<p>The White Sea–Baltic Canal , often abbreviated to White Sea Canal  is a ship canal in Russia opened on 2 August 1933. It connects the White Sea, in the Arctic Ocean, with Lake Onega, which is further connected to the Baltic Sea. Until 1961, its original name was the Stalin White Sea–Baltic Canal .</p><br>
<p>The canal was constructed by forced labor of gulag inmates. Beginning and ending with a labor force of 126,000, between 12,000 and 240,000 laborers died according to official records, and accounts in the works of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.</p><br>
<p>The canal runs partially along several canalized rivers and Lake Vygozero. The total length of the route is 227 km. As of 2008, the canal sees only light traffic, carrying between ten and forty boats per day. Its economic advantages are limited by its minimal depth of 3.5 m, inadequate for most sea-going vessels. The canal was originally proposed to be 5.4 m deep; however, various cost issues forced completion to a much lesser depth. This depth typically corresponds to river craft with deadweight cargo up to 600 t, while useful sea going vessels of 2,000–3,000 dwt typically have drafts of 4.5 -.</p><br>
<h2>Waterway</h2><br>
<p>The total waterway length is 227 km, of which 48 km are man-made. The current flows north from Lake Onega to the White Sea, and all navigation marks are set according to it. Once in Lake Onega, ships can exit the southwest shore through the Svir River (and its two locks) to reach Lake Ladoga and then proceed down the Neva River to Saint Petersburg and the Baltic Sea. Alternatively, from Lake Onega river ships can sail eastward into the Volga–Baltic Waterway.</p><br>
<h3>Canal route</h3><br>
<p>The canal begins near Povenets settlement in Povenets bay of Lake Onega. After Povenets there are seven locks close together, forming the "Stairs of Povenets". These locks are the southern slope of the canal. The canal summit pond at 103 meters elevation is 22 km long between locks 7 & 8. The northern slope has twelve locks numbered 8–19. The route of the northern slope runs through five large lakes; Lake Matkozero between locks 8 & 9, Lake Vygozero between locks 9 & 10, Lake Palagorka between locks 10 & 11, Lake Voitskoye between locks 11 & 12 and Lake Matkozhnya between locks 13 & 14. The canal empties out into the Soroka Bay of the White Sea at Belomorsk. The settlements of Povenets, Segezha, Nadvoitsy, Sosnovets, and Belomorsk are located along the canal.</p><br>
<h3>Sailing conditions</h3><br>
<p>Minimum lock dimensions are 14.3 m wide by 135 m long. The navigable channel is 36 m wide and 3.5 m deep, with a radius of curvature of 500 m. Speed is limited to 8 km/h in all artificial portions. In conditions of low visibility (defined as less than one kilometer) navigation is halted.</p><br>
<p>For the navigation seasons of 2008 to 2010, the canal locks were scheduled to operate from 20 May each year until 15–30 October, giving 148–163 navigation days per year.</p><br>
<h2>Construction</h2><br>
<p>The Soviet Union presented the canal as an example of the success of the first five-year plan. Its construction was completed four months ahead of schedule, though not as deep as planned. The entire canal was constructed in twenty months, between 1931 and 1933, almost entirely by manual labor.</p><br>
<p>The canal was the first major project constructed in the Soviet Union using forced labor. BBLAG, the Directorate of the BBK Camps, serviced the construction, supplying a workforce of an estimated 100,000 convicts, at the cost of huge casualties. Prison labor camp projects were not usually publicized, but the work on the Belomor canal was an exception, as the convicts were thought to not only construct the canal but reforge themselves in the process (Soviet concept of perekovka, or reforging(rehabilitated)).</p><br>
<p>Marshall Berman states that "The canal was a triumph of publicity; but if half the care that went into the public relations campaign had been devoted to the work itself, there would have been far fewer victims and far more development."</p><br>
<p>In particular, he emphasizes that politics and public relations ruined the usefulness of the canal:</p><br>
<h3>Organization and management</h3><br>
<p>The workforce for the Canal was supplied by the Belbaltlag camp directorate (White Sea–Baltic Corrective Labor Camp Directorate, WSBC) of the OGPU GULAG.</p><br>
<p>P. F. Aleksandrov (П. Ф. Александров), acting chief of WSBC, January 16, 1932, full chief from March 28, 1932 to at least January 15, 1933</p><br>
<p>Matvei Berman, head of the Gulag during most of the 1930s, Firin reported directly to him</p><br>
<p>Semyon Grigoryevich Firin (:ru:Фирин, Семён Григорьевич), Chief of Construction, also mentioned in 1933 documents as chief of WSBC</p><br>
<p>Naftaly Frenkel, the Chief of Works, November 16, 1931 to the end of construction.</p><br>
<p>Lazar Kogan, chief of the BBK Construction Directorate</p><br>
<p>Yakov Davidovich Rappoport (:ru:Раппопорт, Яков Давидович), deputy chief of the BBK Construction Directorate</p><br>
<p>E.I. Senkevich (Э. И. Сенкевич), chief of WSBC, November 16, 1931 – January 16, 1932, also assistant chief of the BBK Construction Directorate</p><br>
<p>Genrikh Yagoda, Deputy Chairman of the OGPU, as well as Berman, Firin, Kogan, and Rappoport were awarded medals for the completion of the canal by the Politburo on July 15, 1933.</p><br>
<h3>Working conditions</h3><br>
<p>The Soviets portrayed the project as evidence of the efficiency of the Gulag. Supposedly "reforging" "class enemies" (political prisoners) through "corrective labor", the working conditions at the BBK Camp were brutal, with the prisoners given only primitive hand tools to carry out the massive construction project. The mortality was about 8.7%. Still more became sick and disabled.</p><br>
<p>The workforce was organized into brigades of 25–30 people, which, in turn, constituted phalanges of 250–300. There were norms for labor: e.g. for digging by hand, the norm was 2.5 m&sup3; of stone per day per brigade. These teams were pitted to compete against each other in surpassing the norms, and promises were made of shortened sentences, food and cash bonuses for those who would. After the construction, 12,000 prisoners were freed as a reward for their efforts. Meanwhile, about 12,000 workers died during the building process, according to the official records,</p><br>
<h3>The canal and Russian writers</h3><br>
<p>A carefully prepared visit in August 1933 to the White Sea–Baltic Canal may have hidden the worst of the brutality from a group of 120 Russian writers and artists, the so-called Writers Brigade, including Maxim Gorky, Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy, Viktor Shklovsky, and Mikhail Zoshchenko, who compiled a work in praise of the project, the 600-page The I.V. Stalin White Sea – Baltic Sea Canal (Беломорско-Балтийский канал имени Сталина), published at the end of 1934. Shklovsky visited Belomorkanal on his own and did not travel there with the group organized by Gorky. Gorky himself did not travel with the Brigade but instead organized the trip. Gorky had previously visited the Solovetski Islands labor camp in 1929 and wrote about it in the Soviet journal Our Accomplishments.</p><br>
<p>Additionally, it is doubtful that all of the writers involved in the project were unaware of the brutality or actual living conditions present in the camp. In fact, one of the contributors, Sergei Alymov, was a prisoner at the Belomor camp and was the editor for the camp newspaper Perekovka, ("Re-forging"). Similarly, Aleksandr Avdeenko&#39;s account of the trip to Belomor includes conversations between OGPU chief Semyon Firin and Prince Mirsky that reveal at least some of the writers were aware of the true nature of Belomor.</p><br>
<h2>History of usage</h2><br>
<h3>In 1930s</h3><br>
<p>After the canal had been completed and opened for navigation, the Belbaltlag (White Sea-Baltic Camp) has been reorganized into the White Sea-Baltic Combine (Baltiysko-Belomorsky Kombinat ), still within the NKVD system, by the order of the Council of People&#39;s Commissars of the USSR dated August 17, 1933. The Combine was charged with operating the canal and the economic development of the adjacent areas, including 2.8 million hectares of forest lands, and all the industrial facilities that had been constructed along the canal.</p><br>
<p>A major part of the Combines workforce consisted of Beltbaltlags prisoners, around 75-85 thousand of them. In addition, the Combine included 21 "special settlements" (spetsposyolok), with some 30 thousand residents, mostly dispossessed farmers transported to Karelia from the USSRs warmer regions, and their families. In addition to convicts and "special settlers", the Combine employed about 4500 free employees, and a paramilitary security force. The total number of the Combines employees accounted for about 25% of the population of the Karelian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic.</p><br>
<p>Until 1936, all financial transactions of the Combine were exempt from taxes and duties.</p><br>
<p>Creating BBK gave rise to the development of Belomorsk as a major industrial city. New cities and urban-type settlements developed along the route of the canal, such as Medvezhyegorsk, Segezha, Nadvoitsy. Povenets, which by the 1920s had been demoted from a town to a village, now became a town again, and a large port.</p><br>
<h3>During World War II</h3><br>
<p>There was no action near the White Sea–Baltic Canal during the Winter War of 1939-1940, as during that war the USSR was invading Finland, rather than the other way around. On the other hand, with Germany&#39;s full-scale invasion of the USSR in 1941, supported by Finland in the Continuation War, the route of the canal became the front line.</p><br>
<p>On June 23, 1941, the day after the German invasion of the USSR, 16 Finnish commandos were brought to the canal by two German Heinkel He 115 seaplanes, which had taken off in Oulujärvi. The commandos were Finnish volunteers recruited by the German Major Schaller. They wore German uniforms and had German weapons, as the Finnish General Staff did not want to have anything to do with the operation. The commandos task was to blow up the canals locks, but, due to the raised security level, they failed.</p><br>
<p>On June 28, 1941, the canal was bombed for the first time by the Finnish air force. Locks No. 6, 7, 8 and 9 were the targets. The following day, on 29 June, Finnish troops started their offensive along the Finland-USSR border. The air bombings of the Povenets lock ladder succeeded in interrupting boat traffic on the canal for only part of the summer, from June 28 to August 6 and then again from 13 to 24 August 1941. On August 28, the fifth,and final, bombing raid of the 1941 navigation season took place. Its target was Lock No. 7; however, it failed to cause any damage.</p><br>
<p>In August, 1941, the management of the BBK and most of the canal staff was evacuated from Medvezhyegorsk to Lock No. 19 in Belomorsk. Out of the 800 canal workers, only 80 remained at their stations.</p><br>
<p>In November 1941, a caravan of passenger vessels carrying evacuated families of Povenets canal workers and residents of nearby villages, as well as various equipment, froze into the ice of Lake Vygozero. In the night of November 12/13 1941, another boat caravan froze into the ice of the Zaonezhsky Bay near Megostrov Island; it was later captured by Finnish troops. On December 5, 1941, Finnish troops entered Medvezhyegorsk.</p><br>
<p>On December 6, 1941, in a -37 °C frost, Finnish troops captured Povenets, the southern entrance to the White Sea–Baltic Canal.</p><br>
<p>On the same day, Soviet troops started demolishing canal structures. Lock No. 1 was the first to be blown up.</p><br>
<p>By the morning of December 8, Locks No 1 to 6, and dams No. 4 and 20 had all been demolished.</p><br>
<p>At the same time heavy fighting took place in the area of the Povenets Lock Ladder (Locks No. 1 to 7). The Finns crossed the canal and captured Gabselga village east of it, but after a few days of fighting they were pushed back to the canal&#39;s western side.</p><br>
<p>Soviet sappers blew up Lock No. 7 only on December 11, after the Red Army had already retreated from the area. Once the locks of the Povenets Ladder had been destroyed, water from the watershed lakes started to freely pour into Lake Onega through Povenets village, which was nearly completely destroyed by the flow. The route of the White Sea–Baltic Canal had become the front line, separating the Finnish troops on the canal&#39;s western bank from the Soviet forces on its eastern bank. The opposing armies held these position until June 1944.</p><br>
<h3>The postwar years</h3><br>
<p>After Finland left the war in September 1944, the war damage to the canal (which include the complete destruction of its southern section and the town of Povenets, as well as damage to lighthouses and other structures elsewhere) could be repaired. Rebuilding was completed by July 1946, with through navigation all along the canal restored on July 28, 1946</p><br>
<p>On February 2, 1950, the RSFSR Council of Ministers issued an order for the overhaul and reconstruction of the White Sea Canals structures. Work began on the gradual electrification of the canals structures and machinery. In 1953, the locks&#39; staff started including electricians; by 1957, the electrification of the locks of the northern slope of the canal was completed, and by 1959 all coastal and floating navigation lights were switched to electric power.</p><br>
<p>The importance of White Sea–Baltic Canal for the national economy greatly increased after the commissioning of the modern Volga-Baltic Waterway in 1964. Canal capacity and the annual volume of freight traffic increased several-fold.</p><br>
<p>Another upgrade of the canal took place in the 1970s. During the reconstruction, the guaranteed depth of the fairway was increased to 4 meters, and the channel became part of the Unified Deep Water System of European Russia.</p><br>
<h2>Canal use</h2><br>
<p>The cargo tonnage peaked during 1985 with 7.3 million tonnes being transported along the canal. Cargo quantities remained high during the following five years until 1990 and then declined. Early in the 21st century amounts began to rise gradually, but they remained low compared to the 1985 peak, just 283,400 tonnes in 2001 and 314,600 tonnes in 2002.</p><br>
<p>During the shipping season of 2007, the canal&#39;s cargo volume was at 400,000 tonnes. 2,500 passengers travelled along the canal as well. The canal is operated by the agency known as the White Sea and Lake Onega Waterways and Shipping Administration</p><br>
<p>(Беломорско-Онежское государственное бассейновое управление водных путей и судоходства), which is also responsible for shipping on Lake Onega and in the Belomorsk harbor area (but not throughout the actual White Sea). The canal, apparently, is a comparatively minor part of the agencys business, as in the same 2007, the agencys entire cargo volume was 4.6 million tonnes, and the passenger count, 155,000.</p><br>
<p>According to official statistics, a total of 193 million tonnes of cargo had been transported over the canal over the first 75 years of its operation (1933–2008).</p><br>
<p>The canal makes it possible to ship heavy and bulky items from Russias industrial centers to the White Sea, and then by sea-going vessels to Siberias northern ports. For example, in the summer of 2007, a large piece of equipment for Rosneft&#39;s Siberian Vankor Oil Field was delivered by the Amur-1516 from Dzerzhinsk on the Oka River, via the Volga–Baltic Waterway and the White Sea Canal to Arkhangelsk, and then from there by the ocean-going SA-15 class Arctic cargo ship Kapitan Danilkin to Dudinka on the Yenisei River. In 2011, heavy equipment for the Sayano-Shushenskaya Hydro Power Plant was shipped from Saint Petersburg via the canal, the Arctic seas, and the Yenisei River.</p><br>
<h3>Oil product shipping</h3><br>
<p>The canal has been used for shipping oil products from oil refineries on the Volga River to consumers in the Murmansk Oblast, or overseas. Russia&#39;s Volgotanker Company, which owned a fleet of suitably sized petroleum tankers and ore-bulk-oil carriers, pioneered this route starting in August 1970, when Nefterudovoz-3 delivered a cargo of fuel oil to the White Sea port of Kandalaksha.</p><br>
<p>After many years of interruption, Volgotanker resumed using the canal route in 2003. The company had plans to carry 800,000 tonnes of fuel oil over the canal during 2003, and to increase the volume to 1,500,000 t in 2004. The fuel was transferred from Volgotanker river tankers to Latvian seagoing tankers at a floating transfer station near the Osinki Island in the Onega Bay of the White Sea, 36 km north-east of the port of Onega.</p><br>
<p>Transfer operations began on 24 June 2003. But on 1 September 2003 a low-speed collision between Volgotankers Nefterudovoz-57M and the Latvian Zoja-I during a transfer caused a crack in the Nefterudovozs hull, with a subsequent oil spillage. Various estimates of the extent of the spill were made, the final one being 45 t, of which only 9 t were recovered. Volgotanker&#39;s alleged failure to contain the spill, or to cooperate with the competent authorities in a timely manner, resulted in the Arkhangelsk Oblast authorities shutting down the oil transfer operation, at a point when only 220,000 tonnes had been exported. The company was fined and a permit for future operations was not granted.</p><br>
<h3>Military use</h3><br>
<p>Russian naval thinkers long thought that a well-designed canal system could help the Russian (or, later, Soviet) Navy overcome the geographic separation of the fleets based on Russia&#39;s Black Sea, Baltic, Arctic, Pacific, and Caspian coasts. The White Sea Canal was also constructed with military use in mind,</p><br>
<p>and early in its history the canal was used to transfer the Northern Fleet&#39;s first warships to the White Sea from the Baltic.</p><br>
<p>According to historians, in the years between the canal&#39;s completion and the Soviet entry into World War II, the canal was used for the transfer of military vessels between the two seas on 17 occasions.</p><br>
<p>During World War II, in August–September 1941, the canal was used to move a number of submarines from the Baltic Fleet to the White Sea. That included submarines K-3, S-101 and S-102, L-22, etc.</p><br>
<p>Some unfinished submarines from Leningrads Baltic Shipyard and Gorkys (Krasnoye Sormovo shipyard) to the new Sevmash shipyard in Severodvinsk.</p><br>
<p>Since then, the canal has been regularly used for delivering submarines, by transporter dock, from the Baltic Shipyard and Krasnoye Sormovo to Sevmash for completion.</p><br>
<h3>Hydroelectric stations</h3><br>
<p>The canal system includes five hydroelectric power generating plants, with the total production capacity of 240 MW.</p><br>
<h2>Commemoration</h2><br>
<p>The canal was commemorated by the Soviet Belomorkanal cigarette brand.</p><br>
<p>There was a monument for the prisoners who perished during the construction at Povenets, and a smaller memorial in Belomorsk near to the entrance of the canal into the White Sea. There was even a play, a comedy, written about the canal by Nikolay Pogodin.</p><br>
<p>A memory of the canal is also preserved in the Russian language, in the words "zeka", "zek, z/k" for "inmate". In Russian, "inmate", "incarcerated" is заключённый (zakliuchyonnyi), usually abbreviated to "з/к" in paperwork, and pronounced as "зэка" (, "zeh-KA"), which gradually transformed into "зэк" and "зек", zek (both pronounced as ). The word is still in colloquial use. Originally the abbreviation stood for zaklyuchyonny kanaloarmeyets (заключённый каналоармеец), literally "incarcerated canal-army-man". The latter term coined in an analogy with the words "krasnoarmeyets" meaning "member of the Red Army" or trudarmeyets (member of a labor army). The history of the term, attributed to Lazar Kogan, is described as follows. In 1932, when Anastas Mikoyan visited Belomorstroy (construction of the White Sea Baltic Canal) Kogan told him "Comrade Mikoyan, what shall we call them? (…) I thought up the word: kanaloarmeyets. What do you think?" Mikoyan approved it.</p><br>
<p>The Battle of Mount Longdon was an engagement of the Falklands War between British and Argentine forces, which took place on 11–12 June 1982, resulting in the British victory and their occupation of a key position around the besieged Argentine garrison.</p><br>
<h2>Background</h2><br>
<h3>British forces</h3><br>
<p>The British force consisted of Third Battalion, the Parachute Regiment (3 PARA) under Lieutenant Colonel Hew Pike with artillery support from six 105 mm light guns of 29 Commando Regiment, Royal Artillery; Second Battalion, the Parachute Regiment (2 PARA) were in reserve. Naval gunfire support was provided by &#39;s 4.5-in gun.</p><br>
<h3>Argentine forces</h3><br>
<p>The Argentine force consisted of B Company of the 7th Infantry Regiment (RI 7) of the 10th Mechanized Infantry Brigade, as well as detachments from other units. The local Argentine commander was 34-year-old Major Carlos Carrizo Salvadores, the second-in-command of RI 7. The 7th Infantry Regiment, reinforced by two Marine Infantry platoons, held Mount Longdon, Wireless Ridge to the northwest of the capital of the islands, Port Stanley and to their east, Cortley Ridge. Marine Teniente de Navío (naval rank equivalent to army captain) Sergio Andrés Dachary had arrived at Mount Longdon in the week preceding the battle, and was on hand to control the Marine-manned heavy machine-guns and sniper teams there.</p><br>
<p>The Argentine forces were not raw conscripts, but recalled reservists with a year of training, that included the 7th Regiment fight a mock battle in central Argentina alongside the 3rd and 6th Infantry Regiments of the 10th Brigade."Towards the end of October 1981 Brigadier-General Jofre laid on a major exercise in which the fully armed and equipped 10th Infantry Brigade pushed its way north and west towards the General Acha training area in La Pampa province high on the lower slopes of the Andes about 1,000 kilometres from Buenos Aires. The climax came with a brigade mechanized infantry assault, while overhead Skyhawks, representing both friendly and enemy air support, strafed hulks with rockets. The Argentinian Army Commander-in-Chief, Lieutenant-General Roberto Viola, paid close attention to the performance of the brigade. It tested the men. "</p><br>
<p>5th Infantry Brigade in the Falklands 1982,Nicholas Van der Bijl, David Aldea, p.29, Leo Cooper, 2003 The young RI 7 soldiers were not going to abandon their positions easily and several were prepared to hold their ground. They possessed fully automatic FN FAL rifles, FAP light machine guns and PAMS sub-machine guns; these weapons delivered more firepower than the British L1A1 rifle (SLR). They were also equipped with FN MAG 7.62mm general purpose machineguns, which were almost identical to those of the Paras. At their San Miguel del Monte training camp the 7th Regiment companies prepared for possible war against Chile and carried out some helicopter drills with the 601st Combat Aviation Battalion. Some fifty of the 7th Regiment were to fight more resolutely than the rest, having been put through a commando course organized by commando-trained Major Oscar Jaimet, the Operations Officer of the 6th Infantry Regiment (RI 6). Private Jorge Altieri in an interview after the war told how he trained hard with B Company:</p><br>
<p>I was issued with a FAL 7.62 millimetre rifle. Other guys were given FAP light machineguns – and others got PAMS. The main emphasis in shooting was making every bullet count. I was also shown how to use a bazooka, how to make and lay booby-traps, and how to navigate at night, and we went on helicopter drills, night and day attacks and ambushes.</p><br>
<p>Altieri of Sub Lieutenant Juan Domingo Baldini&#39;s 1st Platoon, would also claim the conscripts experienced much hunger, despite permission to go through the stockpiled cold rations on Mount Longdon:</p><br>
<p>During wartime, the higher ranking officers are in totally different places... Sub Lieutenant Baldini would receive orders from Major Carrizo who was further down, to use our cold rations and that the more nutritious food wed get when the fighting started because they didnt know if theyd be able to supply us with food. From 16 April to 11 June we fought, wed have soup with lentils, green peas and some piece of mutton. We would tell our officer: "We cant tell the British soldiers to wait so that we could get better food and then start shooting... We werent properly fed prior to the fighting like we should&#39;ve been, we were weakened.</p><br>
<p>The experiences in Baldini&#39;s platoon varied from soldier to soldier. Private Luis Aparicio claims that he and others once escaped into Port Stanley where they were able to buy cigarettes, jams, bread, apples and cookies and that the corporal in charge of his group would allow them to shoot and eat sheep, but that in the last 20 days they hardly got any food. He also admits that the 1st Platoon was taken out of the mountain twice, in April and at the beginning of May, so that the soldiers could get a chance to shower in Port Stanley and that on the last march into town, the men stayed there overnight. Private Carlos Amato claims that Baldini had a net stretched outside his tent that contained tinned provisions for his men, but claims these cold rations were poor quality, although he would consume them after getting a fellow conscript to heat them up first and that the NCOs in the platoon had no qualms in eating this food. Sergio Delgado claims that he hated his section leader, Corporal Geronimo Diaz of the 1st Platoon, but says that the NCO allowed him and four other conscripts to open up and drink several cans of beer that had been helicoptered forward. Private Alberto Carbone claims that Baldini would always get him to go and look for firewood so that the officer could heat up his food while the remainder of the platoon "starved" and that Baldini "clashed with everyone" and was left to himself and "died alone" as a result.</p><br>
<p>Sub-Lieutenant Baldini is accused of having handed out field punishment to a number of conscripts for having abandoned their posts to go looking for food. "Our own officers were our greatest enemies", says Ernesto Alonso of Baldini&#39;s platoon who later became the president of CECIM, a veterans group founded by Rodolfo Carrizo and former conscripts of the 7th Regiment. "They supplied themselves with whiskey from the pubs, but they weren’t prepared for war. They disappeared when things got serious." Alonso also claims the conscripts on Mount Longdon fought “without any type of leadership by our commanders, the officers and NCOs." Alonso admits he took no part in the fighting for he was evacuated during the daylight hours of 11 June, a victim of shell-shock during an artillery bombardment. The previous day, Private Carbone had also been evacuated after he shot himself in his left thigh while inside his tent as is revealed in the book Two Sides of Hell (Bloomsbury Publishing, 1994). Baldini applied first-aid and allowed the conscript to be taken down the mountain, where a helicopter arrived to take the wounded soldier to Stanley Hospital, but not before coming under heavy rifle fire from nervous sentries on Wireless Ridge that damaged the helicopter.</p><br>
<p>There are others who maintain that these men were helped to make themselves as comfortable as possible under the circumstances and that their officers, including Baldini, tried hard to bolster morale with Baldini handing cups of hot chocolate milk to his sodden conscripts in late May 1982.</p><br>
<p>In 2009, Argentine authorities in Comodoro Rivadavia ratified a decision made by authorities in Río Grande, Tierra del Fuego (which, according to Argentina, have authority over the islands), announcing their intention to charge 70 officers and NCOs with inhumane treatment of conscript soldiers during the war.</p><br>
<p>"We have testimony from 23 people about a soldier who was shot to death by a corporal, four other former combatants who starved to death, and at least 15 cases of conscripts who were staked out on the ground", Pablo Vassel, president of the Human Rights Department of the province of Corrientes, told Inter Press Service News Agency. The conscript that was supposedly "shot to death", has been identified as Marine Private Rito Portillo, who according to the military surgeon that attended him, Major Andino Luis Francisco, was shot in error on the night of 4–5 May when returning to his tent from nearby latrines. There are serious claims that false testimonies were used as evidence in accusing the Argentine officers and NCOs and Vassel had to step down from his post in 2010.</p><br>
<p>Since the 2009 announcement was made, no one in the military or among the retired officers and NCOs has been charged, causing Pablo Vassel in April 2014 to comment:</p><br>
<p>For over two years weve been waiting for a final say on behalf of the courts... There are some types of crimes that no state should allow to go unpunished, no matter how much time has passed, such as the crimes of the dictatorship. Last year Germany sentenced a 98-year-old corporal for his role in the concentration camps in one of the Eastern European countries occupied by Nazi Germany. It didnt take into account his age or rank.</p><br>
<h2>Battle</h2><br>
<h3>British advance</h3><br>
<p>3 PARA made a desperate march across the hills north of Mount Simon to seize the key piece of high ground above the settlement of Estancia, also known as Estancia House. The weather conditions were atrocious, with the Paras marching through steep slippery hillocks to the objective. Nick Rose was a private in 6 Platoon under Lieutenant Jonathan Shaw:</p><br>
<p>The terrain dictated exactly how we advanced. A lot of the time if we were going along on tracks – what few we did go on – we used Indian file, which is staggered file on either side of the track, like a zig-zag. But there are great rivers of rock – big white boulders – and you have to cross them and then theres the heather and the gorse and its constantly wet. So the wind chill factor was – I think somebody said minus 40 degrees – and storm force winds and horizontal rain – a nightmare scenario.... We are horrible, were miserable as sin, all of us – we&#39;re missing home, want a dry fag, warm, dry boots, a cheese and onion sandwich and a bottle of blue top milk. I used to dream of these.</p><br>
<p>Captain Matthew Selfridge of 3 PARA set up a patrol base near Murrell Bridge, two kilometres west of Mount Longdon on 3 June, protected by 4 Platoon (under Lieutenant Ian Bickerdike) from B Company.From there Selfridge sent out patrols from D Company to scout out the Argentine positions on Mount Longdon. Terry Peck, a former FIDF member also carried out patrolling, and in one occasion while pretending to have gotten lost while riding his motorbike, he chatted to a group of five conscripts (under Corporal Geronimo Diaz of Baldini&#39;s 1st Platoon) that had been tasked with guarding provisions that had been helicoptered forward and were relaxing in the sun after drinking several cans of beer on the eastern end of Mount Longdon.</p><br>
<p>The small party was detailed to penetrate Sub-Lieutenant Juan Baldini&#39;s 1st Platoon on the western slopes to secure a prisoner, supported to their rear by a battery of six 105 mm field guns, under cover of which the specialist snipers shot at Baldini while another fired a 66mm anti-tank rocket at one of the 1st Platoon mortar pits under Corporal Óscar Carrizo. The Argentine commanders reacted vigorously, and the sniper team found themselves under prompt and accurate machinegun, artillery and mortar fire. There were no Argentine casualties. One British participant nevertheless claimed to have shot and killed two Argentines and demolished one mortar crew with a rocket at close range.</p><br>
<p>On the Argentine side, it was soon realised that the 7th Infantry Regiment Reconnaissance Platoon under Second Lieutenant Francisco Ramón Galíndez Matienzo on the surrounding Wireless Ridge position were in no condition to carry out their own patrolling for they had been designated the Argentine reserve on Wireless Ridge. Thus, the Argentine Commando units, normally used for deep-recce had to take on this role. They were able to do so with some success and in the early hours of 7 June when a combined patrol of the 601st Commando Company and 601st National Gendarmerie Special Forces Squadron, investigating reports from Major Jaimet of enemy activity around Murrell Bridge was seen approaching the bridge. After several nights in the area Corporals Peter Hadden and Mark Brown and their patrols had just arrived at the bluff on the western bank of the Murrell River which Sergeant Ian Addle&#39;s patrol had been using as a base.</p><br>
<p>Within a short period of time a sentry reported moving figures down near the bridge. The Paras opened up and a confused firefight developed in the darkness, with small arms, machinegun, LAW rockets and Energa rifle grenades being exchanged. The Commando patrol under Captain Rubén Teófilo Figueroa was very aggressive and before dawn had forced the Paras to withdraw, having to leave behind much of their equipment. Only one Argentine NCO (Drill Sergeant Rubén Poggi), was slightly wounded during the Argentine counter-ambush. From then on British patrols had to be mounted closer to their own lines.</p><br>
<p>As the official history of the Parachute Regiment acknowledged:</p><br>
<p>They were forced to evacuate their position rapidly, leaving behind their packs and radio, but succeeded in withdrawing without suffering any casualties. The location was checked on the evening of 8 June by another patrol, but there was no sign of the packs or radio, which meant the battalion&#39;s radio net could have been compromised.</p><br>
<p>Nevertheless, Colonel Pike and his company commanders on the eve of battle still held the Argentine commanders in low regard and did not expect them to put up much resistance. For this reason the British hoped to surprise the Argentine commanders by advancing as close to their forward platoon as possible under cover of darkness, before storming into their trenches with fixed bayonets. The three major objectives – Fly Half, Full Back and Wing Forward – were named after positions in Rugby football. B Company would attack through Fly Half and proceed to Full Back, while A Company, followed by C Company if necessary, would do the same on Wireless Ridge.</p><br>
<p>But morale was still reasonable in the 7th Regiment. Private Fabián Passaro of B Company served on Longdon with the 1st Platoon and remembers life at the time:</p><br>
<p>Most of us had adjusted to what wed been landed in, wed adjusted to the war. But some boys were still very depressed and, in many cases, were getting worse all the time. Of course, we were very fed up with wearing the same clothes for so many days, going without a shower, being so cold, eating badly. It was too many things together, quite apart from our natural fear of the war, the shelling and all that. But I think some of us were adapting better than others. There were kids who were very worried; and I tried to buoy them up a bit. Dont worry, I told them. Nothing will happen, were safe here. Dont you see they could never get right up here? Theres one thousand of us; if they try to climb, well see them, well shoot the shit out of them."</p><br>
<p>When 3 PARA&#39;s B Company (under Major Mike Argue) fixed bayonets to storm the Argentine 1st Platoon positions on Mount Longdon, they found themselves running into a minefield. British sappers subsequently counted some 1,500 anti-personnel mines laid along the western and northern slopes of Mount Longdon, but only two exploded recalled Corporal Peter Cuxson, because the rest were frozen. Otherwise the final battle for Port Stanley would have been an altogether different story, concludes the NCO who took an Argentine machine-gun position that night.</p><br>
<h3>Assault on Longdon</h3><br>
<p>As dusk set-in, 3 PARA moved to their start lines and, after a brief stop, began to make the four-hour-long advance on their objectives. As B Company approached Mount Longdon, Corporal Brian Milne stepped on a mine, which after a very silent approach, alerted Sub-Lieutenant Baldinis platoon of conscripts. More than 20 Argentinian soldiers emerged from their tents to lay down fire, but most of the platoon was still struggling out of its sleeping bags when Lieutenant Ian Bickerdikes No. 4 Platoon was among them, machinegunning and grenading the helpless Argentines.</p><br>
<p>Corporal Stewart McLaughlin was in the thick of the action, clearing out an Argentine 7.62mm machinegun from the high ground overlooking the western slopes. He mustered his section, ordered them to fix bayonets and then led them up the hill into a hail of machinegun fire.</p><br>
<p>Lieutenant Jonathan Shaws No. 6 Platoon, on the right flank of B Company, captured the summit of Fly Half&#39; with no fighting. However, they had missed half a dozen Argentine conscripts of the 3rd Platoon, having grenaded several abandoned bunkers, and these launched a fierce attack on the unsuspecting platoon, resulting in a number of casualties before the area was cleared. For three hours the hand-to-hand combat raged in the 1st Platoon sector, until the Paras drove out the defenders.</p><br>
<p>All around the 1st Platoon position, small groups of soldiers were fighting for their lives. Privates Ben Gough and Dominic Gray managed to crawl undetected up to an Argentine bunker and crouched beside it as the Marine conscripts inside blasted away into the night. In unison the two Paras each pulled the pin out of a grenade and posted them through the firing slit of the bunker. The instant the grenades exploded, the two jumped in the bunker and started to bayonet the two Marines. Private Gray killed a Marine by sticking his bayonet through his eye socket. They were both mentioned in despatches. Marine Corporal Carlos Rafael Colemil was part of the forward defence and fought as a sniper:</p><br>
<p>A British soldier climbed over the rock which supported the accommodation bunker of the 105mm gun crew, and from here he was silhouetted. He screamed like he was giving out orders, I aimed and fired and he fell, then Conscript Daniel Ferrandis alerted me to the approach of three British soldiers on the flank. I observed with the night sight, they were very close, I saw one of them was carrying a gun with bipod; he fell at the first shot and shouted. Another man approached him and I fired again and also got him... Many people fell to the ground screaming, but soon the enemy was aware of my presence and every time I fired a shot I received a great deal of fire in response. Not long after my main action I was wounded... We could also hear the cries for help from the Rasit radar operator Sergeant Roque Nista, who was wounded. I could hear Sergeant Omar Cabral, who was a sniper he was also firing.</p><br>
<p>According to the account of Private Victor José Bruno, Baldini was killed as he tried to unjam a machinegun. "The Lieutenant pushed us back and stood up trying to unlock the barrel but then he was shot in his belly by enemy fire", he recalled in an interview with Eduardo César Gerding of the Nottingham Malvinas Group. Corporal Dario Ríos was found lying dead with his platoon commander, which disproves Private Carbones claim that Baldini "died alone". Baldinis weapon and boots were removed for the use of British soldiers. A photo of the dead Argentine officer appeared in the original hardback edition of the book Operation Corporate: The Falklands War, 1982 (Viking Press, 1985) and an artist illustration of the photo appears in the frontcover of the book De La Plata a Malvinas (Editorial Dunken, 2012) written by Raúl Eugenio Daneri, the adjutant of the 7th Regiment in the Falklands. Also killed in the initial fighting was Cavalry Sergeant Jorge Alberto Ron (according to Private Altieri who was wounded in the blast that killed the NCO) and the Argentine forward artillery observation officer, Lieutenant Alberto Rolando Ramos, whose last message was that his position was surrounded. Sub-Lieutenant Baldini was awarded the Argentine Nation to the Valour in Combat Medal.</p><br>
<h4>Argentine reinforcements</h4><br>
<p>Just as it seemed as if the Paras would overwhelm 2nd Lieutenant Enrique Neirottis 3rd Platoon on the southern half and Staff Sergeant Raúl Gonzálezs 2nd Platoon on the northern half of the mountain, reinforcements from 2nd Lieutenant Hugo Quirogas 1st Platoon, 10th Engineer Company on Full Back&#39; arrived to help Neirotti and González. Throughout the initial fighting in this sector, most of the Argentine positions on the saddle of the mountain held, the newly arrived engineers using head-mounted nightsights, proving particularly deadly to the Paras.</p><br>
<p>Private Nick Rose in 6 Platoon resumes the story:</p><br>
<p>Pete Gray stood up and went to throw a 42 grenade and he was shot by a sniper in his left forearm. We thought the grenade had gone off. We punched his arm down onto the ground to staunch the bleeding, believing hed lost half his right forearm and hand, but it was still there and his arm bent at the forearm instead of the elbow – a horrible thing to watch....Theres incoming everywhere, loads of stuff going down the range and then bang my pal "Fester", gets it just above his left eye, only a yard away from me. That was a terrible thing. Fester was such a lovely guy. Then it was Baz Barratt. Baz had gone back to try to get field dressings for Pete Grey and he was coming back, bang, he got it in the back. This was when we just stalled as a platoon. (Jon Cooksey, op. cit., p. 66)</p><br>
<p>The battle was going badly for Major Mike Argue. Argentine resistance was strong and well organized. At the centre of the mountain were Marine conscripts Jorge Maciel and Claudio Scaglione in a bunker with a heavy machinegun and Marine conscripts Luis Fernández and Sergio Giuseppetti with night-scope equipped rifles.</p><br>
<p>Lieutenant Bickerdike, a signaller and Sergeant Ian McKay and a number of other men in No. 4 Platoon were attempting to perform reconnaissance on the Marine positions; in doing so, the platoon commander and signaller were wounded. Sergeant McKay realising something needed to be done, decided to attack the Marine heavy machinegun position that was causing so much damage.</p><br>
<p>The assault was met by a hail of fire. Corporal Ian Bailey was seriously wounded, a Private was killed and another wounded. Despite these losses Sergeant McKay, with complete disregard for his own safety for which he was to win a posthumous Victoria Cross, continued to charge the enemy position alone. Peter Harclerode who was granted open access to the war diary of the 3rd Battalion, and subsequently wrote PARA! (Arms & Armour Press, 1993), pointed out that McKay and his team cleared several Marine riflemen in the position but failed to neutralize the heavy machinegun.</p><br>
<p>Corporal McLaughlin managed to crawl to within grenade-throwing range of the Marine heavy-machinegun team, but despite several efforts with fragmentation grenades and 66 mm rockets, he was unable to silence it.</p><br>
<p>Major Carrizo-Salvadores on Full Back had remained in touch with the Argentine commanders in Port Stanley:</p><br>
<p>Around midnight I asked RHQ for infantry reinforcements, and I was given a rifle platoon from Captain Hugo Garcías C Company. First Lieutenant Raúl Fernando Castañeda gathered the sections of his platoon, hooked around First Sergeant Raúl Gonzálezs 2nd Platoon that was already fighting and delivered a counterattack. The Platoon fought with great courage in fierce hand-to-hand combat and the battle raged for two more hours, but gradually the enemy broke contact and withdrew while being engaged by artillery strikes.</p><br>
<h4>Argentine counterattack</h4><br>
<p>It was now the turn of the Argentines to counterattack. Major Carrizo-Salvadores manoeuvred Castañedas reinforced platoon to close with 4 and 5 Platoons and meanwhile under the direction of Corporal Jorge Daniel Arribas, part of Castañedas platoon converged on the British aid post. Colour Sergeant Brian Faulkner, seeing that more than 20 wounded Paras on the western slopes of the mountain were about to fall into the hands of Corporal Arribas, deployed anyone fit enough to defend the British Regimental Aid Post.</p><br>
<p>"I picked four blokes and got up on this high feature, and as I did so this troop of twenty, or thirty Argentines were coming towards us. We just opened fire on them. We dont know how many we killed, but they got what they deserved, because none of them were left standing when wed finished with them." said Faulkner.</p><br>
<p>Things were so bad that Major Argues company ceased firing and devoted their full efforts to withdrawing from Fly Half&#39;. Peter Harclerode, a noted British historian of the Parachute Regiment, went on record, saying that:</p><br>
<p>under covering fire, Nos. 4 and 5 Platoons withdrew, but another man was killed and others wounded in the process. At that point, Lieutenant Colonel Hew Pike and his R Group arrived on the scene and Major Argue briefed him on the situation. Shortly afterwards, Company Sergeant-Major Weeks reported that both platoons had pulled back to a safe distance and that all the wounded had been recovered. The dead, however, had to be left where they had fallen. Meanwhile, on the southern slope of the objective, the wounded from No. 6 Platoon were being evacuated while the rest remained under cover of the rocks.</p><br>
<p>The British 3rd Commando Brigade commander, Brigadier Julian Thompson was reported as having said:</p><br>
<p>"I was on the point of withdrawing my Paras from Mount Longdon. We couldn&#39;t believe that these teenagers disguised as soldiers were causing us to suffer many casualties."</p><br>
<p>By the time the 21 survivors of Castañedas 46-man platoon had worked their way off the mountain, they were utterly exhausted. One of them, Private Leonardo Rondi, was sporting a maroon beret – taken from a dead Parachute Regiment soldier. Private Rondi, having dodged groups of Paras to deliver messages to Castañedas section leaders, had found a Para behind a rock (it may have been Sergeant McKay) and took his red beret and SLR which he later gave to the Argentine commanders as trophies. Rondi was awarded the Argentine Nation to the Valour in Combat Medal.</p><br>
<h4>British attack</h4><br>
<p>Following the unexpectedly fierce fighting on Fly Half, Maj. Argue pulled back Nos. 4, and 5 Platoons, and 29 Commando Regiment directed artillery fire at the mountain from Mount Kent, after which the area was flanked from the left. Under heavy fire, the remnants of 4 and 5 Platoons, under Lieutenant Mark Cox advanced upon their objective of Full Back, taking some casualties from Casteñedas platoon in the form of Corporal Julio Nardielo Mamanis sectrion as they did so. As he was clearing the Argentine position, Private Grey was injured from a headshot but refused to be evacuated until Maj. Argue had consolidated his troops properly in their positions on Fly Half. Private Kevin Connery personally dispatched three wounded Argentines in this action. The Paras could not move any further without taking unacceptable losses and so were pulled back to the western end of Mount Longdon, with the orders for Major David Colletts A Company to move through B Company and assault, from the west, the eastern objective of Full Back&#39;, a heavily defended position, with covering fire being given from Support Company.</p><br>
