<p>Kelso Conservation Area is located near Milton, Ontario and is owned and operated by Conservation Halton. This park has an area of 3.97 square kilometres and contains Lake Kelso which was built for flood control of Sixteen Mile Creek and has a sandy beach for swimmers in the summer with a food concession and board walk along the lake to the Boat Rental shop which offers the rentals of canoes, kayaks, paddle boards, paddle boats and is also open to any non-motorized watercraft. The Park also offers 20 campsites, 18 reserve-able picnic sites, and two camping/picnic mixed sites. Glen Eden Ski & Snowboard Centre is located in the park and offers downhill skiing, snowboarding and tubing during the winter months. In addition, the Halton Region Museum is also located on the Kelso grounds. The park also features marked mountain biking and hiking trails.</p><br>
<p>Lake Kelso also provides a natural, economical and convenient source of very cold water for snow-making for the &#39;Kelso_Conservation_Area#Glen_Eden</p><br>
<p>Glen Eden Ski & Snowboard Centre; negating the need to use water from Haltons main line utility service.</p><br>
<h2>Lake Kelso</h2><br>
<p>Lake Kelso is a man-made reservoir which was created to control the flooding of Sixteen Mile Creek in Milton, Ontario. It is found within Kelso Conservation Area and is maintained by Conservation Halton.</p><br>
<p>One of the founders of Conservation Halton, Allan Day, recalls that before the reservoir was built, "Milton used to get flooded every spring thaw. Milton&#39;s main street would get flooded." It was Day who convinced the previous landowner to sell his property to the Sixteen-Mile Creek Authority in 1961. The authority purchased the land for $40 000 before erecting a $325 000 water control dam a few years later.</p><br>
<h2>Glen Eden</h2><br>
<p>The Glen Eden ski area is located within the Kelso Conservation Area, with skiing, snowboarding, and snow tubing. The ski area is owned and operated by the Halton Region Conservation Authority. The Glen Eden ski area is highly visible from the eastbound lane of Highway 401 near Milton, Ontario.</p><br>
<p>Piki Machay  is an archaeological site in the Ayacucho Valley of Peru. Radiocarbon dates from this cave give a human presence ranging from 22,200 to 14,700 years ago, but this evidence has been disputed and a more conservative date 12,000 years BCE seems possible.</p><br>
<p>Richard S. MacNeish was the first archaeologist to explore Piki Mach&#39;ay. Evidence of long-term human occupation has been found at the site, though that evidence still remains controversial.</p><br>
<p>The cave is part of the Ayacucho complex, a culture defined by several cave sites including Jaya Mach&#39;ay ("pepper cave").</p><br>
<h2>Artifacts</h2><br>
<p>Artifacts discovered in the site include unifacial chipped tools, such as basalt and chert tools, choppers, and projectile points, and bone artifacts of horses, camelids (Camelidae), giant sloths (Megatherium) dating from 15,000 to 11,000 years BCE.</p><br>
<h2>Agriculture</h2><br>
<p>Piki Mach&#39;ay yielded some of the oldest plant remains in Peru, including an 11,000 year old bottle gourd. Strata from later periods at the site revealed fishtail points, manos, and metates. Plant remains indicate that, before 3,000 years BCE, amaranth, cotton, gourds, lucuma, quinoa, and squash were cultivated in the Ayacucho Basin before 3,000 years BCE. By 4,000 years BCE corn (Zea mays) and common beans were grown. Chili remains date from 5,500 to 4,300 years BCE. The large amounts of guinea pig bones suggest possible domestication, and llamas may have been domesticated by 4,300 to 2,800 years BCE.</p><br>
<p>Hoghton Tower is a fortified manor house located about 0.7 mi to the east of the village of Hoghton, Lancashire, England, and standing on a hilltop site on the highest point in the area. It takes its name from the de Hoghton family, its historical owners since at least the 12th century. The present house dates from about 1560–65. It was damaged during the Civil War and subsequently became derelict, but was rebuilt and extended between 1862 and 1901. The house is listed at Grade I, as is the Great Barn in its grounds, which is dated 1692. Also in the grounds are two structures listed at Grade II. The house and garden are open to the public at advertised times, and are administered by a charitable trust.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The land on which the house stands has been in the possession of the de Hoghton family from at least the 12th century. The present building dates from about 1560–65, and was built for Thomas de Hoghton, replacing an earlier house on or near the same site. It has been suggested that the property has links to William Shakespeare through Alexander Hoghton who died in 1581.</p><br>
<p>King James I stayed in the house for three days in 1617. In 1643 the house was damaged by Parliamentary forces during the Civil War, and in 1692–1702 Sir Charles de Hoghton carried out repairs and rebuilding. The family ceased to live in the house from 1768, and it was rented to local farmers. It was derelict by the middle of the 19th century. Sir Henry de Hoghton, the 9th Baronet, inherited the estate in 1862 and decided to restore the house. It is not known who carried out the earlier part of the restoration, but by 1876 the Lancaster architects Paley and Austin were involved, having carried out work on rooms including the banqueting hall. Sir Henry died in 1876, and restoration work was continued by his brother, Charles, the 10th Baronet, although the house was not ready for him to take up residence until 1880. By that time Paley and Austin had restored the gateway tower and the adjacent walls (1877), designed an entrance lodge (1878), carried out work on the offices in the east wing, built a new kitchen, a new underground service corridor, and made other alterations (1879–80). Further work on the stables and farm buildings was carried out by the Blackburn-based architect James Bertwistle. Sir Charles died in 1893, and from 1896 to 1901 the London architect Robert Dudley Oliver added nursery accommodation, a smoking room, a billiards room and a large drawing room (later used as the ballroom).</p><br>
<h2>Architecture</h2><br>
<p>Hoghton Tower is constructed in sandstone, with stone slate roofs. It has a double courtyard plan, the outer courtyard being entered on the west side through a large gatehouse. The inner courtyard has a west gateway, a great hall and kitchen on the north side, state rooms on the east, and living rooms on the south and west sides; it is mainly in two storeys. At the north east corner is a porch (this was formerly the site of a chapel). Bay windows project from the north and south sides of the great hall.</p><br>
<h2>Gardens and Grounds</h2><br>
<p>The house is approached by a long straight drive leading eastwards from the A675 road. It passes through a pair of gate piers about 200 yd west of the house. Between these gates and the entrance to the outer courtyard is a grassed area known as the Titling Ground, which is enclosed by a wall on the south side and the Great Barn to the north. On the east side of the house is a walled garden, known as the Wilderness, and on the south side are smaller walled gardens, the Rose Garden and the Rampart Garden. The Great Barn is constructed in sandstone with a slate roof, and incorporates a carthouse. It is dated 1692, and has ball finials on its gables. To the northwest of the house are the coach house and stables, also in sandstone, and dating from the 17th or early 18th century. A small cupola was added to it in the 19th century. At the entry to the drive on the main road is Paley and Austin&#39;s lodge of 1878.</p><br>
<h2>Present day</h2><br>
<p>Hoghton Tower and the Great Barn were designated as a Grade I listed buildings on 22 October 1952. Listed at Grade II are the coach house and stables, and the gate piers on the drive to the west of the house. The gardens are listed at Grade II on the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.</p><br>
<p>In 1978 the Hoghton Tower Preservation Trust was established as a charity for the preservation of the house, and to encourage education and research. It raises income by "charging an admission fee to visitors, running events, providing holiday accommodation and being rented out as a venue for weddings, filming, corporate entertainment and private functions". The house and gardens are open to the general public at advertised times. An admission fee is payable, which includes a guided tour of the house. Inside the house is a collection of dolls&#39; houses. For example, parts of the second series of Last Tango in Halifax were filmed here. Refreshments are available in the tea room, and the stables have been converted into a gift shop. Residential accommodation is available in a converted former garrison.</p><br>
<p>Herkimer Home State Historic Site is a historic house museum in Herkimer County, New York, United States. Herkimer Home is in the north part of the Town of Danube, south of the Mohawk River.</p><br>
<p>The home was built in 1764 by Nicholas Herkimer, who died there in 1777 from wounds suffered in the Battle of Oriskany. He is also buried there. In 1834, the house was owned by Nicholas Herkimer&#39;s nephew, John Herkimer.</p><br>
<h2>Services and activities</h2><br>
<p>The site offers a picnic area, scenic views, a visitor center, tours, re-enactments, gardens, and hiking.</p><br>
<h2>Attempted closure</h2><br>
<p>In 2010, Democratic Governor David Paterson attempted to close the park due to budget cuts. Opposition to the closure was strong, and the park remained open.</p><br>
<p>Winyah Bay is a coastal estuary that is the confluence of the Waccamaw River, the Pee Dee River, the Black River, and the Sampit River in Georgetown County, in eastern South Carolina. Its name comes from the Winyaw, who used to inhabit the region during the eighteenth century. The historic port city of Georgetown is located on the bay, and the bay generally serves as the terminating point for the Grand Strand.</p><br>
<p>The bay is evidence of a drowned coastline, created by a rise in sea level in recent geologic time. It was a prime site for fishing by Native Americans and an early area to develop in colonial times as a seaport and center of rice culture and timbering.</p><br>
<p>The entrance to the bay is flanked by North Island, South Island and Cat Island, comprising the Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center, willed to the State by Tom Yawkey, former owner of the Boston Red Sox.</p><br>
<p>Winyah Bay is the fourth largest estuary on the US East Coast when classified by discharge rate (Voulgaris et al. 2002). It is home to many aquatic and terrestrial species, including sturgeon, sharks, dolphins, red drum, stingrays, star drum, white shrimp, blue crabs, pelicans, bald eagles, cormorants, and various species of seagulls.</p><br>
<p>Pahuj River is a river flowing through the historic city of Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh.</p><br>
<p>It probably originates near the hills of Jhansi or in Tikamgarh district of Madhya Pradesh. It has been referred as the Pushpavati in religious texts.</p><br>
<p>This river also flows through Unnao Balaji 20 km from Jhansi, famous for Sun Temple and people.</p><br>
<p>It is a tributary of the Sindh River, which joins the Yamuna River in Etawah, Uttar Pradesh state, just after the Chambal River confluence with the Yamuna river.</p><br>
<p>It is a small and dry river which passes through the Indian Grassland and Fodder Research Institute, Jhansi.</p><br>
<p>Due to the construction of Pahuj dam near Jhansi, the river has increased its water level and the dam is an important picnic spot for Jhansi city-dwellers.</p><br>
<p>Fleetwith Pike is a fell in the English Lake District in the county of Cumbria which reaches a height of 648 metres . The fell is a well-known feature of the area as it casts an imposing presence over Buttermere and the Honister Pass on the B5289 motor road between Borrowdale and Buttermere.</p><br>
<h2>Topography</h2><br>
<p>Fleetwith Pike is the north-western shoulder of Grey Knotts. It is bounded by Honister Pass to the north and Warnscale Bottom to the south-west, their two streams uniting beneath the fell in Buttermere. The north west ridge rising almost from the lakeshore at Gatesgarth is named Fleetwith Edge, and is a striking feature from any direction. The top of the fell is situated directly at the top of the edge, while a lower summit stands to the east atop Honister Crag. Fleetwith Pike is lined on all sides by impressive crags, other than for the broad plateau leading across the Drum House to Grey Knotts.</p><br>
<h2>Slate extraction</h2><br>
<p>The side of the fell which overlooks Honister Pass is actually known as Honister Crag and this has been commercially quarried for its high-quality green slate since the 1750s. Slate mining and quarrying at Honister did cease in 1986, but restarted in February 1997.</p><br>
<h2>Ascents</h2><br>
<p>The fell itself is often climbed in conjunction with other neighbouring fells such as Haystacks and Grey Knotts; strong walkers may also take in the peaks of Great Gable and Green Gable. There are two possible starting points for the ascent of Fleetwith Pike: these are Gatesgarth in the Buttermere valley and the top of the Honister pass. Both places have car parks. The start from Honister Hause has the advantage of starting from a height of 356 metres (1,167 feet) and takes the walker through the quarry workings of the Honister Slate Mine and over Black Star, the highest point of Honister Crag at 630 metres (2,067 feet). Honister Crag was upgraded to become a Nuttall fell in November 2004, the first addition to the list since they were first published in 1990, it has 20 metres (67 feet) of topographical prominence from Fleetwith Pike. After crossing Honister Crag it is a simple walk to attain the top of Fleetwith Pike. The ascent from Gatesgarth goes up the intimidating-looking Fleetwith Edge; however, all the crags can be by-passed without too much difficulty. This route goes past a white cross which is clearly visible from the valley and bears the inscription "Erected by Friends of Fanny Mercer, accidentally killed 1887".</p><br>
<h2>Summit</h2><br>
<p>The summit cairn is a few yards in from the top of the Edge, resting among pleasant grass and heather. The view from the summit gives a fine prospect of the Buttermere valley which also takes in the other two lakes of Crummock Water and Loweswater. The fells of Pillar and Great Gable are close by and are well seen.</p><br>
<p>Triklino , is a small mountain village . It is located in the northwest part of Greece and belongs to Aetolia-Acarnania. The artificial lake Kremasta is the boundary of the village with neighbouring Evrytania. The village belongs to the Inachos municipal unit. Its population is 145 inhabitants . The nearest major city is Agrinio.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The village first appears under the name "Priantza" in the official catalogue of the Greek State in the year 1840.</p><br>
<p>Originally, the name "Triklino" referred to a settlement at the neighbouring valley of the river Achelous. The valley was cultivated mostly with corn plantations. It was abandoned during the early 60s, when the government compensated the farmers in order to construct a large dam at a place known as "Kremasta". The settlement and the cultivated land were eventually covered with water. A huge artificial lake was formed in the area, and is now known as "Kremasta lake".</p><br>
<p>The following people from the village are the most known in the region:</p><br>
<p>1.The fighter for the independence of Greece (1821–1829) Kasvikis Giannakis, who lost his life struggling against the Turks on a small island ( named Dolmas) near Mesolongi during the war for the independence of Greece (28 - 2 - 1826). See source</p><br>
<p>2.The abbot of the Tatarna monastery Stefanos Papadimitriou. See Source</p><br>
<p>3. The patriot Dr. Harilaos I.Papaioannou who was one of the first members of the Greek National Resistance Organisation, (EDES - ΕΔΕΣ), in the Valtos province (during the German Occupation 1941-1944) under the leadership of Napoleon Zervas and the second-in-command Stylianos Houtas. His brothers Alexandros Papaioannou, (army officer) and Christoforos, (teacher), were also members of the same organisation. See Sources</p><br>
<h2>Population</h2><br>
<h2>Tatarna Bridge</h2><br>
<p>In the early 1970s the Tatarna Bridge was constructed. The bridge is located approximately 3 km east of the village and connects Aetolia-Acarnania with Evrytania. The bridge is considered as a very important architectural achievement, and holds 4 world awards related to its method of structure (engineer and architect: Aristarchos Oikonomou - Αρίσταρχος Οικονόμου).</p><br>
<h2>Other</h2><br>
<p>Every 6 August Transfiguration of Christ (Μεταμόρφωση του Σωτήρος Χριστού) is celebrated. A 2-days festival ("panygiri") is taking place at the square of the village. It is an occasion for all the people from Triklino (scattering all over Greece) to meet with friends and relatives.</p><br>
<p>Lake Conococha  is a South American lake located in the Andes mountains of northwestern Peru. It is located in the region of Ancash near the junction of the roads going from Callejón de Huaylas to Chiquián.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>Lake Conococha has an elevation of 4,020 m above sea level It is located at the headwaters of the Santa River which runs in a northwest direction from the lake.</p><br>
<p>According to the Köppen climate classification, the area presents a tundra climate (ET); with a mean annual temperature of 4.7 °C and an average annual rainfall of 543 mm.</p><br>
<p>The village of Conococha is located on the western shore of the lake, where the roads from Lima and Pativilca to Huaraz and Chiquián meet.</p><br>
<h2>Ecology</h2><br>
<h3>Flora</h3><br>
<p>Aquatic vegetation on the shores is represented by reeds of Scirpus spp. and aquatic herbs like watercress, Elodea potamogeton and Myriophyllum sp. While the surrounding meadows include plants of genera Carex and Calamagrostis.</p><br>
<h3>Fauna</h3><br>
<p>The lake is home to a frog species (Telmatobius mayoloi) discovered in 1996 and endemic of the Santa River basin.</p><br>
<h2>Environmental issues</h2><br>
<p>Lake Conococha is undergoing a process of eutrophication (overpopulation of plants and algae due to pollution), being the main reasons: livestock raising, blackwater from the surrounding villages, and disposal of solid waste on the lake shores.</p><br>
<p>The Ford Richmond Plant, formally the Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant, in Richmond, California, was the largest assembly plant to be built on the West Coast and its conversion to wartime production during World War II aided the United States&#39; war effort. The plant is part of the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It currently houses the National Park Service visitor center, several private businesses and the Craneway Pavilion, an event venue.</p><br>
<h2>Construction</h2><br>
<p>Built in 1930 during the Great Depression, the assembly plant measures nearly 500,000 square feet (46,450 m²). The factory was a major stimulant to the local and regional economy and was an important development in Richmonds inner harbor and port plan. Ford became Richmonds third largest employer, behind Standard Oil and the Santa Fe Railroad. It is also an outstanding example of 20th-century industrial architecture designed by architect Albert Kahn, known for his "daylight factory" design, which employed extensive window openings that became his trademark. The main building is composed of a two-story section, a single-story section, a craneway, a boiler house and a shed canopy structure over the railroad track.</p><br>
<h2>World War II</h2><br>
<p>To ensure that America prepared for total war by mobilizing all the industrial might of the United States, President Franklin D. Roosevelt banned the production of civilian automobiles during World War II. The Richmond Ford Assembly Plant switched to assembling jeeps and to putting the finishing touches on tanks, half-tracked armored personnel carriers, armored cars and other military vehicles destined for the Pacific Theater. By July 1942, military combat vehicles began flowing into the Richmond Ford plant to get final processing before being transported out the deep-water channel to the war zones. The "Richmond Tank Depot" (only one of three tank depots in the country) as the Ford plant was then called, helped keep American fighting men supplied with up-to-the-minute improvements in their battle equipment. Approximately 49,000 jeeps were assembled and 91,000 other military vehicles were processed here.</p><br>
