<p>Bau  is a small island in Fiji, off the east coast of the main island of Viti Levu. Bau rose to prominence in the mid-1800s and became Fiji&#39;s dominant power; until its cession to Britain, it has maintained its influence in politics and leadership right through to modern Fiji.</p><br>
<h2>Territories and landmarks</h2><br>
<p>Bau is the capital of the Kubuna Confederacy (Kubuna Tribe) and the chiefly centre of Tailevu Province. It is divided into three villages - Bau, Lasakau and Soso.</p><br>
<p>Among Bau’s landmarks are Fiji’s oldest Christian church and a stone on which the skulls of cannibalism victims were crushed.</p><br>
<h2>Chiefly titles</h2><br>
<p>Significant chiefly titles from Bau include the Vunivalu (considered to be Fiji’s premier chiefly title), and the Roko Tui Bau, currently held by Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi, the former Vice-President of Fiji.</p><br>
<p>The village of Lasekau who are inhabited by the clan Nabou (referred to as "Na Bai kei Bau") is ruled by the Komai Nadrukuta.</p><br>
<p>The village of Soso is occupied by the clan Rara, often referred to as the Rara o Soso and is headed by the Tunidau.</p><br>
<h2>Language</h2><br>
<p>The Fijian language has many dialects, but the official standard is based on the speech of Bau.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>It was at Kubuna that the great ancestral chief, Ratu Vueti Koroi-Ratu mai Bulu, Serui-Ratu mai Bulu, the first Roko Tui Bau Vuani-ivi (according to the legend he was the fourth generation from Ratu Lutunasobasoba) established the Kingdom of Kubuna and formed one of the earliest known Fijian settlements after hostilities ceased the people of Nakauvadra and the victorious Bauan army upon leaving the mountains and finding their way to the sea made a Cairn named Ulunivuaka and later called it Bau in honour of Ratu Vueti and his achievements. It was named after a shrine in the Nakauvadra range. He took the titles of Roko Tui Bau Vuani-ivi and Koroi Ratu Maibulu. After his death, he was buried in Kubuna.</p><br>
<p>After his death a division arose between Bucaira and Vunibuca over the installation of a successor to Ratu Vueti. Other clans went to Namuka and wandered from place to place. Eventually a new Roko Tui Bau, Ratu Serumataidrau, was selected from the Vuaniivi, a Tokatoka Valelevu of the Mataqali and the Yavusa Ratu Vuani-ivi Buca clan, which had settled at Namuka.</p><br>
<p>Naulivou was installed in 1791 as the Vunivalu (in modern Fiji this is now the highest chiefly title in the Kingdom of Kubuna, but was not so in Fiji&#39;s early history) after the death of his father Banuve who had three sons: Naulivou, Tanoa II and Celua in 1791. Ratu Raiwalui of the Roko Tui Bau Vuaniivi Clan, Yavusa-Ratu, became the sixth Roko Tui Bau Vuani-Ivi which was the highest chiefly title in the greater area of Kubuna and the second Roko Tui Bau Vuani-Ivi that occupied the Island Delainakorolevu or Ulunivuaka, which was then called Bau in 1760 which was named by the fifth Roko Tui Bau Vuani-ivi Ratu Lele who was then buried at Delai Daku.</p><br>
<p>The relationship between these two men was not a happy one. When they came into conflict, the Vuaniivi clan fled to Kubuna and sought the protection of Titokobitu, the Chief of Namara. Together with some other chiefs of Namara, they reached Koro and from there went to Vuna, on the island of Taveuni, and thence to Vanuabalavu. The Namara people who later joinned their early travellers now of Levukana village on Lomaloma, were left behind at Vuna and they fled to the mountains lest the Bauans should pursue them. The Vuaniivi warriors left some of their war canoes high and dry on the beach at Vuna when they set off for Vanuabalavu.</p><br>
<p>With the aid of Charlie Savage, who brought firearms to Bau, opportunities for new wealth and power, symbolized by the acquisition of muskets, intensified political rivalries and hastened the rise of the Kingdom of Bau, ruled by Naulivou as Vunivalu and then by his nephew Cakobau. By the 1850s Bau dominated western Fiji. Cakobau’s main rival was the Tongan chief Enele Ma&#39;afu, who led an army of Christian Tongans and their allies from eastern Fiji. After a short-lived alliance with Ma’afu, Cakobau became a Christian in 1854. The Bauan people quickly established themselves as an undefeatable military force. With that unmatched power, Seru Epenisa Cakobau was able to unite all of Fiji’s disparate tribes under his authority in 1871.</p><br>
<p>The King Range is a mountain range of the Outer Northern California Coast Ranges System, located entirely within Humboldt County on the North Coast of California.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>Much of the mountain range&#39;s area is protected within the King Range National Conservation Area, a National Conservation Area unit of the National Landscape Conservation System, and in the King Range Wilderness Area, both managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).</p><br>
<p>As part of the Northern Coast Ranges, the King Range runs parallel to the coast, and its western slopes fall steeply to the Pacific Ocean.</p><br>
<p>The King Range is adjacent to the Mendocino Triple Junction, where three tectonic plates — the Pacific Plate, the North American Plate, and the Juan de Fuca Plate — meet. The area experiences frequent earthquakes.</p><br>
<p>Most mountains and ridges in the range are low to moderate in elevation. King Peak, at 4,091 ft, is the highest mountain in the range. Snow falls above 3,281 feet (1,000 m) a couple of times per year.</p><br>
<h2>Natural history</h2><br>
<p>The range is part of the Northern California coastal forests ecoregion. It is largely forested with climax-dominant trees including coast Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii ssp. menziesii), coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens), and tanoak (Lithocarpus densiflorus).</p><br>
<p>The rivers and streams that drain the range include the Mattole River. Four federally endangered species occur in the range: the Coho Salmon, Chinook Salmon, steelhead, and northern spotted owl. Other wildlife includes brown pelican, bald eagle, peregrine falcon, Roosevelt elk, osprey, otter, gray fox and black bear.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Historically, the King Range was home to the Native American Mattole and Sinkyone peoples. In the 19th century, the region was opened to commercial logging, fishing, ranching, and tanning.</p><br>
<p>In 1936 and 1937, due to the rugged terrain of the King Range and Mendocino Range to its south, engineers assigned to designing the new State Route 1 were forced to site the highway further inland/east towards the town of Leggett in its route north from Westport. Subsequently, the inaccessible coastal wilderness, known as the Lost Coast, remains the longest undeveloped stretch of coast in California.</p><br>
<p>In 1970 the USA Congress designated 60,000 acre of the range as the King Range National Conservation Area. It is primarily located within southwestern Humboldt County, and extends into the far northwestern corner of Mendocino County.</p><br>
<p>In 2000 President Bill Clinton signed the law designating the rocks and islands just offshore as the California Coast National Monument.</p><br>
<p>In 2006 the USA Congress designated 42,585 acre of the National Conservation Area as the King Range Wilderness. The California Coastal trail goes from end to end of the range.</p><br>
<p>Knight Library is the main facility of the University of Oregons  library system. It is located on the universitys campus in Eugene, Oregon, United States. The library design is emblematic of the architecture of the university&#39;s older buildings, and it serves as a hub of student activity. As of 2008 it has a collection of more than 3 million volumes. The library also holds collections of primary sources such as photographs and manuscripts on various topics at the Special Collections & University Archives. It is also a depository for the Federal Depository Library Program.</p><br>
<h2>Construction and history</h2><br>
<p>The building was opened in 1937 to replace the original library building (the "Old Libe," Fenton Hall, completed in 1907), which the University&#39;s collections had outgrown. Construction of the library was financed as a Depression-era Works Progress Administration (WPA) project, spearheaded by Oregon senator Frederick Steiwer and took more than two years to complete. "The New Libe" as the Oregon Daily Emerald student newspaper had christened the building, was designed by Ellis F. Lawrence of the Oregon-based architectural firm Lawrence, Holford, and Allyn. Lawrence was also a driving force in much of the core architecture of the UO campus and was the first Dean of the School of Architecture and Allied Arts. The rich architecture of the building reflects an Art Deco aesthetic with "modernized Lombardy and Greco-Roman" elements as well as many integrated artistic embellishments including "the fifteen stone heads by Edna Dunberg and Louise Utter Pritchard, ornamental memorial gates by O. B. Dawson, carved wooden panels by Arthur Clough, and two large murals painted by Albert and Arthur Runquist."</p><br>
<p>Three major renovations of the library, in 1950, 1966, and 1994, have kept the building up-to-date and it is a daily hub of learning and research to University of Oregons more than 20,000 students. 1994s $27 million renovation added 132,000 square feet (12,000 m²) to the building. The project was partially funded by Phil Knight, UO alumnus and cofounder of athletic shoe company Nike. The library was renamed Knight Library in honor of Knight&#39;s family.</p><br>
<h2>Collections</h2><br>
<p>The University of Oregon Special Collections & University Archives collects and preserves over 3000 collections of primary sources on a variety of topics. These collections range from rare books, manuscripts, original art, photographs, architectural drawings and many more. It is located on the second floor of the Knight Library of University of Oregon. They help not only students and community members, but also faculty research using special collections.</p><br>
<h2>Architecture</h2><br>
<p>The original 1937 section of the library, designed by Lawrence, contains inscriptions along the tops of each of seven large windows on the main (north) facade. These read, "Philosophia," "Historia," "Religio," "Ars," "Natura," "Societas," and "Litterae," and are meant to represent (in Latin), the seven major disciplines contained in the library&#39;s collection.</p><br>
<p>Above the main entry doors (also on the north facade), is a passage from the Bible (John 8:32), which proclaims, "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."</p><br>
<h2>National Register of Historic Places</h2><br>
<p>The University of Oregon Library and Memorial Quadrangle, which consists of the library and the quadrangle that spans from the north facade of the library to 13th Avenue, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1990. The quadrangle was part of E. F. Lawrence&#39;s design for the UO campus, and is bordered by the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art and Chapman Hall on the east, and Prince Lucien Campbell Hall and Condon Hall on the west. The landscaping of the quad includes eight English oak trees planted in 1940. p</p><br>
<h2>Images</h2><br>
<p>Fulaga   is a crescent-shaped reef-limestone island in Fiji&#39;s Southern Lau Group.</p><br>
<p>The spectacular lagoon and the fact that the island is a Pritchardia thurstonii habitat contribute to its national significance as outlined in Fiji&#39;s Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>Situated at 19.17° South and 178.65° West, it covers an area of 18.5 square kilometres. It has a maximum elevation of 79 metres. The limestone belongs to the Koroqara Limestone (Tokalau Limestone Group) and is probably Late Miocene in age. In form it is a basin which has been breached in the north, flooding the interior, which has many islets and rocks. The island thus has this unique, beautiful lagoon that adequately supplies the inhabitants with different varieties of fish and sea shells. There are three terrace levels, two with maximum elevations 55 m and 40 m, the third being lower. There is an elevated notch 2 m above mean sea level.</p><br>
<h2>Demographics</h2><br>
<p>There are three villages, Muanaicake, Muanaira and Naividamu. Total population was almost 600 in the middle 20th century but is now less than 400, due to migration to the mainland for secondary school education for children, and employment for parents.</p><br>
<h2>In Tradition</h2><br>
<p>The people are traditional carvers, skilled in the making of outrigger canoes and &#39;tanoa&#39; (or &#39;kumete&#39; in their dialect) which are wooden bowls carved out of local hardwood and used in formal and informal Yaqona Ceremonies and social gatherings across Fiji.</p><br>
<h2>Footnotes</h2><br>
<p>Lakeba  is an island in Fiji’s Southern Lau Archipelago; the provincial capital of Lau is located here. The island is the tenth largest in Fiji, with a land area of nearly 60 square kilometers. It is fertile and well watered, and encircled by a 29-kilometer road. Its closest neighbors are Aiwa and Nayau. Separated by deep sea from the latter but only by shallow waters from the former, when sea levels were lower during glacial episodes Lakeba and Aiwa formed one large island.</p><br>
<p>It has a population of around 2,100 in eight villages, the most important of which is the capital Tubou which lies in the island’s south. Near Tubou is the village of Levuka; not to be confused with its namesake &ndash; Fiji’s old capital &ndash; Levuka on Lakeba is home to a fishing tribe whose ancestors came from Bau Island. Another significant village is Nasaqalau, located in the northern part of Lakeba.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>Situated at 18.20° South and 178.80° East, Lakeba has an irregular oval shape. About 9 kilometers long and 8 kilometers wide, it is circumscribed by a total shoreline of 32 kilometers. The island, which has a maximum altitude of 219 meters, has a core of andesitic volcanic rock of Miocene age, with raised coral rock around it. The limestone lies bare in places, forming karst and &ndash; particularly on the north and north-west coasts &ndash; cliffs up to 76 meters high; the overall area taken up by bare limestone is about 4% of Lakebas total land surface. A reforestation programme has seen the planting of Lakebas hills (formerly partially denuded by deforestation) with Caribbean pine (Pinus caribea) trees.</p><br>
<p>The climate of Lakeba is generally humid, with a wetter summer and a drier winter. The average annual precipitation is somewhat over 2,000 mm as measured at Tubou, but average monthly precipitation in the winter months &ndash; June, July and August &ndash; is only around 80 mm, and there can be large differences in rainfall between years.</p><br>
<p>The village of Nasaqalau is noted for a number of caves, the most famous being Oso Nabukete, also known as the Pregnant Women&#39;s Cave. According to legend, a woman attempting to hide her pregnancy will not be able to escape through the mouth of the cave. It is adjoined by Qara Bulu, once used as a prison in times of tribal war. A third cave, Koro ni Vono, was once used as a place of banishment for tuberculosis patients, who were left there to die. Other notable caves include the Tubou Cave, of interest to geologists, and Qara ni Puka where many remains of extinct birds have been found.</p><br>
<h2>History and culture</h2><br>
<p>Lakeba is known as a chiefly island, being the home island of the chiefly Vuanirewa clan, which is based in Tubou. The head of this clan takes the title of Tui Nayau, and is the Paramount Chief of the Lau Islands. The last Tui Nayau was Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara (1920–2004); he was the first Prime Minister of Fiji and second President of Fiji, and the most durable figure of Fijian politics for more than three decades.</p><br>
<p>Ratu Mara is buried in the village of Tubou, as are Enele Maafu (1816–1881) &ndash; a Tongan-Fijian warlord who conquered much of Fiji in the 19th century &ndash; and Fijis first modern statesman Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna (1888–1958).</p><br>
<p>Lakeba lies on a historical faultline between Fiji and Tonga, and Tongan influence is seen in many aspects of Lakeban culture. Lakeban architecture features rounded houses rather than the square-ended ones elsewhere in Fiji. The Lakeban dialect of Fijian also shows Tongan influence. Tongan hymns are popular in polotu (an evening church service), and Tongan clothing styles are reflected in the mats tied around the waist on formal occasions. Tongan traditional dances called lakalaka are also popular.</p><br>
<p>Archaeological excavations in the 1990s discovered a massive fortress, built around a thousand years ago. Large enough to house 2,500 people (more than the total population of the island), the fortress is believed to have been built as a bulwark against Tongan invaders.</p><br>
<p>The inhabitants of Nasaqalau are famous for the ability of one of their clans to call sharks from the sea. This clan originated in the village of Wainikeli on the island of Taveuni.</p><br>
<p>On Lakeba was born famous chief Delailoa, son of Kalouyalewa, who went on Lakeba.</p><br>
<h3>Economy</h3><br>
<p>Copra production is the most important economic activity on Lakeba. There is also a coconut mill four kilometers outside Tubou. Tourism is of lesser importance in Lakeba than in some other parts of Fiji.</p><br>
<h2>Ecology</h2><br>
<p>Due to the extensive and long-lasting settlement, the original ecosystem on Lakeba has been strongly altered. Terrestrial mammals, not originally native, have been introduces as livestock or stowaways, and today the island has horses, pigs, cattle, dogs, cats, and Polynesian (Rattus exulans) as well as black rats (R. rattus).</p><br>
<h3>Birds</h3><br>
<p>Among land birds, bird species disappeared from Lakeba in prehistoric times, probably after the upland forests were largely cleared away; introduced rats as well as hunting probably also contributed to their demise. Others managed to adapt to the alteration of habitat by humans, though they are generally not as common as on Aiwa where there has been no significant deforestation. For the most part, the avifauna of Lakeba is more similar to that of Samoa and Tonga than to that of the main group of Fiji. Quite commonly seen are the white-rumped swiftlet (Collocalia spodiopygia), Polynesian starling, (Aplonis tabuensis, either the West Fijian subspecies vitiensis or the subspecies tabuensis from the southern Lau group and Tonga), Vanikoro flycatcher (Myiagra vanikorensis), and the slaty monarch (Mayrornis lessoni) which is endemic to Fiji. Two honeyeaters, the endemic orange-breasted myzomela (Myzomela jugularis) and the widespread eastern wattled honeyeater (Foulehaio carunculatus carunculatus), have adapted well to human settlement and are rather common in the coconut plantations. The collared lory (Phigys solitarius), endemic to Fiji in modern times, also frequents this habitat, but is a rather rare species on Lakeba.</p><br>
<p>At least three species formerly found on Lakeba are now completely extinct: the Lakeba imperial pigeon (Ducula lakeba) might also have occurred on Viti Levu and perhaps on the Tongan islands of ʻEua, Foa and Lifuka. If so, it probably was generally widespread in western Polynesia, but until now it is only known with certainty from Lakeba and Aiwa. A hitherto undescribed Gallirallus rail also inhabited Lakeba and Aiwa in the past; as this bird was flightless it represents an endemic species. The consumed scrubfowl (Megapodius alimentum), a species rather widely distributed throughout Fiji and Tonga, also occurred on Lakeba and Aiwa in the past; as scrubfowl were widely transported across islands by settlers, this species might have been brought here by humans, but altogether this is not too likely.</p><br>
<p>However, on Aiwa a single bone was found, probably referrable either to the Viti Levu scrubfowl (M. amissus) or the pile-builder megapode (M. molistructor); the latter species occurred on Tonga and New Caledonia, while the former, which lived on Viti Levu and perhaps Kadavu of the western group of Fiji, possibly survived to modern times. Considering that only one bone was found and that M. alimentum was numerous on Lakeba and presumably also Aiwa, it may well be that the second Megapodius species was indeed imported as food by Polynesians and never had a self-sustaining population; in that regard it may be noted that unlike M. alimentum, M. amissus was a weak flier or even flightless. Parrot bones found on Lakeba might be of the Oceanic eclectus parrot (Eclectus infectus); biogeography suggests that this species was formerly native to at least some islands in Fiji, as it occurred on Tonga to the east and Vanuatu to the west. In addition, there remains a batch of songbird bones from several species that have not been identified; these might be of birds not found on Lakeba anymore but it is not too likely that they contain any entirely extinct forms.</p><br>
<p>Also found on Aiwa was a single bone of a Porzana rail. Apparently this was yet another distinct species, and if so it is likely to have occurred on Lakeba too. But until more material turns up and is studied, nothing can be said with certainty, particularly in respect of the fact that the white-browed crake (P. cinerea) and the spotless crake (P. tabuensis) formerly occurred on Lakeba. Finally, a single bone of the striated heron (Butorides striata) was found on Lakeba; the species does not occur there today, but unless more bones are found it is not sure that it had a self-sustaining population on this island rather than being merely an occasional visitor. Peale&#39;s imperial pigeon (Ducula latrans), the Southwest Pacific peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus nesiotes) and the Fiji shrikebill (Clytorhynchus vitiensis) breed on much smaller Aiwa but not on Lakeba; though no bones of these species have been found here to date, it is likely that they formerly occurred on Lakeba too.</p><br>
<h3>Plants</h3><br>
<p>The former upland forest was largely cleared after the initial settlement to make room for agriculture; only about 5 km&sup2; of it remain. A total 40% of Lakeba&#39;s surface is used for cultivation of Caribbean pine (Pinus caribaea), the rare cycad ("sago palm") Cycas seemannii, coconut palms (Cocos nucifera) and other crops. The remaining vegetation of Lakeba is dominated by dicots; it can be classified as follows, progressing from the peak to the shore:</p><br>
<p>Upland forest on volcanic soil. Little remains today, mostly in ravines and on ridges. Contains such species as Alyxia stellata, Alphitonia zizyphoides, Barringtonia edulis, Dysoxylum richii, Ficus scabra, Grewia crenata, Micromelum minutum, Pittosporum arborescens, Vavaea amicorum, and Geissois ternata which is only found on volcanic soils.</p><br>
