<p>The Church of St Martin in Canterbury, England, situated slightly beyond the city centre, is the first church founded in England, the oldest parish church in continuous use and the oldest church in the entire English-speaking world. As such, it is recognised, along with Canterbury Cathedral and St Augustines Abbey, as part of a World Heritage Site. Since 1668 the church has been part of the benefice of St Martin and St Paul Canterbury. Both St Martins and nearby St Paul&#39;s churches are used for weekly services. The current rector of the parish is the Reverend Mark Richard Griffin.</p><br>
<h2>Early history</h2><br>
<p>St Martin&#39;s was the private chapel of Queen Bertha of Kent in the 6th century before Augustine arrived from Rome. Queen Bertha was a Christian Frankish princess who arrived in England with her Chaplain, Bishop Liudhard. King Æthelberht of Kent, her pagan husband, allowed her to continue to practise her religion by renovating (ca. AD 580) an existing church which the Venerable Bede says had been in use in the late Roman period but had fallen into disuse. As Bede specifically names it, this church was dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours, a city located near where Bertha grew up.</p><br>
<p>Upon Augustines arrival he used St Martins as his mission headquarters, immediately enlarging it (AD 597), and King Æthelberht was soon baptised here. With the quickly subsequent establishments of Canterbury Cathedral and St Augustines Abbey, St Martins lost prestige but retains its priority and historical importance.</p><br>
<p>Shortly before 1844, a hoard of gold coins which may date from the late 6th century was found in the churchyard, one of which is the Liudhard medalet, which bears an image of a diademed figure with a legend referring to Liudhard.</p><br>
<h2>Architecture</h2><br>
<p>Local finds prove that Christianity did exist in this area of the city at the time, and the church contains many reused Roman bricks or spolia, as well as complete sections of walls of Roman tiles. At the core of the church the brick remains of a Roman tomb were integrated into the structure. Several sections of walls are clearly very early, and it is possible that a blocked square-headed doorway in the chancel was the entrance to Bertha&#39;s church, while other sections of wall come from the period after the Gregorian mission in the 7th or 8th centuries, including most of the nave. The apse that was originally at the east end has been removed. The tower is much later, in Perpendicular style. The church is a Grade I listed building.</p><br>
<h2>Graves</h2><br>
<p>The churchyard contains the graves of many notable local families and well-known people including Thomas Sidney Cooper, RA (artist) and Mary Tourtel, the creator of Rupert Bear.</p><br>
<h2>Music</h2><br>
<p>The church has a strong continuing musical tradition from the monks of St Augustine to the present day. The choral director for the parish is Dom del Nevo.</p><br>
<p>Lysá hora  is the highest mountain of the Moravian-Silesian Beskids range in the Czech Republic and also of Cieszyn Silesia. It is one of the rainiest places of the country with an annual precipitation of over 1,500 mm. It is the 26th highest mountain in Czech.</p><br>
<h2>Etymology</h2><br>
<p>The name Lysá hora can be translated as bald mountain. This name came from the fact that Lysá hora had no trees. The place is first mentioned in a written document from 1261 as Lissa huera.</p><br>
<h2>Tourism</h2><br>
<p>Today, the mountain is also a small ski resort and a popular place for hiking in summer.</p><br>
<p>Nowadays, this summit is getting popular. Every day there are hundreds to thousands of casual hikers and funs of Nordic-walking, running, cross-country skiing and skialpinismus.</p><br>
<p>This place is a witness of many interesting sport contest, noteworthy is "Lysá Hora 24" (), (), "Beskydian Seven" (), "Five of Beskydian Summits"() and "Lysá Cup" ().</p><br>
<p>Lysá Hora-sjezdovka.JPGIn summer</p><br>
<p>Lysá hora - západ slunce.JPGSunset</p><br>
<p>Lysá_hora,_vrchol_04.jpgIn winter</p><br>
<p>Willis Island is the only permanently inhabited island in the Coral Sea Islands Territory, an external territory of Australia, located beyond the Great Barrier Reef in the Coral Sea. The island is located some 450 km east of Cairns, Queensland. It is the southernmost of the Willis Islets, a group of three islands which with their associated sandy cays stretch in a NNE to SSW line for about 12 km. Willis Island itself is aligned NW to SE and is about 500 m long by 150 m wide, 7.7 hectare in area, rising to about 9 m above sea level.</p><br>
<h2>Weather monitoring station</h2><br>
<p>The Australian Bureau of Meteorology has a weather monitoring station on the island. There are usually four weather observers, one of whom is Officer-in-Charge, and one Technical Officer (electronic engineering) living on the island.</p><br>
<h3>History</h3><br>
<p>The Willis Island weather monitoring station was established in 1921 and equipped with a radio transmitter in order to provide a cyclone early warning service for Queensland. The first officer in charge was John King Davis.</p><br>
<h4>Cyclone Yasi</h4><br>
<p>On 2 February 2011, sometime shortly after 08:30 AEST, the eye of Cyclone Yasi moved directly over Willis Island as a Category 5 tropical cyclone. Four station staff had been evacuated the previous day. Roughly an hour later, communication with the island was completely cut off. The cyclone was so strong it altered the shape of the island and cleared much of its vegetation.</p><br>
<p>Limited services were restored on 17 February 2011. A Bureau of Meteorology spokeswoman later said the core building sustained minor damage to the roof, deck covering and one of the solar panels. "The radome which protects the radar was completely destroyed and the radar itself sustained damage and needed to be replaced," she said. The associated storm surge also damaged the power generator, sewage system and desalination equipment. Operation of the weather monitoring station was restored on 12 December 2011.</p><br>
<h3>Infrastructure</h3><br>
<h4>Past infrastructure</h4><br>
<p>Up to 2004 most of the infrastructure constructed in either 1950 or 1968 still existed. Maintenance and refurbishment had been an ongoing costly process. The small parcel of land (total island is 7.7 hectares) accommodated 8 buildings of varying structure as follows:</p><br>
<p>Main building housing recreation, kitchen/dining, sleeping, office and equipment room constructed in 1950</p><br>
<p>Main store constructed in 1950</p><br>
<p>Laundry building constructed in 1950</p><br>
<p>Bunker/Cyclone Shelter constructed in 1950</p><br>
<p>Generator building constructed in 1968</p><br>
<p>Fire pump building constructed in 1968</p><br>
<p>Flammable liquids bunker constructed in 1968; and</p><br>
<p>Balloon filling and hydrogen storage building constructed 1950 (condemned).</p><br>
<p>Personal living accommodation was provided in a barracks-like wing between the meteorological office and the kitchen-living room area.</p><br>
<p>Meteorological equipment included a defined equipment enclosure and a seven metre high radar tower plus dome.</p><br>
<p>Other equipment included a desalination plant and enviro-cycle sewage treatment plant.</p><br>
<h4>Current infrastructure</h4><br>
<p>From 2005, the following new facilities and services have been constructed:</p><br>
<p>Meteorological office, mess area, accommodation, recreational area, powerhouse</p><br>
<p>Hydrogen generator building and gas storage, including associated site works</p><br>
<p>Relocated fuel storage tanks to a new concrete bunded diesel fuel area</p><br>
<p>Underground services related to communications, power distribution, water, sewage and fire hose reel services</p><br>
<p>Relocated satellite dishes and radar tower; and</p><br>
<p>Refurbished salt water pump building.</p><br>
<p>Accommodation facilities caters for four permanent staff and up to 10 visiting personnel.</p><br>
<p>Meteorological equipment includes a defined equipment enclosure and a seven metre high radar tower plus dome. Other equipment includes a desalination plant and enviro-cycle sewage treatment plant. Power generation comprises a hybrid system of a diesel generator combined with a wind generator and solar power. Rainwater harvesting has not been implemented due to the high level of marine bird life and guano deposits.</p><br>
<h3>Recreation</h3><br>
<p>The station has a recreation room which includes amenities such as a pool table, darts and table tennis, along with an outside sporting area and a home gym. There are also opportunities for recreational fishing.</p><br>
<p>A substantial library caters for all tastes. Two satellite television systems enable reception of Australian Channel 10 and the ABC, and of free-to-air transmissions from countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia. Programming includes the American television channels CNN and MTV and an extensive video library completes the passive entertainment options.</p><br>
<p>Occasional amateur radio operations occur in the Willis islets. Under DXCC rules Willis is considered to be a separate "entity" (equivalent to country) for award credit. A major DXpedition visited for several weeks in October 2008 (VK9DWX). Another operated here in November 2015 (VK9WA).</p><br>
<h3>Hazard reduction</h3><br>
<p>In the past, landfill was buried on the island, and occasionally high winds and heavy seas from a cyclone would uncover parts of the waste. A major clean-up campaign was conducted in 2004 and 2005 to protect the sensitive areas such as the coral cays and sand dunes.</p><br>
<p>Today, all waste generated on the island, as well as any debris that washes ashore, is placed in bins and shipped back on the staff exchange vessel for appropriate disposal on the mainland.</p><br>
<p>Tropical Cyclone Yasi uncovered a landfill site on the island, which was found to include some asbestos containing material (ACM). The area was remediated and all waste was removed from the island.</p><br>
<p>Three formal Occupational Health and Safety investigations on Willis Island have been undertaken by independent assessors - GHD (2007 and 2011) and Parsons Brinkerhoff (April 2011 – after TC Yasi). These investigations found no significant potential for exposure to asbestos fibre for employees stationed on Willis Island.</p><br>
<p>Occasionally old asbestos cement sheet washes up on Willis Island and is collected and bagged before being transported back to the mainland where it is disposed of in line with the Queensland Government’s EPA legislative requirements. Full safety equipment is used.</p><br>
<p>Staff generate their own supply of hydrogen for use in weather balloons. Prior to 1994, a chemical process to meet hydrogen needs was used. This process produced a toxic residue that was a danger to the local birdlife. Because of this danger, a safer "electrolytic converter" is now used to break down water into hydrogen and oxygen.</p><br>
<h2>Birdlife</h2><br>
<p>The most common inhabitants are wedge-tailed shearwaters, sooty terns and common and black noddies. Their numbers are usually quite high and bird cries continue day and night on the island. Several species of booby migrate through the Island including masked, brown and red-footed boobies, and also the lesser frigatebird. crested terns are also seen to migrate, although not as often. Other birds mentioned by John King Davis are the buff-banded rail as a resident, wood sandpiper, and sacred kingfisher and red-tailed tropicbird as occasional visitors.</p><br>
<p>Rockingham House was the home of John Berrien I  and George Washington&#39;s final headquarters of the Revolutionary War, located in the Rockingham section of Franklin Township in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. The house has been moved within southern Franklin Township several times, and is now closer to the Franklin portion of Kingston than to Rocky Hill. The residence is a featured part of the Millstone River Valley Scenic Byway. The oldest portion of the house was built as a two-room, two-story saltbox style house between 1702 and 1710; a kitchen and additional rooms were added on in the early 1760s, expanding with the Berrien family. The first reference to the house as "Rockingham" does not appear until a 1783 newspaper advertisement to sell the house, a name given most likely in honor of the Marquess of Rockingham.</p><br>
<h2>John Berrien</h2><br>
<p>John Berrien I was a surveyor and land agent from Long Island whose business brought him into the Millstone River valley in the 1730s. In 1735, he purchased the small house that overlooked the river. Berrien eventually became a judge, first in Somerset County before eventually being named to the Supreme Court of New Jersey. His first wife, Mary Leonard of Perth Amboy died in 1758 without bearing children; the next year, he married Margaret Eaton, whose father founded Eatontown, New Jersey. Together John and Margaret had six children, four boys and two girls. John Berrien drowned in the Millstone River in 1772, leaving his estate in the hands of his wife. He is buried in Princeton Cemetery.</p><br>
<h2>George Washington</h2><br>
<p>General George Washington stayed at Rockingham from August 23, 1783 to November 10, 1783. He was invited to the area by Congress, who were headquartered in Nassau Hall in Princeton while awaiting the news of the signing of the Treaty of Paris to officially end the Revolutionary War. Washington was accompanied by three aides-de-camp, a troop of between twelve and twenty-four life guards, his servants and, until early October, his wife Martha Washington. He spent his time at Rockingham entertaining Congress and other local figures until word of the end of the War reached him on October 31. Washington composed his Farewell Orders to the Armies of the United States at Rockingham, a document dismissing his troops and announcing his retirement from the Army.</p><br>
<h2>House sold</h2><br>
<p>In 1802, Margaret Berrien sold the house to Frederick Cruser, who continued the expansion of the house. Storage space and servants sleeping quarters were added to the kitchen wing, a second-story balcony added to the front of the house, and the roofline raised to accommodate a third-story attic. The Cruser family occupied Rockingham until 1841. The house changed hands many times until the 1890s when the property was bought by the Rocky Hill Quarry Company.</p><br>
<h2>Moves</h2><br>
<h3>1897 move</h3><br>
<p>The first move of the house was in 1897 to remove it from the Rocky Hill Quarry Company property in Rocky Hill. Kate McFarlane and Josephine Swann helped create the Washington Headquarters Association of Rocky Hill, which raised the money to purchase the structure and move it away from the quarry. In August 1897, the house was opened to the public. In 1935, ownership was turned over to the state of New Jersey.</p><br>
<h3>1956 move</h3><br>
<p>By 1956, the quarry had expanded and the house again was too close to active quarrying. Rockingham was moved a half mile eastward along County Route 518.</p><br>
<h3>2001 move</h3><br>
<p>The house made its final move in 2001. It now sits on a 27 acre lot on Kingston-Rocky Hill Road, adjacent to the Delaware and Raritan Canal, on the outskirts of Kingston. The site reopened to the public in 2004 and is open year-round.</p><br>
<h2>Timeline</h2><br>
<p>1705 (circa) built</p><br>
<p>1735 John Berrien buys house and property</p><br>
<p>1783 George Washington uses house as headquarters</p><br>
<p>1802 House sold to Frederick Cruser</p><br>
<p>1841 House sold to David H. Mount</p><br>
<p>1844 House sold to Martin A. Howell</p><br>
<p>1890 (circa) house and property sold to Rocky Hill Quarry Company</p><br>
<p>1897 House moved away from quarry</p><br>
<p>1956 House moved farther away from quarry</p><br>
<p>2001 House moved to Kingston</p><br>
<p>Jellyfish Lake  is a marine lake located on Eil Malk island in Palau. Eil Malk is part of the Rock Islands, a group of small, rocky, mostly uninhabited islands in Palaus Southern Lagoon, between Koror and Peleliu. There are about 70 other marine lakes located throughout the Rock Islands. Millions of golden jellyfish migrate horizontally across the lake daily.</p><br>
<p>Jellyfish Lake is connected to the ocean through fissures and tunnels in the limestone of an ancient Miocene reef. However the lake is sufficiently isolated and the conditions are different enough that the diversity of species in the lake is greatly reduced from the nearby lagoon. The golden jellyfish, Mastigias cf. papua etpisoni, and possibly other species in the lake have evolved to be substantially different from their close relatives living in the nearby lagoons.</p><br>
<h2>Lake stratification</h2><br>
<p>Jellyfish Lake is stratified into two layers, an oxygenated upper layer (mixolimnion) and a lower anoxic layer (monimolimnion). The oxygen concentration in the lake declines from about 5 ppm at the surface to zero at 15 meters (at the chemocline). Stratification is persistent and seasonal mixing does not occur. The lake is one of about 200 saline meromictic lakes that have been identified in the world. However most of these lakes are of freshwater origin. Permanently stratified marine lakes are unusual, but on Eil Malk and on other nearby islands there are eleven other apparently permanent stratified marine lakes.</p><br>
<p>The stratification of the lake is caused by conditions which prevent or restrict the mixing of water vertically. These conditions include:</p><br>
<p>The lake is surrounded by rock walls and trees which substantially block the wind flow across the lake that would cause mixing.</p><br>
<p>The primary water sources for the lake (rain, runoff and tidal flows through tunnels) are all close to the surface.</p><br>
<p>The lake is in the tropics where seasonal temperature variation is small, and so the temperature inversion that can cause vertical mixing of lakes in temperate zones does not occur.</p><br>
<p>The oxygenated layer extends from the surface to about 15 m. All organisms that require oxygen live in this layer including the jellyfish, a few species of fish and copepods. This layer is somewhat turbid. Visibility is limited to about 5 m. The salinity of this layer down to about 3 m is affected by rain and runoff, and below this, salinity levels are unaffected by freshwater inputs.</p><br>
<p>The lake is connected to the sea via three tunnels that lie near the surface. The tunnels channel tidal water in and out of the lake. Tide levels in the lake are damped to about a third of the lagoon tidal levels. The tidal peaks are delayed from the lagoon tidal peaks by about 1 hour and forty minutes. Biologist William Hamner estimated that about 2.5% of the lake&#39;s volume is exchanged during a tidal flow. However, because the tidal water enters at the surface, the lower anoxic layer is largely unaffected by tidal flows.</p><br>
<p>The anoxic layer extends from about 15 m below the surface to the bottom of the lake. The oxygen concentration in this layer is zero. The hydrogen sulfide concentration rises from about zero at the top of this layer to over 80 mg/liter at the bottom of the lake. The top three meters of this layer contains a dense population of bacteria, at least one species of which is a purple photosynthetic sulfur bacterium. This bacterial layer absorbs all sunlight so that the anoxic layer below the bacterial plate is dark, but transparent. Hamner estimated the visibility to be about 30 meters. The anoxic layer also contains high concentrations of ammonia and phosphate which are almost completely absent from the upper layer. The anoxic layer is potentially dangerous for divers, who can be poisoned through their skin. This risk is mitigated as scuba diving equipment is not allowed in the lake, thus limiting the depths to which individuals may dive.</p><br>
<h2>Age of the lake</h2><br>
<p>Jellyfish Lake is around 12,000 years old. This age estimate is based on the depth of the lake (about 30 meters), an estimate of the thickness of the sediment (at least 20 meters) and the rising sea level since the end of the last ice age. About 12,000 years ago, the sea level had risen to the point that sea water began to fill the Jellyfish Lake basin.</p><br>
<h2>Jellyfish species</h2><br>
<p>Two species of scyphozoan jellyfish live in Jellyfish Lake, moon jellyfish (Aurelia sp.) and the golden jellyfish (Mastigias sp.).</p><br>
<h3>Golden jellyfish</h3><br>
<p>The golden jellyfish are most closely related to the spotted jellyfish (Mastigias papua) that inhabit the nearby lagoons. They are similar to the spotted jellyfish in that they derive part of their nutrition from symbiotic algae (Zooxanthellae) that live in their tissues and part of their nutrition from captured zooplankton.</p><br>
<p>However, the golden jellyfish are morphologically, physiologically, and behaviourally distinct from the spotted jellyfish. They are easily distinguished from the spotted jellyfish by the almost complete loss of spots on the exumbrella and the almost complete loss of their clubs, an appendage attached to the oral arms.</p><br>
<p>Marine biologist Michael Dawson proposed that the golden jellyfish that inhabit Jellyfish Lake be classified as a subspecies (Mastigias cf. papua etpisoni) of the spotted jellyfish living in the nearby lagoons. The species identification is uncertain (denoted by cf. in the name) because the Mastigias papua local to Palauan lagoons may be only one of several cryptic species that make up the M. papua group, and in the future, the M. papua local to Palau may be identified as a separate species from other M. papua. He also proposed that the jellyfish living in four other Palauan marine lakes were distinctive enough to deserve recognition as unique subspecies.</p><br>
<h3>Moon jellyfish</h3><br>
<p>The moon jellyfish were identified as Aurelia aurita by Hamner. However, since the release of that report in 1981, genetic testing has been done on specimens of Aurelia collected from locations throughout the world. The results of that testing indicate in addition to the three named species of Aurelia there are at least six other cryptic species in the Aurelia genus. Three of the cryptic species identified were from Palau. One of these cryptic species is common to four of Palaus marine lakes with jellyfish populations including Jellyfish Lake. Hence, the most accurate designation for the moon jellyfish in Jellyfish Lake (as of February 2001) is Aurelia sp. Despite the close proximity of Palaus moon jellyfish cryptic species, Dawson and Jacobs stated that the molecular data suggested that they had not interbred for millions of years.</p><br>
<h2>Quotidian migration</h2><br>
<h3>Golden jellyfish</h3><br>
<p>The golden jellyfish migration pattern is as follows:</p><br>
<p>Night - For about 14 hours a day the jellyfish make repeated vertical excursions between the surface and the chemocline in the western basin possibly to acquire nitrogen and other nutrients from near the chemocline for their symbiotic algae.</p><br>
<p>From early morning to about 0930 - The jellyfish move from center of western basin to the eastern basin</p><br>
<p>From early afternoon to about 1530 - The jellyfish move from eastern basin to near western end of lake</p><br>
<p>As the sun sets - The jellyfish move briefly eastward from western end to western basin where they remain through the night</p><br>
<p>The golden jellyfish rotate counter-clockwise as they swim at the surface, presumably to provide even exposure to the sun for the symbiotic algae in their bodies.</p><br>
<p>The Jellyfish Lake golden jellyfish migration pattern is similar to Mastigias sp. in other Palauan marine lakes and coves which all migrate west to east in the morning. However the migration patterns in other Palauan coves and marine lakes are less well defined than that of the Jellyfish Lake golden jellyfish. The east to west migration in all of these other lakes (except for Clear Lake on Eil Malk) does not begin until the late afternoon.</p><br>
<p>Hamner and Dawson proposed that the difference is caused by evolutionary change driven by the jellyfish-eating anemones (Entacmaea medusivora) that inhabit the eastern regions of Jellyfish Lake and Clear Lake. The jellyfish instinctively avoid shadows and in the morning with the shadows on the eastern end the jellyfish also avoid the anemones. By moving east to west in the early afternoon the jellyfish avoid the time of day when the setting sun would eliminate shadows on the lake in the eastern end and thereby avoid the anemones in the afternoon.</p><br>
<h3>Moon jellyfish</h3><br>
<p>The moon jellyfish do not have an organized horizontal migration pattern. At night they migrate to the surface presumably to feed. The copepods that make up a significant portion of the moon jellyfish diet in Jellyfish Lake also migrate to the surface at night.</p><br>
<h2>Jellyfish die-off</h2><br>
<h3>Golden jellyfish</h3><br>
<p>Beginning in about the fall of 1998, a precipitous decline in the golden jellyfish medusa population was detected in Jellyfish Lake. By December 1998, the medusa population had declined to zero.</p><br>
<p>Based on their extensive investigation of the disappearance of the golden jellyfish medusae, Dawson et al. determined that the most likely cause was an El Niño weather event that raised the water temperature, with the result that the symbiotic algae (Zooxanthellae) that live within the golden jellyfish medusae and the syphistomae (scyphozoan polyps) could not survive.</p><br>
<p>In January 2000, the golden jellyfish medusae were observed in Jellyfish Lake for the first time since April 1999. By May, 2012, the medusae population had returned to pre-decline levels.</p><br>
<p>Dawson et al. also surveyed the golden jellyfish populations in three other Palauan marine lakes. They found significant changes in the medusa population in two of these lakes, Clear Lake on Eil Malk and Goby Lake on Koror. The golden jellyfish population in Big Jellyfish Lake, Koror did not seem to be affected. The reason for this was not clear, but Big Jellyfish Lake experienced lower temperature increases than the other lakes and there was experimental evidence that the golden jellyfish medusa from Big Jellyfish Lake were more tolerant of higher temperatures.</p><br>
<p>Although Clear Lake did not seem to have experienced the complete medusa population die-off that Jellyfish Lake did in 1998, the golden jellyfish medusae in Clear Lake are not always present. When conditions are not favorable for the short lived medusa stage or for syphistomae strobilation, the medusae disappear in Clear Lake. The medusa population is reestablished by syphistomae strobilation when conditions are favorable for strobilation and medusae again.</p><br>
<p>A significant reduction in the Jellyfish Lake medusa population had also been noted in 1987. This was previously attributed to turbulence generated by scuba diving that caused disturbance of the toxic layer. However, given that it occurred within the time frame when an unusually high sea surface temperature had been detected, it might reasonably be surmised that a rise in water temperature was the most likely cause of the 1998 die-off.</p><br>
<h3>Moon jellyfish</h3><br>
<p>The moon jellyfish exhibited unusual damage in the 1998 time frame; however, the population seemed no smaller than usual.</p><br>
<h2>Tourism</h2><br>
<p>Tourists are required to obtain a pass to access Jellyfish Lake. The Rock Islands/Jellyfish Lake pass is $100 and is good for 10 days.</p><br>
<p>Snorkeling in Jellyfish Lake is a popular activity for tourists to Palau. Several tour operators in Koror offer trips to the lake. Eil Malk island is approximately a 45-minute boat ride from Koror. The lake is accessed by a short trail from the beach on Eil Malk to the lake.</p><br>
<p>Scuba diving by tourists in the lake is not allowed. Two reasons are put forward for this:</p><br>
<p>The bubbles from scuba tanks can harm the jellyfish if they collect beneath their bell.</p><br>
<p>The anoxic layer that begins at about 15 meters contains high concentrations of hydrogen sulfide which can be absorbed through the skin of a diver which can lead to death.</p><br>
<p>Jellyfish Lake is currently the only one of Palau&#39;s marine lakes open to tourists.</p><br>
<h3>Safety considerations</h3><br>
<p>Although both species of jellyfish living in the lake have stinging cells (nematocytes), they are not in general powerful enough to cause harm to humans. It has been reported that it is possible to notice the stings on sensitive areas like the area around the mouth. The Fish &#39;n Fins tour guide recommended that people with allergies to jellyfish consider wearing protective clothing.</p><br>
<p>Saltwater crocodiles are native to Palau but there has only been one death attributed to them in recent times and they are generally not considered a threat to divers.</p><br>
<p>The hydrogen sulfide in the anoxic layer is a serious risk to scuba divers entering this layer. The gas can be absorbed through the skin. In 1977, the maximum safe threshold level for hydrogen sulfide was set at 10 ppm. The concentrations exceed that by eightfold at the bottom of the anoxic layer. However, the hydrogen sulfide concentration down to the chemocline at about 15 m is reported to be zero, and if the anoxic layer is avoided, the hydrogen sulfide in the lake does not pose a risk for snorkelers.</p><br>
<p>Mount Pinos  is a mountain located in the Los Padres National Forest on the boundary between Ventura and Kern counties in California. The summit, at 8,847 ft, is the highest point in Ventura County. The mountain is the highest point of the Transverse Ranges west of Tejon Pass, as well as the southernmost point of the Salinian Block.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>The summit of the mountain itself is relatively flat and open with several subsidiary summits. Open stands of conifers separated by chaparral shrub areas predominate.</p><br>
<p>The view from the summit on a clear day encompasses the southern Central Valley, the southernmost Sierra Nevada, much of northern Ventura county, much of the Santa Barbara County mountains, the Caliente Range and the Carrizo Plain. The trace of the San Andreas Fault, clearly visible to the northwest, cuts between Mount Pinos and the mountains immediately to the north. The trace extends all the way to Soda Lake in the Carrizo Plain along the Elkhorn Scarp. The lights of Bakersfield and surrounding towns are visible on a clear evening to the north and northeast.</p><br>
<h2>Geology</h2><br>
<p>The mountain primarily consists of granitic rocks of the southern Salinian Block, in contrast to the nearby San Emigdio Mountains, which is primarily made of Precambrian metamorphic rock or Cenozoic sedimentary rock. Mount Pinos is therefore considered a geologically separate formation.</p><br>
