Crags and Cold Pike before turning sharply north-eastward to Pike of Blisco; it then makes a further abrupt northerly diversion around Blea Tarn to connect to Lingmoor Fell. To the north of Pike of Blisco is the Oxendale branch of Great Langdale, while Little Langdale stands to the south east. The two valleys drain eastward, joining beyond Lingmoor Fell. To the south of Pike of Blisco is the 393 m (1,290 ft) summit of Wrynose Pass, which links Little Langdale with the Duddon Valley, and beyond the pass lies Swirl How and the Coniston Fells.</p><br>
<p>Between Cold Pike and Pike of Blisco is a wide grassy depression at 528 m (1,740 ft). On the southern side is the source of the River Duddon, while to the north is Red Tarn, a feeder of Great Langdale Beck. Red Tarn is an elongated pool whose stony bed can be seen through clear shallow waters, reputed to hold trout. Its name comes from the colour of the surrounding soil rather than the water itself. The tarn forms a focal point for walkers, as the wide path from the summit of Wrynose Pass to Great Langdale runs beside it, with a further path branching off across its outflow towards Crinkle Crags. The main path was originally made to serve Red Crag Mine, which now consists of a series of pits and trial borings for iron ore, concentrated about 300 metres north of the tarn. The mine was worked from 1860 to 1875 but never achieved commercial success.</p><br>
<p>Pike of Blisco itself consists of the steep, conical summit area above Red Tarn along with a swathe of hilly country spreading out to the south and east. The summit is defended by Kettle Crag to the north and Black Wars to the west, with Black Crag abreast the ridge descending southward to Wrynose Pass. The eastern part of the fell is centred upon the subsidiary top of Blake Rigg at around 530 m (1,740 ft) in an area of rocky outcrops and small tarns. From Blake Rigg a ridge runs north east to cross the summit of the Blea Tarn road at 224 m (735 ft). This pass, narrow and steep even by Lakeland standards, links the two Langdales and is named for the large tarn which sits beneath the eastern crags of Blake Rigg. Its waters hold trout, perch and pike, and the easily accessible shoreline features in many a photograph of the Langdale Pikes.</p><br>
<h2>Geology</h2><br>
<p>The interbedded volcaniclastic sandstone, tuff and lapilli-tuff of the Blisco Member predominate, with an intrusion of rhyolite running across the eastern slopes.</p><br>
<h2>Summit</h2><br>
<p>Unusually for Lake District fells, Pike of Bliscos summit is clearly visible from the valley below, in this case Great Langdale. (Consequently, a good view of the valley may be obtained from the summit.) Before 1959 the summit was crowned with a tall, conical cairn which could be seen from the valley, but between 1958 and 1959 it was apparently vandalised. It has subsequently been rebuilt, although it does not appear as tall today as it does in Wainwrights 1958 drawing.</p><br>
<h2>Ascent routes</h2><br>
<p>There are two distinct routes to the summit from the popular walkers resort of Dungeon Ghyll at the head of Great Langdale. One goes via Stool End farm at the foot of Bowfell; from here it follows the public footpath over the Oxendale Beck and up to Red Tarn, at around 525 m above sea level, before ascending Pike of Bliscos steep west face. The other route, which takes a generally more even gradient, climbs the mountain&#39;s east face using a path that starts from the Little Langdale road.</p><br>
<p>It is also possible to climb Pike of Blisco from Little Langdale, via a public footpath from Wrynose Bridge on the road to Wrynose Pass, about 2 km from the head of the valley. An alternative route from this direction, recommended by Wainwright, involves scrambling up a gully in the crags above the valley head, then walking across pathless terrain to the summit. The easiest route of ascent, however, is from the Three Shire Stone at the head of the Wrynose Pass, where vehicles may be parked at 393 metres.</p><br>
<p>Pike of Blisco is often climbed as a circuit around the head of Great Langdale incorporating Crinkle Crags and Bowfell, sometimes extended to include Rossett Pike and even the Langdale Pikes.</p><br>
<p>The River Tummel  is a river in Perth and Kinross, Scotland.</p><br>
<h2>Description</h2><br>
<p>Discharging from Loch Rannoch, it flows east to a point near the Falls of Tummel, where it bends to the southeast, a direction which it maintains until it falls into the River Tay, just below Logierait, after a course of 58 mi from its source in Stob Ghabbar (3,565 ft). Its only considerable affluent is the Garry, 24 mi long, an impetuous river which issues from Loch Garry (2.5 mi and 1,334 ft above sea level). About midway in its course the Tummel expands into Loch Tummel (2.75 mi long, 128 ft deep and 500 ft above sea level), between which and the confluence with the Garry occur the Pass and Falls of the Tummel, which are rather in the nature of rapids, the descent altogether amounting to 15 ft.</p><br>
<p>The scenery throughout this reach is most picturesque, culminating at the point above the eastern extremity of the loch, known as the "Queen&#39;s View" (Queen Victoria made the view famous in 1866, although it is probably named after Queen Isabel, wife of Robert the Bruce). The chief places of interest on the river are Kinloch Rannoch; Dunalastair, a rocky hill in well-wooded grounds, the embellishment of which was largely due to Alexander Robertson of Struan, the Jacobite and poet, from whom the spot takes its name (the stronghold of Alexander); Foss; Faskally House (beautifully situated on the left bank); Pitlochry; and Ballinluig.</p><br>
<p>Mount Wrightson is a 9,456 ft peak in the Santa Rita Mountains within the Coronado National Forest, in southern Arizona, United States.</p><br>
<p>It was named for William Wrightson, a miner and entrepreneur in the region killed by Apaches in the 1865 Battle of Fort Buchanan.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>Mt. Wrightson is the highest point in the Santa Rita Mountains and the Tucson region, lying 40 mi southeast of the city. Its distinctive pyramid-shaped profile is visible from much of southeastern Arizona and adjoining areas in Sonora, Mexico.</p><br>
<p>The mountain is known for the spectacular view from its barren peak, nearly 7,000 ft feet above Tucson.</p><br>
<h2>Flora</h2><br>
<p>Mt. Wrightson&#39;s flora includes grassy, high desert chaparral, mixed conifers with Arizona, Apache, and Chihuahua pines, Arizona madrone, aspen, oak brush, and Douglas fir and ponderosa pine near the summit.</p><br>
<h2>Fauna</h2><br>
<p>Fauna on Mt. Wrightson include birds such as the scrub jay and ravens high up near the peak, Coues white-tailed deer, black bear, and (rarely) mountain lion.</p><br>
