<p>Sveti Stefan  is a small islet and 5-star hotel resort on the Adriatic coast of Montenegro, approximately 6 km southeast of Budva.</p><br>
<p>The resort, known commercially as Aman Sveti Stefan, includes part of the mainland, where the Villa Miločer part of the resort is located. An Adriatic playground for the rich and famous from the 1960s to the 1980s, the hotel is now a 5-star franchise hotel of the international group of Aman Resorts, completed in 2009 and operating under a 30-year lease. Formerly an island, Sveti Stefan is now connected to the mainland by a narrow isthmus. The resort in total contains 50 rooms, cottages and suites on the island and 8 grand suites at the Villa Miločer.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>The island has a 2 km coast line in the central part of Montenegro Adriatic coast line. It is situated to the south of Budva between Pržno and Sveti Stefan villages. The pink sandy beaches of Sveti Stefan, Miločer Beach and Queen’s Beach are part of the coast line. The island encompasses an area of 12,400 m&sup2;.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Sveti Stefan was first mentioned in 1442 as a fort near seacoast from which Paštrovići, led by vojvoda Radič repulsed the forces of Stjepan Vukčić Kosača during his offensive in Zeta. According to a legend recounted by Stjepan Mitrov Ljubiša, the town fortification was funded after Paštrovići looted Turkish ships moored in front of Jaz during Barbarossa&#39;s siege of Kotor in 1539. The town was razed shortly after, during the fourth Ottoman-Venetian war. After continuous pleas by Paštrovići, the Venetian Republic finally agreed to rebuild it in the 16th century. All of the buildings were acquired by the Yugoslav government and turned into an upscale hotel during the communist period.</p><br>
<p>In the 15th century, the fortified village was built to defend against the Turks and became a haven for pirates of the Adriatic.</p><br>
<p>Initially, the island with its fortress had 12 families.</p><br>
<p>In the 1800s, a village came to be established on the island with a population of about 400 people.</p><br>
<p>Villa Miločer, built between 1934 and 1936, was the summer residence of Queen Marija Karadordevic (1900–1961) of the Karađorđević family of Serbia, which was refurbished as part of the Aman Sveti Stefan resorts that opened in 2008–2009.</p><br>
<p>Subsequent to the villagers being moved to the mainland by the authorities, the island village became an exclusive resort frequented by high-profile elites of the world.</p><br>
<p>One of the four churches belong to Praskvica Monastery on Sveti Stefan was turned into a casino by the communists.</p><br>
<p>Formerly under the ownership of the Radenović family for some forty years,</p><br>
<p>The resort was described as "a &#39;70s Adriatic playground on a hilly peninsula that&#39;s barely connected to the mainland". It was also a venue for political conferences, and an occasional chess venue, attracting top-class players such as Boris Spassky and Bobby Fischer. However, in the 1990s, the break-up of Yugoslavia saw the decline of this resort.</p><br>
<p>The Government of Montenegro proposed to recreate the old charm of the island. Action was initiated by inviting international bids for the revitalization project. The contract was awarded to Aman Resorts in 2007. The refurbished resort, completed in 2009, retains the old world charm of its exterior view, with interior facilities to contemporary modern standards.</p><br>
<p>On 13 July 2010 Montenegrin Statehood Day, Italian tenor, Andrea Bocelli gave a concert at the resort, to mark the Golden Jubilee of the hotel. The hotel won the Hotel of the Year award from Gallivanter&#39;s Guide in 2010.</p><br>
<p>In July 2014, tennis champion Novak Djokovic married Jelena Ristić at Sveti Stefan.</p><br>
<h2>Facilities</h2><br>
<p>The Aman Sveti Stefan resort has 58 guest rooms, cottages and suites, including 8 suites that are part of the Villa Miločer. The Villa Miločer, which was built between 1934 and 1936 was the summer residence of Queen Marija Karadordevic (1900–1961). Out of the eight suites of Villa Miločer two are Queen Marija Suites forming an annex structure. Each of the two suites cover 125 m&sup2; with a bedroom, bathroom, living room and dining room. These are grand suites which are larger, with Juliet balconies, and are decorated in cream and brown shades, with leather upholstery, silks and woolen rugs. All other rooms are also elegantly decorated in a double storied layout providing views of the ocean from the first floor room; the living room and bedroom have fireplaces.</p><br>
<p>Every room, cottage and suite on the island is said to be different, but retain the ambiance of the historic village with preserving the original walls and using traditional doors and windows.</p><br>
<h3>Dining</h3><br>
<p>The main dining of the resort on the island of Sveti Stefan is The Piazza, an open-air square in the heart of the island’s village which includes the Taverna, Enoteca, Pasticceria, and an Antipasti Bar and a Cigar Room. The Taverna serves straightforward Continental and American breakfasts and fresh and pastoral Mediterranean dishes for lunch and dinner. The Enoteca, is located on a terrace facing the sea with cellar-like interiors and sells al fresco tapas and drinks. The Pasticceria (bakery) serves traditional pastries for breakfast and lunch. The Antipasti Bar generally comes into use in early evenings and the cigar room, with rich wood and leather furnishings, serves selection of fine Cuban cigars and rare spirits. The three main dining venues on the mainland part of the resort are the Queen’s Chair, serving Pan-Adriatic – Italian cuisine and overlooking the Bay of Budva, the Olive Restaurant, overlooking the beach, which serves a range of cut-to-order meats and seafood prepared on two signature wood-fired grills and an olive-wood-fired rotisserie and the Beach Café, in an alfresco setting, flanked by shady cypress trees and century-old olive groves. Inside the Villa Miločer, the dining room, overlooking the Miločer Beach, with its seven-table dining space and grand open fireplace, is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, as is the loggia, with its colonnade, and the living room, which serves locally caught seafood and produce.</p><br>
<p>Ebeye  is the most populous island of Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands, as well as the center for Marshallese culture in the Ralik Chain of the archipelago. Settled on 80 acres of land, it has a population of more than 15,000. Over 50% of the population is estimated to be under the age of 18.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<h3>Etymology</h3><br>
<p>When Christian missionaries first arrived in the Marshall Islands, they introduced Latin script writing and orthographized the Marshallese language. Originally, Ebeye was written Ebeje by Europeans (Epjā in modern orthography, pronounced ), which (according to elders of the atoll) means "making something out of nothing." However, the colonial German administration mispronounced the J as if it were German language, and foreign observers recorded the resulting pronunciation as Ebeye. During the Japanese period, though, the islands pronunciation in katakana, re-approximated Marshallese. After World War II, the Americans took possession of the regional mandate from Japan and mispronounced the islands name as from its spelling. Because most of the modern Marshallese residents of Ebeye dont have family roots on the island, the American pronunciation has stuck, and is the usual name for Ebeye among the islands current population. This pronunciation has even been adapted to Marshallese orthography, so that there are now two synonymous Marshallese names for the island officially and historically Epjā, and locally Ibae.</p><br>
<h3>World War II</h3><br>
<p>The Imperial Japanese Navy constructed a seaplane base on Ebeye in the early 1940s. Following the Battle of Kwajalein from 31 January to 3 February 1944, Ebeye was occupied by US forces. On 7 March the 107th Naval Construction Battalion was sent to Ebeye to redevelop the seaplane base. The Seabees repaired the existing 1,600 by pier, adding a 50 by ell extension, and also repaired a 250 ft Japanese H-shaped pier. The Seabees assembled a pontoon wharf and pontoon barges for transporting damaged carrier aircraft to repair units ashore. Further installations on Ebeye consisted of housing in floored tents and Quonset huts, a 150-bed dispensary, four magazines, 24,000 ft2 of covered storage, and a 4,000 USbbl aviation-gasoline tank farm.</p><br>
<h3>Relocation from the Mid-Atoll Corridor</h3><br>
<p>Before the early 1950s, a large number of present-day residents of Ebeye lived on small islands throughout Kwajalein Atoll. When Kwajalein island started to be used as a support base for the nuclear tests conducted at Bikini Atoll and Enewetak Atoll, Marshallese residents of Kwajalein were relocated by USA authorities to a small, planned community constructed on Ebeye, which was largely unpopulated and had served as a Japanese seaplane base before the Pacific War.</p><br>
<p>With the advent of the Nike-Zeus anti-ballistic missile testing program of the 1960s, the USA military decided for safety and security reasons to evacuate a vast sector of the atoll to create a zone where unarmed guided missiles could be targeted from the continental United States. For this reason, whole communities of Kwajalein Atoll Marshallese residents were relocated from the "Mid-Atoll Corridor" to Ebeye and were provided with housing and the incentive of work at the base on Kwajalein test site. These promises were not entirely upheld, nor were these families thoroughly compensated. Not only were they removed from their land and access to abundant marine resources, but most "Mid-Atoll" people did not have land rights to Ebeye, leaving them without much of a say in their future. Currently, these people are allowed to return to their islands during range downtime but cannot build homes or maintain their land adequately, as they are subject to removal on a nearly monthly basis by authorities.</p><br>
<p>Subsequent population growth by migration from outlying rural atolls and islands throughout the Marshalls created a housing shortage and problems with resources throughout the following decades. Original Ebeye inhabitants with land rights were not compensated adequately for the tenants who came to live on their land. This created tensions that polarized migrants from other atolls and "landowners" or original "Kwajalein people" (Ri-Kuwajleen, ). The tensions persist today and are part of the basis for many Kwajalein Atoll landowners&#39; disputes about the Land Use Agreement between the United States and the Republic of the Marshall Islands Government in Majuro.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>Ebeye is the most populous island of Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands, as well as the center for Marshallese culture in the Ralik Chain of the archipelago. It comprises 80 acres.</p><br>
<p>It is the fifth most densely populated island in the world.</p><br>
<h3>Climate</h3><br>
<h2>Demographics</h2><br>
<p>Ebeye has a population of more than 15,000. In 1968, the population was 3,000.</p><br>
<h3>Refuge from nuclear fallout</h3><br>
<p>Some of the residents of Ebeye are refugees or descendants of refugees from the effects of the 15-megaton Castle Bravo nuclear test at Bikini Atoll on March 1, 1954. The detonation unexpectedly rained nuclear fallout and two inches (50 mm) of radioactive snow on nearby Rongelap Atoll, which had not been evacuated as had Bikini. The 1954 American authorities then evacuated Rongelap and were returned in 1957 with extensive medical surveillance. In 1985, Greenpeace evacuated the inhabitants of Rongelap to Mejato (island in Kwajalein atoll). Ebeye was the final destination for many of them.</p><br>
<h3>Health</h3><br>
<p>Infant mortality on Ebeye is 3.0%. There have been recurrent outbreaks of cholera, dengue fever, and tuberculosis. In 1963 there was a polio outbreak, and in 1978 a measles outbreak. In 2009, the Ebeye Community Health Center was awarded a grant as part of the United States Stimulus for monitoring influenza (e.g., H1N1).</p><br>
<h2>Economy</h2><br>
<p>The economy is service driven.</p><br>
<p>Hallasan is a shield volcano on Jeju Island of South Korea. It is the highest</p><br>
<p>mountain in South Korea. The area around the mountain is a designated national park, the Hallasan National Park (Hallasan Gungnip Gongwon/한라산국립공원/漢拏山國立公園). Hallasan is commonly considered to be one of the three main mountains of South Korea, along with Jirisan and Seoraksan.</p><br>
<h2>Names</h2><br>
<p>Mount Hallasan is the highest mountain in South Korea and is worshipped by people because they think that gods and spirits live on it. Alternate English names for the mountain include Hanla Mountain or Mount Halla and older English sources refer to the peak as Mount Auckland. Hallasan is written in North Korea in Chosungul as if it were Hannasan (한나산); however, it is still pronounced as Hallasan. In the past, Hallasan has been known by numerous other names in Korean including Buak (부악/釜岳), Wonsan (원산/圓山), Jinsan (진산/鎭山), Seonsan (선산/仙山), Dumuak (두무악/頭無岳), Burasan (부라산/浮羅山), Yeongjusan 영주산(瀛州山), and Hyeolmangbong (혈망봉/穴望峯). Every name of Hallasan has meanings and legends.</p><br>
<h3>Hallasan</h3><br>
<p>Han represents the universe, and la means "pull". Both words mean that the mountain is high enough to pull the universe. According to the old legend, if anyone were to climb up the mountain, see a star and call out 노인성, they could live a longer life.</p><br>
<h3>Jinan</h3><br>
<p>The name represents a mountain that is located at the back side of a town and protects the town&#39;s residents. Jeju people called Hallasan Jinan because Hallasan blocked winds that were blowing from the Pacific Ocean and also protected the residents.</p><br>
<h3>Dumuak</h3><br>
<p>Dumuak is another name for Hallasan. The name represents the bold head mountain. According to a legend, a hunter accidentally ripped God&#39;s belly button. God expressed his anger by ripping off the peak of Hallasan. The remaining part of the mountain became Baengnokdam (백록담) and the ripped part of the mountain became Sanbangsan (산방산).</p><br>
<h3>Wonsan</h3><br>
<p>Wonsan became the name of Hallasan because the center of the mountain is the highest point and the mountain looks like a circular cone. On a very clear day, Hanllasan is visible from the mainland.</p><br>
<h3>Yeongjusan</h3><br>
<p>Yeongjusan was believed to be a habitat for a plant species that made people immortal. According to a legend, immortal wizards of Korea used to live in Hallasan. They were immortal because of this special plant. Qinshi Huang wanted the plant to live forever and ordered his men to get the plant (200 AD).</p><br>
<h3>Buak</h3><br>
<p>Buak became the name of Hallasan, because of the peak of the mountain. The crater of the mountain looks like a big pond. According to a legend, a white deer used to drink the water here.</p><br>
<h2>Geology and geography</h2><br>
<h3>Hallasan</h3><br>
<p>Hallasan is a massive shield volcano which forms the bulk of Jeju Island and is often taken as representing the island itself. There is a local saying that "Jeju Island is Hallasan, and Hallasan is Jeju." The mountain can indeed be seen from all places on the island, but its peak is often covered in clouds. The mountain has been designated Korea&#39;s Natural Monument no. 182.</p><br>
<p>The soil of Hallasan is mostly made out of volcanic ash, which mainly contains volcanic ash, volcanic sand, and lapilli. The organic contents of the soil are higher than any other soil in South Korea, but drainage is also better than any other place in South Korea. The soil is not the best for farming. The designation as active is not agreed to by all, as more monitoring and study are needed to better understand the volcano.</p><br>
<h3>Baengnokdam</h3><br>
<p>There is a crater lake on Hallasan called Baengnokdam (백록담/白鹿潭), literally "white deer lake." It is formed by the collapse of the top of the ridge by the movement of magma underground. There is a legend attributing the name of the lake to otherworldly men who descend from heaven to play with white deer. Depending on the season, the circumference of the lake is up to 2 kilometers with a depth up to about 100 meters.</p><br>
<p>The configurative rocks of the eastern and western walls of Baengnokdam are different. The eastern wall is covered with basalt lava 2 ~ 5 m thick at its top. In the lower part, there is a high-concentration stream sediment layer of the Tamra layer. The western wall is made of the trachyte lava dome. The volcanic wall formed by the eruption of the lava should be composed of lava, analysis. However, the eastern wall is composed of the clastic sedimentary sediments, so it is not a crater by lava eruption but a pit crater. Namely, the trachyte magma, which formed the Baengnokdam trachyte, was elevated on the dome, and the trachyte magma formed lava dome at its top. The inclination and direction of the Tamra Formation of Baengnokdam cannot be measured directly at Baengnokdam, but it is N10W of slope and 30NE of slope measured near the valley below North Baengnokdam, 1,580 m above sea level.</p><br>
<h3>Effect of Topography effect of Hallasan</h3><br>
<h4>Tendency of wind change by Hallasan</h4><br>
<p>In order to understand the tendency of temperature change in Jeju Island, the short-term forecasting model of Halla, the weather data of the Korean peninsula, and the wind vector of AWS is analyzed. When the south winds flow into the sea, sea winds form around Hallasan, and the sea breeze is formed on the downwind side of the sea. On the coast, winds and the sea breezes gather around the coasts to form Eddy, and the highest temperature occurs in the region where Eddy occurs.</p><br>
<h4>Tendency of maximum temperature by Hallasan</h4><br>
<p>In order to understand the tendency of maximum temperature in Jeju Island, the area where the highest temperature occurred when the wind was weak was surveyed and analyzed. In the morning, when the reverse layer is formed and the wind is weak, the warm air of the lower layer is raised when the air movement between the upper and lower layers is blocked, and it is placed on the upper floor by the sea breeze, which affects the temperature rise in the mid-mountainous area.</p><br>
<p>The occurrence of the highest temperature coincides with the formation position of Eddy, and when the wind is weak, it is formed in the middle mountain region. When the wind is weak, the warmth is accumulated in the middle layer, so the maximum temperature in the mid-mountainous area is higher than the maximum temperature of the low-altitude coastal area about 1~3℃, and 4℃ or higher on the downwind side.</p><br>
<p>When the wind is blowing at 4 ~ 9 m/s, the wind phenomenon occurs mainly, so the weak sea breeze coming from the sea is formed on the coastal area and the peak temperature is mainly observed during the daytime.</p><br>
<h4>Tendency of minimum temperature by Hallasan</h4><br>
<p>The change of the minimum temperature varies depending on the degree of cooling of Hallasan and the intensity of the wind speed.When the wind blows due to the predominance of sea breeze, the air cooled in Hallasan descends to the coastal area and induces the decrease in temperature. When the synoptic wind blows strongly, the cold air of Hallasan moves to the downwind side and the lowest temperature appears. The lowest temperature in the downwind area is 2 ~ 5℃ lower than in other areas, and the lowest temperature often appears at night.</p><br>
<p>When the weak northwestern synoptic winds are blown, the lowest temperature appears in the eastern part of Jeju Island. The chill of the top of Hallasan descends downhill along the mountain range and is collected in the eastern part of Jeju Island so the morning temperature drops a lot.</p><br>
<h4>Inter-regional temperature variation by Hallasan</h4><br>
<p>For the last five years, the deviation of temperature (maximum temperature - minimum temperature) increased in spring between March and May. The reason for the large deviation in spring is because the phenomenon occurs frequently by Hallasan.</p><br>
<h2>Ecosystem</h2><br>
<p>Hallasan was isolated from the mainland for a long time and its species were able to become unique and different from mainland species. The elevation of the mountain causes various plant species to live there. The mountain became a habitat for plants that live in low elevation and plants that live in high elevation. 50 or more unique species live in Jeju Island, especially in high elevation area in Hallasan. Various animal species also live on the mountain. Because of the geography of the mountain, the same species evolved in different ways after thousands of years. Just like plant species, animal species originally living in cold and hot climates use the mountain as their habitat. There are a total of 160 bird species that use Hallasan as a habitat. Only 19 species are considered as a natural monument and protected by the government. Ravens are commonly seen in the hiking trail. A total of 3,315 insect species live on the mountain. 254 spider species also live there. A study found that spider habitat is concentrated more on the north side of the mountain. Ticks live on the mountain and gave lots of damage to Jeju residents a long time ago. The damage caused by ticks is still continuing these days. Six tick species give damage to domestic animals.</p><br>
<h3>Plants</h3><br>
<p>According to the world floral region, Hallasan belongs to the temperate subregion with Yangtze River basin and southwest Japan. From the coast to the top of the Hallasan, plants are distributed vertically from the subtropical plants to the alpine plants due to the environmental gradient. Of the 4,000 species of vascular plants native to Korea, about 400 species are estimated to be endangered or potentially rare. Especially, 23 species-specific wild plants designated by the Ministry of Environment ( totally 59 species ) are distributed in Jeju Island and 6 of them can be found in the natural reserve area of Hallasan. Also, about 50 kinds of special plants are distributed in Jeju Island, especially in the highlands of Hallasan.</p><br>
<h3>Animals</h3><br>
<p>Because of the geographical character of the island, there are many subspecies due to isolation even though they are the same species. Also, Hallasan is a place where the polar animal and the tropical animal coexist due to the difference of the climate zone according to the elevation.</p><br>
<h4>Mammals</h4><br>
<p>The mammals of Jeju Island are known as 5 orders and 114 families and 5 species. Thus, the distribution of mammals in Jeju Island is very poor in species and numbers because Jeju island is isolated from the Korean peninsula long ago. Their population has been reduced due to the decrease in food because of the use of rodenticides and pesticides in recent years and indiscreet fishing. Weasels, badgers, and gazelles are inhabited in Hallasan. The number of weasels and badgers are significantly reducing. Boar and Formosan deer is already extinct. Roe deer, the largest mammal in Hallasan, was once in danger of extinction. But now its population increased due to protection policies and a lot of efforts by people in Jeju island.</p><br>
<h4>Amphibians&Reptiles</h4><br>
<p>Most of amphibians and reptiles in Jeju Island are Korean native animals but there are anti-Korean animals since Jeju Island is located between Japan and China. As the climate is mild, except for the mountainous areas, sub-tropical forests and frigid forests are well harmonized and virgin forests are well protected. Mt. Halla is particularly well-suited for amphibians and reptiles as a hideout, with well-developed grasslands and marshlands, and is rich in food.</p><br>
<h4>Birds</h4><br>
<p>There are 364 kinds of birds in Jeju Island, 91 kinds of passing birds, 100 kinds of birds in winter, 42 kinds of resident birds and 43 kinds of vagrants. Among the birds in Jeju Island, except for the species that live in habitat for migratory birds and coastal regions, there are 160 species inhabiting mainly in Mt. Halla. There are 19 species designated as natural monuments.</p><br>
<h2>Temple</h2><br>
<p>The mountain is home to Gwaneumsa (관음사/觀音寺), the oldest Buddhist temple on the island. The temple was originally built during the Goryeo Dynasty (1046-1083) during King Munjong (문종). Like many other temples in Korea, Gwaneumsa was destroyed in 1702 and closed for 200 years. The temple was rebuilt in 1908. It spread Buddhism again in Jeju Island. There is a memorial site outside the temple to commemorate the victims of the Jeju uprising that took place between 1948 and 1950. It is one of the most visited places on the island.</p><br>
<h2>Trails</h2><br>
<p>There are five hiking trails on Hallasan.</p><br>
<p>Gwaneumsa Trail (관음사 탐방로/觀音寺 探訪路) - 8.7 km</p><br>
<p>Eorimok Trail (어리목 탐방로/어리목 探訪路) - 4.7 km</p><br>
<p>Seongpanak Trail (성판악 탐방로/城板岳 探訪路) - 9.6 km</p><br>
<p>Yeongsil Trail (영실 탐방로/靈室 探訪路) - 3.7 km</p><br>
<p>Donnaeko Trail (돈내코 탐방로/돈내코探訪路) - 9.1 km</p><br>
<p>The Donnaeko trail was reopened to the public on December 4, 2009, after a fifteen-year hiatus. Only the Gwaneumsa and Seongpanak trails lead to the summit. The Donnaeko, Eorimok and Yeongsil courses only go as far as Witse Oreum (윗세오름), as the rest of the trail leading to the peak has been closed off since 1994 in order to restore and protect the vegetation.</p><br>
<h2>Transport</h2><br>
<p>Official site for tourists. (Korean)</p><br>
<p>Site to search information about Korean transportation. (Korean)</p><br>
<h3>Gwaneumsa Trail</h3><br>
<p>To go to Gwaneumsa Trail by car, you should use road number 1117 which connects Jeju Arra-dong Mountain and Tamra Education Center and Cheon-Wangsa. From Jeju city hall to Gwaneumsa Information Center, it takes about 25 minutes and from Seogwipo city hall, it takes about 50 minutes. If you want to use public transportation, ride Jeju city bus number 475. Since this bus doesnt enter the city, you have to get off and transfer at the entrance of Jeju University. In the past, it operated only on weekends and holidays, but it can be used on weekdays since the 2017 bus route reorganization. If you have to take a bus to Jeju city or Seogwipo city, the closest stop is Jeju medical center at 5.16 road. It takes about 4 ~ 50 minutes on foot. Even if you come down the mountain at a late time, this routes bus would come in handy, since this bus comes until 20:20.</p><br>
<h3>Eorimok Trail</h3><br>
<p>To go to Eorimok Trail by car, you should use road number 1139 ( or 1100 ) which connect Jeju City and Seogwipo City Jungmun-dong. From Jeju city hall, it takes about 35 minutes and from Jungmun-dong, it takes about 50 minutes. If you want to use public transportation, ride bus number 240. ( Dispense interval about 1hr. )</p><br>
<h3>Seongpanak Trail</h3><br>
<p>To go to Seongpanak Trail by car, you should use road number 1131 (or 516) which connect Jeju city and Seogwipo city. From Jeju city hall to the Seongpanak Information Center, it takes about 30 minutes. From Seogwipo city hall, it takes about 40 minutes. If you want to use public transformation, ride buses on road 516, which are 181, 182, 281. Since these buses come in an interval of only 10~15 minutes, the route with the best accessibility is this route.</p><br>
<h3>Yeongsil Trail</h3><br>
<p>The Yeongsil Trail is connected to the Gwaneumsa Trail by road number 1100. This makes the transportation information really similar. Actually, the way of public transportation is same. But the time to come and go is quite different since these two trails are 30 minutes away by car. From Jeju city hall to the Yeongsil Information Center, it takes about 50 minutes. From Jungmun to Yeongsil Information Center, it takes about 30 minutes.</p><br>
<h3>Donnaeko Trail</h3><br>
<p>To go to Donnaeko Trail by car, you should use road number 1115 which connects Jeju city Araun mountain river, Tamra education center, and Chunwangsa temple. From Jeju city hall to Donnaeko Information Center, it takes about 60 minutes and from Seogwipo city hall, it takes about 25 minutes. If you want to use public transportation, ride Seogwipo city bus 610-1. You should be aware that this bus goes to the mourning gallery (충혼묘지, which is the entrance) only 6 times a day. It takes about 4~50 minutes on foot.</p><br>
<p>Jirisan is a mountain located in the southern region of South Korea. It is the second-tallest mountain in South Korea after Jeju Island&#39;s Hallasan, and the tallest mountain in mainland South Korea. After Jirisan, Seoraksan is the third tallest mountain in South Korea and the second-tallest mountain on the South Korean mainland.</p><br>
<p>The 1915m-high mountain is located in Jirisan National Park. The park spans three provinces (North, South Jeolla and South Gyeongsang) and is the largest in South Korea. The largest proportion of the national park is in the province of South Gyeongsang. The highest peak of the mountain, Cheonhwangbong is also located in this province. Another well-known peak is Samshin-bong (Three Spirits Peak).</p><br>
<p>Jirisan is at the southern end of the Sobaek and Baekdudaegan mountain ranges, the "spine" of the Korean Peninsula incorporating the Sobaek mountain range and most of the Taebaek mountain range.</p><br>
<p>There are seven major Buddhist temples on Jirisan. Hwaeomsa is the largest and best-known temple among these. It contains several national treasures, mostly stone artworks from about 600–900 CE. The mountain is also home to the Cheonghak-dong (Azure Crane Village) alpine valley, which includes the Samseonggung (Three Sages Palace), which is a site celebrating one of Korea&#39;s foundation myths.</p><br>
<p>Every year more than 280,000 people visit Jirisan. Summer and autumn are the most popular visiting seasons. The mountain is listed is advertised as having 10 scenic views. These are ‘Sunrise from Cheonwang-bong peak’, ‘Nogodan Sea of Clouds’, ‘Banyabong’s Nakjo’, ‘Full moon at Byukso-ryung’, ‘Piagol Autumn Leaves’, ‘Royal Azalea Blossoming’, ‘Chilseon Valley’, ‘Seomjincheongryu’, ‘Buril water fall’, ‘Yeonha-Sunkyung’. Jirisan National Park has several hiking routes.</p><br>
<h2>Legends</h2><br>
<p>At the entrance to Baemsagol Valley, some 1,300 years ago, there used to be Songnimsa Temple. This temple practiced an annual rite on the Chilwolbaekjung holiday (full moon day of July by the lunar calendar) wherein they selected the most pious monk and prayed earnestly for his safe passage to paradise as a deity. In a certain year, the then highest monk Seosandaesa visited the temple, heard about this Buddhist rite, and guessed that there must be a secret behind it. Seosandesa allowed that year’s chosen monk to pray wearing a silk robe anointed with poison, linked by a silk thread to Sinseodae Terrace. Seosandaesa then hid himself behind a rock to watch. At around 1 am, an imugi anaconda, which was sorry not to have turned into a dragon, slithered up from the valley below Sinseondae Terrace to the sound of roaring water. The imugi jumped upon the praying monk, bit him in the mouth, and disappeared into the water. Seosandaesa returned to the temple, and waited until dawn. Early in the morning, he, together with the villagers, went to Sinseondae Terrace to find that the imugi had died dead, having failed to swallow the whole body of the monk. Seosandaesa now came to know about Songnimsa Temple’s secret of sacrificing a monk to an imugi every year. Thereafter, the valley was named as Baemsagol, which means the valley where an imugi, which failed to become a dragon, died. The village at the entrance to Baemsagol Valley was named Banseon (meaning a "half deity") in memory of the dead monk because he was sacrificed without becoming a deity.</p><br>
<h2>Peaks</h2><br>
<p>Samshinbong (bong means "peak") is 1,284 m high and a popular, but strenuous, day-hike from the Ssanggye Temple entry point (it is the closest major peak from this trailhead). From Ssanggyesa, a trail winds up 2.3 km to Bul-il Falls. From the left turn in the path just before the waterfall, the track continues 6.9 km to the peak (for a grand round-trip total of 18.4 km). Starting from Ssanggyesa (the sa suffix indicates a Buddhist temple), the peak can be reached in 4 hours at a steady pace. It takes about 3 hours to get down; it is an extremely steep hike. Climbers are advised to bring plenty of water as it is only available from streams beyond the temple grounds. This peak can also be climbed from the back of Cheonghak-dong Village.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>During the Korean War, North Korean troops occupied the region. After the United Nations forces took the area, a considerable number of North Koreans remained in the mountains, where they continued a guerrilla war until they were finally beaten in 1955, two years after the cease fire was signed by the belligerents. The Republic of Korea issued an "Anti-Guerrilla Warfare Service Medal" for its troops who fought in the area and a movie about the fighting was later produced.</p><br>
<h2>In popular culture</h2><br>
<p>The 2015 movie The Tiger takes place in the Jirisan mountain area.</p><br>
<p>The Great Falls of the Passaic River is a prominent waterfall, 77 ft high, on the Passaic River in the city of Paterson in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. The falls and surrounding area are protected as part of the Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park, administered by the National Park Service. The Congress authorized its establishment in 2009.</p><br>
<p>One of the United States largest waterfalls, it played a significant role in the early industrial development of New Jersey starting in the earliest days of the nation. It is part of the Great Falls of Paterson–Garret Mountain National Natural Landmark. It has also been designated as a National Historic Landmark District since 1976. The Great Falls raceway and power systems were designated an Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1977.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<h3>Formation and early history</h3><br>
<p>Geologically, the falls were formed at the end of the last ice age approximately 13,000 years ago. Formerly the Passaic had followed a shorter course through the Watchung Mountains near present-day Summit. As the glacier receded, the river&#39;s previous course was blocked by a newly formed moraine. A large lake, called Glacial Lake Passaic, formed behind the Watchungs. As the ice receded, the river found a new circuitous route around the north end of the Watchungs, carving the spectacular falls through the underlying basalt, which was formed approximately 200 million years ago.</p><br>
<p>The falls later became the site of a habitation for Lenape Native Americans, and later for Dutch settlers in the 1690s.</p><br>
<h3>Industrial development</h3><br>
<p>In 1778, Alexander Hamilton visited the falls and was impressed by its potential for industry. Later when Hamilton was the nations Secretary of Treasury, he selected the site of the nations first planned industrial city, which he called a "national manufactory." In 1791, Hamilton helped found the Society for the Establishment of Useful Manufactures (S.U.M.), state-chartered private corporation to fulfill this vision. The town of Paterson was founded by the society and named after New Jersey Governor William Paterson in appreciation of his efforts to promote the society.</p><br>
<p>Hamilton commissioned civil engineer Pierre Charles LEnfant, responsible for the layout of the new capital at Washington, D.C., to design the system of canals known as raceways supplying the power for the watermills in the new town. As a result, Paterson became the nucleus for a burgeoning mill industry. In 1792, David Godwin was commissioned to build the first water-powered cotton spinning mill in New Jersey. He subsequently built the first Dam on the falls, it was a structure made of wood. In 1812, it was the site of the states first continuous roll paper mill. Other products whose construction used the falls as a power source include the Rogers Locomotive Works (1832), the Colt revolver (1837), and the USS Holland (SS-1) (1898). The oldest extant structure in the historic district is the Phoenix Mill, built in 1813. The industrial area also became the site of labor unrest, as it was a center for the 1913 Paterson silk strike. Immigrant workers, facing harsh conditions in factories staged numerous strikes, giving the United States its first organized labor movement.</p><br>
<p>The society continued operation until 1945 when its charter and property were sold to the city of Paterson. The area fell into disuse with the steep decline of industry in the region during the 20th century. In 1971, the Great Falls Preservation and Development Corporation was established to restore and redevelop the historic mill buildings and raceways.</p><br>
<h3>Great Falls State Park</h3><br>
<p>The State of New Jersey has announced plans for a new urban state park in Paterson surrounding the Great Falls, called Great Falls State Park. The master plan for the park calls for utilizing surrounding industrial areas for parklands that include a trail network and recreation areas, and creating new areas to view the falls.</p><br>
<h3>The falls in literature</h3><br>
<p>The unique history of the falls and the city were described in the five-volume philosophical poem Paterson by William Carlos Williams. Among the episodes described in Williams&#39; poem is the 1827 leap over the falls by Sam Patch, who later became the first known person to perform a stunt at Niagara Falls.</p><br>
<p>The 2016 film Paterson, directed by Jim Jarmusch, is partly inspired by the works of Williams and features the falls as a primary location.</p><br>
<h3>The falls in television</h3><br>
<p>The falls were featured in the pilot as well as episode 6 of the first season of The Sopranos, Pax Soprana in which two mobsters threw a drug dealer off the bridge and into the falls, to his death. The 2016 film "Paterson" about a local bus driver and his poetry has numerous scenes shot at the falls.</p><br>
<h2>Viewing the falls</h2><br>
<p>The Falls are viewable from Haines Overlook Park on the south and Mary Ellen Kramer Park on the north. Drive-by viewing is available from McBride Avenue where it crosses the river just above the Falls. A footbridge over the Falls gorge (historically, the eighth such bridge to span this chasm) also serves as an outlook point. A visitor&#39;s center at the corner of Spruce and McBride Avenues, in the Great Falls Historic District, provides a historical overview of the falls and the industrial and cultural history of Paterson. A record 177,000 visitors went to see the Great Falls in 2016.</p><br>
<h2>National Natural Landmark</h2><br>
<p>The Great Falls of Paterson – Garret Mountain is a National Natural Landmark designated in January 1967 and were expanded in April 1967 to include nearby Garret Mountain. Together they help demonstrate how jointed basaltic lava flow shaped the geology of the area during the Early Mesozoic period through both extrusion and intrusion.</p><br>
<p>The designation protects the site from federal development, but not from local and state development. Redevelopment of the decayed adjacent industrial areas has been an ongoing controversial topic. An attempt in the 1990s to redevelop the adjacent Allied Textile Printing Co. (ATP) facility, destroyed by fire in the 1980s, into prefabricated townhouses was initially approved by the city but later repelled by a coalition of local citizens seeking to preserve the historic character of the district.</p><br>
<h2>National Historical Park</h2><br>
<p>Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park was authorized to be added to the National Park System of the United States under the Omnibus Public Land Management Act.</p><br>
<h2>Hydroelectric facility</h2><br>
<p>The hydroelectric plant at the falls is operated by Eagle Creek Renewable Energy, which is considering commissioning another facility downstream at the Dundee Dam.</p><br>
<p>The Tahquamenon Falls are two different waterfalls on the Tahquamenon River. Both sets are located near Lake Superior in the eastern Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The water is notably brown in color from the tannins leached from the cedar swamps which the river drains.</p><br>
