<p>Chukchi Sea  is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean. It is bounded on the west by the Long Strait, off Wrangel Island, and in the east by Point Barrow, Alaska, beyond which lies the Beaufort Sea. The Bering Strait forms its southernmost limit and connects it to the Bering Sea and the Pacific Ocean. The principal port on the Chukchi Sea is Uelen in Russia. The International Date Line crosses the Chukchi Sea from northwest to southeast. It is displaced eastwards to avoid Wrangel Island as well as the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug on the Russian mainland.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>The sea has an approximate area of 595,000 km&sup2; and is only navigable about four months of the year. The main geological feature of the Chukchi Sea bottom is the 700 km Hope Basin, which is bound to the northeast by the Herald Arch. Depths less than 50 m occupy 56% of the total area.</p><br>
<p>The Chukchi Sea has very few islands compared to other seas of the Arctic. Wrangel Island lies at the northwestern limit of the sea, Herald Island is located near its northern limit, and a few small islands lie along the Siberian and Alaskan coasts.</p><br>
<p>The sea is named after the Chukchi people, who reside on its shores and on the Chukotka Peninsula. The coastal Chukchi traditionally engaged in fishing, whaling and the hunting of walrus in this cold sea.</p><br>
<p>In Siberia places along the coast are: Cape Billings, Cape Schmidt, Amguyema River, Cape Vankarem, the large Kolyuchinskaya Bay, Neskynpil&#39;gyn Lagoon, Cape Serdtse-Kamen, Enurmino, Chegitun River, Inchoun, Uelen and Cape Dezhnev.</p><br>
<p>In Alaska, the rivers flowing into the Chukchi Sea are the Kivalina, the Kobuk, the Kokolik, the Kukpowruk, the Kukpuk, the Noatak, the Utukok, the Pitmegea, and the Wulik, among others. Of rivers flowing in from its Siberian side, the Amguyema, Ioniveyem, and the Chegitun are the most important.</p><br>
<h3>Extent</h3><br>
<p>The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the "Chuckchi Sea" as follows:</p><br>
<p>On the West. The Eastern limit of East Siberian Sea.</p><br>
<p>On the North. A line from Point Barrow, Alaska ({{coord|71|20|N|156|20|W|display=inline}}) to the Northernmost point of Wrangel Island (179°30&#39;W).</p><br>
<p>On the South. The Arctic Circle 66°33′39″N between Siberia and Alaska. The northern limit of the Bering Sea.</p><br>
<p>Common usage is that the southern extent is further south at the narrowest part of the Bering Strait which is on the 66th parallel north.</p><br>
<h3>Chukchi Sea Shelf</h3><br>
<p>The Chukchi Sea Shelf is the westernmost part of the continental shelf of the United States and the easternmost part of the continental shelf of Russia. Within this shelf, the 50 mi Chukchi Corridor acts as a passageway for one of the largest marine mammal migrations in the world. Species that have been documented migrating through this corridor include the bowhead whale, beluga whale, Pacific walrus, and bearded seals</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>In 1648, Semyon Dezhnyov sailed from the Kolyma River on the Arctic to the Anadyr River on the Pacific, but his route was not practical and was not used for the next 200 years. In 1728, Vitus Bering and in 1779, Captain James Cook entered the sea from the Pacific.</p><br>
<p>On 28 September 1878, during Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld&#39;s expedition that made the whole length of the Northeast passage for the first time in history, the steamship Vega got stuck in fast ice in the Chukchi Sea. Since further progress for that year was impossible, the ship was secured in winter quarters. Even so, members of the expedition and the crew were aware only a few miles of ice-blocked sea lay between them and the open waters. The following year, two days after Vega was released, she passed the Bering Strait and steamed towards the Pacific Ocean.</p><br>
<p>In 1913, Karluk, abandoned by expedition leader Vilhjalmur Stefansson, drifted in the ice along the northern expanses of the Chukchi Sea and sank, crushed by ice near Herald Island. The survivors made it to Wrangel Island, where they found themselves in a hopeless situation. Then Captain Robert Bartlett walked hundreds of kilometers with Kataktovik, an Inuit man, on the ice of the Chukchi Sea in order to look for help. They reached Cape Vankarem on the Chukotka coast, on April 15, 1914. Twelve survivors of the ill-fated expedition were found on Wrangel island nine months later by the King & Winge, a newly built Arctic fishing schooner.</p><br>
<p>In 1933, the steamer Chelyuskin sailed from Murmansk, east bound to attempt a transit of the Northern Sea Route to the Pacific, in order to demonstrate such a transit could be achieved in one season. The vessel became beset in heavy ice in the Chukchi Sea, and after drifting with the ice for over two months, was crushed and sank on 13 February 1934 near Kolyuchin Island. Apart from one fatality, her entire complement of 104 was able to establish a camp on the sea ice. The Soviet government organised an impressive aerial evacuation, under which all were rescued. Captain Vladimir Voronin and expedition leader Otto Schmidt became heroes.</p><br>
<p>Following several unsuccessful attempts, the wreck was located on the bed of the Chukchi Sea by a Russian expedition, Chelyuskin-70, in mid-September 2006. Two small components of the ship&#39;s superstructure were recovered by divers and were sent to the ship&#39;s builders, Burmeister & Wain of Copenhagen, for identification.</p><br>
<p>In July 2009, a large mass of organic material was found floating in the sea off the northwest Alaskan coast. Analysis by the U.S. Coast Guard has identified it as a large body of algal bloom.</p><br>
<p>On October 15, 2010, Russian scientists opened a floating polar research station in the Chukchi Sea at the margin of the Arctic Ocean. The name of the station was Severny Polyus-38 and it was home to 15 researchers for a year. They conducted polar studies and gathered scientific evidence to reinforce Russia’s claims to the Arctic.</p><br>
<h2>Fauna</h2><br>
<p>The polar bears living on the pack ice of the Chukchi Sea are one of the five genetically distinct Eurasian populations of the species.</p><br>
<h2>Phytoplankton</h2><br>
<p>In 2012, scientists from the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory published findings describing the discovery of the largest-known oceanic phytoplankton algal bloom in the world. The findings were unexpected as it was previously believed that the plankton grows only after the seasonal ice melt, yet some algae was discovered under several metres of intact sea ice.</p><br>
<h2>Oil and gas resources</h2><br>
<p>The Chukchi shelf is believed to hold oil and gas reserves as high as 30 barrels. Several oil companies have competed for leases on the area, and on 6 February 2008, the U.S. government announced the successful bidders would pay US$2.6 billion for extraction rights. The auction drew considerable criticism from environmentalists. In 2015, the Obama administration&#39;s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management gave a conditional approval for Shell Oil to drill in shallow (140 ft deep) Chukchi Sea waters. In September 2015, Shell announced that it was ending its oil exploration in the region, citing tremendous cost and declining oil prices. Shell vowed to return, but eventually gave up all but one of the corporation&#39;s leases in the Arctic.</p><br>
<p>Ben Lomond , 974 m, is a distinctive mountain in the Scottish Highlands. Situated on the eastern shore of Loch Lomond, it is the most southerly of the Munros. Ben Lomond lies within the Ben Lomond National Memorial Park and the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park, property of the National Trust for Scotland.</p><br>
<p>Its accessibility from Glasgow and elsewhere in central Scotland, together with the relative ease of ascent from Rowardennan, makes it one of the most popular of all the Munros. On a clear day, it is visible from the higher grounds of Glasgow and across Strathclyde; this may have led to it being named Beacon Mountain, as with the equally far-seen Lomond Hills in Fife. Ben Lomond summit can also be seen from Ben Nevis, the highest peak in Britain, over 40 mi away. The West Highland Way runs along the western base of the mountain, by the loch.</p><br>
<p>Ben Lomonds popularity in Scotland has resulted in several namesakes in the former British colonies of Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and the United States – see this list. The mountain is mentioned directly in the popular folk song The Bonnie Banks o Loch Lomond.</p><br>
<h2>Geography and geology</h2><br>
<p>Ben Lomond has a craggy summit which appears conical when viewed from the nearby Arrochar Alps range. The mountain comprises two parallel south-southeasterly ridges: the Sròn Aonaich ridge to the east and the Ptarmigan ridge to the west. North of the summit these ridges come together and lead to a 456 m col with Cruin a&#39; Bheinn, a Graham. The summit is grassy and rocky and is marked by a triangulation pillar</p><br>
<p>Ben Lomond&#39;s geology is dominated by granite, mica schist, diorite, porphyry and quartzite. Ben Lomond lies on the Scottish watershed, the drainage divide which separates river systems that flow to the east from those that flow to the west.</p><br>
<h2>Ascent routes</h2><br>
<p>The usual route up Ben Lomond is via the tourist path, a wide, eroded in Scotland and climbs the gentle Sròn Aonaich ridge, before ascending a steeper section to the rocky summit ridge.</p><br>
<p>An alternative route follows the Ptarmigan ridge to the summit along a steeper and rockier path. The Ptarmigan path is the second most popular route, followed by a third route which approaches from Gleann Dubh.</p><br>
<p>Despite the comparative ease of the tourist route, Ben Lomond can present a significant challenge to inexperienced walkers, especially in poor weather conditions. A dedicated Lomond Mountain Rescue Team has existed since 1967 to assist walkers and climbers on Ben Lomond and other surrounding peaks.</p><br>
<h2>Fauna</h2><br>
<p>The higher regions of the mountain support an alpine tundra ecozone, hosting bird species including peregrine falcon, merlins, rock ptarmigan, red grouse and golden eagles. A study by the British Trust for Ornithology found that Ben Lomond may host the most southerly breeding ptarmigan population in Scotland, following the decline of these populations on Goatfell and the Arran mountains, potentially as a result of climate change.</p><br>
<p>In addition to natural wildlife, the mountain area supports sheep farming activities. The National Trust for Scotland is tasked with maintaining a land management programme which sustains a balance of natural habitat conservation and the availability of land for grazing.</p><br>
<h2>Memorial Park and National Park</h2><br>
<p>Since 1995,</p><br>
<p>The Memorial Park was officially opened on Armistice Day in 1997 by the Rt Hon Donald Dewar, then Secretary of State for Scotland and later becoming the first First Minister of Scotland. At the opening ceremony he unveiled a granite sculpture by Doug Cocker, a Scottish artist who had won a competition organised by the Scottish Sculpture Trust to design a permanent monument for the park.</p><br>
<p>At the time of its creation, management of the Memorial Park was entrusted to the NTS, Forestry Commission and the now defunct Scottish Office.</p><br>
<p>In 2002, the Scottish Parliament created the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park, the first national park in Scotland. The national park entirely encompasses the Ben Lomond National Memorial Park.</p><br>
<p>The Rahway River is a river in Essex, Middlesex and Union Counties, New Jersey in the United States.</p><br>
<p>The Rahway, along with the Elizabeth River, Piles Creek, Passaic River, Morses Creek (New Jersey), the Fresh Kills river (in Staten Island) and Hackensack River, mouths at the Arthur Kill.</p><br>
<p>Part of the extended area of New York-New Jersey Harbor Estuary, draining part of the suburban and urbanized area of New Jersey west of Staten Island, New York, the river is approximately 24 mi long. The upper reaches are lined with several parks while the mouth serves as an industrial access channel on the Chemical Coast.</p><br>
<p>The river was once on the lands of the Lenape Native Americans, and tradition states that the name is after Rahwack, a local tribal chief.</p><br>
<p>The salt marshes and mudflats along the lower Rahway are high priority habitats and are the most extensive in the watershed and span four communities: Carteret, Linden, Woodbridge Township and Rahway. Encompassing over 1,000 acre, this priority habitat contains 434 acres of salt marsh and 238 acres of brush and shrub lands. Over 1,500 gulls, many species of shorebirds, breeding clapper rail, egrets, ducks, plovers, hawks, pheasants, wintering northern harrier and marsh wrens utilize the site.</p><br>
<p>The river is the source of drinking water for the City of Rahway. Each spring, the river is stocked with approximately 6,000 trout.</p><br>
<p>The river is also the source of the name for the Rahway Valley Railroad which has a bridge over it on the Springfield/Union border.</p><br>
<h2>Art on the Rahway</h2><br>
<p>The American painter Hugh Bolton Jones (1848–1927) depicts the Rahway River in his 1880s work "Spring," part of the collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.The Met has a black and white image on their site of "Spring." Artist:H. Bolton Jones (1848–1927)</p><br>
<p>Date:1885–86</p><br>
<p>Medium:Oil on canvas</p><br>
<p>Dimensions:24 1/4 x 40 1/8 in. (61.6 x 101.9 cm)</p><br>
<p>Classification:Paintings</p><br>
<p>Credit Line:Gift of George I. Seney, 1887</p><br>
<p>Accession Number:87.8.9</p><br>
<p>http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/11279</p><br>
<p>http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/11279</p><br>
<p>Several landscape artists of the 19th century also painted the Rahway River&#39;s woodland scenes en plein air, including Frank Townsend Lent and Bruce Crane, who painted in Cranford, and the aforementioned Hugh Bolton Jones.</p><br>
<h2>Route</h2><br>
<p>The Rahway River rises in Essex County as two separate branches.</p><br>
<p>The West Branch begins at spring-fed Crystal Lake in West Orange and flows south through the South Mountain Reservation in the valley between first and second ridges of the Watchung Mountains. It runs directly through downtown Millburn.</p><br>
<p>The East Branch rises as a surface stream in West Orange and forms part of the boundary between West Orange and Orange, then travels through the towns of South Orange and Maplewood.</p><br>
<p>The two branches meet at Hobart Gap near Interstate 78, continuing south through the Union County communities of Springfield, Union, Cranford and Clark. In Rahway the river receives the Robinsons Branch and South Branch, which are approximately 10 mi long. The South Branch starts in Roosevelt Park in Edison behind the Menlo Park Mall, and flows through Edison, Iselin, and Rahway. The rivers mouth is at the Arthur Kill between Carteret (on the south) and Linden (on the north) and opposite Port Mobil on Staten Island.</p><br>
<h3>Tributaries of the Rahway</h3><br>
<p>Nomahegan Brook travels through Cranford, Kenilworth, Westfield, and Mountainside.</p><br>
<p>Orchard Brook travels through Garwood and enters Cranford by West Holly where it joins the Rahway.</p><br>
<p>Marshes Creek joins the Rahway near its entry into the Arthur Kill</p><br>
<h2>Rahway River Parkway</h2><br>
<p>The Rahway River Parkway is a greenway of parkland that hugs the Rahway River and its tributaries. Formed by the Union County Parks Commission in the 1920s, was designed by the Olmsted Brothers firm, who were the sons of the landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted.</p><br>
<p>The "Friends of Rahway River Parkway," a nonprofit group, has been formed exclusively to encourage and advocate for the preservation, restoration and enhancement of the Rahway River Parkway, in accord with the Olmsted design principles inherent in its origins, and to promote appropriate public enjoyment of the Parkway.</p><br>
<h2>Parks along the river</h2><br>
<p>A map to the Rahway River parks is available.Parks along the Rahway River Parkway</p><br>
<p>https://goo.gl/maps/bg6c4K3RyYK2.</p><br>
<p>Essex County</p><br>
<p>Maplewood and Millburn. South Mountain Reservation. Orange Reservoir and Campbell&#39;s Pond are located on the Rahway in the reservation. A dramatic feature is Hemlock Falls: a 25-foot-high cascade of Rahway water over rock cliffs.</p><br>
<p>Orange Reservoir is a reservoir located in the reservations northern tract. Within the borders of West Orange, it is owned by the City of Orange and operated and maintained under contract with United Water. It was originally developed during the intense urbanization of northeastern New Jersey in the late 19th century, drawing from the Rahway River. The man-made lake is no longer part of the water-supply system and since the late 2000s (decade) various proposals have been made to allow its use as a recreational resource as part of the Recreational Complex. The complex abutting the reservoir includes a miniature golf course, and a boathouse-restaurant, McLoones, opened in 2011.</p><br>
<p>Union County, New Jersey</p><br>
<p>Springfield, New Jersey. Briant Park.</p><br>
<p>Westfield/Mountainside. Echo Lake Park is situated on a lake formed on Nomahegan Brook, a tributary of the Rahway.</p><br>
<p>Cranford, New Jersey. The Cranford section of the Rahway River Parkway follows the banks of the meandering Rahway River as it flows south through Lenape Park, Nomahegan Park, Hampton Park, MacConnell Park, the Cranford Canoe Club, Hanson Park, Sperry Park, Josiah Crane Park, Droeschers Mill Park, and Mohawk Park. The land for Sperry Park was donated by William Miller Sperry.</p><br>
<p>Clark/Winfield. Formerly Osceola Farm, owned by Thomas Sperry.</p><br>
<p>Rahway, New Jersey. Rahway River Park abuts a graveyard along the river here. Milton Lake Park is popular for fishing.</p><br>
<p>Linden, New Jersey. Hawk Rise Sanctuary. Hawk Rise Sanctuary is a 95-acre ecological preserve and wetland complex in Linden bordering the Rahway River, which was carved out of a former landfill through the combined efforts of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, the city of Linden and the New Jersey Audubon Society. The boardwalk trail system winds through the Hawk Rise forest, continues along the edge of the former Linden Landfill, and leads to an overlook viewing of the Rahway River and adjacent marshes. It has been open to the public since 2012, bringing scenic walking trails and bird-watching opportunities to a natural area once hidden behind a variety of industrial land uses. The site contains a surprising diversity of habitats for its relatively small size and urban location. These include forested wetlands, vernal pools, grasslands, shrublands, salt marsh, mudflats, a large pond, and the tidal Rahway River. 163 bird species have been spotted there.</p><br>
<p>Middlesex County</p><br>
<p>Carteret. Joseph Medwick Memorial Park. Named for baseball player Joe Medwick, this park offers scenic river vistas plus ball fields, tennis courts, playgrounds & picnic groves.</p><br>
<h2>Recreation along the river</h2><br>
<h3>Canoeing and boating</h3><br>
<p>The Cranford Canoe Club, built in 1908, rents canoes and kayaks for trips on the Rahway River in Cranford.</p><br>
<p>The Rahway Yacht Club, founded in 1904, is a private boating club docked on the river in Rahway, New Jersey.</p><br>
<p>Echo Lake, off Nomahegan Brook (a Rahway tributary) in Westfield and Orange Reservoir in South Mountain in Maplewood offer paddle boating.</p><br>
<h3>Rahway River fishing</h3><br>
<p>Fishing is popular along the Rahway. Many local fishing enthusiasts are among the biggest local champions of keeping the Rahway River and its parkland clean and vibrant for wildlife.</p><br>
<p>Fishermen who enjoy Rahway River fishing are encouraged to take home all fishing line to avoid injuring osprey and other large wildlife via entanglement which has caused deaths along the river.</p><br>
<p>On the third Monday of each month the Rahway River Trout Unlimited Chapter holds its monthly general meeting at the Cranford Community Center at 7:30pm to discuss Rahway River fishing. Fly fishermen may be seen casting lines in the Rahway along the dams in Cranford.</p><br>
<p>Brown trout, brook trout and rainbow trout 9 to 11 inches long are stocked for Rahway River fishing from late March to mid-May (only rainbow has been stocked since 2015). Along with these good-sized trout, much bigger breeders are also stocked to excite those anglers skilled or lucky enough to catch one (5-pound trophies are caught by these fishermen each spring).</p><br>
<p>Large numbers of sunfish and catfish are present in the Rahway River.</p><br>
<p>Smallmouth bass and largemouth bass, some quite large, are found when fishing the Rahway, as are channel catfish and bullhead catfish.</p><br>
<p>Striped bass and eels also surge up the river from Raritan Bay and encountered during Rahway River fishing. Large and very powerful carp appear as well.</p><br>
<p>Mark Modoski, angler and contributor for Field & Stream magazine, has written about fishing for catfish and carp on Nomahegan Lake off the river.</p><br>
<h4>Restoring the Rahway fishery; fish passage for spawning migration species</h4><br>
<p>The Rahway River is home to four anadromous fish species (fish that spawn in freshwater and live in saltwater) and one species of catadromous fish species (fish that spawn in salt water and live in freshwater).</p><br>
<p>There are long-discussed plans to install a fish ladder at the Rahway City Water Works to aid these fish during their spawning migrations. Fish ladders are inundated structures with small underwater steps that allow fish to navigate around a dam and continue their migration. Other approaches include removing obstructions that are inoperative or no longer serve their purpose, or improving water quality and reducing debris that obstructs passage.</p><br>
<p>The fish targeted for upstream passage at the Rahway River Water Supply Dam are alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus), blueback herring (Alosa aestivalis), gizzard shad (Dorosoma cepedianum), white perch (Morone Americana) and the endangered American eel (Anguilla rostrate). Alewife and blueback herring are collectively referred to as river herring due to their similarity in appearance, range, and life histories. River herring, gizzard shad, and white perch are all anadromous (adults spawn in freshwater; juveniles migrate to saltwater); whereas American eel are catadromous (adults spawn in the ocean; the young migrate to freshwater habitats).</p><br>
<p>Historically, anadromous spawning runs of alewife, blueback herring, striped bass, and American shad and catadromous runs of American eel were common in the NYC/NJ harbor estuary. However, poor stream conditions and an increased number of obstacles to upstream migration, like tide gates, culverts, and dams, have reduced these species’</p><br>
<p>migration opportunities. Restoring fish passage on major tributaries like the Rahway can be accomplished through the construction of fish ladders.</p><br>
<h3>Birding on the river</h3><br>
<p>Birdwatching is a frequent activity along the Rahway. The Friends of Lenape Park often birdwatch along the banks of its streams such as Nomahegan Brook.</p><br>
<h3>Other activities on the Rahway</h3><br>
<p>Cranfords The Riverside Inn and the River and Rail Cantina sit aside the river with outdoor seating near parkland. McLoones Boathouse is located on Orange Reservoir in South Mountain Reservation. The famous Paper Mill Playhouse sits aside the river.</p><br>
<p>The Hanson Park Conservancy hosts an annual "rubber ducky race" in the river, over the Hansel Dam falls next to Sperry Park, as a fundraiser for the park.</p><br>
<p>The Great Pumpkin Sail is held in Echo Lake on All Saints Day. At this annual event, on the day after Halloween, families bring their Halloween Jack-O-Lanterns, light them, and set them afloat on Echo Lake Parks lower lake. The glowing firelit faces reflect in the water as families enjoy free hot chocolate, marshmallows, and entertainment around the campfire.</p><br>
<h2>Historic uses of the Rahway River</h2><br>
<p>Beginning in the 1880s, the Cranford River Improvement Association and other Cranford organizations held various water carnivals and regattas on the river. According to an 1886 New York Times article, the carnival&#39;s decorations illuminated the night: "nearly a hundred boats will be gaily decorated with sky lanterns, the river banks will be illuminated with colored lights, the bridges will be lit up, there will be bands of music and a display of fireworks." Novelist Robert Ferro described these carnivals in his 1983 novel The Family of Max Desir, centered on a fictionalized version of the river.</p><br>
<p>The Rahway was once host to a variety of sawmills and gristmills. Droeschers Mill is the last remaining mill on the Rahway.</p><br>
<p>The Paper Mill Playhouse is an acclaimed theater in the area for live theatrical performances. In March 1795, Sam Campbell built The Thistle Paper Mill on land along the Rahway River in the town of Millville, later renamed Millburn. Campbell ran his business for about 20 years until he was forced to close down due to a fire. The building remained vacant for several years and ownership changed several times. In the late 1870s, Diamond Mill Paper Company took over the property and used it for their paper making business until 1928.</p><br>
<p>The Rahway River was also the site of freshwater pearl-fishing as a form of recreation as depicted in photographs from the early 1910s.</p><br>
<h2>Flooding, environmental rehab and flood control</h2><br>
<p>The highly urbanized Rahway River watershed in New Jersey suffers from frequent flooding due to extensive development and destruction of riparian wetlands and floodplains.</p><br>
<p>Floods have caused damage to houses, businesses, municipal facilities and public infrastructure. Portions of the Rahway River Basin have also suffered environmental degradation and opportunities exist for restoration.</p><br>
<p>The most damaging floods of record within the Rahway River Basin resulted from the storms of July 1938, May 1968, August 1971, August 1973, July 1975, June 1992, October 1996, July 1997, Tropical Storm Floyd in September 1999, April 2007 Nor’easter, and Hurricane Irene in August 2011. During the April 2007 storm, 70 to 100 homes suffered major damage to first floor and foundations. Union County and the Township of Cranford were declared federal disaster areas as a result of the April 2007 storm. As a result of Hurricane Irene, residents and business owners along the Rahway River have suffered extensive financial losses and personal hardship than in most severe prior storms.</p><br>
<p>Organizations fighting for flood control and protection of the Rahway River watershed include:</p><br>
<p>The Mayors Council on Rahway River Watershed Flood Control. After Hurricane Irene in 2011, mayors of towns along the Rahway River established this organization to find solutions to flooding in the Watershed.</p><br>
<p>The Cranford Flood Advisory Committee (CFAC) was formed as an official committee of the Township and has been active on current issues since mid 1997.</p><br>
<p>The Cranford Environmental Commission ("My Green Cranford") is a statutory board of seven regular Cranford-resident members and two alternates Cranford resident-members.</p><br>
<p>Rahway River Association. The purpose of the Rahway River Association is to protect and restore the Rahway River and its ecosystem.</p><br>
<p>Rahway River Watershed Storm Water Advisory Board. With continued concerns about flooding, a regional board was formed in early 2013 to advise Rahway River Watershed towns and advocate for changes to ordinances and implementation of best storm water management practices that can protect water quality and reduce the quantity of uncontrolled runoff.</p><br>
<p>1000 Rain Gardens. This initiative aims to develop, through public and private means, at least 1000 rain gardens in the Rahway River Watershed from West Orange in Essex County to Woodbridge in Middlesex County.</p><br>
<p>The New Jersey Watershed Ambassadors Program is a community-oriented AmeriCorps environmental program coordinated by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and is designed to raise awareness about watersheds in New Jersey. Through this program, AmeriCorps members are placed in watershed management areas across the state to serve the educational water-related interests of their local communities. The program invited all ages of citizens to improve the quality of New Jersey&#39;s waterways and water quaility.</p><br>
<p>Watershed Ambassadors monitor the rivers of New Jersey through volunteer monitoring programs. The AmeriCorps leaders are used to train community volunteers to use these two monitoring techniques in order to assess the health of waterways within their communities. Watershed Ambassadors make presentations to schools and community organizations along the Rahway River and other rivers for free. These interactive presentations explore water quality and watershed related topics in New Jersey.</p><br>
<h3>The Rahway River Basin Flood Risk Management Feasibility Study</h3><br>
<p>In September 2016, the United States House of Representatives authorized the Rahway River Basin Flood Risk Management Feasibility Study under the Water Resources Development Act. The study is now a full-go after Congressman Leonard Lance and the Mayors Council on Rahway River Watershed Flood Control pushed for years for its completion.</p><br>
<p>Its goal is to devise a plan to protect New Jersey communities from Rahway River flooding.</p><br>
<p>“The Rahway River Basin Flood Risk Management Feasibility Study will create a lasting solution for the protection of New Jersey municipalities that include Cranford, Kenilworth, Maplewood, Millburn, Rahway, Springfield and Union and the surrounding areas from severe flooding,” said Lance. “For years these municipalities have pursued this project."</p><br>
<p>Local politicians, including Ann Dooley, have urged Senator Cory Booker to work on Rahway River flooding relief as well.</p><br>
<p>The USA Army Corps of Engineers is partnering with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to carry out the Feasibility Study to identify various flood risk management alternatives for communities along the Rahway River Basin, with a specific emphasis on the city of Rahway and the township of Cranford.</p><br>
<p>The alternatives are currently undergoing economic analysis, comparing the amount of risk management provided to each alternative’s associated costs. In order for a flood risk management alternative to be considered by the Federal Government, it must provide a positive benefit-to-cost ratio. This economic analysis phase is important to not only determine the benefit-to-cost ratio of each alternative, but it is also critical for the justification and request for authorization from Congress to construct a project after the Feasibility Study is complete.</p><br>
<h3>Flooding plans under consideration</h3><br>
<p>Descriptions of the flood risk management alternatives that the USA Army Corps of Engineers are analyzing are available.</p><br>
<p>Early in August 2016, Congressman Leonard Lance joined USA Sen. Bob Menendez (NJ) and Colonel David A. Caldwell, Commander of USA Army Corps of Engineers (New York District), for a site visit of a proposed flooding solution, known as Alternative 4A.</p><br>
<p>The new plan modifies the Orange Reservoir on the Rahway River in South Mountain Reservation through Cranford, as well as numerous properties in the City of Rahway.</p><br>
<h3>Pilgrim Pipeline</h3><br>
<p>The impact of the controversial planned Pilgrim Pipeline, which would cross the river to pipe crude oil, kerosene, and diesel fuel through Clark, New Jersey, Cranford, New Jersey and Roselle, New Jersey, on the river&#39;s ecosystem is not known.</p><br>
<h2>Rahway River cleanups</h2><br>
<p>Volunteers organize Rahway River clean-ups all year round. They remove discarded fishing lines, invasive weeds and discarded litter and compete to see who can remove the most debris. Depending on the weather, river cleaners are encouraged to dress warmly and wear boots. Gloves, litter grabbers and refreshments may occasionally be provided at these cleanups.</p><br>
<p>“The residents do a great job cleaning the parks,” Union County Watershed Ambassador Ismail Sukkar told LocalSource.</p><br>
<h2>Contamination and flooding</h2><br>
<h3>Dirty soil dumping controversy</h3><br>
<p>Recently, environmental groups have expressed concern over two projects on the lower tidal banks of the Rahway, roughly at Potters Island:</p><br>
<p>Soil Safe-Metro12, also known as the Rahway Arch, in Carteret. This project is alleged to involve the dumping of contaminated soil.</p><br>
<p>4050 Tremley Point Road This involves a concern by environmentalists raised in late 2016 over the dumping of contaminated soil on a wedge of riverside land where Marshes Creek meets the Rahway River (not to be confused with Morses Creek which flows into the Arthur Kill to the north). The 88-acre site on the river in a flood zone had lain untouched for almost 60 years; it had been used for coal ash disposal for a decade at that time, and environmental groups complained that the trucked-in soil was far more heavily contaminated than the site itself. The site had been purchased in 2013 to build a warehouse, trucking depot, driveway and parking lot.</p><br>
<h3>The Pilgrim Pipeline</h3><br>
<p>The Pilgrim Pipeline is a planned 178-mile pipeline that would run through the Rahway River watershed and deliver up to 400,000 barrels of crude oil and other hazardous liquids a day from Albany, New York to coastal Linden, New Jersey across from Staten Island.</p><br>
<p>The developers of the pipeline expect it to cross the Rahway River near the site of Hillside Avenue School in the township of Cranford, New Jersey.</p><br>
<p>Slains Castle, also known as New Slains Castle to distinguish it from nearby Old Slains Castle, is a ruined castle in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It overlooks the North Sea from its cliff-top site 1 km east of Cruden Bay. The core of the castle is a 16th-century tower house, built by the 9th Earl of Erroll. Significant reconstruction of the castle has been carried out a number of times, lastly in 1837 when it was rebuilt as a Scots Baronial mansion. At one time it had three extensive gardens, but is now a roofless ruin. Plans to restore the castle have been on hold since 2009.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The Clan Hay were a powerful family in the area for generations, having possessed the lands of Slains since the 14th century. In 1453 Sir William Hay, the clan chief, was made Earl of Erroll by King James II. At this time the local seat of power was Old Slains Castle, near Collieston some 8 km to the south-west. Francis Hay, 9th Earl of Erroll, succeeded in 1585, and converted to Roman Catholicism. He conspired with other Catholic nobles, including the Earl of Huntly, with whom he joined in a brief rebellion in 1589. Erroll was also a signatory of the "Spanish Blanks", documents signed by members of the Catholic nobility of Scotland, and otherwise left to be filled in with the terms of Spanish aid. Erroll was declared a traitor in 1594, and Old Slains Castle was destroyed in October on the orders of King James VI.</p><br>
<p>After a period abroad Erroll returned to Scotland, and abjured Roman Catholicism in 1597, subsequently returning to royal favour. He abandoned Old Slains and built a courtyard and square tower on the present site. Originally named Bowness, it later became known as New Slains. The wings around the courtyard were extended in 1664 by addition of a gallery or corridor, and in 1707 the entrance front was renewed.</p><br>
<p>In 1820 William Hay, 18th Earl of Erroll, married Lady Elizabeth FitzClarence, the illegitimate daughter of King William IV and Dorothea Jordan. In the 1830s the 18th Earl commissioned the Aberdeen architect John Smith to remodel the castle. This resulted in a virtual rebuilding of Slains in a Scots Baronial style, including granite facings, in 1836–1837.</p><br>
<p>In 1895 the author Bram Stoker visited the area, staying at a cottage near Cruden Bay, and he may have been a guest at Slains. The castle is commonly cited as an inspiration for Stoker&#39;s 1897 novel Dracula.</p><br>
<p>In 1913 the 20th Earl of Erroll sold New Slains, ending more than 300 years of occupation by the family. It was purchased by Sir John Ellerman, the wealthy but secretive owner of the Ellerman Lines shipping company, who leased it out. In 1925 the roof was removed to avoid taxes, and the building has deteriorated since. It is now a roofless shell, with most of the outer and inner walls standing to full height. In 2004 it was reported that the Slains Partnership was preparing plans for restoration of the building and conversion into 35 holiday apartments. In August 2007 the scheme was granted outline planning permission by Aberdeenshire Council, but the plans were put on hold in 2009 due to the economic downturn.</p><br>
<h2>Architecture</h2><br>
<p>At first inspection the ruin appears to be a blend of several different architectural styles and periods, due to diverse masonry including older mortared granite, mortared medieval red brick, mortared sandstone and newer well faced granite. In fact most of the architecture seems to derive from a rather cohesive interval 1597 to 1664, which construction is the most expansive and includes the mortared rough granite and medieval brick. The 1836 work adds smoother granite facing that contrasts with the older construction style.</p><br>
<p>The defensive works of the castle include use of the North Sea cliffs; an abyss to the west that functions as a deep impassable moat; and a ruined rampart that would have been the main entrance on the south. The ruins include reasonably well preserved elements of three- and four-storey structural elements and a basement course over some of the range, especially at the eastern side. There are well-preserved basement kitchen works with numerous firepits and masonry indented storage spaces. The internal doorways are primarily of well-preserved wooden lintel construction, with numerous examples of mortared sandstone and medieval brickwork archways. The interior of the ground level is a maze of passageways and smaller rooms, reflecting a high state of occupancy in 17th-century times.</p><br>
<p>Coral Castle is an oolite limestone structure created by the Latvian American eccentric Edward Leedskalnin . It is located in Leisure City, Florida, in Miami-Dade County at the intersection of South Dixie Highway  and SW 157th Avenue. The structure comprises numerous megalithic stones, mostly limestone formed from coral, each weighing several tons. It is currently a privately operated tourist attraction. Coral Castle is noted for legends surrounding its creation that claim it was built single-handedly by Leedskalnin using reverse magnetism or supernatural abilities to move and carve numerous stones weighing many tons.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>According to Coral Castle&#39;s own promotional material, Edward Leedskalnin was suddenly rejected by his 16-year-old fiancée Agnes Skuvst in Latvia, just one day before the wedding. Leaving for America, he came down with allegedly terminal tuberculosis, but spontaneously healed, stating that magnets had some effect on his disease.</p><br>