<p>In mobilizing the wartime production effort to its full potential, Federal military authorities and private industry began to work closely together on a scale never seen before in American history. This laid the groundwork for what became known as the "military-industrial complex" during the Cold War years. This Assembly Plant was one cog in the mobilization of the "Arsenal of Democracy" and a historic part of what is today&#39;s industrial culture of the United States.</p><br>
<h2>Post-war</h2><br>
<p>After the war, the devastation to the local economy as a result of the closing of the Richmond Shipyards would have been crippling had it not been for the continued production of the Ford Plant. The last Ford was assembled in February 1953, with the plant being closed in 1956 and production transferred to the San Jose Assembly Plant because of the inability to accommodate increased productivity demands.</p><br>
<p>The plant was featured in the movie "Tucker: The Man and His Dream" Principal photography started with first unit shooting on April 13, 1987 in the Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant in Richmond, California</p><br>
<p>In 1989, the Loma Prieta earthquake severely damaged the plant. After the earthquake, the City of Richmond repaired and prepared the Ford Assembly building for rehabilitation and selected Orton Development as the developer of the rehabilitation project. In 2008, after the building&#39;s rehabilitation was completed, tenants including SunPower Corporation and Mountain Hardwear made the building their new home. The craneway ("Craneway Pavilion") of the building is also used for banquets, weddings, and corporate events.</p><br>
<p>Hamoukar  is a large archaeological site located in the Jazira region of northeastern Syria , near the Iraqi and Turkish borders. The early settlement dates back to the 5th millennium BCE, and it existed simultaneously with the Ubaid and the early Uruk cultures. It was a big centre of obsidian production. In the 3rd millennium, this was one of the largest cities of Northern Mesopotamia, and extended to 105 ha.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>It is now believed that Hamoukar was thriving as far back as 4000 BC and independently from Sumer. The origins of urban settlements has generally been attributed to the riverine societies of southern Mesopotamia (in what is now southern Iraq). This is the area of ancient Sumer, where around 4000 BC the Mesopotamian cities such of Ur and Uruk emerged. In 2007, following the discoveries at Hamoukar, some archaeologists have argued that the Cradle of Civilization could have extended further up the Tigris River and included the part of northern Syria where Hamoukar is located.</p><br>
<p>The city flourished before the invention of writing. It also featured specialization of labor.</p><br>
<p>Other contemporary early sites in this area are Chagar Bazar, Tell Arbid, and the multi-period site of Tell Brak.</p><br>
<h2>Archaeology</h2><br>
<p>Excavation by a joint Syrian-American expedition (by the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago and the Syrian Directorate General of Antiquities) has been conducted since 1999.</p><br>
<p>Thousands of clay sealings have been found on the site, indicating the existence of a complex bureaucratic system before the invention of writing. These sealings were once used to lock doors or containers and were impressed with stamp seals.</p><br>
<h3>Obsidian</h3><br>
<p>Large quantities of obsidian were found on the site, indicating the existence of the obsidian production facilities of both weapons and tools. The volcanic rock of this type does not occur in Hamoukar area, so it must have been imported. The nearest deposits are located in the area of Mount Nemrut (today&#39;s Turkey), about 170 km north of the city. This is confirmed by chemical analysis of the obsidian.</p><br>
<p>The findings were a surprise for many archaeologists, since they indicate the existence of independent trading networks in the northern Mesopotamia outside of the influence of southern cities, such as Ur and Uruk.</p><br>
<p>The obsidian workshops were spread across a large area of 280 hectares. They were in use as early as 4500 BC.</p><br>
<p>The town lay on an important trade route between Anatolia and southern Mesopotamia. Many Nineveh 5 period artifacts (early 3rd millennium) were found. The city also flourished during the later Akkadian Empire.</p><br>
<p>Eye Idols made of alabaster or bone have been found in Tell Hamoukar. Eye Idols have also been found in Tell Brak, the biggest settlement from Syria&#39;s Late Chalcolithic period.</p><br>
<h3>Earliest urban warfare</h3><br>
<p>Excavation work undertaken in 2005 and 2006 has shown that this city was destroyed around 3500 BC. This may be the evidence of the earliest urban warfare attested so far in the archaeological record of the Near East. Slings and thousands of clay bullets have been found -- evidence of the siege that the city endured. Contained excavations in 2008 and 2010 tried to expand on that.</p><br>
<p>The city could have fallen victim to the Uruk expansion around 3500 BC. There are remains of an Uruk trading colony in the area.</p><br>
<p>Yet, according to the archaeologist Clemens Reichel, the evidence of who exactly was responsible for the destruction of Hamoukar is not entirely clear, since the Uruk trading colony was probably also destroyed at the same time as the big battle was taking place.</p><br>
<p>Algiers Point is a location on the Lower Mississippi River in New Orleans, Louisiana. In river pilotage, Algiers Point is simply one of the many points of land around which the river flows—albeit a significant one. Since the 1970s, the name Algiers Point has also referred to the neighborhood in the immediate vicinity of that point.</p><br>
<h2>Navigational point</h2><br>
<p>The course of the Mississippi River past and through New Orleans is in the shape of a crescent. As the river reaches the downriver end of that crescent, flowing by then in a northerly direction, it makes a sharp "right-hand" turn to the east. The French Quarter, Faubourg Marigny and Bywater lie on the outside of the bend on the rivers left descending bank. The point of land on the rivers right descending bank is, and has historically been, called Algiers Point.</p><br>
<p>Just off this point is where the Mississippi River is at its deepest, approximately 60 meters (200 ft) deep. This depth varies from year to year as the river alternately scours and deposits silt. A USA Coast Guard aid to navigation, Algiers Point Light "95," marks the point. Its geographic coordinates are 29&deg;57&prime;19&Prime;N latitude, 90&deg;03&prime;19&Prime;W longitude</p><br>
<p>The USA Army Corps of Engineers&#39; linear description of the location is mile 94.6 AHP (above Head of Passes) on the Lower Mississippi River.</p><br>
<p>In the 20th century, the Coast Guard began regulating marine traffic approaching and rounding Algiers Point. Licensed pilots were enlisted to man a tower atop the Gov. Nicholls Street Wharf across the river from the point, and to communicate with mariners via marine VHF radio and via a red and green traffic light, in order to restrict two-way traffic when high water makes such traffic hazardous.</p><br>
<h2>Neighborhood</h2><br>
<p>The neighborhood near the point described above came to be called Algiers Point beginning in the 1970s. At that time a community movement began to emphasize the historic and aesthetic aspects of the neighborhood&#39;s houses and other assets, as contrasted to other sections of Algiers, especially newer, post-World War II residential areas.</p><br>
<p>The size and boundaries of the neighborhood depend on colloquial or legal context, but a conservative description is the approximately 50 city blocks bounded by Opelousas Avenue, Atlantic Avenue and the river. The Algiers Point National Historic District is bounded on the south by Slidell Avenue instead of Opelousas Avenue. The southern boundary of the city-regulated Algiers Point Historic District, as defined by the New Orleans Historic District Landmarks Commission, is Newton Street.</p><br>
<p>Some of the houses and other structures in Algiers Point predate the American Civil War, but most were built in the period immediately after a catastrophic 1895 fire which destroyed hundreds of structures in the area.</p><br>
<p>Numerous small businesses such as bars, restaurants, coffee shops, and professional services are located here, creating a mixed use neighborhood. The median household income of Algiers Point is around $55,000 while the median income for a family of four is around $85,000. The neighborhood is mostly solidly middle class, while households living around Opelousas Street and those deeper into Greater Algiers tend to be poor and/or working class, since Greater Algiers has a median household income of around $35,000.</p><br>
<h2>Demographics</h2><br>
<p>As of the census of 2000, there were 2,381 people, 1,145 households, and 555 families residing in the neighborhood.</p><br>
<p>As of the census of 2010, there were 2,455 people, 1,229 households, and 574 families residing in the neighborhood.</p><br>
<h2>Education</h2><br>
<p>Orleans Parish School Board (OPSB) or New Orelans Public Schools (NOPS) operates public schools.</p><br>
<h3>Public library</h3><br>
<p>New Orleans Public Library (NOPL) operates the Cita Dennis Hubbell Branch in Algiers Point. It occupies the oldest public library building in the city. It opened as the Algiers Branch, a Carnegie library, in 1907 and was the only library in the Algiers area for many years. It was one of five New Orleans Carnegie libraries, and as of 2013, one of two that are still open as libraries.</p><br>
<p>It was originally closed after the opening of the Algiers Regional Library, but Cita Dennis Hubbell and a group led by her campaigned to have it reopened, citing the long distance from Algiers Point to the new library. In 2005 Hurricane Katrina hit Algiers Point. Hubbell&#39;s daughter campaigned for the library to be reopened. The library closed in 2006, but then had termite damage and structural damage ameliorated with renovations. The branch held a grand re-opening in 2013.</p><br>
<p>The Clan Alpine Mountains are a mountain range located in west-central Nevada in the United States. The range lies in a southwest-northeasterly direction in Churchill County, and contains Mount Augusta, at 9,967 ft above sea level. The mountains lie to the west of the Desatoya Mountains and southeast of the Stillwater Range. The Augusta Mountains lie to the northeast and the New Pass Range to the east. A large part of the range, 196,128 acre, lies within the Clan Alpine Mountains Wilderness Study Area. The Clan Alpine Mountains lie to the north and northwest of Highway 50.</p><br>
<p>At least eight mines are located in the northwestern part of the range north of Healy Peak in the Bernice and Hoyt canyons on the northwest flank of the range. This mine group was worked from 1866 and known as the Bernice, Salina or Alamo district. The mines produced antimony, silver, gold and tungsten.</p><br>
<p>The Desatoya Mountains are located in central Nevada in the western United States, approximately 117 miles east of Reno by road. The range runs in a southwest-northeasterly direction along the border of Churchill and Lander counties, reaching a maximum elevation of 9,978 ft  at Desatoya Peak near Rock Creek Canyon.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>The range is separated from the Paradise Range in the south by Burnt Cabin Summit at the Nye County line, near the sites of Chalk Wells and Phonolite, and from the New Pass Range in the north by New Pass along USA Route 50. It is traversed by three routes:</p><br>
<h3>Trans mountain navigation</h3><br>
<p>The Old Overland Road between Smith Creek Valley and Edwards Creek Valley crosses the northern end of the range by way of Basque Summit at an elevation of 7,625 feet following the Pony Express route.</p><br>
<p>Nevada State Highway 722 crosses the range to the south by way of Carroll Summit at an elevation of 7,425 feet.</p><br>
<p>The third route splits off of Highway 722 approximately three miles east of Eastgate, heading southeast along Buffalo Creek, and crosses the range over Buffalo Summit (south of Carroll Summit) at an elevation of 7,021 feet. This road eventually reaches the former Nye county seat of Ione by way of Phonolite.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The Desatoya Mountains set the backdrop for both the Cold Springs and Smith Creek Pony Express stations; the Cold Springs Pony Express Station and the Pony Express National Historic Trail lie at the western edge of the range, whereas the Smith Creek Pony Express Station is situated at the eastern base on the edge of Smith Creek Valley.</p><br>
<h2>The etymology of the name Desatoya</h2><br>
<p>The precise morphology and etymology of the name Desatoya is unclear: whereas...toya derives from the Shoshone word toyap (mountain), desa... has been multifariously interpreted as short, low, big-black, and cold.</p><br>
<p>Early documents record the ranges name variously as the Lookout Range or the Sedaye Mountains, sedaye purportedly being an Indian word meaning no good.&#39;</p><br>
<p>The Simpson Park Mountains, also known as the Simpson Park Range, are located in Lander and Eureka counties, in central Nevada in the western United States. The mountains reach an elevation of 9,147 ft at Fagin Mountain, and cover an area of approximately 310 square miles. US Route 50 crosses the very southern end of the range at Hickison Summit between Eureka and Austin.</p><br>
<p>The range runs in a southwest-northeasterly direction between the Toiyabe Range on the west across Grass Valley and the Roberts Mountains to the east. Other ranges around the Simpson Parks include the Cortez Mountains to the north across Horse Creek Valley and the Toquima and Monitor ranges to the south. The Monitor, Kobeh and Antelope valleys lie to the southeast.</p><br>
<p>The Hickison Petroglyph Recreation Area lies at the southeastern end of the mountains northwest of Hickison Summit on US route 50. The Bureau of Land Management manages 98% of the Simpson Park Mountains, and 2% is privately held. Principal vegetation types are: Piñon-juniper—43.5%, Sagebrush scrub—25.4%, and Sagebrush steppe—18.5%. Trees found in the range include: western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis), Utah Juniper (Juniperus osteosperma), and Single-leaf Pinyon (Pinus monophylla). Coyotes and pikas roam the Simpson Park Mountains.</p><br>
<p>The range is named after James H. Simpson, who surveyed a transportation route just south of the range in 1858.</p><br>
<p>The Roberts Mountains are located in central Nevada in the western United States. The mountains are found in Eureka County, east of the Simpson Park Mountains and west and southwest of the Sulphur Spring Range. The range reaches a peak at Roberts Creek Mountain at 10,133 ft. Nevada State Route 278 passes the east margin of the range in Garden Valley and continues on about 25 mi southeast to Eureka.</p><br>
<h2>Geology</h2><br>
<p>The range contains rocks deformed by the Antler orogeny of Late Devonian to early Mississippian age. Along the Roberts Mountain thrust fault, which was named for the range, a terrane of oceanic island arc volcanic rocks and sediments were emplaced over the pre-existing Devonian to Silurian carbonates, sandstones and shales of the coastal margin of the continent.</p><br>
<h2>Ecology</h2><br>
<p>The Bureau of Land Management manages 99.4% of the Roberts Mountains, and 0.6% is privately held. Mammals found in the range include: the long-tailed vole, Great Basin pocket mouse, water shrew, and the big jumping mouse. The large spotted leopard lizard can also be found in the mountains.</p><br>
<p>Trees found in the range include: western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis), Utah juniper (Juniperus osteosperma), and single-leaf pinyon (Pinus monophylla).</p><br>
<p>The Sulphur Spring Range is a mountain range located in east-central Nevada in the United States. The mountains are found mostly in Eureka County northeast of the Roberts Mountains and west of the Diamond Valley and Diamond Mountains. The range lies in a north-south direction, and reaches an elevation of 7,686 ft at Bald Mountain. The range crosses into Elko County at the northeastern end.</p><br>
<p>The Bureau of Land Management manages 80.7% of the Sulphur Spring Range, and 19.3% is privately held. Mammals found in the range include: the long-tailed vole, Great Basin pocket mouse, and the deer mouse. The golden eagle and Mojave Desert sidewinder can also be found in the mountains.</p><br>
<p>Trees found in the range include: Utah juniper (Juniperus osteosperma), and single-leaf pinyon (Pinus monophylla).</p><br>
<p>Baghsar  is a lake situated at 975 m above sea-level in the Samahni Valley of Bhimber District in Pakistan&#39;s Azad Kashmir. The lake is roughly half a kilometre long and overlooks the Bandala Valley. The lake is a popular tourist destination.</p><br>
<p>Many local and migratory birds, especially ducks and geese, inhabit the lake. The lake is habitat to water lilies, and the surrounding hills are covered by cheerh, or pine trees and lily flowers.</p><br>
<p>Moghul Fort overlooks the lake from the top of a hill. This four story structure of granite has played important roles in history during the times of Ahmed Shah Abdali, Ranjit Singh and Gulab Singh. It is said that the Mughal Emperor Jahangir, on his way back from the Kashmir Valley, fell ill and ultimately died in this fort.</p><br>
<p></revision></p><br>
<p>The Annamite Range or the Annamese Mountains  is a mountain range of eastern Indochina, which extends approximately 1,100 km through Laos, Vietnam, and a small area in northeast Cambodia. The mountain range is also referred to variously as Annamese Range, Annamese Mountains, Annamese Cordillera, Annamite Mountains and Annamite Cordillera.</p><br>
<p>The highest points of the range are 2,819 m high Phou Bia, 2,720 m high Phu Xai Lai Leng and Ngọc Linh (Ngoc Pan), 2,598 m. The latter is located at the northwestern edge of the Triassic Kontum Massif, in central Vietnam. Important passes are the Nape Pass and the Mụ Giạ Pass.</p><br>
<p>The Annamite Range runs parallel to the Vietnamese coast, in a gentle curve which divides the basin of the Mekong River from Vietnam&#39;s narrow coastal plain along the South China Sea. Most of the crests are on the Laotian side. The eastern slope of the range rises steeply from the plain, drained by numerous short rivers. The western slope is more gentle, forming significant plateaus before descending to the banks of the Mekong. The range itself has three main plateaus, from north to south: Phouane Plateau, Nakai Plateau and Bolaven Plateau.</p><br>
<p>Laos lies mostly within the Mekong basin, west of the divide, although most of Houaphan Province and a portion of Xiangkhoang Province (where the famous Plain of Jars is located) lie east of the divide. Most of Vietnam lies east of the divide, although Vietnam&#39;s Tây Nguyên (Central Highlands) region lies west of the divide, in the Mekong basin.</p><br>
<p>"An-nam" means in Chinese "to pacify the south", referring to the region&#39;s location relative to China.</p><br>
<h2>Ecology</h2><br>
<p>The Annamite mountains now form an important tropical seasonal forest global ecoregion, the Annamite Range Moist Forests Ecoregion, which consists of two terrestrial ecoregions, the Southern Annamites montane forests and the Northern Annamites moist forests.</p><br>
<p>The range is home to rare creatures such as the recently discovered Annamite rabbit and the antelope-like saola, the Douc langur, the large gaur, the Chinese pangolin and the Indochinese tiger.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Most of the highlands like the Annamite Range and the Central Highlands were populated by ethnic minorities who were not Vietnamese during the 20th century&#39;s start. The demographics were drastically transformed with the mass colonization of 6 million settlers from 1976 to the 1990s, which led to ethnic Vietnamese Kinh outnumbering the native ethnic groups in the highlands.</p><br>
<p>Mansura  was the historic capital of the Arab empire in Sindh, during the eighth century under the Umayyad Caliphate. The city now lies 8 mi south-east of Shahdadpur, Pakistan, and 43 mi north-east of Hyderabad.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The city was constructed by Khalid ibn Barmak (705–782), a member of the Persian Barmakids family. The city holds an important position in Muslim history as the first to be built by Arabs according to the principles of town-planning. Seventeen years later, lessons learned in Mansura were applied in Baghdad where there were once numerous Sindhi inspired buildings and monuments.</p><br>