<p>The upper falls are more than 200 feet (60 m) across and with a drop of approximately 48 feet (14 m) During the late spring runoff, the river drains as much as 50,000 USgal of water per second, making the upper falls the third most voluminous vertical waterfall east of the Mississippi River, after Niagara Falls and Cohoes Falls, both in New York State.</p><br>
<p>The lower falls, located four miles (6.5 km) downstream, are a series of five smaller falls cascading around an island which can be reached by rowboat. A hiking trail runs between the falls along the riverside, and visitors often play in the lower falls during the summer heat.</p><br>
<p>The falls are within Tahquamenon Falls State Park, between Newberry, Michigan, and Paradise, Michigan. They are a popular tourist destination in the Upper Peninsula during all seasons. Snowmobile trails lead almost to the falls, and walkways are kept clear for most of the winter.</p><br>
<p>The Tahquamenon is noted as being the land of Longfellows The Song of Hiawatha - "by the rushing Tahquamenaw" where Hiawatha built his canoe. "Tahquamenon Falls" is also a song from Sufjan Stevenss album Michigan.</p><br>
<p>While the name Tahquamenon is now primarily associated with the falls, it appears to have originally designated an island in Whitefish Bay: Tahquamenon Island. The first written record of the name appears as "Outakouaminan" in a 1671 French map.</p><br>
<p>The upper falls are located at 46&deg;34&prime;29&Prime;N latitude, 85&deg;15&prime;23&Prime;W longitude and the lower falls are at 46&deg;36&prime;12&Prime;N latitude, 85&deg;12&prime;25&Prime;W longitude</p><br>
<h2>Photo gallery</h2><br>
<p>The Long Mynd is a heath and moorland plateau that forms part of the Shropshire Hills in Shropshire, England. The high ground, which is designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, lies between the Stiperstones range to the west and the Stretton Hills and Wenlock Edge to the east. Much of it is owned and managed by the National Trust.</p><br>
<p>The Long Mynd, which is approximately 7 mi long by a maximum of 3 mi wide, has steep valleys on its eastern flanks while its western side is marked by a slope that rises in a steep escarpment from the wide valley of the River East Onny. It is surrounded by the principal settlements of Church Stretton, Little Stretton and All Stretton, Pulverbatch, Smethcott, Woolstaston, Asterton, Myndtown, Wentnor and Ratlinghope.</p><br>
<p>The highest point on the Long Mynd is Pole Bank (1,693 ft); this and the adjacent hill of Caer Caradoc (1,506 ft) are classed as Marilyns.</p><br>
<h2>Etymology</h2><br>
<p>The name Long Mynd means "Long Mountain", the second element being Brittonic in origin. In modern Welsh it is named Mynydd Hir, which has the same meaning.</p><br>
<h2>Geology</h2><br>
<p>The geology dates back to Precambrian, and during the time would have been 60° south of the equator, the same latitude as the Falkland Islands. Shropshire would have been at the very edge of a large continent near the sea, which was being buckled by tectonic activity, causing volcanoes to form. The area had broad rivers; evidence of mudflats has been found. The rivers would have flowed out to sea, creating large estuaries; over time, the mudflats would have built up, and volcanic eruptions deposited ash in layers between the sand and mud. The primary rock of the Long Mynd is sandstone, usually coloured purple or grey. The volcanoes created the nearby Stretton Hills and the Wrekin, and eruptions would have been frequent. There are layers in the rocks of the Long Mynd that were previously described as raindrop marks. Unpublished research, including electron micrographs, by the now deceased Professor Martin Brasier, showed that these are actually ichnofossils created by an unknown Ediacaran biota. Field observations of the stratigraphy present, and its laminar nature, leave no doubt that they are in a marine environment; the absence of infilled or mineralised syncresis (shrinkage cracks) further add to this. Examples of these fossilised marks can be viewed today in the National Trust Tearoom Exhibition, in Carding Mill Valley. The layers of rock built up over the millennia to create an approximately 23,000 ft thick layer composed of sand, mud, silt and very occasional thin ash bands. The stratrigraphy, mineral compositions and surrounding volcanology suggests an infilling island arc basin.</p><br>
<p>Towards the end of the Precambrian period, the volcanoes ceased their eruptions, and the rivers had dried up. Instead the forces that created the volcanoes caused the new rocks to lift and fold, creating mountains and valleys in the area. Much of the rock was melted during this period, underneath the Earth&#39;s crust, causing the mountains to continually change towards the latter part of the Precambrian. The Church Stretton Fault zone probably formed during this period. It is still active today. The hill Caer Caradoc adjacent to the Long Mynd and from the same time is volcanic in origin, and is thought to be the remnants of the great mountain chain.</p><br>
<p>During the Cambrian, Shropshire was flooded by the sea, after the Global Ice Age ended 545 million years ago. Thick layers of beach pebbles and white sand were built up against the sea cliffs that were once molten lava. During this time, the shallow sea played host to the huge explosion of new life which occurred during the Cambrian. Shropshire has some of the most historically important evidence in the explosion of life and in the naming and dividing of the Cambrian period. Trilobites that are found in the county are internationally important for deciding how the Cambrian is divided into smaller segments of time.</p><br>
<p>The Ordovician had Shropshire back to volcanic activity, and saw the county temporarily split in two, along the Pontesford – Linley fault line. Everything west of this line was ocean, while the east was dry land. The Iapetus Ocean was closing, bringing the two-halves of Britain towards each other, and volcanic eruptions created the Cumbrian Mountains and Snowdonia. Shropshire also saw volcanic activity. To the west of the Pontesford – Linley fault, volcanic rocks have been found. The other side of the fault line was quieter. The land was slowly eroded, and the sea gradually flooded it, so that only the tops of hills could be seen, such as the ancient Caer Caradoc. Towards the end of the Ordovician, the sea levels dropped, due to another ice age. An interesting observation of this erosion can be found in the stratigraphy as a sea stump (an eroded sea stack).</p><br>
<p>The Silurian period, occurring 439 million years ago, has been well preserved nearby, in Wenlock Edge. During this time, Shropshire would have been flooded again by shallow sea. Wenlock Edge would have formed during this time, and the fossils of ancient corals and shellfish can be found all along the edge, preserved in limestone. Towards the end of the Silurian the Iapetus would have fully closed, and England and Scotland were joined. The closing of this ocean was important to geology in Great Britain. It caused most of our hills and mountains to align along the fault, northeast to the southwest.</p><br>
<p>During the Devonian, the newly formed Scottish mountains had rivers flowing all over the land. Shropshire was no exception; these new rivers caused thick deposits in the area. Most of the rocks from this era are red sandstones, caused by iron in the rock. The area was known as the Old Red Sandstone Continent. These river sediments have traces of fossilised fish. Shropshire would have remained above water until the end of the Devonian, when the seas rose once again.</p><br>
<p>The Carboniferous was a time of great change for the area. Shropshire would have been near the equator, and the Old Red Sandstone continent had been eroded away; in the early part of the era, the county was under a shallow sea. However, tectonic activity pushed Britain out of the sea. South of Shropshire this effect was felt greatly, though Shropshire was relatively quiet. Mountains to the north were being worn down by rivers, creating enormous deltas that were colonised by plant life. A tropical forest took hold all over Shropshire, with ancient tree ferns and horsetails. Shropshire eventually crossed the equator during this era, and became a part of Pangaea during the Permian; the area would have been very similar to the Sahara Desert, and would have been in the vicinity, around 20° to 30° north of the equator.</p><br>
<p>The Triassic, Jurassic, Cretaceous and Tertiary were very quiet in Shropshire, and very little evidence can be found from these periods. The last Ice Age during the Quaternary has its effect on all of Shropshire, shaping the landscape as we see it today. The Long Mynd would have been under a thick ice sheet, several hundred metres thick. As the ice melted, it carved out the valleys and hills of the Long Mynd massif we see today. The small rivers, streams and brooks still very slowly carve out the valleys. The springs and bogs play a part in Church Stretton&#39;s economy, as the people bottle the mineral water that comes from the Long Mynd.</p><br>
<p>Today the steep and narrow valleys are covered in a thin layer of soil, with a low pH, able to support only strong grasses, rushes and heathers. Beneath the soil the evidence of the ancient and chequered past can be seen, and the rocky outcrops and scree slopes are excellent places to view the different layers of ancient rock.</p><br>
<p>Since 2006, Cambridge University has monitored seismic activity in Long Mynd. The broadband seismometer is connected to the internet, and real-time traces can be viewed online.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<h3>Bronze Age</h3><br>
<p>The Bronze Age period is by far the most recorded period of time on the Long Mynd. There are dozens of tumuli on the moorland. Some are small, the remains of chamber tombs for example. Others are quite large, the sites on the Long Mynd, from the Bronze Age, include dykes and barrows.</p><br>
<p>Barristers Plain Cross-Ridge Dyke runs southwest to northeast, almost in a straight line for 170 m. It runs across the narrowest area of a ridge between Grindle Hill and Round Hill. The remains of the dyke is now covered in heather, and is approximately 5.5 m wide, and is 0.5 m high. On its western side it is fronted by a 3 m wide ditch. At both ends of the Cross Ridge Dyke, it fades into the steep hillside. A gap in the dyke, 60 m from the south-east end, is thought to make room for a trackway along the ridge. Its purpose was to cut off Grindle Hill from the main plateau, and to create a barrier for access from the west.</p><br>
<p>Devil&#39;s Mouth Cross-Ridge Dyke lies between Cardingmill Valley and Townbrook Valley. The dyke is 140 m long, but is cut though by the Burway road and a small car park, 35 m of the dyke is now missing. Both ends of the dyke end on steep slopes! It was built with stone and earth, and is 6 m wide, and 1.5 m high, with shallow ditches either side. It is roughly 1,500 years old. It was probably built to control the access along the ancient east to west route, which still crosses the Long Mynd today by means of a modern road.</p><br>
<p>High Park Cross-Ridge Dyke, another dyke on the Long Mynd. At 380 m it is the longest on the Long Mynd. It is approximately 6 m wide, but in areas survives only as a crop mark. The highest point of the dyke, on the west side of the bank, stands at 1.2 m high, and reaches its widest point at 8 m. A trackway, like that found on Barristers Plain Cross-Ridge Dyke, cuts through the dyke.</p><br>
<p>Of the Long Mynd Barrows, over twenty scatter the plateau. The best examples are in the northern area of the Long Mynd. Robin Hood&#39;s Butts barrow, near Duckley Nap, are two well known barrows, and the largest on the Long Mynd, being approximately 36 m in diameter and 4 m high.</p><br>
<p>The Shooting Box Barrow is named after a grouse-shooting hut that stood on the site until it was removed in 1992. It is the only known example of a disc barrow in Shropshire. 21 m in diameter and 2.3 m high, it is in the centre of a flat circular enclosure 54 m in diameter, the edge of which is defined by a 5 m wide bank, which has been partially destroyed by a modern path. It had been dated to 1950–1700 BC.</p><br>
<p>The Port Way is an ancient trackway, which runs the length of the Long Mynd massif, and is the largest historical feature on the Long Mynd, at just over 5 mi long. It is still walked today, and is part of the Shropshire Way, and a road that goes to the Gliding Club. A common misconception is that it goes over Pole Bank, but instead it bypasses the hill, following its contours.</p><br>
<h3>Iron Age</h3><br>
<p>Very little Iron Age human activity has been recorded on the Long Mynd. However, this later period has a specific ancient site.</p><br>
<p>Bodbury Ring Hill Fort, a hill fort above Cardingmill Valley, and sits on the top of Bodbury Hill at 380 m. This feature dates from the Iron Age, 500 BC, and is therefore much later than other ancient sites on the Long Mynd. Another hill fort nearby sits on the summit of Caer Caradoc. Bodbury Ring is now looked after by the National Trust.</p><br>
<h3>18th century</h3><br>
<p>During the 18th century, Church Stretton began to grow in the wide valley between the Long Mynd and Caer Caradoc, as a market town, and later a spa. Historically the town was known for its textiles, specifically in Cardingmill Valley. Carding Mill was built in the 18th century, and named after a stage in making cloth, the three stages being carding, spinning and weaving. Carding would have been done by children, and involved using a hand-card that removed and untangled short fibres from the mass of raw material. The cards were wooden blocks with handles and covered in metal spikes, which were angled, (to make it easier to untangle) and set in leather. When untangled, the material would be spun, and then weaved into the final product. The mill is still in the valley today, but has been converted into luxury apartments. The Long Mynd Hotel in Church Stretton was built in 1900, originally as the Hydro, at a time when the town was popular as a spa.</p><br>
<h3>20th century</h3><br>
<p>A large area of the Long Mynd (almost all its upland area) was bought by the National Trust in 1965, and was designated an AONB as part of the Shropshire Hills in 1958.</p><br>
<h2>Highest points</h2><br>
<p>The Long Mynd comprises many hills and moors. From the summit of nearly every hill, extensive views of the surrounding area and surrounding counties can be seen. North, one can see as far as Cheshire; west commands views over the Stiperstones, and the Welsh Cambrian Mountains in Powys, notably the Cambrian and Berwyn Mountains, and as far as Snowdonia on clear days. The views east are obscured by other areas of the Shropshire Hills, Caer Caradoc, the Wrekin and the Clee Hills. However, depending on your location on the Long Mynd, views of the West Midlands can be seen. Views south show the Clun Forest, and towards the Craven Arms and Ludlow. The highest points on the Long Mynd are as follows in order of highest to lowest, with comparisons of other hills nearby, and the level of Church Stretton (in Bold).</p><br>
<p>Brown Clee Hill 546 m The Highest Point in Shropshire</p><br>
<p>Stiperstones 536 m</p><br>
<p>Pole Bank 516 m</p><br>
<p>Long Synalds 490 m</p><br>
<p>Wild Moor 487 m</p><br>
<p>Calf Ridge 468 m</p><br>
<p>Haddon Hill 467 m</p><br>
<p>Yearlet 465 m</p><br>
<p>Round Hill 463 m</p><br>
<p>Caer Caradoc 459 m</p><br>
<p>Grindle 459 m</p><br>
<p>Knolls 456 m</p><br>
<p>Minton Hill 453 m</p><br>
<p>Cow Ridge 450 m</p><br>
<p>Packetstone Hill 437 m</p><br>
<p>Nills 427 m</p><br>
<p>Ashlet 415 m</p><br>
<p>Black Knoll 415 m</p><br>
<p>Callow 411 m</p><br>
<p>The Wrekin 407 m</p><br>
<p>Burway Hill 391 m</p><br>
<p>Churchmoor Hill 394 m</p><br>
<p>Bodbury Hill 388 m</p><br>
<p>Priors Holt Hill 383 m</p><br>
<p>Adstone Hill 369 m</p><br>
<p>Shooters Knoll 365 m</p><br>
<p>Stanyeld 334 m</p><br>
<p>Novers Hill 305 m</p><br>
<p>Castle Hill 218 m</p><br>
<p>Church Stretton 192 m</p><br>
<h2>Valleys, hollows and batches</h2><br>
<p>There are dozens of valleys on the Long Mynd, many of which are named Hollows and Batches. The highest concentration of valleys is on the eastern edge of the Long Mynd, near Church Stretton town. The geography of the valleys has many of the larger ones adjacent to each other, running northwest to southeast. Smaller valleys flow into these, designated batches, dales and brooks to distinguish them from the larger features. The main valleys are listed below in alphabetical order.</p><br>
<p>Ashes Hollow</p><br>
<p>Barristers Batch</p><br>
<p>Bilbatch</p><br>
<p>Broadhill Dale</p><br>
<p>Burnells Brook</p><br>
<p>Callow Hollow</p><br>
<p>Carding Mill Valley</p><br>
<p>Catbatch Brook</p><br>
<p>Cwmdale</p><br>
<p>Devils Mouth Hollow</p><br>
<p>Gogbatch</p><br>
<p>Grindle Hollow</p><br>
<p>Hawkham Hollow</p><br>
<p>Hens Batch</p><br>
<p>High Park Hollow</p><br>
<p>Jonathon’s Hollow</p><br>
<p>Light Spout Hollow</p><br>
<p>Long Batch</p><br>
<p>Minton Batch</p><br>
<p>Motts Road</p><br>
<p>Mount Gutter</p><br>
<p>New Pool Hollow</p><br>
<p>Nut Batch</p><br>
<p>Pike Hollow</p><br>
<p>Rams Batch</p><br>
<p>Sleekstone Bank Hollow</p><br>
<p>Stanbatch</p><br>
<p>Stony Batch</p><br>
<p>Townsbrook Valley</p><br>
<p>Woolers Batch</p><br>
<p>Yewtree Batch</p><br>
<h2>Tourism and recreation</h2><br>
<p>The area is popular with tourists, and there are many fine walks in the area. Two major walks are the Shropshire Way and the Jack Mytton Way. The Long Mynd is also used for horse riding and mountain biking on the bridleways.</p><br>
<p>Of the many valleys on the Long Mynd, the most popular is Cardingmill Valley, which has a road directly connected to Church Stretton, and is the National Trust&#39;s centre for the area.</p><br>
<p>The windward slopes are popular with glider, hang-glider and paraglider pilots.</p><br>
<p>During wintry conditions, some valleys are used as makeshift ski slopes. While highly attractive in good conditions, the Long Mynd can be treacherous in severe weather, and has claimed many lives. In 2015 "snow gates" were installed at various points of access onto the Long Mynd, to deter motorists planning to use the routes in wintry conditions.</p><br>
<p>The Longmynd Hike is a 50 mi competitive hike that must be completed in under 24 hours. It takes place annually, usually in the first weekend in October. It crosses over the Long Mynd twice, taking in Pole Bank along its course. The hike has been running since 1967.</p><br>
<p>There is a golf course, the Church Stretton Golf Club, situated near the Cardingmill Valley, on slopes of Stanyeld Hill and Bodbury Hill. The clubhouse is at approximately 230 m above sea level and the hilly links course rises up to around 375m (1,230 ft). It is the oldest 18-hole golf course in Shropshire, opened in 1898, and one of the highest in the country.</p><br>
<h3>Gliding</h3><br>
<p>The Long Mynd has been home to the Midland Gliding Club since 1934. The club owns 136 hectare of land on the south end and flies gliders there throughout the year. It runs residential training courses and offers trial lesson flights to members of the public. Many long flights have started from the Long Mynd, most recently one of 750 km during the summer of 2007. Midland Gliding Club is one of the last clubs in Europe to regularly launch gliders by bungee.</p><br>
<h2>Flora and fauna</h2><br>
<p>The typical plant life on the Long Mynd is heather, rushes and grasses.</p><br>
<p>The wildlife includes ponies, sheep, bats and wild birds including the rare ring ouzel.</p><br>
<h2>Popular culture</h2><br>
<p>The Revd E. D. Carrs A Night in the Snow describes his experience, in 1865, of surviving a winters night on the Long Mynd when attempting to walk home after conducting a Sunday service and visiting an isolated parishioner. He spent 23 hours struggling to force a route back to civilisation.</p><br>
<p>The Long Mynd features in literature in the poetry of A. E. Housman, the novels of Mary Webb (in particular Gone to Earth) and Malcolm Saville&#39;s Lone Pine series for children.</p><br>
<p>The Great Rann of Kutch is a salt marsh located in the Thar Desert in the Kutch District of Gujarat, India. It is about 7,505.22 km&sup2; in size and is reputed to be one of the largest salt deserts in the world. This area has been inhabited by the Kutchi people.</p><br>
<p>The name "Rann" comes from the Hindi word ran (रण) meaning "desert". The Hindi word is derived from Sanskrit/Vedic word (इरिण) attested in the Rigveda and Mahabharata.</p><br>
<h2>Location and description</h2><br>
<p>The Great Rann of Kutch, along with the Little Rann of Kutch and the Banni grasslands on its southern edge, is situated in the district of Kutch and comprises some 30,000 km&sup2; between the Gulf of Kutch and the mouth of the Indus River in southern Pakistan. The marsh can be accessed from the village of Kharaghoda in Surendranagar District.</p><br>
<p>In India&#39;s summer monsoon, the flat desert of salty clay and mudflats, which average 15 meters above sea level, fills with standing water. In very wet years, the wetland extends from the Gulf of Kutch on the west through to the Gulf of Cambay on the east.</p><br>
<p>The area was a vast shallow of the Arabian Sea until continuing geological uplift closed off the connection with the sea, creating a vast lake that was still navigable during the time of Alexander the Great. The Ghaggar River, which presently empties into the desert of northern Rajasthan, formerly emptied into the Rann of Kutch, but the lower reaches of the river dried up as its upstream tributaries were captured by the Indus and Ganges thousands of years ago. Traces of the delta and its distributary channels on the northern boundary of the Rann of Kutch were documented by the Geological Survey of India in 2000.</p><br>
<p>The Luni River, which originates in Rajasthan, drains into the desert in the northeast corner of the Rann. Other rivers feeding into the marsh include the Rupen from the east and the West Banas River from the northeast.</p><br>
<p>There are sandy islets of thorny scrub, forming a wildlife sanctuary and a breeding ground for some of the largest flocks of greater and lesser flamingos. Wildlife, including the Indian wild ass, shelter on islands of higher ground, called bets, during the flooding.</p><br>
<h2>Climate</h2><br>
<p>This is one of the hottest areas of India – with summer temperatures averaging and peaking at 49.5 °C. Winter temperatures reduce dramatically and can go below 0 &deg;C.</p><br>
<h2>Religions</h2><br>
<p>Many religions are found here, including Hinduism, Islam, Jainism & Sikhism.</p><br>
<h2>Threats and preservation</h2><br>
<p>Although most of the marsh is in protected areas, the habitats are vulnerable to cattle grazing, firewood collection and salt extraction operations, all of which may involve transportation that disturbs wildlife. There are several wildlife sanctuaries and protected reserves on the Indian side in the Rann of Kutch region. From the city of Bhuj, various ecologically rich and wildlife conservation areas of the Kutch/Kachchh district can be visited such as Indian Wild Ass Sanctuary, Kutch Desert Wildlife Sanctuary, Narayan Sarovar Sanctuary, Kutch Bustard Sanctuary, Banni Grasslands Reserve and Chari-Dhand Wetland Conservation Reserve.</p><br>
<h2>Indo-Pakistan international border</h2><br>
<p>In India the northern boundary of the Greater Rann of Kutch forms the International Border between India and Pakistan, it is heavily patrolled by India&#39;s Border Security Force (BSF) and Indian Army conducts exercises here to acclimatize its troops to this harsh terrain.</p><br>
<p>This inhospitable salty lowland, rich in natural gas, was one scene of perennial border disputes between India and Pakistan that, in April 1965, contributed to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. Later the same year, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Harold Wilson persuaded the combatants to end hostilities and establish a tribunal to resolve the dispute. A verdict was reached in 1968 which saw Pakistan getting 10% of its claim of 9,100 km&sup2;. 90% was awarded to India, although India claimed 100% of the region. Tensions spurted again in 1999 during the Atlantique incident.</p><br>
<h2>Indus river floods</h2><br>
<p>The Indus river had been flowing in to Rann of Kutch area and Rann of Kutch used to be its catchment area forming part of its delta. Indus river branch called Koree river, shifted its course after an earthquake in 1819 isolating Rann of Kutch from its delta. Pakistan has constructed Left Bank Outfall Drain (LBOD) project to bypass the saline and polluted water which is not fit for agriculture use to reach sea via Rann of Kutch area without passing through the Indus delta. The 500 km long LBOD, begins from northern Ghotki district in Sindh province of Pakistan and joins Rann of Kutch in Badin district of Sindh. Rann of Kutch is joint water body of India and Pakistan. Water released by the LBOD is enhancing the flooding in India and contaminating the quality of water bodies which are source of water to salt farms spread over vast area. The LBOD water is planned to join the sea via disputed Sir Creek but LBOD water is entering Indian territory due to many breaches in its left bank caused by floods</p><br>
<h2>Chir Batti</h2><br>
<p>At night, an unexplained strange dancing light phenomena known locally as Chir Batti (ghost lights) occurs in the Rann, the adjoining Banni grasslands, and the seasonal wetlands.</p><br>
<h2>Tourism</h2><br>
<p>The Government of Gujarat hosts an annual 3 month long festival during winter called the "Rann Utsav festival of the Rann" where tourists can see the various sights of the Rann. For 2016, rann utsav- starts from 1 November 2016.</p><br>
<p>Rann Utsav gives visitors not only a chance to experience full moon on salt deserts but also get a taste of the local culture, cuisine and hospitality.</p><br>
<p>Specially built local houses are also used to house tourists to give them a taste of local traditions</p><br>
<p>Many adventure clubs and travel clubs organize expeditions.</p><br>
<h2>Handicrafts</h2><br>
<p>The unique handicrafts of Kutch are world-famous. A lot of women and young girls make their living by selling different types of embroidered cloths. The embroidery is of various styles such as Rabari, Ahir, Sindhi, Banni, Mutwa, Ari and Soof – and some styles include mirror or bead inlay.</p><br>
<h2>Popular culture</h2><br>
<p>J. P. Dutta&#39;s Bollywood film Refugee was shot in the Great Rann of Kutch along with other locations in the Kachchh district. It is said to have been inspired from the story by Keki N. Daruwalla based around the Great Rann of Kutch titled Love Across the Salt Desert.</p><br>
<p>Amitabh Bachchan in his promotions for Gujarat Tourism titled Khushboo Gujarat Ki has also extensively shot in the Rann of kutch. Several scenes in Salman Rushdies Booker Prize winning novel Midnights Children take place in the Rann of Kutch, including a scene where the protagonist faints from heat stroke in the Rann&#39;s brutal climate. Some scenes or song sequences in Indian films like Magadheera, D-Day, R... Rajkumar, Gori Tere Pyaar Mein, Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela, Lagaan, The Good Road and Dookudu, Sarrainoduwere shot in the area.</p><br>
<p>The Watchung Mountains  are a group of three long low ridges of volcanic origin, between 400 and high, lying parallel to each other in northern New Jersey in the United States. The Watchung Mountains are known for their numerous scenic vistas overlooking New York City, Newark and New Jersey skylines, as well as their isolated ecosystems containing rare plants, endangered wildlife, rich minerals, and globally imperiled trap rock glade communities. The ridges traditionally contained the westward spread of urbanization, forming a significant geologic barrier beyond the piedmont west of the Hudson River; the town of Newark, for example, once included lands from the Hudson to the base of the mountains. Later treaties moved the boundary to the top of the mountain, to include the springs. The Watchungs are basalt uplifts, geologically similar to the Palisades along the Hudson river. In many places, however, the mountains have become sinuous islands of natural landscape within the suburban sprawl covering much of contemporary northeastern New Jersey. Parks, preserves, and numerous historical sites dot the valleys and slopes of the mountains, providing recreational and cultural activities to one of the most densely populated regions of the nation.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>The two most prominent ridges, known as First Watchung Mountain (the southeastern ridge) and Second Watchung Mountain (the northwestern ridge), stretch for over forty miles (64 km) from Somerville (in Somerset County) in the southwest through Morris County, Union County, Essex County, and Passaic County to Mahwah (in Bergen County) in the northeast. The less prominent and discontinuous ridge formed by Long Hill, Riker Hill, Hook Mountain, and Packanack Mountain is sometimes referred to as Third Watchung Mountain and lies on the northwestern side of Second Watchung Mountain.</p><br>
<p>It should be noted that the entireties of First Watchung Mountain and Second Watchung Mountain are often erroneously referred to as Orange Mountain and Preakness Mountain. Historically, the names ‘Orange’ and ‘Preakness’ have only been applied to specific sections of these ridges. The confusion appears to have arisen from the fact that First Watchung Mountain is said to be composed of Orange Mountain basalt, while Second Watchung Mountain is composed of Preakness Mountain basalt. The names applied to the basalts are actually geologic type localities, that is to say, the type of rock found at Orange Mountain is exclusive to all of First Watchung Mountain, while the type of rock found at Preakness Mountain is exclusive to all of Second Watchung Mountain. Like First and Second Watchung Mountain, Third Watchung Mountain is sometimes confused with its type locality, as its entire length is erroneously referred to as Hook Mountain on some occasions.</p><br>
<p>In addition to the three main ridges of the Watchungs, a smaller fourth ridge exists south of Morristown and west of Third Watchung Mountain. While attaining elevations over 400 ftabove sea level, the ridge lacks topographic prominence, only rising to about 100 ft above the surrounding terrain. Only one portion of the ridge is named, a southern section underlying Harding Township known as Lees Hill.</p><br>
<p>All of the ridges lie to the east of the higher Appalachian Mountains, which in northern New Jersey are often referred to as the New York - New Jersey Highlands. Together with the Appalachian Mountains to the west, the Watchungs pen in an area formerly occupied by the prehistoric Glacial Lake Passaic. The Great Swamp, a large portion of which is designated as the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, is a remnant of this lake, presently retained by Third Watchung Mountain.</p><br>
<p>Although the Watchungs commonly are described in terms of their east-west ridge arrangement (First, Second, and Third Watchung Mountain), they also are divided into smaller mountain ranges, as well as various named ridges.</p><br>
<p>Following is a list describing the notable ranges and ridges of the Watchungs from north to south.</p><br>
<p>Campgaw Mountain is the northernmost ridge of the Watchungs, formed by a combination of First and Second Watchung Mountain. Its northern terminus is the Ramapo Mountains, near the New York border. A shallow gap separates its southern end from Preakness Mountain and Goffle Hill.</p><br>
<p>Preakness Mountain comprises part of the northern extent of Second Watchung Mountain between the Passaic River and Campgaw Mountain. Along with Packanack Mountain (part of Third Watchung Mountain) to the west, Preakness Mountain forms the Preakness Range. The three highest peaks of the Watchungs are located in this range.</p><br>
<p>Goffle Hill (Totoway Mountain hist.), part of First Watchung Mountain, flanks the eastern side of Preakness Mountain. Its northern end is broken by a shallow gap separating it from Campgaw Mountain, while its southern end is divided from Garret Mountain by the Passaic River in Paterson.</p><br>
<p>Third Watchung Mountain begins with Packanack Mountain, part of the Preakness Range. The Pompton River separates the south end of Pakanack from the beginning of Towakhow Mountain or Hook Mountain, which runs west-northwest and then turns south to form a curve encircling the Great Piece Meadows along the Passaic River, ending near Pine Brook. To the south, the Rockaway, Whippany, and Passaic Rivers flow east through a gap in the range, which resumes south of Beaufort, New Jersey as Riker Hill. The Passaic flows west through another gap north of Chatham, below which Long Hill stretches southwest and then west to Millington, where the Passaic drains the Great Swamp and cuts through the range. Third Watchung extends a short distance west of Millington to Liberty Corner, with a spur, Cedar Hill, jutting northeast at Lyons.</p><br>
<p>The Newark Mountains are a historical range, encompassing the ridges of First and Second Watchung Mountain south of the Passaic River. First Watchung Mountain in this range begins in the north as Garret Mountain. South of Garret Mountain is Orange Mountain, which is separated from Garret Mountain by a gap known as the Great Notch. The Hobart Gap (or Millburn Gap), near Springfield, then divides Orange Mountain from the remaining southern part of First Watchung Mountain, which stretches south and then west before terminating near Far Hills. Second Watchung Mountain begins in the north of the Newark Mountains as what is historically known as Caldwell Mountain. The northern terminus of Caldwell Mountain is the Passaic River, while the southern terminus is at the Hobart/Millburn Gap. South of the gap, Second Watchung Mountain parallels First Watchung Mountain to Far Hills. There, a gap known as Moggy Hollow incises the ridge before it makes a turn to the north. The remaining section of Second Watchung Mountain, known as Pill Hill, then continues a short distance before terminating along the Ramapo Mountains.</p><br>
<p>Noteworthy summits of the Watchungs include High Mountain, Beech Mountain, and Mount Cecchino in Wayne, which stand at 879 ft (268m), 869 ft (265m) and 755 ft (230m) above sea level. Another notable summit is The Hilltop in Verona, Cedar Grove, and North Caldwell, which peaks at 675 ft just east of the water sphere.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The original inhabitants of the Watchungs, the Lenape, referred to the mountains as the Wach Unks, or ‘high hills’. Evidence of the Lenape presence in the Watchungs can be seen in numerous camps sites that have been uncovered, mainly along the rivers coursing through mountains and in the small caves abundant in the volcanic rock. It is thought the Lenape favored the Watchungs for their profusion of natural resources, including abundant freshwater rivers and streams, a variety of forests, and plentiful fish and game. The Lenape Trail goes along the edge of the cliffs, and used the overlooks there as smoke signal locations. They also took advantage of the rich soils and maintained many farm areas where they raised a variety of seasonal crops.</p><br>
<p>With the arrival of Europeans, the same resources that sustained the indigenous peoples served settlers. Trade in furs to European markets, a bounty of game and fish, and native garden produce for the traders was important during the Dutch colonial period when few settlements occurred. Perhaps most importantly with the settlements established during the English colonial period, the rivers and streams of the Watchungs also supported grain, grist, and saw mills. Later, the energy of these rivers would be harnessed for industry, most notably at the Great Falls of the Passaic River, where mechanical and hydroelectric systems exploited the energy of water falling over the face of First Watchung Mountain.</p><br>
<p>Outside of providing gradation to rivers and streams, the height of the Watchungs has proven useful for other reasons. In the French and Indian War, the military reused the Lenape signal points, as did Washington later.</p><br>
<p>During the Revolutionary War, General George Washington used the protection of the Watchung mountains to erect the first and second Middlebrook encampment. This position on the high ground also allowed him to monitor the area between Perth Amboy and New Brunswick as well as to identify and disturb British movements between Manhattan and Philadelphia. During the revolution the signaling beacons along the Watchungs were extended far up the Hudson and to Boston.</p><br>
<p>In the twentieth century, the Hilltop in Verona, the highest point in Essex County, served as the site of a sanatorium for tuberculosis patients. The county hospital was built there because the high elevation provided clean, mountain air away from the cities to the east.</p><br>
<p>At the height of the Cold War, Campgaw Mountain was selected to house a Nike missile base. Installed on the mountain between 1955 and 1971, the base’s missiles served to guard New York City air space, standing by to intercept nuclear armed Soviet bombers. The facility ultimately was abandoned with the advent of intercontinental ballistic missiles. Two other missile sites were nestled into the forests atop peaks in Mountainside and Morris Township, creating a triangle of redundant sites.</p><br>
<h2>Geology</h2><br>
<p>200 million years ago, magma intruded into the Newark Basin, then an active rift basin associated with the breakup of the supercontinent Pangaea. The magma was initially contained within the sedimentary strata of the basin, forming large intrusions like the Palisades Sill, but it ultimately broke out to the surface through large, episodic eruptions. The Watchung Mountains were originally formed from these eruptions, consisting of three separate flood basalts that may have filled nearly the entire Newark Basin. Each time the basin filled with basalt, which cooled into blocky trap rock, a period of limited volcanic activity followed, allowing sediment to be deposited on top of the previously erupted layer of basalt. In this way, the Newark Basin became layered with alternating strata of Watchung basalt and Jurassic sedimentary rock.</p><br>
<p>Throughout the early Jurassic, the Newark Basin underwent extensive dipping and folding. The western side of the basin plunged deeper into the crust, tilting the basin’s strata to an angle of between 5 and 25 degrees.</p><br>
<p>Erosion began to attack the basin as rifting failed and deposition of new sediments ceased. Over millions of years, erosion ate downward through the tilted rock of the basin, eventually encountering the basalt layers, which are significantly more erosion resistant than the surrounding sedimentary rock. The result of this has been that the exposed edges of the eroding basalt layers have managed to persist longer than the exposed edges of the sedimentary layers, causing them to project prominently above the surrounding surface terrain as high ridges.</p><br>
<p>Today, the flood basalts are preserved in the synclines adjacent to the Ramapo Fault system. It is in these synclines that the basalt layers are thick and warped into downward dipping trap rock sheets, descending below the current erosional surface of the basin. Notably, the synclines preserve not only the basalt layers, but also some overlying Jurassic sedimentary rock. The largest syncline in the basin, the Watchung syncline, contains the greater portion of the Watchung flood basalts as they appear today. The projecting, eroding edges of the flood basalts preserved in the syncline form the three ridges of the Watchung Mountains. Jurassic sedimentary rock layers between and above the ridges form the Feltville, Towaco and Boonton formations. Elsewhere in the Newark Basin, smaller synclines preserve the Watchung Outliers, additional fragments of the flood basalts and associated overlying sediments that have survived into the modern era.</p><br>