<p>talasiga grassland and scrub. This is a plant community that contains mainly herbaceous and small woody species; it grows where forest had been cleared away in the past. In locations that have suffered much erosion it persists; elsewhere it is gradually being replaced with forest again. Dominant plant species are Dicranopteris linearis, Hopseed (Dodonaea viscosa), Pandanus tectorius and Pteridium esculentum; grasses include Bothriochloa bladhii, Brachiaria subquadripara, Southern Sandbur (Cenchrus echinatus), Indian Goosegrass (Eleusine indica), Eragrostis scabriflora, Eriochloa procera, Imperata conferta, Miscanthus floridulus, Paspalum conjugatum, P. orbiculare, Pennisetum polystachion and Themeda quadrivalvis. Regenerating forest is initially dominated by Cyclophyllum barbatum, Geissois ternata, Geniostoma rupestre, Leucosyke corymbulosa, Maesa tabacifolia and Myristica gillespieana.</p><br>
<p>Upland forest on calcitic soil. This is essentially secondary forest in various stages of succession, but rich in Fijian endemics. Dominated by Alphitonia zizyphoides, Buchanania vitiensis, Dysoxylum richii, D. tenuiflorum, Maniltoa floribunda, Melicope cucullata and Pouteria grayana.</p><br>
<p>Wetlands vegetation. Most freshwater wetland on Lakeba is used for taro cultivation. Otherwise, dominant plants include Ludwigia octovalvis and Mikania micrantha.</p><br>
<p>Lowland swamp forest. Dominated by Inocarpus fagifer.</p><br>
<p>Coastal forest. Characterized by Diospyros elliptica, D. samoensis, Pouteria grayana, Syzygium richii and Xylosma simulans.</p><br>
<p>Mangrove forest. Mangroves are widespread on the eastern coast of Lakeba, comprising about 7% of the island&#39;s total area. Dominant plant species are black mangrove (Bruguiera gymnorhiza) landwards, and red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle), spotted mangrove (R. stylosa) and their sterile hybrid R. × selala seawards.</p><br>
<p>Littoral forest. These trees are able to withstand seawater and most are even dispersed by the sea; they grow in a narrow strip along the beach. Dominant plants are sea poison tree (Barringtonia asiatica), ballnut (Calophyllum inophyllum), Hernandia nymphaeifolia, beach hibiscus (Hibiscus tiliaceus), Phaleria disperma and sea almond (Terminalia catappa).</p><br>
<p>Littoral scrub. The low-lying and mainly herbaceous beach vegetation. Dominated by oceanblue morning glory (Ipomoea indica), white-flowered beach morning glory (I. littoralis), beach morning glory (I. pes-caprae), Pandanus tectorius, Paspalum vaginatum, Scaevola taccada and Vigna marina.</p><br>
<p>Plants found on Lakeba that are endemic to Fiji are Alangium vitiense, Buchanania vitiensis, Connarus pickeringii, Davallia solida var. fejeensis, Diospyros vitiensis var. longisepala, Dysoxylum tenuiflorum, Elatostema tenellum, Eragrostis scabriflora, Ficus fulvo-pilosa, Ficus masonii, Geissois ternata, Geniostoma uninervium, Glochidion seemannii, Homalium pallidum, Maniltoa floribunda, Melicope cucullata, Melochia vitiensis, Myristica gillespieana, Phaleria pubiflora, Polyalthia laddiana and Psychotria cf. pickeringii. Plants tentatively identified as the Fijian endemics Barringtonia seaturae, Citronella vitiensis, Cyathocalyx insularis and Elaeocarpus storckii grow on Lakeba, but whether it is really these species requires confirmation.</p><br>
<p>None of the described endemic species occurs exclusively on this island, but there is an unidentified Syzygium similar to Syzygium gracilipes and another member of this genus that almost certainly is a hitherto unknown species. These might indeed be found on Lakeba only.</p><br>
<p>Interesting non-endemic plants found on Lakeba are the endangered Aglaia saltatorum and the rare (though not endangered) Burckella richii. In 1999-2001 the first Fijian record of Macropiper timothianum outside the large northwestern islands was made on Lakeba, as well as the first records for Fiji of Suicide Tree (Cerbera odollam) and Garuga floribunda. Whether Canarium vanikoroense, otherwise known in Fiji only from the large islands, occurs on Lakeba remains to be verified.</p><br>
<h2>Footnotes</h2><br>
<p>Ono-i-Lau is a group of islands within a barrier reef system in the Fijian archipelago of Lau Islands . There are three central volcanic islands: Onolevu, Doi  and Ndavura, the uppermost parts of the volcanic edifice rising from the Lau Ridge slightly more than 1,000 m below sea level and on which the reef and other islands are built. There are also three clusters of coral limestone islets, Yanuya  and Mana  on the barrier reef and Niuta . A sand cay, Udui, is not counted as one of the six “islands”.</p><br>
<p>The group forms one of the southernmost of the Lau Islands; it is located at 20.80° South and 178.75° West, and occupies an area of 7.9 km&sup2;. It has a maximum elevation of 113 m. It is 90 kilometers southsouthwest of Vatoa, the nearest largish island; the only land further south in the Lau Group is in the two small Tuvana islands of coral limestone and sand.</p><br>
<p>There are four villages in the group - Nukuni and Lovoni adjacent and Matokana on Onolevu, the largest island, and Doi on Doi.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The group was the location of the first recorded communication between Fijians and Europeans – Captain William Oliver and men of the Matavy, tender to HMS Pandora, in June 1791.</p><br>
<p>Pseira  is an islet in the Gulf of Mirabello in northeastern Crete with the archaeological remains of Minoan and Mycenean civilisation.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The island was explored in 1906&ndash;07 by Richard Seager and partially documented by Halvor Bagge in ink and watercolors based on photographs (University Museum, University of Pennsylvania, 1910), and more minutely examined in 1984&ndash;92 by Philip P. Betancourt and Costis Davaras, for Temple University. Archaeological materials in this seaport, sited above its harbor, to which it was connected by cliffside stairs, span the period from the end of the Neolithic in the 4th millennium to the Late Bronze Age, with the cultural high point being Early Minoan to Late Minoan IB. At that time the prosperous town of some 60 buildings was ranged round its open square (plateia), with a single large building that occupied one side. Like many contemporary Late Minoan IB sites, it was violently destroyed, ca 1550&ndash;1450 BC. A remnant of its population cleared spaces in the rubble and for a time continued to dwell in the ruined town.</p><br>
<h3>Minoan civilisation</h3><br>
<p>A Minoan seal-stone from the site representing a ship is a reminder that the harbour was essential. The Minoan community supported itself by fishing and subsistence agriculture. They deeply tilled and terraced agricultural sites where they manured the thin limy soil with human waste from the settlement. They did not enclose their planting sites, as the island&#39;s much later Byzantine practice was, a sign that goats did not roam free in Minoan Pseira; neither were pigs kept. Dams collected seasonal run-off, for water was scarce on the island, though the Aegean region was less dry in the second millennium BC than now.</p><br>
<h3>Minoan cemetery</h3><br>
<p>Consistent with the long period of occupation, burials in the necropolis west of the town are of five kinds: Neolithic rock shelter burials; cist graves built of vertical slabs with Cycladic parallels; small rock-built tombs; jar burials; and tombs imitating houses. Artifacts from the necropolis included clay vases, stone vessels, obsidian, bronze tools and jewelry. Burials broke off in Middle Minoan, before the town underwent its Late Minoan expansion. The Late Minoan I building that occupies the northern side of the plateia, cautiously identified as a "civic shrine", featured painted stucco bas-reliefs in its upper floor and retains a fresco fragment of two women in Minoan dress of complicated woven design who face one another. Excavations at Pseira have been clouded by successive development in prehistoric stages obfuscating respective earlier stages, in contrast with more clearly defined strata in Knossos, for example.</p><br>
<h3>House of the Rhyta</h3><br>
<p>Excavation at the House of the Rhyta disclosed evidence for some Minoan cult practice that add to our understanding of some Minoan rites, though the core meaning they evoked escapes us. In three different structures cult activity involved the use of rhyta, drinking vessels in several forms, all with a hole at the base, a bull-shaped vessel, triton shells, and chalices, and a large number of cups. "Cult practices involving large numbers of rhyta continued into successive periods in the Late Bronze Age, as is demonstrated by an interesting religious structure at Ugarit (modern Ras Shamra, Syria) with 15 rhyta, including Mycenaean and Minoan examples," Betancourt observes. Chemical traces in a rhyton suggest barley, beer, and wine. All of these ritual vessels were stored in between their periodic seasonal use, when large groups would gather in upper-floor rooms that had lime-washed and painted stucco reliefs on the walls and a floor that was ritually whitewashed (in the building fronting the plateia) or paved with stone slabs (House of the Rhyta). In the House of the Rhyta, there was a kitchen space below, too substantial for the occupants of the building alone; it had a corner hearth, a mortar built into bedrock in the opposite corner, and grinding rocks. The drinking rites that were observed in the upper room were apparently accompanied by feasting.</p><br>
<h3>Hoard</h3><br>
<p>A hoard found by Seager near the lower harbor included a rhyton in the shape of a basket decorated with double axes, pear-shaped rhyta decorated with dolphins, a bull-shaped vessel, and a jar decorated with ivy—which in a Greek context would indicate the presence of Dionysus— among other goods</p><br>
<h2>Archaeological publications</h2><br>
<p>The meticulous modern excavations by Betancourt and Davaras resulted in several highly specialized publications, all from INSTAP Academic Press:</p><br>
<p>Pseira: A Bronze Age Seaport in Minoan Crete Philip P. Betancourt</p><br>
<p>Pseira I: The Minoan Buildings on the West Side of Area A, Philip P. Betancourt, ed.</p><br>
<p>Pseira II: Building AC (the “Shrine”) and Other Buildings in Area A, Philip P. Betancourt and Costis Davaras, eds. 1997</p><br>
<p>Pseira III: The Plateia Building, Cheryl R. Floyd 1998</p><br>
<p>Pseira IV: Minoan Buildings in Areas B, C, D, and F, Philip P. Betancourt and Costis Davaras, eds. 1999</p><br>
<p>Pseira V: Architecture of Pseira,John C. McEnroe</p><br>
<p>Pseira VI: The Pseira Cemetery I: The Surface Survey, edited by Philip P. Betancourt and Costis Davaras 2003 Topography and methodology.</p><br>
<p>Pseira VII: The Pseira Cemetery II: Excavation of the Tombs edited by Philip P. Betancourt and Costis Davaras 2003</p><br>
<p>Pseira VIII: The Pseira Island Survey, Part 1 by Philip Betancourt, Costis Davaras and Richard Hope Simpson</p><br>
<p>Pseira IX: The Pseira Island Survey, Part 2: The Intensive Surface Survey, edited by Philip Betancourt, Costis Davaras and Richard Hope Simpson</p><br>
<p>An introductory CD-ROM for a broad public audience was also produced.</p><br>
<p>Vanua Balavu  is the third largest island in Fiji&#39;s Lau archipelago, and the main island of the Northern Lau Group.</p><br>
<h2>Geography and infrastructure</h2><br>
<p>This coral and volcanic island has a land area of 53 km&sup2;. Its maximum elevation is 283 m. The island is characterized by steep undercut cliffs, with fertile volcanic soil. It is well watered and has hot springs. There is an extensive reef system, including the islets of Qilaqila Bay. The main village on the island is Lomaloma.</p><br>
<p>Vanua Balavu boasts of the Yanuyanu Island Resort, an airstrip, a copra port, and a small hospital.</p><br>
<p>There was also the Lomaloma Copra Biofuel Project which provided power to three villages, Naqara, Sawana and Lomaloma, however it is now defunct.</p><br>
<h2>Points of interest</h2><br>
<p>A large sea cave on the southeastern tip of Vanuabalavu was excavated and shown to have been used by humans more than 10 centuries ago.</p><br>
<h2>Notable people</h2><br>
<p>A notable person from Vanua Balavu is Laisenia Qarase, Fiji&#39;s Prime Minister from 2000 to 2006, who hails from the village of Mavana. Other prominent Vanua Balavu natives are the academic leader Esther Williams, from Levukana village, former Attorney-General Qoriniasi Bale, from Levukana village, and prominent former politician Filipe Bole, also from Mualevu village. Charles Walker, a former politician and Fiji diplomat hails from Sawana village.</p><br>
<p>Mere Samisoni, businesswoman and politician, comes from the village of Lomaloma, as does the former Lami Mayor Tevita Vuatalevu, who hails from the village of Mavana. Current Flying Fijians Josh Matavesi and Sam Matavesi who was born and raised in Cornwall, England is also a native of Vanua Balavu through his paternal line.</p><br>
<p>Totoya is a volcanic island in the Moala subgroup ofa Fiji&#39;s Lau archipelago. It occupies an area of 28 km², making it the smallest of the Yasayasa Moala Group. Its maximum elevation is 366 m above sea level. The main economic activity is coconut farming.</p><br>
<p>Totoya falls under the provincial administration of the Lau group.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>The horseshoe-shaped island is well protected by a high reef. There are a number of boat passages through the surrounding reef. These passages lead into the deep bay that is surrounded by the island. Its surfing is world-renowned, but the difficulty in reaching the island keeps most away.</p><br>
<p>The island has a well-placed jetty, 4 primary schools, not including Vanuavatu, which has its own, a Post office/shop, and radio-telephone stations at Ketei and Dravuwalu. It is accessible technologically by satellite phone provided by Telecom Fiji, but not mobile cellular phones.</p><br>
<p>The island has 4 villages with Tovu, the capital and seat of the Turaga na Roko Sau whose household site is known as "Mataiilakeba". Ketei is the seat of Tui Ketei, traditionally known as Ramalo, the King maker. The "Turaga Ramalo" has the ancient and prestigious role of installing Totoya&#39;s High chief, a role that has become obsolete because of rivalry. The third village, Dravuwalu, is the seat of Tui Dravuwalu, traditionally known as Nakorowaiwai and Udu, the fourth village, is the seat of Tui Udu, traditionally known as Muaicokalau. The island of Vanuavatu, although closer to the islands of Lakeba and Nayau than the island of Totoya, is listed as the fifth village within the District and is the seat of Tui Vanua.</p><br>
<p>Vanuavatu has historically and traditionally been the personal possession of the Turaga Na Roko Sau, the High Chief of Totoya and the Yasayasa Moala Group as a whole. Further to this in colonial times when the colonial government administratively subdivided the Provinces into districts, with a colonial appointed chief or Buli as leader the island had to fall into a colonially administered district under Totoya. Traditionally the High Chief of Totoya district, Roko Sau has dominion over Vanuavatu island and its people. However, Vanuavatu is the seat of Tui Vanua who answers directly to the Roko Sau. Also present within Vanuavatu is the title of Matakitotoya a representative post which further links the Roko Sau to his people and land of Vanuavatu and avoids any alienation from it.</p><br>
<p>The chiefly village of Tovu (Dawaleka) was shifted from its former site at the opposite side of the island (Navuli) in the 1800s through traditional request from Ramalo and other island chiefs to ease their undertaking of traditional obligations to the Roko Sau, the island&#39;s Head Chief.</p><br>
<p>The island is very rich in marine resources and one could have a field day out at sea. One famous delicacy is Lairo or land crabs, which are plentiful all year round. Giant sea clam, a variety of seaweeds and just about any variety of fish can be caught by angling, spear fishing, net fishing, underwater diving, or by traditional means.</p><br>
<p>Compared to its bigger subgroup neighbours of Moala and Matuku, the soil on Totoya is not very fertile, and is good for only small-scale subsistence farming. Cassava, sweet potato, and yams grow well on the island whereas dalo does not grow well and is only grown in waterlogged, well irrigated areas in small quantities for domestic consumption. The island has its fair share of wildlife, too, which includes bats, birds, and reptiles, including snakes, along with the introduced domestic animal species, dogs and cats brought in from the urban centres.</p><br>
<h2>History and Culture</h2><br>
<p>An important part of Totoya is the sacred passage "Daveta Tabu". Tradition dictates that if one wants to pass through this passage, one has to follow traditional protocol by observing utter complete silence and most importantly to be seated in the traditional manner (seated cross-legged with feet resting beneath the knees for gentlemen and for ladies, legs bent at knees resting on the side). The head is to be bowed with all mannerisms applicable in a traditional funeral. Legend has it that this is done in tribute for an infant child of a Roka Sau born to a Tongan princess, buried at sea in the passage. The protocol was instigated by his/her father. Legend also has it that ignorance or failing to fully and correctly observe the taboo would instigate furious reaction from the sea; as was proven in the past. Many seafarers in the modern day, even the most experienced captains and skippers would opt to forgo entering by the passage even with the Turaga Roko Sau on board the vessel (the only one with the ancient traditional authority to use the passage without any life-threatening implications), as was evident in a recent trip on board the Lady Sandy in the year 2011.</p><br>
<p>One episode that shows the link between Lakeba and Totoya was the arrival of Christianity. The Turaga Tui Nayau at that time sent his wife and herald to Dawaleka, the Koro makawa of Tovu. At Dawaleka, the Bete or High Priest was performing his ritual whereupon he envisioned a canoe coming in through the boat passage at Yaro; hence he proclaimed, "I will stop here as the one coming in white is shining and much stronger than me". He disrobed and came down to shore with the villagers to greet the group from Lakeba.</p><br>
<h2>Effects of Climate Change</h2><br>
<p>The volcanic island like many other islands, atolls and islets around the world is subject to the changing face of nature through the years. In the village of Dravuwalu, one of four villages located along the fringes of the remnant caldera, tombstones lie exposed along the beach, evidence of the receding beach line, as the area used to be 5 to 15 m away from the shoreline. The second principal village on the island Ketei is also a testament to the effects of climate change. Heavy rain after seasonal droughts would bring heavy flooding with the river running through the village, bursting its banks, plunging through homes. Rows of coconut trees lining coastlines and village shorelines have disappeared because of heavy swells brought about by adverse weather through the years. Food security is also a concern on the island with receding coastal lines, former plantations sites are now not plantable with villages having to look further inland for fertile soil.</p><br>
<h2>Prominent Totoya people</h2><br>
<p>The Paramount Chief of Totoya is known as the Goneturaga na Roko Sau. This title is currently held by Roko Josefa Cinavilakeba, who is also the community and government relations coordinator for the NGO Pacific Blue Foundation.</p><br>
<p>Other prominent residents of Totoya include:</p><br>
<p>Malele, Enele, who was the former Fiji rugby rep and captain.</p><br>
<p>Captain Saumi, Nacanieli, who was an Air Pacific pilot.</p><br>
<p>Savou, Josateki, was a former Fiji sevens player and coach.</p><br>
<p>Savou, Salesi and Savou, Joiji (brothers, a physician and dentist respectively) from Ketei village.</p><br>
<p>Savou, Trevor, a former Manawatu and New Zealand Rugby Sevens player.</p><br>
<p>Peni Gavidi, former civil servant and now a consultant with his own company, PGavidi Planning and Environment Consultants</p><br>
<p>Sekope Raikoro, local musician and now Gospel singer</p><br>
<p>Takayawa, Nacanieli, winner of the Manchester&#39;s Commonwealth Games gold medal in judo. Younger son of Viliame Takayawa</p><br>
<p>Takayawa, Viliame, the father of judo in Fiji.</p><br>
<p>Takayawa, Viliame Waka, a sport administrator and scientist, eldest son of Viliame Takayawa.</p><br>
<p>Aisea Taoka, who was the Deputy Commissioner of Police before becoming the Commissioner of prisons.</p><br>
<p>Mataika Tuicakau, who made Fiji world-famous by winning the shot-put gold medal in the 1958 Empire (Commonwealth) Games in Auckland. He also won the silver medal in the discus/javelin event.</p><br>
<p>Viliame Waka, who was a former school teacher, airport administrator, and Fiji rugby rep.</p><br>
<p>Dr. Tupou Wata, renowned gynecologist/medical practitioner and operates a private clinic in Suva</p><br>
<p>Kevueli Bulamainaivalu, former Assistant Commissioner of Police</p><br>
<p>Pita Bulamainaivalu, former State Prosecutor and Lecturer at Law at the School of Law, University of the South Pacific</p><br>
<p>Tevita Tupou, General Manager Customs at the Fiji Revenue & Customs Authority</p><br>
<p>North Bentinck Arm is a short inlet about 17 km in length in the Central Coast region of British Columbia, Canada. It is a sidewater of Burke Channel and is linked via that waterway and Labouchere Channel to Dean Channel, which is one of the largest inlets of the BC Coast.</p><br>
<p>North Bentinck Arm is historically significant as the location where Northwest Fur Company explorer Alexander MacKenzie reached the waters of the Pacific Ocean overland from Lake Athabaska via the Peace and Fraser rivers, on 20 July, 1793. Needing to find an open area to make an astronomical sighting, using the moons of the planet Jupiter to determine his longitude, he went by canoe with four Nuxalk natives the next day to Dean Channel, stopping at a site now part of Sir Alexander Mackenzie Provincial Park. A boulder on the shoreline there is marked with "Alexander MacKenzie, from Canada by land 22d July 1793". By only a few weeks MacKenzie missed meeting James Johnstone, one of Captain George Vancouver&#39;s men, who also visited North Bentinck Arm that year.</p><br>
<h2>Name origin</h2><br>
<p>North and South Bentinck Arms were named by George Vancouver, as "Bentinck Arms", in 1793, after the House of Portland; the Duke of Portland at the time was William Henry Cavendish Bentinck.</p><br>
<h2>Indigenous territory</h2><br>
<p>The inlet is the territory of the Nuxalk Nation, whose main community adjoins the town of Bella Coola, which is at the head of the inlet. The Nuxalk are also known as the Bella Coola people.</p><br>
<p>Urraca Mesa is a large mesa located in Colfax County in northern New Mexico, USA, on the property of Philmont Scout Ranch. It reaches an elevation of 8,594 ft. The mesa has a long history of mythical and supernatural associations, dating to the local indigenous tribes.</p><br>
<h2>Name</h2><br>
<p>The name comes from the Spanish word for magpie from ancient Native American legends.</p><br>
<h2>Flora and fauna</h2><br>
<p>The mesa is covered in Ponderosa pine. Black bears, turkeys, deer and mountain lions live here.</p><br>
<h2>Topography</h2><br>