<h2>Hiking</h2><br>
<p>The shortest route is the Old Baldy Trail, a steady climb of over 4,000 ft over 5.4 mi to the exposed summit. The Super Trail, also from the Madera Canyon trailhead, is not as steep but is far longer at 8.1 mi. These two trails intersect at Josephine Saddle (7,080 ft) halfway to the peak, so hikers can choose one route for the lower path and one route for the upper. To reach the trailhead, take exit 63 off of I-19 south of Tucson, and turn east toward Continental. Turn right on Whitehouse Cyn. Rd, following it until it eventually turns into Madera Canyon Road. Parking is plentiful at and below the trailhead, which is at the end of the road.</p><br>
<p>There are several springs at different locations, including Bog Spring, Sprung Spring, Kent Spring, Armour Spring, Baldy Spring, McBeth Spring and Bellows Spring. Nonetheless, take plenty of water and be aware of wildlife. It is a prime birding area and black bears are common. Two miles into the hike is a saddle which offers an easy dayhike with dramatic views of this peak. It features a Boy Scout Memorial dedicated and maintained for three scouts who died in a storm on Mt. Wrightson November 15, 1958. According to the sign, the plaque was erected by Boy Scout Troop 249 in remembrance of David Greenberg (age 12), Mike Early (age 16), and Michael J. Lanoue (age 13).</p><br>
<p>The final approach to the summit is north facing and may be impassable without special equipment during the winter due to ice.</p><br>
<p>The "Florida Fire" in 2005 burned a large expanse of the forest in this area, affecting much of this hike, especially the section between the Walker Basin trail and the Super Trail.</p><br>
<p>Madera Canyon  is a canyon in the northwestern face of the Santa Rita Mountains, twenty-five miles southeast of Tucson, Arizona. As part of the Coronado National Forest, Madera Canyon has campsites, picnic areas, and miles of hiking trails. The canyon is also used as a resting place for migrating birds, and it is thus known as a premier birdwatching area. Madera Canyon was originally named White House Canyon, after a prominent white adobe house was built there in the late 19th century. The canyon was renamed sometime in the early 1900s, although some locals still use the original name.</p><br>
<h2>Flora and fauna</h2><br>
<p>Madera Canyon is located in the Santa Rita Mountains, which is one of the largest of the Madrean Sky Islands. The canyon and its immediate surroundings are therefore home to wide variety of flora and fauna, ranging from cactus covered desert in the lower reaches of the canyon to aspen and pine forest on Mount Wrightson.</p><br>
<p>With fifteen species of hummingbirds, elegant trogon, sulphur-bellied flycatcher, black-capped gnatcatcher, flame-colored tanager, thirty-six species of wood warblers, and over 256 species of birds documented in total, Madera Canyon is rated the third best birding destination in the United States. Other animals that can be found in Madera Canyon include black bear, mountain lion, bobcats, white-tailed and mule deer, foxes, coatis, ring-tailed cats, raccoons, wild turkeys, squirrels, and rabbits. Sixteen species of bats have also been recorded in the canyon.</p><br>
<p>Madera Canyon is a bowl-shaped watershed. Side-canyons funnel water from springs and runoff in seasonal streams that feed Madera Creek. This stream system and the abundant plants along its banks form a riparian corridor. The corridor descends through all of the canyon&#39;s four life zones and creates excellent wildlife habitat.</p><br>
<p>Lower Sonoran Zone (0 to 4,500 feet) – This life zone extends from above the mouth of Madera Canyon down to the Santa Cruz Valley. Sonoran Desert scrub with desert trees, shrubs, and cactus grows in hot, dry lower elevations. A transition to desert grassland with grasses, shrubs and velvet mesquite occurs as temperature and moisture moderate higher up.</p><br>
<p>Upper Sonoran Zone (4,500 to 6,500 feet) – Arising around the canyon mouth, this zone is cooler and more moist than the Lower Sonoran below. It is composed primarily of two woodland plant communities and represented by plants such as evergreen oaks, alligator juniper, Mexican piñon pine, shrubs, and bunchgrasses.</p><br>
<p>Transition Zone (6,500 to 8,000 feet) – With mild summers and cold winters, the temperate Transition Zone is characterized by many plants common to the Rocky Mountains. Ponderosa pine, deciduous Gambel oak, smooth sumac, maples, and other mountain species grow in the upper canyon.</p><br>
<p>Canadian Zone (8,000 to 9,500 feet) – The highest and coolest life zone in the Santa Rita Mountains occurs on the lofty peaks above the canyon. Plants such as Douglas fir, white fir, quaking aspen, and kinnikinnick grow in this high altitude zone.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The Santa Rita Mountains were filled with prospectors in the early 1900s, with over a dozen mines operating in Madera Canyon alone. One was owned by a colorful character named Ben Daniels, who had once served as a marshal in Dodge City, Tombstone, and other rough Western towns, and had fought in the Spanish–American War with the Rough Riders. Daniels later built a home in Madera Canyon and was elected sheriff of Pima County in 1920. His wife became the Pima County Superintendent of Schools.</p><br>
<p>The Pennington family lived in the area in the 1870s and a daughter, Josephine, was kidnapped by Apaches, tortured, and left for dead. She survived and made it back to her family. Josephine Peak bears her name. Other well-known places are named after miners, ranchers, and settlers. Sprung Spring was named after the Sprung family, for it is thought that it was they who first improved it. Mount Wrightson was originally named, Old Baldy, after Captain Richard Ewell, who bore the same name, and was stationed at Ft. Buchanan in the 1850s. But his service in the CSA denied his name being attached to the peak. William Wrightson, who brought Arizona&#39;s first press around South America, and who later ventured in mining, was killed alongside of Gilbert Hopkins in 1865. It was their names which were assigned to the two prominent mountains nearby.</p><br>
<p>In 1905, Madera Canyon and the Santa Rita Mountains became a part of the new National Forest System. In 1911, a Tucson businessman formed a group of backers who built several cabins in the canyon on land leased from the United States Forest Service (USFS). Over the next few years, the roads were improved, automobiles came into use and Madera Canyon became a popular summer destination. In 1922, the Santa Rita Trails Resort was built. The original lodge later burned down, but in 1929 it was rebuilt as a year-round resort with cottages, cabins, a restaurant, a general store, a gas station and a post office. In the 1930s, Madera Canyon was home to a Civilian Conservation Corps camp. Many of the rock walls they built still exist.</p><br>