<p>Because the majority of the Watchung Mountains are composed of extrusive igneous trap rock, they display characteristic columnar jointing and stacked lava flows. These features are readily noted along the eastern faces of the ridges, which often present mural precipices, or vertical escarpments. Similar features can also be seen in the Palisades Sill, although these were formed within the Earth&#39;s crust. Additionally, the Watchungs feature not only blocky aa lava, but also ropey and billowing pahoehoe flows.</p><br>
<p>The magma which generated the Watchungs and the Palisades also formed the intrusive igneous Sourland Mountain in Central New Jersey, as well as a series of smaller outlying volcanic ridges in the region. Cushetunk Mountain, a ring-shaped volcanic mountain between Sourland Mountain and the Watchungs, is of the same geologic lineage.</p><br>
<p>The Metacomet Mountains in the Connecticut River Basin, another aborted rift valley, came into existence around the same time as the Watchungs, also through extrusive eruptions. While non-contiguous, the two ranges may be considered geologic cousins, having formed under similar circumstances during the rifting of Pangaea. The same erosive and tectonic forces which elevated the Watchungs also served to raise the Metacomets.</p><br>
<h2>Mineralogy</h2><br>
<p>The Watchungs are composed principally of volcanic basalt, which historically has been used in railroad beds and road construction. In addition to this, in many places the mountains are underlain by red and white sandstone which has at times been used in building construction. Mica and calcareous spar often accompany these sandstone beds.</p><br>
<p>Due to the volcanic nature of the Watchungs, zeolites, including prehnite, analcime, and stilbite, which form from a reaction of mafic rocks in alkaline environments, can be found along exposed ridge lines. Agate, primarily in the form of chalcedony, and crystalline quartz (sometimes in the form of amethyst), are prominent in the ancient lava flows of the Watchungs and are typically seen as embedded nodules along exposed fronts. Datolite, another nodular mineral, has been found embedded in the volcanic rock around the Great Falls. Additionally, jasper and satin spar are known to exist within the northwestern Preakness Range.</p><br>
<p>Copper also can be found in the Watchungs. Near Belleville, ore containing 8% copper was discovered, and a copper mine once operated in the area. Other copper bearing ores have been noted near Paterson. These ores typically contain cuprite (red copper oxide) and/or copper carbonate in a matrix of red or gray sandstone. Pyritous copper, also known as chalcopyrite, is not known to exist in ores found in the Watchungs.</p><br>
<h2>Conservation</h2><br>
<p>In the mid-twentieth century, the ability of the Watchungs to hold back the spread of urbanization was greatly reduced with the development of the interstate highway system. Three interstate highways, I-80, I-280, and I-78, were sliced through the Watchungs, allowing suburbia to invade its inner valleys and slopes. Near the end of the century, I-287, a great semi-circular beltway enclosed the Watchungs within the bulge of suburbia radiating out from New York City. Many pathways of safe passage through the mountains, retained from the time of the Lenapes, were severed and blocked by the highways.</p><br>
<p>Today, along the summits of the Watchungs, talus slope environs as well as globally rare trap rock glade/outcrop communities and their unique species have become threatened by development. As a response, efforts to conserve the unique landscapes of the Watchungs have been undertaken. The largest of the conservation efforts so far is High Mountain Park Preserve, which at 1,153.7 acre sets aside one of the largest tracts of wilderness in the New Jersey Piedmont. The park is known to contain at least one globally imperiled plant, Torrey&#39;s mountain mint (Pycnanthemum torrei), as well as three other plants endangered within New Jersey.</p><br>
<p>Other large areas of preserved land lie within the valleys of the Watchungs. The Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, retained within the embrace of Third Watchung Mountain, now consists of 7,600 acres (31 square kilometers) or almost 12 square miles (30.4 km²) of varied habitats. The refuge was created through the efforts and donations of a small group of local residents in 1959, the Jersey Jetport Site Association, and a Great Swamp Committee later formed within the North American Wildlife Foundation. It is championed by many organizations among the contemporary communities adjacent to the refuge. The Great Swamp, as well as other swamps retained by the Watchungs, including Great Piece Meadows, constitute the remains of Glacial Lake Passaic. The lake existed during the last ice age, eventually draining as a glacier in the northern Watchungs receded and allowed the lake&#39;s water to empty out via a gap in the ridges of First and Second Watchung Mountain currently occupied by the Passaic River.</p><br>
<p>General awareness of the history and natural environment of Watchungs has been increased through efforts such as the construction and designation of the Lenape Trail. The trail traverses rugged sections of the mountains while at the same time connecting various historical sites pertinent to the history of New Jersey.</p><br>
<h2>Recreation</h2><br>
<p>Parks and reservations from north to south:</p><br>
<p>Campgaw Mountain Reservation, Campgaw Mountain (First and Second Watchung Mountain)</p><br>
<p>Franklin Lakes Nature Preserve, Goffle Hill (First Watchung Mountain)</p><br>
<p>High Mountain Park Preserve, Preakness Range (Second Watchung Mountain)</p><br>
<p>Great Falls State Park Under Development, First Watchung Mountain</p><br>
<p>Garret Mountain Reservation, First Watchung Mountain</p><br>
<p>Rifle Camp Park, First Watchung Mountain</p><br>
<p>Mills Reservation, First Watchung Mountain</p><br>
<p>Hilltop Reservation, Second Watchung Mountain</p><br>
<p>Eagle Rock Reservation, First Watchung Mountain</p><br>
<p>Riker Hill Park, Riker Hill (Third Watchung Mountain)</p><br>
<p>Lenape Trail, First, Second, and Third Watchung Mountain</p><br>
<p>South Mountain Reservation, First and Second Watchung Mountain</p><br>
<p>Watchung Reservation, First and Second Watchung Mountain</p><br>
<p>Washington Rock State Park, First Watchung Mountain</p><br>
<p>Washington Valley Park, First Watchung Mountain</p><br>
<p>Leonard J. Buck Garden/Moggy Hollow Natural Area, Second Watchung Mountain</p><br>
<h2>Image gallery</h2><br>
<p>Acharnes  is a suburban town in Athens, Attica, Greece. With 106,943 inhabitants , it is the most populous municipality in East Attica. It is part of the Athens Urban area.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>The northern part of the municipality is covered by the forested Parnitha mountains. The southern part is in the plain of Athens, and is densely populated. The built-up area of Acharnes, in this southern part of the municipality, is continuous with that of the adjacent suburbs to the west, east and south. The centre of Acharnes is 11 km due north of Athens city centre. The two other settlements in the municipality, Thrakomakedones and Varympompi, are situated further north, in the foothills of Parnitha. Acharnes is crossed by several important roads and railways, including Motorway 6, the Piraeus–Platy railway and the Athens Airport–Kiato railway. The Acharnes Railway Center is the main railway junction of Attica. Acharnes is home to the Folk Art Museum of Acharnes.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Acharnes was named after the deme Acharnae (Ἁχαρναί), a subdivision of Attica in classical antiquity. The Athenian playwright Aristophanes characterised the inhabitants of Acharnae as peasants in his play The Acharnians. Acharnes suffered significant damage from the 1999 Athens earthquake, being very close to the epicenter.</p><br>
<h2>Municipality</h2><br>
<p>The municipality Acharnes was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following 2 former municipalities, that became municipal units:</p><br>
<p>Acharnes</p><br>
<p>Thrakomakedones</p><br>
<p>The municipality has an area of 149.956 km, the municipal unit 146.406 km.</p><br>
<h2>Historical population</h2><br>
<h2>Museums</h2><br>
<p>The Folk Art Museum of Acharnes is a museum in Acharnes, a northern suburb of Athens, Greece. It was founded in 1977 by the local Greek Mountaineering Society, which also formed the Historical and Folklore Association in 1981, to which it bequeathed the museum in 1982. The archaeological part of the collection was then separated from the historical and folklore material and was given to the Hellenic Ministry of Culture. Former Minister Melina Mercouri founded for it the Archaeological Museum of Acharnes in a neoclassical building in the central square of Acharnes, which had formerly housed the local City Hall. The same building houses the Historical and Folklore Society and its Folk Art Museum to the present time.</p><br>
<h2>Sporting teams</h2><br>
<p>Acharnaikos F.C. - second division</p><br>
<p>The Hall of State  is a building in Dallas&#39;s Fair Park that commemorates the history of the USA state of Texas and is considered one of the best examples of Art Deco architecture in the state. It was designed and built for the Texas Centennial Exposition.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Built in 1936 at the astronomical (especially during the Great Depression) price of $1.2 million, the building was the most expensive per unit area of any structure built in Texas. It was designed for the centennial of the Republic of Texas by architect Donald Barthelme in the beaux arts style and is considered one of the most representative examples of art deco architecture in Texas. Most of the Art Deco ornamental metalwork, including the light fixtures were designed by John F. Livers and made at his Company the Livers Lighting and Bronze Company in Kansas City, MO. according to records from the Dallas Historical Society Centennial archives collection. The Hall of State is the culmination of the 1,500 ft long Esplanade of State which is flanked by six exhibition pavilions and features a long reflecting pool. It was built using Texas limestone and features memorials to many of the heroes of Texas history.</p><br>
<h2>Current</h2><br>
<p>The Dallas Historical Society has been responsible for managing the Hall of State since 1938. The Hall of State is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a part of Fair Park. In 1986, the building was restored at a cost of approximately $1.5 million, and the G.B. Dealey Library was opened.</p><br>
<p>The G.B. Dealey Library, located in the East Texas room of the Hall of State, holds more than ten thousand bound volumes and three million historic documents, including Sam Houston&#39;s handwritten account of the battle of San Jacinto.</p><br>
<p>The Dallas Historical Society rents the Hall of State for events and provides guided tours to school groups.</p><br>
<p>The structure became a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 1981.</p><br>
<p>The American Museum of the Miniature Arts is currently located at the Hall of State.</p><br>
<h2>Architecture</h2><br>
<p>The curved exedra at the entrance to the Hall of Texas features 76 ft tall limestone pillars sit in front of blue tiles designed to evoke the state&#39;s flower, the bluebonnet (Lupinus texensis). In the center, above the entrance is an 11 ft bronze with gold leaf statue by Allie Tennant of the "Tejas Warrior": an archer holds high a bow without an arrow, meant to symbolize peace.</p><br>
<p>Inside the Hall of State is the Hall of Heroes, which features six bronze statues of James Fannin, Mirabeau B. Lamar, Stephen F. Austin, Sam Houston, Thomas Jefferson Rusk and William B. Travis. There are also bronze plaques that commemorate the Battle of the Alamo and the Battle of San Jacinto. Outside, a statue of Robert L. Thornton, benefactor of the State Fair of Texas and former Mayor of Dallas stands, overlooking the esplanade.</p><br>
<p>On the exterior frieze, the Hall of State commemorates 60 prominent historical figures in Texas&#39; history:</p><br>
<p>Edward Burleson</p><br>
<p>Branch Tanner Archer</p><br>
<p>Thomas Jefferson Rusk</p><br>
<p>William B. Travis</p><br>
<p>James Stephen Hogg</p><br>
<p>Richard Ellis</p><br>
<p>Mirabeau B. Lamar</p><br>
<p>Ben Milam</p><br>
<p>David G. Burnet</p><br>
<p>John Coffee "Jack" Hays</p><br>
<p>James Smith (Texas General)</p><br>
<p>Albert Sidney Johnston</p><br>
<p>Stephen F. Austin</p><br>
<p>James Bonham</p><br>
<p>Davy Crockett</p><br>
<p>Sam Houston</p><br>
<p>J. Pinckney Henderson</p><br>
<p>Oran M. Roberts</p><br>
<p>Lorenzo de Zavala</p><br>
<p>James Bowie</p><br>
<p>John Reagan</p><br>
<p>Anson Jones</p><br>
<p>James Fannin</p><br>
<p>Gail Borden</p><br>
<p>William H. Wharton</p><br>
<p>Peter Bell</p><br>
<p>José Antonio Navarro</p><br>
<p>Elisha M. Pease</p><br>
<p>Samuel May Williams</p><br>
<p>Ben McCulloch</p><br>
<p>James W. Robinson</p><br>
<p>Matthew Caldwell</p><br>
<p>James Collinsworth</p><br>
<p>John Hemphill</p><br>
<p>George Childress</p><br>
<p>Thomas Green</p><br>
<p>R.T. Wheeler</p><br>
<p>William B. Franklin</p><br>
<p>Henry Wax Karnes</p><br>
<p>Moseley Baker</p><br>
<p>Walter P. Lane</p><br>
<p>Patrick Churchill Jack</p><br>
<p>Francisco Vásquez de Coronado</p><br>
<p>Alonso Alvarez de Pineda</p><br>
<p>Alonso de León</p><br>
<p>Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca</p><br>
<p>Hamilton Prieleaux Bee</p><br>
<p>William Read Scurry</p><br>
<p>Memucan Hunt Jr</p><br>
<p>Frank Johnson</p><br>
<p>Samuel Price Carson</p><br>
<p>Sidney Sherman</p><br>
<p>Abner Smith Lipscomb</p><br>
<p>George Washington Hockley</p><br>
<p>Henry Weidner Baylor</p><br>
<p>Robert McAlpin Williamson</p><br>
<p>Menefee (either William Menefee or John Menefee)</p><br>
<p>Thomas Jefferson Chambers</p><br>
<p>Isaac Van Zandt</p><br>
<p>Thomas S. Lubbock</p><br>
<p>Fort Ross , originally Fortress Ross , is a former Russian establishment on the west coast of North America in what is now Sonoma County, California, in the United States. It was the hub of the southernmost Russian settlements in North America from 1812 to 1842. It has been the subject of archaeological investigation and is a California Historical Landmark, a National Historic Landmark, and on the National Register of Historic Places. It is part of California&#39;s Fort Ross State Historic Park.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Beginning with Columbus in 1492, the Spanish presence in the Western hemisphere, (like most other European exploration and colonization) traveled west across the Atlantic Ocean, then around or across the Americas to reach the Pacific Ocean. The Russian expansion, however, moved east across Siberia and the northern Pacific. In the early nineteenth century, Spanish and Russian expansion met along the coast of Spanish Alta California, with Russia pushing south and Spain pushing north. By that time, British and American fur trade companies had also established a coastal presence, in the Pacific Northwest, and Mexico was soon to gain independence. Mexico ceded Alta California to the United States of America following the Mexican-American War (1848). The history of the Russian Fort Ross settlement began during Spanish rule and ended under Mexico.</p><br>
<h3>Russian-American Company</h3><br>
<p>Russian personnel from the Alaskan colonies initially arrived in California aboard American ships. In 1803, American ship captains already involved in the sea otter maritime fur trade in California proposed several joint venture hunting expeditions to Alexander Andreyevich Baranov, on half shares using Russian supervisors and native Alaskan hunters to hunt fur seals and otters along the Alta and Baja Californian coast. Subsequent reports by the Russian hunting parties of uncolonized stretches of coast encouraged Baranov, the Chief Administrator of the Russian-American Company (RAC), to consider a settlement in California north of the limit of Spanish occupation in San Francisco. In 1806 the Russian Ambassador to Japan, and RAC director Nikolay Rezanov, undertook an exploratory trade mission to California to establish a formal means of procuring food supplies in exchange for Russian goods in San Francisco. While guests of the Spanish, Rezanov&#39;s captain, Lt. Khvostov, explored and charted the coast north of San Francisco Bay and found it completely unoccupied by other European powers. Upon his return to New Archangel, Rezanov recommended to Baranov, and Emperor Aleksandr I, that a settlement be established in California.</p><br>
<p>Fort Ross was established by Commerce Counselor Ivan Kuskov of the Russian-American Company. In 1808 Baranov sent two ships, the Kadyak and the Sv. Nikolai, on an expedition south to establish settlements for the RAC with instructions to bury "secret signs"(possession plaques). Kuskov, on the Kadyak, was instructed to bury the plaques, with an appropriate possession ceremony, at Trinidad, Bodega Bay, and the north shore of San Francisco, indicating Russian claims to the land. After sailing into Bodega Bay in 1809 on the Kad&#39;yak and returning to Novoarkhangelsk with beaver skins and 1,160 otter pelts, Baranov ordered Kuskov to return and establish an agricultural settlement in the area. After a failed attempt in 1811, Kuskov sailed the brig Chirikov back to Bodega Bay in March 1812, naming it the Gulf of Rumyantsev or Rumyantsev Bay (залив Румянцева, Zaliv Rumyantseva) in honor of the Russian Minister of Commerce Count Nikolai Petrovich Rumyantzev. He also named the Russian River the Slav (Славянка, Slavyanka). On his return, Kuskov found American otter hunting ships and otter now scarce in Bodega Bay. After exploring the area they ended up selecting a place 15 mi north that the native Kashaya Pomo people called Mad shui nui or Metini. Metini, the seasonal home of the native Kashaya Pomo people, had a modest anchorage and abundant natural resources and would become the Russian settlement of Fortress Ross.</p><br>
<p>The present name of Fort Ross appears first on a French chart published in 1842 by Eugene Duflot de Mofras, who visited California in 1840. and not from Scottish "Ross". According to William Bright, "Ross" is a poetic name for a Russian in the Russian language.</p><br>
<p>Fort Ross was established as an agricultural base from which the northern settlements could be supplied with food and carry on trade with Alta California. Colony Ross referred to the entire area where Russians had settled. The colony included a port at Bodega Bay called Port Rumyantsev (порт Румянцев), a sealing station on the Farallon Islands 18 mi out to sea from San Francisco, and by 1830 three small farming communities called "ranchos" (Ранчо): Chernykh (Ранчо Егора Черных, Rancho Egora Chernykh) near present-day Graton, Khlebnikov (Ранчо Василия Хлебникова, Rancho Vasiliya Khlebnikova) a mile north of the present day town of Bodega in the Salmon Creek valley, and Kostromitinov (Ранчо Петра Костромитинова, Rancho Petra Kostromitinova) on the Russian River.</p><br>
<h3>Local enterprise</h3><br>
<p>In addition to farming and manufacturing, the Company carried on its fur-trading business at Fort Ross, but by 1817, after 20 years of intense hunting by Spanish, American and British ships - followed by Russian efforts - had practically eliminated sea otter in the area.</p><br>
<p>Fort Ross was the site of Californias first windmills and shipbuilding. Russian scientists associated with the colony were among the first to record Californias cultural and natural history. The Russian managers introduced many European innovations such as glass windows, stoves, and all-wood housing into Alta California. Together with the surrounding settlement, Fort Ross was home to Russians (during the 19th and early 20th century Russian subjects included Poles, Finns, Ukrainians, Estonians, and numerous other nationalities and ethnic groups of the Russian Empire), as well as North Pacific Natives, Aleuts, Kashaya (Pomo), and Creoles. The native populations of the Sonoma and Napa County regions were affected by smallpox, measles and other European diseases, one instance that can be traced to the settlement of Fort Ross. However, the first vaccination in California history was carried out by the crew of the Kutuzov, a Russian-American Company vessel arriving from Callao, Peru which brought vaccine to Monterey in August,1821. The Kutuzovs surgeon vaccinated 54 persons. Another instance of disease prevention was when a visiting Hudsons Bay Company hunting party was refused entry to the Colony in 1833, when it was feared that a malaria epidemic which had devastated the Central Valley was carried by its members. In 1837 a very deadly epidemic of smallpox that came from this settlement via New Archangel wiped out most native people in the Sonoma and Napa County regions.&#39;</p><br>
<p>An 1841 inventory for Mr. Sutter describes the settlement surrounding the fort: "twenty-four planked dwellings with glazed windows, a floor and a ceiling; each had a garden. There were eight sheds, eight bathhouses and ten kitchens."</p><br>
<p>By 1841 the settlements agricultural importance had decreased considerably, the local population of fur-bearing marine mammals had been long depleted by international over-hunting, and the recently secularized California missions no longer supplemented the agricultural needs of the Alaskan colonies. Following the formal trade agreement in 1838 between the Russian-American Company in New Archangel and Hudsons Bay Company at Fort Vancouver and Fort Langley for their agricultural needs, the settlement at Fort Ross was no longer needed to supply the Alaskan colonies with food. The Russian-American Company consequently offered the settlement to various potential purchasers, and it was sold to John Sutter, a Mexican citizen of Swiss origin, soon to be renowned for the discovery of gold at his lumber mill in the Sacramento valley. Although the settlement was sold for $30,000 to Sutter, Russian historians assert the sum was never paid, therefore legal title of the settlement was never transferred to Sutter and still belongs to the Russian people. A recent Sutter biography however, asserts that Sutter&#39;s agent, Peter Burnett, paid the Russian-American Company agent William M. Steuart $19,788 in "notes and gold" on April 13, 1849, thereby settling the outstanding debt for Fort Ross and Bodega.</p><br>
<h3>20th century</h3><br>
<p>Afterward, possession of Fort Ross passed from Sutter through successive private hands and finally to George W. Call. In 1903, the stockade and about 3 acre of land were purchased from the Call family by the California Historical Landmarks Commission. Three years later it was turned over to the State of California for preservation and restoration as a state historic monument; since then, the state acquired more of the surrounding land for preservation purposes. California Department of Parks and Recreation as well as many volunteers put extensive efforts into restoration and reconstruction work in the Fort.</p><br>
<p>Most of the existing buildings on the site are reconstructions. Cooperative research efforts with Russian archives will help to correct interpretive errors present in structures that date from the Cold-War period. The only original structure remaining is the Rotchev House. Known as the "Commandants House" from the 1940s through the 1970s, it was the residence of the last manager, Aleksandr Rotchev. Renovated in 1836 from an existing structure, it was titled the "new commandants house" in the 1841 inventory to differentiate it from the "old commandants house" (Kuskov House). The Rotchev House, or in original documents, "Administrators House", is at the center of efforts to "re-interpret" Russias part in Californias colonial history. The Fort Ross Interpretive Association has received several federally funded grants to restore both exterior and interior elements. While its exterior has been partially restored, its interior is currently undergoing restoration to reflect the recent research that shows a more cosmopolitan and refined aspect of colonial life at the Fort.</p><br>
<p>A few months later the roof of the Rotchev House was damaged by fire.</p><br>
<p>The Russian cemetery containing at least 270 burials on an adjacent ridge has been cleared and the gravesites identified by archaeological excavations during 1990-1992. A large orchard, including several original trees planted by the Russians, is located inland on Fort Ross Road in Sonoma County.</p><br>
<p>Fort Ross is now a part of Fort Ross State Historic Park, open to the public.</p><br>
<h2>Windmills at Fort Ross</h2><br>
<p>Much archaeological research has been done at Fort Ross, more recently in search of the windmills. The historical record states there were at least three windmills, possibly four, although the fourth may have been a watermill or a man or animal powered mill. The windmills have gained much attention because various accounts of their exact locations are sometimes inconsistent and vague. There was, in fact, one windmill located not far from the northern end of the blockade, which was most likely used to grind wheat and barley flour. Based on the descriptions given by people who visited Fort Ross, it has been concluded that the main windmill, located outside the blockade, was the traditional style Russian stolbovki. The root word "stolb" means thick vertical pole.</p><br>
<p>At the time, the only mills in California, which was under Spanish/Mexican rule, were either water or animal powered. What made the Russian mills significant is that they were the first windmills in California. The Russian stolbovki needed a very large center post which was sunk into the ground and supported the transverse pole. The transverse pole was rotated by the wings of the mill that faced the wind current. Archaeologists are searching for the remains of this center post, which would have left a significant indentation in the ground.</p><br>
<p>In October 2012 a modern interpretation of one of Fort Ross windmills was erected and placed near the parking lot and visitors center of the State Historic Park. The windmill was built completely by hand, using the same methods that were presumed to have been used in the days of the Russian American settlement. Its pieces were constructed in Russia and shipped to California, where it was fully assembled and now stands as the only working Russian windmill of this style. It has been pointed out, however, that this is a replica of a 19th or early 20th century Vologda Province windmill, and only bears a slight resemblance to the windmill recorded at Fort Ross in 1841 by Ilya Voznesensky. In Voznesenskys painting the roof is hipped rather than peaked, and there is no roofed exterior porch on the upper left-hand side. The supporting cribbing is covered in the 1841 rendition, and the proportions are noticeably different. The placement near the parking lot at Fort Ross also conflicts with archeologists&#39; views of the actual site of the windmill as portrayed by Voznesensky.</p><br>
<h2>Colonial administrators</h2><br>
<p>Fort Ross colony had five administrators:</p><br>
<p>Ivan A. Kuskov, 1812&ndash;1821</p><br>
<p>Karl J. von Schmidt, 1821&ndash;1824</p><br>
<p>Pavel I. Shelikhov, 1824&ndash;1830</p><br>
<p>Petr S. Kostromitinov, 1830&ndash;1838</p><br>
<p>Aleksander G. Rotchev, 1838&ndash;1841</p><br>
<h2>Derived place names</h2><br>
<p>Along with its status as a National Historic Landmark, the fort itself and the surrounding area are part of Fort Ross State Historic Park. Fort Ross also designates the small rural community that exists between the towns of Cazadero, Jenner, and Gualala, with the Fort Ross Elementary School at its center.</p><br>
<h2>Milestones</h2><br>
<h3>16th and 17th centuries</h3><br>
<p>1542–1543: Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo visits San Diego, Farallon Islands, Cape Mendocino, Cape Blanco.</p><br>
<p>1579–1639: Russian frontiersmen penetrate eastward to Siberia and the Pacific.</p><br>
<p>1602: S. Viscaino explores to the Columbia River region, naming the Farallon Islands, Point Reyes and the Rio Sebastian (present-day Russian River).</p><br>
<h3>18th century</h3><br>
<p>1728: Vitus Bering and Alexei Chirikov explore Bering Strait.</p><br>
<p>1741–1742: Bering and Chirikov claim Russian America (Alaska) for Russia.</p><br>
<p>1769: Gaspar de Portola traveling overland discovers San Francisco Bay.</p><br>
<p>1775: Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra anchors in outer Bodega Bay, trades with the local Indians.</p><br>
<p>1784: Russians Grigoriy Shelikhov and his wife Nataliya establish a base on Kodiak Island.</p><br>
<p>1799: Russian American Company (with manager Aleksandr Baranov) establishes Novo Arkhangelsk (New Archangel, now Sitka, Alaska).</p><br>
<h3>19th century</h3><br>
<p>1806: Count Nikolai Rezanov, Imperial Ambassador to Japan and director of the Russian American Company, visits the Presidio of San Francisco.</p><br>
<p>1806–1813: American ships bring Russians and Alaska Natives on 12 California fur hunts.</p><br>
<p>1808–1811: Ivan Kuskov lands in Bodega Bay (Port Rumiantsev), builds structures and hunts in the region.</p><br>
<p>1812, March 15: Ivan Kuskov with 25 Russians and 80 Native Alaskans arrives at Port Rumiantsev and proceeds north to establish Fortress Ross.</p><br>
<p>1812, September 11: The Fortress is dedicated on the name-day of Emperor Aleksandr I</p><br>
<p>1816: Russian exploring expedition led by Captain Otto von Kotzebue visits California with naturalists Adelbert von Chamisso, Johann Friedrich von Eschscholtz, and artist Louis Choris.</p><br>
<p>1817: Russian Chief Administrator Captain Leonty Gagemeister conducts treaty with local tribal chiefs for possession of property near Fortress Ross. First such treaty conducted with native peoples in California.</p><br>
<p>1818: The Rumiantsev, first of four ships built at Fortress Ross. The Buldakov, Volga and Kiakhta follow, as well as several longboats.</p><br>
<p>1821: Russian Imperial decree gives Native Alaskans and Creoles civil rights protected by law</p><br>
<p>1836: Fr. Veniaminov (St. Innocent) visits Fort Ross, conducts services, and carries out census.</p><br>
<p>1841: Rotchev sells Fort Ross and accompanying land to John Sutter.</p><br>
<h3>20th and 21st centuries</h3><br>
<p>1903: California Landmarks League purchases the 2.5 acre fort property from George W. Call for $3000.</p><br>
<p>1906: The fort is deeded to what becomes the California State Parks Commission.</p><br>
<p>1906, April 18: California&#39;s major historical earthquake causes considerable damage to the buildings of the fort compound.</p><br>
<p>1916: Fort Ross is partially restored.</p><br>
<p>1970: Fires at Fort Ross destroy the chapel and damage the roof of the Rotchev House.</p><br>
<p>1971: Fort Ross is once again only partially restored.</p><br>
<p>1974: Restored Fort Ross officially reopened.</p><br>
<p>2010: The Rotchev House is opened as a house museum</p><br>
<p>2010: Memorandum of Agreement signed in San Francisco between the State of California and Renova Group, a Russian entrepreneurial company, whereby the Russian company undertakes to fund the continuing upkeep and operation of Fort Ross.</p><br>
<p>2012, March 15: Bodega Bay (Port Rumiantsev) celebrates its 200th anniversary as the main port of Russian California.</p><br>
<p>2012, April: The Russian River at Jenner celebrates its 200th anniversary of being named Slavyanka by Ivan Kuskov</p><br>
<p>2012, August: an American delegation attends Totma, Russias 875th anniversary and 200th anniversary of Fort Ross founding by Ivan Kuskov, a Totma native.</p><br>
<p>2012: Fort Ross State Historic Park celebrated is 200 year bicentennial of the Russian settlement in a historic two-day event that was attended by over 6,500 people.</p><br>
<p>2012, September: The Kashaya expedition to Russia. An unofficial delegation from California was hosted in Russia marking the Kashaya&#39;s first ever trip to Russia.</p><br>
<p>2012, October: A working interpretation of the original windmill was built and dedicated at the park.</p><br>
<h2>Buildings</h2><br>
<h2>California State Landmark</h2><br>
<h2>Climate</h2><br>
<p>The National Weather Service has maintained a cooperative weather station at Fort Ross for many years. Based on those observations, Fort Ross has cool, damp weather most of the year. Fog and low overcast is common throughout the year. There are occasional warm days in the summer, which also tend to be relatively dry except for drizzle from heavy fogs or passing showers. According to the Köppen climate classification system, Fort Ross has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate (Csb).</p><br>
<p>In January, average temperatures range from 57.0 &deg;F to 41.5 &deg;F. In July, average temperatures range from 66.3 &deg;F to 47.8 &deg;F. September is actually the warmest month with average temperatures ranging from 68.1 &deg;F to 48.7 &deg;F. There are an average of only 0.2 days with highs of 90 °F (32 °C) or higher and 5.8 days with lows of 32 °F (0 °C) or lower. The record high temperature was 97 &deg;F on September 3, 1950. The record low temperature was 20 &deg;F on December 8, 1972.</p><br>
<p>Average annual precipitation is 37.64 in, falling on an average of 81 days each year. The wettest year was 1983 with 71.27 in and the driest year was 1976 with 17.98 in. The wettest month on record was February 1998 with 21.68 in. The most rainfall in 24 hours was 5.70 in on January 14, 1956. Snow rarely falls at Fort Ross; the record snowfall was 0.4 in on December 30, 1987.</p><br>
<h2>Popular culture</h2><br>
<p>Fort Ross serves as the backdrop in the short story "Facts Relating to the Arrest of Dr. Kalugin," part of Kage Baker&#39;s series of science fiction stories concerning "The Company."</p><br>
<p>In Adrienne Jones&#39;s historical novel, Another Place, Another Spring, set in 19th century Russia, a young countess and her maid, sentenced to live in exile in Siberia get help to escape to Fort Ross in California.</p><br>
<p>Bruny Island is a 362 km&sup2; island located off the south-eastern coast of Tasmania, Australia. The island is separated from the Tasmanian mainland by the D’Entrecasteaux Channel, and its east coast lies within the Tasman Sea. Storm Bay is located to the islands northeast. Both the island and the channel are named after French explorer Bruni dEntrecasteaux. Its traditional Aboriginal name is lunawanna-allonah, which survives as the name of two island settlements, Alonnah and Lunawanna.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>Geologically, Bruny Island is actually two land masses - North Bruny and South Bruny - that are joined by a long, narrow sandy isthmus. Bruny Island has a total length of approximately 100 km. The holiday village of Dennes Point is located in North Bruny, while South Bruny is the site of the towns of Alonnah, Adventure Bay and Lunawanna.</p><br>
<p>Outside its settlements the island is covered in grazing fields and large tracts of dry eucalyptus forest. Inland forests continue to be logged, but other large sections - mostly along the southeastern coast - are preserved as the South Bruny National Park. While the seaward side of the island features two long beaches - Adventure Bay and Cloudy Bay - it is for the most part extremely rugged, with cliffs of dolerite that are over 200 m. Bruny&#39;s channel side is far more sheltered and a favourite fishing and recreational boating area for local and interstate visitors. Adventure Bay is located on the eastern side of the isthmus, while Isthmus bay is located on the western side.</p><br>
<p>Access to the island is by vehicular ferry, funded by the State Government. Since 1954, four vessels have operated the Bruny Island Ferry service between the island and Kettering on the mainland. The service is currently plied by the Mirambeena, which is unusual for using a Voith-Schneider propulsion system rather than a conventional propeller.</p><br>
<p>The d&#39;Entrecastaux Channel region, sheltered by Bruny Island, is increasingly subject to foreshore erosion, some areas have begun sandbagging to reduce the effects.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Bruny Island was originally inhabited by the Aborigines until European arrival, although there is still a large community of people who identify as Aboriginal. Abel Tasman tried to land in the vicinity of Adventure Bay in November 1642.</p><br>
<p>In 1773 Tobias Furneaux was the first recorded European to land on the island at Adventure Bay (named after his ship); four years later on 26 January 1777 James Cook&#39;s two ships, the Resolution and Discovery stayed in the bay area for two days. Cook carved his initials in a tree that was destroyed in a 1905 bushfire and is now commemorated by a plaque. In 1788 and again in 1792 (with Matthew Flinders) William Bligh stayed in the Adventure Bay area.</p><br>
<p>The island itself however is named after the French explorer Bruni d&#39;Entrecasteaux who explored the Channel region and discovered it to be an island in 1792. It was known as Bruni Island until 1918, when the spelling was changed to Bruny.</p><br>
<p>Even though "Cooktown" was marked on maps as early as the 1840s, the island was not officially opened up to European settlement until the late 1800s when the timber industry took off. South Bruny was opened up by numerous tramways and haulages, some horse-drawn and some using modified locomotives. The longest and best preserved tramway runs from Adventure Bay to the far southeast corner of the island. Almost all settlements on South Bruny were originally opened as timber ports owned by the different timber companies operating on the island. Lunawanna (former Daniels Bay), Alonnah (former Mills Reef) and Adventure Bay/Cooktown were some of the largest ports operating on the island. At Daniels Bay, the settlement was separated from the timber jetty as the tramway was forced to trace along the south side of the bay to reach deep water as most of the bay was too shallow to bring boats in. Most settlements of South Bruny now serve as shack towns or holiday locations.</p><br>
<p>Since the 1920s the island has become known as a holiday location with surfing beaches, National Parks and historical sites. In more recent history the Bruny Island was the site of a land transfer by the state Government to local Aboriginal people.</p><br>
<h2>Environment</h2><br>
<p>Bruny Island is classified by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area because it supports the worlds largest population of the endangered forty-spotted pardalote, up to a third of the world population of the swift parrot, 13 of Tasmanias 14 endemic bird species, and up to 240,000 breeding pairs of the short-tailed shearwater (or Tasmanian muttonbird).</p><br>
<h2>Tourism</h2><br>
<p>A key contributor to Bruny Island&#39;s economy is its growing tourism industry. Being home to the South Bruny National Park, tourism on the island centres on the showcase of its natural assets.</p><br>
<p>The Cape Bruny Lighthouse (1838) is an iconic Australian lighthouse and was the oldest continuous lighthouse under operation by the Commonwealth. Now out of service, it has been transferred to the Tasmanian Government and is part of the South Bruny National Park and is now privately operated by.</p><br>
<p>In 2010/11, overall visitors to Bruny Island increased 4% to 74,600. The island is primarily a day-trip destination with only 21,800 visitors staying on the island overnight. There are a growing number of tourism businesses on the island including a cheese factory, oyster farm, vineyard, smokehouse, lighthouse, museum, art gallery, two eco-cruises along with various accommodation properties and cafes.</p><br>
<h2>Localities</h2><br>
<p>Bruny Island is divided into eleven bounded localities. The two largest by area are North Bruny and South Bruny which consist of national park, state forest and some grazing areas and do not have postcodes.</p><br>
<p>On North Bruny there are five populated coastal enclaves: Apollo Bay, Barnes Bay, Dennes Point, Great Bay and Killora. On South Bruny there are four: Adventure Bay, Alonnah, Lunawanna and Simpsons Bay.</p><br>
<p>The Spit Bruny Island.jpg"The Neck" connects the two halves of Bruny Island and is an important breeding site for short-tailed shearwater and fairy penguins.</p><br>