<p>Mansuras history began under the Umayyad Caliphs, when Muslim Arabs attempted to conquer the frontier kingdoms of India, Kabul, Zabul, and Sindh. In the early 8th Century, with the Kingdom of Sindh convulsed by internal strife, the Arabs seized their chance and renewed their attacks. Thereafter it was captured by Muhammad ibn Qasim, nephew of al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf, the governor of Iraq and Khurasan with the Arab Muslim army now known as Arain.Qasims successors attempted to expand from Sindh into the Punjab and other regions. Al-Masudi ascribed the foundation of the city to Governor Mansur ibn Jamhur, the last Umayyad governor of Sindh. Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz, who belonged to the Banu Habar tribe, the clan of Banu Asad, was the first governor of al-Mansura. Under the Caliphate of al-Mansur, Khalid was appointed governor of Fars and, after helping obtain Prince Isa ibn Musa&#39;s renunciation of his succession to the caliphate in 765, became governor of Tabaristan. Around the same time, his son Yahya ibn Khalid, was appointed governor of Adharbayjan.</p><br>
<p>According to historians, Mansura was a beautiful town with vast orchards of mangoes and groves of date palms. Today the ruins of Mansura are spread over an area 4 mi in circumference near the modern city of Shahdadpur. The most significant ruin found in Mansura is the large courtyard of a Jamia Masjid (mosque), while the remains of temples destroyed by the Muslims were re-used to build mosques, leaving no remains other than a small temple structure called a deri (or deval).</p><br>
<h2>Modern ruins</h2><br>
<p>The city lies upon the open sandy plain amongst rolling heaps of brick debris, crisscrossed with the depressions of its original streets and surrounded by the ruins of its once massive walls and bastions. Shaped like a boot with the sole facing north-west and the leg stretching south-east, the whole area has a circumference of 5.75 miles. Apart from a considerable area towards the south-east end, the whole space is covered with billowing mounds of brick ruins. Nothing now stands above the surface, except in one place, where an unrecognizable tower-like core of brick masonry remains. There is a total absence of stone masonry of any kind, but lumps of charred wood dotted here and there indicate the former presence of woodwork. The cement used in the brickwork appears to have been mud which forms the greater mass of the present mounds.</p><br>
<p>The name Brahmanabad too was a misnomer and is primarily based upon the assumption that it was the place where Brahmans were concentrated. It is a combination of Brahman and Abad. Abad means settled and is a Persian word. It is simply impossible that the Brahmans could have named the city Brahmanabad using a Persian suffix because the indigenous Sindhi language, or its previous regional dialects, was rich with many such words as waahn, wasti, waari, etc. In fact the city was established earlier than the Brahman occupation of, and settlement in, the site, by the Persian Sassanid King Bahmanwa. This information is based on the historical works of Maj Raverti, a prominent historian on the North Western parts of India, particularly, Sindh.</p><br>
<p>The Calamian Islands or Calamianes is a group of islands in the Philippine province of Palawan. It includes:</p><br>
<p>Busuanga Island</p><br>
<p>Coron Island</p><br>
<p>Culion Island</p><br>
<p>Calauit Island</p><br>
<p>Malcapuya Island</p><br>
<p>Banana Island</p><br>
<p>Pass Island</p><br>
<p>Calumbuyan Island</p><br>
<p>several minor islets</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Historically, the Calamianes was site of the Spanish politico-militar Provincia de Calamianes. The Spanish Empire later purchased mainland Paragua from the Sultan of Borneo. During the American occupation (1898-1948), the old Provincia de Calamianes was dissolved and jointly administered with the Island of Paragua as the new Province of Palawan.</p><br>
<p>During the American occupation and up until recently, Culion Island was host to a leper colony. Busuanga Island hosts the largest town, Coron, in the Calamian Islands. Coron Island is known for having the cleanest inland body of water in the Philippines, called Kayangan Lake. Calauit Island is known for hosting a number of endangered African animal species. Diving spots, with coral reefs and sunken Japanese shipwrecks, also lies within the waters of these islands.</p><br>
<p>The College of Montana was a private liberal arts college that existed in Deer Lodge, Montana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Founded in 1878 as the "Montana Collegiate Institute", the school was the first institution of higher learning in Montana. The College of Montana name was adopted in 1883. For much of its existence, the college was affiliated with the Presbyterian Church.</p><br>
<p>Strapped for funding and suffering from a limited enrollment, the school had an erratic existence and finally closed for good in 1916. Seven years later, the organization of the College of Montana merged with that of Montana Wesleyan College to form Intermountain Union College, located in Helena, Montana. Intermountain Union, in turn, later merged with the Billings Polytechnic Institute to form Rocky Mountain College.</p><br>
<p>Probably the best-known person once associated with the College of Montana was the literary critic Irving Babbitt, who taught at the school for a time. Theodore M. Brantley, later Chief Justice of the Montana Supreme Court, taught at the college for several years. Augustus M. Ryon founded the colleges School of Mines in 1888, and was named the first president of Montana State University in 1893. James R. Reid, who served as the colleges president from 1891 to 1893, became the second president of Montana State University.</p><br>
<p>Buildings from the former College of Montana campus still survive in Deer Lodge, including Trask Hall, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.</p><br>
<p>Liberty Cap is a granite dome in Yosemite National Park, California, United States which lies at the extreme northwestern margin of Little Yosemite Valley. It lies adjacent, to the north of Nevada Fall, on the John Muir Trail. It rises 1,700 ft feet from the base of Nevada Fall to a peak elevation of 7,080 ft. A smaller, mesa-like dome called Mount Broderick stands immediately adjacent to Liberty Cap.</p><br>
<h2>Origin of the name</h2><br>
<p>California Governor Leland Stanford visited Yosemite in 1865, and he and James Hutchings visited Nevada Fall. Stanford didnt like any proposed names, and, looking at half dollar reputably produced by Hutchings, saw a resemblance between the Liberty Cap and the coins cap of liberty and decided the name better.</p><br>
<h2>Climbing</h2><br>
<p>The easiest routes starts at Happy Isles in Yosemite Valley and follow either the John Muir Trail or the Mist Trail to the top of Nevada Falls. Cross the bridge over the Merced River and climb the short ridge. From the granite slabs on the ridge ascend the Northeast Gully to the summit.</p><br>
<p>There are a number of technical routes on Liberty Cap ranging in difficulty from class 5.8 to 5.11.</p><br>
<p>Ilhéu das Cabras is an island in the Gulf of Guinea. It is one of the smaller islands of São Tomé and Príncipe. The islet is located near the north coast of the island of São Tomé, 8 km north of the city of São Tomé.</p><br>
<h2>Description</h2><br>
<p>The islet has two small hills, one in the southwest and one in the northeast, the northeast one has the highest point. The islet is generally almost entirely forested, barren parts also dominate especially the eastern part.</p><br>
<p>Almost in the middle of islet at the second hill has a small lighthouse, it may be the first built in the nation, built in the Portuguese Colonial era. Its focal height is 98 meters which is one of the highest and its range is 20 km (12 nmi).</p><br>
<p>During the Ice Age when the sea level was 130 meters lower than the present day, it formed a part of the island of São Tomé and were two hills, thousands of years ago, the hill separated from the island and became a current islet.</p><br>
<p>Surrounding the islet to the northwest and parts of the southeast is a light blue area where the waters are shallow, within the bay, the waters are not shallow.</p><br>
<p>The islet can be seen from parts of the northeast of the island as well as from the city of São Tomé in the south of Ana Chaves Bay especially from Avenida Marginal 12 de Julho.</p><br>
<h2>Nature</h2><br>
<p>Flora and fauna dominates the island. The island has fauna including birds and some other animals as the islet was once part of the nearby island in the Late Ice Age. Also marine fauna surrounds the islet, one of them founded in the islet is the sea snail, the rock snail species Muricopsis hernandezi.</p><br>
<p>The Adrar des Ifoghas  is a massif in located in the Kidal Region of Mali, reaching into Algeria. It has an area of around 250,000 square kilometers .</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>The Adrar des Ifoghas area is characterized by wide, shallow valleys, and is strewn with piles of eroded granite blocks. The massifs valleys open to the Tamesna plain on the east, to the Telemsi fosse on the west, to the western basin of the Azaouak valley on the south, and to the Tanezrouft on the north. Settlements of the area include Kidal, Aguelhoc, Boghassa, Essouk, and Tessalit.</p><br>
<p>The Adrar des Ifoghas is known locally as "Adagh". "Adrar" is the Berber word for mountain, while "Ifogha" is the name of an aristocratic Tuareg clan, "Kel Ifoghas", who have dominated the region for generations. Like most Tuareg, the Kel Ifoghas are nomadic, raising camels, goats, and sheep for sustenance and for sale.</p><br>
<p>The area is rich in archaeological remains, particularly rock drawings which depict men hunting, farming, and cattle-rearing. The skeleton of Asselar man (c. 6,400 BP) was also found in the area by Wladimir Besnard and Théodore Monod. The Adrar des Ifoghas has also become popular for treks.</p><br>
<h2>Recent history</h2><br>
<p>In 2013, the rugged badlands became a refuge for Islamist fighters fleeing French intervention in the Mali civil war. On 22 February, a battle was fought in Adrar des Ifoghas, killing 25 Chadians, including Abdel Aziz Hassane Adam, the leading Chadian special forces commander in Mali, and 93 Islamists. On March 12, a battle took place in the village of Tigharghar, killing one Chadian soldier and 6 Islamists. The battle resulted in the Chadians taking the village.</p><br>
<p>Dallas Divide  is a high mountain pass in the United States state of Colorado located on State Highway 62 about 12 mi west of the town of Ridgway.</p><br>
<p>The pass is a saddle between the San Juan Mountains to the south and the Uncompahgre Plateau to the north and divides the Uncompahgre River watershed from the San Miguel River watershed and Ouray County from San Miguel County. The pass takes its name from Dallas Creek which drains the basin on the north side of Mount Sneffels into the Uncompahgre River. The divide&#39;s namesake is George M. Dallas, 11th Vice President of the United States.</p><br>
<p>The summit is not marked at the top, so travelers over the road may not notice they have just traversed the divide. The approach on either side is mild and does not cause many cars or trucks problems in winter.</p><br>
<p>A toll road was first constructed over Dallas Divide in 1880 linking the town of Dallas near Ridgway with Telluride. In 1890 the Rio Grande Southern Railroad was built over the divide from Ridgway to Telluride.</p><br>
<p>Mattawoman Creek is a 30.0 mi coastal-plain tributary to the tidal Potomac River with a mouth at Indian Head, Maryland, 20 mi downstream of Washington, D.C. It comprises a 23 mi river flowing through Prince Georges and Charles counties and a 7 mi tidal-freshwater estuary in Charles County. About three-fourths of its 94 square miles watershed lies in Charles County, with the remainder in Prince Georges County immediately to the north.</p><br>
<p>Mattawoman appears on Capt. John Smith&#39;s circa-1608 map as Mataughquamend, an Algonquian compound translated as “where one goes pleasantly.” Today, Mattawoman Creek is listed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as impaired under Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act for excess nutrients, sediment, and loss of living resources. At the same time, because it is the southernmost Potomac River freshwater estuary in Maryland, Mattawoman has escaped much of the degradation associated with urbanization spreading from Washington, D.C. It retains noteworthy biodiversity.</p><br>
<p>Assessments of fish communities throughout the Chesapeake Bay system by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources find the Mattawoman estuary to be the most productive of sampled tributaries for migratory fish. Especially abundant are anadromous alewife, blueback herring and American shad and semi-anadromous white and yellow perch. The largemouth bass, a resident gamefish that supports an active recreational fishery in the tidal freshwater Potomac River and its tributaries, also achieves high concentrations in the estuary. On the basis of fish assessments, Maryland fisheries biologists have concluded that Mattawoman represents as near to ideal conditions as can be found in the northern Chesapeake Bay, perhaps unattainable in other systems, and should be protected from overdevelopment.</p><br>
<p>The estuary supports extensive freshwater tidal marshes that are partially protected as Maryland Wildlands and as Natural Environment Areas. Palustrine wetlands are concentrated in the broad stream valley of the fluvial reaches, where a site with the greatest species richness of amphibians and reptiles in Maryland has been identified by the Department of Natural Resources.</p><br>
<p>Mattawoman drains the town of Indian Head, the town of Bryans Road, and most of Waldorf, the largest community in Charles County. Its watershed remains over 50% forested but is approaching a 10% impervious cover, often cited as a threshold for significant degradation as measured by water quality and species diversity. Continued loss of forest and increases in impervious cover are anticipated, (214 km) is larger than Washington D.C. (61 square miles; 158 km). With respect to projected growth, the Mattawoman Creek Watershed Management Plan authored by the USA Army Corps of Engineers notes that hese intense development practices would have severe repercussions on the biological community and would decrease the habitat quality within the estuary.</p><br>
<p>The quality of Mattawoman’s living resources are acknowledged by Charles County government, while the juxtaposition of high quality and high vulnerability to development are recognized by state and federal agencies. For example, the Mattawoman Creek Watershed Management Plan states: The Mattawoman Creek represents an important natural resource, with a diverse network of forests, tributaries, and wetlands, providing tremendous fish and wildlife habitat. The ecological integrity of the Mattawoman is at risk from current and future development pressures within the watershed. The juxtaposition of value and vulnerability has caused the creek and its watershed to become a focal point for regional and local conservation organizations that work to restore the Chesapeake Bay in the face of growing urbanization, which studies find contribute to the decline of the Bay.</p><br>
<p>Proposals for two four-lane highways that would cross the fluvial stream, and the expected attendant development, have generated debate. The first, the Western Waldorf Bypass, is one of three alternatives being considered by state and federal agencies for the USA 301 Waldorf-Area Transportation Improvements Project. This highway would divide lengthwise about one-half of the Mattawoman watershed. The second, for which controversial wetlands permit applications have been submitted, is a proposed extension of Charles County’s Cross County Connector, which would cross the width of the watershed.</p><br>
<h2>Variant names</h2><br>
<p>According to the Geographic Names Information System, Mattawoman Creek has also been known by the following names.</p><br>
<p>Mataughquamend</p><br>
<p>Matawoman Creeke</p><br>
<p>Matawomen Creeke</p><br>
<p>Mattawomans Creek</p><br>
<p>Mattawomen Creek</p><br>
<p>Pangayo</p><br>
<p>Saint Thomas Creeke</p><br>
<p>Zachia Swamp</p><br>
<p>Sibsey Island is an island in the Australian state of South Australia located in the Sir Joseph Banks Group in Spencer Gulf. It was discovered on 21 February 1802 by Matthew Flinders. Currently, the island is uninhabited.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>There are two anchorages on the island, one on the western side of the island, and another on the east. The nearest island within the Sir Joseph Banks Group is English Island. There is a navigational aid located on 2m high pile on the island&#39;s highest point, i.e. 26m above sea level. Dangerous Reef, a nearby reef, makes approaching the island in large craft hazardous.</p><br>
<h2>Wildlife</h2><br>
<p>Australian sea lions from nearby English Island are often seen on the rocks near to Sibsey. Seabirds nest on the island, but there are no other large animals present. Marine predators often hunt in the channel between Sibsey and English Islands. The island is part of the Sir Joseph Banks Islands Important Bird Area, identified as such by BirdLife International because of its importance as a breeding site for seabirds and for Cape Barren geese. Guano was collected from the island in the early 20th century. One party to the island circa 1916 left two members on the island for twelve days, during which time they survived by eating little penguins and their eggs. In 2004, "few" little penguins were present on Sibsey Island. As of 2011, the colony&#39;s status is unknown.</p><br>
<h2>Economy</h2><br>
<p>The island has no native economy, being uninhabited. However, the waters surrounding it are used extensively by recreational fishermen. The nearby Dangerous Reef is also a popular tourism spot, with scuba diving operators taking advantage of the natural formations and fish stocks. It is a significant bird, sea lion and great white shark breeding area. The area is also covered under the Lower Eyre Peninsula Aquaculture Policy.</p><br>
<p>The Lawn, a part of Thomas Jeffersons Academical Village, is a large, terraced grassy court at the historic center of Jeffersons academic community at the University of Virginia. The Lawn and its surrounding buildings, designed by Jefferson, demonstrate Jeffersons mastery of Palladian and Neoclassical architecture, and the site has been recognized as an architectural masterpiece in itself. The Lawn has been designated a USA National Historic Landmark District, and is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site along with the original buildings of the University of Virginia and Monticello, Jeffersons nearby residence; this designation is due to the site&#39;s architectural and cultural significance.</p><br>
<p>Jefferson originally designed the Lawn to be the center of the university, and as such it is surrounded by housing for students and faculty. Its most famous building is the Rotunda, which sits at the north end of the site, opposite Old Cabell Hall. Framing the other two sides of the Lawn are ten Pavilions, where faculty reside in the upper two floors and teach on the first, as well as 54 Lawn rooms, where carefully selected undergraduates reside in their final year. Opposite the Pavilions and Lawn rooms are ten gardens, and similar to the Pavilions, each garden is designed in a distinct way; no two gardens are the same. The outermost row of buildings on either side constitute the edge of the Academical Village; these are known as the Range and house graduate students.</p><br>
<p>The Lawn has remained the symbolic center of the university since 1819, when the university was founded. It annually serves as the site of the university&#39;s graduation ceremonies, as well as other ceremonies during the year.</p><br>
<h2>Description</h2><br>
