<p>Schrader Creek is a tributary of Towanda Creek in Sullivan County and Bradford County, in Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is approximately 23.4 mi long and flows through Fox Township in Sullivan County and Leroy Township, Franklin Township, and Monroe Township in Bradford County.</p><br>
<h2>Course</h2><br>
<p>Schrader Creek begins in northwestern Fox Township, Sullivan County, near the border between Sullivan County and Lycoming County. It flows roughly northeast for a short distance, crossing Pennsylvania Route 154. Some distance downstream, the creek exits Sullivan County.</p><br>
<p>Upon exiting Sullivan County, Schrader Creek enters Leroy Township, Bradford County. In this township, the creek turns east-northeast, receiving the tributary Pine Swamp Run. Further on, it picks up the tributaries Robinson Run and Wolf Run. It then enters Franklin Township and turns north for several miles. It eventually turns roughly northeast, passing near Pennsylvania State Game Lands Number 36. Over the next several miles it passes a number of mountains and receives some tributaries. It eventually exits Franklin Township. Upon leaving Franklin Township, the creek enters Monroe Township. In Monroe Township, it turns east, picks up the tributary Millstone Creek, and turns north. Some distance later, it reaches its confluence with Towanda Creek near the community of Powell.</p><br>
<p>Schrader Creek joins Towanda Creek 6.55 mi upstream of its mouth.</p><br>
<h2>Geography, geology, and climate</h2><br>
<p>The valley of Schrader Creek resembles a canyon. The creek cuts through a plateau made of sandstone and cliffs of gray sandstone are present in some parts of it. Much of the creek is on rapids with cobbles, ledges, and boulder patches. There are few fallen trees on it.</p><br>
<p>The valley of Schrader Creek is forested for much of its length. It is broader in its lower reaches than in its upper reaches. The valley is surrounded by steep hills that are rounded due to glaciation.</p><br>
<p>The topography of Schrader Creek is described as "rough and hilly" in a 1921 book. The channel of the creek is sinuous and rock formations made of shale and sandstone are found in its vicinity. Semi-bituminous coal is also found in the watershed.</p><br>
<p>The annual rate of precipitation in the watershed of Schrader Creek is between 35 in and 40 in.</p><br>
<h2>Watershed, history, and industries</h2><br>
<p>The watershed of Schrader Creek has an area of 85.00 square miles. The watershed occupies portions of Bradford County, Sullivan County, and Lycoming County. It is in the Upper North Branch Susquehanna drainage basin.</p><br>
<p>There are a few camps in the vicinity of Schrader Creek. The creek lacks a gauge.</p><br>
<p>In the early 1900s, the main industries in the watershed of Schrader Creek were coal mining and agriculture. During this time period, the Susquehanna and New York Railroad also followed the creek between Wheelerville and its mouth. The creek was also used as an industrial water supply in the community of Powell.</p><br>
<h2>Recreation</h2><br>
<p>It is possible to canoe on 12.7 mi of Schrader Creek during snowmelt and within several days of heavy rain. The difficulty rating of the creek ranges from 2- to 4. Edward Gertler describes the scenery along it as "good to excellent" in his book Keystone Canoeing. However, it is relatively obscure.</p><br>
<p>Tarn Crag is a fell in the English Lake District. It stands to the east of Longsleddale in the Far Eastern Fells. There is another Tarn Crag in the Central Fells near Grasmere.</p><br>
<h2>Topography</h2><br>
<p>North of Sadgill, the valley of Longsleddale narrows considerably with walls of crag on either side, the most prominent feature on the eastern side being Buckbarrow Crag. Above this and set back out of sight from the valley is a second tier of rock, Tarn Crag. Being near to the summit, this has given its name to the fell as a whole. Tarn Crag is generally held to mark the transition from Lakeland to Pennine country. Away from the fierce western flank, the fell falls in long easy slopes of coarse grass and heather, with little outcropped rock in evidence.</p><br>
<p>The northern boundary of the fell is formed by the walkers pass from Longsleddale to Mosedale, which crosses a marshy depression at 1,555 ft. Mosedale beck has its source here, beginning its long journey north east to Swindale. Beyond the depression the ground rises again northward up Selside Brow to Branstree, the highest Lakeland top east of Longsleddale. South of Tarn Crag is another boggy col, separating the fell from its near twin, Grey Crag. This holds the diminutive Greycrag Tarn, actually a series of small pools on the bed of a larger body of water. The tarn empties into Longsleddale via Galeforth Gill, but issuing eastwards from the same marsh is Little Mosedale Beck.</p><br>
<p>Mosedale and Little Mosedale Becks meet a mile to the north east of Tarn Crag, defining its eastern boundaries. A descending ridge makes for the confluence over Brunt Tongue, where a small patch of conifer plantation makes this point distinguishable from miles around. There are few other trees in this moorland landscape.</p><br>
<h2>Haweswater Aqueduct</h2><br>
<p>A fence crosses the fell just east of the summit and this runs along the Sleddale Fells from Selside Pike in the north to Grey Crag and its satellite, Harrop Pike in the south. This boundary provides an aid to route finding in poor conditions. Another man made feature near to the summit is the remains of a surveying pillar. This unusual stone and concrete construction is cleft at the top to provide a sight line and was originally surrounded by a wooden frame, now decayed. This is one of four such pillars built during the construction of the Haweswater aqueduct. Below Branstree and Tarn Crag is the first section of the pipeline carrying water from the reservoir toward Manchester. The tunnel, some 1,300 ft below the summit, required 250 tons of gelignite for blasting, and when constructed in the 1930s was the longest such pipeline in Britain. It emerges into Longsleddale below Great Howe, where the spoil can still be seen.</p><br>
<h2>Summit</h2><br>
<p>The view from the grassy summit is disappointing in terms of fells, but a wide vista from Morecambe Bay to the Pennines opens up in other directions. A portion of Windermere is visible to the south west.</p><br>
<h2>Ascents</h2><br>
<p>Tarn Crag can be climbed from Longsleddale via Great Howe or from a point north of Buckbarrow Crag. Longer approaches from Swindale or Shap via Brunt Tongue are also possible.</p><br>
<p>Binnein Mòr is the highest peak in the Mamores, the range of mountains between Glen Nevis and Loch Leven in the Highlands of Scotland and lies five kilometres north north-east of Kinlochleven. The pyramidal summit of Binnein Mòr lies above the uninhabited upper section of Glen Nevis, north of the main Mamores ridge. To the south, a short narrow ridge links to the main ridge at an unnamed 1062 m subsidiary top listed in Munros Tables as Binnein Mòr south top. Binnein Mòrs second subsidiary top, Sgòr Eilde Beag , lies about a kilometre to the southwest and forms the western end of the main Mamores ridge.</p><br>
<p>Despite being the highest mountain in the Mamores, Binnein Mòr is not one of the most commonly visited, due in part to its relative remoteness. It is most frequently climbed from Kinlochleven, often together with Na Gruagaichean, the next peak to the west.</p><br>
<p>The Ager is a river in Upper Austria; it is the discharge of Lake Attersee by Kammer Schörfling and Seewalchen, and by Lambach it flows into the Traun.</p><br>
<p>The Ager emerged towards the end of the Würm glaciation, when the mighty glaciers began to melt.</p><br>
<p>Influx into the Ager:</p><br>
<p>*The Vöckla flows into the Ager by Vöcklabruck</p><br>
<p>*The Aurach River flows into the Ager by Wankham</p><br>
<p>*The Redlbach flows into the Ager shortly before Schwanenstadt</p><br>
<p>Over the Attersee the Ager also receives water from the Mondsee, the Zeller See (Irrsee), and the Fuschlsee, that are all connected by relatively short streams.</p><br>
<p>In the postwar period, the Ager was strongly polluted by various nearby factories. Today this is less the case because several sewage treatment plants have been created.</p><br>
<p>Grey Crag is a fell in the English Lake District. It stands to the east of Longsleddale in the Far Eastern Fells. There is another fell named Gray Crag in the Lake District near Hartsop.</p><br>
<h2>Topography</h2><br>
<p>North of Sadgill, the valley of Longsleddale narrows considerably with walls of crag on either side. Grey Crag is the first fell encountered above the eastern side, although the top is not visible from below. What is in sight is a short flat topped spur at a height of around 1,600 ft which juts out southwards from the body of the fell. This is Great Howe, and its steep flanks provide the east wall of Longsleddale, together with further outcrops above the side valley of Stockdale. Grey Crag proper is a second tier of crags, set back from Great Howe and just below the summit, thus giving its name to the entire fell.</p><br>
<p>Grey Crag is the focus of an extensive ridge system stretching out eastwards to the distant Lune and Eden Valleys. Grey Crag lies on the main watershed of the Cumbrian hills, its runoff reaching the sea at both the Solway Firth and Morecambe Bay. The long east ridges have a moorland character and provide easy walking in quiet conditions. The principal tops are Ancrow Brow (1,820 ft), White Howe (1,738 ft), Lords Seat (1,719 ft) and Great Yarlside (1,950 ft). These ridges encompass the valleys of Bannisdale, Crookdale, Wet Sleddale, Borrowdale and Wasdale, the latter two of which should not be confused with their more famous Lakeland counterparts.</p><br>
<p>To the north of the summit is a marshy depression, containing Greycrag Tarn. This is a series of small pools in the bed of a larger historic waterbody. Beyond the tarn is Grey Crag&#39;s sister fell, Tarn Crag.</p><br>
<h2>Summit</h2><br>
<p>The top of the fell is a short ridge with the summit at the south west end. Half a mile to the north east is a second top, Harrop Pike, only marginally lower at 2,089 ft (637 m.). A fence joins the summit ridge about halfway along from the direction of Tarn Crag, and then makes for Harrop Pike. The true top has a small cairn, while Harrop Pike sports a more impressive columnar beacon. The views east and south are expansive while westwards the Coniston and Scafell groups can be seen.</p><br>
<h2>Ascents</h2><br>
<p>Grey Crag can be climbed from Longsleddale via Great Howe, or from the vicinity of the A6 (Shap) road via any of the long eastern ridges mentioned above.</p><br>
<h2>Haweswater aqueduct</h2><br>
<p>Great Howe carries the remains of a surveying pillar on its eastern flank. This unusual stone and concrete construction is cleft at the top to provide a sight line and was originally surrounded by a wooden frame, now decayed. This is one of four such pillars built during the construction of the Haweswater aqueduct. Below Branstree, Tarn Crag and Great Howe is the first section of the pipeline carrying water from the reservoir toward Manchester. The tunnel, some 1,000 ft below Great Howe, required 250 tons of gelignite for blasting, and when constructed in the 1930s was the longest such pipeline in Britain. It emerges into Longsleddale below the southern end of Great Howe, where the spoil can still be seen.</p><br>
<p>Dek Island  is the biggest island  on Lake Tana in Ethiopia. It is administratively included in the Bahir Dar Zuria woreda of the Mirab Gojjam Zone. To the southeast of Dek is the much smaller Daga Island.</p><br>
<h2>Overview</h2><br>
<p>It is home to several monasteries, the best-known being Narga Selassie. Dek is accessible by the ferry that runs from Bahir Dar to Gorgora. Hormuzd Rassam mentions visiting the island in February 1866, describing that at the time it contained four villages with a church attached to each one. Rassam also repeats the story told to him how Dejazmach Kassa (the later Emperor Tewodros II) captured Dek in a single assault.</p><br>
<p>When R.E. Cheesman visited Dek in 1932 and 1933, he found that it was not strictly "monasterial", but with five churches each with a small village nearby. Cheesman continues his description:</p><br>
<h2>Demographics</h2><br>
<p>Based on the 2007 national census conducted by the Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia (CSA), the kebele which includes Dek has a total population of 4,816, of whom 2,503 are men and 2,313 women; a total of 1,218 households were counted in this kebele, resulting in an average of 3.95 persons to a household, which less than the woreda average of 4.45 persons, and 1,197 housing units. The 1994 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 5,099 people in 1,028 households, of whom 2,683 were men and 2,416 were women.</p><br>
<p>Deep Creek is a tributary of Pine Creek in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is approximately 22.9 mi long and flows through Barry Township, Hegins Township, and Hubley Township. Its watershed has an area of 31.80 square miles. Major tributaries of the creek include Hans Yost Creek.</p><br>
<h2>Course</h2><br>
<p>Deep Creek begins in Beury Lake, a lake in Barry Township. For several miles, the creek flows southwest in a valley between two mountains. Along the way, it receives the tributary Hans Yost Creek. A short distance downstream of that, it exits Barry Township. Upon leaving Barry Township, the creek enters Hegins Township. Here, it flows through a valley between Little Mountain and Mahantango Mountain. Once the creek passes the end of Little Mountain, it enters a valley between Good Spring Mountain and Mahantango Mountain. It shares this valley with Pine Creek. Deep Creek meanders west for several miles, eventually leaving Hegins Township. Upon leaving Hegins Township, the creek enters Hubley Township. It continues meandering west for a few miles until it reaches its confluence with Pine Creek in the central part of the township.</p><br>
<p>Deep Creek joins Pine Creek 8.14 mi upstream of its mouth.</p><br>
<h2>Geography, geology, and climate</h2><br>
<p>The elevation near the mouth of Deep Creek is 577 ft above sea level. From river mile 18 to river mile 15.5, the creek&#39;s elevation decreases at a rate of 8 ft per mile. From river mile 15.5 to the mouth, its elevation decreases at a rate of 20.6 ft per mile.</p><br>
<p>Deep Creek is relatively shallow. It has pools and riffles and its bottom is cobbled.</p><br>
<p>The topography of the watershed of Deep Creek is described as "rough and hilly" in a 1921 book. The creek&#39;s channel is tortuous. Rock formations made of limestone and shale are present along it.</p><br>
<p>The average level of precipitation in the watershed of Deep Creek ranges from 45 to 50 in per year.</p><br>
<h2>Watershed</h2><br>
<p>The watershed of Deep Creek has an area of 31.80 square miles. The creek mostly is in rural areas and is surrounded by forest for large portions of its length. Mountain ranges flank the watershed.</p><br>
<p>A weir is located on Deep Creek.</p><br>
<h2>History and recreation</h2><br>
<p>In the early 1900s, agriculture was the main industry in the watershed of Deep Creek. In 1921, the major communities in the watershed included Valley View, Hegins, and Sacramento. These communities had populations of 580, 400, and 202, respectively.</p><br>
<p>At least 9.9 mi of Deep Creek are usable for canoeing. Edward Gertler describes the scenery along the creek as "good" in his book Keystone Canoeing.</p><br>
<p>Professors Lake is a 65 acre spring-fed artificial lake located in Brampton, Ontario, Canada. Beginning in 1918, the area where the lake currently is was used as a gravel pit. In total, the pit produced approximately 20 million tonnes of sand and gravel. It re-opened as a quarry from 1954 to 1973. When digging hit the water table, the gravel pit flooded and the lake was formed. Improvements to the resulting lake were undertaken in 1973 by the company that owned the gravel pit operations, and it was at this time that it was given its name in honour of Hans Abromeit, a German professor of economics and the companys president.</p><br>
<p>The lake is used extensively for sailing, windsurfing, fishing, and canoeing. Professor&#39;s Lake Recreation Centre is located on the southern side of the lake and has a beach for swimming as well as a waterslide. There are also three volleyball courts at the far end of the beach.</p><br>
<p>The immediate residential neighborhood surrounding the lake is also widely referred to as Professor&#39;s Lake. Residential homes surrounds much of the lake with a small park on the northwest side. The park continues on the east side of lake with a beach, small boat dock and city recreation centre. A paved 2 kilometre promenade surrounds part of the lake. Prior to residential development, the lake was farmland.</p><br>
<p>The Great Sugar Loaf , also known as the Big Sugar Loaf and often as simply the Sugar Loaf, is a mountain in east County Wicklow in Ireland.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>The mountain is located between Delgany and Kilmacanogue, and just to the north of the Glen of the Downs Nature Reserve. The smaller Little Sugar Loaf lies to the east (on the other side of the N11 road).</p><br>
<p>Though only 501 m high, the Great Sugar Loaf&#39;s isolation from other hills, steep slopes and volcanic appearance makes it stand out in the landscape. Due to its height relative to the surrounding landscape, the hill qualifies as a Marilyn.</p><br>
<h2>Geology</h2><br>
<p>The Great Sugar Loaf is composed of Cambrian quartzite, in contrast to the rounded mountains to the west, which are made of Devonian granite. Popularly mistaken for a volcano, it is in fact an erosion-resistant metamorphosed sedimentary deposit from the deep sea.</p><br>
<p>Battleship Memorial Park is a military history park and museum located on the western shore of Mobile Bay in Mobile, Alabama. It has a collection of notable aircraft and museum ships including the and. USS Alabama and USS Drum are both National Historic Landmarks; the park as a whole was listed on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage prior to that time, on October 28, 1977.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>In May 1962, had been ordered scrapped along with her sister ships,, and. Citizens of the state of Alabama had formed the "USS Alabama Battleship Commission" to raise funds for the preservation of Alabama as a memorial to the men and women who served in World War II. Alabama&#39;s school children raised approximately $100,000 in nickels and dimes from lunch money and allowances to help the cause. In 2003 a replica of a Confederate submarine that was built in Mobile, CSS, was moved to the park.</p><br>
<p>Hurricane Katrina caused more than $7 million in damages to Battleship Memorial Park on August 29, 2005 when it came ashore. This forced the park to temporarily close for repairs. It reopened on January 9, 2006.</p><br>