<p>The USFS continued to develop utilities and improve roads, but eventually the impact of people in the canyon led to erosion, sewage, and water supply problems. It was decided that the houses on leased land had to be removed. Over fifty cabins were demolished between 1984 and 1991. The few remaining homes in Madera Canyon are on private land.</p><br>
<p>The White House was one of the "first permanent structures" built in Madera Canyon. It is thought to have been constructed by a sheepherder named Walden in the late 1870s or early 1880s. Walden left around 1882 and the two or three room house was taken over by Theodore Wellish and his family as a summer retreat. Wellish owned the White House Mercantile Company in Tucson, and thus it was assumed that he was the one who whitewashed the adobe building, giving it its name. The White House was well known and easily recognizable, and so it became a landmark for determining the location of the many different mining claims in and around the area.</p><br>
<p>Two brothers named Atondo and Rufino Paz also lived at the White House at different times around the turn of the century. After their marriage in 1911, the sixty-one-year-old Alcaro Morales, and his twenty-seven-year-old bride named Benita, moved into the house. Alcaro delivered their five children in the home. Tragically, both Benita and her fifth child died during childbirth in 1921. She and her newborn son were buried together in a small plot near the house. The rest of the family continued to live in the house until Alcaro&#39;s death in 1940 at the age of ninety.</p><br>
<p>In 2002, the USFS and the non-profit organization Friends Of Madera Canyon conducted an archeological dig at the site of the house. Only a small portion of one wall remains standing, but they were able to determine where the outside walls and the house&#39;s front door had been. The site of the house is near the Proctor Road crossing in Madera Canyon, and can be accessed by a short, paved pathway.</p><br>
<p>Silver Bank  is a submerged bank in the Atlantic Ocean north of the Dominican Republic and southeast of the Territory of Turks & Caicos. It covers an area of 1,680 km². It is separated from Mouchoir Bank in the west by Silver Bank Passage, and from Navidad Bank in the east by Navidad Bank Passage.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>Silver Bank is a shallow underwater carbonate platform that almost reaches the ocean&#39;s surface in certain areas (60 ft deep in the shallow parts), but is mostly submerged. In its northern reaches many coral heads reach the ocean surface, especially at low tide. Also, amongst the coral heads is the wrecked freighter Polyxeni, most of which is above the surface. Persons can board the Polyxeni only with governmental permission.</p><br>
<p>Because the Silver Bank is shallow, it is not suitable for large ships to use the area for passage. In fact, any boats in the area should obtain permission before entering the bank.</p><br>
<p>This area is considered a part of the Dominican Republic, as is Navidad Bank east of it. On Oct. 14, 1986, the Dominican Republic established the Silver and Navidad Bank Sanctuary (Santuario de los Bancos de la Plata y de la Navidad) to protect this area as a safe haven for sea mammals. On July 5, 1996, a Dominican presidential decree enlarged the area and declared it the Sanctuary for Marine Mammals (Santuario de Mamíferos Marinos). The Silver Bank has long been a breeding and calving area for humpback whales.</p><br>
<p>As such, tourism centers around tours to view the whales and other wildlife.</p><br>
<p>Just to the southeast is Navidad Bank, also under the jurisdiction of the Dominican Republic.</p><br>
<p>The Silver Bank, the Navidad Bank, as well as the Mouchoir Bank further northwest, plus the Turks and Caicos Islands, are geographically considered a continuation of the Lucayan Archipelago.</p><br>
<p>Dorah Pass, also called Durah Pass, connects Badakshan Province of Afghanistan with Chitral District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The Dorah Pass is more than 14,000 ft high. It is located along the Durand Line border and crosses the Hindu Kush mountain range. Situated at the foot of the pass is Lake Dufferin, also known locally as Hawz-i Dorah. The lake is roughly 2 miles long by over 1/4 miles broad.</p><br>
<p>Dorah Pass became important during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan because the Soviets were unable to stop the flow of arms and men back and forth across the pass. Almost the entire Munji-speaking population of Afghanistan fled across the border to Chitral during the War in Afghanistan. Dorah Pass is situated in the Pamir, a high plateau sometimes called "The roof of the world" that joins Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and China.</p><br>
<p>The Dorah Pass is one of the four major mountain passes that enter Chitral. The others are the Broghol Pass from the Wakhan District of Badakhshan, Afghanistan, Shandur Top from Gilgit, and Lowari Top from Upper Dir District.</p><br>
<p>Amfissa  is a town in Phocis, Greece, part of the municipality of Delphi, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 315.174 km. It lies on the northern edge of the olive forest of the Crissaean plain, between two mountains, Giona to the west and Parnassus to the east, 200 km northwest of Athens and 20 km of Delphi, as well as 85 km northeast of Naupactus and 72 km south of Lamia.</p><br>
<p>Amfissa dates back to antiquity, with its history spanning around 3,000 years, and has been traditionally the largest and capital city of Phocis. It was the most important city of the ancient Greek tribe of the Ozolian Locrians and one of the most powerful cities in Central Greece. In the Middle Ages, Amfissa came to be known as Salona, it declined after several foreign conquests and destructions, but emerged as an important city in the region and played a major role during the Greek War of Independence.</p><br>
<h2>Origin of the name</h2><br>
<p>It is believed that the name Άμφισσα (Amfissa) derives from the ancient Greek verb αμφιέννυμι (amfiennymi), meaning surround, since the city is surrounded by mountains Giona and Parnassus. According to the Greek mythology, Amfissa, the daughter of Macar, son of Aeolus, and mistress of the god Apollo, gave her name to the city.</p><br>
<p>During the Frankish occupation of Greece in the 13th century, Amfissa was captured by the king of Thessalonica, Boniface of Montferrat, and was renamed to La Sole; since then the city came to be called Salona in Greek. In 1833, after the establishment of the independent Greek State, the ancient name Amfissa was given back to the city.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<h3>Ancient times</h3><br>