<p>Urraca Mesa is relatively flat with the exception of a protruding plateau, which contains a freshwater source. It is known for having the highest number of lightning strikes anywhere in New Mexico.</p><br>
<p>Solo River  is the longest river in the Indonesian island of Java, it is approximately 600 km  in length. Apart from its importance as a watercourse to the inhabitants and farmlands of the eastern and northern parts of the island, it is a renowned region in paleoanthropology circles. Many discoveries of early hominid remains have been made at several sites in its valleys, especially at Sangiran, including that of the first early human fossil found outside of Europe, the so-called "Java Man" skull.</p><br>
<p>Bengawan Solo was the crash site of Garuda Indonesia Flight 421.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>Solo River (or Bengawan Solo) has two sources: from the volcano of Mount Lawu, on the border between Central Java and East Java and from Kidul Mountain. In ancient time, the rise of Indo-Australian Plate redirected its stream northward. Sadeng Beach, located in Special Region of Yogyakarta, has been known as mouth of ancient Solo River, which flew southward in antiquity.</p><br>
<p>It passes through the major city of Surakarta (called Solo by the local inhabitants). An important early tributary to the Solo river is the Dengkeng River, which has its source in Mount Merapi. After passing through Solo, the river flows northward around Mount Lawu, and then turn eastward into East Java in the Ngawi regency.</p><br>
<p>After Ngawi the river turns northward again, forming the boundary between Blora Regency of Central Java and Bojonegoro regency of East Java. From the town of Cepu in Blora, the river turns eastward and passes through Bojonegoro regencys capital city. From there, it continues eastward through the Lamongan and Gresik Regencies. The last part of the rivers basin (roughly starting from Bojonegoro regency) is mostly flat land.</p><br>
<p>Bengawan Solo&#39;s delta is located near the town of Sidayu in Gresik regency. The present delta is redirected by a human made canal. The original delta flowed into the Madura Strait, but in 1890 a 12 km canal was made by the Dutch East Indies authority to redirect the Solo River into Java Sea. This was done to prevent sedimentation of mud from filling the Madura Strait and thereby preventing sea access to the important port city of Surabaya.</p><br>
<p>The Solo river delta has a huge mud sedimentation flow that deposited 17 million tonnes of mud per year. This sedimentation in the delta form a cape, which has average longitudinal growth of 70 m per year. This delta is known as Ujung Pangkah (Pangkah Cape).</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Solo river was part of massive river system that once existed in Sundaland. This drainage of the river system consisted of major river in present-day Sumatra and Borneo, such as Asahan river, Musi river and Kapuas river. The river system disappeared when Sundaland was submerged after sea level rise following the last Ice Age.</p><br>
<p>The river played important part in Javanese history. Its drainage basin is an important agricultural area, dominated by rice farming. The river transported fertile volcanic soil downstream, replenishing the soil. It also provided link between Javanese port cities in the northern coast and the rice-growing hinterlands, with shallow vessels transporting rice to the ports to be sold. This rice is Java&#39;s main commodity that was traded as part of the Spice trade.</p><br>
<p>Following acquisition of much of Java by the Dutch colonial governmental, various cash crops was introduced to be planted across the river basin, such as coffee, sugar and cotton. (see Cultivation System).</p><br>
<p>By the last years of 19th century, river sedimentation in its original delta in Madura Strait started to disrupt vessels traffic in port of Surabaya. The Dutch colonial government decided to divert the river flow away from the shipping lane into Java Sea. They built a canal in the river&#39;s delta in 1890s which still alter the river until this day.</p><br>
<p>In 1891, Dutch paleoanthropologist Eugène Dubois discovered remains of what he described as "a species in between humans and apes". He called his finds Pithecanthropus erectus ("ape-human that stands upright") or Java Man. Today, they are classified as Homo erectus ("human that stands upright"). These were the first specimens of early hominid remains to be found outside of Africa or Europe.</p><br>
<h2>Resource management</h2><br>
<p>Brantas River Public Corporation or Perum Jasa Tirta I (PJT1) is responsible for managing the water resources of Brantas and Bengawan Solo river basins in Indonesia. It is a centralised effort to:</p><br>
<p>conserve the water resource quality and quantity in the Bengawan Solo and Brantas River basins</p><br>
<p>flood control</p><br>
<p>manage hydroelectric and other infrastructures along those rivers.</p><br>
<p>Prior to the centralised management efforts, there were reports of pollution along the Bengawan Solo</p><br>
<h2>In culture</h2><br>
<p>"Bengawan Solo", a song composed by Gesang Martohartono in 1940, poetically describes the river and has become famous across Asia.</p><br>
<p>Ynys Gored Goch , sometimes Ynys Gorad Goch, is a small island in the Menai Strait between Gwynedd and Anglesey in north Wales. It is situated in the stretch of the strait called the Swellies between Thomas Telfords Menai Suspension Bridge and Robert Stephensons Britannia Bridge.</p><br>
<p>The island is occupied by the main house and the converted smoke house where locally caught fish were processed. The island is private property and access is only by boat.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The earliest known document relating to the island dates from 1590 when it is listed as belonging to the Diocese of Bangor which leased it for £3 and a barrel of herrings a year as the island was used as a fishing trap. During high tides fish would swim into the traps set near the island. The catch would then be collected at the subsequent low tide.</p><br>
<p>After 1888 when the house was sold into private hands the whitebait (herring), business was developed, and growing tourism in the 20th century meant people would often travel to the island to taste the fish. A bell by the Anglesey shore summoned a boat to carry visitors across to enjoy a Gored Whitebait Tea which comprised a pot of tea, brown bread and butter and whitebait ‘fried in a basket’, priced one shilling.</p><br>
<h2>Location</h2><br>
<p>The strong tidal flow in the Menai Strait creates small whirlpools, hence the name the "Swellies". In olden times, access by rowing boat was restricted by the tides but nowadays modern boats can access anytime. Mains water and electricity were installed in 1997. Pumping systems mean the two houses no longer flood. Due to the large tidal range of the Menai Strait the size of the island varies between 0.5 acres and 3.7 acres.</p><br>
<p>The tidal range of the Menai Strait is known to exceed 10 m during high with spring tides which makes it appear that the buildings are on two separate islands. Occasional storm surges have even increased water levels up to 11.2 m.</p><br>
<p>Ynys Gored Goch once had a large common tern colony. This has now reduced to approximately 10 pairs which in 2011 produced 13 chicks.</p><br>
<p>The islands location makes it a popular theme in photographs of the Menai Strait and its bridges. It has also featured in television programmes such as A Great Welsh Adventure with Griff Rhys Jones (2014) Countryfile (2016) and Robson Greens Coastal Lives (2017).</p><br>
<p>Salt Island  is an island joined to Holy Island, itself an island joined to Anglesey in North Wales. It is a natural provider of shelter for the town&#39;s Old Harbour from the Irish Sea and is also part of the Port of Holyhead where the ferries to Dublin sail from.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The island gained its name by a factory located on it which processed sea water in order to extract sea salt. By the early 18th century, the sea salt was often mixed with rock salt (often smuggled onto the island) to increase the quality of the factory&#39;s product. The factory ceased production in 1775.</p><br>
<p>Another building no longer standing on the island was the Stanley Sailor&#39;s Hospital. This hospital was set up in 1871 by a local philanthropist and initially only treated sailors although it quickly became a general hospital. It was taken over by the National Health Service in 1948 and closed its doors in 1987.</p><br>
<h2>Lighthouse</h2><br>
<p>There have been three lighthouses located on the island. The current lighthouse is the Holyhead Mail Pier Light.</p><br>
<h2>Pier</h2><br>
<p>The main pier on the island, the Admiralty Pier, was opened in 1821. At around 300 m long it extends east into the sea and has been used to handle ferry traffic since it was opened. Due to its important historical links between Great Britain and Ireland, the pier has twice had royal visitors, once on 7 August 1821 when King George IV arrived from Ireland and once in 1898 when Queen Victoria set sail for her last voyage to Ireland.</p><br>
<p>An inner arm, pairing the existing 5,100 ft long breakwater (built between 1848–1876) was planned from Salt Island. The isolated broad gauge tramway railway from the Holyhead Mountain quarry used to build the former had a branch to Salt Island, via Newry Beach, to facilitate this. Although started with an intention to be 2,100 feet long, the inner arm was never developed beyond a rubble spit at the northern tip of the island. Stone blocks that supported this tramway are still to be found along the upper seafront of Newry Beach. No trace remains of the, presumably, wooden viaduct across the Borth Sach inlet which provided access to the island. During the 1990s the remains of rails were still to be found amongst the large boulders deposited as the foundations for the inner arm.</p><br>
<p>In more recent times, starting in February 2001, the island was expanded into the sea by the process of land reclamation. In total 11 acre was gained at a cost of £10 million. An average of 7,000 tonnes of rock and mud was extracted per day during the process.</p><br>
<h2>Transport and access</h2><br>
<p>Salt Island is part of the port of Holyhead and almost the whole extent of the island is used as a passenger, car and freight terminal and berths for ferries to and from Ireland. Both Irish Ferries and Stena Line sail from Salt Island to Dublin port and to Dún Laoghaire. The Holyhead lifeboat station is on the island. The Admiralty Arch, the end of the A5 which links London to Holyhead is located very close to the southern tip of the island. This was opened in 1826 when the last section of the road the Menai Suspension Bridge was completed. There is a beach on the island which was open to the public but was shut in 2003 due to the increasing terror threat and still hasn&#39;t reopened. Access to the island as a whole is strictly monitored and is virtually impossible for pedestrians to enter.</p><br>
<p>Loch Venachar  is a freshwater loch in Stirling district, Scotland, situated between Callander and Brig o&#39; Turk. It lies approximately 82 metres above sea level, and is 6 km long with a maximum depth of approximately 33 metres.</p><br>
<p>The Black Water discharges from Loch Achray into the western end of Loch Venachar, and at the eastern end emerges Eas Gobhain which joins with the River Leny at Callander to form the River Teith.</p><br>
<p>The south shore of the loch is covered by woodland containing numerous forest tracks, some leading over the hills to the Lake of Menteith and some leading westward along the loch to Loch Achray and the Trossachs.</p><br>
<p>Invertrossachs House, which was visited by Queen Victoria in 1869, is also located on the south shore. Venachar sailing club is accessible from the Invertrossachs private road. This sailing club uses the loch for regular racing events between March and October. To the North of the loch is Scotland&#39;s first highland Ben, Ben Ledi.</p><br>
<p>A brown trout stocking programme recommenced in 2016 under the management of the Loch Venachar Association and the loch is well stocked with pike. Fishing is available, by permit, from the shore and by boat.</p><br>
<p>Lake Muir is a freshwater lake, with a larger surrounding wetlands area, that is located in the South West region of Western Australia. The lake lies near Muirs Highway, north of Walpole and southeast of Manjimup. The lake has a surface area of 46 km&sup2;.</p><br>
<p>Lake Muir and its surrounding wetland lies within the Lake Muir-Unicup System, a 694 km&sup2; area of internal drainage containing a complex of wetland systems. Lake Muir may, in flood, overflow southwest into the Deep River catchment (and possibly also southeast into the Frankland River via Poorginup Gully).</p><br>
<p>Lake Muir is usually brackish (1000–3000 mg/L TDS) at the end of winter, saline by summer and dry throughout autumn.</p><br>
<h2>Flora and fauna</h2><br>
<p>A 14 km&sup2; section of wetland around Lake Muir has been identified by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area (IBA) because it provides habitat for 10 or more pairs of endangered Australasian bitterns. The wetlands within the IBA are shallow with extensive beds of dense sedgeland and fringing stands of shrubland and woodland. Lake Muir has been excluded from the IBA as it is unsuitable for bitterns but it has supported large numbers of Australian Shelduck and may prove to be globally significant for that species.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Lake Muir was named after brothers Thomas and John Muir, the first European settlers in the Warren district, who settled at Deeside, 25 km west of the lake, in 1852 and built a rush hut there in 1856.</p><br>
<p>Historically the area was a Game Reserve, with a duck shooting season. The Department of Environment and Conservation (CALM) started monitoring the wetlands system in 1980 in order to manage the duck shooting.</p><br>
<p>On 5 January 2001 a 106 km&sup2; area was designated, under the Ramsar Convention as Ramsar site 1050, a wetland of international importance, acknowledging its rich ecological diversity.</p><br>
<p>Gera or Yera  is a town on the Aegean island of Lesbos in Greece. It once stood as one of the largest ports of the island. According to scholars the ancient name may have been Portus Hieraeus; Pliny the Elder mentions a Lesbian city called Hiera, which was abandoned before his time.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The 1st-century Roman historian and naturalist Pliny the Elder recorded the existence of an ancient city on Lesbos known as Hiera. Scholars argue that the name is derived from the Greek goddess Hera, and there is evidence that the island of Lesbos followed the cult of Hera during the time of Sappho around the 7th century B.C.</p><br>
<h2>Geography and administration</h2><br>
<p>The Municipality of Gera was established with the Kapodistrias reform in 1997, with the capital at Pappados, covering a surface of 86.350 square kilometers (33.340 sq mi) and with a population of 6,101 in the 2011 census. Its largest towns are Skopelos (1,530), Palaiokipos (976), Mesagros (631), Perama (726), Pappados (pop. 1,442). It was again abolished in the 2010 Kallikratis reform.</p><br>
<h3>Bay of Gera</h3><br>
<p>The Bay of Gera is a wider area of Lesbos, with the main port today at Perama. The name has changed throughout history, and has been variously called Ieremidia, Gieremia, Geremia, Lichremadia, Maliae, Iero, Hiera, Giera, Keramia, Iera, Gera, Eleon, Olivier.</p><br>
<p>Otter Tail Lake is a 21 square miles lake in the west-central part of the USA state of Minnesota and is the largest lake in Otter Tail County.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>Adjoining the city of Ottertail, it is a part of the Otter Tail River chain of lakes. Upstream from the lake are Big Pine, Little Pine and Rush lakes, while downstream are East Lost, West Lost and Deer lakes. The maximum depth is 120 ft, but 57% of the lake is 15 ft deep or less. The shore of the lake and at least the shallower areas are composed of sand and gravel. The water clarity is 10.5 ft, which is considered good. A prominent feature of Otter Tail is the "point" which essentially divides the lake into eastern and western halves.</p><br>
<p>Otter Tail lake is ringed with a tall, mostly deciduous tree line. In general, the tree line goes back around 300 yards from the shore and acts as a windbreak, keeping the shoreline calm compared to the center of the lake.</p><br>
<p>The waters of Otter Tail Lake ultimately flow north into Hudson Bay through the Red River of the North.</p><br>
<p>At 13,725 acres it is the tenth largest lake completely within the borders of Minnesota.</p><br>
<h2>Recreation</h2><br>
<p>It is a recreational destination, with the majority of its shores surrounded by residential and commercial development. The lake is known for fishing; walleye and Northern pike are most prevalent and the most sought after by anglers. The lake is also a popular destination for boating, power-boats and jet-skis, but also sailing. Because of the lake&#39;s large size, winds can pick up enough in the center of the lake for fairly challenging sailing. The heyday of sailing on the lake was the late 1960s through the mid-1980s, when the lake held annual sailing races. Especially popular at this time was the hobie cat.</p><br>
<p>Ottertail Lake is also the home of the Reel Country Classic, a two-day fishing tournament that has taken place every May since 2005.</p><br>
<p>Martín García Island  is an island in the Río de la Plata. The island is in Uruguayan waters but in 1973 Uruguay and Argentina reached an agreement establishing Martín García as Argentine territory and a nature reserve. The island of 1.84 km&sup2; has a permanent population of about 150 people , and falls within the jurisdiction of Buenos Aires Province. The island is accessible by air through Martín García Island Airport.</p><br>
<p>The strategically located island was the site of a fortification built in the 1820s by Argentine forces to deny the Brazilian navy access to the Uruguay River. This fort, named Constitucion, succeeded in keeping Brazilian reinforcements at bay during the Battle of Juncal between 8 and 9 February 1827, allowing the Argentines to destroy the Brazilian squadron operating on the Uruguay River during the Cisplatine War.</p><br>
<p>In more recent times, several Argentine political figures have been held under arrest at the island by military governments, including presidents Hipólito Yrigoyen (1930), Juan Perón (1945), and Arturo Frondizi (1962).</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Martin Garcia Island was discovered by the Spanish in the expedition of Juan Díaz de Solís in 1516; it is named after the storekeeper Martín Garcia, who died on board and whose body was buried on the island. From that time, the island was continually disputed by Spain and Portugal due to its strategic position amidst the main river channel and as a gateway to its main tributaries, the Paraná and Uruguay rivers.</p><br>
<p>The island was used as a penal colony from 1765 until 1886. Developed by the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, the first viceroy Pedro de Cevallos fortified the island and assigned a military garrison there. In 1814, Admiral William Brown, commanding a fleet, landed on the island and defeated the royalists, leaving Martin Garcia in the hands of the United Provinces of Río de la Plata.</p><br>
<p>The island was the scene of other battles during the Argentine War of Independence, as well as during the Cisplatine War of the 1820s. In 1838, during the government of Buenos Aires Province Governor Juan Manuel de Rosas, Martín García was also attacked by Anglo-French forces. Later it was occupied by allied forces composed of Unitarian Party exiles in Montevideo. In 1843 it was recovered by federal troops of Rosas, who lost the post in 1845 to troops led by Giuseppe Garibaldi, who retook it for Montevideo. Its strategic value during the Argentine Civil Wars of the mid-19th century ended after Rosas was overthrown in the Battle of Caseros in 1852.</p><br>
<p>President Domingo Sarmiento proposed a base on the island in the 1870s, with Argirópolis City as the capital of a micro state administered jointly by Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. After the Conquest of the Desert was formally launched in 1879, many captured indigenous leaders were confined there. The island was transferred to Argentine naval jurisdiction in 1886, and naval forces were placed in it. In the late 1920s an airstrip was built, the precursor of the Martín García Naval Air Station (Spanish: Estación Aeronaval Martín García); this was expanded in the 1950s, and is currently the Martín García Island Airport.</p><br>
<p>Most of the German survivors of the rescued by the collier Eleonore Woermann in September 1914 and taken to Buenos Aires were interned for the duration of the war on the Argentine-controlled island. German sailors from the heavy cruiser Graf Spee were also interned on the island by Argentina in 1943.</p><br>
<p>The jurisdictional status of the island was formally established by the Treaty of Río de la Plata between Argentina and Uruguay on November 19, 1973. This treaty stipulates that the Martín García Island is an Argentine exclave surrounded by Uruguayan waters. In return for recognition of Argentina&#39;s sovereignty over the island, Argentina made territorial concessions in the Río de la Plata, notably the cession of Juncal Island to Uruguay.</p><br>
<p>Article 45 of the treaty states:</p><br>
<p>The Martín García Island shall be exclusively destined as a natural reserve for the conservation and preservation of fauna and flora under jurisdiction of the Argentine Republic, without prejudice to the provisions of article 63</p><br>
<p>On the other hand, this treaty, in effect, defined its territorial limits. To the north of the island was Timoteo Domínguez, an island under Uruguayan jurisdiction, and this was recognised by Article 46 of the same treaty:</p><br>
<p>Should the Martín García Island in the future unite with another island, the corresponding boundary shall be delineated pursuant to the outline of the Martín García Island resulting from application of Chart H-118, covered in Article 41.</p><br>
<p>At the time of the treaty the channel between these islands comprised an enormous stream load which, since the date of the treaty, has effected a physical union of the Uruguayan island with Martín García. Thus, the boundary between Martín Garcia and Timoteo Domínguez has now become the only existing land frontier between the Republic of Argentina and the Oriental Republic of Uruguay.</p><br>
<p>Uruguayan officials have cited Article 45 on several occasions to prevent the use of the island by Argentina for purposes other than for the nature reserve. In 1985 the Navy transferred ownership of buildings and facilities in the island to the Province of Buenos Aires. Today, the island is a tourist destination. Among its notable sights are the old Chinatown, a center of immigrants; the remains of the fortifications, the prison infirmary, and the forest inhabited by red deer. The island is also well known for the baking of artisanal pastries.</p><br>