<p>The Lawn is used to refer either to the original grounds designed by Thomas Jefferson for the University of Virginia, or specifically to the grassy field around which the original university buildings are arrayed. The Lawn consists of four rows of colonnades on which alternate student rooms and larger buildings. The inner rank of colonnades, facing the central Lawn proper, contains ten Pavilions (which provided both classrooms and housing for the Universitys original professors) and 54 student rooms, while the outer rank, facing outward, contain six Hotels (typically service buildings and dining establishments) and another 54 student rooms. At the head of the colonnades, facing south down the Lawn, is the Rotunda, a one-half scale copy of the Pantheon in brick with white columns, that originally held the Universitys library.</p><br>
<p>There are a total of 206 columns surrounding the Lawn: 16 on The Rotunda, 38 on the Pavilions, 152 on the walkways. The columns are of varying orders according to the formality and usage of the space, with Corinthian columns on the exterior of the Rotunda giving way to Doric, Ionic, and Composite orders inside; Doric, Ionic, or Corinthian on each of the pavilions; and a relatively humble Tuscan colonnade along the Lawn walkways.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<h3>Jefferson's design</h3><br>
<p>Jeffersons design for the Lawn sought to find an alternative to traditional single-building college architecture, such as that he experienced as a student at the College of William and Mary, due to its being "noisy, unhealthy, vulnerable to fires, and affording little privacy." The overall model for the Lawn (the U-shaped plan with a central dome) is similar to, and may have been influenced by, Joseph Jacques Ramées design for Union College and Benjamin Latrobe&#39;s design for a military academy, as well as by the designs of Palladio and by his own house, Monticello. Along the legs of the U, the colonnades provide sheltered, but outdoor, communication between the pavilions and the student rooms, and while everything in the Lawn communicates with the Lawn or the outside world, there is privacy afforded by the walled gardens.</p><br>
<p>Jefferson separated the buildings of the lawn into 10 units, or Pavilions, to reflect his classification of the branches of learning, and designed the relationship between them and the rest of the Lawn. Each of the ten Pavilions has a unique design, intended to give individual dignity to each branch of study, and the whole was intended to serve as a sort of outdoor classroom for architectural study, as he wrote to William Thornton, architect of the United States Capitol:</p><br>
<p>Thornton obliged with designs for two pavilions, one of which was adapted for the design of Pavilion VII, the first to be built. Jefferson also solicited designs from Benjamin Latrobe, who had worked with Jefferson on the chambers for the United States House of Representatives. Latrobe responded with a sketch showing the plan of the University, with a domed structure resembling Palladios Villa Capra "La Rotonda", and sent a second large drawing in October 1817 showing at least five Pavilion elevations, and maybe 10 (while he had promised Jefferson "seven or eight" Pavilions, the actual drawing has been lost). It is believed that Latrobes drawings were used for the designs of Pavilions III, V, IX and X Further, it is speculated that many of the eastern Pavilions were based on Latrobe&#39;s designs, as Jefferson prepared the drawings for all five buildings in a mere three weeks. Throughout the process, Jefferson adapted the designs to fit the site, adjusting the width, specifying the entablature, and providing the detailed design of the interior of the Rotunda.</p><br>
<p>The area between the Pavilions and the Ranges was designated as garden space in Thomas Jefferson&#39;s original plans. The current design of the gardens is a result of an initiative begun by University president Colgate Darden to return them to something approximating the original Jeffersonian design.</p><br>
<p>The overall effect of the different portions of the Lawn, the Rotunda, Pavilions, student rooms, and the physical site, is, in the words of Garry Wills, "paradoxical... regimentation and individual expression... hierarchical order and relaxed improvising.... But it is the reconciliation of these apparent irreconcilables that is the genius of the system."</p><br>
<h3>Early inhabitants of the Lawn: Students, professors, and slaves</h3><br>
<p>The original 108 student rooms (54 on the Lawn, and 27 on each of the adjacent Ranges) were doubles, permitting the housing of up to 216 students. In practice, with enrollment at the University considerably lower during the first sessions, the dormitory rooms adjacent to the Pavilions were used in some cases by the professors until 1854. As the University&#39;s enrollment grew, from 128 students in 1842-43 to 604 in 1861, students began to seek lodging in University-approved boarding houses in addition to the Lawn. Additional changes to the makeup of the residents included the use of Lawn rooms as barracks for officer candidates during World War II, a shift from double to single occupancy in 1959, and the arrival of the first women undergraduates on the Lawn in 1972.</p><br>
<p>Originally, the Pavilions were designed as both housing for professors and as classroom space. The original plan for the University described the Pavilions as "a distinct pavilion or building for each separate professorship; these to be arranged around a square; each pavilion to contain a school-room and two apartments for the accommodation of the professor&#39;s</p><br>
<p>family, and other reasonable conveniences." However, due to a combination of practical concerns over the ability of the first floor lecture rooms to accommodate enough students for large lectures, and objections from the families of the professors that the space was required for entertaining, students rarely had access to the rooms.</p><br>
<p>In addition to the professors and their families, in the pre-Civil War days the Pavilions also housed the slaves of the professors. While University students were prohibited by the University&#39;s Enactments from bringing their personal slaves with them, professors could and did own slaves, who were quartered in Pavilion or Hotel cellars or in outbuildings. In one notable case, Lewis Commodore, a slave owned by the University, was granted accommodations within the Rotunda itself, only to be turned out by the Board of Visitors two years later.</p><br>
<h3>The Rotunda annex and fire of 1895</h3><br>
<p>As the size of the student body increased, the Rotunda was extended with a structure called the Annex, also known as "New Hall," on its north side in 1853. The Annex, which extended 100 ft from the original north façade of the Rotunda, added about 10,000 ft&sup2; of classroom and meeting space, including a Public Hall that seated 1200 people.</p><br>
<p>In 1895, the Rotunda was entirely gutted by a disastrous fire that started in faulty electrical wiring in the Public Hall of the Annex. University students saved what was, for them, the most important item within the Rotunda — a life-size likeness of Mr. Jefferson carved from marble that was given to the University by Alexander Galt in 1861; the students also rescued a portion of the books of the University library from the Dome Room, as well as various scientific instruments from the classrooms in the Annex. Shortly after the fire, the faculty drew up a recommendation to the Board of Visitors, recommending a program of rebuilding that called for the reconstruction of the Rotunda and the replacement of the lost classroom space of the Annex with a set of buildings at the south end of the Lawn.</p><br>
<h3>After the Rotunda fire: Stanford White buildings</h3><br>
<p>Following the burning of the Rotunda in 1895, the firm of McKim, Mead, and White and its noted architect Stanford White was hired to rebuild the Rotunda and to create new academic buildings to compensate for the loss of the Rotunda annex. White created three academic buildings, Rouss Hall, and Cabell Hall (now Old Cabell Hall) at the base of the Lawn, enclosing the southern view which had previously been open to the Blue Ridge Mountains. The creation of this building group enclosed the Lawn and set its dimensions permanently; subsequent development of the University has happened outside of the boundaries of the Academical Village.</p><br>
<p>After the new academic buildings were erected, a statue of Homer by noted sculptor and Virginia native Moses Jacob Ezekiel was given to the University in 1907 and placed in the quadrangle in front of Old Cabell Hall. Ezekiel also created the bronze statue of Jefferson on a bell-shaped pedestal that stands in front of the north stairs of the Rotunda. During the same period, statues of Jefferson and George Washington were added to the south of Pavilions IX and X, facing each other across the Lawn to the north of the Rouss/Cabell/Cocke quadrangle. The Jefferson statue, a replica of the Karl Bitter sculpture made for the Louisiana Purchase Exhibition, was added in 1915, and the replica of Houdon&#39;s statue of George Washington was added later.</p><br>
<h2>Uses</h2><br>
<p>Graduation exercises at the University of Virginia are held on the Lawn every May, and it is considered one of the institution&#39;s major traditions.</p><br>
<p>Being chosen for residence on the Lawn is one of the University&#39;s highest honors and is very prestigious. All undergraduate students who will graduate at the end of their year of residency are eligible to apply to live in one of the 47, out of 54 rooms open to the general student body. Applications – which vary from year to year, but generally include a résumé, personal statement and responses to several questions – are reviewed by a reading committee and the top vote-getters are offered Lawn residency, with several alternates also given notice of potential residency. Five of the remaining seven rooms are "endowed" by organizations on Grounds: the Jefferson Literary and Debating Society (room 7; founded there on July 14, 1825), Trigon Engineering Society (room 17; founded on November 3, 1924), Residence Staff (room 26), the Honor Committee (room 37) and the Kappa Sigma fraternity (room 46; founded there on December 10, 1869). These groups have their own selection process for choosing who will live in their Lawn room although the Dean of Students renders final approval. The Gus Blagden "Good Guy" room (15) resident is chosen from a host of nominees and does not necessarily belong to any particular group. Residency in the John K. Crispell memorial pre-med room (1) is usually granted to an outstanding pre-med student from among the group of 47 offered regular Lawn residency.</p><br>
<p>Residence in the pavilions is also desirable. However, only nine of the pavilions have faculty residents, as Pavilion VII is the Colonnade Club. The University&#39;s Board of Visitors has final approval over which faculty members may live in a pavilion. Pavilion residency is typically offered as a three- or five-year contract with the option to renew. Pavilion residents are expected to interact with their younger "Lawnie" neighbors, as Jefferson intended.</p><br>
<p>The University has recently begun celebrating winter with the "Lighting of the Lawn". Early each December since 2001, some 22,000 small white lightbulbs are draped around the various buildings of the Lawn and lit up at once with great ceremony, immediately following the reading of a student-composed holiday-themed poem. The lights are turned on each nightfall until the end of the semester, usually about two weeks later. Thousands of students turn out for the opening event.</p><br>
<h2>The South Lawn Project</h2><br>
<p>In recent years, the Lawn changed considerably as a consequence of the South Lawn Project. The McIntire School of Commerce moved to a newly renovated</p><br>
<p>Rouss Hall, formerly home of the College&#39;s Economics department. Monroe Hall (former home of the McIntire School) became part of the College. As part of the project, New Cabell Hall was renovated (though it was originally planned for demolition), and the Lawn was extended via a bridge over Jefferson Park Avenue to the space across and "above" the street – where before there was a faculty parking lot. The overall project added over 100,000 ft&sup2; of classroom and office space.</p><br>
<p>Originally awarded to modernist New York architecture firm Polshek Partnership, the current architects, Moore Ruble Yudell, chose a neoclassicist approach for the project. Criticism arose over the allegedly derivative architectural nature of the project. Not only does it ape certain aspects of The Lawn, leading some critics to call it a "theme park," but it also utilizes a traditional red brick appearance that critics allege that the always-innovating Jefferson &ndash; were he alive today &ndash; would have dumped as new technologies arose.</p><br>
<p>This tension, common on college campuses around America and elsewhere, illustrates the broader conundrum of how to expand an architectural icon, taking advantage of modern building techniques and related cost advantages, without being obviously derivative in style. Other critics take the point of view that the neoclassicist approach is more appropriate in the context of the University of Virginia, contrasting the plans to other University projects like the modernist Hereford College and the revivalist Darden School. There has been open feuding over the neoclassical architectural approach ultimately chosen, with both sides writing letters or taking out ad space in the University&#39;s student newspaper, the Cavalier Daily.</p><br>
<p>The University has stated its intention to have the South Lawn Project LEED certified. The South Lawn Project was completed in the fall of 2010.</p><br>
<p>The Franklin Mountains of Texas are a small range  that extend from El Paso, Texas north into New Mexico. The Franklins were formed due to crustal extension related to the Cenozoic Rio Grande rift. Although the present topography of the range and adjoining basins is controlled by extension during rifting in the last 10 million years, faults within the range also record deformation during the Laramide orogeny, between 85 and 45 million years ago.</p><br>
<p>The highest peak is North Franklin Peak at 7,192 ft. Much of the range is part of the Franklin Mountains State Park. The mountains are composed primarily of sedimentary rock with some igneous intrusions. Geologists refer to them as tilted-block fault mountains and in them can be found 1.25 billion-year-old Precambrian rocks, the oldest in Texas.</p><br>
<p>Mount Hasan  is an inactive stratovolcano in Aksaray province, Turkey. With an elevation of 3,268 m, it ranks as the second highest mountain of central Anatolia. A caldera 4-5 kilometres wide formed near the current summit around 7500 BC, in an eruption recorded in Neolithic paintings.</p><br>
<p>The ancient settlement of Çatalhöyük collected obsidian from the area of Hasan Dağ, which they probably traded with other settlements for luxury goods. Obsidian mirrors and flakes have also been found. The importance of Hasan Dağ to the people of Çatalhöyük may be shown by a wall painting, sometimes called the "first landscape" by art historians, which some believe is a depiction of Hasan Dağ towering over the settlement&#39;s houses.</p><br>
<p>It was the second mountain from the south in the Byzantine beacon system used to warn the Byzantine capital of Constantinople of incursions during the Arab–Byzantine wars.</p><br>
<p>Approximately a six hours&#39; walk is required to climb to the top of the mountain from the highest point accessible by car. The summit offers a fabulous view over the central Anatolian plateau, including distant Cappadocia.</p><br>
<p>Liverpool Bay is a bay of the Irish Sea between northeast Wales, Cheshire, Lancashire and Merseyside to the east of the Irish Sea. The bay is a classic example of a region of freshwater influence. Liverpool Bay has historically suffered from reduced oxygen content from prior massive discharges of sewage sludge, according to C.Michael Hogan.</p><br>
<p>The rivers Alt, Clwyd, Dee, Ribble and Mersey drain into the bay. The bay is littered with wrecks and has many dive sites. The bay also contains several oil and gas fields including the Douglas Complex, with a combined daily capacity (January 2008) of 60,000 barrels. The UK&#39;s first major offshore wind farm, North Hoyle, is located in the south of the bay, which is a busy shipping route to the Mersey Docks.</p><br>
<p>The land area around the bay is occasionally referred to as the "Liverpool Bay Area". Though the term is seen by some as a possible official alternative to Merseyside, it is more often used to describe a much wider area which may include the West Lancashire towns of Ormskirk and Skelmersdale to the north, St Helens and Warrington to the east and Chester plus North Wales to the south. In this sense, it is often promoted by local thinkers and urbanists to encourage regional co-operation in both economic and cultural terms. It is not recognised by the British Government as a strategic economic sub-region, however. Despite having its advocates, the term is still not particularly common in the area.</p><br>
<p>The English portion of Liverpool Bay is one of the 120 natural areas into which England is divided by Natural England for conservation purposes.</p><br>
<h2>Wind power</h2><br>
<p>Wind turbines which are the biggest in the world as of 2017 have been installed in Liverpool Bay.</p><br>
<h2>Notable ships lost in Liverpool Bay</h2><br>
<p>SS City of Brussels</p><br>
<p>Ellan Vannin</p><br>
<p>PS Lelia</p><br>
<p>Ocean Monarch</p><br>
<p>Resurgam</p><br>
<p>HMS Thetis</p><br>
<p>Chief Plenty Coups State Park is a state park located approximately 0.5 mi west of Pryor, Montana, on the Crow Indian Reservation. Chief Plenty Coups&#39;  Home, located in the state park, is a National Historic Landmark with several contributing resources. The homestead was listed on the USA National Register of Historic Places in 1970 He and his wife, Strikes the Iron, left their home and property to all people in 1928. The only museum of Apsáalooke culture in the United States is located here along with a memorial to Plenty Coups and his achievements.</p><br>
<h2>Park history</h2><br>
<p>In a vision as a young man, Chief Plenty Coups saw his future as an old man sitting in the shade of trees with a house and spring nearby. In 1883, he settled on an allotment of 320 acre saying:</p><br>
<p>Today, I who have been called Chief of Chiefs, among red men, present to all the children of our Great White Father this land where the snows of many winters have fallen on my tepee. This park is not to be a memorial to me, but to the Crow Nation. It is given as a token of my friendship for all people, both red and white.</p><br>
<p>Upon Chief Plenty Coups death in 1932, the Big Horn County Commission assumed responsibility and employed a caretaker for the farm and buildings. The Billings Kiwanis Club took stewardship of the land in 1951. The club operated a small museum in the house and placed small sandstone markers at the grave sites of Chief Plenty Coups and his wives. In 1961, the site entered state ownership under the control of the Montana State Highway Commission, who in turn passed it on to the parks division of the Montana Fish and Game Department, the predecessor to todays Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, in 1965. It was at this time that Chief Plenty Coups land became a state park. In about 1970, the State of Montana purchased an additional small tract of 6.2 acre for access and park structures, bringing the total to todays area of 195.4 acre. This additional parcel had been part of an allotment to Chief Plenty Coups&#39; wife, Kills Together, who died in 1923.</p><br>
<p>Neglect took a toll through the decades of the 1950s and 60s and under threat of lawsuit, the state, along with tribal and private donors, built a visitor center and museum in 1972. The house that Plenty Coups had begun in 1884 was stabilized in 1993 and 1994. In 2003, the state spent US$600,000 on renovations and improvements to the museum including the addition of a fire suppression system and other building safety features and refurbishment of the interpretative displays.</p><br>
<p>The park is now a quiet place to enjoy a walk or a picnic and is open year-round. The visitors center/museum and the Chiefs House are open to the public. The park also offers educational programs for schools and groups. On Labor Day weekend, Chief Plenty Coups State Park&#39;s main event is Day of Honor. This event is open to all, and many members of the Crow or Apsaalooké also come out to enjoy free food and dancing.</p><br>