<p>Edward spent more than 28 years building Coral Castle, refusing to allow anyone to view him while he worked. A few teenagers claimed to have witnessed his work, reporting that he had caused the blocks of coral to move like hydrogen balloons. The only tool that Leedskalnin spoke of using was a "perpetual motion holder".</p><br>
<p>Leedskalnin originally built a castle, which he named "Ed&#39;s Place," in Florida City, Florida, around 1923. He purchased the land from Ruben Moser whose wife assisted him when he had a very bad bout with tuberculosis. Florida City, which borders the Everglades, is the southernmost city in the United States that is not on an island. It was an extremely remote location with very little development at the time. The castle remained in Florida City until about 1936 when Leedskalnin decided to move and take the castle with him to its final location at 28655 South Dixie Highway Miami, FL 33033. Coral Castle website states that he chose to move in order to protect his privacy when discussion about developing land in the area of the castle started. He spent three years moving the component structures of Coral Castle 10 mi north from Florida City to its current location in Leisure City, Florida.</p><br>
<p>Leedskalnin named his new place "Rock Gate" after the huge rear swinging gate he built into the back wall. He continued to work on the castle up until his death in 1951. The coral pieces that are part of the newer castle, not among those transported from the original location, were quarried on the property only a few feet away from the castle&#39;s walls. The pool and the pit beside the southern wall are quarries. The east and west quarries have been filled in.</p><br>
<p>At Florida City, Leedskalnin charged visitors ten cents apiece to tour the castle grounds, but after moving to Homestead, he asked for donations of twenty five cents, but let visitors enter free if they had no money. There are signs carved into rocks at the front gate to "Ring Bell Twice." He would come down from his living quarters in the second story of the castle tower close to the gate and conduct the tour. Leedskalnin never told anyone who asked him how he made the castle. He would simply answer "It&#39;s not difficult if you know how."</p><br>
<p>When asked why he had built the castle, Leedskalnin would vaguely answer it was for his "Sweet Sixteen". This is widely believed to be a reference to Agnes Skuvst (whose often-misspelled surname "Scuffs" is not even a legitimately formed Latvian word). In Leedskalnin&#39;s own publication A Book in Every Home, he implies his "Sweet Sixteen" was more an ideal than a reality. According to a Latvian account, the girl existed, but her name was actually Hermīne Lūsis.</p><br>
<p>When Leedskalnin became ill in November 1951, he put a sign on the door of the front gate "Going to the Hospital" and took the bus to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. Leedskalnin suffered a stroke at one point, either before he left for the hospital or at the hospital. He died twenty-eight days later of Pyelonephritis (a kidney infection) at the age of 64. His death certificate noted that his death was a result of "uremia; failure of kidneys, as a result of the infection and abscess."</p><br>
<p>While the property was being investigated, $3,500 was found among Leedskalnin&#39;s personal belongings. Leedskalnin had made his income from conducting tours, selling pamphlets about various subjects (including magnetic currents) and the sale of a portion of his 10 acre property for the construction of USA Route 1. As Leedskalnin had no will, the castle became the property of his closest living relative in America, a nephew from Michigan named Harry.</p><br>
<p>Coral Castle&#39;s website reports that the nephew was in poor health and he sold the castle to an Illinois family in 1953. However, this story differs from the obituary of a former Coral Castle owner, Julius Levin, a retired jeweler from Chicago, Illinois. The obituary states Levin had purchased the land from the state of Florida in 1952 and may not have been aware there was even a castle on the land.</p><br>
<p>The new owners turned it into a tourist attraction and changed the name of Rock Gate to Rock Gate Park, and later to Coral Castle.</p><br>
<p>In January 1981, Levin sold the castle to Coral Castle, Inc., for $175,000. The company retains ownership today.</p><br>
<p>In 1984, the property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was added under the name of "Rock Gate", but the name on the list was changed to "Coral Castle" in 2011.</p><br>
<p>The stone sign just inside the property that says "Adm. 10c Drop Below" is not original to Coral Castle. Ed made this sign and placed it in front of his earlier location at Florida City when he was tired of giving a "free show" to visitors who were careless and trampled his shrubbery. This sign was donated by the owners of Ed&#39;s Place and placed here in recent years.</p><br>
<h2>The Castle</h2><br>
<p>The grounds of Coral Castle consist of 1,100 ST of stones in the form of walls, carvings, furniture and a castle tower. Commonly believed to be made of coral, it is made of oolite, also known as oolitic limestone. Oolite is a sedimentary rock composed of small spherical grains of concentrically layered carbonate that may include localized concentrations of fossil shells and coral. Oolite is found throughout southeastern Florida from Palm Beach County to the Florida Keys. Oolite is often found beneath only several inches of topsoil, such as at the Coral Castle site.</p><br>
<p>The stones are fastened together without mortar. They are set on top of each other using their weight to keep them together. The craftsmanship detail is so skillful and the stones are connected with such precision that no light passes through the joints. The 8 ft tall vertical stones that make up the perimeter wall have a uniform height. Even with the passage of decades and a direct hit on August 24, 1992, by the Category 5 Hurricane Andrew, the stones have not shifted.</p><br>
<p>Many of the features and carvings of the castle are notable. Among them are a two-story castle tower that served as Leedskalnin&#39;s living quarters (walls consisting of 8-foot-high pieces of stone); an accurate sundial; a Polaris telescope; an obelisk; a barbecue; a water well; a fountain; celestial stars and planets; and numerous pieces of furniture. The furniture pieces include a heart-shaped table, a table in the shape of Florida, twenty-five rocking chairs, chairs resembling crescent moons, a bathtub, beds and a throne.</p><br>
<p>With few exceptions, the objects are made from single pieces of stone that weigh on average 15 ST each. The largest stone weighs 30 ST and the tallest are two monoliths standing 25 ft each.</p><br>
<p>A 9 ST revolving 8-foot tall gate is a famous structure of the castle, documented on the television programs In Search of... The gate is carved so that it fits within a quarter of an inch of the walls. It was well-balanced, reportedly so that a child could open it with the push of a finger. The mystery of the gates perfectly balanced axis and the ease with which it revolved lasted for decades until it stopped working in 1986. In order to remove it, six men and a 50 ST crane were used. Once the gate was removed, the engineers discovered how Leedskalnin had centered and balanced it. He had drilled a hole from top to bottom and inserted a metal shaft. The rock rested on an old truck bearing. It was the rusting out of this bearing that resulted in the gates failure to revolve. Complete with new bearings and shaft, it was set back into place on July 23, 1986. It failed in 2005 and was again repaired; however, it does not rotate with the same ease it once did.</p><br>
<p>Coral Castle remains a popular tourist attraction. Books, magazines, and television programs speculate about how Leedskalnin was able to construct the structure and move stones that weigh many tons. Claims that nobody had ever seen Leedskalnin at work and that he levitated his stones have been repudiated. Orval Irwin reportedly witnessed him quarry his stones and erect parts of his wall, and illustrated the methods in his book Mr. Cant Is Dead. The Nemith Film Collection produced a short film documentary in 1944 of him at work. Coral Castles website states that, "If anyone ever questioned Ed about how he moved the blocks of coral, Ed would only reply that he understood the laws of weight and leverage well."</p><br>
<h2>In popular culture</h2><br>
<p>Coral Castle is sometimes referred to as Florida&#39;s Stonehenge.</p><br>
<p>The 1958 film The Wild Women of Wongo used Coral Castle as the set for the dragon-god temple.</p><br>
<p>The lunar scenes of the 1961 film Nude on the Moon were shot in Coral Castle.</p><br>
<p>In the 1966 children&#39;s musical film Jimmy, the Boy Wonder, Coral Castle was used as a backdrop in several scenes.</p><br>
<p>"The Castle of Secrets" is an episode of Leonard Nimoy&#39;s program In Search of... (1976–1982) that includes a dramatization of Leedskalnin moving the stones with minimal effort.</p><br>
<p>On June 20, 2014, the History Channel aired a segment about Coral Castle in the Ancient Aliens series (Season 8, Episode 2), "Mysterious Structures".</p><br>
<p>Billy Idol&#39;s 1986 song "Sweet Sixteen" was inspired by the story of Leedskalnin and Coral Castle.</p><br>
<p>John Martin&#39;s book, Coral Castle Construction, released in November 2012, describes how Ed Leedskalnin built his structure based on fundamental engineering principles.</p><br>
<p>Lake Managua   is a lake in Nicaragua. The Spanish name is Lago de Managua or Lago Xolotlán. At 1,042 km², it is approximately 65 km long and 25 km wide. Similarly to the name of Lake Nicaragua, its name was coined by the Spanish conquerors from "Mangue"  and agua . The city of Managua, the capital of Nicaragua, lies on its southwestern shore.</p><br>
<h2>Floodings</h2><br>
<p>The level of Lake Managua raises significantly during the periods of heavy rain. The highest water level was recorded during the flooding of 1933.</p><br>
<p>The lake rose 3 metres (10 ft) in five days during Hurricane Mitch in 1998, destroying the homes of many who lived on its edge. An even higher flooding occurred in September/October 2010. Since then, the city has prohibited residential use of the most flood-prone areas, those with the elevation below 42.76 meters above sea level.</p><br>
<h2>Pollution</h2><br>
<p>Lake Managua has been described by some authors as "the most contaminated lake in Central America."</p><br>
<p>The lake has been severely polluted, mostly by decades of sewage being dumped into the lake. The city sewers have drained into the lake since 1927. It was only in 2009 that a modern wastewater treatment plant (built and operated by the British company Biwater) was opened in Managua, but even it treats only 40% of the city&#39;s wastewater.</p><br>
<p>The lake today has no stable outlet, with only occasional floods to Lake Nicaragua through the Tipitapa River. Pollutants are thus concentrated. Despite the pollution, some of the people of Managua still live along the lake&#39;s shores and eat the fish.</p><br>
<p>In 2007 the "malecón" area was dredged and the sediment hauled off on barges. A strong odor which permeated the area from the sediment disappeared. A stone rip-rap and concrete wharf was constructed and a sight seeing boat called "La Novia de Xolotlán" makes hour-long lake tours when there are sufficient tourists.</p><br>
<h2>Wildlife</h2><br>
<p>About 20 fish species still survive in Lake Managua.</p><br>
<p>While joined to Lake Nicaragua, the bull sharks of that lake cannot migrate to Lake Managua due to a 12 ft high waterfall on the Tipitapa River.</p><br>
<p>Yonaguni, one of the Yaeyama Islands, is the westernmost inhabited island of Japan, lying 108 km from the east coast of Taiwan, between the East China Sea and the Pacific Ocean proper.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>In the 15th century, it was incorporated into the Ryūkyū Kingdom. By 1879, the island was formally annexed into Japan.</p><br>
<p>Until the early 20th century, Yonaguni was part of the larger Yaeyama Magiri (village after 1907), which included the neighboring Yaeyama Islands. In 1948, it became an independent village. From 1945 to 1972, it was occupied by the United States and was then returned to Japan to form a part of Okinawa Prefecture.</p><br>
<p>On May 4, 1998, a part of the island was destroyed by a submarine earthquake.</p><br>
<p>As a result of increased tensions between Japan and China over the disputed sovereignty of the Japanese-controlled uninhabited Senkaku/Diaoyu/Tiaoyutai Islands which are located roughly 80 nautical miles north-northeast of Yonaguni Island, Japan began construction in 2014 of a coastal monitoring/early warning station with radar and other sensors on Yonaguni to counter a perceived threat from Chinese forces. The initial planned complement of a 150 troops include personnel stationed at a physically separate garrison camp located on the outskirts of Yonaguni town. The station&#39;s radar became active on March 28, 2016. Separately, a joint (GSDF/ASDF) “mobile aircraft control & warning squadron" is planned to be formed and co-located at the station.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>The island has an area of 28.88 km&sup2, a population around 1700, an annual mean air temperature of 23.9 °C, and annual precipitation of 3000 mm. All islands are under jurisdiction of the town of Yonaguni, Yaeyama Gun, Okinawa and there are three towns: Sonai, Kubura and Higawa.</p><br>
<p>Yonaguni, more specifically Cape Irizaki 24&deg;26&prime;58&Prime;N latitude, 122&deg;56&prime;01&Prime;E longitude at the western tip of the island, is the westernmost point of Japan. Taiwan is said to be visible from Irizaki on a clear day.</p><br>
<h2>Climate</h2><br>
<p>Yonaguni has a tropical rainforest climate (Köppen climate classification Af). The average yearly temperature is 23.8 &deg;C, and the average monthly temperature ranges from 18.4 &deg;C in January to 28.8 &deg;C in July. September is the wettest month while July is the driest.</p><br>
<h2>Notable features</h2><br>
<p>Yonaguni is known in Japan for the hanazake, a 120-proof rice-based distilled beverage (awamori) produced only on the island.</p><br>
<p>The island is also the only natural habitat of a distinctive horse breed, the Yonaguni horse.</p><br>
<p>Yonaguni is a popular attraction for divers because of the large numbers of hammerhead sharks that gather in the surrounding waters during winter.</p><br>
<h3>Yonaguni Monument</h3><br>
<p>In 1986, local divers discovered a striking underwater rock formation off the southernmost point of the island. The formation, known popularly as the Yonaguni Monument, has staircase-like terraces with flat sides and sharp corners. Although the majority of the academic society regard the rock formation as natural joint, Masaaki Kimura, a professor of seismology in University of the Ryukyus and some media believe it is an artificial (or artificially modified) structure engraved or built 2,000 to 3,000 years ago.</p><br>
<p>Patrick D. Nunn, Professor of Oceanic Geoscience at the University of the South Pacific, has studied these structures extensively and notes that the structures below the water continue above and are slate that "has been fashioned solely by natural processes" and that "there seems no reason to suppose that they are artificial."</p><br>
<h2>Transportation</h2><br>
<p>Yonaguni Airport serves Yonaguni island.</p><br>
<h2>Television</h2><br>
<p>Yonaguni was the filming location for Fuji TVs drama series, Dr. Kotō Shinryōjo (Dr.コトー診療所 / Dr. Kotos Clinic) which aired between 2003-2006.</p><br>
<p>A fictional Chinese naval incursion into Yonaguni&#39;s territorial waters and the ensuing military standoff was a plot point of the second season of House of Cards (S2E10).</p><br>
<p>The Barrow  is a river in Ireland. It is one of The Three Sisters; the other two being the River Suir and the River Nore. The Barrow is the longest of the three rivers. At 192 km , it is the second-longest river in Ireland, behind the River Shannon. The catchment area of the River Barrow is 3,067 km before River Nore joins it a little over 20 km before its mouth.</p><br>
<p>The rivers long term average flow rate, again before its joined by River Nore, is 37.4 cubic metres per second. At the merger with River Suir its catchment area is ca. 5,500 km and its discharge over 80 m/s.</p><br>
<p>The source of the River Barrow is at Glenbarrow in the Slieve Bloom Mountains in County Laois.</p><br>
<p>Among the towns that the River Barrow passes through on its way to the sea in Waterford are Portarlington, Monasterevin, Athy, Carlow/Graiguecullen, Muine Bheag ( i.e. Bagenalstown,) Graiguenamanagh, and New Ross.</p><br>
<p>The river also forms a natural border between, on its right bank, counties Kilkenny and Waterford and, on its left bank, counties Carlow and Wexford.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The rivers name is attributed to the action of Dian Cecht when he slew three serpents found in the heart of The Morrígans infant son and threw them into the Barrow, thus causing it to boil.</p><br>
<p>The earliest recorded name for the river is Berbha, from an AD 996 entry in the Annals of the Four Masters.</p><br>
<p>Translated:</p><br>
<p>The name Berbha is believed to derive from the Proto-Celtic *boru- ("boil", "bubble"), and is associated with Borvo, the Celtic god of minerals and spring water. Later spellings include Berba, Birga, Baruwe and Berrowe.</p><br>
<p>The Barrow historically provided a natural boundary between the kingdoms of Laigin on the eastern shore and Osraige on the western shore.</p><br>
<p>There was a proverb quoted by Sir John Davies that “whoso lives by west of the Barrow, lives west of the law.”</p><br>
<h2>Barrow Navigation</h2><br>
<p>The River Barrow forms a major part of Ireland&#39;s inland waterways network, providing an inland link between the port of Waterford and the Grand Canal, which in turn connects Dublin to the River Shannon. There are three sections to the navigation:</p><br>
<p>The tidal River Barrow, which together with the tidal reaches of its tributaries the River Suir and River Nore constitute 88 km (55 miles) of tidal river navigation.</p><br>
<p>The non-tidal river navigation featuring 23 locks, continuing 66 km (41 miles) inland from the tidal limit of the Barrow at St Mullin&#39;s to Athy.</p><br>
<p>The Barrow Line of the Grand Canal connects to the river at Athy and continues northwards a further 45 km (28 miles) with 9 locks, connecting to the mainline of the Grand Canal at Lowtown.</p><br>
<p>The Toms River, formerly Tom&#39;s River, is a 41.7 mi freshwater river and estuary in Ocean County, New Jersey in the United States.</p><br>
<p>The Toms River rises in the Pine Barrens of northern Ocean County and flows southeast and east, fed by several branches, in a meandering course through wetland area and empties into Barnegat Bay, an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean. The lower 5 mi (8 km) of the river is a broad tidal estuary navigable within the community of Toms River. The lowest reaches of the river provide convenient locations for marinas and yacht clubs and excellent points from which to go fishing and crabbing. Canoeing and kayaking are also popular pursuits on the Toms. The river can be paddled for 21.7 mi from Don Connor Boulevard below Route 528 all the way to Barnegat Bay.</p><br>
<p>In the 1960s, the lower river was found to have been polluted for many years from the open discharge of waste from a Ciba Geigy dye manufacturing plant. This was considered to have been the cause of a cancer cluster of leukaemia in the Toms River township that led to multimillion-dollar compensation payments to the families involved. There is a &#39;great deal of uncertainty&#39; as to whether the pollution was a causal factor in the cancer cluster. A 2014 Pulitzer Prize winning book, "Toms River: A Story of Science and Salvation," examined the issue in detail. Recent public-private coalitions to restore the river and to purchase and preserve the wetland areas near its source in the Pinelands have resulted in an increase in water quality.</p><br>
<p>The Toms River was known as Goose Creek until it was renamed in the early 18th century either for English captain William Toms, farmer and ferryman Thomas Luker, or a Native American named Tom. The settlement that was founded in 1712 along the river subsequently took the name as well.</p><br>
<h2>Tributaries</h2><br>
<p>* Union Branch</p><br>
<p>Curwood Castle is a small castle, now a museum, located in Owosso, Michigan, built by author James Oliver Curwood.</p><br>
<h2>Overview</h2><br>
<p>Construction on the building began in 1922 and was completed in 1923. The castle was the dream of author James Oliver Curwood, who used one of the turrets as a writing studio.</p><br>
<p>Jim Curwood was born in Owosso in 1878. He built this replica of a Norman chateau along the banks of the Shiawassee River near his home in Owosso. The exterior is made of yellow stucco containing fieldstones he chose himself. The roof is slate with copper trim. The structure does not contain any eating or sleeping areas. He used the great room to entertain guests, including movie producers, and the largest turret as his writing studio.</p><br>
<p>A hunter in his early years, Curwood later became a zealous conservationist, and was appointed to the Michigan Conservation Commission in 1926. He died a year later at age 48. In his will, the castle was given to the City of Owosso. It has served in various capacities over the years and is now a museum operated by the city, and is open to the public.</p><br>
<p>Each year, the castle hosts the Curwood Festival. The event celebrates the life and works of James Oliver Curwood.</p><br>
<p>Mount Columbia is a high mountain summit of the Collegiate Peaks in the Sawatch Range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. The 14,077 ft fourteener is located in the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness of San Isabel National Forest, 16.0 km northwest by west  of the Town of Buena Vista in Chaffee County, Colorado, United States. The mountain was named in honor of Columbia University in the City of New York and in commemoration of its rowing victory at the renowned Henley Royal Regatta in 1878.</p><br>
<h2>Mountain</h2><br>
<p>Along with nearby Mount Harvard, Mount Yale, Mount Princeton, and Mount Oxford, Mount Columbia is one of five Collegiate Peaks named for prominent universities. Due to an awful scree field located on the standard route, Mount Columbia is usually only climbed by those wishing to climb all of Colorado&#39;s fourteeners. The forest service recommends that hikers take the user-created Horn Fork Basin Route, an 11 mile roundtrip that gains 5,800 feet in elevation. The area near the scree field is severely eroded, and although there are efforts to build a new trail to replace the current user-created trail, the formal trail has not yet been completed.</p><br>
<p>Skorpios or Scorpios  is a private island in the Ionian Sea off the western coast of Greece and just to the east of the island of Lefkada. The 2011 census reported a population of five inhabitants. Administratively it is part of the municipality of Meganisi in Lefkada regional unit.</p><br>
<h2>Population</h2><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>The island is irregularly shaped, with main axes about 1500 meters and 1000 meters.</p><br>
<p>The island is heavily forested from south to north and features over 200 varieties of trees imported to the once nearly barren island by Aristotle Onassis. There are some sandy beaches, most notably East Beach, which was created by Onassis, who brought sand from Salamis Island for this purpose. There is also a small sand beach where the Myconos house, formerly known as the "Pig House" is located. This was where Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis was infamously photographed nude by a Greek paparazzo.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Skorpios is mainly known as the private island of the late Greek shipping billionaire Aristotle Onassis. It was the site of his wedding to former United States First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy on October 20, 1968. Upon his death it passed to his daughter Christina, and then in turn to her daughter Athina Onassis Roussel. Onassis, his son Alexander, and his daughter Christina are all buried on the island.</p><br>
<p>Athina visited the island twice after her mother died, once when she was eight and then on November 18–19, 1998 with her father Thierry Roussel and their media adviser and spokesman Alexis Mantheakis in order to hold a memorial service on the tenth anniversary of the death of Athina&#39;s mother, Christina Onassis. The three were accompanied by her ex-SAS bodyguards and Greek bodyguards. A flotilla of boats carrying international and local TV crews and journalists anchored off the island, attempting to cover the event and to get footage with telescopic lenses, as only one photographer was allowed onto the island. The arrival of Athina, her father and Mantheakis was reported by all the major wire services. Photographs of the heiress being met by the mayor of the village of Nydri, opposite Skorpios, and a large committee of welcoming villagers made the covers of various international magazines, including Paris Match.</p><br>
<p>The memorial service on Skorpios was presided over by Father Apostolis, the local Greek Orthodox priest who had baptised Athina and presided over the funerals of Aristotle Onassis, his son Alexander and Athina&#39;s mother, Christina, all buried in the Panagitsa Chapel on Skorpios. Apart from these two visits and a couple more when Athina was a toddler, she has spent no time there.</p><br>
<p>Athina Onassis Roussel sold the island in April 2013 to Ekaterina Rybolovleva, the daughter of Russian billionaire businessman Dmitry Rybolovlev. The nearby islet of Sparti was also included in the sale. The Greek government, however, is yet to confirm the legality of the purchase by the Russian oligarch. An investigation is currently underway, as Giannis Mihelakis (New Democracy MP) raised the question in the Greek parliament.</p><br>
<p>Specifically, Onassis stated in his will that the island would remain in the family as long as they could afford to cover its maintenance expenses. According to the will, if his descendants could not cover the expenses, the island would be donated either to Olympic Airways or to the state. Therefore, the island is now leased to the heiress for 100 years&#39; time, still under the ownership of Athina Onassis Roussel.</p><br>
<p>Lofoten is an archipelago and a traditional district in the county of Nordland, Norway. Lofoten is known for a distinctive scenery with dramatic mountains and peaks, open sea and sheltered bays, beaches and untouched lands. Though lying within the Arctic Circle, the archipelago experiences one of the world&#39;s largest elevated temperature anomalies relative to its high latitude.</p><br>
<h2>Etymology</h2><br>
<p>Lofoten (Lófót) was the original name of the island Vestvågøya. The first element is ló (i.e., "lynx") and the last element is derived from Norse fótr (i.e., "foot"), as the shape of the island must have been compared with that of a lynxs foot. (The old name of the neighbouring island Flakstadøya was Vargfót, "wolfs foot", from vargr "wolf". See also Ofoten.)</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>"There is evidence of human settlement extending back at least 11,000 yrs in Lofoten, and the earliest archaeological sites... are only about 5,500 yrs old, at the transition from the early to late Stone Age." Iron Age agriculture, livestock, and significant human habitation can be traced back to ~250 BCE.</p><br>
<p>The town of Vågan (Norse Vágar) is the first known town formation in northern Norway. It existed in the early Viking Age, maybe earlier, and was located on the southern coast on eastern Lofoten, near today&#39;s village Kabelvåg in Vågan municipality. However, the Lofotr Viking Museum with the reconstructed 83-meter-long longhouse (the largest known) is located near Borg on Vestvågøy, which has many archeological finds from the Iron Age and Viking Age.</p><br>
<p>The islands have for more than 1,000 years been the centre of great cod fisheries, especially in winter, when the cod migrates south from the Barents Sea and gathers in Lofoten to spawn. Bergen in southwestern Norway was for a long time the hub for further export south to different parts of Europe, particularly so when trade was controlled by the Hanseatic League. In the lowland areas, particularly Vestvågøy, agriculture plays a significant role, as it has done since the Bronze Age.</p><br>
<p>Lofotr was originally the name of the island of Vestvågøy only. Later it became the name of the chain of islands. The chain of islands with its pointed peaks looks like a lynx foot from the mainland. In Norwegian, it is always a singular. Another name one might come across, is "Lofotveggen" or the Lofoten wall. The archipelago looks like a closed wall when seen from elevated points around Bodø or when arriving from the sea, some 100 km long, and 800 - high.</p><br>
<p>In 1941, the islands were raided by British Commandos during Operation Claymore in March and a subsequent diversionary attack to support the Vaagso raid in December.</p><br>
<p>As of 2017, the islands attract one million tourists a year.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>Lofoten is located at the 68th and 69th parallels north of the Arctic Circle in North Norway. It is known for its natural environment within Norway. Lofoten encompasses the municipalities of Vågan, Vestvågøy, Flakstad, Moskenes, Værøy, and Røst. The principal islands, running from north to south are:</p><br>
<p>Southern tip of Hinnøya.</p><br>
<p>Southern 60% (approx.) of Austvågøy (526.7 km&sup2; in total 68&deg;20&prime;N latitude, 14&deg;40&prime;E longitude)</p><br>
<p>Gimsøy (46.4 km&sup2; 68&deg;18&prime;N latitude, 14&deg;11&prime;E longitude)</p><br>
<p>Vestvågøy (411.1 km&sup2; 68&deg;10&prime;N latitude, 13&deg;45&prime;E longitude)</p><br>
<p>Flakstadøya (109.8 km&sup2; 68&deg;5&prime;N latitude, 13&deg;20&prime;E longitude)</p><br>
<p>Moskenesøya (185.9 km&sup2; 67&deg;55&prime;N latitude, 13&deg;0&prime;E longitude)</p><br>
<p>Further to the south are the small and isolated islands of Værøy (67&deg;40&prime;N latitude, 12&deg;40&prime;E longitude) and Røst (67&deg;37&prime;N latitude, 12&deg;7&prime;E longitude). The total land area amounts to 1,227 km&sup2, and the population totals 24,500.</p><br>
<p>Many will argue that Hinnøya, the northern part of Austvågøy and several hundred smaller islands, skerries and rocks to the east of Austvågøy are also part of the Lofoten complex. Historically, the territorial definition of Lofoten has changed significantly. Between the mainland and the Lofoten archipelago lies the vast, open Vestfjorden, and to the north is Vesterålen. The principal towns in Lofoten are Leknes in Vestvågøy and Svolvær in Vågan.</p><br>
<p>The Lofoten Islands are characterised by their mountains and peaks, sheltered inlets, stretches of seashore and large virgin areas. The highest mountain in Lofoten is Higravstinden (1,161 m in Austvågøy; the Møysalen National Park just northeast of Lofoten has mountains reaching 1,262 m. The famous Moskstraumen (Malstrøm) system of tidal eddies is located in western Lofoten, and is indeed the root of the term maelstrom.</p><br>
<h3>Geology</h3><br>
<p>Geologically, Lofoten is considered part of the Western Gneiss Region of Norway. The high relief and irregular surfaces of Lofoten has been attributed to etching that took place during the Mesozoic Era. Evidence of this would be the kaolinite found at some locations. To the northwest the Lofoten archipelago is bounded by the NE–SW-trending West Lofoten Border Fault. This is a normal fault whose fault scarp has been eroded forming a strandflat.</p><br>
<p>The sea around Lofoten is known to host significant oil reserves. The reserves amount to 1.3 bn barrels. Oil extraction in the Lofoten area is however prohibited.</p><br>
<h3>Wildlife</h3><br>
<p>The sea is rich with life, and the worlds largest deep water coral reef, called the Røst Reef, is located west of Røst. Approximately 70% of all fish caught in the Norwegian and Barents seas use its islands waters as a breeding ground. Lofoten has a high density of sea eagles and cormorants, and millions of other sea birds, among them the colourful puffin. It has mainland Europe’s largest seabird colony. Otters are common, and there are moose on the largest islands. There are some woodlands with downy birch and rowan. There are no native conifer forests in Lofoten, but some small areas with private spruce plantations. Sorbus hybrida (Rowan whitebeam) and Malus sylvestris occur in Lofoten, but not further north.</p><br>
<p>The animals mistaken as the extinct great auk turned out to be some of the nine king penguins released around Norway’s Lofoten Islands in August 1936, there until at least 1944.</p><br>
<h3>Climate</h3><br>
<p>Lofoten features a subpolar oceanic climate (Cfc) under the Köppen climate classification. Winter temperatures in Lofoten are very mild considering its location north of the Arctic Circle – Lofoten has the largest positive temperature anomaly in the world relative to latitude. This is a result of the Gulf Stream and its extensions: the North Atlantic Current and the Norwegian Current. Røst and Værøy are the most northerly locations in the world where average temperatures are above freezing all year.</p><br>
<p>May and June are the driest months, while October has three times as much precipitation. The warmest recording in Svolvær is 30.4 &deg;C.</p><br>
<p>Strong winds can occur in late autumn and winter. Snow and sleet are not uncommon in winter, the mountains can have substantial amounts of snow, and in some winters, avalanches might come down from steep mountain slopes. Two of the top ten deadliest rainstorms ever recorded passed through Lofoten.</p><br>
<p>In Svolvær, the sun is above the horizon continuously ("midnight sun") from 25 May to 17 July, and in winter the sun does not rise from 4 December to 7 January. In Leknes, the sun is above the horizon from 26 May to 17 July, and in winter the sun does not rise from 9 December to 4 January.</p><br>
<p>The temperature in the sea has been recorded since 1935. At 1 m depth in the sea near Skrova, water temperatures varies from a low of 3 &deg;C in March to 14 &deg;C in August. Some years peaking above 17 &deg;C. November is around 7 -. At a depth of 200 m, the temperature is near 8 &deg;C all year.</p><br>
<h2>Sports</h2><br>
<h3>Mountaineering and rock climbing</h3><br>
<p>Lofoten offers many rock climbing and mountaineering opportunities. It has 24 hours of daylight in the summer and has Alpine-style ridges, summits and glaciers, but at a height of less than 1,200 m. The main centre for rock climbing is Henningsvær on Austvågøya.</p><br>
<p>The main areas for mountaineering and climbing are on Austvågøy and Moskenesøya. Moskenesøya features remote and serious mountaineering whereas Austvågøy is very popular area for rock climbing. For more information, see the walking guide by Dyer and the rock climbing guidebook by Craggs and Enevold (see references).</p><br>
<h3>Surfing</h3><br>
<p>Unstad is one of its better known locations for surfing.</p><br>
<h3>Cycling</h3><br>
<p>There is a well marked cycling route that goes from Å in the south and continues past Fiskebøl in the north. The route is part public road, part cycle-path with the option to bypass all of the tunnels by either cycle-path (tunnels through mountains) or boat. Traffic is generally light, although in July there may be a lot of campervans. Some of the more remote sections are on gravel roads. There is a dedicated cycling ferry which sails between Ballstad and Nusfjord, allowing cyclists to avoid the long, steep Nappstraum tunnel. The route hugs the coastline for most of its length where it is generally flat. As it turns inland through the mountain passes there are a couple of 300 - climbs.</p><br>
<p>The Lofoten Insomnia Cycling Race takes place every year around midsummer, possible in the midnight sun, but surely in 24-hr daylight, along the whole Lofoten archipelago.</p><br>
<h2>Transportation</h2><br>
<p>The European road E10 connects the larger islands of Lofoten with bridges and undersea tunnels. The E10 road also connects Lofoten to the mainland of Norway through the Lofast road connection, which was officially opened on December 1, 2007. There are several daily bus services between the islands of Lofoten and between Lofoten and the mainland along E10.</p><br>
<p>Lofoten is also served by a number of small airports:</p><br>
<p>Leknes Airport (84,215 passengers in 2006)</p><br>
<p>Svolvær Airport, Helle (63,787 passengers in 2006)</p><br>
<p>Røst Airport (7,755 passengers in 2006), which mainly offers flights to Bodø.</p><br>
<p>A heliport at Værøy (7,923 passengers in 2006)</p><br>
<p>Stokmarknes Airport, Skagen is located in Vesterålen.</p><br>
<p>Harstad/Narvik Airport, Evenes has direct flights to Oslo and Trondheim.</p><br>
<p>Bodø is often used as a hub for travel to Lofoten. In addition to air travel there is a ferry connecting Bodø to Moskenes. There is also a ferry connecting Svolvær to Skutvik in Hamarøy, with road connection east to E6. Hurtigruten calls at Stamsund and Svolvær.</p><br>
<h2>In popular culture</h2><br>
<h3>Literature</h3><br>
<p>Edgar Allan Poe&#39;s short story "A Descent into the Maelström" tells the story of a man who survived his ship being drawn into and swallowed by Moskstraumen.</p><br>
<p>Jules Verne&#39;s novel 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1870) concludes with the Nautilus fallen into the Maelström, and Prof. Aronnax, Conseil and Ned Land, who had been attempting to escape when the Nautilus began its fall, washed up on an island in the Lofotens.</p><br>
<p>Johan Bojer&#39;s novel The Last of the Vikings (1922) tells the story of the Lofoten cod fishermen.</p><br>
<p>In Nikos Kavvadiass poem "The pilot Nagel", pilot Nagels birthplace was the Lofoten islands.</p><br>
<p>In Angela Green&#39;s novel The Colour of Water, much of the action takes place in Å i Lofoten and climaxes at the Maelstrom.</p><br>
<p>In Ole Edvart Rølvaag&#39;s novel Giants in the Earth, the Norwegian protagonists settling in Dakota Territory are immigrants from Lofoten.</p><br>
<p>In Thomas Campbell&#39;s poem Ode to Winter</p><br>
<h3>Films</h3><br>
<p>In the film Maelström, Lofoten is where the ashes of Annstein Karson are distributed.</p><br>
<h3>Paintings</h3><br>
<p>The islands of the Lofoten archipelago are known for their natural environment. The area has rugged landscape and unique lighting. Consequently, the islands have long served as an inspiration for artists. Norwegian painter, Gunnar Berg was known for his paintings of his native Lofoten. He principally painted scenes of the everyday life of the local fishermen. Other artists whose work has been associated with Lofoten include Adelsteen Normann, Otto Sinding, Christian Krohg, Theodor Kittelsen, and Lev Lagorio.</p><br>