<p>Second Lieutenants John Kearton and Ian Moore mustered their platoons near the western summit and had briefed them on how to deal with the enemy. They then attacked the position, clearing it of its Argentine garrison with rifle, grenade and bayonet in close quarters combat. As A Company was clearing the final positions, Corporal McLaughlin was injured by a Czekalski recoilless rifle round fired from Wireless Ridge (reportedly the anti-tank gun operated by Corporals Julio César Canteros and Jorge Norberto González from the 7th Regiment Recce Platoon on Rough Diamond), he was subsequently killed by a mortar bomb fired from RI 7s C Company on Rough Diamond&#39; as he made his way to the aid post.</p><br>
<p>The Argentines rigorously defended Full Back. Although already wounded, Corporal Manuel Medina of Castañedas platoon took over another recoilless rifle detachment and personally fired along the ridge at Support Company, killing three Paras, including Private Peter Heddicker, who took the full force of a 105 mm artillery round, three others were also wounded. Major Carrizo-Salvadores abandoned his command bunker on Full Back&#39; only when a MILAN missile smashed into some rocks just behind him. In the command bunker Major Collett found 2,000 cigarettes which he gave to the smokers in his company. The swearing in English on the part of the conscripts, and the discovery of several dead Argentine Marine conscripts dressed in camouflaged uniforms at first led the Paras to believe they had encountered mercenaries from the United States on Mount Longdon.</p><br>
<h2>Aftermath</h2><br>
<p>The battle and the immediate Argentine covering fire that followed lasted twelve hours and had been costly to both sides. 3 PARA lost seventeen killed during the battle; one Royal Engineer attached to 3 PARA also died. Two of the 3 PARA dead – Privates Ian Scrivens and Jason Burt – were only seventeen years old, and Private Neil Grose was killed on his 18th birthday. A total of forty British paratroopers were wounded during the battle. A further four Paras and one REME craftsman were killed and seven Paratroopers were wounded in the two-day shelling that followed that was directed by Sub-Lieutenant Marcelo de Marco of the 5th Marines on Tumbledown Mountain. The Argentines suffered 31 dead and 120 wounded, with 50 also being taken prisoner.</p><br>
<p>Lance-Corporal Vincent Bramley was patrolling the western half of Mount Longdon when he was confronted with the full horror of the night combat. The 3 PARA NCO and keen writer stumbled upon the bodies of five Paratroopers killed by Neirotti&#39;s 3rd Platoon.</p><br>
<p>A few bullets whizzed overhead and smashed into the rocks. A corporal shouted that Tumbledown was firing at us. We ran into a tight gap in the path came to an abrupt halt, as it was a dead end. Four or five bodies lay sprawled there, close together. This time they were our own men: the camouflaged Para smocks hit my eyes immediately. CSM Weeks was standing over them like a guardian, screaming at some of his men to cover the further end of the path and a small crest. The CSM and Sergeant P exchanged quick words. I wasnt listening; my mind was totally occupied with looking into the crags for the enemy. I turned and looked at our own lads, dead on the ground, mowed down when they tried to rush through this gap. I felt both anger and sadness. The CSMs face showed the strain of having seen most of his company either wounded or shot dead. That night&#39;s fighting was written in every line of his face.</p><br>
<h3>Decorations</h3><br>
<p>The 3rd Battalion of the Parachute Regiment won numerous decorations for this action:</p><br>
<p>One Victoria Cross (Sergeant Ian McKay)</p><br>
<p>One Distinguished Service Order (Lieutenant-Colonel Hew Pike)</p><br>
<p>Two Military Crosses (Majors Mike Argue and David Collett)</p><br>
<p>Two Distinguished Conduct Medals (Colour Sergeant Brian Faulkner and Sergeant John Pettinger)</p><br>
<p>Three Military Medals (Sergeant Des Fuller, Corporal Ian Bailey, and Private Richard Absolon)</p><br>
<p>Numerous Mentioned in Despatches</p><br>
<p>The Esquiline Hill  is one of the celebrated Seven Hills of Rome. Its southern-most cusp is the Oppius .</p><br>
<h2>Etymology</h2><br>
<p>The origin of the name Esquilino is still under much debate. One view is that the Hill was named after the abundance of Italian oaks, aesculi, that resided there. Another view is that, during Rome&#39;s infancy, the Capitolium, the Palatinum, and the northern fringes of the Caelian were the most-populated areas of the city, whose inhabitants were considered inquilini, in-towners; those who inhabited the external regions – Aurelian, Oppius, Cispius, Fagutal – were considered exquilini, suburbanites.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The Esquiline Hill includes three prominent spurs, which are sometimes called "hills" as well:</p><br>
<p>Cispian (Cispius) - northern spur</p><br>
<p>Oppian (Oppius) - southern spur</p><br>
<p>Fagutal (Fagutalis) - western spur</p><br>
<p>Rising above the valley in which was later built the Colosseum, the Esquiline was a fashionable residential district.</p><br>
<p>According to Livy, the settlement on the Esquiline was expanded during the reign of Servius Tullius, Rome&#39;s sixth king, in the 6th century BC. The king also moved his residence to the Hill, in order to increase its respectability.</p><br>
<p>The political advisor and art patron Maecenas (70 BC-8 BC) sited his famous gardens, the first gardens in the Hellenistic-Persian garden style in Rome, on the Esquiline Hill, atop the Servian Wall and its adjoining necropolis, near the gardens of Lamia. It contained terraces, libraries and other aspects of Roman culture. At the Oppius, Nero (37-68) confiscated property to build his extravagant, mile-long Golden House, and later still Trajan (53-117) constructed his bath complex, both of whose remains are visible today. The 3rd century AD Horti Liciniani, a group of gardens (including the relatively well-preserved nymphaeum formerly identified as the non-extant Temple of Minerva Medica), were probably constructed on the Esquiline Hill. Farther to the northeast, at the summit of the Cispius, is the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.</p><br>
<p>In 1781, the first known copy of the marble statue of a Discus thrower – the so-called Discobolus of Myron – was discovered on the Roman property of the Massimo family, the Villa Palombara, on the Esquiline Hill. The famous Esquiline Treasure, now in the British Museum, was found on the Esquiline Hill.</p><br>
<h2>Namesakes</h2><br>
<p>The tiny hamlet of El Esquilinchuche in Honduras is named after the Esquiline Hill.</p><br>
<p>The Caelian Hill  is one of the famous Seven Hills of Rome, Italy. Under reign of Tullus Hostilius, the entire population of Alba Longa was forcibly resettled on the Caelian Hill. According to a tradition recounted by Titus Livy, the hill received its name from Caelius Vibenna, either because he established a settlement there or because his friend Servius Tullius wished to honor him after his death.</p><br>
<p>In Republican-era Rome the Caelian Hill was a fashionable residential district and the site of residences of the wealthy. Archaeological work under the Baths of Caracalla have uncovered the remains of lavish villas complete with murals and mosaics. The Caelian is also the site of the Basilica of Santi Giovanni e Paolo and the ancient basilica of Santo Stefano Rotondo, known for its centralized, circular plan. A significant area of the hill is taken up by Villa Celimontana and its gardens.</p><br>
<p>Mount Suribachi  is a 169 m high mountain at the southwest end of the island Iwo Jima  in the northwest Pacific Ocean, under the administration of Ogasawara Subprefecture, Tokyo Metropolis, Japan.</p><br>
<p>The mountain&#39;s name derives from its shape, resembling a suribachi or "grinding bowl." It is also known as the "Mount Pipe" (JPN: パイプ山, paipu-yama), since the sulfur gas and water vapor that rolls in from the summit, alongside the rest of the island, give the appearance of a smoking pipe when viewed from the sea.</p><br>
<p>Joe Rosenthals famous photograph Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima was taken at the mountains peak.</p><br>
<h2>Geology</h2><br>
<p>Geologically, the mountain is a cinder cone of andesite, formed by volcanic activity. It is thought that the mountain is a dormant vent to a still active volcano (designated Iō-tō, the name of the island as a whole). From 1889 to 1957, the Japanese government recorded 16 eruptions on the peak. One eruption lasted for 65 minutes, and created a crater with a diameter of 35 meters and a depth of 15 meters on the runway near the former World War II airfield. Most recently, the Japanese Meteorological Agency reported that on May 2, 2012, a small eruption caused water discoloration to the northeast, and confirmed the appearance of a new fumarole.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>During World War II, the Japanese built underground tunnel and bunker systems in and on Mount Suribachi. In February 1945, United States Marines invaded the island and initiated a major battle. For the United States, Iwo Jima was an important strategic point between the United States and mainland Japan, a status that resulted in severe fighting that took the lives of nearly 7,000 Americans and 20,000 Japanese.</p><br>
<p>One of the six soldiers who lifted the flag was obscured and not recognized. The soldier was later found to be Cpl. Harlon Block and he had died in less than a week after the photo. Shot by photographer Joe Rosenthal, this photo was taken of the famous photograph of the raising of the flag.</p><br>
<p>The film Sands of Iwo Jima, directed by Allan Dwan and starring John Wayne in 1949, follows a United States Marine rifle squad preparing for battle at Iwo Jima. The films Letters from Iwo Jima and Flags of Our Fathers, directed by Clint Eastwood in 2006, treat the theme of this Pacific battle and present the positions of both belligerents in this conflict.</p><br>
<p>Toledo Bend Reservoir is a reservoir on the Sabine River between Texas and Louisiana. The lake has an area of 185,000 acres , the largest man-made body of water in  Texas, the largest in the South, and the fifth largest  in the United States. The dam is capable of generating 92 megawatts of electrical power. The dam itself is located in the northeast corner of Newton County, Texas; however, that county includes very little of the reservoir, as most of it extends northward into parts of Sabine and DeSoto parishes in Louisiana, and Sabine, Shelby, and Panola counties in Texas.</p><br>
<h2>Historical development</h2><br>
<p>The land along the Orange area often flooded from the Sabine, with destructive effects. Also, the considerations for municipal, industrial, agricultural, and recreational purposes were part of the reasons the Texas State Legislature formed the Sabine River Authority of Texas in 1949, and in 1950 the Louisiana State Legislature created the Sabine River Authority, State of Louisiana for the project.</p><br>
<p>With both authorities in agreement, in 1955 a feasibility report was initiated and by 1959, the two states allocated 30 million dollars for the project. The land was acquired in 1963, with the work following the subsequent year. The Massman-Johnson Construction Company served as the general contractor, and by the completion of the project in 1969, Texas’ estimated share of the funds was $70 million. The dam was built by the two states, without any assistance from the federal government. Louisiana Director of Public Works Claude Kirkpatrick, who was also president of the Sabine River Authority of Louisiana at the time, pushed for the joint agreement with Texas, in the absence of federal funds, to make the project a reality.</p><br>
<p>The Toledo Bend legislative bill was successfully pushed, despite numerous obstacles, by freshman Representative Cliff Ammons of Many, the seat of Sabine Parish. Funding came from Constitutional Amendment 8, which tapped previous funds for Civil War pensions into the specific reservoir project.</p><br>
<p>Though Ammons became known as "the father of Toledo Bend," voters defeated him in the 1964 state legislative election.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Beginning in May 1963, land acquisitions for Toledo Bend Reservoir started as a joint management project of Texas and Louisiana River Authorities. Construction on the Toledo Bend Dam, spillway, and power plant, began on May 11, 1964. The closure section of the earthen embankment and impoundment of water was begun in October 1966. The power plant was completed and began operating in the early part of 1969. The Toledo Bend Project was constructed primarily for the purposes of water supply, hydroelectric power generation, and recreation.</p><br>
<p>Toledo Bend Reservoir forms a portion of the boundary between the states of Texas and Louisiana. From the dam site, which is north of Burkeville, TX, the reservoir extends up the river for about 65 mi to Logansport, LA, and inundates land in Sabine, Shelby, Panola, and Newton Counties, Texas, and Sabine and DeSoto Parishes, Louisiana.</p><br>
<p>The water, normally covering an area of about 200,000 acre has a controlled storage capacity of 4477,000 acre.ft.</p><br>
<p>Toledo Bend is the nation&#39;s only public water conservation and hydroelectric power project to be undertaken without federal participation in its permanent financing.</p><br>
<h2>Public recreation</h2><br>
<p>Toledo Bend, with its 1,200 mi of shoreline, offers an almost unlimited opportunity for recreational development and is a major element in serving the growing demand for water oriented outdoor recreation. Both private and public facilities are available for swimming, boating, picnicking, fishing, camping, hunting, and sightseeing. The reservoir is a popular location for freshwater fishing with many clubs hosting tournaments.</p><br>
<p>At present, the lake is best suited to shallow draft power boats due to a large number of trees and stumps that are still in the body of the lake. Although there are numerous well marked boat lanes that have been cleared of stumps and trees, one should use caution even on the boat lanes; one should use extreme caution when off the boat lanes and maintain a watch for stumps and/or trees as well as floating logs.</p><br>
<p>Indian Stream is a tributary of the Connecticut River, approximately 19.1 miles  long, in New Hampshire in the United States. It rises in the mountains of extreme northern New Hampshire, in Coos County near the Canada–United States border, where the Middle Branch of Indian Stream joins the West Branch. Indian Stream flows south-southwest, joining the Connecticut two miles  downstream from the village of Pittsburg.</p><br>
<p>The area around Pittsburg was the subject of a border dispute in the 1830s between the United States and Canada, leading to the short-lived, self-proclaimed Republic of Indian Stream. The border dispute, based upon an ambiguity in the Treaty of Paris (1783), was resolved in 1842, with the river drainage and the land lying east of Halls Stream established as part of the state of New Hampshire.</p><br>
<p>Mount Tai is a mountain of historical and cultural significance located north of the city of Tai&#39;an, in Shandong province, China. The tallest peak is the Jade Emperor Peak, which is commonly reported as 1,545 m tall, but is described by the PRC government as 1,532.7 m.</p><br>
<p>Mount Tai is known as the eastern mountain of the Five Great Mountains of China. It is associated with sunrise, birth, and renewal, and is often regarded the foremost of the five. Mount Tai has been a place of worship for at least 3,000 years and served as one of the most important ceremonial centers of China during large portions of this period.</p><br>
<h2>Location</h2><br>
<p>Mount Tai is located in western Shandong, just north of the city of Tai&#39;an and to the south of the provincial capital Jinan. It extends from 150 to 1545 m above sea level and covers an area of 426 km&sup2; at its base. The Jade Emperor Peak is 1,532.7 m above sea level and located at 36° 16′N and 117° 6′E.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Traces of human presence at Mount Tai date back to the Paleolithic period. Human settlement of the area can be proven from the neolithic period onwards. During this time, two cultures had emerged near the mountain, the Dawenkou culture to the south and the Longshan culture to the north.</p><br>
<p>During the Xia Dynasty (c. 2070&ndash;1600 ) the mountain was known as Mount Dai and lay within the borders of Qingzhou, one of the Nine Provinces of ancient China.</p><br>
<p>Religious worship of Mount Tai has a tradition dating back 3,000 years, from the time of the Shang (c. 1600&ndash;1046 ) to the Qing Dynasty (1644&ndash;1912). Over time, this worship evolved into an official imperial rite and Mount Tai became one of the principal places where the emperor would pay homage to heaven (on the summit) and earth (at the foot of the mountain) in the Feng and Shan sacrifices respectively. The two sacrifices are often referred to together as the Fengshan sacrifices. Carving of an inscription as part of the sacrifices marked the attainment of the "great peace".</p><br>
<p>By the time of the Zhou Dynasty (c. 1046&ndash;256 ) sacrifices at Mount Tai had become highly ritualized ceremonies in which a local feudal lord would travel there to make sacrifices of food and jade ritual items. These would then be arranged in a ritually correct pattern before being buried on the mountain. In the Spring and Autumn period (771&ndash;476 ) the vassal states of Qi and Lu bordered Mount Tai to the north and south respectively, from where their feudal lords both made independent sacrifices on Mount Tai. According to Zhou ritual belief, the spirit of Mount Tai would only accept sacrifices offered by a feudal lord, leading Confucius (in his Analects 3.6) to criticize the ministers who offered state sacrifices here after usurping power. In the ensuing Warring States period (475&ndash;221 ), to protect itself against invasion, the State of Qi erected a 500 km wall, the ruins of which are still present today. The name Taian of the neighboring city is attributed to the saying "If Mount Tai is stable, so is the entire country" (both characters of Taian, "泰" and "安", have the independent meaning of "peace").</p><br>
<p>In 219, Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China, held a ceremony on the summit and proclaimed the unity of his empire in a well-known inscription. During the Han Dynasty (206 &ndash;220 ), the Feng and Shan sacrifices were considered the highest of all sacrifices.</p><br>
<p>Rituals and sacrifices were conducted by the Sui.</p><br>
<p>Japan, India, the Persian court in exile, Goguryeo, Baekje, Silla, the Turks, Khotan, the Khmer, and the Umayyad Caliphate all had representatives attending the Feng and Shan sacrifices held by Emperor Gaozong of Tang in 666 at Mount Tai.</p><br>
<p>Mount Tai has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987. In 2003, it attracted around 6 million visitors. A renovation project was completed in late October 2005, which aimed at restoring cultural relics and renovating damaged buildings of cultural significance. Widely known for its special ceremonies and sacrifices, Mount Tai has seen visits by many poets and literary scholars who have traveled there to gain inspiration. There are grandiose temples, many stone inscriptions and stone tablets with the mountain playing an important role in the development of both Buddhism and Taoism.</p><br>
<h2>Natural significance</h2><br>
<p>Mount Tai is a tilted fault-block mountain with height increasing from the north to the south. It is the oldest example of a paleo-metamorphic formation from the Cambrian Period in eastern China. Known as the Taishan Complex, this formation contains magnetized, metamorphic, and sedimentary rock as well as intrusions of other origins during the Archean Era. The uplift of the region started in the Proterozoic Era; by the end of the Proterozoic, it had become part of the continent.</p><br>
<p>Besides the Jade Emperor Peak, other distinctive rock formations are the Heaven Candle Peak, the Fan Cliff, and the Rear Rock Basin.</p><br>
<p>Mount Tai lies in the zone of oriental deciduous forest; about 80% of its area is covered with vegetation. The flora is known to comprise almost 1,000 species. Some of the trees in the area are very old and have cultural significance, such as the Han Dynasty Cypresses, which were planted by the Emperor Wu Di, the Tang Chinese Scholartree (about 1,300 years old), the Welcoming-Guest Pine (500 years old) and the Fifth-Rank Pine, which was named originally by the Emperor Qin Shi Huang, but was replanted about 250 years ago.</p><br>
<h3>Physical features</h3><br>
<p>Mount Taishan rises abruptly from the vast plain of central Shandong, and is naturally endowed with many scenic sites. Geologically, it is a tilted fault-block mountain, higher to the south than north, and is the oldest and most important example of the paleo-metamorphic system representative of the Cambrian Period in eastern China. Referred to as the Taishan Complex, it comprises magnetized, metamorphic, sedimentary rock and an intrusive mass of various origins that were formed in the Archean Era 1700-2000 million years ago. Subsequently, in the Proterozoic Era, the Taishan region began to rise, becoming part of the continent by the end of the era. Uplift continued until the middle of the Cenozoic Era. The gneiss which emerged in the Taishan region is the foundation for all of North China. Cambrian strata, fully emerged in the north, are rich in fossils. Six streams flow from the summit, their water renowned for its extremely low mineral content, slight acidity (pH=6.3) and relatively high oxygen content (6.4 milligrams per liter (mg/l)).</p><br>
<h3>Climate</h3><br>
<p>The area falls within the warm temperate climatic zone. Meteorological data is not available. The regular climate is molly to -2 degrees Celsius</p><br>
<h3>Vegetation</h3><br>
<p>Vegetation covers 79.9% of the area, which is densely wooded, but information about its composition is lacking. The flora is diverse and known to comprise 989 species, of which 433 species are woody and the rest herbaceous. Medicinal plants total 462 species and include multiflower knotweed, Taishan ginseng, Chinese gromwell and sealwort, which are renowned throughout the country. Some trees are very old and famous, notably the Han Dynasty Cypresses (planted 2,100 years ago by Emperor Wu Di of the Han Dynasty), Welcoming Guest Pine (500 years old) and Fifth Rank Pine (named by Emperor Qin Shi Huang of the Qin Dynasty)</p><br>
<h3>Fauna</h3><br>
<p>There are over 200 species of animals in addition to 122 species of birds, but precise details are lacking. Large-scaled fish Varicorhinus macrolepis is found in running water at 300–800 m.</p><br>
<h2>Cultural significance</h2><br>
<p>Mount Tai is of key importance in Chinese religion, being the eastern one of the five Sacred Mountains of China. According to historical records, Mount Tai became a sacred place visited by emperors to offer sacrifices and meditate in the Zhou Dynasty before 1,000 BC. A total of 72 emperors were recorded as visiting it. Writers also came to acquire inspiration, to compose poems, write essays, paint and take pictures. Hence, a great many cultural relics were left on the mountain.</p><br>
<h3>Deities associated to Mount Tai</h3><br>
<h4>Great Deity of Mount Tai</h4><br>
<p>The Great Deity of Mount Tai is the supreme god of Mount Tai. According to one mythological tradition, he is a descendant of Pangu. According to other theologies, he is the eastern one of the Five Manifestations of the Highest Deity (Wufang Shangdi).</p><br>
<h4>Bixia Yuanjun</h4><br>
<p>Bixia Yuanjun, literally the "Goddess of the Blue Dawn", also known as the "Heavenly Immortal Lady of Jade" or the "Lady of Mount Tai". According to some mythological accounts, she is the daughter or the consort of the Great Deity of Mount Tai. Statues of Bixia Yuanjun often depict her holding a tablet with the Big Dipper as a symbol of her authority.</p><br>
<h4>Yanguang Nainai</h4><br>
<p>Yanguang Nainai is venerated as goddess of eyesight and often portrayed as an attendant to Bixia Yuanjun.</p><br>
<h4>Songzi Niangniang</h4><br>
<p>Songzi Niangniang is seen as a goddess of fertility, like Yanguang Nainai, she is often portrayed as an attendant to Bixia Yuanjun.</p><br>
<h4>Shi Gandang</h4><br>
<p>Shi Gandang is a spirit sent down from Mount Tai by Bixia Yuanjun to protect ordinary people from evil spirits.</p><br>
<h3>Dai Miao</h3><br>
<p>The Temple of the God of Mount Tai, known as the Dai Temple, is the largest and most complete ancient building complex in the area. It is located at the foot of Mount Tai in the city of Tai&#39;an and covers an area of 96,000 square meters. The temple was first built during the Qin Dynasty. Since the time of the Han Dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD), its design has been a replica of the imperial palace, which makes it one out of three extant structures in China with the features of an imperial palace (the other two are the Forbidden City and the Confucius Temple in Qufu). The temple has five major halls and many small buildings. The centerpiece is the Palace of Heavenly Blessings (Tian Kuang), built in 1008, during the reign of the last Northern Song Emperor Huizong. The hall houses the mural painting "The God of Mount Tai Making a Journey", dated to the year 1009. The mural extends around the eastern, western and northern walls of the hall and is 3.3 metres high and 62 metres long. The theme of the painting is an inspection tour by the god. Next to the Palace of Heavenly Blessings stand the Yaocan Pavilion and the entrance archway as well as the Bronze Pavilion in the northeast corner. The Dai Temple is surrounded by the 2,100‑year‑old Han Dynasty cypresses.</p><br>
<p>The oldest surviving stair may be the 6000 granite steps to the top of the mountain.</p><br>
<p>The site contains a number of well-preserved steles from the Huizong reign, some of which are mounted on bixi tortoises. There is a much later, Qianlong era bixi-mounted stele as well.</p><br>
<h3>Shrine of the Blue Dawn</h3><br>
<p>The Shrine of the Blue Dawn, near the top of the mountain is another grand building complex, a special combination of metal components, wood, and bricks and stone structures. It is dedicated to the goddess Bixia (Blue Dawn). From the Taishan Temple to the Blue Dawn Temple there are numerous stone tablets and inscriptions and ancient buildings on the way. Visitors derive much pleasure from climbing Mount Taishan. From the red gate at the foot of the mountain to the South Heaven Gate at the top are some 6,660 stone steps, which wind their way up the mountain slopes, each step offering a different view.</p><br>
<h3>Shibapan</h3><br>
<p>The"Shibapan"(十八盘）means 18 levels stairs，which is the most advantageous part of stairs in Mount Tai. A total of 1827 stone steps, is one of the main signs Mount Tai. People always say:"Mount Tai of the majestic, all in Shibapan, Mount Tai of the sublime, all in the climb in!" Shibapan has three parts, the"Slow Eighteens"(紧十八), the "Hard Eighteens"(慢十八）, and the " No slow no hard Eighteens"（不紧不慢又十八）. The "Slow Eighteens" means this period is easier to climb, and the"Hard Eighteens" means it is harder to climb, which is interesting.</p><br>
<h3>Other monuments</h3><br>
<p>A flight of 7,200 total steps (including inner temple steps), with 6,293 Official Mountain Walkway Steps, lead up the East Peak of Mount Tai, along its course, there are 11 gates, 14 archways, 14 kiosks, and 4 pavilions.</p><br>
<p>In total, there are 22 temples, 97 ruins, 819 stone tablets, and 1,018 cliff-side and stone inscriptions located on Mount Tai. These include a Temple of the Jade King, a Temple of the Blue Deity, a Temple of Confucius, a Temple of Doumu and the Puzhao Buddhist Temple.</p><br>
<p>Among the tablets and inscriptions on the top of Mount Tai, the inscription that declares Mount Tai the "Most Revered of the Five Sacred Mountains" on the "Sun Viewing Peak" is particularly renown. It was written by a member of the Aisin Gioro clan in 1907 and is featured on the reverse side of the 5 yuan bill of the 5th series renminbi banknotes. Another inscription marks the "Lu-Viewing Platform" from which Confucius took in the view over his home state of Lu and then pronounced "The world is small".</p><br>
<p>The Wordless Stela stands in front of the Jade Emperor Temple. Legend has it that the emperor who commissioned the stela was dissatisfied with the planned inscription and decided to leave it blank instead.</p><br>
<h3>Other significant places</h3><br>
<p>Abandoning-Oneself Cliff, renamed Treasure Life Cliff in the Ming Dynasty</p><br>
<p>Sun Viewing Peak</p><br>
<p>Moon Viewing Peak</p><br>
<p>Lu-Viewing Platform</p><br>
<p>Explore the Sea of Clouds Rock</p><br>
<h2>Infrastructure</h2><br>
<p>Visitors can reach the peak of Mount Tai via a bus which terminates at the Midway Gate to Heaven, from there a cable car connects to the summit. Covering the same distance on foot takes from two and a half to six hours. The supplies for the many vendors along the road to the summit are carried up by porters either from the Midway Gate to Heaven or all the way up from the foot of the mountain.</p><br>
<p>To climb up the mountain, one can take one of two routes. The more popular east route starts from Taishan Arch. On the way up the 7,200 stone steps, the climber first passes the Ten Thousand Immortals Tower (Wanxianlou), Arhat Cliff (Luohanya), and Palace to Goddess Dou Mu (Doumugong). The climbing from the First Gate to Heaven (yi1 tian1 men2), the main entrance bordering on Tai&#39;an town, up the entire mountain can take two and a half hours for the sprinting hiker to six hours for the leisure pace. Reaching the Midway Gate to Heaven from First Gate to Heaven is one hour at a sprint up to two and a half hours leisurely. To the northeast of the Palace to Goddess Dou Mu is Sutra Rock Valley in which the Buddhist Diamond Sutra was cut in characters measuring fifty centimeters across believed to be inscribed in the Northern Wei Dynasty. The west route, taken by fewer tourists, is more scenic, but has less cultural heritage.</p><br>
<h2>Cultural references</h2><br>
<p>The Chinese idiom "Mount Tai & Big Dipper" is an epithet for a person of great distinction.</p><br>
<p>Another common Chinese idiom "有眼不識泰山" (literal translation Has eyes but doesn&#39;t recognize Mount Tai), refers to an ignorant yet arrogant person.</p><br>
<p>According to ancient historian Sima Qian, he said "Though death befalls all men alike, it may be weightier than Mount Tai or lighter than a feather." Mao Zedong referred to this passage in the 20th century: "To die for the people is weightier than Mount Tai, but to work for the fascists and die for the exploiters and oppressors is lighter than a feather." Rage Against the Machine also referred to the passage in the song "Year of the Boomerang": "So Im goin out heavy sorta like Mount Tai."</p><br>
<p>Taishan (Mount Tai) is referenced extensively in Ezra Pound&#39;s "The Cantos," especially the Pisan Cantos.</p><br>
<p>Mount Tai is shown on the reverse side of the 5 yuan bill of the 5th series renminbi banknotes.</p><br>
<p>The 1987 album Hold Your Fire by Canadian progressive rock band Rush contained the song "Tai Shan", referencing drummer/lyricist Neil Peart&#39;s journey to Mount Tai.</p><br>
<p>The Dai Miao is featured in Sid Meier&#39;s Civilization IV as a religious complex that can be built by a Great Prophet, thus establishing a holy shrine dedicated to Taoism in the Taoist holy city.</p><br>
<p>Tai Shan, some of its temples, and the Jade Emperor are referenced and visited in Dan Simmons&#39; book The Rise of Endymion.</p><br>
<p>Mt. Tai is referenced as being the place of origin for the Taizan Tenrōken martial art in Fist of the North Star, used by Yuria&#39;s elder brother, Ryuga.</p><br>
<p>The Battle of Mount Tumbledown was an engagement in the Falklands War, one of a series of battles that took place during the British advance towards Stanley.</p><br>
<h2>Overview</h2><br>
<p>On the night of 13–14 June 1982 the British launched an assault on Mount Tumbledown, one of the highest points near the town of Port Stanley, the capital, and succeeded in driving Argentinian forces from the mountain. This close-quarters night battle was later dramatized in the BBC film Tumbledown.</p><br>
<p>The attacking British forces consisted of the 2nd Battalion, Scots Guards (2SG), mortar detachments from 42 Commando, Royal Marines and the 1st Battalion, 7th Duke of Edinburgh&#39;s Own Gurkha Rifles (1/7 GR), as well as support from a troop of the Blues and Royals equipped with two Scorpion and two Scimitar armoured vehicles.</p><br>
<p>The Argentinian forces defending the mountains were Commander Carlos Robacio&#39;s 5th Marine Infantry Battalion (BIM 5). The defending Argentines were already proving costly in lives. In the shelling that was directed by Marine Second Lieutenant Marcelo De Marco of the 5th Marines from his observation post on Tumbledown Mountain, four Paras and one REME craftsman were killed on Mount Longdon and another seven Paratroopers were wounded and a Welsh Guardsman was killed while delivering supplies in the Fitzroy-Stanley track.</p><br>
<p>Prior to the British landings, the Argentinian marine battalion had been brought up to brigade strength by a company of the Amphibious Engineers Company (CKIA), a heavy machine-gun company of the Headquarters Battalion (BICO), a battery of the 1st Marine Field Artillery Battalion (BIAC), and three Tigercat SAM/Hispano-Suiza 30mm anti-aircraft gun batteries of the 1st Marine Anti-Aircraft Regiment, as well as a 2nd Marine Infantry Battalion platoon and a 3rd Marine Infantry Battalion platoon.</p><br>
<p>As part of the British plan, 1/7 GR was given the task of capturing the sub-hill of Mount William held by O Company, the 5th Marine Battalions reserve, and then allowing the Welsh Guards through to seize Sapper Hill, the final obstacle before Stanley. The attack was supported by naval gunfire from HMS Actives 4.5 inch gun.</p><br>
<p>At the time of the battle, Marine Captain (Ship-of-the-Line Lieutenant) Eduardo Villarrazas N Company held Mount Tumbledown. Mount William was just south of Tumbledown and the Marine battalions O Company under Marine Captain Ricardo Quiroga was on its lower slopes. Major Oscar Ramon Jaimets B (Bravo) Company, 6th Army Regiment was in reserve behind N Company. Marine Captain Rodolfo Oscar Cionchis M Company occupied Sapper Hill. The Argentinian defenders held firm under the British softening up bombardment, which began at 7:30 local time. Major Jaimet later recalled:</p><br>
<p>I heard the cries of the wounded calling for their comrades, twelve men wounded before nightfall. We thought we had suffered before, but what luxury and comfort compared to this.</p><br>
<p>During the battle, the 5th Marines Command Post took five direct hits, but Commander Robacio emerged unscathed.</p><br>
<h2>Tumbledown defenders</h2><br>
<p>Captain Eduardo Villarraza&#39;s N Company from the 5th Marine Battalion, would defend Mounts Tumbledown and William.</p><br>
<p>The 1st Platoon, under by Marine Second Lieutenant (Guardiamarina or Midshipman) Carlos Bianchi, was dug on Mount William.</p><br>
<p>The 2nd Platoon, led by Marine Second Lieutenant Marcelo Oruezabala, was dug in between Tumbledown and William.</p><br>
<p>The 3rd Platoon, under Marine Sergeant (Suboficial or Chief Petty Officer) Jorge Lucero, was dug in on the northern slopes of Tumbledown, overlooking Moody Brook.</p><br>
<p>The 4th Platoon, led by Sub-Lieutenant Carlos Daniel Vázquez, was dug in near the summit of Tumbledown, covering the western approaches to the peak.</p><br>
<p>The 5th Platoon, led by Lieutenant Héctor Omar Miño, was positioned behind the 4th Platoon, facing north in support of Lucero&#39;s men.</p><br>
<p>Browning 12.7mm heavy machine gun teams and German Shepherd Dog squads(from the Puerto Belgrano-based Headquarters Battalion) were also present on Mount Tumbledown and Sapper Hill.</p><br>
<p>Man-portable Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) and Anti-tank gun teams were also part of the defences, with a group located on Mount William in support of Bianchis men and another group supporting Luceros men. The SAM teams equipped with British Blowpipe and Russian SA-7 shoulder-launched missiles were positioned on Sapper Hill.</p><br>
<p>The 60mm Mortar Platoon was split in two parts on Tumbledown, with the mortar men positioned near the summit (under Marine Sergeants David Ramos y Lucio Monzón) in support of Vázquez&#39;s 4th Platoon.</p><br>
<h2>Early moves</h2><br>
<p>On the morning of 13 June, the Scots Guards were moved by helicopter from their position at Bluff Cove to an assembly area near Goat Ridge, west of Mount Tumbledown. During this day, a dispatch rider from the 1st Welsh Guards Battalion was mortally wounded by Argentine shellfire directed from Tumbledown. The British plan called for a diversionary attack south of Mount Tumbledown by a small number of the Scots Guards, assisted by the four light tanks of the Blues and Royals, whilst the main attack came as a three-phase silent advance from the west of Mount Tumbledown.</p><br>
<p>In the first phase, G company would take the western end of the mountain. In the second phase, Left Flank (company) would pass through the area taken by G company to capture the centre of the summit. In the third phase, Right Flank would pass through Left Flank to secure the eastern end of Tumbledown.</p><br>
<p>A daytime assault was initially planned, but was postponed at the British battalion commander&#39;s request. In a meeting with his company commanders the consensus was that the long uphill assault across the harsh ground of Tumbledown would be suicidal in daylight.</p><br>
<h2>Diversion</h2><br>
<p>At 8:30 p.m. on 13 June the diversionary attack began. The 2nd Bn Scots Guards Reconnaissance Platoon, commanded by Major Richard Bethell (a former SAS officer), and supported by four light tanks of the Blues & Royals, clashed with the Argentine O Marine Company under Marine Captain Quiroga in a blocking position on the lower slopes of Mount William. On Williams southern slopes, one of the tanks was taken out of action by a booby trap.</p><br>
<p>The initial advance was unopposed, but a heavy firefight broke out when British troops made contact with Argentinian defences. The Argentinians opened fire, killing two British soldiers and wounding four others. After two hours of hard fighting, the company withdrew to its main defences on William and the British secured the position. Marine First Class Private José Luis Fazio fought against Bethell&#39;s force:</p><br>
<p>At about 2230 hours our battalion had its first intensive gun battle with British companies which appeared out of nowhere. I heard Private Roberto Barboza yell The English are here!... I remember our Operations Officer requested the artillery to assist at 23.00 with star shells. The close quarter battle was such that the Argentine artillery was unable to drop shells on to the British attackers. I was shooting, doing my work. I dont know if I killed anyone. We just fired our rifles, thats all. Contact was maintained for over an hour before battalion headquarters ordered Obra Company to fall back... What we did not realise at the time was that at least a wounded Marine made his way to the amphibious engineer platoon position and hurled a grenade wounding a Major. Simultaneously the Major opened fire, killing him.</p><br>
<p>Fearing a counter-attack, the British platoon withdrew into an undetected minefield, and were forced to abandon their dead. Two men were wounded covering the withdrawal and four more were wounded by mines. The explosions prompted the Argentine Marine Major Antonio Pernías to order the 81 mm mortar platoon on Mount William and the longer-ranged 120mm mortars attached to C Company, 3rd Infantry Regiment on Sapper Hill to open fire on the minefield and the likely withdrawal route of anyone attacking Mount William. The barrage lasted for about forty minutes and more British casualties would have been inflicted if the mortar bombs had not landed on soft peat, which absorbed most of the power of the explosions.</p><br>
<h2>Night attack</h2><br>
<p>At 9 p.m., half an hour after the start of the diversionary attack, Major Iain Dalzel-Jobs G Company started its advance of nearly two miles. Reaching its objective undetected, the company found the western end of the mountain undefended and occupied it easily, but later came under heavy shellfire that wounded Major Dalzel-Job in the head. Major John Kiszelys Left Flank passed through them and reached the central region of the peak unopposed, but then came under heavy fire.</p><br>
<p>The Argentinians, later learned to be of company strength, directed mortar, grenade, machine gun and small arms fire from very close range at the British company, killing three British soldiers. Marine Sub-Lieutenant Héctor Minos 5th Platoon (1st Amphibious Engineer Company), held the rocks behind Sub-Lieutenant Carlos Vázquezs 4th Platoon, N Company. In the centre of the 4th Marine Platoon position were the remnants of Second Lieutenants Óscar Silvas and Marcelo Llambías-Pravazs RI 4 platoons as well as Second Lieutenant Celestino Mosteirín&#39;s RI 12 platoon, which had recently fought on Two Sisters, Goat Ridge and Mount Harriet.</p><br>
<p>For four or five hours, four platoons of Argentinian riflemen, machine gunners, and mortar men on Tumbledown pinned the British down. To help identify the bunkers, the Guardsmen fired flares at the summit. The Guardsmen traded 66 mm rockets and 84 mm anti-tank rounds with the Argentinians, who were armed with anti-tank rifle grenades and protected in their rock bunkers. The Argentinians refused to budge; the Guardsmen could hear some of them shouting obscene phrases in English and even singing the March of the Malvinas as they fought.</p><br>
<p>Meanwhile, two Royal Navy frigates, HMS Yarmouth and Active, were pounding Tumbledown with their 4.5 inch guns. At one stage Lieutenant Colonel Michael Scott, (Commanding Officer of 2 SG), thought the battalion might have to withdraw and attack again the next night, "The old nails were being bitten a bit, if we had been held on Tumbledown it might have encouraged them to keep on fighting".</p><br>
<h3>Left flank</h3><br>
<p>The fighting was hard going for Left Flank. The Argentinians had well dug-in machine guns and snipers. At 2:30 a.m., however, a second British assault overwhelmed the men of the 4th and 12th Regiments but the bulk of Vazquezs 4th Platoon would continue fighting till about 7:00 am. The British troops swarmed over the mountaintop and killed, wounded or captured several of Silvas men, at times fighting with fixed bayonets. Marine Private Jorge Sanchez recalled:</p><br>
<p>The fighting was sporadic, but at times fierce, as we tried to maintain our position. By this time we had ten or twelve dead including one officer. I hadnt fired directly at a British soldier, as they had been too hard to get a clear shot at. I can remember lying there with all this firing going over my head. They were everywhere. The platoon commander then called Private Ramon Rotela manning the 60 millimetre mortar and Rotela fired it straight up into the air so that the bombs landed on ourselves. At this point I had been up and in actual combat for over six hours. It was snowing and we were tired. Some of the guys had surrendered, but I didnt want to do this. I had only twenty rounds left and I decided to continue the fight from Mount William. I popped up, fired a rifle grenade in the direction of 8 to 10 British soldiers to keep their heads down, and then ran for the 2nd Platoon. I can remember saying some type of prayer hoping the British wouldn&#39;t shoot me in the back.</p><br>
<p>Major Kiszely, who was to become a senior general after the war, was the first man into the 4th Platoon position, personally shooting two Argentinian conscripts and bayoneting a third, his bayonet breaking in two. Seeing their company commander among the Argentinians inspired 14 and 15 Platoons to make the final dash across open ground to get within bayoneting distance of the remaining 4th Platoon Marines. Kiszely and six other Guardsmen suddenly found themselves standing on top of the mountain, looking down on Stanley which was under street lighting and vehicles could be seen moving along the roads. The Argentinians, in the form of Second Lieutenant Augusto La Madrid platoon from Major Jaimets B Company and Marine Lieutenant Hector Miños amphibious engineer platoon (rallied by Marine Lieutenant Waldemar Aquino and Marine Second Lieutenant De Marco), now counter-attacked and a burst of machine gun fire from La Madrid&#39;s men wounded three Guardsmen, including Lieutenant Alasdair Mitchell (commander of 15 Platoon). A bullet also passed through the compass secured on the belt of the Left Flank Company commander, injuring Major Kiszely. For his bayonet charge Kiszely was awarded the Military Cross. According to Guardsman Mark Cape, another three Guardsmen defending the summit were also wounded in this action, when Miño, De Marco and Privates Oscar Poltronieri and Carlos Muela reconnoitred their position and attacked them with hand grenades.</p><br>
<h2>Counterattack</h2><br>
<p>By 6 a.m., Left Flank&#39;s attack had clearly stalled and had cost the British company seven men killed and 18 wounded. On the eastern half of the mountain the platoons of conscripts of La Madrid and Miño platoon, were attempting to renew their advance, having already wounded six Guardsmen, so Colonel Scott ordered Right Flank to push on to clear the final positions. Second Lieutenant La Madrid later described the fighting:</p><br>
<p>I went forward to make a reconnaissance and could see that the British had two machineguns and a missile launcher in action. I went through another gap in the rocks and was surprised by three men speaking in English behind and above me and firing over the top of me. I could see them with my night binoculars... I took a rifle grenade and fired at where I had seen the first three men. I heard it explode and some shouts and cries of pain... I ran back to my position and ordered my men to open fire. We stopped them, but they thinned out and came round our flanks... They also engaged us with light mortars and missile launchers. This went on for a long time, and we suffered heavy casualties... We started to run short of ammunition... Also, I could see that we were outflanked, with the British behind us, so we were cut off from my company... I reorganized and found that I was down to sixteen men. I started to retire... I left six men in a line with one machinegun to cover our retreat, but really we were fighting all the time; we could not break contact. They came on us fast, and we fell back... We eventually got through to Stanley, through what I would like to say was a perfect barrage fired by the Royal Artillery. We had to wait for breaks in the firing, but I still lost a man killed there.</p><br>