<h2>Administration</h2><br>
<p>The park is owned by the state of Alabama and is run by an independent government agency, the USS Alabama Battleship Commission. The commission consists of eighteen members from over the entire state appointed by the Alabama governor. It has oversight of all operations at the park.</p><br>
<h2>Features</h2><br>
<p>The World War II-era battleship.</p><br>
<p>The World War II era submarine.</p><br>
<p>Bombers and fighter planes ranging from a B-52 from the Vietnam War, a P-51 Mustang flown by the Tuskegee Airmen to an A-12 spyplane.</p><br>
<p>A PBR (River Patrol Boat) used in the Vietnam War.</p><br>
<p>Military equipment ranging from items such as a Skysweeper M51 anti-aircraft gun to a M4 Sherman tank.</p><br>
<p>A Redstone MRBM (medium range ballistic missile).</p><br>
<p>Korean War Memorial</p><br>
<p>Vietnam War Memorial</p><br>
<p>There are six bridging points on the Arney River, five of these are suitable for motorised vehicles, while one is located on private land near to the source of the river.</p><br>
<h2>Angling</h2><br>
<p>The river is often used by amateur anglers who are fishing for salmon and trout, however, the river is mainly populated by perch.</p><br>
<h2>Battle of the Ford of the Biscuits</h2><br>
<p>In February 1594, an English army took and garrisoned Enniskillen. The fort was promptly besieged by Hugh Maguire, Red Hugh O’Donnell and Cormac McBarron O’Neill (Hugh O’Neill’s brother). In August 1594 an English relief army led by Sir Henry Duke was ambushed on the Arney River and routed by Maguire in the Battle of the Ford of the Biscuits: a title commemorating the sight of English rations floating down the Arney. There is a local tradition of an area beside the river called the Red Meadow alluding to blood soaking into the fields during the battle. Alternatively the local brick making industry may also have given rise to this name as the river was lined with brick fields during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.</p><br>
<p>The Owenbrean River , is a small river in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland which flows down from Cuilcagh Mountain before sinking underground, eventually reaching the Marble Arch Cave system. The river meets up with two other mountain rivers within the caves, the Sruh Croppa and the Aghinrawn; these three rivers then form the River Cladagh.</p><br>
<h2>Main route</h2><br>
<p>The Owenbrean drains the north-eastern slopes of Cuilcagh Mountain and the southern and western slopes of Trien Mountain. After meandering northwards for 5 km, it turns abruptly west into a confined, blind gorge for 300 m before swinging north into the magnificent gothic entrance of Pollasumera, set in 20 m high cliffs. In dry weather, the river drains into its bed in the gorge before reaching the cave.</p><br>
<p>The Owenbrean flows underground through Pollasumera, until it sumps and appears again in nearby Pollnagollum of the Boats. The river eventually enters the Marble Arch system via Skreen Hill 3—a 650 m long stretch of cave only accessible by divers—Skreen Hill 2 and Skreen Hill 1, which is the furthest section of the show cave. During the guided tour of the Marble Arch Caves, visitors are led on a subterranean pathway alongside the Owenbrean River, as well as travelling upon it for a short while on an underground boat journey. The Owenbrean meets the combined Sruh Croppa and Aghinrawn at The Junction, which is halfway along the boat tour.</p><br>
<h2>Separation</h2><br>
<p>Upstream of the main sinks in the blind gorge, the Owenbrean is also known to lose a portion of its flow as it is diverted into the Upper and Lower Sinks. These feed into the Prods Pot–Cascades Rising cave system, from which the waters emerge above ground again around 2.5 km away in Cladagh Glen, rejoining the Owenbreans original flow in its new form as the River Cladagh (Dunn, J.).</p><br>
<h2>Note on naming</h2><br>
<p>The Marble Arch system is fed by three small rivers that drain the north face of Cuilcagh Mountain. East to west these are the Owenbrean, the Aghinrawn and the Sruh Croppa. The Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland (OSNI) maps have the middle and eastern rivers wrongly marked. Locally the central river flowing to Monastir Cliff (the Owenbrean on OSNI maps) has always been called the Aghinrawn and the eastern river, sinking at Pollasumera (unnamed on the OSNI maps) is the Owenbrean. All other literature adheres to this local usage.</p><br>
<p>The Piatt Castles, built by brothers Donn and Abram S. Piatt in the 1860s and 1870s, are two chateaux built in a Gothic design, located 1 mi and 1.75 mi east of the village of West Liberty in Logan County, Ohio, United States. They are open to the public. In 1982, the Castles were listed on the National Register of Historic Places.</p><br>
<h2>Piatt family</h2><br>
<p>The Piatt family descended from France as French Huguenots who wished to escape religious persecution in a Catholic nation. Upon moving to the United States, the family took root in the colony of New Jersey, where the grandfather of Abram and Donn, Jacob Piatt, offered support to the country in the American Revolutionary War. As reward for his deeds, the newly founded government gave Jacob land in Kentucky, where he built his home.</p><br>
<p>While Jacob was a farmer and his son Benjamin was a lawyer, the family was also involved in flat boat trading up and down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers as well as real estate. By 1828, Benjamin had moved his family to Logan County, Ohio. It was here that he built a log cabin for his family. At the time of their move to Logan County, Donn was 9 years old and Abram was 7.</p><br>
<h2>Castles</h2><br>
<p>Mac-O-Chee (the home built by Donn, and designed by John L. Smithmeyer) and Mac-A-Cheek (built by Abram) were begun in 1864. Mac-A-Cheek was completed in 1871, and Mac-O-Chee completed in 1879. The homes were built only about 3/4 of mile apart from each other. Abrams home was built slightly smaller, but is more secluded and set away from the road. Donns home is larger and sits closer to the road. Both homes have three stories and towers, boast painted ceilings, and have intricate woodwork. An 1880 county history speaks of Mac-O-Chee existing in a state of "almost baronial splendor". The two sit close to the Shawnee village of Mackachack, where Simon Kenton was forced to run the gauntlet after being captured by the Indians.</p><br>
<h2>Public tours</h2><br>
<p>Tours began in 1912 at Mac-A-Cheek four years after the death of Abram. When William McCoy Piatt (the fourth son of Abram) inherited the home he had already amassed a large collection of artifacts and objects of interest. After commissioning a custom cabinet to display his collection, William opened his home to visitors who wished to view his Cabinet of Curiosities. Thus the family got into the tourist business, though it was a minor industry compared to the farm and grist mill located on the property.</p><br>
<p>Touring continued with the family living in the home until 1985, when the family moved out of their home. The Piatt family still owns and manages the museums.</p><br>
<p>Both Castles are popular sites for weddings, receptions and other events.</p><br>
<p>Chorazin  was an ancient village in northern Galilee, two and a half miles from Capernaum on a hill above the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Chorazin, along with Bethsaida and Capernaum, was named in the gospels of Matthew and Luke as "cities" (more likely just villages) in which Jesus performed "mighty works". However, because these towns rejected his work ("they had not changed their ways"), they were subsequently cursed . The gospels make no other mention of Chorazin or what works had occurred there. According to the two-source hypothesis, this story originally came from the Q document. Despite this textual evidence, archaeologists have not yet been successful in finding a settlement dating to the first century. Due to the condemnation of Jesus, some early Medieval writers believed that the Antichrist would be born in Chorazin.</p><br>
<p>The Babylonian Talmud (Menahot, 85a) mentions that Chorazin was a town known for its grain.</p><br>
<p>Two settlement phases have been proposed based on coin and pottery findings.</p><br>
<p>Theologian John Lightfoot suggested that Chorazin might have been an area around Cana in Galilee, rather than a single city/village:</p><br>
<h2>Archaeology</h2><br>
<p>In his expeditions to the Holy Land in the nineteenth century, Edward Robinson questioned local residents about the whereabouts of a site matching the description of Chorazin, but no one recognized the name or could provide any information.</p><br>
<p>Chorazin is now the site of a National Archaeological Park. Extensive excavations and a survey were carried out in 1962-1964. Excavations at the site were resumed in 1980-1987.</p><br>
<p>The site is an excavated ruin today, but was inhabited starting in the 1st century. It is associated with modern-day Kerazeh.</p><br>
<p>The majority of the structures are made from black basalt, a volcanic rock found locally. The main settlement dates to the 3rd and 4th centuries. A mikvah, or ritual bath, was also found at the site. The handful of olive millstones used in olive oil extraction found suggest a reliance on the olive for economic purposes, like a number of other villages in ancient Galilee.</p><br>
<p>The town&#39;s ruins are spread over an area of 25 acre, subdivided into five separate quarters, with a synagogue in the centre. The large, impressive Synagogue which was built with black basalt stones and decorated with Jewish motifs is the most striking survival. Close by is a ritual bath, surrounded by public and residential buildings.</p><br>
<p>In 1926, archaeologists discovered the "Seat of Moses," carved from a basalt block. According to the New Testament, this is where the reader of the Torah sat (Matthew 23:1-3).</p><br>
<p>In May–June 2004, a small-scale salvage excavation was conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority along the route of an ancient road north of Moshav Amnun. In the literature, the road is referred to as “The Way through Korazim.” It crossed the Chorazin plateau from west to east, branching off from the main Cairo–Damascus road that ran northeast toward Bnot Yaakov Bridge.</p><br>
<h2>Synagogues</h2><br>
<p>The only synagogue visible today was built in the late 3rd century, destroyed in the 4th century, and rebuilt in the 6th century.</p><br>
<p>An unusual feature in an ancient synagogue is the presence of three-dimensional sculpture, a pair of stone lions. A similar pair of three-dimensional lions was found in the synagogue at Kfar Bar&#39;am. Other carvings, which are thought to have originally been brightly painted, feature images of wine-making, animals, a Medusa, an armed soldier, and an eagle.</p><br>
<p>Jacob Ory, who excavated the site in 1926 on behalf of the British Mandate Department of Antiquities, wrote about a second synagogue ca. 200 m west of the first one, and he described it in detail. Later excavations, however, have not been able to find the remains noted by him.</p><br>
<h2>Geomorphology</h2><br>
<p>The term Korazim block is used to define a geomorphological feature set between the Hula Basin and the Sea of Galilee. It is an elevated pressure-ridge within the Dead Sea Transform (DST) which acted as a barrier towards the waters of the Mediterranean when these flooded the lower-laying part of the DST, between what are now the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea basins, during the Pliocene transgression. The Korazim block as well as the higher elevation of the Hula Basin meant that the latter did not receive any marine water during that process.</p><br>
<p>Olallie Scenic Area is a United States Forest Service designated scenic area located in Oregon&#39;s Cascade Range. It is between Mount Hood on the north and Mount Jefferson to the south and contains Olallie Lake along with several smaller lakes. The name Olallie is Chinook Jargon for berry.</p><br>
<h2>Details</h2><br>
<p>The glaciated region is roughly 89% forested with Noble fir, western hemlock, cedar species, pacific silver fir, mountain hemlock and several other tree species. Crossed by the Pacific Crest Trail, Olallie is in the shadow of Mount Jefferson within the Mount Hood National Forest. The volcanic peaks of 10,497 ft Mount Jefferson and 7,215 ft Olallie Butte, both located on the border of the Warm Springs Indian Reservation, overlook the area from the south and north. There are some meadows and marshes&mdash;Olallie Meadow, at 100 acre, is the largest&mdash;and home to a former ranger station. Olallie Lake Guard Station is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is near the west end of Olallie Lake.</p><br>
<p>Recreation includes camping at Forest Service improved campgrounds, cabins and yurts at the Olallie Lake Resort. The use of motor boats is prohibited on the snow melt fed alpine lakes by state law; the Olallie Resort has paddle boats and rowboats for rent. Access is via Forest Road 46 to Forest Road 4690 to Forest Road 4220 or from Forest Road 42 to Forest Road 4220. These roads are closed in the winter. The last few miles of Forest Road 4220 are gravel. The Scenic Area has seven campgrounds; they are Olallie Meadows, Camp Ten, Paul Dennis, Peninsula, Lower Lake, Horseshoe Lake, and Triangle Lake Equestrian.</p><br>
<h2>Lakes</h2><br>
<p>Located in Jefferson and Marion counties at 4,500 ft above sea level the area is home to over 200 lakes in the Scenic Area that lies in the shadow of Olallie Butte. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife stocks the lake with both Rainbow trout and Brook trout. Mill Creek on the eastern shore is the only outflow, and once had a small dam to help keep water levels constant. Other lakes include Triangle, Lower, First, Head, Horse Shoe, Spoon, Surprise, Fish, Giffords, View, Top, Fork, Upper, Timber, Red, Averil, Wall, Sheep, and countless more.</p><br>
<p>Lomnický štít  is one of the highest and most visited mountain peaks in the High Tatras mountains of Slovakia. Connected by cable car to Tatranská Lomnica, its summit is 2634 metres above sea level, making it the second highest peak in the High Tatras after Gerlachovský štít .</p><br>
<p>The first ascent was made by local shoemaker and amateur miner Štefan Fábry around 1760-1790, but the first recorded ascent was made by the English traveler Robert Townson and guide on 16 August 1793. He measured almost precisely the elevation of the peak at 2633 m. The first winter ascent was made in 1891.</p><br>
<p>In the past, Lomnický štít was called Dedo ("Grandpa"). Before the 19th century, the peak was also thought to be the highest of all.</p><br>
<p>Since 1940, tourists have reached the peak by cable car, which was the most modern in Europe at the time of opening. They are allowed to stay on the peak for 50 minutes. The cable car system is normally closed in the month of May for annual maintenance. It is also possible to climb the peak from Lomnický Saddle, but this is only permitted with a mountain guide.</p><br>
<p>There is a solar observatory and weather station permanently manned year round at the terminus of the cable car.</p><br>
<p>Christ Church is a church located at 118 North Washington Street in Alexandria, Virginia. Constructed as the main church in the Church of England&#39;s Fairfax Parish, the building was designed by Col. James Wren, a descendant of Sir Christopher Wren. To finance construction of the church, the Fairfax Vestry raised 31,186 pounds of Oronoco tobacco from parishioners. Construction began in 1765, under the direction of James Parsons. After four years, the church was still unfinished. The vestry relieved Mr. Parsons of his duties as overseer of the construction. John Carlyle accepted the position and handed the keys of the completed building over to the vestry in February 1773.</p><br>
<p>Initially the pews were box pews and a two-tier pulpit was situated on the north side of the sanctuary. There was no font because until after the Civil War, weddings, baptisms, and the churching of women took place at home. In the mid-nineteenth century, stoves were put in the back of the church and the box pews were converted to the slips that are in use today. During a renovation later that century, the original pulpit was replaced by the current wine-glass pulpit. The only remaining hand-carved hymnal rack is in the Lee pew. The plaques on either side of the chancel were hand-lettered by Wren and have never been retouched. They display the Decalogue, the Lords Prayer, the Apostles Creed, and the Golden Rule. Wren used ink and then varnished his work just as an artist varnishes a finished painting. Over time the carbon in the ink and the alcohol in the varnish formed an acetate that created the wonderful burnished patina of the plaques. If you look closely, you can see Wren&#39;s brushstrokes and one drip.</p><br>
<p>George Washington, Henry Lee, Robert E. Lee, Charles Simms, Philip Marsteller, and Henry Fowler are a few of the church&#39;s notable parishioners (members). Until the twenty-first century, it was tradition for sitting presidents to attend a service. Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Eleanor Roosevelt visited the church on January 1, 1942 to commemorate World Day of Prayer for Peace. The church was known as Fairfax Church until given the name Christ Church in 1816. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1970.</p><br>
<h2>Description and history</h2><br>
<p>Christ Church is located in Alexandria&#39;s Old Town, at the southwest corner of North Washington and Cameron Streets. The brick two-story church measures about 60 ft by 50 ft. Comparable to Pohick Church in Truro Parish, which was gutted by Union troops, the church has stone quoins from nearby Aquia quarry. The roof is a simple hipped structure. The galleries, bell tower, and porch were added after the original construction, circa 1785 and 1815.</p><br>
<p>The Anglican congregation that commissioned the churchs construction was founded in 1765, when Fairfax Parish was established. The vestry commissioned the construction of two churches, this one, and another at Falls Church. The design of both buildings was by Colonel James Wren. The church is distinctive among Virginias colonial churches in that its interior was spared the ravages of the Civil War. Although, most of the tombstones and all the silver were missing when the Union troop holding the church returned it two years after the end of the war. The church also survived the disestablishment of the Church of England by the commonwealth.</p><br>
<p>Among the burials in the churchyard is the mass grave of thirty-four Confederate prisoners of war who died in local hospitals during the Civil War. A memorial stone in the churchyard commemorates their deaths. Also buried in the church are Charles Simms and Philip Marstellar, two of George Washington&#39;s pallbearers, Anne Warren, a world-famous English actress, Henry Fowler, and William Ramsay, who is known as the Romulus of Alexandria.</p><br>