<h3>Music</h3><br>
<p>In 2004, Nurse with Wound broadcast 24 unexpected radio transmissions from the Lofoten Islands, whose sounds were sourced from the environment and objects found in Lofoten. These recordings are included on their three releases entitled Shipwreck Radio.</p><br>
<h3>Video games</h3><br>
<p>In the 2015 video game, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, a village is named Lofoten within the Norse/Celtic inspired archipelago, Skellige.</p><br>
<h3>Photographs</h3><br>
<h3>Lofoten in art</h3><br>
<p>Clifton Hill House is a grade I listed Palladian villa in the Clifton area of Bristol, England which is now used as a hall of residence by the University of Bristol. The Warden is Dr. Thomas Richardson, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at the University.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The house was built between 1746 and 1750 for the wealthy merchant and philanthropist Paul Fisher, by Isaac Ware, a nationally renowned architect and translator of Palladio&#39;s works. Thomas Paty, later a notable Bristol architect, worked as a mason during its construction. The house stands on a steep slope, so that while only three stories face the street, the five-bay garden front is four stories tall with low wings (both raised from one story to two during the nineteenth century) and a double flight of steps down to the garden. Original rococo plasterwork, by Joseph Thomas, survives in a number of interior rooms.</p><br>
<p>The house was later home to the nineteenth century man-of-letters, John Addington Symonds, whose father had bought the house in 1851. The university bought the house from the Symonds family in 1909 to create the first hall of residence for women in south-west England.</p><br>
<p>In 1911, the university bought the adjacent Callandar House, which dates from the late 18th century and is itself grade II listed. It was extended in 1920s thanks to the Wills family (regular benefactors to the university) and, along with Old Clifton, continued to house only female residents. Additional land was acquired and in the early 1960s Fry Wing was constructed on 5 floors ("A" to "E" floors) with South Wing following some 10 years later with its 4 floors ("D" to "G" floors). Clifton Hill House now houses approximately 230 students in total, of both sexes.</p><br>
<p>The Hall has been used by the BBC as a film location for The House of Eliott and for episodes of Casualty.</p><br>
<p>The Whippany River is a tributary of the Rockaway River, approximately 20 mi  long, in northern New Jersey in the United States.</p><br>
<p>It rises in Morris County, in Mendham Township west of Morristown, and flows generally ENE in a meandering course, through Morristown and the</p><br>
<p>Whippany area of Hanover Township. It flows through the Troy Meadows and joins the Rockaway in the Hatfield Swamp in eastern Morris County, just above the confluence of the Rockaway with the Passaic River.</p><br>
<p>The river drainage area is 69 square miles.</p><br>
<p>There are three USGS water gages on the river. The gage in Parsippany just before the Whippany River empties into the Rockaway River has an average flow of 178 cuft per second.</p><br>
<p>The river derives its name from the Whippanong Native Americans, a tribe that once inhabited the area. Whippanong meant "place of the willows", named for the trees growing along the banks of the river.</p><br>
<p>The Pequannock River is a tributary of the Pompton River, approximately 20 miles  long, located in northern New Jersey in the United States.</p><br>
<p>It rises in eastern Sussex County, near Highland Lakes on the north side of Hamburg Mountain. It flows southeast to Stockholm, then ESE, in a gap north of Green Pond Mountain and other ridges, past Butler and Bloomingdale. It joins the Ramapo River near the Pompton Plains area of Pequannock Township to form the Pompton.</p><br>
<p>In its upper course, it forms part of the county line between Passaic and Morris counties.</p><br>
<p>It is impounded near its source to form the Oak Ridge Reservoir. The river is relatively unspoiled compared to other rivers in the region. It is a popular spot for recreation trout fishing in its upper reaches. Fishing, hunting, and other recreational uses of the river and watershed are controlled by the City of Newark&#39;s http://www.newarkwatershed.com Division of Watershed Development, which requires permits for all such uses.</p><br>
<p>The Pequannock watershed is the source of most of Newark&#39;s water supply. The lands and water were purchased under the mayoralty of Joseph E. Haynes.</p><br>
<h2>Tributaries</h2><br>
<p>* Apshawa</p><br>
<p>* Wanaque River</p><br>
<p>Saser Kangri  is a mountain in India. It is the highest peak in the Saser Muztagh, the easternmost subrange of the Karakoram range. Sasir Kangri is located within Jammu and Kashmir, the northernmost state of India.</p><br>
<h2>Saser Kangri massif</h2><br>
<p>The Saser Kangri massif consists of six named peaks:</p><br>
<p>This massif lies toward the northwestern end of the Saser Muztagh, at the head of the North Shukpa Kunchang Glacier, a major glacier which drains the eastern slopes of the group. The Sakang and Pukpoche Glaciers head on the western side of the group, and drain into the Nubra River.</p><br>
<h2>Climbing history</h2><br>
<p>Early exploration and climbing attempts of Saser Kangri occurred on the western side, from the Nubra Valley; this is lower, more populated, and hence more easily accessible than the eastern side, which faces the Tibetan Plateau. Early European exploration included a visit in 1909 by famed explorer T. G. Longstaff, along with Arthur Neve and A. M. Slingsby. However, visits and failed climbing attempts by multiple groups on the western side over the period 1922-1970 showed that the western side was surprisingly difficult.</p><br>
<p>In 1973, an expedition of members of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police finally succeeded in making the first ascent of the peak, by a very different route. They approached the peak from the southeast, via the upper Shyok Valley and the North Shukpa Kunchang Glacier, a long and difficult journey. Only in 1987 did climbers succeed in ascending this peak from the western side: an Indian-British team successfully climbed the peak in conjunction with the first ascent of Saser Kangri IV.</p><br>
<p>Saser Kangri II West was first climbed in 1984 by an Indo-Japanese team, who at the time, had believed the peak to be higher than Saser Kangri II East and only subsequently was it determined to be the lower of the two. Saser Kangri II East was first climbed by Mark Richey, Steve Swenson and Freddie Wilkinson on August 24, 2011. Until then it was the world&#39;s second highest unclimbed mountain after Gangkhar Puensum.</p><br>
<p>Saser Kangri III was first climbed by an Indo-Tibetan Border Police expedition in 1986 using an eastern approach. The summit party consisted of the climbers: Budhiman, Neema Dorjee, Sher Singh, Tajwer Singh, Phurba Sherpa and Chhewang Somanla.</p><br>
<p>The Cahora Bassa lake—in the Portuguese colonial era  known as Cabora Bassa, from</p><br>
<p>Nyungwe Kahoura-Bassa, meaning "finish the job"—is Africas fourth-largest artificial lake, situated in the Tete Province in Mozambique. In Africa, only Lake Volta in Ghana, Lake Kariba, on the Zambezi upstream of Cahora Bassa, and Egypts Lake Nasser are bigger in terms of surface water.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<h3>Portuguese period</h3><br>
<p>The Cahora Bassa System started in the late 1960s as a project of the Portuguese in the Overseas Province of Mozambique. Southern African governments were also involved in an agreement stating that Portugal would build and operate a hydroelectric generating station at Cahora Bassa together with the high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission system required to bring electricity to the border of South Africa. South Africa, on the other hand, undertook to build and operate the Apollo converter station and part of the transmission system required to bring the electricity from the South African/Mozambican border to the Apollo converter station near Pretoria. South Africa was then obliged to buy electricity that Portugal was obliged to supply.</p><br>
<p>During the struggle for independence, construction materials for the dam were repeatedly attacked in a strategic move by Frelimo guerrillas, as its completion would cause the lake to widen so much it would take very long to cross to the other side with their canoes. The dam began to fill in December 1974, after the independence agreement had been signed.</p><br>
<p>Until 2007 the dam was operated by Hidroeléctrica de Cahora Bassa and jointly owned by Mozambique, with an 18% equity stake, and Portugal, which held the remaining 82% equity. On November 27, 2007 Mozambique assumed control of the dam from Portugal., when Portugal sold to Mozambique most of its 82 percent stake. Finance Minister Fernando Teixeira dos Santos said Portugal would collect US$950 million (€750 million) from the sale of its part of southern Africas largest hydropower project. Portugal kept a 15 percent stake, though it planned to sell off another 10 percent at a later stage to an investor that would be proposed by the Mozambican government. Portugals Prime Minister José Sócrates signed the agreement with the Mozambican government, during an official visit to Maputo. The agreement ended decades of dispute between Portugal and its former territory over the company, called Hidroelectrica Cahora Bassa. The central disagreement was over the handling of the company&#39;s estimated US$2.2 billion (€1.7 billion) debts to Portugal. Mozambican authorities argued they had not guaranteed the debt and therefore should not be liable for the payments.</p><br>
<h3>Independent Mozambique</h3><br>
<p>Mozambique became independent from Portugal in 1975. Since closure, the Zambezi, which is the fourth largest floodplain river in Africa, has received a far more regulated flow rate, but disastrous natural floods still occur. The 1978 flood caused 45 deaths, 100,000 people to be displaced and $62 million worth of damage.</p><br>
<p>According to engineering consultants, "This was the first flood since completion of Cahora Bassa, and destroyed the widely held belief that the dam would finally bring flooding under full control". For further details of ecological problems caused by the dam, see the article on the Zambezi River.</p><br>
<p>During the Mozambican Civil War (1977–1992) the transmission lines were sabotaged to the extent that 1,895 towers needed to be replaced and 2,311 refurbished over a distance of 893 km on the Mozambican side of the line.</p><br>
<p>In the 1990s, after the end of the civil war, Hidroelectrica De Cahora Bassa (HCB) appointed South Africa&#39;s Trans-Africa Projects (TAP) to perform the construction management, quality assurance and design support service for the rehabilitation of the project. TAP assisted HCB in awarding the construction contract to a joint venture company comprising Consorzio Italia 2000 and Enel, and a scheduled period of 24 months was set for the project. The lines in South Africa were damaged to a minor extent and only normal maintenance was required by Eskom to get these lines back in operation.</p><br>
<p>Work on the project started in August 1995. The line route in Mozambique passes through dense bush and difficult terrain from Songo to the South African border near Pafuri, with both servitudes infested with landmines from the Mozambican Civil War (1977–1992) that needed to be cleared before construction work could commence. Heavy, unseasonable rainfalls later affected the programme to such an extent that the first line could only be completed in August 1997 and the second in November that same year. During the refurbishment period, TAP developed and implemented various designs and construction methods to improve the overall programme schedules and project costs. In spite of the extreme conditions within which they had to refurbish and reconstruct these lines, the work was completed within schedule and with a limited budget. The lines have, since completion, been subject to numerous tests and energised to its full potential. About 1,100 people were employed during the peak periods of construction.</p><br>
<p>The rainfalls and severe flooding during February 2000 in the Limpopo River valley again caused considerable damage to both lines to the extent that about 10 towers collapsed and need to be reconstructed within the shortest possible timeframe to restore the power supply to South Africa. TAP was again entrusted by HCB with the engineering, procurement and construction management services. TAP managed to temporarily restore power supply through the one line while a more permanent solution could be carried out on the other line. The reconstructed line is used to carry the full line capacity. TAP had to implement unconventional construction techniques to recover temporary supply. The suspension towers next to the river crossing posed a significant challenge for a temporary power solution to obtain the required clearances of the 711 metre level terrain span.</p><br>
<p>On April 27, 2009 four foreign nationals were arrested for putting a "highly corrosive" substance into the lake in an alleged attempt to sabotage the power station. The arrested claimed to be a team from Orgonise Africa, placing Orgonite pieces in the lake to improve the quality of etheric energy (life force) of the dam.</p><br>
<h2>Related economic activities</h2><br>
<p>Most of the electricity generated by Cahora Bassa, which is located on the Zambezi River in western Mozambique, is sold to nearby South Africa. In 2006, Cahora Bassa transmitted about 1,920 megawatts of power, but the infrastructure is capable of higher production levels and the company had plans to almost double its output by 2008. In 1994 the total installed capacity in Mozambique was 2,400 MW of which 91% was hydroelectric.</p><br>
<p>A considerable kapenta fishery has developed in the reservoir. The kapenta is assumed to originate from Lake Kariba where it was introduced from Lake Tanganyika. Annual catch of kapenta in the Cahora Bassa dam in 2003 exceeded 10,000 tonnes.</p><br>
<p>It is widely believed that there is a breeding colony of Zambezi Shark "trapped" inside the dam.</p><br>
<p>As the Bull Shark is known to travel more than 100 km upstream, this phenomenon does not conflict with</p><br>
<p>existing scientific and biological fact. In particular an ocean-dwelling species, bull sharks are perfectly capable of living in fresh water for their entire lifespan. Local tribes have indeed</p><br>
<p>reported sightings (and attacks) by this isolated community of shark, although these have yet to be</p><br>
<p>substantiated with hard evidence.</p><br>
<p>The Elbe Sandstone Mountains, also called the Elbe sandstone highlands  is a mountain range straddling the border between the state of Saxony in southeastern Germany and the North Bohemian region of the Czech Republic, with about three-quarters of the area lying on the German side. The mountains are also referred to as Saxon Switzerland and Bohemian Switzerland in both German and Czech  or simply combined as Saxon-Bohemian Switzerland. In both countries, the mountain range has been declared a national park. The name derives from the sandstone which was carved by erosion. The river Elbe breaks through the mountain range in a steep and narrow valley.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<h3>Extent</h3><br>
<p>The Elbe Sandstone Mountains extend on both sides of the Elbe from the Saxon town of Pirna in the northwest toward Bohemian Děčín in the southeast. Their highest peak with 723 m is the Děčínský Sněžník in Bohemian Switzerland on the left bank of the river in Bohemian Switzerland north of Děčín. The mountain range links the Ore Mountains in the west with the Lusatian Highlands range of the Sudetes in the east. Saxon Switzerland and the Zittau Mountains of the Lusatian Mountains form the Saxon-Bohemian Chalk Sandstone Region.</p><br>
<h3>Terrain</h3><br>
<p>The most striking characteristic of this deeply dissected rocky mountain range is the extraordinary variety of terrain within the smallest area. Unique amongst the Central European Uplands are the constant changes between plains, ravines, table mountains and rocky regions with undeveloped areas of forest. This diversity is ecologically significant. The variety of different locations, each with its own conditions in terms of soil and microclimate, has produced an enormous richness of species. The numbers of ferns and mosses alone is unmatched by any other of the German central uplands.</p><br>
<p>The occurrence of Elbe sandstones and hence the Elbe Sandstone Mountains themselves is related to widespread deposition by a former sea in the Upper Cretaceous epoch. On the Saxon side of the border the term "Elbe Valley Cretaceous" (Elbtalkreide) is used, referring to a region stretching from Meißen-Oberau in the northwest through Dresden and Pirna into Saxon Switzerland, and which is formed by sandstones, planers and other rocks as well as basal conglomerates (Grundschottern or Basalkonglomerate) of older origin. Several erosion relics from Reinhardtsgrimma through Dippoldiswalde and the Tharandt Forest to Siebenlehn form isolated examples south of Dresden. They are mainly characterised by sandstones.</p><br>
<p>On the Bohemian side the sandstone beds continue and form part of the North Bohemian Cretaceous (Nordböhmische Kreide). The chalk sediments of the Zittau Basin are counted as part of the latter due to their regional-geological relationships. The sedimentary sequences of the Cretaceous sea continue across a wide area of the Czech Republic to Moravia. Together these beds form the Saxon-Bohemian Cretaceous Zone. In Czech geological circles, the Elbe Valley Cretaceous is described as the foothills of the Bohemian Cretaceous Basin (Böhmischen Kreidebecken).</p><br>
<h3>Geology</h3><br>
<p>The eroded sandstone landscape of this region was formed from depositions that accumulated on the bottom of the sea millions of years ago. Large rivers carried sand and other eroded debris into the Cretaceous sea. Rough quartz sand, clay and fine marl sank and became lithified layer by layer. A compact sandstone sequence developed, about 20 x 30 kilometres wide and up to 600 metres thick dating to the lower Cenomanian to Santonian stages. The tremendous variety of shapes in the sandstone landscape is a result of the subsequent chemical and physical erosion and biological processes acting on the rocks formed from those sands laid down during the Cretaceous Period.</p><br>
<p>The inlets of a Cretaceous sea, together with marine currents, carried away sand over a very long period of time into a shallow zone of the sea and then the diagenetic processes at differing pressure regimes resulted in the formation of sandstone beds. Its stratification is characterized by variations in the horizontal structure (deposits of clay minerals, grain sizes of quartz, differences in the grain-cement) as well as a typical but fairly small fossil presence and variably porous strata.</p><br>
<p>After the Cretaceous sea had retreated (marine regression), the surface of the land was shaped by weathering influences and watercourses, of which the Elbe made the deepest incision. Later the Lusatian granodiorite was uplifted over the 600 metre thick sandstone slab along the Lusatian Fault and pushed it downwards until it fractured. This northern boundary of the sandstone deposit lies roughly along the line Pillnitz–Hohnstein–Hinterhermsdorf–Krásná Lípa (Schönlinde).</p><br>
<p>In the Tertiary period, the adjacent region of the Central Bohemian Uplands and the Lusatian Mountains was shaped and affected by intense volcanism; but individual intrusions of magma also forced their way through the sandstone platform of the Elbe Sandstone Mountains. The most striking evidence of this phase in the earth&#39;s history are the conical basaltic hills of Růžovský vrch (Rosenberg), Cottaer Spitzberg and Raumberg, but also Großer and Kleiner Winterberg.</p><br>
<p>At its southwestern edge the sandstone plate was uplifted by over 200 metres at the Karsdorf Fault, whereby the slab was tilted even more and increased the gradient of the Elbe River. The water masses cut valleys into the rock with their streambeds and contributed in places to the formation of the rock faces. Over time the gradients reduced, the streambed of the Elbe widened out and changed its course time and again, partly as a result of the climatic influences of the ice ages.</p><br>
<p>The mineral composition of the sandstone beds has a direct effect on the morphology of the terrain. The fine-grained form with clayey-silty cement between the quartz grains causes banks and slopes with terracing. The beds of sandstone with siliceous cement are typically the basis of the formation of rock faces and crags. Small variations in the cement composition of the rock can have a visible impact on the landscape.</p><br>
<p>Elbe Sandstone gets its characteristic cuboid appearance from</p><br>
<p>its thick horizontal strata (massive bedding) and its vertical fissures. In 1839 Bernhard Cotta wrote about this in his comments on the geognostic map: "Vertical fissures and cracks cut through, often virtually at right angles, the horizontal layers and, as a result, parallelepiped bodies are formed, that have given rise to the description Quader Sandstone.". Quader is German for an ashlar or block of stone, hence the name "Square Sandstone" is also used in English.</p><br>
<p>The term quader sandstone mountains or square sandstone mountains (Quadersandsteingebirge), introduced by Hanns Bruno Geinitz in 1849, is an historic, geological term for similar sandstone deposits, but was also used in connection with the Elbe Sandstone Mountains.</p><br>
<p>The fissures were formed as a result of long-term tectonic stresses on the entire sandstone platform of the mountain range. This network of clefts runs through the sandstone beds in a relatively regular way, but in different directions in two regions of the range. Subsequent weathering processes of very different forms and simultaneous complex deposition (leaching, frost and salt wedging, wind, solution weathering with sintering as well as biogenic and microbial effects) have further changed the nature of the rock surface. For example, collapse caves, small hole-like cavities (honeycomb weathering) with hourglass-shaped pillars (Sanduhr), chimneys, crevices and mighty, rugged rock faces.</p><br>
<p>Many morphological formations in the rocky landscape of the Elbe Sandstone Mountains are suspected to have been formed as a consequence of karstification. Important indicators of such processes in the polygenetic and polymorphic erosion landscape of the Elbe Sandstone Mountains are the furrows with parallel ridges between them (grykes and clints) that look like cart ruts and which are particularly common, as well as extensive cave systems. They are occasionally described by the term pseudokarst. The application of the concept to several erosion formations in the sandstone of this mountain range is however contentious. Czech geologists have identified in quartzite-cemented sandstone areas in the northern part of the Bohemian Cretaceous Basin, karst features in the shape of spherical caverns and cave formations. According to them, these emerged as a result of solution processes by water in complex interactions with iron compounds from neighbouring or intrusive magmatic-volcanic rocks. The variation in relief in these sandstone regions is explained on the basis of these processes. The Elbe Sandstone Mountains are the greatest cretaceous sandstone erosion complex in Europe.</p><br>
<p>Human-induced changes caused by nearly 1,000 years of continual sandstone quarrying have also contributed in parts of the sandstone highlands to the appearance of the landscape today. The fissures (called Loose by the quarrymen) played an important role here, because they provided in effect natural divisions in the rock that were helpful when demolishing a rock face or when dressing the rough blocks of stone.</p><br>
<p>The sandstone of this region is a sought-after building material used for example, for imposing city edifices such as the Church of Our Lady in Dresden.</p><br>
<h2>Conservation</h2><br>
<p>Large parts of the Elbe Sandstone Mountains are under statutory protection. In Germany there is the national park region of Saxon Switzerland, which consists two elements: the Saxon Switzerland National Park itself, founded in 1990 and covered an area of 93 km²; and the protected area surrounding it that was founded in 1956 and covers 287 km². The German part of the range was also designated in May 2006 as one of the 77 most important national geotopes in Germany by the Academy of Geosciences in Hanover.</p><br>
<p>In the Bohemian part of the range there has been a nature reserve in the northeastern region since 1972 called the Elbe Sandstone Protected Area (Chráněná krajinná oblast Labské pískovce) with an area of 324 km². In 2000, the Bohemian Switzerland National Park (Národní park České Švýcarsko) was established with an area of 79 km², bringing around 700 km² of the range under protection as a natural and cultural landscape.</p><br>
<h2>Tourism</h2><br>
<p>The Elbe Sandstone mountains have been a popular destination for tourists for more than 200 years, and for climbers for more than 100 years. It is also a popular recreation area for the nearby Saxon capital Dresden. Places of interest include the Bastei cliffs near Rathen, the Königstein Fortress, Pravčická brána, the Schrammsteine, Pfaffenstein, and the valleys of the Kirnitzsch and Kamenice rivers.</p><br>
<p>There are some 14,000 climbing routes via which mountain climbers can conquer 1100 free-standing peaks. Visitors can experience the natural scenes on the asphalt Elbe cycle path, or on board a steam paddleboat that is part of the oldest fleet of its kind in the world.</p><br>
<p>The Elbe Sandstone Mountains have numerous facilities for cure and rehabilitation. The region has a tradition of many years. The discovery of ferrous and sulphurous sources in Bad Schandau in 1730 led to its development as a health resort and the building of swimming baths.</p><br>
<p>The Stonewall Inn, often shortened to Stonewall, is a gay bar and recreational tavern in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City, and the site of the Stonewall riots of 1969, which is widely considered to be the single most important event leading to the gay liberation movement and the modern fight for gay and lesbian rights in the United States.</p><br>
<p>The original Inn, which closed in 1969, was located at 51–53 Christopher Street, between West 4th Street and Waverly Place. The Stonewall reopened in 1972 under the same management at 211 22nd Street in Miami Beach but burned down 2 years later. In 1990 a bar called "Stonewall" opened in the western half of the original Manhattan location (53 Christopher Street). This was renovated and returned to its original name, "The Stonewall Inn", in 2007. The buildings are both part of the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission&#39;s Greenwich Village Historic District, designated in 1969, and the Inn was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2000.</p><br>
<p>On June 23, 2015, the Stonewall Inn was the first landmark in New York City to be recognized by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission on the basis of its status in LGBT history, and on June 24, 2016, the Stonewall National Monument was named the first USA National Monument dedicated to the LGBTQ-rights movement.</p><br>
<h2>Establishment and occupation</h2><br>
<p>Originally constructed between 1843 and 1846 as stables, the property functioned as a tearoom during the Prohibition-era, named Bonnies Stone Wall after the owner, a woman named Bonnie. It was later converted into a restaurant called Bonnies Stonewall Inn. The name was later changed to Stonewall Inn Restaurant. It remained a restaurant until the interior was gutted by a fire in the mid-1960s.</p><br>
<p>On March 18, 1967, the Stonewall opened in the space. It was, during its time, the largest gay establishment in the USA and was very favorable with the lesbian and gay population because of its intimate dance policy, although, as with most gay clubs at the time, police raids were common. In late 1969, a few months after the rebellion that started on June 28 of that year, the Stonewall Inn closed.</p><br>
<h2>Stonewall Riots</h2><br>
<p>In 1966, three members of the Mafia invested in the Stonewall Inn, turning it into a gay bar, after it had been a restaurant and a nightclub for heterosexuals. Once a week a police officer would collect envelopes of cash as a payoff; the Stonewall Inn had no liquor license. It had no running water behind the bar; used glasses were run through tubs of water and immediately reused. There were no fire exits, and the toilets overran consistently. Though the bar was not used for prostitution, drug sales and other "cash transactions" took place. It was the only bar for gay men in New York City where dancing was allowed; dancing was its main draw since its re-opening as a gay club. Police raids on gay bars were very common, often happening once a month for each bar. Many bars kept extra liquor in a secret panel behind the bar, or in a car down the block, to facilitate resuming business as quickly as possible if alcohol was seized. Bar management usually knew about raids beforehand due to police tip-offs, and raids occurred early enough in the evening that business could continue after the police had finished.</p><br>
<h3>Riots</h3><br>
<p>The Stonewall riots were a series of violent demonstrations by members of the gay community against a police raid that took place in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969 at the Stonewall Inn in the Greenwich neighborhood of New York City. Around 1:20 a.m. on June 28, 1969, Seymour Pine of the New York City Vice Squad Public Morals Division and four other officers joined forces with two male and two female undercover police officers who were already stationed inside the bar, the lights on the dance floor flashed, signaling their arrival. However, the raid did not go as planned. Because the patrol wagons responsible for transporting the arrested patrons and the alcohol from the bar took longer than expected, a crowd of released patrons and by-standers began to grow outside of the Inn. This number would swell to much larger numbers as the night would go on. Writer David Carter notes that the police officers eventually became so afraid of the crowd that they refused to leave the bar for forty-five minutes.</p><br>
<p>The last straw came when a scuffle broke out when a woman in handcuffs was escorted from the door of the bar to the waiting police wagon several times. She escaped repeatedly and fought with four of the police, swearing and shouting, for about ten minutes. Bystanders recalled that the woman, likely identified as Stormé DeLarverie, sparked the crowd to fight when she looked at bystanders and shouted, "Why don&#39;t you guys do something?" After an officer picked her up and heaved her into the back of the wagon, the crowd became a mob and went "berserk": "It was at that moment that the scene became explosively violent."</p><br>
<p>The police tried to restrain some of the crowd, and knocked a few people down, which incited bystanders even more. The riots would go on to escalate to the point where the Tactical Police Force (TPF) of the New York City Police Department arrived to free the trapped police officers inside the Stonewall. The TPF formed a phalanx and attempted to clear the streets, and by 4:00 in the morning they were able to do so.</p><br>
<h3>Aftermath</h3><br>
<p>After the initial riots were cleared, the feeling of urgency and aggression began to spread throughout all of Greenwich Village. The riots would continue for a few days afterwards. However, the riots turned into altercations between the police and the Village people, different from the open violence shown the morning of the beginning of the riots. Interestingly enough, even people who had not seen the riots at the Inn began to become a part of the aftermath. Many were emotionally moved by the events and began to attend meetings in an effort to take action. Many look to the riots at Stonewall as being the birthplace of the modern gay rights movement.</p><br>
<h3>Legacy</h3><br>
<p>The riots spawned from a bar raid became a literal example of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and trans people fighting back, and a symbolic call to arms for many people. Within two years of the Stonewall riots there were gay rights groups in every major American city, as well as Canada, Australia, and Western Europe. The Stonewall riots marked such a significant turning point that many aspects of prior gay and lesbian culture, such as bar culture formed from decades of shame and secrecy, were forcefully ignored and denied.</p><br>
<p>The events that took place at the Stonewall Inn led to the first gay pride parades in the United States and in many other countries. On June 28, 1970, a march was led from Greenwich Village to the Sheep Meadow in Central Park.</p><br>
<p>Each year during the Pride March crowds gather outside the Stonewall Inn to celebrate its rich history.</p><br>
<h2>After the riots</h2><br>
<p>Over the next twenty years, the space was occupied by various other establishments, including a bagel sandwich shop, a Chinese restaurant, and a shoe store. Many visitors and new residents in the neighborhood were unaware of the building&#39;s history or its connection to the Stonewall riots. In the early 1990s, a new gay bar, named simply "Stonewall", opened in the west half of the original Stonewall Inn. Around this time, the block of Christopher Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues was co-named "Stonewall Place."</p><br>
<p>In June 1999, through the efforts of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation and the Organization of Lesbian and Gay Architects and Designers, the area including Stonewall was listed on the National Register of Historic Places for its historic significance to gay and lesbian history. The area delineated included the Stonewall Inn, Christopher Park, and portions of surrounding streets and sidewalks. The area was declared a National Historic Landmark in February 2000.</p><br>
<p>The building was renovated in the late 1990s and became a popular multi-floor nightclub, with theme nights and contests. The club gained popularity for several years, gaining a young urban gay clientele until it closed again in 2006, due to neglect, gross mismanagement, and noise complaints from the neighbors at 45 Christopher Street.</p><br>
<p>In January 2007, it was announced that the Stonewall Inn was undergoing major renovation under the supervision of local businessmen Bill Morgan and Kurt Kelly, as well as the only female lesbian investor, Stacy Lentz, who ultimately reopened the Stonewall Inn in March 2007. Subsequently, regaining popularity and continuing to pay homage to its historic significance, the Stonewall Inn hosts a variety of local music artists, drag shows, trivia nights, cabaret, karaoke and private parties. Since the landmark passage of New York State&#39;s Marriage Equality Act the inn now offers gay wedding receptions as well. Kelly, Morgan, and Lentz have also been dedicated to incorporating various fundraising events for a host of LGBT non-profit organizations.</p><br>
<p>In June 2014, the Stonewall 45 exhibit, sponsored by the Arcus Foundation and the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, memorialized the 45th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising with posters in the windows of Christopher Street businesses, including the Stonewall Inn. On May 29, 2015, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission announced it would officially consider designating Stonewall as a landmark, the first city location to be considered based on its LGBT cultural significance alone – and on June 23, 2015, it did so. The Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation kept up advocacy efforts for this over the tenures of two New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission chairs. Stonewall thus became the first LGBT-history site in the country listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places, and the first LGBT-history site in New York City.</p><br>
<p>In June 2016, USA President Barack Obama established a 7.7-acre (3.11 ha) area around the site as the Stonewall National Monument, America&#39;s first LGBT national park site.</p><br>
<h2>In popular culture</h2><br>
<p>The movie Stonewall, released in 1995, is loosely based on the incidents leading up to the Stonewall riots.</p><br>
<p>Brazilian singer Renato Russo recorded his first solo album, The Stonewall Celebration Concert, in 1994, celebrating the 25th anniversary of the riots. The booklet accompanying the album contained information about 29 social organizations, several of which related to gay rights; part of the royalties was donated to such organizations.</p><br>
<p>The 2012 play Hit the Wall, by Ike Holter, is a dramatic retelling of the Stonewall riots.</p><br>
<p>The 2015 movie Stonewall, directed by Independence Days Roland Emmerich, is a coming-of-age drama focused on a fictional, young gay male protagonist. It takes place during the time shortly before and during the famed 1969 Stonewall riots. It stars Jeremy Irvine, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Ron Perlman, and Caleb Landry Jones.</p><br>
<p>The upcoming short film Happy Birthday, Marsha! is a fictional account of the lives of Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera in the hours leading up to the Stonewall uprising, featuring Mya Taylor as Johnson.</p><br>
<p>Dalmeny House is a Gothic revival mansion located in an estate close to Dalmeny on the Firth of Forth, to the north-west of Edinburgh, Scotland. It was designed by William Wilkins, and completed in 1817. Dalmeny House is the home of the Earl and Countess of Rosebery. The house was the first in Scotland to be built in the Tudor Revival style. while the grounds are included in the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>In the 13th century, the estate was the property of the Mowbray family, who built Barnbougle Castle. The estate was acquired in 1662 by Sir Archibald Primrose, whose son was created Earl of Rosebery in 1703. In 1774 Neil Primrose, 3rd Earl of Rosebery, commissioned Robert Adam to design a new house at Barnbougle, and in 1788 Robert Burn also provided designs. However, the Earl concentrated on the estate, carrying out woodland planting and constructing a walled garden. The son of the 3rd Earl, Archibald Primrose, commissioned further plans in the early 19th century: from William Atkinson (1805) and William Burn (1808). Again nothing was done until Archibald succeeded as 4th Earl of Rosebery in 1814. He then turned for a new house to Jeffrey Wyatt, who provided a Tudor Gothic design. Lord Rosebery approved, but wished to employ William Wilkins, with whom he had attended Cambridge. Wilkins was therefore asked for a Tudor Gothic design, which was eventually built in 1817. The design of the house draws on the 16th-century East Barsham Manor in Norfolk. From 1812 the designed landscape around the house was also laid out, to designs by Thomas White Jr.</p><br>