<p>Amfissa has been settled since the ancient times and was the chief town of Ozolian Locris, a region inhabited by the ancient Greek tribe of Locrians; the largest and most renowned town of Locris, beautifully constructed and located one hundred and twenty stades away from Delphi. Pausanias, in his work Description of Greece, mentions the existence of the tombs of Amfissa and Andraemon, and the temple of Athena on the acropolis of the town, with a standing statue of bronze, which was said to have been brought from Troy by Thoas. The Amfissians celebrated mysteries in honor of the "anaktes boys", who might be the Dioskouroi, the Curetes or the Cabeiri (). In Amfissa there were also the tomb of Gorge, wife of Andraemon, and the temple of Asclepius. Recent excavations have revealed a Mycenaean tomb in Amfissa, preliminary findings indicate that the tomb was in use for more than two centuries, from the 13th to the 11th century B.C.</p><br>
<p>Findings of several excavations revealed that the town had developed its commerce with Corinth and towns of the northwestern Peloponnese at the end of the 8th century BC. Amfissa was organised as polis in the 7th century BC and flourished in arts and trade, which lasted for three centuries. Parts of the walls of the ancient acropolis of the town date back between the 7th and the 6th century BC. In 653 BC, people from Amfissa migrated to Southern Italy and founded the town of Epizephyrian Locri. Amfissas calendar differed from that of the other Ozolian towns, while four of the months names known are Argestyon, Panigyrion, Amon and Pokios. Its coins had the head of Apollo on the one side, and the inscription "ΑΜΦΙΣΣΕΩΝ" (Amfissians&#39;), a spear-head and a jaw-bone of Calydonian boar, and either a star or grapes on the other.</p><br>
<p>Following the Greek defeat by the Persians in the battle of Thermopylae, Persian troops invaded Phocis, Ozolian Locris, Doris and Boeotia. It is then that Amfissa, due to its strong acropolis, received Phocians seeking for safety. During the Peloponnesian War, Amfissa fought on Spartas side, drifting the other towns of Ozolian Locris in this way. The towns form of government was oligarchic, similar to that of Sparta, but, during the Pericles&#39; era in Athens, some unsuccessful attempts to establish democracy took place. Ten of the archontes of Amfissa have been known through inscriptions found at Delphi: Theagenes of Menandros, Voriadas, Charixenus, Aristodamus of Damon, Dorotheus, Euarchus, Archedamus, Aristodamus of Epinicus, Charixenus and Aristarchus.</p><br>
<p>In 426 BC, Spartan general Eurylochus, on his way to Naupactus, arrived to Delphi and sent a herald to Amfissa, in order to detach them from Athens and make the Amfissians leave him pass through their lands. The latter were the first to give him hostages and also persuaded the other Locrian cities to do the same, as they were alarmed at the hostility of the neighbouring Phocians. After the Peloponnesian War the Amfissians were allies to Thebes. In 395 BC, the Thebans encouraged the Amfissians to collect taxes from territories claimed by both Locris and Phocis; in response, the Phocians invaded Locris, and ransacked Locrian territory and its metropolis, Amfissa. As a result, the Amfissians and the rest of Locrians, along with the Thebans, attacked Phocis, and the Phocians, in turn, appealed to their ally, Sparta. These conflicts led to the Corinthian War, with the Amfissians on the side of Athens, Argos, Corinth and Thebes.</p><br>
<p>During the Third Sacred War, 356 - 346 BC, the Amfissians, who were allies of the Thebans, cultivated part of the Crissaean plain, which belonged to Delphi, and founded potteries in Kirra. In 339 BC, the Athenians offered golden shields to the Temple of Apollo in Delphi with inscriptions insulting to the Thebans, who provoked the deputy of Amfissa to oppose to this offer. Then Aeschines, the Athenian deputy, contradicted the Amfissians, introducing their illegal actions in the sacred lands of the Oracle of Delphi before the Amphictyonic League, which called Philip II of Macedon to interfere. In 338 BC, Philip attacked and destroyed Amfissa, expelling large parts of its population and giving the area to Delphi, which is known as the Fourth Sacred War. Later in the same year, under the motivation of Demosthenes, a confederation of the Athenians and the Thebans was organized against the Macedonians, which the Amfissians and the rest of the Ozolian Locrians joined.</p><br>
<p>The Amfissians managed to rebuild their town and give to it its former power, but in 322 BC it was sieged by Alexander of Aetolia. In 279 BC, four hundred Amfissian hoplites joined the Greek forces which defended Delphi against the Gauls. Later, the Amfissians and the Aetolians tightened their old affiliation, and in 250 BC, Amfissa joined the Aetolian League as friend and relative of the Aetolians. In 245 BC, Aratus, the strategos of the Achaean League, attacked and damaged Amfissa, but the two leagues allied with the Roman general Titus Quinctius Flamininus against Philip V of Macedon, and after their win over the Macedonian king, Titus proclaimed Amfissa, among other cities, as an independent and tax-exempt polis, capital of Ozolian Locris, with its own Boule, Ecclesia and coins. But when the Aetolians realised that Rome was to rule the Greek cities and asked Antiochus III the Great of Syria for help, the Roman general Manius Acilius Glabrio seized Lamia and advanced to Amfissa, where he conquered the Crissaean plain and besieged the town in 190 BC. The Amfissians, being confident for the power of their acropolis and their walls, defended the city, but the fall of Amfissa to the superior forces of the Romans was likely to happen. Then, Manius Acilius was replaced by Lucius Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus, and the people of Amfissa ran into the acropolis. Athenian deputies intervened and prevented Amfissa from the siege, achieving a truce between the two sides.</p><br>
<p>In the period between 174 and 160 BC, Amfissa had been damaged several times during the hostilities which took place between the pro-Roman Aetolians and the nationalists of the town. When Octavian founded the town of Nicopolis, in memory of his victory over Antony and Cleopatra in the battle of Actium, he drove Aetolians to populate it but the parts of them moved to Amfissa. That is why Pausanias says that the Amfissians were ashamed of calling themselves Ozolians, thus they claimed Aetolian descent, a fact that was a misconception of Pausanias, because some people of Amfissa in his times were indeed descendants of Aetolian refugees. In that period, Plutarch mentions, in the work Parallel Lives, a physician from Amfissa named Philotas (). During the 2nd century, Amfissa was a prosperous town which expanded outside its walls, having a population of 70,000 people in 180 BC according to Pausanias, while during the reign of Diocletian, Amfissa is said to have a splendid aqueduct.</p><br>