<h2>Communities</h2><br>
<p>The small community of Pine Mountain Club lies due north of Mount Pinos. Lake of the Woods and Frazier Park are about 10 mi to the east.</p><br>
<h2>Climate</h2><br>
<p>The summit plateau experiences harsh winters in comparison to most of Southern California. Most of the precipitation falls as winter snow. The area experiences several feet (1 to 2 metres) of snow each year with snowfields lasting till early June on the north facing slopes. In heavy snowfall years snowfields can last till late July or later. Temperatures fall to near freezing most days in the coldest months while lows drop into the teens.</p><br>
<p>Summer months are mild with high temperatures between 70 &deg;F and 80 &deg;F. The mountain experiences occasional thunderstorms with some delivering intense, localized downpours.</p><br>
<h2>Ecology</h2><br>
<h3>Flora</h3><br>
<p>Habitats on Mt. Pinos include:</p><br>
<p>Southern mixed evergreen forests</p><br>
<p>California montane chaparral and woodlands</p><br>
<h3>Fauna</h3><br>
<p>Mount Pinos is considered by ecologists to be home to one of the most significant populations of birds of prey in California. In the area live five owl species, Northern Goshawks, as well as California Condors.</p><br>
<p>It is also home to alpine endemics such as the mountain quail, Clarks nutcracker, Stellers jay and pygmy nuthatch (best seen in campground), as well as hermit warbler (typical during migration) and green-tailed towhee.</p><br>
<h2>Significance to Chumash people</h2><br>
<p>Mount Pinos, or Iwihinmu in the Chumashan language, was considered by the Chumash people to be the center of the world or Liyikshup. The point where everything is in balance. The summit is the highest in the area and near the center of the traditional lands of the Chumash.</p><br>
<h2>Hiking</h2><br>
<p>The summit of Pinos can be reached by a 2 mi hike along a dirt road from a parking area at the end of Los Padres National Forest Road S349S. The trail continues to the west entering the Chumash Wilderness and ends at Mount Abel (Cerro Noroeste). Almost all of this 6 mi trail is above 8,000 ft.</p><br>
<h2>Snow Sports</h2><br>
<p>Consistent snow conditions on Mount Pinos allows for many types of winter recreation. This includes Backcountry skiing, cross country and telemark skiing, snowshoeing, snowboarding, sledding, and snow camping. The network of ski trails and backcountry ski and snowboarding bowls on Mount Pinos are documented on several locally-produced maps. The ski trails are part of a dispersed recreation area administered in partnership by the United States Forest Service, Los Padres National Forest and the Southern California Nordic Ski Patrol. The patrol</p><br>
<p>operates the Nordic Base facility on weekends only in the winter. It is located at the top of Mount Pinos Road and adjacent to the Chula Vista parking lot.</p><br>
<p>From the Chula Vista parking lot a trail network spreads both uphill towards Condor Point and downhill reaching as far as McGill Campground. Skiing and boarding are also available in backcountry bowls on the north face of the peak and ridges that drop all the way down the mountain to about the 6,000 ft level. Popular destinations include Condor Point, 1st and 2nd Meadows, and Inspiration Point. The Overlook trail accesses the North Ridge area which hosted an alpine ski area during the 1960s. The area lifts were rope tows situated on the three fingers of the drainage just north of Overlook trail.</p><br>
<p>More ambitious back country skiing can include trips to nearby Sheep Camp on Sawmill Mountain, Mount Abel (Cerro Noroeste) and if snow conditions allow a descent all the way to Pine Mountain Club.</p><br>
<p>During and immediately after heavy snow storms it may not be possible to drive to the top of Mount Pinos Road due to the lack of snow plow availability. In such cases it is common for the Kern County Roads Department to close a snow gate lower on the mountain. It is still possible to ski from the snow gate and enjoy the lower slopes of Mount Pinos. Snow at lower elevations also facilitates cross country skiing to Iris Point which provides great views of Lockwood Valley.</p><br>
<p>It is important to note that some of these trails depend on sufficient snowpack. The trails are not declared hiking trails in the summer and consequently a separate hiking map is available from the Forest Service.</p><br>
<p>Other nearby recreational opportunities include astronomy, fishing, off-roading, horseback riding and bouldering.</p><br>
<p>Mount Pinos is often referred to by Adam Carolla on his radio show and podcasts.</p><br>
<h2>Astronomy</h2><br>
<p>Mount Pinos is considered to be one of the best viewing sites in Southern California due to its relatively low light pollution, dry air and frequently clear skies and is one of the favorite gathering places for amateur astronomers in the region.</p><br>
<p>The usual viewing area is not the summit of the mountain, but the large tree-surrounded parking area of Chula Vista Campground</p><br>
<p>at the end of the paved road about two miles east of the peak.</p><br>
<p>Porta Coeli  Convent church, or El Convento de Santo Domingo de Porta Coeli in Spanish, is one of the oldest church structures in the western hemisphere, located in San Germán, Puerto Rico.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>In 1609, the Dominican Order built the Convento de Porta Coeli at the crest of a hill in what is now San Germán Historic District. During the 18th century the Convento was reconstructed and a church built next to it. The single nave church was constructed of rubble masonry with stucco surfaced walls and a wood truss roof.</p><br>
<p>In 1949 Ubaldino Ramírez de Arellano, Monseñor Mac Manus, Bishop of Ponce, Senator Santiago R. Palmer and others arranged for the church of Porta Coeli in San German to be sold to the Government of Puerto Rico for a dollar so that it would be responsible for its safekeeping and preservation.</p><br>
<p>After restoration by the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture, the church now houses the Museo de Arte Religioso. This is a museum of religious paintings and wooden carvings dating from the 18th and 19th centuries. The building was listed in 1976 on the USA National Register of Historic Places as "Convento de Porta Coeli".</p><br>
<h2>Cemetery</h2><br>
<p>There is also a Porta Coeli cemetery in Puerto Rico. Located in Bayamon, it is the resting grounds, among others, of Luis Aguad Jorge, a Cuban actor who became famous in Puerto Rico as the enanito de Holsum, or Holsum (bread)&#39;s dwarf.</p><br>
<p>Slhanay, formerly known as The Squaw is a large dome of granitic rock located adjacent to the town of Squamish, British Columbia. Although the mountain, known as Slhanay in the language of the Skwxwu7mesh people is indeed an impressive geological formation, it tends to be overshadowed by the Stawamus Chief, a much larger granitic dome located immediately south-west.</p><br>
<p>The use of the term "squaw" as a name for the dome is controversial. For a long time, no alternative had been successfully applied, probably due in large part to local tradition and an inability to get such an alternative name to "stick". This was remedied in 2009 when the new name Slhanay was adopted for the area after consultation with local First Nations.</p><br>
<p>The Slhanay is situated within the boundaries of the Stawamus Chief Provincial Park. A partially maintained hiking trail, accessible from the Chiefs main "backside" trail, leads to the Slhanay summit area. This trail is rugged and the Slhanay summit area is seldom visited. However, the sheer rock walls on Slhanays west face are greatly appreciated by rock climbers who access them from the nearby Mamquam Forest Service Road.</p><br>
<p>Big Lake Butte des Morts is an 8,800 acre lake located in the USA state of Wisconsin and is part of the Winnebago Pool . The lake is fed by the Fox River in the southwest and the Wolf River draining from Lake Winneconne in the northwest, and drains via the Fox River southeast into Lake Winnebago. The lake is also part of the Butte des Morts region in Winnebago County, Wisconsin.</p><br>
<p>Much of the lake is flooded marshland, which was created by the damming of the Fox River downstream in Menasha in the 19th century. This has resulted in the lake&#39;s flat and shallow character (maximum depth is 15 ft). USA Highway 41 (US 41) / Interstate 41 (I41) spans the east end of the lake via a bridge and causeway combination. The bridge includes the Tribal Heritage Crossing, a designated national trail, which is a portion of the Wiouwash Trail. The city of Oshkosh lies between Lake Butte des Morts and Lake Winnebago.</p><br>
<p>Big Lake Butte des Morts is popular among both fishermen and recreational boaters during the warm months, and with ice fishermen in the winter. A marked navigation channel guides passage across the lake from the inflow of the Wolf River in the west (connecting to Lake Poygan), to the outflow of the Fox River east to Lake Winnebago. This lake is not connected to Little Lake Butte des Morts. The smaller lake is located to the north downstream of the Winnebago Pool. Big Lake Butte des Morts served as part of the Fox-Wisconsin Waterway.</p><br>
<p>Fish species found in the lake include walleye, drum, white bass, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, carp, flathead and channel catfish, northern pike, crappie, yellow perch, bluegill and sturgeon. Sunset Point, located near the Interstate 41 bridge, is one of the most popular walleye fishing spots on the Winnebago System.</p><br>
<p>The name "Butte des Morts" was given by French colonial settlers from the period when France controlled this area. It means "Hill of the Dead", in reference to a nearby prehistoric Native American burial mound.</p><br>
<p>The Kingwood Center Gardens is a historic 47 acre site with a house, gardens and greenhouses, located at 50 North Trimble Road in Mansfield, Ohio.</p><br>
<p>Mr. Charles Kelley King began making his fortune when he was hired by the Ohio Brass Company as the its first electrical engineer in 1893. He led Ohio Brass into new ventures, particularly the manufacture of electrical fittings for railroads and trolleys. Mr. King was responsible for much of the company&#39;s success and he eventually became President and Chairman of the Board of Ohio Brass. Mr. King was married and divorced twice, and had no children. The house and grounds were built in 1926 for King and his second wife, Luise, with grounds designed by Cleveland landscape architecture firm Pitkin and Mott. One year after his death in 1952, the 47-acre estate opened as a public garden to a private foundation that continues to operate Kingwood Center today.</p><br>
<p>On November 7, 1976, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.</p><br>
<h2>Current</h2><br>
<p>In 1953 the estate became a public garden. The gardens are now open daily from 9am to 7pm. Admission is $5 per car, $2 per pedestrian and bicycle, and free for members and volunteers. Estate grounds currently include the following collections:</p><br>
<p>Cacti and Succulent House - cacti and succulents.</p><br>
<p>Daylily and Iris Collection - about 200 daylily cultivars, 54 Siberian iris cultivars, 50 cultivars of tall bearded iris, and 10 cultivars of reblooming tall bearded iris.</p><br>
<p>Herb Garden (1977) - a knot garden in six sections, of herbs in juniper and boxwood edging.</p><br>
<p>Historic Garden (1926) - a sequence of connected "rooms" enclosed by hedges, each built around a central feature such as a sunken garden, a small circular pool, a swimming pool, or a bronze sculpture of Pan.</p><br>
<p>Parterre - boxwood edging filled with seasonal tulips and annuals.</p><br>
<p>Peony Garden - over 170 cultivars of herbaceous peonies.</p><br>
<p>Perennial Garden - over 300 varieties of perennial plants in large borders.</p><br>
<p>Rose Garden (1977) - nearly 500 roses, mainly hybrid teas and grandifloras, as well as a new section of David Austin roses.</p><br>
<p>Terrace (1994) - seasonal beds of tulips and annuals, with a variety of shrubs.</p><br>
<p>Tropical House - tropical plants, including Acalypha hispida (chenille plant), Acalypha wilkesiana Obovata Cristata (copperleaf), Anthurium (flamingo flower), Codiaeum (croton), Cordyline fruticosa Fire Brand (ti tree), Dichorisandra warscewicziana (blue ginger), Ficus deltoidea (mistletoe fig), Jatropha integerrima (spicy jatropha), Justicia brandegeeana (shrimp plant), and Rivina humilis (blood berry).</p><br>
<p>Woodland - currently under development.</p><br>
<p>The Indiana State House is the state capitol building of the USA state of Indiana. Housing the Indiana General Assembly, the office of the Governor of Indiana, the Supreme Court of Indiana, and other state officials, it is located in the state capital Indianapolis at 200 West Washington Street. Built in 1888, it is the fifth building to house the state government.</p><br>
<p>The first statehouse, located in Corydon, Indiana, is still standing and is maintained as a state historic site. The second building was the old Marion County courthouse which was demolished and replaced in the early 20th century. The third building was a structure modeled on the Parthenon, but was condemned in 1877 because of structural defects and razed so the current statehouse could be built on its location.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<h3>First statehouse</h3><br>
<p>When Indiana became a state in 1816, the capital was located in Corydon. The first capitol building was a humble, two-story limestone building constructed in 1813 to house the legislature of the Indiana Territory. The building was constructed by a company owned by Dennis Pennington, a member of the early territorial legislature. Construction cost $1,500, paid for by the citizens of Harrison County, and was completed in three years. It measured forty-feet square with walls two-feet-thick and ten-foot ceilings. The building was made of limestone cut from a nearby quarry and, at the time of its completion, was one of the largest buildings in the state.</p><br>
<p>The capitol contained three rooms and quickly became too small for the state government, which had to erect additional office buildings across the street for the state&#39;s administration. The lower floor of the statehouse was used by the Indiana House of Representatives. The upper floor was split into two rooms, one for the Indiana State Senate and another for the Indiana Supreme Court, with a narrow hall between them. The building was abandoned as the capitol in 1824 and was given to Harrison County to use as a courthouse. The old capitol building is still preserved and is now a state historic site.</p><br>
<h3>Second statehouse</h3><br>
<p>When the state government relocated to Indianapolis in December 1824, the government was housed in the Marion County Courthouse. The courthouse had been constructed with state funds in 1822 after Indianapolis was chosen as the site for the new capitol. The courthouse served as the state capitol building for twelve years. At the time Indianapolis was a frontier site, nearly 60 mi from the nearest settlement of significance, making large scale construction impractical.</p><br>
<p>The relocation to Indianapolis was an arduous task. At the time it was an eleven-day journey by horseback from Corydon to the new capital. To complicate matters, no road existed and a path for the wagons had to be cut through the dense forests during the winter transit as the long caravan moved north. The caravan was large because it contained the state treasury, state library, state records, the furniture of the General Assembly, Supreme Court, and ExecutIve Offices, along with a whole host of other implements to aid the caravan on its long journey. Colonel Samuel Merrill, the state treasurer, was authorized by the General Assembly to oversee the move. Ultimately, it took more than a month to relocate the government to Indianapolis. The first session of the General Assembly convened there in January 1825.</p><br>
<h3>Third statehouse</h3><br>
<p>In 1831, the Indiana General Assembly approved construction of a new statehouse. The building was to be funded by the sale of lots of land in Indianapolis. A commission was established and Commissioner James Blake offered a $150 prize to the architect who could design the best statehouse. The firm of Ithiel Town and Alexander Jackson Davis created the winning design. Their plans were for a structure that was inspired by the ancient Greek Parthenon. The building looked very much like the Parthenon except for a large central dome. Town and Davis was awarded the contract to construct the building, and completed it ahead of schedule in 1835.</p><br>
<p>The statehouse was built of blue limestone, two stories high. The governor and the Supreme Court occupied the lower floor, and the legislature occupied the upper floor, with each house in its own wing. The building was the site of many great events in its history, including a bier for Abraham Lincoln. The building was popular after its construction but by the 1860s Greek Revival architecture had fallen out of style, and the building was beginning to become decrepit. The building&#39;s limestone foundation began to fail, and many feared a general structural collapse of the building. In 1867 the ceiling in the chambers of the Indiana House of Representative collapsed. A debate was held in 1873 about how to preserve the building but no solution was found. By the time that Governor James Williams was elected to office, the building was about to be condemned. It was finally demolished in 1877.</p><br>
<h3>Fourth statehouse</h3><br>
<p>When the third statehouse was condemned in 1876 the government abandoned the building. The General Assembly relocated to a large office building that had been built in 1865 and was already housing the Supreme Court. The Governor and the executive staff relocated to another office building. The office building was used as the statehouse during the interim period that the new statehouse was being built. In 1887, before the new statehouse had been completed, enough of the lower floors were usable for the government to move out of the cramped office space and begin holding sessions in the new structure.</p><br>
<h2>Current Statehouse</h2><br>
<h3>Construction</h3><br>
<p>With Indianas rapid increase of population during the middle of the 19th century, the states government increased in size, causing the previous capitol building to become crowded. In 1865, a state office building had to be constructed to house some of the burgeoning government, and the Supreme Court and several bureaus were relocated into the new building. When the statehouse was condemned in 1877, the state was without a real capitol building, and the administration of Governor James D. Williams proposed the construction of the current state capitol building. The plan was approved by the Indiana General Assembly during the legislative session of 1878. After the third state capitol building had been razed, the new building was constructed on the same site. Two million dollars (USD) were appropriated for construction of the new building, and it was completed in 1888. Governor Williams, who was famed for his frugality, was able to complete the project for $1.8 million and returned the extra $200,000 to the general fund.</p><br>
<p>A team of commissioners, including former Civil War general and civil engineer Thomas A. Morris, planned and oversaw the project. The structure was designed by Edwin May, an Indianapolis architect. Not wanting to repeat the mistakes made in the construction of the previous statehouse, the legislature required the new capitol to be built on a solid foundation, so that it would last for many decades. Construction began in 1880 and the cornerstone was laid on September 28. Edwin May died in February of that year, and Adolph Sherrer supervised the project for the entire construction period. The interior was modeled in the Italian Renaissance style. Wherever possible, materials native to Indiana were used. Doors were made of Indiana oak, and Indiana limestone was used throughout the structure. The building&#39;s cornerstone is a ten-ton block of limestone quarried in Spencer, Indiana. The central dome was completed in 1883. The building was also wired for electricity, even though Indianapolis did not yet have an electrical power grid. In 1887, the new capitol was sufficiently finished for the first legislative session to be held there. Construction ultimately endured eight years, and the building was finally completed in October 1888. With the pinnacle of the building reaching 256 ft high, it was the second tallest building in the state at the time of its completion.</p><br>
<p>A hole was bored in the cornerstone, and a time capsule was placed inside containing forty-two items. The items included annual reports from all the government agencies, a Bible, samples of several varieties of crops grown in Indiana, several new coins, local maps and newspapers, a book on the history of Indianapolis, and pamphlets from many of the city&#39;s institutions.</p><br>
<p>The building is designed in the shape of a cross. A large central rotunda with a glass domed ceiling connects the four wings. The structure is four stories high. The first floor houses the executive offices of the administration. Offices for the Indiana House of Representatives are on the second floors east side, while those for the Indiana State Senate are on the second floors west side. Offices of the Indiana Supreme Court are on the north end of the second floor. The seventy-thousand volume Supreme Court Law Library is located on third floor. The third floor also holds the House, Senate, and Supreme Court chambers, and the fourth floor holds the Indiana Court of Appeals courtroom and the offices of nine of the fifteen judges on the Court. Additional executive office and storage space. The building was constructed for the purpose of holding the entire government of the state. For several decades all the government bureaus were housed within the building, until the government again outgrew the structure; most of the state&#39;s bureaus have gradually been moved out of the building. In front of the Statehouse stands a statue of Oliver Morton, governor of Indiana during the Civil War.</p><br>
<h3>Renovation</h3><br>
<p>In 1988, the administration of Governor Robert D. Orr proposed that the Indiana General Assembly renovate the statehouse as part of "Hoosier Celebration 88", the buildings one-hundredth anniversary. The General Assembly approved, and the building had an extensive, 11 million dollar renovation that continued until 1995.</p><br>
<p>During the renovation process, all of the statehouses stonework, consisting of marble, granite, and limestone columns and blocks, was cleaned and polished. All of the buildings woodwork was repaired or replaced. Broken glass in the central dome skylight was replaced. The buildings lighting was updated with new chandeliers based on the original designs, and most interior walls were repainted. The building was wired for a new data network to make the building ready for 21st-century technology.</p><br>
<p>In 1984 the statehouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places, and it remains a protected building. The statehouse is open for public tours during the work week and with limited tours during weekend mornings.</p><br>
<h3>Public artworks</h3><br>
<p>Located inside and around the Statehouse property are more than 40 works of public art that depict many important individuals and events related to the state of Indiana. The collection spans more than 130 years of artistic activity in a variety of mediums.</p><br>
<p>The Missouri State Capitol is the building that houses the legislative and executive branches of the government of the USA state of Missouri, as well as the Missouri General Assembly. Located in Jefferson City at 201 West Capitol Avenue, it is the third capitol in the city after the other two were demolished when they were damaged in fires. The domed building, designed by the New York City architectural firm of Tracy and Swartwout, was completed in 1917.</p><br>
<p>The Capitol&#39;s dome, which rises 238 ft above ground level and topped by a bronze statue of Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture, rises above the bluffs of the Missouri River and is the first view of Jefferson City for travelers arriving from the north. In addition to the state Senate and House of Representatives, the Capitol also contains offices for the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state treasurer, state auditor, and some administrative agencies.</p><br>
<p>It is individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places and a contributing property in the Missouri State Capitol Historic District.</p><br>
<h2>Architecture, paintings, and statuary</h2><br>
<p>The Missouri State Capitol is notable for its architectural features, including its eight 48 ft columns on the south portico and its six 40 ft columns on the north side, its 30 ft-wide grand stairway; and its bronze front doors, each 13x18 ft—at the time, the largest cast since the Roman era.</p><br>
<p>Statuary is a prominent feature of the Capitol grounds. Heroic allegorical bronze figures depicting Missouri&#39;s two historically great rivers—the Mississippi and the Missouri—by Robert Aitken and a 13 ft tall statue of Thomas Jefferson made by James Earle Fraser all dominate the south entrance. A Karl Bitter bronze relief, depicting the signing of the Louisiana Purchase by Livingston, Monroe and Marbois; and the Fountain of the Centaurs, created by A.A. Weinman; are featured on the north grounds.</p><br>
<p>The north side of the building contains a frieze showing the history of Missouri by Hermon Atkins MacNeil, while the theme is continued on the south side by Alexander Stirling Calder. The figure of Ceres on the top of the dome is by Sherry Fry and the pediment over the main entrance is by Weinman.</p><br>
<p>The Capitols first floor features the State Museum. Paintings, pediments, and friezes decorate the Capitols interior. A prime attraction is a series of murals painted by Thomas Hart Benton in the House Lounge. The grand staircase is flanked by large heroic bronze statues of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, and the third-floor rotunda is the site of the Hall of Famous Missourians, a group of bronze busts of many prominent Missourians honored for their achievements and contributions to the state.</p><br>
<p>The structure also features a whispering gallery high within the dome; a small viewing platform is on the dome&#39;s roof beneath the statue of Ceres. These areas are not normally open to the public except for special tours and school tours.</p><br>
<p>The capitol is Jefferson City&#39;s leading tourist attraction. It is a destination for school groups who arrive by busloads, particularly during General Assembly sessions. Students fill the galleries to watch the Senate and House of Representatives in action.</p><br>
<h2>History of the structure</h2><br>
<p>The present Capitol, completed in 1917 and occupied the following year, is the third Capitol in Jefferson City and the sixth in Missouri history. The first seat of state government was housed in the Mansion House, located at Third and Vine Streets in St. Louis and the second one was in the Missouri Hotel located at Main and Morgan Streets in St. Charles. St. Charles was designated as the temporary capital of the state in 1821 and remained the seat of government until 1826.</p><br>
<p>It was decided that the Capitol should be located more in the center of the state and specifically that it should be located on the Missouri River within 40 mi of the mouth of the Osage. A group was sent out to survey various locations. The present location on top of the bluffs in Jefferson City was chosen because it afforded the best view of the Missouri River of any place which they had seen within the limits prescribed by the Constitution.</p><br>
<p>The fourth Capitol (the first in Jefferson City) was made out of brick, two stories tall, measured approximately 40x60 ft, and took two years to complete. It was built for approximately $18,500. It was called the "Governors House and State Capitol." This building burned in 1837. The site is now occupied by the present-day Missouri Governors Mansion. It was designed by Stephen Hills and modeled on the first Pennsylvania State Capitol in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Hills also designed Academic Hall of the University of Missouri; the six Ionic columns that survived the 1892 fire that destroyed the building are now the campus&#39;s landmark columns at the David R. Francis Quadrangle.</p><br>
<p>The fifth Capitol (which was at the current site) was completed in 1840 for approximately $350,000, with some claiming that there were bribes and kickbacks. This building also burned on February 5, 1911 when it was struck by lightning. This building was approximately 50,000 ft&sup2; and by 1911, was far too small to meet the needs of the legislators. Missouri Senator William Warner said, "I have no tears to shed over the fact that the building has been destroyed as it was totally inadequate and not in keeping with the requirements of our great state."</p><br>
<p>The original budget called for a building to be constructed for $3 million, with an additional $500,000 allocated for site and furnishings. This was approved in general election by the public by a three-to-one margin However, the state miscalculated on revenue projections, and ended up collecting $4,215,000. All of this money was eventually used for the entire project, which is one of the reasons why the sculptures and art work are of such high caliber. Edwin William Stephens of Columbia served as chair of the Capitol Decoration Committee along with University of Missouri art professor John Pickard.</p><br>
<p>It was also decided that the architect would be selected from a design competition; names were redacted from the submissions so that there would be no local favoritism. A total of 69 architecture firms submitted for the competition, from which a short list of 11 was chosen. Tracy & Swarthout from New York was ultimately selected.</p><br>
<p>The building is symmetrical in plan, giving equal symbolic weight to both the House and Senate (though the interiors of the two chambers differ greatly). The style makes many historical references to the Capitol in Washington, D.C., as well as to Greek and Roman temples; however, the typical column capital is a unique variation on the Classic Corinthian Capital, replacing the acanthus leaves with local flora.</p><br>