<p>The house was visited in 1927 by the Queen, and her daughter Mary, the Princess Royal.</p><br>
<h2>Interiors</h2><br>
<p>In contrast to the exterior, most of the principal rooms are in the Regency style, with the exception of the hammerbeam roof of the hall. The house contains many paintings and items of furniture from both the Rosebery and Rothschild collections, as a result of the 5th Earls 1878 marriage to Hannah, daughter and heir of Meyer de Rothschild. Much of the French furniture and porcelain came from the familys English mansion, Mentmore, Buckinghamshire, following the latters sale in 1977. Dalmeny also holds one of Britains largest collections of Napoleonic memorabilia.</p><br>
<h2>Estate</h2><br>
<p>The house stands in a large wooded park and enjoys views across the Firth of Forth. A public path runs along the shore, from Queensferry in the west, to Cramond in the east, although a passenger ferry across the River Almond that used to connect the path to the village of Cramond has not operated since 2000. There is still a traditional agricultural estate of tenanted farms.</p><br>
<h2>Public opening</h2><br>
<p>The house is open to the public for guided tours only. Some of the rooms are available to hire for corporate and private events.</p><br>
<p>Mount Scopus  in northeast Jerusalem.</p><br>
<p>In the wake of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, Mount Scopus became a UN-protected Israeli exclave within Jordanian-administered territory until the Six-Day War in 1967. Today, Mount Scopus lies within the municipal boundaries of the city of Jerusalem.</p><br>
<h2>Name</h2><br>
<p>The ridge of mountains east of ancient as well as modern Jerusalem offers the best views of the city, which it dominates. Since the main part of the ridge bears the name Mount of Olives, the name "lookout" was reserved for this peak to the northeast of the ancient city. Its name in many languages (Hebrew, Arabic, Greek and Latin) means "lookout." Scopus is a Latinisation of the Greek word for "watcher", skopos, the same as in "telescope" (tele- meaning far and skopos - watcher). Adding to the multi-layered meaning of the name, it is also said that in times in which Jews were not allowed to enter Jerusalem by the city&#39;s Roman or Christian authorities, they used to come and look at their former capital from this vantage point.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<h3>Antiquity</h3><br>
<p>Overlooking Jerusalem, Mount Scopus has been strategically important as a base from which to attack the city since antiquity. The 12th Roman Legion camped there in AD 66. In AD 70, at the conclusion of the same war that led to the destruction of the Jewish Temple, Mount Scopus was used as a base to carry out the final siege of the city by the same 12th Legion, plus the 15th and 5th Legions, while the 10th Legion was positioned on the continuation of the same ridge, known as the Mount of Olives. The Crusaders used it as a base in 1099.</p><br>
<h3>Modern era</h3><br>
<p>The exact location of the mountain known in the ancient sources as Mount Scopus is not known. It is described as being in the north-eastern part of the ridge that prominently includes the Mount of Olives, which dominates Jerusalem from the east. As the Zionist organisations decided to build a new Jewish institution of higher learning in Jerusalem, which eventually became the Hebrew University, they decided that it was unwise to try and ask for donations for a project designed to be built on the Mount of Olives, a location with mainly Christian connotations. The site chosen for the university did correspond approximately to the description of the ancient Mount Scopus, and so it was decided to name that particular peak Mount Scopus. The name became widely used and few Jerusalemites would nowadays know about this rebranding story of an old name. The ancient Mount Scopus cannot be far though from the modern one.</p><br>
<p>In 1948, as the British began letting go of their security responsibilities, the Jewish enclave on Mount Scopus became increasingly cut off from the main sections of Jewish Jerusalem. Access to hospital and university campus was through a narrow road, a mile and a half long, passing through the Arab neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah. Arab sniper fire on vehicles moving along the access route became a regular occurrence, and road mines were laid. When food and supplies at the hospital begun to dwindle, a large convoy carrying doctors and supplies set out for the besieged hospital, leading to an attack that became known as the Hadassah medical convoy massacre. Seventy-eight Jewish doctors, nurses, students, patients, faculty members and Haganah fighters, and one British soldier were killed in the attack.</p><br>
<p>After the ceasefire agreement of November 30, 1948, which established the division of East and West Jerusalem, Israel controlled the western part of the city while Jordan controlled the east. Several demilitarized "no man&#39;s land" zones were established along the border, one of them Mount Scopus. Fortnightly convoys carrying supplies to the university and hospital located in the Israeli part of the demilitarized zone on Mount Scopus were periodically held up by Jordanian troops.</p><br>
<p>Article VIII of the 1949 Armistice Agreements signed by Israel and Jordan in April 1949 called for a resumption of "the normal functioning of the cultural and humanitarian institutions on Mount Scopus and free access thereto; free access to the Holy Places and cultural institutions and use of the cemetery on the Mount of Olives; resumption of operation of the Latrun pumping station; provision of electricity for the Old City; and resumption of operation of the railroad to Jerusalem." In January 1958, Francis Urrutia, a representative of the UN Secretary-General, tried to persuade Jordan to abide by Article VIII, but without success. In May 1958, Jordanian soldiers fired on Israeli patrols, killing a UN officer and four Israeli policemen. Ralph Bunche, assistant to UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld visited Jerusalem and Amman to find a solution, followed by Hammarskjöld himself, again unsuccessfully.</p><br>
<p>The Mount Scopus Agreement signed on July 7, 1948 regulated the demilitarised zone around Mount Scopus and authorized the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization to settle disputes between the Israelis and Jordanians.</p><br>
<p>Two Jewish-owned plots in al-Issawiya, known as Gan Shlomit or Salomons Garden, were purchased by Mrs. V.F. Salomons in 1934 and sold to the Gan Shlomit Company, Ltd. in 1937. This land was surrounded by a fence, but clashes erupted when Arabs living on the other side of the fence sought to cultivate land, pick olives and carry out repairs on homes close to the fence. The Arabs were requested not to work closer than fifty metres from the fence unless prior permission was granted by the Israeli police. There were two versions of the demilitarization agreement: one was initialed by Franklyn M. Begley, a UN official; the local Jordanian commander; and the Israeli local commander; while the other was not initialed by the Israeli local commander. Having two versions of the map was the cause of many incidents within the Mount Scopus area.</p><br>
<h2>Landmarks</h2><br>
<h3>Hebrew University of Jerusalem</h3><br>
<p>Construction of the Mount Scopus campus of the Hebrew University began in 1918 on land purchased from the Gray Hill estate. The dedication ceremony was held in 1925 in the presence of many dignitaries. This plan was never implemented, but Geddes designed the university Library, today the Hebrew University Faculty of Law on Mount Scopus.</p><br>
<p>By 1947, the university was a solid research and teaching institution with humanities, science, medicine, education and agriculture departments (in Rehovot), a national library, a university press and an adult education center. The university had a student population of over 1,000 and 200 faculty members.</p><br>
<h4>Bezalel Academy of Art and Design</h4><br>
<p>Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design is Israel&#39;s national school of art, founded in 1906 by Boris Schatz. It is named for the Biblical figure Bezalel, son of Uri (Hebrew: בְּצַלְאֵל בֶּן־אוּרִי), who was appointed by Moses to oversee the design and construction of the Tabernacle (Exodus 35:30).</p><br>
<h4>Cave of Nicanor</h4><br>
<p>The Cave of Nicanor is an ancient burial cave located on Mount Scopus in Jerusalem, Israel. Excavations in the cave discovered an ossuary referring to "Nicanor the door maker." He has been identified as Nicanor of Alexandria, who donated one of the gates of Herod&#39;s Temple. The cave is located in the Botanical gardens on the grounds of the National Botanical Garden (see below).</p><br>
<p>There was a plan to use the Cave of Nicanor as a national Pantheon of the Zionist movement, but due to circumstances (the area of Mount Scopus after receipt of Israel&#39;s independence was an enclave, surrounded by the West Bank territorial possessions of Jordan), this project was not implemented. Only two of the Zionist leaders - Leon Pinsker and Menachem Ussishkin - were interred inside one room of the ancient tomb. After 1948, the national cemetery was created on Mount Herzl, closer to the centre of West Jerusalem.</p><br>
<h4>Hadassah Hospital (Mount Scopus)</h4><br>
<p>In 1939, the Hadassah Womens Organization opened a teaching hospital on Mount Scopus in a building designed by architect Erich Mendelsohn. In 1948, when the Jordanians occupied East Jerusalem and blockaded the road to Mount Scopus, the hospital could no longer function. In 1960, after running clinics in various locations, the organization opened a medical center on the other side of the city, in Jerusalems Ein Karem neighborhood.</p><br>
<p>On April 13, 1948, a civilian convoy bringing medical supplies and personnel to Hadassah Hospital on Mount Scopus was attacked by Arab forces. 78 Jews, mainly doctors and nurses, were killed in the ambush.</p><br>
<h4>Hecht Synagogue, Hebrew University</h4><br>
<p>The Hecht Synagogue, a massive building which looks more like a fort than a place of worship and prayer, was erected by the family of Mayer Jacob "Chic" Hecht (1928-2006), a Republican United States Senator from Nevada and USA Ambassador to the Bahamas. It is noted for the unique arrangement of the Torah ark and the panoramic view of the Old City from a huge window.</p><br>
<h4>National Botanical Garden of Israel</h4><br>
<p>The National Botanic Garden of Israel, also called the Land of Israel Botanic Garden, was founded on the grounds of the Hebrew University on Mount Scopus by botanist Alexander Eig in 1931. This garden contains one of the largest collections of Israeli uncultivated plants. This was the first home of Jerusalem&#39;s Biblical Zoo. A cave in the garden has been identified as the Tomb of Nicanor (see above).</p><br>
<h3>Jerusalem British War Cemetery</h3><br>
<p>The British cemetery in Jerusalem (Jerusalem War Cemetery) is a military cemetery for fallen soldiers of the British Empire, later known as the British Commonwealth of Nations, in World War I in Palestine. The cemetery is located on the neck of land on the north end of the Mount of Olives and west of Mount Scopus.</p><br>
<p>2515 were buried in the cemetery fallen soldiers, of 2449 war dead, including 2218 British casualties. A total 100 fallen soldiers are unidentified.</p><br>
<p>A memorial was placed in the cemetery to 3300 service personnel killed in operations in Palestine and Egypt who have no known grave. In all, commemorated in this cemetery are 5815 service personnel of World War I. No casualties buried in the cemetery died after the war.</p><br>
<h3>Kiryat Menachem Begin</h3><br>
<p>Kiryat Menachem Begin, named after former Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and also known as Kiryat HaMemshala, is a complex of government buildings in East Jerusalem located between Sheikh Jarrah in the north, adjacent to Mount Scopus in the east and Ammunition Hill in the west. It serves as home to several government offices, along with the main government complex in Givat Ram. It also includes the National Headquarters of the Israel Police.</p><br>
<h3>Tabachnik Garden</h3><br>
<p>Tabachnik Garden is a National Park located on the southern slopes of Mount Scopus, next to the Hebrew University. The park preserves some Jewish burial caves from the Second Temple period and is also contains two smaller cemeteries, the Bentwich Cemetery and one of the cemeteries of the American Colony. Inside the park there are two lookouts, one facing eastward towards the Dead Sea and the Judean Desert, the other westward towards the Temple Mount.</p><br>
<h4>Jerusalem American Colony Cemetery</h4><br>
<p>The American Colony Cemetery on Mount Scopus is the main cemetery of Jerusalem&#39;s American Colony, located next to the Hebrew University in the Tabachnik Garden. Among those buried there are Anna Spafford and Jacob Spafford (1864-1932), born in Ramallah as Jacob Eliahu into a Turkish Jewish family, adoptive son of Horatio and Anna Spafford and discoverer of the Siloam inscription. Horatio Spafford is buried elsewhere, in the Protestant cemetery on Mount Zion.</p><br>
<h4>Bentwich Cemetery</h4><br>
<p>A small cemetery, dedicated to Herbert Bentwich and his family, is located beside the American Colony Cemetery in Tabachnik Garden.</p><br>
<h3>Ammunition Hill</h3><br>
<p>Ammunition Hill was a fortified Jordanian military post in the north-west side of Mount Scopus in Jerusalem that was in the northern part of Jordanian-occupied East Jerusalem. It was the site of one of the fiercest battles of the Six-Day War.</p><br>
<p>Skiddaw is a mountain in the Lake District National Park in England. Its 931 m summit is the sixth-highest in England. It lies just north of the town of Keswick, Cumbria, and dominates the skyline in this part of the northern lakes. It is the simplest of the Lake District mountains of this height to ascend  and, as such, many walking guides recommend it to the occasional walker wishing to climb a mountain. This is the first summit of the fell running challenge known as the Bob Graham Round when undertaken in a clockwise direction.</p><br>
<p>The mountain lends its name to the surrounding areas of ‘Skiddaw Forest’, and ‘Back o Skidda ’ and to the isolated ‘Skiddaw House’, situated to the east, formerly a shooting lodge and subsequently a youth hostel. It also provides the name for the slate derived from that region: Skiddaw slate. Tuned percussion musical instruments or lithophones exist which are made from the slate, such as the Musical Stones of Skiddaw held at the Keswick Museum and Art Gallery.</p><br>
<h2>Topography</h2><br>
<p>The Northern Fells make up a roughly circular upland area approaching 10 mi in width. At the centre is the marshy depression of Skiddaw Forest, a treeless plateau, or valley, at an altitude of about 400 m; flowing outwards from here are the rivers that divide the area into three sectors. The south-western sector, between the Glenderaterra Beck and Dash Beck, contains Skiddaw and its satellites.</p><br>
<p>Skiddaw itself takes the form of a north–south ridge about half a mile long, with steep slopes to east and west. The ridge continues northwards over Broad End to Bakestall, a fell overlooking the Whitewater Dash waterfall. Further ridges fan out east and west from the southern end of Skiddaw. To the south-east are Skiddaw Little Man, Lonscale Fell and Latrigg, an easily accessible viewpoint for Keswick and Derwentwater. Beyond these fells are the Glenderaterra Beck and the Blencathra group. The south-western ridge curves round through 180 degrees to run north above the shore of Bassenthwaite Lake. This gives Skiddaw an outer wall, comprising Carl Side, Long Side and Ullock Pike, collectively referred to as Longside Edge. The final member of the Skiddaw Group is Dodd, a satellite of Carl Side.</p><br>
<p>Between Skiddaw and Longside Edge are the quiet valleys of Southerndale and Barkbethdale, separated by the spur of Buzzard Knott. These drain the western flanks of the fell to Bassenthwaite Lake. The eastern side of Skiddaw drains into Skiddaw Forest, much of the water reaching Candleseaves Bog. This marsh is the source of both the Dash Beck flowing north west to Bassenthwaite and the River Caldew, beginning its long journey north-eastward to the Solway Firth via Carlisle. Two smooth spurs on this eastern flank of Skiddaw, Sale How and Hare Crag, are listed in separate tops in some guidebooks. Sale How is also a Nuttall.</p><br>
<p>Skiddaw&#39;s slopes are generally rounded and convex, looking from a distance as though a thick velvet blanket has been draped over a supporting frame. On the ridges the general terrain is of loose stones, but elsewhere all is grass and heather. Wainwright noted that "Its lines are smooth, its curves graceful; but because the slopes are steep everywhere, the quick build-up of the “massif” from valley levels to central summit is appreciated at a glance — and it should be an appreciative glance, for such massive strength and such beauty of outline rarely go together."</p><br>
<h2>Geology</h2><br>
<p>The bedrock of Skiddaw, commonly known as Skiddaw Slate, is the Kirkstile Formation. This Ordovician rock is composed of laminated mudstone and siltstone with greywacke sandstone. At the summit this is overlain by scree and to the south are areas where the underlying Loweswater Formation surfaces.</p><br>
<h2>Summit</h2><br>
<p>The summit ridge bears a number of tops, which from north to south are known as North Top, High Man (the summit), Middle Top and South Top. All now bear cairns and a number of stone windshelters have been erected. Skiddaw has a subsidiary summit, Little Man, which lies about 1.5 km south-south-east of the main peak. Despite its limited independence, Wainwright listed it as a separate fell in his influential Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells, a convention which is often followed. Skiddaw Little Man has its own subsidiary summit, known as Lesser Man.</p><br>
<p>The view is as panoramic as might be expected, given Skiddaws topographic prominence. From High Man the north east quadrant is filled by the quiet fells of Back oSkiddaw, with the Border hills, the Cheviots and the North Pennines behind them. To the south east are Blencathra, the Far Eastern Fells and the Helvellyn range; behind these are vistas of the Yorkshire Dales and Forest of Bowland. The Coniston Fells are visible directly to the south. On the other side of South Top is a fine view of the Scafells, Western and North Western Fells, with a portion of Snowdonia visible between Kirk Fell and Pillar. The Isle of Man is visible 60 mi away, as are the Mourne Mountains 120 mi away (on exceptionally clear days). The final quarter is taken up by the coastal plain and the distant Solway Firth, backed by the hills of Galloway such as Merrick, Criffel and Broad Law. Goat Fell on Arran can be seen at an angle of 313 degrees, 105 mi away.</p><br>
<p>Most distant view; Slieve Meelmore in Mourne, 120 mi distant.</p><br>
<p>By moving to South Top a superb view of Borrowdale can be brought into sight.</p><br>
<h2>Ascents</h2><br>
<p>Many routes of ascent have been devised for Skiddaw; indeed, it is hard to devise a challenging approach in good conditions. The most popular tourist route starts from Keswick and first ascends behind Latrigg, before the climb continues over the slopes of Little Man to the summit. About 200m of ascent can be saved by driving to the top of Gale Road and beginning from the public carpark just behind the summit of Latrigg.</p><br>
<p>Another popular route (and the one recommended by Wainwright) is to follow Longside Edge, first ascending Ullock Pike, Longside and Carl Side before making the steep climb up from Carlside Col. Also from the north, a somewhat tougher alternative is to walk up Buzzard Knott between Southerndale and Barkbethdale: after crossing to the southern edge of the shoulder above Randel Crag ascend due east to the summit. Rather easier than either of these is the compass-walk due south from Cock Up (505m); reversing this route provides a safe descent, especially in bad weather. Scramblers may prefer simply to walk up Southerndale and climb Longside via a distinctive crevice seen easily from Skiddaw summit.</p><br>
<p>From the south-west at Millbeck, Carlside Col can be reached directly. A start from nearby Applethwaite can also be used to provide a variation to the tourist route. From the north-west a tough but picturesque ascent can be made to the northern end of Longside Edge before following the ridge route to the summit. Finally, ascents from due east are possible for the walker who first makes for Skiddaw House, a good distance from either Keswick, Threlkeld or Peter House. Once Skiddaw House is reached a fairly direct line is possible, climbing over either Sale How or Hare Crag.</p><br>
<p>From the north-east an unmarked but quite easy and fairly well-worn path starts at Whitewater Dash waterfall (on the Cumbrian Way) where the walker can follow the fence (along Birkett Edge just south of Dead Crags) past the Bakestall outcrop, and follow the fence until just before the unnamed top at 831m. From the 831m top, a path leads directly to Skiddaw Man.</p><br>
<p>The first ascent of Skiddaw probably pre-dates recorded human history, however the first ascent of the mountain to be captured on film or video was made in 1995 by local Cumbrian photographer and film-maker Michael Lakey.</p><br>
<h2>Etymology</h2><br>
<p>According to Eilert Ekwall, Skiddaws name is derived from the Old Norse elements skyti or skut + haugr meaning either "archers hill" or "jutting crag hill". Diana Whaley likewise interprets it as "the mountain with the jutting crag", but also offers the alternative that the first element may be a personal name or Old Norse skítr dung, filth, shit. Richard Coates suggests that "it is possible that a Cumbric solution is to be sought."</p><br>
<h2>Skiddaw House</h2><br>
<p>Below Sale How is Skiddaw House, a stone building which has variously served as a shooting lodge, shepherd&#39;s bothy and Youth Hostel. Its windbreak comprises the only trees in Skiddaw Forest, and it is reached via a long access track up the Dash Valley.</p><br>
<p>Built around 1829 by the Earl of Egremont it was originally a keeper&#39;s lodge; a base for grouse shooting and for the gamekeepers who managed the extensive land owned by Egremont in Skiddaw Forest.</p><br>
<p>Little is known of the house in the nineteenth century but it was used by both gamekeepers and shepherds beyond 1860 and there were rooms for Egremont and the shooting parties. Canon Rawnsley, a founder of the National Trust, visited in about 1900 and mentions in one of his books the hospitality of the shepherd&#39;s family at that time. Sir Hugh Walpole, author of the Lake District novel Rogue Herries, was a visitor in the 1920s and 30s and used the house as the scene, set in 1854, of the murder by Uhland.</p><br>
<p>These arrangements for accommodation continued into the 20th century up until the early 1950s. Several families brought up their children there until they were able to go to school, but the longest tenure was possibly from Pearson Dalton, a shepherd and bachelor from the Caldbeck area, who came to stay for a month in 1952 and left in 1969 aged 75. He lived there alone for five days a week, only going home for long weekends with his sister in Caldbeck, then returning on the Monday to resume his duties. By this time farming practices had changed and the house was no longer needed and declined although there was intermittent use by various schools and outdoor groups.</p><br>
<p>In 1986 the house was leased by John Bothamley who had created the YHA Carrock Fell Hostel a few miles away and eventually the building was handed over to the YHA. It closed in 2002 following a disagreement over the lease. In 2007 it re-opened as an independent hostel run by the Skiddaw House Foundation, under the YHA&#39;s Enterprise franchising model.</p><br>
<h2>In literature</h2><br>
<p>Skiddaw is mentioned in the fourth book of John Keats&#39;s poem Endymion:</p><br>
<p>"…with all the stress / Of vision searchd for him, as one would look from old Skiddaws top, when fog conceals / His rugged forehead in a mantle pale, / With an eye-guess towards some pleasant vale / Descry a favourite hamlet faint and far."</p><br>
<p>Skiddaw is also mentioned in the final lines of the poem The Armada by Thomas Babington Macaulay, Lord Macaulay:</p><br>
<p>Flat Holm  is a limestone island lying in the Bristol Channel approximately 6 km from Lavernock Point in the Vale of Glamorgan. It includes the most southerly point of Wales.</p><br>
<p>The island has a long history of occupation, dating at least from Anglo-Saxon and Viking age. Religious uses include visits by disciples of Saint Cadoc in the 6th century, and in 1835 it was the site of the foundation of the Bristol Channel Mission, which later became the Mission to Seafarers. A sanatorium for cholera patients was built in 1896 as the isolation hospital for the port of Cardiff. Guglielmo Marconi transmitted the first wireless signals over open sea from Flat Holm to Lavernock. Because of frequent shipwrecks a lighthouse was built on the island, which was replaced by a Trinity House lighthouse in 1737. Because of its strategic position on the approaches to Bristol and Cardiff a series of gun emplacements, known as Flat Holm Battery, were built in the 1860s as part of a line of defences, known as Palmerston Forts. On the outbreak of World War II, the island was rearmed.</p><br>
<p>It forms part of the City and County of Cardiff and is now managed by Cardiff Council&#39;s Flat Holm Project Team and designated as a Local Nature Reserve, Site of Special Scientific Interest and a Special Protection Area, because of the maritime grassland and rare plants such as rock sea-lavender (Limonium binervosum) and wild leek (Allium ampeloprasum). The island also has significant breeding colonies of lesser black-backed gulls (Larus fuscus), herring gulls (Larus argentatus) and great black-backed gulls (Larus marinus). It is also home to slowworms (Anguis fragilis) with larger than usual blue markings.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<h3>Bronze Age and Early Christian</h3><br>
<p>The first traces of human habitation of the island are from the late Bronze Age, 900 to 700 BC, known as the Ewart Park Phase. A bronze axe head was discovered on the island in 1988, between the island&#39;s modern lone farmhouse and West Beach, at. In the sub-Roman period of the 6th century AD, it became a retreat for Saint Cadoc, who lived on the island as a hermit for seven years. His friend, Saint Gildas lived at the same time on nearby Steep Holm, and the two sometimes met up for prayers. Gildas left the island to become Abbot of Glastonbury.</p><br>
<p>In June 1815, a Dr Thomas Turner visited Flat Holm in a small boat and was stranded for a week due to high winds. He discovered two Christian graves located close together in a field 23 m northeast of the islands present farmhouse; one grave had been opened and contained a male skeleton. The open graves headstone was made of purbeck marble and engraved with a Celtic cross, but had since broken in two. A second disturbed grave, also marked with a headstone, was found to the southeast and contained a coffin constructed with iron bolts. Inside the coffin were two skeletons which had been doused in lime, indicating that the occupants had probably died from a contagious disease.</p><br>
<h3>Anglo-Saxon and medieval</h3><br>
<p>Anglo-Saxons called the island Bradanreolice. Reolice derives from an Irish word meaning churchyard or graveyard, alluding to the belief that the island had religious significance as a place of burial to people at the time. Records indicate that a Viking fleet from the south of Brittany led by two earls, Ottir (Oter) and Hroald (possibly Ottir&#39;s king Ragnall), took refuge on the island following their defeat by the Saxons at Watchet.</p><br>
<p>The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that in 1067, Gytha Thorkelsdóttir, mother of Harold II, the last Anglo-Saxon king of England, stayed on the island before travelling to St Omer in France after the Norman conquest of England. After the invasion, Lord Robert Fitzhamon, a cousin of William the Conqueror, formed the Shire of Glamorgan in Wales proper, with Cardiff Castle at the centre of his new domain. Flat Holm came within the parish boundary of St Marys, one of Cardiffs two parish churches, and was kept as a hereditary property of the Norman Lords of Glamorgan.</p><br>
<p>A survey by archaeologist Howard Thomas in 1979 unearthed a number of medieval potsherds in the vicinity of the farmhouse and found evidence of continuous occupation of the island including middens containing numerous animal bones along with oyster and cockle shells. Fragments of green glazed jugs and flagons from the late 12th to 13th century and shards of pottery from the 14th century were also found on the island. The presence of Pennant sandstone roofing tiles and a fragment of a 14th-century glazed ridge tile indicate the existence of a substantial medieval building, possibly a chapel, demolished when the present farmhouse was constructed. Property records from 1542 show that King Henry VIII granted a lease to farm the island to a gentleman by the name of Edmund Tournor. His family remained on Flat Holm until the end of the 17th century when the lease passed to Joseph Robins.</p><br>
<h3>18th century – smuggling</h3><br>
<p>During the 18th century, the island&#39;s location made it an ideal base for smuggling. It has been alleged that an old mine shaft on the north side of the island connects with a series of natural tunnels, and a concealed exit to the sea. Although Flat Holm was in full view of both the Welsh and English coasts, customs authorities were powerless to act as they had no boat to take them to the island. According to tradition, a small cave in the east cliff at Flat Holm was used for the storage of contraband, mainly tea and brandy.</p><br>
<h3>19th century – Seafarer's Mission and Marconi</h3><br>
<p>In 1835, clergyman John Ashley from Clevedon, England voluntarily ministered to the population of the island. Ashley created the Bristol Channel Mission in order to serve seafarers on the 400 sailing vessels which used the Bristol Channel. The mission would later become the Mission to Seafarers, which still provides ministerial services to sailors in over 300 ports. A service is held annually to bless the island.</p><br>
<p>On 13 May 1897, a 22-year-old Italian inventor named Guglielmo Marconi, assisted by a Cardiff Post Office engineer named George Kemp, transmitted the first wireless signals over open sea from Flat Holm to Lavernock Point near Penarth, Wales. Having failed to interest the Italian government in his project, Marconi brought his telegraphy system to Britain. Here he met Welshman William Preece who was at that time Chief Engineer of the General Post Office and a major figure in the field. Marconi and Preece erected a 34 m high transmitting mast on Flat Holm as well as a 30 m receiving mast at Lavernock Point. The first trials on 11 May and 12 failed. On 13 May, the mast at Lavernock was raised to 50 m and the signals were received clearly. The message sent by Morse Code was "Are you ready&quot the original paper Morse slip, signed by both Marconi and Kemp, is now in the National Museum of Wales.</p><br>
<p>The island made communication history again on 8 October 2002, by becoming one of the first areas of South Wales to link to the Internet through a wireless connection deployed by Cardiff Council as part of the Flat Holm Project. The connection is used for Internet, access to Cardiff Council&#39;s data network and VOIP telephony. There are two handsets in the main farmhouse that are part of the councils own PBX thus having Cardiff dialling codes. 105 years after Marconi, Spencer Pearson an IT Consultant with Cardiff Council made the first telephone call from the island to his office at County Hall, Atlantic Wharf, Cardiff.</p><br>
<h2>Shipwrecks</h2><br>
<p>The treacherous conditions for ships around the island led to several shipwrecks. The British passenger vessel Tapley lost seven passengers when it became stranded on Flat Holm in January 1773 on its passage from Cork, Ireland to Bristol.</p><br>
<p>On 23 October 1817, a British sloop, William and Mary, foundered after hitting the rock islands near Flat Holm known as The Wolves (Bristol Channel). The ship was en route from Bristol to Waterford and sank within fifteen minutes. The Mate, John Outridge, and two sailors made off in the only lifeboat. Fifteen survivors were later rescued, having clung to the ship&#39;s rigging, but fifty-four other passengers were lost. Fifty of the bodies were recovered from the ship and were buried on Flat Holm.</p><br>
<p>In 1938, the steamship Norman Queen ran ashore on Flat Holm but was refloated, and in 1941 the steamship Middlesex was lost.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>Flat Holm (Ynys Echni) is located in the Bristol Channel. It is a small, almost circular, limestone island, approximately 620 m in diameter, covering 35 hectare. It rises in a gentle slope from the exposed western rocky shore to more sheltered easterly cliffs, at the top of which stands the prominent lighthouse. At its highest point it is 32 m above sea level. Flat Holm is considered to be part of Wales, whereas the nearby island of Steep Holm (Ynys Rhonech) is considered part of England. About 1.3 km northwest of Flat Holm are two very small islands collectively known as The Wolves, measuring approximately 25 m by 20 m.</p><br>
<p>The tidal range in the Bristol Channel is 15 m; second only to Bay of Fundy in Eastern Canada.</p><br>
<h2>Geology</h2><br>
<p>During much of the most recent ice ages, from 1.8 million years ago, the sea level in the Severn Estuary was some 50 m below the current level and Flat Holm was joined to the Somerset coast as an extremity of the Mendip Hills. Sometime since the start of the Mesolithic period, 15,000 years ago, the ice sheets retreated, and the flat plains surrounding the river estuary flooded; the hilltops of Mendip Hills became the islands of Flat Holm and Steep Holm.</p><br>
<p>The Carboniferous Limestone of which Flat Holm and neighbouring Steep Holm are composed forms a part of a wider Mesozoic basin extending from the Bristol and Mendip area westwards beneath the mouth of the Severn to South Wales, outcropping to the west at Sully Island and Barry, Wales. Part of the island is designated a Geological Conservation Review (GCR) Site and is a recognised Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The GCR and SSSI interest lies along the south-western shoreline from the north west point to Lighthouse Point where a wave cut portion of the limestone displays large fossil "ripple marks".</p><br>
<p>There are argentiferous (i.e. silver-bearing) galena deposits on Flat Holm; the pits and mounds visible on the surface of the island are a result of trial borings. A dispute over lead mining rights in the 1780s ended with John Stuart, Lord Mount Stuart making an official complaint that the lighthouse keeper was using the coals intended for the lighthouse for processing lead. Mining for lead was not profitable, however, and the works were abandoned. Red marl from the Triassic Period fills joints in the Carboniferous Limestone showing evidence of karstic (cave forming) processes during this period. Caves on the western and north-eastern sides of the island were used during the years of smuggling.</p><br>
<h2>Buildings</h2><br>
<h3>Lighthouse and foghorn station</h3><br>
<p>Flat Holm Lighthouse is 30 m high and 50 m above mean high water. It has a 100 watt lamp that flashes three times every ten seconds, and is red from 106° to 140°; white to 151°; red to 203°; white to 106°. White light visibility up to 18 nmi, this data as recorded in 1965 in Reed&#39;s Nautical Almanac but Trinity House now note visibility as 15 nmi for the white light and 12 nmi for the red light. 28 and.</p><br>
<p>The first light on the island was a simple brazier mounted on a wooden frame, which stood on the high eastern part of the island. Crispe agreed to pay £800 (£110,552, $220,241 in 2008) for the construction of the tower as well as the fees permits. The construction of the tower finished in 1737 and it began operating on 25 March 1738.</p><br>
<p>The lighthouse was struck by lightning in a severe storm on 22 December 1790. The keeper narrowly escaped but the top of the tower was severely damaged. A 10 ft tall crack on the side had to be repaired as did the oak beams supporting the top platform. In 1819, the circular stone tower was updated to house a more powerful lantern; the tower was raised from 21 m to 27 m. A clockwork mechanism to rotate the light was installed in 1881. Flat Holm Lighthouse was the last signal station in the country in private ownership. In July 1822, Trinity House finally bought the lease for £15,838.10 (£1.2 million, $2.4 million in 2008). Two years later a fountain oil lamp was installed and the lantern was raised by another 1.5 m. In 1867 a lantern 4 m in diameter was installed. The lighthouse was renovated in 1929 to include accommodations for up to four keepers. This lasted until 1988, when the lighthouse became fully automated and the keepers were withdrawn. In 1997, the light was modernised and converted to solar power. It is now monitored and controlled by the Trinity House Operations Control Centre at Harwich, in Essex.</p><br>
<p>Built by Trinity House in 1906, the foghorn building is a Grade II listed building. Volunteers from the Flat Holm Society, with help from the Prince&#39;s Trust, restored the horn and engines in the 1960s. The Foghorn Station was officially reopened by the Welsh Secretary and the Welsh Assembly First Secretary in May 2000 when the foghorn was sounded for the first time since 1988.</p><br>
<h3>Farm House</h3><br>
<p>Records show that monks from St Augustine&#39;s Abbey in Bristol established a dairy farm and grange on the island after Flat Holm was granted to them by Robert, Earl of Gloucester in 1150. Dr Thomas Turner, who was stranded on Flat Holm during a visit in 1815, passed the time by exploring the island. He noted that the tax-exempt abbey farm was prospering and counted "seven cows, two bulls, five sheep, one horse, two pigs and two dogs". In 1897 the farmhouse was converted into The Flat Holm Hotel, and a bar and skittle alley were added, but the hotel closed after a few years. The farmhouse has been renovated by the Flat Holm Project and is now used as accommodation for visitors staying on the island.</p><br>
<h3>Batteries and barracks</h3><br>
<p>Flat Holm was fortified in the 1860s following a visit by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert to France, where they had been concerned by the strength of the French Navy. The Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom, under direction of Lord Palmerston, recommended fortification of the coast in 1865. The defences on the island, which became part of a line of defences known as the Palmerston Forts, were completed in 1869.</p><br>
<p>Flat Holm Battery is a series of gun emplacements on Flat Holm built to protect Bristol and Cardiff across the channel. There are remains of four battery sites on the island:</p><br>