<h2>Flora and fauna</h2><br>
<p>The islands biome is that of forests, and its predominant species include the ceiba and the creole laurel, as well as xerophytic species (similar to the Gran Chaco) that include gorse, cacti, and lapachillo. The islands beaches are populated with reeds, fig trees (ibopehay), and more than 800 species of plants.</p><br>
<p>The median and greater wildlife, excluding fish, is composed at present mainly by over 250 bird species which highlights the hummingbirds that have eight species, sparrowhawk, lapwings, herons, vultures, parrots, cardinals, pigeons, sparrows, finches, larks, pygmy owls (caburé), and great horned owls, among others. The island is also home to a variety of reptiles, lizards, geckos, turtles, frogs, coypu (or pseudonutrias), capybaras, alligators, red deer. The once-large population of giant river otters (ariray) was exterminated by the late 1950s.</p><br>
<h2>Climate</h2><br>
<p>The average annual temperature is 17 °C (63 °F), and averages 8 °C (55 °F) in the winter, and 29 °C (84 °F) in the summer. Average annual precipitation is 1,000 mm (40 ").</p><br>
<h2>Population</h2><br>
<p>Martín García once had an estimated population of 4,000, but it decreased when the military garrison was withdrawn. The stable population in 2008 is less than 170 people (about 50 families). They have an elementary school, the EGB nº 39 "Juan Díaz de Solís".</p><br>
<p>Cerros is an Eastern Lowland Maya archaeological site in northern Belize that functioned from the Late Preclassic to the Postclassic period. The site reached its apogee during the Mesoamerican Late Preclassic and at its peak, it held a population of approximately 1,089 people. The site is strategically located on a peninsula at the mouth of the New River where it empties into Chetumal Bay on the Caribbean coast. As such, the site had access to and served as an intermediary link between the coastal trade route that circumnavigated the Yucatán Peninsula and inland communities. The inhabitants of Cerros constructed an extensive canal system and utilized raised-field agriculture.</p><br>
<h2>Site organization</h2><br>
<p>The core of the site immediately abuts the bay and consists of several relatively large structures and stepped pyramids, an acropolis complex, and two ballcourts. Bounding the southern side of the site is a crescent-shaped canal network that encloses the central portion of the site and encloses several raised-fields. Residential structures continue outside of the canal, generally radiating southwest and southeast; raised-fields are also present outside of the canal system.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>From the time of its inception in the Late Preclassic Era, around 400BC, the site of Cerros was a small village of farmers, fishermen and traders. They made use of its fertile soils and easy access to the sea, while producing and trading product amongst the other Maya in the area. Around 50 BC, as their economy grew and they began to experiment with the idea of kingship, the inhabitants of Cerros initiated a great urban renewal program, burying their homes to make way for a group of temples and plazas.</p><br>
<p>The first of the new constructions was the Structure 5C-2nd, which has become the most famous piece of architecture at the site. Aligned with its back at the edge of Chetumal Bay, it marked the northernmost point of the sacred north-south axis of the site, which was complemented by a ballcourt (Str. 50) which lies at the southernmost point. As kings died, others came along and new temples were constructed in their honor. The last of the substantial constructions at the site (Str. 3A-1st) occurred around AD 100, and many of the other structures appear to have been abandoned before then. During the Protoclassic, Cerros ceased to function as a locus of elitist activity but continued as a location for mundane domestic activity. From then on, any new construction was probably limited to the outer residential area, as the population began to decline severely.</p><br>
<p>Apart from a small occupation at the end of the Late Classic period as a village community, Cerros has been abandoned since AD 400. This once glorious site was left for ruin and remained virtually unnoticed until Thomas Gann made reference to "lookout" mounds along the coast in 1900, drawing interest to the site.</p><br>
<h2>Archaeology structure of cerros</h2><br>
<p>Archaeological work began at Cerros around 1973 when the site was purchased by the Metroplex Corporation of Dallas, who intended to build a tourist resort around the ceremonial center. Fortunately, these plans failed and the site was given to the government of Belize.</p><br>
<p>In 1974, archaeologist David Freidel and his team uncovered evidence that suggested that the site was of the Late Preclassic period. In 1975, when a dedicatory offering cache was uncovered at Structure 6, further evidence was provided that Cerros was indeed a Late Preclassic site.</p><br>
<p>Throughout the 1970s, research was allowed to continue when the National Science Foundation funded further excavations. The original team completed their excavations in 1981.</p><br>
<p>In the 1990s, Debra Walker and a team of archaeologists began a series of new excavations to investigate the sites demise at the end of the Late Preclassic Era. In addition to the research done at the site, Walkers team also had radiocarbon dates run on newly found artifacts. They also recalibrated several dates from the original research in order to establish a tighter chronological sequence.</p><br>
<h2>Architecture</h2><br>
<h3>Monumental architecture</h3><br>
<h4>Structure 5C-2nd</h4><br>
<p>The northernmost structural complex, located at the edge of Chetumal Bay, is referred to as Structure 5C-2nd, which contains a modest size temple. Estimated to have been built around 50BC, the two-tiered south facing platform pyramid had wall stubs atop it for what would have been a perishable superstructure. Having the entire settlement facing the south allowed the whole community the ability to witness rituals on its staircase. In Maya cosmology, north is associated with the direction of the sky, where the celestial gods hold domain, while the south is the direction of the underworld. This placement associated the primary temple both physically and symbolically with the celestial domain.</p><br>
<p>Of importance are four huge painted plaster mask reliefs placed against the platform’s stepped walls which flank either side of the stairway depicting the forces of the cosmos. Linda Schele and David Freidel have identified the two lower masks as representations of The Hero Twins of the Popol Vuh.</p><br>
<p>The four masks have been interpreted as follows:</p><br>
<p>The main mask on the lower right panel is a depiction of the rising sun and of Xbalanque, who is identified by a "k&#39;in"(sun) glyph on his cheeks. He is flanked by his objects including his helmet, chin-strip and earflares. He is also identified by a glyph within the decoration surrounding his left ear flare as "yax"(first). In addition:</p><br>
<p>The lower mask on the left is Xbalanque as well, but in the position of the setting sun, balancing the depiction of the rising sun</p><br>
<p>The upper mask on the right is a depiction of Hunahpu, aka Venus or the Morningstar</p><br>
<p>The upper mask on the left is Hunahpu as well, but in the position of the Eveningstar</p><br>
<p>Their positions are meant to represent the path that the Sun and Venus follow throughout the sky.</p><br>
<p>In 2005, in his piece The Creation Mountains: Structure 5C-2nd and Late Preclassic Kingship, David Freidel offers yet another interpretation of the masks. He now feels that the lower panels represent the bundled bones and funerary masks of the Maize God and his twin brother. Also in this new interpretation, the upper masks are meant to represent the gods Itzamnaaj, the God of Creation and Chaak, the God of Human Sacrifice. Together, they killed and destroyed the Maize God. It was these gods that the king impersonated when he would perform atop the structure.</p><br>
<p>The structure also contains four large postholes, which once were used for the placing of sacred trees, which were called world trees. The king utilized the rear area of the temple to perform private ceremonies such as fasting, bloodletting and genital perforation.</p><br>
<h4>Structure 6</h4><br>
<p>The second temple known as Structure 6 is larger and located in front of Structure 5C-2nd on the west side of the north-south axis. Like Structure 5C-2nd, Structure 6 faces south however while the first temple stood alone, the second temple forms part of a triadic pattern followed by its successors at Cerros. This triadic pattern was elevated on a large platform and consisted of a main temple, flanked by two smaller buildings. later. At 16 meters above the level of the surrounding surface, its height allowed the king more privacy to hold ceremonies, which could only be viewed by a select few. Schele and Freidel postulate that the existence of such a pyramid, with its differentiated viewing spaces, indicates a high degree of social stratification among the people of Cerros. This triadic plan was a hallmark at major Preclassic centers and it appears that by emulating this architectural plan, the rulers of Cerros had embraced a further means of reinforcing a basic cosmological principle underlying their power.</p><br>
<p>This temple was probably constructed upon the accession of a new king. This theory is supported by the excavation of a burial cache beneath the structure 6B, which held objects believed to have belonged to the former ruler, including his Jester God diadem.</p><br>
<h4>Structure 4</h4><br>
<p>Taking its present form somewhere around AD 1, Structure 4 was built by the same ruler as Structure 6 and was located opposite the second temple on the east side of the newly established east-west axis at Cerros. This temple was to become the largest at Cerros. The change of orientation with this new temple, facing east, signaled an additional association between temple and ruler, the reborn rising sun. This structure was also meant to be the king&#39;s funerary shrine, however it was never used for reasons unknown as the chamber was empty upon excavation.</p><br>
<h4>Structure 29C</h4><br>
<p>This great temple marks another change as it faces westward and was built to the south of the original north precinct. It is a triadic structure with three separate temple platforms on top of a greater pyramid and considered one of the clearest expressions of the Preclassic triadic plan at Cerros. The small, central platform, which faces west, is adorned with carvings of jaguar heads. The sides of the two remaining temples display long-snouted masks. According to Schele and Freidel, Structure 29C was probably meant to be a war monument and was clearly associated with the north (Str. 61) and south (Str. 50) ballcourts.</p><br>
<h4>Structure 3A</h4><br>
<p>Erected around AD 100, this structure is considered to be the final temple at the site of Cerros, and is probably the last of the substantial constructions. This structure was built directly south of Structure 4, returning to the original sacred north-south axis and earlier south-facing orientation. This temple was carelessly constructed and did not contain a burial cache signaling a decline in power of the rulers at Cerros. Structure 3A was most likely commissioned by the last of the rulers at Cerros during the Late Preclassic period.</p><br>
<h3>Ballcourts</h3><br>
<h4>Structure 61</h4><br>
<p>Structure 61 is considered to be an open ended ballcourt with a raised alley flanked by two parallel buildings (Structure 61B, which faces the west and Structure 61C, which faces east). Both buildings have broad, low, inclined benches which overlook the raised playing field and rest upon a low substructure (Str. 61A). Unlike most ballcourts, there is no upper playing wall on either building, so it is likely that the bench area was considered to be within fair play. The sloped vertical faces of the benches functioned to encourage the ball to bounce upwards off of them.</p><br>
<h4>Structure 50</h4><br>
<p>The Structure 50 ballcourt is considered to be identical to Structure 61 with a few exceptions:</p><br>
<p>The playing area of Structure 50 is in a sunken court of rectangular form, which has defined playing areas, as opposed to the open ended design of Structure 61</p><br>
<p>Both side buildings, Structures 50C and 50E, have upper summit platforms that were probably included in the field of play</p><br>
<p>Structures 50A and 50B are two large end-zone buildings that are most likely well outside the field of play and probably served as stands for viewing the game</p><br>
<h3>Residential structures</h3><br>
<p>By 1991, various areas and mounds throughout the site had been excavated; however, there were still many more that had not. The number of excavated residential areas inside the core was 18 and the number of mounds, 20. The number of excavations outside of the core area were fewer, with only 6 areas and 12 mounds. There were a total of 157 presumed areas and mounds inside and outside the core that were left untouched.</p><br>
<h2>Subsistence at Cerros</h2><br>
<h3>Agriculture and wild plant utilization</h3><br>
<p>Cerros has evidence of investments in water management which included the encircling canal where the Maya made use of several raised and channeled fields around the site. It is thought that these canals were used to store water and irrigate nearby field systems during the dry season. One such field lies west of the Structure 50 ballcourt and was located just inside the boundary of the main canal, which surrounded the community. Inhabitants made use of the main canal, which was constructed during the C&#39;oh Phase (200-50 BC) for crop irrigation year round. During the dry season, the canal and its branches were most likely ponded and used for pot irrigation. During the wet season, they were used along with drainage ditches to irrigate the crops. It is unclear whether the motivation behind construction and use of the canals was due to communal enterprise, by elite-directed labor, or both. The "typical triad" of crops (maize, beans and squash) was grown at the site. According to Crane, maize cupules and/or kernels were present in approximately 75% of the samples that were taken at the site. A small number of remains of beans and squash pollen were also found.</p><br>
<p>Arboriculture was another important part of the Maya diet. Nance tree (Byrsonima crassifolia) seeds were found in about 40% of the samples taken. Cocoyol palm (Acrocomia mexicana) fruit seeds, Ziricote (Cordia dodecandra) and Huano (Sabal spp.) seeds were common as well.</p><br>
<h3>Faunal remains</h3><br>
<p>A substantial amount of faunal remains have been recovered throughout the site, including various types of marine life, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals (both wild and domesticated). The location of the bones of these animals points to the social stratification that was present among the inhabitants of the site. In the areas attributed as residential places for commoners, faunal remains were few, and were almost uniformly of smaller animals. Conversely, the quantity and size of animal remains, in areas attributed to the elite, varied widely. Meats were more accessible to the elites of Cerros.</p><br>
<p>Various forms of animal procurement took place in and around the site. Marine faunal procurement was most likely the primary focus and took place in a variety of habitats. Dogs were bred for meat and were probably eaten during the winter "nortes," and during the months in which a great amount of agricultural work was done. Deer and other animals, such as peccary, pumas, jaguars and smaller mammals were hunted as well.</p><br>
<h2>Trade</h2><br>
<p>During the Late Preclassic long distance trade contacts with volcanic areas were in existence as evidenced by the recovery of numerous pieces of jade and crystalline hematite and also visible in the monumental art of Cerros. For raw materials readily available in northern Belize, Cerros may have functioned as a redistribution conjuncture as well as a transshipment point for products to be shipped inland by way of the New River. With the cease of construction at Cerros and no new structures of any consequence dating to the Classic Period there, the population began to decline dramatically and no jade or crystalline hematite artifacts have been recovered from any of the Classic Period deposits uncovered at Cerros.</p><br>
<h2>Burials and caches</h2><br>
<p>A 1979 excavation of burial groups throughout the site uncovered 26 individuals in 20 interments. The archaeologists found that both sexes were represented and that the age of the individuals ranged from infancy to mature adulthood. Also included in these burials were pottery vessels, metate fragments and chert tools.</p><br>
<p>A variety of artifacts were found within caches throughout the site. Structure 6B contained a dedicatory cache with a large number of offerings, including 28 jade artifacts, a few ceramic vessels, spondylus shells, mirror fragments made from specular hematite and a variety of white shell disks. Assorted smashed termination offerings were also found at Structures 2A and 5C-2nd.</p><br>
<h2>Present-day conditions</h2><br>
<p>Much of the site remains unexcavated. It is now possible to travel to Cerros over a gravel road from Corozal Town. There is an archaeological information officer on site. Access to the collection excavated in the 1970s is available through a digital catalogue compiled by the Florida Museum of Natural History with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities.</p><br>
<p>Vatulele  is a coral and volcanic island 32 km south of Viti Levu, Fiji&#39;s largest island. Situated at 18.50° South and 177.63° East, Vatulele has an area of 32 km&sup2;. Its maximum altitude is only 320 m.</p><br>
<p>The island is inhabited by four villages, including Taunovo and Bouwaqa. Economic activities include coconut and taro farming. Vatulele is known for its Legend of the Red Prawns and Petroglyphs.</p><br>
<p>Vatulele is a raised coral limestone paradise that lies to the south of Fiji&#39;s main island of Viti Levu. Vatulele, often discussed but rarely visited, has figured prominently in Fijian legend because of its extraordinary red prawns. Known as ura-buta (cooked prawns) or uradamudamu (red prawn), they have to be seen to be believed.</p><br>
<p>The islanders treat the prawns with great respect, consider them sacred and are forbidden to kill or harm them in any way. Legend records that anyone who tries to take them away will suffer a shipwreck.</p><br>
<p>Scientists may not share the explanation of the origins of the ura-buta (red praens) but they remain fascinated by the environment in which the prawns live.</p><br>
<p>Known as anchialine habitats, they are pools some distance away from the sea but which still maintain tidal influence.</p><br>
<p>In actuality most of the pools are brackish due to interactions between the lens of freshwater under the island and the tidal influence. Linked with these anchialine pool is a great network of caves and passages, most of them virtually unexplored.</p><br>
<p>Vatulele (Ringing rock) has much more to offer than its red prawns, extraordinary though they are. It is home to Fiji&#39;s most skillful makers of tapa cloth (masi), rock paintings and one of the world&#39;s most exclusive resorts. The masi comes from the bark of the paper mulberry tree and all over the island there are small clearings in the forest which have been planted with this tree. A visit to any of the island&#39;s four villages will bring with it the unceasing and hypnotic sound of heavy wooden clubs striking repeatedly against something solid. If you pluck up enough courage to venture inside the tin shed from whence the sound comes, you will see a sweating woman pounding strips of bark, flattening and softening the fibres sufficiently to make into the highest quality masi. Nearby, giant cauldrons full of dye made from mangrove bark bubble quietly to themselves. Most of the traditional designs used in the masi incorporate triangles and this motif has become one of the symbols of the Vatulele Island resort.</p><br>
<p>Vatulele possesses petroglyphs, early Fijian rock art, dated at 3000 years old. The face, with its 12 "hairs" is one of the most prominent rock paintings in a group only a kilometre from the island&#39;s resort.</p><br>
<p>Vatulele has some of the best hard corals in Fiji and because of the relatively low fishing pressure there are many more large fish than one usually sees in Fiji.</p><br>
<p>The Texas State Cemetery  is a cemetery located on about 22 acre just east of downtown Austin, the capital of the USA state of Texas. Originally the burial place of Edward Burleson, Texas Revolutionary general and Vice-President of the Republic of Texas, it was expanded into a Confederate cemetery during the Civil War. Later it was expanded again to include the graves and cenotaphs of prominent Texans and their spouses.</p><br>
<p>The cemetery is divided into two sections. The smaller one contains around 900 graves of prominent Texans, while the larger has over 2,000 marked graves of Confederate veterans and widows. There is room for 7,500 interments; the cemetery is about half full, after including plots chosen by people who are eligible for burial.</p><br>
<h2>Burial guidelines</h2><br>
<p>The guidelines on who may be buried within the Texas State Cemetery were first established in 1953, and are currently set by Texas state law. Currently, all persons to be buried in the cemetery must be one of the following:</p><br>
<p>A former member of the legislature or a member who dies in office.</p><br>
<p>A former elected state official or an official who dies in office.</p><br>
<p>State official appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Legislature who served at least 10 years in the office. After September 1, 2015, this criterion may be used only upon approval of the State Cemetery Committee if it finds the official made a significant contribution to Texas history.</p><br>
<p>Individual designated by governor’s proclamation, concurrent resolution of the Legislature, or order of the State Cemetery Committee; but only after approval of the committee if it finds the individual made a significant contribution to Texas history. The statute as written permits the committee to deny burial under this criterion even if requested by the governor or Legislature.</p><br>
<p>The spouse of anyone meeting the above criteria.</p><br>
<p>The child of an eligible member, but only if he or she was dependent on another due to a long-standing physical or mental condition during the lifetime of one of the child&#39;s parents.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>After the death of Edward Burleson in 1851, the Texas Legislature arranged for his burial on land formerly belonging to Andrew Jackson Hamilton. In 1854, the Legislature established a monument at Burlesons grave-site for $1,000 and purchased the surrounding land. The burial ground was virtually ignored until the Civil War, when Texas Confederate officers killed in battle were buried there. In 1864 and 1866 more land was purchased for veterans burials. An area of 1 acre was also set aside for graves of Union veterans (all but one later removed, to Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio). The remaining Union soldier is Antonio Briones, who was left at the request of his family. He is interred alone in the far northwest corner of the cemetery.</p><br>