<p>The Jacob T. Walden Stone House is on North Montgomery Street  near the intersection with Wait Street in Walden, New York. It was built in the 1730s, around the time the thousand-acre  Gatehouse Patent was first sold, and is one of the oldest houses remaining in the area today.</p><br>
<p>Note: This includes</p><br>
<p>In the 1820s, Jacob Treadwell Walden, a successful shipping merchant, came to the area from New York City and saw the potential of the Wallkill River for powering textile mills. With him, he brought Jesse Scofield and Dr. Seth Capron who had expertise in running woolen mills. They formed the Franklin Company to finance mills in Walden and dammed the Wallkill above the falls, creating a power station that remains in use today. He resided there with his family beginning in the 1820s until sometime after 1840. (See USA Federal Census for 1840) On the waning of the textile mills, he returned to New York City and died there in 1855.</p><br>
<p>The Jacob T. Walden House houses the Walden Historical Society, and is open to the public as a museum on a limited basis. In 2005, the exterior underwent extensive restoration.</p><br>
<p>Sail is a hill in the English Lake District, lying between Derwentwater and Crummock Water.</p><br>
<h2>Topography</h2><br>
<p>The North Western Fells occupy the area between the rivers Derwent and Cocker, a broadly oval swathe of hilly country, elongated on a north-south axis. Two roads cross from east to west, dividing the fells into three convenient groups. The central sector, rising between Whinlatter Pass and Newlands Pass, includes Sail. The highest ground in the North Western Fells is an east-west ridge in this central sector, beginning with Grasmoor above Crummock Water and then gradually descending eastwards over Crag Hill, Sail, Scar Crags and Causey Pike.</p><br>
<p>Sail is in every sense a satellite of Crag Fell, although having sufficient prominence to be listed as a Hewitt. From the summit of Crag Hill the eastward ridge narrows between opposing walls of crag. This rocky crest is The Scar, the depression being at around 2,425 ft. The roughness decreases as the rounded top of Sail is reached, and the ridge then turns east north east. A further depression at 2,015 ft leads to the summit of Scar Crags. This col is unnamed on maps of the Ordnance Survey, but Alfred Wainwright termed it Sail Pass in his influential Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells</p><br>
<p>Sail has a further connection to the south of the main ridge, a high level bridge to Ard Crags. Ard Crags and its neighbour, Knott Rigg, form a lower parallel ridge to the south of the main range.</p><br>
<p>The main drainage to the north of Sail runs to Coledale. This is a long uninhabited valley which exits into the floodplain of the Derwent at the village of Braithwaite. Near its head are two successive steps of crag, each bearing a waterfall. The southern flanks of the fell are drained by Sail Beck and its tributaries, flowing south west between the slopes of Wandope and Knott Rigg to Buttermere village. Sail thus stands on the main watershed of the North Western Fells, a virtue not shared by the higher Grasmoor.</p><br>
<p>Sail&#39;s slopes are steep and rough throughout, with the ridge to Crag Fell being bounded by rock, Scott Crag to the north and Scar Crag to the south. The other principal face is Long Crag which overlooks High Moss and Outerside.</p><br>
<h2>Geology</h2><br>
<p>The summit areas of Sail are composed of the Ordovician Kirkstile Formation. This is the typical rock of the Skiddaw fells and is composed of laminated mudstone and siltstone. Beneath this are the Greywacke sandstone turbidites of the Loweswater Formation. The Causey Pike Fault runs across the southern flanks of the fell, beyond which are the rocks of the Buttermere Formation. This is an olistostrome of disrupted sheared and folded mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.</p><br>
<p>On the northern side of Sail Pass are the remains of a cobalt mine. The vein runs north-south and, although showing some cobalt, was found to contain a great deal more arsenic. The mine was opened in 1848, after great sums had been spent on a roadway and dressing plant. The total yield of cobalt was only a few ounces and the venture was swiftly abandoned. Several levels can be seen at the surface.</p><br>
<p>Force Crag mine in Coledale was a much more successful enterprise, but is properly within the territory of Hopegill Head.</p><br>
<h2>Summit</h2><br>
<h2>Ascents</h2><br>
<p>Perhaps most walkers will arrive at Sail as part of a ridge-top traverse, starting either with Grasmoor or Causey Pike. Direct routes from the north east begin at either Braithwaite or Stair. From the former the track to High Coledale Farm is the initial objective, before crossing the Outerside ridge in the vicinity of Stile End. The path then rises to Sail Pass from the north. Starting from Stair, the Stoneycroft Mine Road also gives access to Sail Pass, via the cobalt mine. From Buttermere village a long walk up Sail Beck and behind Ard Crags can be used to gain Sail Pass from the other side.</p><br>
<p>Sale Fell is a small hill near Cockermouth in the English Lake District. It is one of the smallest Wainwrights, but is nevertheless popular with locals, as it offers gentle walking and lovely views across Bassenthwaite Lake to Skiddaw.</p><br>
<h2>Topography</h2><br>
<p>The North Western Fells occupy the area between the rivers Derwent and Cocker, a broadly oval swathe of hilly country, elongated on a north-south axis. Two roads cross from east to west, dividing the fells into three convenient groups. The most northerly sector, rising between Whinlatter Pass and the Vale of Embleton, includes Sale Fell.</p><br>
<p>Sale Fell and its twin companion to the west, Ling Fell, are the final hills with any lakeland character in the north west of the district. Further north across the Vale of Embleton is a final group of very low tops on either side of the Derwent Valley but these are ignored by most guidebooks and hill lists.</p><br>
<p>(apart from the all-inclusive Marilyns.)</p><br>
<p>The natural boundaries of the fell are Bassenthwaite Lake to the east, Wythop Valley to the south and west, and the Vale of Embleton to the north. Sale Fell is a satellite of Lords Seat, the highest of the hills north of Whinlatter. The connecting high ground runs south eastward above the shore of Bassenthwaite before turning inland to the summit of the parent fell. The connection is extremely tenuous, passing along a very narrow strip of land between Wythop Beck and Beck Wythop. These two streams run side by side down the slopes of Lords Seat before diverging to surround Sale Fell on all sides. Wythop Beck is the main stream of the Wythop Valley, running west around Sale Fell and then out down the narrow wooded defile which stands between it and Ling Fell. Joining the Dubwath Beck it then flows eastward along the Vale of Embleton and into the northern end of Bassenthwaite. Beck Wythop by contrast cuts through the ridge of high ground running alongside Bassenthwaite, and drops directly into the lake.</p><br>
<p>Sale Fell itself is an east-west ridge about a mile long, clad primarily in fell grass and bracken The eastern end is heavily forested as part of Wythop Wood. These are mostly conifers, although the mix of trees is gradually changing. There are Forestry Commission offices hidden in the trees at the base of the fell. The summit of the fell is toward the west of the ridge and there are two other tops to the east. Rivings (1,099 ft) and Lothwaite (1,132 ft) are included in some guidebooks</p><br>
<h2>Geology</h2><br>
<p>The fell is predominantly composed of Ordovician rocks of the Loweswater Formation. This consists of greywacke sandstone turbidities. The southern flanks are of the laminated mudstone and siltstone of the Kirk Stile Formation.</p><br>
<h2>Summit</h2><br>
<p>A small cairn sits on an expanse of grass. The view of the Skiddaw group is excellent and the Helvellyn range is also laid out end to end. Most of the District is unfortunately obscured by the Lord&#39;s Seat ridge. Bassenthwaite Lake completes the eastern foreground, the hills of Galloway are visible across the Solway Firth, whilst the Isle of Man can be seen to the west.</p><br>
<h2>Ascents</h2><br>
<p>From the Pheasant Inn at the northern end of the lake, a side road runs west towards Routenbeck and Wythop Mill. A footpath branches off left before St Margaret&#39;s Church and makes up the fellside, joining a terrace path higher up. There is now a choice, either making for the western end of the summit ridge or joining it to the east near the forest fence.</p><br>
<p>From the village of Wythop Mill, the road between Ling Fell and Sale Fell provides a starting point, branching off up the fellside at the gate of Kelswick Farm.</p><br>
<p>There is no ridge connection to Ling Fell although the two can be easily climbed from Wythop Mill.</p><br>
<p>Mount Barker is a mountain in the Mount Lofty Ranges in South Australia and namesake of the nearby town of Mount Barker.</p><br>
<p>The mountain is the home to a transmission tower that services SAGRN and mobile phone transmissions throughout the area. Microwave radio equipment is also installed on the tower, providing various forms of communication such as broadband internet connections and voice services to Mount Barker residents and businesses.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Mount Barker was first sighted by Captain Charles Sturt in 1830, although he thought he was looking at the previously discovered Mount Lofty. Captain Collet Barker fixed this error when he surveyed the area in 1831. Sturt named the mountain in honor of Captain Barker after he was killed days later by Aborigines.</p><br>
<p>The first Europeans to ascend the mountain, on 27 November 1837, were a six-man party comprising John Barton Hack, John Morphett, Samuel Stephens, Charles Stuart (South Australian Companys stock overseer), Thomas Davis (Hacks stockman), and John Wade (a "gentleman from Hobart Town").</p><br>
<p>A counterclaim that the first Europeans to scale the summit were Robert Cock, William Finlayson, A(dolphus) Valentine Wyatt and George Barton late in December 1837 is not credible. That is because Morphett had a letter published on 28 December 1837 in a Sydney newspaper reporting that the summit had been scaled one month earlier.</p><br>
<h2>Culture</h2><br>
<p>There are numerous activities such as walking trails on the mountain.</p><br>
<p>Robin Hood&#39;s Hut is a small pavilion in the grounds of Halswell House, Goathurst, Somerset, England.</p><br>
<p>It was built between 1740 and 1760 by Sir Charles Kemeys-Tynte. It had three rooms: an earth-floored hermit&#39;s room, a kitchen and a "china room" used for dining. It is fronted by an umbrello which is open air.</p><br>
<p>When the Somerset Buildings Preservation Trust started restoration work in 1997, with grants from English Heritage and the Heritage Lottery, the structure had neither roof nor windows, had lost much of its plasterwork and its umbrello was almost gone.</p><br>
<p>Robin Hood&#39;s Hut was commended in the Building Conservation category of Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors awards 2005, and is a Grade II* listed building.</p><br>
<p>The building was acquired by the Landmark Trust in 2002 and is available as a holiday let.</p><br>
<p>Glossa  is a village and a community in the northwestern part of the island of Skopelos in the Northern Sporades. The population in 2011 was 993 for the village and 1,168 for the community, which includes the villages Atheato  and Loutraki . The town&#39;s elevation is about 200 meters. Glossa is located 11 km northwest of Skopelos .</p><br>
<p>In 1960, Glossa opened a public primary school, a telephone centre and had 1,842 inhabitants. Before the reorganization of the island government in 1997, Glossa and Klima constituted a separate municipality from Skopelos. Currently Glossa has nursery, primary, secondary and high school. There are also several churches. In the neighborhood of Glossa is the chapel of Agios Ioannis, featured in the 2008 film Mamma Mia!.</p><br>
<p>Veliko Selo  is a suburban settlement of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It is located in the Belgrade&#39;s municipality of Palilula.</p><br>
<h2>Location</h2><br>
<p>Veliko Selo is located in the southern, Šumadija section of the municipality, 12 kilometers east of downtown Belgrade. As the easternmost settlement in the municipality of Palilula it is the ending point of the Slanački put (Slanci road) which connects it with Belgrade. The settlement is built on the southern slopes of the hill of Milićevo brdo (279 m), in the micro-valley of the short creek of Vrelski potok. In Serbian, its name means big village.</p><br>
<h2>Population</h2><br>
<p>Veliko Selo is depopulating: 1,767 inhabitants by the 1991 Census and 1,676 by the 2002 Census. Ethnic structure (2002 Census): Serbs 96,66%, Romani 0,77%.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>At the end of the 18th century, forces consisting of 16,000 Serbs commanded by from Veliko Selo were the nucleus of Serb forces that defended Belgrade against Janissary forces at the end of November 1797.</p><br>
<h2>Economy</h2><br>
<p>The settlement is officially classified as a rural (village) as the economy is entirely agricultural. East and north of the settlement extensive fields and hoop houses produce fruits and especially vegetables for the population of Belgrade: lettuce, onions, cabbage and zucchini. Agricultural lands are very often flooded by the Danube (about 2 kilometers away from Veliko Selo) as there is no defense from the floods on this section of the river&#39;s right bank. This area is called Velikoselski Rit (the Veliko Selo marsh) and by the general urbanistic plan for the development of Belgrade by the year 2021, it is projected as the future new city port, but so far nothing has been done in this direction.</p><br>
<p>Široka Bara  is a bog and also a suburban settlement of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. Both are located in Belgrade&#39;s municipality of Palilula.</p><br>
<h2>Bog</h2><br>
<p>Široka Bara is an elongated bog, located in the western section of the floodplain of the Pančevački Rit, one of the remaining undried patches within it. It stretches for some 10 kilometers along the left bank of the Danube (approximately from 1183 to 1192 kilometer of the Danube, curving away from the river in the south), while its width varies from 1 to 3 kilometers. It is marshy flooded area, made of smaller ponds and many canals and its name, široka bara, comes from Serbian for wide bog. It is located on the altitude of 78 meters, and apart from the Danube as its western border, it is connected to the canals of Vrbovski (east and north) and Veliki (south-east). Villages of Stari Banovci and Novi Banovci, in Syrmia in the province of Vojvodina are located right across the Danube, while Belgrades suburban settlements of Vrbovski, Padinska Skela and Kovilovo are located north, east and south-east, respectively. A small settlement of the same name is located on bogs northern tip. It is part of the Beljarica wetland.</p><br>
<h2>Settlement</h2><br>
<p>Settlement of Široka Bara is actually a sub-settlement of Vrbovski (and, as such, of Padinska Skela) located in the northern, Banat section of the municipality of Palilula (Pančevački Rit), 22 kilometers north of downtown Belgrade. The settlement is located 5 kilometers west of Padinska Skela and the Zrenjaninski put road which connects Belgrade with the town of Zrenjanin, in Vojvodina.</p><br>
<p>First settlement developed around salaš, an outer farm field, after World War I. After World War II, it became a location of one of the many outer farms of the PKB Company, Belgrade&#39; major agricultural company. As farms were becoming more modern and communal infrastructure of the settlement was neglected for decades, population moved out leaving only a dozen of inhabited houses in the early 2000s.</p><br>
<p>The Tripoli Shrine Temple is a Shriners temple located in the Concordia neighborhood of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The building is based on the Taj Mahal in India and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Tripoli Temple. It is not a religious building.</p><br>
<h2>Description</h2><br>
<p>The Tripoli Shrine was founded in 1885 by nobles from the Medinah Temple in Chicago, a fraternal order that traces its lineage to a Masonic lodge established in 1843 by early settlers of Milwaukee. This lodge later founded a dozen other lodges.</p><br>
<p>Tripoli Temple was designed by architects Clas and Shepard in Moorish Revival style. Built at a cost of $616,999.61, it formally opened on May 14, 1928 after over two years of construction. It was the first temple in Wisconsin, and was home to 13,000 Shriners in the area. The building is one of the best of examples of Moorish Revival architecture in the United States, a style that was particularly popular for synagogues and movie theaters. The Temple&#39;s design is loosely based on the Taj Mahal, with the addition of Mudéjar style polychrome stone coursing. An ornately tiled main dome that spans 30 feet in diameter crowns the structure and is flanked by two smaller domes of like design. Sculptures depicting a pair of kneeling camels grace the entrance, while the interior is decorated with ceramic tile of intricate floral designs and plaster lattice work.</p><br>
<p>Paradise Inn is a historic hotel built in 1916 at 5,400 ft on the south slope of Mount Rainier in Mount Rainier National Park in Washington, United States. The inn is named after Paradise, the area of the mountain in which it is located. The Henry M. Jackson Visitor Center and the 1920 Paradise Guide House are also at this location. The inn and guide house are where many climbers start their ascent of the mountain. The inn is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and is a major component of the Paradise Historic District. Additionally, it is part of the Mount Rainier National Historic Landmark District, which encompasses the entire park and which recognizes the park&#39;s inventory of National Park Service rustic architecture.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The inn was designed by Frederick Heath of Heath, Gove & Bell in 1915. It was initially planned to be built at Longmire. The National Park Service moved the planned location to Paradise when the original financier, John Reese, backed away from the project. The inn was built by the Rainier National Park Company, founded by Steven T. Mather, assistant to the Secretary of the Interior.</p><br>