<h3>Middle Ages</h3><br>
<p>In the early Middle Ages, Amfissa was devastated by several foreign peoples who invaded Greece, like the Visigoths under Alaric I and the Huns. In 451, the town probably had an episcopical seat and in 530, Justinian I fortified the towns around the Crissaean plain and fixed the fortress of Amfissa. Hierocles in his Synecdemus mentions Amfissa as one of the towns of the eparchy of Hellas within the Byzantine Empire, which was under the rule of the vice-consul of Athens.</p><br>
<p>Since the middle of the 9th century, new invaders, the Bulgars, raided the region of Phocis and sieged Amfissa several times, but the most damaging was in 996, when Samuel of Bulgaria destroyed the town and slaughtered its people. in 1059, Pechenegs besieged Amfissa one more time and forced the Amfissians to hide in caves of the region to avoid a massacre. In 1147 the Normans arrived to the Crissaean plain but left Amfissa unspoilt, maybe due to the town&#39;s decline.</p><br>
<p>In 1205, after the Fourth Crusade and the establishment of the Latin Empire, Boniface of Montferrat, the king of Thessalonica, conquered the region of Central Greece. Amfissa became the seat of a lordship under Thomas I d&#39;Autremencourt. It is then that the new governors built the powerful Castle of Salona on the hill where the ancient acropolis of Amfissa existed, while the ancient name of the town was replaced by the new name Salona, or La Sole in French and La Sola in Italian. In 1311, the Catalans conquered and ruled Central Greece for more than eighty years.</p><br>
<h3>Ottoman era and the Greek War of Independence</h3><br>
<p>The region of Salona was conquered by the Ottomans in 1394. In 1580, a huge earthquake destroyed several towns in Phocis, amongst them Salona. After a period of Venetian rule from 1687 to 1697, Salona devolved to the Ottomans again; several foreign travellers visited the town, which had about 6,000 inhabitants at the time. Salona had lost the former splendor and nothing was left to remind the glorious past of ancient Amfissa, so as some of the visitors misbelieved that it was the town of ancient Delphi or Kirra. In the 18th century, Salona became the center of preparations for the war against the Ottoman Turks in Central Greece, due to its strategic location and its proximity to the klephts of Giona and Parnassus mountains.</p><br>
<p>In the Greek War of Independence, Salona was the first town of Central Greece to revolt under the leadership of Panourgias, Giannis Diovouniotis, Ioannis Gouras and its bishop Isaiah, who were in cooperation with Athanasios Diakos, Yannis Makriyannis and others originated from Phocis. On March 27, 1821, Panourgias invaded the town and on April 10 the Greeks captured the Castle of Salona, the first fortress which fell in Greek hands, and extinguished the six hundred people of the Ottoman garrison in it. On 15–20 November 1821, a council was held in Salona, where the main local notables and military chiefs participated. Under the direction of Theodoros Negris, they set down a proto-constitution for the region, the "Legal Order of Eastern Continental Greece" (Νομική Διάταξις της Ανατολικής Χέρσου Ελλάδος), and established a governing council, the Areopagus of Eastern Continental Greece, composed of 71 notables from Eastern Greece, Thessaly and Macedonia. Salona became the capital of Eastern Continental Greece and the regime existed until the Ottoman recapture of East Greece, in 1825.</p><br>
<h2>Culture and sites of interest</h2><br>
<p>Much of the town&#39;s culture is the result of private legacies left to it; some of the benefactors were Markidis, Giagtzis and Stallos. Landmarks include the Castle of Salona, also known as the Castle of Oria, where the ancient acropolis stood, the Archaeological Museum of Amfissa, the Annunciation Cathedral with its murals by Spyros Papaloukas, several smaller museums and the district of Charmaina where the traditional bells are produced. The Municipal Library of Amfissa, which was founded in 1957, hosts, apart from its large number of books, a collection of traditional paintings of Phocis. Other older sites are the Byzantine Savior Church, built in the 11th century, the paleochristian baptistery of the 3rd century next to the Cathedral, Lykotrypa which is a Mycenaean tomb on the eastern edge of the town and the Folklore Museum of Amfissa. There are also a TEI (Technological Educational Institute) affiliated to the TEI of Lamia, an IEK and a lyceum. There are ample opportunities for hiking and camping on the mountains. Amfissa contains several plateias, an odeon, a chorus, a public philharmonic, but is also known for its annual carnival.</p><br>
<h2>Historical population</h2><br>
<h2>Notable people</h2><br>
<p>Alexandros Delmouzos, educator</p><br>
<p>Christos Karouzos, archaeologist</p><br>
<p>Aspasia Papathanasiou, actress</p><br>
<p>Lake Jackson, covering 9,212 acres , is located within the city of Sebring, Florida. Sebring is the county seat of Highlands County. Lake Jackson, a healthy freshwater lake, is approximately 25 feet  at its deepest. Most of the area is fairly shallow. The water is clear as compared to most lakes and the shores are sandy like if it would be a beach.</p><br>
<p>The lake has various boat ramps, including the popular public ramp at Veterans Beach on the lake&#39;s west side. Most ramps are private and there are many private beaches. Three public swimming beaches exist. One at Veterans Beach, at the north end of Lake Jackson, and Hidden Beach, near Faith Lutheran Church, and City Pier Beach is located just to the west of downtown Sebring. City Pier Beach was closed for five years but reopened in 2013. It remains an active public beach.</p><br>
<p>Crescent Beach is a small community beach located at the end of Crescent Drive just off of S.E. Lakeview Dr. A public fishing dock is to the north side of the swimming beach near the downtown.</p><br>
<p>The shore is largely surrounded by homes. A large condominium, The Fountainhead, is on the east side. The only areas not surrounded by residential property are the southwest side, which is bordered by USA Highway 27, and an area on the north cove containing a large orange grove.</p><br>
<p>The lake is almost round, with the exception of the north cove, a smaller rounded area. Lake Jackson is connected to Little Lake Jackson by a short canal.</p><br>
<p>Due to the death of novelist Rex Beach in his lakefront home, the lake was renamed Rex Beach Lake in his honor, but the name did not last.</p><br>
