<p>Cacela Island is a sandy barrier island at the mouth of the Ria Formosa in the Algarve region of mainland Portugal. It was part of a peninsula up to the autumn of 2010, when as a result of storm action, the sea cut the peninsula and turned its westernmost part into an island.</p><br>
<p>Access to the island&#39;s beach is made either by wading or boat. The island&#39;s beach is known as Praia da Fábrica, or "Factory Site Beach".</p><br>
<p>The former peninsula was 4.4 km in length and its width was 0.05 to 0.15 km.</p><br>
<p>Both the island and the remaining part of the peninsula are located in the civil parish of Vila Nova de Cacela, which in turn is a part of the municipality of Vila Real de Santo António. The island is in the Ria Formosa Natural Park.</p><br>
<p>The Avra Valley is a 50-mile  long northwest-southeast valley, bordering the west of Tucson, Arizona. The Tucson Mountains are at the valleys center-east, with suburbs ranging east of the Tucson Mountains and trending northwest to the Avra Valleys northeast. This entire northwest stretch from Tucson contains the northwest trending Interstate 10, the route to Casa Grande and Phoenix. The northeast of the valley contains Marana on I-10, the Pinal Airpark, an aircraft storage park, and other communities along I-10. Avra Valley Airport is a general aviation airport in Marana, located about 15 miles  northwest of Tucson and being used for storage of classic propeller-era airliners.</p><br>
<p>The center-(west) of the valley is at Cocoraque Butte, 32.22119&deg;N latitude, 111.34205&deg;W longitude, extended northeast from the Roskruge Mountains. Cocoraque Butte&#39;s height is 2,758 ft.</p><br>
<h2>Description</h2><br>
<p>Avra Valley is a narrow valley, only about 10 miles wide in some locations, and bordered completely on the west by low elevation, arid mountain ranges. From the northwest, the mountains are the West Silver Bells, Silver Bell Mountains, Watermans, and then in the southwest the Roskruge Mountains. South of the Roskruge, Arizona Route 86 enters the valley from the Tohono Oodham Nation to the west. Robles Junction, Arizona, is also in the southwest, at the junction of the valley going southwest to Sasabe, the Altar Valley. Robles Junction is also at the northwest of the mountain range on Avra Valleys southern border, the Sierrita Mountains.</p><br>
<p>The north of the Avra Valley narrows at the Silver Bell Mountains and Marana to the east. The region merges into the wider flatlands associated with the floodplain regions of the northwestern Santa Cruz River where it begins to merge with the Gila River.</p><br>
<h3>Saguaro National Park</h3><br>
<p>The Saguaro National Park, mostly on Tucson&#39;s southeast in the Rincon Mountains has a smaller section made up of much of the Tucson Mountains. The National Park is famous for the Saguaro, Carnegiea gigantea.</p><br>
<h2>San Xavier Mission</h2><br>
<p>The southeast corner of the Avra Valley contains the San Xavier Mission. The mission is located in the western portion of the San Xavier Indian Reservation a subregion, and part of the Tohono O&#39;odham Nation of Arizona which have major lands west of the Baboquivari Mountains and Altar Valley west and southwest.</p><br>
<p>The River Irthing is a river in Cumbria, England and a major tributary of the River Eden. The name is recorded as Ard or Arden in early references. For the first 15 miles of its course it defines the border between Northumberland and Cumbria.</p><br>
<p>It is thought that before the last glacial maximum the Irthing flowed into the South Tyne valley through the watershed near Greenhead, now known as the Tyne Gap. This section of the valley is now blocked by a filling of glacial till, diverting the river south west, but the old course has been detected by drilling and echo-sounding. The rapidly eroding cliffs threatening the southern edge of Birdoswald Roman Fort and the fact that the Roman bridge abutment at Willowford is now 44 m (144.4 ft) from the river testify to the instability of the local landscape as it continues to recover from glacial alteration.</p><br>
<p>The river rises on Paddaburn Moor in Kielder Forest and skirts the eastern edge of Butterburn Flow raised bog. Remains of numerous mediaeval shielings have been found along the banks of these upper reaches, some of which have been given ancient monument status.</p><br>
<p>For two miles above the village of Gilsland the river flows through the Irthing Gorge, flanked by mainly sandstone crags. Within the upper section of this gorge lies the spectacular 7.6 metre (25 feet) Crammel Linn waterfall. Peregrine falcons and ravens nest near the waterfall and derelict military structures, probably pump-houses supplying water for the Blue Streak rocket site at RAF Spadeadam, can be seen just upstream. Further downstream, in the grounds of Gilsland Spa hotel, the crags develop into high cliffs. The cliff face below the hotel gives rise to the famous sulphurous spring after which the hotel is named and also a chalybeate spring and a petrifying seep.</p><br>