<p>The stone for the exterior is a dense marble from Carthage, Missouri. Some of the finer details have eroded after 90 years of freeze/thaw cycles. The state has committed monies to study restoration and prevent further deterioration. The building measures five stories high, 437 ft long, 300 ft wide in the center, and 200 ft wide in the wings. The dome is 238 ft high and the height of the wings is 88 ft. It includes 500,000 ft&sup2; of floor space.</p><br>
<p>In November 2006, the 9,000 lb dome chandelier, which had been lowered almost to the floor for maintenance, fell the remaining five feet. The chandelier was damaged by the impact and by the ornamental chains that fell on it. It was sent to St. Louis for repairs. Nearly a full year later, the chandelier was returned and raised in the capitol. The upper lights were also restored, after they had been turned off for four decades due to light damage to the mural above. Created in 1918 by the Guth Lighting Company of St. Louis for a cost of $5,000, the chandelier cost $500,000 to be restored.</p><br>
<h2>Sources</h2><br>
<p>Hunter, Marie Nau, Missouri and Mississippi: Robert Ingersoll Aitkens Sculpture in Jefferson City, Missouri, Masters Thesis, University of Missouri-Columbia, 1996</p><br>
<p>Kvaran & Lockley A Guide to the Architectural Sculpture of America, unpublished manuscript</p><br>
<p>Pickard, John, The Missouri State Capitol: Report of the Capitol Decoration Commission, 1917–1928, Capitol Decoration Committee, Jefferson City Missouri, 1928</p><br>
<p>The West Virginia State Capitol is the seat of government for the USA state of West Virginia, and houses the West Virginia Legislature and the office of the Governor of West Virginia. Located in Charleston, West Virginia, the building was dedicated in 1932. Along with the West Virginia Executive Mansion it is part of the West Virginia Capitol Complex, a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places.</p><br>
<h2>Background</h2><br>
<p>Prior to the American Civil War, the counties that would ultimately form West Virginia were a part of the state of Virginia; the state capital was in Richmond, Virginia. After Virginia seceded from the Union in 1861, the northwestern counties of Virginia loyal to the United States started the process which would ultimately create the State of West Virginia on June 20, 1863.</p><br>
<p>Settling on a state capital location proved to be difficult. For several years, the capital of West Virginia shifted back and forth between Wheeling and Charleston. Other locations, including Martinsburg and Clarksburg were offered as alternatives. on August 7, 1877.</p><br>
<h2>Prior capitols</h2><br>
<h3>Wheeling, 1863</h3><br>
<p>From the state&#39;s inception in 1863, the legislature met in the building of the Linsly Military Institute, on Eoff Street in Wheeling. The government soon outgrew this building, which had been built in 1859. In 1865, the legislature voted to move to Charleston, which was to be the permanent capital city. The legislature remained in Wheeling until 1870, when the new building was completed.</p><br>
<h3>Charleston, 1870</h3><br>
<p>In 1869, construction began on a new building on Capitol Street in downtown Charleston. The new building was designed by Leroy S. Buffington of Anderson & Hannaford, Cincinnati. The new building was architecturally eclectic, combining elements of the Italianate, Second Empire, and High Victorian Gothic styles. The legislature met in the building until 1875, when the City of Wheeling offered to build a new capitol building if the legislature would agree to return to the city. This choice was fueled by the greater accessibility of Wheeling as Charleston did not have rail access.</p><br>
<h3>Wheeling, 1875</h3><br>
<p>The legislature was transferred back to Wheeling in 1875, and met in the Linsly building until the new one was completed in 1876. This building, by Joseph S. Fairfax, was a very large Second Empire building. The next year, a statewide election was held to determine a permanent capitol. Due to anti-Wheeling sentiment, the city was not even a choice. Charleston was selected, and in the fall of 1877, Governor Jacob issued a proclamation that after 1885, that city would be the permanent state capital.</p><br>
<p>After the Charleston building was completed in 1885, the Wheeling building was remodeled by architect Charles P. Hamilton to serve the dual functions of city hall and county courthouse. It survived until 1959, when a new building went up on the same site.</p><br>
<h3>Charleston, 1885</h3><br>
<p>Construction on the second Charleston capitol began in 1880, to plans by Pittsburgh architect Andrew Peebles, with supervision by C. C. Kemble of Wheeling, and then Charleston. The 1870 building was almost completely destroyed for the new building. Kemble was relieved from his duties in 1884, and Stanton M. Howard of Wheeling completed the building in 1885. Unlike its predecessor, this was an informal and picturesque High Victorian Gothic building. It stood until it was gutted by a fire in 1921, which left only the exterior walls still standing. The ruins were promptly demolished.</p><br>
<h3>Charleston, 1921</h3><br>
<p>A new temporary wooden building was hastily built by the state in 1921. It was derisively referred to as the "pasteboard capitol". It was built on Washington Street near the old site, with the expectation that the new building would be built on the old site. However, a riverside site in the eastern end of the city was chosen, and the downtown site was sold off. It was quickly developed. The temporary capitol was completely destroyed in a 1927 fire.</p><br>
<h2>Present capitol</h2><br>
<p>A Capitol Building Commission, created by the Legislature in 1921, authorized construction of the present capitol. Architect Cass Gilbert designed the buff limestone structure that was to have a final cost of just under $10 million. Construction began in 1924, and, after the three stages of construction were completed, Governor William G. Conley dedicated the capitol on June 20, 1932.</p><br>
<p>Gilbert liked his design of the West Virginia chambers interior so well that he reused part of the design for the United States Supreme Court. The USA chamber is a larger version of the one found in the West Virginia Capitols East Wing.</p><br>
<h2>Description of the capitol plaza</h2><br>
<p>The front of the building faces the Kanawha River, and the entire capitol plaza is bordered by Kanawha Boulevard East (also known as USA Route 60 and the Midland Trail), Greenbrier Street (also a part of Route 60 and West Virginia Route 114, where the latter terminates), California Avenue and Piedmont Road. Formerly, Washington Street passed through the plaza, but was closed off for pedestrian use. Beside the main capitol, there are two wings which lie perpendicular to the east and west ends of the building, forming an open-ended quadrangle centered on a fountain, one of three in the plaza. The two wings are connected by low causeways on the basement level. The Governor&#39;s mansion, and buildings housing a cultural center as well as several state departments and a parking garage, all occupy the area of the plaza, with several other state departments lying east of California Avenue.</p><br>
<p>The grounds include several statues, including Abraham Lincoln on the front plaza and Stonewall Jackson, a native of the state, near the southeast corner of the plaza. The Lincoln statue, known as Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight, depicts the President, who was in office at the time of the states incorporation, walking at midnight, head bowed, wearing a robe over his clothes, and is located in front of the main entrance of the building, facing the river. There are also two large fountains on the grounds, in the quadrangle just behind the rear entrance of the main building and one to the northwest, between the cultural center and the Division of Motor Vehicles building, just east of the Washington Street entrance to the plaza. Also at the complex are the historic Holly Grove Mansion and the West Virginia Governors Mansion.</p><br>
<p>Across from the Capitol complex, between Kanawha Boulevard East and the Kanawha River, lies a plaza around the Zero Mile Marker from which distances are measured. The plaza also includes flagpoles with the American flag and the West Virginia flag as well as staircases down to the banks of the river.</p><br>
<p>Tours of the Capitol are arranged through the West Virginia Culture Center.</p><br>
<h2>West Virginia Capitol facts</h2><br>
<p>At a height of 292 ft, the State Capitol is the tallest building in West Virginia.</p><br>
<p>The Kansas State Capitol, known also as the Kansas Statehouse, is the building housing the executive and legislative branches of government for the USA state of Kansas. It is located in the city of Topeka, which has served as the capital of Kansas since it became a state in 1861. It is the second building to serve as the Kansas Capitol.</p><br>
<p>The dome, at 304 ft, is taller than the 288 ft United States Capitol dome, although its diameter (50 ft) is approximately half that of the national capitol (96 ft). It is one of the few capitols in the United States that continues to offer tours that go to the top of the dome. Visitors enter the dome by climbing 296 steps leading from the fifth floor to the top.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<h3>19th century</h3><br>
<p>The land for Capitol Square was donated by Cyrus K. Holliday via his Topeka Town Company in 1862. The master architect was Edward Townsend Mix with the wings designed by John G. Haskell. Construction on the East Wing began in 1866, using "native" limestone from Geary County, Kansas. Construction began on the West Wing in 1879 using limestone from Cottonwood Falls, Kansas and in 1881, the legislature authorized and appropriated funds for the construction of a central building to link the two wings. Construction of this central building began in 1886, and the contract for dome construction was let in May, 1889.</p><br>
<h3>20th century</h3><br>
<p>The building was declared officially complete in 1903, after 37 years of construction.</p><br>
<p>It was not until 1988 that a design for a sculpture to stand atop the dome was finally approved. Ad Astra, a 22+2/12 ft bronze sculpture weighing 4,420 lb, was installed atop the dome on October 10, 2002. The sculpture, by Richard Bergen, depicts a Kansa Native American with bow and arrow pointed at the North Star and was chosen from 27 entries to adorn the dome. The title Ad Astra is Latin shortening of the state motto Ad Astra Per Aspera To the stars through difficulty.</p><br>
<h3>21st century</h3><br>
<p>The building was featured prominently on Kansas license plates issued from January 2001 until April 2007.</p><br>
<p>In December 2001, the Statehouse began a $120 million modernization project, led by Treanor Architects; the project included restoration of its first through fifth floors, the rehabilitation and expansion of its basement, restoration of its exterior masonry and copper roof/dome. By the time the project finished in spring 2014, scope creep and delays resulted in a total cost of $332 million, covering "new heating and cooling systems, greater security and restroom accessibility, a new parking garage, visitor center, underground office space and replacing the roof and dome."</p><br>
<h2>Frescos and murals</h2><br>
<p>In 1898, Jerome Fedeli painted frescos near the top of the dome in the rotunda. Fedeli&#39;s work depicted bare-breasted classical women. However officials referred to the paintings as "Nude Telephone Girls" and had them painted-over.</p><br>
<p>In the 1930s, John Steuart Curry painted murals on the second floor including the buildings most famous painting—Tragic Prelude—which depicts an oversize and raging John Brown wedged between flames and a tornado. Currys work gained considerable notoriety for depicting unsavory aspects of Kansas history and he left them unsigned and did not complete a commission to paint murals in the rotunda. Curry&#39;s depiction of John Brown is believed to be the only instance of a person convicted of treason being featured in a state capitol.</p><br>
<p>From 1976 to 1978, Lumen Martin Winter painted the murals in the rotunda.</p><br>
<p>Hubbard Park, located in the Hanging Hills of Connecticut, is a wooded, mountainous park located just outside the city center of Meriden, Connecticut. It comprises approximately 1,800 acre of carefully kept woodlands, streams, dramatic cliff faces, flower gardens, and the James Barry bandshell and picnic spots, as well as its showpiece, Mirror Lake. The park is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Most of the land was given to the town by Walter Hubbard, president of the Bradley & Hubbard Manufacturing Company. In his donation, the land was given outright, with the stipulation that everything connected with the park was to remain free of charge for the people of Meriden, and that no concessions for profit were ever allowed within the park area.</p><br>
<p>Hubbard spent a great deal of time and energy creating the park. He personally spent between $400,000 and $500,000 to clear land, build roads, and construct Mirror Lake with the help of Frederick Law Olmsted, who is best known for designing New York City&#39;s Central Park. Hubbard built a tower on East Peak, known as Castle Craig, to resemble the towers built by the Turks along the Danube River in the 12th century.</p><br>
<p>According to local folklore, Hubbard Park is said to be haunted by the ghostly presence of the Black Dog of the Hanging Hills (see Hanging Hills).</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>Hubbard Park is nestled within the Hanging Hills, a dramatic trap rock mountain ridge overlooking the city of Meriden and the Quinnipiac River Valley 900 feet (274 m) below. Two of the peaks are located within the park, South Mountain at 767 ft, and East Peak, at 976 ft. West Peak, at 1,024 ft, is located just outside the park boundary to the west. Considered particularly scenic are Merimere Reservoir (punctuated with Mine Island) and Mirror Lake, nestled between South Mountain and East Peak.</p><br>
<h2>Recreation</h2><br>
<p>Hubbard Park is a popular outdoor recreation destination. The park is crossed by a number of hiking trails, most notably the 51 mi blue-blazed Metacomet Trail (maintained by the Connecticut Forest and Park Association), which traverses East Peak and West peak the park. Trails are open to hiking, backcountry skiing; roads are open to bicycling and mountain biking. Swimming and rock climbing are prohibited. From the top of Castle Craig it is possible to see most of the Quinnipiac Valley region, Long Island Sound, and the distant higher peaks of southern New England. East Peak is often cited as the highest mountain within 25 mi of the coastline from Cadillac Mountain in Maine to Florida, however, nearby West Peak is higher.</p><br>
<p>The park also features a bandshell and flower gardens and is the site of a variety of local festivals and concerts, most notably the spring Daffodil Festival. Castle Craig is open to the public in season. A park road (open from May through October from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.) traverses the park.</p><br>
<p>The Daffodil Festival began in 1978 as a way for the community to come together in the springtime. Held every last weekend in April, the festival is celebrated with food, a parade, fireworks, and of course daffodils. The park is filled with these yellow flowers as the number continues to rise. Hubbard Park is transformed with a craft area with booths from different artists, food tent with live music, and games and rides. Shuttle busses are available throughout Meriden including Platt High School, Wilcox Technical School, the Westfield Mall, and downtown Meriden HUB. The Daffodil Festival is free admission for all.</p><br>
<p>The Festival of Silver Lights is a special celebration with seasonal lights that are displayed throughout the park in the winter months. There are over 300 lighted displays throughout the park and over half a million lights are used. The lights include many forest animals, alligators, camels, the globe, a Christmas tree, and hanging snowflakes. Cars can travel through the park and be mesmerized by the beauty of the night and lights.</p><br>
<h2>Geology</h2><br>
<p>The Hanging Hills of Meriden are part of the Metacomet Ridge, which is nearly continuous from Belchertown, Massachusetts to Branford, Connecticut. The hanging Hills were formed by volcanic activity 200 million years ago during the rifting apart of North America from Eurasia. Two major lava flows covered the red sandstone valley in Meriden. Each cooled and hardened into trap rock (also known as basalt) and was gradually covered by sand and mud which eroded from the surrounding hills. Once the volcanic activity stopped, the whole region fractured and tilted to the west. Since then, hundreds of feet of the softer sandstone bedrock have eroded from the valley, leaving the dense, hard volcanic trap rock ridge layers standing out far above the surrounding landscape.</p><br>
<p>Serchio  is the third longest river in the Italian region of Tuscany at 126 km, coming after the Arno at 242 km and the Ombrone, 161 km. By mean rate of flow, it is the second largest, smaller than Arno but larger than Ombrone.</p><br>
<p>The principal source forms on the slopes of Monte Sillano, elevation 1,864 m and is joined by a secondary branch, the Serchio di Gramolazzo, at Piazza al Serchio.</p><br>
<p>The river then crosses Garfagnana from north to south, from Sillano to a location beyond Castelnuovo di Garfagnana; from here it continues through the Media Valle touching the municipal borders of the Comune of Barga and crossing the territory of Borgo a Mozzano. In this section of the river, which is dammed in a number of places, it receives from the right the waters of the Edron, Tùrrite Secca, Tùrrite di Gallicano, Turrite Cava and the Pedogna; and from the left those of the Fiume, the Castiglione, the Sillico, and its most important tributary the Lima. This last, which is born at the Passo dell&#39;Abetone and collects the waters of the Modenese and Pistoiese high Apennines, forms a sub-basin in its own right and achieves a mean discharge of more than 20 m3/s.</p><br>
<p>Having reached the plain of Lucca, where it is joined by the torrent Freddana, the Serchio turns westwards, crosses the “straits” of, and enters the Province of Pisa. Here it runs through San Giuliano Terme and Vecchiano before entering the Ligurian Sea in the area of the Parco di San Rossore, a few kilometres to the north of Pisa.</p><br>
<p>The national road SS 12 (Abetone – Brennero) follows the course of the Serchio already to a Lucca&#39;s valley, after going up until Bagni di Lucca</p><br>
<p>from here until to the origins, from street to Capanne di Sillano and the step of Pradarena.</p><br>
<p>The localities that the river crosses are, in Garfagnana: Castelnuovo di Garfagnana, Barga, Bagni di Lucca; and in Lucchesia: Borgo a Mozzano and Lucca.</p><br>
<p>The Begna is a river in Buskerud and Oppland counties in Norway. It is formed by the merging of the rivers Otrøelva and Ylja above Lake Vangsmjøsa. It is also the name of the village of Begna located by the river. The Norwegian writer, Mikkjel Fønhus lived much of his life and located most of his novels along the Begna in Oppland.</p><br>
<p>The Begna runs from the mountainous area of in the southern part of the Jotunheimen range, through the traditional district of Valdres into the lakes Vangsmjøsi, Slidrefjord, Strondafjorden and Aurdalsfjorden, down Begnadalen to Nes in Ådal and Lake Sperillen via the Ådal River and southward to the city of Hønefoss in Buskerud.</p><br>
<p>At Hønefoss, the Begna cascaded down 21.5 m at Hønefossen. Begna joins the Randselva river before discharges into Lake Tyrifjorden. The Begna is 213 km long and has a high point of about 1,850 m. The Begna drains a watershed of 4,875 km&sup2; and is the primary river in this watershed.</p><br>
<p>The Association for Begna Watershed Control (Foreningen til Bægnavassdragets Regulering) is an association under the provisions of the Norwegian Watercourse Act. Its purpose is to protect members&#39; common interests with regard to the use of water from the Begna basin used for power generation. The hydropower company operates 20 power plants on the Begna and Drammenselva below Tyrifjord. The association is responsible for maintenance and operation of dams, gates and stations along the Begna waterway. The plants are mainly located in Valdres.</p><br>
<p>Thunacar Knott is a fell in the central part of the English Lake District in the county of Cumbria.</p><br>
<h2>Topography</h2><br>
<p>The main spine of the Central Fells runs south from Bleaberry Fell to High Raise, before turning sharply east en route for Blea Rigg and Loughrigg Fell. A secondary ridge projects southward from High Raise, terminating in the Langdale Pikes. These are a high rocky parapet looking down upon the valley of Great Langdale, fringing an area of moorland behind. This upland plateau has its highpoint in Thunacar Knott.</p><br>
<p>Recent surveys give the fell a height of 723 metres (2,372 feet), a significant increase to the 2,351 feet given by Alfred Wainwright in his Pictorial Guides to the Lakeland Fells. The fell is situated in Great Langdale in the midst of one of the most popular areas for walking in the district, surrounded by the much-loved Langdale fells of Harrison Stickle, Pike of Stickle, Loft Crag and Pavey Ark. Despite this, Thunacar Knott is often by-passed by walkers because of its uninspiring appearance, being just a slight rise on the moorland between Harrison Stickle and High Raise. Indeed, many people do not regard it as a separate fell, considering it just the outlying highest point of the spectacular Pavey Ark cliffs. Wainwright’s comments on the fell are not positive, saying: ‘Thunacar Knott is completely unphotogenic…this uninspiring characteristic extends to the whole fell, which is quite deficient in interest.’</p><br>
<h2>Geology</h2><br>
<p>Drift deposits cover most of the fell, but in the summit area there are outcrops of the underlying Seathwaite Fell Formation. This consists of volcaniclastic sandstone with interbeds of tuff, lapilli-tuff and conglomerate.</p><br>
<h2>Ascents</h2><br>
<p>Many walkers feel compelled to climb Thunacar Knott in order to complete their list of ‘Wainwright’ fells and they usually do this while climbing the more popular neighbouring fells. The usual starting point is the New Dungeon Ghyll Hotel in Great Langdale and the route goes via Stickle Ghyll, Stickle Tarn and Pavey Ark. Thunacar Knott can also be climbed from Stonethwaite in Borrowdale, via Langstrath and the Stake Pass.</p><br>
<h2>Summit</h2><br>
<p>The summit of the fell has a small tarn and two tops. The southern top is the highest point while the northern top has the more significant cairn and is often regarded as the true summit. Even though Thunacar Knott is quite insignificant it is slightly higher than all the surrounding area and gives good all-round views, the prospect to the west being especially fine.</p><br>
<p>The Oregon State Capitol is the building housing the state legislature and the offices of the governor, secretary of state, and treasurer of the USA state of Oregon. It is located in the state capital, Salem. The current building, constructed from 1936 to 1938, and expanded in 1977, is the third to house the Oregon state government in Salem. Two former capitol buildings were destroyed by fire, one in 1855 and the other in 1935.</p><br>
<p>New York architects Trowbridge & Livingston conceived the current structure&#39;s Art Deco, stripped classical design, in association with Francis Keally. Much of the interior and exterior is made of marble. The Oregon State Capitol was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.</p><br>
<p>The Public Works Administration, part of the USA government, partially financed construction, which was completed during the Great Depression, in 1938. The building was erected at a cost of $2.5 million for the central portion of the building, which includes a dome of 166 ft. The wings, which doubled the floor space of the building to about 233,750 ft&sup2, were added later for $12.5 million. The grounds outside the capitol building contain artwork, fountains, and flora, including the state tree (Douglas fir) and state flower (Oregon grape).</p><br>
<h2>Early capitol buildings</h2><br>
<p>Before the creation of the Oregon Territory in 1848, the Oregon Country provisional government, through legislation on June 27, 1844 and December 19, 1845, selected Oregon City as the capital. Thus Oregons first capitol was in Oregon City. One of the private buildings used by this government was constructed by John L. Morrison in 1850; it served as a capitol until the government moved to Salem. The designation of Oregon City as the seat of power was by proclamation of Governor Joseph Lane. In 1850, the legislature passed an act designating Salem the capital. However, Governor John P. Gaines refused to relocate and remained in Oregon City along with the Oregon Supreme Court (except justice Orville C. Pratt) until an act of Congress on May 14, 1852 settled the matter in Salems favor.</p><br>
<p>On January 13, 1855, the Oregon Territorial Legislature passed a bill moving the seat of government from Salem to Corvallis. Governor George Law Curry and many others objected to the move, since public buildings in Salem were already under construction. Curry sent the matter to the Secretary of the Treasury in Washington, D.C., where Secretary James Guthrie declared the move invalid unless acted on by the United States Congress. Thereafter, Curry and Oregon Secretary of State Benjamin Harding moved back to Salem.</p><br>
<p>On December 3, 1855, the legislature convened in Corvallis and quickly introduced legislation to move the capital back to Salem. This bill passed on December 15, 1855. Three days later, the legislature re-convened in Salem. However, the statehouse burned down on the 29th, and the legislature re-opened debate about where to seat the capital. They decided to ask the people of the territory to vote on the question. A vote was to be held in June 1856, after which the two cities receiving the most votes would have a runoff. The initial vote set up a runoff between Eugene and Corvallis, but after some ballots were invalidated due to not being cast in accordance with the law, the two winners were Eugene and Salem. An October runoff gave Eugene the most votes, but the earlier vote-tossing led to a low turnout. With such low public participation, the election was ignored, and the capital remained in Salem.</p><br>
<p>A permanent resolution of the capital location issue came in 1864. In 1860, the legislature put the question once again to a popular vote. On a vote in 1862, no city received the 50 percent minimum required by law. In an 1864 election, Salem received 79 percent and was declared the state capital. of which Salem is the seat.</p><br>
<h3>First capitol</h3><br>
<p>The land developed for the permanent capitol buildings was Salem block 84, sold to the state for this purpose by pioneer and Salem founder W. H. Willson. Construction of the first capitol building began in 1854, shortly after Congress confirmed Salem as the capital city. However, with the capital moving to Corvallis the next year, construction was temporarily halted. After the capitals return to Salem, the building was nearly completed by late 1855. This territorial capitol, of Greek Revival-style, stood 50 ft wide and 75 ft long (15 by 23 m), with a stone facade and a 10-foot (3 m) portico. Built of native ashlar blocks, the exterior walls, two stories high, ranged in color from a deep sky blue to white. The first floor was 19 ft tall and the second 15 ft tall with an eight-foot (2.4 m) entablature. The building was decorated with four Ionic columns on the front (west) end. The building housed a variety of rooms, including a federal courthouse with a chamber measuring 20 by 27 feet (6 by 8 m) and an executive office of 18 by 20 ft (5.5 by 6 m) on the first floor. Also on the first floor was the House chamber, measuring 36 by 46 feet (11 by 14 m) and having three entrances. The first floor also held the main hall, which included an entrance 15 ft wide. On the second floor was the Senate chamber, 26 by 36 feet (8 by 11 m). Additionally, the Territorial Library was housed in a room that was 20 by 36 feet (6 by 11 m). The second story also had a gallery viewing area for the House, three committee rooms, and several rooms for government clerks. The capitol was designed by Captain Charles Bennet, who participated in the discovery of gold at Sutters Mill in 1848, and construction supervised by William H. Richter at a total cost of $25,000.</p><br>
<h4>Fire</h4><br>
<p>On the evening of December 29, 1855, a fire destroyed the first capitol building and many of the territory&#39;s public records. Starting in the unfinished northeast corner of the structure, still unoccupied by the government, the fire was not discovered until around 12:30 am. Arson was suspected, but no one was arrested.</p><br>
<p>The site of the burned-out capitol building remained a pile of stones for several years after the fire. A downtown building, Nesmith&#39;s Building (later named the Holman Building), served as a temporary capitol from 1859 until 1876. The legislature met on the second and third floors of that building, which also housed the other state offices.</p><br>
<h3>Second capitol</h3><br>
<p>Plans for a new building began to take shape in 1872 when the state legislature appropriated $100,000 ($ as of ) towards a new capitol building. This second capitol, built between 1873 and 1876, was a two-story structure with an additional first level that was partly underground; the total cost was $325,000 ($ as of ). The cornerstone for the building was laid on October 5, 1873, during a ceremony that included a speech by Governor Stephen F. Chadwick and the music of several bands. Construction, on the same site as the 1855 building, was partly accomplished with convict labor from the Oregon State Penitentiary. Architects Justus F. Krumbein and W.G. Gilbert designed the building.</p><br>
<p>Built of stone and five million bricks, Oregons new capitol measured 275 by 136 feet (84 by 41 m) with a dome of 180 ft. Additionally, the building had mullion-windowed wings. At that time, the capitol faced west toward the Willamette River. The government began using the building in August 1876, before the dome was built. Originally, plans called for towers on both sides of the dome (a tower on both ends of the building with the dome in the middle), but they were left out to save money. Oregons second capitol building stood from 1876 to 1935.</p><br>
<h4>Fire</h4><br>