<p>Major Simon Price sent 2 and 3 Platoons forward, preceded by a barrage of 66 mm rockets to clear the Argentine reinforcements. Major Price placed 1 Platoon high up in the rocks to provide fire support for the assault troops.</p><br>
<p>Lieutenant Robert Lawrence led 3 Platoon around to the right of the Argentinian platoons, hoping to take the Argentinians by surprise. They were detected, however, and the British were briefly pinned down by gunfire before a bayonet charge overwhelmed the Argentinian defenders. Lance-Corporal Graham Rennie of 3 Platoon later described the British attack:</p><br>
<p>Our assault was initiated by a Guardsman killing a sniper, which was followed by a volley of 66 mm anti-tank rounds. We ran forward in extended line, machine-gunners and riflemen firing from the hip to keep the enemy heads down, enabling us to cover the open ground in the shortest possible time. Halfway across the open ground 2 Platoon went to ground to give covering fire support, enabling us to gain a foothold on the enemy position. From then on we fought from crag to crag, rock to rock, taking out pockets of enemy and lone riflemen, all of whom resisted fiercely.</p><br>
<p>As La Madrid and Miño withdrew after suffering reportedly five killed in the Argentine counterattack, the platoons under Second Lieutenant Aldo Franco and Guillermo Robredo moved in from the eastern edge of the mountain to try to help La Madrid and Miño. Advancing out of the central region of Tumbledown Mountain, the British again came under heavy fire from the Argentinians, but by advancing in pairs under covering fire, they succeeded in clearing those Bravo Company platoons as well, gaining firm control of the mountain&#39;s eastern side.</p><br>
<p>Right Flank had achieved this at the cost of five wounded, including Lieutenant Lawrence. However, Left Flank Company had lost two men killed and several wounded during the Argentine counterattack, when supporting mortar men on Mount William targeted British wounded and stretcher bearers in error.In his moment of victory on the eastern slopes, Lawrence was almost killed when a bullet fired by an Argentine stay-behind sniper tore off the side of his head. He was awarded the Military Cross for bravery, but he spent a year in a wheelchair and was almost totally paralyzed. The Argentinian sniper (in fact Private Luis Jorge Bordón or Walter Ignacio Becerra, according to La Madrid Un héroe, todos los héroes</p><br>
<p>lanacion.com, 03/04/2011), armed with a FAL rifle, had helped cover the Argentinean retreat, firing shots at a Scout helicopter evacuating wounded off Tumbledown and wounding two men (including Guardsman Kenny Mains). The Scots Guards eventually mortally wounded him in a hail of gunfire, but not before the Argentine soldier generated more confusion, resulting in the wounding of the Forward Observation Officer (FOO, Captain Swinton) attached the Gurkhas, while clearing the positions of Marine Sergeant Jorge Lucero&#39;s 3rd Platoon before advancing on to take Mount William.</p><br>
<h2>Fall of Tumbledown</h2><br>
<p>By 9:00 a.m., the Scots Guards had gained the high ground east of Tumbledown Mountain and the Gurkhas commenced deploying across the heavily shelled saddle from Tumbledown south to Mount William, which they took with the loss of 13 wounded. The 2nd Battalion Scots Guards had lost eight dead and 43 wounded. The Welsh Guards had lost one dead, the Royal Engineers had also lost one dead, and the Gurkhas had sustained altogether 13 wounded, including the artillery observation officer, Captain Keith Swinton. According to Dhanbahadur Rai, a Gurkha:</p><br>
<p>The Scots Guards were to attack Tumbledown, with the Gurkhas following behind. We were supposed to finish the attack and they would give us covering fire from Tumbledown... During the night we followed the Scots Guards and then our CO told us to stop. The ground was like a valley when we stopped and afterwards the shelling started... The headquarters and A Company had twelve wounded... The next morning we started to move. The CO sahib and the anti-tank Milan Platoon commander and the FOO were just going up and they got a rifle shot. Our commanding sahib was shouting. He said, Look, Goli Ayo! Get down! Someone fired! Then the FOO was standing and looking and the second shot hit him in the chest.</p><br>
<p>The Guards took 30 prisoners, several of them RI 6 soldiers from Bravo Company. The bodies of 30 Argentine Army and Marine soldiers were found in and around the 5th Marine Battalion perimeter. Reaching the rear positions of N Marine Company, Second Lieutenant Franco took the time to set free several German Shepherds left behind in the Argentine retreat from Tumbledown.</p><br>
<p>During the battle, Guardsman Philip Williams was knocked unconscious by an explosion, and left for dead. When he came to, the rest of the British soldiers had gone. Williams&#39; parents were informed that he had died and a memorial service was held for him. After seven weeks he found his way back to civilization, to find himself accused of desertion by the media and fellow soldiers.</p><br>
<h2>Last stand on Sapper Hill</h2><br>
<p>The 5th Marine Battalion&#39;s M Company and supporting Tigercat SAM launchers and Hispano Suiza 30mm guns from the 1st Marine Anti-Aircraft Battalion were stationed along the Sapper Hill slopes, with part of the Puerto Belgrano-based Marine Dog Platoon (under Sub-Lieutenant Miguel Paz) providing extra security in the form of 5 canines (Ñaro, Nego, Vogel, Warner and Xuavia) and their handlers and accompanying riflemen. The bulk of the 5th Marine Battalion was deployed on Mounts Tumbledown and William. In all 18 German Shepherds under Sub-Lieutenant Paz would be deployed in and around the Falklands capital.</p><br>
<p>Also present on Sapper Hill were the 155mm artillery guns from the 101st Artillery Group, the 120mm Heavy Mortar Platoon from Captain Ramón Alberto Varela&#39;s C Company and the Reconnaissance Platoon (under Lieutenant Norman Osvaldo Reynoso) from the 3rd General Manuel Belgrano Mechanized Infantry Regiment.</p><br>
<p>An Air Force mobile Westinghouse AN/TPS-43 long-range radar was positioned on Sapper Hill in April and reportedly detected the British landings at Fitzroy on 7 June.The next day, Skyhawk fighter-bombers attacked the British troopships Sir Galahad and Sir Tristram with bombs.</p><br>
<p>On 1 May, Private Daniel Cabiglioli from M Company was killed during the Royal Navy bombardment of Sapper Hill.The Westinghouse radar positioned on the hill was also damaged in the naval shelling and would remain out-of-service for several days.</p><br>
<p>That night, a 5-man squad under Sergeant Miguel Angel Martinez from the 3rd Regiment Recce Platoon discovered an abandoned rubber boat while patrolling near Sapper Hill. The next day, the 1st Assault Section under First Lieutenant José Martiniano Duarte from the 601st Commando Company, checked the boat for hidden explosives and brought it back to Port Stanley for closer examination.</p><br>
<p>In June, Lieutenant Reynoso&#39;s Recce Platoon reportedly exchanged small arms fire with a British patrol (possibly G Squadron from the SAS that had commandeered a yacht at Bluff Cove Settlement to operate behind Tumbledownand had also sent men forward in a helicopter) infiltrated near Sapper Hill, prior to the final land battles.</p><br>
<p>On 11 June, Royal Air Force GR-3 Harriers attacked Sapper Hill, knocking down a heavy artillery gun and killing Tom, a German Shepherd Dog belonging to the 101st Artillery Group.The next day, RAF Harriers flew six ground attack sorties against the Argentine 155mm artillery gun positions on Sapper Hill. One Harrier, flown by Flight Lieutenant Murdo Macleod, was hit by anti-aircraft fire, creating an internal fire and forcing the pilot to make en emergency landing on HMS Hermes.</p><br>
<p>On 13 June, a messenger in the Welsh Guards was killed when his motorbike ran over a mine while bringing forward food supplies to Major Christopher Drewrywe&#39;s Number 2 Company (1WG).</p><br>
<p>After first light on 14 June, Major Phillip Neame&#39;s D Company of 2 PARA in the final stages of the Battle of Wireless Ridge reported seeing hundreds of Argentinians regrouping on Sapper Hill."I had been trying to get fire missions down on the retreating closely-packed formation of troops but was told that there was no artillery available. I was going quite spare, because I was supposed to have two batteries at my priority call. Here was a golden opportunity being missed. I assumed the enemy were withdrawing to regroup on Sapper Hill and the last thing I wanted was another major battle. Eventually we got the artillery and started blasting away with everything else we had as well. But as soon as we opened up we got very accurate artillery fire back at our own position. I guessed that they were adjusting onto our muzzle flashes so I told all the company to stop firing with their small arms. I decided that the only thing was to keep fighting this battle with artillery, otherwise we were just going to have a lot of shit knocked out of ourselves."</p><br>
<p>Above All, Courage: The Falklands Front Line, Max Arthur, page 202, Sidgwick & Jackson, 1985Argentine artillery and Second Lieutenant La Madrid 6th Regiment platoon was still in action, firing on Neames company and losing another two killed (Privates Horacio Echave and Horacio Balvidares) on Sapper Hill. While taking up new positions on Sapper Hill, Sergeant Víctor Hugo Juárez from 5th Marine Battalion HQs, Private Vicente Antonio Díaz from the 1st Amphibious Engineers Company and Private Ricardo Ramírez from the 81mm Mortar Platoon on Mount William are also killed in the fierce British bombardment and long-range retaliatory machinegun and small-arms fire from Neames company on Wireless Ridge.</p><br>
<p>On the night of the 13/14 June the Welsh Guards/Royal Marine Battalion were on standby to help in the British attacks on Mounts Tumbledown and William. Their orders were to move towards Sapper Hill only after these objectives were taken. During the advance, they became bogged down in a minefield, which took them a very long and frustrating time to extract themselves from, after coming under fire from heavy mortars on Sapper Hill. Meanwhile, the men of the 1st Battalion 7th Gurkha Rifles had been spotted and shelled from Argentine mortar fire controllers and artillery officers on Sapper Hill, suffering eight wounded.Earlier on, a Mountain and Arctic Warfare Cadre patrol under Sergeant David Lazenby had penetrated the frozen minefield to secure a landing zone for the British helicopters. Major Drewrywe&#39;s Welsh Guards eventually reached the base of Sapper Hill, only to discover that the Argentine M Company was still in position. The Guardsmen were forced to withdraw, protected by the early morning fog, this time avoiding the minefield.Due to this delay, it was decided that 45 Commando should move forward from Two Sisters to occupy Sapper Hill. While 45 Commando were marching towards Sapper Hill, Bravo and Charlie Companies from 40 Commando had escaped from the attention of the Argentine defenders on Sapper Hill and they were picked up by helicopters. They were eventually landed on the slopes of Sapper Hill just as 45 Commando were approaching, so both units attacked and captured Hill.</p><br>
<p>Unwilling to abandon the hill, Commander Carlos Robacio on Sapper Hill was planning to counter-attack and drive back the Guardsmen on Tumbledown. Only the personal intervention of Colonel Félix Aguiar, the 10th Brigade Chief of Staff, brought the fighting to an end. The 5th Marines worked their way back into Stanley, leaving the 2nd Platoon of Marine Second Lieutenant Marcelo Davis and 3rd Platoon of Marine Second Lieutenant Alejandro Koch of M Company to cover the retreat. The Argentine Marine companies withdrew safely, although pursued by artillery fire and hit by a laser-guided bombdropped by Flight Lieutenant Nick Gilchrist while Squadron Leader Peter Harris prepared to make his aborted bombing run against Sapper Hill. The Argentine Panhard armoured cars also moved forward to the edge of Stanley to cover the retreating troops, and to neutralize any further helicopter landings.</p><br>
<p>Marine Privates Roberto Leyes, Eleodoro Monzón and Sergio Ariel from M Company were killed protecting the Argentine retreat. Six Royal Marines were wounded securing Sapper Hill, including four Marines from 40 Commando, one Sapper from Condor Troop and a forward officer from 3 Commando Brigade HQs. One Guardsman is killed bringing forward supplies to the Welsh Guards on 13 June.</p><br>
<p>The Royal Marines in Second Lieutenant Carl Bushbys 9 Troop protecting the landing zone successfully defended their position when the Argentine Marines under Davis launched a counter-attack, the last one of the ground campaign.Two parked Sea Kings within range from Kochs Marines sustained several hits from Sergeant Miguel Angel Vaca&#39;s machine-gun and rifle-grenades fired by Corporal Carlos Jorge Sini, but remained operational.</p><br>
<p>At the foot of the hill there was an enormous minefield. Lieutenant Paul Allen and Marine Wayne McGregor of 7 Troop were both wounded activating anti-personnel mines. A group of Sappers from Condor Troop went ahead to clear a path through the mines, losing Sergeant Peter Thorpe badly wounded in the process. Tanks of the Blues & Royals moved forward, to provide covering fire if necessary. During the helicopter evacuations of the wounded, Captain Sam Drennan of No. 656 Squadron would win the Military Medal for rescuing a wounded Gurkha and Guardsman from the middle of a minefield. However, when the Royal Marines and Welsh Guardsmen advanced they found Sapper Hill abandoned. The delay caused by the mines probably saved many lives. The Argentine Marine companies had been deeply entrenched and were well equipped with heavy machine guns. To Guardsman Tracy Evens, the Sapper Hill positions looked impregnable:</p><br>
<p>We were led to an area that the company would rest at for the night, I still took in the fact the Argies had prepared Sapper Hill well, they had depth positions that would have made the task of taking it very hard.</p><br>
<p>A Laser-guided-bomb strike in support of 45 Commando, called in by Major Gerry Akhurst took place in the final battle, killing in all probability two of the German Shepherd Dogs reported missing in the Sapper Hill sector, Negro and Ñaro. After dropping the first bomb, Akhurst was informed that the Argentines were retreating and in order to avoid a possible Friendly fire incident with the supporting Welsh Guards, he directed the Harrier pilot to drop his remaining bomb out at sea. The second RAF pilot involved returned to HMS Hermes with his Harrier still armed with bombs.</p><br>
<p>As the Guardsmen and Royal Marines consolidated their positions, the British lost a Volvo Bv 202 tracked vehicle to an anti-tank mine planted in the Sapper Hill sector. "We ran over a mine. I went up through the roof and the vehicle went up and was turned right round by the explosion," recalled Major Brian Armitage who was shortly evacuated to receive medical treatment.</p><br>
<h2>Military recognition</h2><br>
<p>For the courage displayed in the attack, men from 2 SG were awarded one Distinguished Service Order, two Military Crosses, two Distinguished Conduct Medals (one posthumously) and two Military Medals. Men from 9 Para Squadron, Royal Engineers, were awarded two Military Medals and Captain Sam Drennan, the Army Air Corps Scout pilot who had picked up the injured soldiers under fire and a former Scots Guards NCO, received the Distinguished Flying Cross.</p><br>
<p>Carlos Robacio, BIM5 commander, was awarded the Argentine Nation to the Valour in Combat Medal and the battalion itself was decorated by the Argentine Congress in 2002</p><br>
<p>Due to his actions on both Two Sisters and Tumbledown, Private Oscar Ismael Poltronieri of La Madrids platoon was awarded the Argentine Nation to the Heroic Valour in Combat Cross, Argentinas highest military decoration. He is the only conscript soldier in his nation&#39;s recent history who has received this honour.</p><br>
<p>After the battle, Pipe Major James Riddell of 2 SG stood near the top of the mountain and played his bagpipes. He played a quick march he had composed "on the back of a fag packet", during the battle, following a long tradition in which Pipe Majors were encouraged "to write tunes to commemorate any actions in which their regiments have been engaged".</p><br>
<h2>Tumbledown after the war</h2><br>
<p>On 30 May 1988, was the premiere of Tumbledown film, directed by Richard Eyre, which is based on the experiences of the Lieutenant Robert Lawrence, who was severely wounded during combat. Obtained, among others, the award from the Royal Television Society Best Actor for the brilliant performance by Colin Firth in the role of Lieutenant Lawrence.</p><br>
<p>In 2012, the Argentine journalist Nicolas Kasanzew wrote a tango called "The Carlos Daniel Vazquez&#39;s Thermopylae", which is sung by Carlos Longoni.</p><br>
<p>Once the battle was over, Pipe Major Riddell produced his pipes on the summit and played the tune for which he is famous, "The Crags of Tumbledown Mountain".</p><br>
<p>In place of fighting a cross was set up in tribute to the soldiers who gave their lives in that place.</p><br>
<p>Two British artists have depicted combat into two paintings, one of Mark Churms and the other Terence Cuneo.</p><br>
<p>In Britain an association of Families and Veterans Combat Mount Tumbledown was created.</p><br>
<p>An ode was written in honour of the fallen:</p><br>
<p>The Aloha Tower is a lighthouse that is considered one of the landmarks of the state of Hawaii in the United States. Opened on September 11, 1926 at a then astronomical cost of $160,000, the Aloha Tower is located at Pier 9 of Honolulu Harbor. It has been, and continues to be, a guiding beacon welcoming vessels to the City and County of Honolulu. Just as the Statue of Liberty greeted hundreds of thousands of immigrants each year to New York City, the Aloha Tower greeted hundreds of thousands of immigrants to Honolulu. At 10 stories and 184 feet  of height topped with 40 feet  of flag mast, for four decades the Aloha Tower was the tallest structure in Hawaii. It was built in the Hawaiian Gothic architectural style.</p><br>
<h2>Attack on Pearl Harbor</h2><br>
<p>When the attack on Pearl Harbor came on December 7, 1941, Coast Guardsmen from the were ordered to take up defensive positions around Aloha Tower and protect it from being occupied. The Aloha Tower was painted in camouflage to disappear at night.</p><br>
<h2>Redevelopment</h2><br>
<p>In 1981, the Governor of Hawaii and the Hawaii State Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism established the Aloha Tower Development Corporation. The public corporation was charged with developing the land around the Aloha Tower to benefit the state&#39;s commercial trade industry based at Honolulu Harbor while at the same time providing the residents of Hawaii with ample access to the downtown waterfront. The entire Aloha Tower Complex, as defined by the public corporation, was identified as Piers 5 and 6, Piers 8 through 23, and portions of Nimitz Highway and Iwilei.</p><br>
<h2>Museum marketplace</h2><br>
<p>In 1982, the Hawaii Maritime Center was opened near the Aloha Tower in an old royal pier to present the history of Honolulu Harbor and the relative industries it served. In 2002, the Hawaii Maritime Center became an incorporated institution of the Bishop Museum. The center was closed to the public on May 1, 2009.</p><br>
<p>Docked at the royal pier is the Falls of Clyde, a historic shipping vessel.</p><br>
<h2>Recent developments</h2><br>
<p>The Aloha Tower Development Corporation continues its work today with plans to modernize the facilities and infrastructure in and around the Aloha Tower Complex. Its most significant hurdle is to find a way of making travel through Nimitz Highway more efficient. In 2004, a controversial proposal was made to construct an underground highway tunnel beneath the complex. Other proposals include the establishment of streetcars, elimination of commercial high-rises in the area and increase of high-rise residential units instead. State officials want to close the parking lot fronting the Aloha Tower and destroy the adjacent Hawaiian Electric Company power plant, then fill the space with a park. In consideration of heightened security measures after 9/11, tourist access to the observation deck was restricted, but has since been reopened.</p><br>
<p>As of 2013 the shopping center and Aloha Tower itself have fallen into a state of disrepair, most of the store fronts are now gone and the entire mall and tower is showing damage. Many of the ships that were once tourist attractions have ceased operating, the Falls of Clyde has been stripped of her masts and is now a derelict sitting in the harbor.</p><br>
<p>The Star of Honolulu Dinner Cruise still operates out of the docks near the bars.</p><br>
<p>Today, Hawaii Pacific University has purchased and is continuing to redevelop the space. The second floor is now used as student housing with 268 beds. The ground floor features the HPU Welcome Center as well as other student facilities, and there are also some restaurants.</p><br>
<p>The Lahore Fort , is a citadel in the city of Lahore, Pakistan. The fortress is located at the northern end of Lahore&#39;s Walled City, and spreads over an area greater than 20 hectares. when the Mughal Empire was at the height of its splendour and opulence.</p><br>
<p>Though the site of the Lahore Fort has been inhabited for millennia, the first record of a fortified structure at the site was in regard to an 11th-century mud-brick fort. The foundations of the modern Lahore Fort date to 1566 during the reign of Emperor Akbar, who bestowed the fort with a syncretic architectural style that featured both Islamic and Hindu motifs. Additions from the Shah Jahan period are characterized by luxurious marble with inlaid Persian floral designs, while the fort&#39;s grand and iconic Alamgiri Gate was constructed by the last of the great Mughal Emperors, Aurangzeb, and faces the renowned Badshahi Mosque.</p><br>
<p>After the fall of the Mughal Empire, the Lahore Fort was used as the residence of Ranjit Singh, founder of the Sikh Empire. The fort then passed to British colonialists after they annexed Punjab following their victory over the Sikhs at the Battle of Gujrat in February 1849. In 1981, the fort was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its "outstanding repertoire" of Mughal monuments dating from the era when the empire was at its artistic and aesthetic zenith.</p><br>
<h2>Location</h2><br>
<p>The fort is located in the northern part of Lahores old walled city. The forts Alamgiri gate is part of an ensemble of buildings, which along with the Badshahi Mosque, Roshnai Gate, and Samadhi of Ranjit Singh, form a quadrangle around the Hazuri Bagh. The Minar-e-Pakistan and Iqbal Park are adjacent to the northern boundary of the fort.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<h3>Early history</h3><br>
<p>Though the site is known to have been inhabited for millennia, the origins of Lahore Fort are obscure and traditionally based on various myths.</p><br>
<h3>Delhi Sultanate</h3><br>
<p>The first historical reference to a fort at the site is from the 11th century during the rule of Mahmud of Ghazni. The fort was made of mud, and was destroyed in 1241 by the Mongols during their invasion of Lahore. A new fort was constructed in 1267 at the site by Sultan Balban of the Turkic Mamluk dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate. The re-built fort was destroyed in 1398 by the invading forces of Timur, only to be rebuilt by Mubarak Shah Sayyid in 1421, In the 1430s, the fort was occupied by Shaikh Ali of Kabul. and remained under the control of the Pashtun sultans of the Lodi dynasty until Lahore was captured by the Mughal Emperor Babur in 1524.</p><br>
<h3>Mughal era</h3><br>
<h4>Akbar period</h4><br>
<p>The present design and structure of the fort traces its origins to 1575, when the Mughal Emperor Akbar occupied the site as a post to guard the northwest frontier of the empire. The strategic location of Lahore, between the Mughal territories and the strongholds of Kabul, Multan, and Kashmir necessitated the dismantling of the old mud-fort and fortification with solid brick masonry. Lofty palaces were built over time, along with lush gardens. Notable Akbar period structures included the Doulat Khana-e-Khas-o-Am, Jharoka-e-Darshan, and Akbari Gate. Many Akbari structures were modified or replaced by subsequent rulers.</p><br>
<h4>Jahangir period</h4><br>
<p>Emperor Jahangir first mentions his alterations to the fort in 1612 when describing the Maktab Khana. Jahangir also added the Kala Burj pavilion, which features European-inspired angels on its vaulted ceiling. British visitors to the fort noted Christian iconography during the Jahangir period, with paintings of the Madonna and Jesus found in the fort complex. In 1606, Guru Arjan of the Sikh faith was imprisoned at the fort before his death.</p><br>
<p>Jahangir bestowed the massive Picture Wall, a 1,450 ft by 50 ft wall which is exquisitely decorated with a vibrant array of glazed tile, faience mosaics, and frescoes. The Mosque of Mariyam Zamani Begum was built adjacent to the forts eastern walls during the reign of Jahangir. While the mosque likely served as a Friday congregational mosque for members of the Royal Court, it was not financed by Jahangir, although it likely required his approval.</p><br>
<h4>Shah Jahan period</h4><br>
<p>Shah Jahans first contribution to the fort commenced in the year of his coronation, 1628, and continued until 1645. Shah Jahan first ordered construction of the Diwan-i-Aam in the style of a Chehel Sotoun - a Persian style 40-pillar public audience hall. Though construction of the Shah Burj commenced under Jahangir, Shah Jahan was displeased with its design and appointed Asif Khan to oversee reconstruction. Shah Jahans Shah Burj forms a quadrangle with the famous Sheesh Mahal, and Naulakha Pavilion. Both are attributed to Shah Jahan, although the Naulakha Pavilion may be a later addition possibly from the Sikh era. The white marble Moti Masjid, or Pearl Mosque, also dates from the Shah Jahan period.</p><br>
<h4>Aurangzeb period</h4><br>
<p>Emperor Aurangzeb, built the Alamgiri Gate, whose semi-circular towers and domed pavilions are a widely recognised symbol of Lahore that was once featured on Pakistani currency.</p><br>
<h3>Sikh era</h3><br>
<p>The Mughals lost the fort to the Afghan Durranis, who in turn briefly lost the fort to Maratha forces before being recaptured by the Durranis. The fort was then captured by the Bhangi Misl - one of the 12 Sikh Misls of Punjab that ruled Lahore from 1767 until 1799. The fort fell to the army of Ranjit Singh, who took Lahore from the Bhangi Misl in 1799. The fort and the city remained under the control of Ranjit Singh&#39;s family until the fall of the last Sikh empire in 1849.</p><br>
<p>During their occupation of the fort, the Sikhs repurposed portions of the fort for their own use. The forts famous Moti Masjid was forcibly converted into a Sikh gurdwara, while Ranjit Singh used the forts Summer Palace as his own residence.</p><br>
<h3>Modern era</h3><br>
<p>Excavations in 1959 in front of Diwan-i-Am led to the discovery of a gold coin dated 1025 CE belonging to Mahmud of Ghazvani. The coin was unearthed at the depth of 25 ft from the lawn. The cultural layers were continuous to the depth of 15 ft indicating that the fort was inhabited by people even before his conquest.</p><br>
<p>While relaying the deteriorated floor of Akbari Gate in April 2007, three floors in the fort were unearthed belonging to the British, Sikh and Mughal period. The floor of the British, Sikh and Mughal periods were constructed with bricks, burnt bricks and pebbles respectively. The latter either built during Jahangirs or Shah Jahans era was the hallmark of Mughals.</p><br>
<h2>Layout</h2><br>
<p>The fort is divided into two sections: first the administrative section, which is well connected with main entrances, and includes gardens and Diwan-e-Khas for royal audiences. The second, a private and concealed residential section is divided into courts in the north and accessible through elephant gate. It also contains Sheesh Mahal, spacious bedrooms and small gardens. The exterior walls are decorated with blue Persian Kashi tiles. The original entrance faces the Maryam Zamani Mosque and the larger Alamgiri gate opens towards Hazuri Bagh through the majestic Badshahi mosque. Influence of Hindu architecture is seen in the zoomorphic corbels.</p><br>
<h2>Major structures</h2><br>
<h3>Shah Burj Quadrangle</h3><br>
<h4>Naulakha Pavilion</h4><br>
<p>The Naulakha Pavilion is an iconic sight of the Lahore Fort built in 1633 during the Shah Jahan period that is made of prominent white marble, and known for its distinctive curvilinear roof. It cost around 900,000 rupees, an exorbitant amount at the time. The structure derives its name from the Urdu word for 900,000, Naulakha.</p><br>
<p>The Naulakha pavilion served as a personal chamber and was located to the west of the Sheesh Mahal, in the northern section of the fort. The pavilion served as inspiration for Rudyard Kipling, who named his Vermont home Naulakha in honour of the pavilion.</p><br>
<p>The structure was originally inlaid with precious and semi-precious stones. It reflects a mixture of contemporary traditions at the time of its construction, with a sloping-roof based on a Bengali style, and a baldachin from Europe, which makes evident the imperial as well as religious function of the pavilion. The marble shades of the pavilion are capped with merlons to hide view from the grounds.</p><br>
<h4>Picture Wall</h4><br>
<p>Emperor Jahangir ordered construction of the massive "Picture Wall, which is considered to be the greatest artistic triumph of the Lahore Fort. Unlike the Red Fort and Agra Fort, Lahore Forts ramparts were made of brick rather than red stone. The monumental Picture Wall is a large section of the outer wall which is exquisitely decorated with a vibrant array of glazed tile, faience mosaics, and frescoes.</p><br>
<p>The embellished wall stretches over much of the fort&#39;s northern and western walls and measures approximately 1,450 ft by 50 ft. which depict a myriad of subjects, including elephant fights, angels, and polo games that do not form a cohesive narrative; each can be viewed in isolation. Though begun under Jahangir, the Picture Wall was decorated throughout the 1620s, and may have been completed under the reign of his son, Shah Jahan.</p><br>
<p>The Picture Wall was badly neglected, and suffered from disrepair and damage. Conservation works at the site began in 2015 by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture and Walled City of Lahore Authority, which together have also restored other Lahore landmarks such as the Wazir Khan Mosque and Shahi Hammam. Detailed documentation of the wall using 3D scanner was completed in July 2016, after which conservation work would start.</p><br>
<h4>Sheesh Mahal</h4><br>
<p>The Sheesh Mahal ("The Palace of Mirrors&quot شیش محل) is located within Jahangirs Shah Burj block in northern-western corner of the Lahore Fort. It was constructed under the reign of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in 1631-32 by Mirza Ghiyas Begh, the grand father of Mumtaz Mahal, and father of Nur Jahan. The ornate white marble pavilions walls are decorated with frescoes, and are inlaid with pietra dura and complex mirror-work known as ayina kari. It is among the best known monuments of Lahore Fort, and forms the jewel in the fort&#39;s crown. The distinctive Shah Jahani style is reflected in the extensive use of white marble, and hierarchical accents of the construction.</p><br>
<p>Sheesh Mahal was reserved for personal use by the imperial family and close aides. During the Sikh Empire, Shah Burj became Ranjit Singh&#39;s favourite place, who built a harem on top of the Sheesh Mahal. This was also the place where he would display his prized possession, the Koh-i-Noor.</p><br>
<h4>Summer Palace</h4><br>
<p>Located directly beneath the Sheesh Mahal and Shah Burj quadrangle is the Summer Palace, also known as the Pari Mahal, or "Fairy Palace." The palace is a labyrinth of chambers that date from the Shah Jahan period. They were used as a residence during hot weather months, as they were cooled by effective ventilation systems that channeled cool breezes into the palace. Cool water perfumed by roses flowed through an elaborate system of 42 waterfalls and cascades throughout the palace.</p><br>
<p>The palace was historically only accessible from the overlying Sheesh Mahal, Its walls were decorated with intricate frescoes and marble inlay that have been severely deteriorate by layers of subsequent white-washing and centuries of dampness. Passage tunnels also exist that lead from the palace to the fort&#39;s exterior where the River Ravi once flowed, suggesting that it may have been part of an escape tunnel designed to allow occupants to flee in case of attack.</p><br>
<p>The Summer Palace remained in use during the Sikh period under the reign of Ranjit Singh. Beginning in World War 2, the Summer Palace was used as a storehouse for the British Civil Defence Department, and remained in use by Pakistan until 1973. The buildings structural integrity was affected by its use as a storehouse. As of 2014, the Walled City of Lahore Authority has assumed control of the space in order to undertake restoration works with the Aga Khan Trust for Culture Following its restoration, the space will house the Lahore Forts museum.</p><br>
<h3>Khilawat Khana</h3><br>
<p>Khilawat Khana was built by Shah Jahan in 1633 to the east of the Shah Burj Pavilion, and west of the Shah Jahan Quadrangle. It was the residence of the royal ladies of the court. The plinth and door frames are made of marble with a curvilinear roof.</p><br>
<h4>Kala Burj</h4><br>
<p>In the northwest corner of the Khilawat Khana stands the Kala Burj ("Black Pavilion"). The pavilion is the most significant of the Jahangir-era additions to the Lahore Fort. The vaulted ceilings in the pavilion feature paintings in a European-influenced style of angels which symbolize the virtuosity of King Solomon, who is regarded as the ideal ruler in the Quran, and a ruler with whom Jahangir identified. Angels directing djinns are also painted on tiles in the ceiling, which also reference King Solomon. Kala Burj was used as a summer pavilion.</p><br>
<h4>Lal Burj</h4><br>
<p>In the northeast corner of the Khilawat Khana stands the Lal Burj ("Red Pavilion"). Like the nearby Kala Burj, the Lal Burj was built during the reign of Jahangir, though finished during the reign of Shah Jahan. Octagonal in shape, the Lal Burj was used as a summer pavilion. It features primary windows that opened to the north to catch cool breezes. The interior frescoes date mostly from the Sikh era, along with the entire upper level that was also added during the Sikh era.</p><br>
<h3>Shah Jahan's Quadrangle</h3><br>
<p>The collection of buildings surrounding the quadrangle situated between Jahangirs Quadrangle and Khilawat Khana is referred to as Shah Jahans Quadrangle.</p><br>
<h4>Diwan-i-Khas</h4><br>
<p>In contrast to the Diwan-i-Aam, the Diwan-i-Khas served as a hall where the Emperor would attend to matters of the state, and where courtiers and state guests were received. The hall was site of elaborate pageantry, with processions of up to one hour long occurring before each audience session.</p><br>
<h4>The Khwabgah of Shah Jahan</h4><br>
<p>Khwabgah was the bedroom of Shah Jahan. It was built by Shah Jahan under the supervision of Wazir Khan in 1634 during his first visit to the city. Five sleeping chambers are aligned in a single row. The chambers feature carved marble screens, and are decorated with inlaid white marble and frescoes, It is the first building built by Shah Jahan in the fort. At present its decorations have vanished except for a trace of the marble which once might have beautified the façade.</p><br>
<h3>Jahangir's Quadrangle</h3><br>
<p>Jahangirs Quadrangle occupies the northeastern corner of the fort. Though named for Jahangir, construction on the site began in 1617 or 1618 during the reign of Akbar, but was completed in 1620 under Jahangir. Akbars syncretic style is noted in the quadrangle, as it employs column brackets carved in the form of animals. The quadrangle&#39;s layout differs from other Mughal quadrangles which are based upon the layout of a Persian paradise garden, and instead is formed by concentric rectangles with a fountain in its centre.</p><br>
<h4>Diwan-i-Aam</h4><br>
<p>The Diwan-i-Aam was built by Shah Jahan in 1628 in a prominent part of the fort immediately south of Jahangir&#39;s Quadrangle. It was built style of a Chehel Sotoun - a Persian style 40-pillar public audience hall, in a style similar to the Diwan-i-Aam at the Agra Fort. The Diwan-i-Aam was used a hall for the emperors to hold audience with commoners.</p><br>
<p>Shah Jahan&#39;s Diwan-i-Aam was destroyed in 1841 when the son of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, Sher Singh bombarded the fort in his fight against Maharani Chand Kaur, the wife of Mahraja Kharak Singh. The current structure was built by the British in the 1849 after their victory against the Sikhs.</p><br>
<h4>Kharak Singh Haveli</h4><br>
<p>Kharak Singh Haveli was the haveli of Kharak Singh, the heir to Ranjit Singh. It lies in the south-east of the Jahangirs Quadrangle. It was later occupied by the British where the first and the ground floor were used as a Commandants Quarters and godown and servants house respectively. Currently it houses the archaeological survey office.</p><br>
<h4>The Khwabgah of Jahangir</h4><br>
<p>The Jahangir Quadrangle is bordered on its northern edge by Jahangir&#39;s sleeping chambers, the Bari Khwabgah, which was largely reconstructed during the British era.</p><br>
<h4>Sehdari pavilion</h4><br>
<p>The Sikh-era Sehdari pavilion, or "Three-doored" pavilion, is located to the east of the Bari Khwabgah. A second Sehdari pavilion was located to the west of the Bari Khwabgah, but was subsequently destroyed during the British period. The surviving pavilion was used as an office for Faqir Syed Noor-ud-din, a trusted Governor of Ranjit Singh. The architectural style of the Sehdari pavilion is typical of the Sikh period. Frescoes decorating the pavilion portray floral designs, birds, and Hindu religious themes.</p><br>
<h3>Maktab Khana</h3><br>
<p>The Maktab Khana ("Clerk&#39;s Quarters") originally known as Dawlat Khana-e-Jahangir, was constructed in 1617 under the supervision of Mamur Khan during the reign of Jahangir as a set of cloisters near the Moti Masjid. Designed by Khawaja Jahan Muhammad Dost, it was used as passage to the Audience Hall from the palace buildings to the north. Clerks in the Maktab Khana would also record the entry of guests into the fort. It features iwans in the Persian-Timurid style in each of its four sides. Each iwan is flanked by arches.</p><br>
<h3>Moti Masjid</h3><br>
<p>The Moti Masjid (موتی مسجد), one of the "Pearl Mosques", is a mosque dating from the Shah Jahan Period that is located on the western side of Lahore Fort, closer to Alamgiri Gate. It is situated in the northwestern corner of Dewan-e-Aam. The white marble structure is among his prominent extensions (such as Sheesh Mahal and Naulakha pavilion) to the Lahore Fort Complex. Moti in Urdu language means pearl, which designates a perceived preciousness to the religious structure. It was an established practice among Mughal emperors to name the mosques after generic names for gemstones. The mosque, built between 1630–35, has three superimposed domes, two aisles of five bays, and a slightly raised central pishtaq, or portal with a rectangular frame. This five-arched facade distinguishes it from other mosques of the similar class with three-arched facades. The interior is simple and plain with the exception of ceilings that are decorated and designed in four different orders, two arcuate, and two trabeated.</p><br>
<p>After the demise of the Mughal Empire, the mosque was converted into a Sikh temple and renamed Moti Mandir during the period of the Sikh rule under Ranjit Singh&#39;s Sikh Confederacy. He later used the building for the state treasury. When the British took over Punjab in 1849, they discovered precious stones wrapped in bits of rags and placed in velvet purses scattered inside the mosque, along with other inventory.</p><br>
<h3>Gates</h3><br>
<h4>Akbari Gate</h4><br>
<p>Mughal Emperor Akbar built two gates. Akbari Gate was built in 1566 and now called Maseeti Gate.</p><br>
<h4>Alamgiri Gate</h4><br>
<p>Located at the western end of the fort, the Alamgiri Gate is the entrance of the Lahore Fort. It was built by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in 1674. It has two semi-circular bastions where lotus petal design adorns its base. It opens to the Hazuri Bagh and faces the Badshahi Mosque. The gate is one of Lahore&#39;s most iconic monuments, and once featured on Pakistani currency.</p><br>
<h3>Naag Temple</h3><br>
<p>The Naag temple is a Sikh temple built by Chand Kaur, the wife of Kharak Singh who was the son of the then ruling Maharaja Ranjit Singh. The temple is square in plan and built on a raised platform. Its exterior walls are covered with fresco paintings. The temple also has a water-melon shaped dome. The site is currently closed to the public in order to prevent further deterioration.</p><br>
<h3>Mai Jindan Haveli</h3><br>
<p>Mai Jindan Haveli is of unknown origins and believed to be a Mughal structure but attributed to the Mai Jindan, Chand Kaur because of the extensive additions by the Sikhs. It is a two storied building where she is alleged to have been murdered. Presently this building is site of the Sikh Gallery Museum.</p><br>
<h2>Conservation</h2><br>
<p>In 1980, Government of Pakistan nominated the fort for inclusion in UNESCO World Heritage Site based on the criteria i, ii, and iii together with the Shalimar. In the fifth meeting session held in Sydney in October 1981, the World Heritage Site committee added both the monuments to the list.</p><br>
<p>In 2000, Pakistan sent a letter to the organization to include both the sites in List of World Heritage in Danger and sought help to restore the damaged part of the outer walls and hydraulic works of Shalamar Gardens. In April 2006, it was reported that officials had urged UNESCO to remove the name of the fort from the list of endangered World Heritage Sites because of extensive restoration work funded by Norway, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom and France. Restoration projects included works at the Sheesh Mahal, Alamgiri Gate, and Hazuri Bagh. After years of extensive renovation and restoration work, the fort and Shalimar Gardens were removed from the endangered list in June 2012.</p><br>
<p>Though in 1990, UNESCO had ordered the Punjab Archaeological Department to bar the use of the Fort for state or private functions on account of historical significance, a wedding reception was held in violation on December 23, 2010. The Antiquities Act of 1975, which prohibits the use of historical places to protect them from damage, was violated in the following month by hosting a dinner in the Diwan-i-Khas.</p><br>
<p>Conservation works at the Picture Wall began in 2015 by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture and Walled City of Lahore Authority. Documentation of the wall using 3D scanner was completed in July 2016, after which conservation work would start.</p><br>
<p>Lord Howe Island  is an irregularly crescent-shaped volcanic remnant in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, directly east of mainland Port Macquarie, and about southwest of Norfolk Island. It is about long and between wide with an area of, though just of that comprises the low-lying developed part of the island. Along the west coast there is a sandy semi-enclosed sheltered coral reef lagoon. Most of the population lives in the north, while the south is dominated by forested hills rising to the highest point on the island, Mount Gower . The Lord Howe Island Group</p><br>
<p>The first reported sighting of Lord Howe Island took place on 17 February 1788, when Lieutenant Henry Lidgbird Ball, commander of the Armed Tender HMS Supply, was en route from Botany Bay to found a penal settlement on Norfolk Island. On the return journey Ball sent a party ashore on Lord Howe Island to claim it as a British possession. It subsequently became a provisioning port for the whaling industry, and was permanently settled in June 1834. When whaling declined, the 1880s saw the beginning of the worldwide export of the endemic kentia palms, which remains a key component of the Island&#39;s economy. The other continuing industry, tourism, began after World War II ended in 1945.</p><br>
<p>The Lord Howe Island Group is part of the state of New South Wales and for legal purposes is regarded as an unincorporated area administered by the Lord Howe Island Board which reports to the New South Wales Minister for Environment and Heritage. The island&#39;s standard time zone is UTC+10:30, or UTC+11 when daylight saving time applies. The currency is the Australian dollar. Commuter airlines provide flights to Sydney, Brisbane, and Port Macquarie.</p><br>
<p>UNESCO records the Lord Howe Island Group as a World Heritage Site of global natural significance. Most of the island is virtually untouched forest, with many of the plants and animals found nowhere else in the world. Other natural attractions include the diversity of the landscapes, the variety of upper mantle and oceanic basalts, the world&#39;s southernmost barrier coral reef, nesting seabirds, and the rich historical and cultural heritage. The Lord Howe Island Act 1981 established a "Permanent Park Preserve" (covering about 70 per cent of the island).</p><br>
<p>The surrounding waters are a protected region designated the Lord Howe Island Marine Park.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<h3>1788–1834: First European visits</h3><br>
<p>It appears that, prior to European discovery and settlement, Lord Howe Island was uninhabited, and unknown to Polynesian peoples of the South Pacific. The first reported European sighting of Lord Howe Island was on 17 February 1788 by Lieutenant Henry Lidgbird Ball, commander of the Armed Tender (the oldest and smallest of the First Fleet ships), which was on its way from Botany Bay with a cargo of nine male and six female convicts to found a penal settlement on Norfolk Island. On the return journey of 13 March 1788 Ball observed Balls Pyramid and sent a party ashore on Lord Howe Island to claim it as a British possession. Numerous turtles and tame birds were captured and returned to Sydney. Ball named Mount Lidgbird and Balls Pyramid after himself and the main island after Richard Howe, First Earl Howe, who was First Lord of the Admiralty at the time.</p><br>