<p>Hadrians Wall crossed the river on a bridge at Willowford, 0.75 kilometres (0.5 miles) east of Birdoswald Roman Fort. From that point the course of the river as it turns west is lined with other Roman sites associated with the Roman Stanegate road and Hadrians Wall. A 914-metre (2,998.7 feet) stretch of Wall, including two turrets and the impressive bridge remains, runs alongside the River Irthing at Willowford, linked by a new footbridge to Birdoswald Roman Fort. This crossing of the River Irthing marked a significant transition in the construction of Hadrian&#39;s Wall, emphasising the greater availability of building stone to the east.</p><br>
<p>Passing Brampton the Irthing merges with the River Gelt, and soon after meets the River Eden near Warwick Bridge, just north of Wetheral.</p><br>
<p>The River Esk , also called the Border Esk, is a river in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, that flows into the Solway Firth. It also flows for a small way through the English county of Cumbria before entering the Solway.</p><br>
<p>The river rises in the hills to the east of Moffat and its two main tributaries, the Black Esk and the White Esk, merge at the southern end of Castle O&#39;er Forest. It flows south east through Eskdale past Langholm before merging with Liddel Water (which defines the border between Scotland and England. Before passing Longtown the river enters England and merges with the River Lyne and enters the Solway Firth near the mouth of the River Eden.</p><br>
<p>It was formerly one of the boundaries of the Debatable Lands as marked by the Scots&#39; Dike.</p><br>
<p>The Scotland Act 1998 (Border Rivers) Order 1999 provides that functions relating to the management of salmon, trout, eels and freshwater fish in respect of the whole of the River Esk remain</p><br>
<p>with UK ministers: the Border Esk and its tributaries are the only rivers in Scotland where an Environment Agency rod licence is required for angling.</p><br>
<h2>Tributaries</h2><br>
<p>The various tributaries of the Esk are described proceeding downstream.</p><br>
<p>The White Esk arises as the Glendearg and Tomleuchar burns merge then flow south through Eskdalemuir Forest capturing the waters of the Garwald Water at Garwaldwaterfoot then continuing by the village of Eskdalemuir into Castle Oer Forest. It is followed by the B709 road for much of its course. The headwaters of the Black Esk feed into the Black Esk Reservoir, from the foot of whose dam, the Black Esk flows south to Sandyford where it is crossed by the B723 road. It then turns sharply east then southeast passing Castle Oer on its way to meet with the White Esk to form the River Esk.</p><br>
<p>The Meggat Water (not to be confused with Megget Water) is a left bank tributary of the Esk which rises at the southern margin of Craik Forest and flows south, being joined by the Stennies Water before its confluence with the Esk. The Ewes Water is a significant left bank tributary of the Esk which enters the latter at Langholm. Its headwaters, the Eweslees, Mosspaul and Carewoodrig Burns merge and flow southwards as the Ewes Water for several miles, being joined by numerous further burns, the most significant of which is the Meikledale Burn. The valley of the Ewes Water is followed by the A7 road from Carlisle to Edinburgh and by an electricity transmission line. Wauchope Water is a right bank tributary of the Esk which joins immediately downstream from the Ewes Water confluence. It arises as the Logan Water and Bigholms Burn meet 3 miles / 5 km southwest of Langholm. The Tarras Water is a left bank tributary of the Esk which joins it 2.5 miles /4 km south of Langholm.</p><br>
<p>The Liddel Water is a major tributary which enters on the left bank between Canonbie and Longtown. It forms the boundary between Scotland and England for a while as does its tributary, the Kershope Burn. The River Lyne enters on the left bank at Lynefoot just above the normal tidal limit of the estuarial section of the Esk. The River Sark and the Kirtle Water enter the tidal estuary of the Esk to the east and west of Gretna respectively. See main articles on each of these and some of their tributaries.</p><br>
<p>Canadian Forces Station Carp  is a former Canadian military facility located in the rural farming community of Carp, Ontario, approximately 30 km west of downtown Ottawa.</p><br>
<p>CFS Carp was decommissioned in 1994. It was not until 1998 that it was reopened as a museum and designated a National Historic Site of Canada.</p><br>