<p>On April 25, 1935 at 6:43 pm, a custodial engineer called the Salem Fire Department to report smoke. Citizens helped to remove items from the smoky building, but when firefighters arrived, they ordered everyone to leave the structure, which was soon engulfed in flame. Among the helping citizens was twelve-year-old Mark Hatfield, who later became governor. It was determined the fire started in the basement of the east wing and quickly spread to piles of old records. A strong updraft in the hollow columns enclosing the dome&#39;s eight supporting steel lattice girders pulled the flames through the rotunda to upper stories.</p><br>
<p>Flames could be seen as far away as Corvallis. One volunteer firefighter, Floyd McMullen, a student at Willamette University, died in the fire, which drew firefighters from as far away as Portland. Salem sent seven fire trucks to the scene; three more came from Portland. Only the outer walls were left standing after the fire was extinguished. Losses were estimated at $1.5 million ($ as of ), and the state did not carry insurance. The losses, which included historic artifacts such as the portraits of all the governors, could have been worse had the state not used fire-proof vaults in the basement to store valuables such as more than $1 million ($ as of ) in stocks and bonds. During the blaze, firefighters poured water on these vaults to help keep them cool and prevent the contents from disintegrating. Years earlier, the state had turned over many historical documents to the Oregon Historical Society in Portland for preservation, and those records were preserved. Although the Supreme Court had moved to the Oregon Supreme Court Building in 1914, the two buildings were connected by underground tunnels used for electricity and heating. At the time of the fire, the Oregon State Library was in the basement and first floor of the Supreme Court Building. Many books in the basement suffered water damage when water used to fight the fire flooded underground tunnels and seeped into the Supreme Court Building. Offices previously housed in the capitol were moved to other government buildings and to leased space in downtown Salem until a new building was built.</p><br>
<h3>Third capitol</h3><br>
<p>Construction of the newest building began on December 4, 1936. The third state capitol was completed in 1938 and is the fourth-newest capitol in the United States. The capitol was dedicated on October 1, 1938, with speeches from President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Leslie M. Scott, Robert W. Sawyer, and Oregon Governor Charles Henry Martin. Chosen from 123 entries in a countrywide competition, the design of the new building deviated from the normal design of state capitol buildings. The design was labeled a combination of Egyptian simplicity and Greek refinement. Overall it is Art Deco in style, and is one of only three state capitols in the United States constructed in that architectural style.</p><br>
<p>Controversy occurred before construction began when Governor Martin suggested the new building be sited on a hill south of downtown (Candalaria Heights) and away from the busy center of town. Another proposal called for the purchase of the Willamette University campus and relocation of the capitol to that site. However, downtown merchants were able to keep the capitol building in downtown at the original location, though some Victorian homes were subsequently leveled to make way for the building. Another early complaint about the structure was that the cupola resembled a "paint can" rather than traditional domes on other capitols, including the earlier Oregon structures. It was even called a "squirrel cage", lacking in majesty. Additionally, the public was slow to admire the gold Oregon Pioneer atop the dome. Installation of the statue began on September 17, 1938, and took several days and heavy-duty equipment.</p><br>
<p>The building cost $2.5 million ($ as of ), of which the federal government paid 45 percent through the Public Works Administration. Upon completion, the new capitol was 164 ft wide, 400 ft long, and 166 ft tall (50 by 122 by 51 m) and contained 131,750 ft&sup2; of usable space. The rotunda&#39;s staircases and floor used Phoenix Napoleon marble quarried in Missouri and have borders of Radio Black marble that, like the exterior stone, is from Vermont. These rooms were added in 1977 as part of a $12.5 million ($ as of ) expansion project to add new wings containing legislative offices, hearing rooms, support services, a first floor galleria, and underground parking. In 2002, the wings were remodeled at a cost of $1.3 million ($ as of ) to upgrade items such as antiquated wiring and to install new carpeting and lighting.</p><br>
<p>On March 25, 1993, the magnitude 5.6 Scotts Mills earthquake damaged the dome, requiring closure for repairs. The rotunda area remained closed for approximately two years for these repairs. This "Spring Break Quake" shook the building enough to shift the statue on top and crack the dome. Additionally, the quake created a three-foot (one-meter) bulge on the west end of the building. Repairs cost $4.3 million ($ as of ) and included reinforcing the structure with additional concrete and steel bars.</p><br>
<p>In April 2002, the building became the first state capitol in the United States to produce solar power through the use of 60 photovoltaic panels generating 7.8 kilowatts. One-third of the power is used to light the Oregon Pioneer at night; the remaining electricity is sent into the power grid.</p><br>
<p>On December 31, 2007, the Oregon State Capitol hosted its first authorized wedding between Oregon State Representative Tobias Read and Heidi Eggert. At Reads encouragement, the Legislature created a policy authorizing up to four public events a year. On August 30, 2008, the building caught fire around 12:30 in the morning and was quickly extinguished with damage to the Governors offices on the second floor on the south side. The governor was forced to relocate some of his offices, including some time at the Oregon State Library across the street.</p><br>
<h2>Exterior and interior</h2><br>
<p>The Oregon State Capitol is home to both branches of the state legislature, the House and Senate, and has offices for the governor, treasurer, and the secretary of state. In its center, the floor of the prominent rotunda features an embedded Oregon State Seal sculpted in bronze by Ulric Ellerhusen. Ellerhusen also sculpted the Oregon Pioneer that rests atop the capitol domes exterior. The dome rises 106 ft above the state seal. The interior of the dome was painted by Frank H. Schwarz and features 33 stars, symbolizing Oregons place as the 33rd state to join the Union. Eight medallions are painted near the top of the walls of the rotunda that represent the eight objects in the state seal. Also encircling the interior of the rotunda are four murals depicting moments from Oregon history. One mural depicts Captain Robert Grays exploration of the Columbia River in 1792, another shows the Lewis and Clark Expedition, and two others portray covered wagons from pioneer times. These four murals were painted by Schwarz and Barry Faulkner. Other murals include the Provisional Government of Oregons salmon and wheat seal, the Oregon Territorys seal, and depictions of Oregons industries, all located in the rotundas wings along the grand staircase. The capitols galleria area on the first floor includes hearing rooms, display cases, and the visitor information area.</p><br>
<p>Oregons House chamber floor is covered with a custom carpet; the carpets pattern incorporates a depiction of the state tree, Douglas-fir, representative of forestry. The furniture and paneling of the chamber is made of golden oak. A large mural painted by Faulkner, depicting the 1843 Champoeg Meetings at which the provisional government was formed, is behind the desk of the Speaker of the House. The Senate chambers use black walnut for the paneling and furniture. Another custom carpet lines the floor, featuring Chinook salmon and wheat, representative of fishing and agriculture. The Senates large mural was painted by Schwarz and depicts a street scene showing news of statehood reaching Salem. Lining the walls of both chambers are 158 names, inscribed in friezes, of prominent people in Oregons history. On the second floor of the capitol is the Governors suite, consisting of a ceremonial office and private offices for the states chief executive. As in the Senate chamber, the paneling is of black walnut. The ceremonial office includes a fireplace with a painting by Faulkner. In the suite&#39;s reception area is a table made of 40 tree species.</p><br>
<p>A variety of artwork is displayed on the exterior of the building. Sculptor Leo Friedlander used Vermont marble for the large relief sculptures on both sides of the main entrance. One sculpture depicts Meriwether Lewis, William Clark, and Sacagawea, with a map of their expeditions route on the reverse (Lewis and Clark); the other (Covered Wagon) shows pioneers and a covered wagon, with a map of the Oregon Trail on the reverse. Additionally, Ellerhusen created five marble relief sculptures on the exterior, and a metal sculpture by Tom Morandi sits above the south entrance. Ellerhusen also cast six bronze sculptures arranged above the buildings main entrance, three on the inside and three on the outside.</p><br>
<p>The building measures 693 by 259.5 ft (211.2 by 79.1 m). The older main portion of the building is 53.5 ft tall, while the newer wings added in 1977 are 68.7 ft tall. Inside, the building has approximately 233,750 ft&sup2; of floor area and 3.2 million cubic feet (90,600 cubic meters) of volume.</p><br>
<p>In 1997, the Legislative Assembly established the non-profit Oregon State Capitol Foundation in order to "create a living history, enhance the dignity and beauty of the Capitol, and foster cultural and educational opportunities." In 2005, the foundation completed the Walk of the Flags project, a display in Willson Park on the capitol grounds of all 50 flags of the USA states.</p><br>
<p>In 2007, the capitol wings closed for a restoration project to upgrade items such as furniture, plumbing, and electrical systems. The $34 million project became an issue in the 2008 Senate campaign between Gordon Smith and Jeff Merkley when Smith used the price of the project in ads attacking Merkley who was the Speaker of the Oregon House when the remodel was approved. Part of the attack involved the cost of new desks for legislators and staff that were manufactured by Oregon prison inmates. Renovations were completed in November 2008.</p><br>
<h2>Grounds</h2><br>
<p>The capitol grounds cover three city blocks and include Willson and Capitol parks. Throughout the grounds are native trees and shrubs, including blue spruce, Oregon-grape (the state flower), giant sequoia, coast redwood, Japanese maple, dogwood species, Bradford pear, cherry tree species, English holly, rhododendron, and magnolia tree species. One Douglas-fir tree was grown using a seed that rode aboard Apollo 14 to the Moon in 1971 and was transplanted to the capitol in 1976 from Oregon State University.</p><br>
<p>On the east side of the building is Capitol Park, which includes a bronze equestrian statue by A. Phimister Proctor called The Circuit Rider, statues of John McLoughlin (John McLoughlin) and Jason Lee (Jason Lee) by Gifford Proctor, and portions of the Corinthian columns of the second capitol building. Lee established the Methodist Mission and what would become Willamette University. McLoughlin, of the Hudsons Bay Company, was proclaimed the Father of Oregon. The Circuit Rider was added in 1924 as a monument to early preachers. During the Columbus Day Storm in 1962, this statue was knocked over and damaged but restored in 1963. There is also a memorial to Oregons recipients of the Medal of Honor, dedicated on September 18, 2004.</p><br>
<p>To the west of the building is Willson Park, named for Salem founder William H. Willson and sited roughly at the center of his former landholdings. From 1853 to 1965 it was a Salem city park. After the park was turned over to the state, Lloyd Bond and Associates were asked to redesign the park. Willson Park has the Waite Fountain, a gazebo built in 1982, and Peter Helzers sculpture, Parade of Animals (1991), which was designed as a play structure. Waite Fountain was donated in honor of Oregon businessperson E. M. Waite in 1907 by his wife. The Breyman Fountain, added in 1904 as a memorial to Werner and Eugene Breyman, is at the far west end of the park. It was originally decorated with a statue of a soldier from the Spanish–American War and also served as a lamp post and horse trough. Today the statue holds no water and is sometimes planted with flowers. In 2005, a Walk of Flags feature was added that displays the flags of every state in the Union. In 2009, the nine flags of Oregons federally recognized Native American tribes were added to the Walk of Flags.</p><br>
<p>Other features on the capitol grounds include Sprague Fountain and the Wall of Water. The Wall of Water is located across Court Street from the main entrance. It was added in 1990 and has 22 nozzles shooting water 12 ft into the air in a plaza that also has slabs of stone with information about Oregon&#39;s history. Added in 1985, the Capitol Beaver Family sculpture represents the state animal. Additional features of the grounds include a peace pole donated by the Society of Prayer for World Peace, a large boulder that once lay along the Oregon Trail, a planter that spells out "Oregon" using shrubs, and a rose garden maintained by the Salem Rose Society.</p><br>
<p>The Valley Cemetery  is a public cemetery located in Manchester, New Hampshire, USA. It is bounded on the east by Pine Street, on the north by Auburn Street, on the west by Willow Street, and on the south by Valley Street, from which it derives its name.</p><br>
<p>It came into existence in 1840, when the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company donated 20 acre of land in downtown Manchester to the city for the purpose of creating a public burial ground.</p><br>
<p>In 1841, the city created the Valley Street Cemetery. It was designed as a "garden cemetery", meant to be a place where the public could stroll along its walkways, carriage paths and bridges. In this Victorian Era, "garden cemeteries", in which not only the dead resided, but the living communed with each other and with nature, were popular.</p><br>
<p>By the late 1850s, the cemetery was nearly filled, and the much larger Pine Grove Cemetery was created. That cemetery lies to the west of Calef Road and to the east of the Merrimack River.</p><br>
<p>A receiving tomb was built at Valley Cemetery in 1888, used to store the deceased during winter when the ground was frozen. In 1907, Mrs. Hannah Currier donated gates at Auburn and Chestnut Streets in honor of her late husband, New Hampshire Governor Moody Currier.</p><br>
<p>A chapel in the English Gothic style was completed in 1932, replacing a wooden chapel that stood at the same site. The stone structure is now in bad repair and has been closed for many years. There are 13 private mausoleums in the cemetery.</p><br>
<h2>Prominent burials</h2><br>
<p>Many of the city&#39;s leaders have been buried at Valley Cemetery, including:</p><br>
<p>Manchester mayors Jacob F. James, Warren L. Lane, Alonzo Smith, David A. Bunton, Darwin J. Daniels, Joseph B. Clark, David B. Varney and William C. Clarke</p><br>
<p>Governor Frederick Smyth (1819–1899), whose imposing tomb is one of the jewels of the cemetery</p><br>
<p>Governor Moody Currier (1806–1898)</p><br>
<p>Congressman Ira Allen Eastman (1809–1881)</p><br>
<p>Senator Daniel Clark (1809–1891)</p><br>
<p>Abolitionist campaigner Rev. Andrew Foss</p><br>
<p>Aretas Blood (1816–1897), owner of the Amoskeag Locomotive Works, and his wife Lavinia Kendall Blood, founder of the Manchester Women&#39;s Aid and Relief Society in 1875</p><br>
<p>Gov. Ezekiel A. Straw (1819–1882), an engineer for the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company who laid out the street grid for the city of Manchester</p><br>
<p>Brigadier general Joseph Carter Abbott, a Union veteran of the American Civil War who remained in the American South following the war and was active in local politics there. He was elected as the Republican Governor of North Carolina.</p><br>
<h2>Restoration efforts</h2><br>
<p>By the end of the 20th century, the cemetery was recognized by many to be in serious decline, and its heritage as a garden cemetery had long since been forgotten by most. In 2002, the interest of Education Continuum at Southern New Hampshire University spurred the creation of, a non-profit community organization dedicated to raising funds for the cemetery and overseeing its restoration. The group has partnered with city officials to coordinate maintenance efforts and has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants for future restoration. A master plan has been written that will guide future restoration of the cemetery. The Currier Gate was restored in 2004.</p><br>
<p>Since 2003, Friends of the Valley Cemetery has hosted an annual strawberry festival in the cemetery, emphasizing its previous heritage as a "garden cemetery" that exists to be enjoyed by residents.</p><br>
<p>Delaware Park–Front Park System is a historic park system and national historic district located in the northern and western sections of Buffalo in Erie County, New York. The park system was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux and developed between 1868 and 1876.</p><br>
<p>The park system was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.</p><br>
<h2>Components</h2><br>
<p>The Delaware Park–Front Park System encompasses the following parts:</p><br>
<h3>Delaware Park</h3><br>
<p>The centerpiece of the Buffalo, New York parks system and located in the North Buffalo neighborhood. The 376 acre park was named simply The Park by Olmsted; it was later renamed Delaware Park because of its proximity to Delaware Avenue, Buffalo&#39;s mansion row. It is divided into two areas: the 243 acre "Meadow Park" on the east and the 133 acre "Water Park", with what was originally a 43 acre lake ("Gala Water"), on the west. The 12 acre ravine and picnic grove on the south side of the lake comprise a subdivision of the latter. A widening of Scajaquada Creek, which flows westward through the park, is called Hoyt Lake (originally Mirror Lake). The lake was a feature during the Pan-American Exposition. The Scajaquada Expressway bisects the park west to east.</p><br>
<p>The Albright-Knox Art Gallery occupies the parks western edge, overlooking Hoyt Lake, and the Buffalo History Museum is situated on its northern edge, overlooking Scajaquada Creek. The park is also home to a noted replica of Michelangelos David. The park is home to Shakespeare in Delaware Park, a summer tradition since the mid-1970s, and the second largest free outdoor Shakespeare festival in the United States (after New York City&#39;s). It is also the location of the Buffalo Zoo on the east side of Meadow Park. The park also has a golf course, four baseball diamonds, tennis courts, and a few soccer fields.</p><br>
<p>Contributing structures are: Caretakers Cottage (1889); Lincoln Parkway Bridge (1900), designed by Green and Wicks; Rose Garden Pergola (1912); Stone Bridge (ca. 1887), the only remaining structure from the original Olmsted plan; Parkside Lodge (1914); Rumsey Shelter House (1900); Main Zoo Building (1935-1940); Shelter House (ca. 1900); and Elephant House (ca. 1912). Located north of the park are the Parkside East Historic District and Parkside West Historic District and to the south are the Elmwood Historic District–East and Elmwood Historic District–West, all listed on the National Register of Historic Places.</p><br>
<h3>Gates Circle</h3><br>
<p>Originally Chapin Place, a 5 acre plot measuring 500 by at the intersection of Delaware Avenue, Lafayette Avenue, and Chapin Parkway. The circle&#39;s center contains a monumental sunken fountain constructed in 1904.</p><br>
<h3>Chapin Parkway</h3><br>
<p>Connects Gates Circle and Soldier&#39;s Place; 1,904 ft in length.</p><br>
<h3>Soldier's Place</h3><br>
<p>Consists of an 8.8 acre area 700 ft in diameter at the juncture of Bidwell Parkway, Lincoln Parkway, Bird Avenue, and Chapin Parkway. Frank Lloyd Wright&#39;s William R. Heath House (1904) overlooks the circle at Bird Avenue.</p><br>
<h3>Lincoln Parkway</h3><br>
<p>A 200 ft, 9 acre thoroughfare, connecting Soldier&#39;s Place to Delaware Park; 1,965 ft in length.</p><br>
<h3>Bidwell Parkway</h3><br>
<p>A 200 ft, 10.7 acre thoroughfare, connecting Colonial Circle to Soldiers Place; 2,323 ft in length. At its intersection with Soldiers Place is a large bronze sculpture by Larry Griffiths titled Birds in Flight (1980).</p><br>
<h3>Colonial Circle</h3><br>
<p>Formerly Bidwell Place; a 5.4 acre plot, 510 by, at the intersection of Richmond Avenue, Bidwell Parkway, and Lafayette Avenue. The circle&#39;s center contains an equestrian statue of General Daniel D. Bidwell.</p><br>
<h3>Richmond Avenue</h3><br>
<p>Originally The Avenue; connects Symphony Circle to Colonial Circle; 100 ft wide and 6,022 ft in length. It traverses Ferry Circle at West Ferry Street.</p><br>
<h3>Ferry Circle</h3><br>
<p>A 300 ft circle at the intersection of West Ferry Street, Massachusetts Street, and Richmond Avenue.</p><br>
<h3>Symphony Circle</h3><br>
<p>A 500 ft, 4.5 acre circle at the juncture of Porter Avenue with Richmond Avenue, North Street, Pennsylvania Street, and Wadsworth Street. Due south of the circle lies First Presbyterian Church, Buffalo&#39;s oldest congregation. Kleinhans Music Hall is located on the southeast side of the circle; it was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1989. The circle is located within the Allentown Historic District.</p><br>
<h3>Porter Avenue</h3><br>
<p>A former city street incorporated into the parks system; connects Symphony Circle to Columbus Park and Front Park.</p><br>
<h3>Columbus Park</h3><br>
<p>Formerly Prospect Park; located at the intersection of Niagara Street and Porter Avenue; the site of the Connecticut Street Armory. The park is located adjacent to D&#39;Youville College and is home to a branch of the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library. The Shelter House (ca. 1908) is a contributing structure.</p><br>
<h3>Front Park</h3><br>
<p>Formerly The Front; a 32 acre park located at the beginning of the Niagara River and overlooking Lake Erie. The park is home to the USA entrance to the Peace Bridge, erected in 1927 on the site of the former Fort Porter, and includes baseball diamonds, large open playing fields, and tennis courts. The park contains a monument to Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry. The Picnic Shelter (ca. 1900) is a contributing structure.</p><br>
<p>The Nevada State Capitol is the capitol building of the USA state of Nevada. It is located in the state capital of Carson City at 101 North Carson Street. The building was constructed in the Neoclassical Italianate style between 1869 and 1871. It is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. It is also Nevada Historical Marker number 25.</p><br>
<h2>Construction</h2><br>
<p>Abraham Curry, the founder of Carson City, reserved an area equivalent to four city blocks (10 acres or 4.04 ha) at the center of the town for the future state capitol. When the Capitol building was constructed, it was naturally located on "the plaza", which had, some ten or eleven years earlier, been designated for it, and given for that purpose.</p><br>
<p>As Mark Twain wrote in his book Roughing It, the capitol site was in 1861 "a large, unfenced, level vacancy, with a liberty pole in it, and very useful as a place for public auctions, horse trades, mass meetings, and likewise for teamsters to camp in."</p><br>
<p>The "act to provide for the erection of a State Capitol" was passed by the Nevada Legislature and signed into law by Governor Henry G. Blasdel during 1869. The Board of Capitol Commissioners received bids of $84,000 to $160,000 for construction and they chose the lowest bid, submitted by Peter Cavanaugh and Son of Carson City. The 1869 act authorized $100,000 for construction, with money to come from a special tax levy, plus the proceeds from the sale of some public land. To reduce costs, the building sandstone was obtained free of charge from the Nevada State Prison quarry, just outside Carson City. In spite of this, the construction costs increased to some $170,000, exceeding even the high bid.</p><br>
<p>The cornerstone was laid on June 9, 1870. A brass box that served as a time capsule was deposited in the stone. The cornerstone was a solid block of sandstone, laid on top of blocks which contained the capsule. The capsule was inspected and returned to the cornerstone location (the northeast corner of the original building) during reconstruction in the 1979–81 period.</p><br>
<p>The fourth session of the state legislature met in the still-incomplete building at the beginning of 1871. Construction was completed by May 1, 1871. Several of the architect&#39;s original drawings are preserved in the state archives.</p><br>
<h2>Architecture</h2><br>
<p>The original building was cruciform, with a central rectangle 76 ft wide by 85 ft deep (23 x 25.8 m). It had two wings, each 35 ft wide by 52 ft deep (10.6 x 15.8 m). The windows&#39; glass panes are made of 26-ounce (737 g) French crystal, as are those above the doors. Floors and wainscotting are of Alaskan marble, shipped to San Francisco in 20-ton (18,144 kg) blocks and there cut and polished for installation.</p><br>
<p>The first floor contained a major office at each corner connected by central halls, while the wings of the second floor were filled by the two legislative chambers—the Assembly and the Senate. The octagonal dome topped with a cupola admitted light to the second story. During 1906, an octagonal Annex was added to the rear (east) of the capitol to house the State Library.</p><br>
<p>By the early 20th century, the legislature had outgrown the capitol, and prominent Nevada architect Frederic DeLongchamps was contracted to design northern and southern legislative wing-annexes, completed in time for the 1915 session. These compatible wings used stone from the same quarry as the original portion of the capitol, and provided more office space and expanded legislative chambers.</p><br>
<h2>Usage</h2><br>
<p>For more than 50 years, all three parts of the state government were housed in the Capitol. The Supreme Court met here until 1937, when it relocated into an adjacent building, and the Nevada Legislature met here until 1971, when it relocated to its new Legislative Building just south of the Capitol. Every Nevada governor except the first has had his office in the capitol. Nowadays, the Capitol continues to serve the Governor, and contains historical exhibits on the second floor.</p><br>
<p>The Mono Basin is an endorheic drainage basin located east of Yosemite National Park in California and Nevada. It is bordered to the west by the Sierra Nevada, to the east by the Cowtrack Mountains, to the north by the Bodie Hills, and to the south by the north ridge of the Long Valley Caldera.</p><br>
<p>Estimates of the size of the basin range from 634 to 801 square miles, and the basin&#39;s elevation ranges from around 6,380 feet (level of Mono Lake as of 1986) to 13,061 feet atop Mount Dana near the Sierra Crest.</p><br>
<p>Notable features in the basin include Mono Lake and the Mono-Inyo Craters, as well as the town of Lee Vining.</p><br>
<h2>Geology</h2><br>
<p>Geologically the basin is a structural basin that is bordered to the west by the frontal fault of the Sierra Nevada. The basin is part of the Walker Lane, an area where much of the deformation between the North American Plate and the Pacific Plate occurs. The basin was created by geological forces over the last five million years by crustal stretching of the Basin and Range province and associated volcanism and faulting at the base of the Sierra Nevada. Five million years ago, the Sierra Nevada was an eroded set of rolling hills and Mono Basin and Owens Valley did not yet exist.</p><br>
<p>From 4.5 to 2.6 million years ago, large volumes of basalt were erupted around what is now Cowtrack Mountain (east and south of Mono Basin); eventually covering 300 square miles and reaching a maximum thickness of 600 ft. Later volcanism in the area occurred 3.8 million to 250,000 years ago. This activity was northwest of Mono Basin and included the formation of Aurora Crater, Beauty Peak, Cedar Hill (later an island in the highest stands of Mono Lake), and Mount Hicks. The area remains volcanically active today, with Paoha Island forming from volcanic activity 350 years ago.</p><br>
<p>The Robinson House is a historic guest house located at the junction of Naamans Road  and The Kings Highway  in Claymont, Delaware, in the United States. It was built in 1723, on the site of the original settlement on Naaman&#39;s Creek. The Block House, which stands a few yards northeast of the Robinson House, is the only remaining building from the original 1654 settlement.</p><br>
<p>George Washington, General Anthony Wayne, the Marquis de Lafayette, and “Light Horse” Harry Lee were all guests at the Robinson House. From 1914 to 1964, the Robinson House was home to the Naamans Tea House.</p><br>
<p>The Robinson House is currently the home of the Claymont Historical Society, the Darley Society, and the Naamans Heritage Association.</p><br>
<p>The Claymont Stone School, also known as Naaman&#39;s Creek School #1, is a historic schoolhouse built in 1805, on land donated by Founding Father John Dickinson, in Claymont, Delaware, on the Philadelphia Pike just south of the Darley House. The school was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1990. Its official Delaware State Historic Marker indicates that the school "may have been the first racially integrated public school in the State."</p><br>
<p>The original building was renovated in 1905 and expanded to become a two-room schoolhouse, serving the neighborhood of Claymont and the rural Naaman&#39;s Creek area as a school until the 1924–25 school year, when the Green Street School was built.</p><br>
<p>In 1928 the Stone School was converted to serve as a community center and public library, but in 1988 it was deemed structurally unsound. Thereafter, it stood empty, and the school district considered tearing it down until a group called Friends of the Claymont Stone School intervened to save the building, raising funds for its renovation and conversion into a museum and heritage center, which was completed in 2002.</p><br>