<p>Because the Texas Confederate Mens Home and the Confederate Womens Home were located in Austin, more than two thousand Confederate veterans and widows are interred at the State Cemetery. Most were buried after 1889. The last Confederate veterans in the Cemetery were reinterred in 1944; the last widow, in 1963.</p><br>
<p>In 1932, the State Cemetery was little known and had no roads. There was a dirt road running through the grounds of the Cemetery linked to what was then called Onion Creek Highway. The road kept its highway status when Texas historian Louis Kemp brought it to the attention of the Texas Highway Department that the road running through the Cemetery should be paved. The roads, which are officially designated as State Highway 165, are dedicated to Kemp, and were for a time known as "Lou Kemp Highway". Kemp was also the driving force behind the reinterment of many early Texas figures in time for the Texas Centennial in 1936.</p><br>
<p>The cemetery was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986, but by the early 1990s, the State Cemetery had fallen into disrepair—suffering from vandalism and decay—and was unsafe to visit. In 1994, after noting the condition of the Cemetery, Lieutenant Governor Bob Bullock initiated a three-year project that added a visitor center and renovated the cemetery. In 1997, there was a re-dedication and a reopening of the State Cemetery.</p><br>
<p>A three-person Texas State Cemetery committee oversees operations at the cemetery. Benjamin M. Hanson (appointed by Governor Greg Abbott) is chairman. James L. Bayless (Speaker&#39;s appointment) and Carloyn Hodges (appointee of the lieutenant governor) also serve. The cemetery superintendent is Harry Bradley. The senior historian is Will Erwin and the head of the research department is Jason Walker.</p><br>
<p>Former Governor and United States President George W. Bush announced his intention to be buried in the State Cemetery.</p><br>
<h2>Statistics</h2><br>
<p>As of 2017, buried in the Texas State Cemetery are:</p><br>
<p>1 Navy SEAL</p><br>
<p>1 President of the United States (planned burial plot for George W. Bush who is still alive)</p><br>
<p>14 Governors of Texas (including George W. Bush who is still alive)</p><br>
<p>5 Lieutenant Governors of Texas</p><br>
<p>5 Speakers of the Texas House of Representatives</p><br>
<p>15 Signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence</p><br>
<p>3 USA Senators</p><br>
<p>6 USA Representatives</p><br>
<p>4 First Ladies of Texas</p><br>
<p>5 authors</p><br>
<p>16 Texas Rangers</p><br>
<p>11 Republic of Texas veterans</p><br>
<p>9 Confederate Generals</p><br>
<p>3 Medal of Honor recipients</p><br>
<p>2 American Revolutionary War veterans</p><br>
<p>1 17th-century French sailor (remains discovered in the wreck of La Salle&#39;s ship La Belle in 1996)</p><br>
<p>First Texas Solicitor General</p><br>
<p>1 member of the Baseball Hall of Fame</p><br>
<p>1 astronaut</p><br>
<p>Joseph Hugh Allen</p><br>
<p>Betty Andujar</p><br>
<p>Bob Armstrong</p><br>
<p>Stephen F. Austin</p><br>
<p>Moseley Baker</p><br>
<p>Don Baylor</p><br>
<p>George Beto</p><br>
<p>Anita Lee Blair</p><br>
<p>Paul Bolton</p><br>
<p>Elton Bomer (wife interred; he is still living)</p><br>
<p>Andrew Briscoe</p><br>
<p>Betty Brown (pending)</p><br>
<p>Guy M. Bryan</p><br>
<p>Bob Bullock</p><br>
<p>Edward Burleson</p><br>
<p>George W. Bush (pending)</p><br>
<p>Gregory Scott Coleman</p><br>
<p>Waggoner Carr</p><br>
<p>Phil Cates</p><br>
<p>Gene Cernan</p><br>
<p>George Christian</p><br>
<p>John B. Connally</p><br>
<p>Nellie Connally</p><br>
<p>Wayne Connally (cremated, with cenotaph)</p><br>
<p>Trammel Crow</p><br>
<p>Russell B. Cummings</p><br>
<p>Tony Dale (pending)</p><br>
<p>Edmund J. Davis</p><br>
<p>Susanna Dickinson</p><br>
<p>J. Frank Dobie</p><br>
<p>John Holt Duncan</p><br>
<p>Alexander Campbell Earle (Co-Founder of Delta Tau Delta (ΔΤΔ) Fraternity</p><br>
<p>Robert Eckels (pending)</p><br>
<p>Ray Farabee</p><br>
<p>James E. Ferguson</p><br>
<p>Miriam A. "Ma" Ferguson</p><br>
<p>Joe Bertram Frantz</p><br>
<p>Fred Gipson</p><br>
<p>Lena Guerrero</p><br>
<p>James Washington Guinn</p><br>
<p>Kent Hance (pending)</p><br>
<p>Dorsey B. Hardeman</p><br>
<p>Warren G. Harding (Texas politician)</p><br>
<p>Talmadge L. Heflin (pending)</p><br>
<p>John Hemphill</p><br>
<p>James Pinckney Henderson</p><br>
<p>Jack English Hightower</p><br>
<p>Andrew Jackson Houston</p><br>
<p>John Ireland</p><br>
<p>Patrick Churchill Jack</p><br>
<p>William Houston Jack</p><br>
<p>Barbara Jordan</p><br>
<p>Albert Sidney Johnston</p><br>
<p>Delwin Jones (pending)</p><br>
<p>William Wayne Justice</p><br>
<p>Larry L. King</p><br>
<p>Dan Kubiak</p><br>
<p>L. B. Kubiak (pending)</p><br>
<p>Edmund Kuempel</p><br>
<p>Chris Kyle (US Navy SEAL)</p><br>
<p>Tom Landry (cenotaph)</p><br>
<p>Thomas C. Lea, III</p><br>
<p>Ray Allen Lemmon (Texas House of Representatives for the 61st and 62nd Legislatures)</p><br>
<p>Frank Madla</p><br>
<p>Benjamin McCulloch</p><br>
<p>George "Spanky" McFarland</p><br>
<p>Crawford Martin</p><br>
<p>Jim Mattox</p><br>
<p>William Menefee</p><br>
<p>Walter Mengden (pending)</p><br>
<p>James A. Michener (cenotaph)</p><br>
<p>John T. Montford (pending)</p><br>
<p>Dan Moody</p><br>
<p>Jose Antonio Navarro</p><br>
<p>James Robertson Nowlin (pending)</p><br>
<p>James E. Nugent</p><br>
<p>William Neff "Bill" Patman</p><br>
<p>Randy Pendleton</p><br>
<p>J. J. Pickle</p><br>
<p>George Boyd Pierce (pending)</p><br>
<p>Richard "Cactus" Pryor</p><br>
<p>Irma Lerma Rangel</p><br>
<p>Ann Richards</p><br>
<p>Sterling C. Robertson</p><br>
<p>Joel Walter Robison</p><br>
<p>Darrell K. Royal</p><br>
<p>Jerry Sadler</p><br>
<p>William Read Scurry</p><br>
<p>Gwyn Shea (husband interred; pending)</p><br>
<p>Max Sherman (pending)</p><br>
<p>Allan Shivers</p><br>
<p>E L Short</p><br>
<p>Edwin "Bud" Shrake</p><br>
<p>Preston E. Smith</p><br>
<p>W. E. "Pete" Snelson</p><br>
<p>James Austin Sylvester</p><br>
<p>Alexander Watkins Terrell</p><br>
<p>Ernest O. Thompson</p><br>
<p>May Peterson Thompson</p><br>
<p>Homer Thornberry</p><br>
<p>Sidney Johnson Thomas</p><br>
<p>John G. Tower (cenotaph)</p><br>
<p>Joanna Troutman</p><br>
<p>Byron M. Tunnell</p><br>
<p>William A. A. "Bigfoot" Wallace</p><br>
<p>Gary Watkins (cenotaph)</p><br>
<p>Walter Prescott Webb</p><br>
<p>Willie Wells</p><br>
<p>George E. "Buddy" West</p><br>
<p>John A. Wharton</p><br>
<p>Mark White</p><br>
<p>James Charles Wilson</p><br>
<p>Will Wilson</p><br>
<p>Ralph Yarborough</p><br>
<h2>Popular culture</h2><br>
<p>In one episode of King of the Hill, Cotton Hill is awarded a plot in the Texas State Cemetery for his heroism during World War II. However, Cotton is never buried in this plot when he dies in another episode.</p><br>
<p>Lake Gibson is a lake near Thorold in the Regional Municipality of Niagara, Ontario, Canada. The lake is not natural, but rather was created as a reservoir for hydroelectric power generation at the Ontario Power Generation Decew Falls 1 and Decew Falls 2 generating stations. The lake was created by flooding the shallow valley of Beaverdams Creek. Lake Moodie is located to the northwest of Lake Gibson and is a smaller segment of the overall Lake Gibson system. Almost all of the water supply to these lakes comes from Lake Erie via the Welland Canal. The lakes suck part of the Twelve Mile Creek watershed.</p><br>
<p>Highway 406 crosses over the lake. At the west end of the lake is Morningstar Mill consisting of a working gristmill dating from 1872, plus a reconstructed sawmill. A short distance east of this can be found the ruins of DeCou House, the destination of Laura Secord&#39;s famous journey during the War of 1812.</p><br>
<p>Lake Gibson is part of St. Catharines&#39; drinking water supply. Consequently, no boating is permitted.</p><br>
<p>Bakke Mountain is a summit located in the town of Florida, Massachusetts. It was named for Master Sergeant Roald Bakke, who died in the collapse of Texas Tower 4. The mountain is the scene of wildlife and forest conservation efforts and serves as one of the primary sites of the Hoosac Wind Project. The Bakke Mountain Wind Farm is a proposed alternative energy wind plant located on the mountain.</p><br>
<h2>Forest and Wildlife Management</h2><br>
<p>Part of the Bakke Mountain property, which in total covers between 700 and 750 acre, was at one point a turnip farm owned by the Tower family. When the property was first purchased by the Bakke family in the 1960s, the fields and meadows lined with rock walls used for small livestock grazing were still open and free of tree growth. As time went on and the fields went unused, low brush sprang up, followed by saplings, which by 2000 had become a full-fledged forest. Much of the unique New England wildlife attracted by the grassy fields, such as black bear, white-tailed deer, ruffed grouse, moose, kestrel, and other species, began to disappear.</p><br>
<p>In an effort to regain some of these displaced species, a state-funded conservation project occurred in 2002-2003, clearing about 100 acre of land. According to the plans for the area, 50 acre of this area will be maintained as field, while the second 50 acre portion will be maintained as staggered wildlife environment, ranging from low brush to the majestic trees native to New England. Many of the target species have already begun to return to the area. Sightings have included kestrels soaring and diving over the resurrected meadows and moose walking along the forest’s edge.</p><br>
<p>Malabar Farm State Park is a state park in Richland County, Ohio, United States, located near Lucas and the Mohican State Park.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Nestled in the hills of Pleasant Valley, Malabar Farm was built in 1939 by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Louis Bromfield and was his home until his death in 1956. On May 21, 1945, Bromfield hosted Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall&#39;s wedding and honeymoon at Malabar Farm.</p><br>
<p>Bromfield grew up in Pleasant Valley. When he returned there as an adult, he wanted to buy an old farm—the Herring farm. Eventually, he bought the farm from Clement Herring in 1939. He also bought adjacent farms in 1940 and 1941. In all, he owned 595 acres of land. The Bromfield family moved to Pleasant Valley in 1939 and lived in the “Fleming house” until their “Big House” was built. Bromfield chose architect Louis Lamoreux of Mansfield to help him design and construct a Greek revival style home. The original Herring house was used as the center of the construction. The Big House was expanded from this focus point and made to look like sections had been added on over the years. Bromfield was constantly ordering changes to rooms and walls. Thus, the project was dragged out for 18 months.</p><br>
<p>The 32-room western reserve, where Bromfield wrote many of his books, attracted film stars, artists, politicians, writers, and conservationists annually. As many as 20,000 people visited the farm every year. Sunday tours alone attracted 100 to 200 people. The farm spread over 1000 acres of land. At one point, 200 acres were set aside for apple trees, but they ended up costing Bromfield money. So he got out of apple production. He also stopped his egg production, as well as his sheep and hog breeding. He chose to focus on beef and dairy. Additionally, Bromfield developed a technique known as conservation farming. This was based on grass farming, which produced large quantities of forage and pasture. Malabar Farm became a national model for sustainable agriculture. However as recently as 2017 no-till farming is practiced by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, the current Farm owner. No-till farming is highly dependent on pesticides and herbicides for pest and weed control. For example, atrazine, which has a controversial history, is one of many herbicides being applied.</p><br>
<p>In addition to this, Bromfield experimented with composting using manure from livestock on the farm. Square fields were changed to follow the lie of the land so as to discourage erosion. 140 acres were put aside for timber. In 1958, Bromfield’s children sold the farm to a conservation foundation—Friends of the Land. In August 1972, the deed of Malabar Farm was accepted by the state of Ohio after the Louis Bromfield Malabar Farm Foundation—which had been operating the farm—faced foreclosure. In 1976, the farm became a state park. On April 4, 1993 a fire destroyed the main barn and after an Ohio Inspector General&#39;s investigative report it was suggested decisions by Ohio Department of Natural Resources managers to install a home-built chicken incubator and a display rigged using defective switches from restroom hand dryers were possible causes. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources took no apparent punitive action toward the managers involved. In September, 1994, 150 volunteers from the Timber Framers Guild of North America raised a new barn in resemblance of the original at a cost of nearly one million dollars to Ohio taxpayers.</p><br>
<h2>Points of interest within the Park</h2><br>
<h3>Malabar Farm Inn</h3><br>
<p>Malabar Farm Inn is a historic Stagecoach Inn built in 1820. Today, the two-story brick building has been restored as a restaurant, offering fine French cuisine and home-cooked dining. Just to the east of the restaurant lies Malabar Spring. Seasonally, visitors can purchase fresh, local produce which is cooled by flowing spring water. Louis Bromfield designed the spring-cooled roadside stand himself in 1946.</p><br>
<h3>Pugh Cabin</h3><br>
<p>This authentic, rustic log-cabin style home was built in the 1940s by Bromfield&#39;s neighbor, Jim Pugh. The cabin was used to film a few of the opening scenes in the 1994 film The Shawshank Redemption.</p><br>
<h3>The Ceely Rose House</h3><br>
<p>The millers house, mentioned in the Pleasant Valley collection of ghost stories, was the 19th Century home of a young, mentally challenged girl named Ceely Rose. In 1896, Ceely Rose murdered her three-person family by poisoning their food with arsenic. Annually in October, the Ceely Rose Play is performed in the parks timber frame barn, as part of a ghost story trilogy. The other two plays are Phoebe Wise and Louie. In 2014, an episode of Ghost Hunters was filmed at the Ceely Rose House. The episode, entitled Family Plot, aired on the SyFy channel. The Ghost Hunters crew investigates claims of paranormal activities stemming from the 1896 triple murder. On this same episode, they also spend time inside Louis Bromfield&#39;s "Big House" at Malabar Farm, again trying to document reported paranormal activity.</p><br>
<h2>Malabar Farm Events</h2><br>
<h3>Maple Sugaring Festival</h3><br>
<p>A festival dedicated to early Ohio&#39;s winter tradition of making maple syrup. This festival takes place the first two weekends in March. During the sugaring off days, at the farm, learn about the process of harvesting sap from trees, boiling the liquid down to syrup, making candies, sugar, and other sweet treats. There are many activities and demonstrations available with free admission.</p><br>
<h3>Heritage Days</h3><br>
<p>One of the state&#39;s largest outdoor craft shows. The festival includes various living history reenactments, including of the civil war era and buck-skinners.</p><br>
<h3>Wagon Tours</h3><br>
<p>Tours run seasonally</p><br>
<p>Hostelling International USA operates a 19 bed youth hostel in the farmhouse.</p><br>
<p>Loch Earn  is a freshwater loch in the central highlands of Scotland, in the districts of Perth and Kinross and Stirling. The name is thought to mean "Loch of Ireland", and it has been suggested that this might derive from the time when the Gaels were expanding their kingdom of Dál Riata eastwards into Pictland. It can be located on Satnav from postcodes including PH6 2NL.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>It is a long narrow loch, 17 km west of Crieff and is approximately 10.5 km long, 1.2 km at its widest point (56.38N, 4.22W) and at its deepest point (approximately halfway along) about 87 m. Lochearnhead village is situated at the western end of the loch and St. Fillans village at the eastern end. From here, the River Earn flows eastwards from the loch, through Strathearn, and eventually joins the Firth of Tay some 75 km away. Lochearnhead is the centre for the water sports activities on the loch; water skiing, canoeing and sailing. The loch is also stocked regularly with brown and rainbow trout and fishing, by permit, is possible from the shore and by boat.</p><br>
<p>To the south of the loch lies Ben Vorlich, a steep sided pyramid shaped peak. At 985m, this is a popular climb and the views from the top are spectacular. Just east of Lochearnhead, on the south side of the loch, is Edinample Castle, built by Black Duncan Campbell of Glenorchy in 1584. Further east is Ardvorlich House, home to the Stewarts of Ardvorlich from 1580 (rebuilt in 1790).</p><br>
<p>Loch Earn is unusual in that it has its own apparent tidal system, or seiche, caused by the action of the prevailing wind blowing along the loch. This wind pressure on the surface causes the water level to build up at one end of the loch. As with all damped mechanical systems, applied pressure can result in an oscillation, and the water will return to the opposite end of the loch over time. In the case of Loch Earn, this has a period of 16 hours and the effect can be measured, but is difficult to observe. The resulting currents can create complex turbulence patterns, as higher layers of warmer waters mix with the lower lying colder waters of the loch.</p><br>
<p>Other bodies of fresh water which experience this seiche effect include Lake Geneva, Lake Garda, the Great Lakes and Lake Baikal.</p><br>
<h2>Notable visitors</h2><br>
<p>In August 1906 Edith Holden visited the Loch and while cycling along the North side observed "the finest Larches she had ever seen".</p><br>
<p>Conway Reef, known since 1976 by its Fijian name Ceva-I-Ra Reef, , is a coral reef of atoll type 450 km southwest of the Fiji Islands and part of the Republic of Fiji. It is at {{coord|21|44|18|S|174|38|24|E|}}. It is 2.5 km long in an east-west direction. On the middle of the reef is a small sand cay, 1.8 meters high and about 320 metres long and 73 metres wide, with a land area of two hectares. A stranded wreck of a coaster lies 240 metres south of the centre of the cay, and the wreck of a fishing vessel  lies on the northeast end of the reef. The reef is uninhabited apart from birds which appear to have almost no fear of humans. Administratively, the reef is part of the Western Division, Fiji and of the Nadroga-Navosa province.</p><br>
<p>In 1838 the Royal Navy Captain Drinkwater Bethune of first came across the reef and recorded it; it was first mapped by the British several years later by Captain Denham of HMS Herald. Three recent shipwrecks (1979, 1981 and 2008) have occurred on the reef, the latest being a Chinese fishing vessel (San Sheng No. 168). There were earlier wrecks, for instance the brig Rapid, under Captain Arthur Devlin, ran aground on the reef at 0200 h on 14 January 1841, making 7 knots with every stitch of sail set, the lookout having been set but apparently not kept. Later, the ship Logan, of New Bedford, under Captain Wells, was wrecked on “Sandy Island Reef” on the night of 26 January 1855.</p><br>
<p>It was reported in 1983 that there was some vegetation on the cay, but it was bare by 1985. The cay currently has some vegetation about 3m high.</p><br>
<p>While there are no other gaps larger than 75 km between the Fiji islands (except Rotuma Island, which is politically but not geographically part of Fiji), Conway Reef lies 450 km to the southwest of the main Fiji complex. The closest land to Conway Reef lies 275 km WSW, namely Hunter Island in the French territory of New Caledonia. Hunter Island is also claimed by Vanuatu.</p><br>
<p>Access to the island should only be attempted at high tide in a shallow draft tender. Extreme care must be taken to navigate the coral heads.</p><br>
<p>Diving or snorkeling on the reef is the rare experience of an untouched underwater environment. The island counts as a separate entity for DXCC credit in amateur radio, and several Dxpeditions have visited it. The last one was in September 2012.</p><br>
<p>From the September 26, 2013 log of the sailing yacht Moonbeam en route to New Zealand:</p><br>
<p>“While on watch from midnight till two AM, heard a voice on the radio warning us to not come any nearer. Specifically " We are at 21 45 S 174 38 E, Do not come any closer."</p><br>
<p>Replying, heard the following, "We hear your transmission, but do not understand your words."</p><br>
<p>Assumed this was Conway Reef, a little known reef in the middle of 2 mile deep and 300 nm from any sizable island. A little patch of volcanic reef, not large enough to be habitable, but nevertheless, a hazard to navigation. Our guess is a (solar-powered) radar unit resides there, untended, with an alarm radius, to set off a robot transmission.”</p><br>
<p>Moonbeam folks have since learned that a catamaran went aground the same night we passed by Conway Reef. The crew saw us on their AIS and were warning us to stay clear. There is NOT a robo transmitter on this dangerous reef. Submitted by Moonbeam crew.</p><br>
<p>The Mamanuca Islands  of Fiji are a volcanic archipelago lying to the west of Nadi and to the south of the Yasawa Islands. The group, a popular tourist destination, consists of about 20 islands, but about seven of these are covered by the Pacific Ocean at high tide.</p><br>
<p>The islands offer crystal clear waters, palm fringed sandy beaches and live coral reefs. There are islands, villages, resorts to visit, snorkel and swim.</p><br>
<p>The coastal/marine ecosystem and recreation value of the archipelago contribute to its national significance as outlined in Fiji&#39;s Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan.</p><br>
<p>One of the islands, Monuriki, was made famous as the anonymous island that featured in the 2000 Robert Zemeckis film, Cast Away, starring Tom Hanks.</p><br>
<h2>Islands</h2><br>
<p>Islands in the Mamanuca chain, not all of which are inhabited, include:</p><br>
<h2>Resorts</h2><br>
<p>Resorts in the Mamanucas are varied with the high-end travelers accommodations to the backpacker/budget conscious travelers. Some of these are:</p><br>
<h2>Activities</h2><br>
<p>Port Denarau is the gateway to the Mamanuca and Yasawa islands. You can take day trips from Denarau to the Mamanuca Islands or find a resort to stay overnight.</p><br>
<p>Activities in the Mamanucas include sailing, swimming, snorkelling, kayaking, semi-submersible coral viewing, diving, swimming with reef sharks, windsurfing, hiking, visiting villages, mini golf and discovering secluded beaches.</p><br>
<h2>''Survivor''</h2><br>