<p>Currently, the facility operates as a museum and is open year-round for tours.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>In 1958, at the height of the Cold War and the infancy of the intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) threat, Prime Minister John Diefenbaker authorized the creation of close to 50 Emergency Government Headquarters (nicknamed "Diefenbunkers" by opposition parties) across Canada. These shelters were part of what came to be known as the Continuity of Government plan, which was meant to protect various members of government in the event of a nuclear attack.</p><br>
<p>The original site, some 9.7 km east of Almonte (45&deg;15&prime;06.66&Prime;N latitude, 076&deg;19&prime;31.05&Prime;W longitude) was abandoned when ground water proved impossible to remove. An abandoned gravel pit outside Carp was selected instead, construction began in 1959 and was completed by 1962.</p><br>
<p>The Carp shelter would be the largest of such facilities (over 9,300 m&sup2;) and the only one in the immediate Ottawa area. The underground 4-storey bunker required 32,000 tonnes of concrete and 5,000 tonnes of steel. The structure was capable of withstanding a nuclear blast up to 5 megatons from 1.8 km away. It had massive blast doors at the surface, as well as extensive air filters to prevent radiation infiltration. Although supposedly effective against surface nuclear detonations, the facility was later found to be vulnerable to conventional Bunker buster bombs developed after its construction, as these bombs had time delay fuses that would detonate after they had penetrated deeply enough underground.</p><br>
<p>Underground storage was built for food, fuel, fresh water, and other supplies. The bunker was built to accommodate 565 people for up to one month without receiving additional supplies from the outside. It included an emergency broadcast studio for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and a vault on the lowest level to hold the gold reserves of the Bank of Canada.</p><br>
<p>These facilities were administered by the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals (later the Communications and Electronics Branch). A decentralized transmitter site, the Richardson Detachment, with numerous transmitter antenna was located further to the west near Perth Ontario that was supported from a 2-storey underground facility of similar construction to the Carp facility but much smaller. Two radio receiving facilities, the CFS Carp Almonte Detachment and CFS Carp Dunrobin Detachment, with a complete receiving antenna arrays were built in the region but all buildings were above ground.</p><br>
<h2>Diefenbunker, Canada's Cold War Museum</h2><br>
<p>CFS Carp was decommissioned in 1994 following the reduction in the ICBM threat.</p><br>
<p>From 1959 to 1994, the site was owned and operated by the Government of Canada, Department of National Defence. After the local municipality took control of the facility in 1994, the community took a great interest in the bunker, requesting access to public tours of the facility. The local municipality took control of the facility and a group of local volunteers, recognizing the heritage and tourism value of the Carp Diefenbunker, undertook to open the facility as a cold war museum and conduct public tours. It was purchased by the Diefenbunker Development Group in 1998, and officially opened as a museum. The name of the facility was changed to the Diefenbunker, Canada&#39;s Cold War Museum shortly thereafter. It is currently open year-round for public tours.</p><br>
<p>Many areas of the bunker, including the PM’s Suite, the Emergency Government Situation Centre, the CBC Emergency Broadcasting Studio, the Military Federal Warning Centre, the External Affairs Ministerial Office, the Public Works Minister&#39;s Office and the Bank of Canada Vault, are being restored to their operational condition. The rest of the 358 rooms have been converted to exhibits of the Cold War era.</p><br>
<h3>Growth</h3><br>
<p>Upon its opening in 1998, the museum was run completely by volunteers. However, the 5,000 visitors received that year was too much to be handled solely by volunteers.</p><br>
<p>In 1999, the museums second year of operation, a curator was hired along with some students. The museums visitation doubled to 10,000 people that year.</p><br>
<p>The museum continued to grow into the 2000s. Close to 15,000 visitors passed through the Diefenbunker in 2000. Additional part-time staff was hired throughout the year to keep up with museum maintenance and upkeep. As of 2008, the Diefenbunker averages approximately 25,000 visitors each year. Four full-time staff, nine part-time staff and numerous volunteers work to keep the museum running smoothly. In 2012, the museum had 45,280 visitors. This was one of the highest increases in attendance other than the opening year of the Bunker.</p><br>