<p>These four emplacements run from the northern to the southern point of the island, along the western coast. Nine Rifled muzzle loaders (RMLs) on disappearing Moncrieff carriages were built at the Royal Gun Foundry, Woolwich. They were mounted in four separate batteries, all in Moncrieff pits, 2 m in diameter and 3 m deep, constructed of limestone blocks and bricks. These pits had the advantage of being almost invisible to shipping and also offered protection to the gun crews. The RML 7-inch 7 ton guns were too heavy for mobile land service. They consisted of a steel rifle tube surrounded by wrought iron coils, and cascabel, with an overall length of each gun is 361 cm. They used a 52.3 kg Palliser shell and were mounted on the Moncrieff disappearing carriage. The guns were never needed and were fired only for test purposes.</p><br>
<p>In 1869, stone barracks were built to sleep up to 50 men. However, the 1881 Census for Flat Holm shows that the barracks were occupied only by the Master Gunner, Thomas Barrett, his family, and five soldiers. Barrett&#39;s son, Albert, was born on the island on 31 December 1881. The men were stationed on the island to keep the guns in good working order but the garrison would have been reinforced by regular artillery and volunteer troops if ever an invasion had been imminent. The barracks for the battery were located near the southernmost battery emplacement. Other fortifications included a large drainage basin, underground storage tank, an administrative building and a secure store. A "ditch-and-bank" system served to protect the Lighthouse Battery from cross-island attack. The barracks were vacated in 1901 and the buildings have now been restored by the Flat Holm Project for educational use.</p><br>
<h3>Radar station</h3><br>
<p>At the outbreak of World War II over 350 soldiers of the Royal Artillery were stationed on the island. Flat Holm was re-armed with four 4.5-inch guns and associated searchlights for anti-aircraft and close defence, together with two 40mm Bofors guns. A GL (Gun Laying) Mk II radar station was also placed in the centre of the island. The structures formed part of the Fixed Defences, and protected the Atlantic shipping convoys between Cardiff, Barry, and Flat Holm. These works were abandoned after the war and the island has had no military use since. Flat Holm&#39;s helipad still remains, however, at the centre of the island.</p><br>
<h3>Isolation hospital</h3><br>
<p>In July 1883, the steamship Rishanglys left three seamen on the island who were believed to be suffering from cholera, one of whom subsequently died. The only accommodation was a canvas tent, and the regular inhabitants of the island petitioned Cardiff council for compensation, complaining of loss of income from visitors and difficulty in selling vegetables grown on their farm at the market in Cardiff. In 1896, the Marquis of Bute, then-owner of Flat Holm, agreed to lease all the land that was not already in use by the military or the lighthouse to the Cardiff Corporation for £50 per year. The corporation then built a permanent sanatorium on the land for use by cholera patients. The building was described in The Lancet as a "pavilion" comprising two six-bed wards and a nurse&#39;s room. In 1893, three more sailors arrived in Cardiff from Marseilles on the SS Blue Jacket and were suspected of having cholera. The first engineer, Thomas Smith, and able seaman Robert Doran, were deported to the isolation hospital on Flat Holm to prevent spread of the disease. The second mate, P. J. Morris, was also sent to the island as a precautionary measure, but quickly recovered. The Flat Holm sanatorium is unique in being the only Victorian isolation hospital sited on a British offshore island. The last patient to die in the hospital, a victim of bubonic plague, was cremated on the island at the end of the 19th century. The hospital finally closed in 1935 and has remained derelict since. Both the hospital main block and laundry block are Grade II listed buildings and are considered to be "at risk".</p><br>
<h2>Flat Holm Project</h2><br>
<p>In 1975, the South Glamorgan County Council leased the island for the next 99 years. In March 1995, the county council agreed to obtain Flat Holm through a 50-year lease from the Crown Estate starting on 12 December 1995. Flat Holm is now designated as a Local Nature Reserve, as stipulated in that lease. It is managed by the Cardiff Council as The Flat Holm Project. The project team operates the Lewis Alexander, a boat which was purpose-built for the crossing to Flat Holm and which is able to carry up to 45 passengers and essential supplies to the island. The work of the Flat Holm Project is supported by the registered charity the Flat Holm Society.</p><br>
<h2>Flora and fauna</h2><br>
<p>Flat Holm was designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in 1972. The designation covers the maritime grassland which is mainly concentrated around the edges of the island.</p><br>
<p>There are no endemic plant species but the relative isolation of the island has allowed a number of hardy species such as bird&#39;s-foot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus) and biting stonecrop (Sedum acre) to thrive. There are also a number of relatively rare plants, such as rock sea-lavender (Limonium binervosum), and wild leek (Allium ampeloprasum). The leek grows to 6 ft and Flat Holm is one of only five places in the UK where it is found. Related to the onion, the leek has a bulb that grows for several years producing only leaves, then blooms with large purple flowers that smell of garlic. After flowering the bulb dies and produces up to 150 bulblets.</p><br>
<p>Others plants may have been introduced by the Augustinian Community for their medicinal uses. These include doves-foot cranes-bill Geranium molle, an anodyne plant claimed by Nicholas Culpeper to have a wide range of medicinal uses and an "excellent good cure for those that have inward wounds, hurts, or bruises, both to stay the bleeding, to dissolve and expel the congealed blood, and to heal the parts, as also to cleanse and heal outward sores, ulcers and fistulas". The wild peony (Paeonia mascula) was introduced to the island (and nearby Steep Holm), possibly by monks, and has naturalised. Thirty-seven plants were taken to the island from Steep Holm by Frank Harris, the farmer at the time, in the 1930s, many of which died during the World War II occupation and fortification of the island. One remaining plant was reintroduced by David Worall, the Flat Holm Warden, in 1982 and is protected by fencing near the path to the lighthouse. A few plants grown from seed also survive in the island&#39;s farmhouse garden.</p><br>
<p>The island has a significant breeding colony of over 4,000 pairs of lesser black-backed gulls (Larus fuscus), 400 pairs of herring gulls (Larus argentatus), 2 pairs of great black-backed gulls (Larus marinus) and varying numbers of common shelduck (Tadorna tadorna) and Eurasian oystercatchers (Haematopodidae). The feeding habits of lesser black-backed gulls were studied in 1989, and it was shown that smaller clutches were laid than in previous years and that supplementary feeding did not increase egg or clutch size.</p><br>
<p>The island is also home to slowworms (Anguis fragilis). Flat Holm&#39;s slow-worm population has unusually large blue markings.</p><br>
<p>The island&#39;s rabbit population, introduced for farming in the 12th century, suffers from myxomatosis, which effectively contains the numbers. The island has been grazed since 1989, initially by goats, but also by sheep since 1992. In 1997 Soay sheep were introduced and as of 2008 there are 28 sheep grazing wild on the island.</p><br>
<h2>Sustainability</h2><br>
<p>The Flat Holm project aims to develop the island as a showcase of sustainable technologies. The original power supply consisted of several diesel generators at different properties and unconnected to each other. In 2006, underground cables were installed to form a ‘mini-grid’ between the farmhouse, workshops and the fog horn keeper&#39;s cottage. This was powered with a (13.5 kW) inverter/charger system located at the farmhouse with the farmhouse diesel generator as back-up.</p><br>
<p>In 2007 the system was extended to include a battery bank charged by two photovoltaic solar arrays, and by a 6 kW wind turbine sited at a redundant telecommunications tower on the high point of the island.</p><br>
<h2>Severn Barrage study</h2><br>
<p>If a Severn Barrage were ever to be constructed it could have consequences for Flat Holm, depending on the design and the route. A number of studies have been proposed, the latest being when John Hutton, Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, announced a further feasibility study on 25 September 2007 to follow on the report by the Sustainable Development Commission.</p><br>
<p>The proposal for a hydro-electric barrier to generate 8.6 GW and meet five percent of Britain&#39;s power needs, is being opposed by some environmental groups. This proposed barrage would pass two miles (3 km) west of Flat Holm. The study is expected to last at least two years and will be split into two stages with a decision point at the end of each. The first, which is likely to run until late 2008, will focus on high-level issues and reach an initial view on whether there are any fundamental issues that would preclude a tidal scheme in the Severn Estuary. Subject to the decision at the end of the first phase, the second phase will look at the issues in more detail and culminate in a full public consultation in early 2010.</p><br>
<h2>In popular culture</h2><br>
<p>In 1979 the BBCs Lets Look at Wales presented by David Parry-Jones featured The Bristol Channel and included the island.</p><br>
<p>The BBC&#39;s Countryfile programme broadcast on 17 February 2008 featured Flat Holm and the possibility of a Severn Barrage.</p><br>
<p>In the BBC TV series Torchwood, the March 2008 episode "Adrift" featured the island as home to a secret medical facility.</p><br>
<p>In BBC&#39;s Not in My Nature broadcast by BBC One Wales on 23 June 2008, presenter Iolo Williams visited Flat Holm.</p><br>
<p>Swansea Bay  is a bay on the Bristol Channel on the southern coast of Wales. Places on the bay include Swansea and Port Talbot. The River Neath, River Tawe, River Afan, River Kenfig and Clyne River flow into the bay.</p><br>
<p>Swansea Bay (and upper reaches of the Bristol Channel) experience a large tidal range. The shipping ports in Swansea Bay are Swansea Docks, Port Talbot Docks and Briton Ferry wharfs.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Oyster fishing was once an important industry in Swansea Bay, employing 600 people at its height in the 1860s. However, overfishing, disease and pollution had all but wiped out the oyster population by 1920. In 2005 plans were announced to reintroduce the Oyster farming industry.</p><br>
<h2>Beaches</h2><br>
<p>The bay is lined with sandy beaches. Each stretch of beach within the bay has its own individual name:</p><br>
<p>Aberavon Beach</p><br>
<p>Baglan Bay</p><br>
<p>Jersey Marine Beach</p><br>
<p>Swansea Beach</p><br>
<p>Mumbles Beach</p><br>
<h2>Pollution</h2><br>
<p>For the last two decades of the 20th century, the bay was blighted by pollution, partly from the surrounding heavy industry and partly from sewerage outlets being sited at inappropriate locations including the main one that was located just seaward of Mumbles Lighthouse. A pumping station inside the cliff adjacent to Knab Rock brought all of Swansea city&#39;s effluent in a raw form to this point. Adding to the problem was the natural current flow of the waters in the Bay which often did not move the polluted waters further out to sea. Ironically, the outgoing tide did not carry the raw sewage down the adjacent Bristol Channel, but instead cause it to be sucked in around the circumference of the Bay and only then out down the Channel. If not fully discharged on that tide, the incoming tide would then push the same effluent up the Channel, and once again circulate around the Bay. Efforts were made by the local authority to reduce the pollution in the Bay but care had to be taken to ensure the pollution did not move to the popular beach resorts in south Gower instead.</p><br>
<p>This original sewer outlet was finally made inactive in around 1996 following the construction of a brand new pipeline which ran all the way back around the Bay following the line of the old Mumbles Railway as far as Beach Street, along the sea-side of the Maritime Quarter and through Swansea Docks to a new £90 million sewage treatment plant at Crymlyn Burrows near Port Tennant from which a new outlet was made, extending further out to sea. As a consequence of the huge improvement these works have made, it is hoped that Swansea Bay will achieve Blue Flag Beach status. Aberavon beach was awarded Blue Flag status in December 2007.</p><br>
<h2>Power generation</h2><br>
<h3>Fossil</h3><br>
<p>There is one existing GE built gas-fired power station located just inland at Baglan Bay. A second gas fired power station, the "Abernedd Power Station" has been approved for construction.</p><br>
<h3>Biomass plans</h3><br>
<p>A new biomass power station has been approved for construction near the coast at Port Talbot.</p><br>
<h3>Tidal plans</h3><br>
<p>Swansea Bay (along with the rest of the Bristol Channel) has one of the highest tidal ranges in the world. This offers a potential for electricity generation using tidal lagoons. A proposal has been put forward by Tidal Lagoon Swansea Bay Ltd. for a tidal lagoon to be constructed. The tidal lagoon would be sited just south of the Queen&#39;s Dock between River Tawe and River Neath estuaries. This project is controversial, partly due to the amount of subsidy required to make the project viable and also because of the potential damage to an AONB and MCZ in Cornwall where Tidal Lagoon Swansea Bay seek to re-open a disused quarry at Dean Point from which to source the rock for the lagoon.</p><br>
<h3>Wind plans</h3><br>
<p>In addition to tidal power, construction of an offshore windfarm in the Bay has been approved, but construction has now been deferred owing to the costs involved. The windfarm was to have been sited at Scarweather Sands, about 3 mi off the coast and visible from Porthcawl.</p><br>
<p>Carmarthen Bay  is an inlet of the south Wales coast. The coastline includes notable beaches such as Pendine Sands and Cefn Sidan sands, and is partially within the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. Wind turbines were tested here in the 1980s. Carmarthen Bay and estuaries are listed as a Special Area of Conservation by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>The River Loughor flows into the bay at the Loughor Estuary, and the rivers Tywi, Taf and Gwendraeth flow into the bay at the Three Rivers Estuary. Caldey Island lies in the bay near Tenby. Towns and villages in the bay include from east to west, Llanelli, Burry Port(Porth Tywyn), Pembrey(Penbre), Kidwelly(Cydweli), Ferryside(Glanyfferi), Llansteffan, Laugharne(Talacharn), Pendine(Pentywyn), Amroth, Wisemans Bridge(Pont-yr-ŵrddoeth), Saundersfoot and Tenby(Dinbych y Pysgod). There are fine beaches at Pendine Sands, Cefn Sidan, Laugharne, Llansteffan and Ferryside.</p><br>
<h2>Biodiversity</h2><br>
<p>Carmarthen Bay and Estuaries is listed as a Special Area of Conservation by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, a public body that advises the Welsh Government on international nature conservation. The area conserved includes sea inlets, tidal rivers, estuaries, mud flats, sand flats, lagoons (including saltwork basins), salt marshes, salt pastures, salt steppes, shingle, sea cliffs and islets. The sand and mud flats have large numbers of bivalve molluscs including the edible cockle. The large shallow inlets and bays provide habitat for a great variety of marine invertebrates. The saltmarshes have biodiverse communities of glasswort (Salicornis species), dwarf eelgrass (Zostera noltei), sea rush (Juncus maritimus) and marsh-mallow (Althaea officinalis) and all the wildlife they support. A primary reason for the listing is the presence in the bay of the twait shad (Alosa fallax), a migratory fish.</p><br>
<h2>Wind turbines</h2><br>
<p>An area of the Carmarthen Bay coastline near Burry Port was used in the 1980s to test wind turbines. The first turbine to be installed in the area was switched on in November 1982. Five turbines of different designs were tested at the site, installed between 1982 and 1989. The project was concluded in the late 1990s, the turbines were removed, and the land was eventually integrated into the Millennium Coastal Park.</p><br>
<p>St Brides Bay  is a rocky bay inlet in western Pembrokeshire, West Wales.</p><br>
<p>Either Skomer Island or the mainland extremity of Wooltack Point at the western end of the Marloes Peninsula marks the southern limit of the bay whilst its northern limit is marked by Ramsey Island off St David&#39;s Head. The mouth of the bay is around 7 miles (12 km) wide; the bay extends some 10 miles (16 km) eastwards from this line.</p><br>
<h2>Geology</h2><br>
<p>The northern and southern shores of the bay are mainly rocky in nature, backed by cliffs up to 250 feet in height. Its eastern shore comprises a series of large and small sandy beaches between rocky sections.</p><br>
<p>The geological exposures around the bay reveal great complexity with considerable folding and faulting of the strata. The cliffs of its southern shore are formed from sandstones of Ordovician and Devonian age together with a suite of both intrusive and extrusive igneous rocks, some of which are Precambrian in age. Those in the north comprise a series of Precambrian and Cambrian age rocks of both sedimentary and igneous origin. In contrast, the eastern shore is formed from the more readily eroded rocks of Carboniferous age. These are largely the sandstones and mudstones of the Coal Measures but include a small section of shales and sandstones assigned to the Millstone Grit Series. Contorted coal seams within the Coal Measures were once worked though the Pembrokeshire Coalfield was never of major economic importance.</p><br>
<h2>Designations</h2><br>
<p>The coast surrounding it forms a part of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park which was designated in 1951 in recognition of the outstanding quality of its landscape. Much of the coastline is also defined as heritage coast. The whole of St Brides Bay along with adjoining areas of sea around the Pembrokeshire Coast is protected under European environmental law as a special area of conservation (or SAC). Parts of the coast are additionally defined as special protection areas (or SPAs). There are also three or four sites of special scientific interest (or SSSIs&#39;) around its perimeter.</p><br>
<h2>Villages and amenities</h2><br>
<p>The bays coast is dotted with small villages including St Brides, Martins Haven, Little Haven, Broad Haven, Nolton Haven, Newgale and Solva, whilst Britains smallest city, St Davids lies nearby. The Pembrokeshire Coast Path follows its entire coastline.</p><br>
<p>It is well known among residents and tourists for fishing.</p><br>
<p>Steep Holm  is an English island lying in the Bristol Channel. The island covers 48.87 acre at high tide, expanding to 63.26 acre at mean low water. At its highest point it is 78 m above mean sea level. It lies within the historic boundaries of Somerset and administratively forms part of North Somerset. Between 1 April 1974 and 1 April 1996 it was administered as part of Avon. Nearby is Flat Holm island , part of Wales.</p><br>
<p>The Carboniferous Limestone island rises to about 200 ft and serves as a wind and wave break, sheltering the upper reaches of the Bristol Channel. The island is now uninhabited, with the exception of the wardens. It is protected as a nature reserve and Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) with a large bird population and plants including wild peonies. There was a signal station or watchtower on the island in Roman times, but there may have been human habitation as early as the Iron Age. In the 6th century it was home to St Gildas and to a small Augustinian priory in the 12th and 13th centuries. An inn was built in 1832 and used for holidays in the 19th century. A bird sanctuary was established in 1931 and since 1951 has been leased to charitable trusts. It is now owned by the Kenneth Allsop Memorial Trust.</p><br>
<p>In the 1860s the island was fortified with ten 7-inch rifled muzzle loaders as one of the Palmerston Forts for the coastal defence of the Bristol Channel until it was abandoned in 1898. The infrastructure was reused in World War I and II when MarkVII6-inch breech-loading guns and search lights were installed. To enable the movement of materials, soldiers from the Indian Army Service Corps initially used mules and then installed a cable-operated winched switchback railway.</p><br>
<h2>Geology and ecology</h2><br>
<p>The island is formed of Carboniferous Limestone and is often described as geologically a continuation of the Mendip Hills at Brean Down; however, the dip is at a different angle to that on Brean Down. On Steep Holm the dip is about 30 degrees to the north whereas at Brean Down it is 30 degrees to the south. There are some folds and fractures with dip angles up to 75 degrees created during the final phases of the Variscan orogeny near the end of the Carboniferous Period, 300 million years ago.</p><br>
<p>The island rises to about 200 ft from the surrounding sea and covers 49 acre at high tide, whereas at low tide it expands to 63 acre due to the tidal range of 43 ft, second only to the Bay of Fundy in Eastern Canada. There are many caves on the island, and pot holes up to 60 m deep in the surrounding sea bed that are believed to be the remnants of collapsed cave systems. The caves on the islands cliffs are at two different levels: the caves in the current inter-tidal zone which are below the water table and are producing stalactites, and many others high up on the cliffs that were on the water line many thousands of years ago.</p><br>
<p>Steep Holm is protected as a nature reserve and Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), notification having taken place in 1952. There is a large bird population, particularly European herring gulls (Larus argentatus) and Lesser black-backed gulls (Larus fuscus). There has also been a small population of muntjac deer. The plateau at the top of the island has a layer of soil between 6 in and 12 in deep. It has a red colour from veins of iron in the rock and has arrived as sand particles less than 0.0039 in in diameter. The island is the only site in the UK on which wild peonies (Paeonia mascula) grow, although these have been damaged by the fungus botrytis. The wild peony was introduced to the island of Steep Holm, possibly by monks, or brought from the Mediterranean by the Romans. Alexanders (Smyrnium olusatrum) are also common along with golden samphire, buck&#39;s-horn plantain (Plantago coronopus) and wild leeks (Allium ampeloprasum). The only reptiles on the island are slowworms (Anguis fragilis).</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<h3>Prehistoric to Roman</h3><br>
<p>The earliest sign of human activity on the island are prehistoric vertebrae of red deer discovered in Five Johns&#39; Cave during an exploration in 1975. Worked flints from the Mesolithic and scrapers from the Neolithic were uncovered as part of the Priory excavations carried out between 1977 and 1992.</p><br>
<p>Roman remains, possibly a signal station or watchtower, have been identified on the island by an electrical resistance survey. Accurate exploration and interpretation of the site is difficult as it was reused by builders in both the Victorian era and during World War II. A carved stone head found on the island in 1991 is likely to be a Celtic head from the Romano-British era, but may be from the Iron Age. In addition to shards of cooking pots from the Roman era, some luxury items have been identified including Arretine ware, La Tène style brooches, and an amphora dating from between 90 and 140 AD which was made in southern Spain. There have also been shards of Castor ware. Fragments of pottery roofing and box flue tiles have been identified signifying the presence of a heating system and possibly a bath house. Roman coins from the reigns of Claudius Gothicus (268–270) and Tetricus I (271–273) have also been found.</p><br>
<h3>Religious foundations</h3><br>
<p>According to legend, first recorded by John Leland in the 16th century, Saint Gildas, the author of De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae, lived on Steep Holm during the 6th century. He arrived on Steep Holm after visiting his friend Saint Cadoc, who lived on Flat Holm as a hermit. Gildas supposedly left the island, after pirates from the Orkneys carried off his servant and furniture, to become Abbot of Glastonbury. The Vikings took refuge on Steep Holm during the summer of 914 and then carried out raids on the coast of Somerset at Watchet and Porlock, according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. At the end of the 12th century, there was a small priory of Canons Regular of St Michael on the island. The only priory building fully excavated measured 73 ft long and 15 ft wide, with the cloisters and other structures still to be identified. The date of the original foundation of the priory is unclear; however, in the early 13th century the patron was William I de Cantilupe. His family were also patrons of Studley Priory in Warwickshire. His granddaughter married Lord Robert de Tregoz who acquired the freehold of the whole island; however, endowments for the upkeep of the priory were declining, which led to it being abandoned between 1260 and 1265, the monks returning to Studley Priory. A Blue Lias memorial stone from the abbey, which has a Cross of Lorraine, was found in 1867 during the fortification of the island. It was incorporated into an armoury leading to the naming of the "tombstone battery".</p><br>
<h3>Manorial ownership</h3><br>
<p>The island seems to have been held, in association with the local manors of Uphill and Christon, by the Bek family, who granted it to Henry de Lacy, 3rd Earl of Lincoln. Although the mechanism is unclear, it next passed to the Berkeley family with Maurice de Berkeley, the second Baron Berkeley, holding it in 1315. The site was used again by warreners in the 14th and 15th centuries. They lived in one of the ruined priory buildings which was rebuilt. By 1453 the overlordship of the island was held by James Butler, 4th Earl of Ormond, and in 1460 the advowson was exercised by Margaret Talbot, Countess of Shrewsbury. In the years following, the ownership of a variety of estates, including Norton Beauchamp, to which Steep Holm was attached, was disputed. In the 16th century Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset took over, and then lost, large estates including Brean, to which Steep Holm was allied. The Seymour descendants recovered the estates, owning them into the 17th century, although the only activity on Steep Holm seems to have been the employment of gull watchers and fishermen. In 1684 the Norton Beauchamp estate was sold to Edward Ryder. It appears to have been auctioned by decree of the Court of Chancery 11 years later in 1695, possibly because of difficulties in maintaining sea defenses along the Somerset coast; however, this seems to have been disputed in the light of outstanding mortgages. In 1699 the estates, including Steep Holm, were sold to Philip Freke of Bristol, whose descendants held it for the next 130 years. Freke&#39;s granddaughter married into the family of John Willes, who was Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas and Member of Parliament. During their ownership, probably around 1776, a new cottage was built on Steep Holm for fishermen. It was built using stones from the ruined priory. In 1830 the island was sold again, according to some sources this was to a cousin of John Freke Willes named William Willes; however, other sources suggest it was to a solicitor in Weston-super-Mare named John Baker.</p><br>
<p>In 1832 the island was leased to Colonel Tynte of Halswell House, who established an inn for sailors. The inn was run by the Harris family, using rum and tobacco bought from ships. They claimed that the island was outside the jurisdiction of the excise men until a court case in 1884. After the Harris family, the inn was run by Mr W. L. Davies, who offered fishing, shooting and boating holidays. To make landing on the island easier, a new pier was built close to the inn. In 1835 clergyman John Ashley from Clevedon voluntarily ministered to the population of the island and the neighbouring Flat Holm. Ashley created the Bristol Channel Mission in order to serve seafarers on the 400 sailing vessels which used the Bristol Channel. The mission would later become the Mission to Seafarers, which still provides ministerial services to sailors in over 300 ports.</p><br>
<h3>Palmerston Fort</h3><br>
<p>Both Steep Holm and Flat Holm were fortified in the 1860s as a defence against invasion. They form part of a line of defences, known as Palmerston Forts, built across the channel to protect the approaches to Bristol and Cardiff. The island was fortified following a visit by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert to France, where they had been concerned at the strength of the French Navy. The Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom, under the direction of Lord Palmerston, recommended fortification of the coast, and the island formed part of this strategic coastal defence system. Construction began in 1865 and was completed in 1869 by John Perry of Weston-super-Mare. The work involved the creation of a perimeter road around the summit plateau and a lime kiln for the manufacture of lime mortar to build the barracks and gun emplacements with their ammunition stores.</p><br>
<p>The concrete gun emplacements were called Summit Battery, Laboratory Battery, Garden Battery and Tombstone Battery. Along with the barracks they have been designated as Grade II listed buildings. The facilities installed included a master-gunners house, a small inn, and a water tank holding 49,000 impgal of rainwater. The water tank is beneath the barracks and collects rainwater from its roof. The brick tank is 16.7 m long, 4.8 m wide and 4.5 m high with a vaulted roof. Armaments included ten 7-inch rifled muzzle loaders Mk III spread between six batteries. These were later replaced with Armstrong 6-inch RML guns. Some of the gun batteries are scheduled monuments, and there are the remains of a centralised group of brick-built barrack blocks. In 1898 test firing by HMS Arrogant, an Arrogant-class cruiser, on Rudder Rock battery showed that the fixed gun emplacements used on Steep Holm and other sites were susceptible to attack by modern warships, and the site was no longer active. The military control on the island was maintained until 1908 when it was leased to James Sleeman and his family. In 1927 the first test of the RAE Larynx (from "Long Range Gun with Lynx engine") an early pilotless aircraft, to be used as a guided anti-ship weapon, took place just off Steep Holm.</p><br>
<h3>World wars</h3><br>
<p>These facilities were updated in both World War I and World War II. From 1915 to 1919 the island was requisitioned by the Admiralty as a coastguard station. After the war the Sleemans returned to carry out farming and fishing and played host to occasional tourists. In World War II, search light batteries were built on Steep Holm. In 1940 the island&#39;s warden, Harry Cox, who had developed the island into a bird sanctuary since 1931, was appointed as a coastguard and was supported by Local Defence Volunteers from Weston-super-Mare. In 1940 and 1941 the battery was refortified by soldiers from the Indian Army Service Corps using mules to transport guns and equipment up the steep cliffs. The armament included MarkVII6-inch breech-loading guns taken from World War I naval vessels which had been scrapped, and also included Lewis automatic machine guns against air attack. The Garden Battery was built over two Victorian stone gun emplacements. Engineers from the Royal Pioneer Corps improved the infrastructure including importing sheep to feed the soldiers and, after a case of typhoid fever, shipping drinking water from south Wales. To enable the movement of equipment, the engineers built a new jetty. This was linked to the plateau with a cable-operated winched switchback railway using prefabricated 60 cm gauge lines which had been captured from the Germans in World War I. The Steep Holm batteries were also connected, by underwater telegraph cable, to the Brean Down Fort batteries, but parts of the cable were stolen for scrap after the end of World War II.</p><br>
<h3>Post war</h3><br>
<p>In 1953 the island was leased by the Steep Holm Trust supported by four local organisations: the Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society, Bristol Naturalists Society, Mid-Somerset Naturalists and the Bristol Folk House Archaeological Club. They repaired some of the buildings and established a bird ringing programme. In 1974 their lease expired and was taken over by the Kenneth Allsop Memorial Trust, a registered charity formed in memory of the broadcaster and naturalist Kenneth Allsop. The Trust purchased the island in 1976. The mission statement of the Trust is: "To protect, preserve and enhance for the benefit of the public the landscape, antiquities, flora, fauna, natural beauty and scientific interest of the island of Steep Holm in the County of North Somerset and to advance the education of the public in the natural sciences."</p><br>
<p>Visits can be made to the island. The trust runs day-long boat trips from Weston-super-Mare. One barrack block is in use to provide visitor facilities. In 1980 the Bollywood film Shaan was set and partially filmed on the island.</p><br>
<p>Cardigan Bay  is a large inlet of the Irish Sea, indenting the west coast of Wales between Bardsey Island, Gwynedd in the north, and Strumble Head, Pembrokeshire at its southern end. It is the largest bay in Wales.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>Cardigan Bay has numerous beaches, and a unique marine life. Much of the coast surrounding the bay is fertile farmland, dotted with towns and seaside resorts such as Fishguard, New Quay, Aberaeron, Llanon, Aberystwyth, Borth, Aberdyfi, Tywyn, Barmouth, Porthmadog, Criccieth and Pwllheli on the Cambrian Coast. Smaller coastal villages include Cwmtydu, Nanternis and Llangrannog.</p><br>
<p>Major rivers flowing into the bay include the Afon Glaslyn, Teifi, Rheidol, Dyfi, Aeron, Dysynni, and Mawddach.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Until the early 20th century, Cardigan Bay supported a strong maritime industry. Cardigan is located at the mouth of the River Teifi – hence the Welsh name, Aberteifi (Mouth of the Teifi), and at the turn of the 19th century, the heyday of the port, it was a more important port than Cardiff. At this time more than 300 ships were registered at Cardigan—seven times as many as Cardiff, and three times as many as Swansea.</p><br>
<p>The central and northern areas of the Bay are the location of the legendary Cantre&#39;r Gwaelod, the drowned "Lowland Hundred" or "Hundred under the Sea". During the winter storms of 2014, parts of the lost ancient forest of Borth, which 4,500 years ago stretched on the boggy land to Ynyslas, reappeared on the shoreline in the form of preserved exposed tree stumps. Due to climate change and rising sea levels, the forest was buried under layers of peat, sand and saltwater.</p><br>
<h2>Nature and tourism</h2><br>
<p>The Cardigan Bay Special Area of Conservation was set up to preserve the natural wildlife in the area, both in the sea and on the surrounding foreshore.</p><br>
<p>From the Ceredigion Coast Path it is often possible to observe the Bays "Big Three" species of harbour porpoise, grey seals, and bottlenose dolphins, of which the Bay has the largest population in the UK. Other mammals, such as minke whales, Rissos dolphins and common dolphins, together with many species of sea birds, such as puffin, and sharks, including basking sharks, can also be seen.</p><br>
<p>Since the late 1990s and early 2000s, the Bay has been invaded by spider crabs. Not a seafood normally consumed by British people, since 2010 the local fishermen have supplied the Michelin-starred restaurants of Raymond Blanc.</p><br>
<h2>Military testing</h2><br>
<p>A military testing range was first established in Cardigan Bay during the Second World War. The range is controlled from a main operating base located near Aberporth, known as MOD Aberporth. Historically, the Range has played a significant part in the development and testing of a variety of military weapons.</p><br>
<p>Today the Ministry of Defence (MOD) range within Cardigan Bay provides a large secure safety area for the testing of air launched weapons and unmanned aerial systems.</p><br>
<p>The Range is a significant employer in the West Wales area, employing some 200 people who work in direct support of the Range operation. The staff also work closely with the local communities to foster good relationships, which are vital to ensure the successful operation of the Range.</p><br>
<p>The Range Danger Area covers some 6,500 km&sup2; of Cardigan Bay from sea level to unlimited height. To supplement the safe operation of the Range, there are a number of small outposts located on the edge of Cardigan Bay and the Llŷn Peninsula. These outposts contain equipment that enables the Range to effectively assess the performance of weapons.</p><br>
<p>Qinetiq operates the Cardigan Bay/Aberporth Range on behalf of the MOD under the terms of a Long Term Partnering Agreement. The purpose of the agreement is to deliver defence test, evaluation and training support services to ensure air launched weapon systems, associated sub-systems and UAS are safe and fit for purpose.</p><br>
<p>Wörthersee  is a lake in the southern Austrian state of Carinthia. The popular bathing lake is a main tourist destination in summer.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>Wörthersee is Carinthias largest lake. It is elongated, about 16.5 km long and 1.5 km wide, and stretches from the outskirts of the Carinthian capital Klagenfurt in the east to the bay of Velden in the west. Situated within the Klagenfurt Basin, its shores are flanked to the north and south by the foothills of the Gurktal Alps and the Karawanks range, all covered with dense forests beyond which snow-capped Alpine peaks are visible. The lakes water is of a distinctive blue-green colour and transparent.</p><br>
<p>Lake Wörth and its basin in the central Carinthian foothills were largely formed by glaciers during the last ice age. The lake is divided into three basins by several islands and peninsulas. The western basin stretches from Velden to Pörtschach, the central basin from Pörtschach to Maria Wörth and the eastern basin from Maria Wörth to Klagenfurt. Numerous brooks flow into the lake; its sole distributary is the artificial Glanfurt creek in the east, eventually flowing into the Drava (Drau) river via the Glan and Gurk tributaries.</p><br>
<p>The northern shore is densely built up with the main resort towns of Krumpendorf, Pörtschach, and Velden. The Süd Autobahn motorway and a railway mainline occupy the narrow space between the steep hills and the shore. The southern shore is quieter and less developed.</p><br>