<p>Lake Olivia is an 89 acre freshwater lake located within the Avon Park Lakes subdivision in northwest Highlands County, Florida. It is to the northwest of the incorporated city of Avon Park. Maximum depth is about 45 ft, with a fairly steep contour to the depth. The lakes shape is round. There were many years of drought, depleting the lakes water volume. The last two years saw more rain and a swampy area now surrounds almost all of Lake Olivia.</p><br>
<p>Fishing, walking and boating are popular activities. Fishing is apparently more productive at Lake Olivia than some other lakes. Almost daily people fish the south shore and many days people fish from boats in the lake. A reviewer wrote in the Fishing Works website he always catches numerous small fish at the lake. Until recently, there was swimming at three locations. Officially swimming has not been allowed for years, although this provision has not been enforced until July 2010. Now swimming is completely forbidden. The decision by Highlands County to forbid swimming was detailed in the April 2011 Avon Park Lakes Association Newsletter: "It seems the county put the signs up for two reasons; 1) the lake is not routinely tested by the county for the things other lakes are tested for and; 2) there are no bathroom facilities in the area for use by swimmers."</p><br>
<p>For a time, some of the amenities of Lake Olivia were a bit dilapidated. An old fishing dock was removed in 2008. Between 2009 and 2012, numerous improvements were made. Amenities include three public boat ramps. One of the ramps is currently unusable, as the water level has been low since 2007. The main boat ramp, on the south side of Lake Olivia, was partially replaced in March 2012. At the same time a new and larger fishing dock was built to replace the dilipidated one removed in 2008. A paved sidewalk surrounds the lake and covers approximately 1½ miles. Many of the paving slabs were replaced between 2009 and 2011. Nautilus Drive completely surrounds the sidewalk. The entire shore is public parkland. Residential houses completely line Nautilus Drive opposite the sidewalk.</p><br>
<p>Mont Saint-Bruno is part of the Monteregian Hills in southern Quebec, Canada. Its summit stands 213 m high and lies 23 km east of downtown Montreal.</p><br>
<p>This mountain has a ski resort, a natural area, and an apple orchard. Forests of beech, maple, oak, hickory, ironwood, hemlock and pine cover those slopes which have not been cleared for agriculture or skiing. The apple orchard is an agricultural research station operated by IRDA (The Research and Development Institute for the Agri-Environment of Québec).</p><br>
<p>A provincial park Parc national du Mont-Saint-Bruno encompasses part of the mount, which also contains ski slopes Ski Mont Saint-Bruno. A quarry also occupies part of it. Mont Saint-Bruno is also home to a small Canadian Forces training camp where new recruits from the Canadian Forces Leadership and Recruit School learn navigation and topography.</p><br>
<h2>Geology</h2><br>
<p>Mont Saint-Bruno might be the deep extension of a vastly eroded ancient volcanic complex, which was probably active about 125 million years ago. The mountain was created when the North American Plate moved westward over the New England hotspot, along with the other mountains of the Monteregian Hills. As a result, Mont Saint-Bruno forms part of the Great Meteor hotspot track. Its igneous rock consists mostly of pyroxenite and gabbro.</p><br>
<p>Lake Istokpoga is a 26,762.9 acre freshwater lake in Highlands County, Florida. It is fed by two creeks, Arbuckle Creek and Josephine Creek. The oblong-shaped lake is approximately 5 mi wide by 10 mi long. It is considered the fifth largest lake in the state of Florida. Despite its area, it is very shallow, with an average depth of only 4 ft. Maximum depth is 10 ft. As a result, boaters must be cautious to not become stranded in muck near the shore line. Bass and pontoon boats are the most commonly used watercraft, with some use of airboats. With such shallowness, this lake is extremely dangerous for boaters during windstorms, as the waves get quite high.</p><br>
<p>Boating and fishing are popular activities at this lake. There are at least half a dozen fish camps on Lake Istokpoga. Several of these fish camps book visitors for fishing trips and they also have cabins and hook up for campers, for overnight stays. The amenities on the lake are 5 public boat ramps and 2 public parks, one on the lakes north side and the other on the south east corner. Most of the shoreline is undeveloped and there are two islands, Big and Bumble Bee, in the lakes interior. Some residential properties and private boat docks and beaches dot areas on the shore.</p><br>
<p>Local legend is that the word Istokpoga is of the Seminole language meaning "a lake where was someone was killed in the water" because a group of Seminole Indians attempted to cross the lake and were bogged in the mire and swallowed by whirlpools.</p><br>
<p>Lake Istokpoga serves as a home for the snail kite.</p><br>
<p>Thunder Bay is a large bay on the north shore of Lake Superior, in Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. The bay is about 50 km long and 22 km wide. It is bordered to the east by the Sibley Peninsula at the southern tip of which is Thunder Cape, marking the entrance to the bay for ships approaching from the east. The peninsula when viewed from the north shore of the lake has the appearance of a Sleeping Giant.</p><br>
<p>Rivers emptying into the bay include the:</p><br>
<p>*Kaministiquia River</p><br>
<p>*Neebing River</p><br>
<p>*McIntyre River</p><br>
<p>*Current River</p><br>
<p>*MacKenzie River (18 km east of the city)</p><br>
<p>*Blende River</p><br>
<p>*Wild Goose Creek</p><br>
<p>*Blind Creek</p><br>
<p>The harbour at the City of Thunder Bay is Canada&#39;s westernmost port on the Great Lakes, and the end of Great Lakes navigation.</p><br>
<p>The Ojibwa called it Animikie, meaning "thunder". French explorers called it Baie du Tonnerre which was translated to Thunder Bay in English. In 1871, the bay gave its name to the newly created Thunder Bay District, and in 1970, the amalgamated city of Port Arthur and Fort William also adopted the name Thunder Bay.</p><br>
<p>la:Sinus Tonitralis</p><br>
<p>Saldanha Bay  is a natural harbour on the south-western coast of South Africa. The town that developed on the northern shore of the bay, also called Saldanha, was incorporated with five other towns into the Saldanha Bay Local Municipality in 2000. The current population of the municipality is estimated at 72,000.</p><br>
<p>The place is mentioned in the first edition of John Locke&#39;s Two Treatises of Government as an example of the state of nature.</p><br>