<p>The Pentacrest is a collection of four buildings on the campus of the University of Iowa surrounding the Old Capitol &mdash; Jessup Hall, Macbride Hall, MacLean Hall, and Schaeffer Hall &mdash; on a four-block-sized parcel of land in Iowa City, Iowa.</p><br>
<h2>Description</h2><br>
<p>The Pentacrest is a four-block park-like area including the zero-point of the street grid of Iowa City. The axes are defined by Iowa Avenue and Capitol Street. The exact center is marked by the Iowa Old Capitol Building, which was used as the first state capitol.</p><br>
<p>The borders of the Pentacrest are Jefferson Street on the north, Washington Street on the south, Madison Street on the west, and Clinton Street on the east.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The Pentacrest was not always the Pentacrest. Other buildings have been located on the site. The present configuration is a relatively recent one that was established during the 20th century. Calvin Hall once belonged to the Pentacrest, and was located where Macbride Hall currently is. The decision was made that all buildings of the Pentacrest should be the same color; therefore, Calvin Hall was moved intact across Jefferson Street and Macbride Hall was built in its place.</p><br>
<p>The Dales is a wetland site located at the western end of Christmas Island, an Australian external territory in the eastern Indian Ocean. The site has been recognised as being of international importance by designation under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The Dales were the first location where Europeans set foot on Christmas Island in 1688, during the expedition of William Dampier. Nowadays the Dales are visited by local residents and tourists for sightseeing. One of the subsites, Hugh&#39;s Dale, has religious significance for Buddhists of Chinese background.</p><br>
<h2>Description</h2><br>
<p>The site comprises a system of seven watercourses within the Christmas Island National Park, including permanent and perennial streams, permanent springs, the Hugh&#39;s Dale waterfall, and most of the surface water on the island. It was designated on 21 October 2002 as Ramsar Site 1225, and is the first Australian Ramsar site to contain both surface and subterranean karst features. Area of Ramsar site is about 57 ha. It was also listed on the Directory of Important Wetlands in Australia prior to 2001.Eyles</p><br>
<p>et al, 2001, pages 117 & 120</p><br>
<p>Interesting geological features of the Dales are travertine and rimstone formations of Hugh&#39;s Dale and the gully of Sydney&#39;s Dale, which closer at the sea gets up to 12 m deep and 9 m wide.</p><br>
<h2>Flora and fauna</h2><br>
<p>The site contains a unique stand of enormous Tahitian chestnut trees. Sydney Dale is a recorded site for the critically endangered endemic fern, the Christmas Island spleenwort. The various wetland types of the Dales support populations of endemic and threatened animals, including the Christmas Island hawk-owl, Christmas Island goshawk, Abbott&#39;s booby, Christmas Island shrew and the Christmas Island blind-snake. Coastline habitats within the site provide breeding and spawning grounds for red and blue crabs. The main threat to the site comes from introduced species, in particular the yellow crazy ant and the development of Immigration Reception Centre nearby, above the springs.</p><br>
<h2>Access</h2><br>
<p>The road to the site&#39;s car-park is for 4WD vehicles only. There are walking tracks from the car-park to Hugh&#39;s Dale and Anderson&#39;s Dale, with interpretive signage for visitors.</p><br>
<p>The Washington Avenue Historic District is located in Downtown West, St. Louis, Missouri along Washington Avenue, and bounded by Delmar Boulevard to the north, Locust Street to the south, 8th Street on the east, and 18th Street on the west. The buildings date from the late 19th century to the early 1920s and exhibit a variety of popular architectural styles of those eras. The majority of the district&#39;s buildings are revival styles or in the commercial style that would later come to be known as the Chicago School of architecture. Most buildings originally served as warehouses for the St. Louis garment district and are large multi-story buildings of brick and stone construction. Many have terra cotta accents on their facades. After World War II, the decline in domestic garment production and the preference for single-story industrial space led to many of the buildings being vacant or underused due to functional obsolescence.</p><br>
<h2>Redevelopment</h2><br>
<p>The area began to experience some redevelopment in the 1990s. In 1998, the state of Missouri adopted a tax credit for the redevelopment of historic buildings, making large-scale renovation financially feasible. Local and national developers have acquired many buildings along Washington Avenue and in other parts of downtown. The buildings are being redeveloped with loft-style condominia and apartments.</p><br>
<p>Watkins Incorporated is a manufacturer of health remedies, baking products, and other household items. The entire catalog includes 400 products. It is based in Winona, Minnesota, United States, which utilizes an Omni channel marketing strategy which includes a national retail sales force which focuses on selling to the retail channel as well as an independent sales force of 25,000 people to distribute its products. This independent sales force sells the products using various methods, including the Internet, person to person, trade shows, party planning, and fund-raising. In order to increase overall awareness for the brand, the company began offering products in national retail outlets such as Walmart, Target, Walgreens, Kroger and other mass, drug and grocery retail stores in 2005.</p><br>
<p>The company was founded by J. R. Watkins in Plainview, Minnesota, who began selling liniment in 1868 door-to-door in the southeastern part of the state. The company moved to Winona in 1885 and added a number of products to its lineup. Baking materials including pepper and vanilla extract were added in 1895. J. R. Watkins died in 1911.</p><br>
<p>By the 1940s, Watkins was the largest direct-sales company in the world, but soon began to decline. The demographics and buying habits of the United States had major shifts in the following decades, and the company did not keep pace. Watkins filed for bankruptcy protection in the 1970s, and was purchased by Minneapolis investor Irwin L. Jacobs in 1978.</p><br>
<p>In 1996, Jacobs son, Mark Evan Jacobs, began to take over day-to-day operations of the company. He was 14 at the time his father purchased the company, and had worked as a Watkins salesman for many years. The younger Jacobs was an aspiring actor, appearing in minor roles in films like Biloxi Blues and Goodfellas, but he realized that his acting career wasnt advancing. Since taking over the reins, he has controlled spending, introducing an enhanced compensation plan for sales associates, along with an extensive brand study that led to the introduction of products onto store shelves for the first time.</p><br>
<p>Wal-Mart has carried Watkins products since 2003 other stores nationwide, including Cub Foods, Rite Aid, Walgreens, CVS, Giant, Stop & Shop, Wakefern, Hannaford, Whole Foods, Pick N Save, Schnucks, Hy-Vee, New Seasons Market food stores, Harris Teeter, Target, Menards, Home Depot and others are carrying select items, including spices and extracts as well as some personal care items, liquid hand soaps, home cleaning and the original remedies from the companies beginning. The reception from the retail community has been strong. A new all-natural line of personal care products were introduced to the retail community in the spring of 2008 and has quickly gained market share against Burts Bees and others. A home cleaning line that is all-natural debuted at Target and rolled out nationally in the 2nd half of 2008 and is now sold throughout the country.</p><br>
<p>The seven-building Watkins headquarters in Winona is on the National Register of Historic Places as the J.R. Watkins Medical Company Complex. It was listed in 2004 for having national significance in the themes of architecture, commerce, and industry. It was nominated for being the longtime headquarters of the nation&#39;s largest direct sales company in the early 20th century, and for the Prairie School design of its 1911 Administration Building by architect George W. Maher. The front entrance includes a window designed by stained-glass artist Louis J. Millet depicting Sugar Loaf, a local landmark.</p><br>
<p>In 2002 the story of a Watkins salesman, Bill Porter, was dramatized in the TNT movie Door to Door. He worked a route despite suffering from cerebral palsy.</p><br>
<p>Mount Abraham  is the fifth tallest peak in the USA state of Vermont. The summit supports a small amount of alpine vegetation and offers a view of the Champlain Valley and Adirondack Mountains to the west. Mount Abraham is on the Long Trail, a 272 mi hiking trail running the length of Vermont. The mountain summit can be reached from the south  or from the north . There is no camping permitted at the summit, but Battell Shelter is located roughly one mile from the summit south on the Long Trail.</p><br>
<p>Mount Abraham is the highest point in Addison County. The mountain — named after Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States — is part of the Green Mountains&#39; Presidential Range. In 1881 the mountain was known as Potato Hill and this name is stamped on the benchmark at the summit which was reset in 1978.</p><br>
<p>On June 28, 1973, a pilot flying from Twin Mountain, Vermont to Newburgh, New York was navigating through thick clouds and hit some trees (approx. 3,000 feet elevation) on Mount Abraham. He survived the plane crash. However, parts of the plane (a Cessna 182N, Registration Number N92431) are still on the mountain today.</p><br>
<p>Mount Abraham stands within the watershed of Lake Champlain, which drains into the Richelieu River in Québec, then eventually into the Saint Lawrence River, and into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. The southeast face of Mt. Abraham drains into Lincoln Brook, then into the Mad River, the Winooski River, and into Lake Champlain. The southwest face of Abraham drains into the New Haven River, Otter Creek, and into Lake Champlain. The northwest face of Abraham drains into Beaver Meadow Brook, then into the New Haven River.</p><br>
<p>Fort Nonsense is one of four sites comprising the Morristown National Historical Park, in Morristown, Morris County, New Jersey, United States. Two other sites in Morris County are the Ford Mansion and Jockey Hollow. The fourth is the New Jersey Brigade Encampment Site in Bernardsville, Somerset County.</p><br>
<p>Fort Nonsense occupies a high hilltop overlooking Morristown, and is believed to have been the site of a signal fire or smoke signal, along with earthworks. It was originally built at the order of General George Washington in 1777 for use during the American Revolutionary War that began in 1775 and was ended in 1783 by the Treaty of Paris.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The derivation of the name "Fort Nonsense" is unknown. Researchers say it does not appear in any known document before 1833. The often cited story is that Washingtons original purpose for constructing the fort was to keep the American troops busy and out of trouble; however, Washingtons intention is reportedly disclosed by an order in 1777, issued as he moved the Continental Army to the Middlebrook encampment. In the order he directed Jeremiah Olney to remain behind at Morristown and, in his words, " the Militia now here... Guard the Stores of different kinds... Strengthen the Works already begun upon the Hill near this place, and erect such others as are necessary for the better defending of it, that it may become a safe retreat in case of Necessity."</p><br>
<p>To the contrary, the National Park Service provides these details:</p><br>
<p>The location of Fort Nonsense is at the highest point rising above a relatively level plateau west of the Watchung Mountains on which Morristown was settled. The strategic point provides a clear view of the lands to the north, east, and south with a range of mountains arising directly to the west of the point.</p><br>
<p>The mountains of northern New Jersey provided safe retreats behind natural barriers that the British troops and their conscripted Hessian auxiliaries to Great Britain were never ordered to scale after they had fared badly while attempting to negotiate the few passes, such as Hobart Gap. The movements of the British and their troops between New York and Philadelphia skirted along the coastal and narrow piedmont regions of the state until passing the southern boundary of the mountain ranges, readily visible to the scouts stationed atop the mountains to monitor their movement.</p><br>
<h2>Current status</h2><br>
<p>As it is not a current strategic outlook post but is rather a public park, much of the forest has grown back. The park service maintains open space on the east facade and the very top where a parking lot and a small park with a period cannon are. The eastward view encompasses the entire New York City skyline, Morristown&#39;s busy South Street, and most towns in between Morristown and New York City. On clear days (and nights) the view is spectacular, but the park is closed at night when the views of the NYC skyline are arguably the best.</p><br>
<p>Fish Lake is a high alpine lake  located in the Fishlake/ Southern Wasatch Plateau region of south-central Utah, United States. It lies within and is the namesake of the Fishlake National Forest.</p><br>
<p>Fish Lake, six miles long and one mile wide, lies in a geologic structure known as a graben valley. It is bounded by the Mytoge Mountains on the southeast shore which sharply rise about 1,000 feet (300 m) above the lake level. Along the northwest shore, the lake is bounded by Fish Lake Hightop Plateau (summit elevation 11,600 ft / 3,500 m). The lake has an average depth of 85 ft (26 m) and has a maximum depth of 175 feet (53 m).</p><br>
<p>The lake is best known for its sport fishing — particularly its large lake trout (also known as mackinaw). Mackinaw are caught every summer upwards of 25 lb (10 kg). Fish Lake also holds Rainbow Trout, Splake and Yellow Perch. Yellow Perch are regarded as an invasive species; there is no bag limit and anglers are encouraged to dispose of any Yellow Perch caught. The lake is stocked by the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources fish hatchery in Glenwood. The region sees heavy snowfall in the winter, with snowfall occurring as late as June in any given year. For this reason tourist activity is at its peak in the summer months.</p><br>
<p>Pando, a clonal quaking aspen stand, that, according to some sources, is the oldest (80,000 years) and largest (106 acres, 13 million pounds) organism on Earth, is located 1 mile southwest of Fish Lake on Utah route 25.</p><br>
<p>The nearest town is Koosharem, 15 miles to the west (24 km). A larger community, Richfield, is within a one-hour drive.</p><br>
<p>The Mont Blanc massif  is a mountain range in the Alps, located mostly in France and Italy, but also straddling Switzerland at its northeastern end. It contains eleven major independent summits, each over 4,000 m in height. It is named after Mont Blanc , the highest point in western Europe and the European Union. Because of its considerable overall altitude, a large proportion of the massif is covered by glaciers, which include the Mer de Glace and the Miage Glacierthe longest glaciers in France and Italy, respectively.</p><br>
<p>Not only does the massif form a watershed between the vast catchments of the Rhône and Po rivers, as well as a tripoint between France, Italy and Switzerland, it also marks the border between two climate regions by separating the northern and western Alps from the southern Alps. The mountains of the massif consist mostly of granite and gneiss rocks, and at high altitudes the vegetation is an arctic-alpine flora.</p><br>
<p>The valleys that delimit the massif were used as communication routes by the Romans until they left around the 5th century AD. The region has remained of some military importance through to the mid-20th century. A peasant farming economy operated within these valleys for many centuries until the glaciers and mountains were discovered by the outside world in the 18th century. Word of these impressive sights began to spread, and Mont Blanc was finally climbed in 1786, marking the start of the sport of mountaineering. The region is now a major tourist destination, drawing in over sixmillion visitors per year. It provides a wide range of opportunities for outdoor recreation and activities such as sight-seeing, hiking, rock climbing, mountaineering and skiing. Around one hundred people a year die across its mountains and, occasionally, bodies have been lost and entombed in its glaciers for decades.</p><br>
<p>Access into the mountains is facilitated by cable cars, mountain railways and mountain huts which offer overnight refuge to climbers and skiers. The long-distance Tour du Mont Blanc hiking trail circumnavigates the whole massif in an 11-day trek of 170 km. The Mont Blanc Tunnel connects the French town of Chamonix on the northern side with the Italian town of Courmayeur in the south. The high mountains have provided many opportunities for scientific research, including neutrino measurements within the Tunnel and impacts of climate change on its highest slopes. Recent rises in average temperatures have led to significant glacial retreat across the massif and an awareness of the need for better environmental protection, including a call for World Heritage Site status.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>The Mont Blanc massif is 46 km long and lies in a southwest to northeasterly direction across the borders of France (Haute-Savoie and Savoie), Italy (Aosta Valley) and Switzerland (western Valais). At its widest point the massif is 20 km across. The northern side of the massif lies mostly within France, and is bounded by the valley of the River Arve, containing the towns of Argentière, Chamonix and Les Houches. To the west it is bounded by the Val Montjoie, containing the town of Les Contamines-Montjoie and Le Bon Nant river which flows northwards to a confluence with the Arve near Saint-Gervais-les-Bains, and thence onwards to the Rhône.</p><br>
<p>The southern side of the massif lies mostly within Italy and is bounded by the Val Veny and Val Ferret whose watercourses meet just above the town of Courmayeur. From Courmayeur these waters flow southwards as the Dora Baltea towards Aosta, eventually joining the Po river. However, the extreme southwestern end of the massif does lie within France and is bounded by the Vallée des Glaciers (which connects to the Val Veny over the watershed of the col de la Seigne), and its waters flow southwards towards the Isère river and onwards to the Rhône. The northeastern end of the massif falls within Switzerland, and is bounded by a separate valley, confusingly also called Val Ferret, and which separates it from the Pennine Alps further east. Its watercourse, la Dranse de Ferret, flows northwards to join the Rhône at Martigny.</p><br>
<p>The borders of all three countries converge at a tripoint near the summit of Mont Dolent at an altitude of 3,820 m. From here the French – Italian border runs southwestwards along a ridge of high summits on the southern side of the massif, many of which are over 4,000 m in height, including the Grandes Jorasses, Rochefort Ridge, Dent du Géant, Mont Maudit, Mont Blanc and its western satellite, the Aiguille de Bionnassay. From here the border turns southwards over the Dômes de Miage and Aiguille de Tré la Tête before dropping down to the Col de la Seigne. North of Mont Dolent the border between France and Switzerland meanders roughly north-northwestwards along a ridge-line of slightly lower peaks, including the Aiguille d&#39;Argentière, the Aiguille du Chardonnet and the Aiguille du Tour, before dropping down to the Col de Balme. The Swiss – Italian border runs southwest from Mont Dolent, down to the twin passes of Col Ferret.</p><br>
<p>The massif contains 11 main summits over 4,000 m in altitude, as well as numerous subsidiary points above this height. Because of its great elevation, much of the massif is snow- and ice-covered, and has been deeply dissected by glaciers. The Mer de Glace is the longest glacier in the range as well as the longest in France and the second longest in the Alps.</p><br>
<p>The summit of Mont Blanc is an ice cap whose thickness varies from year to year.</p><br>