<p>Phalacrocorax fuscescens Roosting.jpgBlack-faced cormorants (Phalacrocorax fuscescens), Bruny Island, Tasmania</p><br>
<p>Bruny-Island-068.jpgRock formation off the coast of Bruny Island</p><br>
<p>Lake Delton is a man-made freshwater lake in Sauk County in central Wisconsin. For much of 2008, it was a mostly empty lake basin after a portion of a county highway that forms part of the dike wall eroded on June 9, 2008, under the pressure of floods in the area. The resulting washout caused the lake to empty, leaving behind only rainwater pools and the flow from Dell Creek. By March 2009, major repairs to correct the problem were completed, and the lake was allowed to refill. Minor repairs were expected to continue after that time, but the lake is now completely refilled and has been usable since Memorial Day weekend of 2009.</p><br>
<p>The lake was formed in 1927 to attract tourists to the area and became a popular attraction in the Wisconsin Dells tourist area following the economic recovery after the Great Depression. Resorts and tourist attractions line its banks. The lake is the site of Tommy Bartlett&#39;s Thrill Show, which features acrobatic water skiing.</p><br>
<h2>The dam</h2><br>
<p>In 1926, Chicago construction company owner William J. Newman decided to build a resort area in the tiny Delton, Wisconsin area (as the community of Lake Delton had been known at the time).</p><br>
<p>Newman was particularly knowledgeable about dam and dike construction as his companies had done a majority of the caisson work that downtown Chicago skyscrapers are built upon. Caisson work involves building retaining, watertight structures used, for example, to work on the foundations of a bridge pier or for the construction of a concrete dam.</p><br>
<p>On July 27, 1927, they closed the dam&#39;s sluice gates and allowed Dell Creek to fill up the lake basin that had been excavated and graded behind the dam. This resulted in a large pooling of water from the flow of Dell Creek, which was named Lake Delton. Newman had spent $600,000 on the construction by that date and expected to spend another $400,000 to build the resort. They built a lock between the lake and the Wisconsin River to allow small boats and canoes to travel between the bodies of water.</p><br>
<p>To decorate his own summer home on Lake Delton, Newman transported several sculptures and concrete blocks he saved from the rubble of Midway Gardens (1913, Chicago, Illinois; demolished 1929), the last of Frank Lloyd Wrights Prairie Style buildings, which had stood near the Lake Michigan shoreline in downtown Chicago. Newmans company had been hired in 1929 to demolish the structure. Years later, when Wright heard of the survival of the sculptures and blocks, he purchased them and they remained with his estate. As recently as 1999, a block was found buried on the property of Newman&#39;s old summer home on Lake Delton and was donated to the Chicago Historical Society.</p><br>
<p>Newman ran the resort until the Great Depression caused him to file for bankruptcy protection. The Lake Delton enterprise was barely able to survive, and in the 1940s Newmans interest was sold to an investment group, called the Lake Delton Development Corporation. The Lake Delton resort area was more successful after World War II, when tourism increased in the Dells area with Tommy Bartletts water show.</p><br>
<p>By the 1980s, the Lake Delton strip had become home to waterparks, resorts and other recreational facilities that made it a mecca for travelers from across the United States. In fact, the local village website boasts that "1.5 million visitors come to the Wisconsin Dells-Lake Delton area each year."</p><br>
<p>The lake level was drawn down 8 ft for repairs on the dam in 1983. The inflow recharged the lake in 15 days.</p><br>
<p>Much of the shoreline of Lake Delton has been developed with summer homes, year-round homes and condominiums. About 20 resorts surround the lake. Prior to the 2008 washout, the lake had poor water quality, which is common to impoundments in southwest Wisconsin. Some of the water quality problems may have been due to construction site erosion, as well as rural nonpoint source pollution. The lake also had nuisance aquatic weed growth that has required chemical treatment. The fishery of the Lake Delton was northern pike, walleye, largemouth bass, channel catfish and panfish.</p><br>
<h2>2008 washout</h2><br>
<h3>Immediate effects</h3><br>
<p>On the morning of June 9, 2008, a 400 ft portion of County Highway A that traverses the north side of Lake Delton failed, creating a new drainage channel to the Wisconsin River. At 2 am that day, 12 in of rain caused one hundred residents to start sandbagging. The water began overflowing at approximately 10 am. As the water overtopped the isthmus, it flowed downhill to the Wisconsin River approximately 800 ft away, quickly eroding and creating a 400 ft channel that rapidly drained the lake in an out-of-control torrent into the river, 40 ft below the lake&#39;s level. Three homes washed away, and another two were destroyed when their foundations were undermined by the new outflow.</p><br>
<p>Wisconsin governor Jim Doyle announced on June 10 that the state would repair the lake. He described the lake as crucial to the billion-dollar Wisconsin Dells tourism area. Engineers with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) were studying the lake, and Doyle said it will only take about two weeks for water from the river to refill the 267 acre lake. It is unknown, however, how long it will take to divert and correct the river&#39;s current path back into the lake. Dell Creek is still flowing down to the Wisconsin River, and the lake would be refilled from the creek, once the breach in the highway and collaterally damaged areas are repaired.</p><br>
<p>Russ Rasmussen, director of watershed management for the DNR, said restoring Lake Delton will be more involved than simply filling in the new channel. "Whatever goes in there will have to be built to dam standards," he added.</p><br>
<p>Two of the owners whose homes were washed away at the point of the breach were unable to purchase flood insurance. They said that the city told them it was unnecessary, because the lake was dam-controlled. WISC-TV reported that the village had lost its eligibility for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA&#39;s) National Flood Insurance Program after the village failed to formally adopt an updated floodplain map called a "flood insurance rate map" (the official map of a community on which FEMA has delineated both the special hazard areas and the risk premium zones applicable to the community). The village engineer and clerk said the map was not adopted because of "gross inaccuracies" in how FEMA had expanded the floodplain.</p><br>
<p>In an effort to make some good from the situation, local residents organized a "clean the lake bottom" campaign in which interested volunteers walked the empty lakebed before the lake&#39;s refilling in order to remove refuse that has collected there.</p><br>
<p>On June 14, 2008, about 250 volunteers, including many who don&#39;t live in the area, filled four 20 cubic yards dumpsters with refuse.</p><br>
<p>Illusionists Rick and Suzan Wilcox staged a show on June 22, 2008, to benefit families who lost their homes in the Lake Delton flood. In addition, visitors to Noah&#39;s Ark Waterpark on June 21, 2008, helped the victims of Lake Delton with the price of admission. The water park donated $2 from every ticket sold on that date to the Lake Delton Flood Relief Fund.</p><br>
<h3>Repair and restoration</h3><br>
<p>Following the draining of Lake Delton, the USA Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources Conservation Service allocated $160,000 to the Village of Lake Delton to redirect Dell Creek back to its normal path and through the Lake Delton Dam. The reconstruction took about 10 days to complete. A cofferdam was built to intercept the water and stop further erosion. A bipartisan congressional effort worked to provide emergency federal funds to midwest areas affected by the June 2008 floods. A bill was signed on June 30, 2008, that provided $390 million for the Emergency Watershed Program, which provides assistance on a matching-fund basis to state and local governmental entities. The Natural Resources Conservation Service estimated that about $500 million in total would be needed for the midwest recovery efforts.</p><br>
<p>The reparation of the break was coordinated by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.</p><br>
<p>Restoration was well underway by the end of October 2008. The gap was filled with 12,000 truckloads of sand and tons of rocks. Sand to fill the gap was donated by a landowner less than a mile away saving $3 million in fuel and material costs. Improvements were also underway on the dam to allow it to withstand a 1,000 year flood without the lake&#39;s level rising. The Wisconsin DNR chief of dams stated that the goal was to have the lake refilled by late spring 2009.</p><br>
<p>Highway A was reopened during the last week of November 2008. Water began flowing back into Lake Delton after the dam was closed in early December 2008. An official ceremony was held for December 5, 2008, for both the Highway A reconstruction and the Dam projects. Additionally, rotenone was used to kill carp prior to the commencement of refilling. In February 2009, it was announced that the lake was expected to be refilled by Memorial Day weekend. Costs to the State of Wisconsin were said to be $3.6 million and $2.5 million was spent by the village of Lake Delton.</p><br>
<p>On June 9, 2009, Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle was in Wisconsin Dells to help celebrate the reopening of Lake Delton. The lake is at an average depth of 12 feet. Minnows have been released into the lake, and 9,000 walleye fingerlings were released in July 2009.</p><br>
<p>The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum located in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. At 560,000 ft&sup2, the museum is New York City&#39;s third largest in physical size and holds an art collection with roughly 1.5 million works.</p><br>
<p>Located near the Prospect Heights, Crown Heights, Flatbush, and Park Slope neighborhoods of Brooklyn and founded in 1895, the Beaux-Arts building, designed by McKim, Mead and White, was planned to be the largest art museum in the world. The museum initially struggled to maintain its building and collection, only to be revitalized in the late 20th century, thanks to major renovations. Significant areas of the collection include antiquities, specifically their collection of Egyptian antiquities spanning over 3,000 years. European, African, Oceanic, and Japanese art make for notable antiquities collections as well. American art is heavily represented, starting at the Colonial period. Artists represented in the collection include Mark Rothko, Edward Hopper, Norman Rockwell, Winslow Homer, Edgar Degas, Georgia O&#39;Keeffe, and Max Weber. The museum also has a "Memorial Sculpture Garden" which features salvaged architectural elements from throughout New York City.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The roots of the Brooklyn Museum extend back to the 1823 founding by Augustus Graham of the Brooklyn Apprentices’ Library in Brooklyn Heights. The Library moved into the Brooklyn Lyceum building on Washington Street in 1841. Two years later the institutions merged to form the Brooklyn Institute, which offered exhibitions of painting and sculpture and lectures on diverse subjects. In 1890, under its director Franklin Hooper, Institute leaders reorganized as the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences and began planning the Brooklyn Museum. The Museum remained a subdivision of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences, along with the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and the Brooklyn Children&#39;s Museum until the 1970s when all became independent.</p><br>
<p>Opened in 1897, the Brooklyn Museum building is a steel frame structure encased in classical masonry, designed by the famous architectural firm of McKim, Mead, and White and built by the Carlin Construction Company. The initial design for the Brooklyn Museum was four times as large as the actualized version; actualized plans reflect a compromise to the specifications of the New York City government. Daniel Chester French, the noted sculptor of the Lincoln Memorial, was the principal designer of the pediment sculptures and the monolithic 12.5 ft figures along the cornice. The figures were created by 11 sculptors and carved by the Piccirilli Brothers. French also designed the two allegorical figures Brooklyn and Manhattan currently flanking the museum&#39;s entrance, created in 1916 for the Brooklyn approach to the Manhattan Bridge, relocated to the museum in 1963.</p><br>
<p>By 1920, the New York City Subway reached the museum with a subway station; this greatly improved access to the once-isolated museum from Manhattan and other outer boroughs.</p><br>
<p>The Brooklyn Institutes director Franklin Hooper was the museums first director, succeeded by William Henry Fox who served from 1914 to 1934. He was followed by Philip Newell Youtz (1934–1938), Laurance Page Roberts (1939–1946), Isabel Spaulding Roberts (1943–1946), Charles Nagel, Jr. (1946–1955), and Edgar Craig Schenck (1955–1959).</p><br>
<p>Thomas S. Buechner became the museums director in 1960, making him one of the youngest directors in the country. Buechner oversaw a major transformation in the way the museum displayed art and brought some one thousand works that had languished in the museums archives and put them on display. Buechner played a pivotal role in rescuing the Daniel Chester French sculptures from destruction due to an expansion project at the Manhattan Bridge in the 1960s.</p><br>
<p>Duncan F. Cameron held the post from 1971 to 1973, with Michael Botwinick succeeding him (1974–1982) and Linda S. Ferber acting director for part of 1983 until Robert T. Buck became director in 1983 and served until 1996.</p><br>
<p>The Brooklyn Museum changed its name to Brooklyn Museum of Art in 1997, shortly before the start of Arnold L. Lehmans term as director. On March 12, 2004, the museum announced that it would revert to its previous name. In April 2004, the museum opened the James Polshek-designed entrance pavilion on the Eastern Parkway façade. In September 2014, Lehman announced that he was planning to retire around June 2015. In May 2015, Creative Time president and artistic director Anne Pasternak was named the Museums next director; she assumed the position on September 1, 2015.</p><br>
<h2>Funding</h2><br>
<p>The Brooklyn Museum, along with numerous other New York institutions, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the American Museum of Natural History, and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, is part of the Cultural Institutions Group (CIG). Member institutions occupy land or buildings owned by the City of New York and derive part of their yearly funding from the City. The Brooklyn Museum also supplements its earned income with funding from Federal and State governments, as well as with donations by individuals and organizations.</p><br>
<p>In 1999, the museum hosted the Charles Saatchi exhibition Sensation, resulting in a court battle over New York City&#39;s municipal funding of institutions exhibiting controversial art, eventually decided in favor of the museum on First Amendment grounds.</p><br>
<p>In 2005, the museum was among 406 New York City arts and social service institutions to receive part of a $20 million grant from the Carnegie Corporation, made possible through a donation by New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg.</p><br>
<p>Major benefactors include Frank Lusk Babbott.</p><br>
<p>The museum is the site of the annual Brooklyn Artists Ball which has included celebrity hosts such as Sarah Jessica Parker and Liv Tyler.</p><br>
<h2>Art and exhibitions</h2><br>
<p>The Brooklyn Museum exhibits collections that seek to embody the rich artistic heritage of world cultures. The museum is well known for its expansive collections of Egyptian and African art, in addition to 17th-, 18th-, 19th-, and 20th-century paintings, sculpture, and decorative arts throughout a wide range of schools.</p><br>
<p>Major special exhibitions in recent years include Killer Heels.</p><br>
<p>In 2002, the museum received the work The Dinner Party, by feminist artist Judy Chicago, as a gift from The Elizabeth A. Sackler Foundation. Its permanent exhibition began in 2007, as a centerpiece for the museums Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art. In 2004, the Brooklyn Museum featured Manifest Destiny, an 8 x oil-on-wood mural by Alexis Rockman that was commissioned by the museum as a centerpiece for the second-floor Mezzanine Gallery and marked the opening of the museums renovated Grand Lobby and plaza. Other exhibitions have showcased the works of various contemporary artists including Patrick Kelly, Chuck Close, Denis Peterson, Ron Mueck, Takashi Murakami, Mat Benote, Kiki Smith, Jim Dine, Robert Rauschenberg, Ching Ho Cheng, Sylvia Sleigh, Arvo Györköny and William Wegman, and a 2004 survey show of work by Brooklyn artists, Open House: Working in Brooklyn.</p><br>
<p>In 2008, curator Edna Russman announced that a third of the Coptic art held in the museum&#39;s collection—second-largest in North America—is fake. Of 30 works of art, Russman believes 10 are faked. The fake artworks will be displayed in an exhibition starting in 2009.</p><br>
<h2>Collections</h2><br>
<h3>Egyptian, Classical, and Ancient Near Eastern Art</h3><br>
<p>The Brooklyn Museum has been building a collection of Egyptian artifacts since the beginning of the twentieth century, incorporating both collections purchased from others, such as that of American Egyptologist Charles Edwin Wilbour, whose heirs also donated his library to become the museum&#39;s Wilbour Library of Egyptology, and objects obtained during museum-sponsored archeological excavations. The Egyptian collection includes objects ranging from statuary, such as the well-known "Bird Lady" terra cotta figure, to papyrus documents (among others the Brooklyn Papyrus).</p><br>
<p>The Egyptian, Classical, and Ancient Near Eastern collections are housed in a series of galleries in the Museum. Egyptian artifacts can be found in the long-term exhibit, Egypt Reborn: Art for Eternity, as well as in the Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Galleries. Near Eastern artifacts are located in the Hagop Kevorkian Gallery.</p><br>
<h4>Selections from the Egyptian collection</h4><br>
<h3>American Art</h3><br>
<p>The museums collection of American art dates its first bequest of Francis Guys Winter Scene in Brooklyn in 1846. In 1855, the museum officially designated a collection of American Art, with the first work commissioned for the collection being a landscape painting by Asher B. Durand. Items in the American Art collection include portraits, pastels, sculptures, and prints; all items in the collection date to between c. 1720 and c. 1945.</p><br>
<p>Represented in the American Art collection are works by artists such as William Edmondson (Angel, date unknown), John Singer Sargents Paul César Helleu sketching his wife Alice Guérin (ca. 1889); Georgia OKeeffes Dark Tree Trunks (ca. 1946), and Winslow Homers Eight Bells (ca. 1887). Among the most famous works in the collection are Gilbert Stuarts portrait of George Washington and Edward Hickss The Peaceable Kingdom. The Museum also holds a collection by Emil Fuchs.</p><br>
<p>Works from the American Art collection can be found in various areas of the museum, including in the Steinberg Family Sculpture Garden and in the exhibit, American Identities: A New Look, which is contained within the museum&#39;s Visible Storage ▪ Study Center.</p><br>
<h4>Selections from the American collection</h4><br>
<p>A Morning Snow-Hudson River at the Brooklyn Museum (80534)a.jpgGeorge Bellows, A Morning Snow--Hudson River, 1910</p><br>
<h3>Arts of Africa</h3><br>
<p>The oldest acquisitions in the African art collection were collected by the museum in 1900, shortly after the museum&#39;s founding. The collection was expanded in 1922 with items originating largely in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In 1923 the museum hosted one of the first exhibitions of African art in the United States.</p><br>
<p>With more than 5,000 items in its collection, the Brooklyn Museum boasts one of the largest collections of African art in any American art museum. Although the title of the collection suggests that it includes art from all of the African continent, works from Africa are sub-categorized among a number of collections. Sub-Saharan art from West and Central Africa are collected under the banner of African Art, while North African and Egyptian art works are grouped with the Islamic and Egyptian art collections, respectively.</p><br>
<p>The African art collection covers 2,500 years of human history and includes sculpture, jewellery, masks, and religious artifacts from more than 100 African cultures. Noteworthy items in this collection include a carved ndop figure of a Kuba king, believed to be among the oldest extant ndop carvings, and a Lulua mother-and-child figure.</p><br>
<h4>Selections from the African collection</h4><br>
<h3>Arts of the Pacific Islands</h3><br>
<p>The museum&#39;s collection of Pacific Islands art began in 1900 with the acquisition of 100 wooden figures and shadow puppets from New Guinea and the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia); since that base, the collection has grown to encompass close to 5,000 works. Art in this collection is sourced to numerous Pacific and Indian Ocean islands including Hawaii and New Zealand, as well as less-populous islands such as Rapa Nui and Vanuatu. Many of the Marquesan items in the collection were acquired by the museum from famed Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl.</p><br>
<p>Art objects in this collection are crafted from a wide variety of materials. The museum lists "coconut fiber, feathers, shells, clay, bone, human hair, wood, moss, and spider webs" as among the materials used to make artworks that include masks, tapa cloths, sculpture, and jewellery.</p><br>
<h3>Arts of the Islamic World</h3><br>
<p>The museum also has art objects and historical texts produced by Muslim artists or about Muslim figures and cultures.</p><br>
<h4>Selections from the Islamic World Collection</h4><br>
<h3>Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art</h3><br>
<p>The museum&#39;s center for feminist art opened in 2007; it is dedicated to preserving the history of the movement since the late 20th century, as well as raising awareness of feminist contributions to art, and informing the future of this area of artistic dialogue. Along with an exhibition space and library, the center features a gallery housing a masterwork by Judy Chicago, a large installation called The Dinner Party (1974-1979).</p><br>
<h3>European art</h3><br>
<p>The Brooklyn Museum has among others late Gothic and Early Italian Renaissance paintings by Lorenzo di Niccolo ("Scenes from the life of Saint Lawrence"), Sano di Pietro, Nardo di Cione, Lorenzo Monaco, Donato de&#39; Bardi ("Saint Jerome"), Giovanni Bellini. It has Dutch paintings by Frans Hals, Gerard Dou, and Thomas de Keyser as well as others. It has 19th-century French paintings by Charles Daubigny, Narcisse Virgilio Díaz, Eugène Boudin ("Port, Le Havre"), Berthe Morisot, Edgar Degas, Gustave Caillebotte ("Railway Bridge at Argentieul"), Claude Monet ("Doges Palace, Venice"), the French sculptor Alfred Barye, Camille Pissarro, and Paul Cézanne as well as many others.</p><br>
<h4>Selections from the European collection</h4><br>
<h2>Libraries and archives</h2><br>
<p>The Brooklyn Museum Libraries and Archives hold approximately 300,000 volumes and over 2,000 ft of books, documents, prints, textiles and other items. The collection began in 1823 and is housed in facilities that underwent renovations in 1965, 1984 and 2014.</p><br>
<h2>Programs</h2><br>
<p>In 2000, the Brooklyn Museum started the Museum Apprentice Program in which the museum hires teenage high schoolers to give tours in the museums galleries during the summer, assist with the museums weekend family programs throughout the year, participate in talks with museum curators, serve as a teen advisory board to the museum, and help plan teen events.</p><br>
<p>The first Saturday of each month, the Brooklyn Museum stays open until 11pm. General admission is waived from 5-11pm, although some ticketed exhibitions may require an entrance fee. Regular first Saturday activities include educational family-oriented activities such as collection-based art workshops, gallery tours, lectures, live performances dance parties.</p><br>
<p>The museum has posted many pieces to a digital collection online which features a user-based tagging system that allows the public to tag and curate sets of objects online, as well as solicit additional scholarship contributions.</p><br>
<p>The Museum Education Fellowship Program is a ten-month position in which Fellows acquire theoretical and practical skills to lead K-12 school group visits with a focus on various topics from the collection.</p><br>
<p>School Youth and Family Fellows teach Gallery Studio Programs and School Partnerships while Adult and Public Programs Fellows curate and organize Thursday night as well as First Saturday Programming.</p><br>
<p>The Museum has also received attention for its recent ASK App in which visitors can interface with Museum staff and educators regarding works in the collection through a mobile application downloadable through the Apple and Google application stores.</p><br>
<h2>Populism</h2><br>
<p>Attendance at the Brooklyn Museum has been in decline in recent years, from a high "decades ago" of nearly one million visitors per year to more recent figures of 585,000 (1998) and 326,000 (2009).</p><br>
<p>The New York Times attributed this drop partially to the policies instituted by current director Arnold Lehman, who has chosen to focus the museum&#39;s energy on "populism", with exhibits on topics such as "Star Wars movies and hip-hop music" According to the Times:</p><br>
<p>"The quality of their exhibitions has lessened", said Robert Storr, the dean of the Yale University School of Art and a Brooklynite. Star Wars shows the worst kind of populism. I don’t think they really understand where they are. The middle of the art world is now in Brooklyn; it&#39;s an increasingly sophisticated audience and always was one."</p><br>
<p>On the other hand, Lehman points out that the demographics of museum attendees are showing a new level of diversity. According to The New York Times, "the average age was 35, a large portion of the visitors (40 percent) came from Brooklyn, and more than 40 percent identified themselves as people of color." Lehman asserts that the museum&#39;s interest is in being welcoming and attractive to all potential museum attendees, rather than simply amassing large numbers of them.</p><br>
<h2>Works and publications</h2><br>
<p>– Published on the occasion of an exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum, April 21-September 17, 2017</p><br>
<p>Bale Grist Mill State Historic Park is a California state park located in Napa County between St. Helena and Calistoga. The park is the site of a water-powered grist mill that was built in 1846 is one of only two water-driven mills remaining west of the Mississippi River.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The mill was established in 1846 by Dr. Edward Turner Bale on property in Rancho Carne Humana land grant. Bale lived near the site until his death in 1849.</p><br>
<p>The gristmill and granary were built with local materials, Douglas firs and coast redwoods. Some timbers were cut to length with the bark left on, while others were roughed out with hand tools. The timbers were notched and held in place with wooden pegs as well as nails and screws. The foundation of the structure is native stone. The mill was powered by a waterwheel, with water diverted from Mill Creek nearby. A ditch carried the water from a millpond to a wooden flume, which brought the water to the top of the waterwheel. The first wheel did not provide enough power during dry summers and was replaced by a larger one, similar to the one at the mill today.</p><br>
<p>The mill was once the center of social activity as Napa Valley settlers gathered to have their corn and wheat ground into meal or flour. Farmers brought grain to the mill where it was placed into the boot of an elevator to be mechanically transported upstairs where it was cleaned by various types of equipment. The slow turning of the old grind stones and the dampness of the mills site gave the meal a special quality for making cornbread, yellowbread, shortening bread and spoonbread. As old timers put it, "When meal comes to you that way, like the heated underside of a settin hen, it bakes bread that makes city bread taste like cardboard."</p><br>
<p>Theodore Benedict Lyman bought the mill and surrounding land in 1871 and passed ownership on to his son, William Whittingham Lyman. The mill remained in operation until 1879.</p><br>
<h2>Restoration</h2><br>
<p>After William Lyman&#39;s death, it appears his wife, the former Mrs. Sarah A. Nowland deeded the property to Native Sons of the Golden West, and through them the mill was restored during a period in the late 1960s and early 1970s through efforts of the Native Son Parlors of Napa County, under the leadership of past Grand President Bismarck Bruck, a grandson of Dr. Bale.</p><br>
<p>The mill and its 36-foot water wheel are protected as a state historic landmark and have been partially restored. A trail connects the historic park to Bothe-Napa Valley State Park. Additionally, the park includes the site of the first church in the Napa Valley as well as the Pioneer Cemetery.</p><br>
<p>Visitors can hike from the mill on the historic trail to Bothe-Napa Valley State Park, which features extensive picnic facilities and a number of trails. The round trip hike from Bale Grist Mill State Historic Park to Bothe-Napa Valley State Park is approximately two miles.</p><br>
<p>In 2011 during the ongoing California budget crisis, the mill and adjacent park were among those targeted to be closed due to lack of funding. The Napa Valley State Park Association petitioned the state to operate the park in order to avoid closure. Milling demonstrations and tours of the historic mill are offered on weekends. Legislation was passed in 2014 to allow sale of flour produced at the mill to the public starting January 1, 2016 in order to help defray maintenance costs and preserve the mill.</p><br>
<p>Green Gables is the name of a 19th-century farm in Cavendish, Prince Edward Island, and is one of the most notable literary landmarks in Canada. The Green Gables farm and its surroundings are the setting for the popular Anne of Green Gables novels by Lucy Maud Montgomery. The site is also known as Green Gables Heritage Place. The house was designated a National Historic Site in 1985 and the complex is located within Prince Edward Island National Park.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The Green Gables farm was owned by the MacNeill family, who were cousins of author Lucy Maud Montgomery. The farm&#39;s name is derived from the rich dark green paint of the gables on the farmhouse. The main exterior walls of the farmhouse are painted white.</p><br>
<p>Montgomery visited the farm as a young girl and based the location of her best-selling Anne series of books on the Green Gables farm. She drew romantic inspiration from the house, as well as the surrounding area, including the "Haunted Woods", "Lovers&#39; Lane", and "Balsam Hollow."</p><br>
<p>Upon Montgomery&#39;s death, her wake was conducted from the living room of the Green Gables farmhouse for several days prior to her funeral at the local Presbyterian church and burial in the nearby Cavendish Community Cemetery.</p><br>
<h2>Tourism and national park status</h2><br>
<p>The international acclaim of Montgomerys novels made Cavendish into a popular tourist destination in the province beginning in the early 20th century. This led to the establishment of Prince Edward Island National Park in the 1930s. The parks boundaries encompassed the Green Gables homestead, and the building became the property of the Government of Canada.</p><br>
<p>The farmland surrounding Green Gables house was developed into a golf course, designed by world-renowned architect Stanley Thompson.</p><br>
<p>In addition to being located within park boundaries, the Green Gables farmhouse is designated a National Historic Site for its importance in literary history, and is one of the most-visited historic sites in the country. The farmhouse exterior has not changed significantly over time, and its interior decor and artifacts depict the late Victorian Period in rural Prince Edward Island. Guided and self-guided tours may be taken of the house and surroundings, with Parks Canada interpretive staff available throughout the site. Various rooms in the house have been named according to the Anne of Green Gables story.</p><br>
<h2>Restoration</h2><br>
<p>An electrical fire on May 23, 1997 caused some internal damage to part of the upstairs section of the farmhouse. This led to restoration of the affected rooms, as well as being the impetus for an extensive redevelopment of the property through the construction of barns and outbuildings to complement the house itself and to accommodate visitor interpretation facilities. As a result, part of the nearby Green Gables golf course, constructed in the 1930s, was moved away from the vicinity of the homestead and the area has been returned to a more traditional agricultural landscape.</p><br>
<p>Green Gables 02.jpgGreen Gables</p><br>
<p>Green Gables 01.jpgGreen Gables</p><br>
<p>Green Gables 03.jpgGreen Gables</p><br>
<p>Green Gables 04.jpgGreen Gables</p><br>
<p>Green Gables 05.jpgGreen Gables</p><br>
<p>Green Gables 06.jpgGreen Gables</p><br>
<p>Green Gables 07.jpgGreen Gables</p><br>
<p>Green Gables 08.jpgGreen Gables</p><br>
<p>Green Gables 09.jpgGreen Gables</p><br>
<p>Benicia Capitol State Historic Park is a state park in Benicia, California. The park is dedicated to California’s third capitol building, where the California State Legislature convened from February 3, 1853 to February 24, 1854, when they voted to move the state capital to Sacramento. It is the only pre-Sacramento capitol that survives. The park includes the Fischer-Hanlon House, an early Benicia building that was moved to the property and converted into a home in 1858, after the legislature departed. Benicia Capitol State Historic Park just off the citys main street also includes a carriage house, workers quarters and sculptured gardens.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Following large complaints by state legislators of inadequate furniture and sleeping quarters in Vallejo in early 1853, the Legislature, with the consent of Governor John Bigler, relocated the state capital to nearby Benicia that same year. The Legislature would convene in the Benicia City Hall for a little more than a year, when again complaints over poor weather conditions, inadequate and uncomfortable sleeping quarters, and "the insecure condition of the public archives" arose in January 1854.</p><br>
<p>After a proposal by Sacramento to use the Sacramento County Courthouse free of charge as a capital building, the Assembly and Senate passed an enabling act, voiding all previous legislation, to move the state capital to its new location upriver in Sacramento. On February 25, 1854, Governor Bigler signed the act into law, moving the capital to its current location. The Legislature and governor climbed aboard the steamship Wilson G. Hunt to take up its new quarters. "So much opposed to the removal were the good people of Benicia," the Sacramento Union reported, "that the owners of the wharves, it is stated, refused to permit the steamer... to land to take on the legislative furniture, unless she would pay $500." This request was refused and the furniture was shipped from a different wharf.</p><br>
<p>The Greek Revival-Palladian building was listed as a California State Historic Landmark on January 11, 1935. The National Register of Historic Places placed the Benicia capitol on the federal list on February 12, 1971.</p><br>
<h2>Present day</h2><br>
<p>The original building has been restored with reconstructed period furnishings and exhibits. The interior includes a reconstruction of the building’s original floor with ponderosa pine. The desks, four of which are from the 1850s or earlier, are furnished with a candlestick, a 19th-century newspaper, a quill pen, blotting sand, a spitoon, and a top hat.</p><br>
<p>The historic park is located at 115 West G Street in Benicia, a city in the northern San Francisco Bay Area between San Pablo Bay and Suisun Bay.</p><br>
<p>On February 16, 2000, the California State Legislature met in a symbolic session to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Legislature&#39;s first meeting.</p><br>
<h2>Proposed for closure</h2><br>
<p>The Benicia Capitol State Historic Park was one of the 48 California state parks proposed for closure in January 2008 by Californias Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger as part of a deficit reduction program, since rescinded following public outcry. It also was placed on the Governors list of two hundred parks to close in Fall of 2009 in response to the ongoing budget crisis and was on Gov. Jerry Brown&#39;s 2011 list of 70 proposed state park closures in the (still) continuing budget crises.</p><br>
<p>Bidwell Mansion, located at 525 Esplanade in Chico, California, was the home of General John Bidwell and Annie Bidwell from late 1868 until 1900, when Gen. Bidwell died. Annie continued to live there until her death in 1918. John Bidwell began construction of the mansion on his Rancho del Arroyo Chico in 1865, during his courtship of Annie Ellicott Kennedy. After their marriage in 1868, the three story, 26 room Victorian house became the social and cultural center of the upper Sacramento Valley. Now a museum and State Historic Park, it is California Historical Landmark #329 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The mansion was a $60,000 project, and was finished in May 1868.</p><br>
<p>When constructed, Bidwell Mansion featured modern plumbing, gas lighting and water systems. The three-story brick structure is built in an informally romantic version of the Italianate style. It also has aspects of the Italian Villa and Octagon house types present. The building&#39;s exterior is finished with a pink tinted plaster.</p><br>
<p>The first floor of the Bidwell Mansion is accessible via a ramp from the exterior of the Mansion. The interior of the entire mansion can be seen during an hour-long tour that starts on the hour most days of the week. A video is available in the visitor center for those who can not climb the 50 stairs to the 2nd and 3rd floors of the mansion.</p><br>
<p>The Bidwell Mansion Visitor Center is completely accessible. There is a gift shop, museum, theater, and comfortable lobby. There are also restrooms and water.</p><br>
<h2>Trivia</h2><br>
<p>Some of the interior scenes from The Thin Man were shot inside the mansion.</p><br>
<p>From 1925-1935, Bidwell Mansion was once again transformed into another entity when it served as a dormitory for Chico State Teachers College students. It is mentioned by local historians that the students studied and dressed in the rooms, but actually slept outside on the surrounding verandas. The mansion was later dubbed "Bidwell Hall" and housed the Art and Home Economics departments.</p><br>
<p>The Espada Acequia, or Piedras Creek Aqueduct, was built by Franciscan friars in 1731 in what is now San Antonio, Texas, United States. It was built to supply irrigation water to the lands near Mission San Francisco de la Espada, today part of San Antonio Missions National Historical Park. The acequia is still in use today and is an Historic Civil Engineering Landmark and a National Historic Landmark.</p><br>
<h2>Irrigation system</h2><br>
<p>Mission Espada&#39;s acequia (irrigation) system can still be seen today. The main ditch, or acequia madre, continues to carry water to the mission and its former farmlands. This water is still used by residents living on these neighboring lands.</p><br>