<p>The Algodones Dunes is a large erg  located in the southeastern portion of the USA state of California, near the border with Arizona and the Mexican state of Baja California. The field is approximately 45 mi long by 6 mi wide and extends along a northwest-southeast line that correlates to the prevailing northerly and westerly wind directions. The name "Algodones Dunes" refers to the entire geographic feature, while the administrative designation for that portion managed by the Bureau of Land Management is the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area . The Algodones Dunes are split into many different sections. These sections include Glamis, Gordons Well, Buttercup, Midway, and Pattons Valley. Although the Spanish word algodones translates to the English word cotton, the name Algodones is a corruption of the Spanish and English names of the Yuman tribe that once dwelt nearby.</p><br>
<h2>Location</h2><br>
<p>The dunes are located west of the Chocolate Mountains in Imperial County, and are crossed by Interstate 8 and State Route 78, which passes through the old train stop of Glamis at the eastern edge of the dune field. The northwestern end is located at 33&deg;8&prime;53&Prime;N latitude, 115&deg;19&prime;29&Prime;W longitude about 11 mi east of Calipatria, California, and the southeastern end is located at 32&deg;41&prime;4&Prime;N latitude, 114&deg;46&prime;7&Prime;W longitude near Los Algodones in Mexico, about 6 mi west of Yuma, Arizona. The dunes are also now separated at the southern end by agricultural land from the much more extensive Gran Desierto de Altar, to which they once were linked as an extreme peripheral "finger". The only significant human-made structures in the area are the All-American Canal that cuts across the southern portion from east to west and the Coachella Canal on the western edge.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Because the Colorado River flowed through very flat terrain, the course of the river varied over a wide area, being periodically diverted in one direction or another by silt deposits remaining after floods. Sometimes the river flowed into the Gulf of California, as it does today (no longer flows into the Gulf of Mexico due to irrigation in the Imperial Valley and Mexicali Valley); other times it turned westward toward the Salton Sink. Each time the Salton Sink received the river flow, a large freshwater lake called Lake Cahuilla formed. The last Lake Cahuilla covered much of the Imperial, Coachella and Mexicali Valleys as late as 1450. The most popular theory holds that the Algodones Dunes were formed from windblown beach sands of Lake Cahuilla. The prevailing westerly and northwesterly winds carried the sand eastward from the old lake shore to their present location which continues to migrate southeast by approximately one foot per year.</p><br>
<p>The dunes have frequently been a barrier to human movement in the area. Foot travelers frequently diverted south into Mexico, and in 1877 the Southern Pacific Railroad was diverted north to avoid the dunes, but in 1915 Colonel Ed Fletcher built a wooden plank road across the dunes to prove that cars could cross the dunes and to connect San Diego with Yuma, Arizona. This trail eventually became part of Interstate 8. During World War II, the USA military conducted desert warfare training on the dunes, which were part of the California-Arizona Maneuver Area. People have been driving on the dunes for recreation almost since vehicles first reached the area, which may have been the proving ground for the first dune buggy, a modified Ford Model A. Off-road driving surged following World War II when surplus Jeeps became available to the public.</p><br>
<h2>Current recreational use</h2><br>
<p>Environmental protection groups (notably the Center for Biological Diversity) and off-highway vehicle advocacy groups (notably the American Sand Association) have filed numerous petitions and lawsuits to either restrict or re-open vehicular access to the dunes. Most of the dunes located north of State Route 78 are off-limits to vehicular traffic due to designation as the North Algodones Dunes Wilderness. The federal government protected these 25,818 acre in the early 1980s and closed them to vehicles as part of the 1994 California Desert Protection Act (Public Law 103-433). Much of the area south of this road remains open for off-highway vehicle use, though a lawsuit in 2000 closed over 49,000 acre to vehicular access, leaving about 40% of the recreation area open to vehicles. It is the largest sand dunes open to off-highway vehicle use in the United States. The site&#39;s large sand dunes are a preferred terrain for many off-road vehicle owners. Motorcycles, sandrails, ATVs, and 4-wheel-drive vehicles are commonly driven across the dunes. Open camping is permitted, and on major winter holidays, as many as 150,000 people can visit in a single weekend. These recreationalists bring an economic boom during the cooler months to the nearby towns of Brawley, California, Yuma, Arizona and El Centro, California.</p><br>
<h2>Endemic species</h2><br>
<p>As they are the largest dune ecosystem in the United States, there are many species which are endemic to the Algodones system, so the region overall is biologically unique on a global scale. The Algodones were once part of an even greater dune system that now resides primarily in the Mexican state of Sonora, with a few extensions also in southwestern Arizona, especially in the vicinity of Yuma. Accordingly, it is likely that many of the species presently known only from the Algodones also occur in the Gran Desierto de Altar in Mexico, but this is difficult to ascertain without biological surveys of the latter area.</p><br>
<p>The perennial plant Peirson&#39;s milkvetch (Astragalus magdalenae var. peirsonii) is found in the Algodones and is listed as a threatened species under the USA Endangered Species Act and as an endangered species under the California Endangered Species Act. The plant germinates only during years of sufficient rainfall. During one such year, over 71,000 plants were found in the open areas of the dunes, and it is suspected at least that many more in the closed areas.</p><br>
<p>Among insects, there are dozens of species found only in Algodones or its neighboring areas, including:</p><br>
<p>Pseudocotalpa andrewsi — (a scarab beetle)</p><br>
<p>Pseudocotalpa sonorica — (a scarab beetle)</p><br>
<p>Anomala hardyorum — (a scarab beetle)</p><br>
<p>Megasoma sleeperi — (a scarab beetle)</p><br>
<p>Trigonoscuta rothi rothi — (a weevil)</p><br>
<p>Trigonoscuta rothi algodones — (a weevil)</p><br>
<p>Trigonoscuta rothi imperialis — (a weevil)</p><br>
<p>Trigonoscuta rothi punctata — (a weevil)</p><br>
<p>Lepismadora algodones — the Algodones sand jewel beetle</p><br>
<p>Agrilus harenus — (a buprestid beetle)</p><br>
<p>Prasinalia imperialis — (a buprestid beetle)</p><br>
<p>Microbembex elegans — (a Sand wasp)</p><br>
<p>Stictiella villegasi — (a Sand wasp)</p><br>
<p>Plenoculus n. sp. — (a crabronid wasp)</p><br>
<p>Perdita glamis — (an andrenid bee)</p><br>
<p>Perdita algodones — (an andrenid bee)</p><br>
<p>Perdita frontalis — (an andrenid bee)</p><br>
<p>Euparagia n. sp. — (a vespid wasp)</p><br>
<p>Dasymutilla nocturna — (a velvet ant)</p><br>
<p>Efferia macroxipha — (a robber fly)</p><br>
<p>In August 2006, Federal wildlife officials decided not to list these species under the Endangered Species Act, due primarily to insufficient documentation of their distribution and phenology; biological survey work is planned to address this.</p><br>
<h2>Movie setting</h2><br>
<p>The dunes were used to film parts of Road to Morocco, Flight of the Phoenix, Tobruk, Stargate, Resident Evil: Extinction and the Tatooine scenes in Return of the Jedi. John Ford made the 1934 version of The Last Patrol here. They also appear in the opening sequence of the TV series Kung Fu.</p><br>
<h2>View</h2><br>
<p>The Darley House, located in Claymont, New Castle County, Delaware, along the Philadelphia Pike and Darley Road, is the former home of world-renowned illustrator Felix Octavius Carr Darley .</p><br>
<p>Upon his marriage in 1859, F. O. C. Darley moved to Claymont, Delaware where he worked for the next 19 years. Built in the late 18th century and enlarged several times during the first half of the 19th century, the house was purchased by Darley in 1863 and renamed "The Wren’s Nest."</p><br>
<p>During his career, Darley made illustrations for works by Washington Irving, Edgar Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Charles Dickens, and James Fenimore Cooper. Two of his most notable works were Irving’s "Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winkle." Charles Dickens visited here for two weeks during his triumphant tour of America in 1867. He died at his home-studio while finishing a Dickens portfolio in 1888.</p><br>
<p>The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.</p><br>
<p>The Darley House is located across Darley Road from the Claymont Stone School, and is directly opposite Archmere Academy.</p><br>
<p>Telescope Peak is the highest point within Death Valley National Park, in the USA state of California. It is also the highest point of the Panamint Range, and lies in Inyo County. From atop this desert mountain one can see for over one hundred miles in many directions, including west to Mount Whitney, and east to Charleston Peak. The mountain was named for the great distance visible from the summit.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>Telescope Peak is also notable for having one of the greatest vertical rises above local terrain of any mountain in the contiguous United States. Its summit rises 11,331 ft above the lowest point in Death Valley, Badwater Basin at -279 ft, in about 15 mi, and about 10,000 ft above the floor of Panamint Valley in about 8 mi. This is comparable to the rises of other tall, but better known, USA peaks. It is even somewhat comparable to the rise of Mount Everest above its northern base on the Tibetan Plateau, a rise of roughly 13,000 ft. However Everest rises much more, and much more steeply, above its southern base in Nepal.</p><br>
<p>Since it is the high point of a range surrounded by low basins, Telescope Peak also has a particularly high topographic prominence of 6,168 ft, ranking it 22nd in the contiguous US by that measure.</p><br>
<p>A variety of trees can be found on the mountain, including single-leaf pinyon (Pinus monophylla), limber pine (Pinus flexilis), and, at the highest elevations, the ancient Great Basin bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva).</p><br>
<h2>Climbing</h2><br>
<p>From Ridgecrest, California State Route 178 leads northeast into Death Valley National Park. The road turns to unpaved about 50 mi later as it loses its highway status. It winds up through Wildrose Canyon up to a parking lot where the trail for the summit starts. The section from the Charcoal Kilns can be rough and might only be suitable for 4-wheel-drive cars with high clearance, depending on weather conditions.</p><br>
<p>Hiking Telescope Peak by the normal route involves a 14 mi round trip hike. The trail starts in the western part of Death Valley National Park at Mahogany Flat campground. The trail slowly winds itself up to the summit 7 mi later at a steady gradient of roughly 8%. The standard route is maintained by the National Park Service, and no permit is required to climb the mountain. This route leaves directly from the Mahogany Flat Campground, and travels approximately two miles to Arcane Meadows. From Arcane Meadows, the trail winds five more miles gradually up toward Telescope Peak, mostly following the ridgeline to the summit. This route can also be used to access two nearby peaks, Bennett Peak and Rogers Peak, a traverse that adds on minimal extra mileage.</p><br>
<p>An established, but more advanced, climbing route is from Shorty&#39;s Well (elevation around -262 ft) to the summit of Telescope Peak at 11,049 ft. This route is approximately 30 to 34 miles round trip and provides a net gain of elevation of approximately 11,311 ft. The route begins at the intersection of the West Side Road and the Hanaupah Canyon Road. For 6.5 miles, the route climbs out of the Badwater basin and into Hanaupah Canyon. Approximately 1.5 miles after reaching the end of the road, the trail leads directly to Hanaupah Spring, a seasonal water source that may not be available year-round. At the spring, the route then turns directly north (right) onto a scree/talus slope. Although this slope may look difficult to ascend, this is the correct way. Climbers should find the best route possible up the slope. Once finished climbing the talus slope and reaching the ridgeline, climbers should then should follow the ridgeline West to the Telescope Peak summit, which should be readily apparent.</p><br>
<p>The Shortys Well to Telescope Peak route can be completed in one day by experienced hikers, and has one of the largest elevation gains that can be obtained up a single summit; it can be descended either via Mahogany Flat or as a round-trip back to Shortys Well.</p><br>
<p>Government Island is a 1,760 acre island in the Columbia River north of Portland, in Multnomah County, in the USA state of Oregon. Though Interstate 205 passes over it on the Glenn L. Jackson Memorial Bridge, access to the island is only by boat. There is a city controlled locked gate in the 205 fence. Government Island is known for its great blue heron colony and the Government Island State Recreation Area . The interior of the island, off limits to the public, contains a seasonal cattle ranch and protected natural areas, including Jewit Lake. There are also remnants of old pioneer buildings on the island. Camping is permitted below the vegetation line around the perimeter, and picnic tables and restrooms can be found in these areas as well. Many threatened or endangered wildlife species live on the island, including red-legged frog, pileated woodpecker, little willow flycatcher, olive-sided flycatcher, western meadowlark, horned grebe, red-necked grebe, bufflehead, purple martin, and possibly the endangered Columbian white-tailed deer.</p><br>
<p>Government Island’s first documented visitors were British explorer Broughton in 1792 and American explorers Lewis and Clark in 1805, and acquired its current name after being appropriated by the USA military (to grow hay) in 1850.</p><br>
<p>Most of the island is owned by the Port of Portland. The Port acquired the entire island (as well as adjacent Lemon Island and McGuire Island) in 1969 in order to expand nearby Portland International Airport. Though those plans have been abandoned, the Port continues to control the land to prevent any uses incompatible with its location under the airport&#39;s primary flight path. In 1999 the Port sold 224 acre of the island to Metro, a regional government agency, and leased the remainder to the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department for 99 years.</p><br>
<p>Palgongsan, also Palgong Mountain, is a mountain in southeastern South Korea, lying on an outlier of the Taebaek range. It stands on the northeastern border between Daegu metropolitan city and North Gyeongsang province . Its peak is 1193 m above sea level.</p><br>
<p>The mountain is the site of a number of cultural and natural heritage sites. These include Buddhist shrines from the Silla period or later, including the large and active temple of Donghwasa and the Gunwi Triad Budda Grotto (National Treasure 109). In addition, in 927 the Battle of Gong Mountain was fought between Hubaekje and Goryeo forces on the mountain&#39;s southern slope.</p><br>
<p>Natural treasures include the standing stone of Gatbawi, so called from its resemblance to a traditional Korean horsehair hat, or gat.</p><br>
<p>The mountain, connected to downtown Daegu by bus, is a popular site for weekend outings from the city. Portions of the mountain were designated a provincial park in 1980.</p><br>
<p>Matilda Bay or Crawley Bay  is a natural bay in the Swan River in Western Australia, adjacent to the Perth suburb of Crawley. It extends from Pelican Point to Mounts Bay Road below Kings Park.</p><br>
<p>The University of Western Australia is immediately opposite. Other landmarks on Matilda Bay include Matilda Bay Restaurant, Pelican Point Sea Scouts, Royal Perth Yacht Club, UWA Rowing Club and Mounts Bay Sailing Club.</p><br>
<p>A well-known bronze sculpture that is located at the site of the former Crawley Baths – Eliza is displayed just offshore from Mounts Bay Road and depicts a woman preparing to dive.</p><br>
<p>Matilda Bay Reserve is a recreational parkland between Hackett Drive and the river. It includes Pelican Point, which is an important breeding sanctuary for migratory birds.</p><br>
<p>Matilda Bay is believed to have been named after the wife of John Septimus Roe, Matilda (née Bennett).</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Captain Currie was the first colonial owner of the 32 acre estate surrounding the bay, at that time known as Curries Bay. Pelican Point was then known as Point Currie. The estate was sold in 1832 to the Assistant Surveyor and Colonial Treasurer, Henry Charles Sutherland for ₤100. Sutherland named the property Crawley Park after his mothers maiden name and the bay became known as Sutherlands Bay. In 1876 Crawley Park was sold to Sir George Shenton, and the bay was known generally as Crawley Bay. After Shentons death in 1909, the estate was acquired by the Government in 1910 and vested in the University of Western Australia in 1912.</p><br>
<p>The US Navy had a fleet of Catalina flying boats based at Matilda Bay during World War II.</p><br>
<p>In 1943, Qantas operated five Catalina flying boats between Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and Matilda Bay in what was known as the Double Sunrise service.</p><br>
<h2>Image gallery</h2><br>
<p>The South Carolina State House is the building housing the government of the USA state of South Carolina. The building houses the South Carolina General Assembly and the offices of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina. Until 1971, it also housed the Supreme Court. It is located in the capital city of Columbia near the corner of Gervais and Assembly Streets.</p><br>
<p>The State House is in the Greek Revival style; it is approximately 180 ft tall, 300 ft long, 100 ft wide. It weighs more than 70,000 ST and has 130,673 ft2 of space.</p><br>
<h2>Architecture</h2><br>
<p>The South Carolina State House was designed first by architect P. H. Hammarskold. Construction began in 1851, but the original architect was dismissed for fraud and dereliction of duty. Soon thereafter, the structure was largely dismantled because of defective materials and workmanship. John Niernsee redesigned the structure and work began on it in 1855, slowed during the Civil War, and was suspended in 1865 as General W.T. Sherman&#39;s USA Army entered Columbia on February 17. Several public buildings were "put to the torch" when United States troops entered the city.</p><br>
<p>The capitol building was damaged by artillery shells and set afire by USA Army troops under Sherman&#39;s command.</p><br>
<p>The reconstruction era poverty slowed progress. The building&#39;s main structure was finally completed in 1875. From 1888 to 1891, Niernsee’s son, Frank McHenry Niernsee, served as architect and much of the interior work was completed. In 1900 Frank Pierce Milburn began as architect, but was replaced in 1905 by Charles Coker Wilson who finally finished the exterior in 1907. Additional renovations were made in 1959 and 1998.</p><br>
<p>The State House was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1976 for its significance in the post-Civil War Reconstruction Era.</p><br>
<h2>Grounds</h2><br>
<p>The buildings grounds are home to several monuments. On the north side, leading to the main entry, is the Confederate Monument which included a flagpole flying a traditional version of the Confederate battle flag until it was removed on July 10, 2015 by State Bill. The monument was established after a controversy during the states 2000 presidential primary about the Confederate flag flying over the dome of the State House. The flag, which was originally placed over the dome in 1962 by the state&#39;s governor, Democrat Ernest Hollings, to protest desegregation, was moved near the monument on July 1, 2000, after passage of the South Carolina Heritage Act of 2000. It was then removed from the grounds on July 10, 2015 by order of Republican governor Nikki Haley, and given to the South Carolina Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum.</p><br>
<p>On the east side is the African-American History Monument, authorized by Act 457 of the General Assembly and unveiled on March 26, 2001.</p><br>
<p>The grounds also include monuments to President George Washington, Revolutionary War Generals, the Palmetto Regiment of, the American-Mexican War, Wade Hampton III, Captain Swanson Lunsford, Confederate Women, USA Senators James F. Byrnes, Strom Thurmond and Benjamin Tillman, Dr. J. Marion Sims, and South Carolinian law enforcement officers killed while on duty.</p><br>
<p>Capitol Lake is a 3 kilometer long, 260 acre artificial lake at the mouth of Deschutes River in Tumwater/Olympia, Washington. The Olympia Brewery sits on Capitol Lake in Tumwater, just downstream from where the Tumwater Falls meet the lake. The Washington State Department of Enterprise Services  manages the lake, as part of The Washington State Capitol Campus.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Prior to American settlement, the tidal basin at the southern tip of Budd Inlet was a productive shellfish gathering area for native peoples. After settlement in the mid-19th century, the basin received much of the wastewater and other effluent outflow from "uptown" Olympia. In the 1890s the Northern Pacific Railroad located a station and switching yard on the eastern shore of the basin.</p><br>
<p>The first proposal for creating Capitol Lake came when Leopold Schmidt of the Olympia Brewing Company proposed in 1895 to " mak(e) a fresh water lake of it by building a dam and locks near the Westside (Olympia) bridge."</p><br>
<p>In 1911 the State Capitol Commission held a nationwide competition for the design of the State Capitol Campus. The winning architects, Wilder and White, submitted a revolutionary City Beautiful Movement and American Renaissance plan which included creating a body of water to reflect the Capitol Group of buildings on the bluff by installing a tidelock at the mouth of the Deschutes River.</p><br>
<p>A more limited lake was also part of the original landscape design by John Olmsted to reflect the Washington State Capitol building on Puget Sound. The lake as envisioned by Olmsted would have been created with a north to south running berm, as opposed to an east to west running dam.</p><br>
<p>In 1915, the State Capitol Commission rejected a plan by former Olympia Mayor and state legislator P.H. Carlyon to replace Olympia&#39;s bridge to the westside with a dam and locks. That plan would have created a lake very much like the present Capitol Lake. Because of opposition from upriver Tumwater businesses, such as the Olympia Brewing Company and the Olympia Power and Light Company, that plan was not approved.</p><br>
<p>The Capitol Group of buildings was constructed over several years from 1913 to 1940, and the State Capitol Committee then turned to the task of creating the Wilder and White reflecting Capitol Lake. In 1937 the state began purchasing the privately owned tidelands around the Capitol Campus. In 1941, opposition from Tumwater was finally overcome during a special town meeting. In 1947, due in large part by intense lobbying by Thurston County legislators, the state legislature approved funding for the construction of the dam in order to create Capitol Lake.</p><br>
<p>A shantytown known as “Little Hollywood” developed along the shores of the Deschutes River, at the foot of the Capitol Campus.</p><br>
<p>The people living in the shanties dumped raw human waste and trash directly into the Deschutes River. This became an eyesore (July 7, 1948, The Daily Olympian) and probably a health hazard. Damming the Deschutes River destroyed the estuary, but also prevented the urban blight of the shantytown from recurring.</p><br>
<p>Capitol Lake was finally created in 1951 when the dam was completed consistent with the Wilder and White plan. This allowed for the retention of the outflow from the Deschutes River to cover the tide flats.</p><br>
<p>In the 1990s and 2000s the North Capitol Campus Heritage Park was created with the Arc of Statehood from the Western Washington Inlet to the Eastern Washington Butte along the eastern edge of Capitol Lake and the North Campus trail and Law Enforcement Memorial with views across Capitol Lake to the borrowed landscapes of Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains.</p><br>
<p>The February 2001 Nisqually earthquake did considerable damage to Deschutes Parkway on the west side of the lake. Capital Lakefair, centered on the lake, is held annually in July. The trail around the lake is 1.5 miles long.</p><br>
<h3>Recommendation for Estuary Restoration</h3><br>
<p>In 2009, after 12 years of intensive and independently verified scientific study, the Capitol Lake Adaptive Management Plan Steering Committee reached a consensus recommendation to remove the 5th Ave. dam and restore Deschutes Estuary as the most cost-effective and ecology sound long term plan for this watershed. As described on page 6 of the report, CLAMP made the recommendation to for Deschutes Estuary restoration stating:</p><br>
<p>"The Department of Fish and Wildlife, Department of Ecology, Department of Natural Resources, Squaxin Island Tribe, and a majority of the Thurston County Commissioners are forwarding their recommendation to return the Capitol Lake Basin to an estuary."</p><br>
<p>Because of a high rate of siltation, the lake has been dredged periodically in the past to keep it from filling in. After a 25-year hiatus, in 2011 the State Legislature appropriated $200,000 in order to seek permits to reimplement maintenance dredging in order to retain and improve Capitol Lake as part of the historic Wilder and White design of the State Capitol Campus during its centennial year.</p><br>
<h2>Invasive Species</h2><br>
<p>In 2009, the New Zealand mud snail, an invasive species the size of a grain of rice, was discovered in Capitol Lake. The lake has been closed to all public use, including boating and other recreation, since 2009. A heavy cold snap in 2013, combined with a drawdown in water level in preparation, was roughly estimated to have killed 40–60% of the mudsnail population.</p><br>
<p>An infestation of Eurasian milfoil was controlled using herbicide in 2004. Later efforts relied on scuba divers to remove this invasive plant.</p><br>
<h2>Controversy</h2><br>
<p>Controversy surrounds Capitol Lake because it replaced an estuary. Because of a high rate of siltation, the lake was dredged periodically in the past to keep it from filling in, a classic case of eutrophication. Additionally, poor water quality has caused the lake to be closed to swimmers due to unsafe levels of E. coli).</p><br>
<p>In June 2012, the Washington State Department of Ecology released a report titled: Deschutes River, Capitol Lake, and Budd Inlet Temperature, Fecal Coliform Bacteria, Dissolved Oxygen, pH, and Fine Sediment Total Maximum Daily Load Technical Report - Water Quality Study Findings by scientists; Mindy Roberts, Anise Ahmed, Greg Pelletier, and David Osterberg</p><br>
<p>This study provided information in a question and answer format.</p><br>
<p>Jolly Mill was built on Capps Creek at Jollification, Berwick Township, Newton County, Missouri, United States in 1848 by Thomas Isbell and his son John to serve as a whiskey distillery. Jolly Mill was named for the local Jolly family. The mill also served as a grist mill, and continued to operate in that capacity until 1975. Due to the flood in late December 2015, the park was heavily damaged.</p><br>
<p>It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The success of the mill led to the establishment in the 1850s and subsequent growth of the town of Jollification, the name referring to the unnaturally jovial disposition of the people who worked in and around the distillery.</p><br>
<p>The town was burned during the Civil War, but the mill survived. The town was somewhat rebuilt. In 1870, the railroad bypassed what was left of Jollification, which ultimately led to its dissolution.</p><br>
<p>The mill was purchased in 1983 by The Friends of Jolly Mill and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.</p><br>
<p>In recent years, under the care of The Friends of Jolly Mill, the mill has undergone somewhat of a renaissance. The mill and surrounding land have been restored and converted into a park, with many period buildings moved in from other locations in an attempt to replicate the look and feel of the town of Jollification.</p><br>
<p>The mill is also a primary trout-fishing location, managed by the Missouri Department of Conservation as Capps Creek White Ribbon Trout Area. Four miles of trout stream are stocked with rainbow and brown trout periodically, and fishermen are permitted to harvest up to 4 trout per day.</p><br>
<p>Whitehall is a 75-room mansion open to the public in Palm Beach, Florida in the United States. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It houses the Flagler Museum, named after its builder.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Henry Flagler, one of the founders of Standard Oil, built Whitehall for his third wife, Mary Lily Kenan.</p><br>
<p>The site of the home was purchased for $50,000 in 1893 (as of 2010 that would be $1,197,562.39) by Flagler; later surveyed for construction in July 1900 and the home completed in time for Flagler and his wife to move in on February 6, 1902. The architects were Carrère and Hastings, who had earlier designed the Ponce de Leon Hotel and several other buildings in St. Augustine for Flagler. Whitehall was to be a winter residence, and Henry gave it to Mary Lily as a wedding present. They would travel to Palm Beach each year in one of their own private railcars, one of which was No. 91.</p><br>
<p>Flagler died of injuries sustained in falling down a flight of marble stairs at Whitehall in 1913, at the age of 83. Mary Lily died four years later, and the home was devised to her niece Louise Clisby Wise Lewis, who sold the property to investors. They constructed a 300-room, ten-story addition to the west side of the building, obliterating Mr. Flaglers offices, the housekeepers apartment, and altering the original kitchen and pantry area. Carrere and Hastings were the architects of the 1925 reconstruction. In 1939 it was described as a $4,000,000 building and Palm Beach’s second-largest hotel.</p><br>
<p>In 1959, the site was saved from demolition by one of Henry Flagler&#39;s granddaughters Jean Flagler Matthews. She established the Henry Morrison Flagler Museum non-profit corporation, which purchased the building in 1959, opening it as a museum in 1960. The upper ten stories of the hotel addition were demolished in 1963 in preparing the museum for the public.</p><br>