<p>Native building materials were used including cedar shingles, native rock and weathered timbers salvaged from a fire in 1885. After 30 years of aging the timbers had developed a silver sheen. The original plan called for a red roof but the Park Service vetoed this in favor of a green roof which blended in with the natural environment. This is in keeping with the National Park Service Rustic style of architecture. The inn opened on July 1, 1917 and cost between US$90,000 and US$100,000.</p><br>
<p>The lodge is built with exposed cedar logs that provide its structural framework. It includes French doors in 14 bays to "allow summer breezes to enter" and dormer windows for natural lighting to enter on the second story, "augmented by hanging lamps".</p><br>
<p>In 1920 a four story Paradise Annex was added. It was designed by RNPC architect Harlan Thomas and contained 100 rooms (85 with private baths).</p><br>
<p>In 1931 a golf course was designed by Roy H. Dobell and built at the lodge and in 1936 a ski rope tow was installed.</p><br>
<p>In 1942 to 1943 the US Army used the inn to house troops training for winter mountain conditions.</p><br>
<p>The extreme elements took their toll on the inn. In 1952 the Rainier National Park Company sold the inn to the National Park Service who contracted with concessionaires to operate the inn. The Park Service considered demolishing the inn but relented after a public outcry. US$1.75 million was spent in 1979 to strengthen and restore the building.</p><br>
<p>The building was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1987.</p><br>
<h2>Architecture</h2><br>
<p>The original building is two stories tall. Two rooms, the great hall and the dining room take up most of the ground floor. A three story section on the building&#39;s east side makes the building a T-shape and contains additional guest rooms.</p><br>
<p>The great hall is 50 by 112 feet (15 m by 34 m) and has a wrap-around mezzanine level. There are 4-by-6 foot (1.2 m by 1.8 m) stone fireplaces at both ends of the room. The mezzanine level was added in 1925.</p><br>
<p>The dining room is 51 by 105 feet (15.5 m by 32 m) and has a 50 feet (15 m) high stone fireplace. The original guest rooms are above the dining room and are only 8 by 8 feet (2.4 m by 2.4 m). Each one fits between a set of rafters which support the roof.</p><br>
<p>Hans Fraehnke, a German born carpenter created furniture from local materials for the inn including two 1,500 pound (680 kg) tables, a 14 feet (4 m) tall grandfather clock and a rustic piano which President Harry S. Truman played on during a visit to the inn in 1945. More tables and chairs are from the Old Hickory Company of Indiana.</p><br>
<h2>Two Year Closure</h2><br>
<p>The inn was closed in 2006 for two years to perform renovations and structural work to allow the inn to withstand a large earthquake. This was done as part of a $30 million USD project which also included the groundbreaking for a new visitor center at Paradise. The inn was scheduled to reopened in May 2008.</p><br>
<p>Sourland Mountain is a 17 mi long ridge in central New Jersey, extending from the Delaware River at Lambertville to the western end of Hillsborough Township near the community of Neshanic, through Montgomery Township and into Hopewell Township in Mercer County. It comprises the largest contiguous forest in Central Jersey, nearly 90 square miles in area. The highest point is only 568 ft above sea level, but the way it rises steeply from the surrounding farmland has earned it the title of mountain. The ridge itself sits within a larger area of rough terrain called The Sourlands.</p><br>
<h2>Toponymy</h2><br>
<p>The origin of the name Sourland is unclear and a few theories exist. It could be derived from the term “sorrel-land” which describes the sorrel (reddish-brown) colored soils encountered by the pioneering German farmers, or German immigrants from the Sauerland region simply anglicized the name of their home region. Another possible source for the name is from 17th century Dutch settlers who referred to the region as "sauer landt" because the region was clearly not suitable for farming. To this day, the area remains relatively undeveloped - besides being unsuitable for farming, the hard igneous rock, nonporous clay soils, steep slopes and perched wetlands create groundwater conditions which make the area difficult for drilling wells and installing septic systems.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Before the arrival of Europeans, Sourland Mountain was inhabited by Unami speaking Lenape, in particular the Musconetcongs. However, settlements and farms along the mountain seem to have been restricted to river valleys due to the poor, rocky soils upslope. There is evidence indicating the Delaware River likely supported at least one such Lenape settlement at the southern foot of the mountain around present-day Lambertville, New Jersey.</p><br>
<p>In the 18th and 19th century, the mountain’s many streams were heavily exploited as an energy source for various mills. At the same time, Sourland Mountain became a valuable source of lumber. However, by the time of the Civil War, most of forests that had previously covered the mountain had been depleted. In place of these forests, farms sprang up along the more easily managed parts of the mountain, and rural villages were formed. Rock quarries and a local pottery industry were also started around this time.</p><br>
<p>By the end of the 19th century, Sourland Mountain supported a thriving peach farming industry. But a blight just before the start of the new century, as wells as a statewide shift to an industrial economy, eventually crippled agriculture on the mountain. Rural villages soon disappeared, and new forests began to grow over abandoned farmland. The only pre-20th century industry that was able to survive into the modern era was rock quarrying –the mountain’s trap rock was crushed and used to build railroad beds and roads throughout the region.</p><br>
<p>For the first half of the 20th century, Sourland Mountain remained a remote part of New Jersey, with few connections to nearby metropolitan areas. This changed in the 1940s when new road construction made the mountain more accessible, allowing suburbia to begin invading its valleys and slopes. Today the mountain acts as a watershed for surrounding communities, while at the same time providing recreational opportunities to Central New Jersey.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>As a range, Sourland Mountain includes the main ridge and smaller secondary ridges. Near the northern part of the range, Pheasant Hill forms a parallel rise on the east flank of the main ridge. South of Pheasant Hill, a somewhat detached ridge forms Pennington Mountain. This same ridge, which continues to run parallel to the main ridge, is broken in three more places south of Pennington Mountain, forming (from north to south) Mount Canoe, Baldpate Mountain, and Strawberry Hill. A knob in the shallow valley between Strawberry Hill and the southernmost stretch of the main ridge forms Belle Mountain. Goat Hill comprises the highest point of the main ridge before reaching the southernmost end of Sourland Mountain at the Delaware River.</p><br>
<p>Partly adjacent to Sourland Mountain is a sizeable traprock ridge which extends eastward from Pennington Mountain for approximately nine miles, forming (from west to east) Mount Rose, Rocky Hill, and Ten Mile Run Mountain.</p><br>
<h2>Geology</h2><br>
<p>Sourland Mountain was formed 200 million years ago by a plutonic intrusion of a hard igneous rock, diabase, into the Brunswick Shale. The intrusion occurred as tectonic forces created the Newark Basin, a prehistoric rift valley active near the rift which ultimately spread North America and Africa apart. The parallel ridges of the mountain were probably formed by magma seeping up through linear faults created during the rifting process</p><br>
<p>During the early Jurassic the rift which formed the Newark Basin failed, and the intrusion which would eventually become Sourland Mountain ceased growing. Initially, the vast majority of volcanic material remained within the crust. However, the diabase and related hornfels which form the backbone of the mountain are a type of highly erosion resistant stone known as trap rock. Consequently, millions of years of erosion lowered the more easily worked shale surrounding the intrusion, turning it into the elevated ridges which currently comprise Sourland Mountain.</p><br>
<p>The Palisades Sill, in northeastern New Jersey and southeastern New York, was not only formed under similar circumstances to Sourland Mountain, it is at least partly contiguous with it. The ridge forming Mount Rose, Rocky Hill, and Ten Mile Run Mountain, is a continuation of the Palisades which connects to Pennington Mountain. South of Pennington Mountain the Palisades sill and Sourland Mountain&#39;s eastern ridge are essentially the same feature.</p><br>
<p>Like the Palisades, Sourland Mountain exhibits volcanic dikes which extend away from the main ridge. One such dike extending northwest from Sourland Mountain has been determined to be responsible for the creation of Prospect Hill, an extrusive basalt peak near Flemington, New Jersey. Prospect Hill marks the only known location where Sourland Mountain’s magma actually erupted to the surface. In this respect, it is similar to Snake Hill, which it most likely a volcanic plug linked to the Palisades.</p><br>
<p>One of the key differences between Sourland Mountain and the other volcanic mountains of the Newark Basin, including the Watchungs and the Palisades, is that it has not been touched by glaciers. This has left the mountain with a mantle of Triassic argillite, which covers much of the underlying trap rock and comprises the bulk of Pheasant Hill. The impermeability of argillite is primarily to blame for Sourland Mountain’s extremely poor aquifer.</p><br>
<h2>Wildlife</h2><br>
<p>Sourland Mountain is in the Northeastern coastal forests ecoregion It is an environmentally sensitive area and is home to several rare and threatened plants and animals, including: trout lilies, wood anemones, ginseng, spotted salamander, pileated woodpecker, bobcat, wood turtle, barred owl, bobolink, Cooper&#39;s hawk, grasshopper sparrow, Savannah sparrow, upland sandpiper, and the scarlet tanager.</p><br>
<p>The Sourlands serve as a stopover area for migratory birds that travel between South and Central America and the Arctic as well as forest birds migrating between Washington, D.C., and Boston. The area also supports a large population of deep-woods birds such as scarlet tanagers and barred owls.</p><br>
<p>Being the largest contiguous forest between the Pine Barrens and the New Jersey Highlands, it is critical to the survival of neotropical migrant birds and other rare species of plants and animals. D&R Greenway Land Trust&#39;s partner in Mexico, Amigos de Calakmul, protects bird habitat at the southern end of the migratory flyway.</p><br>
<h2>Recreation</h2><br>
<p>Small parks and access points make the mountain popular for hiking, mountain biking, hunting, and bird watching. Rock climbing is permitted in certain parks such as Sourland Mountain Preserve in Somerset County, but not in others such as Sourland Mountain Nature Preserve in Hunterdon County. The largest park is the Sourland Mountain Preserve in Somerset County.</p><br>
<p>Nearby is the Sourland Mountain Nature Preserve, located in Hunterdon County.</p><br>
<h2>Notable inhabitants</h2><br>
<p>Notable residents of the Mountain include: playwrights Eugene O&#39;Neill, aviator Charles Lindbergh, patriot John Hart (signer of the Declaration of Independence), the painter George Bellows, and freed slave and tavern owner Sylvia Dubois.</p><br>
<p>In March 1932, the mountain was the scene of the notorious kidnapping and murder of the Lindbergh baby. The Lindberghs had chosen the mountain for their new home precisely because of its isolation and inaccessibility.</p><br>
<p>Watertown Stadium is a stadium in Watertown, South Dakota. It was primarily used for baseball and American football and was the home of minor-league professional baseball including, most recently , the Watertown Expos of the Northern League. The ballpark has a capacity of 5,000 people and opened in 1940.</p><br>
<p>It is currently used by Watertown High School, to host baseball and football games.</p><br>
<p>The stadium was built around the 1930s as Works Progress Administration Project 4265, and still holds the original plaque dedicating the structure. It is the home of the Watertown Arrows.</p><br>
<p>In 2005, an additional building was built to the East of the field. This building houses restrooms, a concession stand, and both Varsity and Sophomore locker rooms.</p><br>
<p>Gabal Elba  or Elba Mountain is a peak and, in general, includes the associated mountainous area in the Hala&#39;ib Triangle area. Despite being claimed by both Egypt and Sudan, the area is currently under Egyptian control.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>The higher peaks in the area are Gabal Elba itself (1,435 m), Gabal Shellal (1,409 m), Gabal Shendib (1,911 m) and Gabal Shendodai (1,526 m).</p><br>
<p>Average annual rainfall in the region is less than 50 mm, but orographic precipitation in and around Gabal Elba itself amounts to as much as 400 mm. in the upper areas. This phenomenon owes to the vicinity of the Red Sea coast (some 15–30 km east of the mountains) and also to the fact that the coast, slightly curved to the east at this point, presents an unusually broad front to the sea across a 20–25 km strip of relatively flat land</p><br>
<p>which facilitates interception of moisture-laden north-east sea winds.</p><br>
<p>This phenomenon is registered at its best in the northeast of the region, where Gabal Elba is located, which explains the fact that Gabal Elba receives higher precipitation than other coastal mountains in the range, including higher ones. Aridity gradually increases to the southwest of the area.</p><br>
<h2>Ecology</h2><br>
<p>Gabal Elba&#39;s summit is a “mist oasis” where much of the precipitation is contributed in the form of dew, mist and clouds, creating a unique ecosystem not found anywhere else in the country. Indeed, Gabal Elba is a "biodiversity</p><br>
<p>hotspot",</p><br>
<p>with a biological diversity unparalleled in any terrestrial environment in Egypt proper. The relative abundance of moisture supports a diverse flora of some 458 plant species</p><br>
<p>– almost 25% of plant species recorded for the entire country.</p><br>
<p>Many Afrotropical elements have their northern limits at Gabal Elba, and the dense cover of acacias and other scrubs represents the only natural woodland in Egypt. There is at least one endemic species of plant (Biscutella elbensis).</p><br>
<h3>Gabal Elba National Park</h3><br>
<p>The Gabal Elba National Park, declared by Egypt in 1986, covers some 3,560,000 hectares,</p><br>
<p>The Ravenswood is a historic apartment building in Art Deco style at 570 North Rossmore Avenue in the Hancock Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It was designed by Max Maltzman, and built by Paramount Pictures in 1930 just five blocks from the corner of Paramount&#39;s studios on Melrose Avenue.</p><br>
<p>Mae West lived in the penthouse from its 1930 opening until her 1980 death. West, who invested in property throughout the Los Angeles area, bought the building when the management barred her then-boyfriend, African American boxer William "Gorilla" Jones, from entering the premises. James Timony, Wests long time manager, close friend, and one-time boyfriend (pre-1930s), lived in the building until his death in 1954. Other residents have included Ava Gardner and Clark Gable, at different times.</p><br>
<p>The Ravenswood was designated a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument in 2003.</p><br>
<p>Isola dei Pescatori  is an island in Lake Maggiore in northern Italy. As the most northerly of the three principal Borromean Islands it is also known as Isola Superiore and, with a population of 57, it is the only one to be inhabited all year round. Unlike Isola Bella and Isola Madre, the island no longer belongs to the Borromeo.</p><br>
<h2>Description</h2><br>
<p>The island is about 375 metres long by 100 metres wide. A narrow street running along its spine is joined by cobbled alleys to the promenade that encircles the island. The promenade is frequently flooded and the houses built against it are constructed to allow for this.</p><br>
<p>In 1971, the population of the island was 208. While the traditional occupation of fishing still exists—local restaurants providing a ready market for the fish—tourism has become central to the economic life of the island as its picturesque charms have made Isola dei Pescatori a popular destination, particularly for day-trippers, but also for more extended visits. In addition to the hotels, restaurants and gift-shops, there are boutiques selling craft products.</p><br>
<p>The church of San Vittore (Victor the Moor) retains traces of an ancient chapel that was probably constructed for the monks of Scozzòla (an abbey of San Donato di Sesto Calende founded by Liutardo, bishop of Pavia, in the mid ninth century). The church was previously dedicated to S. Gangolfo (Gangulphus), whose veneration is linked with the Abbey of San Donato.</p><br>
<p>Lake Velence is the third largest lake in Hungary. It is a popular holiday destination among Hungarians.</p><br>
<p>The lake has an area of 26 km, one third of which is covered by the common reed. Because of the sunny climate of the area and the shallowness of the lake, it is one of the warmest lakes in Europe: its temperature in the summer may reach 26 to 28 °C.</p><br>
<h2>Location</h2><br>
<p>Lake Velence is located in Fejér county, close to the M7 motorway between Budapest and Székesfehérvár, at the foot of the Velence Mountains.</p><br>
<h2>Flora and fauna</h2><br>
<p>The lake is a bird reserve.</p><br>
<h2>Settlements along the shore</h2><br>
<p>Velence</p><br>
<p>Velence-újtelep</p><br>
<p>Velencefürdő</p><br>
<p>Gárdony</p><br>
<p>Agárd</p><br>
<p>Dinnyés</p><br>
<p>Pákozd</p><br>
<p>Sukoró</p><br>
<h3>Lake Velence area settlements</h3><br>
<p>Gárdony</p><br>
<p>Agárd</p><br>
<p>Dinnyés</p><br>
<p>Kápolnásnyék</p><br>
<p>Nadap</p><br>
<p>Pákozd</p><br>
<p>Pázmánd</p><br>
<p>Sukoró</p><br>
<p>Velence</p><br>
<p>Velence-újtelep</p><br>
<p>Velencefürdő</p><br>
<p>Vereb</p><br>
<p>Zichyújfalu</p><br>
<p>Little Lake Butte des Morts is a lake in the US state of Wisconsin, eight miles north of Lake Butte Des Morts. It is part of the Fox–Wisconsin Waterway and receives its inflow from a short segment of the Fox River which drains from the north end of Lake Winnebago around Doty Island. The north end of Little Lake Butte des Morts becomes the section of the Fox River running to Green Bay. The lake is part of the Butte des Morts region in Winnebago County, Wisconsin. The southern half of the lake is located within the cities of Menasha and Neenah.</p><br>