<p>Saldanha Bay&#39;s location makes it a paradise for the watersport enthusiast, and its local economy being strongly dependent on fishing, mussels, seafood processing, the steel industry and the harbour. Furthermore, its sheltered harbour plays an important part in the Sishen-Saldanha iron-ore project (connected by the Sishen-Saldanha Railway Line) at which Saldanha Steel takes center stage.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>Saldanha Bay is located about 105 km north west of Cape Town. It faces southwest and is 11 km long and 12 km wide. The Langebaan Lagoon, a SE prolongation of the bay, extends for 14 km southeastwards from the SE corner of the inner bay by Langebaan.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Saldanha Bay is named after António de Saldanha, captain of a vessel in Albuquerques fleet which visited South Africa in 1503. The name was first given to Table Bay, where Saldanhas ship cast anchor. On Table Bay being given its present name in 1601, the older appellation was transferred to the bay now called after Saldanha. In 1781 a British squadron under Commodore George Johnstone seized six Dutch East Indiamen, which, fearing an attack on Cape Town, had taken refuge in Saldanha Bay. This was the only achievement, so far as South Africa was concerned, of the expedition despatched to seize Cape Town during the war of 1781-1783.</p><br>
<p>Diplomat Edmund Roberts visited the Bay in 1833. He noted that it was "well sheltered from violent winds, having a sufficient depth of water, but the country is very sandy and agriculture but little attended to; a few cattle and sheep are raised among the scanty herbage." He suggested that it was an uneventful area to visit, except for a few areas in the Bay where whales resided during his visit.</p><br>
<p>Saldanha Bay is also home to numerous fish canneries. The most notable of these is the Saldanha Bay Canning Company, founded by James Kasner and Ellis Silverman in 1905.</p><br>
<p>With strong historic military links Saldanha is also host to a Naval training base and the South African Military Academy. The SAS Saldanha Nature Reserve offers a display of wildflowers during late winter and spring while Southern Right Whales also visit the waters in and around the nature reserve. The area has a Mediterranean climate but the annual rainfall is quite low; it verges on the desert region of Namaqualand.</p><br>
<h3>Modern day</h3><br>
<p>The port developed into a modern harbour only recently, when it became necessary to facilitate the export of iron ore from the Northern Cape. This required the construction of a railway more than 800 kilometres to the mines at Sishen in the Northern Cape and the construction of a deepwater jetty in Saldanha Bay to accommodate Capesize ore carrier ships.</p><br>
<p>The District of West Augusta was a short-lived  historical region of Colonial Virginia that encompassed much of what is now northern West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Before the Colony of Virginia and the Province of Pennsylvania agreed to extend the Mason-Dixon line westward from the western boundary line of the Province of Maryland, both claimed a large area of what is now southwestern Pennsylvania.</p><br>
<p>The area was sparsely populated in the years following the French and Indian War (1754–63), and neither colony made any serious attempts at forming a local government until the early 1770s. Virginia administered the region as a part of Augusta County, Virginia. Pennsylvania later established Westmoreland County with its seat at Hannastown, overlapping Virginia&#39;s claims.</p><br>
<p>Virginias governor, Lord Dunmore, traveled to Pittsburgh, which Virginia claimed as part of its territory, to appoint government officials under the Virginia charter. In 1774, the Virginia assembly separated the western portion of Augusta Countys territory and formed the District of West Augusta.</p><br>
<p>The preamble to a later act defined the boundaries of West Augusta as follows:</p><br>
<p>The following several years were contentious. Local officials from Virginia arrested their counterparts from Pennsylvania and vice versa. Each state made movements to stem the flow of settlers from the other state.</p><br>
<p>The government of West Augusta was administered from Fort Dunmore in what is now Pittsburgh. The seat of government was later moved to Augusta Town in what is now Washington County, Pennsylvania. In August 1776, Augusta Town became the site of the first court west of the Monongahela River.</p><br>
<p>In 1776, the District of West Augusta was divided into three counties: Ohio County, Monongalia County, and Yohogania County. Ohio County encompassed most of the western region of the district bordering the Ohio River, including parts of what are now Washington and Greene Counties in Pennsylvania. Monongalia County encompassed much of what is now north-central West Virginia, and parts of what are now Washington, Greene and Fayette Counties in Pennsylvania. Yohogania County consisted of much of what is now southwestern Pennsylvania, including all of what is now Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, parts of the present counties of Washington, Fayette, Allegheny, and Beaver, and the counties of Hancock County, West Virginia and the northern part of Brooke County, West Virginia.</p><br>
<p>In 1780, the boundary dispute between Virginia and Pennsylvania was finally settled when both sides agreed to extend the Mason-Dixon line westward from Maryland to 80° 31′ west, the current western border of Pennsylvania.</p><br>
<p>Most of Yohogania County became part of Pennsylvania; that section of its lands was divided between Westmoreland County and the newly formed Washington County in Pennsylvania; Beaver and Allegheny were later created from those counties. The relatively small part of Yohogania that remained in Virginia was subsumed into Ohio County. That area is now divided between Brooke County and Hancock County, Virginia (now West Virginia), which were later formed from Ohio County, at the northernmost tip of West Virginia&#39;s Northern Panhandle.</p><br>
<p>Disko Bay  is a bay on the western coast of Greenland. The bay constitutes a wide southeastern inlet of Baffin Bay.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>To the south the coastline is complicated with multiple waterways of skerries and small islands in the Aasiaat archipelago. Qasigiannguit and Ilimanaq are the main settlements in the southeastern inlet, just south of the outflow of Ilulissat Icefjord.</p><br>
<p>From the north the bay is bounded by Qeqertarsuaq, the largest island on the western coast. North of Ilulissat and west of Aluttoq Island the bay transforms into Sullorsuaq Strait separating Qeqertarsuaq from Nuussuaq Peninsula.</p><br>