<p>The entire massif can be circumnavigated by the Tour du Mont Blanc, a walking route of approximately 170 km. It usually takes around 11 days to complete, but is also used for an annual mountain ultramarathon, with top competitors expected to complete the whole route in less than 21 hours.</p><br>
<p>The main mountain passes, or cols, that connect different valleys and towns around the Mont Blanc massif are:</p><br>
<p>Col du Bonhomme 2,329 m (path, links Contamines – Beaufort – Les Chapieux)</p><br>
<p>Col de la Seigne 2,516 m (path, links Bourg Saint Maurice – Les Chapieux – Courmayeur)</p><br>
<p>Col Ferret 2,490 m (path, links Courmayeur – Orsières – Trient valley)</p><br>
<p>Col de Balme 2,191 m (path, links Trient valley – Chamonix)</p><br>
<p>Col de la Forclaz 1,527 m (major road, links Argentière – Martigny)</p><br>
<h3>Summits</h3><br>
<p>The first ascent of Mont Blanc in 1786 by Jacques Balmat and Michel Paccard initiated the sport of alpine mountaineering, and it was during the golden age of alpinism (185465) and the silver age of alpinism (186582) that the majority of the main summits of the massif were first attained. Members of the England-based Alpine Club were instrumental in many of the first ascents, usually accompanied by guides from the towns of Chamonix or Courmayeur, such as Michel Croz, Michel Payot and Émile Rey, as well as the Swiss guide, Christian Almer. Across the massif there are now more than two thousand different mountaineering routes to the summits, ranging greatly in both length and difficulty. These attract climbers from all over the world who, unlike the early ascensionists, now have access to numerous climbing guidebooks, modern safety equipment, good information on climbing routes and technical difficulty, as well as weather forecasts and mountain accommodation and food.</p><br>
<h3>Glaciers</h3><br>
<p>A wide range of glaciers and glacial structures can be found across the Mont Blanc massif, all of which can be easily reached or viewed. Glaciers cover 170 km&sup2; of the massif, of which 110 km&sup2; fall within France. The Mer de Glace is the largest glacier in the western Alps, and the second largest in Europe. It has a total length of 12 km from highest snowfield to terminus and an area of 35–40 km² (14–15 sq mi).</p><br>
<p>At around 10 km in length, the Miage Glacier is Italy&#39;s longest glacier and also the largest debris-covered glacier in Europe. Other large glaciers include the Argentière Glacier (9 km), the Saleina Glacier (6 km), Trient Glacier (4 km), and the Bossons Glacier ( 4 km) and Brenva Glacier. Whilst these glaciers appear to show similar fluctuations in length, research shows that each glacier of the Mont Blanc massif has its own individual and distinctive response time to changes in snowfall and climate. The Bossons Glacier is known to respond first, then the Argentière and the Trient Glaciers respond some four to seven years later, with the Mer de Glace reacting last —between eleven and fifteen years after changes are first observed in the movement of ice in the Bossons Glacier.</p><br>
<p>Even the smallest glaciers can have a significant impact on the environment and on human activity. In 1892, a large body of water which had accumulated under the surface of the Tête Rousse Glacier, burst suddenly on the night of 11 July. It released 200,000 m&sup3; of water and ice which flowed down the mountainside, killing 175 people in the town of Saint-Gervais. Recent rediscovery of further build-up of water deep within the glacier are a cause of serious concern to this day.</p><br>
<p>The inexorable downward movement and melting of glaciers can result in objects lost within them reappearing many years later.</p><br>
<p>The first recorded account of a body reappearing from a glacier in the Mont Blanc range was made by Viscount Edmond de Catelin in 1861. It concerned three alpine guides who were buried in a crevasse during an avalanche on 20 August 1820 near the Rocher Rouges, high up on Mont Blanc, during an expedition organised by. Forty years later the remains of two of them were discovered, re-exposed within fissures in the Bossons glacier. They were 3,000 m lower down from the point where they were lost; the corpse of the third guide was discovered the following year. In 2014, a group of climbers found a body on the Glacier du Talèfre, close to the Couvercle Hut. It was identified as that of a young Chamonix guide who had been caught in a winter storm during a solo ascent of the Nant Blanc face of the Aiguille Verte in 1982 and was assumed to have fallen into a crevasse. In 2013, a box of valuable gemstones was found by a climber on the Bossons Glacier. It had re-emerged, having been carried 3,048 m downhill from the site of one of two Air India plane crashes. These occurred at almost identical locations high up near the summit of Mont Blanc: one in 1950 (Air India Flight 245), and one in 1966 (Air India Flight 101). Debris from these crashes is still commonly found on the glacier below.</p><br>
<h2>Geology</h2><br>
<p>The Mont Blanc massif consists predominantly of ancient granite rocks. The Alps have their origins some 770million years ago when upheaval of the earths crust lifted up schist, gneiss and limestone rocks. These were destined to form the base of the Alps range, and this period of upheaval ended some 300million years ago. Granite intrusions and associated metamorphic rocks formed the base of the mountains we now call the Mont Blanc massif as well as the nearby Aiguilles Rouges. But these rocks were then heavily eroded away, eventually being ground down and inundated by the sea, so allowing sedimentary rocks to form. Then, once again, this part of the earths crust was uplifted as a result of the collision of continental plates. The huge mountain ranges of today&#39;s Alps began to form. This happened towards the end of the Tertiary period, some 15million years ago. Finally, came the Quaternary era, when successive ice ages saw vast glaciers advance, retreat, and then advance again. Their movement across the landscape ground down and shaped the mountains and the valleys we see today.</p><br>
<p>Both the Mont Blanc massif, and the Aiguilles Rouges range to its north, now form part of the external zone of the Alps, effectively being the outermost layers of rock. The central granites make up Mont Blanc, the steep slopes of the Drus, the Grandes Jorasses and the Dent du Géant, and at the highest points are topped by schists, which are visible in places such as Grands Montets and near Mont Blanc&#39;s summit.</p><br>
<p>The granite mountains around Chamonix have been eroded into steep needle-shaped peaks (known as ). Known locally as protogine, these rocks are lower in the mineral biotite mica and richer in quartz than the granites commonly found elsewhere.</p><br>
<p>A large part of the massif is covered by ice fields and is cut by numerous glaciers, mostly flowing northwestwards on the French side; southeastwards on the Italian side and eastwards on the Swiss side. With much steeper slopes on the Italian side, many glaciers drop very sharply and some, such as the Miage Glacier and the Brenva Glacier, are very heavily covered in rock debris. The massif is itself defined by broad valleys which formed along fault lines and which have subsequently been shaped by ice during the last glacial period of the ice age.</p><br>
<p>During the mid-19th century the granite rocks of the Mont Blanc massif were an important source of stone for constructing buildings; one hundred Italian stonemasons were brought to the Chamonix valley by Charles Albert of Sardinia for reconstructing the towns of Sallanches and Cluses, both of which had at that time just been destroyed by fires.</p><br>
<h3>Minerals</h3><br>
<p>The massif has been an important source of mineral specimens for crystal-hunters for over 250 years. The mountaineer and explorer, Edward Whymper, noted that the basin of the Glacier de Talèfre was "considered good hunting-ground for crystals", and that the slopes below les Courtes had yielded many large specimens. He recounted that in 1745 a guide had stated he had collected over 136 kg of specimens there in just three hours.</p><br>
<p>The first systematic account of the minerals of the Mont Blanc area was published in 1873 by Venance Payot. His list, entitled "Statistique minéralogique des environs du Mt-Blanc", catalogued 90 mineral types although it also included those present only as very small components of rocks. If these are excluded, it is known today that at least 68 separate mineral species occur across the whole range of the Mont Blanc massif.</p><br>
<p>In order to preserve the mineralogical heritage of Mont Blanc, in 2008 the commune of Chamonix banned all mineral-hunting activities and collection of specimens without a prior permit being issued by the mayor&#39;s office. Use of explosives, heavy machinery or helicopters for removing material were also banned, and a code of practice put in place which requires an annual declaration of all finds to be made. It also gives a right for the Chamonix crystal museum (Musée des Cristaux) to have first option to acquire specimens of significance for its collections. To further protect the scientific value of material collected, all specimens offered for sale must be labelled with details of where they were found. The crystal museum opened to the public in 2006 and tells the story of the early crystal-hunters (known as ). Many specimens collected from across the massif are displayed there.</p><br>
<h2>Climate</h2><br>
<p>Located on the watershed between the Rhône and the Po rivers, the Mont Blanc massif is also situated between the two different climatic regions of the northern and western Alps and that of the southern Alps. Climatic conditions on the Mer de Glace are similar to those found on the northern side of the Swiss Alps.</p><br>
<p>The climate of the Mont Blanc massif is cold and temperate (Köppen climate classification Cfb), and is greatly influenced by altitude. The main valley settlements around the perimeter of the massif are at an altitude ranging between 600 and. The greatest snowfall occurs between the months of November and April.</p><br>
<p>The best weather for mountaineering or hiking occurs between late June to early October but, being the highest part of the Alps, the Mont Blanc massif can create its own weather patterns. Temperatures drop as the mountains gain in height, and the summit of Mont Blanc is a permanent ice cap, with temperatures around -20 &deg;C. The summit is also prone to strong winds and sudden weather changes. Because of the massif&#39;s great overall height, a considerable proportion is permanently glaciated or snow-covered and is exposed to extremely cold conditions. Even on the high passes of the Tour du Mont Blanc, around 2000 to 2500 m, summer temperatures can be between 5 and, but feeling much colder because of wind chill in windy or wet conditions.</p><br>
<p>Precipitation is distributed fairly evenly over all months of the year, and mostly originates from a westerly airflow. There is significant variation in precipitation with altitude. For example, Chamonix has an elevation of approximately 1,030 m and receives around 1,020 mm of annual precipitation, whilst the Col du Midi, which is at 3,500 m above sea level, receives significantly more, totalling 3,100 mm. However, at an even higher altitude (near to the summit of Mont Blanc) precipitation is considerably less, with only around 1,100 mm recorded, despite the latter measurements being taken at a height of 4,300 m.</p><br>
<p>In the mountains further south of the Mont Blanc range, annual precipitation is significantly less than at equivalent altitudes within the massif. For example, the valleys in the Pelvoux massif at around 1,000 m receive only around 600 to 700 mm of precipitation per year, which is significantly less than that in either Courmayeur or Chamonix.</p><br>
<h2>Ecology</h2><br>
<p>The massif contains a very rich variety of biodiversity as a result of the huge height range and different habitats found between the valleys and the highest summits. Mild temperatures occur at altitudes between 600 and, whereas arctic conditions occur from 2,500 m up to the highest point at 4,808 m.</p><br>
<p>Whilst the Mont Blanc massif does not contain any species that are endemic to it, there are many rare and legally protected species found within its four major habitat zones. These are the: montane forests, sub-alpine, alpine and nival zones. The major habitats are coniferous forests, moors, rock and talus slopes, plus glacial moraines. The biological richness is further influenced by the different aspects of the faces, by the geology, and by the influence of man on the lower and middle slopes where forest clearance has created open grassland. The native forest habitats are essential for the survival of many species, with the key conifer species including larch, pine, stone pine and red pine.</p><br>
<h3>Flora</h3><br>
<p>Over a thousand plant species have been recorded across the massif, from the valley bottoms right up to 3,800 m where the alpine chrysanthemum can be found at a record-breaking height.</p><br>
<p>Early explorers, such as Alexander von Humboldt in 1807, observed a number of notable species in the mountains around Mont Blanc at altitudes above 3,100 m. This was well above the permanent snow line, but on rocks that were so steep that little snow could rest. These arctic-alpine species included: ;; Cardamine bellidifolia; Draba hirta; and Silene acaulis (occurring down to 1,500 m). Between 2,500 and, Humboldt noted the following species of flowering plants amongst rocky debris around permanent snow fields and the highest alpine glaciers: Achillea atrata; Gentiana nivalis; Juncus trifidus; Ranunculus glacialis; and Saxifraga oppositifolia.</p><br>
<p>In the mid 1800s, Venance Payot, a Chamonix naturalist, published a number of articles on the flora around the Mont Blanc area, including a list of the flowering plants, ferns mosses and lichens found at les Grands Mulets and elsewhere in the massif around Chamonix and the Aosta Valley.</p><br>
<p>High up in the middle of the Glacier de Talèfre, completely surrounded by ice, and due south of Les Droites, lies a large triangular region of steep mountainside containing an unusual mixture of high-alpine vegetation. Known as the Jardin de Talèfre, its name derives from the rich assemblage of plants which occur at great altitude there (between 2,650 and). it is higher than the adjacent ground by some tens of metres and, as a result, was spared glacial scouring and subsequent loss of its vegetation during the Little Ice Age (between 1300 and 1850). Nevertheless, it would at that time still have been surrounded by ice on all three sides, as evidenced by the three glacial moraines found there today.</p><br>
<p>Species recorded there include:</p><br>
<p>Achillea nana</p><br>
<p>Alchemilla pentaphylla</p><br>
<p>Arenaria serpyllifolia</p><br>
<p>Cardamine alpina</p><br>
<p>Draba frigida</p><br>
<p>Empetrum nigrum</p><br>
<p>Epilobium alpinum</p><br>
<p>Homogyne alpina</p><br>
<p>Jacobaea incana</p><br>
<p>Juncus trifidus</p><br>
<p>Kalmia procumbens</p><br>
<p>Ranunculus glacialis</p><br>
<p>Saxifraga aspera</p><br>
<p>Saxifraga bryoides</p><br>
<p>Saxifraga oppositifolia</p><br>
<p>Sibbaldia procumbens and</p><br>
<p>Trifolium alpinum.</p><br>
<p>The Saussurea Alpine Botanical Garden above Courmayeur is located at 2,173 m above sea level, and is the highest botanical garden in Europe. It contains around 800 plant species and covers an area of 7,000 m². It was originally created in 1987 just as a tourist attraction but, with the subsequent designation of the adjacent Pavillon du Mont Frety as a protected area, it has since increased in scientific importance. It can be reached either from the mid-way station of the Skyway Monte Bianco, or on foot from La Palud within two hours and an ascent of 800 m. The botanical garden derives its name from the genus of mountain flowers, Saussurea (Saw-worts) which itself was named after Horace-Bénédict de Saussure, whose enthusiasm for scientific research in the mountains led to the first ascent of Mont Blanc in 1786.</p><br>
<h3>Fauna</h3><br>
<p>Over 80 different bird species have been recorded on the Italian side of the massif from within Val Ferret, including 63 nesting species and nine regional or national rarities. The following birds have been recorded in different habitats right across the Mont Blanc massif:</p><br>
<p>Valleys and lower pastures: Blackbird; carrion crow; chaffinch; goldfinch; great tit; house martin; house sparrow; nuthatch; robin; swallow; thrush; whinchat; yellowhammer.</p><br>
<p>Rivers: Dipper; wagtails.</p><br>
<p>Forests: Coal tit; crested tit; jay; marsh tit; mistle thrush; nutcracker; willow tit.</p><br>
<p>Above tree line: Alpine accentor; alpine chough; bearded vulture (rare); black redstart; citril finch; meadow pipit; ptarmigan; redstart; snowfinch; wallcreeper; wheatear.</p><br>
<p>Raptors: Buzzard; golden eagle; honey buzzard; kestrel; peregrine falcon; sparrowhawk.</p><br>
<p>Seven of the massif&#39;s largest indigenous mammal species are housed in the Merlet Animal Park near Les Houches, including ibex, chamois, marmot, fallow and roe deer. Located 600 m above the village, the park was founded in 1968 and contains eighty animal species from mountain habitats around the world.</p><br>
<h2>Human history</h2><br>
<h3>Early history</h3><br>
<p>The region in which the Mont Blanc massif is located has been occupied by man for at least 70,000 years, although, as now — and because of the great height and glaciated nature of the mountains — only the lower parts of the valleys around its perimeter would have been inhabited or used as routes of communication.</p><br>
<p>The Romans, who occupied the region some 2,000 years ago, used the main valleys around the massif for military purposes. They gave the name Alpes Penninae, or Poeninae, to the highest parts of the Alpswhich extended from Mont Blanc to Monte Rosa. They took over Aosta from the Salassi Celtic tribe in 25 AD and engineered roads which extended northwards into Europe via the Great St Bernard Pass and the Little St Bernard Pass. Courmayeur, on the southern side of the massif, began to develop as a stop-off along their trans-alpine trading routes between Italy and France. Parts of the modern Tour du Mont Blanc walking trail still follow the route of a Roman road along the Col du Bonhomme and the Col de la Seigne.</p><br>
<p>The Romans occupied Martigny to the north of the massif, and their influence spread out well beyond the Alps into much of northern Europe. As a result of aggressive pressure from tribes in the north, the imperial forces of Rome were gradually withdrawn from the alpine regions until, by the 5th century AD, they had left completely. The areas left behind were occupied in the western part by the Burgundian tribes from what is today France, whilst the Alemanni tribes from Germany moved into eastern parts, resulting in the linguistic divide found today across the Alps.</p><br>
<p>For many centuries thereafter, the settlements around the Mont Blanc massif comprised a rural population of peasant mountain farmers, living off animal husbandry, supplemented with a meagre harvest of rye and oats. Some farmers in the valley of Chamonix joined their counterparts from the neighbouring valleys of Maurienne, Beaufortain and Tarentaise and crossed the Alps into southern Germany, Austria and northern Italy to sell their products and bring back goods for sale in local markets.</p><br>
<h3>Tourist beginnings</h3><br>
<p>In 1741, the Chamouny valley and its glaciers on the north side of the massif were discovered and written about by two aristocratic travelling Englishmen, named William Windham and Richard Pococke. The descriptions of their exploits were published across Europe, bringing the mountains of the Mont Blanc range to the attention of a wide audience for the first time. In 1760, Horace-Bénédict de Saussure offered a large financial prize to the first people who successfully ascended Mont Blanc. The summit was finally attained on 8 August 1786 by two Chamonix men, the guide Jacques Balmat and Dr. Michel Paccard.</p><br>
<p>In July 1816, Mary Shelley and Percy Bysshe Shelley toured the Alps and visited Chamouni (as it was then known), as well as the Mer de Glace and the Bossons Glacier. They jointly published their accounts and letters in a work entitled: History of a Six Weeks&#39; Tour through a part of France, Switzerland, Germany, and Holland; with Letters Descriptive of a Sail Round the Lake of Geneva and of the Glaciers of Chamouni. The book concludes with Mont Blanc, a 144-line poem by Percy Shelley, written whilst in Chamonix and which was inspired by the river Arve, the snow-covered summits, the chaotic glaciers and the forests that he experienced during their visit.</p><br>