<p>The name "Butte des Morts" was given by French settlers, and means "Mound of the Dead" in reference to a nearby Indian burial mound. French archives state that in 1716, over 8000 civilians and over 500 soldiers lived within the fortified walls of Little Lake Butte des Morts. In 1716, during the Fox Wars, French expeditionary forces laid siege to the fort, in the battle of the Siege of Little Butte des Mortes, and massacred most of the inhabitants. Similar events occurred in another siege in 1730.</p><br>
<p>The Vulture Peak  or Gádhrakúta, was the Buddha’s favorite retreat in Rajagaha and the scene for many of his discourses. It is located in Rajgir, Bihar, India.</p><br>
<h2>In Buddhist Literature</h2><br>
<p>Vulture Peak Mountain is, by tradition, one of several sites frequented by the Buddha and his community of disciples for both training and retreat. Its location is frequently mentioned in Buddhist texts in the Pāli Canon of Theravada Buddhism and in the Mahayana sutras as the place where the Buddha gave particular sermons. Among the latter are the Heart Sutra, the Lotus Sutra and the Śūraṅgama Samādhi Sūtra as well as many prajnaparamita sutras. It is explicitly mentioned in the Lotus Sutra, chapter 16, as the Buddha&#39;s pure land:</p><br>
<p>And when the living have become faithful,</p><br>
<p>Honest and upright and gentle,</p><br>
<p>And wholeheartedly want to see the Buddha,</p><br>
<p>Even at the cost of their own lives,</p><br>
<p>Then, together with the assembly of monks</p><br>
<p>I appear on Holy Eagle Peak.</p><br>
<p>Such are my divine powers.</p><br>
<p>Throughout countless eons,</p><br>
<p>I have always lived on Holy Eagle Peak</p><br>
<p>And in various other places.</p><br>
<p>When the living witness the end of an eon,</p><br>
<p>When everything is consumed in a great fire,</p><br>
<p>This land of mine remains safe and tranquil,</p><br>
<p>Always filled with human and heavenly beings.</p><br>
<p>The Dutch Reformed Church is one of the most prominent architectural landmarks in Newburgh, New York. It was designed by Alexander Jackson Davis in 1835 in the Greek Revival style common in America in that time period. It is his only surviving church in that style and is considered to be his latest building still standing that largely reflects his original vision. It is located at 132 Grand Street, just north of the Newburgh Free Library.</p><br>
<p>Its historical importance comes from not just over a century of use as church, but its centrality in the struggle by modern preservationists to save and restore the city&#39;s many landmark buildings. Today it is a National Historic Landmark. It was almost razed in the late 1960s, and even today is far from completely restored. Property was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970.</p><br>
<h2>Description and site</h2><br>
<p>The church is 50 feet (15 m) wide and high, and 100 feet (30.5 m) long. The four front Ionic order columns are 37 feet (12 m) high (the capitals have been removed for safety considerations at the moment). It sits on a bluff 250 feet (76 m) above the Hudson River, a few blocks away. In the 1830s there were no other buildings in the vicinity to impede the view, so Davis saw it as symbolizing the city to the considerable river traffic of the time.</p><br>
<p>The southward orientation of the columns and facade, the direction in which most shipping approached the city, was meant to echo the similar marine outreach of the Parthenon or the Temple of Poseidon at Sounion in Greece.</p><br>
<p>The original design included a small dome atop the roof, which Davis explained thus:</p><br>
<p>It was removed a few years after the building was completed for structural reasons. Other additions were built on to the property by the church as its growth warranted.</p><br>
<p>While the church had the neighborhood of Grand Avenue and Third Street to itself at the time of its construction, today it has become rather crowded. It is now a contributing property of the Montgomery-Grand-Liberty Streets Historic District, which includes other notable historic buildings such as the former Orange County Courthouse, another Greek Revival building (designed by locally prominent architect Thornton Niven) across the street, the library, several other large old churches (some still in use).</p><br>
<p>Several blocks to the south, along Liberty Street, is another site of major historical interest — the Hasbrouck House, today preserved as Washingtons Headquarters State Historic Site owing to its use for that purpose during the last years of the Revolutionary War. To the north the area becomes more residential but still includes some of the citys older and larger homes, although some have been allowed to deteriorate in the last several decades.</p><br>
<p>The current siting both enhances and complicate its aesthetic position. On the former hand, most of the buildings around it are of similar historic value. On the latter, the brutalist library that sits cater corner from it is not only a serious contrast in styles, it blocks most of the view the river and the church once had of each other. The church, library and dilapidated former Metropolitan Club of Newburgh form a small plaza; however part of it is taken up by a small parking lot built by the Newburgh Enlarged City School District, which runs the library and is headquartered in it, for its own central office employees.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The building&#39;s history can be divided into two eras: its actual use as a church from 1835 to 1967, and the attempts to preserve and refurbish it since then.</p><br>
<h3>Church era</h3><br>
<p>In 1834 the Rev. William Cruickshank was sent upriver from New York City by Dutch Reformed Church elders to start a new church. He commissioned Davis for the design and the cornerstone was laid the following year.</p><br>
<p>It was completed and dedicated two years later. But by 1839, the church had to mortgage the building to pay construction costs, and the dome and its lantern were removed in 1843.</p><br>
<p>The mortgage payments did not prevent the church from expanding the property, with a small parsonage being erected on the southeast corner in 1852, where the library now stands. Seven years later, the mortgage was paid off. The church put the money it could now spend more freely to work on the structure, adding a pastor&#39;s study and recessed pulpit and repainting the interior (not completely enough; some of the original stenciled Greek motifs are still visible today).</p><br>
<p>After the Civil War, the congregation had reached 290 members. It was able to add 20 feet (6 m) onto the north side of the building, complete with transepts designed by George Harney, and purchase an organ. By 1882, it had grown to 400 members and paid off all its outstanding debt. The church would get a new roof two years later, followed a decade after that by a replacement organ and pulpit.</p><br>
<p>The first years of the 20th century saw it get some electric lights, and another new roof. In 1909 an iron fence was built with money paid to the church by the city for the use of its lawn during the previous year&#39;s Fulton-Hudson celebration. The following year cement replaced wood as the flooring material for the portico, and in 1920 all lighting in the building became electric when the chandeliers switched from gas.</p><br>
<p>For the first time in its history, the church would finally take a stable form. No major work beyond routine repair was done until after World War II, when various storms damaged the roof. However, in 1950 a hurricane blew the roof completely off. While the church was able to repair it and in fact make further improvements such as adding telephone service and a public address system, the years had taken their toll and in 1964 the congregation had acquired land in the Town of Newburgh on which to build a new edifice. Three years later, they deconsecrated Davis&#39;s building and moved out.</p><br>
<h3>Preservation era</h3><br>
<p>It was soon slated for demolition as part of the citys urban renewal efforts. Helen Gearn, the citys historian at the time, urged that it be preserved and somehow reused. After a feasibility study concluded it could be done, the "Palatine Square" proposal for the blocks in the immediate vicinity included the church.</p><br>
<p>Nevertheless, the next year the city claimed the church as an urban-renewal parcel, and the next year its Urban Renewal Agency paid $96,000 for it. Public efforts against its demolition led to the churchs addition to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970, which meant that federal funds could no longer be used to demolish it. Newburgh had in the past taken the lead in historic preservation when Washingtons Headquarters had become the first officially-designated historic site in the USA in 1850. The battle to save the church revived this tradition and marked the beginning of the city&#39;s modern historic preservation movement.</p><br>
<p>Orange County expressed interest in buying the building as part of the "Courthouse Square" project, a proposal to redevelop the area around the courthouse just across the street, which served as Ulster Countys when Newburgh was that countys seat prior to the redrawing of county boundaries that followed the creation of Rockland County in 1798. At the time, the county was still using the courthouse as a branch of the main county courts in Goshen. The Hudson Valley Philharmonic also looked into making the church its home.</p><br>
<p>The state&#39;s Office of Historic Preservation designated a historic district in nearby downtown areas of the city, but it did not include the church. The Greater Newburgh Arts Council continued working to save the church.</p><br>
<p>While the building was safe for the time being, its exterior, particularly the columns, were in an advanced state of decay. The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development which administered the city&#39;s urban-renewal grants, ordered in 1974 that it be either razed or sold. The city bought it for $7,000.</p><br>
<p>Three years later the Hudson Valley Freedom Theater (HVFT) bought the building, hoping to make it a playhouse. The purchase was conditioned on the theater company being able to renovate the structure within a certain time. The National Park Service repaired the roof. In 1984 the theater company defaulted on its contract and title reverted to the city. The following year the state expanded the citys historic district to include the church, while the NPS removed the columns Ionic capitals.</p><br>
<p>The 1990s saw the beginning of piecemeal efforts to restore the church. Another city historian, Kevin Barrett, called for the building&#39;s preservation in 1994, and the Council on the Arts intensified its efforts. It was suggested that the city or private donors restore one of the original columns, as a way of demonstrating that the restoration of the whole church, though a considerable task, was not impossible.</p><br>
<p>Hillary Clinton, then First Lady, spoke in front of the church before a large crowd on July 14, 1998 as part of the Save America&#39;s Treasures tour.</p><br>
<p>The 21st century began with two events that signaled the struggle over the church was not now for its preservation but its restoration. The Dutch Reformed Church Restoration Committee was formed by local activist Carla Decker, former president of the Historical Society of Newburgh Bay and the Hudson Highlands, in 2000 and the next year became part of the Newburgh Preservation Association. On August 7, 2001, the church was designated a National Historic Landmark by the Department of the Interior after a successful application by state preservation official William Krattinger.,</p><br>
<p>A state grant made possible the repair and restoration of the church&#39;s drainage system and west foundation wall. The picket fence was repainted in 2004, and the following year the World Monuments Fund put the church on its list of the 100 Most Endangered Sites.</p><br>
<h2>Future projects</h2><br>
<p>Today, efforts to restore the church to its original glory continue. The DRCRC is actively involved in raising money for those efforts and promoting the church&#39;s historical importance. In 2002 the NPA commissioned the Albany firm Mesick Cohen Wilson Baker to do a Historic Structure Report summarizing what needed to be done to restore the building.</p><br>
<p>One column and window were restored in 2004, the first time since the churchs deconsecration that any work had been done on the buildings decorative elements. In 2006, the remaining three columns were restored through a combination of in-kind repayment and donated services.</p><br>
<p>Still, much work needs to be done. Estimates for implementing all the suggestions of the Historic Structure Report and completely restoring the church have ranged as high as $8 million. After restoration, ideas for what to do with the church have centered around cultural activities, consistent with similar such secondary uses in the past. In 2006 the Newburgh Preservation Association, with a grant from the Dyson Foundation, commissioned an Adaptive Re-Use Study to outline potential uses.</p><br>
<p>Đeravica or Gjeravica  is the second highest mountain peak in the Prokletije mountain range and the Dinaric Alps chain, after Maja Jezercë. It is the highest mountain in Kosovo, and, according to the view held by the government of Serbia that Kosovo is part of Serbia, the highest mountain of Serbia. It has an elevation of 2,656 m above sea level. Đeravica is located in the western part of Kosovo, in the municipality of Junik. Before 20th century, Đeravica used to be called Kaluđerovica .</p><br>
<h2>Features</h2><br>
<p>It is somewhat different from the rest of the Prokletije mountains because of the lack of a stony, limestone texture the mountains in Prokletije have. Many large and small glacial lakes can be found near the summit. The largest of the lakes is Đeravica Lake which is just under the summit and is the origin of the Erenik river.</p><br>
<p>Đeravica and the Prokletije are mostly known for the growth of Chestnuts. There are also wild strawberries growing in Đeravica during the summer.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<h3>Nearby settlements</h3><br>
<p>Deçan</p><br>
<p>Junik</p><br>
<p>Belaje</p><br>
<p>Krši i Ćenit</p><br>
<p>Krši i Zi</p><br>
<p>Veliko Jezero</p><br>
<p>Crveno Jezero</p><br>
<h3>Nearby Peaks</h3><br>
<p>Kumulore</p><br>
<p>Tropojske Pločice</p><br>
<p>Guri i Gjate</p><br>
<p>Maja e Ram Arućit</p><br>
<p>Ljogi i Prelš</p><br>
<h3>Cliffs</h3><br>
<p>Biga Tamas</p><br>
<p>Krši i Ćenit</p><br>
<p>Kumulore</p><br>
<p>Krši i Zi</p><br>
<p>Guri i Mal</p><br>
<p>Gurt e Ljove</p><br>
<p>Brehov</p><br>
<p>Minarja</p><br>
<h3>Nearby Springs</h3><br>
<p>Kroni Tedel</p><br>
<p>Kroni Gusija</p><br>
<p>Kroni i Lizit</p><br>
<p>Kroni i Nuses</p><br>
<p>Gura e Hasanags</p><br>
<p>Kroni i Metes</p><br>
<p>Gura e Mir</p><br>
<p>Kroni i Rasave</p><br>
<p>Kroni i Smajlit</p><br>
<p>Gura i Ćuršis</p><br>
<p>Gura Hođs</p><br>
<p>Kroni i Mir</p><br>
<p>Leptis Parva  was an ancient city on the eastern coast of Tunisia by the Gulf of Hammamet in proximity to the modern city of Monastir.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>It was founded as a Phoenician colony in the 8th century BCE, around the time Carthage was founded, and was a commercial city. Leptis Parva was a prominent city during the Phoenician period, but became a less important during the Punic rule of the region (c. 600 BCE to 146 BCE). It was incorporated into the Roman Republic with the destruction of Carthage in 146BCE, but gained more autonomy than it had during Punic Era. Julius Caesar used it as his base of operations in 46BCE during his winter campaign against supporters for Pompey led by Titus Labienus. It remained an important city even during the Byzantine period and was one of the most important cities in North Africa. It suffered the same fate that the other great cities, including Leptis Magna and Carthage, suffered at the hands of invading Arabs, who virtually destroyed the city in the 7th century CE. It was abandoned, never to be settled again.</p><br>
<h3>Ancient History</h3><br>
<p>It is mentioned for the first time in the 4th century BC. BC by the Pseudo-Scylax Trail. The city remains famous for its role in various events of ancient Tunisia:</p><br>
<p>In 237 BC, J.-C., Hamilcar Barca wins in the vicinity an important victory over the Mercenaries who, under the command of Mathó, revolt against Carthage in the aftermath of the First Punic War.</p><br>
<p>In 203 BC, During the Second Punic War, Hannibal Barca, returning from the Italian campaign where he won his meteoric victories in Trasimeno and Cannes, disembarked there before returning to Hadrumet and delivering his last battle to Zama against the troops of Scipio the African.</p><br>
<p>During the Third Punic War, Leptis Minor is one of the seven Punic cities that ally themselves with Rome against Carthage. After the destruction of the latter in 146 BC, the Romans grant to this city the status of "civitas libera et immunis" (city free and exempt of taxes).</p><br>
<p>The strategic significance of this city is again highlighted by the adventures of the Roman Civil War of 47–46 BC. J.-C. On this date, Leptis Minor allied himself with Julius Caesar against the Pompeians before the famous battle of Thapsus. After the defeat of the Republicans, the Numidian kingdoms were annexed by Rome to form the Africa Nova (new Africa) to replace the Africa Vetus (first Roman province).</p><br>
<p>The ascension of this city is confirmed by its relatively early promotion, compared with many African cities, to the rank of colony by the Roman Emperor Trajan at the beginning of the 2nd century. This city, strongly Romanized, then knew the implantation of a large number of Roman citizens of Italic origin and the mixing of different populations. Another sign of this integration in the Roman Empire is the relatively respectable rate in the statistics of the Leptian soldiers who served in the third legion in the second century. The political and economic importance of this city is also evident from the fact that it is, in the 3rd century, the chief town of a state area known as "regio leptiminesis". Moreover, epigraphy indicates that the imperial cult is practiced there and that Bacchus and Venus were among the deities venerated in this city.</p><br>
<h3>Bishopric</h3><br>
<p>From the 3rd century this city is represented by bishops in different councils of the Roman Catholic Church, including 256, 411, 484 and 641.</p><br>
<p>The diocese was also involved in the great conflict of African Christianity as Catholic and Donatist bishops for the town appear on the lists of participants in these councils.</p><br>
<p>Among the noted bishops is Laetus described as a "zelous and very learned man" and one of the very few bishops actually killed by the Vandal king Huneric after the Council of Carthage (484).</p><br>
<h3>Middle Ages</h3><br>