<p>The initial survival of a new mission depended upon the planting and harvesting of crops. In south central Texas, intermittent rainfall and the need for a reliable water source made the design and installation of an acequia system a high priority. Irrigation was so important to Spanish colonial settlers that they measured cropland in suertes -the amount of land that could be watered in one day.</p><br>
<p>The use of acequias was originally brought to the arid regions of Spain by the Romans and the Moors. When Franciscans missionaries arrived in the desert Southwest they found the system worked well in the hot, dry environment. In some areas, like New Mexico, it blended in easily with the irrigation system already in use by the Puebloan Native Americans.</p><br>
<p>In order to distribute water to the missions along the San Antonio River, Franciscan missionaries oversaw the construction of seven gravity-flow ditches, dams, and at least one aqueduct—a 15 mi network that irrigated approximately 3,500 acre of land. The acequia not only conducted potable water and irrigation, but also powered a mill.</p><br>
<p>Mission Espada has survived from its beginnings to the present day as a community center that still supports a Catholic parish and religious education, however a school originally opened by the Sisters of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament was closed in 1967.</p><br>
<p>The Southern Bug, also called Southern Buh , and sometimes Boh River, is a river located in Ukraine. It is the second-longest river in Ukraine.</p><br>
<p>The source of the river is in the west of Ukraine, in the Volyn-Podillia Upland, about 145 km from the Polish border, from where it flows southeasterly into the Bug Estuary (Black Sea basin) through the southern steppes. It is 806 km long and drains 63,700 km&sup2;.</p><br>
<p>Major cities on the Southern Bug are Khmelnytskyi, Vinnytsia, Pervomaisk, Mykolaiv (listed downstream, i.e. southwards).</p><br>
<p>Between 1941 and 1944 during World War II the Southern Bug formed the border between the German-occupied Ukraine and the Romanian-occupied part of Ukraine, called Transnistria.</p><br>
<h2>Nomenclature, etymology and history</h2><br>
<p>(Південний Буг, Pivdennyi Buh; Бог; Boh; Южный Буг, Yuzhny Bug, Ottoman Aksu)</p><br>
<p>Herodotus (c. 484–425 BCE) refers to the river using its ancient Greek name: Hypanis. During the Migration Period of the 5th to the 8th centuries CE the Southern Bug represented a major obstacle to all the migrating peoples in the area.</p><br>
<p>The long-standing local Slavic name of the river, Boh (Cyrillic: Бог), may derive from a root meaning "rich" (бaгата, bahata). The 17th-century French military engineer and geographer Guillaume Le Vasseur de Beauplan (Ґійом Левассер де Боплан ) recorded the name of the river as Boh Ruthenian (Бог Руський, Boh Ruskyi).</p><br>
<p>Compare:</p><br>
<p>From the 16th to the 18th centuries most of the Southern Ukraine formed part of the Crimean Khanate and/or of the Ottoman Empire; the river had the Turkic name Aq-su, meaning the "White river".</p><br>
<p>"Bug", a Russian name, became established during the colonial period in Ukraine and known internationally. It was a misnomer given by a Russian geologist Vladimir Laskaryev at the beginning of 20th century.</p><br>
<p>On March 6, 1918 the Central Council of Ukraine (Tsentralna Rada of the Ukrainian People&#39;s Republic) adopted the law "For the administrative-territorial division of Ukraine", dividing Ukraine into numerous lands. One of those lands in the upper stream of the river was named "Boh land" (Побожжя, Pobozhia). Previously in the 18th century there had existed the Bohogard phalanx (Бoгоґардівська паланка, Bohogardivska palanka) as part of the Zaporizhian Sich centered in the city of Gard (today a tract near Yuzhnoukrainsk).</p><br>
<h2>Bridges and ferries</h2><br>
<p>The Varvarivskyi Bridge over Southern Bug in Mykolayiv is a swing bridge (facilitating ship building) with Europe&#39;s largest span (134 m). It is also the southernmost bridge over the river.</p><br>
<h2>Navigation</h2><br>
<p>The river is technically navigable for dozens of kilometers up from its mouth; several riverports (such as Voznesensk) exist.</p><br>
<p>In 2011, plans are announced to revitalize commercial freight navigation on the Southern Bug as part of the increasing grain export from Ukraine. They were cancelled because of the economic crisis following the 2014 Ukrainian revolution.</p><br>
<p>The Holy Loch;  is a Sea Loch, a part of the Cowal peninsula coast of the Firth of Clyde, in Argyll and Bute, Scotland.</p><br>
<p>The "Holy Loch" name is believed to date from the 6th century, when Saint Munn landed there after leaving Ireland. Kilmun Parish Church and Argyll Mausoleum is said to stand where Saint Munn&#39;s church was once located.</p><br>
<p>Robertson&#39;s Yard at Sandbank, a village on the loch, was a major wooden boat building company in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.</p><br>
<p>During World War II, the loch was used as a British Royal Navy submarine base. From 1961–1992, it was used as a United States Navy Polaris and Poseidon nuclear submarine base. In 1992, the Holy Loch base was deemed unnecessary following the demise of the Soviet Union and subsequently closed.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>Open on the Firth of Clyde at its eastern end, the Sea Loch is approximately 1 mi wide and between 2 and long, varying with the tide. The town of Dunoon on the Cowal peninsula lies on the shores of the Clyde just to the south of the loch, and houses continue round the villages of Kirn, Hunters Quay at the point with the landing slip for Western Ferries, Ardnadam and past Lazaretto Point, the village of Sandbank, with open countryside at the end of the Sea Loch, then on the northern shore Kilmun, and at Strone Point the village of Strone continues on the western shore of the Firth of Clyde, almost joining Blairmore on Loch Long.</p><br>
<p>All the villages used to have piers served by Clyde steamers, and now Western Ferries runs between Hunters Quay and McInroy&#39;s Point on the outskirts of Gourock, while the Argyll Ferries service runs from Dunoon to Gourock pierhead. At the end of the loch a road runs past the Benmore Botanic Garden and Arboretum (also known as the Younger Botanic Gardens) to Loch Eck and on towards Inveraray.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<h3>Medieval period</h3><br>
<p>On the shore of the Holy Loch at Kilmun (Gaelic Cill Mhunnu, the church of St Munnu) stands a nineteenth-century church. It stands on the site of a sequence of earlier churches, and an early carved stone on the site suggests that there was a church here perhaps as early as the sixth or seventh century. The dedication to St Munnu, otherwise known as Fintan, St Munn (Fintán of Taghmon), reflects devotion to an Irish saint who founded a church at Taghmon in Leinster. The remains of a 12th-century church are still visible at Kilmun. At the present site of Kilmun Church, a church building is recorded in the 13th century. By the 15th century, the significance of Kilmun as a local centre of Christianity was so great that the adjacent loch became known as the Holy Loch, and the powerful Clan Campbell adopted it as their spiritual home.</p><br>
<h3>Modern history</h3><br>
<h4>Robertson's Yard</h4><br>
<p>Alexander Robertson started repairing boats in a small workshop at Sandbank in 1876, and Alexander Robertson and Sons Ltd (Yachtbuilders) went on to become one of the foremost wooden boat builders on the Clyde. Their golden years were in the early 20th century when they started building classic 12 & 15 metre racing yachts. Robertsons was chosen to build the first 15-metre yacht designed by William Fife (Shimna, 1907). More than 55 boats were built by Robertsons in preparation for the First World War and the yard remained busy even during the Great Depression in the 1930s, as many wealthy businessmen developed a passion for yacht racing. During World War II the yard was devoted to Admiralty work, producing a wide range of large high speed Fairmile Marine Motor Boats (MTBs and MGBs).</p><br>
<p>After the war the yard built the successful one-class Loch Longs and two 12-metre challengers for the Americas Cup: Sceptre (1958) (17 tonnes) and Sovereign (1964). The Robertson family sold the yard in 1965, and it was turned over to GRP production work (mainly Pipers and Etchells). During its 104-year history, Robertsons Yard built 500 boats, many of which are still sailing. The yard ceased trading in the early 1980s and the site was levelled soon after. The site has since been consumed by residential building and the new Holy Loch Marina development.</p><br>
<h4>World War II</h4><br>
<p>During World War II the loch was used by the Royal Navy as a submarine base, served by the depot ship. The loch was used extensively for trials and exercises by Royal Navy submarines during the war, the submarines and were lost in the Clyde after being sunk by accidents during exercises. Untamed was later salvaged.</p><br>
<p>Near the Holy Loch an anti-submarine boom was constructed between Dunoon and the Cloch Point Lighthouse to defend waters from German U-boats.</p><br>
<h4>US Navy at Holy Loch</h4><br>
<p>Between 1961 and 1992, Holy Loch was the site of the United States Navy&#39;s FBM Refit Site One (FBM: Fleet Ballistic Missile). It was the home base of Submarine Squadron (SUBRON) 14, part of Submarine Force, USA Atlantic Fleet. To make maximum usage of its submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) deterrent force, American military had determined that it required an overseas base for refit and crew turnover. Negotiations with the British Government began as early as March 1959 when President Dwight D. Eisenhower mentioned the need to British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan at a meeting at Camp David.</p><br>
<p>Holy Loch was one of several locations on or near the Firth of Clyde considered for the refit site. Others were Faslane, the channel between Largs and Cumbrae, Rosneath Bay, and Rothesay Bay. Site selection criteria included the requirements for a sheltered anchorage, relative proximity to an international airport, and sufficient shore facilities to provide housing for military personnel and their families. Agreement for the use of Holy Loch was reached near the end of 1960 and the arrival of the first tender, scheduled for December. Divisions within the British government and concerns about protests by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) caused her arrival to be rescheduled to 3 March 1961. Protests at the site followed.</p><br>
<p>Between 1961 and 1982, the Naval Support Activity ashore was administered by US Naval Activities London. In 1982, Naval Support Activity (NAVSUPPACT), Forward Base, Holy Loch, Scotland became its own command. NAVSUPPACT ultimately managed 42 facilities and leased 342 housing units for Navy personnel and their dependents.</p><br>
<p>Over the years, five different submarine tenders and one floating dry dock served in the loch.</p><br>
<p>Two notable incidents occurred during the three-decade long deployment of SUBRON 14 at Holy Loch. On November 1970, a fire erupted on USS Canopus, killing three of her complement. Almost four years later, on 3 November 1974, the nuclear ballistic missile submarine USS James Madison (SSBN-627) collided with a Soviet submarine, assumed to be a Victor-class nuclear-powered attack submarine, during a dive just after departing from Holy Loch. The American submarine was dented and suffered a nine-foot scratch on her hull. She spent a full week at the base for inspection and repairs.</p><br>
<p>Laurel Clark, known to her shipmates as "Doc Salton", was assigned as the Radiation Health Officer and Undersea Medical Officer at SUBRON 14. Clark was one of the astronauts who perished in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster on 1 February 2003.</p><br>
<p>New technologies and the end of the cold war led to the base being deemed unnecessary. The last submarine tender to be based there, the, left Holy Loch in November 1991, ahead of the base closing the following June.</p><br>
<p>Viroconium or Uriconium, formally Viroconium Cornoviorum, was a Roman town, one corner of which is now occupied by Wroxeter, a small village in Shropshire, England, about 5 mi east-south-east of Shrewsbury. At its peak, Viroconium is estimated to have been the 4th-largest Roman settlement in Britain, a civitas with a population of more than 15&thinsp;000. The settlement probably lasted until the end of the 7th century or the beginning of the 8th. Extensive remains can still be seen.</p><br>
<h2>Name</h2><br>
<p>Viroconium is a Latinised form of a toponym that was reconstructed as Common Brittonic *Uiroconion " of *Uirokū". *Uirokū ( "man-wolf") is believed to have been a masculine given name meaning "werewolf".</p><br>
<p>The term "Cornoviorum" distinguishes the site as the Viroconium "of the Cornovii", the Celtic tribe whose civitas the settlement became. The original site of the Cornovian capital (also thought to have been named *Uiroconion) was a hillfort on the Wrekin.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<h3>Roman</h3><br>
<p>The site at Wroxeter was strategically located near the end of the primary Watling Street Roman trunk road that ran across England from Dubris (Roman Dover). During the early years the site was a key frontier position lying on the bank of the Severn river whose valley penetrated deep into Wales and also lying on a route to the south leading to the Wye valley.</p><br>
<p>The site was first established in about AD 55 as a frontier post for a Thracian legionary cohort located at a fort near the Severn river crossing. A few years later a legionary fortress (castrum) was built within the site of the later city for the Legio XIV Gemina during their invasion of Wales.</p><br>
<p>They were replaced in about 69 AD by the Legio XX Valeria Victrix which left to fight with Agricola in Scotland in 78 AD although the fortress may not have been completely abandoned until around 88 AD when it was taken over by the civilian settlement (canabae) that had grown up around the fort.</p><br>
<p>The local British tribe of the Cornovii probably had their original capital (also thought to have been named *Uiroconion) at the impressive hillfort on the Wrekin. When the Cornovii were eventually subdued their capital was moved to Wroxeter and given its Roman name.</p><br>
<p>When the legion left, an unfinished bath house remained in the centre of the town where the forum was later to be built. In the 90&#39;s AD the main street grid was being laid out based around the plan of the fort.</p><br>
<p>The colonnaded forum was started in the 120s AD covering the unfinished bath house, and with the impressive dedicatory inscription to Hadrian found in excavations dating the completion to 130 AD. By 130, the town had expanded especially under Hadrian to cover an area of more than 173 acre. It then had many public buildings, including thermae. Simpler temples and shops have also been excavated. At its peak, Viroconium is estimated to have been the one of the richest and the fourth largest Roman settlement in Britain with a population of more than 15,000. Its wealth is surprising for what remained a frontier town and is perhaps explained by its access to Wales and to other trade routes.</p><br>
<p>Between 165-185 AD the forum was burnt down, including neighbouring shops and houses, and many shop contents were subsequently found in excavations. The forum was rebuilt with several modifications.</p><br>
<h3>Middle Ages</h3><br>
<p>Following the end of Roman rule in Britain around 410, the Cornovii seem to have divided into Pengwern and Powys. The later minor Magonsæte sub-kingdom of the Angles emerged in the area when Oswiu conquered Pengwern in 656.</p><br>
<p>Viroconium may have served as the early sub-Roman capital of Powys. The city has been variously identified with the Cair Urnarc and Cair Guricon which appeared in the Historia Brittonums list the 28 civitates of Britain.</p><br>
<p>N.J. Higham proposes that Viroconium became the site of the court of a sub-Roman kingdom known as the Wrocensaete, which was the successor territorial unit to Cornovia. Wrocensaete means the ‘inhabitants of Wroxeter’.</p><br>
<p>Town life in Viroconium continued in the fifth century, but many of the buildings fell into disrepair. Between 530 and 570, when most Roman urban sites and villas in Britain were being abandoned, there was a substantial rebuilding programme. The old basilica was carefully demolished and replaced with new timber-framed buildings on rubble platforms. These probably included a very large two-storey building and a number of storage buildings and houses. In all, 33 new buildings were "carefully planned and executed" and "skillfully constructed to Roman measurements using a trained labour force". Who instigated this rebuilding programme is not known, but it may have been a bishop. Some of the buildings were renewed three times, and the community probably lasted about 75 years until, for some reason, many of the buildings were dismantled.</p><br>
<p>The site was probably abandoned peacefully in the second half of the seventh century or the beginning of the eighth. The court of Powys is believed to have moved to Mathrafal sometime before 717 following famine and plague in its original location.</p><br>
<h3>Reuse of building stone</h3><br>
<p>According to archaeologist Philip A. Barker, the parish churches of Atcham, Wroxeter, and Upton Magna are largely built of stone taken from the buildings of Viroconium Cornoviorum.</p><br>
<h2>Wroxeter Roman City</h2><br>
<p>Some remains are still standing, and further buildings have been excavated. These include "the Old Work" (an archway, part of the baths frigidarium and the largest free-standing Roman ruin in England) and the remains of a baths complex. These are on display to the public and, along with a small museum, are looked after by English Heritage under the name "Wroxeter Roman City". Some of the more important finds are housed in Rowleys House Museum in Shrewsbury. Most of the town still remains buried, but it has largely been mapped through geophysical survey and aerial archaeology.</p><br>
<h3>Reconstructed villa</h3><br>
<p>A reconstructed Roman villa was opened to the public on 19 February 2011 to give visitors an insight into Roman building techniques and how the Romans lived. A Channel 4 television series, Rome Wasn&#39;t Built in a Day, showed how it was built using authentic ancient techniques. The builders were assisted by a team of local volunteers and supervised by archaeologist Dai Morgan Evans, who designed the villa.</p><br>
<h2>Literature</h2><br>
<p>A. E. Housman referred to the town as "Uricon" in his poem "On Wenlock Edge" in A Shropshire Lad.</p><br>
<p>Wilfred Owen saw archaeological digs in progress at Wroxeter and referred to it in his 1913 poem "Uriconium: an Ode".</p><br>
<p>"Viroconium" is a poem by the Shropshire novelist and poet Mary Webb.</p><br>
<p>Viroconium in its latter days is featured in Rosemary Sutcliff&#39;s 1961 historical novel Dawn Wind, part of her Roman-Britain series following the descendants of the lead character from The Eagle of the Ninth.</p><br>
<p>Viroconium features in Mary Stewart&#39;s Merlin Chronicles The Crystal Cave, The Hollow Hills and The Last Enchantment.</p><br>
<p>The Ivindo River is the most important tributary of the Ogooué river, which flows in Gabon.</p><br>
<h2>Course</h2><br>
<p>The Ivindo River flows from northeast Gabon to the southwest, eventually emptying into the Ogoue River. It flows through some of the wildest and most attractive rainforest in Africa. The upper stretch of the river is fairly gentle, draining the gentle plateau of eastern Gabon. Below the town of Makokou, the only significant town on the river, it drops off the plateau in a series of spectacular waterfalls and gorges.</p><br>
<h2>Tributaries</h2><br>
<p>Djoua, which is also a natural border between Gabon and Congo</p><br>
<p>Djadie, also written Zadia, which flows across Mekambo</p><br>
<p>Liboumba, whose main tributary is the Lodié River</p><br>
<p>Mvoung, which flows across Ovan and main tributary is the Kuye River</p><br>
<p>Bouinandjé</p><br>
<p>Karangoua</p><br>
<h2>Exploration</h2><br>
<p>The Ivindo below Makokou was first traversed by a whitewater expedition in 1998. This was a group from Jackson Hole, Wyoming, consisting of Chris Guier, Bruce Hayse, Louise Lasley, Marilyn Olsen, Rick Sievers and Howie Wolke. The group encountered four impressive falls: Kongue, Mingouli, Tsengue Leledei, and an unnamed and undescribed falls between Mingouli and Tsengue Leledei which was perhaps the most beautiful of all. There were many stretches of whitewater and the banks were remarkable for groups of unafraid elephants and occasional other mammals.</p><br>
<h2>Trivia</h2><br>
<p>The Trans-Gabon Railway has two bridges over the confluence between the Ivindo and the Ogowe Rivers.</p><br>
<p>Much of the area around the Ivindo has received National Park status.</p><br>
<p>Dokos  is a small Greek island of the Argo-Saronic Gulf, adjacent to Hydra, and separated from the Peloponnese by a narrow strait called, on some maps, "the Hydra Gulf." It is part of the municipality of Ýdra  in Islands regional unit and reported a population of 18 persons at the 2011 census. The island is populated only by some Orthodox monks and perennial sheep herders. The island is rocky, reaching a height of 308 metres.</p><br>
<h2>Archaeology</h2><br>
<p>It has, since the ancient years, considered to be a strategic location. On the east side lie the ruins of a great Byzantine - Venetian Castle. During the Middle Ages, the island served as a refuge for Albanian settlers&#39; animals.</p><br>
<p>Dokos, according to archaeological studies, has been inhabited since the era of copper, 6000 BC. In 1975, Peter Throckmorton discovered a wreck near Dokos that has been dated to about 2150 BC, and may be the oldest shipwreck known.</p><br>
<h2>Historical population</h2><br>
<p>Loch Long; is a body of water in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The Sea Loch extends from the Firth of Clyde at its southwestern end. It measures approximately 20 mi in length, with a width of between 1 and. The loch also has an arm, Loch Goil, on its western side.</p><br>
<p>Loch Long forms part of the coast of the Cowal peninsula and forms the entire western coastline of the Rosneath Peninsula.</p><br>
<p>Loch Long was historically the boundary between Argyll and Dunbartonshire. However, in 1996 boundary redrawing meant that it moved wholly within the council area of Argyll and Bute.</p><br>
<h2>Villages on Loch Long</h2><br>
<p>Villages on the loch include Arrochar at its head and Cove on the east shore near its foot.</p><br>
<h2>Fisheries</h2><br>
<p>Several Scottish sea fishing records are attributed to the loch:</p><br>
<h2>Sport</h2><br>
<p>The Ardentinny Outdoor Education Centre on the western shore uses the loch for watersports.</p><br>
<p>It is now a popular area for diving on the numerous wrecks that scatter the loch.</p><br>
<h2>Finart Oil Terminal</h2><br>
<p>The Finnart Oil Terminal is located on the eastern shore of the loch, linked to the Grangemouth Refinery via a 58 mi long pipeline.</p><br>
<h2>Navy use</h2><br>
<p>The eastern shore is also the location of the Royal Navy&#39;s Coulport Armament depot, part of HMNB Clyde, and the Glen Mallan jetty, linked to Glen Douglas defence munitions depot.</p><br>
<p>The loch was used as a testing ground for torpedoes during World War II and contains numerous wrecks.</p><br>
<p>The River Otter rises in the Blackdown Hills just inside the county of Somerset, England near Otterford, then flows south for some 32 km through East Devon to the English Channel at the western end of Lyme Bay, part of the Jurassic Coast, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Permian and Triassic sandstone aquifer in the Otter Valley is one of Devon&#39;s largest groundwater sources, supplying drinking water to 200,000 people.</p><br>
<h2>Topography</h2><br>
<p>The river flows through a predominantly rural area, with small cattle, sheep and dairy farms. The largest town in the Otter Valley is Honiton. Tourism and leisure play important roles in the economy. For much of its length, the river flows through two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty – The Blackdown Hills AONB (to the north of Honiton) and East Devon AONB (to the south of Ottery St Mary).</p><br>
<p>The river passes through or by Upottery, Rawridge, Monkton, Honiton (then below the A30 trunk road), Alfington, Ottery St Mary, Tipton St John, Newton Poppleford, Otterton and reaches the coast to the east of Budleigh Salterton, after flowing through the 57 acre Otter Estuary Nature Reserve – a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) – consisting of tidal mudflats and saltmarsh. There is no public access to the estuary itself but footpaths lead alongside with two viewing platforms on the west and two hides one on the west and one on the east. The wintering population of wildfowl and waders includes redshank, greenshank, dunlin, common sandpiper, ringed plover, grey plover, curlew, snipe, water rail, wigeon, teal, shelduck, brent goose, red-breasted merganser and little grebe. Reed warbler, reed bunting and sedge warbler breed on the reserve.</p><br>
<p>The Environment Agency measures the water level of the Otter and its tributaries at six or more "river level stations".</p><br>
<p>The point at which the river reaches the coast is part of the Jurassic Coast, a World Heritage Site.</p><br>
<p>A small tributary is the River Tale, with the confluence NW of Ottery St Mary. This small town (associated with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Sir Walter Raleigh, and an annual tar barrel rolling event) is the site of an unusual circular weir, known as the Tumbling Weir. Another small tributary is Budleigh Brook, which joins the Otter at East Budleigh.</p><br>
<p>At one time there were as many as fifty watermills powered by the River Otter. One of the remaining working mills, thought to date from the 17th century, is Tracey Mill near Honiton. In the 1970s, fish ponds were dug around the mill, fed by the leat; over a million gallons of fresh water flow though these ponds every day, helping the commercial production of trout "without the need for antibiotics or added oxygen".</p><br>
<p>One mill, at Dotton, is known to have operated from around 1100 to 1960, after which the building was demolished. The site was excavated by Channel 4s archaeological television programme Time Team, the episode "The Domesday Mill" being broadcast in 2007. This mill is mentioned in the Domesday Book. A weir diverted water to the mills leat, supplying the vertical breast-shot wheel. Dotton (now little more than a farm) is 4.5 mi from the mouth of the Otter, and about one mile (1.6 km) north of the village of Colaton Raleigh.</p><br>
<p>At the village of Otterton (once a seaport on a larger Otter Estuary), Otterton Mill is a working watermill over 1,000 years old; it was one of the three largest mills in Devon as recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086. It is powered by water diverted through a leat. Immediately north of the leat, a fish pass (aka ladder/staircase) has been constructed beside a river-wide weir, restoring migratory fish runs to the river after a break of over 100 years.</p><br>
<h2>Coleridge</h2><br>
<p>The poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772–1834), who was born in Ottery St Mary, wrote this poem entitled "Sonnet to the River Otter".</p><br>
<p>At Ottery St Mary the river is spanned by a 95-metre foot and cycle bridge named Coleridge Bridge; built at a cost approaching £1m, this was officially opened on 29 August 2011. A small area of land at one end of the bridge was sold to the local authorities by Lord Coleridge, a descendant of the poet, Samuel Taylor Coleridge.</p><br>
<h2>Beaver population</h2><br>
<p>The Otter is the only river in England known to contain a breeding population of beavers, a species that died out in Britain in around 1550. The origin of the population is not known; it was first noticed in 2013, apparently successfully bearing three kits the next year.</p><br>
<p>Following concern from local landowners and anglers, as well as farmers worrying that the beavers could carry disease, the government announced that it would capture the beavers and place them in a zoo or wildlife park. A sport fishing industry lobbyist group, the Angling Trust, said "it would be irresponsible even to consider re-introducing this species into the wild without first restoring our rivers to good health."</p><br>
<p>This decision to immediately remove the beavers was protested by local residents and campaign groups, with environmental journalist George Monbiot describing the government and Angling Trust as "control freaks": "I&#39;m an angler, and the Angling Trust does not represent me on this issue...most anglers, in my experience, have a powerful connection with nature. The chance of seeing remarkable wild animals while waiting quietly on the riverbank is a major part of why we do it."</p><br>
<p>The introduction of beavers to rivers has been encouraged by environmentalists, who have argued that beaver dams provide a habitat for birds and fish, reduce the strength of flooding by trapping water high up in a catchment area, away from homes further downstream, and could be a future tourist attraction. A local councillor, Claire Wright, was quoted as commenting, "The decision to let them stay should be made by the community, not by officials from London. There is a lot of support locally for them remaining on the river and general bafflement about why Defra would want to remove them."</p><br>
<p>On the 28 January 2015, Natural England declared that the beavers would be allowed to remain on condition that they were free of disease and of Eurasian descent. These conditions were passed, and the beavers were returned to the river as part of a five-year trial scheme.</p><br>
<p>Carrauntoohil  is the highest peak on the island of Ireland. Located in County Kerry, it is 1,038 m high and is the central peak of the Macgillycuddys Reeks range. The ridge northward leads to Irelands second-highest peak, Beenkeragh at 1,010 m, while the ridge westward leads to the third-highest peak, Caher at 1,001 m. Carrauntoohil overlooks three bowl-shaped valleys, each with its own lakes. To the east is Hag&#39;s Glen or Coomcallee , to the west is Coomloughra  and to the south is Curragh More .</p><br>
<p>A wooden cross was erected on the summit, a privately owned commonage in the 1950s by the local community,</p><br>
<p>Carrauntoohil is classed as a Furth by the Scottish Mountaineering Club, i.e. a mountain greater than 3,000 ft high that is outside (or furth of) Scotland, which is why it is sometimes referred to as one of the Irish Munros.</p><br>
<h2>Name</h2><br>
<p>The mountains name has a number of spellings and theories of origin. Carrauntoohil is the most common spelling of the name, and is the one used by Ordnance Survey Ireland. Other spellings include Carrantoohil, Carrantouhil, Carrauntouhil and Carrantuohill. These are an anglicization of an Irish placename, but its origins and meaning are not clear. "Unlike some lesser peaks, such as Mangerton or Croagh Patrick, it is not mentioned in any surviving early Irish texts". The official Irish name is Corrán Tuathail. This has been interpreted as "inverted sickle" or "Tuathals sickle", Tuathal being a male first name. However, one of the earliest mentions of the mountain, by Isaac Weld in 1812, refers to it as Gheraun-Tuel. This suggests that the first element was géarán ("fang")—which is found in the names of other Kerry mountains—and that the earlier name may have been Géarán Tuathail ("Tuathal&#39;s fang").</p><br>
<h2>Climbing routes</h2><br>
<p>The mountain is most often climbed from the north-east, along the Hags Glen and up the steep Devils Ladder to the col between Carrauntoohil and Cnoc na Toinne, and then north-west to the summit. The route has become more dangerous in recent years due to loose stones and crowding. No special equipment is needed to climb the mountain, but caution is advised. Alternatively, one can walk the two other 1,000 m peaks in a "horseshoe" trip, starting from the west. The traverse from highest point to the second highest involves a light scramble.</p><br>
<p>Jackson Bay / Okahu is a gently curving bay 24 kilometres wide, located on the West Coast of New Zealand&#39;s South Island. It faces the Tasman Sea to the north, and is backed by the Southern Alps. The westernmost point of the bay is marked by the headland of Jackson Head; in the northeast the end of the bay is less well defined, but the small alluvial fan of the Turnbull and Okuru Rivers might be considered its farthest point. The small Open Bay Islands lie five kilometres off the coast at this point.</p><br>
<p>The bay marks a major change in the terrain of the west coast. To the north, narrow fertile plains lie between the mountains and the sea, allowing for moderately intensive farming of livestock. To the south, the coastal plains disappear as the land becomes steeper and more majestically mountainous. Within 60 kilometres, the first of the deep glacial valleys that further south become the fjords of Fiordland start to become evident, with Lake McKerrow at the foot of the Hollyford Track.</p><br>
<p>The bay marks the farthest southern extent of the West Coast&#39;s road network: the small road which meanders along the coast from Haast, 32 kilometres to the northeast, terminates at the sleepy fishing village of Jackson Bay, close to Jackson Head. This was the site of the landing of the early settlers of the area, and is close to the mouth of the Arawhata (or Arawata) River. The third river to enter the Tasman along this stretch of coast is the Waiatoto River, which enters the bay 10 kilometres to the east of Jackson Head.</p><br>
<p>A renowned whaling station was established here to target migrating whales such as southern right and humpback whales.</p><br>
<p>Jackson Bay was named Open Bay by Captain Cook; the origins of its current name are obscure. Possible namesake sources include: Port Jackson, New South Wales; James Hayter Jackson, a local whaler; or William Jackson, a sealer said to have been part of a party that was marooned in the area in 1810. Following the passage of the Ngai Tahu Claims Settlement Act 1998, the name of the bay was officially altered to Jackson Bay / Okahu.</p><br>
<p>The Bucegi Mountains (Romanian: Munții Bucegi; are located in central Romania, south of the city of Brașov. They are part of the Southern Carpathians group of the Carpathian Mountains.</p><br>
<p>To the east, the Bucegi Mountains have a very steep slope towards the popular tourist destination Prahova Valley (a.o. Bușteni and Sinaia). At a higher elevation is the Bucegi Plateau, where wind and rain have turned the rocks into spectacular figures such as the Sphinx and Babele.</p><br>
<p>The Bucegi is believed to be the Dacian holy mountain Kogainon, on which the God Zalmoxis resided in a cave.</p><br>
<h2>Name</h2><br>
<p>The exact origin of the name "Bucegi" is disputed by philologists. "Buceag" or "bugeac" seems to be the source of the name, a word designating in the language of mountain people both the moss in the forest and the wilderness or the junipers. Archaic version of the name "Bucegi" is "Buceci", name still used today by elders in the mountains, and about which linguists say it&#39;s derived from "huceag", "buceag" or "bugeac".</p><br>
<p>Linguist Sextil Pușcariu claims that the name of Bucșoi, one of the mountains that reach the Omu Peak, derives from "Buc", "Bucur", just as "Buceci", "Bugeci" derives from "Buc" with the same suffix like "Măneciu" or "Moeciu". And "Bucur" is a genuine Dacian name. In Iorgu Iordan&#39;s work, Toponimia romînească, the name of the mountains is derived from Slavic buk, meaning "beech".</p><br>
<h2>Ranges</h2><br>
<p>The mountains are grouped in three ranges:</p><br>
<p>Bucegi Mountains (Omul Peak - 2505 meters)</p><br>
<p>Leaota Mountains (Leaota Peak - 2133 meters)</p><br>
<p>Piatra Craiului Mountains (Baciului Peak - 2238 meters)</p><br>
<p>The Bran Pass separates the Piatra Craiului and Leaota ranges; it was marked by border crossings between Wallachia and Transylvania, and was defended by the Bran Castle.</p><br>
<h2>Tourism</h2><br>
<p>Bucegi Mountains are bordered by Prahova Valley, area with the most ski resorts in Romania. Moreover, since 1935, a part of Bucegi Mountains has been included in the list of protected areas in Romania, with national park status.</p><br>
<h3>Ski resorts</h3><br>
<p>Among the most popular ski resorts within the Bucegi Mountains are Sinaia and Bușteni. Nicknamed the "Pearl of the Carpathians", Sinaia offers the possibility of performing winter sports. Ski slopes within the resort are serviced by ski lift, accessible by cable car. The main tourist attractions are Peleș Castle, Pelișor, Royal Station, Sinaia Monastery, Casino and George Enescu Memorial House.</p><br>
<p>Bușteni, located at an altitude of 800–900 m, features a diversified base of accommodation and meal (hotels, rest homes, chalets, tourist stops). A cable car links Silva Hotel and Babele Chalet, on the mountaintops. This area has unusual rock formations, such as the Sphinx and Babele. Bușteni is the starting point of trekking on some of the most attractive routes in Bucegi Massif. In the winter months, Bușteni offers the possibility of practicing skiing and sleighing. There are ski slopes with varying degrees of difficulty. Bușteni is also a cultural point, featuring Cantacuzino Castle and Cezar Petrescu Memorial Museum. Likewise, there is a trout farm.</p><br>
<h3>Rucăr-Bran Corridor</h3><br>
<p>The Rucăr-Bran Corridor is a mountain pass that has the Bucegi Mountains on one side and the Piatra Craiului Mountains and Iezer-Păpușa Mountains on the other side.</p><br>
<h3>Bucegi Natural Park</h3><br>
<p>Bucegi Mountains area, whereof exist references since the 15th century, has been proposed for protection in 1936, due to peerless landscapes and great diversity of plant and animal species. This proposal was taken up only in 1990, when materialized through the Minister&#39;s order no. 7/1990. Bucegi Natural Park covers an area of 32,663 hectares across three counties (Dâmbovița, Prahova and Brașov), having more than 60% of the territory covered with forests.</p><br>
<p>Fann Mountains  are part of the western Pamir-Alay mountain system and are primarily located in Tajikistan&#39;s Sughd Province between the Zarafshan Range to the north and the Gissar Range to the south. In the east-west direction they extend from Fandarya River to Archimaydan River, and the cluster of Marguzor lakes west of Archimaydan is also included in the Fanns.</p><br>
<h2>Peaks</h2><br>
<p>The Fanns boast about a hundred peaks, with several rising to altitudes of more than 5,000 meters and relative elevations of up to 1,500 meters. The highest point in Fann Mountains is Chimtarga peak (5,489 m). Other 5,000-meter peaks are Bodkhona (5,138 m), Chapdara (5,050 m), Big Hansa, Little Hansa (5,031 m), Zamok (&#39;5,070 m), Mirali (5,132 m), and Energia (5,120 m).</p><br>
<p>There are many lakes in the Fanns. The best known are Alaudin lakes in the Chapdara River valley, Kulikalon Lakes on the northern slope of Chimtarga peak, Allo Lake, and the most outstanding of all, Iskanderkul Lake.</p><br>
<p>The best time for visiting is May–October for trekking and July–September for mountaineering, when the weather is usually at its best. Access is generally from Pendjikent, which can be reached either from Dushanbe or Samarkand.</p><br>
<p>Borah Peak  is the highest mountain in the USA state of Idaho and one of the most prominent peaks in the contiguous states. It is located in the central section of the Lost River Range, within the Challis National Forest in eastern Custer County.</p><br>
<p>The mountain was nameless until it was discovered to be higher than Hyndman Peak, previously regarded as the state&#39;s highest point. In February 1934, the USA Geological Survey named it for William Borah, the prominent senior USA Senator from Idaho, who had served for nearly 27 years at the time and was dean of the Senate. An outspoken isolationist, the "Lion of Idaho" ran for president two years later in 1936, but did not win the Republican nomination, and died in office in 1940.</p><br>