<p>Amongst many other notable visitors were: Goethe (1779); Chateaubriand (1805); Madame de Staël; Victor Hugo; Louis Pasteur and Franz Liszt (1836), plus two successive wives of Napoleon Bonaparte: Joséphine de Beauharnais (1810) and Marie Louise of Austria (1814). In 1849, John Ruskin spent a month in Chamonix, from where he painted some of the massif&#39;s mountains before undertaking the Tour of Mont Blanc. When Savoy was eventually annexed to France in 1860, Napoleon III and Empress Eugénie visited the region to mark the event and undertook to enhance road access leading to the end of the Arve valley.</p><br>
<p>The 19th century saw considerable economic development which turned the small agricultural town of Chamonix into a base for tourists, with luxurious hotels and mountain lodges being built to accommodate them. A trade in selling local items to visiting foreigners soon developed. Crystals collected from across the massif were much in demand, as were locally produced goods such as horn trinkets and honey.</p><br>
<p>In just 50 years the Mont Blanc massif, and Chamonix and Courmayeur in particular, had become a popular destination for many travellers, and its economy changed from 80% agriculture to 80% tourism. It saw the emergence and spread of the sport of alpine mountaineering, and visitor numbers increased significantly. By the end of the 18th century, Chamonix was home to around 1,500 summer visitors. By 1850 it was welcoming 5,000 visitors, and by 1892 those numbers had risen to 24,000 a year. In 1906, the eleventh edition of a guidebook written by Edward Whymper about Chamonix and the Mont Blanc range estimated that 130,000 visitors had gone there during the previous season. It also reported that the railway service to Chamonix, which had previously been suspended in winter, was now running throughout the year. The tourist boom to the mountains had started. In 1924, a Winter Sports Week was held in Chamonix, with patronage from the International Olympic Committee. It attracted over 10,000 paying visitors and was retrospectively named as the first Winter Olympic Games.</p><br>
<h3>Modern tourism</h3><br>
<p>The Mont Blanc massif is now a significant tourist destination. The region attracts over sixmillion people per annum, with around one in five gaining access to its slopes by means of mechanical infrastructure (cable cars or funicular railways). Some surveys have shown that tourists mostly come to the Mont Blanc massif and its environs for winter sports such as skiing as well as summer outdoor activities like hiking, climbing and cycling.</p><br>
<p>The Aiguille du Midi Cable Car in Chamonix attracts 500,000 people each year and gives views over much of the massif, and up towards Mont Blanc itself. From Chamonix it rises to the summit of the Aiguille du Midi at 3,842 m, and holds the world record for the highest vertical ascent of any cable car (2,807 m).</p><br>
<p>The building of the new Skyway Monte Bianco cable car on the Italian side of the massif is expected to increase visitor numbers to Courmayeur from 100,000 to 300,000 per annum, following complete replacement of an earlier cable car system in 2015. It takes tourists from La Palud up to the Torino Hut at its top on Pointe Helbronner.</p><br>
<p>Costing over 105million euros, the Skyway Monte Bianco is regarded as the world&#39;s most expensive cable car installation.</p><br>
<p>Other recent enhancements to tourist infrastructure across the massif have included construction of a new, and ultra-modern Goûter Hut to accommodate the increasing numbers of mountaineers attempting the popular Goûter Route to the summit of Mont Blanc, and investment of ½ billion euros in Les Grands Montets and other ski areas over a six-year period from 2014 onwards.</p><br>
<p>Increasing numbers of mountain tourists, ease of access into the high mountain environment, plus promotion and encouragement by tour companies offering ascents of Mont Blanc to people with little or no previous alpine experience, have led to an increase in mountain accidents and even inappropriate demands to be rescued. With up to 30,000 climbing parties now attempting to ascend Mont Blanc each year, it has gained the reputation of being one of the worlds deadliest mountains. There have also been various stunts, some of which the local authorities have decried as reckless or stupid. In recent years, guards have been placed on the most popular route of ascent to Mont Blancs summit at peak periods in order to ensure that those entering the mountain environment are adequately equipped and skilled. This has led to calls to limit access to the most popular summits and for the mountains to be treated with greater respect.</p><br>
<h3>Scientific research</h3><br>
<p>The Mont Blanc massif has provided numerous opportunities for academic research, dating back to the very first ascent of Mont Blanc in 1786 during which Michel Paccard carried scientific equipment to confirm it as the highest summit. In 1890, Joseph Vallot built a small meteorological observatory at approximately 4,350 m between the Dôme du Goûter and Mont Blanc&#39;s summit from where numerous measurements and scientific experiments were conducted. One study involved taking simultaneous temperature measurements made over many months at Chamonix, the Grands Mulets and at the observatory itself. In 1893, Pierre Janssen constructed an astronomical observatory on the top of Mont Blanc, partially buried within the summit ice to hold it in place. A 33 cm telescope and a spectrograph for measuring the oxygen content of the sun were installed. The observatory was removed when it started to collapse around 1906.</p><br>
<p>Three examples of modern-day uses of the high mountains for scientific research include neutrino detection, uranium pollution monitoring and climate change:</p><br>
<p>A neutrino detector was installed deep inside the Mont Blanc Tunnel in the early‑1980s in order to take advantage of the shielding from background radiation provided by the 4,800 meter water equivalent (m.w.e.) of solid rock surrounding it in every direction. In February 1987, the underground neutrino observatory reported the detection of a neutrino event, believed to have originated from the explosion of the SN 1987A supernova.</p><br>
<p>In 2005, the technique of remote laser-scanning (LiDAR) was used for the first time in any mountain environment to research the impact of climate change on rock face stability. Seven sites in the Mont Blanc massif were selected, with the Tour Ronde being the first to be analysed. An area of its east face of 67,400 m² was laser-scanned from a distance of 800 m. This revealed that over a twelve-month period the face had lost 536 m³ of rock. The project concluded that the high rockfall rate on the Tour Ronde and elsewhere in the massif was linked to the degradation of permafrost. This would formerly have held the mountain together more effectively, but is now exposed to greater weathering through the freeze-thaw cycle of water, with maximum occurrence during warm summers. In 2015, climbers captured video footage of a huge rockfall on the Tour Ronde&#39;s east face, which suggests that instability continues in this area.</p><br>
<p>In 2001, researchers from France, Italy and Korea published the results of a study into uranium contamination of the wider environment by wind-borne particles. They analysed an ice core that had been drilled to a depth of 140 m on the Dôme du Goûter, and at an altitude of 4,250 m. It produced an accurate timeline of contamination levels going back 200 years and was the first published uranium concentration data for any alpine or polar icefield. Ice that pre-dated 1940 was shown to contain fairly uniform and low levels of uranium, consistent with natural background contamination. In contrast, ice that had been laid down after World War II showed large excesses. These were attributed to aerial transport of uranium dust, produced by extensive mining and milling operations that occurred in East Germany (and also in France to a lesser extent) between 1965 and the end of the 1980s. No evidence was found that either the 1986 Chernobyl disaster or other nuclear power plants had caused the high levels of observed uranium contamination.</p><br>
<h3>Modern military history</h3><br>
<p>A troop garrison, known as the Casermetta, was active for many years at the Col de la Seigne, on the border between France and Italy.</p><br>
<p>In the 1930s, during a period of increased international tension, the Mont Blanc massif was used by both countries wanting to demonstrate their military might, and large drills and troop exercises were undertaken at high altitude. During World War II, at a time when the French army had already been defeated by Nazi Germany, France found itself under attack again, but this time by Italian soldiers in many alpine locations including the area around the Col de la Seigne. Evidence of past fortifications and old firing points are still visible throughout the area</p><br>
<p>Towards the end of World War II, the highest engagement of the entire war occurred on the glaciers above Chamonix. With the Germans nearly defeated, and their garrison in Chamonix surrounded by the liberating forces, a contingent of Austro-German soldier — who were based around the Torino Hut on the Italian side of the massif — launched a dawn bombardment on Chamonix from positions adjacent to the cable car station on the Col du Midi. Their attack was met with fierce opposition from French resistance fighters, and took place at an altitude of 3,500 m. Nine of the attacking soldiers were killed, including their commander.</p><br>
<p>By 1932 France had established the École de Haute Montagne in Chamonix to train mountain troops, but in 1945 it was reconstituted to provide specialised mountaineering training, skiing and tactical skills to the entire army. It was later renamed as the (EMHM) and it continues to fulfil that role to this day, training approximately 1,500 troops every year.</p><br>
<h3>Incidents and tragedies</h3><br>
<p>A number of noteworthy incidents have occurred across the massif over the last two centuries which stand out from the routine toll of mountain-related deaths, of which there are now approximately 100 per annum.</p><br>
<p>1820 First recorded deaths on Mont Blanc. Three Chamoniards die in a climbing group led by Dr Hamel.</p><br>
<p>1892 175 people are killed in St Gervais and nearby settlements from the sudden release of meltwater from the Tête Rousse Glacier.</p><br>
<p>1895 Italian mountain guide, Émile Rey, dies during simple descent from Dent du Geant.</p><br>
<p>1946 A B-17 Flying Fortress crashes into the Aiguille des Glaciers. All eight crew are killed.</p><br>
<p>1950 Air India Flight 245 crashes close to summit of Mont Blanc. All 48 passengers and crew are killed.</p><br>
<p>1961 French jet fighter plane severs cable on Vallée Blanche Cable Car, killing six tourists and leaving 59 trapped.</p><br>
<p>1966 Air India Flight 101 crashes close to summit of Mont Blanc. All 106 passengers and 11 crew are killed.</p><br>
<p>1997 British mountain guide is successfully sued by six-year-old boy over father&#39;s death in a climbing accident on the Tour Ronde in 1990.</p><br>
<p>1999 Avalanche kills 12 people and destroys 17 houses in villages of Le Tour and Montroc - the worst incident in Chamonix for 90 years.</p><br>
<p>1999 A lorry fire in the Mont Blanc Tunnel kills 39 people.</p><br>
<p>2012 Ice fall triggers avalanche on Mont Maudit, affecting 28 climbers. Nine climbers killed, nine others injured.</p><br>
<h2>Access</h2><br>
<p>The Mont Blanc massif is accessible by road from within France via the A40–E25, or from Switzerland via Martigny and the Forclaz pass (1,527 m), or via Orsières to reach the Swiss Val Ferret. From within Italy the A40 from Aosta leads to Courmayeur, as does the higher mountain route from Bourg-Saint-Maurice via the Col du Petit St. Bernard (2,188 m).</p><br>
<p>The massif can be quickly crossed in a north – south direction by one of two transport routes, one aimed at through-traffic, the other intended solely for tourists:</p><br>
<p>The 11.6 km long Tunnel du Mont Blanc connects Chamonix and Courmayeur and permits cars and lorries to quickly reach the opposite valley. It took twenty years to complete and opened to vehicle traffic in 1965. The tunnel is known for an incident in March 1999, when a lorry caught alight inside; the resulting fire lasted 53 hours and killed 39 people. The tunnel was renovated in the aftermath, re-opening three years later. By 2008, some 1,600 trucks and 3,200 cars were using the tunnel every day (totalling 1.8million vehicles per year) – a little less than before the 1999 fire.</p><br>
<p>The Vallée Blanche Cable Car is normally used by visitors travelling from one or other of the tourist centres of Chamonix or Courmayeur and gives views over the glaciated regions of the massif. It crosses the massif in a roughly north – south direction and connects the Aiguille du Midi with the Point Helbronner, each of which can themselves be reached by téléphérique from Chamonix and Courmayeur, respectively.</p><br>
<p>Elsewhere in the massif, the Montenvers Railway connects Chamonix to Montenvers near the foot of the Mer de Glace, whilst the Téléphérique du Lognan connects Argentière with Aiguille des Grands Montets, where Les Grand Montets is an important winter skiing area in the region. At 3,300 m, the summit station also provides relatively easy access for climbers to the northeastern peaks of the range, including short introductory rock scrambles and a simple ice-face route on the NW face of the Petite Aiguille Verte.</p><br>
<p>The Mont Blanc Tramway takes tourists and hikers from Saint-Gervais to the Nid d&#39;Aigle, near the Glacier de Bionnassay. It also provides mountaineers with ready access to the first stage of the Goûter Route for an attempt on the most popular route to the summit of Mont Blanc.</p><br>
<p>From Les Houches, one of two cable cars links to Bellevue plateau (1,800 m), giving access to walking paths, mountain bike trails and winter ski-runs as well as to a halt on the Mont Blanc Tramway, A second links the town to the adjacent Prarion plateau (1,900 m).</p><br>
<p>Heli-skiing gives ready access to many remote or off-piste ski routes in the Mont Blanc massif. Because heli-skiing is banned across France for environmental reasons, companies offering this service only operate on the Swiss and Italian sides of the range.</p><br>
<h3>Mountain huts</h3><br>
<p>Since the very early days of alpine mountaineering a number of high-altitude mountain refuges have been positioned strategically across the massif to give climbers easier access to the high summits by permitting an overnight stay. The majority are owned by national mountaineering clubs, and many are wardened during the summer months, although the smaller bivouac huts are unmanned and have very basic facilities.</p><br>
<p>Those on the most popular routes, such as the Goûter Hut, now require all climbers to pre-book. Some tiny huts, such as the remote Eccles Hut, can also be extremely crowded during good mountaineering weather, and some climbers prefer to bivouac outside.</p><br>
<h2>Environmental protection</h2><br>
<p>Weather records show that since the 1960s there has been a trend of less snow at lower altitudes, whilst since the 1990s average mountain temperatures have increased more than at lower levels. Temperatures in Chamonix have risen by 1.5 °C over the last 75 years, and fresh snow build-up has halved there in the last 40 years, and there has been an increase in the melting and retreat of the massif&#39;s glaciers. The Mer de Glace has retreated 2,300 m in length since 1820 and, at Montenvers, has reduced in thickness by 150 m. In the last 20 years the glacier has been retreating at a rate of around 30 m every year. Since 1994 it has lost 500 m in length and 70 m in depth.</p><br>
<p>To help counter these effects, in 2012 the various Chamonix-Mont Blanc authorities introduced a climate and energy action plan, committing the region to a 22% reduction in its greenhouse gas emissions by 2020. The plan included proposals to improve air quality by banning those lorries from using the Mont Blanc Tunnel which were deemed to be the most polluting and which, at times, had reduced air quality to levels more usually associated with the streets of Paris.</p><br>
<p>Concerns over the state of the environment around the most popular parts of the Mont Blanc massif, and the need for visitors to better respect it, were reflected in a statement in 2014 by Jean-Marc Peillex, the mayor of Saint-Gervais, who said: Each high altitude hut faces its own individual challenges, often relating to water and energy supply or waste management, and the provision of services to visitors can sometimes conflict with environmental protection. A range of individual solutions for a selection of huts within the massif and elsewhere in the Alps was identified by a project run by Espace Mont Blanc between 2007 and 2013.</p><br>
<h3>Espace Mont Blanc</h3><br>
<p>In 1991, the environment ministers for France, Italy and Switzerland came together to agree the formation of Espace Mont Blanc – a partnership of national authorities and local communities to plan for the future development and protection of the Mont Blanc region. In 1998, the group was charged with creating a sustainable development scheme for the region (finally launched in 2005), whilst in 2003 it adopted a plan for safeguarding sensitive environments and landscapes. In 2007, it produced its position statement regarding the classification of Mont Blanc as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and in 2009 a Transboundary Integrated Plan (PIT) was announced, with the implementation of six regional projects running until 2013. In 2014, the group launched "Strategy for the Future", which is intended to be a strategic tool for ensuring that public policies are consistent across the different territories around the Mont Blanc massif.</p><br>
<h3>Protected statuses</h3><br>
<p>In 1951 the French portion of the Mont Blanc massif was classified as a (or listed site) and this was extended in 1976 to cover 253.54 km&sup2;. By 1989 there had been calls for the creation of an International Park for Mont Blanc. In June 2000 France did add the Mont Blanc Massif to UNESCO&#39;s Tentative List, which is a first step to formal nomination for World Heritage Site status. This was followed in January 2008 by a cross-border submission from Italy, which included France and Switzerland. However, as of 2016, it had neither a national park designation nor UNESCO World Heritage Site status.</p><br>
<p>As a result of long delays, many environmental groups from France, Italy and Switzerland have worked together under the umbrella organisation, proMONT BLANC, to jointly raise concerns and to put pressure on national governments and the European Union to support and make quicker progress with World Heritage classification. In 2012 the organisation published a detailed assessment and supportive rationale into the state of the Mont Blanc application to be a World Heritage Site. ProMont Blanc also undertakes reviews of a suite of 24 environmental, 24 economic and 10 social indicators across 15 towns around the massif (seven French, five Italian and three Swiss), and monitors and reports on the effectiveness of measures intended to deliver sustainable development across the region.</p><br>
<p>All the French parts of the Mont Blanc massif, plus the neighbouring Aiguille Rouges range, have been listed as a Zone naturelle dintérêt écologique, faunistique et floristique (ZNIEFF). This does not give regulatory protection, but is a recognition of the outstanding biodiversity of the area, and of its landscape, geomorphological, geological, historical and scientific importance. The 2011 schedule documents list over 150 species of animals and plants for which the massif is important. In Italy, the whole Val Ferret watershed was designated a Special Protection Area (Italian: Zone di Protezione Speciale) in 2003, and this 90.8 km² area now forms part of the European Unions Natura 2000 network of protected sites.</p><br>
<p>Despite these individual designations, the Mont Blanc massif as a whole is still regarded by conservationists as representing an important missing link in the wider network of protected areas of the western Alps.</p><br>