<p>The mandate of Diefenbunker, Canada&#39;s Cold War museum is “to increase throughout Canada and the world, interest in and a critical understanding of the Cold War, by preserving the Diefenbunker as a national historic site, and operating a Cold War Museum.</p><br>
<h2>Collections and research</h2><br>
<p>The Diefenbunker houses a collection of Cold War artefacts, an archive and a library, all of which are made available to researchers upon request, and to the general public through the exhibitions.</p><br>
<h2>Funding</h2><br>
<p>The Diefenbunker: Canada’s Cold War museum is a not-for-profit, charitable museum. It is funded privately; the main source of revenue for the museum comes from admission sales (approximately 75% of total revenue). The Diefenbunker actively applies for private, municipal, provincial and federal grants. The museum also relies on the generous support of the community through donations and sponsorship.</p><br>
<h2>Additional services</h2><br>
<p>The Diefenbunker offers additional services on top of public tours. The museum has space available to rent both for events and storage. The decommissioned bunker has been used as a movie set on several occasions, including for The Sum of All Fears and Rulers of Darkness.</p><br>
<p>Coombe Hill is a hill in The Chilterns, located next to the hamlet of Dunsmore, Buckinghamshire, England, near the small town of Wendover, and overlooking Aylesbury Vale. It is not to be confused with another Coombe Hill on the flank of Haddington Hill, some two miles  to the north-east. It is part of the Bacombe and Coombe Hills Site of Special Scientific Interest.</p><br>
<p>The majority of the hill (an area of 106 acre) once formed part of the Chequers Estate but was presented to the National Trust by the United Kingdom government when they were given the Estate in the 1920s. The summit of the hill is 852 feet / 259.7 m above sea level.</p><br>
<h2>Coombe Hill Monument - Second Boer War</h2><br>
<p>For most of human history, war memorials were erected to commemorate great victories; remembering the dead was a secondary concern. Coombe Hill Monument is one of the first and largest examples of a war memorial erected to honour the names of individual men who fell whilst fighting for their country. The monument is an iconic Buckinghamshire landmark and a Grade II Listed monument. At 260m above sea level, it sits on one of the highest and most striking spurs of the Chilterns, commanding a wide view of the Vale of Aylesbury. On a clear day it can be seen from the Berkshire Downs and Salisbury Plain to the south-west and the Cotswolds to the west. The view overlooks Chequers, the country home of the Prime Minister.</p><br>
<p>The monument was erected in 1904, by public subscription, in memory of 148 men from Buckinghamshire who died during the Second Boer War. Coombe Hill Monument was almost totally destroyed by lightning in 1938 and was rebuilt in the same year. The original bronze plaque and decorations were stolen in 1972 and replaced with a stone plaque and iron flag. The new stone plaque was also inscribed with the additional names of nine men believed to have been missing on the original. The monument was again badly damaged by a lightning strike in the early 1990s and spent several months in repair. It is now equipped with conductors to prevent this from happening again. The monument and a few square metres of surrounding land are owned by Buckinghamshire County Council.</p><br>
<h2>The 2010 Restoration</h2><br>
<p>On 21 October 2010 the monument was rededicated after substantial restoration work. The work was done by Buckinghamshire County Council with funds raised by the Coombe Hill Monument Appeal Committee. The committee consisted of:</p><br>
<p>The Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire, Sir Henry Aubrey Fletcher Bt JP (Patron)</p><br>
<p>Major General Stuart Watson CBE (Chairman)</p><br>
<p>Mark Bailey, Buckinghamshire County Council (Project Manager)</p><br>
<p>Lt Col (Retd) Ingram Murray, Honorary Secretary of the Friends of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry</p><br>
<p>Patricia Birchley, Elected Member, Chiltern Ridges</p><br>
<p>Johanna Sienkiewicz, local resident, Project Researcher</p><br>
<p>Chris Arnold, Ellesborough Parish Council</p><br>
<p>Pam Priestley, Elected Member Wycombe District Council</p><br>
<p>Paul Rogerson, Elected Member, Buckinghamshire County Council; and</p><br>
<p>Neil Harris, The National Trust</p><br>
<p>A new plaque corrects spelling errors in the original and adds 2 names that were previously omitted</p><br>
<p>. The memorial was deep-cleaned, weathered joints were replaced, fresh gold leaf has been applied to the finial, and the county crest and bronze flags above the plaque have been restored</p><br>
<h2>Triangulation point and plaque</h2><br>
<p>In front of the monument is a rectangular concrete pillar that is the Triangulation station</p><br>