<p>The American edition of Survivor used the islands as the location for the filming of its 33rd season (Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X), as well as its 34th season, (Survivor: Game Changers), over a course of 4 months between March and July 2016. The show then returned the following year during the same time period to film the 35th season of the show (Survivor: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers), and for the 36th season (Survivor: Ghost Island) set to air early 2018.</p><br>
<p>Before the airing of the 35th season, host Jeff Probst said in an interview with Entertainment Weekly that the Mamanuca Islands is the optimal location for the show and he would like to stay there permanently.</p><br>
<p>Llyn Alaw  is a man-made reservoir on Anglesey, North Wales managed by Dŵr Cymru / Welsh Water. It is a shallow lake and was built in 1966. It is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a destination for over-wintering birds.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>It is used to supply drinking water to the northern half of the island and does so at a rate of 35 million litres a day. Filling began in November 1965, flooding the existing marsh of Cors y Bol, and was completed in January 1966. It was officially opened on October 21, 1966.</p><br>
<p>The catchment is largely agricultural, and few notable rivers feed into the lake. The storage capacity is largely generated through trapping winter rainfall and drawing down the level in the summer months. The reservoir itself is 4.3 kilometres long with a surface area of 3.6 km making it the largest body of water on the island, but it only ever reaches a depth of 5.2 metres.</p><br>
<h2>The reservoir</h2><br>
<p>The lake is a designated SSSI because of the variety and numbers of wild fowl visiting the lake, especially overwintering birds including the teal, northern shoveler and whooper swan. Other waterfowl include mallard, wigeon, common goldeneye, common pochard, tufted duck, ruddy duck and occasionally pink-footed goose. The lake is only a few metres deep as it was formed by flooding a former bog. The surrounding area is flat with a marshy area to the north of the lake. The shore is bordered by vegetation and has bushes and scrub in some areas. There are a number of low islets and in summer, when water levels are low, the lake is bordered by mud flats. Facilities for visitors include a car park, a visitor centre, two bird hides, three picnic sites and several miles of footpaths, although these do not allow visitors to make a complete circuit of the lake.</p><br>
<p>Recent developments have included the provision of nature conservation facilities and way-marked walks around the margin. The lake has an active fishery. The lake contains wild brown trout and is stocked with rainbow trout and is considered one of the most productive lakes in Wales.</p><br>
<p>Pine Lake is a lake located in the city of Sammamish, Washington, about 20 miles east of downtown Seattle. Surrounded by private homes and a city park, it is a popular recreation and fishing spot.</p><br>
<h2>Pine Lake Park</h2><br>
<p>Renovated in 2004, Pine Lake Park sits on the east shore of the lake and includes a swimming beach, boat launch (non-motorized only), picnic tables, play structures, basketball court, climbing walls, and a large baseball field. It draws large crowds, both children and adults, during fine weather and is used for outdoor community events such as Shakespeare in the Park and the city&#39;s Summer Nights in the Park music concert series, drawing thousands of local residents.</p><br>
<p>Pine Lake is a popular draw for suburban eastside anglers. The WDFW stocks both brown and rainbow trout directly from the gravel boat launch in early spring. Brown trout have been known to reach good sizes in Pine Lake—upwards of 18 inches. It is possible to catch crayfish, bass, and perch from the dock as well.</p><br>
<p>The Scripps Mansion  is a Tudor style mansion located in Orion Township, Michigan. The buildings and surrounding land are known collectively as The William E. Scripps Estate.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Built by William Edmund Scripps for his family in 1927, it now serves as a Catholic Guest House and Retreat Center. Scripps, the son of the founder of the Detroit News and WWJ radio, began the farm as a "hobby", before eventually settling. It is currently not open to the public due to ongoing repairs, but tours and events have been offered in the past to showcase the interior design and garden.</p><br>
<p>The farmland of 3,000 acre was purchased by Scripps in 1916 from several different landowners. At its peak, the farm featured angus cattle, cows, swine, sheep, and poultry. During the Depression years, the farmhands and mansion servants all lived on the property. A small one-room schoolhouse for children of farm employees was established in 1925, and in 1952 was converted into an Episcopalian church.</p><br>
<p>Amelia Earhart, at the request of Scripps, flew an experimental glider at the property in 1929. Scripps, a pilot himself, became a glider enthusiast and formed his own company in 1929, Gliders, Inc. He began his venture by manufacturing a primary type glider.</p><br>
<h2>Today</h2><br>
<p>Scripps died in 1952, and much of the farm was sold at auction. A large part of the collection of European paintings from the estate was donated to the Detroit Institute of Arts in 1956.</p><br>
<p>The farmland and lakes are now mostly parks for Orion Township, Oakland County, and the state of Michigan; (Civic Center Park, Orion Oaks and Bald Mountain Recreation Area, respectively). The original farmhouses and buildings have been converted into the shopping center.</p><br>
<p>The airstrip and field used by Earhart is now used as an area for radio controlled airplanes as part of Bald Mountain Recreation Area.</p><br>
<p>The estate was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.</p><br>
<p>Mount Pleasant is a hill with an elevation of 663 m that is located in the north&ndash;eastern suburbs of Canberra in the Australian Capital Territory, Australia. The hill overlooks the Australian Defence Force Academy and the Royal Military College at Duntroon. On the top of the hill is a memorial to all ranks of the Royal Regiment of Australian Artillery. The summit can be accessed by car using General Bridges Drive and is open to the public during daylight hours.</p><br>
<h2>Features</h2><br>
<p>Mount Pleasant is a gun saluting station from which Australia&#39;s Federation Guard provides 21-gun salutes on ceremonial occasions.</p><br>
<p>On the slopes of the hill overlooking the college is the grave of William Throsby Bridges, the first commandant of the college and one of only two Australian World War I soldiers killed in action or died of wounds who was buried in Australia. The other is The Unknown Soldier, disinterred from a French grave and buried at the Australian War Memorial in 1991. Bridges was the commander of the 1st Australian Division at Gallipoli.</p><br>
<p>While touring the lines on 15 May 1915, Bridges was shot through the femoral artery by a Turkish sniper. Dragged to safety he was evacuated to the hospital ship Gascon where he died the following day. His body was returned to Melbourne where he received a state funeral. He was buried on 3 September 1915, on the slopes of Mount Pleasant. The grave was designed by Walter Burley Griffin, the designer of Canberra. It is the only permanent structure designed by Griffin ever built in Canberra. The memorial stone on the grave was unveiled in 1920.</p><br>
<p>Seurasaari  is an island and a district in Helsinki, Finland, known mostly as the location of the Seurasaari Open-Air Museum, which consists of old, mainly wooden buildings transplanted from elsewhere in Finland and placed in the dense forest landscape of the island.</p><br>
<p>Every summer, many Helsinkians come to Seurasaari to enjoy the rural, peaceful outdoor atmosphere. Despite the visitors, the island has a variety of wildlife, especially birds, but also red squirrels and hares. The height of the island&#39;s popularity is at Midsummer, when a huge bonfire (juhannuskokko, midsommareld) is built on a small isle just off the island&#39;s coast, and ignited by a newlywed couple. Thousands of people, both tourists and Helsinkians, watch the burning of the bonfire from both Seurasaari itself and from boats anchored near it.</p><br>
<p>Seurasaari also includes one of only two nudist beaches in Helsinki and one of only three in the entire country. Unlike the other nudist beaches, the beach is segregated for men and women separately with no unisex nudist area and is subject to a fee.</p><br>
<p>Berezan  is an island in the Black Sea at the entrance of the Dnieper-Bug Estuary, Ochakiv Raion, Mykolaiv Oblast, Ukraine. It is often being confused with the artificial island of Pervomaisky that is located within Dnieper-Bug Estuary. The Berezan island measures approximately 900 metres in length by 320 metres in width. It is separated from the mainland  by about a mile and a half of shallow water.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Berezan was home to one of the earliest Greek colonies (possibly known as Borysthenes, after the Greek name of the Dnieper) in the northern Black Sea region. The island was first settled in the mid-7th century B.C. and was largely abandoned by the end of the 5th century B.C., when Olbia became the dominant colony in the region. In the 5th century BC, Herodotus visited it to gather information about the northern course of the eponymous river. The colony thrived on wheat trade with the Scythian hinterland.</p><br>
<p>In the Middle Ages, the island was of high military importance because it commanded the mouth of the Dnieper. During the period of Kievan Rus’ there was an important station on the trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks. It was there that Varangians first came into contact with the Greeks.</p><br>
<p>The only Runic inscription in Southern Ukraine, the Berezan&#39; Runestone, was found on the island in 1905, now on exhibit in the Odessa Historical Museum. The inscription seems to have been part of a gravestone over the grave of a Varangian merchant from Gotland. The text reads: "Grani made this vault in memory of Karl, his partner."</p><br>
<p>The control of the estuary (known in East Slavic sources as Beloberezhye, or White Shores) was disputed between Kievan Rus and Byzantium during the multiple Rus–Byzantine Wars. At last the Rus–Byzantine Treaty of 944 stipulated that the Rus could use the island in the summertime, without establishing winter camps in the estuary or oppressing the citizens of Chersonesos fishing off shore. Nevertheless, at the conclusion of Svyatoslav Is war against Byzantium, this overking of Rus was allowed to evacuate his forces from Dorostolon to Beloberezhye, where his troops spent the hungry winter of 971/972.</p><br>
<p>Zaporozhian Cossacks revived Berezan&#39; as a fort during their campaigns against the Crimean Tatars and the Ottoman Empire in the 16th and 17th centuries. After the fall of neighbouring Ochakov to the Russians, the island was incorporated with the remainder of New Russia into the Russian Empire.</p><br>
<p>The site of the Greek colony and its necropolis have been periodically excavated since the 19th century; even though the site has suffered from erosion (and the tombs also from looting), the digs produced rich findings (archaic ceramics, inscriptions, etc.).</p><br>
<p>In March 1906 here was executed Pyotr Schmidt.</p><br>
<p>During World War II, the island became part of the Romanian Transnistria Governorate, along with all of the raion and city of Ochakiv.</p><br>
<p>The Carteret Islands  are Papua New Guinea islands located north-east of Bougainville in the South Pacific. The atoll has a scattering of low-lying islands called Han, Jangain, Yesila, Yolasa and Piul, in a horseshoe shape stretching in north-south direction, with a total land area of 0.6 km&sup2; and a maximum elevation of above sea level.</p><br>
<p>The group is made up of islands collectively named after the British navigator Philip Carteret, who was the first European to discover them, arriving in the sloop Swallow in 1767., about one thousand people live on the islands. Han is the most significant island, with the others being small islets around the lagoon. The main settlement is at Weteili on Han. The island is near the edge of the large geologic formation called the Ontong Java Plateau.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>When visited in 1830 by Benjamin Morrell in the schooner Antarctic, several islands had a native population who were growing several crops. One small island was uninhabited and covered with heavy timber. With the approval of the areas ruler, Morrells crew began construction on the southwest corner of the island in the northeast part of the atoll, with the intent to harvest snail meat and edible bird nests for the Chinese market.</p><br>
<p>Departing after a fatal attack on his crew, Morrell named the islands the Massacre Islands.</p><br>
<p>Food staples have been cultivated: taro and coconut and fishing supports the people. The area had been inhabited for about 1,000 years before European contact in about 1880, when the copra trade and other activities altered the economy and customs. Population grew rapidly in the early 1900s, and overcrowding in the 1930s caused a population decline. Food shortages since the 1960s, in recent times caused by international commercial fishers, caused resettlement of some islanders to the Kuveria area of Bougainville from 1984 through the late 1980s. In the 1990s the islanders were identified as economic refugees. Although taro has been a cultivated crop planted in watered areas, by 2002 that had been forgotten by an island leader who complained about wild taro no longer growing.</p><br>
<h2>Carteret Islanders</h2><br>
<p>The Carteret Islands inhabitants are a Halia-speaking community closely related to the population of Hanhan Bay, in nearby Buka Island. They are a dark-skinned people with customs very similar to those of the Buka, although with some important adaptations to the atoll environment. The Carteret Islanders call themselves the Tuluun.</p><br>
<p>Like the Halia, Hakö, Selau and Solos groups in Buka and Bougainville, the Tuluun reckon descent matrilineally. They are primarily organized into two moiety-like groups, the Nakaripa and Naboen. Unlike moieties in a true dual organization system, Nakaripa and Naboen are not exogamous in practice, though a strong preference for exogamy is usually reported. Exogamy is important in the organization of political power. Male and female chiefs attempt to organize cross-moiety marriages, the main reason for this being that the legitimation of chiefly power requires the participation of the opposite moiety.</p><br>
<p>Oral tradition states that the Carteret Islands were originally inhabited by a Polynesian group closely related to the Nukumanu, or Mortlock Islanders. The islands were discovered by a fishing expedition from Hahalis. According to the Halia tradition, the first attempt to reach the islands had a peaceful intention, but ended in the massacre of the Halia expedition. The Munihil, or paramount chief of Hanahan Bay then organized a large flotilla of canoes to attack the Polynesian population, and conquered the islands. By contrast, the Mortlock Islanders state that the Halia mounted a blood and murder surprise attack to remove their relatives.</p><br>
<p>Genealogical information suggest that the Halia invasion took place in the early 18th century. Lieutenant Erasmus Gower (sailing with Commander Philip Carteret) reported the population as being dark-skinned in 1767.</p><br>
<h2>Physical atoll conditions</h2><br>
<p>Like many other atolls throughout the Pacific Ocean, this one is very low-lying and its main constituent, the coral, needs to be covered in water most of the time. Land is created by the ocean when some vegetation, such as a coconut palm or mangrove shoots, take hold in the much shallower parts of the reef. One tree leads to a slight buildup of coral sand around its base. This leads to more trees (palms) and the size of the individual islets on the reef grow. Over the long period the islands progress from the seaward edge of the atoll towards the lagoon as the sand is blown and washed towards the calmer shore. It is easy to determine the direction of the prevailing winds by observing the position and condition of the islets on the reef.</p><br>
<p>Palms or trees that become exposed in storms usually die by losing their grip in the little sand left at the end of the storm season. Sometimes whole islets get washed away.</p><br>
<p>People live on the larger island or islands formed around the atoll and trek back and forth to the smaller ones by walking the reef at low tide or by small canoes. Much of the taro is grown away from the inhabited island. It is often very vulnerable to salt-water inundation, but by being away from the living area is protected from human-waste contamination.</p><br>
<h2>Flooding</h2><br>
<p>It was widely reported in November 2005 that the islands have progressively become uninhabitable, with an estimate of their total submersion by 2015. The islanders have fought a more than twenty years battle, building a seawall and planting mangroves. However, storm surges and high tides continue to wash away homes, destroy vegetable gardens and contaminate fresh water supplies. The natural tree cover on the island is also being impacted by the incursion of saltwater contamination of the fresh water table.</p><br>
<h3>Cause of Carteret inundation</h3><br>
<p>Paul Tobasi, the atolls district manager with Papua New Guineas Bougainville province, and many other environmental groups have suggested that the flooding is the result of sea-level rise associated with global warming. He also stated that small storm surges were becoming more frequent.</p><br>
<p>Those convinced the islands are sinking, not the sea-level rising, also propose that, "Some depletion of the fresh water aquifer may also contribute to the sinking," but do not explain how depletion of the fresh water aquifer could be significant on an island that is no more than 1.5 m higher than sea-level. Also cited by Dr. Ray, "The region is also tectonically active and subsiding land is a real possibility." However, The Carteret Islands lie on the Pacific Plate, lying east of and above where the Solomon Sea plate is subducting underneath it.</p><br>
<p>Fred Terry, the director of the United Nations Development Project on Bougainville, said the destruction of reefs in the Carterets with dynamite might be the cause (of flooding on Carteret Islands).</p><br>
<h2>Ongoing relocation</h2><br>
<p>There have been a number of different relocation schemes initiated since the 1980s. These have had mixed success with many of the relocated families subsequently returning home.</p><br>
<p>On 25 November 2003, the Papua New Guinean government authorized the government-funded total evacuation of the islands, 10 families at a time; the evacuation was expected to be completed by 2007, but access to funding caused numerous delays.</p><br>
<p>In October 2007 it was announced that the Papua New Guinea government would provide two million kina (USD $736,000) to begin the relocation, to be organized by of Buka, Bougainville. Five men from the island moved to Bougainville in early 2009 who built some houses and planted crops for their families to follow. There was a plan to bring another 1700 people over the next five years. However, there has been no large-scale evacuation seem set into effect as of November 2011. In 2016, Ursula Rakova&#39;s Tulele Peisa expressed its target to relocate half the population before 2020. Tulele Peisa has 85 hectares of land at the main island of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, to the east of mainland Papua New Guinea, to resettle 35 families.</p><br>
<p>In 2007, CNN reported that the Carteret islanders will be the first island community in the world to undergo an organized relocation, in response to rising sea levels. The people of the Carteret are being called the world&#39;s first environmental refugees.</p><br>
<p>Panlongcheng or Panlong City is an archaeological site associated with the Erligang culture. The site is located just north of the Yangtze river in Huangpi, Wuhan, Hubei, China. Panlongcheng is the largest excavated Erligang site , showing the southernmost reach of the Erligang culture at its peak. It was discovered in 1954, and excavated in 1974 and 1976.</p><br>
<p>The site at Panlongcheng was sparsely inhabited during the Erlitou period, consisting mainly of several small settlements and occupying an area of around 200,000 m². During the early Erligang period, the site suddenly grew rapidly, reaching an area of around 1 km&sup2; with a walled center of 75,000 m². Panlongcheng may have been an Erligang outpost used to control regional resources, such as copper mines.</p><br>
<p>The construction and bronze casting techniques at Panlongcheng are identical with the techniques employed at Erligang and Zhengzhou; however, the pottery style is different. The style of Erligang elite burials is almost an exact replica of the burials at Zhengzhou; however, later layers show that the Erligang style disappeared during the later stages of the Erligang culture. The site declined until it was abandoned altogether at the end of the Erligang culture. Panlongcheng&#39;s decline may have been affected in part by the growth of the site at Wucheng.</p><br>
<p>In Hubei Province, other sites such as Jingnansi and Baimiaozhu also feature Erlitou or Late Erlitou–Early Erligang type of ceramics.</p><br>
<p>Xingan, sometimes Dayangzhou , is an archaeological site located on the Gan River in Dayangzhou, Xingan County, Jiangxi, China. The site was excavated in 1989, and it dates to around 1200 BCE. The rich offerings of bronze and jade objects made it the second richest burial site known after the Fu Hao&#39;s tomb.</p><br>
<p>Xingan was home to a rectangular tomb covered by a tumulus. Largely damaged by the sand shifts, it did not preserve the skeletal remains of coffin, making some archaeologists doubt that the find was a tomb at all.</p><br>
<p>Over 1,000 jade artefacts were discovered at Xingan.</p><br>
<p>Xingan is known for its unique style of bronze vessels, with 54 being discovered; over 480 bronze objects were uncovered at the site. The bronze casters at Xingan copied and mastered the techniques of the Erligang culture, then localized the bronze vessels in a distinct style. Xingan is associated with the Wucheng culture.</p><br>
<p>The artefacts from Xingan are housed primarily in the Jiangxi Provincial Museum.</p><br>
<p>The Wucheng culture  was a Bronze Age archaeological culture in Jiangxi, China. The initial site, spread out over 4 km&sup2, was discovered at Wucheng, Zhangshu. Located on the Gan River, the site was first excavated in 1973. The Wucheng culture probably developed in response to cultural contacts with the expanding Erligang culture, melding Erligang influences with local traditions. The Wucheng culture was a distinct contemporary of Sanxingdui and Yinxu .</p><br>