<p>Baba Mountain  or Varnoundas , or also known by the name of its highest peak, Pelister , is a mountain in Macedonia and partly in Greece. The Pelister  overlooks the city of Bitola. Baba Mountain is the third highest mountain in the Republic of Macedonia. Other peaks besides Pelister are Dva Groba , Veternica , Musa , Rzana , Shiroka , Kozji Kamen , Griva  and Golema Chuka  in the Republic of Macedonia, and Belavoda , Kirko  in Greece. The Baba massif splits up the rivers in the region, so that they either flow towards the Adriatic or the Aegean sea.</p><br>
<p>Pelister National Parks flora include the five-needle pine molica (Pinus peuce) - a unique species of tertiary age being present on only a few mountains in the Balkan Peninsula. Fauna in the area include: bears, roe deer, wolves, chamois, deer, wild boars, rabbits, several species of eagles, partridges, redbilled jackdaws, and the endemic Macedonian Pelagonia trout. In a comprehensive article published in 2002, Melovski and Godes reported that there are three large carnivores in the republic of Macedonia which can be found in Baba Mountain and surrounds, the brown bear, the wolf and the lynx. Actual numbers at that time were difficult to estimate given that most reports came from non-scientific sources (surveys, hunters and anecdotal reports), however in 2002, it was estimated there were approximately 30 bears in N.P. Pelister and Galicica N.P hosting only 3-4. A larger number could apparently be found in the N.P Mavrovo. The numbers however may be significantly larger in todays climate given the protected status of bears in Macedonia. In terms of wolves, there was an estimated total of 1200 wolves in the entire country of Macedonia, with an estimated 54 lynx when the article was written.</p><br>
<p>Pelister is the oldest and second largest national park in Republic of Macedonia after Mavrovo. It is one of the leading tourist areas in the country, since it is a well-known ski resort, along with Ohrid, Prespa, Dojran, Popova Šapka, and Kruševo.</p><br>
<p>Pelister provides views of the Pelagonia valley, Lake Prespa, Nidže, Galičica, Jakupica, and the city of Bitola. Pelister is also one of the most southern mountains in the Balkans that has an alpine character.</p><br>
<p>Pelister is also known for its two mountain lakes, which are called Pelister&#39;s Eyes. The Big lake is 2,218 metres above the sea level while the Small lake is 2,180 metres high. Here are the sources of many rivers. The climate in Pelister National Park is diverse.</p><br>
<p>On the peaks, there is snow even in July, and in some places the new snow meets the old from previous years.</p><br>
<p>On Pelister mountain, there is a TV transmitter using an additionally guyed lattice steel mast as antenna tower.</p><br>
<p>Agios Nikolaos  is a fishing village in the Mani Peninsula in southern Greece; it is popular with holidaymakers. The village, known to English-speaking tourists as "Ag Nik," lies about 30 km south-east of Kalamata, on the eastern shore of the Messenian Gulf, and about 4 km south of Stoupa, a larger tourist village. It is part of the municipal unit of West Mani in Messenia.</p><br>
<p>The population of Agios Nikolaos and similar fishing villages in this part of Greece fell rapidly in the decades after World War II through emigration, mainly to Australia, but since the road from Kalamata was built in the late 1960s the tourist business brought new prosperity to the area. Agios Nikolaos still has few tourist amenities, but the hills above the town offer Byzantine churches and views of the Gulf and of the Taygetus mountains further inland.</p><br>
<p>It is still an active fishing harbour with a fish market most days. There are several Tavernas and Kafenons around the harbour. There is an emergency medical center, a pharmacy, a post office, and several small grocery stores.</p><br>
<p>Agios Nikolaos was formerly called Selinitsa (meaning simply village, settlement). The name Selinitsa is still used by many locals. It was a centre of fighting during the Greek Civil War, being on the side of Government fighting the communists who were mainly in the mountain villages. There are still three towers, built as machine gun emplacements scattered around the village; the largest about 20 m high dominates the skyline on the main road into the village. There are no documented ancient remains in the immediate area.</p><br>
<p>The Gage Group Buildings consist of three buildings located at 18, 24 and 30 S. Michigan Avenue, between Madison Street and Monroe Street, in Chicago, Illinois. They were built from 1890–1899, designed by Holabird & Roche for the three millinery firms - Gage, Keith and Ascher. The building at 18 S. Michigan Avenue has an ornamental façade designed by Louis Sullivan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 14, 1985, and was designated a Chicago Landmark on September 11, 1996. In addition, it is a historic district contributing property for the Chicago Landmark Historic Michigan Boulevard District.</p><br>
<p>The façades of these buildings demonstrate two different approaches to the Chicago School, a design movement that led to the creation of modern commercial architecture. The buildings by Holabird & Roche are straightforward, while the facade designed by Sullivan exemplifies his more expressive approach.</p><br>
<p>The tallest building is known as "18 South Michigan Avenue" and was previously called the Gage Brothers and Company Building. Before the Chicago street addresses were changed in 1909, the building had the address of 130 S. Michigan Avenue. The ornamental flourishes at the top of Sullivan&#39;s façade were pushed upwards when four stories were added in 1902 by different architects. This is one of only five buildings in Chicago designed by Louis Sullivan that are still standing.</p><br>
<p>The two smaller buildings to the south are also part of the Gage Group Buildings. The Edson Keith and Company Building is connected to the Gage Building and is located at 24 S. Michigan Avenue. The Theodore Ascher and Company Building is also known as the 30 South Michigan Building.</p><br>
<p>Martin Mere is a mere near Burscough, in Lancashire, England, on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain. The mere is a vast marsh, around that was, until it was drained, the largest body of fresh water in England.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Martin Mere was formed at the end of the last Ice Age, when water filled a depression in the glacial drift. Since then its size has varied as water levels have risen and fallen. The original giant lake can be seen on Christopher Saxtons map from 1579 and stretched from Rufford in the east, to Churchtown (then known as North Meols) in the west. To the north of the lake were the villages of Mere Brow and Holmeswood, the site of Holmeswood Hall, built by the Heskeths as a hunting lodge. South of the lake was the Scarisbrick Hall estate, Martin Hall and Tarlefarwood, now known as Tarlscough."Christopher Saxtons 1579 map"</p><br>
<p>accessdate=24-07-2010</p><br>
<p>The mere originally drained out in two places; at the western end the arm of the mere known as the Wyke drained into the Pool (or Old Pool) at what is now Crowland Street, Blowick, while at its eastern end it flowed into the river Douglas at Rufford.</p><br>
<p>Active management of the mere began in 1692 when Thomas Fleetwood of Bank Hall cut a channel in an attempt to drain it. Further attempts to drain it were made in the 1780s, but effective drainage was only achieved in the mid-19th century with the introduction of steam pumping. Farms and market gardens were established on the rich soils of the reclaimed land. Between 1974 and 1982 sand from the former lake bed was quarried for use in glass-making at Mere Sands Wood which is now a nature reserve.</p><br>
<p>An ancient canoe has been excavated from Martin Mere and is the oldest item on display in the Botanic Gardens Museum.</p><br>
<h2>Present</h2><br>
<p>Part of the old mere is now the site of Martin Mere Wetland Centre, a wetland nature reserve managed by the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust.</p><br>
<p>Cannelton Cotton Mill, also known as Indiana Cotton Mill, is a National Historic Landmark of the United States located in Cannelton, Indiana, United States.</p><br>
<p>It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1991.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Construction of the Cannelton Cotton Mill began in 1849 and was completed in 1851. Designed by Rhode Island architect Thomas Alexander Tefft and built of sandstone, the mill was once the largest industrial building in the United States west of the Allegheny Mountains. It initially employed about 400 workers, mostly women and girls, and annually produced more than 200,000 pounds of cotton batting and four million yards of cotton sheeting.Of 309 workers employed there in 1890, only 78 were men. As late as 1900, the mill employed 35 girls and 19 boys under the age of 18.</p><br>
<p>The driving force behind the mills construction was Hamilton Smith (1804–1875), a prominent attorney from Louisville, Kentucky. Smiths vision was to create a western milling center to rival Lowell, Massachusetts, but using steam-powered machinery fired by locally produced coal instead of the hydropower that ran the Lowell mills. The task proved too difficult for Smith and his associates, one of whom was Salmon P. Chase, later United States Secretary of the Treasury and Chief Justice of the United States, who became Smith&#39;s friend when both were students at Dartmouth College. Another was Indiana federal judge Elisha Mills Huntington. In 1851, control of the mill passed to brothers Dwight Newcomb (1820–1892) and Horatio Dalton Newcomb (1809–1874) who operated it successfully.</p><br>
<p>The mill closed in 1954. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975 and became a National Historic Landmark in 1991. The adaptive restoration of the mill to a 70-unit, low-income apartment complex was completed in 2003.</p><br>
<h2>Location and construction</h2><br>
<p>Located facing the Ohio River, the mill is 280 ft long and 60 ft wide. Its most striking features are 100 ft twin towers, one housed a fire escape and the other was used for water storage and fire protection. The mills style is Romanesque, but it was not built as Tefft originally designed it. Teffts drawings called for each story to have different window heads and for dormer windows in the roof. His plan also called for a stepped foundation. As built, the dormers were eliminated completely and the remaining windows, except for those in the towers, were all capped with square lintels. A half-basement with square windows replaced the stepped foundation. The overall effect is much more severe than Tefft had intended.</p><br>
<p>The Claerwen reservoir and dam in Powys, Wales, were the last additions to the Elan Valley Reservoirs system built to provide water for the increasingly demanding city of Birmingham, in neighbouring England. Built mainly of concrete, the exterior of the dam face is dressed stone. The dam is a gravity dam. This type of dam needs to be built upon solid foundations as the pressure of the reservoir behind should be in equilibrium with the total weight of the dam itself thus causing complete stability.</p><br>
<p>The Claerwen dam was finished in 1952 and was given a late Victorian effect so that it blended in with the earlier dams in the valley. It was necessary to employ the services of Italian stonemasons as British ones were still at work in London during the post-war rebuilding process of the late 1940s.</p><br>
<p>The dam took six years to complete and was almost twice the size of the other dams in the Elan valley. The Claerwen reservoir is almost the size of all the other reservoirs in the Elan Valley system combined. Officially commissioned by Queen Elizabeth II in 1952, it was one of her first royal engagements.</p><br>
<h2>Statistics</h2><br>
<p>Height: 56 m</p><br>
<p>Length: 355 m</p><br>
<p>Building material: primarily concrete</p><br>
<p>Capacity: 48,300,300 m&sup3</p><br>
<h2>Claerwen NNR</h2><br>
<p>Claerwen National Nature Reserve is a lonely expanse of mountain upland lying halfway between Rhayader and Pontrhydfendigaid in Powys. Although its landscape can seem bleak and inhospitable, the mainly peaty and acidic soil provides a home for numerous species of plants and animals which thrive in these conditions. One of the three British species of carnivorous sundew plants or Drosera can be found here, and it is a known breeding site for the rare merlin and red kite birds.</p><br>
<h2>In popular culture</h2><br>
<p>In 2015 the dam was featured in the fourth episode of Series Twenty-two of the BBC motoring programme Top Gear. During the episode Richard Hammond winched a Land Rover Series up to the top of the dam, and down again, in mimicry of an advert once used for the vehicle, during a tribute segment for the Land Rover Defender.</p><br>
<p>Abell is a neighborhood located in the north-central area of Baltimore, Maryland, United States. It is considered to be part of Charles Village, Baltimore.</p><br>
<h2>Architecture</h2><br>
<p>Abell is a predominantly residential community that structurally conforms to a grid street pattern established in the area during the first quarter of the 20th century. However, remnants of earlier diagonal roads still exist in the neighborhood—today&#39;s Merryman Lane, and the truncated Vineyard Lane, both of which are in the northeast section of the area.</p><br>
<p>The Abell neighborhood, like Abell Avenue, derives its name from the Abell family, longtime owners of the Baltimore Sun newspapers. The Abell family owned a large summer estate known as Guilford, which was located a short distance north of today&#39;s Abell community.</p><br>
<p>The majority of residential structures in Abell are row houses of medium-to-large size. East of Barclay Street in the northern portion are a number of interesting late-19th-century individual frame structures which remain from the former Victorian-era village of Waverly. Scattered throughout the community are a number of small apartment buildings. Mixed residential and commercial uses are prevalent along Greenmount Avenue. Since the 1950s, portions of the community&#39;s southeast section have been dedicated to light industrial and educational use.</p><br>
<p>Early in its development, during the Teens and 1920s, Abell was known for its well-constructed row houses and such plumbing amenities as running water and indoor sanitary provisions. Daylight houses, which allowed light into all rooms, were built mostly by Edward J. Storck in the northern blocks. Areas to the south were developed with bay window, porch-front row houses. These new blocks were advertised as being in the Guilford area, thereby capitalizing on their proximity to that wealthier neighborhood to the north.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The Abell community was part of the original "Huntington" tract of&#39; 136 acre laid out for Tobias Stanboro in 1688. The early subdivision of Huntington had brought into being a number of attractive country seats including a few in the Abell neighborhood.</p><br>
<h3>Oriole Park</h3><br>
<p>In 1889 a portion of the land near 29th Street and Greenmount Avenue was used as a baseball park—the first Oriole Park. However, this was abandoned two years later because it was considered too far out from the City. In 1914 Terrapin Park was established north of 29th Street at Greenmount Avenue as a ballpark for the Federal League&#39;s Baltimore Orioles, and the field was renamed Oriole Park. The lives of many local children revolved around the dramatic presence of baseball in their community. In 1937 a new scoreboard, as tall as a -story building and as wide as four houses, was erected and billed as the largest scoreboard in the world, its ability to display all the important operations of the game using electricity was a marvel of the time.</p><br>
<p>When a six-alarm nighttime fire destroyed the wooden stands and buildings in 1944, 1,500 people had to flee the neighborhood. The intense heat melted asphalt on 29th Street and tar on nearby roofs. The Orioles moved to the twenty-year-old Baltimore Municipal Stadium, and Barclay Street was cut through the old Oriole Park site. For years the land stood vacant and was used as a playground. During the mid-1950s, commercial and warehouse structures were built along the eastern portion, and the Barclay (originally Barclay Elementary, then Middle) School, #54, was built to the west in 1959.</p><br>
<h3>Huntington Baptist Church</h3><br>
<p>An important local landmark originally part of the early Waverly community still exists in Abell. The Huntington Baptist Church, at the northeast corner of 31st Street and Barclay Street, was founded in 1836 as a small Sabbath school for convalescent soldiers. Throughout the early 19th century men from Ft. McHenry were moved to the higher and healthier atmosphere of the Abell area, near the intersection of Old and New York Roads, to escape the threat of malaria. Occasionally, convalescing soldiers from the barracks would attend Baptist services in private homes of the neighborhood. A Sabbath school was established nearby in an old barracks building in 1836. Alternate visiting ministers preached weekly sermons for soldiers and a few civilians. In 1846 James Wilson, a large landowner in the area, erected a small chapel which he called the Huntington Baptist Church. The congregation grew steadily until it required a new building in 1873. Modeled after Talmage&#39;s Tabernacle in Brooklyn, it was covered with corrugated iron plates. In service for fifty years, the old tabernacle landmark was replaced in 1922 with the present church. As of 2017 the building is home to Saint Moses Church, a non-denominational congregation.</p><br>
<p>Lago Argentino is a lake in the Patagonian province of Santa Cruz, Argentina, at {{coord|50|2|S|72|4|W}}. It is the biggest freshwater lake in Argentina, with a surface area of 1,415 km&sup2; . It has an average depth of 150 m, and a maximum depth of 500 m.</p><br>
<p>The lake lies within the Los Glaciares National Park in a landscape with numerous glaciers and is fed by the glacial meltwater of several rivers, the water from Lake Viedma brought by the La Leona River, and many mountain streams. Its drainage basin amounts to more than 17,000 km&sup2;. Waters from Lake Argentino flow into the Atlantic Ocean through the Santa Cruz River.</p><br>
<p>The glaciers, the nearby town of El Calafate and the lake itself are important tourist destinations. The lake in particular is appreciated for fishing. Perch, common galaxias ("puyen grande"), lake trout and rainbow trout — in both anadromous and Potamodromous forms — are all found.</p><br>
<p>Lago Argentino was also the name of the airport that served the area until 2000. This airport is currently closed and its runway was incorporated into the city&#39;s road system. It has been replaced by Comandante Armando Tola International Airport which serves the town of El Calafate and Lago Argentino, with many daily national and international flights.</p><br>
<h2>Climate</h2><br>
<p>Buccleuch Mansion is located in Buccleuch Park in New Brunswick in Middlesex County, New Jersey, along the Raritan River.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The house was originally built in 1739 by Anthony White, son-in-law of Lewis Morris, a colonial governor of New Jersey. White built the house for his bride Elizabeth Morris. Their son Anthony Walton White sided with the revolutionaries against the King in the American Revolutionary War. The house was previously known as "The White House Farm." The house was bought by Colonel Joseph Warren Scott in 1821. The house and lands were deeded to the City of New Brunswick to be used as a park in 1911.</p><br>
<p>Today, the house is looked after by the Jersey Blue chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). Tours are given on Sundays from June through October, and at other times by appointment. The house is decorated with Federal and Victorian furnishings, many of which belonged to the Scott family, owners during much of the 19th century.</p><br>
<p>Buccleuch is not to be confused with the Buckelew Mansion in Jamesburg, another historic white-painted house in Middlesex County.</p><br>
<h2>Timeline</h2><br>
<p>1739 Built by Anthony White</p><br>
<p>1780 Owned by Charles Stewart, Colonel in the 1780s and was visited by several prominent men, such as George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, General Kosciusko, General Gates, and John Hancock.</p><br>
<p>1821 Joseph Warren Scott (1778–1871) buys "The White House" from Mary Garnett and renames it "Buccleuch" on June 6</p><br>
<p>1871 Death of Joseph Warren Scott (1778–1871)</p><br>
<p>1911 Anthony Dey, grandson of Joseph Warren Scott (1778–1871), sells house to New Brunswick in November</p><br>