<p>At the time of the Byzantine conquest in 533, the army led by General Bélisaire went through the city heading for Carthage. The political-strategic importance of Leptis Minor is again emphasized by its choice as the seat of the Byzantine military command in Byzacena and its endowment of important fortresses.</p><br>
<p>Following the Islamic conquest, during the reign of the Aghlabids, the city is endowed in 859 with one of the oldest ribats that have ginned along the Ifriquian coast. This ribat is probably built on the ruins of a Byzantine fortress.</p><br>
<p>The Flushing River, more properly and historically known as Flushing Creek, is a waterway that flows through the northern part of central Queens in New York City  and empties into the East River. The river runs through a valley that may have been a larger riverbed before the last Ice Age. In the 18th and 19th centuries, it divided the towns of Flushing on its right bank and Newtown on its left; today, it divides Queens into western and eastern halves.</p><br>
<h2>The channel</h2><br>
<p>Flushing Creek once rose in the present-day neighborhood of Kew Gardens Hills, where Vleigh Place traces the Vleigh (old Dutch for Valley) of the headwaters. In the larger valley that comprises the present-day Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, the creek meandered through salt marshes, collecting water from Fly and Ireland Creeks and Horse Brook before emptying into Flushing Bay on the East River. The Flushing River, from the Water Gate buildings in Flushing Meadow Park, is measured about 200 feet wide with a depth of about 15 feet and marsh river mud bottom. This tide, or water gate, acts as a dam to maintain the water surface moving upstream at a constant level, while the downstream side does not permit inflow even when the surface is raised above the impounded water level. The area near the mouth of the creek became the site of the early Flushing settlement.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<h3>Settlement</h3><br>
<p>In spring 1614, Captain Adrian Block, who was testing a tiny vessel built by himself and his men during the previous winter, the "Onrust," sailed up the East River, through Hellgate and out Long Island Sound. He explored and mapped the bays as he went.</p><br>
<p>The town of Flushing was settled in 1645 under charter of the Dutch West India Company and was named after the port of Vlissingen, in the southwestern Netherlands. It is said that the name Vlissingen means "salt meadow," given as a nod to the tidal waters of Flushing Meadows. As the English version of the name of the Dutch town is "Flushing", the same English version was used by the town&#39;s English-speaking inhabitants. During his presidency, George Washington arrived at Flushing by ferry across the creek. The first road crossing, a drawbridge at Northern Boulevard, was built in the early 19th century.</p><br>
<p>During the Civil War, steamboats made two scheduled trips daily between Flushing and James Slip in Manhattan. The steamers included the "Statesman," "Star," and "Washington Irving&quot among their more renowned captains and operators were Captains Jonathan Peck and Curtis Peck, Eliajah Peck, and William Nimmo.</p><br>
<p>By the 1850s, a second crossing, Strong&#39;s Causeway, was built near the present-day Long Island Expressway, extending Corona Avenue towards Flushing. This crossing was near the confluence of Horse Brook and Flushing Creek. In the mid-19th century, the growing city of Brooklyn acquired the land around the creek and gave it to the Brooklyn Ash Removal Company, which turned the salt marshes into landfill. The pollution was chronicled by F. Scott Fitzgerald in The Great Gatsby, wherein Nick Carraway observed the "valley of ashes" on his train ride between Manhattan and Long Island.</p><br>
<p>Also within the 1850s, the New York and Flushing Railroad built a railroad line across the river leading to what was then a railroad terminal on the east side of the river in Flushing. The railroad was acquired by the Flushing and North Side Railroad in 1868, and built junctions with the Flushing and Woodside Railroad, the Whitestone and Westchester Railroad, and the Central Railroad of Long Island on the west side of the river throughout the 1870s. The Flushing and North Side also built a spur leading to Flushing Bay just southwest of the Flushing River delta. All lines were acquired by the Long Island Rail Road, and most were abandoned at various periods, except for the former NY&F main line which to this day is the Port Washington Branch.</p><br>
<h3>20th century</h3><br>
<p>The River and Harbor Act of March 4, 1913, appropriated $255,700 for deepening the channel through Flushing Bay into Flushing River.</p><br>
<p>During the 1920s, the river was polluted by various industrial wastes.</p><br>
<p>In 1936, Robert Moses proposed closing the ash landfill, transforming it into a park, and using it as a World&#39;s Fair site. With the exception of the Willets Point triangle, the landfill was leveled, the creek bed was straightened, and the southern part of the creek was deepened to form the Meadow and Willow Lakes at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park. At its northern section, a tidal gate bridge was built to keep the East River tide from flooding into the park. By then, Horse Brook was long gone, its course destined to be covered by the future Long Island Expressway. Ireland Creek was also filled in for use as parkland to prevent flooding in the surrounding neighborhoods. Dammed and reduced in size, the creek became navigable only up to Roosevelt Avenue. Barges still docked on the river, bringing sand and gravel. At its southern end, the Jamaica subway yard reduced some of the flow coming from the headwaters.</p><br>
<p>In spring 1939, a new Flushing Bridge was to be completed over the Flushing River at Northern Boulevard, doubling the capacity of the bridge it replaced, according to the Department of Public Works.</p><br>
<p>For the 1964 New York Worlds Fair, the creeks middle section was filled in for parkland. Flowing out of Meadow Lake, the creek was reduced to a canal beneath the Van Wyck Expressway, narrowing into pipes going into the Fountain of the Planets, a circular pool used for fountain displays. From there, the pipes took the water towards the tidal bridge, reemerging as a creek.</p><br>
<p>Toward the end of the 1970s, the city sought to rebuild Flushing Bridge, by then 37 years old. This project, costing $10 million, was set to replace the current drawbridge with a taller fixed span. The Flushing Merchants Assem. and the Downtown Flushing Redevelopment Corp. opposed this plan.</p><br>
<p>Over the years, pollution from the Willets Point industrial area, surrounding highways, and dumping made the river an eyesore and a health hazard. In 2002, a sewage treatment plant was completed near College Point Boulevard, and the city took stronger enforcement measures against industries in Willets Point.</p><br>
<h3>Restoration</h3><br>
<p>The Flushing River was once a clear, fresh waterway which offered safe boating and swimming. The Flushing River and Flushing Bay had become centers of inaction and neglect after decades of being polluted.</p><br>
<p>In 1972, Councilman Morton Povman, a Democrat of Forest Hills, and Albert Mauro, president of the Flushing Meadow Park Action Committee sought to rehabilitate the Flushing River. Both these men argued that their goals were to restore both the Flushing River and Bay to their natural conditions and extend Flushing Meadows-Corona Park to the river banks. Furthermore, both men argued that if these conditions were corrected and made, all of New York City would benefit from it.</p><br>
<p>Furthermore, under the intervention and proposal of both Morton Povman and Peter Vallone (of Astoria), a group of high city officials agreed to begin immediate work on the long-term task of cleaning up this waterway. The late Abe Wolfson, founder of the Queens Historical Society, became active in the fight to restore the river to its original condition. In addition, there were several steps in the first part of the cleanup project, which included city agencies to: raise and reconstruct manholes in the Kissena Park and Kissena Corridor sewer system; dredge the entire Corridor system, which drains into the Flushing Bay; clean up the Queens Boulevard sewer system from 108th Street, Forest Hills, to the vicinity of St. John&#39;s Queens Hospital, Elmhurst; and to sewage from the Bland Houses, a public housing project on Roosevelt Avenue in Flushing, which was connected to sanitary sewers.</p><br>
<p>As other waterways in New York have seen their shores revitalized with parks, the mid-20th century waterfront promenade along Flushing Bay to LaGuardia Airport was renovated and reopened in 2001. The success of this project led to calls for a similar waterfront promenade less than a mile upstream near downtown Flushing. There are also ongoing plans by the city to raze the industrial buildings of Willets Point in favor of a convention center and hotels.</p><br>
<p>Among the more ambitious proposals is one to reopen the buried parts of Flushing Creek to daylight, which would mean closing two soccer fields, and altering the parks small "pitch and putt" golf course. At Meadow Lake, the abandoned Aquacade arena from the 1939 Worlds Fair has been demolished in favor of a pier with a sitting area, however the boathouse is still in use. At the creek&#39;s source, Willow Lake, nature trails paved decades ago remain overgrown with plants, and are currently open to the public.</p><br>
<p>In 1994, a Key House Appropriations subcommittee authorized the money for the USA Army Corps of Engineers to study dredging the Flushing Bay; this was where earlier landfills to expand LaGuardia and protect a marina had obstructed water circulation, thereby creating foul odors and pollution. The measure of this plan was drafted by Rep. Thomas J. Manton (a Democrat from Queens) and was aided by Rep. Nita Lowey (a Democrat from Westchester), who also represented part of Queens. The Port Authority sought final approval during the summer of that year from the City Council to build the $41-million safety overrun on a 20 acre landfill. A redesigned, refurbished Flushing Bay promenade began May 1999 due to Parks Department negotiatting a deal with the City&#39;s Department of Enviornmental protection. This plan was also to build a 28.5 gallon sewer overflow tank under the river to relieve flooding in the area.</p><br>
<h3>Planned merger of the lakes</h3><br>
<p>The New York City 2012 Olympic bid proposed merging the two lakes, with a new bridge at Jewel Avenue. The proposal generated community opposition, citing aesthetics in the proposed lake&#39;s rectangular shape; traffic and lack of public access during the games, loss of parkland, and disruption to wildlife living in Willow Lake. Failing to secure its bid, the city has since shelved plans to unite the lakes.</p><br>
<p>Sonoma Mountain is a prominent landform within the Sonoma Mountains of southern Sonoma County, California. At elevation of 2,463 ft, Sonoma Mountain offers expansive views of the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Sonoma Valley to the east. In fact, the viticultural area extends in isolated patches up the eastern slopes of Sonoma Mountain to almost 1,700 ft in elevation.</p><br>
<p>The eastern and northern slopes are protected from afternoon heat and hence are more densely forested in oak woodlands, abetted by the well drained nutrient rich soils. The western and southern slopes, on the other hand, are drier and warmer, leading to fewer dense woodlands and more chaparral, grassland and oak savannah.</p><br>
<h2>Geology</h2><br>
<p>Up until about twelve million years ago, this location was part of the seabed of the Pacific Ocean. In the Miocene era, precipitated by the combination of tectonic movement due to the seismically active environment and the presence of magma not far below the Earth&#39;s surface, a massive period of uplift ensued. This uplift formed the volcanically based Sonoma Mountains as well as the Mayacamas Mountains to the east. Residual evidence of these ancient geological features appears in the form of local hot springs such as nearby Mortons Hot Springs and Agua Caliente Hot Springs. The presence of the active Rodgers Creek Fault also attests to this prehistoric tectonic movement. The eastern slopes of Sonoma Mountain drain to Sonoma Creek, the northern flanks drain to Matanzas Creek and the southwestern flanks are in the Petaluma River watershed.</p><br>
<p>The most readily accessed eastern slopes have a predominant occurrence of Goulding clay loam soils, particularly in the immediate area of Graham Creek. These are generally areas of 15 to 30 percent slopes that support dense mixed oak woodland, with large percentages of California laurel and bigleaf maple. Higher on the eastern slopes is a large occurrence of Goulding clay loam on 30 to 50 percent slope, still with a dense forest cover, but with more Pacific madrone and coast live oak. Soil depths are rarely over a few feet deep before bedrock is reached, but even thin soils support rich plant growth because of the high nutrient content and mild climate.</p><br>
<p>The peak and higher northern slope of Sonoma Mountain consists of soils of the Goulding cobbly loam association, which are five to fifteen percent in slope and may contain up to 20 percent of cobblestones at the near surface. Outcrops of basaltic rock are common among this soil type, betraying the volcanic origin of Sonoma Mountain. The upper western reaches of Sonoma Mountain have some amounts of the Raynor clay association, which group typically has a depth to bedrock of about four to five feet. Lower on the western exposures, along the Lichau Creek immediate drainage area, there is a broad occurrence of Goulding clay loam on slopes of about 15 to 25 percent.</p><br>
<h2>Ecology</h2><br>
<p>The verdant forests on eastern exposures are fed by the year round Graham Creek and its tributaries. The most common eastern slope plant community is the oak woodland, which has a canopy of coast live oak, Garry oak, black oak, Pacific madrone, bigleaf maple and California laurel. In some of the steeper, cooler riparian zones there are also small groves of coast redwood, Sequoia sempervirens. In these oak woodlands, the dominant understory plants are toyon, blackberry, western poison-oak and in occasional drier patches some coyote brush. Common animals observed include California mule deer, gray squirrel, raccoon, skunk and opossum. Less frequently bobcat and mountain lion are seen. There is abundant birdlife including the scrub jay, Steller&#39;s jay, acorn woodpecker and junco. Because of the rich soils and mild climate, there are significant sized vineyards at elevations up to 1,700 feet (518 m) on the northeast flanks of the mountain, positioned like mosaics in a patchwork of mostly oak forest; these grapes contribute to some premium varietal wines, some of which are marketed as premium Sonoma Valley appellations.</p><br>
<h2>Jack London State Historic Park</h2><br>
<p>Jack London State Historic Park, near Glen Ellen, California, is situated on the eastern slope of Sonoma Mountain. The namesake of this California State Park is author Jack London whose home, Wolf House, was located here. The building, a sizable stone structure, was destroyed by fire and its picturesque ruins are protected within the state park. Sonoma Mountain had a significant influence on Jack London and his writings. In 1910 Jack London purchased this 1,000 acre (4 km) property, known as the Beauty Ranch, for $26,000. He wrote that "Next to my wife, the ranch is the dearest thing in the world to me." He wanted the establishment to become a successful business enterprise. Writing, always a commercial enterprise with London, now became even more a means to an end: "I write for no other purpose than to add to the beauty that now belongs to me. I write a book for no other reason than to add three or four hundred acres to my magnificent estate." The sloping terrain of the park has an access trail to reach the summit of Sonoma Mountain, although the final approach to the summit and the peak itself are not within the state park property.</p><br>
<h2>North Sonoma Mountain Regional Park</h2><br>
<p>The North Sonoma Mountain Regional Park and Open Space Preserve encompasses 820 acres of Sonoma Mountain abutting Jack London State Historic Park. The land was purchased for public use between 2003 and 2015 by the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District in cooperation with the Coastal Conservancy and Bay Area Ridge Trail Council. The park opened in February 2015 with 20 mile of dirt trails for hikers, runners, and equestrians. The trail system connects with the Hayfields Trail on the Jack London park to form an 8 mile segment of the Bay Area Ridge Trail. Ridge trail views at 2,000 ft elevation include a 180-degree panorama of the Sonoma Valley and the Santa Rosa plain. Some view points have picnic tables. Some trails are closed to mountain bikes, and dogs are not allowed on the park. Park access is through the former Jacobs Ranch at 5297 Sonoma Mountain Road approximately 3 mile from Bennett Valley Road. The park is open from 07:00 to sunset. Regional Parks membership avoids 7-dollar parking fees. There is a bathroom at the parking lot, but no drinking water is available. There is a wheelchair-accessible trail from the parking lot to picnic tables in a shaded grove on Matanzas Creek.</p><br>
<h2>Fairfield Osborn Preserve</h2><br>
<p>The Fairfield Osborn Preserve is a 460-acre (1.86 km) nature reserve situated on the northwest flank of Sonoma Mountain in Sonoma County, California. There are several plant communities within the property, oak woodland being the dominant type. Other habitats include chaparral, native clump grassland, marsh, coastal scrub and riparian zone. A diverse fauna inhabits this area including black-tailed deer, coyote, bobcat and mountain lion; moreover, there are abundant avifauna, amphibians, reptiles and insects. The flora is extremely diverse including many native trees, shrubs, grasses, lichens and mosses. Copeland Creek and its tributaries drain the preserve as they wend their way down steep ravines toward eventual discharge to the Laguna de Santa Rosa. The property was originally a Spanish Land Grant holding and is now owned and managed by Sonoma State University, who uses it as a research base and as an educational tool for the general public. An understated natural trail system weaves through the property to provide access to creek canyons, ridges and marshy areas. The preserve is situated at elevations 1,600 to 1,900 feet (488–579 m) above sea level and features a landscape riddled with basalt exposures that betray the volcanic prehistory of Sonoma Mountain.</p><br>
<h2>Viticulture</h2><br>
<p>Sonoma Mountain gives its name to the Sonoma Mountain AVA, a federally designated grape-growing region.</p><br>
<p>The peak of Sonoma Mountain defines part of the boundary of the Sonoma Coast AVA, another such region. Wines made from grapes grown on its western and southern slopes qualify for the Sonoma Coast appellation, but wines made from grapes grown on its eastern and northern slopes do not.</p><br>