<p>The site at Wucheng was a regional protoporcelain production center; the culture is known for its distinctive geometric pottery. The Wucheng culture is also known for its bronze bells, the clapperless nao. The Wucheng site at Xingan contained a rich cache of localized bronze vessels.</p><br>
<p>The earliest period, around 1600 BCE, contemporaneous with late Erligang, yielded pottery shards with inscribed symbols. These are unusual among pre-Anyang inscriptions in China in containing sequences of graphs; shards were found with horizontal sequences of 12, 7, 5 and 4 graphs, suggesting that they may be a form of writing, but quite different in form from oracle bone characters. However the corpus, comprising a total of 39 graphs, is too small for decipherment.</p><br>
<p>Some of these symbols are similar to Shang writing. Around 120 inscriptions have been found altogether.</p><br>
<p>The site at Wucheng may have played a role in the decline of Panlongcheng. Both sites appeared to have served as regional, competing centers for transporting resources from the south to the North China Plain. Towards the end of the Erligang culture, Wucheng began to grow significantly, while Panlongcheng declined sharply.</p><br>
<p>The Jones River is a 7.5 mi river running through Kingston, Massachusetts. The river drains about 30 square miles, has its source in Silver Lake and drains into Kingston Bay. Land surrounding the river is 52% forested, of which 22% has been developed for residential use. There is a USGS stream gauge along 16 square miles of the river and it has measured the flow at 0.7 cuft/s per square mile of drainage area.</p><br>
<p>The Pilgrims named the river after Christopher Jones, captain of the Mayflower in 1620. The river has been dammed at Elm Street where a one-lane iron bridge and a fish ladder exist. The river is navigable only by small boats below that. It winds widely through marshes below that before emptying into Kingston Bay.</p><br>
<p>The Massachusetts Division of Fisheries & Wildlife has stocked the Jones River with trout.</p><br>
<h2>Tributaries</h2><br>
<p>Jones River Brook, Furnace Brook, Pine Brook and Russell Brook are among the tributaries of the Jones River.</p><br>
<p>Golfo Dulce  is a gulf in Costa Rica, located at the South of the Province of Puntarenas. The inlet starts on the Pacific Ocean side of Costa Rica and extends slightly northward before turning west. The most westward part is at the city of Rincon. The bay separates the Osa Peninsula from the mainland Costa Rica.</p><br>
<h2>Protected areas</h2><br>
<p>In the northeast part of the gulf is the Piedras Blancas National Park (former Corcovado National Park extension), with its 35,000 acre of protected rainforest. The tropical lowland wet forest is one of the most threatened and least studied types of vegetation. The Piedras Blancas National Park was established in 1992 as an extension of the Corcovado National Park, in the Osa Peninsula, to which it is connected by a forest corridor which ensures biodiversity and self-sustaining ecological and evolutionary processes between wildlife populations. There are a few lodging facilities surrounded by the park, including Golfo Dulce Retreat, accessible only by boat.</p><br>
<h2>Ecosystem</h2><br>
<h3>Ecosystem Overview</h3><br>
<p>The Golfo Dulce is considered a tropical fjord with an average annual temperature of 86 degrees Fahrenheit, an extremely rare biome. The area has seventeen total protected reserves which amount to three percent of Costa Rica’s land area. The area contains 50% of the flora and fauna of Costa Rica, and receives five to six meters of rain per year. The ecosystem has two parts: a marine ecosystem and a terrestrial ecosystem.</p><br>
<h4>Marine Ecosystem</h4><br>
<p>The marine ecosystem of the Golfo Dulce teams with life and includes marine mammals, reptiles, sharks, and invertebrates.</p><br>
<p>Marine Mammals</p><br>
<p>The Golfo Dulce has several species of whales that visit the area and use it as a breeding ground and nursery for their respective calves. The area is an ideal breeding ground due to the warm water temperature, which averages 84.7 degrees Fahrenheit, paired with an abundance of small fish and plankton which these species feed off of. Species of whale that frequent this area include: Humpback Whales, Spotted Dolphins, Bottle Nose Dolphins, and Orcas.</p><br>
<p>Reptiles</p><br>
<p>Of the marine reptiles that live within the gulf, sea turtles are the most prominent with several species such as the Pacific Green Sea Turtle, Olive Ridley, Hawksbill, and Pacific Leatherback. The sea turtles in the area are drawn by the warm water temperature and the presence of jellyfish and marine plants which the sea turtles feed off of. Along with sea turtles; yellow bellied sea snakes, saltwater caimans, and saltwater crocodiles also inhabit the area.</p><br>
<p>Sharks</p><br>
<p>Several species of sharks live within the gulf; these species include the Whale Shark, Scalloped Hammer-Head, and Rays. Along with sharks, other large fish such as Needle Fish, Dorados, and Marlins also live in the gulf. While Needle Fish are protected, Marlins and Dorados are popular targets for sport fishing.</p><br>
<p>Invertebrates</p><br>
<p>Numerous invertebrates live in the Golfo Dulce; these include jellyfish, Portuguese Man-O-Wars, sea stars, coral reefs, crabs, and sea mollusks.</p><br>
<h4>Terrestrial Ecosystem</h4><br>
<p>The ecosystem that surrounds the actual Golfo Dulce is just as rich in life as in the water with two to three percent of flora being found nowhere else on Earth. The ecosystem has numerous reptiles, birds, amphibians, insects, and even mammals.</p><br>
<p>Reptiles</p><br>
<p>The terrestrial reptiles in the Golfo Dulce include Iguanas, Saltwater Caimans, Saltwater Crocodiles, numerous species of snakes both venomous and non-venomous, and several species of geckos.</p><br>
<p>Birds</p><br>
<p>The primary species of birds in the area are the Scarlet Macaw and the Toucan.</p><br>
<p>Amphibians</p><br>
<p>The amphibious species can be found primarily close to bodies of fresh water such as rivers and lakes, and include newts, toads, skinks, and even poison dart frogs.</p><br>
<p>Mammals</p><br>
<p>The terrestrial mammals in the ecosystem are monkeys and horses, though the horses are domesticated and not native to Costa Rica. The species of monkeys include the Central American squirrel monkey, the Geoffrey’s spider monkey, the Mantled howler monkey, and the White-headed capuchin monkey.</p><br>
<h4>Ecosystem Threats</h4><br>
<p>While Costa Rica attempts to maintain the country’s national beauty, several threats are present to the ecosystems in the Golfo Dulce. While not all areas surrounding the gulf are densely populated, the more compact areas such as Pavones and Golfito produce pollution primarily through garbage disposal which can affect both the terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Often, garbage ends up in rivers where it becomes flotsam and eventually makes its way into the ocean. Common issues with garbage in the ocean include the entanglement of animals in materials like nets and fabrics, the consumption of harmful plastics by animals like sea turtles, and the leaching of chemicals from plastics into the water. Along with pollution, deforestation in non-protected areas has also become a factor. In areas where palm oil plantations are present, such as Golfito, the natural jungle is destroyed in order to plant palm oil trees. While this process is beneficial to the economy, many flora are destroyed and subsequently the fauna that live within the jungle are either killed in the process, or displaced. Palm oil refineries also contribute to air pollution though not in a great amount.</p><br>
<h2>Areas Surrounding the Gulf</h2><br>
<p>The Golfo Dulce has four main areas that surround it, being: Golfito, Pavones, Zancundo, and the Osa Peninsula.</p><br>
<p>Golfito</p><br>
<p>Golfito is a town directly west of the Golfo Dulce, its economy is based primarily on the vast palm oil plantations that surround it. Golfito also has a small airport, but only connects with other flight within Costa Rica and Northern Panama.</p><br>
<p>Zancundo</p><br>
<p>Zancundo is a remote shoreline northwest of the Golfo Dulce. Zancundo attracts tourists with its pristine beaches and natural beauty; it is one of the less inhabited areas of Costa Rica.</p><br>
<p>Osa Peninsula</p><br>
<p>The Osa Peninsula is directly north of the Golfo Dulce, it contains the largest land area of protected ecosystems within the Golfo Dulce and because of this the area attracts numerous eco tourists. Along with eco-tourism, the Osa Peninsula attracts surfers to its famous break named Matapalo, which faces directly south.</p><br>
<p>Pavones</p><br>
<p>Pavones is located south of the Golfo Dulce. The economy of the town is primarily based on local fishing; however there is also a large eco-tourism and surf-tourism draw. Pavones is a popular destination for hikers, and also contains the second longest point break on Earth which attracts countless surfers.</p><br>
<h3>Traveling</h3><br>
<p>Traveling to Golfo Dulce or any of the surrounding areas is relatively straightforward and there are several options. By road, there are two ways to reach the South from San Jose: either via the scenic coastal road (Costanera or Route 34) passing by Jaco, Quepos and all the way south to Dominical and Uvita, or through the Pan-American Highway (Route 2) through the Cerro de la Muerte - its highest point at 11,500 feet. The roads all the way to Golfito are remarkably good and the drive will take about 5 hours using the costal route or at least 7 hours if driving through the mountains. However, the easiest way to get to Golfo Dulce is by taking a 45-minute flight from San Jose to Golfito. Both Sansa Airlines and Nature Air have several flights a day departing from San Jose International airport.</p><br>
<h4>Travel Options</h4><br>
<p>- Bus from the San Jose Juan Santamaria International Airport (approx. 6hrs)</p><br>
<p>- Car ride from San Jose Juan Santamaria International Airport (approx. 5hrs)</p><br>
<p>- Fly to Golfito from San Jose Juan Santamaria International Airport (approx. 45min)</p><br>
<p>- Fly to Puerto Jimenez from San Jose Juan Santamaria International Airport (approx. 45min)</p><br>
<h2>Translation of the name</h2><br>
<p>In some English literature, this geographical feature is sometimes known as "Gulf of Dulce", which is a mistranslation, as the correct translation would be "Sweet Gulf", and this name in turn, is not used locally or internationally, the correct name stands in all languages as "Golfo Dulce".</p><br>
<p>Mount Nittany is the common name for Nittany Mountain, a prominent geographic feature in Centre County, Pennsylvania, USA. The mountain is part of a ridge that separates Nittany Valley from Penns Valley, with the enclosed Sugar Valley between them. On USGS topographic maps, Nittany Mountain is generally shown as the lower ridge line that runs below Big Mountain on the west and Big Kettle Mountain on the east side, coming together to form a single ridge line at the southern terminus. This nomenclature is not always consistently applied to the same geologic formation, and there is a shorter Nittany Mountain ridge shown above the Sugar Valley as well.</p><br>
<p>Penn State University lies at the foot of Mount Nittany; the athletic teams and the mascot of the school, the Nittany Lion, are named in honor of the mountain.</p><br>
<h2>Etymology</h2><br>
<p>The word Nittany is derived from the Algonquian word Nit-A-Nee meaning "single mountain". According to the Penn State folklore, Nit-A-Nee is also the name of an Indian maiden whose actions caused Mount Nittany to be formed. The original inhabitants of the area used Nit-A-Nee to describe the mountain, and it likely became commonly known as Nittany by the first Europeans to settle the area in the 18th century. The word Nittany was already in use by the time Pennsylvania State University was founded. Some sources cite the word Nit-A-Nee as meaning "barrier against the wind", which is not as likely.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>In 1945, the landowners of Mount Nittany were preparing to sell the mountain, allegedly to use timber rights. The alumni of the Lions Paw Senior Society who heard of this bought an option to buy the mountain. It took the Lions Paw alumni until May 1946 to raise the money needed to buy the mountain. In 1981, Lions Paw established the Mount Nittany Conservancy, an organization intended to raise money from the general public in addition to the money raised by Lions Paw members. Since its establishment, the Mount Nittany Conservancy has purchased hundreds of additional acres on Mount Nittany.</p><br>
<p>In 2013, The Nittany Valley Society published, a book by Thomas A. Shakely on the history of local conservation efforts in the 20th century that incorporates other histories of the mountain and valley.</p><br>
<h2>Geology</h2><br>
<p>"Mount Nittany is part of the Ridge and Valley province of the Appalachian Mountains." The neighboring Bald Eagle, Tussey and Shriner Mountains are part of the same sedimentary formation consisting of, from youngest to oldest, Tuscarora Formation Quartzite, Juniata Formation Shale, and Bald Eagle Formation Sandstone. These layers were folded during the Appalachian orogeny.</p><br>
<p>Nittany Mountain is part of a synclinal depression of the anticlinal Nittany Arch, which originally formed a huge mountain, since eroded, that towered over what is now Nittany Valley. The present Nittany and Big Mountain ridges were originally a valley in this ancient mountain. The Nittany ridge line is topped by the erosion resistant Bald Eagle Sandstone. The more durable Tuscasora Quartzite formations are found exposed on the higher ridges of the northern end of the same syncline: Big Mountain to "Riansares Mountain" and Big Kettle Mountain to "The Winehead". The more easily eroded Juniata Shale forms the depression between the lower and higher ridges, and the drainage from this area cut small ravines in the Nittany ridge line. The same three rock layers are exposed in the neighboring ridges.</p><br>
<p>Beneath the sedimentary layers is a formation of dolomite and limestone. The Bald Eagle Sandstone topping Mt. Nittany prevents the erosion of the underlying limestone to the same level as the surrounding limestone valleys.</p><br>
<p>The Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum is located in Centerport on the North Shore of Long Island in Suffolk County, New York, USA. Named for William K. Vanderbilt II , it is located on his former 43 acre estate, Eagle&#39;s Nest.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Vanderbilts will provided for donation of his property to the county, with provision that the mansion and grounds be used for a museum for his marine, natural history, and ethnographic collections; the natural history institution was established during 1950. Developing a museum that interprets Vanderbilts life, times, and collections, the county constructed a planetarium on the grounds during 1970.</p><br>
<p>William Vanderbilt’s enclave was constructed in three installments. The first project was the building of a 24-room Spanish revival mansion designed by famed New York architecture firm Warren and Wetmore, the same architects responsible for designing and constructing New York’s Grand Central Terminal, another product of the Vanderbilt family execution. The duration of the three stages lasted from 1910 to 1936, an impressive amount of time.</p><br>
<p>The museum complex, operated by Suffolk County, includes the mansion with furnishings and fine art, a marine museum with marine and natural history specimens (butterflies, birds, shells, mammals and fish), a curator&#39;s cottage, a seaplane hangar, a boathouse, gardens, and a collection of ethnographic objects (firearms and swords, ship models, and European, Asian and African objects). The museum was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 26, 1985.</p><br>
<h2>Struggles at the museum</h2><br>
<p>There has been a tumultuous relationship between the parties who own and the parties who oversee and run the museum. Currently, Suffolk County officials are experiencing difficulty receiving and allocating funds to keep the museum running. The museum’s endowment from previous occupant, William Vanderbilt, was tied up in stock and bonds, which as a result of the economy proved to be a less than desirable financial safety net. It has been noted that the museum sometimes did not have money for payroll.</p><br>
<h2>Living tours</h2><br>
<p>The Vanderbilt Museum crafts together an extraordinary tour. To captivate visitors, the staff once a week does a "living tour" of the museum. By amassing information from historical archives about the previous owners and workers, and making use of Mr. Vanderbilt’s personal journal, the staff delivers a performance. The staff guides people through the home and estate in costume recreating the drama and excitement of the young, wealthy shipping magnate who reigned supreme during the era of the Gold Coast socialites.</p><br>
<h2>Planetarium</h2><br>
<p>The planetarium reopened after a major renovation in 2013. The planetarium includes a Konica Minolta GeminiStar III projector; one of the finer planetarium projectors in the United States. The machine features a full dome display projector and state of the art surround sound technology. To complement the technological enhancements, the exterior and interiors have been upgraded. The planetarium has new carpets and ergonomically designed seats. The gift shop, lobby, ticket office received upgrades and renovations as well. The facility’s building was re-roofed.</p><br>
<p>Pueblo Bonito  is the largest and best-known great house in Chaco Culture National Historical Park, northern New Mexico. It was built by the Ancestral Puebloans who occupied the structure between AD 828 and 1126.</p><br>
<p>According to the National Park Service, "Pueblo Bonito is the most thoroughly investigated and celebrated cultural site in Chaco Canyon. Planned and constructed in stages between AD 850 to AD 1150 by ancestral Puebloan peoples, this was the center of the Chacoan world."</p><br>
<p>Anthropologist Brian Fagan has said that "Pueblo Bonito is an archeological icon, as famous as Englands Stonehenge, Mexicos Teotihuacan, or Peru&#39;s Machu Picchu."</p><br>
<p>In January 1941, a section of the canyon wall known as Threatening Rock, or tse biyaa aniiahi (leaning rock gap) in Navajo, collapsed as a result of a rock fall, destroying some of the structures rear wall and a number of rooms. The builders of Pueblo Bonito appear to have been well aware of this threat, but chose to build beneath the fractured stone anyway. The wall stood 97 ft high and weighed approximately 30,000 tons; the Puebloans compensated by building structural reinforcements for the slab.</p><br>
<p>In 2009, traces of Mexican cacao from at least 1,200 mi away were detected in pottery sherds at Pueblo Bonito. This was the first demonstration that the substance, important in rituals, had been brought into the area that became the United States at any time before the Spanish arrived around 1500. Cylindrical pottery jars, common in Central America, had previously been found there, but are rare. 111 jars have been found in Pueblo Bonito&#39;s 800 or so rooms.</p><br>
<h2>Discovery</h2><br>
<p>United States army Lt. James H. Simpson and his guide, Carravahal, from San Ysidro, New Mexico, discovered Chaco Canyon during an 1849 military expedition. They briefly examined eight large ruins in Chaco Canyon, and Carravahal gave their Spanish names, including Pueblo Bonito, meaning beautiful town. Simpson later published the first description of Chaco Canyon in his military report, with drawings by expedition artist R. H. Kern.</p><br>
<p>Rancher Richard Wetherill and natural history student George H. Pepper from the American Museum of Natural History, began excavations at Pueblo Bonito in 1896 and ended in 1900. These excavations were financed by B. Talbot Hyde and Frederick E. Hyde, Jr. of New York City, who were philanthropists and collectors. During this time, the two men uncovered 190 rooms and photographed and mapped all major structures in the canyon.</p><br>
<p>Among the artifacts recovered by Pepper, eight wood flutes were found in a room in the northwestern part of Pueblo Bonito that Pepper designated as "Room 33". These flutes are in the style of the Anasazi flutes that are considered a predecessor to the Native American flute. The rituals at Pueblo Bonito were performed with cylindrical vessels, human effigy vessels, and ceramic incense burners. The Hydes donated the resulting large collection of artifacts to the American Museum of Natural History. After the excavation, Wetherill sought to gain personal control of parts of Chaco Canyon, including Pueblo Bonito, Chetro Ketl, and Pueblo Del Arroyo. He filed a homestead entry on these ruins, which was invalidated by the General Land Office in 1904 when the federal government took formal possession of these lands. Wetherill was required to stop his ongoing excavations on federal property, but continued to run a trading post at Chaco Canyon until his death in 1910.</p><br>
<h2>Description</h2><br>
<p>Pueblo Bonito is divided into two sections by a precisely aligned wall, which runs north to south through the central plaza. A Great Kiva is situated on either side of the wall, creating a symmetrical pattern common to many of the Great Houses. In addition to the Great Kivas, over thirty other kivas or ceremonial structures have been found, many also associated with the large central courtyard. Interior living spaces were quite large by the standards of the Ancient Pueblo.</p><br>
<p>The site covers 3 acre and incorporates approximately 800 rooms. In parts of the village, the tiered structure was four and five stories high. During later construction, some lower level rooms were filled with debris to better support the weight of the upper levels. The builder&#39;s use of core-and-veneer architecture and multi-story construction produced massive masonry walls as much as 3 ft thick.</p><br>
<p>Population estimates for the village vary. During the early 20th century, the structures were viewed as small cities, with people residing in every room. From this perspective, Pueblo Bonito could have accommodated several thousand inhabitants at its peak. Recent analysis has lowered the estimated population to less than 800, primarily due to the small number of usable hearths in the ruins. An analysis based on architecture estimated the resident population at 12 households, or about 70 people at its peak. These tend to be located on the ground floor, near the central plaza, and are associated with entrances to a series of rooms going deeper into the structure. Rooms were connected by a series of interior doorways, some of them in a T-shape. A family may have inhabited 3 to 4 rooms, with many small interior spaces being used for storage. There was generally no outside access to the room blocks other than from the central courtyard.</p><br>