<p>The water surface (epilimnion) can reach up to 25 °C in summer. In winter, the region is often covered by snow and approximately every 10 years the lake freezes over, attracting numerous ice skaters. Lake Wörth&#39;s fauna is dominated by fish typically found in alpine lakes. The most common species are the pike (Esox lucius) and the common whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus).</p><br>
<h2>Etymology</h2><br>
<p>First mentioned as Werdse in a 1143 deed, the lake&#39;s name originates from the islands in the lake, most notably Maria Wörth, a peninsula since the building of the Glanfurt outlet in 1770. Other islands are Schlangeninsel and Kapuzinerinsel; the former island of Maria Loretto is today also a peninsula. Until the 19th century the lake was called "Werdersee" (cf. Old High German weride: "island" or "ait"), i.e. "Island Lake", but also Klagenfurt Lake or Velden Lake (as in Slovene: Vrbsko jezero).</p><br>
<h2>Tourism</h2><br>
<p>In the early 19th century the marshy shores were home only to a handful of poor peasants. The opening of the Austrian Southern Railway line (Südbahn) to Klagenfurt in 1863, later extended to Villach along the northern shore, quickly turned the Wörthersee into an exclusive summer retreat for Vienna&#39;s nobility and wealthy bourgeoisie. Especially Velden and Pörtschach developed to main tourist resorts.</p><br>
<p>Up to today, the Mediterranean climate and the clean, warm waters make Lake Wörth a popular tourist destination in summer. Although the region around the lake has been termed "Austria&#39;s Monte Carlo", in recent decades tourism around Lake Wörthersee has suffered from tough competition from package holidays to cheaper overseas destinations. As a response a number of local businesses have tried to focus on niches such as high quality tourism, family tourism or golf and horse-riding vacations.</p><br>
<p>Most tourists visit the Lake in the months of July and August when water temperatures reach 25 °C. A large proportion of visitors return every summer and some own or rent holiday homes along the shore. The vast majority of visitors come from Vienna, northern Germany and the Netherlands. The largest Volkswagen and Audi car show in Europe, the (in English, "Wörthersee Meeting" or simply "Wörthersee"), has been held in the lakeside town of Reifnitz (usually in May) every year since 1981.</p><br>
<h2>Transportation</h2><br>
<p>The A2 Süd Autobahn motorway (European Route E66) from Vienna to Italy passes along the northern side of the lake, as does the B83 Kärntner Straße highway connecting Klagenfurt with Villach and the Südbahn railway line from Vienna to Venice. There is also a cycle path along the northern shore. In summer, passenger boats connect the largest settlements. The number of private speedboats is strictly limited by a quota system to limit the environmental damage and hazard to swimmers.</p><br>
<p>Tel Dor , is an archeological site located on Israel&#39;s Mediterranean coast next to modern moshav Dor, about 30 km south of Haifa, and 2.5 km west of Hadera. Lying on a small headland at the north side of a protected inlet, it is identified with D-jr of Egyptian sources, Biblical Dor, and with Dor/Dora of Greek and Roman sources.</p><br>
<p>The documented history of the site begins in the Late Bronze Age (though the town itself was founded in the Middle Bronze Age, c. 2000 BCE), and ends in the Crusader period. The port dominated the fortunes of the town throughout its 3000-old year history. Its primary role in all these diverse cultures was that of a commercial entrepot and a gateway between East and West. The remains of the Arab village of Tantura lie a few hundred meters south of the archaeological site, as does the modern kibbutz and resort of Nahsholim.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Dor (Hebrew: דוֹר or דאר, meaning "generation", "habitation"), was known as Dora (τὰ Δῶρα) to the Greeks and Romans. Dor was successively ruled by Canaanites, Sea Peoples, Israelites, Phoenicians, Assyrians, Persians, Greeks, and Romans.</p><br>
<p>Scholars who reconcile Bronze and Iron Age history in the Levant with biblical traditions write the following: Dor was an ancient royal city of the Canaanites, (Joshua 12:23) whose ruler was an ally of Jabin king of Hazor against Joshua, (Joshua 11:1,2). In the 12th century, the town appears to have been taken by the Tjekker, and was ruled by them at least as late as the early 11th century BCE. It appears to have been within the territory of the tribe of Asher, though allotted to Manasseh, (Joshua 17:11; Judges 1:27). It was one of Solomon&#39;s commissariat districts (Judges 1:27; 1 Kings 4:11). It has been placed in the ninth mile from Caesarea, on the way to Ptolemais. Just at the point indicated is the small village of Tantura, probably an Arab corruption of Dora.</p><br>
<p>Many scholars doubt the historical accuracy of biblical texts relevant to times prior to the 9th century BCE. They suggest that the biblical context for such places as early Dor is more mythology than history.</p><br>
<p>The city was known as Dor even before the Greeks arrived or had contact with the peoples in Israel. When the Greeks came to the city and learned its name to be Dor, they ascribed it the identity Dora, the Hellenization of the name.</p><br>
<p>In ca. 460 BCE, the Athenians formed an alliance with the Egyptian leader Inaros against the Persians. In order to reach the Nile delta and support the Egyptians, the Athenian fleet had to sail south. Athens had secure landing sites for their triremes as far south as Cyprus but they needed a way station between Cyprus and Egypt. They needed a naval base on the coast of Lebanon or Palestine but the Phoenician cities of Sidon and Tyre held much of the mainland coast and those cities were loyal to Persia. Fifty miles south of those cities, however, the Athenians found an isolated and tempting target for establishing a way station.</p><br>
<p>The Athenians seized Dor from Sidon. Dor had many strategic advantages for the Athenians, starting with its distance from Sidon. The Athenians had a maritime empire built on oared ships. They did not need large tracts of land and instead needed strategically situated coastal sites that had fresh water, provisions and protection from bad weather and enemy attack. Dor had an unfailing freshwater spring near the edge of the sea and to its south a lagoon and sandy beach enclosed by a chain of islets. This was precisely what the Athenian fleet needed for landing their ships and resting their crews. Dor itself was strategically situated. It stood atop a rocky promonitory and was protected on its landward side by a marshy swale that formed a natural moat. Beyond the coastal lowlands was Mount Carmel. The town had Persian-built fortifications. In addition to this, the town had straight streets and Phoenician dye pits for the purpling of cloth. For these reasons, Dor became the most remote outpost of the Athenian navy.</p><br>
<p>In 138 BCE, Dora was the scene of battle between Seleucid emperor Antiochus VII Sidetes and the usurper Diodotus Tryphon, leading to the latter&#39;s flight and ultimately his death.</p><br>
<p>Today in Israel a moshav is named "Dor" after the old city, situated south of Tel Dor.</p><br>
<h2>Excavations</h2><br>
<p>Tel Dor was first investigated in the 1920s, by John Garstang, on behalf of the British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem. J. Leibowitz excavated in the lower town around the tel in the 1950s. From 1979 to 1983 Claudine Dauphin excavated a church east of the tel. Avner Raban excavated harbor installations and other constructions mainly south and west of the mound in 1979 - 1984. Underwater surveys around the site were carried out by Kurt Raveh, Shelley Wachsman and Saen Kingsley. Ephraim Stern, of the Institute of Archaeology at the Hebrew University, directed twenty seasons of excavations at the site between 1980 and 2000, in cooperation with the Israel Exploration Society and several Israeli, American, South African and Canadian academic institutions, as well as a large group of German volunteers. With 100–200 staff, students and volunteers per season Dor was one of the largest and longest-sustained excavation projects in Israel. The eleven excavation areas opened have revealed a wealth of information about the Iron Age, Persian, Hellenistic and Early Roman periods.</p><br>
<p>Current excavations are being conducted by Ilan Sharon from Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Ayelet Gilboa from University of Haifa in co-operation with the University of Washington, the Weizmann Institute of Science, the University of South Africa, and other institutions. It is a broad international consortium of scholars, jointly pursuing a wide number of different but complementary research objectives.</p><br>
<h2>Museum</h2><br>
<p>The historic Glasshouse museum building, located in kibbutz Nahsholim, some 500 meters south of the site itself, now houses the Center for Nautical and Regional Archaeology at Dor (CONRAD), consisting of the expedition workrooms and a museum displaying the finds from Tel Dor and its region such as documenting the city&#39;s importance in the ancient world as a manufacturer of the prestigious azure and crimson colors from sea snails. The house is an old glass-making factory from the 19th century (built by Baron Edmond James de Rothschild).</p><br>
<p>Sarepta  was a Phoenician city on the Mediterranean coast between Sidon and Tyre, also known biblically as Zarephath. It became a bishopric, which faded, and remains a double  Catholic titular see.</p><br>
<p>Most of the objects by which Phoenician culture is characterised are those that have been recovered scattered among Phoenician colonies and trading posts; such carefully excavated colonial sites are in Spain, Sicily, Sardinia and Tunisia. The sites of many Phoenician cities, like Sidon and Tyre, by contrast, are still occupied, unavailable to archaeology except in highly restricted chance sites, usually much disturbed. Sarepta is the exception, the one Phoenician city in the heartland of the culture that has been unearthed and thoroughly studied.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Sarepta is mentioned for the first time in the voyage of an Egyptian in the 14th century BCE (Chabas, Voyage d&#39;un Egyptien, 1866, pp 20, 161, 163). Obadiah says it was the northern boundary of Canaan (Obadiah 1:20): “And the exiles of this host of the sons of Israel who are among the Canaanites as far as Zarephath (Heb. צרפת), and the exiles of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad, will possess the cities of the south.” The medieval lexicographer, David ben Abraham Al-Alfāsī, identifies Zarephath with the city of Ṣarfend (Judeo-Arabic: צרפנדה). Originally Sidonian, the town passed to the Tyrians after the invasion of Shalmaneser IV, 722 BCE. It fell to Sennacherib in 701.</p><br>
<p>The first Books of Kings (17:8-24) describes the city as being subject to Sidon in the time of Ahab, and says that the prophet Elijah, after leaving the brook Cherith, multiplied the meal and oil of the widow of Zarephath (Sarepta) and raised her son from the dead there, an incident also referred to by Jesus in Luke&#39;s Gospel.</p><br>
<p>Zarephath (צרפת ṣārĕfáṯ, tsarfát; Σάρεπτα, Sárepta) in Hebrew became the eponym for any smelter or forge, or metalworking shop. In the 1st century CE, the Roman Sarepta, a port about a kilometer to the south is mentioned by Josephus, in Jewish Antiquities (Book VIII, xiii:2) and by Pliny, in Natural History (Book V, 17).</p><br>
<p>Sarepta is the location of a Shia shrine to Abu Dhar al-Ghifari, a Companion of Muhammad. The shrine is believed to have been built at least several centuries after Abu Dhar&#39;s death.</p><br>
<p>After the Islamization of the area, in 1185, the Greek monk Phocas, making a gazetteer of the Holy Land (De locis sanctis, 7), found the town almost in its ancient condition. A century later, according to Burchard of Mount Sion, it was in ruins and contained only seven or eight houses. Even after the Crusaders&#39; kingdoms had collapsed, the Roman Catholic Church continued to appoint purely titular bishops of Sarepta, the most noted being Thomas of Wroclaw who held the post from 1350 until 1378.</p><br>
<h2>Ecclesiastical history</h2><br>
<p>Sarepta as a Christian city was mentioned in the Itinerarium Burdigalense; the Onomasticon of Eusebius and in Jerome; by Theodosius and Pseudo-Antoninus who, in the 6th century call it a small town but very Christian. It contained at that time a church dedicated to St. Elias (Elijah). The Notitia episcopatuum, a list of bishoprics made in Antioch in the 6th century, speaks of Sarepta as a suffragan see of Tyre; all of its bishops are unknown.</p><br>
<h3>Titular sees</h3><br>
<p>The diocese was nominally restored as titular see, twice: in Latin and Maronite (Eastern Catholic) traditions.</p><br>
<h4>Sarepta of the Maronites</h4><br>
<p>This titular bishopric was established in 1983.</p><br>
<p>It has had the following incumbents of the fitting episcopal (lowest) rank:</p><br>
<p>Emile Eid (1982.12.20 – death 2009.11.30), in the Roman Curia: Vice-President of Pontifical Commission for the Revision of Code of Oriental Canon Law (1982.12.20 – 1990.10.18) and on emeritate; previously Defender of the Bond of Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura (1969? – 1974), Promoter of Justice of thesame Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura (1969 – 1980)</p><br>
<p>Hanna G. Alwan, Congregation of the Lebanese Maronite Missionaries (L.M.) (2011.08.13 –...), Bishop of Curia of the Maronites at the Patriarchate of Antioc; previously Prelate Auditor of Tribunal of the Roman Rota (1996.03.04 – 2011.08.13).</p><br>
<h4>Sarepta of the Romans</h4><br>
<p>It was established as titular bishopric no later then the 15th century.</p><br>
<p>It is vacant since decades, having had the following incumbents, so far of the fitting episcopal (lowest) rank :</p><br>
<p>Guillaume Vasseur, Dominican Order (O.P.) (1448.10.23 – death 1476?), no actual prelature</p><br>
<p>Gilles Barbier, Friars Minor (O.F.M.) (1476.04.03 – death 1494.03.28) as Auxiliary Bishop of Diocese of Tournai (Belgium) (1476.04.03 – 1494.03.28)</p><br>
<p>Nicolas Bureau, O.F.M. (1519.12.02 – death 1551) as Auxiliary Bishop of Diocese of Tournai (Belgium) (1519.12.02 – 1551)</p><br>
<p>Guillaume Hanwere (1552.04.27 – 1560) as Auxiliary Bishop of above Tournai (Belgium) (1552.04.27 – 1560)</p><br>
<p>Johannes Kaspar Stredele &#39;Austrian) (1631.12.15 – death 1642.12.28) as Auxiliary Bishop of Diocese of Passau (Bavaria, Germany) (1631.12.15 – 1642.12.28)</p><br>
<p>Wojciech Ignacy Bardziński (1709.01.28 – death 1722?) as Auxiliary Bishop of Diocese of Kujawy–Pomorze (Poland) (1709.01.28 – 1722?)</p><br>
<p>Charles-Antoine de la Roche-Aymon (1725.06.11 – 1730.10.02) as Auxiliary Bishop of Diocese of Limoges (France) (1725.06.11 – 1730.10.02); later Bishop of Tarbes (France) ( 1730.10.02 – 1740.11.11), Metropolitan Archbishop of Toulouse (France) ( 1740.11.11 – 1752.12.18), Metropolitan Archbishop of Narbonne (France) ( 1752.12.18 – 1763.01.24), Metropolitan Archbishop of Reims (France) ( 1763.01.24 – death 1777.10.27), created Cardinal-Priest with no Title assigned (1771.12.16 – 1777.10.27)</p><br>
<p>Johann Anton Wallreuther (1731.03.05 – 1734.01.16) as Auxiliary Bishop of Diocese of Worms (Germany) (1731.03.05 – 1734.01.16)</p><br>
<p>Jean de Cairol de Madaillan (1760.01.28 – 1770.01.29) as Auxiliary Bishop of Archdiocese of Narbonne (France) (1760.01.28 – ?); later Bishop of Vence (France) (1770.01.29 – 1771.12.16), Bishop of Grenoble (France) (1771.12.16 – 1779.12.10)</p><br>
<p>Jean-Denis de Vienne (1775.12.18 – death 1800) as Auxiliary Bishop of Lyon (France) (1775.12.18 – 1800)</p><br>
<p>Alois Jozef Krakowski von Kolowrat (1800.12.22 – 1815.03.15) as Auxiliary Bishop of Archdiocese of Olomouc (Olomütz, Moravia, Czechia) (1800.12.22 – 1815.03.15), Bishop of Hradec Králové (Czechia) (1815.03.15 – 1831.02.28), Metropolitan Archbishop of Archdiocese of Praha (Prague, Bohemia, Czechia) (1831.02.28 – death 1833.03.28)</p><br>
<p>Johann Heinrich Milz (1825.12.19 – death 1833.04.29) as Auxiliary Bishop of Trier (Germany) (1825.12.19 – 1833.04.29)</p><br>
<p>Johann Stanislaus Kutowski (1836.02.01 – death 1848.12.29) as Auxiliary Bishop of Diocese of Chełmno (Kulm, Poland) (1836.02.01 – 1848.12.29)</p><br>
<p>Franz Xaver Zenner (1851.02.17 – death 1861.10.29) as Auxiliary Bishop of Archdiocese of Wien (Vienna, Austria) (1851.02.17 – 1861.10.29)</p><br>
<p>Nicholas Power (1865.04.30 – death 1871.04.05) as Coadjutor Bishop of Killaloe (Ireland) (1865.04.30 – 1871.04.05)</p><br>
<p>Jean-François Jamot (1874.02.03 – 1882.07.11) as only Apostolic Vicar of Northern Canada (Canada) (1874.02.03 – 1882.07.11); next (see) promoted first Bishop of Peterborough (Canada) (1882.07.11 – death 1886.05.04)</p><br>
<p>Antonio Scotti (1882.09.25 – 1886.01.15) as Auxiliary Bishop of Archdiocese of Benevento (Italy) (1882.09.25 – 1886.01.15); next Bishop of Alife (Italy) (1886.01.15 – retired 1898.03.24), emeritate as Titular Bishop of Tiberiopolis (1898.03.24 – death 1919.06.10)</p><br>
<p>Paulus Palásthy (1886.05.04 – death 1899.09.24) as Auxiliary Bishop of Archdiocese of Esztergom (Hungary) (1886.05.04 – 1899.09.24)</p><br>
<p>Filippo Genovese (Italian) (1900.12.17 – death 1902.12.16), no actual prelature</p><br>
<p>Joseph Müller (1903.04.30 – death 1921.03.21) as Auxiliary Bishop of Archdiocese of Köln (Cologne, Germany) (1903.04.30 – 1921.03.21)</p><br>
<p>Edward Doorly (1923.04.05 – 1926.07.17) as Coadjutor Bishop of Elphin (Ireland) (1923.04.05 – succession 1926.07.17); next Bishop of Elphin (1926.07.17 – 1950.04.05)</p><br>
<p>Petar Dujam Munzani (1926.08.13 – 1933.03.16) as Apostolic Administrator of Archdiocese of Zadar (Croatia) (1926.08.13 – succession 1933.03.16); later Archbishop of Zadar (Croatia) (1933.03.16 – retired 1948.12.11), emeritate as Titular Archbishop of Tyana (1948.12.11 – death 1951.01.28)</p><br>
<p>François-Louis Auvity (1933.06.02 – 1937.08.14) as Auxiliary Bishop of Archdiocese of Bourges (France) (1933.06.02 – 1937.08.14); later Bishop of Mende (France) (1937.08.14 – retired 1945.09.11), emeritate as Titular Bishop of Dionysiana (1945.09.11 – death 1964.02.15)</p><br>
<p>Francesco Canessa (1937.09.04 – 1948.01.14)</p><br>
<p>John Francis Dearden (later Cardinal) (1948.03.13 – 1950.12.22)</p><br>
<p>Athanasios Cheriyan Polachirakal (1953.12.31 – 1955.01.27)</p><br>
<p>Luis Andrade Valderrama, Friars Minor (O.F.M.) (1955.03.09 – 1977.06.29)</p><br>
<h2>Archaeology</h2><br>
<p>A Heavy Neolithic archaeological site of the Qaraoun culture was discovered at Sarafand by Hajji Khalaf that pre-dated Sarepta by several thousand years. He made a collection of material and passed it to the National Museum of Beirut. It consisted of an assemblage of large flakes and bifaces in Eocene flint. Some piebald flint blades were also found along with hammerstones in Nummulitic limestone that resemble finds from Aadloun II (Bezez Cave), which is located 1 km to the South. Khalaf also found a well-made adze and a narrow, slightly polished chisel. A collection in the National Museum of Beirut marked "Jezzine ou Sarepta" consisted of around twelve neatly made discoid - and tortoise cores in cherty flint of a cream colour with a tinge of red.</p><br>
<p>The low tell on the seashore was excavated by James B. Pritchard over five years from 1969 to 1974.</p><br>
<p>Civil war in Lebanon put an end to the excavations.</p><br>
<p>The site of the ancient town is marked by the ruins on the shore to the south of the modern village, about eight miles to the south of Sidon, which extend along the shore for a mile or more. They are in two distinct groups, one on a headland to the west of a fountain called ‛Ain el-Ḳantara, which is not far from the shore. Here was the ancient harbor which still affords shelter for small craft. The other group of ruins, to the south, consists of columns, sarcophagi and marble slabs, indicating a city of considerable importance.</p><br>
<p>Pritchards excavations revealed many artifacts of daily life in the ancient Phoenician city of Sarepta: pottery workshops and kilns, artifacts of daily use and religious figurines, numerous inscriptions that included some in Ugaritic. Pillar worship is traceable from an 8th-century shrine of Tanit-Ashtart, and a seal with the citys name made the identification secure. The local Bronze Age-Iron Age stratigraphy was established in detail; absolute dating depends in part on correlations with Cypriote and Aegean stratigraphy.</p><br>
<p>The climax of the Sarepta discoveries at Sarafand is the cult shrine of "Tanit/Astart", who is identified in the site by an inscribed votive ivory plaque, the first identification of Tanit in her homeland. The site revealed figurines, further carved ivories, amulets and a cultic mask.</p><br>
<h2>Other uses of the name</h2><br>
<p>In Hebrew after the Diaspora, the name Zarephath (צרפת, ts-r-f-t, Tsarfat) is used to mean France, perhaps because the Hebrew letters ts-r-f, if reversed, become f-r-ts.</p><br>
<p>A strain of the West Nile Virus is called Sarafend. Although the origins of the strain name are unknown, it is possible that the virus strain was first isolated in this area.</p><br>
<p>Mount Ngauruhoe is an active stratovolcano or composite cone in New Zealand, made from layers of lava and tephra. It is the youngest vent in the Tongariro volcanic complex on the Central Plateau of the North Island, and first erupted about 2,500 years ago. Although seen by most as a volcano in its own right, it is technically a secondary cone of Mount Tongariro.</p><br>
<p>The volcano lies between the active volcanoes of Mount Tongariro to the north and Mount Ruapehu to the south, to the west of the Rangipo Desert and 25 kilometres to the south of the southern shore of Lake Taupo.</p><br>
<h2>Māori traditions</h2><br>
<p>The volcano was named by Ngātoro-i-rangi, an ancestor of the local Māori iwi, Ngāti Tūwharetoa. Local traditions say that Ngātoro-i-rangi called volcanic fire from his homeland Hawaiki which eventually emerged at Ngauruhoe.</p><br>
<p>The name either commemorates his slave, who had died from the cold before the fire arrived, or refers to the insertions (ngā uru) of his hoe (paddle-like staff) into the ground.</p><br>
<h2>Recent activity</h2><br>
<p>Ngauruhoe erupted 45 times in the 20th century, most recently in 1974. Fumaroles exist inside the inner crater and on the rim of the eastern, outer crater. Climbers who suffer from asthma may be affected by the strong sulphurous gases emitted from the crater.</p><br>
<p>Ngauruhoe is no longer showing signs of any significant unrest and the Volcanic Alert Level has been reduced to zero (typical background activity).</p><br>
<p>A significant increase in earthquake activity in May 2006 prompted the alert level to be raised to one (signs of volcano unrest). Over the next two years GeoNet recorded an average of 5 to 30 earthquakes a day close to Ngauruhoe, though the maximum daily number was as high as 80.</p><br>
<p>Since mid-2008 the number of volcanic earthquakes close to Ngauruhoe has declined to the background level. Regular measurements of volcanic gas levels and the temperature of a summit gas vent have failed to record any significant changes over the last two and a half years. “Since mid-2008 the number of earthquakes has returned to a typical level of a few per week”</p><br>
<p>GNS Science accordingly reduced the alert level for Ngauruhoe to Level 0 on 2 December 2008. “The reduction in earthquake activity means that an eruption in the near future is unlikely without further earthquakes or other changes and the appropriate alert level is therefore zero”, said GNS Science Volcano Section Manager Gill Jolly.</p><br>
<p>An increase in seismic activity in March 2015 resulted in the alert level being raised to Level 1. The anomalous activity was deemed to have subsided after three weeks, and the alert level was lowered back to Level 0.</p><br>
<h2>Climbing</h2><br>
<p>The mountain is usually climbed from the western side, from the Mangatepopo track. From the Mangatepopo hut to the base of the mountain takes a steady 1 hour walk; the first 45 minutes of the valley walk are suitable for children or older people. The track then climbs very steeply to the base of the climb. In summer the climb is difficult due to the loose tephra that gives way underfoot. In the summer of 2010 a climber was seriously injured by falling rock. In winter, snow consolidates the tephra. As the slope is about 45 degrees, kicking steps is essential, and this requires fitness. After rain, the snow may be covered by ice which is treacherous. Ice axes, crampons and ropes are recommended in midwinter. Climbers should practice self arrest with ice axes on the lower slopes if icy conditions prevail.</p><br>
<p>Experienced and fit climbers can attempt the climb from the northern side by cutting across the lava flows in the Mangatepopo valley from the Mangatepopo hut. This route is far longer with no flat areas for rest and is not recommended for casual climbers. Climbers on reaching the summit can circumnavigate the crater and descend the normal eastern route.</p><br>
<p>Before starting any climb an accurate favourable weather forecast should be obtained and climbers should have the appropriate level of skill, warm clothing and equipment. Between March and October the mountain is subject to sudden violent wind gusts and snow storms with the temperature plunging well below zero.</p><br>
<p>During the closure of the central part of the Mt. Tongariro one day walk, due to volcanic activity, climbing Mt. Ngauruhoe became a more popular as an alternative. At Easter 2013 four climbers were injured in separate incidents. Two of the accidents were due to congestion on the normal eastern route to the crater when a climber caused loose rock to hit another climber below. All the injured had to be rescued by helicopter.</p><br>
<h2>Film appearances</h2><br>
<p>In 1974, as part of a promotional campaign for his sponsor Moët & Chandon, champion skier Jean-Claude Killy was filmed skiing down the previously unskied eastern slope of the mountain. The average slope on this side of the volcano is 35 degrees, and Killy was caught on radar skiing more than 100 miles per hour. As he fell on the first run, he did the descent twice.</p><br>
<p>Mount Ngauruhoe was used as a stand-in for the fictional Mount Doom in Peter Jackson&#39;s The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, achieving worldwide exposure.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The mountain was first climbed by J. C. Bidwill in March 1839, the ascent being from the north-west. He reported that “The crater was the most terrific abyss I ever looked into or imagined … it was not possible to see above 10 yards into it from the quantity of steam which it was continually discharging”.</p><br>
<p>Savo Island is a volcanic island in Solomon Islands in the South Pacific ocean. It is located to the north of the western tip of Guadalcanal Island at {{coord|9|8|0|S|159|49|0|E|region:SB_type:isle}}. Politically, Savo Island is a part of the Solomons&#39; Central Province. The indigenous language of Savo is the Savosavo language.</p><br>
<p>The volcano of the island last erupted in the years between 1835 and 1850. One eruption was so strong that it wiped out all life on the island. A previous eruption occurred in 1568. According to the data of the World Organization of Volcanic Observatories, Savo Island is active every 100 to 300 years.</p><br>
<h2>European discovery and exploration</h2><br>
<p>The first recorded sighting of Savo Island by European explorers was by the Spanish expedition of Álvaro de Mendaña in April 1568. More precisely the sighting was due to a local exploration voyage done by a small boat, in the accounts the brigantine, commanded by Maestre de Campo Pedro de Ortega Valencia and having Hernán Gallego as pilot. They charted the volcanic island as Sesarga. Considering the expedition leaders Mendaña and cosmographer Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa were both from Galicia in Spain it was probably so named after the island of the same name in this region.</p><br>
<h2>Savo Island in World War II</h2><br>
<p>Because of its proximity to Guadalcanal Island and the hotly contested nature of the battles for control of the Solomon Islands, Savo Island figured in many of the naval engagements of the Solomon Islands campaign. It is most well known as the location of several naval battles fought in the adjacent "Ironbottom Sound" during World War II, between the Allied naval forces and the Imperial Japanese Navy.</p><br>
<p>List of World War II naval battles fought in the vicinity of Savo Island:</p><br>
<p>* Battle of Savo Island, 9 August 1942</p><br>
<p>* Battle of Cape Esperance (originally known as the "Second Battle of Savo Island"), 11–12 October 1942</p><br>
<p>* Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, 13–15 November 1942</p><br>
<p>* Battle of Tassafaronga, 30 November 1942</p><br>
<h2>The "egg fields"</h2><br>
<p>Savo Island is also known for the "egg fields" of the megapode, a bird which comes to lay its eggs here and bury them in the sand to incubate, as the sand is warm being a volcanic island. The eggs are then dug out by local people and are considered a local food specialty. The eggs are just a bit bigger than a duck egg and are used for preparing omelettes and other dishes.</p><br>
<p>Kielder Forest is a large forestry plantation in Northumberland, England, surrounding Kielder village and the Kielder Water reservoir. It is the largest man-made woodland in England with three-quarters of its 250 square miles covered by forest. The majority of the forest lies within the Border Forest Park, with the southern tip known as Wark Forest lying within Northumberland National Park.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The forest is owned and managed by the United Kingdoms Forestry Commission, which initiated the first plantings in the 1920s. During the 1930s, the Ministry of Labour supplied men from among the ranks of the unemployed. Many came from the mining communities and shipyards of North East England. They were housed in one of a number of instructional centres created by the Ministry, most of them on Forestry Commission property; by 1938, the Ministry had 38 Instructional Centres across Britain. The hutted camp in Kielder is now under Kielder Water. Numerous purpose-built villages were also constructed for workers families, including Stonehaugh.</p><br>
<p>Prior to the 1920s, the land was predominantly open moorland, managed for grouse shooting and sheep grazing with remnants of native upland woodland existing along stream sides and in isolated craggy areas. The Forestry Commission, funded from the public purse, purchased land across the country with the brief of establishing a strategic reserve of timber for the nation. This single objective held sway until the 1960s. Since that time, management principles have changed in order to reflect rising awareness of environmental needs and to provide recreational facilities whilst seeking to maintain a sustainable supply of timber. Kielder today remains state-owned and its development from a single-objective plantation to a multi-purpose forest mirrors the development of plantation forestry across the United Kingdom.</p><br>
<p>Many archaeological remains can be found within the forest and are an important cultural link to the often turbulent history of the area.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>The name Kielder Forest is often also applied to the area of hills and remote moorland that surround the forestry plantations. The group of hills merges into the Cheviots to the north-east but is generally well-defined on other sides. It reaches a maximum height of 602 m at Peel Fell and also contains the Marilyns of Sighty Crag and Larriston Fells. These hills, despite not being very high, are particularly remote owing to the scarcity of settlement in the region. Indeed, Sighty Crag is the furthest hill in England from a road.</p><br>
<h2>Environment</h2><br>
<h3>Trees</h3><br>
<p>Kielder is dominated by conifers. Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) covers 75% of the planted area; this species thrives in the damp conditions afforded by northern Britain. Other species include Norway spruce (Picea abies) and lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta), which cover 9% of the area each. The remainder is made up of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris), larch (Larix spp.), Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), and broadleaves including birch (Betula spp.), rowan (Sorbus aucuparia), cherry (Prunus spp.), oak (Quercus spp.), beech (Fagus sylvatica), and willow (Salix spp.).</p><br>
<h3>Timber</h3><br>
<p>475,000 cubic metres of timber is harvested annually to supply local sawmilling, chipboard, pulp and wood fuel customers. Most of this volume comes from clearfelling areas; an increasing percentage however is sourced from stands harvested under continuous cover silviculture systems. Clear felled areas are replanted with a mix of coniferous and broadleaf tree species, opportunities are also taken to increase the proportion of open space and to improved the riparian habitat. As with all Forestry Commission woodlands timber is independently certified under the Forest Stewardship Council scheme.</p><br>
<h3>Wildlife</h3><br>
<p>The forest contains a number of sites of special scientific interest, primarily associated with the upland moorland environment. A programme of restoration of Border mires is ongoing.</p><br>
<p>The forest is also home to around 50% of England&#39;s red squirrel population, and is their last remaining stronghold in the country. The best place to catch a glimpse of one is at the squirrel hide at Kielder waterside. It also provides excellent habitat for many species of birds of prey. In 2009 a pair of osprey (Pandion haliaetus) nested successfully in the forest. This pair have continued to nest there each year since, and a second pair nested in 2011. In 2014 eight young were fledged and by 2016 there were four nesting osprey pairs fledging eleven young. A large population of roe deer is actively managed.</p><br>
<p>Due to the low human population and scarcity of roads and railways, Kielder Forest was proposed in July 2016 as one of the preferred reintroduction sites for the Eurasian lynx, which has been extinct in Britain for 1,300 years. Interest in reintroducing the species was further bolstered in 2016 in relation to a successful breeding program for the Iberian lynx in Spain.</p><br>
<h2>Recreation</h2><br>
<h3>Kielder Castle</h3><br>
<p>Kielder Castle Visitor Centre is an 18th-century hunting lodge built by the Duke of Northumberland, which has been converted into a visitor and information centre. It is located on the edge of Kielder Village at the head of the River North Tyne valley. The Castle serves as a hub for the growing number of recreational facilities on offer, walking and cycling trails, picnic areas and a forest drive. A great football match is reported to have taken place between the men of Tynedale and Redesdale at Kielder Castle in 1790.</p><br>
<h3>Other attractions</h3><br>
<p>The forest contains a number of art and architectural installations including a Skyspace designed by James Turrell and Wave Chamber, a camera obscura in a stone cairn by Chris Drury.</p><br>
<p>The forest also contains Kielder Observatory which is an astronomical observatory.</p><br>
<p>In 2010, former British distance runner Steve Cram inaugurated the Kielder Marathon which is a circuit around the lake taking in the surrounding gentle contours.</p><br>
<p>In the same decade the local authority began a reduction of late night street lights to enhance the dark skies of the park and sponsored observation facilities and advertising to attract visitors to the darkest skies in the mainland of Britain.</p><br>
<p>The Dry Tortugas are a small group of islands, located in the Gulf of Mexico at the end of the Florida Keys, United States, about 67 mi west of Key West, and 37 mi west of the Marquesas Keys, the closest islands. Still further west is the Tortugas Bank, which is submerged. The first Europeans to discover the islands were the Spanish in 1513, led by explorer Juan Ponce de León. The archipelago&#39;s name derives from the lack of fresh water springs, and the presence of turtles. They are an unincorporated area of Monroe County, Florida, and belong to the Lower Keys Census County Division. With their surrounding waters, they constitute the Dry Tortugas National Park.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>The keys are low and irregular. Some keys have thin growths of mangroves, and various other vegetation, while others have only small patches of grass, or are devoid of plant life. In general, they rise abruptly from relatively deep water. They are continually changing in size and shape. The Tortugas Atoll has had up to 11 islets during the past two centuries. Some of the smaller islands have disappeared and reappeared multiple times as a result of hurricane impact.</p><br>
<h3>Islands</h3><br>
<p>The total area of the islets, some of which are little more than sand bars just above the water mark, is about 580,000 m&sup2;. Their area changes over time as wind and waves reshape them. There are seven islets, which are from West to East:</p><br>
<p>Loggerhead Key, 250by1,200 m in size, with an area of 260,000 m&sup2; is the largest. This island has the highest elevation in the Dry Tortugas, at 10 ft. The Dry Tortugas lighthouse, 46 m 46 meters high, is on this island.</p><br>
<p>Garden Key, with Fort Jefferson and the inactive Garden Key lighthouse (20 m). It is 4 km east of Loggerhead Key. Garden Key is the second largest island in the chain, at 400by500 m in size, with an area of 170,000 m&sup2;. The original size, before construction of Fort Jefferson, has been estimated at 30,350to35,610 m&sup2;.</p><br>
<p>Bush Key, formerly named Hog Island because of the hogs that were raised there to provide fresh meat for the prisoners at Fort Jefferson, just a few meters east of Garden Key. At times, Bush Key is connected to Garden Key by a sand bar. The island is the third largest, 150by900 m, area 120,000 m&sup2, less than 1 m high. Bush Key is the site of a large tern rookery. It is closed to visitors from April to September to protect nesting sooty terns and brown noddys.</p><br>
<p>Long Key, 59 m south of the eastern end of Bush Key, 50by200 m in size, area of 8,000 m&sup2;.</p><br>
<p>Hospital Key, so called because a hospital for the inmates of Fort Jefferson had been built there in the 1870s. The island was formerly called Middle Key or Sand Key. It lies 2.5 km northeast of Garden Key and Bush Key, 70 m, area 4,000 m&sup2, and is 1 mhigh at its highest point.</p><br>
<p>Middle Key, 2.5 km east of Hospital key, 90 m, area 6,000 m&sup2, due to various seasonal changes, storm patterns and tidal cycles it is not always above sea level, disappearing for weeks or months only to reappear again.</p><br>
<p>East Key, 2 km east of Middle Key, 100by200 m, area 16,000 m&sup2, over 2 meters high</p><br>
<p>The three westernmost keys, which are also the three largest keys (Loggerhead Key, Garden Key, and Bush Key), make up about 93 percent of the total land area of the group.</p><br>