<h2>Antenna</h2><br>
<p>The TV broadcast antenna for KRCB is located on the summit just north of Sonoma Mountain.</p><br>
<p>The Nafusa Mountains , جبل نفوسة ) are a mountain range in the western Tripolitania region of northwestern Libya. It also includes their regions around the escarpment formed where the northern end of the Tripolitanian Plateau meets the Mediterranean coastal plain or the Jefara.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The area was as a major population and cultural center of the Libu, who repeatedly expanded west.</p><br>
<p>The Nafusa Mountains shelters most of Libya&#39;s Berber-speaking population, who speak Nafusi Berber.</p><br>
<h3>Ibadi imamate</h3><br>
<p>In the aftermath of the great Berber Revolt of the 8th century, Ibadi missionaries that had fled from the Umayyad Caliphate took refuge in the Nafusa Mountains. Preachers converted and organized the native Nafusa people into a fighting force. Under the leadership of Imam Abu al-Khattab al-Ma&#39;afari, the Nafusa descended from the mountains and proceeded to conquer all of the crumbling Fihrid emirate of Ifriqiya - capturing Tripoli in 757 and Kairouan in 758. But the Abbasid Arab governor of Egypt invaded Ifriqya, defeated the Nafusa in a battle at Tawergha in 761 (his third attempt - his first two armies had been repulsed) and put an end to their putative new state. However, the Nafusa mountains themselves remained unconquered. Throughout the 9th century, while the Aghlabids ruled in Ifriqiya, the Ibadi maintained an independent puritan republic in the Nafusa mountains. The Imamate of Nafusa was in close alliance with the other Ibadi remnant, the Rustamid dynasty in Tiaret, both constant thorns on either side of the Aghlabids, in communication with each other across the back highlands of North Africa.</p><br>
<p>In 879, the Tulunids of Egypt invaded Aghlabid Ifriqya and captured Tripoli. But the Nafusa challenged and destroyed the Egyptian army in 880. Again the Nafusa victory was short-lived. In 896-97, the Aghlabid emir Ibrahim II of Ifriqiya recovered Tripolitana and defeated the Nafusa in a great battle at Manu (south of Gabès). In the aftermath, citing them as heretics, Ibrahim II executed all the Nafusa prisoners and put an end to their independent imamate (Tahert fell shortly after, in 911). Despite the destruction of their states, Ibadi Islam remained a strong (if clandestine) faith among the Berbers of the Nafusa mountains for centuries after, down to the modern day. The lingering heterodoxy of the Nafusa people has placed them frequently at odds, or under suspicion, by the largely orthodox Sunni population of the rest of Libya.</p><br>
<h3>Libyan Civil War 2011</h3><br>
<p>This distinct culture, suppressed and oppressed by the Libyan regime, has risen to new prominence in the course of the Libyan Civil War (2011), when their initiatives led to the Nafusa Mountains becoming a major front in that war. The terrain and topography of the region are critical strategic factors, constraining mechanised advances from the flat plain and plateau, and favouring guerrilla tactics based on close local knowledge and the advantage of high ground. By the end of June 2011 the Nafusi people had almost succeeded in liberating themselves completely from the control of the regime, and this progress seems likely to continue.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>The Nafusa Mountains form the boundary between the Libyan coastal plain, known as the Jafara, to the north, and the Tripolitanian Plateau to the south. The beds (strata) of the Tripolitanian Plateau slope downwards to the south and tilt upwards towards the north creating the highest portion of the plateau as the Nafusa mountains which rise to over 750 meters. The plateau ends abruptly on the north with an escarpment which has up to 350 meters of topographic prominence. A series of deep valleys which drain north toward the Jefara cut into this escarpment. It extends some 250 kilometers within Libya, from just east of the city of Gharyan (about 60 kilometers south of Tripoli) in the east to the city of Wazzin at the Tunisian border in the west. Spurs and isolated upthrusts continue into Tunisia, but this region is almost unpopulated, in marked contrast to the situation in Libya.</p><br>
<p>The mountain area is rarely more than 25 kilometers in depth, from its southern boundary, the flat arid plateau some 650 meters above sea level, to its northern limit on the plain, where the land falls to below 150 meters. Much of the 500 meter drop in level is accomplished abruptly, at the escarpment, where local topographic prominences may be up to 350 meters. It is from below, on the plain, viewing the steep slopes and sharply-etched skyline that the area appears mountainous; from the plateau the land appears merely hilly, and in fact it is rather flat apart from the effects of differential erosion.</p><br>
<p>Towns in the mountains include Gharyan, Yafran, Zintan, Jadu, Kabaw, Al-Qawalish and Nalut, which have all been the sites of military action during the 2011 civil war. Since 2007, the mountains stretch across two districts: Jabal al Gharbi District and Nalut District.</p><br>
<h2>Economy</h2><br>
<p>The mountain villages raise primarily goats, olives and grain, but also have fig and apricot orchards.</p><br>
<h2>2011 Libyan civil war</h2><br>
<p>The Nafusa Mountains became first a hotbed for anti-Gaddafi protests (with protests breaking out relatively early in Nalut and Zintan) and then a rebel stronghold, an island of rebel control in the mainly Gaddafi-controlled western part of the country. During the early stages, forces allied to the national transitional government succeeded in evacuating most non-combatants into Tunisia; the Wazzin border crossing was captured and held to ensure supply lines from Tunisia; all the mountain towns were retaken; and the front extended to the plains, cutting regime communications lines and allowing electricity to be restored. They were the first rebel combatants to be supplied with arms by air-drop.</p><br>
<p>In the course of the civil war, many towns in the area were subjected to shelling by artillery and rockets from both sides, with much damage to infrastructure. Regime forces cut off electricity and water supplies. Médecins Sans Frontières sent a team in Zintan to help the large number of wounded. Al Galaa was without electricity and water for seven weeks, and more than 45,000 refugees fled for safety to the adjoining Tunisian region of Tatouine, where many had relatives.</p><br>
<h3>Cultural renaissance</h3><br>
<p>As towns and villages in the Nafusa Mountains and surrounding areas were liberated from control by forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi in early summer 2011, and while fierce fighting continued, Berber exhibitions and workshops sprang up to share and spread the Tamazight culture and language, after four decades during which there were severe punishments for speaking and writing Tamazight openly.</p><br>
<p>Cermis is a mountain of the Lagorai group in eastern Trentino, Italy in the comune of Cavalese.</p><br>
<p>Part of the Val di Fiemme-Obereggen, it is famous for its ski slopes.</p><br>
<p>It was the scene of major disasters involving the aerial tramway style cable car system on the mountain: the Cavalese cable car disaster in 1976, and the Cavalese cable car disaster in 1998; the latter occurred when a U.S. military plane, while flying too low against regulations, in order for the pilots to "have fun" and "take videos of the scenery", cut a cable supporting a gondola of an aerial tramway, killing 20 people. Joseph Schweitzer, one of the two American pilots, in 2012 finally confessed that upon return to the American base he burned the tape that would have allowed for the truth to come out The two cable car runs of the system involved in those incidents have since been replaced by three consecutive multi-cabin gondola lifts. The arrival site of the first chair lift, from where the second starts, may be also reached by road.</p><br>
<p>The Crocheron-McDowall House is a Greek Revival style house located in Bastrop, Texas. The two-story house was built in 1857 for Bastrop merchant Henry Crocheron and was for many years the social and intellectual center in Bastrop. The structure was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on April 20, 1978 and designated a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 1996.</p><br>
<p>In 1837, Crocheron moved to Bastrop with twelve slaves. He sold the slaves and used the money to open several stores in the town. He was one of the founders of the Bastrop Steam Mill, Incorporated, Bastrop&#39;s first industrial enterprise. He served as county treasurer from 1851 to 1853.</p><br>
<p>Quickly amassing a fortune, Crocheron decided to build a home that would symbolize his affluence. Materials were of the finest quality available. The windows and hand-carved banister were made in New York and shipped to Galveston, and then brought by rail and wagon to Bastrop.</p><br>
<p>Soon after the house was completed, the Civil War broke out. During the war, Crocheron&#39;s niece, Mary Ann Nicholson, moved into the house. Accompanying her uncle on a business trip to Matamoros in 1864, Nicholson met William McDowall. The two married four years later and eventually settled in London. William McDowall died the following year of yellow fever he had contracted while in Central America. In 1869, his wife and her three-month-old daughter, Ruth, returned to Bastrop to live with Crocheron. When he died in 1874, Mary Ann McDowall inherited the house.</p><br>
<p>Mary McDowall soon began teaching music, and the house became a center of social activity and intellectual interest. Numerous parties, lectures, and concerts were given at the house. In 1897, Ruth McDowall died, whereupon Mary McDowall moved to Houston to live with her sister. The house was sold when she died in 1933.</p><br>
<p>Since the 1930s the home has had many owners. Today it is part of the Lower Colorado River Authority&#39;s Riverside Conference Center.</p><br>
<p>__FORCETOC__</p><br>
<p>The "Villard Houses" is a historic landmark located at 455 Madison Avenue between 50th and 51st Street in Manhattan, New York City.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The building was constructed in 1884, designed by architect Joseph M. Wells of the architecture firm McKim, Mead and White. It is considered to be a Roman design with specific Renaissance touch points. Among the artists who worked on the building&#39;s elaborate interior were artist John La Farge, sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens and painter Maitland Armstrong.</p><br>
<p>The houses were commissioned by Henry Villard, then president of the Northern Pacific Railway, shortly before his railroad empire began to crumble. Ownership of the building changed through many hands throughout the century. The houses themselves are now owned by the Sultan of Brunei, while the land remains the property of the Archdiocese of New York under a 99-year lease.</p><br>
<p>In 1968, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the complex an historical landmark. A combined restoration/new hotel complex construction project was proposed by real estate developer Harry B. Helmsley who constructed the 51-story New York Palace Hotel tower directly behind the original building. The project was designed by architects Emery Roth & Sons and Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer in 1977 and completed in 1980.</p><br>
<p>The original building was restored in 2003 and office space was furnished for city preservation group The Municipal Art Society, as part of an agreement to save the building from demolition.</p><br>
<p>In 2014, the residences were available for public viewing when they hosted the annual Kips Bay Decorator Show House program to raise money for the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club.</p><br>
<h2>In popular culture</h2><br>
<p>Exterior shots of the Villard Houses were used on the TV series Gossip Girl as the hotel where the van der Woodsen family lives.</p><br>
<p>Chinqua Penn Plantation is an English manor home mansion and national historic district near Reidsville, North Carolina in Rockingham County,  and was built by Thomas Jefferson Penn  and Margaret Beatrice Shoellkopf Penn  in the 1920s. The name "Chinqua Penn" was derived from the chinquapin, a species of American chestnut that was once plentiful in the area.</p><br>
<p>Chinqua Penn Plantation ranks high among North Carolina&#39;s finest well-preserved early 20th century homes, including Reynolda House, and Duke Mansion.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>After inheriting a portion of the Penn family tobacco interests, they relocated from Penns Store, Patrick County, Virginia to North Carolina; Jeff Penn then augmented his fortune in stocks and bonds during the depression. He also operated a dairy husbandry and raised Holstein cattle. In later years he raised Black Angus. The Penn Tobacco Company was later purchased in 1911 by American Tobacco Company, the Duke family behemoth that made Lucky Strike cigarettes. The coats-of-arms above the picture window show the Penn family crest, as well as that of the Spencer family of Spencer, Virginia, to whom the Penns were related. Betsys father was Arthur Schoellkopf, Chairman of the board of directors of Niagara Falls Power Company and Mayor of Niagara Falls, New York. Betsy Penn survived Jeff by nearly twenty years, during which time she became increasingly involved in philanthropic and community activities. She created the Betsy-Jeff Penn 4-H Educational Center on part of the estate. Most of the furnishings and art, showcasing 30 countries, were placed by the Penns.</p><br>
<p>The Chinqua-Penn Plantation historic district encompasses eight contributing buildings, six contributing sites, eight contributing structures, and one contributing object. In addition to the manor house, they include the landscape design (1923-1925), The Lodge Group (1923), West Cottage, East Cottage, Laundry, Garage, Clock Tower (1931), gate (c. 1925), two Sentry Houses (c. 1925), Japanese Bridge (c. 1925), Entrance Fountain (c. 1925), Cascade (c. 1925), swimming pool (c. 1925), Chinese Pagoda (1932), Rookery (1925), Formal Garden (c. 1925), Windmill Site and Root Cellar (c. 1936), Rose Garden (c. 1925), Herb Garden (c. 1925), Cutting Garden (early 1930s), Grape Arbor (c. 1932), and Greenhouse (c. 1928).</p><br>
<p>The house and related buildings, and ultimately the internal furnishings, were given into the trusteeship of the University of North Carolina System. Because of high costs, N.C. State University closed the site to tours. Three years later Calvin Phelps, the founder of Renegade Tobacco Company, in August 2006, acquired the estate, claiming he intended to build a replica in Davie County. He decided to have a second home nearby and operate the site as a tourist attraction. But Phelps used funds from his tobacco company, which was successful for a while due to being exempt from the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement which required a $5 per carton surcharge on cigarettes. He could sell his cigarettes more cheaply until the government began requiring exempt tobacco companies to pay "escrow" fees. Later, needed to finance his debt, Phelps obtained a mortgage backed by his companies. Bank of Granite, which had lent him money, cut him off. In September 2011, a bankruptcy trustee took over, and an order filed December 12 said a bankruptcy judge would require that all items in the house be sold at auction in April 2012. The two-day auction took place at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex in Greensboro, North Carolina, April 25 and 26, 2012, was conducted by Leland Little Auction & Estate Sales, Ltd. and Iron Horse Auction Company, Inc.</p><br>
<p>In August 2012, the Museum and Archives of Rockingham County was expected to open, and certain items acquired at the auction were expected to be displayed.</p><br>
<p>On September 18, 2013, Chinqua Penn went into foreclosure. SunTrust Bank bought the property from Phelps for $1.4 million. Though SunTrust wanted $1.9 million, the property sold for considerably less to a private buyer.</p><br>
<h2>Tourist attraction</h2><br>
<p>The house and gardens are privately owned and are not open to the public. The house was once open for tours, and the plantation offered tours through March 17, 2012. The Phelps family planned to restore the grounds and add some of their own furnishings to enhance the authenticity of the tour by showcasing the splendor that was evident during the Penns residency. Their attempts to restore the house contributed to the Phelps bankruptcy.</p><br>
<p>Jeff Penn and his wife were both well-traveled, Penn having lived for some time in San Francisco, where he represented family tobacco interests in the East, including China. The Penns went on three world tours and amassed an extensive collection of priceless art, artifacts, and architectural pieces. Among those on display are a replica of King Tut&#39;s chair (one of only two such replicas), and a full-size Chinese pagoda. Elements of Spanish architecture and Don Quixote-related art works are plentiful.</p><br>
<p>Farmland adjoining the property is still operated as an experimental agricultural station by North Carolina State University.</p><br>
<p>Mount Nantai literally "man&#39;s body mountain", also called Futara-san is a stratovolcano in the Nikkō National Park in central Honshū, the main island of Japan. It stands at 2,486 m high. A prominent landmark, it can be seen on clear days from as far as the Pacific coast, 100 km away.</p><br>
<h2>Trekking</h2><br>
<p>The mountain is popular with hikers, and the trail to the summit starts through a gate at Futarasan Shrine&#39;s Chūgushi. The gate is open between 5 May and 25 October.</p><br>
<p>Mount Nantai is one of the 100 famous mountains in Japan.</p><br>
<h2>Volcanic activity</h2><br>
<p>In September 2008, the Japan Meteorological Agency was asked to reclassify Mount Nantai as "active" based upon work by Yasuo Ishizaki and colleagues of Toyama University showing evidence of an eruption approximately 7000 years ago.</p><br>
<h2>Mount Nantai as a sacred mountain</h2><br>
<p>Archeologists affirm that during the Yayoi period the most common go-shintai (a yorishiro housing a kami) in the earliest Shinto shrines was a nearby mountain peak supplying with its streams water, and therefore life, to the plains below where people lived.</p><br>
<p>Mount Nantai constitutes Futarasan Shrines go-shintai, and the shrine is an important example of this ancient type of mountain cult. Significantly, the name Nantai itself means "mans body". The mountain not only provides water to the rice paddies below, but has the shape of the phallic stone rods found in pre-agricultural Jōmon sites.</p><br>