<h2>1983 earthquake</h2><br>
<h2>Climbing</h2><br>
<p>The normal route involves ascending 5,262 vertical feet (1,604 m) from the trailhead to the summit in just over 3.5 miles (5.6 km). This route on the southwest ridge, the most popular route, is a strenuous hike for the most part until one reaches a Class 4 arête just before the main summit crest. This point is known as Chickenout Ridge as many people will abort the attempt once they see the hazards up close. In the cooler seasons this crossing usually involves a traverse over snow, with steeply slanting slopes on either side. An ice axe, and the ability to use it, is recommended for this section when icy.</p><br>
<p>Borah Peaks north face is one of Idahos only year-round snow climbs and provides a much greater challenge than the normal route. The face features a number of grade II class 5 routes on mixed terrain.</p><br>
<p>Three climbers have died on Borah Peak. Two climbers ascending the northwest ridge in 1977 were killed in an avalanche. Another climber in 1987 lost his life on a glissade during descent.</p><br>
<p>The Albright–Knox Art Gallery is an art museum located at 1285 Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo, New York in Delaware Park. The gallery is a major showplace for modern art and contemporary art. It is located directly across the street from Buffalo State College and Burchfield Penney Art Center.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The parent organization of the Albright–Knox Art Gallery is the Buffalo Fine Arts Academy, founded in 1862. It is one of the oldest public arts institutions in the United States. In 1890, Buffalo entrepreneur and philanthropist, John J. Albright, a wealthy Buffalo industrialist, began the construction of the Albright Art Gallery for the Academy. The building was designed by prominent local architect Edward Brodhead Green. It was originally intended to be used as the Fine Arts Pavilion for the Pan-American Exposition in 1901, but delays in its construction caused it to remain uncompleted until 1905.</p><br>
<p>In 1962, a new addition was made to the gallery through the contributions of Seymour H. Knox, Jr. and his family, and many other donors. At this time the museum was renamed the Albright–Knox Art Gallery. The new building was designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill architect Gordon Bunshaft, who is noted for the Lever House in New York City. The Albright–Knox Art Gallery is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.</p><br>
<p>The museum first began discussing a possible expansion in 2001. In 2012, the board commissioned the architectural firm Snøhetta to produce a master plan for future growth. In 2014, the board voted to initiate a museum expansion and, in June 2016, the museum announced its selection of OMA as the architect for the project. Doubleline CEO and Buffalo native Jeffrey Gundlach has pledged $42.5 million to the project, while businesses, foundations, government groups, and individuals have promised matching funds toward a $125 million goal.</p><br>
<h2>Exhibitions</h2><br>
<p>In 1978, the Albright–Knox Art Gallerys exhibition on the work of Richard Diebenkorn was chosen to represent the United States at the 28th Venice Biennale. In 1988, the museum again won the competition to organize the exhibition representing the United States in Venice; the museums curator Michael G. Auping proposed media artist Jenny Holzer.</p><br>
<h2>Collection</h2><br>
<p>The Albright–Knox Art Gallery has long operated not by collecting artists’ work in depth but by trying to acquire key works. The gallery&#39;s collection includes several pieces spanning art throughout the centuries. Impressionistic and Post-Impressionistic styles can be found in works by artists of the nineteenth century such as Paul Gauguin and Vincent van Gogh.</p><br>
<p>Revolutionary styles from the early twentieth century such as cubism, surrealism, constructivism are represented in works by artists like Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, Jean Metzinger, Albert Gleizes, Henri Matisse, André Derain, Joan Miró, Piet Mondrian, and Alexander Rodchenko. Because of Seymour H. Knox and Gordon M. Smith, a former director, the Albright-Knox was one of the first museums to collect Abstract Expressionism in depth.</p><br>
<p>More modern pieces showing styles of abstract expressionism, pop art, and art of the 1970s through the end of the century can also be found represented by artists such as Arshile Gorky, Jackson Pollock, Clyfford Still, and Andy Warhol. Additionally, the gallery is also very rich in various pieces of post-war American and European art; their contemporary collection includes pieces by artists such as Kiki Smith, Allan Graham, Georg Baselitz, John Connell, and Per Kirkeby. The museum bought Anselm Kiefer&#39;s large-scale Die Milchstrasse (The Milkyway) (1985–87) in 1988 to celebrate its 125th anniversary.</p><br>
<p>The Albright-Knox’s current exhibition space can accommodate only 200 works — just 3% of its 6,740-piece collection.</p><br>
<h2>Selected collection highlights</h2><br>
<h3>Paintings</h3><br>
<p>The Albright-Knox has more than 6,500 works in its collection, below is a list highlighting a few notable paintings:</p><br>
<h3>Sculptures</h3><br>
<p>The gallery contains a variety of sculptures on the exterior grounds. Some of the most notable, from the past and the present, include:</p><br>
<h2>Deaccessioning and the Albright-Knox's mission</h2><br>
<p>In 2007, the Albright–Knox Art Gallery deaccessioned a Roman-era bronze sculpture, Artemis and the Stag, that was auctioned at Sothebys New York on June 7, 2007, and brought $28.6 million. This was the highest price ever paid at auction for an antiquity or a sculpture of any period, according to Sothebys. It was purchased by the London dealer Giuseppe Eskenazi on behalf of a private European collector.</p><br>
<p>The event brought national attention to what until then had been a local question, the mission of the Albright-Knox. In February 2007, when the list of works to be deaccessioned was made public, Albright-Knox Director Louis Grachos defined the ancient sculpture as falling outside the institutions historical "core mission" of "acquiring and exhibiting art of the present." This definition made public critics wonder whether the position at the Gallery of "William Hogarths Ladys Last Stake or Sir Joshua Reynolds Cupid as a Link Boy were secure. Works by Gustave Courbet, Honoré Daumier, Jacques-Louis David and Eugène Delacroix had been purchased by the museum in earlier decades.</p><br>
<p>The decision to deaccession certain art works was made by a vote of the museum&#39;s Board of Directors, was voted on and ratified by the entire membership, and followed the guidelines of the American Alliance of Museums. The sale raised questions about how museums can remain vital when they are situated in economically declining regions and have limited means for raising funds for operations and acquisitions.</p><br>
<h2>Hours</h2><br>
<p>The gallery is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday. On the first Friday of each month, the gallery is open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. with free admission to the permanent collection through the support of M&T Bank.</p><br>
<h2>Management</h2><br>
<h3>Governance</h3><br>
<p>Since 2013, Janne Sirén has been director of the Albright–Knox Art Gallery. Sirén is believed to be the first director from the Nordic region to take the helm of a major American art museum.</p><br>
<p>Complete list of directors:</p><br>
<p>Janne Gallen-Kallela-Sirén (2013–present)</p><br>
<p>Louis Grachos (2002-2013)</p><br>
<p>Douglas G. Schultz (1983-2002)</p><br>
<p>Robert T. Buck, Jr. (1973-1983)</p><br>
<p>Gordon M. Smith (1955–1973)</p><br>
<p>Edgar C. Schenck (1949–1955)</p><br>
<p>Andrew C. Ritchie (1942–1949)</p><br>
<p>Gordon B. Washburn (1931–1942)</p><br>
<p>William M. Hekking (1925–1931)</p><br>
<p>Cornelia Bentley Sage Quinton (1910–1924)</p><br>
<p>Charles M. Kurtz (1905–1909)</p><br>
<h3>Funding</h3><br>
<p>As of 2007, the Albright–Knox Art Gallery&#39;s endowment stood at about $58 million, generating about $1.1 million a year for acquisitions. Since the proceeds from the sale of some 200 works of art in 2007 were added to the preexisting $22 million acquisitions endowment, the museum has been able to spend as much as almost $5 million on new art annually. In 2013, the Albright–Knox Art Gallery received an $11 million bequest from the estate of longtime board member and Buffalo arts patron Peggy Pierce Elfvin, possibly the largest single gift in the museum’s history.</p><br>
<p>Mount Graham  Dzil Nchaa Si An - ′Big Seated Mountain′) is a mountain in southeastern Arizona in the United States. The mountain reaches 10,724 ft in height. It is the highest elevation in Graham County, Coronado National Forest and the Pinaleño Mountains As the name "Mount Graham" is often used by locals to refer to the entire mountain range, the peak itself is frequently referred to as "High Peak". It is twentieth of the 57 ultra prominent peaks of the lower 48 states, and the first of the five in Arizona.</p><br>
<p>Mount Graham summits are headwaters for numerous perennial streams that tumble through five major botanical zones. Located between the southern Rocky Mountains and Mexico’s Sierra Madre Occidental, and biologically isolated for millennia, the higher elevations have provided refuge for relict populations of plants and animals with adaptive strategies rooted in Pleistocene ice age environmental conditions. Of particular note are stands of the oldest conifer trees in the USA Southwest and associated habitats for threatened and endangered species, especially the Mount Graham Red Squirrel.</p><br>
<p>Located near the northern limit of the Chiricahua Apache homeland and the southern margins of Western Apache territory, the range is one of the Western Apache’s four holiest mountains and is considered sacred by all of the region&#39;s Native peoples. Since a determination by the Keeper of the Register in 2002, Dził Nchaa Si An, as it is known in the Western Apache language, ranks as the largest and most extensive (~330,000 acres) property listed on or formally determined eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.</p><br>
<p>In 1993, the St. Paisius Orthodox Monastery was founded at the base of the mountain.</p><br>
<p>Mount Graham hosts both species of Arizona native trout--Gila and Apache trout and three species of introduced trout.</p><br>
<h2>Mount Graham Observatory</h2><br>
<p>Mount Graham is home to the Mount Graham International Observatory area, where multiple organizations have set up large telescopes in a few separate observatories authorized by a rare peace-time Congressional waiver of USA environmental laws.</p><br>
<p>"100th Congress": Retrieved on 2009-04-16</p><br>
<p>The United States Congress authorized construction of the observatories on the mountain in 1988, but there has been outcry from the four federally recognized tribes of the Western Apache Nation and Native American groups, who consider the site to be sacred. Environmental groups, including the Sierra Club also oppose the Mount Graham International Observatory because the higher elevations are the last remaining habitat for the Mount Graham Red Squirrel.</p><br>
<p>Springer Mountain is a mountain located in the Chattahoochee National Forest on the border of Fannin and Gilmer counties. Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains in northern Georgia, the mountain has an elevation of about 3,782 ft. Springer Mountain serves as the southern termini for the Appalachian and Benton MacKaye trails.</p><br>
<h2>Name</h2><br>
<p>The origin of the name of Springer Mountain is unclear. One possible origin was that it was named in honor of William G. Springer, an early settler appointed in 1833 by Governor Wilson Lumpkin to implement legislation to improve conditions for the Indians. Another possibility was that Springer Mountain was named for the first Presbyterian minister to be ordained in Georgia, John Springer, who was ordained in 1790.</p><br>
<p>The mountain has been called Springer since at least 1910. As late as 1959, some residents of Gilmer County were still calling the peak Penitentiary Mountain. According to the Gilmer County Historical Society, the name was officially changed by the Georgia Appalachian Trail Club (GATC). It is unknown why the mountain was named Penitentiary. There is no known Cherokee name for the mountain.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>Springer Mountain is a north–south-trending loaf-shaped mountain located on the border of Gilmer and Fannin counties.</p><br>
<p>The mountain is located about 17 mi east of Ellijay, 14 mi northwest of Dahlonega and 11 mi southwest of Suches. Mount Oglethorpe, the original southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail, is located about 14 mi south of Springer Mountain. Other nearby geographical features include Black Mountain, Tickanetley Creek and Winding Stair Gap.</p><br>
<h2>Hiking</h2><br>
<h3>Appalachian Trail</h3><br>
<p>In 1958, the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail was relocated from Mount Oglethorpe to Springer Mountain. The reason for this relocation was because of increased development around Mount Oglethorpe. Springer Mountain was considered to be less dramatic than Mount Oglethorpe, but because of its remoteness, Springer Mountain was also considered to be less susceptible to development.</p><br>
<p>One way to climb Springer Mountain is from a parking lot on Forest Service Road 42, located 0.9 mi north up the Appalachian Trail from the summit. Hikers desiring to hike north from Springer Mountain would begin by hiking 0.9 mi south on the Appalachian Trail before turning around to hike north. At the peak of Springer Mountain is a bronze plaque with the Appalachian Trail logo, a register for hikers to sign, and a benchmark.</p><br>
<p>In addition to the Appalachian Trail, Springer Mountain can be reached from the south via the Appalachian Approach Trail. The approach trail starts at the visitor&#39;s center of Amicalola Falls State Park and is 8.5 mi in length.</p><br>
<h3>Benton MacKaye Trail</h3><br>
<p>Springer Mountain is also home to the southern terminus of the Benton MacKaye Trail. The trailhead for the Benton MacKaye Trail is located around 0.3 mi north of the summit.</p><br>
<h3>Shelters</h3><br>
<p>The nearest shelter from the summit is the Springer Mountain Shelter, located about 0.2 mi north of the summit. A water spring is located near this shelter. Another nearby shelter is the Black Gap Shelter, located about 1.5 mi south of the summit on the Appalachian Approach Trail.</p><br>
<p>Hiker signing register at Springer Mountain.jpgA hiker signs the Appalachian Trail register at Springer Mountain</p><br>
<p>SpringMountainScenicMarker.JPGAppalachian Trail marker</p><br>
<p>Springer Mountain campsite (21990723340).jpgCampsite on top of the mountain</p><br>
<p>Springer Mountain view.JPGView from Springer Mountain in May</p><br>
<p>View from Springer Mountain.jpgView from Springer Mountain in November</p><br>
<p>Springer Mountain and Black Mountain covered in snow (24268378939).jpgSpringer Mountain (left) and Black Mountain (right) covered in snow. Viewed from East Ellijay</p><br>
<p>Davis Strait  is a northern arm of the Labrador Sea. It lies between mid-western Greenland and Nunavut, Canada&#39;s Baffin Island. To the north is Baffin Bay. The strait was named for the English explorer John Davis , who explored the area while seeking a Northwest Passage. By the 1650s it was used for whale hunting.</p><br>
<h2>Extent</h2><br>
<p>The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Davis Strait as follows:</p><br>
<p>On the North. The Southern limit of Baffin Bay The parallel of 70° North between Greenland and Baffin Land.</p><br>
<p>On the East. The Southwest coast of Greenland.</p><br>
<p>On the South. The parallel of 60° North between Greenland and Labrador.</p><br>
<p>On the West. The Eastern limit of the Northwestern Passages South of 70° North the East coast of Baffin Island to East Bluff, its Southeastern extremity and of Hudson Strait A line from East Bluff, the Southeast extreme of Baffin Island ({{coord|61|53|N|65|57|W|display=inline}}), to Point Meridian, the Western extreme of Lower Savage Islands, along the coast to its Southwestern extreme and thence a line across to the Western extreme of Resolution Island, through its Southwestern shore to Hatton Headland, its Southern point, thence a line to Cape Chidley, Labrador ({{coord|60|24|N|64|26|W|display=inline}}).</p><br>
<h2>Geology</h2><br>
<p>The Davis Strait is underlain by complex geological features of buried grabens (basins) and ridges, probably formed by strike-slip faulting during Paleogene times about 45 million to 62 million years ago. The strike-slip faulting transferred plate-tectonic motions in the Labrador Sea to Baffin Bay. It is the world&#39;s broadest strait.</p><br>
<h2>Depth</h2><br>
<p>With a water depth of between one and two thousand meters the strait is substantially shallower than the Labrador Sea to the south or Baffin Bay to the north.</p><br>
<h2>Tides</h2><br>
<p>The strait is famous for its fierce tides that can range from 30 to 60 ft, which discouraged many earlier explorers.</p><br>
<h2>Oil and gas</h2><br>
<p>US Geological Survey has estimated that at least 13% of the worlds undiscovered oil deposits and 30% of the worlds undiscovered gas pockets are located in the Arctic, with the seas around Greenland potentially holding large amounts of natural gas and lesser amounts of crude oil and natural gas liquids. This has led the Greenland&#39;s minister and provincial council to offer a large number of off-shore concessions to potential hydrocarbon (oil and gas) extraction. The largest concessions areas are located in seas west of Greenland; primarily the Davis Strait and Baffin Bay, but with several smaller concessions in the Greenland Sea in the east also.</p><br>
<p>The Labrador Sea  is an arm of the North Atlantic Ocean between the Labrador Peninsula and Greenland. The sea is flanked by continental shelves to the southwest, northwest, and northeast. It connects to the north with Baffin Bay through the Davis Strait. It has been described as a marginal sea of the Atlantic.</p><br>
<p>The sea formed upon separation of the North American Plate and Greenland Plate that started about 60 million years ago and stopped about 40 million years ago. It contains one of the world&#39;s largest turbidity current channel systems, the Northwest Atlantic Mid-Ocean Channel (NAMOC), that runs for thousands of kilometers along the sea bottom toward the Atlantic Ocean.</p><br>
<p>The Labrador Sea is a major source of the North Atlantic Deep Water, a cold water mass that flows at great depth along the western edge of the North Atlantic, spreading out to form the largest identifiable water mass in the World Ocean.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The Labrador Sea formed upon separation of the North American Plate and Greenland Plate that started about 60 million years ago (Paleocene) and stopped about 40 million years ago. A sedimentary basin, which is now buried under the continental shelves, formed during the Cretaceous. Onset of magmatic sea-floor spreading was accompanied by volcanic eruptions of picrites and basalts in the Paleocene at the Davis Strait and Baffin Bay.</p><br>
<p>Between about 500 BC and 1300 AD, the southern coast of the sea contained Dorset, Beothuk and Inuit settlements; Dorset tribes were later replaced by Thule people.</p><br>
<h2>Extent</h2><br>
<p>The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Labrador Sea as follows:</p><br>
<p>On the North: the South limit of Davis Strait.</p><br>
<p>On the East: a line from Cape St. Francis 47&deg;45&prime;N latitude, 52&deg;27&prime;W longitude (Newfoundland) to Cape Farewell (Greenland).</p><br>
<p>On the West: the East Coast of Labrador and Newfoundland and the Northeast limit of the Gulf of St. Lawrence – a line running from Cape Bauld (North point of Kirpon Island, 51&deg;40&prime;N latitude, 55&deg;25&prime;W longitude) to the East extreme of Belle Isle and on to the Northeast Ledge (52&deg;02&prime;N latitude, 55&deg;15&prime;W longitude). Thence a line joining this ledge with the East extreme of Cape St. Charles (52°13&#39;N) in Labrador.</p><br>
<h2>Geography, geology and bathymetry</h2><br>
<p>The Labrador Sea is about 3,400 m deep and 1,000 km wide where it joins the Atlantic Ocean. It becomes shallower, to less than 700 m towards Baffin Bay (see depth map) and passes into the 300 km wide Davis Strait. It appears as a submarine river bed with numerous tributaries and is maintained by high-density turbidity currents flowing within the levees.</p><br>
<p>The water temperature varies between -1 &deg;C in winter and 5 - in summer. The salinity is relatively low, at 31–34.9 parts per thousand. Two-thirds of the sea is covered in ice in winter. Tides are semi-diurnal (i.e. occur twice a day), reaching 4 m.</p><br>
<p>There is an anticlockwise water circulation in the sea. It is initiated by the East Greenland Current and continued by the West Greenland Current, which brings warmer, more saline waters northwards, along the Greenland coasts up to the Baffin Bay. Then, the Baffin Island Current and Labrador Current transport cold and less saline water southward along the Canadian coast. These currents carry numerous icebergs and therefore hinder navigation and exploration of the gas fields beneath the sea bed. The speed of the Labrador current is typically 0.3 -, but can reach 1 m/s in some areas, whereas the Baffin Current is somewhat slower at about 0.2 m/s. The Labrador Current maintains the water temperature at 0 &deg;C and salinity between 30 and 34 parts per thousand.</p><br>
<p>The sea provides a significant part of the North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) – a cold water mass that flows at great depth along the western edge of the North Atlantic, spreading out to form the largest identifiable water mass in the World Ocean. The NADW consists of three parts of different origin and salinity, and the top one, the Labrador Sea Water (LSW), is formed in the Labrador Sea. This part occurs at a medium depth and has a relatively low salinity (34.84–34.89 parts per thousand), low temperature (3.3 -) and high oxygen content compared to the layers above and below it. LSW also has a relatively low vorticity, i.e. the tendency to form vortices, than any other water in North Atlantic that reflects its high homogeneity. It has a potential density of 27.76–27.78 mg/cm relatively to the surface layers, meaning it is denser, and thus sinks under the surface and remains homogeneous and unaffected by the surface fluctuations.</p><br>
<h2>Fauna</h2><br>
<p>The northern and western parts of the Labrador Sea are covered in ice between December and June. The drift ice serves as a breeding ground for seals in early spring. The sea is also a feeding ground for Atlantic salmon and several marine mammal species. Shrimp fisheries began in 1978 and intensified toward 2000, as well as cod fishing. However, the cod fishing rapidly depleted the fish population in the 1990s near the Labrador and West Greenland banks and was therefore halted in 1992. Other fishery targets include haddock, Atlantic herring, lobster and several species of flatfish and pelagic fish such as sand lance and capelin. They are most abundant in the southern parts of the sea.</p><br>
<p>Beluga whales, while abundant to the north, in the Baffin Bay, where their population reaches 20,000, are rare in the Labrador Sea, especially since the 1950s. The sea contains one of the two major stocks of Sei whales, the other one being the Scotian Shelf. Also common are minke and bottlenose whales.</p><br>
<p>The Labrador duck was a common bird on the Canadian coast until the 19th century, but is now extinct. Other coastal animals include the Labrador wolf (Canis lupus labradorius), caribou (Rangifer spp.), moose (Alces alces), black bear (Ursus americanus), red fox (Vulpes vulpes), Arctic fox (Alopex lagopus), wolverine, snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus), grouse (Dendragapus spp.), osprey (Pandion haliaetus), raven (Corvus corax), ducks, geese, partridge and American wild pheasant.</p><br>
<h2>Flora</h2><br>
<p>Coastal vegetation includes black spruce (Picea mariana), tamarack, white spruce (P. glauca), dwarf birch (Betula spp.), aspen, willow (Salix spp.), ericaceous shrubs (Ericaceae), cottongrass (Eriophorum spp.), sedge (Carex spp.), lichens and moss. Evergreen bushes of Labrador tea, which is used to make herbal teas, are common in the area, both on the Greenland and Canadian coasts.</p><br>
<p>Filoli is a country house set in 16 acre of formal gardens surrounded by a 654 acre estate, located in Woodside, California, about 25 mi south of San Francisco, at the southern end of Crystal Springs Reservoir, on the eastern slope of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Now owned by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Filoli is open to the public. The site is both a California Historical Landmark and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<h3>Bourn family</h3><br>
<p>Filoli was built between 1915 and 1917 for William Bowers Bourn II, owner of one of Californias richest gold mines and president of Spring Valley Water Company, supplying San Franciscos water, and his wife, Agnes Moody Bourn. In 1910 they had bought the Muckross House estate near Killarney in County Kerry, Ireland, but wanted a country place nearer home. The principal designer, San Francisco architect Willis Polk, used a free Georgian style that incorporated the tiled roofs characteristic of California. Polk had previously designed Bourns houses in Grass Valley and on Webster Street in San Francisco. Polks friend Bruce Porter was commissioned to collaborate with the Bourns in planning the gardens, which were laid out between 1917 and 1922. The horticulturist who designed the plantings and fixed the original color schemes was Isabella Worn; she supervised the garden&#39;s maintenance for 35 years.</p><br>
<p>Filoli served as one of the Bourns residences from 1917 to 1936. The name of the estate is an acronym formed by combining the first two letters from the key words of William Bourns credo: "Fight for a just cause; Love your fellow man; Live a good life."</p><br>
<p>Bourn&#39;s Spring Valley Water Company owned Crystal Springs Reservoir and the surrounding area. Bourn called the Crystal Springs Reservoirs "Spring Valley Lakes" for his company. The original Spring Valley was between Mason and Taylor Streets, and Washington and Broadway Streets in San Francisco, where the water company started. When the company went south for more water, the Spring Valley name was carried south too.</p><br>
<p>Bourn also owned Muckross House in Ireland and is reputed to have used Muckross as a model for Filoli.</p><br>
<h3>Roth family</h3><br>
<p>Following the deaths of William and Agnes Bourn in 1936, the estate was sold the following year to Mr. William P. Roth and Mrs. Lurline Matson Roth, heiress to the Matson Navigation Company. The Roth family built Filoli&#39;s botanic collections of camellias, rhododendrons and azaleas, notably in the woodland garden, and added the serene swimming pool and the screened-in teahouse.</p><br>
<h2>Current status</h2><br>
<p>In 1975, Mrs. Roth donated the estate in its entirety to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, with an endowment that helps support annual operating expenses. The estate operates as Filoli Center, a private, non-profit organization with its own Board of Governors, staff and volunteers.</p><br>
<h2>The gardens</h2><br>
<p>The 16 acre of gardens are structured as a series of formally enclosed spaces framed within brick walls and clipped hedges, which open one from another, providing long axial views, in which profuse naturalized plantings of hardy and annual plants contrast with lawns, brick and gravel paths, formal reflecting pools, framed in walls and clipped hedging in box, holly, laurel and yew (illustration, right) and punctuated by massive terracotta pots and many narrowly columnar Irish yews, originally grown on the estate from cuttings. Filoli is an outstanding example of the Anglo-American gardening style reintroducing Italian formality, that was pioneered at the end of the nineteenth century by Edwin Lutyens and Gertrude Jekyll in British gardens and exemplified in the USA by designs of Charles A. Platt and Beatrix Farrand.</p><br>
<p>The gardens extend southeast of the house running up an easy slope. The sunken garden is the first of four main rooms; the rectangular pool at its center that houses hardy and tropical water lilies is flanked by twin panels of lawn and two olive trees, within the hedge of clipped Japanese yew. The walled garden consists of a series of enclosures, including the rose window design outlined in clipped box</p><br>
<p>After it was acquired by the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 1975, Filoli has been open for public tours. Attractions include self-guided tours, guided tours, and nature hikes. The formal gardens include several areas, including the Wedding Place, especially designed for Berenice Roths wedding. Lurline and Berenice both had their wedding receptions at Filoli, but Berenices wedding is the only one that has ever taken place at Filoli. The largest gardens are working gardens for the production of cut flowers for the mansion and for the growing of some vegetables.</p><br>
<h2>Ecology and conservation</h2><br>
<p>Laguna Creek, locally known as "Orchard Creek", flows northwest from its origin on the western slope of Edgewood County Park to Upper Crystal Springs Reservoir where its waters eventually join San Mateo Creek, and descend to San Francisco Bay. In November 1769, Laguna Creek was the route of the Portolà expedition as they descended from their discovery of San Francisco Bay on Sweeney Ridge down San Andreas Creek to Laguna Creek and then southeast down the San Francisquito Creek watershed to El Palo Alto. After crossing to the west side of Cañada Road, Laguna Creek is joined on the left (heading downstream) by the South Fork Laguna Creek, then after crossing under the main entrance road to Filoli it is joined by locally named Fault Creek, then Spring Creek (possibly named by Bourn for his Spring Valley Water Company), then on the right by an unnamed creek, then by waters from the Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct and Pulgas Water Temple just before entering Upper Crystal Springs Reservoir. Historically, the San Mateo Creek watershed hosted runs of anadromous salmonids, including coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) and steelhead trout (coastal rainbow trout) (Oncorhynchus mykiss irideus) coming up from the Bay. In 1877, Laguna Grande, a natural lake on Laguna Creek, was dammed with an earthen causeway (now crossed by Highway 92) blocking further salmonid migration up into Laguna Creek and its tributaries on Filoli. Stream resident rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), continue to run up the creeks of Filoli from the reservoir to spawn.</p><br>
<p>San Mateo County historian Frank Stanger cited sizeable groves of redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens) in the Laguna Creek watershed. In the area around Filoli he described two historic lumber mills. The historic "Smith Mill" on Fault Creek was destroyed by fire in 1854. Pinckney&#39;s mill in "the largest gulch", which would be Spring Creek, was built in 1855 and later purchased by S. L. Mastic. Although information on these mills is limited, they support the idea that "the area was thoroughly logged". A large redwood tree remains on Laguna Creek just below the lower Filoli parking lot and on the main entrance road.</p><br>
<h2>Film location</h2><br>
<p>Filoli has served as the set for many Hollywood films. Most famously, it is the mansion seen from the air in the opening credits of the television series Dynasty. The mansion&#39;s plush interiors were also featured in the first episodes of the series but were subsequently replicated on sound stages at the Fox Studios, Century City. However the entire mansion served as the setting for the 2006 CBS Television special Dynasty Reunion: Catfights & Caviar in which cast members reunited to discuss their memories of the series. It was the first time many of the cast members had been to the actual estate.</p><br>
<p>Among the many striking mature trees on the grounds are a row of immense Italian Stone Pines and scattered specimen native Coast Live Oaks over 250 years in age, the latter of which are the backdrop for Warren Beatty&#39;s outdoor scenes in Heaven Can Wait.</p><br>
<p>Filoli was featured in Bob Vilas A&E Network production, Guide to Historic Homes of America, as well as in a November 1996 segment of A&Es America&#39;s Castles: Garden Estates, the latter being shown continuously at the visitor center.</p><br>
<p>The house also served as the Stanhope residence in the 1997 film George of the Jungle and was featured in The Game in the same year.</p><br>
<p>The Palais des Papes  is a historical palace located in Avignon, southern France. It is one of the largest and most important medieval Gothic buildings in Europe. Once a fortress and palace, the papal residence was the seat of Western Christianity during the 14th century. Six papal conclaves were held in the Palais, leading to the elections of Benedict XII in 1334, Clement VI in 1342, Innocent VI in 1352, Urban V in 1362, Gregory XI in 1370 and Antipope Benedict XIII in 1394.</p><br>
<p>The Palais is actually two joined buildings: the old palais of Benedict XII, which sits on the impregnable rock of Doms, and the new palais of Clement VI, the most extravagant of the Avignon popes. Together they form the largest Gothic building of the Middle Ages, it is also one of the best examples of the International Gothic architectural style. The construction design was the work of two of France’s best architects, Pierre Peysson and Jean du Louvres and the lavish ornamentation was the work of two of the best students of the School of Siena (Italy), Simone Martini and Matteo Giovanetti.</p><br>
<p>In addition, the papal library housed in the Palais (the largest in Europe at the time with over 2,000 volumes), attracted a group of clerics passionate in the study of "belle-lettres", amongst them the founder of Humanism, Petrarch. At the same time, composers, singers and musicians were drawn to the Great Chapel of the Palais. It was there that Clement VI appreciated the Mass of Notre-Dame of Guillaume de Machaut, there that Philippe de Vitry at the pope’s invitation presented his Ars Nova and there that Johannes Ciconia came to study.</p><br>
<p>Due to its immense size, the Palais was also the place where the general organisation of the Church began to change. It facilitated the centralisation of services and the adaptation of operations in order to suit the needs of the papacy, creating a truly central administration for the Church. The manpower of the Curia (Church administration), while 200 at the end of the 13th century, surpassed 300 at the beginning of the 14th century and reached 500 people in 1316. To this were added over 1,000 lay officials working within the Palais.</p><br>
<p>Despite this, the Palais became obsolete when the papacy found it necessary to return to Rome. The hope of reuniting Latin and Orthodox Christians, along with the achievement of peace in the Papal States in Italy, made the case of returning stronger. Added to that was the strong conviction of both Urban V and Gregory XI that the seat of the papacy could only be the tomb of St Peter. Despite strong opposition from the Court of France and the College of Cardinals, both popes found the means to return to Rome, the first, on 30 April 1362, the second on 13 September 1370. This time, the return was absolute.</p><br>
<p>In the following centuries, the Palais lost all of its former glory, despite it serving as the seat of two anti-popes and many cardinals. It retained, however, a “work of destruction” aspect that French poets and writers such as Charles Forbes René de Montalembert have referred to over the centuries, with its powerful sense of beauty, simplicity, grandeur and immortality.</p><br>
<p>Since 1995, the Palais des Papes has been classified, along with the historic center of Avignon, as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, under cultural criteria i, ii and iv.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The Palais construction began in AD 1252. Avignon became the residence of the Popes in 1309, when the Gascon Bertrand de Goth, as Pope Clement V, unwilling to face the violent chaos of Rome after his election (1305), moved the Papal Curia to Avignon, a period known as the Avignon Papacy. Clement lived as a guest in the Dominican monastery at Avignon, and his successor Pope John XXII set up a magnificent establishment there, but the reconstruction of the old bishops palace was begun in earnest by Pope Benedict XII (1334–42) and continued by his successors to 1364. The site, on a natural rocky outcrop at the northern edge of Avignon, overlooking the river Rhône, was that of the old episcopal palace of the bishops of Avignon. The Palais was built in two principal phases with two distinct segments, known as the Palais Vieux (Old Palace) and Palais Neuf (New Palace). By the time of its completion, it occupied an area of 11,000 m². The building was enormously expensive, consuming much of the papacys income during its construction.</p><br>
<p>The Palais Vieux was constructed by the architect Pierre Poisson of Mirepoix at the instruction of Pope Benedict XII. The austere Benedict had the original episcopal palace razed and replaced with a much larger building centred on a cloister, heavily fortified against attackers. Its four wings are flanked with high towers.</p><br>
<p>Under Popes Clement VI, Innocent VI and Urban V, the building was expanded to form what is now known as the Palais Neuf. An architect, Jean de Louvres, was commissioned by Clement VI to build a new tower and adjoining buildings, including a 52 m long Grand Chapel to serve as the location for papal acts of worship. Two more towers were built under Innocent VI. Urban V completed the main courtyard (known as the Court d&#39;Honneur) with further buildings enclosing it. The interior of the building was sumptuously decorated with frescos, tapestries, paintings, sculptures and wooden ceilings.</p><br>
<p>The popes departed Avignon in 1377, returning to Rome, but this prompted the Papal Schism during which time the antipopes Clement VII and Benedict XIII made Avignon their home until 1403. The latter was imprisoned in the Palais for five years after being besieged in 1398 when the army of Geoffrey Boucicaut occupied Avignon. The building remained in the hands of antipapal forces for some years – it was besieged from 1410 to 1411 – but was returned to the authority of papal legates in 1433.</p><br>
<p>Although the Palais remained under papal control (along with the surrounding city and Comtat Venaissin) for over 350 years afterwards, it gradually deteriorated despite a restoration in 1516. When the French Revolution broke out in 1789 it was already in a bad state when it was seized and sacked by revolutionary forces. In 1791 it became the scene of a massacre of counter-revolutionaries, whose bodies were thrown into the Tour des Latrines in the Palais Vieux.</p><br>
<p>The Palais was subsequently taken over by the Napoleonic French state for use as a military barracks and prison. Although it was further damaged by the military occupation, especially under the anti-clerical Third Republic, when the remaining interior woodwork was cleared away for use of the structure as a stables – the frescos were covered over and largely destroyed – ironically this ensured the shell of the building&#39;s physical survival. It was only vacated in 1906, when it became a national museum. It has been under virtually constant restoration ever since.</p><br>
<h2>Present</h2><br>