<h3>Former islands</h3><br>
<p>Formerly existing keys were, from West to East:</p><br>
<p>Southwest Key, disappeared by 1875, today a shoal south off Loggerhead Reef</p><br>
<p>Bird Key (formerly Booby Key), was about 1.5 km southwest of Garden Key, disappeared in 1935, current names in the area are Bird Key Bank and Bird Key Harbor. The Key was the site of numerous Union solder&#39;s graves during the Civil War.</p><br>
<p>North Key, probably identical with former Booby Island, current name in the area is North Key Harbor, an anchorage WSW of Pulaski Shoal, disappeared by 1875</p><br>
<p>Northeast Key (earlier called Sand Key), was between East Key and North Key, slightly to the North, disappeared by 1875</p><br>
<h3>Shoals with lights</h3><br>
<p>Pulaski Shoal (Pulaski Reef), marking the northeast edge of the group at 24&deg;41&prime;36&Prime;N latitude, 82&deg;46&prime;24&Prime;W longitude, is not an island, but the former location of the Pulaski Shoal Light.</p><br>
<p>Iowa Rock, halfway between Garden Key and Hospital Key, is another site of a navigational light (and weather station) built in shallow water. It was destroyed by Hurricane Hugo, with three bare stumps left.</p><br>
<h2>Climate</h2><br>
<h2>Environment</h2><br>
<p>The islands get their name from their distinctive characteristics: Turtles, because Ponce de León, a Spanish explorer, saw several big sea turtles on the island. Soon afterward, the word "Dry" was added to the name, to indicate to mariners the islands&#39; lack of springs. Later seafarers would keep the turtles on their backs in the holds of sailing ships and butcher them when they wanted fresh meat. They are not related to the Caribbean island of Tortuga, near Hispaniola.</p><br>
<p>The islands are home to Dry Tortugas National Park, and are accessible only by boat or seaplane. The large seabird colony, including sooty terns, brown noddy, masked booby and magnificent frigatebird, and the regular occurrence of Caribbean vagrant birds makes them a popular birding destination.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Spanish explorer Ponce de León gave the Dry Tortugas their name on his first visit in 1513. The name is the second oldest surviving European place-name in the US. They were given the name Las Tortugas (The Turtles) due to 170 sea turtles taken on the islands and shoals by de Leóns men. Soon afterward, the word "Dry" was added to the name, to indicate to mariners the islands lack of springs.</p><br>
<p>In 1742 HMS Tyger wrecked in the Dry Tortugas. The stranded crew lived on Garden Key for 56 days, and fought a battle with a Spanish sloop, before sailing to Jamaica in several boats.</p><br>
<p>John James Audubon visited the Tortugas in 1832 and so did Louis Agassiz in 1858.</p><br>
<p>The United States government never completed Fort Jefferson after 30 years on Garden Key. This bastion remained in Union hands throughout the Civil War. It later was used as a prison until abandoned in 1874. Dr. Samuel Mudd, famous for being the doctor who treated John Wilkes Booth in the wake of the Lincoln assassination, was imprisoned here until early 1869. During the 1880s, the Navy established a base in the Dry Tortugas, and it subsequently set up a coaling (refueling) and a wireless (radio) station there as well. During World War I, a seaplane base was established in the islands, but it was abandoned soon thereafter.</p><br>
<p>From 1903 until 1939 the Carnegie Institution of Washington operated the Marine Biology Laboratory on Loggerhead Key which "...quickly became the best-equipped marine biological station in the tropical world.” Through the years, over 150 researchers used the facilities to perform a wide range of research. In June 1911 the laboratory built a vessel in Miami, for use by researchers as well as logistics between the station and Key West. The vessel, excepting a period of World War I service with the Navy, supported the laboratory&#39;s work until closure in 1939 and donation of Anton Dohrn to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.</p><br>
<p>An account of a visit to the fort at the Dry Tortugas by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Justice-to-be Robert H. Jackson can be found in Jacksons book That Man: An Insiders Portrait of Franklin D. Roosevelt.</p><br>
<p>The Dry Tortugas are also rich in maritime history. In 1989 Seahawk Deep Ocean Technology explored a shipwreck believed to be part of the 1622 Spanish treasure fleet. The wreck located in 1332 (406m) of water, yielded olive jars, copper, gold, silver, glass and other cultural artifacts. On September 6, 1622, the Nuestra Señora de Atocha was driven by a severe hurricane onto a coral reef near the Dry Tortugas, about 35 mi west of Key West. Mel Fisher and his company discovered the wreck July 20, 1985. The estimated $450 million cache recovered, known as "The Atocha Motherlode," included 40 tons of gold and silver; there were some 114,000 of the Spanish silver coins known as "pieces of eight", gold coins, Colombian emeralds, gold and silver artifacts, and 1000 silver ingots. In addition to the Atocha, Fishers company, Salvors Inc., found remains of several nearby shipwrecks, including the Atocha&#39;s sister galleon the Santa Margarita, lost in the same year, and the remains of a slave ship known as the Henrietta Marie, lost in 1700.</p><br>
<p>In August 2004, the Dry Tortugas were directly struck by Hurricane Charley. The following day, a Cessna airplane crashed into the water near the islands, killing cinematographer Neal Fredericks while he was filming scenery for the feature film CrossBones.</p><br>
<h2>Visiting</h2><br>
<p>The Dry Tortugas are 70 mi west of Key West, Florida. Visiting the park by private boat is difficult because of its distance, so most visitors come by ferry, catamaran, or seaplane from Key West. Other methods of visiting the Dry Tortugas include chartering of authorized and approved private vessels. Only certain companies have access to fish or dive near the Dry Tortugas. Official ferry and transportation services to the Dry Tortugas includes the Yankee Freedom III catamaran, private vessel chartering and seaplane services.</p><br>
<h2>In popular culture</h2><br>
<p>In Robert Louis Stevenson&#39;s Treasure Island (1884), Billy Bones speaks of the Dry Tortugas in his drunken tales.</p><br>
<p>In the tale "Al Jackson" by William Faulkner.</p><br>
<p>The islands are the location for Nevada Barrs 2003 novel, Flashback, and a key location (and, with the history of Fort Jefferson, a key plot point) in Brad Meltzers 2015 thriller, The President&#39;s Shadow.</p><br>
<p>The pirate Edward Kenway, the main character of Assassin&#39;s Creed IV: Black Flag, visits the Dry Tortugas as well as other locales, throughout his adventure.</p><br>
<p>The Dry Tortugas are featured in Bob and Ray&#39;s "Mary Backstage" serial.</p><br>
<p>Garden Key was the setting for James Fenimore Cooper&#39;s Jack Tiers novel.</p><br>
<p>The Nervión river  runs through the city of Bilbao, Spain into the Cantabrian Sea . Its lowermost course, downstream of its confluence with the Ibaizabal River, is known as the Estuary of Bilbao.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>The river is 72 km long from its source at the Burgos and Alava provincial limits to the sea and runs in South to North direction. Soon after its source, the river forms a spectacular 300 m waterfall in the Delika canyon (Alava) and then enters the Biscay province through the town of Orduña. It goes into Alava again through the towns of Amurrio and Llodio. Then the river runs again into the Biscay province until the Cantabrian sea, entering the Bilbao metropolitan area at Ugao-Miraballes. The tidal influence reaches 15 km inland from the sea, at Bilbao&#39;s old town.</p><br>
<p>The main tributaries are:</p><br>
<p>From the west:Cadagua and Galindo.</p><br>
<p>From the east: Arratia, Ibaizabal and Asua.</p><br>
<p>Ibaizabal is considered by some to be an equally important river, so the whole system is often called Nervión-Ibaizabal and the final tract just "Estuary of Bilbao". The basin area is 1,900 km&sup2;.</p><br>
<h3>Naming</h3><br>
<p>Despite its current success in Spanish use, the traditional name of the stretch between the estuary and Basauri, where both Ibaizabal and Nervión merge, is Ibaizabal (meaning wide river in Basque), according to historical evidence tracing back to the eleventh century and up to the twentieth. The literary writer from Bilbao Miguel de Unamuno (1864&ndash;1936) as well as mayor of Bilbao Javier Ybarra (1913&ndash;1977) refer to it as Ibaizabal. Geological and hydrological data also seem to support that assumption.</p><br>
<h2>History and economy</h2><br>
<p>From ancient times, the Orduña pass that links Spain&#39;s inner plateau with the Nervión valley has had a great economic impact. During the Middle Ages it served as a natural border between the Biscay lordship and Castile counties, entry taxes were collected there.</p><br>
<p>Through the centuries, the Nervión valley was a vital communication corridor for Biscay, and the main railroad from Bilbao to the rest of Spain was constructed following the river in 1870.</p><br>
<p>At the same time, Bilbao developed a great commercial activity, with its seaport being the most important in the north coast of Spain. The port&#39;s activity relied totally in the navigability of the river in its final 15 km.</p><br>
<p>So engineer Evaristo Churruca developed an enormous project that would solve the traditional navigation problems of the river.</p><br>
<p>The estuary divided the population of the Greater Bilbao; the Left Bank was occupied by factories (steel, metalwork, shipbuilding) and their workers, the Right Bank was a residential area for the factory owners.</p><br>
<p>Now the Nervión river has lost economic importance, the navigable part of the river is being abandoned in favour of the external port, to allow urban development to take place in the banks of the river after the dismantlement of the industry.</p><br>
<p>The quality of the water has improved through refuse water cleaning and the disappearance of the most polluting industries.</p><br>
<h2>Environment</h2><br>
<p>After a century of intense industrial activity the river, especially the final 25 km, was ecologically dead with oxygen levels 20 percent below the norm. This made the Nervión one of the most polluted rivers in the world. In 1990 the local authorities launched a plan to overcome this situation, resulting in a constant improvement of the environmental status that after 15 years has transformed the Nervión in to a clean river, full of aquatic life.</p><br>
<p>St Catherines Island  is a small tidal island linked to Tenby in Pembrokeshire, Wales, by Castle beach at low tide. The island, which is known colloquially as St Catherines Rock, is the location of St Catherine&#39;s Fort.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>During the reign of Elizabeth I, the Earl of Pembroke (“Jasper”, the uncle of Henry VII) was the owner of St Catherine’s Island. Later, the ownership passed to the Corporation of Tenby, which took possession of a number of crown lands. It is recorded in 1856 that a few sheep inhabited the island. An observer described them as “half wild sure footed creatures that run, turn and look, run again and leap from crag to crag almost with the agility of the Alpine Chamois”.</p><br>
<p>For many centuries a tiny church was the only building on the Island. The remains of the church were demolished when St Catherine&#39;s Fort was constructed in 1867. It served as a zoo for a number of years.</p><br>
<p>In April 2014 the island was opened to the public for the first time since 1979. The fort is currently running tours in which people are able to explore it.</p><br>
<p>In 2016 The Final Problem, the third and last episode of the fourth series of the BBC TV series Sherlock was filmed on the island, with it standing in as a maximum security prison.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>Formed from an outcrop of limestone, on average 25m high, the island is riddled with tidal caves. The island is approximately 200 m long and 60 m wide.</p><br>
<p>The area below the high waterline at St Catherine&#39;s Island is a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The stretch directly in front of the island is known as the Catterns.</p><br>
<p>Cave, St. Catherine&#39;s Island - Pembrokeshire.jpegA cave at the island; 1823</p><br>
<p>The Great Smoky Mountains are a mountain range rising along the Tennessee–North Carolina border in the southeastern United States. They are a subrange of the Appalachian Mountains, and form part of the Blue Ridge Physiographic Province. The range is sometimes called the Smoky Mountains and the name is commonly shortened to the Smokies. The Great Smokies are best known as the home of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which protects most of the range. The park was established in 1934, and, with over 9 million visits per year, it is the most-visited national park in the United States.</p><br>
<p>The Great Smokies are part of an International Biosphere Reserve. The range is home to an estimated 187,000 acre of old growth forest, constituting the largest such stand east of the Mississippi River. The cove hardwood forests in the ranges lower elevations are among the most diverse ecosystems in North America, and the Southern Appalachian spruce-fir forest that coats the ranges upper elevations is the largest of its kind. The Great Smokies are also home to the densest black bear population in the Eastern United States and the most diverse salamander population outside of the tropics.</p><br>
<p>Along with the Biosphere reserve, the Great Smokies have been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The USA National Park Service preserves and maintains 78 structures within the national park that were once part of the numerous small Appalachian communities scattered throughout the range&#39;s river valleys and coves. The park contains five historic districts and nine individual listings on the National Register of Historic Places.</p><br>
<p>The name "Smoky" comes from the natural fog that often hangs over the range and presents as large smoke plumes from a distance. This fog is caused by the vegetation exhaling volatile organic compounds, chemicals that have a high vapor pressure and easily form vapors at normal temperature and pressure.</p><br>
<p>As a result of the 2016 Great Smoky Mountains wildfires, the Great Smoky Mountains have received international media coverage.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>The Great Smoky Mountains stretch from the Pigeon River in the northeast to the Little Tennessee River to the southwest. The northwestern half of the range gives way to a series of elongate ridges known as the "Foothills," the outermost of which include Chilhowee Mountain and English Mountain. The range is roughly bounded on the south by the Tuckasegee River and to the southeast by Soco Creek and Jonathan Creek. The Great Smokies comprise parts of Blount County, Sevier County, and Cocke County in Tennessee and Swain County and Haywood County in North Carolina.</p><br>
<p>The sources of several rivers are located in the Smokies, including the Little Pigeon River, the Oconaluftee River, and Little River. Streams in the Smokies are part of the Tennessee River watershed and are thus entirely west of the Eastern Continental Divide. The largest stream wholly within the park is Abrams Creek, which rises in Cades Cove and empties into the Chilhowee Lake impoundment of the Little Tennessee River near Chilhowee Dam.</p><br>
<p>Other major streams include Hazel Creek and Eagle Creek in the southwest, Raven Fork near Oconaluftee, Cosby Creek near Cosby, and Roaring Fork near Gatlinburg. The Little Tennessee River passes through five impoundments along the range&#39;s southwestern boundary, namely Tellico Lake, Chilhowee Lake, Calderwood Lake, Cheoah Lake, and Fontana Lake.</p><br>
<h3>Notable peaks</h3><br>
<p>The highest point in the Smokies is Clingmans Dome, which rises to an elevation of 6,643 ft. The mountain is the highest in Tennessee and the third highest in the Appalachian range. Clingmans Dome also has the range&#39;s highest topographical prominence at 4,503 ft. Mount Le Conte is the tallest (i.e., from immediate base to summit) mountain in the range, rising 5,301 ft from its base in Gatlinburg to its 6,593 ft summit.</p><br>
<h3>Climate</h3><br>
<p>The Smokies rise prominently above the surrounding low terrain. For example, Mount Le Conte (6,593 feet or 2,010 m) rises more than a mile (1.6 km) above its base. Because of their prominence, the Smokies receive heavy annual amounts of precipitation. Annual precipitation amounts range from 50 to 80 inches (130–200 cm), and snowfall in the winter can be heavy, especially on the higher slopes. For comparison, the surrounding terrain has annual precipitation of around 40 to 50 inches (100–130 cm).</p><br>
<p>Flooding often occurs after heavy rain. In 2004, the remnants of Hurricane Frances caused major flooding, landslides, and high winds, which was soon followed by Hurricane Ivan, making the situation worse. Other post-hurricanes, including Hurricane Hugo in 1989, have caused similar damage in the Smokies.</p><br>
<h2>Geology</h2><br>
<p>Most of the rocks in the Great Smoky Mountains consist of Late Precambrian rocks that are part of a formation known as the Ocoee Supergroup. The Ocoee Supergroup consists primarily of slightly metamorphosed sandstones, phyllites, schists, and slate. Early Precambrian rocks, which include the oldest rocks in the Smokies, comprise the dominant rock type in the Raven Fork Valley (near Oconaluftee) and upper Tuckasegee River between Cherokee and Bryson City. They consist primarily of metamorphic gneiss, granite, and schist. Cambrian sedimentary rocks are found among the outer reaches of the Foothills to the northwest and in limestone coves such as Cades Cove.</p><br>
<p>The Precambrian gneiss and schists—the oldest rocks in the Smokies—formed over a billion years ago from the accumulation of marine sediments and igneous rock in a primordial ocean. In the Late Precambrian period, this ocean expanded, and the more recent Ocoee Supergroup rocks formed from accumulations of the eroding land mass onto the ocean&#39;s continental shelf.</p><br>
<p>By the end of the Paleozoic era, the ancient ocean had deposited a thick layer of marine sediments which left behind sedimentary rocks such as limestone. During the Ordovician period, the North American and African plates collided, destroying the ancient ocean and initiating the Alleghenian orogeny—the mountain-building epoch that created the Appalachian range. The Mesozoic era saw the rapid erosion of the softer sedimentary rocks from the new mountains, re-exposing the older Ocoee Supergroup formations.</p><br>
<p>Around 20,000 years ago, subarctic glaciers advanced southward across North America, and although they never reached the Smokies, the advancing glaciers led to colder mean annual temperatures and an increase in precipitation throughout the range. Trees were unable to survive at the higher elevations, and were replaced by tundra vegetation. Spruce-fir forests occupied the valleys and slopes below approximately 4,950 ft. The persistent freezing and thawing during this period created the large blockfields that are often found at the base of large mountain slopes.</p><br>
<p>Between 16,500 and 12,500 years ago, the glaciers to the north retreated and mean annual temperatures rose. The tundra vegetation disappeared, and the spruce-fir forests retreated to the highest elevations. Hardwood trees moved into the region from the coastal plains, replacing the spruce-fir forests in the lower elevations. The temperatures continued warming until around 6,000 years ago, when they began to gradually grow cooler.</p><br>
<h2>Flora</h2><br>
<p>Heavy logging in the late 19th century and early 20th century devastated much of the forests of the Smokies, but the National Park Service estimates 187,000 acre of old growth forest remains, comprising the largest old growth stand in the Eastern United States. Most of the forest is a mature second-growth hardwood forest. The range&#39;s 1,600 species of flowering plants include over 100 species of native trees and 100 species of native shrubs. The Great Smokies are also home to over 450 species of non-vascular plants, and 2,000 species of fungi.</p><br>
<p>The forests of the Smokies are typically divided into three zones:</p><br>
<p>the cove hardwood forests in the stream valleys, coves, and lower mountain slopes.</p><br>
<p>the northern hardwood forests on the higher mountain slopes.</p><br>
<p>the spruce-fir or boreal forest at the very highest elevations.</p><br>
<p>Appalachian balds—patches of land where trees are unexpectedly absent or sparse—are interspersed through the mid-to-upper elevations in the range. Balds include grassy balds, which are highland meadows covered primarily by thick grasses, and heath balds, which are dense thickets of rhododendron and mountain laurel typically occurring on narrow ridges. Mixed oak-pine forests are found on dry ridges, especially on the south-facing North Carolina side of the range. Stands dominated by the Eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) are occasionally found along streams and broad slopes above 3,500 ft.</p><br>
<h3>Cove hardwood forest</h3><br>
<p>Cove hardwood forests, which are native to Southern Appalachia, are among the most diverse forest types in North America. The cove hardwood forests of the Smokies are mostly second-growth, although some 72,000 acre are still old-growth. The Albright Grove along the Maddron Bald Trail (between Gatlinburg and Cosby) is an accessible old-growth forest with some of the oldest and tallest trees in the entire range.</p><br>
<p>Over 130 species of trees are found among the canopies of the cove hardwood forests in the Smokies. The dominant species include yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis), basswood (Tilia americana), yellow buckeye (Aesculus flava), tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera; commonly called "tulip poplar"), silverbells (Halesia carolina), sugar maple (Acer saccharum), cucumber magnolia (Magnolia acuminata), shagbark hickory (Carya ovata), Carolina hemlock (Tsuga caroliniana) and eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis). The American chestnut (Castanea dentata), which was arguably the most beloved tree of the range&#39;s pre-park inhabitants, was killed off by the introduced Chestnut blight in the 1920s.</p><br>
<p>The understories of the cove hardwood forest contain dozens of species of shrubs and vines. Dominant species in the Smokies include the Eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis), flowering dogwood (Cornus florida), Catawba rhododendron (Rhododendron catawbiense), mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia), and smooth hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens).</p><br>
<h3>Northern hardwood forest</h3><br>
<p>The mean annual temperatures in the higher elevations in the Smokies are cool enough to support forest types more commonly found in the northern United States. The northern hardwood forests of the Smokies constitute the highest broad-leaved forest in the eastern United States. About 28,600 acre of the northern hardwood forest are old-growth.</p><br>
<p>In the Smokies, the northern hardwood canopies are dominated by yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis) and American beech (Fagus grandifolia). White basswood (Tilia heterophylla), mountain maple (Acer spicatum) and striped maple (Acer pensylvanicum), and yellow buckeye (Aesculus flava) are also present. The northern hardwood understory is home to diverse species such as coneflower, skunk goldenrod, Rugels ragwort, bloodroot, hydrangea, and several species of grasses and ferns.</p><br>
<p>One unique community in the northern hardwoods of the Smokies is the beech gap, or beech orchard. Beech gaps consist of high mountain gaps that have been monopolized by beech trees. The beech trees are often twisted and contorted by the high winds that occur in these gaps. Why other tree types such as the red spruce fail to encroach into the beech gaps is unknown.</p><br>
<h3>Spruce-fir forest</h3><br>
<p>The spruce-fir forest—also called the "boreal" or "Canadian" forest—is a relict of the Ice Ages, when mean annual temperatures in the Smokies were too cold to support a hardwood forest. While the rise in temperatures between 12,500 and 6,000 years ago allowed the hardwoods to return, the spruce-fir forest has managed to survive on the harsh mountain tops, typically above 5,500 ft. About 10,600 acre of the spruce-fir forest are old-growth.</p><br>
<p>The spruce-fir forest consists primarily of two conifer species—red spruce (Picea rubens) and Fraser fir (Abies fraseri). The Fraser Firs, which are native to Southern Appalachia, once dominated elevations above 6,200 ft in the Great Smokies. Most of these firs were killed, however, by an infestation of the balsam wooly adelgid, which arrived in the Smokies in the early 1960s. Thus, red spruce is now the dominant species in the range&#39;s spruce-fir forest. Large stands of dead Fraser Firs remain atop Clingmans Dome and on the northwestern slopes of Old Black. While much of the red spruce stands in the Smokies were logged during World War I, the tree is still common throughout the range above 5,500 ft. Some of the red spruce trees in the Smokies are believed to be 300 years old, and the tallest rise to over 100 ft.</p><br>
<p>The main difference between the spruce-fir forests of Southern Appalachia and the spruce-fir forests in northern latitudes is the dense broad-leaved understory of the former. The spruce-fir understories of the Smokies are home to catawba rhododendron, mountain ash, pin cherry, thornless blackberry, and hobblebush. The herbaceous and litter layers of the spruce-fir forests are poorly lit year-round, and are thus dominated by shade-tolerant plants such as ferns, namely mountain wood fern and northern lady fern, and over 280 species of mosses.</p><br>
<h3>Wildflowers</h3><br>
<p>Many wildflowers grow in mountains and valleys of the Great Smokies, including bee balm, Solomons seal, Dutchmans breeches, various trilliums, the Dragon&#39;s Advocate and even hardy orchids. There are two native species of rhododendron in the area. The Catawba rhododendron has purple flowers in May and June, while the rosebay rhododendron has longer leaves and blooms white or a light pink in June and July.</p><br>
<p>The orange- to sometimes red-flowered and deciduous flame azalea closely follows along with the Catawbas. The closely related mountain laurel blooms in between the two, and all of the blooms progress from lower to higher elevations. The reverse is true in autumn, when nearly bare mountaintops covered in rime ice (frozen fog) can be separated from green valleys by very bright and varied leaf colors. The rhododendrons are broadleafs, whose leaves droop in order to shed wet and heavy snows that come through the region during winter.</p><br>
<h2>Fauna</h2><br>
<p>The Great Smoky Mountains are home to 66 species of mammals, over 240 species of birds, 43 species of amphibians, 60 species of fish, and 40 species of reptiles. The range has the densest black bear population east of the Mississippi River. The black bear has come to symbolize wildlife in the Smokies, and the animal frequently appears on the covers of the Great Smoky Mountains National Parks literature. Most of the ranges adult eastern black bears weigh between 100 lb and 300 lb, although some grow to more than 500 lb.</p><br>
<p>Other mammals in the Great Smokies include the white-tailed deer, the population of which drastically expanded with the creation of the national park. The bobcat is the range&#39;s only remaining wild cat species, although sightings of mountain lions—which once thrived in the area—are still occasionally reported. The coyote is not believed to be native to the range, but has moved into the area in recent years and is treated as a native species. Two species of fox—the red fox and the gray fox—are found in the Smokies, with red foxes being documented at all elevations.</p><br>
<p>European Boar, introduced as game animals in the early 20th century, thrive in Southern Appalachia but are considered a nuisance due to their tendency to root up and destroy plants. The boars are seen as taking food resources away from bears as well, and the park service has sponsored a program that pays individuals to hunt and kill boars and leave their bodies in locations frequented by bears.</p><br>
<p>The Smokies are home to over two dozen species of rodents, including the endangered northern flying squirrel, and 10 species of bats, including the endangered Indiana bat. The National Park Service has successfully reintroduced river otters and elk into the Great Smokies. An attempt to reintroduce the red wolf in the early 1990s ultimately failed. These wolves were removed from the park and relocated to the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in North Carolina.</p><br>
<p>The Smokies are home to a diverse bird population due to the presence of multiple forest types. Species that thrive in southern hardwood forests, such as the red-eyed vireo, wood thrush, wild turkey, northern parula, ruby-throated hummingbird, and tufted titmouse, are found throughout the ranges lower elevations and cove hardwood forests. Species more typical of cooler climates, such as the raven, winter wren, black-capped chickadee, yellow-bellied sapsucker, dark-eyed junco, and Blackburnian, chestnut-sided, and Canada warblers, are found in the ranges spruce-fir and northern hardwood zones.</p><br>
<p>Ovenbirds, whip-poor-wills, and downy woodpeckers live in the drier pine-oak forests and heath balds. Bald eagles and golden eagles have been spotted at all elevations in the park. Peregrine falcon sightings are also not uncommon, and a peregrine falcon eyrie is known to have existed near Alum Cave Bluffs throughout the 1930s. Red-tailed hawks, the most common hawk species, have been sighted at all elevations in the range. Owl species residing in the Smokies include the barred owl, eastern screech-owl, and northern saw-whet owl.</p><br>
<p>Timber rattlesnakes—one of two venomous snake species in the Smokies—are found at all elevations in the range. The other venomous snake, the copperhead, is typically found at lower elevations. Other reptiles include the eastern box turtle, the eastern fence lizard, the black rat snake, and the northern water snake.</p><br>
<p>The Great Smokies are home to one of the worlds most diverse salamander populations. Five of the worlds nine families of salamanders are found in the range, consisting of up to thirty-one species. A type of Jordan&#39;s salamander known as the redcheek salamander is found only in the Smokies. The imitator salamander is found only in the Smokies and the nearby Plott Balsams and Great Balsam Mountains.</p><br>
<p>Two other species—the southern gray-cheeked salamander and the Southern Appalachian salamander—occur only in the general region. Other species include the shovelnose, blackbelly salamander, eastern red-spotted newt, and spotted dusky salamander. The legendary hellbender inhabits the range&#39;s swifter streams. Other amphibians include the American toad and the American bullfrog, wood frog, upland chorus frog, northern green frog, and spring peeper.</p><br>
<p>Fish inhabiting the streams of the Smokies include trout, lamprey, darter, shiner, bass, and sucker. The brook trout is the only trout species native to the range, although northwestern rainbow trout and European brown trout were introduced in the first half of the 20th century. The larger rainbow and brown trout outcompete the native brook trout for food and habitat at lower elevations. As such, most of the brook trout found in the park today are in streams above 3,000 feet in elevation. Trout in the Smokies are generally smaller than other members of their species in different locales. Protected fish species in the range include the smoky and yellowfin madtom, the spotfin chub, and the duskytail darter.</p><br>
<p>The lightning-bug firefly Photinus carolinus, whose synchronized flashing light displays occur in mid-June, is native to the Smoky Mountains with a population epicenter near Elkmont, Tennessee.</p><br>
<h2>Ecosystem threats</h2><br>
<p>Air pollution is contributing to increased Red Spruce tree mortality at higher elevations and oak decline at lower elevations, while invasive hemlock woolly adelgids attack Hemlocks and balsam woolly adelgids attack Fraser Firs. Pseudoscymnus tsugae, a type of beetle in the ladybug family, Coccinellidae, has been introduced in an attempt to control the pests.</p><br>
<p>Visibility now is dramatically reduced by smog from both the Southeastern United States and the Midwest, and smog forecasts are prepared daily by the Environmental Protection Agency for both nearby Knoxville, Tennessee and Asheville, North Carolina.</p><br>
<p>Environmental threats are the concern of many non-profit environmental stewardship groups, especially The Friends of the Smokies. Formed in 1993, the friends group assists the National Park Service in its mission to preserve and protect the Great Smoky Mountains National Park by raising funds and public awareness, and providing volunteers for needed projects.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<h3>Prehistory</h3><br>
<p>Native Americans have likely been hunting in the Great Smoky Mountains for 14,000 years. Numerous Archaic period (c. 8000–1000 B.C.) artifacts have been found within the national park&#39;s boundaries, including projectile points uncovered along likely animal migration paths. Woodland period (c. 1000 B.C. - 1000 A.D.) sites found within the park contained 2000+-year-old ceramics and evidence of primitive agriculture.</p><br>
<p>The increasing reliance upon agriculture during the Mississippian period (c. 900–1600 A.D.) lured Native Americans away from the game-rich forests of the Smokies and into the fertile river valleys on the outer fringe of the range. Substantial Mississippian-period villages were uncovered at Citico and Toqua (named after the Cherokee villages that later thrived at these sites) along the Little Tennessee River in the 1960s. Fortified Mississippian-period villages have been excavated at the McMahan Indian Mounds in Sevierville and more recently in Townsend.</p><br>
<p>Most of these villages were part of a minor chiefdom centered on a large village known as Chiaha, which was located on an island now submerged by Douglas Lake. The 1540 expedition of Hernando de Soto and the 1567 expedition of Juan Pardo passed through the French Broad River valley north of the Smokies, both spending a considerable amount of time at Chiaha. The Pardo expedition followed a trail across the flanks of Chilhowee Mountain to the Mississippian-period villages at Chilhowee and Citico (Pardo&#39;s notary called them by their Muskogean names, "Chalahume" and "Satapo").</p><br>
<h3>The Cherokee</h3><br>
<p>By the time the first English explorers arrived in Southern Appalachia in the late 17th century, the Cherokee controlled much of the region, and the Great Smoky Mountains lay at the center of their territory. One Cherokee legend tells of a magical lake hidden deep within the range, but inaccessible to humans. Another tells of a captured Shawnee medicine man named Aganunitsi who, in exchange for his freedom, travels to the remote sections of the range in search of the Uktena. The Cherokee called Gregory Bald Tsitsuyi, or "rabbit place," and believed the mountain to be the domain of the Great Rabbit. Other Cherokee place names in the Smokies included Duniskwalgunyi, or "forked antlers", which referred to the Chimney Tops, and kuwahi, or "mulberry place", which referred to Clingmans Dome.</p><br>
<p>Most Cherokee settlements were located in the river valleys on the outer fringe of the Great Smokies range. The Smokies, along with the Unicois, provided the main bulwark dividing the Overhill Cherokee villages in modern Tennessee from the Cherokee Middle towns in modern North Carolina. The Overhill town of Chilhowee was situated at the confluence of Abrams Creek and the Little Tennessee, and the Overhill town of Tallassee was located just a few miles upstream near modern Calderwood (both village sites are now under Chilhowee Lake). A string of Overhill villages, including Chota and Tanasi, dotted the Little Tennessee valley north of Chilhowee.</p><br>
<p>The Cherokee Middle towns included the village of Kittowa (which the Cherokee believed to be their oldest village) along the Tuckasegee River near Bryson City. The village of Oconaluftee, which was situated along the Oconaluftee River near the modern Oconaluftee Visitor Center, was the only known permanent Cherokee village located within the national park&#39;s boundaries. Sporadic or seasonal settlements were located in Cades Cove and the Hazel Creek valley.</p><br>
<h3>European settlement</h3><br>
<p>European explorers and settlers began arriving in Western North Carolina and East Tennessee in the mid-18th century. The influx of settlers at the end of the French and Indian War brought conflict with the Cherokee, who still held legal title to much of the land. When the Cherokee aligned themselves with the British at the outbreak of the American Revolution in 1776, American forces launched an invasion of Cherokee territory.</p><br>
<p>The Middle towns, including Kittuwa, were burned by General Griffith Rutherford, and several of the Overhill towns were burned by John Sevier. By 1805, the Cherokee had ceded control of the Great Smokies to the USA government. Although much of the tribe was forced west along the Trail of Tears in 1838, a few—largely through the efforts of William Holland Thomas—managed to retain their land on the Qualla Boundary and today comprise the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.</p><br>
<p>In the 1780s, several frontier outposts had been established along the outskirts of the Smokies, namely Whitsons Fort in what is now Cosby and Wears Fort in what is now Pigeon Forge. Permanent settlers began arriving in these areas in the 1790s. In 1801, the Whaley brothers, William and John, moved from North Carolina to become the first settlers in what is now the Greenbrier section of the park.</p><br>
<p>In 1802, Edgefield, South Carolina resident William Ogle (1751–1803) arrived in White Oak Flats where he cut and prepared logs for cabin construction. Although Ogle died shortly after returning to Edgefield, his wife, Martha Jane Huskey, eventually returned with her family and several other families to White Oak Flats, becoming the first permanent settlers in what would eventually become Gatlinburg. Their children and grandchildren spread out southward into the Sugarlands and Roaring Fork areas.</p><br>
<p>Cades Cove was settled largely by families who had purchased lots from land speculator William "Fighting Billy" Tipton. The first of these settlers, John and Lucretia Oliver, arrived in 1818. Two Cades Cove settlers, Moses and Patience Proctor, crossed over to the North Carolina side of the Smokies in 1836 to become the first Euro-American settlers in the Hazel Creek area. The Cataloochee area was first settled by the Caldwell family, who migrated to the valley in 1834.</p><br>