<p>Many names on the island date from this time, and also from May of the same year when the island was visited by four ships of the First Fleet, HMS Supply, Charlotte, Lady Penrhyn and when much of the plant and animal life was first recorded in the journals and diaries of visitors like David Blackburn, Master of the Supply, and Arthur Bowes Smyth, surgeon of the Lady Penrhyn. Watercolour sketches of native birds including the Lord Howe woodhen (Gallirallus sylvestris), white gallinule (Porphyrio albus), and Lord Howe pigeon (Columba vitiensis godmanae), were made by artists including George Raper and John Hunter. As the latter two birds were soon hunted to extinction these paintings are their only remaining pictorial record. Over the next three years the Supply returned to the island several times in search of turtles and the island was also visited by ships of the Second and Third Fleets. Between 1789 and 1791 the Pacific whale industry was born with British and American whaling ships chasing sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) along the equator to the Gilbert and Ellice archipelago, then south into Australian and New Zealand waters. The American fleet numbered 675 ships and Lord Howe was located in a region known as the Middle Ground noted for sperm whales and southern right whales (Eubalaena australis).</p><br>
<p>The island was subsequently visited by many government and whaling ships sailing between New South Wales and Norfolk Island and across the Pacific, including many from the American whaling fleet, so its reputation as a provisioning port preceded settlement, some ships leaving goats and pigs on the island as food for future visitors. Between July and October 1791 the Third Fleet ships arrived at Sydney and within days the deckwork was being reconstructed for a future in the lucrative whaling industry. Whale oil was to become Australias most profitable export until the 1830s, and it was the whaling industry that shaped Lord Howe Islands early history.</p><br>
<h3>1834–1841: Settlement</h3><br>
<p>Permanent settlement on Lord Howe was established in June 1834 when the British whaling barque Caroline, sailing from New Zealand and commanded by Captain John Blinkenthorpe, landed at what is now known as Blinky Beach. They left three men, George Ashdown, James Bishop and Chapman, who were employed by a Sydney whaling firm to establish a supply station. The men were initially to provide meat by fishing and by raising pigs and goats from feral stock. They landed with (or acquired from a visiting ship) their Māori wives and two Māori boys. Huts were built in an area now known as Old Settlement which had a supply of fresh water, and a garden was established west of Blinky Beach.</p><br>
<p>This was a cashless society; the settlers bartered their stores of water, wood, vegetables, meat, fish and bird feathers for clothes, tea, sugar, tools, tobacco and other commodities not available on the island – but it was the whalers’ valuation that had to be accepted. These first settlers eventually left the island when they were bought out for £350 in September 1841 by businessmen Owen Poole and Richard Dawson (later joined by John Foulis) whose employees and others then settled on the island.</p><br>
<h3>1842–1860: Trading provisions</h3><br>
<p>The new business was advertised and ships trading between Sydney and the New Hebrides (Vanuatu) would also put into the island. Rover&#39;s Bride, a small cutter, became the first regular trading vessel. Between 1839 and 1859 between five and twelve ships made landfall each year, occasionally closer to 20 with seven or eight at a time laying off the reef. In 1842 and 1844 the first children were born on the island. Then in 1847 Poole, Dawson and Foulis, bitter at failing to obtain a land lease from the New South Wales Government, abandoned the settlement although three of their employees remained. One family, the Andrews, after finding some onions on the beach in 1848, cultivated them as the "Lord Howe red onion" which was popular in the Southern Hemisphere for about 30 years until the crop was attacked by smut disease.</p><br>
<p>In 1849 there were just 11 people living on the island but it was not long before the island farms expanded. In 1851 about 16 people were living on the island. Vegetable crops now included potatoes, carrots, maize, pumpkin, taro, watermelon – even grapes, passionfruit and coffee. Between 1851 and 1853 there were several aborted proposals by the NSW Government to establish a penal settlement on the island.</p><br>
<p>From 1851 to 1854 Henry Denham captain of HMS Herald, which was on a scientific expedition to the southwest Pacific (1852–1856), completed the island&#39;s first hydrographic survey. On board were three Scottish biologists, William Milne (a gardener-botanist from the Edinburgh Botanic Garden), John Macgillivray (naturalist) who collected fish and plant specimens, and Assistant Surgeon and zoologist Denis Macdonald. Together these men established much basic information on the geology, flora and fauna of the island.</p><br>
<p>In about 1853 a further three settlers arrived on the American whaling barque Belle, captained by Ichabod Handy. As well as George Campbell (who died in 1856) and Jack Brian (who left the island in 1854), the third, Nathan Thompson, brought three women (called Botanga, Bogoroo, and a girl named Bogue) from the Gilbert Islands. When his first wife Botanga died he then married Bogue. Thompson was the first resident to build a substantial house in the 1860s from mainland cedar washed up on the beach. Most of the residents with island ancestors have blood relations or are connected by marriage to Thompson and his second wife Bogue.</p><br>
<p>In 1855 the island was officially designated as part of New South Wales by the Constitution Act.</p><br>
<h3>1861–1890: Scientific expeditions</h3><br>
<p>From the early 1860s whaling declined rapidly with the increasing use of petroleum, the onset of the Californian goldrush, and the American Civil War – with unfortunate consequences for the island. To explore alternative means of income Thompson, in 1867, purchased the Sylph which was the first local vessel to trade with Sydney (mainly pigs and onions). It anchored in deep water at what is now Sylph&#39;s Hole off Old Settlement Beach, but was eventually tragically lost at sea in 1873 which added to the woes of the island at this time.</p><br>
<p>In 1869 the island was visited by a magistrate P. Cloete aboard the Thetis investigating a possible murder. He was accompanied by Charles Moore, director of the Botanic Gardens in Sydney, and his assistant William Carron who forwarded plant specimens to Ferdinand Mueller at the botanic gardens in Melbourne who, by 1875, had catalogued and published 195 species. Also on the ship was William Fitzgerald, a surveyor, and Mr Masters from the Australian Museum. Together they surveyed the island with the findings published in 1870 when the population was listed as 35 people, their 13 houses built of split palm battens thatched on the roof and sides with palm leaves. At about this time there began a downturn of trade with the demise of the whaling industry and sometimes six or twelve months passed without a vessel calling. With the provisions rotting in the storehouses the older families lost interest in market gardening.</p><br>
<p>From 1860 to 1872 forty-three ships had collected provisions, but from 1873 to 1887 there were fewer than a dozen. This study sealed a lasting relationship with three scientific organisations, the Australian Museum, Sydney Royal Botanic Gardens and Kew Royal Botanic Gardens.</p><br>
<h3>1890–1999</h3><br>
<p>In 1883 the company Burns Philp started a regular shipping service and the number of tourists gradually increased. By 1932, with the regular tourist run of SS Morinda, tourism became the second biggest source of external income after palm sales to Europe.</p><br>
<p>The palm trade began in the 1880s when the lowland kentia palm (Howea forsteriana) was first exported to Britain, Europe and America but the trade was only placed on a firm financial footing when the Lord Howe Island Kentia Palm Nursery was formed in 1906 (see below).</p><br>
<p>The first plane to appear on the island was in 1931 when Francis Chichester alighted on the lagoon in a de Havilland Gipsy Moth converted into a floatplane. It was damaged there in an overnight storm but repaired with the assistance of islanders and then took off successfully nine weeks later for a flight to Sydney. After World War II, in 1947, tourists arrived on Catalina and then four-engined Sandringham flying boats of Ansett Flying Boat Services operating out of Rose Bay, Sydney, and landing on the lagoon, the journey taking about hours. When Lord Howe Island Airport was completed in 1974, the seaplanes were eventually replaced with Qantaslink twin-engined turbo-prop Dash 8-200 aircraft.</p><br>
<h3>21st century</h3><br>
<p>In 2002, the Royal Navy destroyer struck Wolf Rock, a reef at Lord Howe Island, and almost sank. In recent times tourism has increased and the government of New South Wales has been increasingly involved with issues of conservation.</p><br>
<p>On 17 October 2011 a supply ship, M/V Island Trader, with twenty tons of fuel ran aground in the lagoon. The ship refloated at high tide with no loss of crew or cargo.</p><br>
<p>The 2016 film The Shallows starring Blake Lively was largely filmed on the island.</p><br>
<p>One of the most contentious issues amongst islanders in the 21st century is what to do about the rodent situation. Rodents have only been on the island since a ship ran aground in 1918 and have wiped out several endemic bird species and were thought to have done the same to the Lord Howe Island stick insect. There is a plan to drop 42 tonnes of rat bait across the island but the community is heavily divided.</p><br>
<h2>Demographics</h2><br>
<p>As at the, the resident population was 360 people and the number of tourists was not allowed to exceed 400. Early settlers were European and American whalers and many of their offspring have remained on the island for more than six generations. Residents are now involved with the kentia palm industry, tourism, retail, some fishing and farming. In 1876 it was observed that on Sundays although there was a suspension of games and labour, there were no religious services. Nowadays, in an area known locally as Church Paddock, there are Anglican, Catholic and Adventist churches, the religious affiliations on the island being 30% Anglican, 22% no religion, 18% Catholic and 12% Seventh Day Adventist. There is about an equal division of the sexes with 47% of the population in the age group 25–54 and 92% holding Australian citizenship.</p><br>
<h2>Governance and land tenure</h2><br>
<p>Official control of Lord Howe Island lay initially with the British Crown until it passed to New South Wales in 1855, although until at least 1876 the islanders lived in "a relatively harmonious and self-regulating community". In 1878 Richard Armstrong was appointed administrator when the NSW Parliament declared the island a Forest Reserve. But as a result of ill feeling, and an enquiry, he was eventually removed from office on 31 May 1882 (he returned later that year though to view the transit of Venus from present-day Transit Hill). After his removal the island was administered by four successive magistrates until 1913 when a Sydney-based Board was formed until 1948 when a resident superintendent was appointed. In 1913 the three-man Lord Howe Island Board of Control was established, mostly to regulate the palm seed industry, but also administering the affairs of the island from Sydney until the present Lord Howe Island Board was set up in 1954.</p><br>
<p>The Lord Howe Island Board is a NSW Statutory Authority established under the Lord Howe Island Act 1953, to administer the island as part of the state of New South Wales. It reports directly to the states Minister for Environment and Heritage, and is responsible for the care, control and management of the island. Its duties include: the protection of World Heritage values; the control of development; the administration of Crown Land, including the islands protected area; provision of community services and infrastructure; and regulating sustainable tourism. In 1981 the Lord Howe Island Amendment Act gave islanders the administrative power of three members on a five-member Board. The Board also manages the Lord Howe Island Kentia Palm Nursery which, together with tourism, provides the islands only sources of external income. Under an amendment bill in 2004 the Board now comprises seven members, four of whom are elected from the islander community, thus giving about 350 permanent residents a high level of autonomy. The remaining three members are appointed by the Minister to represent the interests of business, tourism and conservation. The full Board meets on the island every three months while the day-to-day affairs of the island are managed by the Boards administration, with a permanent staff that had increased to 22 people by 1988.</p><br>
<p>Land tenure has been an issue since first settlement as island residents repeatedly requested freehold title or an absolute gift of cultivated land. Original settlers were squatters. The granting of a 100 acre lease to Richard Armstrong in 1878 drew complaints and a few short-term leases ("permissive occupancies") were granted. In 1913, with the appointment of a Board of Control, permissive occupancies were revoked and the Board itself given permissive occupancy of the island. Then the Lord Howe Island Act 1953 made all land the property of the Crown. Direct descendants of islanders with permissive occupancies in 1913 were granted perpetual leases on blocks of up to 5 acre for residential purposes. Short-term special leases were granted for larger areas used for agriculture, so in 1955, fifty-five perpetual leases and 43 special leases were granted. The 1981 amendment to the act extended political and land rights to all residents of 10 years or more. There remains an active debate concerning the proportion of residents with tenure and the degree of influence on the Board of resident islanders in relation to long-term planning for visitors, and issues relating to the environment, amenity and global heritage.</p><br>
<h2>Economy</h2><br>
<p>Trading vegetables, meat, fish and other perishables with visiting ships ceased in the 1870s when the whaling industry collapsed. With such a small population, Lord Howe Island&#39;s economy is now extremely simple with external income derived from only two significant sources: tourism and the overseas sale of kentia palm seeds and seedlings.</p><br>
<h3>Kentia palm industry</h3><br>
<p>The first exporter of palm seeds was Ned King, a mountain guide for the Fitzgerald surveys of 1869 and 1876, who sent seed to the Sydney Botanic Gardens. Overseas trade began in the 1880s when it was found that one of the four palms endemic to the island, kentia palm (Howea forsteriana), which grows naturally in the lowlands, was ideally suited to the fashionable conservatories of the well-to-do in Britain, Europe and the United States, but the assistance of mainland magistrate Frank Farnell was needed to put the business on a sound commercial footing when in 1906 he became Director of a company, the Lord Howe Island Kentia Palm Nursery, whose shareholders included 21 islanders and a Sydney-based seed company. However, the formation of the Lord Howe Island Board of Control was needed in 1913 to resolve outstanding issues.</p><br>
<p>The native kentia palm (known locally as the thatch palm as it was used to thatch the houses of the early settlers) is now the most popular decorative palm in the world. The mild climate of the island has evolved a palm which can tolerate low light, a dry atmosphere and lowish temperatures – ideal for indoor conditions. Up to the 1980s the palms were only sold as seed but from then onwards only as high quality seedlings. The nursery received certification in 1997 for its high quality management complying with the requirements of Australian Standard AS/NZS ISO 9002.</p><br>
<p>Seed is gathered from natural forest and plantations, most collectors being descendants of the original settlers. Seed is then germinated in soil-less media and sealed from the atmosphere to prevent contamination. After testing they are picked, washed (bare-rooted), sanitised and certified then packed and sealed into insulated containers for export. They grow both indoors and out and are popular for hotels and motels worldwide. Nursery profits are returned to enhance the island ecosystem. The nursery plans to expand the business to include the curly palm and other native plants of special interest.</p><br>
<h3>Tourism</h3><br>
<p>Lord Howe Island is known for its geology, birds, plants, and marine life. Popular tourist activities include scuba diving, birdwatching, snorkelling, surfing, kayaking, and fishing. To relieve pressure on the small island environment only 400 tourists are permitted at any one time.</p><br>
<h4>Facilities</h4><br>
<p>With fewer than 800 people on the island at any time, facilities are limited; they include a bakery, butcher, general store, liquor store, restaurants, post office, museum and information centre, a police officer, a ranger, and an ATM at the bowling club. Stores are shipped to the island fortnightly by the Island Trader from Port Macquarie. A small botanic garden displays labelled local plants in its grounds. Diesel-generated power is 240 volts AC, as on the mainland. There is no public transport or mobile phone coverage, but there are public telephones, fax facilities and internet access as well as a local radio station and newsletter, The Signal.</p><br>
<p>Tourist accommodation ranges from luxury lodges to apartments and villa units. The currency is the Australian dollar, and there are two banks. There are no camping facilities on the island and remote-area camping is not permitted. To protect the fragile environment of Ball&#39;s Pyramid (which carries the last remaining wild population of the endangered Howe Island stick insect), recreational climbing there is prohibited. No pets are allowed without permission from the Board. Islanders use tanked rainwater, supplemented by bore water for showers and washing clothes.</p><br>
<h4>Activities</h4><br>
<p>As distances to sites of interest are short, cycling is the main means of transport on the island. Tourist activities include golf (9-hole), lawn bowls, tennis, fishing (including deep-sea game fishing), yachting, windsurfing, kitesurfing, kayaking, and boat trips (including glass-bottom tours of the lagoon). Swimming, snorkelling and scuba diving are also popular in the lagoon, as well as off Tenth of June Island, a small rocky outcrop in the Admiralty group where an underwater plateau drops to reveal extensive gorgonia and black corals growing on the vertical walls. Other diving sites are found off Ball&#39;s Pyramid, away, where there are trenches, caves and volcanic drop-offs.</p><br>
<p>Bushwalking, natural history tours, talks, and guided walks take place along the many tracks, the most challenging being the eight-hour guided hike to the top of Mount Gower. There are 11 beaches and hand-feeding the 1 m kingfish (Seriola lalandi) and large wrasse at Ned&#39;s Beach is very popular. Walking tracks cover the island with difficulty graded from 1–5, they include – in the north: Transit Hill 2 hours return, Clear Place, 1–2 hours return; Stevens Reserve; North Bay, 4 hours return, Mount Eliza; Old Gulch, 20 minutes return, Malabar Hill and Kims Lookout, 3 hours, or 5 hours return, and – in the south: Goat House Cave, 5 hours return, Mount Gower, 8 hours return, Rocky Run and Boat Harbour; Intermediate Hill, 45 minutes return, Little Island, 40 minutes return. Recreational climbers must obtain permission from the Lord Howe Island Board.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>Lord Howe Island is an irregularly crescent-shaped volcanic remnant in the southwest Pacific Ocean. Lying in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand the island is east of mainland Port Macquarie, northeast of Sydney, and about from Norfolk Island to its northeast. The island is about long and between wide with an area of. Along the west coast there is a semi-enclosed sheltered coral reef lagoon with white sand, the most accessible of the islands eleven beaches. Both the north and south sections of the island are high ground of relatively untouched forest, in the south comprising two volcanic mountains, Mount Lidgbird and Mount Gower which, rising to, is the highest point on the island. The two mountains are separated by the saddle at the head of Erskine Valley. In the north, where most of the population live, high points are Malabar and Mount Eliza. Between these two uplands is an area of cleared lowland with some farming, the airstrip, and housing. The Lord Howe Island Group of islands comprises 28 islands, islets and rocks. Apart from Lord Howe Island itself the most notable of these is the pointed rocky islet Balls Pyramid, a 551 m eroded volcano about to the southeast, which is uninhabited but bird-colonised. It contains the only known wild population of the Lord Howe Island stick insect, formerly thought to be extinct. To the north there is the Admiralty Group, a cluster of seven small uninhabited islands. Just off the east coast is Mutton Bird Island, and in the lagoon is the Blackburn (Rabbit) Island.</p><br>
<h3>Geological origins</h3><br>
<p>Lord Howe Island is the highly eroded remains of a 7-million-year-old shield volcano, the product of eruptions that lasted for about 500,000 years. It is one of a chain of islands that occur on the western rim of an undersea shelf, the Lord Howe Rise, which is long and wide extending from New Zealand to the west of New Caledonia and consisting of continental rocks that separated from the Australian plate 60 to 80 million years ago to form a new crust in the deep Tasman Basin. The shelf is part of Zealandia, a microcontinent nearly half the size of Australia that gradually submerged after breaking away from the Gondwanan supercontinent. The Lord Howe Seamount Chain is defined by coral-capped guyots stretching to the north of the island for and including the Middleton ( away) and Elizabeth ( away) reefs of the Elizabeth and Middleton Reefs Marine National Park Reserve. This chain of nine volcanic peaks was probably produced by the northward movement of the Indo-Australian Plate over a stationary hotspot so the oldest guyots were the first formed and most northerly as the plate moved northward at a rate of per year (see plate tectonics).</p><br>
<h3>Basalts and calcarenite</h3><br>
<p>Two periods of volcanic activity produced the major features of the island. The first about 6.9 million years ago produced the northern and central hills while the younger and highly eroded Mount Gower and Mount Lidgbird were produced about 6.3 million years ago by successive basalt (an extrusive igneous rock) lava flows that once filled a large volcanic caldera (crater) and can now be seen as horizontal basalt strata on mountain cliffs (at Malabar and Mount Gower) occasionally interspersed with dikes (vertical lava intrusions). Geological pyroclastic remnants of volcanic eruption can be seen on the Roach Island (where the oldest rocks occur) and Boat Harbour as tuff (ash), breccia (with angular blocks), and agglomerate (rounded bombs). Offshore on the Lord Howe Rise water depths reach falling to to the west of the rise. From the dimensions of the rock on which the island stands it has been calculated that the island has eroded to one fortieth of its original size.</p><br>
<p>Rocks and land at the foot of these mountains is calcarenite, a coral sand, blown inland during the Pleistocene between 130,000 and 20,000 years ago and cemented into stratified layers by water percolation. In this rock are fossils of bird bones and eggs, land and marine snails and the extinct endemic horned turtle (Meiolania platyceps) now thought to be an ancient relictual non-swimming tortoise with relatives in South America. The crescent of the island protects a coral reef and lagoon, the barrier reef, at 31° S, is the most southerly in the world. Beach sands, rather than consisting of quartz grains derived from granite, as on the mainland, are made of fragments of shell, coral and coralline algae, together with basalt grains, and basaltic minerals like black diopside, and green olivine. The lowland consists of alluvial soils.</p><br>
<p>The island continues to erode rapidly and is expected to be fully submerged within 200,000 years taking an appearance akin to the Middleton and Elizabeth Reefs.</p><br>
<h3>Climate</h3><br>
<p>Lord Howe Island has a subtropical climate. Under the Köppen climate classification, Lord Howe Island has a Humid subtropical climate (Cfa).</p><br>
<p>In general the summers are warm-hot with rainfall erratic but occasionally heavy while in winter it is very mild with rainfall more or less uniform. There is a gradual transition from summer to winter conditions and vice versa.</p><br>
<p>Storms and occasional cyclones also affect the island. Rainfall records are maintained in the north where rainfall is less than in the frequently cloud-shrouded mountains of the south. There can be wide variation in rainfall from year to year. July and August are the coldest months with average minimum temperatures of about and no frost. Average maximum temperatures range from in the winter to in the summer. The humidity averages in the 60–70% range year round becoming more noticeable on warmer summer days than in the cooler winter months.</p><br>
<p>The average temperature of the sea ranges from in July, August and September to in March.</p><br>
<h2>Flora and fauna</h2><br>
<h3>Plants</h3><br>
<p>Lord Howe Island is a distinct terrestrial ecoregion known as the Lord Howe Island subtropical forests. It is part of the Australasia ecozone and shares many biotic affinities with Australia, New Guinea, and New Caledonia. Almost half of the islands native plants are endemic and many of the islands unique plants grow on or around the mountain summits where the height has allowed the development of a true cloud forest and many different microhabitats from sealevel to the summits. One of the best known is Howea, an endemic genus of palms (Arecaceae) that are commonly known as kentia palms and make handsome houseplants. Annual exports provide a revenue of over A$2 million, providing the only major industry on the island apart from tourism.</p><br>
<h4>Origin</h4><br>
<p>In geological terms at 7 million years old Lord Howe Island is relatively young and was never part of any continent, its flora and fauna colonising the island from across the sea, carried by wind, water or birds, possibly assisted at a geological time when other islands were exposed, enabling island hopping. Nevertheless, it is far enough away and has had sufficient time to evolve endemic species. The high degree of endemism is emphasised by the presence of five endemic genera: Negria, Lordhowea, Howea, Lepidorrhachis, and Hedyscepe. Island plants are similar to those of Norfolk Island, the two islands sharing some endemic species, for example, the critically endangered species of creeping vine Calystegia affinis. The combined flora of these two islands is more closely related to that of New Zealand and New Caledonia than to that of Australia. There is also a small but clear link with the plants of Vanuatu. The closest mainland affinities are with the vegetation of subtropical southeastern Queensland. A link with Gondwanaland is indicated by the presence of endemic species like the wedding lily (Dietes robinsoniana) whose only living relatives occur in South Africa.</p><br>
<p>The flora of the island is relatively untouched with a large number of rare plants, 44% being endemic to the island. With a diversity of conditions ranging from valleys, to ridges, plains and misty mountain tops there is habitat for a wide range of plant communities which have been comprehensively analysed and mapped. There are 57 species of fern of which 25 are endemic: they are most abundant in the moist environments of the southern island, especially the higher parts of Mount Gower, perhaps the most apparent being the four endemic tree ferns in the genus Cyathea that occur on the southern mountains.</p><br>
<h4>Communities and special plants</h4><br>
<p>Plant communities have been classified into nine categories: lowland subtropical rainforest, submontane rainforest, cloud-forest and scrub, lowland swamp forest, mangrove scrub and seagrass, coastal scrub and cliff vegetation, inland scrub and herbland, offshore island vegetation, shoreline and beach vegetation, and disturbed vegetation.</p><br>
<p>Several plants are immediately evident to the visitor. Banyan (Ficus macrophylla subsp. columnaris) is a remarkable tree with a buttressed trunk and pendulous aerial roots: it can be seen on the track to Clear Place and near Ned&#39;s Beach. Pandanus tree (Pandanus forsteri) has spectacular teepee-like prop roots and pineapple-like fruits that are orange-red when mature, the tough leaves being used for basketry. It occurs in damp areas like creek beds and fine specimens can be seen along the Boat Harbour track. There are ten species of orchid on the island, the most noticeable being the bush orchid (Dendrobium macropus subsp. howeanum) on lowland trees and rocks, bearing cream flowers from August to September. Other prominent flowering plants in the summer include, on the mountain slopes, the whiskery red flowers of mountain rose (Metrosideros nervulosa and Metrosideros sclerocarpa), the massed small yellow flowers of corokia (Corokia carpodetoides), orange plump flowers of pumpkin tree (Negria rhabdothamnoides), and white spikes of Fitzgerald tree (Dracophyllum fitzgeraldii). The kava bush has large, aromatic, heart-shaped leaves. After heavy rain the endemic glowing mushrooms Mycena chlorophanos and Omphalotus nidiformis can be found in the palm forests.</p><br>
<p>It is the palms that are the signature plants of the island as the kentia and curly palms especially dominate the landscape in many places, the kentia being of special economic importance. All four species are endemic to the island, often occurring in dense pure stands, the one that has proved such a worldwide success as an indoor plant being the kentia or thatch palm (Howea forsteriana). This is a lowland palm with drooping leaflets and seed branches in hands of 3–5 while the curly palm (Howea belmoreana), which occurs on slightly higher ground, has upwardly directed leaflets and solitary hands. Natural hybrids between these species occur on the island and there is a mature specimen of one growing in the island nursery. On the mountain sides higher than about 350 m there is the big mountain palm (Hedyscepe canterburyana); it has large golf-ball-sized fruits while the little mountain palm (Lepidorrhachis mooreana) has marble-sized fruits and is only found on the mountain summits.</p><br>
<h4>=Images of native flora=</h4><br>
<h3>Animals</h3><br>
<p>There are no snakes, no highly venomous or stinging insects, animals or plants, and no dangerous daytime sharks off the beaches. Although there are reports of tiger sharks on the cliff side of the island.</p><br>
<h4>Birds</h4><br>
<p>A total of 202 different birds have been recorded on the island. Eighteen species of land birds breed on the island and there are many more migratory species that occur on the island and its adjacent islets, many tame enough that it is possible for humans to get quite close. The island has been identified by BirdLife International as an Endemic Bird Area, and the Permanent Park Preserve as an Important Bird Area, because it supports the entire population of Lord Howe woodhens, most of the breeding population of providence petrels, over 1% of the world population of another five seabird species, and the whole populations of three endemic subspecies.</p><br>
<p>Fourteen species of seabirds breed on the island. Red-tailed tropicbirds can be seen in large numbers circling the Malabar cliffs where they perform acrobatic courting rituals. Between August and May thousands of flesh-footed and wedge-tailed shearwaters return to the island at dusk each day. From the Little Island Track between March and November one of the world&#39;s rarest birds, the providence petrel also performs courtship displays during winter breeding and it is extremely tame. The island was its only breeding location for many years after the breeding colony on Norfolk Island was exterminated in the late 19th century; though a small population persists on the adjacent Phillip Island. The Kermadec petrel was discovered breeding on Mount Gower in 1914 by ornithologist Roy Bell while collecting specimens for Gregory Mathews and the black-winged petrel was only confirmed as a breeder in 1971; its numbers have increased following the elimination of feral cats from the island.</p><br>
<p>The flesh-footed shearwater, which breeds in large numbers on the main island in spring-autumn, used to have its chicks harvested for food by the islanders. The wedge-tailed and little shearwaters breed on the main island and surrounding islets; though only a small number of the latter species can be found on the main island. Breeding white-bellied storm petrels were another discovery by Roy Bell. Masked boobies are the largest seabirds breeding on Lord Howe and can be seen nesting and gliding along the sea cliffs at Mutton Bird Point all year round. Sooty terns can be seen on the main island at Neds and Middle Beaches, North Bay, and Blinkey Beach; the most numerous of the islands breeding seabirds, their eggs were formerly harvested for food. Common and black noddies build nests in trees and bushes, while white terns lay their single eggs precariously in a slight depression on a tree branch, and grey ternlets lay their eggs in cliff hollows.</p><br>
<p>Three endemic passerine subspecies are the Lord Howe golden whistler, Lord Howe silvereye and Lord Howe currawong. The iconic endemic rail, the flightless Lord Howe woodhen, is the only surviving member of its genus: its ancestors could fly but with no predators and plenty of food on the island this ability was lost. This made it easy prey for islanders and feral animals and by the 1970s the population was less than 30 birds. From 1978 to 1984 feral animals were removed and birds raised in captivity to be successfully reintroduced to the wild. The population is now relatively safe and stable.</p><br>
<h4>Mammals, reptiles and amphibians</h4><br>
<p>Only one native mammal remains on the islands, the large forest bat. The endemic Lord Howe long-eared bat is known only from a skull and is now presumed extinct, possibly the result of the introduction of ship rats.</p><br>
<p>Two terrestrial reptiles are native to the island group: the Lord Howe Island skink and the Lord Howe Island gecko. Both are rare on the main island but more common on smaller islands offshore. The garden skink and the bleating tree frog have been accidentally introduced from the Australian mainland.</p><br>
<h4>Invertebrates</h4><br>
<p>The Lord Howe Island stick insect disappeared from the main island soon after the introduction of rats in 1918. In 2001 a tiny population was discovered in a single Melaleuca howeana shrub on the slopes of Ball&#39;s Pyramid, has been successfully bred in captivity, and is nearing re-introduction to the main island. The Lord Howe stag beetle is a colourful endemic beetle seen during summer months. Another endemic invertebrate, the Lord Howe flax snail (or Lord Howe Placostylus), has also been affected by the introduction of rats. Once common, the species is now endangered and a captive breeding program is under way to save the snail from extinction.</p><br>
<h4>Marine life</h4><br>
<p>Marine environments are near-pristine with a mixtures of temperate, subtropical and tropical species derived from cool-temperate ocean currents in the winter and the warm East Australian Current, which flows from the Great Barrier Reef, in summer. Of the 490 fish species recorded 13 are endemic and 60% are tropical. The main angling fish are yellowtail kingfish and New Zealand bluefish while game fish include marlin, tuna and giant kingfish called "greenbacks". Over 80 species of coral occur in the reefs surrounding the islands. Australian underwater photographer Neville Coleman has photographed various nudibranchs at Lord Howe Island.</p><br>
<p>Various species of cetaceans inhabit or migrate through the waters in vicinity, however very little about their biology in the area is known due to lack of studies and sighting efforts caused from locational conditions. Bottlenose dolphins are the most commonly observed and is the only species confirmed to be seasonal or yearly residents while some other dolphin species have also been observed. Humpback whales are the only of large whales showing slow but steady recoveries as their numbers annually migrating past the island of Lord Howe are much smaller than that of those migrating along Australian continent.</p><br>
<p>Historically, migratory whales such as blue, fin, sei were very abundant in the island waters, but were severely reduced in numbers to near-extinction by commercial and illegal hunts including the mass illegal hunts by Soviet Union and Japan in 1960s to 1970s. Southern right and sperm were most severely hunted among these, hence the area was called the Middle Ground by whalers. It is likely that these two were once seasonal residents around the island where right whales prefer sheltered, very shallow bays while sperm whales mainly inhabit deep waters.</p><br>
<h3>Conservation</h3><br>
<p>About 10% of Lord Howe Island&#39;s forests have been cleared for agriculture, and another 20% has been disturbed, mostly by domestic cattle and feral sheep, goats and pigs. As a result, 70% of the island remains relatively untouched with a variety of plants and animals, many of which are endemic, some of which are rare or threatened. Two species of plants, nine terrestrial birds, one bat and at least four invertebrates have become extinct since 1778. Endemism at the generic level includes the palms Howea, Hedyscepe and Lepidorrhachis, a woody daisy Lordhowea, the tree Negria, the leech Quantenobdella howensis, three annelid worm genera (Paraplutellus, Pericryptodrilus and Eastoniella), an isopod shrimp Stigmops, a hemipteran bug Howeria and a cricket Howeta.</p><br>
<p>The Lord Howe Island Board instigated an extensive biological and environmental survey (published in 1974), which has guided the island conservation program. In 1981, the Lord Howe Island Amendment Act proclaimed a "Permanent Park Preserve" over the north and south ends of the island. Administration of the preserve was outlined in a management plan for the sustainable development of the island prepared by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, which has a ranger stationed on the island. The Island was cited under the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1982.</p><br>
<p>Offshore environmental assets are protected by the Lord Howe Island Marine Park. This consists of a State Marine Park managed by the Marine Parks Authority of New South Wales in the waters out to 3 nautical miles around the island and including Ball&#39;s Pyramid. It also includes a Commonwealth Marine Park extending from 3 to 12 nautical miles out and managed by the federal Department of the Environment and Heritage. In total the Marine Park covers about 3,005 km&sup2;.</p><br>
<h4>Feral animals and plants</h4><br>
<p>Pigs and goats were released on the island as potential food in the early 1800s, the goats destroying shrubs and grasses used as nesting sites and the pigs eating eggs and chicks and disturbing the land by nuzzling for food. Several birds have become extinct on the island since the arrival of humans. The first round of extinctions included the Lord Howe swamphen or white gallinule, white-throated pigeon, red-crowned parakeet and the Tasman booby, which were eliminated by visitors and settlers during the nineteenth century either from overhunting for food or protection of crops.</p><br>
<p>Invasive plants such as Crofton weed and Formosa lily occur in inaccessible areas and probably cannot be eradicated but others are currently being managed. In 1995 the first action was taken to control the spread of introduced plants of the island, chiefly ground asparagus and bridal creeper, but also cherry guava, Madeira vine, Cotoneaster, Ochna and Cestrum. This has been followed by weeding tours and the formation of the Friends of Lord Howe Island group in 2000. Programs have also been started to remove weeds from private properties and revegetate some formerly cultivated areas. An Environmental Unit was created by the Board and it includes a Flora Management Officer and a permanent Weed Officer. Weeds have been mapped and an eradication program is in place, supported by improved education and quarantine procedures.</p><br>
<p>Despite the large number of introduced species that harm Lord Howe&#39;s native flora and fauna, feral pigs and cats were eradicated by the early 2000s. A recovery program has restored the Lord Howe woodhen numbers from only 20 in 1970 to about 200 in 2000, which is close to carrying capacity.</p><br>
<h4>Climate change</h4><br>
<p>According to an analysis by Tim Flannery, the ecosystem of Lord Howe Island is threatened by climate change and global warming, with the reefs at risk from rises in water temperature. The Great Barrier Reef is specifically identified as being at risk to the effects of global warming on Australia, and the same analysis applies to the reefs of Lord Howe Island. Cool climate flora and fauna are at risk from rises in temperature, because there is limited scope for migration to higher altitudes. The first international conference on global artificial photosynthesis as a climate change solution occurred at Lord Howe island in 2011, the papers being published by the Australian Journal of Chemistry.</p><br>
<p>Faslane on Gare Loch is the name of a bay near the village of Garelochhead, and is now the main part of HM Naval Base Clyde in Argyll and Bute, Scotland, as well as being a Defence Logistics Organisation port, operated in dual site organisation with Great Harbour, Greenock, by Serco Denholm.</p><br>
<p>Faslane is currently home to the United Kingdom&#39;s Trident SSBN submarines</p><br>
<p>There is also Faslane Peace Camp outside the base, protesting since 1982 against the nuclear missiles and submarines there.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The immediate area was sparsely populated until a naval base was constructed during World War II, though Garelochhead was already a thriving village served by Clyde steamers and a railway station. A shipbreakers operated at Faslane until the mid-1980s, when its site was taken over by expansion on the naval base.</p><br>
<p>The Washburn Observatory is located at 1401 Observatory Drive on the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus. Completed in 1881, it was a major research facility for about 50 years. Today, it is home to the UW-Madison College of Letters and Science Honors Program, while the telescope remains in use by students in introductory astronomy courses and the general public during open houses and viewings.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The observatory is named after the former Wisconsin governor, Cadwallader C. Washburn. In 1876, the Wisconsin State Legislature passed "An Act to permanently provide for deficiencies in the University fund income" to which Washburn added a provision that allocated a sum of $3000 USD per year over three years for the establishment of astronomy instruction and a corresponding observatory. This money was not to come from state funds, but was to be raised with property tax.</p><br>
<p>On September 18, 1877, John Bascom, the president of the University, announced that Washburn would provide an observatory with a telescope that was to be larger than the 15-inch refractor at Harvard. Washburn, along with the Board of Regents, chose the site of the observatory to be removed from the city of Madison with the university campus acting as the divider. The site was about 100 feet above Lake Mendota on the north side of campus and, at the time, was surrounded by a vineyard and orchard. Construction on the observatory was started in May, 1878, and a contract was given to Alvan Clark to build the telescope. It was decided that the telescope would have a diameter of 15.6 inches, which would make it the third largest in the United States. James C. Watson was appointed the first director of the observatory. He oversaw the completion of the original building, and also provided funding for a students&#39; observatory, as well as a solar observatory. He died suddenly in 1880, never seeing the completed observatory. The instruments in the solar observatory, meant to be used in locating the hypothetical planet Vulcan, were removed in 1882.</p><br>
<p>The observatory was used quite heavily until the new Pine Bluff Observatory was dedicated in 1958. Today Washburn Observatory is home to the University of Wisconsin-Madison College of Letters & Science Honors Program. The telescope, managed by the UW Department of Astronomy, is still used for public viewings and educational events.</p><br>
<h2>Images</h2><br>
<p>Experimental Breeder Reactor I  is a decommissioned research reactor and USA National Historic Landmark located in the desert about 18 mi southeast of Arco, Idaho. At 1:50 p.m. on December 20, 1951, it became one of the world&#39;s first electricity-generating nuclear power plants when it produced sufficient electricity to illuminate four 200-watt light bulbs. Electricity had earlier been generated by a nuclear reactor on September 3, 1948 at the X-10 Graphite Reactor in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. EBR-I subsequently generated sufficient electricity to power its building, and continued to be used for experimental purposes until it was decommissioned in 1964. The Museum is open for visitors from Memorial Day to Labor Day.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>As part of the National Reactor Testing Station (now Idaho National Laboratory), EBR-Is construction started in late 1949. The reactor was designed by a team led by Walter Zinn at the Argonne National Laboratory. In its early stages, the reactor plant was referred to as Chicago Pile 4 (CP-4) and Zinns Infernal Pile. Installation of the reactor at EBR-I took place in early 1951 (the first reactor in Idaho) and it began power operation on August 24, 1951. On December 20 of that year, atomic energy was successfully harvested at EBR-1 for the first time. The following day, the reactor produced enough power to light the whole building. The power plant produced 200 kW of electricity out of 1.4 MW of heat generated by the reactor.</p><br>