<p>The Palais is today a palace of culture and primarily a tourist attraction, attracting around 650,000 visitors per annum, putting it regularly in the top ten most visited attractions in France. It also houses a large convention centre and the archives of the département of Vaucluse, which include a research centre on the papacy of Avignon, organised jointly by the École française de Rome and the institut de recherche et d&#39;histoire des textes.</p><br>
<p>With its size, architecture and historical significance, the Palais regularly serves as an exhibition centre. The first major exhibition was initiated by René Char and in the Grand Chapel between 27 and 30 June 1947. Entitled "Exposition de peintures et sculptures contemporaines" (Exposition of contemporary painters and sculptors), it was the starting point for what would later become the Festival d&#39;Avignon.</p><br>
<p>The courtyard of the Palais des Papes is a central performance location during the Festival d&#39;Avignon In, which holds every year in July. It is also the site of many cultural and economic events (exhibitions, shows, conventions...)</p><br>
<p>The Palais is also home to the International Congress Centre which was established in 1976 and today hosts a large number of events annually. These include congresses, parliaments, symposia, reunions and other gatherings, with the largest room, the Grande Audience, able to hold up to 700 guests.</p><br>
<h2>Architecture</h2><br>
<p>With 15,000 m of floor space, the Palais is the largest Gothic palace in all of Europe and, due to its many architectural merits, one of the most important in the world. These merits were highlighted by Viollet-le-Duc, author of “Dictionnaire raisonné de l’architecture française du XI au XVI siècle” (Dictionary of French Architecture in from the 11th to 16th Centuries), who referred extensively to the Palais, including the thickness and height of its towers, the strength of its crenelated walls, the use of arcs for support on its façades and its ability to withstand heavy and drawn-out sieges.</p><br>
<h3>The towers</h3><br>
<h3>Clément VI studium, also called "la chambre du cerf"</h3><br>
<p>The studium, or private study of Clement VI, is commonly called the chambre du cerf (room of the deer), on account of the justly-celebrated 14th-century frescoes, depicting courtly hunting scenes, that decorate the walls and vaults. The subject matter, while common in contemporary secular art, is as unexpected in a room supposedly dedicated to study, as it is for a room in a papal apartment. The frescoes were probably painted by French artists, who were either highly influenced by Sienese art, or assisted by Simone Martini and/or Matteo Giovanetti, both of whom served as Clement&#39;s court painter.</p><br>
<h3>The Great Tinel</h3><br>
<p>This room was used primarily as a reception room. Covered with tapestries on starry blue background, there is actually nothing left of these sets. Indeed, a fire that destroyed the palace in the 14th century; many parts have been restored or rebuilt.</p><br>
<p>During conclaves, it is in this room that the cardinals met to elect a new pope. For the occasion, the room was walled and only a small opening was left open to provide all the necessary food. After each conclave, the walls were destroyed, revealing a vaulted room opening to the rest of the palace.</p><br>
<h3>The chapels</h3><br>
<h4>Saint-Martial chapel</h4><br>
<p>Located on the second level of the Saint-Jean tower, the Saint-Martial chapel relates through painting the main parts of Saint Martial&#39;s life. Matteo Giovanetti worked there in 1344 and 1345. The reading direction of the painting should be made from top to bottom.</p><br>
<h4>Saint-Jean chapel</h4><br>
<p>From 1347 to 1348, Matteo Giovannetti was in charge of the Saint-Jean chapel, located under the Saint-Martial chapel.</p><br>
<p>This chapel is closed to the public as it is being renovated.</p><br>
<h2>Art exhibitions at the Palais des Papes</h2><br>
<p>The Palais des Papes regularly hosts art exhibitions. The tradition began in 1947, when the art critic Christian Zervos and the poet René Char organised an exhibition of the likes of Matisse, Picasso, Braque and Mondrian. The exhibitions shown since then include two exhibitions of Picasso (in 1970 and 1973), the comprehensive 2000 exhibition “La beauté in fabula” and, more recently, the exhibition “Les Papesses” (2013) and single exhibitions of Miquel Barceló (2010) and Stefan Szczesny (2014).</p><br>
<p>The Pont Saint-Bénézet , also known as the Pont d&#39;Avignon, is a famous medieval bridge in the town of Avignon, in southern France.</p><br>
<p>A bridge spanning the Rhône between Villeneuve-lès-Avignon and Avignon was built between 1177 and 1185. This early bridge was destroyed forty years later during the Albigensian Crusade when Louis VIII of France laid siege to Avignon. The bridge was rebuilt with 22 stone arches. It was very costly to maintain as the arches tended to collapse when the Rhône flooded. Eventually in the middle of the 17th century the bridge was abandoned. The four surviving arches on the bank of the Rhône are believed to have been built in around 1345 by Pope Clement VI during the Avignon Papacy. The Chapel of Saint Nicholas sits on the second pier of the bridge. It was constructed in the second half of 12th century but has since been substantially altered. The western terminal, the Tour Philippe-le-Bel, is also preserved.</p><br>
<p>The bridge was the inspiration for the song Sur le pont d&#39;Avignon and is considered a landmark of the city. In 1995, the surviving arches of the bridge, together with the Palais des Papes and Cathédrale Notre-Dame des Doms were classified as a World Heritage Site.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The bridge spanned the Rhône between Avignon and Villeneuve-lès-Avignon. It was built between 1177 and 1185, with an original length of some 900 m. The bridge was destroyed during the siege of Avignon by Louis VIII of France in 1226 but beginning in 1234 it was rebuilt. Historians have suggested that the earlier bridge may have consisted of a wooden superstructure supported on stone piers and that only when rebuilt was the bridge constructed entirely in stone. The bridge was only 4.9 m in width, including the parapets at the sides. The arches were liable to collapse when the river flooded and were sometimes replaced with temporary wooden structures before being rebuilt in stone.</p><br>
<p>The bridge fell into a state of disrepair during the 17th century. By 1644 the bridge was missing four arches and finally a catastrophic flood in 1669 swept away much of the structure. Since then, its surviving arches have successively collapsed or been demolished, and only four of the initial 22 arches remain.</p><br>
<p>The arches are segmental rather than the semi-circular shape typically used in Roman bridges. Of the remaining arches the largest span is 35.8 m between the third and fourth piles. The piers have cutwaters that are pointed in both the upstream and the downstream direction. These reduce the scour around the piers, one of the main threats to the stability of stone bridges.</p><br>
<h3>Saint Bénézet legend</h3><br>
<p>The bridges construction was inspired by Saint Bénézet, a shepherd boy from the hamlet of Villard in the Ardèche who (according to tradition) while tending his flock heard the voice of Jesus Christ asking him to build a bridge across the river. Although he was ridiculed at first, he dramatically "proved" his divine inspiration by miraculously lifting a huge block of stone. He won support for his project and formed a Bridge Brotherhood to oversee its construction. After his death, he was interred on the bridge itself, in a small chapel standing on one of the bridges surviving piers on the Avignon side.</p><br>
<h3>Saint Nicholas Chapel</h3><br>
<p>The Saint Nicholas Chapel sits on a platform on the upstream side of the second pier (between the second and third arches). The bridge chapel has undergone a number of phases of reconstruction and restoration. It is now divided into two floors, each with a nave and an apse. The upper floor is on a level with the platform of the bridge and reduces the width of the walkway to 1.75 m. The lower floor is accessed by a set of steps that descend from the bridge.</p><br>
<p>The exterior of the chapel shows evidence of the rebuilding work with blocked windows on the south-eastern wall. The nave is covered with stone roof tiles which rest on a series of corbels. The polygonal apse has a flat roof and sits above the cutwater of the pier.</p><br>
<p>The lower chapel with its apse decorated with five arches dates from the second half of the 12th century. At a later date, perhaps as early as the 13th century when the level of the bridge was raised, a floor supported by a ribbed quadripartite vault was inserted into the structure. The simple rectangular upper chapel with the barrel vaulted roof was consecrated in 1411. A side door was created in the lower chapel as the stonework of the raised bridge blocked the original entrance. In 1513 a pentagonal apse with gothic columns was added to the upper chapel.</p><br>
<p>In 1670, after the bridge was abandoned, the relics of Saint Bénézet were transferred to the Hôpital du Pont (also called the Hôpital St Bénézet) within the city walls next to the gatehouse.</p><br>
<p>The bridge was also the site of devotion by the Rhône boatmen, whose patron saint was Saint Nicholas. They initially worshipped in the Saint Nicholas Chapel on the bridge itself (where Saint Bénézet&#39;s body was also interred) but the increasing dilapidation of the bridge made access difficult. In 1715 the confraternity of boatmen built a chapel on dry land on the Avignon side of the bridge outside the ramparts next to the gatehouse. This chapel was destroyed by the major flood of the Rhône that occurred in 1856. A residence for a caretaker was built on the ruins during the restoration work undertaken beginning around 1878. The residence was demolished as part of the restoration work on the bridge and gatehouse carried out in the 1980s.</p><br>
<h3>Gatehouses</h3><br>
<p>The bridge had great strategic importance as when first built it was the only fixed river crossing between Lyon and the Mediterranean Sea. It was also the only river crossing between the Comtat Venaissin, an enclave controlled by the Pope, and France proper under the authority of the kings of France. As such, it was closely guarded on both sides of the river. The right bank, which was controlled by the French crown, was overlooked by the fortress of the Tour Philippe-le-Bel which was built at the beginning of the 14th century. On the Avignon side, the bridge passed through a large gatehouse erected in the 14th century (with major modifications in the 15th century), passing through and over the city wall and exiting via a ramp (now destroyed) which led into the city.</p><br>
<p>Between 1265 and 1309 another stone bridge was constructed across the Rhône, 40 km upstream from Avignon, at what is now Pont-Saint-Esprit but then known as Saint-Saturnin-du-Port. The Pont-Saint-Esprit bridge originally had 20 arches and a length of 900 m. Although now somewhat modified, the medieval bridge has survived until the present day.</p><br>
<p>With the collapse of the Saint-Bénézet bridge the Rhône at Avignon was crossed by ferry until the 19th century. Between 1806 and 1819 a wooden bridge was built across the two branches of the river. The section between Avignon and the Île de la Barthelasse was replaced by a suspension bridge in 1843 but the wooden section between the island and Villeneuve was not replaced until 1905-1910.</p><br>
<p>The Chapel of Saint Nicholas and the four remaining arches were listed as a Monument historique in 1840.</p><br>
<h3>Roman bridge hypothesis</h3><br>
<p>A scholarly debate has taken place on whether a bridge existed prior to the construction of the Saint Bénézet bridge in the 12th century. An earlier bridge was first proposed by Henri Revoil at the French Archaeological Conference held in Avignon in 1882. His main argument was based on the appearance of the stonework at the base of the four surviving piers. At very low water, stone blocks were visible which were larger than those above and had features that appeared foreign to the existing bridge. The style of the masonry indicated to Revoil that there had been an earlier bridge dating from either the late Roman or Carolingian periods. In 1892 Louis Rochetin published an article suggesting that the projecting stone blocks at the base of the first pier and those on either side of the second pier supporting the chapel were the remains of springers that would have supported earlier Roman arches.</p><br>
<p>Denis-Marcel Marié, in his book on the bridge published in 1953, carefully reviewed all the previous publications and in the final chapter came out in support of the hypothesis that an early bridge had been built by the Gallo-Romans towards the end of the Roman occupation. He suggested that the bases of the surviving piers belonged to this earlier bridge and that the semi-circular arches employed during the Roman period meant that level of the roadway would have been higher than the top of the surviving chapel. Marié surmised that this early bridge had collapsed over the following seven centuries and the 12th century Bénézet bridge had consisted of a decking supported on wooden piles linking the ruined Roman piers. The piles were necessary because the gaps between the Roman stone piers would have been too large to span with wooden beams without the intervening support. The height of the Bénézet bridge would have been at the level of the lower chapel.</p><br>
<p>Further support for the existence of a Roman bridge came in an article by Perrot et al. published in 1971. The article described a survey undertaken in 1969 on the surviving vestiges of the piers in the Villeneuve branch of the river before their total destruction by the Compagnie Nationale du Rhône (CNR). The article also included long quotes from an unpublished report by Mr Mathian, an engineer working for the CNR, on a survey carried out in 1965 on the four intact piers on the Avignon side of the river. This survey had discovered a layer of wood, at least 20 cm in thickness, under the foundations of each of the four intact piers. A sample of the wood was dated by the Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) using the radiocarbon technique to between 290 and 530 AD, corresponding to the end of the Roman Empire. In the survey of the ruined piers in the Villeneuve channel, a pier (listed as number 14) was found to contain wooden beams within the masonry. A sample of this wood was radiodated to 890 AD.(error estimates were not specified). During the dredging of the Villeneuve channel the remains of three large wooden piles were recovered, two of which were still shod with iron tips. Samples of wood from these were sent for dating, but at the time of the publication of the article, the results had not been received.</p><br>
<p>The archaeologist Dominique Carru, while accepting the radiocarbon date for the sample of wood, has argued that it is very unlikely that an earlier bridge existed. It is not mentioned in the surviving chronicles from the high medieval period and a bridge would have led to the development of an urban centre on the right bank of the Rhône opposite Avignon, similar to those at other locations in the Rhône valley, such as Trinquetaille opposite Arles and Saint-Romain-en-Gal near Vienne. There is no evidence for a significant early settlement near the terminus of the bridge. The main east-west route in the Roman period passed through Tarascon-Beaucaire, 20 km to the south, and avoided the river at Avignon which was wide and variable in position.</p><br>
<h2>The song "Sur le Pont d'Avignon"</h2><br>
<p>The bridge has achieved worldwide fame through its commemoration by the song "Sur le Pont dAvignon" ("On the Bridge of Avignon"). An earlier song with the same title was popular in the 16th and 17th centuries. The melody was published by Ottaviano Petrucci in his Harmonice Musices Odhecaton of 1503-4. The 16th-century composer Pierre Certon used the melody in a mass with the title of "Sus le Pont dAvignon". The modern version of the song dates from the mid-19th century when Adolphe Adam included it in the opéra comique Le Sourd ou l&#39;Auberge pleine which was first performed in Paris in 1853. The opera was an adaptation of the 1790 comedy by Desforges.</p><br>
<p>Alalakh  was an ancient city-state, a late Bronze Age capital in the Amuq River valley of Turkey&#39;s Hatay Province. It was occupied from before 2000 BC, when the first palace was built, and likely destroyed in the 12th century BC and never reoccupied. The city contained palaces, temples, private houses and fortifications. Modern Antakya has developed near the site.</p><br>
<p>The remains of Alalakh have formed an extensive mound; the modern archaeological site is known as Tell Atchana. It was first excavated in the 1930s and 1940s by a British team. A team sponsored by the University of Chicago started surveys in the late 20th century, and has conducted excavations led by K. Aslihan Yener in the early 21st century. She is now leading work sponsored by Mustafa Kemal University and the Turkish government.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Alalakh was founded by the Amorites (in the territory of present-day Turkey) during the early Middle Bronze Age in the late 3nd millennium BC. The first palace was built c. 2000 BC, contemporary with the Third Dynasty of Ur.</p><br>
<p>The written history of the site may begin under the name Alakhtum, with tablets from Mari in the 18th century BC, when the city was part of the kingdom of Yamhad (modern Aleppo). A dossier of tablets records that King Sumu-Epuh sold the territory of Alakhtum to his son-in-law Zimri-Lim, king of Mari, retaining for himself overlordship. After the fall of Mari in 1765 BC, Alalakh seems to have come under the rule of Yamhad again. King Abba-El I of Aleppo bestowed it upon his brother Yarim-Lim, to replace the city</p><br>
<p>of Irridu. Abba-El had destroyed the latter after it revolted against his brother Yarim-Lim. A dynasty of Yarim-Lim&#39;s descendents was founded, under the hegemony of Aleppo, that lasted to the 16th century. According to the short chronology found at Mari, at that time Alalakh was destroyed, most likely by Hittite king Hattusili I, in the second year of his campaigns.</p><br>
<p>After a hiatus of less than a century, written records for Alalakh resume. At this time, it was again the seat of a local dynasty. Most of the information about the founding of this dynasty comes from a statue inscribed with what seems to be an autobiography of the dynasty&#39;s founding king.</p><br>
<p>According to his inscription, in the 15th century BC, Idrimi, son of the king of Yamhad, may have fled his city for Emar, traveled to Alalakh, gained control of the city, and been recognized as a vassal by Barattarna. The inscription records Idrimi&#39;s vicissitudes: after his family had been forced to flee to Emar, he left them and joined the "Hapiru people" in "Ammija in the land of Canaan." The Hapiru recognized him as the "son of their overlord" and "gathered around him&quot after living among them for seven years, he led his Habiru warriors in a successful attack by sea on Alalakh, where he became king.</p><br>
<p>However, according to the archeological site report, this statue was discovered in a level of occupation dating several centuries after the time that Idrimi lived. There has been much scholarly debate as to its historicity. Archeologically-dated tablets recount that Idrimis son Niqmepuh was contemporaneous with the Mitanni king Saushtatar. This seems to support the inscription on the statue claiming that Idrimi was contemporaneous with Barattarna, Saushtatars predecessor.</p><br>
<p>The socio-economic history of Alalakh during the reign of Idrimi&#39;s son and grandson, Niqmepuh and Ilim-ilimma, is well documented by tablets excavated from the site. Idrimi is referred to rarely in these tablets.</p><br>
<p>In the mid-14th century BC, the Hittite Suppiluliuma I defeated king Tushratta of Mitanni and assumed control of northern Syria, then including Alalakh, which he incorporated into the Hittite Empire. A tablet records his grant of much of Mukishs land (that is, Alalakhs) to Ugarit, after the king of Ugarit alerted the Hittite king to a revolt by the kingdoms of Mukish, Nuhassa, and Niye. Alalakh was probably destroyed by the Sea People in the 12th century BC, as were many other cities of coastal Anatolia and the Levant. The site was never reoccupied, the port of Al Mina taking its place during the Iron Age.</p><br>
<h2>Archaeology</h2><br>
<p>Tell Atchana was excavated by the British archaeologist Sir Leonard Woolley in the years 1937–1939 and 1946–1949. His team discovered palaces, temples, private houses and fortification walls, in 17 archaeological levels reaching from late Early Bronze Age (Level XVII, c. 2200–2000 BC to Late Bronze Age (Level 0, 13th century BC). Among their finds was the inscribed statue of Idrimi, a king of Alalakh c.early 15th century BC.</p><br>
<p>After several years&#39; surveys in the late 20th century, the University of Chicago team had its first full season of excavation in 2003 directed by K. Aslihan Yener. In 2004, the team had a short excavation and study season in order to process finds. In 2006 the project changed sponsorship and resumed excavations directed by Aslihan Yener under the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism and Mustafa Kemal University in Antakya.</p><br>
<p>About five hundred cuneiform tablets were retrieved at Level VII, (Middle Bronze Age) and Level IV (Late Bronze Age). The inscribed statue of Idrimi, a king of Alalakh c. early 15th century BC, has provided a unique autobiography of Idrimis youth, his rise to power, and his military and other successes. The statue is now held in the British Museum. Akkadian texts from Alalakh primarily consist of juridical tablets, which record the ruling familys control over land and the income that followed, and administrative documents, which record the flow of commodities in and out of the palace. In addition, there are a few word lists, astrological omens and conjurations.</p><br>
<p>Hippos  is an archaeological site in Israel, located on a hill overlooking the Sea of Galilee. Between the 3rd century BC and the 7th century AD, Hippos was the site of a Greco-Roman city, which then declined under Muslim rule and was abandoned after an earthquake in 749. Besides the fortified city itself, Hippos controlled two port facilities on the lake and an area of the surrounding countryside. Hippos was part of the Decapolis, or Ten Cities, a region in Roman Jordan, Syria and Israel that were culturally tied more closely to Greece and Rome than to the Semitic ethnoi around.</p><br>
<p>Established as Antioch of Hippos (Ἀντιόχεια τοῦ Ἵππου) by Seleucid settlers, the city is named after the Greek language word for horse, Hippos, and a common name of Seleucid monarchs, Antiochus. In the 3rd-century Mosaic of Rehob, the site is known by its Aramaic name, Sussita (סוסיתא), a word meaning "horse" in the feminine gender, while the Arabic name, Qalat al-Hisn, has been used by the countrys Arab inhabitants, meaning, "Fortress of the Horse/Stallion". Other names include the alternate spelling Hippus and the Latinized version of the Greek name: Hippum. The precise reason why the city received this name is unknown.</p><br>
<h2>Location</h2><br>
<p>Hippos was built on a flat-topped foothill 2 km east of and 350 m above the Sea of Galilee, 144 m above sea level, near modern Kibbutz Ein Gev. The site is just on the Israeli side of the 1949 UN-demarcated ceasefire line between Syria and Israel.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<h3>Hellenistic period</h3><br>
<p>Excavations in Hippos have revealed traces of habitation from as early as the Neolithic period. The site was again inhabited in the third century BC by the Ptolemies, though whether it was an urban settlement or a military outpost is still unknown. During this time, Coele-Syria served as the battleground between two dynasties descending from captains of Alexander the Great, the Ptolemies and the Seleucids. It is likely that Hippos, on a very defensible site along the border lines of the 3rd century BC, was founded as a border fortress for the Ptolemies. The city of Hippos itself was established by Seleucid colonists, most likely in the middle of the second century BC. Its full name, Antiochia Hippos (Antiocheia ad Hippum), reflects a Seleucid founding.</p><br>
<p>As the Seleucids took possession of all of Coele-Syria, Hippos grew into a full-fledged polis, a city-state with control over the surrounding countryside. Antiochia Hippos was improved with all the makings of a Greek polis: a temple, a central market area, and other public structures. The availability of water limited the size of Hellenistic Hippos. The citizens relied on rain-collecting cisterns for all their water; this kept the city from supporting a very large population.</p><br>
<h3>Hasmonean period</h3><br>
<p>The Maccabean revolt resulted in an independent Jewish kingdom under the Hasmonean dynasty in 142 BC. In c. 83–80 BC, Alexander Jannaeus led a Hasmonean campaign to conquer lands east of the Jordan River.</p><br>
<h3>Roman period</h3><br>
<p>In 63 BC the Roman general Pompey conquered Coele-Syria, including Judea, and ended Hasmonean independence. Pompey granted self-rule to roughly ten Greek cities on Coele-Syrias eastern frontier; this group, of which Hippos was one, came to be called the Decapolis and was incorporated into the Roman Provincia Syria. Under Roman rule, Hippos was granted a certain degree of autonomy. The city minted its own coins, stamped with the image of a horse in honor of the citys name.</p><br>
<p>Hippos was given to Herod the Great in 37 BC and returned to the Province of Syria at his death in 4 BC. According to Josephus, during this time Hippos, a pagan city, was the "sworn enemy" of the new Jewish city across the lake, Tiberias. Jews had resided in Tiberias when it was still known by its previous name, Rakkat. Rakkat was later given the name Tiberias some 25 years after Herod&#39;s death by his son, Herod Antipas, in honor of the Roman Emperor, Tiberius, in AD 20. Josephus reports that during the Great Jewish Revolt of AD 66–70, Hippos persecuted its Jewish population. Other Jews from Sussita participated in attacks on Magdala and elsewhere. Hippos itself fell under attack by rebels at least once.</p><br>
<p>After the Romans put down the next Jewish revolt, they created the province of Palaestina in 135, of which Hippos was a part. This was the beginning of Hippos greatest period of prosperity and growth. It was rebuilt along a grid pattern, centered around a long decumanus maximus running east–west through the city. The streets were lined with hundreds of red granite columns imported from Egypt. The great expense required to haul these columns to Palestine and up the hill is proof of the citys wealth. Other improvements included a Kalybe (a shrine to the Emperor), a theatre, an odeon, a basilica, and new city walls. The most important improvement, however, was the aqueduct, which led water into Hippos from springs in the Golan Heights, 50 km away. The water, collected in a large, vaulted cistern, allowed a large population to live in the city.</p><br>
<h3>Byzantine period</h3><br>
<p>The imperial restructuring under the emperor Diocletian placed Hippos in the province of Palestina Secunda, encompassing Galilee and the Golan. When Christianity became officially tolerated in the Roman Empire, Palestine became the target of Imperial subsidies for churches and monasteries, and Christian pilgrims brought additional revenue. Industry expanded and more luxury goods became available to common people.</p><br>
<p>Christianity came slowly to Hippos. There is no evidence of any Christian presence before the 4th century. A Byzantine-era pagan tomb of a man named Hermes has been found just outside the city walls, attesting to the relatively late presence of paganism here. Gradually, however, the city was Christianized, becoming the seat of a bishop by at least 359. One Bishop Peter of Hippos is listed in surviving records of church councils in 359 and 362.</p><br>
<h3>Rashidun and Umayyad periods</h3><br>
<p>The Muslim armies of the Rashidun period invaded Palestine in the 7th century, completing their conquest by 641. Hippos&#39; new Arab rulers allowed the citizens to continue practicing Christianity, a policy then continued by the Umayyad Caliphate. However, the population and economy continued to decline. The earthquake of 749 destroyed Hippos and it was abandoned permanently.</p><br>
<h2>Excavations</h2><br>
<p>The German railroad engineer and surveyor Gottlieb Schumacher first surveyed Hippos in 1885, although he incorrectly identified the ruins as those of the town of Gamala.</p><br>
<p>The first excavations were carried out by Israeli archaeologists Emmanuel Anati, Claire Epstein, Michael Avi-Yona and others from 1951 to 1955. They unearthed some domestic buildings, the main city gate at the east and a large Byzantine church that had probably been the seat of Hippos&#39; bishop. After the excavations, the Israel Defense Forces used Mount Sussita for the same purpose as the ancient Greeks — as a fortress. It was used as a border defense against Syria until much of the Golan Heights were captured by Israel in the 1967 Six Day War.</p><br>
<p>In 1964 Mt. Sussita was declared a National Park and in 2004 the area around it, including the site itself, were declared a National Reserve. Following an archaeological survey conducted in 1999, it was decided to embark on a large-scale scientific project of excavations. The site has been excavated annually since, with the 14th season of excavations slated to take place in the summer of 2013.</p><br>
<p>The research undertaken at Hippos-Sussita is an international project. The first eleven seasons (2000–2010) were an Israeli-Polish-American collaboration, co-directed by Professor Arthur Segal and Dr. Michael Eisenberg from the Zinman Institute of Archaeology, University of Haifa; Professor Jolanta Młynarczyk from the Research Centre for Mediterranean Archaeology, Polish Academy of Sciences; Dr. Mariusz Burdajewicz of the National Museum, Warsaw and Dr. Mark Schuler from Concordia University, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA. The main areas of excavation were the odeion, the basilica, the North-West Church, the North-East Church and its surrounding insulae, domestic quarters, the southern bathhouse, the defensive ditch and fortifications next to it and the necropoleis (burial grounds). As from 2012 the excavations are directed by Dr. Michael Eisenberg, focusing on the Roman basilica, the Roman-Byzantine southern bathhouse, the north-east insula, the living quarters, the Roman bastion, the Saddle Ridge area and the necropolis.</p><br>
<p>The objective of the expedition is to uncover the entire ancient city, the street network, the main secular and religious public buildings, as well as the domestic quarters. It also hopes to survey and excavate the two necropoleis located to the south and the south-east of the city. The relationship between the city and the surrounding countryside will also be examined in future seasons, especially the area stretching between the city and the lake. Furthermore, it plans to conduct a detailed survey of the lakes shore to establish the exact location of Hippos port.</p><br>
<p>In 2015 a large bronze mask, almost without equal for its dimensions and dated between the 1st century B.C.E and the 2nd century C.E., depicting the Greek god Pan was retrieved by archaeologists from the site.</p><br>
<h2>Christian tradition</h2><br>
<p>In the New Testament, when Jesus mentions a "city set upon a hill" that "cannot be hidden" (one of the metaphors of Salt and Light in the Sermon on the Mount) he may have been referring to Hippos. In addition, a miracle of Jesus recounted in Mark 5 and Luke 8 may also be related to Hippos. See Gergesa for a discussion of the location of this miracle.</p><br>
<p>Catholic mystic Maria Valtorta in her vision-based work "Poem of the Man God" reported that Jesus Christ visited and preached in Hippos.</p><br>
<p>Harbor Island is an artificial island in the mouth of Seattle, Washington&#39;s Duwamish River where it empties into Elliott Bay. Built by the Puget Sound Bridge and Dredging Company, Harbor Island was completed in 1909 and was then the largest artificial island in the world, at 350 acres . Since 1912, the island has been used for commercial and industrial activities, including secondary lead smelting, shipbuilding and repair, bulk petroleum storage, metal fabrication, and containerized cargo shipping. Warehouses, laboratories, and other buildings are located on the island.</p><br>
<p>Harbor Island was made from 24 million yd³ (18 million m³) of earth removed in the Jackson and Dearborn Street regrades and dredged from the bed of the Duwamish River.</p><br>
<p>Harbor Island lost its title as the world&#39;s largest artificial island in 1938 with the completion of Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay, at 395 acres (1.60 km²). It regained the title in 1967, at which time its area had increased to nearly 397 acres (1.61 km²), but has been far surpassed in area since; as of 2004 Rokko Island in Kobe harbor in Japan is over 3.5 times larger. The official land area as reported by the United States Census Bureau was 406.91 acre, at the 2000 census. There was also a permanent population of three persons reported on the island at that time.</p><br>
<p>The West Seattle Bridge passes over the island, as does the newer Spokane Street Bridge, a swing bridge across the West Waterway. The East Waterway is crossed by a causeway supported a few feet above high tide by pilings.</p><br>
<p>Vigor Industrial operates a 27-acre shipyard on the island, which is also home to some of the Port of Seattle&#39;s terminals and the publishing branch of The Mountaineers (Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills, among others).</p><br>
<p>Dur-Kurigalzu  was a city in southern Mesopotamia near the confluence of the Tigris and Diyala rivers about 30 km west of the center of Baghdad. It was founded by a Kassite king of Babylon, Kurigalzu I, some time in the 14th century BC, and was abandoned after the fall of the Kassite dynasty. The prefix Dur- is an Akkadian term meaning "fortress of", while the Kassite royal name Kurigalzu, since it is repeated in the Kassite king list, may have a descriptive meaning as an epithet, such as "herder of the folk ". The city contained a ziggurat and temples dedicated to Sumerian gods, as well as a royal palace. The ziggurat was unusually well-preserved, standing to a height of about 52 m.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The town of Dur Kurigalzu was founded by the Kassite King Kurigalzu I in the late 15th or early 14th century BC and is situated along an east-west-trending limestone ridge between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers. Until the last century, the adjacent Aqar Quf depression would have been inundated with flood water part of the year. This site had access to fresh water from the Euphrates by means of the Isa Canal, known as the Patti-Enlil Canal in ancient times. The city functioned as the capital of Babylonia during the reign of Kurigalzu, and either as the capital or at least an important city during the period after. It was occupied continuously until the fall of the Kassite Dynasty in the 12th century BC, when it was largely abandoned. The temple area, at least, was known to be active in the 7th century BC and in the Neo-Babylonian period. Up until recently (mostly between the 9th and 14th centuries AD), there have been smaller occupations at parts of Aqar Quf, with areas of the site being used for burials and for Arab settlement.</p><br>
<p>In Kassite times the area was defined by a large wall that enclosed about 225 hectare. The shape of the city is elongated and features several mounds, perhaps reflecting a functional separation of the parts of the site. The hill of Aqar Quf is dominated by the most visible monument at the site, a ziggurat devoted to the main god of the Babylonian pantheon, Enlil. Because of the uniformity of architectural features, the ziggurat and surrounding temple complexes appear to have been founded by the Kassite king, Kurigalzu. The ziggurat measured 69 x at its base. It was approached by three main staircases leading up to the first terrace, which has been reconstructed by the Iraqi Directorate-General of Antiquities. The surrounding temple-complex has only been excavated on the south-west side of the ziggurat. The palace area of Tell al-Abyad consists of several stratigraphic architectural layers, which suggests several phases of building in this area over the entire stretch of the Kassite period, and therefore has great potential to yield an invaluable sequence of pottery and other material for the period. Associated tablets confirm that the structure was occupied throughout the Kassite period. The palace has innovative architectural features, being constructed in modules of three rooms around large courts. In addition, excavators also discovered a treasury on the east of the palace and a probable throne room or royal reception/ceremonial chamber.</p><br>
<h3>Ziggurat</h3><br>
<p>The Ziggurat of Dur-Kurigalzu was built in the 14th century BC (short chronology) by the Kassite king Kurigalzu. The core of the structure consists of sun-dried square bricks. The reed mats are actually every 7 layers of brick, as stated, used for drainage and to assist in holding the bricks together by providing a continuous layer of support. The outer layers of the ziggurat are made from fired bricks. An inscription on one of the fired bricks states that it was laid during the reign of King Kurigalzu II. Today both types of brick, sun-dried and fired, are still made in Iraq in the same fashion and used in farm houses.</p><br>
<p>The ziggurat at Aqar Quf has been a very visible ancient monument for centuries. For camel caravans and modern road traffic, the ziggurat has served as a signal of the near approach to Baghdad. The site has been one of the favorite places where Baghdadi families have gone to picnic on Fridays, even before it was excavated. A small museum, built in the 1960s, has served to introduce visitors to the site. The structure needs renovation, however.</p><br>
<p>Because of Aqar Qufs easy accessibility and close proximity to the city of Baghdad, it has been one of Iraqs most visited and best known sites. Its ziggurat has been an outstanding monument for centuries, often confused with the Tower of Babel by Western visitors in the area from the 17th century onwards.</p><br>
<h2>Research</h2><br>
<p>The site was first described by Claudius James Rich in 1811. Aqar Quf (referred to then as Akerkuf, Agger Koof, or Akar-kuf) was visited and examined in 1837 by Francis Rawdon Chesney. The name of Dur Kurigalzu was identified by Henry Rawlinson in the mid-19th century.</p><br>
<p>Excavations were conducted from 1942 through 1945, by Taha Baqir and Seton Lloyd in a joint excavation by the Iraqi Directorate-General of Antiquities and the British School of Archaeology in Iraq. Over 100 cuneiform tablets of the Kassite period were recovered, now in the National Museum of Iraq.</p><br>
<p>The excavations included the ziggurat, three temples and part of the palace of Dur Kurigalzu II. The Iraqi Directorate-General of Antiquities has continued to do some excavation around the ziggurat as part of a restoration project under Saddam Hussein during the 1970s that had reconstructed the lowest stage of the structure. The three excavated areas are the mound of Aqar Quf (including the ziggurat and large temple), a public building (approximately 100 m to the west), and Tell al-Abyad where a large palace was partially uncovered (about 1 km to the south-west). The erosion of the ziggurat exposed details of construction that are not readily available in any other temple tower. Thus, it has been a valuable primer for architectural historians. Nowhere else are the layers of reed mats and reed bundles that hold the structure together and offset differential settling as visible as they are here. Many of the currently known major works of art from the Kassite period were found within the palace (located at Tell al-Abyad) at Aqar Quf. Another area within Dur-Kurigalzu, Tell Abu Shijar, was excavated by Iraqi archaeologists and the results have recently been published.</p><br>