<p>The Château de Sully, situated between Autun and Beaune , is the largest of the Renaissance châteaux of southern Burgundy. Paired outbuildings of a more vernacular character face each other across a grassed forecourt, while to the rear is the vegetable garden, fenced by fruit trees. The château is approached by an axial stone bridge across its moat. The façades express the traditionally defensive character of the rez-de-chaussée, the ground floor, and the richer, more open aspect of the piano nobile, articulated by pilasters. Under the central pediment that breaks the line of a traditional sloping slate roof, the arched portal is scaled to admit riders and carriages. Four similarly-treated ranges, flanked by matching angled corner towers with pyramidal roofs and surrounded by the moat, enclose a Renaissance courtyard built for the Maréchal de Saulx-Tavanes, confident of Catherine de&#39; Medici.</p><br>
<p>The splendor of the interior courtyard shows that this château, though symmetrical and regular, still looks inwards. A rusticated ground floor with arch-headed windows supports a main floor where paired pilaster-defined bays that alternate between windows and coved niches.</p><br>
<p>The historic chateau of the MacMahon family, from the marriage of the heiress Charlotte de Morey, with Jean-Baptiste de MacMahon, Sully was the birthplace of the monarchist Field Marshal, Patrice MacMahon, duc de Magenta, who was President of the French Third Republic from 1873 to 1879. The Château de Sully remains the home of the present duchesse de Magenta and her family.</p><br>
<p>The château of Henri IV&#39;s minister, Maximilien de Béthune and the ducs de Sully, is the Château de Sully-sur-Loire.</p><br>
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<p>Middleton Place is a plantation in Dorchester County, directly across the Ashley River from North Charleston and about 15 mi northwest of Charleston, in the USA state of South Carolina. Built in several phases during the 18th and 19th centuries, the plantation was the primary residence of several generations of the Middleton family, many of whom played prominent roles in the colonial and antebellum history of South Carolina. The plantation, now a National Historic Landmark District, is used as a museum, and is home to the oldest landscaped gardens in the United States.</p><br>
<p>John Williams, an early South Carolina planter, probably began building Middleton Place in the late 1730s. His son-in-law Henry Middleton (1717&ndash;1784), who later served as President of the First Continental Congress, completed the houses main section and its north and south flankers, and began work on the elaborate gardens. Middletons son, Arthur Middleton (1742&ndash;1787), a signer of Declaration of Independence, was born at Middleton Place, and lived at the plantation in the last years of his life. Arthur Middletons son and grandson, Henry Middleton (1770&ndash;1846) and Williams Middleton (1809&ndash;1883), oversaw Middleton Places transition from a country residence to a more active rice plantation. In 1865, toward the end of the USA Civil War, Union soldiers burned most of the house, leaving only the south wing and gutted walls of the north wing and main house. An earthquake in 1886 toppled the walls of the main house and north wing.</p><br>
<p>The restoration of Middleton Place began in 1916 when Middleton descendant John Julius Pringle Smith (1887&ndash;1969) and his wife Heningham began several decades of meticulously rebuilding the plantation&#39;s gardens. They had New York architect Bancel LaFarge design a stableyard complex of barn, stable, work buildings, and cottages; the buildings were constructed of brick salvaged from the ruined main house. In the early 1970s, approximately 110 acre of the 7,000 acre plantation&mdash; including the south flanker, the gardens, and several outbuildings&mdash; were placed on the National Register of Historic Places. During the same period the Middleton descendants transferred ownership of the historic district to the non-profit Middleton Place Foundation, which presently maintains the site.</p><br>
<h2>Location</h2><br>
<p>Middleton Place is set on the southwest bank of the Ashley River, directly across the river from the City of North Charleston. At this point, the southward-flowing river bends sharply to the east en route to its mouth at Charleston Harbor about 15 mi downstream. A small northeastward-flowing creek, which has been dammed to form the plantations rice mill pond, empties into the Ashley at this eastward bend, and forms the historic districts southern boundary. Ashley River Road (part of South Carolina Highway 61), which connects Middleton Place to Charleston to the southeast and the Legend Oaks area to the northwest, forms the historic districts western boundary. The plantations south flanker and residence area sits atop a hill that rises just over 20 ft above the river, allowing an unobstructed view of the river for nearly a mile downstream.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<h3>Colonial and Revolutionary period</h3><br>
<p>Middleton Place was established in the 1730s by early South Carolina planter John Williams. Williams likely began construction on the main block of the house, selecting the site for its strategic view of the Ashley River. After Williams death, the plantation became part of the dowry of his daughter, Mary Williams. In 1741, Mary Williams married Henry Middleton, whose name was subsequently applied to the plantation. Middletons father had immigrated from Barbados and had established a plantation in the area which is now part of the cities of Goose Creek - North Charleston. Henrys older brother, William, built the Crowfield plantation in the 1730s, but eventually moved to England, leaving Henry in charge of the familys affairs in South Carolina. Henry continued acquiring land, eventually becoming one of South Carolina&#39;s wealthiest planters. At one point, he owned 20 plantations consisting of 50,000 acre and 800 slaves.</p><br>
<p>Henry likely planned Middleton Place as a country residence more so than an active rice plantation. The original main house, completed around 1741, was three stories tall, built of brick in Jacobean-style. In 1755, Middleton added two two-story free-standing wings, or "flankers", to the north and south ends of the house. The free-standing north wing contained a library and ballroom, while the south wing was used as a guest house.</p><br>
<p>Middleton began work on the plantations gardens in 1741. Determined to outshine his neighbors, who were laying out neat four-squared patterned parterres, Middleton employed an English gardener named Simms, of whom little is known. Basing his designs less upon his own trip to England, Middleton and Simms derived their inspiration from the engraved plans in the translation of the popular garden book by Dezallier dArgenville, The Theory and Practice of Gardening. Middleton and Simms extended a main axis centered on the main block of the house, expressed as a gravel carriageway leading through a greensward to the first of six shaped turf terraces with bowed centers. At the level of the river a pair of lakes (the "Butterfly Lakes") were excavated on either side of a turf causeway prolonging the axis. With the river beyond, the lakes were flanked by more water, a stream dammed to the right to form the long narrow Rice Mill Pond, and a levee extended to the left to enclose floodable rice fields.</p><br>
<p>After Mary Middletons death in 1761, Henry moved to a small house north of Charleston and gave Middleton Place to his son, Arthur. In 1776, at the outbreak of the American Revolution, Arthur signed the Declaration of Independence. Four years later, at the height of the war, the British landed several thousand troops at Charleston with plans to invade the southern colonies. In the ensuing Siege of Charleston, British troops ransacked Middleton Place, beheading many of the statues and looting the plantations artwork and furniture. Arthur Middleton was captured and imprisoned until 1781.</p><br>
<h3>Antebellum period</h3><br>
<p>Newly discovered records show that Middleton Place imported water buffalo from Constantinople in the late 18th century, the first in the United States. They were experimental draft animals, suited to the deep muck in which rice was grown. In the gardens, Arthurs son Henry Middletons friendship with French botanist André Michaux resulted in the first camellias grown in an American garden, a house gift during Michauxs visit in 1786. Three of the four planted at the corners of the main parterre survive, grown to fifteen feet: One is Camellia japonica "reine des fleurs&quot the other is an ancestor of the modern cultivar Charles Sprague Sargent. The second Henry Middleton expanded and enriched the gardens, introducing the gardens first Asiatic azalea (Rhododendron indica), and the crape myrtle ( Lagerstroemia indica), one of the oldest in America. He also filled greenhouses with exotics and imported plants and seeds to give antebellum Middleton Place something of the air of a botanical garden.</p><br>
<p>Upon Henry Middleton&#39;s death in 1846, Middleton Place passed to his son, Williams Middleton.</p><br>
<p>In 1860, Williams Middleton signed the South Carolina Ordinance of Secession, in which the state declared it was no longer part of the United States. South Carolina&#39;s actions led to the attack on Fort Sumter in April 1861, sparking the USA Civil War. In February 1865, near the end of the war, Union troops captured Middleton Place and burned the main house and north flanker, and part of the south flanker. The soldiers also killed and ate five of the water buffalo and stole six. These six later showed up in Central Park Zoo.</p><br>
<p>In 1868, Williams Middleton restored the roof to the south flanker at Middleton Place, and converted it to the main residence. He lacked the money for major restorations, however, and managed to obtain only limited success as a large-scale planter. After his death in 1883, Middleton Place passed to wife, Susan. Three years later, the Charleston earthquake toppled the walls of the main house and north flanker and further damaged the gardens. The gardens lay neglected for several decades afterwards.</p><br>
<h3>Restoration</h3><br>
<p>Williams Middletons daughter, Elizabeth, inherited Middleton Place in 1900, and made minor restorations. Upon her death in 1915, she left the plantation to her cousin, John Julius Pringle Smith (Smith was a great-great-great-grandson of Henry Middleton). Smith and his wife, Heningham, used Middleton Place as their winter residence. Determined to restore the gardens to their original splendor, the Smiths labored for several years, replanting and reworking the gardens. They opened the plantations gardens to the public in the late 1920s. In 1941, the Garden Club of America called the Middleton Place gardens "the most interesting and important garden in the United States".</p><br>
<p>In the 1930s, the Smiths began restoring the house and outbuildings at Middleton Place to their late 18th-century appearance. In 1971, the plantation was added to the National Register of Historic Places and designated a National Historic Landmark District. Shortly thereafter the Middleton Place Foundation was established, with Smith&#39;s grandson Charles Duell acting as its first president. In recent years, the Middleton Place Foundation has carried out extensive research to document the thousands of African-American slaves once owned by the Middleton family.</p><br>
<h2>Middleton Place today</h2><br>
<h3>Layout</h3><br>
<p>The original access to Middleton Place was a roadway that ran due east from Ashley River Road for approximately 1,000 ft before terminating in a large loop. The main residence (now consisting of only the south flanker) lay at the east end of the loop, the stables (now part of a demonstration area) were at the south end of the loop, and the family burial grounds and main garden area were at the north end. The terraced gardens and butterfly ponds lay east of the main residence. The original roadway, the main gate of the original residence, and the levee separating the two Butterfly Lakes were all situated on a continuous east-west axis.</p><br>
<p>The northwest section of Middleton consists of a densely forested woodland which gives way to a marsh at the riverbank. This natural area is separated from the north gardens by an 800 ft by 100 ft rectangular pool (known as the Reflection Pool) on the west side of the gardens and a smaller less-defined pool (known as the Azalea Pool) on the north side. The north gardens are laid out in grid-like fashion with each surrounded by hedges and separated by walkways. On the east side of the gardens is a "spoked wheel" formation roughly 100 ft in diameter. Perhaps the most notable feature of the gardens is the "Middleton Oak", or "Great Oak", a massive live oak tree with a trunk more than 10 ft in diameter.</p><br>
<p>The east gardens stretch eastward from the main residence for approximately 200 ft before descending in a series of terraces to the floodplain of the Ashley River. Two congruent ponds at the eastern base of the terraces resemble butterfly wings, and are thus known as the "Butterfly Lakes". Levees separate the ponds from the river to the north and from the mill pond to the south. A smaller 150 ft by 150 ft garden (subdivided into four still smaller gardens) lies between the north and east gardens.</p><br>
<p>The vast majority of Middleton&#39;s 6,000 acres is forest. In 2013, half of the property was dedicated to a carbon offset program, ensuring it will not be developed.</p><br>
<h3>Middleton Place House (south flanker)</h3><br>
<p>The Middleton Place House, formerly the south wing or south flanker, was built in 1755 by Henry Middleton (one stone of the house contains Middleton&#39;s initials and the year "1755"). The roof was added in 1868, after the original roof was destroyed when Union soldiers burned the property. The house is a two-story, 52 ft by 20 ft structure with a gabled roof and stepped and curvilinear gable ends. An 18 ft by 28 ft service wing was added to the south side of the house in the 1930s (the wing was built in the same 18th-century style as the house). The first floor of the house originally contained a parlor, living room, and dining room, while the second floor contained three bedrooms. The interior has been outfitted with original furniture.</p><br>
<h3>Notable outbuildings</h3><br>
<p>The Middle Place rice mill&mdash; located immediately east of the Butterfly Lakes, where a natural east-flowing stream empties into the Ashley River. Williams Middleton built the mill in 1851 as he began more intensive planting at Middleton Place. The mill has undergone several alterations in modern times.</p><br>
<p>The Middleton Place springhouse, located behind the south flanker, was built in the 18th century (springhouses were used for refrigeration). In 1850, the second story of the springhouse was converted into a chapel.</p><br>
<p>Elizas House is a freedmans residence built around 1870. The house is named after its last occupant, Eliza Leach (1891&ndash;1986).</p><br>
<p>The Stableyard is a demonstration area that includes a barnyard and stable, both built in the 1930s.</p><br>
<p>Verde Island is situated along the bodies of Verde Island Passage between the islands of Luzon and Mindoro, Philippines. It was on 1988 when a small village was connected to mains electricity through the effort of a European project using technologies such as solar panels for the islands self-sufficiency. Since then, it has been declared by the Philippine Tourism Authority as one of the countrys marine reserves.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>Verde Island lies south of Brgy. Ilijan, Batangas City and is separated from Luzon by the North Pass. It takes 45 minutes by a boat or 25 minutes by a ferry boat from Batangas City Port to reach the island.</p><br>
<p>One of the famous destination within the island is Mahabang Buhangin, a kilometer-long stretch of white sand beach. Another one is Cueva Sitio, a cave that leads to the other side of the island.</p><br>
<p>Verde Island has been a destination for tourist and divers in Batangas City since 1999, after the Pastor clan opened an P80 Million resort at Brgy. San Antonio.</p><br>
<p>The Lexington Battle Green, properly known as Lexington Common, is the historic town common of Lexington, Massachusetts. It was at this site that the opening shots of the Battles of Lexington and Concord were fired on April 19, 1775, starting the American Revolutionary War. Now a public park, the common is a National Historic Landmark.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Unlike many other towns, Lexington did not set aside a separate common area when the town was laid out. In 1711, the townspeople raised funds by subscription, and purchased 1.5 acre of land as a militia training ground. This was enlarged by one more acre in 1722. The common is a triangular parcel of land, bounded by Massachusetts Avenue, Bedford Street, and Harrington Road, and is located just northwest of Lexingtons commercial center. The Buckman Tavern, one of the areas busiest local taverns, stands across Bedford Street; it is also a National Historic Landmark.</p><br>
<p>On April 19, 1775, local militiamen emerged from Buckman Tavern adjacent to the common and formed two rows on the common to face arriving British troops. The militiamen suffered the first casualties of the American Revolution when the two sides exchanged fire.</p><br>
<h2>Description</h2><br>
<p>The battle green, now a public park, is a grassy expanse with a few mature trees. There are several memorials on the fringes of the common, the most iconic being the statue representing Captain John Parker, the leader of the Lexington militia, which stands at its eastern corner. It was erected in 1900 at the bequest of Francis Brown Hayes, and was sculpted by well-known Massachusetts artist Henry Hudson Kitson.</p><br>
<p>A bronze plaque, placed in 1910 by the Daughters of the American Revolution, marks the original location of the Old Belfry. The Belfry was moved several times before being destroyed by a gale in 1909. It was rebuilt the following year and is now located on a hill just south of the park. Near the western corner of the park stands what is considered the oldest memorial to the Revolution: the Revolutionary War Monument, a granite obelisk erected in 1799. In 1835, the remains of seven of the eight militiamen killed in the battle were exhumed from the nearby Old Burying Ground and reburied within the monuments iron fence. The monument also marks the approximate western end of the Patriot line. The lines eastern end is marked with an inscribed boulder.</p><br>
<p>The battle green is one of only eight locations in the United States where the USA flag is specifically authorized by law to fly twenty-four hours a day, though the USA Flag Code (4 USAC. §4-10) allows for the flag to be displayed anywhere "24 hours a day if properly illuminated during the hours of darkness."</p><br>