<p>The design purpose of EBR-I was not to produce electricity but instead to validate nuclear physics theory which suggested that a breeder reactor should be possible. In 1953, experiments revealed the reactor was producing additional fuel during fission, thus confirming the hypothesis. On November 29, 1955, the reactor at EBR-I suffered a partial meltdown during a coolant flow test. The flow test was trying to determine the cause of unexpected reactor responses to changes in coolant flow. It was subsequently repaired for further experiments, which determined that thermal expansion of the fuel rods and the thick plates supporting the fuel rods was the cause of the unexpected reactor response.</p><br>
<p>Although EBR-I produced the first electricity available in-house, a nearby reactor plant called BORAX-III was connected to external loads, powering the nearby city of Arco, Idaho in 1955, the first time a city had been powered solely by nuclear power.</p><br>
<p>Besides generating the worlds first electricity from atomic energy, EBR-I was also the worlds first breeder reactor and the first to use plutonium fuel to generate electricity (see also the Clementine nuclear reactor). EBR-1s initial purpose was to prove Enrico Fermis fuel breeding principle, a principle that showed a nuclear reactor producing more fuel atoms than consumed. Along with generating electricity, EBR-1 would also prove this principle.</p><br>
<h3>Decommission and legacy</h3><br>
<p>EBR-I was deactivated in 1964 and replaced with a new reactor, Experimental Breeder Reactor II. Landmark status for EBR-I was granted by President Lyndon Johnson and Glenn T. Seaborg on August 25, 1966.</p><br>
<p>It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1965 and an IEEE Milestone in 2004.</p><br>
<p>The Santa Cruz Islands are a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean, part of Temotu Province of the Solomon Islands. They lie approximately 250 miles  to the southeast of the Solomon Islands Chain. The Santa Cruz Islands lie just north of the archipelago of Vanuatu, and are considered part of the Vanuatu rain forests ecoregion.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>The term Santa Cruz Islands is sometimes used to encompass all of the islands of the present-day Solomon Islands province of Temotu.</p><br>
<p>The largest island is Nendö, which is also known as Santa Cruz Island proper (505.5 km², highest point 549 m, population over 9000). Lata, located on Nendö, is the largest town, and the capital of Temotu province.</p><br>
<p>Other islands belonging to the Santa Cruz group are Vanikoro (173.2 km², population 800, which is actually two islands, Banie and its small neighbor Teanu) and Utupua (69.0 km², highest point 380 m, population 848).</p><br>
<p>The Santa Cruz Islands are less than five million years old, and were pushed upward by the tectonic subduction of the northward-moving Indo-Australian Plate under the Pacific Plate. The islands are mostly composed of limestone and volcanic ash over limestone. The highest point in the Santa Cruz Islands is on Vanikoro, 924 m.</p><br>
<h2>Culture</h2><br>
<h3>Languages</h3><br>
<p>The native languages of the islands are classified as the Reef Islands–Santa Cruz languages, within the Oceanic subgroup of the Austronesian language family.</p><br>
<h3>Tepukei (ocean-going outrigger canoes)</h3><br>
<p>Some Polynesian societies of eastern Solomon Islands built ocean-going outrigger canoes known as Tepukei. In 1966 Gerd Koch, a German anthropologist, carried out research at Graciosa Bay on Nendö Island (Ndende/Ndeni) in the Santa Cruz Islands and on Pileni and Fenualoa in the Reef Islands, and returned with documentary film, photographic and audio material. The films that Koch completed are now held by the German National Library of Science and Technology (TIB) in Hanover. He brought back to the Ethnological Museum of Berlin the last still complete Tepukei from the Santa Cruz Islands. In 1971 Koch published Die Materielle Kultur der Santa Cruz-Inseln.</p><br>
<h2>Contact with other cultures</h2><br>
<p>The islands were visited by Spanish explorer Álvaro de Mendaña, the first European to sight them, on his second Pacific expedition in 1595. Mendaña started a colony on Nendö which he named Santa Cruz, at the place also named by the Spaniards as Graciosa Bay, and he died there in 1596.</p><br>
<h2>World War II</h2><br>
<p>During the Pacific War, the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands was fought north of the Santa Cruz group and some sea planes were based in Graciosa Bay, with one reportedly having sunk there. Chemical ordnance stored on Vanikoro Island was not completely removed until the 1990s.</p><br>
<h2>2013 Solomon Islands earthquake</h2><br>
<p>The Santa Cruz Islands were affected by the 2013 Solomon Islands earthquake and subsequent tsunami. The earthquake produced a tsunami measuring 1 m at Lata, Solomon Islands, that reached about 500 m inland. The airport and low-lying areas were flooded, killing nine people, five of them elderly and one a child. More than 100 houses on the island were damaged, and the water and electricity services were interrupted. It was reported that almost all houses in Nela village were washed away, and some homes in Venga village were shifted by water.</p><br>
<p>Hafrsfjord or Hafrsfjorden is a fjord in the Stavanger Peninsula in Rogaland county, Norway. The 9 km long fjord forms the border between the municipalities of Stavanger and Sola. On the west side of the fjord is the large village of Tananger, on the south is the village of Solakrossen, and on the east end of the fjord is the borough of Madla in the city of Stavanger. The Møllebukta bay area, located on the innermost part of the fjord, is the site of a popular beach and the Sverd i Fjell statues. The only bridge over the fjord is the Hafrsfjord Bridge which runs between Kvernevik in Stavanger and Jåsund in the village of Tananger in Sola.</p><br>
<p>Hafrsfjord is also the name of a neighbourhood (delområde) in the borough of Madla in Stavanger. It has a population of 4,003, distributed on an area of 5.78 km&sup2;.</p><br>
<p>Hafrsfjord is also the location of the KNM Harald Hårfagre, the Basic Training Establishment for the Royal Norwegian Navy. The camp had been used for military purposes since 1871 and in 1934 it was renamed Madlaleiren. In 1952, Parliament decided that the Navy&#39;s boot camp would be added to the camp and also that the Navy would formally take over the camp. Three years later, the camp was named KNM Harald Hårfagre. Today KNM Harald Hårfagre is the principal training camp for both the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force. Officer Candidate School for the Navy moved the intake and basic education from Horten to KNM Harald Hårfagre during the summer of 2005.</p><br>
<h2>Battle of Hafrsfjord</h2><br>
<p>Historically, the Hafrsfjorden was principally known for its association with the Battle of Hafrsfjord (Slaget i Hafrsfjord). King Harald "Fairhair", the first king of Norway, won a great naval battle during the year 872 which resulted in the unity of Norway into one kingdom. The battle paved the way for Harald to gain control over most of western coast of Norway and rightly call himself king of the country.</p><br>
<p>In 1983, a monument by Norwegian sculptor and artist Fritz Røed was raised in Møllebukta at the northeasternmost end of the Hafrsfjorden. The monument is called Sverd i Fjell (Swords in Rock) and represents the Battle of Hafrsfjord. The crowns on the top of the swords represent the three districts that participated in the battle.</p><br>
<h2>The name</h2><br>
<p>The modern form of the name should be Haffjorden, but because of its historical significance the Old Norse form of the name has been revived. The first element is the genitive case of hafr which means male goat and fjord means fjord. Hafr might have been the name of a skerry at the narrow entrance of the fjord.</p><br>
<p>The Ibar, also known as the Ibër and Ibri , is a river that flows through eastern Montenegro, Serbia and Kosovo, with a total length of 276 km. The river begins in the Hajla mountain, in Rožaje, eastern Montenegro, passes through Kosovo and flows into the West Morava river, Central Serbia, near Kraljevo.</p><br>
<p>It belongs to the Black Sea drainage basin. Its own drainage area is 8,059 km&sup2, average discharge at the mouth 60 m³/s. It is not navigable.</p><br>
<h2>Upper course</h2><br>
<p>The Ibar originates from six springs on the Hajla mountain in eastern Montenegro. It flows generally north-east, passing through Ibarac, Rožaje, Radetina and Bać, after which it enters Serbia. Passing through the most southern part of Raška District, it flows through several small villages, but this is one of the least populated areas of Serbia. In this whole area, the river has no major tributaries, but many short streams flow into it from surrounding mountains. Also, in this part, it represents the route of the one of two main roads connecting Serbia and Montenegro (Ibarska magistrala). At a point near the village of Vitkovići, it turns south and enters Kosovo.</p><br>
<h2>Middle course</h2><br>
<p>Continuing to the south, the river passes through Gazivode, Zubin Potok, Ugljare, Zupče and Šipolje, reaching the city of Kosovska Mitrovica. There, it makes a sharp, elbow turn to the north flowing through Zvečan, Slatina, Sočanica, Leposavić, Dren and Lešak, entering central Serbia proper at the village of Donje Jarinje.</p><br>
<p>At Gazivode, the river is dammed, creating the artificial Lake Gazivode (area 11.9 km&sup2, altitude 693 m, depth 105 m). Water from the lake is used for industrial and mining facilities in the Kosovska Mitrovica/Trepča area. Below Gazivode another reservoir is created, Lake Pridvorice. These lakes allow irrigation of an area of 300 km², and they represent part of plan, never completed, of a huge Ibar-Lepenac Hydrosystem, which was supposed to regulate the Ibar-Sitnica-Lepenac watercourse (including ecological protection, irrigation and power production).</p><br>
<p>At Kosovska Mitrovica, the river enters a minerals and ore rich area of the western slopes of Kopaonik mountain, which it follows for the next 100 km or so. The area is especially rich in lead, zinc and silver (Stari Trg, Trepča and Leposavić mines).</p><br>
<p>Right on its elbow turn, the Ibar receives its longest (right) tributary, the Sitnica.</p><br>
<h2>Lower course</h2><br>
<p>Flowing to the north, still following the western side of Kopaonik, the river reaches Raška, Brvenik, Bela Stena, Baljevac, Ušće, Bogutovac, Mataruška Banja, Žiča and Kraljevo, finally emptying into the Zapadna Morava.</p><br>
<p>Here, the river receives its major tributaries: the Raška, Studenica and Lopatnica, from the left, and the Jošanica.</p><br>
<p>In this section, the river has carved the 40 km long and 550 m deep Ibar gorge, which is the natural route for the major road in this part of Serbia, the Ibar highway. This stretch of the river is famous for its pinched meanders and gigantic whirlpools. The whole area, 110 km long (meridionally stretched) and 15 - wide, is known as Ibarski kraj (Serbian: Ибарски крај), and is popularly divided into several colorfully named valleys:</p><br>
<p>Dolina istorije (Serbian: Долина историје; Valley of history), comprising ruins of the medieval city of Maglič, monastery of Studenica, monastery of Žiča, monastery of Gradac, etc.</p><br>
<p>Dolina jorgovana (Serbian: Долина јоргована; Valley of the lilacs)</p><br>
<p>Dolina banja (Serbian: Долина бања; Valley of the spas), with many spas and springs, such as Jošanička Banja, Mataruška Banja and Bogutovačka Banja).</p><br>
<p>The gorge is carved between the mountains of Golija, Čemerno and Troglav, from the east, and Kopaonik, Željin and Stolovi, from the west.</p><br>
<p>This is a continuation of Kopaonik&#39;s mining rich area, including deposits of iron ore (Kopaonik, Raška), nickel (Kopaonik), asbestos (Brvenik), magnesite (Bela Stena) and hard coal (Baljevac, Ušće and Jarando).</p><br>
<p>The Ibar gained notoriety as being the most polluted river in Serbia (together with its major tributary, the Sitnica), especially from frequent spills of extremely poisonous phenol, which causes constant problems for the population of Kraljevo, since the city uses the river&#39;s water for public waterworks.</p><br>
<h2>Planned development</h2><br>
<p>Serbia plans to build ten hydro electric power dams on the Ibar river.</p><br>
<p>The Maryland State House is located in Annapolis, Maryland and is the oldest USA state capitol in continuous legislative use, dating to 1772. It houses the Maryland General Assembly, plus the offices of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor. The capitol has the distinction of being topped by the largest wooden dome in the United States constructed without nails. The current building, which was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1960, is the third statehouse on its site. The building is administered by the State House Trust, established in 1969.</p><br>
<h2>Construction</h2><br>
<p>Construction began in 1772, but was not completed until 1797</p><br>
<p>The building was surrounded by a low brick wall in 1818 to prevent cattle incursions. This was replaced by an iron fence with a granite base in 1836. The dome of the statehouse is depicted on the Maryland state quarter.</p><br>
<h2>Grounds</h2><br>
<p>Located on the lawn of the State House is a statue of Roger B. Taney, Chief Justice of the United States. The statue was erected in 1872. The statute of Taney, a Marylander, is controversial because of Taney&#39;s support for slavery and his authorship of the USA Supreme Court decision in Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857), which upheld the denial of citizenship to African Americans. As a result, a movement in support of removing the statue as emerged.Josh Hicks & Ovetta Wiggins,</p><br>
<p>, Washington Post (August 14, 2017). In response to criticism, the State House Trust&mdash;made up of the governor, the speaker of the state house, the president of the state senate, and the chair of the Maryland Historical Trust Board of Trustees&mdash;added interpretive plaques " explaining the controversy over his divisive opinion and its place in the evolution of the nation’s stance toward slavery." On the opposite side of the Capitol, the Trust also added a statue of Baltimore native Thurgood Marshall, the first black USA Supreme Court justice, and agreed in 2016 to place statues of abolitionists Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass in the State House. In 2017, House Speaker Michael E. Busch has called for the removal of the Taney statute, and a day later Governor Larry Hogan also called for the statue to be removed. It was removed just after midnight on August 18, 2017.</p><br>
<h2>Rotunda</h2><br>
<p>In the rotunda is the Maryland Federalist – a replica built in 1987 of the miniature ship Federalist. Large Corinthian columns support the arches bracing the large dome above. A balustrade lines the second floor balcony.</p><br>
<p>The replica of the Maryland Federalist is actually on a more or less permanent display in the Lobby at the Thurgood Marshall Baltimore Washington International Airport Terminal. Later in the summer of 2012, the original handwritten text of George Washington&#39;s Resignation Letter was on display in the rotunda.</p><br>
<h2>Chambers</h2><br>
<h3>Old Senate Chamber</h3><br>
<p>To the right of the entrance is the old Senate Chamber. Chairs and desks were added to the room in the exact number (16) as originally furbished. The desk for the president is an original piece made by John Shaw in 1797.</p><br>
<p>It was in the Old Senate Chamber that George Washington famously resigned his commission as commander in chief of the Continental Army on December 23, 1783. A mannequin of George Washington stands in period clothing at the front of the room.</p><br>
<p>On February 2, 1781, Governor Thomas Sim Lee signed and sealed the "act to empower the delegates of this state in Congress to subscribe and ratify the Articles of Confederation." The decision established the requisite unanimous consent of all thirteen states for the formation of a Perpetual Union.</p><br>
<p>On September 11, 1786, the Annapolis Convention, an interstate convention to discuss ways to facilitate commerce between the states and the establishment standard rules and regulations, convened here. The convention laid the groundwork for the 1787 Constitutional Convention.</p><br>
<p>The chamber had extensive investigation beginning in 2007 to solve water leakage problems. As a result of this study, restorers have determined that previous restoration attempts in 1905 and 1940 did not accurately recreate many elements of the room. A report of their findings was issued in January 2010 and work continues.</p><br>
<h3>Working Senate Chamber</h3><br>
<p>The Senate chamber is located in a wing added to the original structure between 1902 and 1905. The room is illuminated by a Tiffany-style skylight above. Red carpet emblazoned with the state seal covers the entire floor. Large Ionic columns line the walls and support the viewing gallery. The marble along the walls and the columns are flecked with rust and black, Maryland&#39;s official colors.</p><br>
<p>Two famous Marylanders are featured in statues flanking the podium: John Hanson, the first president by the Articles of Confederation, and Charles Carroll, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. Four portraits of Declaration of Independence signatories for Maryland hang on the walls: William Paca, Thomas Stone, Samuel Chase, and Charles Carroll. There are also portraits of Edwin Warfield and John Walter Smith.</p><br>
<h3>Working House Chamber</h3><br>
<p>The House of Delegates chamber is also in the new wing to the building. The carpet is navy blue and designed with a diamond and olive sheaths. The same rust and black marble lines the chamber and forms the Ionic columns along the walls. A spectators&#39; gallery is above the rostrum. The speaker sits in front of a broken marble pediment supporting a clock. Portraits of former Speakers of the House hang on the walls.</p><br>
<h3>Governor's Reception Room</h3><br>
<p>The Governor&#39;s Reception Room is on the second floor. The room is mainly ceremonial and used for bill signings. Portraits of former governors hang on the walls. Portraits of Henrietta Maria and Queen Anne hang nearby.</p><br>
<h2>National capital</h2><br>
<p>From November 26, 1783 to August 13, 1784, Annapolis was the capital of the United States. The Congress of the Confederation met in the Maryland State House. Subsequently, Annapolis was a candidate to become the new permanent national capital before Washington, D.C. was built.</p><br>
<h2>United States district court</h2><br>
<p>The United States District Court for the District of Maryland met there for the first decade of its existence. In 1800, judge Samuel Chase tried a local postmaster for embezzlement and sentenced him to thirty-nine lashes. To execute the sentence, the defendant was tied to one of the statehouse columns.</p><br>
<h2>Photo gallery</h2><br>
<p>The San Joaquin Valley is the area of the Central Valley of the USA state of California that lies south of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and is drained by the San Joaquin River. It comprises seven Northern California counties—all of Kings County; a majority of Fresno, Merced, Stanislaus counties; segments of Madera and Tulare counties—and a majority of Kern County, in Southern California. Although a majority of the valley is rural, it does contain cities such as Fresno, Bakersfield, Stockton, Modesto, Turlock, Porterville, Visalia, Merced, and Hanford.</p><br>
<p>San Joaquin Valley was originally inhabited by the Yoktus- and Miwok peoples. The first European to enter the valley was Pedro Fages in 1772.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>The San Joaquin Valley extends from the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta in the north to the Tehachapi Mountains in the south, and from the various California coastal ranges (from the Diablo Range in the north to the Temblor Range in the south) in the west to the Sierra Nevada in the east. Unlike the Sacramento Valley, the river system for which the San Joaquin Valley is named does not extend very far along the valley. Most of the valley south of Fresno, instead, drains into Tulare Lake, which no longer exists continuously due to diversion of its sources. The valley&#39;s primary river is the San Joaquin, which drains north through about half of the valley into the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta. The Kings and Kern Rivers are in the southern endorheic basin of the valley, all of which have been largely diverted for agricultural uses and are mostly dry in their lower reaches.</p><br>
<h3>Geological history</h3><br>
<p>The San Joaquin Valley began to form about 66 million years ago during the early Paleocene era. Broad fluctuations in the sea level caused various areas of the valley to be flooded with ocean water for the next 60 million years. About 5 million years ago, the marine outlets began to close due to uplift of the coastal ranges and the deposition of sediment in the valley. Starting 2 million years ago, a series of glacial episodes periodically caused much of the valley to become a fresh water lake. Lake Corcoran was the last widespread lake to fill the valley about 700,000 years ago. At the beginning of the Holocene there were three major lakes remaining in the southern part of the Valley, Tulare Lake, Buena Vista Lake and Kern Lake. In the late 19th and in the 20th century, agricultural diversion of the Kern River eventually dried out these lakes. Today, only a fragment of Buena Vista Lake remains as two small lakes Lake Webb and Lake Evans in a portion of the former Buena Vista Lakebed</p><br>
<h3>Climate</h3><br>
<p>The San Joaquin Valley has hot, dry summers and has historically enjoyed cool rainy winters characterized by dense tule fog. Its rainy season normally runs from November through April, but since 2011 when a drought became evident it generally received minimal to no rain at all. The drought was still extant by mid-August 2014 with scientists saying it would likely continue indefinitely, for anywhere from several years to several decades to come. However, as of February 2017 the drought is mostly over for a majority of the Valley.</p><br>
<p>In August 2015, the Director of the California Department of Water Resources stated, "Because of increased pumping, groundwater levels are reaching record lows—up to 100 feet lower than previous records."</p><br>
<p>Research from NASA shows that parts of the San Joaquin Valley sank as much as 8 in in a four-month period, and land near Corcoran sank 13 in in 8 months. The sinking has destroyed thousands of groundwater well casings and has the potential to damage aqueducts, roads, bridges, and flood-control structures. In the long term, the subsidence caused by extracting groundwater could irreversibly reduce the underground aquifer&#39;s water storage capacity.</p><br>
<p>The National Weather Service Forecast Office for the San Joaquin Valley is located in Hanford and includes a Doppler weather radar. Weather forecasts and climatological information for the San Joaquin Valley are available from its official website.</p><br>
<h2>Population</h2><br>
<p>The total population of the eight counties comprising the San Joaquin Valley at the time of the 2011-2015 American Community Survey 5-year Estimates by United States Census Bureau reported a population of 4,080,509. The racial composition of San Joaquin Valley was 2,775,074 (68.0%) White, 193,694 (4.7%) Black or African American, 40,911 (1.0%) American Indian and Alaska Native, 310, 557 (7.6%) Asian, 13,000 (0.32%) Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander, and 2,048,280 (50.2%) Hispanic or Latino.</p><br>
<p>The educational attainment of high school graduate or higher is 72.7%.</p><br>
<h2>Economy</h2><br>
<h3>Agriculture</h3><br>
<p>By some estimates, federal restrictions on shallow well irrigation systems threaten the productivity of the San Joaquin Valley, which produces the majority of the 12.8% of the United States agricultural production (as measured by dollar value) that comes from California. Grapes&mdash;table, raisin, and to a lesser extent wine&mdash;are perhaps the valleys highest-profile product, but equally (if not more) important are cotton, nuts (especially almonds and pistachios), citrus, and vegetables. Though it has been called "The food basket of the World", the San Joaquin Valley has not been nationally recognized for the diversity of its produce. Walnuts, oranges, peaches, garlic, tangerines, tomatoes, kiwis, hay, alfalfa and numerous other crops have been harvested with great success. DeRuosi Nut, a large walnut processing plant in Escalon, has been in the valley since 1947. Certain places are identified quite strongly with a given crop: Stockton produces the majority of the domestic asparagus consumed in the United States, and Fresno is the largest producer of raisins.</p><br>
<p>In spite of its agricultural productivity, the San Joaquin Valley has the state&#39;s highest rate of food insecurity.</p><br>
<p>Cattle and sheep ranching are also vitally important to the valley&#39;s economy. During the late 19th century and early 20th century, the Miller & Lux corporation built an agricultural monopoly centered around cattle. The corporation can be characterized as a precursor to corporate farming transforming the yeoman farmer into wage workers. The success of the business can be attributed to his direct management style which is reflected in his detailed correspondences to his subordinates. During recent years, dairy farming has greatly expanded in importance. As areas such as Chino and Corona have become absorbed into the suburban sprawl of Los Angeles, many dairy farmers have cashed out and moved their herds to Kings, Tulare, and Kern counties.</p><br>
<p>Between 1990 and 2004, 28,092 hectares (70,231 acres) of agricultural land was lost to urban development in the San Joaquin Valley. Although there have been some token efforts at confronting the problems of (sub)urban sprawl, the politically Conservative climate of the Valley generally prefers traditional suburban sprawl type of growth such as low density housing and strip malls anchored by so-called big box stores and opposes measures such as "Smart Growth", "Transit Oriented Development", "High Density Housing", and increased public transit such as light and commuter rail. By August 2014, a three-year drought was prompting changes to the agriculture industry in the valley. Farmers began using complex irrigation systems and using treated waste water to feed crops, while many were switching from farming cotton to other commodities, chief among them, almonds.</p><br>
<h3>Petroleum</h3><br>
<p>California has long been one of the nations most important oil-producing states, and the San Joaquin Valley has long since eclipsed the Los Angeles Basin as the states primary oil production region. Scattered oil wells on small oil fields are found throughout the region, and several enormous extraction facilities – most notably near Lost Hills and Taft, including the enormous Midway-Sunset Oil Field, the third-largest oil field in the United States – are veritable forests of pumps.</p><br>
<p>Shell operated a major refinery in Bakersfield; it was sold in 2005 to Flying J, a Salt Lake-based firm that operates truck stops and refineries. Flying J&#39;s bankruptcy in 2009 resulted in the refinery being shut down.</p><br>
<p>The oil and gas fields in Kern County are receiving increased attention since the July 2009 announcement by Occidental Petroleum of significant discovery of oil and gas reserves Even prior to this discovery the region retains more oil reserves than any other part of California. Of California fields outside of the San Joaquin Valley, only the Wilmington Oil Field in Los Angeles County has untapped reserves greater than 100,000,000 barrels, while six fields in the San Joaquin Valley (Midway-Sunset, Kern River, South Belridge, Elk Hills, Cymric, and Lost Hills) each have reserves exceeding 100,000,000 barrels of oil.</p><br>
<h3>Culture</h3><br>
<p>The San Joaquin Valley has been a major influence in American country, soul, nu metal, R&B, and hip hop music particularly through the Bakersfield Sound, the Doowop Era, and the Bakersfield Rap Scene, also referred to as Central California Hip Hop, Central Valley Hip Hop, or Central California Rap, which are all subgenres of Gangsta rap, Bass-Rap, West Coast G-funk, and West Coast Hip hop which are all different styles of West Coast Rap. The Valley has been the home to many country, nu metal, and doo-wop musicians and singers, such as Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, Billy Mize, Korn, Red Simpson, Dennis Payne, The Maddox Brothers and Rose, The Paradons, The Colts, and the Sons of the San Joaquin. The San Joaquin Valley is also home to many Indie Hip Hop labels, R&B singers, Jazz & Funk musicians, and Hip Hop artist such as: Fashawn, Killa Tay, The Def Dames, Cali Agents, Planet Asia. The Valley also has a strong literary tradition, heavy in poetry, producing many famous poets such as Sherley Anne Williams, and Gary Soto, current USA Poet Laureate Juan Felipe Herrera, and David St. John. An MFA Creative Writing program started by former US Poet Laureate Philip Levine, resides at Fresno State, continuing to cultivate the region&#39;s literary talent.</p><br>
<h3>Other major industries and employers</h3><br>
<p>The isolation and vastness of the San Joaquin Valley, as well as its poverty and need for jobs, have led the state to build numerous prisons in the area. The most notable of these is Corcoran, whose inmates include Charles Manson and Juan Corona. Other correctional facilities in the valley are at Avenal, Chowchilla, Tracy, Delano, Coalinga, and Wasco.</p><br>
<p>The only significant military base in the region is Naval Air Station Lemoore, a vast air base located 25 km WSW of Hanford. Unlike many of Californias other military installations, NAS Lemoores operational importance has increased in the 1990s and 2000s. The other, Castle Air Force Base, located near Atwater was closed during the Base Realignment and Closure of the 1990s. Although both are in Kern County, Edwards Air Force Base and China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station are located in the High Desert area of that county.</p><br>
<h3>Poverty</h3><br>
<p>The United States Census Bureau issued a report entitled the American Community Survey in 2007, which found that six San Joaquin Valley counties had the highest percentage of residents living below the federal poverty line in 2006 of any counties in California. The report also revealed that the same six counties were among the 52 counties with the highest poverty rate in the United States. The median income for a household in the valley was $46,713. The poverty rate for individuals below the poverty level is 23.7%. In most Valley cities crime rates such as burglary, theft, and assault tend to be significantly higher than the national averages.</p><br>
<h3>Ethnic and cultural groups</h3><br>
<h4>Mexicans/Chicanos</h4><br>
<p>While the barrios of East Los Angeles are Californias most famous areas dominated by persons of Mexican ancestry, both first-generation Mexican immigrants and well-established Chicanos are important populations in the San Joaquin Valley. Since not long after the onset of the bracero program during World War II, all but a minor percentage of the farmworkers in the region have been of Mexican ancestry. Ethnic and economic friction between Mexican-Americans and the valleys predominantly white farming elite manifested itself most notably during the 1960s and 1970s, when the United Farm Workers, led by César Chávez, went on numerous strikes and called for boycotts of table grapes. The UFW generated enormous sympathy throughout the United States, even managing to terminate several agricultural mechanization projects at the United States Department of Agriculture. However, from the 1970s onward, landlords and large corporations have also hired undocumented immigrants. This has allowed them to increase their profits due to low overhead on wages.</p><br>
<h4>European and Asian groups</h4><br>
<p>The San Joaquin Valley has&mdash;by California standards&mdash;an unusually large number of European, Middle Eastern, and Asian ethnicities in the heritage of its citizens. These communities are often quite large and, relative to Americans immigration patterns, quite eclectic: for example, there are more Azorean Portuguese in the San Joaquin Valley than in the Azores. Many groups are found in majorities in specific cities, and hardly anywhere else in the region. For example, Assyrians are concentrated in Turlock, Dutch in Ripon, Sikhs in Stockton and Livingston, and Croats in Delano. Kingsburg is famous for its distinctly Swedish air, having been founded by immigrants from that country. Ethnic groups found in a broader area are Portuguese, Armenians, Basques, and the "Okies" who migrated to California from the Midwest and South. Since the early 1970s East Indians of predominantly Punjabi, Gujrati and Southern India have settled in the valley communities. Most recently large numbers of Pakistanis have settled in Modesto and Lodi. In addition, the late 1970s and 80s saw an influx of immigrants from Indochina following the War in Vietnam. These immigrants, the majority of whom are Hmong, Thai, Laotian, Cambodian, and Vietnamese, have settled in the communities of Stockton, Modesto, Merced, and Fresno.</p><br>
<p>The Filipino American population is concentrated in Delano and Lathrop. Filipinos have a strong history in Stockton. Filipino organizations in Stockton are reflected in various commercial buildings identified as Filipino. Filipinos fought for the USA against Japan in WWII, in exchange for favorable immigration status. Stockton has been an adjunct to the San Francisco Bay Area, which was a major military production and transit area during WWII. Filipino emigration to Stockton followed.</p><br>
<p>These cultures are often the result of established ethnic communities and groups of immigrants coming to the United States at once. This is in part due to the founding of religious communes in the San Joaquin Valley: for example, the first permanent Sikh Gurdwara was founded in Stockton in 1915. These cultures are very different and unique.</p><br>
<h4>African Americans</h4><br>
<p>Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park marks the location of the only California town to be founded, financed and governed by African Americans. The small farming community was founded in 1908 by Lt. Colonel Allen Allensworth, Professor William Payne, William Peck, a minister, John W. Palmer, a miner, and Harry A. Mitchell, a real estate agent, dedicated to improving the economic and social status of African Americans. Uncontrollable circumstances, including a drop in the areas water table, resulted in the towns demise. The "Allensworth Historic District" is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The park is in Allensworth, California, an unincorporated area in Tulare County, California, United States.</p><br>
<h4>Okies and Arkies</h4><br>
<p>The Depression-era migrants to the San Joaquin Valley from the South and Midwest are one of the more well-known groups in the Central Valley, in large part due to the popularity of John Steinbeck&#39;s novel The Grapes of Wrath and the Henry Fonda movie made from it. By 1910, agriculture in the southern Great Plains had become nearly unviable due to soil erosion and poor rainfall. Much of the rural population of states such as Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas left at this time, selling their land and moving to Chicago, Kansas City, Detroit, and fast-growing Los Angeles. Those who remained experienced continuing deterioration of conditions, which reached their nadir during the drought that began in the late 1920s and created the infamous Dust Bowl. (Small cotton farmers in states such as Mississippi and Alabama suffered similar problems from the first major infestation of the boll weevil.) When the onset of the Great Depression created a national banking crisis, family farmers&mdash;usually heavily in debt&mdash;often had their mortgages foreclosed by banks desperate to shore up their balance sheets. In response, many farmers loaded their families and portable possessions into their automobiles and drove west.</p><br>
<p>Taking Route 66 to Barstow or Los Angeles and crossing the Tehachapi or Tejon passes, they began new lives as fruit and vegetable pickers on truck farms in the San Joaquin Valley. Having gone from the relative independence of homesteading to a condition that was essentially peasantry, many of them lived in squalid agricultural camps and were deeply unhappy with their economic plight; domestic disputes, crime, and suicide were rampant, and occasional riots broke out. New Deal measures alleviated some of these problems, albeit belatedly: by the time that The Grapes of Wrath drew public attention to the Okies plight, many of them had already left the valley. Those who didnt were gradually assimilated into California culture and society where many of them and their descendants became noted artists, tradesmen, educators, legislators and professional business people, and their influence remains strong in many parts of the Valley today, especially in the south near Bakersfield.</p><br>
<p>Many of the Okies and Arkies left the San Joaquin Valley during World War II, most of them going to Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego to work in war related industries. Many of those who stayed ended up in Bakersfield and Oildale, as the southern San Joaquin Valley became an important area of oil production after major Southern California oil fields such as Signal Hill began to dry up. Their influence remains strong: Bakersfield resembles a West Texas town such as Odessa or Lubbock far more than it resembles most other places in California. Country music legends Buck Owens and Merle Haggard came out of Bakersfield&#39;s honky-tonk scene and created a hard-driving sound that is still deeply associated with the city.</p><br>
<h3>Recent changes</h3><br>
<p>The California real estate boom that began in the late 1990s has significantly changed the San Joaquin Valley. Once distinctly and fiercely independent of Los Angeles and San Francisco, the area has seen increasing exurban development as the cost of living forces young families and small businesses further and further away from the coastal urban cores. Stockton, Modesto, Tracy, Manteca, and Los Banos are increasingly dominated by commuters to San Francisco and Silicon Valley, and the small farming towns to the south are finding themselves in the Bay Areas orbit as well. Bakersfield, traditionally a boom-bust oil town once described by urban scholar Joel Kotkin as an "American Abu Dhabi," has seen a massive influx of former Los Angeles business owners and commuters, to the extent that gated communities containing million-dollar homes are going up on the citys outskirts. Wal-Mart, IKEA, Target, Amazon, CVS Pharmacy, Restoration Hardware, and other various large shipping firms have built huge distribution centers both in the southern end of the valley and northern part of the valley because of quick access to major interstates and low local wages. Further integration with the rest of the state is likely to continue for the foreseeable future.</p><br>
<p>See: Mountain House (new town planned for 45,000).</p><br>
<h2>Educational institutions</h2><br>
<p>University of California, Merced, Merced</p><br>
<p>California State University, Bakersfield, Bakersfield</p><br>
<p>California State University, Fresno, Fresno</p><br>
<p>California State University, Stanislaus, Turlock</p><br>
<p>Fresno Pacific University, Fresno</p><br>
<p>Humphreys College, Stockton</p><br>
<p>University of the Pacific, Stockton</p><br>
<p>Bakersfield College, Bakersfield</p><br>
<p>Cerro Coso Community College, Kern County and surrounding areas</p><br>
<p>College of the Sequoias, Visalia</p><br>
<p>Fresno City College, Fresno</p><br>
<p>Merced College, Merced</p><br>
<p>Modesto Junior College, Modesto</p><br>
<p>Porterville College, Porterville</p><br>
<p>Reedley College, Reedley</p><br>
<p>A.T. Still University, Porterville</p><br>
<p>San Joaquin College of Law, Clovis</p><br>
<p>San Joaquin Delta College, Stockton</p><br>
<p>Taft College, Taft</p><br>
<p>West Hills College Coalinga, Coalinga</p><br>
<p>West Hills College Lemoore, Lemoore</p><br>
<h2>Transportation</h2><br>
<h3>Roads</h3><br>
<p>Interstate 5 (I-5) and State Route 99 (SR 99, or just "99") each run along for almost the entire length of the San Joaquin Valley. I-5 runs in the western part of the valley, bypassing the major population centers (including Fresno, currently the largest USA city without an Interstate highway), while 99 runs through them. Both highways then merge at the southern end of valley en route to Los Angeles. When the Interstate Highway System was created in the 1950s, the decision was made to build I-5 as an entirely then-new freeway bypass instead of upgrading the then-existing USA 99. Since then, state and federal representatives have pushed to convert 99 to an Interstate, although this cannot occur until all of the portions of 99 between I-5 and the USA 50 junction in Sacramento are upgraded to freeway standards.</p><br>
<p>State Route 58 (SR 58), which is a freeway in Bakersfield and along most of its route until its terminus in Barstow, is an extremely important and very heavily traveled route for truckers from the valley and the Bay Area who want to cross the Sierra Nevada and leave California (by way of Interstate 15 or Interstate 40) without having to climb Donner Pass or brave the traffic congestion of Los Angeles. Proposals have also been made to designate this highway as a western extension of I-40 once the entirety of the route between Mojave and Barstow has been upgraded to a freeway. This would provide an Interstate connection for Bakersfield, currently the second-largest USA city without an Interstate. The most recent additions to this system are State Highway 168 and 180. Route 168 begins at Fresno on Route 180 linking to Huntington Lake in the mountains through Clovis and many smaller communities. This route is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System and is eligible for the State Scenic Highway System. State Route 180 is a state highway in California, United States, which runs through the heart of the San Joaquin Valley from Mendota through Fresno to Kings Canyon National Park. A short piece near the eastern end, through the Grant Grove section of Kings Canyon National Park, is not state-maintained. The part east of unbuilt State Route 65 near Minkler is eligible for the State Scenic Highway System; the road east of Dunlap is the Kings Canyon Scenic Byway, a Forest Service Byway.</p><br>
<p>Other important highways in the valley include State Route 46 (SR 46) and State Route 41 (SR 41), which respectively link the California Central Coast with Bakersfield and Fresno; State Route 33, which runs south to north along the valley&#39;s western rim and provides a connection to Ventura and Santa Barbara over the Santa Ynez Mountains; and State Route 152 (SR 152), an important commuter route linking Silicon Valley with its fast-growing exurbs such as Los Banos.</p><br>
<h3>Rail</h3><br>
<p>Amtrak provides rail service through the San Joaquin Valley. There are also plans for a high-speed rail line that will link the valley with San Francisco, Los Angeles, Sacramento, and San Diego. While many valley politicians and businesses are eager supporters of the line, eager to provide better connections to the larger and wealthier cities to the north and south, factions in cities such as Modesto and Stockton have opposed the line due to adverse impacts such as increased noise. Even if the project were to be approved, construction would probably not begin until 2013 at the earliest.</p><br>
<h2>Pollution</h2><br>
<h3>Air Pollution</h3><br>
<p>Hemmed in by mountains and rarely having strong winds to disperse smog, the San Joaquin Valley has long suffered from some of the United States&#39; worst air pollution. This pollution, exacerbated by stagnant weather, comes mainly from diesel and gasoline fueled vehicles and agricultural operations. Population growth has caused the San Joaquin Valley to rank with Los Angeles and Houston in most measures of air pollution. Only the Inland Empire region east of Los Angeles has worse overall air quality, and the San Joaquin Valley led the nation in 2004 in the number of days with quantities of ozone considered unhealthy by the Environmental Protection Agency. Although industrial activity, as well as driving, occurs year-round, the air pollution is worse in the winter. San Joaquin County has better air quality than any other region in the San Joaquin Valley, while the Sacramento region and Stanislaus County have the worst.</p><br>
<h3>Water Pollution</h3><br>
<p>Less water is due to Federal restrictions on shallow water irrigation which results in concentrated Water pollution. Air pollution is not properly diluted with adequate water supply. Lack of adequate irrigation presents another significant challenge to food production capability in the valley. Because of federal restrictions on irrigation, soil salination is no longer diluted with adequate moisture in fertile areas. Reduced irrigation has significantly reduced the viability of some of the valley&#39;s most fertile tracts, especially those in the Tulare lake bed.</p><br>
<h3>Nitrates in Groundwater</h3><br>
<p>San Joaquin Valley, within the Central Valley of California, is made up of eight counties that are well known for agriculture. Overuse of nitrogen fertilizers and irrigated agriculture is common, and according to Thomas Harter, the Chair for Water Resources Management and Policy at UC Davis, “more than 80 pounds of nitrogen per acre per year may leach into groundwater beneath irrigated lands, usually as nitrates”. Between the 1950s and 1980s, when nitrogen fertilizer use grew sixfold, nitrate concentrations in groundwater increased 2.5 times. Fertilizer runoffs contributes roughly 90% of all nitrate inputs to the alluvial groundwater system. Within agriculture, the two major factors are High-Intensity Crop Production and Large Dairy Herds. Because these communities are cut off from larger water distribution, they are dependent on wells, making groundwater a source of drinking water for 90% of San Joaquin Valley&#39;s residents.</p><br>
<h4>High-intensity crop production</h4><br>
<p>Within the past century, farmers have been increasing their production to meet the high demand that a developed country requires. To help increase output and efficiency, farmers have been increasing the amount of fertilizers used, which means increasing the level of nitrates being used. However, only a fraction of the nitrogen in fertilizers is efficiently used to help produce crops. This has led to a greater concentration of nitrates and phosphates in the waters, contaminating and causing eutrophication of possible drinking water.</p><br>
<h4>Large dairy herds</h4><br>