<p>Like most of Southern Appalachia, the early 19th-century economy of the Smokies relied on subsistence agriculture. The average farm consisted of roughly 50 acre, part of which was cultivated and part of which was woodland. Early settlers lived in 16 ft x 20 ft log cabins, although these were replaced by more elaborate log houses and eventually, as lumber became available, by modern frame houses. Most farms included at least one barn, a springhouse (used for refrigeration), a smokehouse (used for curing meat), a chicken coop (protected chickens from predators), and a corn crib (kept corn dry and protected it from rodents). Some of the more industrious farmers operated gristmills, general stores, and sorghum presses. Religion was a central theme in the lives of the early residents of the Smokies, and community life was typically centered on churches. Christian Protestantism—especially Primitive Baptists, Missionary Baptists, Methodists, and Presbyterians; dominated the religious culture of the region.</p><br>
<h3>American Civil War</h3><br>
<p>While both Tennessee and North Carolina joined the Confederacy at the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861, Union sentiment in the Great Smoky Mountains was much stronger relative to other regions in these two states. Generally, the communities on the Tennessee side of the Smokies supported the Union, while communities on the North Carolina side supported the Confederates. On the Tennessee side, 74% of Cocke Countians, 80% of Blount Countians, and 96% of Sevier Countians voted against secession. In the North Carolina Smokies—Cherokee, Haywood, Jackson, and Macon counties—about 46% of the population favored secession.</p><br>
<p>While no major engagements took place in the Smokies, minor skirmishes were fairly common. Cherokee chief William Holland Thomas formed a Confederate legion made up mostly of Cherokee soldiers. Thomas Legion crossed the Smokies in 1862 and occupied Gatlinburg for several months to protect salt peter mines atop Mount Le Conte. Residents of predominantly Union Cades Cove and predominantly Confederate Hazel Creek routinely crossed the mountains to steal one anothers livestock. Residents of Cosby and Cataloochee did likewise. One notable Civil War incident in the Smokies was the murder of long-time Cades Cove resident Russell Gregory (for whom Gregory Bald is named), which was carried out by bushwhackers in 1864 shortly after Gregory had led an ambush that routed a band of Confederates seeking to wreak havoc in the cove. Another incident was George Kirk&#39;s raid on Cataloochee, in which Kirk killed or wounded 15 Union soldiers recovering at a makeshift hospital.</p><br>
<h3>Logging</h3><br>
<p>While selective logging occurred in the Great Smoky Mountains throughout the 19th century, the general inaccessibility of the range&#39;s forests prevented major logging operations, and lumber firms relied on the lowland forests in the northeastern United States and the Mississippi Delta in the southeast. As timber resources in these regions became exhausted, and as the demand for lumber skyrocketed after the Civil War, entrepreneurs began looking for ways to reach the virgin forests of Southern Appalachia. The first logging operations in the Smokies, which began in the 1880s, used splash dams or booms to float logs down rivers to lumber mills in nearby cities. Notable splash dam and boom operations included the English Lumber Company on Little River, the Taylor and Crate operations along Hazel Creek, and the ambitious operations of Alexander Arthur on the Pigeon River. All three of these operations failed within their first few years, however, after their dams and boom systems were destroyed by floods.</p><br>
<p>Innovations in logging railroads and band saw technology in the late 19th century made large-scale logging possible in the mountainous areas of Southern Appalachia. The largest logging operation in the Smokies was the Little River Lumber Company, which logged the Little River watershed between 1901 and 1939. The company also established company towns at Townsend (named for the company&#39;s chief owner and manager, Wilson B. Townsend), Elkmont, and Tremont.</p><br>
<p>The second-largest operation was the Ritter Lumber Company, which logged the Hazel Creek watershed between 1907 and 1928. Ruins of Ritter&#39;s lumbering operations are still visible along the Hazel Creek Trail. Other lumbering operations included Three M Lumber and Champion Fibre, both of which logged the Oconaluftee watershed. By the time all operations ceased in the 1930s, logging firms had removed two-thirds of the virgin forests of the Smokies.</p><br>
<h3>The National Park</h3><br>
<p>Wilson B. Townsend, the head of Little River Lumber, began advertising Elkmont as a tourist destination in 1909. Within a few years, the Wonderland Hotel and the Appalachian Club had been established to cater to elite Knoxvillians seeking summer mountain getaways. In the early 1920s, several Appalachian Club members, among them Knoxville businessman Colonel David Chapman, began seriously considering a movement to establish a national park in the Great Smokies. As head of the Great Smoky Mountains Park Commission, Chapman was largely responsible for raising funds for land purchases and coordinating park efforts between local, state, and federal entities.</p><br>
<p>The creation of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park proved much more complex than the creation of its predecessors, such as Yellowstone and Yosemite, which were already federally owned. Along with convincing logging firms to sell lucrative lumber rights, the Park Commission had to negotiate the purchase of thousands of small farms and remove entire communities. The commission also had to deal with the Tennessee and North Carolina legislatures, which at times were opposed to spending taxpayer money on park efforts. In spite of these difficulties, the Park Commission had completed most major land purchases by 1932. The national park officially opened in 1934, with President Franklin D. Roosevelt presiding over the opening ceremony at Newfound Gap.</p><br>
<h2>Culture and tourism</h2><br>
<p>The culture of the area is that of Southern Appalachia, and previously the Cherokee people. Tourism is key to the areas economy, particularly in cities like Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg in Tennessee, and Cherokee, North Carolina. In 2006, the Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center opened in Townsend, Tennessee, with the mission of preserving various aspects of the regions culture.</p><br>
<p>Rafting, either leisurely river tubing or in full whitewater, is common all summer. Downhill skiing is also done in winter, though for a short season, at places like Cataloochee and Ober Gatlinburg.</p><br>
<p>Country music singer Dolly Parton was born and raised on a small farm in the Smokies. She writes many songs concerning her Tennessee upbringing, and starred in the 1986 film, A Smoky Mountain Christmas.</p><br>
<p>On September 17, 2010, the documentary reality television series Man, Woman, Wild featured an episode about survival in the Smoky Mountains.</p><br>
<p>Ol Doinyo Lengai, "Mountain of God" in the Maasai language, is an active volcano located in the Gregory Rift, south of Lake Natron within the Arusha Region of Tanzania. Part of the volcanic system of the East African Rift, it uniquely produces natrocarbonatite lava. The 1960 eruption of Ol Doinyo Lengai led to geological investigations that finally confirmed the view that carbonatite rock is derived from magma.</p><br>
<h2>Geology</h2><br>
<p>Ol Doinyo Lengai is unique among active volcanoes in that it produces natrocarbonatite lava, a unique occurrence of volcanic carbonatite. A few older extinct carbonatite volcanoes are located nearby, including Homa Mountain.</p><br>
<h3>Lava</h3><br>
<p>Whereas most lavas are rich in silicate minerals, the lava of Ol Doinyo Lengai is a carbonatite. It is rich in the rare sodium and potassium carbonates, nyerereite and gregoryite. Due to this unusual composition, the lava erupts at relatively low temperatures of approximately 510 &deg;C. This temperature is so low that the molten lava appears black in sunlight, rather than having the red glow common to most lavas. It is also much more fluid than silicate lavas, often less viscous than water. The sodium and potassium carbonate minerals of the lavas erupted at Ol Doinyo Lengai are unstable at the Earth&#39;s surface and susceptible to rapid weathering, quickly turning from black to grey in colour. The resulting volcanic landscape is different from any other in the world.</p><br>
<h2>Ecology</h2><br>
<p>The carbonatite ash spread over the surrounding grasslands leads to a uniquely succulent, enriched pasture. This makes the area a vital stage on the annual wildebeest beast migration, where it becomes the nursery for the birth of several thousand calves.</p><br>
<h2>Eruptive activity</h2><br>
<h3>1883-1915</h3><br>
<p>The record of eruptions on the mountain dates to 1883. Flows were recorded between 1904 and 1910 and between 1913 and 1915.</p><br>
<h3>1917</h3><br>
<p>A major eruption in June 1917 deposited volcanic ash up to 48 km away.</p><br>
<h3>1926</h3><br>
<p>An eruption took place for several months in 1926.</p><br>
<h3>1940</h3><br>
<p>An eruption between July and December 1940 deposited ash as far as Loliondo, 100 km away.</p><br>
<h3>1950s</h3><br>
<p>Several minor eruptions of lava were observed in 1954, 1955, and 1958.</p><br>
<h3>1960s</h3><br>
<p>Minor eruptions of lava were observed in the early 1960s.</p><br>
<p>A major eruption occurred on 14 August 1966. Geologists J. B. Dawson and G. C. Clark visited the crater a week later and reported seeing "a thick column of black ash" that rose for approximately three thousand feet above the volcano and drifted away northwards towards Lake Natron. When they climbed the cone-shaped vent, they reported seeing a continuous discharge of gas and whitish-grey ash and dust from the centre of the pit.</p><br>
<h3>2007</h3><br>
<p>Volcanic activity in the mountain caused daily earth tremors in Kenya and Tanzania from 12 July 2007 until 18 July 2007 at 8.30pm in Nairobi. The strongest tremor measured 6.0 on the Richter scale. Geologists suspected that the sudden increase of tremors was indicative of the movement of magma through the Ol Doinyo Lengai. The volcano erupted on 4 September 2007, sending a plume of ash and steam at least 18 km downwind and covering the north and west flanks in fresh lava flows.</p><br>
<h3>2008</h3><br>
<p>The 2007 eruption continued intermittently into 2008. At the end of February it was reported to be gathering strength, with a major outburst taking place on 5 March. Periods of inactivity were followed by eruptions on 8 and 17 April. Eruptive activity continued until late August 2008. A visit to the summit in September 2008 discovered that lava emission had resumed from two vents in the floor of the new crater. Visits to the crater in March/April 2009 showed that this activity appeared to have ceased.</p><br>
<h3>2010</h3><br>
<p>In October 2010, two separate lava flows and a small lava lake were photographed in an overflight.</p><br>
<h3>2013</h3><br>
<p>The volcano resumed natrocarbonatite lava flow which started to fill the large crater from the 2007-2008 eruption. As of July 2013, there is a large active hornito on the western edge of the crater floor. During June, residents near the volcano reported several earthquakes. The new crater is inaccessible and climbers have only occasionally glimpsed into it.</p><br>
<p>Seeadler Harbor, also known as Port Seeadler, is located on Manus Island, Admiralty Islands, Papua New Guinea and played an important role in World War II. In German, "Seeadler" means sea eagle, pointing to German colonial activity between 1884 and 1919 in that area. The Harbour was named in 1900 after the German cruiser SMS Seeadler.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>On 29 February 1944, General Douglas MacArthur led Operation Brewer to take the islands from the Japanese who had occupied them beginning in 1942. The islands were secured by the Americans on 19 March 1944, who then built a large base at Seeadler Harbor including wharves and an airbase. This base served as a staging area for further World War II operations in New Guinea and the Philippines.</p><br>
<p>exploded accidentally while moored in Seeadler Harbor on 10 November 1944. The ship was carrying ammunition and the tremendous explosion caused 432 fatalities, 371 wounded, damage to surrounding ships and base from debris and sinking or severely damaging 22 smaller craft.</p><br>
<p>A Japanese Mitsubishi A6M reconnaissance aircraft reported "two large aircraft carriers" at Seeadler Harbor on 22 April 1945, which were actually the U.S. Navy&#39;s Large Auxiliary Floating Dry Docks ASDB-2 and ASDB-4. Two Nakajima B5N torpedo bombers attacked the floating drydocks five nights later. Both were hit but received only moderate damage to a single pontoon each.</p><br>
<p>The wrecks of the floating drydocks and an Imperial Japanese ship amongst others are located within the harbor.</p><br>
<p>Reelfoot Lake is a shallow natural lake located in the northwest portion of USA state of Tennessee, in Lake and Obion counties. Much of it is really more of a swamp, with bayou-like ditches  connecting more open bodies of water called basins, the largest of which is called Blue Basin. Reelfoot Lake is noted for its bald cypress trees and its nesting pairs of bald eagles. It is the site of Reelfoot Lake State Park. Lake Isom, a similar, smaller lake to the immediate south, is a National Wildlife Refuge area.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>According to the United States Geological Survey, Reelfoot Lake was formed when the region subsided during the 1811–12 New Madrid earthquakes. The earthquakes resulted in several major changes in the landforms over a widespread area, with shocks being felt as far away as Quebec, Canada.</p><br>
<h2>Nightriders</h2><br>
<p>In the early 20th century, the Reelfoot area was marked by widespread lawlessness and "Night Riding," who were resisting a land development company&#39;s buying up land around the lake. The governor of Tennessee, Malcolm R. Patterson, ordered the state militia into the area to try to restore order. The troubles began when a group of landowners purchased almost the entire shoreline of the lake. They formed the West Tennessee Land Company to enforce what they saw to be their legal rights, including the ownership of the lake itself, and most importantly its fishing rights. Most of the Night Riders were from families who had derived much of their living from fishing the lake for generations, joined by their friends and supporters.</p><br>
<p>Two attorneys engaged by the West Tennessee Land Company to enforce its claims were seized by the Night Riders. A contemporary front-page account in the Nashville Banner tells that one lawyer, Captain Quentin Rankin, was murdered by being hanged and then shot, while the other, Colonel R. Z. Taylor — grandfather of author Peter Taylor — escaped by swimming across the lake in the dark while being fired upon by Night Riders. Colonel Taylor was first reported killed, but later was confirmed to have escaped. This violence in 1908 caused the governor to call out the militia to restore order. The alleged murderers were arrested, unsuccessfully tried, and charges were eventually dropped.</p><br>
<p>The governor soon declared the lake to be part of the public domain, which guaranteed the right of the public to use it regardless of who owned the land adjacent to it. A system of parks, wildlife refuges, recreation areas, and public boat ramps was eventually developed through federal-state cooperation.</p><br>
<h2>Reelfoot Lake today</h2><br>
<p>Reelfoot is the only large natural lake in Tennessee, and gives its name to Lake County, Tennessee, in which it is located. Until 2003, Reelfoot was the world&#39;s only legal commercial fishery for crappie, a species of sunfish. It was served in restaurants near the shore. The area is popular for recreational boating and fishing.</p><br>
<p>Since 1930, water levels in the lake have been regulated by the construction and operation of a spillway at the southern end, where the Running Reelfoot Bayou flows out of it. This structure was controversial when first built, and in 1939 local residents attempted to blow it up, unsuccessfully.</p><br>
<p>In the early 21st century, the 80-year-old structure was regarded as obsolete by both the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and the United States Army Corps of Engineers. They planned to replace it. A new spillway was completed in 2013 and became operational. This has helped regulate water levels and by doing so, helped the overall health of the lake and its inhabitants.</p><br>
<p>Poor agricultural practices have resulted in siltation of the lake occurring far more rapidly than it should. It was common practice for cotton and soybeans to be planted up to the water&#39;s edge until governmental agencies purchased the entire shoreline and forbade the practice. Siltation has been accelerated by the local custom of "burning out" the adjacent ditchlines every fall, increasing erosion and the transfer of soil to the lake.</p><br>
<p>Reelfoot Lake was the location for three movie productions: 1957 drama Raintree County, the 1967 Oscar-winner In the Heat of the Night, and USA Marshals.</p><br>
<p>The town of Samburg, Tennessee is the only incorporated municipality on the lake&#39;s shores.</p><br>
<h2>The name</h2><br>
<p>Reelfoot Lake is said to be named for an Indian chief who had a deformed foot and was nicknamed "Reelfoot" by settlers in the early 19th century. A Chickasaw legend states that the name originated from a prince of a Chickasaw tribe inhabiting the present West Tennessee, who was born with a deformed foot and walked with a rolling motion, so was nicknamed Kolopin, meaning Reelfoot. When he became chief, Reelfoot determined to marry a Choctaw princess, but her father would not permit it. The Great Spirit warned Reelfoot that if he attempted to kidnap the maiden, his village and his people would be destroyed. Reelfoot disobeyed the Spirit, and seized the princess by force and carried her to Chickasaw territory, where he arranged a marriage ceremony.</p><br>
<p>In the middle of the ceremony, the Great Spirit stamped his foot in anger, causing the earth to quake, and the Father of the Waters raised the Mississippi River over its banks, inundating Reelfoots homeland. The water flowed into the imprint left by the Spirits foot, forming a beautiful lake beneath which Reelfoot, his bride, and his people lie buried.</p><br>
<p>Other origins are also cited, for example, in his 1911 story "Fishhead," Irvin S. Cobb claimed the lake " its name from a fancied resemblance in its outline to the splayed, reeled foot of a cornfield Negro."</p><br>
<p>Though the legend is about the Chickasaw and Choctaw tribes that once inhabited the area, these tribes left around the early 14th century, reserving this area as hunting grounds. Early maps of Tennessee, such as the, show the Red Foot River in the area where Reelfoot Lake was formed. In a later map, drawn after the New Madrid earthquake, when the lake was formed, this was called Wood Lake because of all the standing trees in the water. It is likely then, that over the next few years (even before 1835), map makers separated the "d" in Red Foot and it became an "e" and "l", making it Reel Foot. According to the Matthew Carey map of 1796, the river is labeled Reel Foot River. This would imply that other map makers combined the "e" and "l" to make a "d" instead of the other way around.</p><br>
<p>The Ellsworth Mountains are the highest mountain ranges in Antarctica, forming a 360 km long and 48 km wide chain of mountains in a north to south configuration on the western margin of the Ronne Ice Shelf in Marie Byrd Land. They are bisected by Minnesota Glacier to form the Sentinel Range to the north and the Heritage Range to the south. The former is by far the higher and more spectacular with Mount Vinson  constituting the highest point on the continent.</p><br>
<h2>Discovery</h2><br>
<p>The mountains were discovered on November 23, 1935, by Lincoln Ellsworth in the course of a trans-Antarctic flight from Dundee Island to the Ross Ice Shelf. He gave the descriptive name Sentinel Range.</p><br>
<p>The mountains were mapped in detail by the USA Geological Survey from ground surveys and USA Navy aerial photography, 1958-66. When it became evident that the mountains comprise two distinct ranges, the US-ACAN restricted the application of Sentinel Range to the high northern one and gave the name Heritage Range to the southern one; the Committee recommended the name of the discoverer for this entire group of mountains.</p><br>
<h2>Climate</h2><br>
<p>The temperatures in the Ellsworth Mountains average around -30 °C (-20 °F). The best time for expeditions are November through January, mid-summer in the Southern Hemisphere. However, arranging an outing here is a difficult task, requiring either official scientific sponsorship or considerable financial resources.</p><br>
<h2>Maps</h2><br>
<p>Scale 1:250 000 topographic map. Reston, Virginia: US Geological Survey, 1961.</p><br>
<p>Scale 1:250 000 topographic map. Reston, Virginia: US Geological Survey, 1988.</p><br>
<p>Scale 1:250 000 topographic map. Reston, Virginia: US Geological Survey, 1966.</p><br>
<p>Scale 1:250 000 topographic map. Reston, Virginia: US Geological Survey, 1966.</p><br>
<p>Falkenstein Castle or Castrum Pfronten is the ruin of a castle in the Bavarian Alps, near Pfronten, Germany. At 1,277 m above sea level, it is Germany&#39;s highest castle. King Ludwig II of Bavaria purchased the ruin in 1883 and planned to construct a fairy tale castle, but the plans were abandoned upon his death in 1886.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>The ruins of Falkenstein Castle are located on the eponymous Falkenstein 1,277 m above sea level, making it Germany&#39;s highest elevated castle.</p><br>
<h2>Castrum Pfronten</h2><br>
<p>Originally known as Castrum Pfronten, the stone castle was built approximately 1270–1280 by Count Meinhard II of Tyrol on the borders of his land. Because of the unusual situation of the castle it has been interpreted in historical context as a symbol of opposition to the Duchy of Bavaria. (During the winter the castle was dangerous to inhabit because of the high altitude at which it is located.) The name Castle Falkenstein only came into use in the 15th century. The castle was largely destroyed in the 17th century.</p><br>
<h2>Ludwig's vision</h2><br>
<p>King Ludwig II of Bavaria purchased the ruin in 1883 and commissioned several architects, the first being Christian Jank (the designer of Neuschwanstein), to replace the existing structure with a romantic castle.</p><br>
<p>Jank first created a restrained design, but later envisioned the castle in a dramatic, High Gothic style. Georg von Dollmann was employed to produce plans and elevations in the same year based on Jank&#39;s design. However, his modest and economical designs displeased Ludwig.</p><br>
<p>The task of redesigning Falkenstein was then given to Max Schultze, the Prince Thurn und Taxis architect, who was flattered by the royal commission. He not only planned the architecture of the castle in a robber barons style (a highly simplified version of Janks sketch), but also began creating the castles interior design and frescos (in a secular Byzantine style) with the help of August Spieß. Of particular note was Ludwigs bedroom, which was reminiscent of a vast chapel. During this time, in 1884, road and water lines were made to service the site and a papier-mâché model of Schultzes plan was created. However, Schultze withdrew from the project in 1885.</p><br>
<p>Julius Hofmann and Eugen Drollinger were chosen to succeed Schultze, although they knew that it was unlikely Falkenstein would ever be built. Thus, they made their designs as spectacular and impractical as they wished. Drollinger was working on a plan of Ludwigs bedchamber - redesigned to feature stained glass windows and a mosaic dome - when he learned of the Kings death.</p><br>
<p>Ludwig died in 1886 before work on the castle proper could begin, and the many plans for Falkenstein were permanently abandoned. The ruin of Castrum Pfronten on the building site was never demolished.</p><br>
<h2>Popular culture</h2><br>
<p>The name and background of the castle have inspired Castle Falkenstein (abbreviated CF), a steampunk-themed fantasy role-playing game (RPG) designed by Mike Pondsmith and originally published by R. Talsorian Games.</p><br>
<h2>Footnotes</h2><br>
<h3>Citation</h3><br>
<p>Kjerag or Kiragg is a mountain in Forsand municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The 1,110 m tall mountain sits on the southern shore of the Lysefjorden, just southwest of the village of Lysebotn. Its northern side is a massive cliff, plunging 984 m almost straight down into the Lysefjorden, a sight which attracts many visitors each year. Another tourist attraction, the Kjeragbolten, a 5 m&sup3; stone wedged between two rocks is located on the mountain. The Kjeragfossen waterfall plunges off the mountain down to the fjord. It is one of the tallest waterfalls in the world.</p><br>
<p>Kjerag is a popular hiking destination. Some go there because Preikestolen has become too crowded, some to jump onto Kjeragbolten and some BASE jumpers from all over the world go there to jump off the high cliffs. Kjerag is also a popular climbing destination, with many difficult routes going up its steep faces.</p><br>
<p>The easiest ascent starts from the visitors center Øygardsstølen, with a 2.5-3-hour walk each way. From Stavanger, it is roughly a 2-hour drive (closed in winter season). One can also take the tourist ferry from Lauvvik to Lysebotn in summer. The best season for walking is considered late June to September depending on snow conditions.</p><br>
<h2>Kjeragbolten</h2><br>
<p>Kjeragbolten is a 5 m&sup3; boulder wedged in a mountain crevice by the edge of the Kjerag mountain (59&deg;2&prime;1.3&Prime;N latitude, 6&deg;35&prime;34.9&Prime;E longitude). It is possible to walk onto the rock without any equipment, but there is a direct 241 m drop below and then another 735 m gradient down to the Lysefjorden. The name means "Kjerag Boulder" or "Kjerag Bolt".</p><br>
<h2>BASE jumping</h2><br>
<p>Kjerag has become a popular BASE jumping destination. Since 1994, when Stein Edvartsen made the first officially registered jump, until 2016, a total number of 48,668 jumps have been registered.</p><br>
<p>During this time period there has been registered 131 accidents, of which 44 required the use of rescue helicopter and 10 cases where jumpers were rescued by other professional rescue climbers. According to the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation there has been 11 fatal accidents involving BASE jumpers alone. A list of jumpers who perished at Kjerag is provided below:</p><br>
<p>Sebastian Dectot (24, from France), August 16, 1996</p><br>
<p>Ulla-Stina Östberg (46, from Sweden), July 29, 1997</p><br>
<p>Thor Alex Kappfjell (32, from Norway), July 6, 1999</p><br>
<p>Kirill Goretov (29, from Russia), August 15, 1999</p><br>
<p>Terry Forrestal (52, from the United Kingdom), June 10, 2000</p><br>
<p>Valentino Venturi (30, from Italy), August 5, 2000</p><br>
<p>Lori Barr (37, from the United States), July 23, 2002</p><br>
<p>Rob Tompkins (30, from the United States), September 12, 2002</p><br>
<p>Darcy Zoitsas (nickname: "Peter Pan") (39, from Australia), July 19, 2005</p><br>
<p>Anton Knestyapin (25, from Russia), July 25, 2010</p><br>
<p>Michael Leming (53, from the United States), June 25, 2016</p><br>
<p>In the Norwegian documentary film Loop, Kristen Reagan climbs up the 1,000 m drop before BASE jumping off the same cliff.</p><br>
<h2>Name</h2><br>
<p>The name is possibly a compound of kje which means kid and ragg which means goats hair, shag&#39;. The rough surface of the mountainside has been compared with the shaggy hair of a kid goat.</p><br>
<p>Bellona Island is an island of the Rennell and Bellona Province, Solomon Islands. Its length is about 10 km and its average width 2.5 km. Its area is about 17 km&sup2;. It is almost totally surrounded by 30 - high cliffs, consisting primarily of raised coral limestone.</p><br>
<h2>Population</h2><br>
<p>Bellona Island is densely populated and its interior is lush and fertile. There are three districts namely Matangi, Ghongau and Ngango. Each district has manaha (tribes) except for Ghongau district, which has two sub-districts; Nguutuanga Bangitakungu and Ngutuanga Bangika&#39;ango. There are many villages in the Island as some of them listed below:</p><br>
<p>*Matahenua/Matamoana (west)</p><br>
<p>*Honga&#39;ubea</p><br>
<p>*Tongomainge</p><br>
<p>*Ngotokanaba</p><br>
<p>*Pauta</p><br>
<p>*Ngongona</p><br>
<p>*Gongau</p><br>
<p>*Ahenoa</p><br>
<p>*Matangi</p><br>
<p>*NukuTonga (East)</p><br>
<p>Bellona Island is, like Rennell Island, a Polynesian-inhabited island within the Solomons, where most of the islands are primarily Melanesian with a few Micronesian island provinces. It is thus counted among the Polynesian outliers. The nearby Bellona Shoals were the site of several shipwrecks. On the western end of the island there were sacred stone-gods, at a place called Ngabenga- west Bellona. The stone-gods were destroyed by Seventh-day Adventist missionaries in 1938. This island was named at the beginning of the 19th century after Capt. Lord Rennell&#39;s ship Bellona. However, its original name is Mungiki.</p><br>
<p>Songkhla Lake  is the largest natural lake in Thailand. It is on the Malay peninsula in the southern part of the country. Covering an area of 1,040 km it borders the provinces of Songkhla and Phatthalung. Despite being called a lake, this water feature is actually a lagoon complex geologically.</p><br>
<p>The lake is divided into three distinct parts. The southern part opens with a 380 m wide strait to the Gulf of Thailand at the city of Songkhla. Here it contains brackish water about half the salinity of seawater. Further north, after a narrowing to 6 km width, is the Thale Luang (782.80 km). At the northern end between mangrove swamps is the 28 km Thale Noi in Phatthalung Province. The most striking feature is the long 75 km long spit which separates the lake from the sea. Unlike most spits, it was probably formed when originally existing islands were connected by silting from the lake precursor.</p><br>
<h2>Ramsar wetlands</h2><br>
<p>The Phru Khuan Khi Sian wetlands near the Thale Noi Lake have been protected as a Ramsar wetland since 1998. It is part of the larger Thale Noi Non-Hunting Area, created in 1975.</p><br>
<p>Kuan Ki Sian of the Thale Noi Non-Hunting Area is at 07º50’N 100º08’E in a non-hunting area, Phatthalung. Just north of the very large Thale Luang (Lake Songkhla complex) in the south of the country, it is one of the few surviving intact freshwater wetland ecosystems in Thailand. Among the specific wetland types found here are lake, marsh, Melaleuca (also termed "paperbark") swamp forest, paddy fields, and swamp grasslands.</p><br>
<p>"Kuans" are islands free of water for most of the year in the Melaleuca swamp forest. Kuan Ki Sian is a knoll at 0–2 meters above mean sea level in the Thale Noi area. The Thale Noi area is home to more than 5,000 families, almost all of whom rely on resource extraction or other land use within the area. Activities include fishing, cattle grazing, cultivation, mat-making and tourism. The site is visited by more than 200,000 visitors annually.</p><br>
<h2>Irrawaddy dolphin</h2><br>
<p>A small population of Irrawaddy dolphins is found in Thale Luang, near the Si-Ha Islands of Phatthalung. They are threatened with extinction by overfishing and pollution. The IUCN Red List shows several populations, including those in the Mahakam River and Malampaya Sound, as critically endangered.</p><br>
<p>The Julien Dubuque Bridge crosses the Mississippi River. It joins the cities of Dubuque, Iowa, and East Dubuque, Illinois. The bridge is part of USA Route 20 route. It is one of two automobile bridges over the Mississippi in the area  north links Dubuque with Wisconsin), and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>For a number of years, people living in the area wanted a bridge to replace the old bridge, which was called either the "High Bridge" or the "Wagon Bridge." However, economic conditions at the time made it difficult to get the financing together to build a new bridge.</p><br>
<p>During World War II, the importance of a new bridge became even more important as it would help facilitate military transportation. In 1942, the first parts of the bridge were begun. In 1943, the bridge was completed. It was painted gray to help camouflage the bridge in case of enemy attack.</p><br>
<p>Because the bridge was financed with bonds, it initially operated as a toll bridge. Proceeds were used to help pay off the bonds. In the post-war years, traffic was so heavy the bonds were paid off 11 years early, and the bridge became toll-free in 1954.</p><br>
<p>In the early 1990s, the bridge underwent an extensive renovation. The deck was replaced, and a new walkway was installed. For many years, the bridge was a dark green color; however in more recent times it again has been painted a light gray color.</p><br>
<p>Prior to the construction of the Dubuque-Wisconsin Bridge, the Julien Dubuque Bridge also carried US highways 61 and 151. This resulted in both of these highways passing a short distance through Jo Daviess County, Illinois between Dubuque and Wisconsin. Now both highways cross the Mississippi on the Dubuque–Wisconsin Bridge, which directly connects Wisconsin and Iowa, with neither US 61 nor US 151 passing through Illinois.</p><br>
<h2>2008 barge collision</h2><br>
<p>On June 9, 2008, the bridge was struck by a number of runaway barges shortly after 8 p.m. Fifteen barges — which were loaded with corn, soybeans, and iron ore - struck one of the pillars on the eastern side of the main channel. Unsure of whether the bridge was stable, authorities temporarily closed it until an inspection could be performed. Traffic was rerouted on to the Dubuque–Wisconsin Bridge a few miles to the north.</p><br>
<p>On June 10 the Iowa Department of Transportation inspected the bridge and determined that it was safe for traffic. By 2:30 p.m. they had reopened the bridge to traffic. Authorities believe rapid currents present in the Mississippi River caused the barges to come loose and strike the bridge. The pilot and crew of the barge tested negative for alcohol intoxication and foul play was not suspected in this case.</p><br>
<h2>The future of the bridge</h2><br>
<p>Over the years, there has been considerable debate about the future of the bridge. Much of this debate centers on having a four-lane connection with Illinois. The debate has produced several options,</p><br>
<p>Expand the existing bridge to support four lanes.</p><br>
<p>Build a second two-lane bridge next to the existing bridge, and have traffic one way on each bridge.</p><br>
<p>Build a new four-lane bridge south of the Julien Dubuque Bridge, and leave the current bridge intact as an attraction or as a bridge for local traffic.</p><br>
<p>Tear down the Julien Dubuque Bridge, and replace it with a four-lane bridge that looks similar to the current bridge.</p><br>
<p>Most officials have indicated they would rather not do anything that detracts from the historically important bridge. Discussion about expansion of the bridge continues. While no firm plans have yet been made, officials are leaning towards building another bridge adjacent to the existing bridge.</p><br>
<p>St. Lukes United Methodist Church, also known as St. Lukes Methodist and as St. Luke&#39;s United Methodist, is an historic Richardsonian Romanesque-style church located at 1199 Main Street in Dubuque, Iowa. It was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998, and as a contributing property in the Upper Main Street Historic District in 2005. It is part of the Iowa Conference of the United Methodist Church.</p><br>
<p>The church has more Tiffany windows than any other church in the state.</p><br>
<p>According to its NRHP nomination, the building is significant for its history in religion in Dubuque, for its Richardsonian Romanesque (unique in Dubuque), and for its Tiffany glass.</p><br>
<h2>National Register listing</h2><br>
<p>Historic Significance: Architecture/Engineering</p><br>
<p>Architect, builder, or engineer: Tiffany Glass and Decorating Co., Kramer, George W.</p><br>
<p>Architectural Style: Romanesque</p><br>
<p>Area of Significance: Art, Architecture</p><br>
<p>Period of Significance: 1875-1899</p><br>
<p>Historic Function: Religion</p><br>
<p>Historic Sub-function: Church Related Residence, Religious Structure</p><br>
<p>Current Function: Commerce/Trade, Religion</p><br>
<p>Current Sub-function: Professional, Religious Structure</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The church can trace its origins back to the founding of the city of Dubuque, when Methodist Ministers arrived in the city and began work with the miners in the city.</p><br>
<p>The present church was built in 1896, and the congregation began worshiping in the building in 1897. The church is noted for the collection of Tiffany Stained glass windows. It has been called "one of the five finest Religious Tiffany collections in the world." The Angel in the window of the Angel among the Lilies is rumored to bear the likeness of the young deceased daughter of the people who had sponsored that particular window.</p><br>
<p>The pipe organ in the church is also of historic interest. When the Farand and Votey organ was purchased, two train cars were required to bring the parts to Dubuque. Because the train could not get across the river, barges than were used to float the parts over so that they could be installed in the church. The organ has about 1,000 pipes. At the time of installation, it was one of the largest organs in the area, however over the years it has been eclipsed by others. The pipe organ contains 36 ranks or pipes, about 2,200 total and was restored in 1992 by the Fowler Organ Company, Lansing, Mi.</p><br>
<p>The Cephissus or Kifisos  is a river in central Greece. In Greek mythology the river god Cephissus was associated with this river. The river rises at Lilaia in Phocis, on the northwestern slope of Mount Parnassus. It flows east through the Boeotian plain, passing the towns Amfikleia, Kato Tithorea and Orchomenos. It drained into Lake Copais, which was therefore also called the Cephisian Lake, until 1887, when the lake was drained. An artificial outflow has been created to Lake Yliki , further east.</p><br>
<p>Pausanias records a Theban tradition that the river Cephissus formerly flowed under a mountain and entered the sea until Heracles blocked the passage and diverted the water into the Orchomenian plain; but he does not believe it. Pausanias also says that the Lilaeans on certain days threw cakes and other customary items into the spring of the Cephissus and that they would reappear in the spring of Castalia.</p><br>
<p>The Cephissus valley is of strategic importance, connecting northern Greece via the passes of Mount Oeta and Mount Kallidromo (including Thermopylae) to southern Greece and the Gulf of Corinth. As a result, in the Frankish period a chain of forts and watchtowers was established along its course by the rulers of the Duchy of Athens.</p><br>