<p>It is the largest open bay in western Greenland, measuring 150 km north to south and 100 km east to west. It has an average depth of 400 m and average water temperature of 3.5 °C. Although, in winter it drops to -1.75 °C and then rises up to 12 °C in summer. Although, this is changing, as it has been gradually warming up since 1997.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Disko Bay has been an important location for centuries. Its coastline was first encountered by Europeans when Erik the Red started a settlement in 985 AD on the more habitable western coast of Greenland. The two settlements, called the Eastern and Western settlements, were sustenance economies that survived on animal husbandry and farming. Soon after the Western settlement was established, the Norsemen travelled up the coast during the summer thaw and discovered Disko Bay.</p><br>
<p>Their interest in this bay was due to its rich resources: walruses for ivory, seals for their pelts, and whales for a variety of materials. These products became the main source of income for the Greenlandic settlers who traded with Iceland, the British Isles, and mainland Europe. Without these resources the settlements would probably not have lasted as long as they did.</p><br>
<p>It is uncertain when the Inuit first started venturing into Disko Bay, but the Saqqaq have been there between (2400-900 BC).</p><br>
<p>Norse accounts describe the area as uninhabited when they first explored it. Norse accounts document an eventual trade arrangement with the Inuit who came from the north and west. For a time, both parties made peaceful use of the bay. Later accounts report fighting and massacres on both sides. However, the primary reason for the abandonment of the Greenlandic settlements was the advent of the Little Ice Age that started in the 15th century. There was such an extreme shift in temperature that Disko Bay became inaccessible even in the warmer summer months, thereby destroying the livelihood of the Greenlandic Norse. Even the Eastern settlement, which was below the Arctic Circle, became too cold for habitation. From that time until Danish colonization in the 18th century, the Inuit controlled the Disko Bay area although English and Dutch whalers sometimes visited the area after it was charted during John Davis&#39;s third Greenland expedition in 1587.</p><br>
<h2>Wildlife</h2><br>
<p>It is home to a wide range of species due to the nutrient rich waters. This includes benthic and pelagic fish, such as capelin (Mallotus villosus) and cod (Gadus morhua). This attracts migratory seals such as harp (Pagophilus groenlandicus) and hooded seal (Cystophora cristata) and ringed (Pusa hispida) and bearded seal (Erignathus barbatus).</p><br>
<p>The bay is home during spring time to bowhead (Balaena mysticetus) and humpback (Megaptera novaeangliae) whales. As well as Pilot (Globicephala melas), killer whales (Orcinus orca) and narwhal (Monodon monoceros). On the shores, various birds can be found such as gulls, terns, eider ducks, guillemots, kittiwakes, cormorants and fulmars. Animals such as arctic foxes, hares and ptarmigan can be found around the bay.</p><br>
<p>Lake Tear of the Clouds is a small tarn located in the town of Keene, in Essex County, New York, United States, on the southwest slope of Mount Marcy, the state&#39;s highest point, in the Adirondack Mountains. It is the highest pond in the state. It is often cited as the highest source of the Hudson River, via Feldspar Brook, the Opalescent River and Calamity Brook.</p><br>
<p>The Hudson River as named actually begins several miles southwest at the outlet of Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York.</p><br>
<p>In 1872 Verplanck Colvin described the lake as part of a survey of the Adirondack Mountains. He wrote:</p><br>
<p>On September 14, 1901, then-US Vice President Theodore Roosevelt was at Lake Tear of the Clouds after returning from a hike to the Mount Marcy summit when he received a message informing him that President William McKinley, who had been shot two weeks earlier but was expected to survive, had taken a turn for the worse. Roosevelt hiked down the mountain back to the Upper Tahawus Club, Tahawus, New York, where he had been staying. He then took a 40 mi midnight stage coach ride through the Adirondacks to the Adirondack Railway station at North Creek, New York, where he discovered that McKinley had died. Roosevelt took the train to Buffalo, New York, where he was officially sworn in as President. The 40-mile route is now designated the Roosevelt-Marcy Trail.</p><br>
<p>In August 2016, scientists from Riverkeeper, CUNY Queens College, and Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory gathered water samples at the lake to complete a first-of-its kind water quality test along the entire span of the 315-mile-long Hudson River.</p><br>
<p>Machapuchare, Machhapuchchhre or Machhapuchhre, is a mountain in the Annapurna Himalayas of north central Nepal. It is revered by the local population as particularly sacred to the god Shiva, and hence is off limits to climbing.</p><br>
<h2>Location</h2><br>
<p>Machapuchare is at the end of a long spur ridge, coming south out of the main backbone of the Annapurna Himalayas, which forms the eastern boundary of the Annapurna Sanctuary. The Sanctuary is a favorite trekking destination, and the site of the base camps for the South Face of Annapurna and for numerous smaller objectives. The peak is about 25 km north of Pokhara, the main town of the region.</p><br>
<h2>Notable features</h2><br>
<p>Due to its southern position in the range, and the particularly low terrain that lies south of the Annapurna Himalayas, Machapuchare commands tremendous vertical relief in a short horizontal distance. This, combined with its steep, pointed profile, make it a particularly striking peak, despite a lower elevation than some of its neighbors. Its double summit resembles the tail of a fish, hence the name meaning "fish&#39;s tail" in Nepalese. It is also nicknamed the "Matterhorn of Nepal".</p><br>
<h2>Climbing history</h2><br>
<p>Machapuchare has never been climbed to its summit. The only attempt was in 1957 by a British team led by Lieutenant Colonel Jimmy Roberts. Climbers Wilfrid Noyce and A. D. M. Cox climbed to within 150 m of the summit via the north ridge, to an approximate altitude of 22,793 ft. They did not complete the ascent, as they had promised not to set foot on the actual summit. Since then, the mountain has been declared sacred, and is now closed to climbers.</p><br>
<h2>Sources</h2><br>
<p>Andy Fanshawe and Stephen Venables, Himalaya Alpine Style. Hodder and Stoughton, 1995.</p><br>
<p>Wilfrid Noyce, Climbing the Fish&#39;s Tail, London, 1958</p><br>
<p>Koichiro Ohmori, Over The Himalaya, Cloudcap Press/The Mountaineers, 1994.</p><br>