<p>Roaming dairy herds before the exponential demand of meat products and dairy has contributed an insignificant amount of nitrate pollution to the underlying groundwater systems. However, within the past few decades, the increasing amount of cattle has been one of the main contributors of nitrate contamination in the groundwater systems of California. Roughly around 1960, cattle were openly grazing pastures, and because of the large amount of lands which they roamed manure was not intensively managed. However, even though manure was not closely managed, "Nitrogen excretion and deposition in pastures likely did not exceed pasture buffering capacity and had no significant leaching to groundwater" It was not until the mid 1970s when the transition to dry-lot and free stall-based dairy farming, coupled with irrigated forage crops, that dairy herds were a contributor to nitrogen contamination.</p><br>
<h4>Possible solutions and alternatives</h4><br>
<p>The large dairy herds create manure, which is used to create the fertilizers that is applied to the crop fields. Because of the exponential demand for crops, farmers have been looking to lower the costs of production. Using manure based fertilizers is cost effective since manure is a by-product of large dairy farms and herds. The alternative to manure, which contains a high level of nitrates, is composting. Composting however is relatively expensive compared to using manure as fertilizer, since it is not as effective and is more timely/costly to make because of the large amount of aeration needed.</p><br>
<h4>Incidents of Nitrates in Groundwater</h4><br>
<p>Nitrates have found their way into the aquifers around the San Joaquin Valley, affecting over 250,000 people in communities that are poor and rural. Though locals have typically used filters for their water, the filters need to be installed correctly and replaced frequently, which may not be economically feasible for the residents in Orosi. Table 2 on page 20 from Pacific Institute&#39;s "The Human Costs of Nitrate-contaminated Drinking Water in the San Joaquin Valley" indicates the water systems that were contaminated with nitrates over the legal limit, the percentage of the population affected that are non-white and that are below or near poverty-level, and the year since the violations began.</p><br>
<p>The Turlock Basin is a sub-basin of the San Joaquin Valley groundwater basin found within Stanislaus County and Merced County in the Central Valley. In California&#39;s Groundwater Bulletin 118, a chart, linked below, illustrates the number of non-compliant public supply wells with nitrates over the MCL. According to this chart, there were eight wells which had nitrate levels above the 10 mg/L MCL, out of 90 sampled for nitrates in 2006.</p><br>
<p>Nitrates are of concern because it interferes with the bloods ability to carry oxygen, and can have severe health effects on pregnant women, infants under 6 months, and children using tap water for their formula. Because nitrates interfere with bloods capacity to carry oxygen, infants are at high risk of death from blue-baby syndrome, which can occur when there are high nitrate levels in the blood that are untreated.</p><br>
<h2>Medical interest</h2><br>
<p>San Joaquin Valley Fever is one common term for coccidioidomycosis, a fungal infection caused by Coccidioides immitis through the inhalation of airborne dust or dirt. The valley is just one of the areas in the southwestern United States where the illness is endemic due to C. immitis residing in the soil.</p><br>
<h2>Cities and counties</h2><br>
<h3>Cities with more than 500,000 inhabitants</h3><br>
<p>Fresno</p><br>
<h3>Cities with 100,000 to 500,000 inhabitants</h3><br>
<p>Bakersfield</p><br>
<p>Clovis</p><br>
<p>Modesto</p><br>
<p>Stockton</p><br>
<p>Visalia</p><br>
<h3>Cities with 20,000 to 100,000 inhabitants</h3><br>
<p>Atwater</p><br>
<p>Ceres</p><br>
<p>Corcoran</p><br>
<p>Delano</p><br>
<p>Dinuba</p><br>
<p>East Bakersfield</p><br>
<p>Hanford</p><br>
<p>Lemoore</p><br>
<p>Lodi</p><br>
<p>Los Banos</p><br>
<p>Madera</p><br>
<p>Manteca</p><br>
<p>Merced</p><br>
<p>Oakdale</p><br>
<p>Patterson</p><br>
<p>Porterville</p><br>
<p>Reedley</p><br>
<p>Sanger</p><br>
<p>Selma</p><br>
<p>Shafter</p><br>
<p>Tracy</p><br>
<p>Tulare</p><br>
<p>Turlock</p><br>
<p>Wasco</p><br>
<h3>Cities with fewer than 20,000 inhabitants</h3><br>
<p>Arvin</p><br>
<p>Avenal</p><br>
<p>Badger</p><br>
<p>Caruthers</p><br>
<p>Chowchilla</p><br>
<p>Coalinga</p><br>
<p>Dos Palos</p><br>
<p>Earlimart</p><br>
<p>East Porterville</p><br>
<p>Exeter</p><br>
<p>Farmersville</p><br>
<p>Firebaugh</p><br>
<p>Grayson</p><br>
<p>Gustine</p><br>
<p>Hilmar</p><br>
<p>Hughson</p><br>
<p>Ivanhoe</p><br>
<p>Kerman</p><br>
<p>Kettleman City</p><br>
<p>Kingsburg</p><br>
<p>Lamont</p><br>
<p>Lathrop</p><br>
<p>Laton</p><br>
<p>Lemon Cove</p><br>
<p>Lindsay</p><br>
<p>Livingston</p><br>
<p>Lost Hills</p><br>
<p>McFarland</p><br>
<p>Mendota</p><br>
<p>Newman</p><br>
<p>Orange Cove</p><br>
<p>Parlier</p><br>
<p>Pixley</p><br>
<p>Seville</p><br>
<p>Stevinson</p><br>
<p>Strathmore</p><br>
<p>Taft</p><br>
<p>Three Rivers</p><br>
<p>Waterford</p><br>
<p>Westley</p><br>
<p>Woodlake</p><br>
<p>Yettem</p><br>
<h2>In popular culture</h2><br>
<p>The operations of the fictional Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club in the hit FX television show Sons of Anarchy, are centered in San Joaquin Valley, often referred to as "Sanwa".</p><br>
<p>The surviving stronghold of civilization on the West Coast in popular Science-Fiction book Lucifer&#39;s Hammer.</p><br>
<p>The Sacramento Valley is the area of the Central Valley of the USA state of California that lies north of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and is drained by the Sacramento River. It encompasses all or parts of ten Northern California counties. Although many areas of the Sacramento Valley are rural, it contains several urban areas, including the state capital, Sacramento.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>The Sacramento River and its tributaries are a huge part of the geography of the Sacramento Valley. Rising in the various mountain ranges (the various Northern Coast Ranges to the west, the southern Siskiyou Mountains to the north, and the northern Sierra Nevada to the east) that define the shape of the valley, they provide water for agricultural, industrial, residential, and recreation uses. Most of the rivers are heavily dammed and diverted.</p><br>
<p>Foothills become more common from just south of Corning to Shasta Lake City. These are known as the Valley Hills and begin south of the Tehama-Glenn County line near Corning. There are also a few hills in Red Bluff and Corning. There is one major range of foothills between Cottonwood and Red Bluff known as the Cottonwood Hills (a.k.a. 9-mile Hill), and there is the Cottonwood Ridge between Anderson and Cottonwood. There are some hills in Redding, a few more than Red Bluff, and after Redding it is mainly foothills.</p><br>
<p>One distinctive geographic feature of the Sacramento Valley is the Sutter Buttes. Nicknamed the smallest mountain range in the world, it consists of the remnants of an extinct volcano and is located just outside Yuba City, 44 miles north of Sacramento.</p><br>
<h2>Agriculture</h2><br>
<p>Citrus and nut orchards and cattle ranches are common to both halves of the Central Valley. The Sacramento Valley&#39;s agricultural mix also resembles that of the San Joaquin Valley to the south. Nuts, such as almonds and walnuts, are of greater importance north of the Delta, and rice, nonviable in the drier San Joaquin valley, is a major crop. The town of Corning produces olives for oil extraction and for consumption as fruit. The Sunsweet Growers Incorporated headquarters are in Yuba City. The valley controls more than two-thirds of the worldwide prune market through the over 400 growers in California.</p><br>
<h2>Climate</h2><br>
<p>Weather patterns in the Sacramento Valley are very similar to those in the San Joaquin Valley to the south, although the humidity and precipitation tends to be a bit higher. Summers are the dry season, with average daytime temperatures in the upper 80s to mid 90s but triple digits are a common occurrence, especially in the Chico, Redding and Red Bluff area. The "breeze", which comes in from the Bay area, brings cooler temperatures and higher humidity. At times the delta breeze is gusty with wind speed to up to 30 mph in valley and up to 45 mph in the delta region which is always breezy. This breeze can also bring morning low clouds at times into the region but the clouds generally burn off quickly and temperatures stay cool. Summer-like conditions continue into early to mid September but weather starts to change to cooler, wetter, foggier weather during October which gives trees vibrant autumn foliage. Winters, also known as the rainy season, are generally mild to cool, foggy and wet with highs averaging in the mid 40s F to low 10s F, colder in the northern part of the valley and colder still in the foothills and frost can occur almost anywhere. The rainy season runs from October to April but it&#39;s not unusual for rain to occur in September or May. During the rainy season, the Sacramento Valley is prone to strong thunderstorms and tornadoes, mostly of EF0 or EF1 intensity, especially in Colusa County and areas around Corning and Orland. Flooding does occur at times during wetter periods, usually November to March. Snow in the valley is rare, although Redding and Red Bluff, being at the north end of the valley, often experience a light dusting or two per year. Chico may get a rain-snow mix every few years, but, on the average, only snows about every 5 years. Farther south in Sacramento, snow falls about once every 10 years or so. During the autumn and winter months the entire Central Valley is susceptible to dense tule fog that makes driving hazardous, especially at night and especially south of Corning. The fog can last for weeks depending on how weak the wind is.</p><br>
<h2>Transportation</h2><br>
<p>Interstate 5 is the primary route through the Sacramento Valley, traveling north-south roughly along the valley&#39;s western edge. Interstate 80 cuts a northeast-to-southwest swath through the southern end of the valley, mostly through Sacramento and Yolo Counties, and ends at the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. Several secondary routes connect the two roads, including Interstate 505 and State Route 113. The Sacramento area has a web of urban freeways.</p><br>
<p>Other principal routes in the region include State Route 99, which runs along the valley&#39;s eastern edge, roughly parallel to I-5, from Sacramento until its northern terminus in Red Bluff; State Route 20, which traverses the valley from west to east on its route from State Route 1 in Mendocino County to the Donner Pass; State Route 49, named in honor of the California Gold Rush and running through many old mining towns in the foothills of the valley; and State Route 45, which runs along the course of the Sacramento River roughly ten miles (20 km) east of I-5.</p><br>
<p>The Union Pacific Railroad serves the valley, with its principal north-south line from Oakland, California to Portland, Oregon, via Sacramento, Marysville, Chico, and Redding. This is also the route of Amtraks Coast Starlight passenger train. The Union Pacific also has two east-west lines, through Donner Pass (the former Central Pacific Railroad), and through the Feather River gorge (the former Western Pacific Railroad). Amtraks California Zephyr uses the Donner Pass route. The BNSF Railway has a line from Klamath Falls, Oregon, to a junction with the Union Pacific Feather River line at Keddie. The BNSF has trackage rights on both the UP east-west routes. In addition, the California Northern Railroad operates the former Southern Pacific Railroad line on the west side of the valley from Davis to Tehama (near Red Bluff).</p><br>
<h2>Educational institutions</h2><br>
<p>University of California, Davis</p><br>
<p>California State University, Chico</p><br>
<p>California State University, Sacramento</p><br>
<p>Drexel University Sacramento</p><br>
<p>Simpson University, in Redding</p><br>
<p>William Jessup University, in Rocklin</p><br>
<p>American River College, in Sacramento</p><br>
<p>Butte College, in Oroville</p><br>
<p>Cosumnes River College, in Sacramento</p><br>
<p>Folsom Lake College, in Folsom</p><br>
<p>Sacramento City College, in Sacramento</p><br>
<p>Shasta College, in Redding</p><br>
<p>Sierra College, in Rocklin</p><br>
<p>Woodland Community College, in Woodland</p><br>
<p>Yuba Community College, in Marysville</p><br>
<p>University of the Pacific, in Stockton, CA</p><br>
<p>University of California, Merced</p><br>
<h2>Professional sports teams</h2><br>
<h3>National Basketball Association (NBA)</h3><br>
<p>Sacramento Kings</p><br>
<h3>Pacific Coast League (minor league baseball)</h3><br>
<p>Sacramento River Cats</p><br>
<h3>Golden Baseball League</h3><br>
<p>Chico Outlaws</p><br>
<h3>Independent Women's Football League</h3><br>
<p>Sacramento Sirens</p><br>
<h3>Women's Premier Soccer League</h3><br>
<p>California Storm</p><br>
<p>Sacramento Pride</p><br>
<h3>United Soccer League (USL)</h3><br>
<p>Sacramento Republic</p><br>
<h2>Cities</h2><br>
<h3>Cities with over 400,000 inhabitants</h3><br>
<p>Sacramento</p><br>
<h3>Cities with 100,000 to 400,000 inhabitants</h3><br>
<p>Elk Grove</p><br>
<p>Roseville</p><br>
<h3>Cities with 50,000 to 100,000 inhabitants</h3><br>
<p>Davis</p><br>
<p>Chico</p><br>
<p>Citrus Heights</p><br>
<p>Folsom</p><br>
<p>Rancho Cordova</p><br>
<p>Redding</p><br>
<p>Rocklin</p><br>
<p>Woodland</p><br>
<p>Yuba City</p><br>
<h3>Cities with 10,000 to 50,000 inhabitants</h3><br>
<p>Galt</p><br>
<p>Lincoln</p><br>
<p>Marysville</p><br>
<p>Oroville</p><br>
<p>Paradise</p><br>
<p>Red Bluff</p><br>
<p>Shasta Lake</p><br>
<p>West Sacramento</p><br>
<h3>Cities with under 10,000 inhabitants</h3><br>
<p>Anderson</p><br>
<p>Biggs</p><br>
<p>Colusa</p><br>
<p>Corning</p><br>
<p>Gridley</p><br>
<p>Isleton</p><br>
<p>Live Oak</p><br>
<p>Loomis</p><br>
<p>Orland</p><br>
<p>Sutter</p><br>
<p>Tehama</p><br>
<p>Wheatland</p><br>
<p>Williams</p><br>
<p>Willows</p><br>
<p>Winters</p><br>
<p>Huvadhu is sometimes referred to as the largest atoll of the Maldives. The fact is, however, that it is the second largest natural atoll, taking into account that Thiladhunmathi Atoll and Miladhunmadulu Atoll together stand for the largest. Even so, with an area of 3152 km², land area 38.5 km², Huvadhu is 10th largest atoll in the world, larger than Ontong Java Atoll and Lihou Reef in the SW Pacific area. On its reef rim are many inhabited islands.</p><br>
<p>The best quality mats of the Maldives are woven in this atoll, in the island of Gaddū. The local grass hau is dyed in two colors, black and yellow.</p><br>
<p>Huvadu Atoll has been divided into two districts (administrative atolls) for local administrative purposes since the 1970s. These divisions are Northern Huvadhu Atoll (Gaafu Alifu) in the north, and Southern Huvadhu Atoll (Gaafu Dhaalu).</p><br>
<h2>Linguistics</h2><br>
<p>The inhabitants of this large atoll speak their own distinct form of the Dhivehi language, known as Huvadu Bas.</p><br>
<p>Because of the isolation from the Northern Atolls, and the capital of Malé, the local dialect Huvadhu Bas is significantly different from the other variants of the Maldive language, making much use of the retroflex Ţ and allegedly retaining old forms of Dhivehi. Huvadhu Bas also retains old Sinhala words, is considered to be closer to Sinhala than the other dialects of Dhivehi.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The ancient Sanskritised name of this atoll was Suvadiva. Its capital and most important island was Havaru Tinadū. Historically the Huvadu atoll chief had a great measure of self-government. He even had the privilege, not granted to any other atoll chief of the Maldives, to fly his own flag in his vessels and at his residence. The flag of the Huvadu Atoll Chief was similar to the flag of Nepal in cut, with two central black triangles edged by red and white bands.*Divehi Tārīkhah Au Alikameh. Divehi Bahai Thagaafa Khiduma kura Qawmi Majlis. Male&#39;.</p><br>
<p>There are many Buddhist archaeological remains in Huvadū. Therefore, it is likely that this was a very important Atoll in that period of Maldivian History.</p><br>
<p>None of these ancient remains have been properly investigated yet.</p><br>
<p>Some of the ancient kings of Maldives traced their ancestry to certain families of Devvadu island, located at the centre of this large atoll.</p><br>
<p>Due to its strategic placement on the main sea route around southern India, Huvadhu and the other southern atolls have a long history of contact from mariners sailing the Indian Ocean through the centuries.</p><br>
<h2>Secession of the Suvadive Islands</h2><br>
<p>In January 1959, the three southern atolls: Huvadhu, Fuvahmulah and Addu, were involved in setting up the breakaway United Suvadive Republic which survived until September 1963. The name of the secessionist state was taken from the ancient name of this atoll.</p><br>
<p>In some islands, like Gaddhoo, there was opposition to the secession, and by means of threats and arson, the groups of people opposing the Suvadive state were forced to agree.</p><br>
<p>The capital of Havaru Thinadhoo was burnt down by soldiers sent by then Prime Minister Ibrahim Nasir from Malé during the secession in 1962, after which it was left uninhabited for four whole years and the atoll served its capital at Gaddhoo more than ten(10)years.</p><br>
<h2>Huvadu Kandu</h2><br>
<p>The name of the broad channel north of this atoll is locally known as Huvadu Kandu. It appeared on the old French maps as Courant de Souadou. Other names are Suvadiva Channel or One-a-half Degree Channel.</p><br>
<p>It is named after Huvadu Atoll and it is one of the broadest channels between the atolls of Maldives.</p><br>
<p>Angaur or Ngeaur is an island in the island nation of Palau. The island, which forms its own state, has an area of 8 km² . Its population was 130 in 2012. The state capital is the village of Ngeremasch on the western side. A second village, Rois, is immediately east of Ngeremasch.</p><br>
<p>The first sighting of Angaur, Babeldaob, Koror, and Peleliu recorded by Westerners was by the Spanish expedition of Ruy López de Villalobos at the end of January 1543. They were then charted as Los Arrecifes (The Reefs in Spanish). In November and December 1710 these three islands were again visited and explored by the Spanish missionary expedition commanded by Sargento Mayor Francisco Padilla on board of the patache Santísima Trinidad. Two years later they were explored in detail by the expedition of Spanish naval officer Bernardo de Egoy.</p><br>
<p>From 1909 until 1954 phosphate mining took place on Angaur, originally by the Germans, then the Japanese, and finally by Americans. Angaur is the site of a major World War II battle. The Battle of Angaur was part of the larger offensive campaign called Operation Forager that ran from June to Nov 1944. Many American and Japanese battle relics remain scattered throughout the island. Angaur is the only place in Micronesia that has feral monkeys; they are descended from macaques that escaped during the period of German occupation. Thus it is also called Monkey Island.</p><br>
<p>Angaur Island is located southwest of Peleliu, and it is a popular surfing location. Angaur is accessible by boats and small planes, and Belau Air has service to Angaur Airstrip. From 1945 to 1978 the USA Coast Guard operated a LORAN transmitting station, LORSTA Palau, as part of the worldwide LORAN navigation system. The eastern side of the island is mostly sandy with rocky outcroppings, while the western side of the island has a small lagoon with a small fishing and transportation port.</p><br>
<p>Population development:</p><br>
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<h2>Japanese as an official language</h2><br>
<p>According to the state constitution of 1982, Angaur&#39;s official languages are Palauan, English and Japanese. It is the only place in the world where Japanese is an official language, as it is not the official but rather the de facto national language of Japan. However, results of the latest census show that in April 2005, there were neither usual nor legal residents of Angaur aged 5 years or older who spoke Japanese at home at all. No person reported or was reported to be of Japanese ethnic origin for Angaur. One person born (but apparently not residing) on Angaur reported to speak Japanese and Palauan equally often at home. The 2012 mini census shows 7 people aged 10 years or older literate in any language other than Palauan and English for Angaur, out of a total population of 130.</p><br>
<p>Babeldaob  is the largest island in the island nation of the Republic of Palau. It is in the western Caroline Islands, and the second largest island in the Micronesia region of Oceania. Palau&#39;s capital, Ngerulmud, is located on Babeldaob, in Melekeok State.</p><br>
<p>Babeldaob is one of the most underdeveloped populated islands in the Pacific Ocean, even though it is the second largest island in Micronesia (only Guam is larger in area). The area of Babeldaob, 331 km&sup2, makes up over 70% of the area of the entire Republic of Palau. It has about 30% of the country&#39;s population, with about 6,000 people living on it.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>Babeldaob is located northeast of Koror Island, and its northern portion contains the site of the new national capital, Ngerulmud. The southern end of the island is in Airai State, Palaus second-most populous state. The Airai Airport on the island is the nations principal airport.</p><br>
<p>The Koror-Babeldaob Bridge links Babeldaob Island at Airai to Koror Island.</p><br>
<p>Unlike most of the islands of Palau, Babeldaob is mountainous. It contains Palaus highest point, the 242 m-tall Mount Ngerchelchuus. Babeldaobs eastern coast has many sandy beaches, in particular north from Melekeok to Ngaraard, and the island&#39;s western coast has a shoreline with many mangrove forests.</p><br>
<p>Of the 16 states of Palau, Babeldaob encompasses 10, which are:</p><br>
<p>Aimeliik</p><br>
<p>Airai</p><br>
<p>Melekeok</p><br>
<p>Ngaraard</p><br>
<p>Ngarchelong</p><br>
<p>Ngardmau</p><br>
<p>Ngatpang</p><br>
<p>Ngchesar</p><br>
<p>Ngeremlengui</p><br>
<p>Ngiwal</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>First sighting of Babeldaob, Koror and Peleliu recorded by Europeans was by the Spanish expedition of Ruy López de Villalobos at the end of January 1543. They were then charted as Los Arrecifes ("The Reefs" in Spanish). In November and December 1710 these three islands were again visited and explored by the Spanish missionary expedition commanded by Sargento Mayor Francisco Padilla on board of the patache Santísima Trinidad. Two years later they were explored in detail by the expedition of Spanish naval officer Bernardo de Egoy. It was in the Spanish East Indies from 1686 to 1899.</p><br>
<p>As a consequence of the Spanish–American War, Spain sold Palau (including Babeldaob), the Carolines and the Northern Marianas (except Guam) to the German Empire for 17 million goldmark pursuant to the German–Spanish Treaty (1899). The newly acquired islands were administered from German New Guinea. Babeldaob was the destination to which the 426 members of the Sokehs tribe were banished by colonial authorities following the Sokehs Rebellion on Sokehs Island and Pohnpei.</p><br>
<p>In the early months of World War I, Imperial Japan occupied all German islands north of the equator. As a League of Nations mandatory power after the war, Japan returned the Sokehs to Pohnpei in stages between 1917 and 1927.</p><br>
<p>During World War II a Japanese garrison on Babeldaob was composed of 21,449 Imperial Japanese Army men under the command of Lieutenant-General Sadae Inoue and 8,286 Imperial Japanese Navy men under the command of Vice-Admiral Kenmi Itoh. Babeldaob was bypassed by the Allied forces during the war.</p><br>
<p>The Rock Islands of Palau, also called Chelbacheb, are a small collection of limestone or coral uprises, ancient relics of coral reefs that violently surfaced to form Islands in Palau&#39;s Southern Lagoon, between Koror and Peleliu, and are now an incorporated part of Koror State. There are between 250 and 300 islands in the group according to different sources, with an aggregate area of 47 km² and a height up to 207 m. They are a World Heritage Site since 2012.</p><br>
<p>The islands are sparsely populated and are famous for their beaches, blue lagoons and the peculiar umbrella-like shapes of many of the islands themselves. The Rock Islands and the surrounding reefs make up Palau&#39;s popular tourist sites such as Blue Corner, Blue hole, German Channel, Ngermeaus Island and the famed Jellyfish Lake, one of the many Marine lakes in the Rock Islands that provides home and safety for several kinds of stingless jellyfish found only in Palau. It is the most popular dive destination in Palau, and offers some of the best and most diverse dive sites on the planet. From wall diving to high current drift dives, from Manta Rays to sharkfeeds an from shallow and colorful lagoons to brilliantly decorated caves and overhangs.</p><br>
<p>The islands are the location of Dolphin Bay - where there is a staff of vets and trainers that educate about the life of dolphins.</p><br>
<p>Many of the islands&#39; display a mushroom-like shape with a smaller base at the intertidal notch than what lies above it. The indentation comes from erosion and from the dense community of sponges, bivalves, chitons, snails, urchins and others that graze mostly on algae.</p><br>
<p>The largest islands in the group are:</p><br>
<p>Ngeruktabel</p><br>
<p>Ulong</p><br>
<p>Eil Malk (Mecherchar)</p><br>
<p>Other notable islands include:</p><br>
<p>Ngeteklou (Gologugeul)</p><br>
<p>Bukrrairong (Kamori)</p><br>
<p>Tlutkaraguis (Adorius)</p><br>
<p>Ongael</p><br>
<p>Ngebedangel (Ngobasangel)</p><br>
<p>Bablomekang (Abappaomogan)</p><br>
<p>Ngerukeuid (Orukuizu)</p><br>
<h2>Demographics</h2><br>
<p>The only inhabited place on the islands is called Dolphin Bay. it is the location of Palaus national aquatics park, and the HQ of Palaus Park rangers.</p><br>
<p>The Southwest Islands of Palau are several small islands spread across the Pacific Ocean about 600 km from the main island chain of Palau. They make up the Palauan states of Sonsorol and Hatohobei. The nearshore islands to the southwest of the main island of Palau , which belong to the states of Koror, Peleliu and Angaur and the unincorporated Rock Islands, are not considered part of the Southwest Islands.</p><br>
<p>The Southwest Islands, grouped by their state, from north to south, are:</p><br>
<p>Sonsorol</p><br>
<p>Fanna (Fana)</p><br>
<p>Sonsorol (Dongosaru)</p><br>
<p>Pulo Anna (Puro)</p><br>
<p>Merir (Melieli)</p><br>
<p>Hatohobei</p><br>
<p>Tobi Island (Hatohobei)</p><br>
<p>Helen Reef (Hotsarihie)</p><br>
<p>Transit Reef (Pieraurou)</p><br>
<p></revision></p><br>
<p>The Frederick C. Robie House is a USA National Historic Landmark on the campus of the University of Chicago in the South Side neighborhood of Hyde Park in Chicago, Illinois, at 5757 S. Woodlawn Avenue. Built between 1909 and 1910, the building was designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright and is renowned as the greatest example of the Prairie School style, the first architectural style considered uniquely American. It was designated a National Historic Landmark on November 27, 1963 and was on the very first National Register of Historic Places list of October 15, 1966.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Wright designed the Robie House in his studio in Oak Park, Illinois between 1908 and 1909. The design precedent for the Robie House was the Ferdinand F. Tomek House in Riverside, Illinois, designed by Wright in 1907-08. At the time that he commissioned Wright to design his home, Robie was only 28 years old and the assistant manager of the Excelsior Supply Company, a company on the South Side of Chicago owned and managed by his father. Although later drawings of the Robie House show a date of 1906, Wright could not have started the design for the building earlier than the spring of 1908 because Robie had actually purchased the property only in May of that year. He and his wife, Lora Hieronymus Robie, a 1900 graduate of the University of Chicago, had selected the property at 5757 South Woodlawn Avenue in order to remain close to the campus and the social life of the University. The property was a typical urban lot in Hyde Park, measuring 60 ft by 180 ft.</p><br>
<p>The contractor for the project, H.B. Barnard Co. of Chicago, began construction on April 15, 1909. Wright did not supervise the construction of the house except in the earliest stages. He closed his Oak Park studio in the fall of 1909 and left for Europe to undertake the work which led to the publication of the Wasmuth Portfolio. He turned over his existing commissions to Hermann von Holst, who retained Marion Mahony, a draughtswoman in Wrights office, and George Mann Niedecken, an interior designer from Milwaukee, Wisconsin who had worked with Wright on the Susan Lawrence Dana House in Springfield, Illinois, the Avery Coonley House in Riverside, Illinois, and the Meyer May House in Grand Rapids, Michigan, to continue their work on the project. Niedeckens influence can be seen in the design of some of the furnishings for the house as well as the carpets in the entrance hall, the living room, and the dining room.</p><br>
<p>The Robie family—Frederick, Laura, and their two children, Frederick Jr. and Lorraine—moved into the home in May 1910, although all of the final details, including rugs and furniture, were not completed until January 1911. The final cost of the home was $58,500--$13,500 for the land, $35,000 for the design and construction of the building, and $10,000 for the furnishings. (Simple inflation adjusted equivalents of $58,500 in 1910 hover around $1.5 million in 2015, although other ways of comparing price and value over time could place that figure as high as $10 million without accounting for any potential premium as a result of the historical fame of the house.) Robie&#39;s original budget had been $60,000.</p><br>
<p>Robie&#39;s tenure in his home was short lived, however. As a result of financial problems incurred by the death of his father in July 1908 and the deterioration of his marriage, Robie was forced to sell the house after living in it for only fourteen months. David Lee Taylor, president of Taylor-Critchfield Company, an advertising agency, bought the house and all of its Wright-designed contents in December 1911. Taylor died less than a year later, and his widow, Ellen Taylor, sold the house and most of its contents to Marshall D. Wilber, treasurer of the Wilber Mercantile Agency, in November 1912. The Wilbers were the last family to live in Robie House, living there for fourteen years.</p><br>
<p>In June 1926, the Wilbers sold the house and its contents to the Chicago Theological Seminary, who used the house as a dormitory and dining hall although it was primarily interested in the site for purposes of future expansion. In 1941, a graduate student at the Illinois Institute of Technology accidentally discovered that the Seminary was moving ahead with a plan to demolish the Robie House and informed his instructors, including Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. The threat of demolition aroused a storm of protest. Although the Seminary&#39;s plans were subsequently postponed, the crisis was averted more by the onset of World War II than by acquiescence of the property’s owner.</p><br>
<p>The most serious threat to the existence of the Robie House arose 16 years later. On March 1, 1957, the Seminary announced plans to demolish the Robie House on September 15 in order to begin the construction of a dormitory for its students. This time an international outcry arose, and Wright himself, then 90 years old, returned to the Robie House on March 18, accompanied by the media, students and neighborhood organizers to protest the intended demolition of the house. Commenting on the threatened demolition, Wright quipped, "It all goes to show the danger of entrusting anything spiritual to the clergy." Fortunately, only weeks earlier, the Chicago City Council, led by Hyde Park alderman Leon Despres, had enacted an ordinance to create the Commission on Chicago Landmarks. On September 15, 1971, the newly formed Commission, with the support of Mayor Richard J. Daley, declared the Robie House a Chicago landmark. Moreover, two fraternities at the University of Chicago provided the Seminary with a realistic alternative to its plans of demolition. During his very brief tenure as a student at the University of Wisconsin, Wright had been a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. The University of Chicago&#39;s Phi Delt chapter house was located two doors north of the Robie house at 5737 Woodlawn Avenue, and the Seminary was already the owner of the lot between the two properties. The Phi Delts offered to vacate their house, and the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity, located next to the Phi Delt house, offered to vacate their house as well. These offers were a turning point in the effort to save the Robie house since the three properties provided the Seminary with sufficient land for the dormitory they sought to build.</p><br>
<p>In August 1958, William Zeckendorf, a friend of Wrights and a New York real estate developer then involved in several development projects on Chicagos south side, acquired the Robie House at Wrights urging from the seminary through his development company Webb & Knapp. In February 1963, Zeckendorf donated the building to the University of Chicago. The University used Robie House as the Adlai E. Stevenson Institute of International Affairs, and later the building served as the headquarters for the Universitys Alumni Association.</p><br>
<p>In January 1997 the University moved their offices out and turned over tours, operations, fundraising and restoration to the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust on February 1. The Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust is restoring the Robie House to its original appearance in 1910 when construction was completed and the house best reflected the design intent of the architect and the client. Major structural restoration has been completed. Harboe Architects, a leading firm in historic preservation, is currently conducting an assessment of Robie House and preparing schematic plans for completion of the restoration. The Trust is following guidelines developed by the Secretary of the Interior&#39;s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties.</p><br>
<h2>Architecture</h2><br>
<p>The Robie House is one of the best known examples of Frank Lloyd Wrights Prairie style of architecture. The term was coined by architectural critics and historians (not by Wright) who noticed how the buildings and their various components owed their design influence to the landscape and plant life of the midwest prairie of the United States. Typical of Wrights Prairie houses, he designed not only the house, but all of the interiors, the windows, lighting, rugs, furniture and textiles. As Wright wrote in 1910, "it is quite impossible to consider the building one thing and its furnishings another.... They are all mere structural details of its character and completeness."</p><br>
<h3>Exterior</h3><br>
<p>The projecting cantilevered roof eaves, continuous bands of art-glass windows, and the use of Roman brick emphasize the horizontal, which had rich associations for Wright. The horizontal line reminded him of the American prairie and was a line of repose and shelter, appropriate for a house.</p><br>
<p>The exterior walls are double-wythe construction of a Chicago common brick core with a red-orange iron-spotted Roman brick veneer. To further emphasize the horizontal of the bricks, the horizontal joints were filled with a cream-colored mortar and the small vertical joints were filled with brick-colored mortar. From a distance, this complex and expensive tuckpointing creates an impression of continuous lines of horizontal color and minimizes the appearance of individual bricks.</p><br>
<p>The design of the art glass windows is an abstract pattern of colored and clear glass using Wright&#39;s favorite 30 and 60-degree angles. Wright used similar designs in tapestries inside the house and for gates surrounding the outdoor spaces and enclosing the garage courtyard.</p><br>
<p>Robie&#39;s generous budget allowed Wright to design a house with a largely steel structure, which accounts for the minimal deflection of the eaves.</p><br>
<p>The planter urns, copings, lintels, sills and other exterior trimwork are of Bedford limestone.</p><br>
<h3>Interior</h3><br>
<p>In plan, the house is designed as two large rectangles that seem to slide by one another. Mr. Wright referred to the rectangle on the southwest portion of the site, which contains the principal living spaces of the house, as "the major vessel." On the first floor are the "billiards" room (west end) and children&#39;s playroom (east end). The billiards room provided access to a large walk-in safe and a storage area built underneath the front porch projection at the west end of the site. The billiards and playroom open into a small passage and doors near the center of the building to an enclosed garden on the south side of the building. Another door from the playroom opens into the courtyard on the east end of the site. On the second floor are the entry hall at the top of the central stairway, the living room (west end) and the dining room (east end). Built-in inglenook bench cabinetry originally separated the entry hallway from the living room. The living and dining rooms flow into one another along the south side of the building and open through a series of twelve French doors containing art glass panels to an exterior balcony running the length of the south side of the building that overlooks the enclosed garden. The west end of the living room contains a “prow” with art glass windows and two art glass doors that open onto the west porch beneath the cantilevered roof. Wright intended that the users of the building move freely from the interior space to the exterior space.</p><br>
<p>The rectangle on the northeast portion of the site, called "the minor vessel," contains the more functional and service-related rooms of the house. On the first floor is the main door and entrance hall (west end) from which a stairway leads to the second floor living and dining rooms. A half bath is located on the north side of the entrance hall. Further east are a coat closet and back stairway, the boiler room, laundry room, and coal storage room, followed by a small workshop, half bath, and a three-car garage. The westernmost bay of the garage originally contained a mechanic’s pit, and the easternmost bay contained equipment to wash and clean automobiles. On the second floor of the minor vessel is a guest bedroom above the entrance hall and an adjoining full bath. East of the back stairway are the kitchen and butler’s pantry, and the servants’ sitting room. Two bedrooms and a full bathroom above the garage complete the quarters for the live-in servants.</p><br>
<p>The third floor overlaps the major and minor vessels in the center of the building. Wright referred to the third floor as the “belvedere,” the “place in command of beautiful views.” The south side of the third floor contains the master bedroom, dressing area, a full bathroom, and, through a small closet and an art glass door, a balcony facing south and west. Two additional bedrooms and a full bathroom are located on the north side of this floor. All of the windows on this level contain art glass panels. Dresser drawers are built into the walls of the bedrooms underneath the windows, and project into the eave spaces.</p><br>
<p>The entire building is approximately 9,062 ft&sup2;.</p><br>
<p>The chimney mass containing four fireplaces—one in the billiards room, playroom, living room and master bedroom—and the main stairway from the entrance hall to the second floor living and dining rooms rise through the center of the house, from which the rest of the building radiates. The chimney mass is constructed of the same brick and limestone as the exterior.</p><br>
<p>The front door and main entrance is partially hidden on the northwest side of the building beneath an overhanging balcony in order to create a sense of privacy and protection for the family. The entrance hall itself is low-ceilinged and dark, but the stairs to the second floor create a sense of anticipation as the visitor moves upward. Once upstairs, the light filled living and dining rooms create a sharp contrast to the dark entrance hall making the living and dining rooms seem even more special. These two rooms are separated by the central chimney mass, but the spaces are connected along their south sides, and the chimney mass has an opening above the fireplace through which the rooms are visually connected. These features unite the two spaces, creating an openness of plan which, for Wright, was a metaphor for the openness of American political and social life.</p><br>
<p>As with all Prairie houses, Wright designed the light fixtures for the Robie House. Throughout the house, wall sconces can be found in the shape of a hemispherical shade suspended beneath a square bronze fixture. On the second floor living and dining rooms, spherical globes within wooden squares are integrated into the ceiling trim, further tying the two spaces together visually. Soffit lighting running the length of the north and south sides of the living and dining rooms, as well as soffit lighting in the prows of the living and dining rooms, are covered with Wright-designed wooden grilles, backed with translucent colored glass diffusers. Because these lights are all independently operable, different effects can be created within these spaces. Finally, a Wright-designed table lamp with an art glass shade stood on a Wright-designed library table in the living room.</p><br>
<p>The steel beams in the ceilings and floors carry most of the building&#39;s weight to piers at the east and west ends. As a result, the exterior walls have little structural function, and thus are filled with doors and windows containing art glass panels. The house contains 174 art glass window and door panels in 29 different designs. Although Wright occasionally designed art glass using stylized forms from nature, the designs of the Robie House art glass are possibly just abstract geometric forms. Another important reason for the glass was to make the interior seem bigger; he made it feel more spacy and airy by adding large and numerous windows and stained glass. The steel structure also eliminates the need for internal structural columns and walls, accenting the open plan Wright favored.</p><br>
<p>Wright also designed the furniture, carpets, and textiles for most Prairie houses. However, Wright-designed furniture in the Robie House was only constructed for the entrance hall, the living and dining rooms, guest bedroom, and one bed for the third-floor bedrooms. Some of these pieces are attributed to Wright&#39;s interior design collaborator George Mann Niedecken. Robie’s financial situation following his father’s death may be the explanation for why the entire house was not furnished with furniture of Wright’s designs. Most of the original furniture is currently in the collection of the Smart Museum of Art at the University of Chicago, although only the dining room table and chairs are on more or less permanent display. One of the most striking pieces of the furniture designed by Wright for the Robie House is a sofa with extended armrests, echoing the cantilevers of the exterior roof of the building, which effectively create side tables on each side of the sofa. The Wright-designed sofa has been on loan since 1982 from the Smart Museum to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and is on display as part of the furnishings in the reconstructed living room of the Francis W. Little House (1915) located in the museum. Miniature cantilevers can also be found in the shelves of the built-in dining room buffet and a food preparation island in the kitchen.</p><br>
<h3>Architectural significance</h3><br>
<p>The Robie House was one of the last houses Wright designed in his Oak Park, Illinois home and studio and also one of the last of his Prairie School houses. According to the Historical American Buildings Survey, the city of Chicagos Commission on Chicago Architectural Landmarks stated: "The bold interplay of horizontal planes about the chimney mass, and the structurally expressive piers and windows, established a new form of domestic design." Because the houses components are so well designed and coordinated, it is considered to be a quintessential example of Wright&#39;s Prairie School architecture and the "measuring stick" against which all other Prairie School buildings are compared.</p><br>
<p>The house and the Robie name were immortalized in Ernst Wasmuths famous 1910 publication Ausgefuhrte Bauten und Entwurfe von Frank Lloyd Wright (Completed Buildings and Projects of Frank Lloyd Wright, a.k.a. "The Wasmuth Portfolio"). This publication featured most of Wrights designs, including those unbuilt, during his Oak Park years and brought them to the attention of students of the Bauhaus school in Germany and the De Stijl school in the Netherlands. Ludwig Mies van der Rohe among other great 20th Century architects, claimed Wright was a major influence on their careers. Mies van der Rohe later visited the Robie House and Wright&#39;s home (Taliesin) in Spring Green, WI.</p><br>
<p>The architectural significance of the Robie House was probably best stated in a 1957 article in House and Home magazine:</p><br>
<p>During the decades of eclecticism&#39;s triumph there were also many innovators--less heralded than the fashionable practitioners, but exerting more lasting influence. Of these innovators, none could rival Frank Lloyd Wright. By any standard his Robie house was the House of the 1900s--indeed the House of the Century.</p><br>
<p>Above all else, the Robie House is a magnificent work of art. But, in addition, the house introduced so many concepts in planning and construction that its full influence cannot be measured accurately for many years to come. Without this house, much of modern architecture as we know it today, might not exist."One Hundred Years of the American House," House and Home, May 1957, pp. 110 and 116, quoted in "Frank Lloyd Wright: Master Builder," Pfeiffer, Bruce Brooks, Thames & Hudson, 1997, p. 72. Another commentator described the architectural significance of the Robie House as follows:</p><br>