<p>Today, Whitehall is a National Historic Landmark and is open to the public as the Flagler Museum, featuring guided tours, changing exhibits, and special programs. It also hosts a variety of local galas and balls throughout the year. The Museum is located at Cocoanut Row and Whitehall Way, Palm Beach.</p><br>
<h2>Architecture</h2><br>
<p>When it was completed in 1902, Whitehall was hailed by the New York Herald as "more wonderful than any palace in Europe, grander and more magnificent than any other private dwelling in the world." It was designed in the Beaux Arts style; meant to rival the extravagant mansions in Newport, Rhode Island.</p><br>
<p>Distinct from these northern homes, Whitehall had no outbuildings or subsidiary structures. Nor had it elaborately planned or cultivated gardens. Plants, flowers, trees and shrubs were allowed to grow unaided.</p><br>
<p>The mansion is built around a large open-air central courtyard and is modeled after palaces in Spain and Italy. Three stories tall with several wings, the mansion has fifty-five fully restored rooms furnished with period pieces. These rooms are large with marble floors, walls and columns, murals on the ceilings, and heavy gilding.</p><br>
<h3>Flagler Kenan Pavilion</h3><br>
<p>Officially opened February 4, 2005, the $4.5-million Flagler Kenan Pavilion is the first addition to the property since 1925. The 8,100 ft&sup2; pavilion is named after the mogul and William R. Kenan, Jr., Flagler’s engineer, friend and brother-in-law. It was designed in the Beaux-Arts manner by Jeffery W. Smith of Palm Beach-based Smith Architectural Group, Inc. and took almost four years to build. It also houses the seasonal Pavilion Café.</p><br>
<p>The Egyptian Building is a historic college building in Richmond, Virginia, completed in 1845. It was the first permanent home of the Medical Department of Hampden-Sydney College  and now is a part of Virginia Commonwealth University. It is considered by architectural scholars to be one of the finest surviving Egyptian Revival-style buildings in the nation. The Egyptian Building was added to the Virginia Landmarks Register on November 5, 1968, the National Register of Historic Places on April 16, 1969, and finally designated as a National Historic Landmark on November 11, 1971.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>After several years in the Union Hotel, the board of the college decided they needed a space specifically created for medical education. Aid was sought to pay for the structure and the Commonwealth offered a twenty-five thousand dollar loan and Richmond donated two thousand dollars. The board chose the noted Philadelphia architect, Thomas Somerville Stewart, who had just completed the new St Paul&#39;s Episcopal Church, to build the College Building. Stewart chose to design the new building in the Egyptian Revival mode, considered to be an exotic style. His choice of this style was considered to be appropriate by the board because it was considered that the origins of medicine went back to the Egyptian physician, Imhotep. Sir William Osler wrote that Imhotep was the "first figure of a physician to stand out clearly from the mists of antiquity."</p><br>
<p>The Egyptian Building was originally called College Building, and later the Old College Building. The National Register of Historic Places considers it to be the oldest medical college building in the South. The battered corners of the walls of the structure recall the temples of ancient Egypt.</p><br>
<p>The building housed most educational activities until the 1890s and included medical lecture halls, a dissecting room, an infirmary and hospital beds for medical and surgical cases. The building was restored in 1939 by the architects, Baskerville and Son, in honor of Dr. Simon Baruch, an 1862 graduate of the Medical College of Virginia. At that time the interior of the building was remodeled to carry on the Egyptian style.</p><br>
<p>The building has been in continuous use since it was built in 1845. In 1969 it became a historic landmark, and in 1995 it celebrated its 150th anniversary. It has at one time or another, been used by every school in the Medical College. The Campus has a strong sentimental attachment to the Egyptian Building. At Founders&#39; Day exercises held at the Egyptian Building, 5 December 1940, historian Dr. Wyndham Blanton commented to alumni and guests:</p><br>
<p>"What old Nassau Hall is to Princeton, what the Wren Building is to William and Mary, what the Rotunda is to the University of Virginia, the Egyptian Building is to the Medical College of Virginia. It is a shrine, a sanctuary of tradition, the physical embodiment of our genius. It is a spiritual heritage. In a world often accused of cold materialism, with an ideology of human self-sufficiency, and an adoration of objects that can be handled and seen, there is a need for things of the spirit, if science is to do more than make life safer, longer and more comfortable."</p><br>
<h2>Architecture</h2><br>
<p>The building is constructed from brick, stucco and cast iron. Its battered walls—thinner at the top than at the bottom—give an impression of solidity and height. This effect is emphasized by the relatively minimal windows for a five-story building. These windows are diamond paned and incorporated without a style break. A primary feature of the building is its distyle in antis porticoes with monumental columns at each end. The columns have intricate palm frond capitals. The shafts of each column represent bundles of reeds. Several obelisks flank the structure and are connected by a cast iron fence that incorporates what appears to be hermai, resembling sarcophagi (mummy cases), forged by R. W. Barnes of Richmond.</p><br>
<p>Also prominent throughout the building is the use of the Winged sun disk. On the exterior it is found repeated in the cavetto cornices that cap the pylons. This winged disk represents Horus, as a sun disk with outstretched wings, flanked by the goddesses Bekbet and Uaset in the form of snakes. This is the form Horus took in Egyptian mythology when he battled the god Set. Later the image took on other meanings with the Sun disc representing eternity, the serpent representing wisdom, and finally the wings representing the spirit.</p><br>
<p>On the interior, the lotus flower design is used repeatedly. The interior colors have intentional symbolic meaning: red represents divine love; blue represents divine intelligence; and the golden yellow represents the mercy of God. Hieroglyphs are incorporated in the antechamber decorations and the floor tiles depict a large scarab beetle.</p><br>
<p>The hieroglyphics in the antechamber to auditorium come from an Egyptian hymn to the gods Amun and Aten in the reign of Amenhotep III (1390-1353 B.C.). The right side of the jambs reads "I never took pleasure in any conversation wherein were words of exaggeration and lies." The left side of the jambs reads "Thou didst make me great because I was performing my duty." Amun is the king of gods and Aten is one of the Sun gods (the other being Ra).</p><br>
<p>The lintel, or horizontal part of the doorjamb, bears a different set of messages. On the left is reads, "Tutankhamen: To whom life is given forever" and on the right it reads,"Tutankhamen: Living image of Amon." This message likely represents the fervor with which the public associated Egypt with the child Pharaoh, King Tut (Tutankhamen), who was discovered in 1922, very near to when this interior was remodeled.</p><br>
<p>The Choiseul Province is one of the nine provinces in Solomon Islands. It lies southeast of Bougainville (part of Papua New Guinea, west of Santa Isabel and north of Vella la Vella, Kolombangra & New Georgia. In the 2009 national census its population is 26,372.</p><br>
<p>The province consists of three major islands, which are Choiseul, Vaghena, and Rob Roy. Falkie Atoll is administered as part of the province. Choiseul Island, which is commonly known as Lauru to the natives, has land area of 3,294 km&sup2;, Vaghena at 243 km&sup2;, and Rob Roy at 200 km&sup2;. Taro Island at 1.5 km&sup2;, is the capital of the province.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<h3>Discovery and naming</h3><br>
<p>When the natives first arrived and discovered the big island, they called it Lauru. Then, in 1568, the Spanish explorer Álvaro de Mendaña de Neira rediscovered the island and named it San Marcos (&#39;Saint Mark&#39;). Mendana himself never set foot on Lauru. He called it San Marcos, because he saw the island from Santa Isabel on the Day of Saint Mark.</p><br>
<p>200 years later in 1768, the French explorer Louis Antoine de Bougainville saw the island again and named it Choiseul after the Minister of foreign affairs and statesman Choiseul.</p><br>
<p>Today, the two most common names for the island are Choiseul and Lauru. San Marcos is not commonly used at this present day.</p><br>
<h3>Colonial era</h3><br>
<p>Choiseul Province was initially not part of the British Solomon Islands. Like Buka, Bougainville (both now part of Papua New Guinea&#39;s North Solomons Province), Santa Isabel, and Ontong Islands, it has been part of the German New Guinea Colony in 1884. 15 years later in 1899, Germany ceded Choiseul, Isabel and Ontong Java to the British to become part of the British Solomon Islands. In 1900, Charles Woodford, the Resident Commissioner for the Solomon Islands sailed to Choiseul via Isabel on a ship named Torch and planted the British flag on Choiseul on 23 August 1900. Proclaiming Choiseul as part of the British Solomon. During World War II, North West Choiseul, along the Nukiki to Voza corridor was partly occupied by Japanese military forces whose garrison was raided by US marine forces in October and November 1943. The protectorate sets up the Choiseul Council in 1948. The council consists of representatives of the seven sub districts in Choiseul. The Council meets twice a year with the District Commissioner to discuss its business.</p><br>
<h3>Independent era</h3><br>
<p>On 25 February 1992, a separate Choiseul province was created by separation from the Western Province.</p><br>
<p>It has had the following Premiers:</p><br>
<p>*1992&ndash;96 Clement Kengava</p><br>
<p>*1996&ndash;2000 Simmy Vazarabatu</p><br>
<p>*2000&ndash; Jackson Kiloe</p><br>
<p>Members to the National Parliament.</p><br>
<p>There are three constituencies in Choiseul.</p><br>
<p>Northeast Choiseul</p><br>
<p>* Late Dr.Gideon Zoleveke</p><br>
<p>* Late Hon. Allan Qurusu</p><br>
<p>* Hon.Manasseh Sogavare (1994–present)</p><br>
<p>Northwest Choiseul</p><br>
<p>* Hon. Alpha Kimata</p><br>
<p>* Hon. Clement Kengava</p><br>
<p>* Hon. Connelly Sadakabatu (2010–present)</p><br>
<p>South Choiseul</p><br>
<p>* Hon. Jason Dorovolomo</p><br>
<p>* Hon.Rev Caleb Kotali</p><br>
<p>* Hon.Rev Leslie Boseto</p><br>
<p>* Hon. Elijah Doro Muala (2010–present)</p><br>
<h3>Health</h3><br>
<p>The Choiseul Provincial Health Service (CPHS) has 26 health facilities around the province. The main referral provincial hospital is the Taro Hospital. The hospital is based on the Taro Island which is also the island capital of the province. It is the first certified Baby Friendly Hospital in the Solomon Islands in October 2010. And awarded the shield by UNICEF and WHO. The award means that Taro Hospital advocates for exclusive breastfeeding for babies up to six months before introduction of soft diet. The hospital also does not encourage artificial and bottle feeding of babies. It also has links to community groups that support, protect and promote the practice of exclusive breast feeding of babies within Taro Hospital catchment area.</p><br>
<p>The Choiseul Provincial Health Service is also very active in health promotion and education targeting the rural population. It pays emphasis on preventative activities down to the rural areas with the help of community groups, churches and donor partners.</p><br>
<p>Taro Hospital offers the following primary health programs, reproductive health on ante natal and post natal care, childhealth on immunization, nutrition and breastfeeding practices, non communicable disease,mental health services and malaria program.</p><br>
<h3>Telecommunication</h3><br>
<p>Solomon Telekom Company Limited is the sole provider of both landline and mobile phone communication in the province. Telekom&#39;s office is in Taro. Landline phone communication can only be found only on Taro Island. However, Telekom also covers the island with mobile phone towers. Currently, its mobile phone towers are in Pangoe Village, Kagaloga, Sasamuqa and Wagina. In June 2014, Our Telekom added two new mobile towers, one on Ropa Island, in South Choiseul and the second at Ogho village, North West Choiseul.</p><br>
<p>Two way VHF radio can also be found in the villages, churches, schools and clinics.</p><br>
<h3>Religion</h3><br>
<p>The first missionaries that came to Choiseul were the Methodists. The first attempt by the Methodist Ministers led by Rev John Goldie was made in 1904, but, was unsuccessful. In 1905, a second attempt was made by Rev Stephen Rabone Rooney, this time on the South of Choiseul at Sasamuqa, which was successful, leading to the first mission established in Sasamuqa village in 1905.</p><br>
<p>The missionaries were instrumental in the introduction of education and health to the population. The three denominations involved in Missionary work in Choiseul were the Methodists, Catholics and the Seventh Day Adventists."</p><br>
<p>Deaconess Iula Qilanoba, the first Methodist deaconess from the Solomon Islands, was a native of Choiseul Province.</p><br>
<h2>Culture</h2><br>
<h3>People</h3><br>
<p>The people consists of several Melanesian tribes including the Gilbertese who live on Vaghena. In the 19th century head hunting and blackbirding were widespread in the Solomon Islands. This led to the extinction of the people on Vaghena in the 1870s. Even in the 20th century the Choiseul islanders were ill-reputed as brutal cannibals so that visitors only came with armed forces to that island. In 1916 there were brutal feuds between the several tribes which were ended by the peace treaty of Sasamungga on 8 August 1921. This event, called Kulabule, is a holiday on Choiseul.</p><br>
<h3>Music</h3><br>
<p>Traditionally, people in Choiseul use bamboos for traditional flutes. Now these traditional music is only performed in custom ceremonies.</p><br>
<p>One of the string bands from Choiseul was the Sirovanga Boys. Their best known song being "seni memory."</p><br>
<p>Another group from Choiseul in the early 2000s was the band Savoto. Their hit songs include "inaka mach" and "Ke siro."</p><br>
<h3>Football</h3><br>
<p>The inhabitants of Choiseul are soccer enthusiasts. They have a team called Lauru Kuvojo, which in 2005 took part at the Solomon-Cup, the national football championship of the Solomon Islands. They have finished their participation already in the preliminary round. In November 2012 the bi-annual Kuvojo Cup was held with a team representing the provincial capital Taro winning against a team from Senga ward. Most of the 14 wards throughout Choiseul sent representative teams to participate at the Kuvojo Cup tournament in both soccer and netball.</p><br>
<h2>Flora and fauna</h2><br>
<p>The flora and fauna are both characteristic of Australia and New Guinea. The biggest mammal is the endangered dugong, a seacow which occurs in the waters near Rob Roy and Taro Island. The largest reptile is the saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) known from Australia. Known birds are the Sanford&#39;s fish eagle (Haliaeetus sanfordi), the Pacific black duck (Anas superciliosa), and the eastern reef egret (Egretta sacra). Until the beginning of the 20th century, it was the only habitat of the now extinct Choiseul crested pigeon (Microgoura meeki). Choiseul is also an important breeding place for the loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta). The flora is represented by mangroves and coconuts.</p><br>
<h2>Environmental issues</h2><br>
<p>Commercial logging continues to operate in Choiseul throughout the entire province. Nickel Mining is planned to commence in 2016 in Katupika and will see over 2,000 hectare cleared to gain access to nickel deposits over the life of the mining operation. Prospecting for gold has also occurred close to Susuka in north Choiseul. A proposal to establish over 4,000 hectare in north Choiseul as oil palm plantation will also have significant environmental impact.</p><br>
<h2>Islands</h2><br>
<p>* Bembalama</p><br>
<p>* Choiseul</p><br>
<p>* Cyprian Bridge</p><br>
<p>* Kaghau</p><br>
<p>* Laena</p><br>
<p>* Nuatambu</p><br>
<p>* Rob Roy</p><br>
<p>* Saerema</p><br>
<p>* Taro</p><br>
<p>* Vaghena</p><br>
<p>* Falkie Atoll</p><br>
<h2>Modern era</h2><br>
<p>* logging in Choiseul. Eagon Resource Company Limited is the first logging company to operate in Choiseul when it landed in Moli in 1989.</p><br>
<p>* 25 June 2010- MV.San Marcos, the second ship of Lauru Shipping is commissioned in Taro. San Marcos is a cargo boat of 35 meter,340 tonne,250 cubic metres loading capacity and can travel at 10 knots. The vessel was bought from Japan for SB$3.7 million US$445,000 with funds from the national government SB$1 million US$12,000, Taiwan Government SB$1 million, Lauru Shipping Company SB$1.6 million US$193,000 and South Choiseul Constituency SB$100,000 US$12,000</p><br>
<p>* Taro Township. The Choiseul Township Project Office was established in 2008.A short term Land Consultant that has been engaged since 2009 who facili-tated the process of acquiring the perpetual estate, parcel 015-002-4 which was pur-chased under the Sales and Purchase Agree-ment. Then on 21 December 2011 in the village of Poroporo,The Minister of Provincial Government and Institutional Strengthening, Hon. Walter Folotalu presided over the signing ceremony of the pro-curement of perpet-ual estate to the Provincial Government. On that day the Minister handed over a cheque of $4 million as part payment of the purchase price of ten million and forty thousand dollars for a piece of land. The payment was made to the land owners in the mainland.</p><br>
<p>* First Generator Housefor Taro was built in 2011. It is a diesel generator. It was brought in time for to provide lights for the first Premier&#39;s Conference to be held in Choiseul later that year.</p><br>
<p>*Airport upgrade and Terminal Taro airport was upgraded in 2011 with its first terminal in 2011. It was also fenced all around as well. The terminal building was funded by PGSP.</p><br>
<p>* New Provincial Assembly Hall was built and completed in 2011 with support from the PGSP funding. It was built purposely in time to accommodate the Premiers&#39; Conference in Taro.</p><br>
<p>* Taro New concrete wharf was built in 2011 to replace the old wooden wharf.</p><br>
<p>* New Computer Lab for Choiseul Bay Provincial Secondary School was built in 2012. The only Provincial Secondary School in the province.</p><br>
<p>* In April 2013, the first EFTOS machine was installed by Westpac Bank in the capital Taro as an in store service. Launching the service is Hon.Elijah Doromuala, the parliament member for South Choiseul.</p><br>
<p>* During the Choiseul Provincial election that was held in October 2013 history was made when 4 women candidates compete in the election. This is the first time women are competing at the provincial level since Choiseul became a province. All four however do not manage to win a sit in the 14 sits of the Provincial Assembly.</p><br>
<p>* In 2014 financial year, the Province&#39;s annual budget is $15,004,189.00 (SBD) of which $5,729,704.00 is recurrent expenditure and $9,274,485.00 is capital expenditure.</p><br>
<p>Malaita is the largest island of the Malaita Province in Solomon Islands. South Malaita Island, also known as Small Malaita and Maramasike for Areare speakers and Malamweimwei known to more than 80% of the islanders, is the island at the southern tip of the larger island of Malaita. A tropical and mountainous island, Malaita&#39;s pristine river systems and tropical forests have not been exploited. Malaita is the second most populous island  of the Solomon Islands, with a population of 140,000, or more than a third of the entire national population. The largest city and provincial capital is Auki, on the northwest coast and is on the northern shore of the Langa Langa Lagoon. The people of the Langa Langa Lagoon and the Lau Lagoon on the northeast coast of Malaita call themselves wane i asi ‘salt-water people’ as distinct from wane i tolo ‘bush people’ who live in the interior of the island.</p><br>
<h2>Name</h2><br>
<p>Most local names for the island are Mala, or its dialect variants Mara or Mwala. The name Malaita or Malayta appears in the logbook of the Spanish explorers who in the 16th century visited the islands, and claimed that to be the actual name. They first saw the island from Santa Isabel, where it is called Mala. One theory is that "ita" was added on, as the Bughotu word for up or east, or in this context "there." Bishop George Augustus Selwyn referred to it as Malanta in 1850. Mala was the name used under British control; now Malaita is used for official purposes. The name Big Malaita is also used to distinguish it from the smaller South Malaita Island.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>Malaita is a thin island, about 102 miles (164 km) long and 23 miles (37 km) wide at its widest point. Its length is in a north-northwest-to-south-southeast direction, but local custom and official use generally rotate it to straight north-south orientation, and generally refer to the "east coast" or "northern end," when northeast or northwest would be more accurate. To the southwest is the Indispensable Strait, which separates it from Guadalcanal and the Florida Islands. To the northeast and east is open Pacific Ocean, except for the small Sikaiana, part of the province 212 km northeast. To the northwest of the island is Santa Isabel Island. To the immediate southwest is South Malaita Island (also called Small Malaita or Maramasike), separated by the narrow Maramasike Passage. Beyond that is Makira, the southernmost large island in the Solomon archipelago.</p><br>
<p>Malaitas climate is extremely wet. It is located in the Intertropical Convergence Zone ("Doldrums"), with its fickle weather patterns. The sun is at zenith over Malaita, and thus the effect is most pronounced, in November and February. Trade winds come during the southern hemispheres winter, and from about April to August they blow from the southeast fairly steadily. During the summer, fringes of monsoon blow over the island. Because of the surrounding sea, air temperatures are fairly consistent, with a difference between daily highs and lows averaging to 13.6 °F However, across the year, the difference is much less; the mean daily temperature in the warmest month is only 3.4 °F warmer than that of the coolest. Rainfall is heavy and there is constant high humidity. The most common daily pattern follows an adiabatic process, with a calm, clear morning, followed by a breeze blowing in from higher pressures over the sea, culminating in a cloudy and drizzly afternoon. At night, the weather pattern reverses, and drizzle and heavy dew dissipate the cloud cover for the morning. Tropical cyclones are the only violent weather, but they can be destructive.</p><br>
<p>Like the other islands in the archipelago, Malaita is near the Andesite line and thus forms part of the Pacific Ring of Fire. Earthquakes are common on the island, but there is little evidence of current volcanic activity. The main structural feature of Malaita is the central ridge which runs along the length of the island, with flanking ridges and a few outlying hills. There is a central hilly country, between Auki and the Kwai Harbor, which separates the central ridge into northern and southern halves, the latter being somewhat longer. The northern ridge reaches a height of about 3,200 feet (975 m), while the southern goes up to 4,700 feet (1,430 m). Geologically, Malaita has a basaltic intrusive core, covered in most places by strata of sedimentary rock, especially limestone and chert, and littered with fossils. The limestone provides numerous sinkholes and caverns.</p><br>
<p>Malaitan hydrology includes thousands of small springs, rivulets, and streams, characteristic of a young drainage pattern. At higher altitudes waterfalls are common, and in some places canyons have been cut through the limestone. Nearer the coasts, rivers are slower and deeper, and form mangrove swamps of brackish water, along with alluvial deposits of gravel, sand, or mud. The coastal plain is very narrow. Inland soils are of three types, wet black, dry black, and red. The wet black soil, too poorly drained for most horticulture except taro, is found in valleys or at the foot of slopes. Dry black makes the best gardening sites. The red soil, probably laterite, does not absorb runoff and forms a hard crust, and is preferred for settlement sites.</p><br>
<h2>Biota</h2><br>
<p>There are several different vegetation zones, based on altitude. Along the coast is either a rocky or sandy beach, where pandanus, coconuts, and vines predominate, or a swamp, supporting mangrove and sago palms. Terminalia grows in some drier areas. The lower slopes, up to about 2,500 ft, have a hardwood forest of banyans, Canarium, Indo-Malayan hardwoods, and, at higher altitudes, bamboo. In forested groves, there is relatively little undergrowth. In this zone is also the most intense human cultivation, which, when abandoned, a dense secondary forest grows, which is nearly impassibly thick with shrubs and softwoods. Above about 2,500 ft is a cloud forest, with a dense carpeting of mosses, lichens, and liverworts, with cycads as the dominant tall plant.</p><br>
<p>Like most Pacific islands, there are not large numbers of mammals. Apart from several species of bats, there are introduced species of pig, cuscus, and rodent. There are also dugong in the mangrove swamps, and sometimes dolphins in the lagoon. Additionally, there are a great number and variety of birds. Almost every family of avifauna were found in Ernst Mayr&#39;s 1931 survey. Several species of parrots, cockatoos, and owls are kept as pets. Some bird species are endemic to Malaita, such as the Malaita fantail.</p><br>
<p>Reptiles and amphibians are common as well, especially skinks and geckos. Crocodiles were once common, but have been so frequently hunted for their hides that they are nearly extinct. There are several venomous sea snakes and two species of venomous land snakes, in the elapid family. There are also numerous species of frogs of various sizes.</p><br>
<p>Fish and aquatic invertebrates are typical of the Indo-Pacific region. There are a few species of freshwater fish (including mudskippers and several other species of teleost fish), mangrove crabs and coconut crabs. On land, centipedes, scorpions, spiders, and especially insects are very common. All common orders of insects are represented, including some spectacular butterflies. The common Anopheles mosquito ensures that vivax malaria is endemic.</p><br>
<p>Malaitans once believed in anthropoid apes that lived in the center of the island, which are said to be 4.5 to 5 ft tall and come in troops to raid banana plantations.</p><br>
<h2>Dolphin hunting</h2><br>
<p>According to Malaitian oral history, a Polynesian woman named Barafaifu introduced dolphin drive hunting from Ontong Java Atoll; she settled in Fanalei village in South Malaita as it was the place for hunting. Dolphin hunting ceased in the mid-19th century, possibly because of the influence of Christian missionaries. However, in 1948 it was revived at settlements on several islands, including Fanalei, Walande (10 km to the north), Ata’a, Felasubua, Sulufou (in the Lau Lagoon) and at Mbita’ama harbour. In most of these communities, the hunt had ceased again by 2004. However, Fanalei in South Malaita remained the preeminent dolphin hunting village.</p><br>
<p>The dolphins are hunted as food, for their teeth, and for live export. The teeth of certain species have a value for trade, brideprice ceremonial traditions, funeral feasts, and compensation. The teeth of melon-headed whale were traditionally the most desirable; however, they were over-hunted and became locally rare. The other species hunted are spinner dolphin and the pantropical spotted dolphin. While Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops aduncus) have been captured for live export, the Bottlenose Dolphin is not hunted as the teeth are not considered to have any value.</p><br>
<p>In recent years only villages on South Malaita Island have continued to hunt dolphin. In 2010, the villages of Fanalei, Walende, and Bitamae signed a memorandum of agreement with the non-governmental organization, Earth Island Institute, to stop hunting dolphin. However, in early 2013 the agreement broke down and some men in Fanalei resumed hunting. The hunting of dolphin continued in early 2014. Researchers from the South Pacific Whale Research Consortium, the Solomon Islands Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources, and Oregon State University’s Marine Mammal Institute have concluded that hunters from the village of Fanalei in the Solomon Islands have killed more than 1,600 dolphins in 2013, included at least 1,500 pantropical spotted dolphins, 159 spinner dolphins and 15 bottlenose dolphins. The total number killed during the period 1976-2013 was more than 15,400.</p><br>
<p>The price at which dolphin teeth are traded in Malaita rose from the equivalent of 18c in 2004 to about 90c in 2013.</p><br>
<h2>Demographics and culture</h2><br>
<p>Malaitans are of a varying phenotype. The skin varies from rich chocolate to tawny, most clearly darker than Polynesians, but not generally as dark as the peoples of Bougainville or the western Solomons, who Malaitans refer to as "black men". Most have dark brown or black bushy hair, but it varies in color from reddish blond, yellow to whitish blond, to ebony black, and in texture from frizzled to merely wavy. Tourists often mistakenly believe the blond hair of Malaitans is bleached by peroxide, but this is not so; the blond or reddish hair colour is quite natural. Male-pattern baldness is widespread, but not as common as among Europeans. Most have smooth skin, but some grow hair on their arms, legs, and chest, and have beards. Most Malaitans are shorter than average Europeans, though not as short as Negritos. Relatively robust physiques are more common among coastal populations, while people from higher altitudes tend to be leaner.</p><br>
<h3>Languages and ethnic groups</h3><br>