<p>The area of Aqar Quf has potential for future excavations since only small areas within the enclosure wall have been excavated. Especially important is the possibility of a stratigraphic column through all of Kassite times. Although the enclosure wall is currently being encroached upon, it provides a natural boundary that should be defined as a protected area in the future.</p><br>
<h2>Current status</h2><br>
<p>Aqar Quf is currently suffering environmental damage and urban encroachment. Natural factors like rain and standing groundwater have contributed to the erosion of the ziggurat and damage to the ruins, especially along the south-west side. As a result of this damage, the ziggurat is in danger of further deterioration as well as collapse if preventive measures are not taken. The suburbs and industrial areas of Baghdad also continue developing near to the site. Currently there is encroachment of modern construction along some stretches of the enclosure wall. There is also agricultural encroachment along the enclosure wall, especially on the south-west side. Iraqi Army maneuvers, involving trenches, did some damage to the site in the 1980s.</p><br>
<p>The ziggurat suffered damage as a result of the USA invasion of Iraq, when the site was abandoned and looted during the security breakdown and chaos that followed the USA military&#39;s overthrow of Saddam Hussein. Little is left of the modern administration building, museum, event stage and restaurant that once served the picnickers and students who visited the site before the war. Local government officials and the USA military charged with security in the area have been working to create a renovation plan. Since mid-2008, local officials have drafted plans to rebuild the historic site, but support from the Iraq Ministry of History and Ruins has not materialized.</p><br>
<p>Mount Emei is a mountain in Sichuan Province, China, and is one of the Four Sacred Buddhist Mountains of China. Mt. Emei sits at the western rim of the Sichuan Basin. The mountains west of it are known as Daxiangling.</p><br>
<p>A large surrounding area of countryside is geologically known as the Permian Emeishan Large Igneous Province, a large igneous province generated by the Emeishan Traps volcanic eruptions during the Permian Period. At 3,099 m, Mt. Emei is the highest of the Four Sacred Buddhist Mountains of China.</p><br>
<p>Administratively, Mt. Emei is located near the county-level city of the same name (Emeishan City), which is in turn part of the prefecture-level city of Leshan. It was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996.</p><br>
<h2>As a sacred mountain</h2><br>
<p>Mount Emei is one of the Four Sacred Buddhist Mountains of China, and is traditionally regarded as the bodhimaṇḍa, or place of enlightenment, of the bodhisattva Samantabhadra. Samantabhadra is known in Mandarin as Pǔxián Púsà (普賢菩薩).</p><br>
<p>Sources of the 16th and 17th centuries allude to the practice of martial arts in the monasteries of Mount Emei made the earliest extant reference to the Shaolin Monastery as Chinese boxing&#39;s place of origin.</p><br>
<h2>Buddhist architecture on Emei</h2><br>
<p>This is the location of the first Buddhist temple built in China in the 1st century CE.</p><br>
<p>The site has seventy-six Buddhist monasteries of the Ming and Qing period, most of them located near the mountain top. The monasteries demonstrate a flexible architectural style that adapts to the landscape. Some, such as the halls of Baoguosi, are built on terraces of varying levels, while others, including the structures of Leiyinsi, are on raised stilts. Here the fixed plans of Buddhist monasteries of earlier periods were modified or ignored in order to make full use of the natural scenery. The buildings of Qingyinge are laid out in an irregular plot on the narrow piece of land between the Black Dragon River and the White Dragon River. The site is large and the winding foot path is 50 km, taking several days to walk.</p><br>
<p>Cable cars ease the ascent to the two temples at Jinding (3,077 m), an hours hike from the mountains peak.</p><br>
<h2>Sunrise and clouds sea</h2><br>
<p>Great spectacles of Mount Emei include the sunrise and Clouds Sea seen from the Golden Summit of the mountain.</p><br>
<p>The sunrise is very varied, but optimally begins with the ground and sky being in the same dark purple, soon showing rosy clouds, followed by a bright purple arc and then a semicircle where the sun is coming up.</p><br>
<p>The Clouds Sea includes several cloud phenomena, e.g. clouds appearing in the sky above, in addition to the regular clouds beneath.</p><br>
<h2>Climate</h2><br>
<p>The summit of Mount Emei has an alpine subarctic climate (Köppen Dwc), with long, cold (but not severely so) winters, and short, cool summers. The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from −5.7 &deg;C in January to 11.6 &deg;C, and the annual mean is 3.07 &deg;C. Precipitation is common year-round (occurring on more than 250 days), but due to the influence of the monsoon, rainfall is especially heavy in summer, and more than 70% of the annual total occurs from June to September.</p><br>
<h2>Indigenous animals</h2><br>
<p>Visitors to Mount Emei will likely see dozens of Tibetan macaques who can often be viewed taking food from tourists. Local merchants sell nuts for tourists to feed the monkeys. Other featured animals includes Rana adenopleura, Vibrissaphora liui and Pheretima praepinguis</p><br>
<h2>Flora</h2><br>
<p>Mount Emei is known for its high level of endemism and approximately 200 plant species in various plant families have been described from this mountain.</p><br>
<p>Aššur , also known as Ashur and Qalat Sherqat, was an Assyrian city, capital of the Old Assyrian Empire , Middle Assyrian Empire , and for a time, the Neo-Assyrian Empire . The remains of the city are situated on the western bank of the Tigris River, north of the confluence with the tributary Little Zab River, in modern-day Iraq, more precisely in the Al-Shirqat District in the Saladin Governorate.</p><br>
<p>Occupation of the city itself continued for approximately 4000 years, dating from the mid-3rd millennium BC (c. 2600 BC) to the mid 14th century AD, when its still indigenous Assyrian (and by then Christian) population was massacred by Timur. The site is a World Heritage Site, being added to the list of sites in danger in 2003, following the conflict that erupted following the US-led invasion and as a result of a proposed dam which would flood some of the site. It lies 65 km (40 mi) south of the site of Nimrud and 100 km (60 mi) south of Nineveh.</p><br>
<h2>History of research</h2><br>
<p>Exploration of the site of Assur began in 1898 by German archaeologists. Excavations began in 1900 by Friedrich Delitzsch, and were continued in 1903–1913 by a team from the German Oriental Society led initially by Robert Koldewey and later by Walter Andrae.Walter Andrae, Die archaischen Ischtar-Tempel in Assur, JC Hinrichs, 1922,</p><br>
<p>(1970 reprint )Walter Andrae, Hethitische Inschriften auf Bleistreifen aus Assur,</p><br>
<p>JC Hinrichs, 1924 More than 16,000 tablets with cuneiform texts were discovered. Many of the objects found made their way to the Pergamon Museum in Berlin.</p><br>
<p>More recently, Ashur was excavated by B. Hrouda for the University of Munich and the Bavarian Ministry of Culture in 1990. During the same period, in 1988 and 1989, the site was being worked by R. Dittmann on behalf of the German Research Foundation.</p><br>
<h2>Name</h2><br>
<p>Aššur is the name of the city, of the land ruled by the city, and of its tutelary deity from which the natives take their name, as did the entire nation of Assyria which encompassed what is today northern Iraq, north east Syria and south east Turkey. Today the Assyrians are still found throughout the Middle East, particularly in Iraq, Iran, Syria, Turkey, and the Diaspora in the western world. Assur (Assurayu) is also the origin of the names Syria and Syriac, these being originally Indo-European derivations of Assyria, and for many centuries applying only to Assyria and the Assyrians (see Etymology of Syria) before also being applied to the Levant and its inhabitants by the Seleucid Empire in the 3rd century BC.</p><br>
<h2>Early Bronze Age</h2><br>
<p>Archaeology reveals the site of the city was occupied by the middle of the 3rd millennium BC. This was still the Sumerian period, before Assyria emerged in the 25th to 21st century BC. The oldest remains of the city were discovered in the foundations of the Ishtar temple, as well as at the Old Palace. In the subsequent period, the city was ruled by kings from the Akkadian Empire. During the Third Dynasty of Ur, the city was ruled by Assyrian governors subject to the Sumerians.</p><br>
<h2>Old and Middle Assyria</h2><br>
<p>By the time the Neo-Sumerian Ur-III dynasty collapsed at the hands of the Elamites around the end of the 21st century BC according to the Middle Chronology and mid-20th century according to the Short Chronology following increasing raids by Gutians and Amorites. The native Akkadian speaking Assyrian kings were now free while Sumer fell under the yoke of the Amorites. The Assyrian king Ushpia who reigned around the 21st century BC is credited with dedicating the first temple of the god Ashur in his home city, although this comes from a later inscription from Shalmaneser I in the 13th century. The temple likely dates to the original settlement of the site when the people of Ashur established their nation under the patronage of the city&#39;s god. Soon after in around 2000 BC, Puzur-Ashur I founded a new dynasty, with his successors such as Ilushuma, Erishum I and Sargon I leaving inscriptions regarding the building of temples to Ashur, Adad and Ishtar in the city. Prosperity and independence produced the first significant fortifications in this period. As the region enjoyed relative peace and stability, trade between Mesopotamia and Anatolia increased, and the city of Ashur greatly benefited from its strategic location. Merchants would dispatch their merchandise via caravan into Anatolia and trade primarily at Assyrian colonies in Anatolia, the primary one being at Karum Kanesh (Kültepe).</p><br>
<p>With Shamshi-Adad Is (1813–1781 BC) capital at Assur, he magnified the citys power and influence beyond the Tigris river valley, establishing what some regard as the first Assyrian Empire. In this era, the Great Royal Palace was built, and the temple of Assur was expanded and enlarged with a ziggurat. However, this empire met its end when Hammurabi, the Amorite king of Babylon conquered and incorporated the city into his short lived empire following the death of Ishme-Dagan I around 1756 BC, while the next three Assyrian kings were viewed as vassals. Not long after, the native king Adasi expelled the Babylonians and Amorites from Assur and Assyria as a whole around 1720 BC, although little is known of his successors. Evidence of further building activity is known from a few centuries later, during the reign of a native king Puzur-Ashur III, when the city was refortified and the southern districts incorporated into the main city defenses. Temples to the moon god Sin (Nanna) and the sun god Shamash were built and dedicated through the 15th century BC. The city was subsequently subjugated by the king of Mitanni, Shaushtatar in the late 15th century, taking the gold and silver doors of the temple to his capital, Washukani, as spoils.</p><br>
<p>Ashur-uballit I emulated his ancestor Adasi and overthrew the Mitanni empire in 1365 BC. The Assyrians reaped the benefits of this triumph by taking control of the eastern portion of the Mitanni Empire, and later also annexing Hittite, Babylonian, Amorite and Hurrian territory. The following centuries witnessed the restoration of the old temples and palaces of Assur, and the city once more became the throne of a magnanimous empire from 1365 BC to 1076 BC. Tukulti-Ninurta I (1244–1208 BC) also constructed a new temple to the goddess Ishtar. The Anu-Adad temple was established later during the reign of Tiglath-Pileser I (1115–1075 BC). The walled area of the city in the Middle Assyrian period made up some 1.2 km&sup2;.</p><br>
<h2>Neo-Assyrian Empire</h2><br>
<p>In the Neo-Assyrian Empire (912–605 BC), the royal residence was transferred to other Assyrian cities. Ashur-nasir-pal II (884–859 BC) moved the capital from Assur to Kalhu (Calah/Nimrud) following a series of successful campaigns and produced some of the greatest artworks in the form of colossal lamassu statues and low-relief depictions of the royal court as well as battles. With the reign of Sargon II (722–705 BC), a new capital began to rise. Dur-Sharrukin (Fortress of Sargon) on a scale set to surpass that of Ashurnasirpal&#39;s. However, he died in battle and his son and successor Sennacherib (705–682 BC) abandoned the city, choosing to magnify Niniveh as his royal capital. However, the city of Ashur remained the religious center of the empire and continued to be revered as the holy crown of the empire, due to its temple of the national god Ashur. In the reign of Sennacherib (705–682 BC), the House of the New Year, Akitu, was built, and the festivities celebrated in the city. Many of the kings were also buried beneath the Old Palace while some queens were buried in the other capitals such as the wife of Sargon, Ataliya. The city was sacked and largely destroyed during the conquest of Assyria by the Medes, Babylonians, Scythians and Persians in 612 BC.</p><br>
<h2>Achaemenid Empire</h2><br>
<p>After the Medes were overthrown by the Persians as the dominant force in ancient Iran, Assyria was ruled by the Persian Achaemenid Empire (as Athura) from 549 BC to 330 BC (see Achaemenid Assyria). The Assyrians of Mada (Media) and Athura (Assyria) had been responsible for gold and glazing works of the palace and for providing Lebanese cedar timber, respectively. The city and region of Ashur had once more gained a degree of militaristic and economic strength. Along with the Assyrians in Mada, a revolt took place in 520 BC but ultimately failed. Assyria seems to have recovered dramatically, and flourished during this period. It became a major agricultural and administrative centre of the Achaemenid Empire, and its soldiers were a mainstay of the Persian Army.</p><br>
<h2>Parthian Empire</h2><br>
<p>The city was part of a further Assyrian revival some centuries later, during the Parthian Empire period, particularly between 150 BC and 270 AD, the city became an important administrative centre of Parthian ruled Assyria (Assuristan), and some Assyriologists such as Simo Parpola and Patricia Crone have suggested it may have had outright independence between the 2nd century BC and 3rd century AD. Other Assyrian polities such as Beth Garmai, Beth Nuhadra, Osroene and Adiabene also flourished due to the fact that the Parthians exercised only lose or intermittent control of Assyria. New administrative buildings were erected to the north of the old city, and a palace to the south. The old temple dedicated to the national god of the Assyrians Assur (Ashur) was also rebuilt, as were temples to other Assyrian gods.</p><br>
<p>Assyrian Eastern Aramaic inscriptions from the remains of Ashur have yielded insight into the Parthian-era city with Assyria having its own Aramaic Syriac script, which was the same in terms of grammar and syntax as that found at Edessa and elsewhere in the Neo-Assyrian state of Osroene.</p><br>
<p>German archaeologist Klaus Beyer published over 600 inscriptions from Mesopotamian towns and cities including Ashur, Dura-Europos, Hatra, Gaddala, Tikrit and Tur Abdin. Given that Christianity had begun to spread amongst the Assyrians throughout the Parthian era, the original Assyrian culture and religion persisted for some time alongside Assyrian Christianity, as proven by the inscriptions which included invocations to the gods Ashur, Nergal, Sin, Ishtar and Shamash, as well as the citizens mentioned in the inscriptions having compound names as was the tradition of the Mesopotamians. These personal names included ʾAssur-ḥēl (Ashur my strength), ʾAssur-emar (Ashur decreed/commanded), ʾAssur-ntan (Ashur gave; compare with Esarhaddon) and ʾAssur-šma&#39; (Ashur has heard).</p><br>
<p>Assyria briefly fell to the Roman Empire in 114AD, becoming the Roman province of Assyria before the Parthian empire with the help of Assyrian locals drove them out. The city again came under repeated attacks from the Roman incursions deep into Sasanian territory, sustaining heavy damage at the hands of Septimus Severus in 198 AD.</p><br>
<p>Shapur I captured and sacked the city in 257 AD after doing the same to Osroene, Adiabene, Beth Nuhadra, Beth Garmai and Hatra, incorporating Assyria into the Sassanid Empire. However the city remained and flourished with settlement by Assyrians continuing right up until the 14th century AD when Tamerlane conducted a massacre of the native Assyrian Christians. After that there are no traces of a settlement in the archaeological and numismatic record.</p><br>
<h2>Threats to Assur</h2><br>
<p>The site was put on UNESCO&#39;s List of World Heritage in danger in 2003, at which time the site was threatened by a looming large-scale dam project that would have submerged the ancient archaeological site. The dam project was put on hold shortly after the 2003 invasion of Iraq.</p><br>
<p>The territory around the ancient site was occupied by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in 2015. Since ISIL had destroyed a number of ancient Assyrian sites, including the cities of Hatra, Khorsabad, and Nimrud, fears rose that Assur would be destroyed too. According to some sources, the citadel of Assur was destroyed or badly damaged in May 2015 by members of IS using improvised explosive devices. As of February 2017, the group no longer controls the site, however it is not secure enough for archaeological experts to evaluate.</p><br>
<p>Fuente de Piedra Lagoon is a wetland situated in the Málaga province of Spain. It is used by the greater flamingo for its annual reproduction cycle, constituting the largest colony on the Iberian Peninsula of this beautiful and delicate bird. The lagoon is fed by underwater springs that pass through mineral salt deposits, so the lagoon is saline indeed salt was havested until recently.</p><br>
<p>The lagoon covers an area of 13 square kilometres, it is elliptical in shape, its major axis is 6.8 km and the minor one is 2.5 km. However it is very shallow, in a good year it is less than 1m deep at its deepest point.</p><br>
<p>Evaporation is a major factor for the lagoon. The flamingos need a certain amount of water to breed and will desert the eggs if the lagoon dries out too soon.</p><br>
<p>The Sandia Mountains  are a mountain range located in Bernalillo and Sandoval counties, immediately to the east of the city of Albuquerque in New Mexico in the southwestern United States. The range is largely within the Cibola National Forest, and part of the range is protected as the Sandia Mountain Wilderness. Its highest point is Sandia Crest, 10,678 ft.</p><br>
<p>Sandía means watermelon in Spanish, and is popularly believed to be a reference to the reddish color of the mountains at sunset. Also, when viewed from the west, the profile of the mountains is a long ridge, with a thin zone of green conifers near the top, suggesting the "rind" of the watermelon. However, as Robert Julyan notes, "the most likely explanation is the one believed by the Sandia Indians: the Spaniards, when they encountered the Pueblo in 1540, called it Sandia, because they thought the squash gourds growing there were watermelons, and the name Sandia soon was transferred to the mountains east of the pueblo." He also notes that the Sandia Pueblo Indians call the mountain Bien Mur, "big mountain".</p><br>
<h2>Layout and neighboring ranges</h2><br>
<p>The Sandias are a small range, a part of the Basin and Range Province, but built by a different phenomenon, consisting of a single north-south ridge, which rises to two</p><br>
<p>major summits: Sandia Crest and South Sandia Peak, 9,702 ft. The range measures approximately 17 miles (26 km) north-south, and the width in the east-west direction varies from 4 to 8 miles (6 to 12 km). The west side of the range is steep and rugged, with a number of sheer rock walls and towers near Sandia Crest. The east side has a gentler slope.</p><br>
<p>The Sandias are part of a single larger geologic unit, the Sandia-Manzano Mountains. The other part consists of the Manzano Mountains which lie to the south of the Sandias. The two ranges are separated by Tijeras Canyon, which leads to a historically important pass; the canyon is traversed by Interstate 40, following the route of historic USA Route 66.</p><br>
<p>The Sandias are the highest range in the immediate vicinity, and are well-separated from the higher Sangre de Cristo Mountains. This gives Sandia Crest a relatively high topographic prominence of 4,098 ft. Lying to the east and northeast of the Sandias are two smaller ranges, the Ortiz Mountains and the San Pedro Mountains.</p><br>
<p>The Sandia Mountains are home to the world&#39;s second longest tramway, which is 2.7 mi long. Over this distance the tram cars ascend over 4,000 ft. The average speed of the tram car is 12 mi/h, and the length of the ride is approximately 15 minutes. The current longest tramway as of 2010 is in Armenia.</p><br>
<h2>Climate</h2><br>
<h2>Geology</h2><br>
<p>The Sandia Mountains are a fault block range, on the eastern edge of the Rio Grande Rift Valley. The Sandias were uplifted in the last ten million years as part of the formation of the Rio Grande Rift. They form the eastern boundary of the Albuquerque Basin. The core of the range consists of Sandia granite, approximately 1.5 billion years old (there is also some metamorphic rock of age 1.7 billion years). This is topped by a relatively thin layer (approximately 300 feet/100 meters) of sedimentary rock (mostly limestone, and some sandstone) of Pennsylvanian age (circa 300 million years ago). The limestone contains marine fossils including crinoids, brachiopods, gastropods, horn corals, and bryozoans. However, most of the fossils are too small for the human eye to detect. Potassium-feldspar (K-spar) crystals embedded within the Sandia granite give the mountains their distinct pink color.</p><br>
<h2>Ecology</h2><br>
<p>The Sandias encompass four different named life zones due to the large elevation change, and the resulting changes in temperature and amount of precipitation, from the base to the top. The desert grassland and savanna at the western base of the mountain (near the eastern edge of the City of Albuquerque, uphill of about Eubank or Juan Tabo Boulevards) is part of the Upper Sonoran Zone. From 5500 to 7200 ft, the Upper Sonoran Zone is found, but notable differences occur: one first finds a zone of primarily juniper, then a mixed Piñon-Juniper-evergreen Oak zone, while a thin cover of black grama grass (Bouteloua eriopoda) shifts in its dominance to a less thin cover of blue grama grass (Bouteloua gracilis); some plants of Chihuahuan Desert affinities are found in this area, including oreganillo (Aloysia wrightii), mariola (Parthenium incanum), desert marigold (Baileya spp.), and subspecies of the often-numerous Engelmann prickly pear (Opuntia engelmannii). From 7200 to 7800 ft, in the Transition Zone, Ponderosa Pine dominates, and evergreen oaks change to more cold-tolerant deciduous oaks. From 7800 to 9800 ft, a mixture of conifers occurs in the Canadian Zone; Gambel Oak (Quercus gambelii) is at its uppermost natural range in this zone. Finally, from 9,800 ft to the Sandia Crest at 10,678 ft, mostly on the eastern side, spruce and fir dominate the Hudsonian Zone. (All zone boundary elevations are approximate, depending on microclimate or aspect.)</p><br>
<h2>Access and recreation</h2><br>
<p>There are two easy ways to reach the top of the Sandias. The Sandia Peak Tramway ascends from the west side to a point on the crestline about 1.5 mi south of Sandia Crest, at the top of the Sandia Peak Ski Area, which is located on the east side of the mountains. A road (NM 536) from the east provides access to the bottom of the ski area and also to the Sandia Crest itself, where there is a gift shop, restaurant, scenic overlook, and a large electronic communication site with numerous towers and antennas.</p><br>
<p>The Sandia Crest Scenic Byway is also a popular path for motorcycle riders with its miles of winding road to the summit.</p><br>
<p>The Sandia Mountains are the most visited range in New Mexico.</p><br>
<p>Numerous hiking trails exist on both sides of the range, such as the popular La Luz Trail and Crest Trail. Much of the west side of the range is included in the Sandia Mountain Wilderness; the trails on that side are steeper, and water is very scarce. Numerous picnic and recreation sites can be found on NM 536. These sites, along with some sites on the west face of the Sandias, require a $3 daily use/parking permit as part of the National Fee Program. There are no developed campgrounds in the Sandias.</p><br>
<p>The rock walls and pinnacles on the west side of the range provide abundant rock climbing opportunities, from bouldering and top-roping to multi-day big wall climbs on the Shield, the largest rock feature on the mountain. However the long hikes (often off-trail) required to reach many of the climbs, and the variable quality of rock (often poor), prevent the Sandias from being a major climbing destination.</p><br>
<p>Both Sandia Peak and Sandia Crest are popular launching sites for recreational hang gliding due to the sheer drop-offs to the west. Launches at the Peak occur throughout the summer.</p><br>
<p>It&#39;s possible to walk the entire spine of the Sandia Mountains, a 26-mile hike with over 4,000 feet in elevation gain.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The Sandias contain a location notable for prehistoric archaeology: the Sandia Cave was believed by some in the 1930s to the 1950s to have been inhabited 10000 to 12000 years ago by the "Sandia Man," a cultural classification that is no longer used. The cave can be accessed via a 1/2 mile trail in Las Huertas Canyon, on the northeast side of the range, near Placitas, New Mexico.</p><br>
<p>Ancestral and early Pueblo peoples have lived in the Sandia Mountains area for thousands of years. Examples of previous Pueblo settlements, now unoccupied, include Tijeras Pueblo and Pa&#39;ako Pueblo, both founded around 700 years ago. Sandia Pueblo is a modern pueblo, abutting the Sandia Mountains on the northwest side of the range. Some of the foothills of the range are on Sandia Pueblo land; there have been disputes in the past between the Pueblo, the Forest Service, and private landowners over rights to various parts of the range. The people of Sandia Pueblo consider the mountains a sacred place.</p><br>
<p>The Perhentian Islands  are islands in Besut District, Terengganu, Malaysia.</p><br>
<p>The two main islands are Perhentian Besar ("Greater Perhentian") and Perhentian Kecil ("Lesser Perhentian"). The small, uninhabited islands of Susu Dara (Virgin Milk), Serengeh and Rawa lie off Kecil.</p><br>
<p>Like Besut, people here generally speak Kelantanese Malay, however English is widely spoken and understood to accommodate the growing tourism market. The Perhentian Islands have become a popular travel destination for families and backpackers alike due to the many lodging options that accommodate almost any budget.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The name "Perhentian" means "stopping point" in Malay, referring to the islands&#39; traditional role as a waypoint for traders between Bangkok and Malaysia. The islands were sparsely inhabited by fishermen for centuries, although tourism now accounts for most economic activity.</p><br>
<p>The Perhentian Islands appear on many maps of the nineteenth and twentieth century as The Station Islands. This arises from the British colonial period, as an English translation of "stopping point".</p><br>
<p>Pulau Perhentian was one of the islands where Vietnamese refugees or boat people landed during the 1970s.</p><br>
<h2>Tourism</h2><br>
<h3>Two main islands</h3><br>
<p>Nature tourism provides the economic base for the islands. Both the islands have palm-fringed white coral sand beaches (that can be tough on the feet) and turquoise blue sea. Popular tourist activities include scuba-diving, snorkeling, and swimming. On most beaches, the water is shallow with many rays, cuttlefish and parrotfish. For diving, there are dozens of dive sites around both main islands, as well as several off-shore sites. Apart from these, activities like camping, canoeing, fishing, jungle trekking, and banana boat riding are also available.</p><br>
<p>The tropical waters around the Perhentians are clear with turquoise hues. The designated marine park in the island has corals and fish life is quite excellent. During peak season, the waters are calm which is excellent for learning to dive with one of the dive centres on the island. In contrast to the neighboring islands of Lang Tengah and Redang, the Perhentian islands have a wide assortment of accommodation, ranging from budget to mid-range. Most of the accommodation can be found on both the Perhentian Besar, the larger island and Perhentian Kecil, the smaller island. The Perhentian islands has a tropical climate with temperatures steadily around 30 °C and frequent but brief thunderstorms.</p><br>
<p>A rise in tourism in Kuala Besar has led to the expansion of many different resorts and many options for snorkelers and divers alike. It is possible to get PADI certified at various locations and take advantage of the various wrecks and coral reefs. The Perhentian islands are home to numerous different species of monitor lizards, poisonous spiders, and geckos. In the water and on the coral reefs, sea turtles, clownfish, cuttlefish, blue spotted rays, and black tipped sharks swim freely among many others.</p><br>
<h3>Five uninhabited islands</h3><br>
<p>Except for two main islands of Perhentian Besar and Perhentian Kecil, there are five more islands in the archipelago. All these five islands are uninhabited. There are many snorkeling and scuba diving spots around it. The amazing sandy beaches are on Rawa, Serengeh and Tokong Burung islands.</p><br>
<h2>Transportation</h2><br>
<p>Ferries to both Perhentian islands leave almost every hour from Kuala Besut during regular business hours. Travellers from Kuala Lumpur or other destinations can fly, train, or bus to either Kuala Terengganu or Kota Bharu. From either town, the jetty port in Kuala Besut is accessible by taxi. It is also possible to use minivan services offered by various companies if travelling from Taman Negara, the Cameron Highlands, Kuala Lumpur or many other cities in Malaysia. The minivan services vary in prices and there are many different companies that offer service to and from various destinations.</p><br>
<p>A ferry ride of approximately forty minutes can be arranged by one of the many jetty operators, or in cooperation with many of the resorts.</p><br>
<p>Once on the island, there are limited trails that connect various resorts. A trail on Besar goes through the thick jungle, and some stretches of beach are home to various resorts so visitors can wander freely. The easiest way to travel around the islands is by water taxi, which can be arranged at most resorts.</p><br>
<h2>Climate</h2><br>
<p>The Perhentian islands experience a heavy monsoon season between November and February, and most of the islands are essentially closed off to tourists. Resorts and ferry services are stopped during this time due to the weather but there is still a boat service daily to serve the fishermen village at Pulau Perhentian Kecil. On average each year, the Perhentian Islands receive over 100 inches of rain and experiences roughly 12 daylight hours on average.</p><br>
<p>January: 82</p><br>
<p>February: 84</p><br>
<p>March: 86</p><br>
<p>April: 90</p><br>
<p>May: 90</p><br>
<p>June: 90</p><br>
<p>July: 88</p><br>
<p>August: 88</p><br>
<p>September: 88</p><br>
<p>October: 86</p><br>
<p>November: 84</p><br>
<p>December: 82</p><br>
<h2>Utilities</h2><br>
<p>In the summer of 2007, two wind turbines were installed, although they were still not connected to the network as of August 2013, leaving diesel generators as the main source of the islands&#39; electrical power. A third turbine is being built. Electricity is available 24-hours during high season. Fresh water is provided by springs.</p><br>
<p>Wifi is available on certain resorts but the connections can be limited due to weather conditions and electrical issues stemming from the isolation of the island. Resorts are attempting to remedy the troubles stemming from limited electricity and internet connections, it is important to visit each resort&#39;s website to be aware of the availability of these resources.</p><br>
<h2>Turtle conservation</h2><br>
<p>The Perhentian Islands were once home to a significant green and hawksbill sea turtle nesting population. Now the islands receive only 300 nestings per year, partly due to frequent oil spills from nearby oil production platforms and oil tankers owned by Petronas. The runs a turtle hatchery on the islands to help address the declining turtle populations. Egg poaching from the beaches is a continuing problem.</p><br>
<p>Mount Lao, or Laoshan is a mountain located near the East China Sea on the southeastern coastline of the Shandong Peninsula in China. The mountain is culturally significant due to its long affiliation with Taoism and is often regarded as one of the "cradles of Taoism". It is the highest coastal mountain in China and the second highest mountain in Shandong, with the highest peak  reaching 1,132.7 m. The mountain lies about 30 km to the northeast of the downtown area of the City of Qingdao and is protected by the Qingdao Laoshan National Park that covers an area of 446 square kilometers.</p><br>
<h2>Geology</h2><br>
<p>Mount Lao consists of granite. The mountain&#39;s landforms were formed due to the action of glaciers during the Quaternary and erosion by meltwater released from the icecap that covered a large portion of Shandong during the late Pleistocene.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Laoshan is known as one of the birthplaces of Taoism. It is the place where the Complete Perfection School of Taoism developed. In 412 CE the Chinese Buddhist pilgrim Faxian landed near Laoshan on his return from India. In the course of history, the mountain has been known by various other names, which includes different spellings of "Laoshan" (劳山, 牢山) as well as entirely different names such as Mount Futang and Mount Ao (鰲山). The latter name was used by the Taoist Qiu Chuji who served as the top religious affairs official to Genghis Khan.</p><br>
<h2>Sites</h2><br>
<p>In the course of history, numerous palaces, Taoist temples, and nunneries have been constructed on Mount Lao. At the peak of Taoist worship, Mount Lao was home to about 1000 monks and nuns. However, many of these structures have not survived to the present. Major sites on Mount Lao are:</p><br>
<h3>Temple of Supreme Purity</h3><br>
<p>The largest temple complex on Mount Lao is that of the Temple of Supreme Purity, a Taoist temple that was first built during the Northern Song dynasty with the present structures dating to the reign of the Wanli Emperor in the Ming dynasty. The temple is located near the coast, below Pantao Peak on the southeastern foot of Mount Lao and is hence also known as the Lower Temple, The main structure of the temple is the Hall of the Three Pure Ones with houses statues of the Taoist Trinity (the Grand Pure One, the Supreme Pure One, the Jade Pure One). It is flanked by the Three Emperors Hall (to the left, ) and the Three Officials Hall (to the left, ). The Three Emperors Hall enshrines statues of Fuxi, Shennong, and the Yellow Emperor. In the Three Officials Halls are the statues of the Three Gods (the God of Heaven, the God of Earth, and the God of Water) along with other statues, such as of the warrior god Xuan Wu and of Lei Gong, the God of Thunder. Two ancient Cypress trees in front of the Three Emperors Hall are said to have been planted during the Han Dynasty. Two old camellia trees are standing in front of the Three Officials Hall. On the walls outside of the Three Emperors Hall an imperial decree by Genghis Khan granting Daoism protection. A natural feature on the grounds of the temple is the Shenshui (Immortal Water) Spring that is fed by Mount Lao&#39;s considerable underground waters. The Qing dynasty writer Pu Songling is said to have resided in the Temple of Supreme Purity in his later years. His stories "The Taoist Priest of Laoshan" and "The Flower Nymphs" from the collection Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio are set on Mount Lao with the latter story specifically referring to peonies and camellias in the Temple of Supreme Purity.</p><br>
<h3>Yakou Temple</h3><br>
<p>(垭口)</p><br>
<h3>Temple of Great Purity</h3><br>
<p>The Temple of Great Purity also known as the Upper Temple is located on the southeastern slope of Mount Lao above the Temple of Supreme Purity. It was established during the Song Dynasty and rebuilt during the Yuan Dynasty, in the years 1297 to 1307. It is one of the oldest extant structures on Mount Lao. Like the Temple of Supreme Purity, the Temple of Great Purity features a spring. The spring in the Temple of Great Purity is called the "Shengshuiyang (Ocean of Holy Water) Spring".</p><br>
<h3>Longtan Waterfall</h3><br>
<p>The Longtan Waterfall has a height of about 20 meters and is located to the south of the Temple of Great Purity.</p><br>
<h3>Temple of Supreme Peace</h3><br>
<p>The Temple of Supreme Peace is located on the northern slope of Mount Lao. It was established during the Song Dynasty, but has been rebuilt several times.</p><br>
<h3>Hualou Temple</h3><br>
<p>The Hualou Temple was established by the Daoist Liu Zhijian during the Yuan Dynasty (in 1325) and subsequently rebuilt during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, as well as during the Republican era.</p><br>
<h3>Huayan Temple</h3><br>
<p>The Huayan Temple is the only Buddhist temple on Mount Lao and is located on the eastern slope of the mountain.</p><br>
<h2>12 Sceneries</h2><br>
<p>Traditionally, 12 sceneries on Mount Lao have been regarded as particularly beautiful:</p><br>
<p>Mingxia Sanyi (明霞散绮, rays of sunshine)</p><br>
<p>Weizhu Mingquan (尉竹鸣泉, spring with sound)</p><br>
<p>Yundong Pansong (云洞蟠松, pine tree on the rock)</p><br>
<p>Yanpu Chaoyin (岩瀑潮音, waterfall with sound of tide)</p><br>
<p>Qipan Xian Yi (棋盘仙弈, megalith at Qipan)</p><br>
<p>Hualou Dieshi (华楼叠石, various stones)</p><br>
<p>Shiling Hengyun (狮岭横云, clouds hung on the top of the peak)</p><br>
<p>Naluoyanku (那罗延窟, rock cave)</p><br>
<p>Haiqiao Xiandun (海峤仙墩, seaside cliffs)</p><br>
<p>Taiqing Suiyue (太清水月, bright moon in spring water of Taiqing Palace)</p><br>
<p>Longtan Penyu (龙潭喷雨, water flowing out of the dragon pool)</p><br>
<p>Jufeng Xuzhao (巨峰旭照, rising sun in the morning on the highest peak)</p><br>
<h2>Culture</h2><br>
<p>Mount Lao is featured in many legends and local traditions. For example, the mountain is said to have been visited by the emperor Qin Shi Huang and Emperor Wu of Han, both hoping to meet immortals and gain immortality there.</p><br>
<p>The martial arts style of the Northern Praying Mantis is attributed to Wang Lang, who is said to have developed while living on Mount Lao. Wang Lang is commemorated by a contemporary stone statue on the mountain.</p><br>
<p>Many gamblers visit Mount Lao for the famous tree located in the mountain, as it is said that three pats of the tree&#39;s trunk will bring instant luck for those seeking money.</p><br>
<p>The beer of the Tsingtao Brewery is brewed with Laoshan spring water.</p><br>
<p>Mount Lao is also famous for its green tea.</p><br>
<h2>Tourism</h2><br>
<p>Laoshan is a popular tourist site with a 5A government rating. During the 2012 Golden Week, it received about 176,000 visitors. There are six designated scenic areas on Mount Lao: Taiqing (太清景区), Chessboard Stone (棋盘石景区, Yangkou（仰口景区), Jufeng (巨峰景区), Beijiushui (北九水景区), and Hualou (华楼景区).</p><br>