<p>It is possible that Pueblo Bonito is actually neither a village nor city. While its size has the capacity for a significant population, the environment may not have been ideal for sustaining a large population. Excavations at the site have not revealed significant trash middens indicating residential areas. A common suggestion is that Pueblo Bonito was a ritual center. This is not only evident in the existence of the kivas (which are more often than not attributed to ritual function) but also in the construction of the site and its relation to other Chaco Canyon sites. Although there were many occupants, only 50-60 burials were found here.</p><br>
<p>The site indicates the Puebloans&#39; comprehension of solar and lunar cycles; both of which are marked in the petroglyphs of the surrounding cliff area as well as in the architecture of Pueblo Bonito itself.</p><br>
<p>Examination of pack rat middens revealed that at the time that Pueblo Bonito was built, Chaco Canyon and the surrounding areas were wooded by trees such as ponderosa pines. Evidence of such trees can be seen within the structure of Pueblo Bonito, such as the first floor support beams. Scientists hypothesised that during the time that the pueblo was inhabited the valley was cleared of almost all of the trees, to provide timber for construction and fuel. This, combined with a period of drought, led to the water table in the valley to drop severely, making the land infertile. This explains why Pueblo Bonito was only inhabited for about 300 years and is a good example of the effect that deforestation can have on the local environment. The Anasazi, no longer able to grow crops to sustain their population, had to move on.</p><br>
<p>Since 2004, the University of New Mexico has begun a campaign to reopen excavations of the great house in order to obtain new data. Major excavations of Chaco Canyon occurred during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries; for this reason, the nature of the incredible social transformation that developed in Chaco Canyon and its underlying causes remains poorly understood.</p><br>
<p>A multi-year field study, centered in Pueblo Bonito, has been launched in order to obtain new information on the economic conditions of the Bonito phase. The ultimate goal of this recent fieldwork is to obtain data that will enable researchers to examine the development of great house communities in respect to relationships between demographic change and economic productivity.</p><br>
<p>Thus far, the team from the University of New Mexico has recovered and inventoried thousands of artifacts, including ceramics, animal bones, and stone fragments. As a result, the researchers have received a separate grant from the National Science Foundation to analyze more than 300,000 artifacts: the largest single-site artifact assemblage ever collected from Chaco.</p><br>
<h2>Construction</h2><br>
<p>The archeologist Mary Metcalf estimates that 805,000 person-hours were required to build Pueblo Bonito&#39;s main structure.</p><br>
<h2>Rock art</h2><br>
<p>On the rock wall directly behind Pueblo Bonito are a series of petroglyphs depicting six-toed feet, a stylistic element also found in other Ancient Pueblo rock art. These images date to the late 10th or early 11th centuries.</p><br>
<p>The Arakan Mountains  is a mountain range in western Burma , between the coast of Rakhine State and the Central Burma Basin, in which flows the Irrawaddy River. It is the most prominent of a series of parallel ridges that arc through Assam, Nagaland, Mizoram and Burma. The Arakan Mountains run from Cape Negrais in the south in to the Manipur State of India in the north. They include the Naga Hills, the Chin Hills, and the Patkai range which includes the Lushai Hills. These mountains are submerged in the Bay of Bengal for a sufficiently long stretch and emerges again in the form of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.</p><br>
<h2>Geology and formation</h2><br>
<p>The Arakan Mountains and the parallel arcs to the west and east were formed by compression as the Indian Plate collided with the Eurasian Plate approximately along the boundary between India and Nepal.</p><br>
<h2>High points</h2><br>
<p>The Arakan Mountain Range is over 600 miles (950 km) long, with about 250 miles (400 km) of actual mountains. The highest point in the range is Khonu Msung (or Mount Victoria) at 3,094 m.</p><br>
<h2>Infrastructure</h2><br>
<p>The Arakan Mountains are crossed by a road between Ngape and Minbu and by an all-weather road from Taungup to Pyay on the Irrawaddy.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The Arakan Mountains divide the Rakhine coast from the rest of Burma, and thus have acted as a barrier between the peoples of central Burma and those of the Indian subcontinent. This played a role in fostering the separate development of the Rakhine people, both linguistically and culturally, from the Burmese. The Arakan Mountains also served as a barrier inhibiting Burmese invasions, and allowing Arakan to develop as a separate political entity. Thus the coastal cities, such as Mrauk U and Waithali, formed the core of Arakan civilization.</p><br>
<p>There were fierce battles in these mountains between January 1943 and March 1944 during the Japanese conquest of Burma. The Japanese 33rd and 55th Divisions faced the British military on the coastal side of the range.</p><br>
<h2>Ecology</h2><br>
<p>The Arakan Mountains act as a barrier to the southwestern monsoon rains and thus shield the central Myanmar area, making their western slopes extraordinarily wet during the monsoon with typically over 1 m of rain per month, and the eastern slopes much drier.</p><br>
<p>Vancouver Lake is located just west of Vancouver, Washington, United States, north of the Columbia River and Portland, Oregon, south of Ridgefield, Washington, and the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge.</p><br>
<p>The lake is shallow, with a maximum depth of 12 to 15 ft and a mean depth of less than 3 ft. There is an island in the northern half of the lake. The island was formed from the tailings of an Army Corps of Engineers dredging project, which dredged around the perimeter of the lake in the early 1980s. Lake River flows from the north shore to the Columbia River near Ridgefield. Due to seasonal variation in relative river and lake levels, Lake River experiences intermittent flow reversal and flows into Vancouver Lake for considerable periods of time.</p><br>
<p>The sources for Vancouver Lakes water include a flushing channel (equipped with tidal gates to control flows) from the Columbia River near the southwest shoreline and Burnt Bridge Creek on the eastern shoreline, which winds about 10 mi through many of the citys residential areas. Until the 1980s this creek was neglected and a major source of pollution for the lake.</p><br>
<p>Lower River Road leads west out of Vancouver to a park on the shore of Vancouver Lake which includes a large swimming area. A trail leads to Frenchman&#39;s Bar Park on the nearby Columbia River.</p><br>
<h2>Natural history</h2><br>
<p>Vancouver Lake is home to a variety of wildlife species, many of which it shares with the nearby Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge. Descriptions from the late 19th century describe Vancouver Lake as clear, up to twenty feet deep and containing sturgeon. Current turbidity, more shallow depths and a lack of aquatic plant structures have diminished the variety of species and more recent surveys showed the most abundant fish by mass were brown bullhead, white crappie, black crappie, and common carp, with a few juvenile salmonids and a population of channel catfish, largemouth bass, bluegill, pumpkinseed, yellow perch, naturalized goldfish, northern pikeminnow, American shad, mosquito fish, largescale sucker, and freshwater sculpin. Rich fringe environments provide habitat for amphibians such as tree frogs, reptiles such as garter snakes and a wide variety of birds, including large species such as great blue herons, osprey and bald eagles. It is within the Pacific Flyway. Large mammals on its banks include raccoons, a few black-tailed deer and an occasional coyote.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Shortly after the lake was deeded to the Port of Vancouver, Washington, in 1919, agricultural interests proposed draining it, (A smaller lake to the north, Shillapoo Lake, was drained and used for agriculture) but by the end of the 1920s, recreational uses were also considered. Because of cold weather, the lake was frozen solid to "several inches" in depth on February 10, 1929, and was home to 500 ice skaters one weekend. The lake was briefly considered as a decommissioning harbor in 1945, but after the Memorial Day flood of 1948 was also seen as a possible resource in flood control.</p><br>
<p>Suburbanization of its watershed area led to an increase in water pollution. Surface runoff brought increased sediment while residential drain fields and increased use of fertilizers rich in nitrogen and phosphorus contributed to eutrophication. DDT was also used for mosquito control until its effects on fish and birds became apparent, and the county discontinued it.</p><br>
<p>Since then there have been various interests in the area as it relates to habitat preservation, recreation and industry, culminating in the "Habitek" plan of the mid-1980s and the multi-agency Burnt Bridge Creek Watershed Plan of 1995. Algal bloom has been an intermittent problem for recreational use of the lake (officially recognized by the county in 2003) since cyanobacteria such as Anabaena, Microcystis aeruginosa and Cylindrospermopsin raciborskii may produce neurotoxins such as cylindrospermopsin.</p><br>
<p>The Vancouver Lake Watershed Partnership was formed in October 2004, bringing various public agencies with interest and jurisdiction together.</p><br>
<p>Vancouver Lake plays host to two water sport oriented recreation clubs. Vancouver Lake Crew is a high school and master aged rowing club that uses the lake as its primary practice facility. Along with rowing, kayaking, canoeing, and dragon boating are also popular activities hosted by Vancouver Lake Crew. On the opposite shore sits the Vancouver Lake Sailing Club where sail boats can be launched.</p><br>
<p>North Solitary Island is one of the largest islands found off the New South Wales coast and inside the continental shelf. It is located 40 km north-east of Coffs Harbour and about 13 km east-south-east of Wooli. The island is divided into two sections by a channel. An automated lighthouse is found on the northern section of the island.</p><br>
<p>Around 500 metres north of the island is North West Rock which is home to the fish aggregation site called Fish Soup.</p><br>
<p>The island is part of the Solitary Islands Marine Park established 2 January 1998 and managed by the NSW Maritime Parks Authority.</p><br>
<p>Rocks on North Solitary Island consist of mudstone and a light green brittle sillicaceous argillite. The argillite probably formed from volcanic ash falls. The strike of the beds is between 120° and 170° with steep dipping to the west. Some beds show graded bedding. Rocks are frequently folded, and there are also several small faults. Tectonically it is part of the Coffs Harbour Block which in turn is part of the New England Orogen.</p><br>
<p>Pegwell Bay is a shallow inlet in the English Channel coast astride the estuary of the River Stour north of Sandwich bay, between Ramsgate and Sandwich in Kent. Part of the bay is a nature reserve, with seashore habitats including mudflats and salt marsh with migrating waders and wildfowl. The public can access the nature reserve via Pegwell Bay Country Park, which is off the A256 Ramsgate to Dover road.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Archaeologists suggest that Pegwell Bay was the site of both the Roman invasions of Britain by Julius Caesar. The University of Leicester have excavated a large fort dating from 54 BC. It was the previous lack of such evidence that had prevented historians fixing the exact site Caesar&#39;s landing.</p><br>
<p>Pegwell Bay in 1858 is recorded in a much-reproduced landscape painting by William Dyce, now in the Tate Gallery: Pegwell Bay, Kent – a Recollection of October 5th 1858.</p><br>
<p>In the 19th Century a pleasure pier was built in an effort to establish a seaside resort to rival nearby Ramsgate. This was not a success however, and was dismantled before the end of the century.</p><br>
<p>A full-size replica Scandinavian longboat complete with shields is situated by the main road on the low clifftops above Pegwell Bay to commemorate the first Anglo-Saxon landings in England hereabouts. The replica, named Hugin, sailed from Denmark to Thanet in 1949 to celebrate the 1,500th anniversary of the Anglo-Saxon invasion of Britain, the traditional landing of Hengist and Horsa, and the betrothal of Hengist&#39;s daughter, Rowena, to King Vortigern of Kent. Out of 53 crewmen only the navigator, Peter Jensen, was a professional seaman. Historic conditions were faithfully observed but with the addition of a Sextant. The Hugin was offered as a gift to Ramsgate and Broadstairs by the Daily Mail in order for it to be preserved for centuries. The ship underwent extensive restoration in 2004–5.</p><br>
<p>Nearby Ebbsfleet is the site of the landing of the first Christian mission to southern England, St Augustine, in 597 AD, commemorated by St Augustine&#39;s Cross.</p><br>
<p>The Bay has treacherous bogs at low tide amongst the otherwise firm sands. These are used as plot points in Dennis Wheatley&#39;s 1938 thriller, Contraband. The attached map of Kent in the book shows two of the heroes in difficulties at Pegwell Bay.</p><br>
<p>At the north east corner of the bay are the remains of Hoverlloyd&#39;s cross-channel hoverport. Vehicle and passenger carrying hovercraft were operated here from 1969 until 1982.</p><br>
<p>Tokunoshima, Tukunushima, also known in English as Tokunoshima Island and Tokuno Island, is one of the Satsunan Islands, classed with the Amami archipelago between Kyūshū and Okinawa.</p><br>
<p>The island, 247.77 km&sup2; in area, has a population of approximately 27,000. Administratively it is divided into the three towns of Tokunoshima, Isen, and Amagi in Kagoshima Prefecture. Much of the island is within the borders of the Amami Guntō Quasi-National Park.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>Tokunoshima is isolated from the other Amami islands, and is located halfway between Amami Ōshima and Okinoerabujima, approximately 489 km south of the southern tip of Kyūshū and 100 km north of Okinawa.</p><br>
<p>The island is of volcanic origin with a length of approximately 25 km and width of 18 km, with Mount Inokawadake at 645 m above sea level at its highest peak. Mount Amagidake in the north has a height of 533 m. The coast of the island is surrounded by a coral reef.</p><br>
<p>The island is covered with forests of laurel, but has been extensively cleared for agriculture. There are many caves on the island, the longest of which measures 2,052 m and is located in the area of Isen.</p><br>
<p>The climate of Tokunoshima is classified as a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa) with very warm summers and mild winters. The rainy season lasts from May through September. The island is subject to frequent typhoons.</p><br>
<h2>Fauna</h2><br>
<p>Tokunoshima is home to several rare species endemic to the island itself, or more generally to the Ryukyu archipelago. The Amami rabbit is found only on Tokunoshima and Amami-Ōshima and is listed as endangered. Also endangered is the Tokunoshima spiny rat, found only on the island.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>It is uncertain when Tokunoshima was first settled. It is mentioned in the ancient Japanese chronicle Nihon Shoki in the 720s. Until 1624, Tokunoshima was part of the Ryukyu Kingdom and was famous for a unique form of bullfighting called Tōgyū. The island was invaded by samurai from Satsuma Domain in 1609 and its incorporation into the official holdings of that domain was recognized by the Tokugawa shogunate in 1624. Satsuma rule was harsh, with the inhabitants of the island reduced to serfdom and forced to raise sugar cane to meet high taxation, which often resulted in famine. In a famine in 1755, some 3000 islanders perished. Saigō Takamori was exiled to Tokunoshima in 1862 for less than two months, before he was resentenced to harsher conditions on Okinoerabujima.</p><br>
<p>After the Meiji Restoration it was incorporated into Ōsumi Province and later became part of Kagoshima Prefecture. Following World War II, with the other Amami Islands, it was occupied by the United States until 1953, at which time it reverted to the control of Japan. In 2006, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama offered the use of Tokunoshima to the United States as a relocation site for Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, leading to widespread protests.</p><br>
<h2>Transportation</h2><br>
<p>The port of Kametoku, located in the town of Tokunoshima has regular ferry service to Okinawa, Kagoshima and Kobe. The smaller port of Hetono, in the town of Amagi, has ferries to Kagoshima and Amami.</p><br>
<p>Tokunoshima Airport, located in Amagi, is connected to Kagoshima and Amami by Japan Air Commuter.</p><br>
<h2>Local attractions</h2><br>
<p>Tokunoshima is a popular tourist destination. Hiking is discouraged because of the habu snake, but the mountain trails are exotic and beautiful. The beaches are also quite stunning, and there is a strange shore on the island&#39;s north in which the open sea crashes against massive flat stone slabs.</p><br>
<p>At Cape Intabu, the westernmost point of the island, is a memorial to the battleship and her escorts, which were sunk near Tokunoshima during the final stages of World War II.</p><br>
<p>Oak Park Conservatory is a conservatory and botanical garden located at 615 Garfield Street in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park, Illinois, United States. It is open daily with restricted hours; admission is free, but a donation is suggested.</p><br>
<h2>History and Development</h2><br>
<p>The conservatory started in 1914, as a community effort to house exotic plants collected during residents travels. Todays Edwardian-style glass structure was built in 1929, but fell into neglect until 1970, when a group of concerned citizens preserved it. Debate in the community had some suggesting the site would make "a perfect parking lot", but the volunteer actions of the Citizens Committee for the Conservatory saved it from that fate. In addition to its role supplying plants throughout the parks of Oak Park, the Conservatory&#39;s role was expanded to be a place to educate school children and gardeners.</p><br>
<h2>Major collections</h2><br>
<p>The desert collection includes three cactus groups (Cereus, Opuntia, and Pereskia), plus succulents including Agave, Crassula, succulent euphorbias, Gasteria, Haworthia, and Kalanchoe. Woody plants in this room include olive, etrog, fig, date palm, bay, and pomegranate.</p><br>
<p>The conservatory&#39;s orchids and ferns collection holds orchids, Australian tree ferns and other tropic and sub-tropic fern species, as well as begonias, Clivia, Ponderosa lemon, sea grape, Strelitzia reginae, and Syzygium. The rainforest collection includes Anthurium, aroids, banana, cycads, dracaenas, ferns, fig trees, Monstera deliciosa, palms (lady, fishtail, fan, and Canary Island date), papaya, Peperomia, Pilea, spider plants, as well as a pond with koi, goldfish, and turtles.</p><br>
<p>In addition to its collections, the conservatory grows about 20,000 bedding plants annually for planting in public parks and sites throughout Oak Park.</p><br>
<h2>Century Plant</h2><br>
<p>The Conservatory collection includes agave americana, commonly known as the century plant for the long decades until it blooms. Twice since 1980, a plant shot up its flower stalk taller than the greenhouse roof, so the glass was removed. The plant in bloom is visible to traffic on nearby roads. In 2013, the bloom time was cut short by a severe storm, cutting the 6 inch diameter stem at the roofline. The plant died as is usual after the bloom.</p><br>
<h2>Friends of the Oak Park Conservatory</h2><br>
<p>The Oak Park Conservatory has professional staff. Its extensive network of volunteers works under the name of Friends of the Oak Park Conservatory (or FOPCON), since 1986. The Conservatory director hired in 1984, John Seaton, asked the volunteers to organize themselves, which they did in 1986; since then, they have raised over $840,000 for Conservatory improvements. Volunteers organize a plant sale in early May each year to raise funds for the Conservatory, and supply gardeners with an interesting variety of plants. It began as the Herb and Scented Plant Sale, and has changed over time to include edibles and ornamental plants, grown without pesticides in the greenhouses of the Conservatory. The volunteer web site includes information for gardeners, and the list of events for the year. Besides the plant sale, there are two perennial plant exchanges, spring and fall. Gardeners bring in healthy plants from their own gardens, to exchange for other types from plants brought by other gardeners. FOPCON also offers a garden walk through admirable local gardens as another fund raising event in June. Tours of the Conservatory are offered for groups and for schools, led by the volunteers.</p><br>
<p>Taku Glacier is a tidewater glacier located in Taku Inlet in the USA state of Alaska, just southeast of the city of Juneau. Recognized as the deepest and thickest alpine temperate glacier known in the world, the Taku Glacier is measured at 4,845 ft thick. It is about 58 km long, and is largely within the Tongass National Forest.</p><br>
<p>The glacier was originally named Schultze Glacier in 1883 and the Foster Glacier in 1890, but Taku, the name the local Tlingit natives had for the glacier, eventually stuck. It is nestled in the Coast Mountains and originates in the Juneau Icefield. It is the largest glacier in the icefield and one of the southernmost tidewater glaciers of the northern hemisphere.</p><br>
<p>The glacier, which converges with the Taku River at Taku Inlet, has a history of advancing until it blocks the river, creating a lake, followed by a dramatic break of the ice dam. The most recent of these advances occurred in 1750. The glacier has advanced 7.75 km since 1890, and as of June 29, 2012 is 1.26 km from Taku Point. It is the only advancing glacier of the 20 major glaciers of the Juneau Icefield. If the advance continues it will again block the river, but this appears unlikely at present. Since 1946, the glacier has been monitored by the Juneau Icefield Research Program, which has documented its rate of advance since 1988 at 17 m a year. The advance is due to a positive mass balance; that is, more snow accumulates than snow and ice melt. Until 1948 the glacier had a calving front; since then the terminus has been grounded.</p><br>
<p>Due to the positive mass balance and the fact that it was no longer losing mass to icebergs, Taku Glacier has become insensitive to the warming that has impacted all other glaciers of the icefield. This has driven its advance. The recent negative mass balance 1989-2005 is not large enough yet to stop the advance, but it is the first sign that the glacier&#39;s advance may not take it to Taku Point.</p><br>
<p>Taku Glacier is the namesake of the Alaska Marine Highway System ferry M/V Taku.</p><br>