<p>Malaitans speak a variety of languages within the Malaitan language family, a subbranch of the Malayo-Polynesian languages. The diversity is not as great as once thought, and some of the groups are mutually intelligible. Some of the exaggeration in the number of languages may be due to the inappropriateness of lexicostatistical techniques and glottochronological analysis, given the widespread use of word taboo and metathesis as word play. According to Harold M. Ross, from north to south along the islands axis, the linguistic groups are roughly the Northern Malaita languages (more properly a collection of dialects without a standard name, generally Toabaita, Baelelea, Baegu, Fataleka, and Lau), Kwarae in the hilly area between the ridges, Kwaio in about the geographic center of the island, and Areare to the south. Each of these spreads across the width of the island. In addition, there is the Langalanga in a lagoon on the west coast between the Kwaraae and Kwaio regions, and Kwarekwareo on the western coast between the Kwaio and Areare regions, which may be a dialect of Kwaio. Sa&#39;a, spoken on South Malaita, is also a member of the family. Mutual intelligibility is also aided by the large degree of trade and intermarriage among the groups.</p><br>
<p>The peoples of Malaita share many aspects of their culture, although they are generally divided into ethnic groups along linguistic lines. In pre-colonial times, settlements were small and moved frequently. Both agnatic descent (patrilineal lines from a founding ancestor) and cognatic descent (through links of outmarrying women) are important. These lineages determine rights of residence and land use in a complex way. In the northern area, local descent groups, united in ritual hierarchies, are largely autonomous, but conceptualize their relationship as a phratry in a manner similar to certain groups in highland New Guinea. In the central area, local descent groups are fully autonomous, though still linked by ritual. In the south, the Areare people developed a more hierarchical organization and more outward orientation, a cultural tradition that reaches its peak on the hereditary chiefs and rituals of Small Malaita to the south. One exception to these generalizations are cultures which have migrated in more recent times, such as the northern Lau, who settled in several seaside areas (and offshore islands) in southern Malaita about 200 years ago, and with whom there has been little cultural exchange.</p><br>
<h3>Religion</h3><br>
<p>The traditional religion of the island is ancestor worship. In one oral tradition, the earliest residents knew the name of the creator, but thought his name was so holy that they did not want to tell their children. Instead, they instructed their children to address their requests to their ancestors, who would be their mediators. In some parts of Malaita the high god responsible for creation, who has now retired from active work, is known as Agalimae ("the god of the universe"). Congregations of local descent groups propitiate their ancestors at shrines, led by ritual officiants (fataabu in northern Malaita). On Malaita, many shrines have been preserved, not only for their sanctity but also because they serve as territorial markers that can resolve land disputes.</p><br>
<p>With European contact, Catholics and Anglicans spread their gospels, and many missionaries were killed. The Protestant South Seas Evangelical Mission (SSEM, now known as the South Seas Evangelical Church, SSEC), originally based in Queensland, made considerable inroads by following the imported workers home to their native islands. More recently, Jehovah&#39;s Witnesses and the Seventh-day Adventist Church have converted many. Many Malaitans have been active in the Solomon Islands Christian Association, a national inter-denominational organization that set a precedent for cooperation during the period of independence. The Kwaio people have been the most resistant to Christianity.</p><br>
<h3>Economy</h3><br>
<p>For the most part, the Malaitans survive by subsistence agriculture, with taro and sweet potatoes as the most important crops. After the establishment of government control, a plantation was established on the west coast, near Baunani. However, many Malaitans work on plantations on other islands in the archipelago, for most the only way to buy prestigious Western goods. Retail trade was largely conducted by Chinese merchants, with headquarters in Honiara, and dispatching goods to remote locations on the island, where they are sometimes purchased by middlemen who keep "stores" (usually of suitcase side) in remote places.</p><br>
<h3>Arts</h3><br>
<p>The Malaitans are famous for their music and dance, which are sometimes associated with rituals. Several of the groups, including the Areare, famous for their panpipe ensembles, are among SSEC members whose traditional music is no longer performed for religious reasons. Secular dancing is similar to widespread patterns in the Solomons, following patterns learned from plantation labor gangs or moves learned at the cinema in Honiara. Sacred dances follow strict formal patterns, and incorporate panpipers in the group. Some dances represent traditional activities, such as the tue tue dance, about fishing, which depict movements of the boat and fish, and the birds overhead.</p><br>
<p>Malaitan shell-money, manufactured in the Langalanga lagoon, is the traditional currency, and was used throughout the Solomon Islands, as far as Bougainville. The money consists of small polished shell disks which are drilled and placed on strings. It can be used as payment for brideprice, funeral feasts and compensation, as well ordinary purposes as a cash equivalent. It is also worn as an adornment and status symbol. The standard unit, known as the tafuliae, is several strands 1.5 m in length. Previously the money was also manufactured on Makira and Guadalcanal. It is still produced on Malaita, but much is inherited, from father to son, and the old traditional strings are now rare. Porpoise teeth are also used as money, often woven into belts.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<h3>Early settlement and European discovery</h3><br>
<p>Malaita was, along with the other Solomon Islands, settled by Austronesian speakers between 5000 and 3500 years ago; the earlier Papuan speakers are thought to have only reached the western Solomon Islands. However, Malaita has not been archaeologically examined, and a chronology of its prehistory is difficult to establish. In the traditional account of the Kwara&#39;ae, their founding ancestor arrived about twenty generations ago, landed first on Guadalcanal, but followed a magical staff which led him on to the middle of Malaita, where he established their cultural norms. His descendents then dispersed to the lowland areas on the edges of the island.</p><br>
<p>First recorded sighting by Europeans of Malaita was by the Spaniard Álvaro de Mendaña on 11 April 1568. More precisely the sighting was due to a local voyage done by a small boat, in the accounts the brigantine Santiago, commanded by Maestre de Campo Pedro Ortega Valencia and having Hernán Gallego as pilot. In his account, Gallego chief pilot of Mendaña&#39;s expedition, establishes that they called the island Malaita after its native name and explored much of the coast, though not the north side. The Maramasiki Passage was thought to be a river. At one point they were greeted with war canoes and fired at with arrows; they retaliated with shots and killed and wounded some. However, after this discovery, the entire Solomon Islands chain was not found, and even its existence doubted, for two hundred years.</p><br>
<h3>Labour trade and missions</h3><br>
<p>After it was re-discovered in the late 18th century, Malaitans were subjected to harsh treatment from whaling boat crews and blackbirders (labour recruiters). Contact with outsiders also brought new opportunities for education. The first Malaitans to learn to read and write were Joseph Wate and Watehou, who accompanied Bishop John Coleridge Patteson to St John&#39;s College, Auckland.</p><br>
<p>From the 1870s to 1903 Malaitan men (and some women) comprised the largest number of Solomon Islander participants in the indentured labour trade to Queensland, Australia and to Fiji. The 1870s were a time of illegal recruiting practices known as blackbirding. Malaitans are known to have volunteered as indentured labourers with some making their second trip to work on plantations, although the labour system remained exploitative. In 1901 the Commonwealth of Australia enacted the Pacific Island Labourers Act 1901 which facilitated the deportation of Pacific Islanders that was the precursor to the White Australia policy. However many islanders remained and formed the South Sea Islander community of Australia. Many labourers that returned to Malaita had learnt to read and had become Christian. The skills of literacy and protest letters as to being deported from Australia was a precedent for the later Maasina Ruru movement.</p><br>
<p>Many of the earliest missionaries, both Catholic and Protestant, were killed, and this violent reputation survives in the geographic name of Cape Arsacides, the eastward bulge of the northern part of the island, meaning Cape of the Assassins. The cape was even mentioned in Herman Melvilles epic novel Moby Dick by Ishmael, the novels narrator. Ishmael talks of his friendship with the fictional Tranquo, King of Tranque. However, some of the earliest missionaries were Malaitans who had worked abroad, such as Peter Ambuofa, who was baptised at Bundaberg, Queensland in 1892, and gathered a Christian community around him when he returned in 1894. In response to his appeals, Florence Young led the first party of the Queensland Kanaka Mission (the ancestor of the SSEC) to the Solomons in 1904. Anglican and Catholic churches also missionized at this point. As the international labour trade slowed, an internal labour trade within the archipelago developed, and by the 1920s thousands of Malaitans worked on plantations on other islands.</p><br>
<h3>Establishment of colonial power</h3><br>
<p>At this time, there was no central power among the groups on Malaita, and there were numerous blood feuds, exacerbated by the introduction of Western guns, and steel tools which meant less time constraints for gardening. Around 1880, Kwaisulia, one of the chiefs, negotiated with labour recruiters to receive a supply of weapons in exchange of workers, based on a similar negotiation made by a chief on the Shortland Islands; this weapon supply gave the chiefs considerable power. However, labour recruitment was not always smooth. In 1886, the vessel Young Dick was attacked at Sinerango, Malaita, and most of its crew murdered. In 1886, Britain defined its area of interest in the Solomons, including Malaita, and central government control of Malaita began in 1893, when Captain Gibson R.N., of, declared the southern Solomon Islands as a British Protectorate with the proclamation of the British Solomon Islands Protectorate, claiming to regulate the local warfare and unfair labor trade, although it coincided with the German acquisition of territories to the west and French interest in those to the east.</p><br>
<p>Auki was established as a government station in 1909, as headquarters of the administrative district of Malaita. The government began to pacify the island, registering or confiscating firearms, collecting a head tax, and breaking the power of unscrupulous war leaders. One important figure in the process was District Commissioner William R. Bell, who was killed in 1927 by a Kwaio, along with a cadet named Lillies and 13 Solomon Islanders in his charge. A massive punitive expedition, known as the Malaita massacre, ensued; at least 60 Kwaio were killed, nearly 200 detained in Tulagi (the protectorate capital), and many sacred sites and objects were destroyed or desecrated. Resentment about this incident continues, and in 1983 leaders from the Kwaio area council requested that the national government demand from the United Kingdom about $100 million in compensation for the incident. When the central government did not act on this request, the council encouraged a boycott of the 1986 national elections.</p><br>
<p>World War II, which played a major role in Solomons history, did not have a major impact upon Malaita. Auki became the temporary capital when Tulagi was seized by the Japanese, and it too was briefly raided by Japan, but little fighting happened on the island. Malaitans who fought in battalions, however, brought a new movement for self-determination known as Maasina Ruru (or "Marching Rule"), which spread quickly across the island. Participants united across traditional religious, ethnic, and clan lines, lived in fortified nontraditional villages, and refused to cooperate with the British. The organization of the movement on Malaita was considerable. The islands was divided into nine districts, roughly along the lines of the government administrative districts, and leaders were selected for each district. Courts were set up, each led by a custom chief (alaha&#39;ohu), who became powerful figures. The British initially treated the movement cautiously, even praised aspects of it, but when they found there could be no common ground between the government and the movement, retaliated firmly, with armed police patrols, insisting that the chiefs recant or be arrested. Some did recant, but in September 1947 most were tried in Honiara, charged with terrorism or robbery, and convicted to years of hard labour.</p><br>
<p>However, the movement continued underground, and new leaders renamed the organization the Federal Council. The High Commissioner visited Malaita to negotiate a settlement, and proposed the formation of the Malaita Council, which would have a president elected by members, though they would have to recognize the governments authority and agree to cooperate with their administrators. The council became the first installment of local government in the Solomon Islands, and its first president was Salana Gaa. The establishment of the council reduced the tension on Malaita, although Maasina Rule elements did continue until at least 1955. The council was shown not to be simply appeasement, but submitted nearly seventy resolutions and recommendations to the High Commissioner in its first two years of existence.</p><br>
<h3>Post-independence</h3><br>
<p>The Solomon Islands were granted independence in 1978. The first prime minister was Peter Kenilorea from Areare (Malaita). The provinces were re-organized in 1981, and Malaita became the main island of Malaita Province. Malaita remains the most populous island in the country, and continues to be a source for migrants, a role it played since the days of the labour trade. There are villages of Malaitans in many provinces, including eight "squatter" settlements that make up about 15 percent of the population of Honiara, on Guadalcanal.</p><br>
<p>Malaitans who had emigrated to Guadalcanal became a focus of the civil war which broke out in 1999, and the Malaita Eagle Force (MEF) was formed to protect their interest, both on Guadalcanal and on their home island. The organization of Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI) has contributed to the infrastructure development of the island.</p><br>
<p>Kythnos  is a Greek island and municipality in the Western Cyclades between Kea and Serifos. It is 56 nmi from the harbor of Piraeus. The municipality Kythnos is 100.187 km&sup2; in area and has a coastline of about 100 km. It has more than 70 beaches, many of which are still inaccessible by road. Of particular note is the crescent-shaped isthmus of fine sand at Kolona.</p><br>
<h2>Settlements</h2><br>
<p>The island has two significant settlements, the village of Messaria or Kythnos (pop. 561 in 2011 census), known locally as Chora, and the village of Dryopis or Dryopida Dryopida (pop. 325), also known as Chorio. Both villages are notable for their winding and often stepped streets, too narrow for vehicular traffic. The villages are very picturesque but in different architectural styles. Chora has the more-typical flat roofs of the Cyclades, while Dryopida&#39;s rooftops are slanted and tiled. Chora is also notable for its large Greek Orthodox Church.</p><br>
<p>There is also a growing coastal settlement called Kanala on the east side of the island, and many of the larger beaches are settled by a handful of residents. Aghios Dimitrios, at the southern tip of the island, is a mostly modern settlement, with small vacation houses dotting the hillside above a wide beach that is dotted with sea daffodils. On the northeast end of the island lies Loutra (pop. 81), a village famous for its thermal springs, which are said to have curative properties. Although the large tourist hotel there has been closed for several years, the bathhouse is still functioning and visitors may soak in its marble tubs for a modest fee.</p><br>
<p>The port town is called Merichas (pop. 369), its population significantly fluctuating during the year. Before the 1970s, there were no year-round residents in recent history; a Greek fisherman named Manolas Psaras and his wife Foto were the first to live in the port year-round. Today, there is a growing year-round population, and, especially during the peak of the summer tourist season, the town becomes quite busy. Many residents of the port speak at least some English, the most popular second language. Merihas is connected to Piraeus and to Lavrion by ferry boat, and the ride takes one to four hours, depending on the speed of the ship and the weather. Construction of a new mole began in 2005 to accommodate larger ferryboats and was completed in 2008. Kythnos was until recently considered to be one of the last Cycladic islands unaffected by the impact of tourism, but this is inexorably changing. Still, the island has not yet been overdeveloped, and in the more remote areas of the villages, traditional ways live on relatively unchanged.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<h3>Pre-history</h3><br>
<p>Kythnos can lay claim to one of the oldest known habitations in the Cycladic islands, a Mesolithic settlement (10000 BCE – 8000 BCE) at on the northeast coast. The site, close to the village of Loutra, is situated on the shore, and large portions have eroded into the sea. Excavations in 1996 found intact human skeletons, along with stone artifacts and part of a floor pavement, which indicates a long-term settlement, probably of hunter-gatherers.</p><br>
<h3>Pre-Antiquity</h3><br>
<p>Third millennium BCE (First Cycladic Period) findings at Skouries near the highest peak of the island, Mt. Profitis Elias, suggest that Kythnos was a supplier of raw materials for metallurgy to other islands during the Bronze Age. Remains of copper smelting sites and open-air copper mines were investigated in 1984-1985. (A recent by Myrto Georgakopoulo points to the seminal work here by Gale and others.)</p><br>
<p>The earliest inhabitants of the island known to historians were the Kares (Carians), a pre-Hellenic tribe probably allied to or under the dominion of the Minoans, who eventually were forced by pressure of invading tribes to move on and settle in Asia Minor. Herodotus (Bk. viii, 73) records that in the 13th century BCE, another pre-Hellenic tribe, the Dryopes, originally from the Greek mainland near Mount Parnassus, migrated to the islands, first to Euboea and later spreading to Kea, Kythnos, and beyond. This tribe most probably gave rise to the name of one of the two main villages, Dryopis or Dryopida. Some sources say the island took its name from King Kythnos of the Dryopes; others suggest this is a mythical rather than a historical figure. (Speculations on the origin of the name are contained in Vallinda, 1896.) The Dryopes eventually moved on as well under pressure from Ionians, who migrated out of mainland Greece as Dorian tribes moved in from the north.</p><br>
<p>A Hellenistic site at Vryokastro, above the bay of Episkopi on the northwest part of the island, was partially excavated in the mid-20th century, yielding floor plans of houses and a sanctuary, as well as a few artifacts. In Greek newspaper articles of December 19, 2002, archaeologist Alexandros Mazarakis-Ainian announced a spectacular discovery on this site: an (adyton) of the temple was found intact and unplundered. Over 1,400 objects, including precious jewels and gold, silver and bronze artifacts, terracotta figurines, and painted vases, were excavated from what the archaeologists have determined is a 2,700-year-old temple dedicated to either Hera, queen of the gods, or Aphrodite, goddess of love. The artifacts date mostly from the 7th to the 5th centuries BCE. The site at Vryokastro was inhabited until Roman times. In this era, the islands of the Cyclades suffered frequent predation by pirates, and perhaps for this reason, the main settlements moved inland and to more defensible locations.</p><br>
<p>Remains of another old settlement, with extensive stone walls, can be seen in the extreme northern headland. This site, called Kastro (Greek for Castle), was likely the capital of the island from about the 1st century through the Byzantine era and into Frankish times. This site seems nearly impregnable: on three sides is a sheer 500 ft drop to the sea. The fourth side is approached via a narrow track, which was barricaded with a thick, high wall, parts of which are still extant (along with walls delineating hundreds of houses). Nevertheless, there is evidence that the town was destroyed and rebuilt several times. The population fluctuated dramatically during this period and at times the island was decimated due to marauders and plague (Smith, 1854 and Bent, 1885, reprinted 2002).</p><br>
<h3>Antiquity</h3><br>
<p>Only rarely is the island mentioned by ancient authors. In the Battle of Salamis (480 BCE), Herodotus records that Kythnos contributed a trireme and a penteconter, and this contribution is commemorated on the base of a golden tripod at Delphi (Herodotus, Bk viii, 46).</p><br>
<p>Innumerable sources repeat, without providing a citation, that Aristotle praised the government of Kythnos in his "Constitution of Kythnos." Exactly what he wrote is difficult to ascertain, since all of his essays on the constitutions of 158 city-states are lost except for the one on Athens. (Possibly, the origin of the quote is from the 2nd century lexicographer Harpocration. See Smith, 1854. The entry on Kythnos is under the spelling "Cythnus").</p><br>
<h3>Crusader & Venetian Era</h3><br>
<p>In 1207, Kythnos was annexed to the Frankish overlord Marco Sanudo&#39;s Aegean Duchy of the Archipelago (or of Naxos), and it remained in Venetian hands for 400 years.</p><br>
<p>During this period, it was known as Thermia, a name derived from the hot mineral springs occurring on the northeastern coast at the village of Loutra (which means "baths" in Greek). These medicinal baths were renowned at least since Roman times and were a fashionable spa and resort area.</p><br>
<p>In 1600, Thermia also became the new name of a Latin bishopric on the Cyclades, formerly known as Roman Catholic Diocese of Ceo (now a Latin Catholic titular see).</p><br>
<p>The island capital remained at Kastro, which was rebuilt as a Frankish fortress and was known as the Tower of Thermia (Smith, 1854 and Bent, 1885, reprinted 2002).</p><br>
<h3>Ottoman Era</h3><br>
<p>Following a siege, the Turks were victorious over the last Venetian overlord, Angelo Gozzadini, in 1617. (According to a story recounted by J.L. Bent in his 1885 travelogue on the Cyclades, Kastro fell only because of a treacherous ploy by the Turks: a young woman, heavy with child and apparently in pain, approached the entrance and begged to be admitted; the watchman&#39;s daughter opened the gate for her—and for the Turks hiding nearby. Bent writes that this version is preserved in a popular island ballad (Bent, 1885, reprinted 2002, chap. 17).</p><br>
<p>After its fall to the Turks, Kastro was abandoned and the new capital was located inland, as the name Messaria suggests. Later, this town became known as Hora (the generic Greek name for a capital town, also spelled Chora). Under the Ottomans, Kythnos enjoyed religious freedom, but Rome suppressed the diocese of Thermia in 1650. It was a poor, under-populated place, still beset by pirates and suffering frequent epidemics.</p><br>
<p>Most of its population succumbed to the plague in 1823. Nevertheless, it was one of the first islands to revolt against the Turks and join mainland Greece in its fight for independence. During the reign of the first Greek King, Othon, Kythnos was a place of exile for political prisoners and was the scene of an unsuccessful revolt in 1862 by rebels from Syros who attempted to free the prisoners.</p><br>
<h3>Modern Kythnos</h3><br>
<p>In the 19th century, Kythnians mainly earned their living as they had for centuries before: as shepherds or by fishing. The island had few natural resources and, lacking a deep-water mooring for boats, was relatively inaccessible. Then, as the new century dawned, iron ore was discovered on the island and Kythnians were able to supplement their meager incomes by working in the mines. These mines, however, were mostly played out by World War II, and once again, the population of the island went into decline, as young people left to find employment and a better life in Athens or even further afield.</p><br>
<p>The Greek tourist boom beginning in the mid-20th century largely bypassed Kythnos because its harbor lacked a deep-water dock for ferryboats. The construction of a new mole in 1974 precipitated great changes. Today, the island is a modern, prosperous place, with a burgeoning tourist trade. It is in the forefront of alternative energy experiments, with the establishment in 1982 of Greece’s first wind park. With the addition of a photovoltaic system and storage batteries, the amount of diesel fuel required to supply the island’s electricity has been reduced by 11%. Numerous individual houses on remote coves are equipped with photovoltaic systems, and nearly all houses employ solar water heaters.</p><br>
<p>Due to its proximity to Athens, Kythnos has become a fashionable setting for vacation homes, in addition to being an accessible destination for foreign visitors. Besides its numerous beaches and picturesque villages, it also is the site of one of the largest caves in Greece, in Dryopida. This cave, first visited in the 1830s and described by the geologist Fiedler, has unique "schratten" or rock curtains, as well as speleotherms. It was the site of an iron mine until 1939 and has now been developed as a tourist attraction.</p><br>
<h3>Notable people</h3><br>
<p>Timanthes (4th century BC), painter</p><br>
<p>Giorgos Zambetas 1925-1992,composer</p><br>
<p>Rajrambha is the name of a Himalayan mountain peak, situated in the Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand state of India. It means celestial nymph  in Hindi. This peak is situated south of the Kalabaland Glacier in eastern Kumaun in the Ralam valley. The summit of the peak is 6,537 m. The nearby peaks which form the north-south massif are Suitilla 6,373 m, Chaudhara 6,510 m, and Ngalaphu 6,410 m.</p><br>
<p>Rajrambha forms a wall between Lasser Yankti and Ralam Valley. It can be approached through the Uttari Balati glacier passing the Balati plateau. Dhakar or Tidang is the base camp from where one can climb the Rajrambha peak (6537m). Dhakar is near Tawaghat in Pithoragarh district as the last motorable station on the way.</p><br>
<p>On the mountain peak, several alpine flowers can be found including, Iris kumaonenis, Primula macrophylla and lillium oxypetalum.</p><br>
<p>The Waratah Bay is located in south Gippsland, Victoria. The bay is an arc of almost 20 kilometres of flat sandy beach framed by Cape Liptrap to the west and Wilsons Promontory in the east.</p><br>
<h2>Surrounding townships</h2><br>
<p>Waratah Bay is approximately 200 km south east of Melbourne.</p><br>
<p>The townships of Sandy Point, Waratah Bay and Walkerville are all located on the bay. Because of its proximity to Wilsons Promontory, a wide variety of sealife can be found in the rockpools along the shoreline. Some of these include sea urchins, crabs and octopuses.</p><br>
<h2>Attractions</h2><br>
<p>There are resorts around the coast.</p><br>
<p>In recent years, whales like Humpback and Southern Right Whale are increasingly visiting the bay areas as whale numbers increase and re-colonize into former habitat of Waratah Bay. Especially the Right Whales will be a big feature in winter to spring seasons as areas adjacent to Melbourne was used to be historical wintering/calving grounds. Endemic Burrunan dolphins and Common Dolphins that are resident in Port Phillip Bay may swim close to shores as well.</p><br>
<p>The Pamba River  is the third longest river in the South Indian state of Kerala after Periyar and Bharathappuzha and the longest river in the erstwhile princely state of Travancore. Sabarimala temple dedicated to Lord Ayyappa is located on the banks of the river Pamba. in old Hindu Epics, Pampa was Lord Brahma&#39;s daughter, who was later married to Lord Shiva.</p><br>
<p>The river is also known as Dakshina Bhageerathi and River Baris&#39;</p><br>
<p>The River Pamba enriches the lands of Pathanamthitta District and the Kuttanand area of Alappuzha District</p><br>
<h2>Course</h2><br>
<p>The Pamba (also Called as Baris River) originates at Pulachimalai hill in the Peerumedu plateau in the Western Ghats at an altitude of 1,650 m and flows through Ranni, Kozhenchery, Tiruvalla, Chengannur, Kuttanad, Karthikapally, and Ambalappuzha Taluks before emptying into the Vembanad Lake. A noted Anjana temple is situated near this bank. The river enriches the Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha districts of Kerala state. Kuttanad, an important rice cultivating area in Kerala receives its irrigation water from the Pamba river. The Pamba basin is bounded on the east by the Western Ghats. The river shares its northern boundary with the Manimala River basin, while it shares the southern boundary with the Achankovil River basin.Perunthenaruvi is the major water fall in Pamba river between vechoochira and Athikkayam</p><br>
<h2>Tributaries</h2><br>
<p>Azhuthayar</p><br>
<p>Kakkiyar</p><br>
<p>Kakkattar</p><br>
<p>Kallar</p><br>
<p>Madatharuvi</p><br>
<p>Thanungattilthodu</p><br>
<p>Kozhithodu</p><br>
<p>Varattar</p><br>
<p>Kuttemperoor</p><br>
<h2>Geographical disposition</h2><br>
<p>The river Pamba rises at an altitude of 1,650 m on the Peermade Plateau in the Idukki district of Kerala. After traversing a distance of 176 km, the river joins the Arabian Sea through a number of channels. The basin extends over an area of 2,235 km&sup2; with the entire catchment area within Kerala state. The basin is bounded on the east by Western Ghats and on the west by Arabian Sea.</p><br>
<h2>Topography of the basin, reservoirs and command area</h2><br>