<p>Wrights Winslow House of 1893 was already a synthesis of the practical with the beautiful in home building. By 1908 he was able to bring about, in the Robie House on the campus of the University of Chicago, what is for many Americans the finest work of art turned out by any of our architects in our history as a nation. In this house Wright blends the sonorous long lines of the machinelike form with a rich decorative effect that is ages old. Both the old and the new come together in this adult prairie house. Here for the first time since the days of our great colonial builders--Bulfinch, Jefferson, and McIntire--a man creates a home for Americans that can stand the test of international comparison. When his work was published in a sumptuous monograph in Berlin, Germany, in 1910, it was the design of the Robie House that caught everyones eye. European builders had been enmeshed in their dependence on historical forms. Wright and the Robie House of 1908 showed them the way to the fundamental patterns of modern architectural expression. So much so, in fact, that even the extremes of cubistic modern architecture, the "cigar-box covered with cold-cream" style may be traced back to the influence of Wright&#39;s Robie House.</p><br>
<p>Kienitz, John Fabian, "Fifty-Two Years of Frank Lloyd Wright&#39;s Progressivism," The Wisconsin Magazine of History, Vol. 29, No. 1 (Sept. 1945), p. 64.</p><br>
<p>In 1956, The Archectural Record selected the Robie House as "one of the seven most notable residences ever built in America."</p><br>
<p>In 1991, the American Institute of Architects named Robie House among the Top All-Time Work of American Architects.</p><br>
<p>In 2008, the USA National Park Service submitted the Robie house, along with nine other Frank Lloyd Wright properties, to a tentative list for World Heritage Status. The 10 sites have been submitted as one entire site. More recently, in July 2012, the Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced that he would formally nominate the Robie House and ten other Wright designed buildings as USA nominations for World Heritage status. The final decision on inclusion on the list will be made by the World Heritage Committee, composed of representatives from 21 nations and advised by the International Council on Monuments and Sites. The USA nominations will likely be formally nominated to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in 2013, for possible inclusion on the World Heritage List in 2014.</p><br>
<p>In 2011, Lego released a model set of the Robie House under its Lego Architecture line of products; it was the third Wright building featured in the series.</p><br>
<p>Robie House is the subject of a 2013 PBS documentary and companion book, “10 Buildings that Changed America.”</p><br>
<h3>Neighborhood context</h3><br>
<p>At the time Robie House was commissioned in 1908, the lots surrounding the houses site were mostly vacant except for the lots immediately to the north on Woodlawn Avenue, which were filled with large homes. To the east of the site and across a municipal service alley, a French Provincial style house for Nobel prize winning physicist Albert A. Michelson was built around 1923. The lots to the south were vacant and afforded uninterrupted views to the Midway Plaisance parkland, one of the sites of the Worlds Columbian Exposition. To the west, a full block of vacant land separated the site from the growing University of Chicago campus, but by 1930 Rockefeller Chapel (1928), the Chicago Theological Seminary (1928), and the Oriental Institute (1930) buildings had been constructed.</p><br>
<p>Directly south across 58th Street from Robie House is the Charles M. Harper Center of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Designed by the Uruguayan-born architect Rafael Viñoly and completed in 2004, the building both respects the scale of the Robie House and contains elements that echo Wright&#39;s contributions to the vocabulary of modern architecture. “The massing was considered with that of the surrounding buildings of the campus and the neighborhood,” Viñoly said. More specifically, Viñoly selected the linear limestone and cantilevered floors with the Robie House in mind. In addition, built-in planters edge the second floor balconies and surround the entranceway terrace, echoing those found on the Robie House balconies and porches. The entranceway terrace itself provides visitors with a panoramic view of the south elevation of the Robie House. Viñoly acknowledged that these elements of his design were intended to pay homage to Wright and his architectural vision.</p><br>
<p>In Blue Ballietts childrens book, The Wright 3, the plot centers around mysteries associated with Robie House.</p><br>
<h2>Photo gallery</h2><br>
<p>Big Bear Lake is a reservoir in the San Bernardino Mountains, in San Bernardino County, California, United States. At a surface elevation of 6,750 ft, it has an east–west length of approximately 7 mi and is approximately 2.5 mi at its widest measurement, though the lakes width mostly averages a little more than 1 mi. These approximations are based on the lake having an optimum retainable water level. At dams end Big Bear measures its deepest water at 72 ft. It is a completely snow-fed lake, having no other means of tributary or mechanical replenishment.</p><br>
<p>Located 100 mi east of Los Angeles and surrounded by the San Bernardino National Forest, Big Bear Lake is accessible via four scenic highways: Highway 330 from Highland, Highway 38 from Redlands, Highway 18 from Victorville, and Highway 18 from San Bernardino.</p><br>
<h2>Defining surroundings</h2><br>
<p>Big Bear Lake is geophysically defined by its North Shore and its South Shore. Big Bear Boulevard follows the South Shore and leads into the Big Bear Valley as a continuation of Highway 18 (the so-called Rim of the World Highway, which approaches from the west). Big Bear Boulevard winds east through Papoose Bay, Boulder Bay and Metcalf Bay, then leads directly east to the city of Big Bear Lake. At a point called The Village, the road turns toward the lake and then curves eastward to Moonridge, the ski resorts at Snow Summit and Bear Mountain, and Stanfield Cutoff, a causeway located near the east end of the lake. Big Bear Boulevard then continues east into Big Bear City, which is an unincorporated community despite its name. Bear Creek and Siberia Creek flow into the lake and Bear Creek flows out of the lake, traveling about 9 mi southwest to the Santa Ana River.</p><br>
<p>North Shore (Highway 38) begins at the Dam Junction of Highway 18. It travels east past the historic location of Gray&#39;s Landing, a famous 1920s fishing camp. It turns north around Grout Bay and travels through the small unincorporated town of Fawnskin. The road meanders across North Shore through Forestry lands, past the Big Bear Solar Observatory, past the Big Bear Discovery Center, past the Serrano Campground (USAF.S), accessing the public boat launch, and Stanfield Cutoff. North Shore Drive continues east into Big Bear City and Baldwin Lake.</p><br>
<p>The primary approach to Big Bear is via Highway 330 out of San Bernardino through Running Springs where it intersects Highway 18. Highway 18 proceeds past Arrowbear and Snow Valley, over Lake Vista Summit and across the "Arctic Circle" for a total distance of. Big Bear Lake can also be accessed by Hwy 38 (referred to as The Backside) at the San Bernardino (10) Freeway near Redlands, and takes a mile route that passes through Big Bear City on the east. From north of Lucerne Valley, it can be accessed by Highway 18 over the pass into Baldwin Lake and through the north side, into Big Bear City.</p><br>
<h2>Climate</h2><br>
<p>According to the National Weather Service, the warmest month at Big Bear is July, with a daily average temperature of 64.7 &deg;F. The coolest month is January, with a daily average temperature of 34.1 &deg;F. There are an average of 1.7 days each year with highs of 90 &deg;F or higher. Freezing temperatures have occurred in every month and occur on an average of 186 days each year, on average from September 24 to June 4. With a period of record dating only back to 1960, the highest temperature recorded was 94 &deg;F, last recorded on July 15, 1998, while lowest was -25 &deg;F on January 29, 1979.</p><br>
<p>Due to the 6790 to 7200 ft elevation of the weather station, precipitation is greater than in the lowlands of San Bernardino County, averaging a year. The maximum 24-hour precipitation was on December 6, 1966. Measurable precipitation normally occurs 44.9 days a year. Mountain thunderstorms occasionally produce heavy rainfall, even in midsummer (when most southern California lowland locations are quite dry). Big Bear Lake&#39;s climate is Csb (Warm-summer Mediterranean) under the Köppen climate classification.</p><br>
<p>In contrast to most of southern California, the Big Bear Lake region normally receives significant winter snow because of its high elevation. Snowfall, as measured at lake level, averages 72 in per season; upwards of 100 in can accumulate on the forested ridges bordering the lake, at elevation above 8,000 ft. In February 1990, 59.5 in of snow were recorded. The most snow in 24 hours was 27.0 in on March 27, 1991. The greatest snow depth was 58 in on February 3, 1979. Snow has fallen in every month except July and August. There are normally 18 days each year with measurable snow of.1 in or more.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The region now known as Big Bear Lake was populated by the indigenous Serrano Indian tribe for approximately 2,500 years. They referred to the territory as "Yuhaviat" which translates into "Pine Place". They inhabited small villages of 10 to 30 round buildings located along fresh water sources and subsisted on berries, nuts, tubers, acorns, and plentiful game harvested along the lush valley. The Serrano looked at the native grizzly bears as ancestors and did not eat the meat or wear the fur of these massive animals. Several contemporary communities in the area feature place names reflecting the Big Bear region&#39;s rich Native history. These include Yucaipa, Cucamonga, and Muscupiabe.</p><br>
<p>The Big Bear Lake area was first discovered by European explorers when an Indian-hunting party was formed by Benjamin Wilson. Wilson moved to California during the days of Mexican territorial Alta California. He married into the Spanish landholder family, the Yorbas, and bought a portion of Rancho Jurupa (Riverside) from Juan Bandini. He became a local rancher statesman of great repute.</p><br>
<p>Wilson had signed on as Justice of the Peace of the Inland Territory and was commissioned by the territorial authorities to locate and pursue Native Americans suspected of raiding ranches in nearby Riverside. This group, led by the fierce Chief Walkara, drove the herd into the Lucerne Valley on the north side of the San Bernardinos. Wilson gathered a posse of 44 men, 22 of whom he sent through the Cajon Pass while he engineered a pincer movement with the other 22 men into the headwaters of the Santa Ana River, effectively cutting the Utes off at the other end of Lucerne.</p><br>
<p>On the trip Wilson came upon a broad watershed teeming with wildlife, particularly bear. His posse immediately became a hunting party where the men were split into 11 pairs, each pair bringing back a bear hide. Wilson dubbed the grassy expanse "Bear Valley" and one of the nearby shallow seasonal marshes "Big Bear Lake". This same ephemeral feature is today called Baldwin Lake after Elias J. "Lucky" Baldwin of Rancho Santa Anita fame, who bought the nearby Gold Mountain Mine that was renamed for him in 1876. On Wilson&#39;s return trip (the posse had presumably lost interest in tracking renegade Indians), the party took 11 more bear pelts.</p><br>
<p>In 1859, the newly discovered valley became a venue for gold prospectors. Mr. William F. Holcomb, a prospector from Indiana, moved to Los Angeles from the Northern California mines where he heard about the prospecting at Big Bear. He moved to Starvation Flats, where he had little luck the first winter. Because of his marksmanship, he was hired by several of the other miners to hunt bear for meat. With his Indian companion, Holcomb tracked, shot and wounded a grizzly bear one ridge north of Bear Valley. There he noticed a vein of quartz flecked with gold. When this discovery was revealed, the Southern California gold rush was on, and Holcomb Valley quickly became the largest populated area in San Bernardino County.</p><br>
<p>In 1884 marshy, nearly flat Bear Valley was dammed with a single arch granite impoundment, which held back some 25,000 acre.ft of water for irrigation purposes in the Redlands area. Redlands citrus growers found that the 1884 dam produced insufficient water. The Bear Valley Mutual Water Company (successor to Bear Valley Irrigation Company) hired John S. Eastwood to design a new dam. In 1912 a 72 ft multiple arch dam was constructed about 300 ft downstream of the old dam and increased the lake capacity to 73,000 acre.ft. The original granite dam still remains, usually under about 20 feet of water. A highway bridge (SR 18) was built over the arches of the new dam in 1923. A new bypass bridge was built next to the old bridge in 2009, and the old bridge on top of the new dam was removed (12). Elevation at the surface is 6,750 ft, but this level fluctuates according to annual snowmelt and runoff. Big Bear Municipal Water District acquired the dam and other assets from the Mutual Water Company in 1977.</p><br>
<p>The unregulated hunting of grizzly bear in the San Bernardinos took a heavy toll upon the once significant native population, and by 1906 all the local Ursus californicus were killed off.</p><br>
<p>Tourism began with the onset of the automobile and the eventual establishment of highways accessing the seemingly remote area. Hollywood soon discovered Big Bear, and several movies, particularly westerns, have been filmed in the region.</p><br>
<h2>Lake activities</h2><br>
<p>Big Bear Lake provides an attractive setting for many outdoor activities, including fishing (trout, bluegill, crappie, catfish and largemouth bass), pleasure boating, and water skiing. Because of the very cold water and the presence of underwater obstacles near the shorelines, swimming is discouraged. The lake is patrolled by the BBMWD Lake Patrol.</p><br>
<p>Many lakeside residents have private docks, and visiting boaters obtain mooring in several of the marinas found on both shores. Big Bear Municipal Water District (a special district of the State of California) provides public launches on the east end and west end of North Shore. Local marinas rent various sport and pleasure boats, and parasailing is available.</p><br>
<h2>Points of interest</h2><br>
<p>North Shore (west to east)</p><br>
<p>Fawnskin (San Bernardino County uninc.)</p><br>
<p>Big Bear Solar Observatory (New Jersey Institute of Technology)</p><br>
<p>Big Bear Discovery Center</p><br>
<p>South Shore (west to east)</p><br>
<p>Snow Summit (skiing; snowboarding; mountain biking in summer; ski lift open in summer for sightseeing)</p><br>
<p>Bear Mountain (Ski Area) (skiing and snowboarding in winter; golfcourse in summer)</p><br>
<p>The Corio Bay is one of numerous bays in the southwest corner of Australia&#39;s Port Phillip, and is the bay on which abuts the City of Geelong. The nearby suburb of Corio takes its name from Corio Bay.</p><br>
<h2>Etymology</h2><br>
<p>When Hamilton Hume and William Hovell arrived at the bay in 1824 they met with the local Wautharong people who referred to the bay as "Jillong" and the surround land "Corayo", but by the time the area was surveyed in the late 1830s the Aboriginal names had been swapped. The names "Corayo" and "Jillong" had since been Anglicised to "Corio" and "Geelong".</p><br>
<h2>Shipping</h2><br>
<p>The Port of Geelong is located on the shores of Corio Bay, and is the sixth largest port in Australia by tonnage.</p><br>
<p>Before the initial settlement of Geelong, a sandbar across the bay from Point Lillias to Point Henry prevented ships from entering the inner harbour. Ships were required to drop anchor in the bay, and cargo was brought into Geelong on small barges. At times it was possible to walk across the bay on the sandbar at low tide.</p><br>
<p>The first channel through the sandbar was started in 1853, providing less than 4 metres draught for ships. This channel was straightened out and dredged at a depth of 6 metres in the 1860s. In 1881 a new channel started that took 12 years to complete. It was named the Hopetoun Channel after Lord Hopetoun who opened it on December 20, 1893.</p><br>
<p>Management of the channels and port was the responsibility of the Geelong Harbour Trust that was formed in December 1905. In 1981, the Port of Geelong Authority took over from the trust. The authority was privatised by the State Government in mid 1996, being sold to TNT Logistics for $49.6 million. It was later re-branded as GeelongPort.</p><br>
<h2>Leisure</h2><br>
<p>The shores of Corio Bay have been a popular playground for Geelong residents. Since the 1930s Eastern Beach has been a popular swimming location. Boating is also popular, with a number of public boat ramps and piers provided. The bay is also the home of the Royal Geelong Yacht Club that was established in 1859, and the adjacent Bay City Marina that was constructed in the 1980s. Sometimes, whales and dolphins can be seen in the bay.</p><br>
<p>The Sleeping Giant is a formation of mesas and sills on Sibley Peninsula which resembles a giant lying on its back when viewed from the west to north-northwest section of Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. As one moves southward along the shoreline toward Squaw Bay the Sleeping Giant starts to separate into its various sections. Most distinctly in the view from the cliffs at Squaw Bay the Giant appears to have an Adam&#39;s Apple. The formation is part of Sleeping Giant Provincial Park. Its dramatic steep cliffs are among the highest in Ontario . The southernmost point is known as Thunder Cape, depicted by many early Canadian artists such as William Armstrong.</p><br>
<p>One Ojibway legend identifies the giant as Nanabijou, who was turned to stone when the secret location of a rich silver mine now known as Silver Islet was disclosed to white men.</p><br>
<h2>Seven Wonders of Canada</h2><br>
<p>It was voted number one for a list of Seven Wonders of Canada, with a total of 177,305 votes, beating the Bay of Fundy and Niagara Falls by almost 90&thinsp;000 votes.</p><br>
<p>Ultimately it was not selected by the panel of judges, Ra McGuire, Roberta Jamieson and Roy MacGregor, who decided their vote by geographic and poetic criteria.</p><br>
<p>Sleeping Giant  is a rugged traprock mountain with a high point of 739 ft, located 8 mi north of New Haven, Connecticut. A prominent landscape feature visible for miles, the Sleeping Giant receives its name from its anthropomorphic resemblance to a slumbering human figure as seen from either the north or south. The Giant is known for its expansive clifftop vistas, rugged topography, and microclimate ecosystems. Most of the Giant is located within Sleeping Giant State Park. The mountain is a popular recreation site: over 30 mi of hiking trails traverse it including 5 mi of the 23 mi Quinnipiac Trail. Quinnipiac University is located at Mount Carmel&#39;s foot in Hamden.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>The Sleeping Giant, 2.75 mi long by 1.75 mi wide, is located in Hamden with its eastern edge falling into Wallingford. The Giants profile features distinct "head," "chin," "chest," "hip," "knee," and "feet" sections topographically represented by traprock outcrops and ridge crests. The highest point is the Left Hip, 739 ft, followed by the Chest, 710 ft, and the Left Knee and Right Leg, 700 ft each, and so on. The Giants Head, 670 ft, is marked by a 400 ft cliff. A stone observation tower located on the Left Hip, built by the Works Progress Administration in the 1930s, offers 360° views of the surrounding Mill and Quinnipiac River valleys. An old rock quarry, closed since 1933 and now part of the state park, has left scars on the Giant&#39;s Head.</p><br>
<p>It is part of the narrow, linear Metacomet Ridge that extends from Long Island Sound north through the Connecticut River Valley of Massachusetts to the Vermont border. The Metacomet Ridge extends west and south from Sleeping Giant as Rocky Top and West Rock Ridge. The west side of Sleeping Giant drains into the Mill River thence to New Haven Harbor and Long Island Sound; the east side into the Quinnipiac River, thence to New Haven Harbor and Long Island Sound.</p><br>
<h2>Geology</h2><br>
<p>Sleeping Giant, a fault-block ridge that formed 200 million years ago during the Triassic and Jurassic periods, is composed of traprock, also known as basalt, an extrusive volcanic rock. Minor earthquakes have also been measured by seismographs and reported by residents. Basalt is a dark colored rock, but the iron within it weathers to a rusty brown when exposed to the air, lending the ledges a distinct reddish appearance. Basalt frequently breaks into octagonal and pentagonal columns, creating a unique "postpile" appearance. Huge slopes made of fractured basalt scree are visible beneath many of the ledges of Sleeping Giant. The basalt cliffs are the product of several massive lava flows hundreds of feet deep that welled up in faults created by the rifting apart of North America from Eurasia and Africa. These basalt floods of lava happened over a period 20 million years. Erosion occurring between the eruptions deposited deep layers of sediment between the lava flows, which eventually lithified into sedimentary rock. The resulting "layer cake" of basalt and sedimentary sheets eventually faulted and tilted upward. Subsequent erosion wore away the weaker sedimentary layers at a faster rate than the basalt layers, leaving the abruptly tilted edges of the basalt sheets exposed, creating the distinct linear ridge and dramatic cliff faces visible today. One way to imagine this is to picture a layer cake tilted slightly up with some of the frosting (the sedimentary layer) removed in between.</p><br>
<h2>Ecosystem</h2><br>
<p>Sleeping Giant hosts a combination of microclimates unusual in New England. Dry, hot upper ridges support oak savannas, often dominated by chestnut oak and a variety of understory grasses and ferns. Eastern red cedar, a dry-loving species, clings to the barren edges of cliffs. Lower eastern slopes tend to support oak-hickory forest species common in the surrounding lowlands. Narrow ravines crowded with eastern hemlock block sunlight, creating damp, cooler growing conditions with associated cooler climate plant species. Talus slopes are especially rich in nutrients and support a number of calcium-loving plants uncommon in eastern Connecticut. Because the ridge generates such varied terrain, it is the home of several plant and animal species that are state-listed or globally rare. Sleeping Giant is also an important seasonal raptor migration path.</p><br>
<h2>Mythology</h2><br>
<p>According to Native Americans of the Quinnipiac Tribe, the giant stone spirit Hobbomock (or Hobomock), a prominent wicked figure in many stories (see Pocumtuck Ridge and Quinnipiac), became enraged about the mistreatment of his people and stamped his foot down in anger, diverting the course of the Connecticut River (where the river suddenly swings east in Middletown, Connecticut after several hundred miles of running due south). To prevent him from wreaking such havoc in the future, the good spirit Keitan cast a spell on Hobbomock to sleep forever as the prominent man-like form of the Sleeping Giant.</p><br>
<p>In the title story of Eleanor Estess 1948 collection, The Sleeping Giant and Other Stories, the Giant decides to get up and leave. The Native American legend is retold (with a few liberties) by Jason J. Marchi in his illustrated childrens book The Legend of Hobbomock: The Sleeping Giant, published in 2015.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>During the mid-19th century, spurred by the painters of the Hudson River School and transcendentalist philosophers such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, an interest in mountains as a respite from industrialization and urbanization took hold in New England. Summer cottages were built on the Sleeping Giant and many other locations on the Metacomet Ridge. In 1888, John H. Dickerman built a carriage road on the Giant and opened what he called Blue Hills Park. He held picnics with ice cream on the ledges for local residents.</p><br>
<p>Conservation of the Giant began in 1924 with the creation of the Sleeping Giant Park Association (SGPA) by a group of local residents concerned with ongoing traprock quarrying on the Giant&#39;s head. A cottage owner, Judge Willis Cook, had leased his property to the Mount Carmel Traprock Company for the purpose of quarrying traprock for building materials. The blasting away of what was a beloved landscape feature resulted in public outrage, well reported by local newspapers at the time. Under the leadership of James W. Toumey, a Yale University forestry professor, the SGPA undertook a ten-year struggle with the traprock operation. The property was purchased by the SGPA in 1933, during the Great Depression, for $30,000; the money was raised through private donations and the property became the Sleeping Giant State Park.</p><br>
<p>Sleeping Giant State Park was created in 1924, when the SGPA donated 600 acres to the Park and Forest Commission. The state added an additional 65 acres that year, purchased at a cost of $7025.00.</p><br>
<p>In 1936, the Sleeping Giant Tower was built at the top by the Works Progress Administration. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986 as part of the Connecticut State Park and Forest Depression-Era Federal Work Relief Programs Structures.</p><br>
<h2>Recreation</h2><br>
<p>Sleeping Giant State Park is a popular outdoor recreation destination among residents and visitors of the greater New Haven region. The clifftops offer long views of much of New Haven County and some of Hartford County over more than 270 degrees of the compass, and (atmospheric conditions permitting) across Long Island Sound to the Shoreham area on Long Island.</p><br>
<p>The state park is open until sunset year-round. During warm weather months, a parking fee is charged on weekends and holidays ($4 to $15 in 2016). Activities permitted on the Giant include hiking, rock climbing, snowshoeing, picnicking, bird watching, and other passive pursuits. Trails specifically designed for horseback riding and cross-country skiing are located on the lower reaches of the Giant, and fishing is allowed in the abutting Mill River. Rock climbing, closed on the Giant in 1953 because of accidents, was permitted as of 2015. Youth camping only is allowed on the Giant (by permit). Seasonal facilities include restrooms, a picnic shelter, and picnic tables. The 23 mi Quinnipiac Trail—the oldest trail in the 700 mi blue blazed trail system managed by the Connecticut Forest and Park Association&mdash;traverses the length of the Giant from the Quinnipiac River west over the Giant&#39;s high points to the Mill River then continues north over West Rock Ridge and Mount Sanford.</p><br>
<h2>Conservation</h2><br>
<p>Most, but not all, of the Sleeping Giant has been conserved. The trails and facilities on Sleeping Giant are collaboratively maintained by the Sleeping Giant Park Association and the State of Connecticut, with the bulk of the trail maintenance done by the association. Sleeping Giant State Park encompasses 1,500 acre; the SGPA remains active in securing additional parcels to add to the property. The SGPA has also been instrumental in defeating attempts to log the Giant, build communications towers on its summits, and close the state park altogether. SGPA runs a regular recreational and interpretive hikes on the Giant and volunteer trail maintenance programs. The Connecticut Forest and Park Association also has a working investment in the conservation of the Giant and trail building on it.</p><br>
<p>The Bay of Greifswald or Greifswald Bodden</p><br>
<p>To the west is the island of Rügen; to the southeast, the island of Usedom; to the east, the Bay of Pomerania, and to the south, the German mainland. The bay is also joined to the Baltic Sea through the Strelasund, a narrow sound separating Rügen from the mainland. The bay&#39;s northern end is sometimes called the Rügischer Bodden.</p><br>
<p>The bay itself has a heavily indented coastline, making it a bay of bays. The headlands of Mönchgut (in east Rügen) and Zudar (in south Rügen) – the former actually being made up of several peninsulae – subdivide the bay into many smaller ones. The bay&#39;s main port is Greifswald. Amongst the islands in the east of the bodden are Vilm, Koos, Riems and the former island of Stubber, now a sandbank.</p><br>
<p>The Bay of Greifswald is quite shallow, with an average depth of 5.6 m, and a maximum depth of 13.5 m. Its water is brackish rather than briny owing to inflow from rivers, and the Baltic Sea&#39;s complex hydrography (saltier water is generally found only at greater depths there). The average salinity is at 7 to 8 psu, ranging from 5.3 and 12.2 psu.</p><br>
<p>Before German reunification in 1990, the Bay of Greifswald was a public watersports venue, unlike most of East Germany&#39;s Baltic coast. The local geography made it easy to keep watch over the bay, thereby thwarting those who thought to use it to flee the country. The place outside the Warsaw Pact nearest the bay was the Danish island of Bornholm, more than 100 km away.</p><br>
<p>Korčula  is a Croatian island in the Adriatic Sea. It has an area of 279 km&sup2 46.8 km long and on average 7.8 km wide — and lies just off the Dalmatian coast. Its 15,522 inhabitants  make it the second most populous Adriatic island after Krk and the most populous Croatian island not connected to the mainland by a bridge. The population are almost entirely ethnic Croats . The island is twinned with Rothesay in Scotland.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>The island of Korčula belongs to the central Dalmatian archipelago, separated from the Pelješac peninsula by a narrow Strait of Pelješac, between 900 and wide. It stretches in the east-west direction, in length of 47 km; on average, it is 8 km wide. With an area of 279 km&sup2, it is the sixth largest Adriatic island. The highest peaks are Klupca, 568 m and Kom, 510 m high.</p><br>
<p>Main settlements on the island are towns of Korčula, Vela Luka and Blato. Villages along the coast are Brna, Lumbarda, Račišće, and Prižba; Žrnovo, Pupnat, Smokvica and Čara are located inland. The island is divided into municipalities of Korčula, Smokvica, Blato and Lumbarda. The climate is Mediterranean; an average air temperature in January is 9.8 &deg;C and in July 26.9 &deg;C; the average annual rainfall is 1,100 mm. The island is largely covered with Mediterranean flora including extensive pine forests.</p><br>
<p>The main road runs along the spine of the island connecting all settlements from Lumbarda on the eastern to Vela Luka on the western end, with the exception of Račišće, which is served by a separate road running along the northern coast. Ferries connect the city of Korčula with Orebić on the Pelješac peninsula and Drvenik on the mainland (near Makarska). Another line connects Vela Luka with Split and the island of Lastovo. Fast passenger catamarans connect those two ports with Split and the islands of Hvar and Lastovo. The main Adriatic ferry line connects Korčula with Split, Dubrovnik, Zadar and Rijeka. During the summer there are direct ferries to Italian Adriatic ports.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<h3>Ancient history</h3><br>
<p>According to legend, the island was founded by Trojan hero Antenor in the 12th century BC who is also famed as the founder of the city of Padua.</p><br>
<p>The island was first settled by Mesolithic and Neolithic peoples. There is archaeological evidence at the sites of Vela Spila (Big Cave) and at Jakas Cave near the village of Zrnovo. The findings at Vela Spila are on display at the Center for Culture in Vela Luka. The fate of these peoples is not known but the sites do provide a window into their way of life.</p><br>
<p>The second wave of human settlement was by Illyrians. It is believed that the Illyrians arrived in Balkans approximately 1000 BC. They were semi-nomadic tribal people living from agriculture. There are numerous old stone buildings and fortresses (gradine) left behind by the Illyrians.</p><br>
<p>Melaina Korkyra (Μέλαινα Κόρκυρα, "Black Corcyra") was the ancient Cnidian Greek colony founded on Korčula. Greek colonists from Corcyra (Corfu) formed a colony on the island in the 6th century B.C. The Greeks named it "Black Corfu" after their homeland and the dense pine-woods on the island. Greek artifacts, including carved marble tombstones can be found at the local Korčula town museum.</p><br>
<p>A stone inscription found in Lumbarda (Lumbarda Psephisma) and which is the oldest written stone monument in Croatia, records that Greek settlers from Issa (Vis) founded another colony on the island in the 3rd century BC. The two communities lived peacefully until the Illyrian Wars (220 BC to 219 BC) with the Romans.</p><br>
<p>The island became part of the Roman province of Illyricum Encyclopædia Britannica, 2002;.</p><br>
<p>The Roman province of Illyricum stretched from the Drilon River (the Drin, in modern Albania) in the south to Istria (modem Slovenia and Croatia) after the Illyrian Wars. Roman migration followed and Roman citizens arrived on the island. Roman villas appeared through the territory of Korčula and there is evidence of an organised agricultural exploitation of the land. There are archaeological remains of Roman Junianum on the island and old church foundations.</p><br>
<p>In 10 AD Illyricum was split into two provinces, Pannonia and Dalmatia. Korčula became part of the ancient Roman province of Dalmatia.</p><br>
<h3>Middle Ages</h3><br>
<p>In the 6th century it came under Byzantine rule. The Great Migrations of the 6th and 7th centuries brought Croatian invasions into this region. Along the Dalmatian coast the Croatian peoples poured out of the interior and seized control of the area where the Neretva River enters the Adriatic, as well as the island of Korčula (Corcyra), which protects the river mouth. The Christianisation of the Croats began in the 9th century, but the early Croatian rural inhabitants of the island may well have fully accepted Christianity only later; in the early Middle Ages the Croatian population of the island was grouped with the pagan Narentines or Neretvians, who quickly learned maritime skills in this new environment and became known as pirates.</p><br>
<p>Initially, Venetian merchants were willing to pay an annual tribute to keep their shipping safe from the infamous Neretvian pirates of the Dalmatian coast. After the 9th century, the island was briefly under nominal Byzantine suzerainty. In 998 the Principality of Pagania came under Venetian control. Doge Pietro II Orseolo launched a naval expedition along the coast and assumed the title Duke of Dalmatia. Afterwards Korčula came under the control of the Great Principality of Zahumlje.</p><br>
<p>In the 12th century Korčula was conquered by a Venetian nobleman, Pepone Zorzi, and incorporated briefly into the Venetian Republic. Around this time, the local Korčula rulers began to exercise diplomacy and legislate a town charter to secure the independence of the island, particularly with regard to internal affairs, given its powerful neighbors.</p><br>
<p>The brothers of Stephen Nemanja, Miroslav and Stracimir, launched an attack on the island on 10 August 1184, raiding its fertile western part. The islands inhabitants called for help from the Republic of Ragusa (Dubrovnik), which in turn captured all of Stracimirs galleys.</p><br>
<p>The Statute of Korčula was first drafted in 1214. It guaranteed the autonomy of the island, apart from her outside rulers: the Grand Principality of Raška, the semi-independent Great Principality of Zahumlje and the Republics of Ragusa and Venice. Captains were created for each of the island&#39;s five settlements for organized defence. Korčula had fewer than 2,500 inhabitants at that time.</p><br>
<p>In 1221, Pope Honorius III gave the island to the Princes of Krka (the Šubićs). During the 13th century the hereditary Counts of Korčula were loosely governed in turn by the Hungarian crown and by the Republic of Genoa, and also enjoyed a brief period of independence; but, in 1255, Marsilio Zorzi conquered the island&#39;s city and razed or damaged some of its churches in the process, forcing the Counts to return to Venetian supreme rule.</p><br>
<p>What is more definite is that the Republic of Genoa defeated Venice in the documented Battle of Curzola off the coast of Korčula in 1298 and a galley commander, Marco Polo, was taken prisoner by the victors to eventually spend his time in a Genoese prison writing of his travels. However, some Italian scholars believe that he may have been captured in a minor clash near Ayas.</p><br>
<p>After the writings of Pope Martin IV in 1284 and Pope Honorius IV in 1286 to the Archbishop of Ragusa, the Archbishop installed a certain Petar as Bishop of Ston and Korčula – stacnensis ac Crozolensis. In 1291, Ivan Kručić was in Korčulas city as the Bishop of Korčula. Kručić contested his overlord, the Archbishop of Hvar, and wanted to unite Ston with his church domain. In 1300, Pope Boniface VIII finally founded the Korčula Bishopric under the Archbishopric of Ragusa. In 1333, as the Republic of Ragusa purchased Ston with Pelješac from the Serbian Empire, the suzerainty of Stons Roman Catholic Church with the peninsula was given to the Bishopric of Korčula.</p><br>
<p>Curzola, as the Venetians called it, surrendered to the Kingdom of Hungary in 1358 according to the Treaty of Zadar, but it surrendered to the Bosnian King Stefan Tvrtko I in the Summer of 1390. However the Kingdom of Hungary restored rule of the island, and in December 1396 Croatian-Hungarian King Sigismund gave it to Đurađ II Stracimirović of the Balšić dynasty of Zeta, who kept it up to his death in 1403, when it was returned under the Hungarian crown. In 1409 it again became a part of the Venetian Republic, purchased by the neighbouring Republic of Venice in 1413–1417, it still declared itself subjected to Venice in 1420. In 1571 it defended itself so gallantly against the Ottoman attackers at the Battle of Lepanto that it obtained the designation Fidelissima from the Pope.</p><br>
<h3>Venetian and Austrian rule</h3><br>
<p>Korčula had for years supplied the timber for the wooden walls of Venice, and had been a favourite station of her fleets. From 1776 to 1797 Korčula succeeded Hvar as the main Venetian fortified arsenal in this region. According to the Treaty of Campoformio in 1797 in which the Venetian Republic was divided between the French Republic and the Habsburg Monarchy, Korčula passed on to the Habsburg Monarchy.</p><br>
<p>The French Empire invaded the island in 1806, joining it to the Illyrian Provinces. The Montenegrin Forces of Prince-Episcope Peter I Njegos conquered the island with Russian naval assistance in 1807 during his attempt to construct another Serbian Empire. The defeat of Austria however at the battle of Wagram in 1809 had put most of the Adriatic under French control. On February 4, 1813 however, British troops and naval forces under Thomas Fremantle captured the island from the French. This short period of British rule left an important mark on the island; the new stone West quay was built, as well as a semi-circular paved terrace with stone benches on the newly built road towards Lumbarda, and a circular Martello tower, "forteca" on the hill of St. Blaise above the town. According to the terms of the Congress of Vienna, the British left the island to the Austrian Empire in 1815 on July 19 in terms of the Congress of Vienna. Korčula accordingly became a part of the Austrian crown land of Dalmatia. From 1867, Korčula was in the Cisleithanian part of Austro-Hungary.</p><br>
<h3>20th century</h3><br>
<p>During the First World War, the island (among other territorial gains) was promised to the Kingdom of Italy in the 1915 Treaty of London in return for Italy joining the war on the side of Great Britain and France. However, after the war, Korčula became a part (with the rest of Dalmatia) of the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs in 1918. It was ruled by Italy from 1918 to 1921, after which it was incorporated into the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, known from 1929 on as the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. In 1939, it became a part of the autonomous Croatian Banate.</p><br>
<p>After the Axis occupation of Yugoslavia in April 1941, Italy annexed the island. After the Armistice between Italy and the Allied powers in September 1943, it was briefly held by the Yugoslav Partisans who enjoyed considerable support in the region. Korčula was then occupied by German forces which controlled the island until their withdrawal in September 1944. With the liberation of Yugoslavia in 1945, the Federal Peoples Republic of Yugoslavia was formed, and Korčula became a part of the Peoples Republic of Croatia, one of the six Yugoslav Republics. The state changed the name to Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1953, and so did the Republic into Socialist Republic of Croatia. After 1991, the island became a part of the independent Republic of Croatia.</p><br>
<h2>Culture</h2><br>
<p>The 17th century saw the rise of Petar Kanavelić who wrote love songs, occasional epic poems and dramas. He also translated from Italian the major poetic works of that time. He is regarded as one of the greatest Croatian writers of 17th century. In 1673 he became the representative of the Korčula community in Venice. There is a primary school named after him in the town of Korčula.</p><br>
<p>Moreška is a traditional sword dance from the town of Blato. It is one of the many proud traditional sword dances that are performed on the island. It arrived in Korčula around the 16th century. Korčula has a rich musical history of Klape groups. Klapa is a form of a cappella style of singing. The tradition goes back centuries, but the style as we know it today, originated in the 19th century. Oliver Dragojević is a famous Croatian pop singer who comes from the island.</p><br>
<p>Korčula has a tradition of stonemasonry, which reached its peak during the rule of the Venetian Republic (1420–1797). The island also has a very strong art tradition.</p><br>
<h3>Festivals</h3><br>
<h4>Korkyra Baroque Festival</h4><br>
<p>The Korkyra Baroque Festival is a new annual international event, which will be launched from the 7th to 16 September 2012. The festival will showcase a selection of the worlds leading ensembles and soloists specialized in Baroque music, including the Academy of Ancient Music (Great Britain), Le Parlament de Musique (France), Currende and Erik Van Nevel (Belgium), La Venexiana (Italy), Red Priest (Great Britain), Croatian Baroque Ensemble (Croatia) and others. Twelve concerts will be held over ten days along with a series of supporting events focusing on Baroque music. Along with the festivals high artistic credentials the event will also promote the richness of Korčula&#39;s cultural monuments and the whole town as a unique architectural treasure.</p><br>
<h2>Notable residents</h2><br>
<p>Arneri family were landowners from 15th century, who built the Palace Arneri in the town of Korčula</p><br>
<p>Matko Talovac (about 1400–1445), ban (viceroy) of Slavonia from 1435 to 1445, from the town of Korčula.</p><br>
<p>Jakov Baničević (1466–1532), Renaissance humanist, friend of Desiderius Erasmus and secretary to Maximilian I of Habsburg, from Žrnovo.</p><br>
<p>Frano Kršinić (1897–1981), sculptor, from Lumbarda.</p><br>
<p>Ivan Milat Luketa (1922–2009), painter, from Blato.</p><br>
<p>Sir Fitzroy Maclean, (1911–1996), soldier, writer and politician, from Scotland.</p><br>
<p>Blessed Marija Petković (1892–1966), founder of the Daughters of Mercy Catholic order, from Blato.</p><br>
<p>Petar Šegedin (1909–1998), writer, from Žrnovo.</p><br>
<p>Zvonimir Šeparović (b. 1928), legal scholar, former diplomat, from Blato.</p><br>
<p>Dinko Tomašić (1902–1975), sociologist, from Smokvica.</p><br>
<p>Maksimilijan Vanka (1889–1963), Croatian American painter who had a home in Korčula</p><br>
<p>Bill Rancic (b. 1971), is a Croatian American entrepreneur who was hired by The Trump Organization at the conclusion of the first season of the reality television show, The Apprentice, and owns a villa on the island.</p><br>
<h2>Transport</h2><br>
<p>Korčula is linked to the mainland by a regular ferry service that runs between Dominče, just outside Korčula Town and Orebić. There are numerous other local ferry services including one linking Vela Luka and Lastovo. The main Croatian ferry operator Jadrolinija runs a service linking Korčula Town with Rijeka, Split, Hvar, Mljet, Dubrovnik and (from May to September) Bari. An operator Linijska nacionalna plovidba runs a seasonal service linking Korčula with Drvenik.</p><br>
<p>There are also bus services that link the island to major cities on the mainland, which reach Korčula using the Orebić ferry service.</p><br>
<p>Korčula town also has mooring facilities. The western harbour gives shelter from wind though not against the ‘bora’ and north-westerlies. Boat owners are advised to shift to the eastern harbour or to Luka Cove. The port is open to international seaborne traffic as a permanent Port of entry; it offers all types of repairs to hulls and engines at the Brodograditelj Shipyard.</p><br>
<p>South Padre Island is a barrier island in the U.S. state of Texas. It is located in Cameron County and in Willacy County. South Padre Island was formed when the creation of the Port Mansfield Channel split Padre Island in two. The island is a popular vacation destination because the resort city South Padre Island is located on the island.</p><br>
<p>Before expansion in North America, the island was inhabited by native tribes. Western settlement is considered to have been started by Padre Jose Nicolas Balli, who set up a cattle ranch early in the 19th century. He and his family were driven out by the Mexican–American War, and were unable to return because of the American Civil War.</p><br>
<p>Most of the island was closed by the National Park Service until 1962, after which settlement was allowed and incomers began to establish an economy on the island and neighboring Port Isabel. By 1978 the island had a population of around 314 and a decade later it had a population of 1,012 and 111 businesses. Being mainly coastline, the island&#39;s main source of income is tourism, with tens of thousands of college students flocking to the island every Spring Break. In winter the island hosts "winter Texans": people (often retirees) from colder states who winter in the warm Texas climate. Isla Blanca Park, a preserve and recreational park, is located at the southern end of the island.</p><br>
<p>Szczecin Lagoon, Stettin Lagoon, Bay of Szczecin, or Stettin Bay , also Oder lagoon , is a lagoon in the Oder estuary, shared by Germany and Poland. It is separated from the Pomeranian Bay of the Baltic Sea by the islands of Usedom and Wolin. The lagoon is subdivided into the Kleines Haff  in the West and the Wielki Zalew  in the East. An ambiguous historical German name was Frisches Haff, which later exclusively referred to the Vistula Lagoon.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>From the South, the lagoon is fed by several arms of the Oder river and smaller rivers like Ziese, Peene, Zarow, Uecker, and Ina. In the North, the lagoon is connected to the Baltic Sea&#39;s Bay of Pomerania with the three straits Peenestrom, Świna and Dziwna, which divide the mainland and the islands of Usedom and Wolin.</p><br>