<p>Like all the river basins in Kerala, the Pamba basin also can be divided into three natural zones based on elevation, consisting of low land or seaboard, midland and high land.The coast for a short distance along the borders of lakes is flat, retreating from it the surface roughens up into slopes which gradually combine and swell into mountains on the east. The low land area along sea coast is generally swampy and liable to be flooded during monsoon inundation. The plains/midlands succeed low land in gentle ascents and valleys interspersed with isolated low hills. The high land on the eastern portion is broken by long spurs, dense forests, extensive ravines and tangled jungles. Towering above all their slopes are Western Ghats that form eastern boundary of the basins.</p><br>
<h2>Endangered state</h2><br>
<p>Due to drought and a lack of conservation and protection by the government, the Pampa River has shrunk to a stream and is totally dry in many places. Nearby wells have also dried up. Water for farming, such as paddy fields, is scarce. Experts are calling for governmental awareness of the dire situation and the need to rein in development that is destroying the environment.</p><br>
<p>The Kerala High Court has initiated steps to control the pollution of the river from the practice of some visitors to Sabarimala who throw their clothes into it. As part of the Punyam Poonkavanam project, pilgrims have been exhorted to avoid the usage of soap and oil while bathing in River Pamba. They are also requested not to throw any material, including clothes, to this holy river. At a broader level, this project aims to spread the message of cleanliness and greenness beyond Pamba and Sabarimala.</p><br>
<h2>Significance in Hinduism</h2><br>
<p>Lord Ayyappan (Sri Dharmasastha) appeared to the Pandalam Raja as a child on the banks of the Pamba River. The Pamba River has been venerated as southern Ganga, and devotees of Lord Ayyappan believe that immersing oneself in the Pamba is equivalent to bathing in the Holy Ganges River. Bathing in the river, believed to absolve one&#39;s sins, is a requirement before commencing the trek through the forest to the Ayyappan Temple atop Sabarimala. The river pamba flowing in kerala state has many famous temple in its banks other than the Sabarimala.Tiruvalla Sreevallabhapuram temple, Adoor Mannar Temple, Aranmula temple and Chenganoor Mahadeva temples are most famous few among them.The lake or Saras mentioned in Ramayana is Pamba saras and this is the basin of Present Tungabhadra river and the sabariyasram also situated very near. Then the old Kishkindha(Monkey city) or present day Hampi( UNESCO heritage site) also situated near that pamba saras near Hampi.</p><br>
<p>Bickleigh Castle is a fortified manor house that stands on the banks of the River Exe at Bickleigh in Devon, England. Once considerably larger, Bickleigh now comprises a group of buildings from various periods which together formed a water castle.</p><br>
<p>The main building was destroyed during the English Civil War, however other buildings, mostly arranged around a central courtyard survive. The castle is frequently open to the public by appointment, but it serves principally as a bespoke wedding venue. The River Exe runs through the grounds.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>A Norman motte castle of the late 11th or early 12th century was dismantled in the mid 12th century. During this time a small stone chapel was built in the bailey. In the 15th century the Courtenay family built a mansion on the site and incorporated some of the earlier buildings. The Courtenay and Carew families then lived there until the English Civil War. and the Carews owned the Estate until 1924.</p><br>
<p>During the English Civil War Charles Is queen, Henrietta Maria stayed in the castle as a guest of Sir Henry & Lady Dorothy Carew in 1644, on her way to Exeter. Shortly after her visit she gave birth to Princess Henrietta Anne Stuart who later married Prince Philippe, the brother of King Louis XIV of France; there is a plaque commemorating the birth of the Princess in Exeter which is now displayed in the Princesshay Shopping Centre. The Queen then exiled herself in July 1644 from Falmouth, and did not return until the 1660s. Subsequently, at the end of 1645,s Parliamentarian troops attacked the castle, after slighting neighbouring Tiverton Castle.&lt; The bulk of the castellated structure was then demolished by Parliamentarian troops. The slighting of Bickleigh was a response to the Royalist sympathies of the Carew family and its use as a stronghold during the conflict with the main manor house and inner keep being destroyed.</p><br>
<p>Following the Restoration, a typical Devon farmhouse of cob and thatch was added.</p><br>
<p>The buildings subsequently fell into disrepair, and became a farm store and cottage until they were restored early in the 20th century. The Norman chapel and a 12th-century gatehouse still exist, as does the 15th Century Courthouse and parts of the original Norman curtain wall. On a small hill behind the castle, encased amongst rhododendrons, are the remains of the Saxon motte (watchtower).</p><br>
<h2>Buildings</h2><br>
<p>The west range no longer survives. A building now known as the "Old Court" is south of the courtyard. Along with the North range and gatehouse most of the buildings were arranged around a central courtyard. The chapel is east of the rest of the buildings close to the River Exe. Moat Cottage is north of the other buildings.</p><br>
<h3>Gatehouse</h3><br>
<p>The gatehouse dates from the early 12th century and is a Grade I listed building. It is a three storey single-depth plan stone structure with an asbestos slate roof surmounted by turrets. A central carriage archway leads into a courtyard. The building was substantially altered in the 15th Century by the Courtenay family and restored in the 1920s and 1930s during the ownerships of Mr Francis Harper and Lt Col Jasper Henson.</p><br>
<h3>Chapel</h3><br>
<p>The Sanctuary of the chapel pre-dates the Norman additions and alterations. The first documentary evidence of this building is circa AD600 probably before the Saxons arrived circa AD 660, with further documentary reference to it being a chapel circa AD800s. The Sanctuary is the oldest part no doubt altered during that time. There is archeological evidence of a wall at the west end of the Sanctuary with an arch, dividing it from the then nave. This was demolished when the nave was enlarged and replaced with a wooden Rood Screen. The current "wagon roof" dating from the 15th century. It is often cited as the oldest complete building in Devon.It was substantially renovated in the early 20th century. The rood screen was unfortunately lost during the 19th Century when the Chapel was temporarily used to house cattle. The Chapel currently (2017) enjoys the benefit of a recently-restored Estey organ dating from 1884.</p><br>
<h3>Old Court</h3><br>
<p>The Old Court is south of the range around the courtyard. It was built in the mid-fifteenth century as a Magistrates&#39; Court for Thomas, the 6th Earl of Devon, who was executed after the Battle of Towton in 1461; however, it has been revised and added to many times and part of the structure may have been demolished. It may have formed a hall house covered by a five arch braced jointed truss cruck roof. After the English Civil War, when the Castle was severely damaged, it became a residence, and may well have had some of the alterations made at that time. It is believed an underground passage connects the Old Court to the Keep Gatehouse at a point in the Keep Gatehouse where a room has been bricked up.</p><br>
<h3>North Range</h3><br>
<p>The North Range was built in the latter half of the 17th century and served as a farmhouse, housing staff for the owner, Sir Henry Carew, Kt. It is a two storey building with a thatched roof. In the left end room is a 16th-century overmantel (c.1550) carved with scenes relating to the Reformation and specifically the trial and execution of Henry Courtenay, Marquis of Exeter & Earl of Devon, Sir Nicholas Carew, and Henry Pole at the Tower of London in January 1539 following the alleged Exeter Conspiracy; in the carving is a stylised depiction of the City of Exeter and the Inner Keep of Bickleigh Castle. King Henry VIII is also depicted. A part of the carving may also relate to the role of the Carew family in putting down the Prayer Book Rebellion of 1549. The building was restored in the 1930s. The carving was originally in the part of the Castle demolished by the Parliamentarian Forces in the Civil War; for safe-keeping, it was stored in the vaults of Exeter Cathedral until the 1930s, when it was returned to the owner, Lt Col Jasper Henson, after a chance conversation with William Cecil, Bishop of Exeter, and eventually installed in its current position.</p><br>
<h3>Moat Cottage</h3><br>
<p>Moat Cottage which stands to the north of the other buildings was constructed in the late 16th century. It is a stone building with a thatched roof</p><br>
<h3>Stable block</h3><br>
<p>The thatched former stable block was rebuilt in the 19th century on the site of an earlier building. It is surmounted by a turret clock. It has now been converted into accommodation and reception rooms.</p><br>
<h2>Grounds</h2><br>
<p>It is set in 60 acres of grounds of which 5 acre are landscaped. The outer wall, gardens and fish ponds in front of the Keep Gatehouse were landscaped during the ownership of Sir Thomas Carew, Bt., in the 18th Century. The ponds were created from the remnants of the Norman moat. The garden walls, gate piers and gates are also designated as listed buildings.</p><br>
<h2>Current use</h2><br>
<p>The Castle was open to the public from 1970 to 1990 and was visited by 20,000 people each year. The Castle is currently open to public visitors by prior appointment; guided tours last approximately one hour.</p><br>
<p>The Castle and surrounding buildings are now used principally to host prestigious bespoke Weddings, and also House Parties, Events and Bed & Breakfast.</p><br>
<p>Kuybyshev Reservoir or Kuybyshevskoye Reservoir , sometimes called Samara Reservoir and informally called Kuybyshev Sea, is a reservoir of the middle Volga and lower Kama in the Chuvash Republic, Mari El Republic, Republic of Tatarstan, Samara Oblast and Ulyanovsk Oblast, Russia. The Kuybyshev Reservoir has a surface area of 6,450 km² and a volume of 58 billion cubic meters. It is the largest reservoir in Europe and third in the world by surface area. The major cities of Kazan, Ulyanovsk, and Tolyatti are adjacent to the reservoir.</p><br>
<p>The reservoir was created by the dam of Zhiguli Hydroelectric Station (formerly, V.I. Lenin Volga Hydroelectric Station), located between the cities of Zhigulevsk and Tolyatti in Samara Oblast. It was filled in 1955&ndash;1957.</p><br>
<p>With the filling of the reservoir in the 1950s, some villages and towns were submerged by the rising water and were rebuilt on higher ground. These included the old fortress town of Stavropol-on-Volga, which was replaced by Tolyatti. One district of Ulyanovsk is below water level and is protected from the reservoir by an embankment.</p><br>
<p>Bratsk Reservoir  is a reservoir on the Angara River, located in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia. It is named after the city of Bratsk, the largest city adjacent to the reservoir. It has a surface area of 5,470 km&sup2; and a maximum volume of 169.27 × 10 litres .</p><br>
<p>The concrete dam of the Bratsk hydroelectric plant was completed in 1967. It is 125 m high and 4,417 m long. The Baikal Amur Mainline railroad runs along the top of the dam. At the time of its inauguration, the reservoir was the largest artificial lake in the world. Its electrical power capacity is 4,500 MW.</p><br>
<h2>In literature</h2><br>
<p>The epic construction of the Bratsk Dam is the subject of a large eponymous poem by Yevgeny Yevtushenko.</p><br>
<p>Much later (1976), the impact of the reservoir construction on the life of the villagers upstream, many of whom had to be relocated from the flooded areas, or lost some the best lands of their collective farms, became the motive of Valentin Rasputin&#39;s novel Farewell to Matyora.</p><br>
<p>(Translated by Antonina W. Bouis)</p><br>
<p>The Shore Line Trolley Museum, located in East Haven, Connecticut, is the oldest operating trolley museum in the United States. It was founded to preserve the heritage of the trolley car. The museum includes exhibits on trolley history in the visitors center and offers rides on restored trolleys along its 1.5 mi track. The ride includes a tour of the museums historic trolley collection.</p><br>
<p>The museum encompasses the Branford Electric Railway Historic District, which was added to the USA National Register of Historic Places in 1983.</p><br>
<p>The Shore Line Trolley Museum is a non-profit organization.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The museum was incorporated in August 1945 as the Branford Electric Railway Association (BERA), a non-profit historical and educational institution. The Connecticut Company (or ConnCo), which operated most of the streetcar lines in the state of Connecticut, had been making plans since the early 1930s to abandon its "F" route, cutting it back in stages from its long-time terminus of Stony Creek until by April 1946 it ended in front of the post office in Short Beach, its original terminus when the line was opened for service on 31 July 1900. The last revenue car to operate under ConnCo auspices left Short Beach shortly after midnight on March 8, 1947, at which time BERA took possession of the remaining 1.5-mile portion of the line on private right-of-way between East Haven and Short Beach. Over the following year the museum moved virtually its entire collection at the time, including a number of just-retired ConnCo streetcars, onto its property via the existing and still-electrified track connection with Connecticut Company.</p><br>
<p>After ConnCo severed the track connection in 1948, BERA was on its own. The 1.5-mile line started out as double track but one of the tracks was torn up and sold for scrap to raise money. Eventually 20-year bonds were issued by the museum and its fortunes improved. In 1957 an impressive visitor&#39;s center, named for traction pioneer Frank Julian Sprague and known as Sprague Station, was built out of brick at the East Haven end of the line with help from funds donated by his widow.</p><br>
<p>Over the intervening years, BERA&#39;s collection has grown to become the third largest collection of electric railway equipment in North America, with a focus on equipment from Connecticut and New York City. It operates a variety of streetcars, rapid transit cars and work cars throughout the year. BERA currently does business as the Shore Line Trolley Museum which is run almost entirely by volunteers. Antique equipment is repaired and restored at the museum.</p><br>
<p>The collection also includes a small number of "trackless trolleys" (trolley buses) and motor buses (diesel- or gasoline-powered buses). In fall 2008, construction was started on a short trolley bus line, to allow the museum&#39;s trolley buses to operate. The planned line is a loop about 750 ft long, with a branch into the maintenance and storage building. The first section was tested under power in April 2009 by 1947-built ACF-Brill trolley bus 205, which the museum acquired from the Philadelphia trolley bus system when it was retired from service by SEPTA in 1981. Construction of the line was about half completed as of September 2010 and due to continue in 2011. Regular operation – proposed to take place about once a month – is not expected to begin before 2012. The Shore Line Museum also owns two other trolley buses, ex-Philadelphia 210, identical to No. 205 (and acquired at the same time) and being used only as a source of parts, and ex-Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (Boston-area) 4037, a 1976 Flyer E800 which the museum acquired in 2009 and which is also able to operate on the line.</p><br>
<h2>The museum</h2><br>
<p>The Museum operates seasonally, performing the majority of its programming during the warmer months. A standard public program includes a ride on the Museums historical railway on a trolley car, and a tour of some of the Museums collection stored in the car barns. For groups or individuals wishing to visit the museum separate from the general public, charters are available on a year-round basis.</p><br>
<p>Visitors, who enter at the Museum&#39;s visitor center at Sprague station, can also explore an exhibit area that discusses some of the history and technology of the trolley. Visitors often frequently hike parts of the historic line for exercise, to explore, or for photograph opportunities.</p><br>
<p>The Museum allows guests to take the controls and operate some of the vehicles in the collection on specified "Guest Operator" weekends, after receiving instruction from a qualified instructor. Rapid transit (subway and elevated) equipment is run in conjunction with the trolleys on designated "Rapid Transit" weekends.</p><br>
<p>Other special events include an antique auto show each year, a Halloween pumpkin patch, a haunted Halloween trolley ride to a haunted trail with the "Graveyard Express/Haunted Isle", as well as Christmas trolley rides with Santa, and nighttime Holiday Light trolley rides which visit light displays set up along the railway. In addition, the Museum features an annual open house for Members only on "Members Day" where cars of the collection rarely seen often run.</p><br>
<p>Almost all of the Museum&#39;s operational, archival, business, administrative, and maintenance activities are performed by volunteers. The Museum offers the opportunity to volunteer to anyone over 18 years of age who is interested in the following areas: public operations (which includes the ability to learn to operate the trolley cars), car restoration, archives, buildings and grounds, track, line (power), signal, and exhibits.</p><br>
<h2>Highlights of the collection</h2><br>
<p>Horsecar 76, thought to be the oldest preserved horse-drawn tram in the world.</p><br>
<p>New Orleans St. Charles Avenue Street car 850. It is one of the last three 800-series cars in existence. It was built by Perley Thomas in 1922.</p><br>
<p>Connecticut Company 500, the luxurious business/parlor car used by ConnCo</p><br>
<p>Manhattan Railway "G", the oldest preserved rapid transit car in the United States (built in 1878)</p><br>
<p>Interborough Rapid Transit 3344 "Mineola," the personal private car of August Belmont, Jr. (president of the IRT, which operated New York&#39;s first subway)</p><br>
<p>Ansonia Derby & Birmingham "Derby," the oldest surviving electric locomotive and the only Van De Poele motor preserved</p><br>
<p>Brooklyn and Queens Transit 1001, the first production PCC streetcar built</p><br>
<p>Third Avenue Railway System 220, the oldest operating streetcar in the United States (built in 1892)</p><br>
<p>Hudson and Manhattan 503, the only restored H&M "black car"</p><br>
<p>PATH 745 Survived the collapse of the World Trade Center on 9/11</p><br>
<p>NYCTA R17 6688, Used in filming for The Amazing Spider-Man 2 movie</p><br>
<p>Elter Water is a small lake that lies half a mile  south-east of the village of Elterwater. Both are situated in the valley of Great Langdale in the English Lake District. The name Elterwater means either Lake of the Swan or Lake of Alder.</p><br>
<p>The lake is 1030 yd (930 m) long and varies in width up to a maximum of 350 yd (320 m), covering an area of 0.06 mi² (0.15 km²). It has a maximum depth of 20 ft and an elevation above sea level of 187 ft. The river Brathay which provides outflow from Elter Water flows south to join Windermere, near Ambleside.</p><br>
<p>Navigation is prohibited on the lake.</p><br>
<h2>Etymology</h2><br>
<p>" The lake frequented by swans, from ON elptr/alpt swan, in the gen., sing. form with -ar, and water, probably replacing ON vatn lake. Whooper swans still winter on the lake".(ON is Old Norse).</p><br>
<p>The Paine Art Center and Gardens is a preserved historic estate with a mansion and gardens located in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. It includes public art galleries and botanic gardens on 3 acres, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The Paine Mansion was built for lumber baron Nathan Paine and his wife, Jessie Kimberly Paine. In 1925, upon the recommendation of Mary K. Shirk (Jessie&#39;s sister), the Paines commissioned Bryant Fleming, an architect from Ithaca, New York to design the estate. Construction of the Tudor Revival style mansion began in 1927 and the exterior was completed in 1930. All work was halted in 1932 as the Great Depression crippled the Paine Lumber Company.</p><br>
<p>The mansion was originally built as a home for the Paines but workers of the lumber company threatened to bomb the building should they move in. The Paines returned to the project in 1946 and established a non-profit organization to own and manage the estate for public benefit. Nathan Paine died in 1947 at the age of 77. Jessie oversaw remaining work on the estate, and the property opened to the public in 1948. Until Jessie’s death in 1973 at the age of 100, she served as the museum’s president while residing in La Jolla, California. The Paines never lived in the house.</p><br>
<h2>Features</h2><br>
<p>The Paine estate features a historic house museum with art gallery, and is surrounded by extensive gardens.</p><br>
<p>The house contains French Barbizon school and American paintings, sculptures, and decorative woodworkings, Persian rugs, tapestries, and English and American silver and china. The Paine Center hosts changing exhibitions and offers educational programs related to historic architecture, art, and to nature.</p><br>
<p>The estates landscape gardens have twenty outdoor rooms&#39; and designed areas, in various historical—traditional and contemporary themes. They feature thousands of different plant species, serving as a botanical garden.</p><br>
<p>The Paine Art Center and Gardens are at 1410 Algoma Boulevard in Oshkosh. It is open Tuesday-Sunday throughout the year, and an admission fee is charged.</p><br>
<p>Drayton Hall is an 18th-century plantation located on the Ashley River about 15 miles  northwest of Charleston, South Carolina, and directly across the Ashley River from North Charleston, in the "Lowcountry." An outstanding example of Palladian architecture in North America and the only plantation house on the Ashley River to survive intact through both the Revolutionary and Civil wars, it is a National Historic Landmark.</p><br>
<p>The mansion was built for John Drayton (c. 1715–1779) after he bought the property in the late 1730s. As the third son in his family, he knew he was unlikely to inherit his own nearby birthplace, now called Magnolia Plantation and Gardens.</p><br>
<p>For many decades, the house was thought to have been begun in 1738 and completed in 1742. In 2014, an examination of wood cores showed that the attic timbers were cut from trees felled in the winter of 1747–48. Because the attic framing would have to have been in place well before the completion of the interior finishes, the house is now thought to have been occupied only in the early 1750s. The seven-bay double-pile plantation house is within a 630 acre site that is part of the plantation based on indigo and rice. Seven generations of Drayton heirs preserved the house in all but original condition, though the flanking outbuildings have not survived: an earthquake destroyed the laundry house in 1886 and a hurricane destroyed the kitchen in 1893. John Drayton bought considerable property nearby from his nephew William Drayton, Sr., after the latter was appointed as chief justice of the Province of East Florida in the early 1770s and was leaving South Carolina. John Drayton consolidated the various Drayton properties, and his descendants have controlled them since.</p><br>
<h2>Description</h2><br>
<p>The house has a double projecting (and recessed) portico on the west facade, which faces away from the river and toward the land side approach from Ashley River Road. The double projecting portico resembles a similar feature at Villa Cornaro, a country estate near Venice, Italy, designed by Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio in 1551. The floor plan of Drayton Hall is Palladian as well, perhaps derived from Plate 38 of James Gibbs&#39; A Book of Architecture, the influential patternbook published in London in 1728. A large central entrance stair hall with a symmetrical divided staircase is backed by a large saloon, flanked by square and rectangular chambers. Pedimented chimneypieces in the house are in the tectonic manner popularized by William Kent. There is fine plasterwork in several of the rooms of the main floor, which is set above a raised basement.</p><br>
<p>Located on SC 61 and included in the Ashley River Historic District, it was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1960.</p><br>
<p>The South Carolina Department of Archives and History claims that Drayton Hall is "without question one of the finest of all surviving plantation houses in America".</p><br>
<p>Drayton Hall is managed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which opened the house to the public in 1977. It presents a full interpretation of the historic plantation economy as exemplified by the Draytons, both white and black. African slaves and free blacks created the Gullah culture of the Lowcountry. The first guide to the house, Drayton Hall, was published in 2005.</p><br>
<h2>Image Gallery</h2><br>
<p>The Abraham Lincoln, also known as Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad Business Car No. 101, is the oldest operable passenger car in the United States. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.</p><br>
<h2>Construction and revenue use</h2><br>
<p>In 1910, with Robert Todd Lincoln as the company president, the Pullman Car Company suddenly changed from the 60 foot varnished wood railroad cars to the 80 foot, riveted-steel design. The new technology of the time was electric lighting, so the new cars required the addition of electrical wiring, switches, switchboards, generators, and batteries. Wood and steel trucks were replaced with massive structural steel castings.</p><br>
<p>It was September of this year that coach 895 was manufactured for the Western Pacific Railroad (WP) at an original cost of $13,624.50. The car was configured as an 84-seat coach and was the culmination of the most modern design and construction of heavyweight steel cars from the Pullman Company. Pullman passenger cars such as the WP 895 were the ultimate in travel prior to World War I.</p><br>
<p>On January 11, 1924, coach 895 became Denver and Rio Grande Railroad (D&RG) number 926. At that time, its book value was given at $8,783.90. In 1929, the railroad car was rebuilt by the D&RG in their Burnham shops, Denver, Colorado, to a self-contained business car for the president of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad (D&RGW). Numbered D&RG 101, it was complete with staterooms, office, bathrooms, observation room, kitchen, dining room, and porter&#39;s compartment. At this time, the 101 was refitted with six-wheel trucks (estimated book value of $580.65). The (used) 1910 trucks were from one of the three buffet-library cars originally built for the Western Pacific, which were renumbered 981, 982, and 984 in 1915-16. These buffet-library cars were moved to a lower service as D&RGW baggage cars 741, 742, and 744, and their six-wheel trucks replaced with two-axle trucks in 1929. Four of these trucks are the ones that found their way to the D&RG Car 101 and its sister car, the 102. The rebuild cost $33,294.22 in December 1929 is when it received its present design and floor plan. At 190,000 pounds, the D&RG Business Car 101 was the pride and status symbol of the powerful and elite in the business world, but within two weeks of its unveiling, the stock market crash of 1929 brought reality back into perspective.</p><br>
<p>The 101 was built and initially assigned to the president of the D&RGW and is a unique example of rail cars at the turn of the century. It has survived almost a hundred years as a rare example of "state of the art" 1910 railroad technology. The interior was distinguished by its hand crafted satin walnut lightly accented with bronze hardware and richly tailored fabrics.</p><br>
<h2>Retirement and restoration</h2><br>
<p>In September 1964, the car was retired and sold to Golden West Rail Tours. At this time, it had a book value of $47,659.60, and accrued depreciation of $44,409.60, for a net value of $3, 250. The car was later sold for scrap value.</p><br>
<p>In 1983 the car was purchased by Mr. Curtis Andrews and transported from Los Angeles to Tucson, Arizona, for eight months of mechanical rebuilding to make it certified for Amtrak use. The mechanical restoration included purchase and installation of newer (1945) trucks to replace the three-axle 1910 trucks which had been installed in the 1929 upgrade. These newer style integral cast trucks were once used under a US Army hospital car. The car also received a new brake system for its six axles and a 45-page engineering analysis. After rebuilding in Arizona, the car traveled to Spokane, Washington, via Amtrak and the final leg from Spokane to Bruce, Washington, a railroad siding and industrial site just east of Othello. The tradition of numbering this class of railroad cars had changed to giving the cars names, so this car was renamed the Abraham Lincoln. The Abraham Lincoln&#39;s antiquated elegance is not only rare, but it is also the oldest operational car in America. While one of only a handful of heavyweight steel Pullman Cars left in the United States, this attests to the knowledge of the early steel engineers, the attitude to make something last, and the desire for quality.</p><br>
<p>This car is named in honor of President Abraham Lincoln and should not be confused with the first private car in America, which was built for President Lincoln as a means to unite the nation after the civil war. Lincoln’s private car was used for his funeral train in 1865, leaving Washington on April 21, 1865, and arriving in Springfield, Illinois, on May 3. Lincoln&#39;s funeral car was destroyed by fire in 1911 shortly after this car (as the Western Pacific coach 895) went into service. Quite by coincidence, the D&RG 101 had been built 101 years after President Lincoln was born.</p><br>
<p>The extensive restoration of the Abraham Lincoln has returned it to the simple elegance of the 1920s. In July 1988, the Abraham Lincoln was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, which records the tangible reminders of the history of the United States and is the official list of the nation&#39;s cultural resources worthy of preservation.</p><br>