<p>The lagoon covers an area of 687 km², its natural depth is an average 3.8 metres, and 8.5 metres at maximum. The depth of shipping channels however can exceed 10.5 metres.</p><br>
<p>94% of the water loads discharged into the lagoon are from the Oder river and its confluences, amounting to an average annual 17 km or 540 m per second. All other confluences contribute a combined annual 1 km. The straits Peenestrom, Świna and Dziwna are responsible for 17%, 69%, and 14% of the discharge, respectively.</p><br>
<p>The average salinity is between 0.5 and 2 psu, yet at times more salt water penetrates through the Świna locally raising the salinity to 6 psu.</p><br>
<h3>Towns around the Lagoon</h3><br>
<p>Szczecin (Poland)</p><br>
<p>Świnoujście (Poland)</p><br>
<p>Police (Poland)</p><br>
<p>Ueckermünde (Germany)</p><br>
<p>Wolin (Poland)</p><br>
<p>Usedom (Germany)</p><br>
<p>Nowe Warpno (Poland)</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>In 1880, the Kaiserfahrt ("Emperor&#39;s passage") channel on Usedom was opened, a water route with a depth of 10 metres connecting the lagoon with the Baltic Sea by bypassing the eastern part of the Swine, allowing large ships to enter the lagoon and the seaport of Stettin quicker and safer.</p><br>
<p>The canal, approximately 12 km long and 10 metres deep, was dug by the German Empire between 1874 and 1880, during the reign of the first Kaiser Wilhelm (1797–1888) after whom it was named. Also, the work resulted in a new island named Kaseburg (Karsibór) being cut off from Usedom.</p><br>
<p>After 1945, the areas east of Oder Neisse line became part of Poland, including the former German seaport cities of Stettin (Szczecin) and Swinemünde (Świnoujście) on the western bank of the river Oder. The Kaiserfahrt was renamed Piast Canal, after the Polish Piast dynasty.</p><br>
<p>The German-Polish border also divides the bight called Neuwarper See near, Luckow.</p><br>
<h2>Economy</h2><br>
<p>The lagoon has served as an important fishing grounds for centuries, as a major transportation pathway since the 18th century, and as a tourist destination since the 20th century.</p><br>
<h2>Recreation</h2><br>
<p>Today the lagoon offers a selection of passenger ship tours, a wide range of water sports and some notable beaches. Tourists can discover winegrowing, the narrow-gauge railway, museums, castles, many hiking and cycling routes and a small village reviving the life of the former Slavic settlements.</p><br>
<h2>Pollution</h2><br>
<p>The lagoon suffers from heavy pollution, mainly from the Oder river, resulting in eutrophication. High concentrations of aluminium and iron sediments have been found in the river causing rapid algae growth inside the lagoon. However, long-term nutrient concentrations show a high inter-annual variability and have declined during recent years.</p><br>
<h2>Nature</h2><br>
<p>The southern shore of the lagoon belongs to the Am Stettiner Haff Nature Park, its northern shore and the island of Usedom to the Usedom Island Nature Park. To the west is the Anklamer Stadtbruch Nature Reserve and, within it, the Anklamer Torfmoor, a protected wetland which is renaturalising after being used for peat extraction.</p><br>
<p>Kyparissia  is a town and a former municipality in northwestern Messenia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Trifylia, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 101.018 km. The town proper has around 5,100 inhabitants.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>The town is situated on the Gulf of Kyparissia, a bay of the Ionian Sea. It is 38 km north of Pylos, 46 km northwest of Kalamata and 51 km southeast of Pyrgos. The Greek National Road 9 (Pyrgos - Methoni) passes through the town. Kyparissia is the terminus of a now disused railway line from Kalo Nero, on the line from Pyrgos to Kalamata. The town has a port, which is mainly used for cargo purposes. On a hill east of the town centre lies a fortress built during the Frankish period.</p><br>
<h3>Subdivisions</h3><br>
<p>The municipal unit Kyparissia is subdivided into the following communities (constituent villages and 2011 population in brackets):</p><br>
<p>Armenioi (pop: 314)</p><br>
<p>Faraklada (pop: 334)</p><br>
<p>Kyparissia (Kyparissia, Memi, Blemenianoi, Myloi, Rouzaki, Terpsithea, total pop: 5,784)</p><br>
<p>Mouriatada (Mouriatada, Karvouni, total pop: 54)</p><br>
<p>Myro (Myro, Alimaki, total pop: 9)</p><br>
<p>Perdikoneri (pop: 212)</p><br>
<p>Raches (pop: 182)</p><br>
<p>Spilia (pop: 511)</p><br>
<p>Stasio (pop: 160)</p><br>
<p>Vryses (pop: 115)</p><br>
<p>Xirokampos (pop: 53)</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The ancient Greek town Cyparissia (Κυπαρισσία) was already mentioned by Homer in his Iliad.</p><br>
<p>Ancient writers took note of Cyparissia&#39;s beautiful situation upon the sides of one of the offshoots of the range of mountains, which run along this part of the Messenian coast. Upon the narrow summit of the rocks later occupied by a castle built in the Middle Ages, stood the ancient acropolis. There is no harbour upon the Messenian coast north of Pylos; but Leake remarks that the roadstead at Cyparissia seems to be the best on this part of the coast; and in ancient times the town probably possessed an artificial harbour, since traces of a mole may still be seen upon the sea-shore. This was probably constructed on the restoration of Messene by Epaminondas; for it was necessary to provide the capital of the new state with a port, and no spot was so suitable for this object as Cyparissia. Hence we find Messene and the harbour Cyparissia mentioned together by Scylax Pausanias found in the town a temple of Apollo, and one of Athena Cyparissia. The town continued to coin money down to the time of Severus.</p><br>
<p>Stephanus calls Cyparissia a city of Triphylia, and Strabo also distinguishes between the Triphylian and Messenian Cyparissia, but on what authority we do not know.</p><br>
<p>At a relatively late stage Cyparissia was a bishopric that today, no longer being residential, is listed by the Catholic Church as a titular see.</p><br>
<p>In the Middle Ages it was called Arkadía, a name which was transferred from the interior of the peninsula to this place upon the coast. Under the Principality of Achaea, Kyparissia/Arkadia was the seat of the Barony of Arcadia, which was the last Frankish territory (except for the Venetian possessions) to fall to the Despotate of the Morea, in 1432.</p><br>
<p>In 1460 Kyparissia came under Ottoman control, and remained so, with the exception of thirty years of Venetian rule, until the Greek War of Independence which began in 1821.</p><br>
<p>Kyparissia continued to bear the name Arkadia till its destruction by Ibrahim Pasha in 1825, during the Greek War of Independence and when rebuilt it resumed its ancient name Cyparissia, by which it is now called. Some remains of ancient walls may be traced around the modern castle; and below the castle on the slope of the hill, near the church of Saint George, are some fragments of columns. On the south side of the town, close to the sea-shore, a fine stream rushes out of the rock and flows into the sea; and a little above is a basin with a spring of water, near which are some stones belonging to an ancient structure. This is the ancient fountain sacred to Dionysus, which Pausanias perceived near the entrance of the city, on the road from Pylus.</p><br>
<h2>Historical population</h2><br>
<h2>Famous residents</h2><br>
<p>Dimitrios Pitsinis (1925–2003), Doctor/General Surgeon</p><br>
<p>Konstantinos Lamprinopoulos (1893-1965), politician, Mayor of Patras</p><br>
<p>Theodoros Roussopoulos (1963-), journalist, politician</p><br>
<p>Kostis Palamas (1859-1943), poet</p><br>
<p>White Butte is the highest natural point in the USA state of North Dakota. At an elevation of 3,506 ft , it is a prominent butte in Slope County, in the Badlands of the southwestern part of the state. It is located 3 mi east of US 85 and about 6.5 mi south of Amidon.</p><br>
<p>The nearest town is Amidon, about seven miles to the northwest. The summit is located within the boundaries of the Little Missouri National Grassland and is about 35 mi south of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. It is on private property, owned by the Dennis family who live nearby. At the trailhead, the family maintains a small mailbox-like receptacle for donations to help maintain the area, and requests a $5 contribution from visitors.</p><br>
<p>The Killdeer Mountains, 75 mi to the north, rise 900 ft from their foothills, but are 225 ft shorter than White Butte.</p><br>
<p>The Roman Baths complex is a site of historical interest in the English city of Bath. The house is a well-preserved Roman site for public bathing.</p><br>
<p>The Roman Baths themselves are below the modern street level. There are four main features: the Sacred Spring, the Roman Temple, the Roman Bath House and the museum, holding finds from Roman Bath. The buildings above street level date from the 19th century.</p><br>
<p>The Baths are a major tourist attraction and, together with the Grand Pump Room, receive more than one million visitors a year. It was featured on the 2005 TV programme Seven Natural Wonders as one of the wonders of the West Country. Visitors can see the baths and museum but cannot enter the water. An audio guide is available in 12 languages.</p><br>
<h2>How the hot springs form at the Bathhouse</h2><br>
<p>The water which bubbles up from the ground at Bath falls as rain on the nearby Mendip Hills. It percolates down through limestone aquifers to a depth of between 2,700 and where geothermal energy raises the water temperature to between 69 and. Under pressure, the heated water rises to the surface along fissures and faults in the limestone. This process is similar to an artificial one known as Enhanced Geothermal System which also makes use of the high pressures and temperatures below the earth&#39;s crust. Hot water at a temperature of 46 &deg;C rises here at the rate of 1,170,000 l every day, from a geological fault (the Pennyquick fault). In 1983 a new spa water bore-hole was sunk, providing a clean and safe supply of spa water for drinking in the Pump Room.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The first shrine at the site of the hot springs was built by Celts, and was dedicated to the goddess Sulis, whom the Romans identified with Minerva. Geoffrey of Monmouth in his largely fictional Historia Regum Britanniae describes how in 836 BC the spring was discovered by the British king Bladud who built the first Moorish baths. Early in the 18th century Geoffreys obscure legend was given great prominence as a royal endorsement of the waters qualities, with the embellishment that the spring had cured Bladud and his herd of pigs of leprosy through wallowing in the warm mud.</p><br>
<h3>How the Romans used the building</h3><br>
<p>The name Sulis continued to be used after the Roman invasion, leading to the town&#39;s Roman name of Aquae Sulis ("the waters of Sulis"). The temple was constructed in 60–70 AD and the bathing complex was gradually built up over the next 300 years. During the Roman occupation of Britain, and possibly on the instructions of Emperor Claudius, engineers drove oak piles to provide a stable foundation into the mud and surrounded the spring with an irregular stone chamber lined with lead. In the 2nd century it was enclosed within a wooden barrel-vaulted building, After the Roman withdrawal from Britain in the first decade of the 5th century, these fell into disrepair and were eventually lost due to silting up, and flooding. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle suggests the original Roman baths were destroyed in the 6th century.</p><br>
<p>About 130 curse tablets have been found. Many of the curses related to thefts of clothes whilst the victim was bathing.</p><br>
<h3>Redevelopment</h3><br>
<p>The baths have been modified on several occasions, including the 12th century, when John of Tours built a curative bath over the Kings Spring reservoir, and the 16th century, when the city corporation built a new bath (Queens Bath) to the south of the spring. The spring is now housed in 18th-century buildings, designed by architects John Wood, the Elder and John Wood, the Younger, father and son. Visitors drank the waters in the Grand Pump Room, a neo-classical salon which remains in use, both for taking the waters and for social functions. Victorian expansion of the baths complex followed the neo-classical tradition established by the Woods. In 1810 the hot springs failed and William Smith opened up the Hot Bath Spring to the bottom, where he found that the spring had not failed but had flowed into a new channel. Smith restored the water to its original course and the baths filled in less time than before.</p><br>
<p>The visitor entrance is via an 1897 concert hall by J. M. Brydon. It is an eastward continuation of the Grand Pump Room, with a glass-domed centre and single-storey radiused corner. The Grand Pump Room was begun in 1789 by Thomas Baldwin. He resigned in 1791 and John Palmer continued the scheme until its completion in 1799. The elevation on to Abbey Church Yard has a centre piece of four engaged Corinthian columns with entablatures and pediment. It has been designated by Historic England as a grade I listed building. The north colonnade was also designed by Thomas Baldwin. The south colonnade is similar but had an upper floor added in the late 19th century. The museum and Queens Bath including the "Bridge" spanning York Street to the City Laundry were by Charles Edward Davis in 1889. It comprises a southward extension to the Grand Pump Room, in which some remains of the C17 Queens Bath are merged.</p><br>
<h3>Museum</h3><br>
<p>The museum houses artifacts from the Roman period including objects that were thrown into the Sacred Spring, presumably as offerings to the goddess. These include more than 12,000 Roman currency coins, which is the largest collective votive deposit known from Britain. A gilt bronze head of the goddess Sulis Minerva, which was discovered nearby in 1727, is displayed.</p><br>
<p>The Bath Roman Temple stood on a podium more than two metres above the surrounding courtyard, approached by a flight of steps. On the approach there were four large, fluted Corinthian columns supporting a frieze and decorated pediment above. The pediment, parts of which are displayed in the museum, is the triangular ornamental section, 26 ft wide and 8 ft from the apex to the bottom, above the pillars on the front of the building. It featured the very powerful central image of the Gorgon’s head glowering down from a height of 15 metres on all who approached the temple.The great head itself has snakes entwined within its beard, wings above its ears, beetling brows and a heavy moustache although there is some controversy about what this really represents as Gorgons are usually female. An alternative interpretation sees the central head as the image of a water god such as the image of Oceanus, and yet another as a Celtic sun god. In early 2010 various stones on the pediment were conserved and rearranged.</p><br>
<p>Also on display are the remains of the elaborate hypocaust heating system, which served the sweat rooms.</p><br>
<p>In 2016 planning permission was received for a new learning centre aimed at schoolchildren and linked to the baths by a tunnel. Funding is being sought from the Heritage Lottery Fund and, if successful, it is hoped the centre will open in 2019.</p><br>
<h2>Conservation</h2><br>
<p>The late 19th century carvings of Roman Emperors and Governors of Roman Britain on the terrace overlooking the Great Bath are particularly susceptible to the effect of acid rain and are being protected with a wash of a sacrificial shelter coat every few years. Exhibits within the temple precincts are susceptible to warm air which had the effect of drawing corrosive salts out of the Roman stonework. To help reduce this, a new ventilation system was installed in 2006.</p><br>
<p>In 2009 a grant of £90,000 was made to Bath and North East Somerset Council to contribute towards the cost of re-developing displays and improving access to the Roman Baths, by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport/Wolfson Fund, which was established to promote improvements in Museums and Galleries in England.</p><br>
<h2>Water safety</h2><br>
<p>Bath was charged with responsibility for the hot springs in a Royal Charter of 1591 granted by Elizabeth I. This duty has now passed to Bath and North East Somerset Council, who carry out monitoring of pressure, temperature and flow rates. The thermal waters contain sodium, calcium, chloride and sulphate ions in high concentrations.</p><br>
<p>The water that flows through the Roman Baths is considered unsafe for bathing, partly due to its having passed through the still-functioning original lead pipes, and up until World War II, it was advertised on the basis of the radioactivity it contained. However, the more significant danger is now considered to be infectious diseases. In October 1978, a young girl swimming with the Bath Dolphins, a local swimming club, in the restored Roman Bath contracted meningitis and died, leading to the closure of the bath for several years. Tests showed that Naegleria fowleri, an extremely dangerous disease-causing amoeba, was in the water. The newly constructed Thermae Bath Spa nearby, designed by Nicholas Grimshaw and Partners, and the refurbished Cross Bath allow modern-day bathers to experience the waters via a series of more recently drilled boreholes.</p><br>
<p>Fredonyer Pass, elevation 5,751 ft, is a high mountain pass in Lassen County, California, southwest of Susanville and southeast of Mount Lassen. It lies on the Great Basin Divide between the Feather River to the west and the Susan River and Honey Lake to the east.</p><br>
<p>The pass is traversed by State Route 36 and has virtually the same elevation as Morgan Summit to the west (sources vary). It is subject to snowfall during the winter. It received its name from Atlas Fredonyer, an early resident of the area who reportedly discovered the pass in 1850.</p><br>
<p>Fredonyer Pass is part of the approximate boundary between the Sierra Nevada and the Cascade Range. This irregular boundary is sometimes defined as the southern extent of Cenozoic igneous surface rock from the Cascade Range. This boundary roughly follows the drainage of the North Fork Feather River southeast to Fredonyer Pass. Note that there are other Cenozoic igneous rocks in the Sierra (e.g., near Lake Tahoe), but there is a clear geological division near Fredonyer Pass, and points westward as far as the Sacramento Valley.</p><br>
<p>The Grand River  is a tributary of the Missouri River in South Dakota in the United States. The length of the combined branch is 110 mi . With its longest fork, its length is approximately 200 mi .</p><br>
<h2>Course</h2><br>
<p>It is formed by the confluence of the North Fork (which rises in North Dakota) and the longer South Fork (which rises in South Dakota) in northwestern South Dakota near Shadehill in Perkins County, near several parcels of the Grand River National Grassland. Shadehill Reservoir is located at this confluence. It flows east, through the Standing Rock Indian Reservation and joins the Missouri in Lake Oahe, approximately 2 mi (16 km) northwest of Mobridge. The lower 15 mi (25 km) of the river form an arm of the Lake Oahe reservoir. It is the northernmost of South Dakota&#39;s major West River streams: the Grand, Moreau, Cheyenne, Bad, and White. Draining about 5,200 square miles of the northern plateaus of the state, the Grand receives most of its water from snowmelt. Water quality is high in sodium, and is therefore less appropriate for irrigation.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Sitting Bull (1831–1890), a Hunkpapa Lakota holy man who led his people as a tribal chief, was born on the Grand River in or nearby Dakota Territory. Decades later, he was killed by Indian agency police on the Standing Rock Indian Agency at his camp near the Grand River, as the police tried to arrest him.</p><br>
<p>The forks of the Grand was the site of a noted 1823 attack by a grizzly bear on frontiersman Hugh Glass.</p><br>
<p>The Belle Fourche River  is a tributary of the Cheyenne River, approximately 290 mi long, in the U.S. states of Wyoming and South Dakota. It is part of the Mississippi River watershed via the Cheyenne and Missouri rivers. In the latter part of the 19th century, the Belle Fourche River was known as the North Fork of the Cheyenne River. Belle Fourche is a name derived from French meaning "beautiful fork".</p><br>
<p>It rises in northeastern Wyoming, in southern Campbell County, approximately 15 mi north of Wright. It flows northeast around the north side of the Bear Lodge Mountains, past Moorcroft and Devils Tower. Near the state line with Montana, it turns abruptly southeast and flows in western South Dakota, past Belle Fourche and around the north side of the Black Hills. In southern Meade County near Hereford, it turns ENE and joins the Cheyenne approximately 50 mi ENE of Rapid City.</p><br>
<p>The point at which the river flows out of Wyoming and into South Dakota is the lowest elevation point in the state of Wyoming at 3,099 ft. This is the second-highest low point of any USA state.</p><br>
<p>The river provides significant recreation and irrigation for agriculture in western South Dakota. The total irrigation area of the river in South Dakota is approximately 57,000 acres.</p><br>
<p>The Little St Bernard Pass  is a mountain pass in the Alps on the France–Italy border. Its saddle is at 2188 metres above sea level. It is located between Savoie, France, and Aosta Valley, Italy, to the south of the Mont Blanc Massif, exactly on the main alpine watershed. There is also a Great St. Bernard Pass and a San Bernardino Pass. This mountain pass is famous for giving the St Bernard breed its name.</p><br>
<p>The road across this pass (D1090 from Bourg-Saint-Maurice via La Rosiere in France; SS26 from the Aosta Valley via La Thuile in Italy) is usually open from May to October. For current road status see Etat des principaux cols routiers francais.</p><br>
<p>At the summit, the road cuts through a stone circle measuring 72 m (236 ft) in diameter. A standing stone once stood in the middle. From coin finds this is believed to date from the Iron Age, possibly being a ceremonial site of the Tarentaisian culture (c. 725 BC–450 BC). The stone circle was partly restored in the 19th century.</p><br>
<p>In the Roman era, a temple dedicated to Jupiter was erected nearby along with a mansio serving travellers along the pass, and it is thought that Carthaginian general Hannibal used this route.</p><br>
<h2>Details of climb</h2><br>
<p>For fit cyclists climbing the pass represents an interesting and historic challenge; from Bourg-Saint-Maurice to the south-west, the Col du Petit Saint-Bernard is 26.5 km long. Over this distance, the climb is 1,348 m (4,423 ft) (an average slope of 5.1%), with the steepest sections at 8.1% at the start of the climb. The first 15.5 km (9.6 mi) to La Rosière forms the Montée d&#39;Hauteville climb.</p><br>
<p>From Pré-Saint-Didier (in the Aosta Valley region of north-western Italy), the pass is 23.5 km (14.6 mi) long. Over this distance the climb is 1,184 m (3,885 ft) (an average slope of 5%).</p><br>
<h2>Appearances in Tour de France</h2><br>
<p>The Little St Bernard Pass was first crossed by the Tour de France in 1949 and has been featured three times since.</p><br>
<p>In 2007, Montée d&#39;Hauteville was climbed on stage 8 of the Tour de France.</p><br>
<p>The pass was featured in the 2009 Tour de France Stage 16 on 21 July from Martigny (Switzerland) to Bourg-Saint-Maurice, 160 km, which also features the Great St Bernard Pass.</p><br>
<p>The Senne is a natural region of moorland and sand dunes in the Regierungsbezirk of Detmold, in the state of Nordrhein-Westfalen in west-central Germany. It lies to the west of the Teutoburger Forest, and has an area of approximately. It lies between the cities of Bielefeld to the north-west, Detmold to the north-east, and Paderborn to the south.</p><br>
<h2>Fauna</h2><br>
<p>The region is the home of a criticallyendangered breed of riding horse, the Senner, which is believed to be the oldest breed of riding horse in Germany, and is documented at least as far back as 1160. It lived in feral herds in the moorlands and in the Teutoburger Forest to the east. In 1999, some were introduced to the nature reserve to assist in conservation grazing.</p><br>
<p>The Zenne or Senne is a small river that flows through Brussels, left tributary of the Dijle/Dyle.</p><br>
<p>Its source is in the village of Naast near the municipality of Soignies. It is an indirect tributary of the Scheldt, through the Dijle and the Rupel. It joins the Dijle at Zennegat, in Battel in the north of the municipality of Mechelen, only a few hundred metres before the Dijle itself joins the Rupel.</p><br>
<p>The Woluwe is one of the tributaries of the Zenne.</p><br>
<p>In total the Zenne is 103 km long.</p><br>
<p>In the centre of Brussels, the Zenne was completely covered up and major boulevards were built over top in the 19th and early 20th centuries. It is still visible in the outskirts of Brussels and outside the city, though within the city it now runs mostly underneath the small ring. The Zenne was notorious for being one of Belgium&#39;s worst polluted rivers, since all effluents from the Brussels Capital Region emptied into it without treatment. In March 2007, the completion of new sewage treatment plants began to remediate this problem. However, in December 2009, the plant Brussels Nord of Acquiris was temporarily and abruptly shut down, creating a political and ecological crisis.</p><br>
<p>The yellow iris became used as the emblem of the Brussels-Capital Region due to its habitat in the marshy plains around the river. The unique seasonal wild yeasts of the Zenne river valley are used in the production of the regional lambic style of beer. The Brasserie de la Senne is a recently opened brewery named for the river.</p><br>
<p>Despite the covering up of the Zenne resulting in the river being all but invisible in the centre of Brussels, it has had a cultural impact on the city. A nickname for residents of the city, "Zinneke", is taken from the stray dogs which hung around the Zenne in the Middle Ages, known as "Zenneke" or "Zinneke". The name was revived at the start of the 21st century with the creation of the Zinneke Parade, a multicultural biennial event in the centre of Brussels.</p><br>
<p>The Peru–Chile Trench, also known as the Atacama Trench, is an oceanic trench in the eastern Pacific Ocean, about 160 kilometres  off the coast of Peru and Chile. It reaches a maximum depth of 8,065 meters  below sea level in Richards Deep  and is approximately 5,900 kilometres  long; its mean width is 64 kilometres  and it covers an expanse of some 590,000 square kilometres .</p><br>
<p>The trench delineates the boundary between the subducting Nazca Plate and the overriding South American Plate.</p><br>
<h2>Geology</h2><br>
<p>The trench is a result of a convergent boundary, where the eastern edge of the oceanic Nazca Plate is being subducted beneath the continental South American Plate. Two seamount ridges within the Nazca Plate enter the subduction zone along this trench: the Nazca Ridge and the Juan Fernández Ridge.</p><br>
<p>From the Chile Triple Junction to Juan Fernández Ridge the trench is filled with 2.0–2.5 km of sediments, creating a flat bottom topography. Sediments are mainly turbidites interspersed with oceanic deposits of clay, volcanic ash and siliceous ooze.</p><br>
<p>The Peru–Chile Trench, the forearc and the western edge of the central Andean plateau (Altiplano), delineate the dramatic "Bolivian Orocline" that defines the Andean slope of southern Peru, northern Chile, and Bolivia.</p><br>
<h2>Oceanography</h2><br>
<p>Most of the time, the trade winds drive surface waters offshore near the equator, driving the Humboldt Current from the tip of southern Chile to northern Peru. This current is associated with upwelling of deep, nutrient-rich water off the coast of Peru. El Nino disrupts the usual wind pattern and lessens the upwelling. The consequent loss of nutrient causes fish kills.</p><br>
<h2>Associated seismicity</h2><br>
<p>The subduction of the Nazca Plate below the South American Plate along the Chile-Peru Trench is associated with numerous earthquakes. Several of these earthquakes are notable for their size, associated tsunamis and/or landslides.</p><br>
<p>1570 Concepcion earthquake: Mw ~8.3</p><br>
<p>1687 Peru earthquake: Mw ~8.7</p><br>
<p>1730 Valparaíso earthquake Ms ~8.7</p><br>
<p>1746 Lima–Callao earthquake: Mw ~8.7</p><br>
<p>1868 Arica earthquake: Mw ~9.0</p><br>
<p>1877 Offshore Tarapaca, Chile: Mw ~8.3</p><br>
<p>1906 Valparaíso earthquake</p><br>
<p>1942 Peru earthquake: Mw 8.2 event associated with a tsunami. The rupture dimensions and epicenter are similar to those of a 1996 earthquake.</p><br>
<p>1960 Valdivia earthquake: At Mw 9.5, the largest earthquake ever recorded on the earth</p><br>
<p>November 1960 Peru earthquake: This event had a long source duration, leading to a significant discrepancy between different moment calculation methods ( 6.75 vs 7.8).</p><br>
<p>1970 Ancash earthquake: This Mw7.9 event triggered a landslide with large snow and ice components, killing ~68,000 people.</p><br>
<p>2001 southern Peru earthquake: Mw 8.4</p><br>
<p>2005 Tarapacá earthquake</p><br>
<p>2007 Tocopilla earthquake</p><br>
<p>2007 Peru earthquake: Mw 8.0</p><br>
<p>2010 Chile earthquake: Mw 8.8 event associated with a tsunami.</p><br>
<p>2010 Pichilemu earthquake</p><br>
<p>2014 Iquique earthquake</p><br>
<p>2015 Illapel earthquake</p><br>
<p>The Essequibo River  is the largest river in Guyana, and the largest river between the Orinoco and Amazon. Rising in the Acarai Mountains near the Brazil-Guyana border, the Essequibo flows to the north for 1,014 km through forest and savanna into the Atlantic Ocean. With a total drainage basin of 69,300 sq.km</p><br>
<p>(26,757sq.mi) with average discharge of 74,303 cu ft/s (2,104 m3/s).</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>The river runs through the Guianan moist forests ecoregion.</p><br>
<p>There are many rapids and waterfalls (e. g., Kaieteur Falls on the Potaro River) along the route of the Essequibo, and its 20 km wide estuary is dotted with numerous small islands. It enters the Atlantic 21 km from Georgetown, the capital city of Guyana. The river features Murrays Fall, Pot Falls, and Kumaka Falls.</p><br>
<p>Its many tributaries include the Rupununi, Potaro, Mazaruni, Siparuni, Kiyuwini, Konawaruk and Cuyuni rivers. For over 30 km from its mouth, the river&#39;s channel is divided by the large flat and fertile islands of Leguan, about 28 km&sup2, Wakenaam, about 44 km&sup2, and Hog Island, about 60 km&sup2;. Fort Island is off the eastern side of Hog Island. Fort Island was the seat of government of the country during the Dutch colonial era.</p><br>
<h2>Fauna</h2><br>
<p>The river has a very rich fauna. More than 300 fish species are known from the Essequibo basin, including almost 60 endemics. This may be an underestimate of the true diversity, as parts of the basin are poorly known. For example, surveys of the upper Mazaruni River found 36–39 species (variation in number due to taxonomy), of which 13–25% still were undescribed in 2013. At least 24 fish species are resticted to Mazaruni River alone.</p><br>
<p>During floods the headwaters of the Branco River (a part of the Amazon basin) and those of the Essequibo are connected, allowing a level of exchange in the aquatic fauna such as fish between the two systems.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The first European discovery was by the ships of Juan de Esquivel, deputy of Don Diego Columbus, son of Christopher Columbus.</p><br>
<p>The Essequibo River is named after Esquivel. In 1499 Alonso de Ojeda explored the mouths of the Orinoco and allegedly was the first European to explore the Essequibo.</p><br>
<p>Capuchin missionaries established missions in the territory before the Dutch settled along Esquivels River. In 1596 Lawrence Kemys, serving as second-in-command of Walter Raleighs British expedition to Guiana, led a force inland along the banks of the Essequibo River, reaching what he wrongly believed to be Lake Parime. The next year Kemys, in command of the Darling, continued the exploration of the Guiana coast and the Essequibo river.</p><br>
<p>The first European settlement in Guyana was built by the Dutch along the lower part of the Essequibo in 1615. The colonists remained on friendly terms with the Native American peoples of the area, establishing riverside sugar and cacao plantations.</p><br>
<p>In a document detailing instructions for the Dutch Postholder in Cuyuni, it was mentioned that Indians (Venezuelan Amerindians) trading in Chinese slaves to sell to people who lived along the Essequibo river were to be allowed to conduct their business.</p><br>
<p>The Independence war of Venezuela beginning in the 19th century ended the missionary settlements. At this time, Britain needed to have a colony, besides Trinidad, to serve the large trade sailboats on their large travel trading route around South America.</p><br>
<p>Venezuela claims that the Essequibo is the true border between it and Guyana, claiming all territory west of it. The boundary was set between Venezuela and Guyanas then colonial power, Great Britain in 1899 through an arbitration proceeding. A letter written by Venezuelas legal counsel, named partner Severo Mallet-Prevost of New York City law firm Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle alleged that the Russian and British judges on the tribunal had acted improperly and granted the lion&#39;s share of the dispute territory to Britain due to a political deal between Russia and the United Kingdom. As a result, Venezuela has revived its claim to the disputed territory.</p><br>
<p>Essequibo is also the name of a former Dutch colony founded in 1616 and located in the region of the Essequibo River that later became part of British Guiana.</p><br>
<p>In August 1995 there was an acid spill in the river by the Canadian mining company Cambior. An estimated 4 e6m3 of waste laced with cyanide was released into the river causing much destruction.</p><br>
<h2>Expeditions</h2><br>
<h3>1837/38</h3><br>
<p>Sponsored by the Royal Geographical Society the German researcher Robert Hermann Schomburgk (1804-1865) investigated the river Essequibo and followed its course to the South -West, while Sipu River flows to a westerly direction. He specified the coordinates of the source at 0°41`northern latitude, while not giving a longitude.</p><br>
<h3>1908</h3><br>
<p>In 1908 the German-American ichthyologist Carl H. Eigenmann traveled on river Essequibo and confluent Potaro. He described 336 fish species in these rivers.</p><br>
<h3>2013</h3><br>
<p>A Guyanese-German expedition in Guyana in April and May 2013 followed the course of the Sipu River to detect the still unknown headwaters of the Essequibo. It was sponsored by the French-German TV Company ARTE and was organized by Duane De Freitas, and the film production team of Marion Pöllmann and Rainer Bergomaz,. The responsible scientist for remote sensing, geodesy and mapping was Prof. Dr. Martin Oczipka from the (HTW Dresden). The expedition was only realizable with the support of the Guyanese government and the indigenous tribe of Wai-Wai-Amerindian settling in the very South of Guyana.</p><br>
<p>With the support of the Wai-Wai, satellite maps, topographic maps, GPS and a small drone, the source valley was discovered in 2013. The coordinate determined by expedition teams in 2013 deviates by approximately 40`, which corresponds to a distance of at least 80 km north. This could be caused by calculation errors or other mistakes. Possibly he followed a different branch of the river more in the South of Guyana. To further investigate this, additional research is necessary, preferably in the original reports of Robert Hermann Schomburgk from his expedition in 1837/38. For the accurate determination of the headwaters and their proper classification, further extensive geological and hydrological studies are necessary.</p><br>
<p>The Ratak Chain  is a chain of islands within the island nation of the Marshall Islands. Ratak means "sunrise". It lies to the east of the country&#39;s other island chain, the Ralik Chain. In 1999 the total population of the Ratak islands was 30,925.</p><br>
<p>The atolls and isolated islands in the chain are:</p><br>
<p>* Ailuk Atoll</p><br>
<p>* Arno Atoll</p><br>
<p>* Aur Atoll</p><br>
<p>* Bikar Atoll</p><br>
<p>* Bokak Atoll</p><br>
<p>* Erikub Atoll</p><br>
<p>* Jemo Island</p><br>
<p>* Knox Atoll</p><br>
<p>* Likiep Atoll</p><br>
<p>* Majuro Atoll</p><br>
<p>* Maloelap Atoll</p><br>
<p>* Mejit Island</p><br>
<p>* Mili Atoll</p><br>
<p>* Taka Atoll</p><br>
<p>* Utirik Atoll</p><br>
<p>* Wotje Atoll</p><br>
<p>The Ratak Chain forms a continuous chain of seamounts with the Gilbert Islands to the south, which are part of Kiribati.</p><br>
<p>The Ralik Chain  is a chain of islands within the island nation of the Marshall Islands. Ralik means "sunset". It is west of the Ratak Chain. In 1999 the total population of the Ralik islands was 19,915. Christopher Loeak, who became President of the Marshall Islands in 2012, was formerly Minister for the Ralik Chain.</p><br>
<p>List of atolls and isolated islands in the chain:</p><br>
<p>* Ailinginae Atoll</p><br>
<p>* Ailinglaplap Atoll</p><br>
<p>* Bikini Atoll</p><br>
<p>* Ebon Atoll</p><br>
<p>* Enewetak Atoll</p><br>
<p>* Jabat Island</p><br>
<p>* Jaluit Atoll</p><br>
<p>* Kili Island</p><br>
<p>* Kwajalein Atoll</p><br>
<p>* Lae Atoll</p><br>
<p>* Lib Island</p><br>
<p>* Namdrik Atoll</p><br>
<p>* Namu Atoll</p><br>
<p>* Rongdrik Atoll</p><br>
<p>* Rongelap Atoll</p><br>
<p>* Ujae Atoll</p><br>
<p>* Ujelang Atoll</p><br>
<p>* Wotho Atoll</p><br>
<p>Wotje Atoll  is a coral atoll of 75 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ratak Chain of the Marshall Islands. Wotje&#39;s land area of 8.18 km&sup2; is one of the largest in the Marshall Islands, and encloses a lagoon of 624 km&sup2;. The atoll is oriented east and west and is 45 km at its longest point, and 18 km at its greatest width. In 1999, the population of the islands in atoll was 900., the population was nearly 1,000, which included about 200 teenagers who live on the island at the public boarding school, Northern Islands High School. The Wotje Atoll includes a number of islets, including Wotje , Bodao, Enejeltalk, Ukon, Wetwirok, Kaiken, Wormej, Kimajo, Ninum, Kaben. About 125 people live on Wodmej, which is approximately 8 miles from the main island of Wotje. All other islands are uninhabited and are used only for copra production, picnics, and food gathering.</p><br>
<p>There are four churches on Wotje, Wotje: Catholic (which runs St. Thomas Elementary School), Protestant, Assembly of God, and Full Gospel. There are several stores, but the largest is Mama Store, managed by the Tomeing-Johnny family. This store has a small retail shop, restaurant and coffee window. Wotje Atoll has four schools: Wodmej Elementary School, Wotje Elementary School, St. Thomas Elementary School, and Northern Islands High School. The first three are public schools, funded by the national Ministry of Education. St. Thomas is managed by the Maryknoll Sisters of the Catholic Church.</p><br>
<p>Wotje, Wotje is serviced by ships several times a year which bring supplies like rice, flour, and sugar. In addition, the local government and senator manage a small ship, Northern Star, which makes more frequent trips. Air services are provided by Air Marshall Islands to Wotje Airport.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>First recorded sighting by Europeans was by the Spanish expedition of Ruy López de Villalobos on 25 December 1542 that charted it as Los Corales (The Coral Islands in Spanish) because of the many corals and having anchored in these. One of the islets of this atoll was charted as San Esteban by Villalobos because they landed on it on St. Stephen&#39;s day (26 December 1542).</p><br>
<p>Wotje Atoll was claimed by the Empire of Germany along with the rest of the Marshall Islands in 1884, and the Germans established a trading outpost. After World War I, the island came under the South Pacific Mandate of the Empire of Japan. The Japanese established a school on the island, which served the atolls of the Ratak Chain, but otherwise left administration in the hands of local authorities.</p><br>
<p>However, from the end of the 1930s, Wotje was developed as into a major Japanese seaplane base, and also had an airfield with two runways for land-based aircraft, and several hundred support buildings. During World War II the atoll was garrisoned by the Japanese. and some 750 civilian workers, many of whom were conscripted ethnic Koreans. From mid-1943 the island came under attack by United States Navy carrier-based aircraft, and was frequently shelled by warships. The attacks increased in frequency and severity after the fall of Majuro and Kwajalein to American forces, and all supply lines to Wotje were cut. By the surrender of Japan, only 1244 men of the garrison remained alive.</p><br>
<p>Following the end of World War II, Wotje came under the control of the United States as part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands until the independence of the Marshall Islands in 1986. Many World War II artifacts remain on the main island of Wotje, including a large concrete airstrip, bunkers and big guns.</p><br>
<h2>Climate</h2><br>
<p>Mili Atoll  is a coral atoll of 92 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ratak Chain of the Marshall Islands. It is located approximately 78 km southeast of Arno. Its total land area is 14.9 km&sup2; making it the second largest of the Marshall Islands after Kwajalein. It encloses a much smaller lagoon than Kwajalein, with an area of 760 km&sup2;. The atoll is separated by a water channel called the Klee Passage from the Knox Atoll which is considerably smaller. The population of Mili Atoll was 1032 as of 1999. The main village is also called Mili. Other villages include Nallu, Enejet, Lukonor, Tokewa, and Wau, Mili. Nallu, Enejet and Lukonwor are only accessible from Mili by land during lowtide. Only Mili, Mili and Enejet, Mili have runways for small aircraft. Mili Airport and Enejit Airport are served by Air Marshall Islands when its aircraft are operational.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The British merchant vessel Rolla sighted several islands in the Ratak and Ralik Chains. On October 20, 1803 she sighted islands at 5&deg;41&prime;N latitude, 169&deg;27&prime;E longitude, which was possibly Mili Atoll. Captain Cummings sent in a cutter, but the heavy surf prevented it from landing. Rolla had transported convicts from Britain to New South Wales and was on her way to Canton to find a cargo to take back to Britain.</p><br>
<p>In the early 19th century, Mili and Knox Atolls were designated the Mulgrave Islands by Adam Johann von Krusenstern. In 1823 the mutinous crew of the whaler Globe, out of Nantucket, Massachusetts, brought their ship to Mili Atoll. The mutineers, led by Samuel B. Comstock, had killed Globes captain and her three officers. A few days after she anchored at Mili Atoll, Comstock was murdered by co-mutineer Silas Payne. Six of the crew fled in the ship, leaving nine men stranded on the island. By the time the USA schooner, commanded by Lieutenant Commander John Percival, arrived to rescue them two years later, the islanders had killed all but two of the crew members.</p><br>
<p>The infamous blackbirder Bully Hayes owned Tokowa Islet on Mili during the late 19th century and used it as a base for his operations. Mili Atoll was claimed by the German Empire along with the rest of the Marshall Islands in 1884. The Germans established a trading station and in 1870 a Christian church.</p><br>
<p>According to some theorists who advocate for the Japanese capture hypothesis of Amelia Earhart, Mili Atoll might have been where Earhart and Fred Noonan landed in 1937 after failing to make it to Howland Island. Evidence of this actually occurring, however, is largely based on unreliable eyewitness testimony rather than conclusive physical evidence; most historians believe Earhart and Noonan would have had no reason to attempt to come to Mili, and if they had, they would have run out of fuel before making it in any case.</p><br>
<h3>World War II</h3><br>
<p>After World War I, the island came under the South Pacific Mandate of the Empire of Japan. Mili housed a radio direction finding beacon and a weather station and the atoll was fortified by the Japanese military. The garrison was composed of 2,045 men of the Imperial Japanese Navy and 2,237 men of the Imperial Japanese Army. In 1942 a seaplane base was developed. Between late 1942 and late 1943, the Japanese also constructed an airfield with three runways (4750 ft, 4550 ft and 4400 ft), and numerous support buildings, including a radar station. The perimeter of the island was fortified with coastal defense and anti-aircraft guns. Between mid-1943 and August 1945, Mili was bombed by United States Navy carrier-based aircraft and shelled by warships. The attacks increased in frequency and severity after Majuro and Kwajalein had fallen to the United States. Of the 5100-man Japanese garrison (2600 Imperial Japanese Navy and 2500 Imperial Japanese Army) only half survived to the end of the war.Spennemann. Dirk H.R.</p><br>
<p>Digital Micronesia-An Electronic Library & Archive, 2006. Retrieved: September 12, 2017. On 22 August 1945 the Japanese garrison commander surrendered his forces on board the.</p><br>
<h3>Postwar</h3><br>
<p>Following the end of World War II, Mili Atoll came under the control of the United States as part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. The island has been part of the independent Republic of the Marshall Islands since 1986.</p><br>
<p>Mili remains littered with thousands of World War II relics. The law forbids these items from being removed from the island. Mostly what remains are large bunker systems, rail systems, old artillery pieces and remnants of aircraft. Examples include Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zeros and a North American B-25 Mitchell bomber sitting in just several feet of water. The ground is still covered with craters created by the artillery campaigns that lasted 30 days to "prep" the island for the Allied invasion.</p><br>
<p>While thousands of unexploded munitions were destroyed by Peace Corps volunteers in the 1960s, danger remains for humans from chemicals in Japanese and USA unexploded munitions on land and in the ocean (which could enter the food chain).</p><br>