<p>trig point and it is topped with a metal plaque donated in 1988 that points to true north and to the following distant features: The Cotswolds (53 miles), Brill Hill (13 miles), Waddesdon Manor (10 miles), Calvert Chimneys (15 miles), Aylesbury Church (5 miles), Mursley Water Tower (15 miles), Wingrave Church (8 miles), Leighton Buzzard (12 miles), Mentmore (9 miles), Edlesborough Church (11 miles) and Ivinghoe Beacon (9 miles).</p><br>
<h2>Flora and fauna</h2><br>
<p>Coombe Hill has 3 different types of land including acid heathland, chalk grassland and deciduous woodland. It is home to much interesting wildlife &mdash; including red kites, yellowhammers and firecrests. It also holds the habitat to many rare plants such as heather, orchids and the Chiltern gentian. Due to its rarity the acid moorland is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).</p><br>
<h2>Coombe Hill Run</h2><br>
<p>A 6km running race organised by the Vale of Aylesbury Athletic Club which includes 190m of climbing up to the monument on Coombe Hill, the Coombe Hill Run is a rare example of a fell race in southern Britain. First held in 1973, and now held on the first Sunday in June, it attracts more than 200 runners.</p><br>
<h2>Origin of name</h2><br>
<p>The word coombe is of Brythonic origin and means "hollow".</p><br>
<p>The River Brent is a river in west and northwest London, England, and a tributary of the River Thames. 17.9 miles  in length, it rises in the Borough of Barnet and flows in a generally south-west direction before joining the Tideway stretch of the Thames at Brentford.</p><br>
<h2>Hydronymy and etymology</h2><br>
<p>A letter from the Bishop of London in AD 705 suggesting a meeting at Breġuntford, now Brentford, is the earliest record of this place and probably therefore that of the river, suggesting that the name may be related to the Celtic *brigant- meaning "high" or "elevated" perhaps linked to the goddess Brigantia</p><br>
<h2>Geology, topography and natural history</h2><br>
<p>The River Thames can first be identified as a discrete drainage line as early as 58 million years ago, in the Thanetian stage of the late Palaeocene epoch. Until around half a million years ago, the Thames flowed on its existing course through what is now Oxfordshire, before turning to the north east through Hertfordshire and East Anglia to reach the North Sea near Ipswich. At this time the river system headwaters lay in the English West Midlands and may, at times, have received drainage from the North Wales Berwyn Mountains. The river Brent and its valley&#39;s formation was the result of glacial action during the ice age which had started some 500,000 years ago; in that period of the early neogene, the major drainage channel for this part of England, the proto-Thames, was 25 mi north of Brentford and travelled east via the St Albans depression. The River Brent and adjacent tributaries the Colne Brook and those downstream such as the River Lea either flowed into this more northern Thames or formed the early course of the present day river Thames.</p><br>
<p>The arrival of an ice sheet in the Quaternary Ice Age, about 450,000 years ago, dammed the river in Hertfordshire causing large ice lakes which eventually burst their banks and caused the river to be diverted onto its present course through London. Progressively in this Ice Age, the northern channel was pushed south to form a lake, now the St Albans depression, by the repeated advances of the ice sheet. This created pressure to form the Goring Gap and a new river route through Berkshire, joining with the Kennet that formed the early southern headwater and on into London after which the river rejoined its original course in southern Essex, near the present River Blackwater estuary. Here it entered a substantial freshwater lake in the southern North Sea basin. A torrent produced by the rupture of this lake (now a sea) was a major cause of the formation of the Dover Straits or Pas-de-Calais gap between Britain and France. Subsequent development led to the continuation of the course which the river follows at the present day.</p><br>
<p>Most of the bedrock of the Vale of Aylesbury is largely made up of clay and chalk that was formed at the end of the ice age and at one time was under the Proto-Thames, creating vast underground reserves of water that make the water table higher than average in the Vale of Aylesbury from Thame to Hemel Hempstead.</p><br>
<p>The last advance from that Scandinavian ice flow to have reached this far south covered much of north west Greater London and finally forced the proto-Thames to take roughly its present course. At the height of the last ice age, around 10,000 BCE, Britain was connected to mainland Europe by a large marshy expanse of land known as Doggerland in the southern North Sea basin. This forced flow southwards from the eastern Essex coast where it met the Rhine, the Meuse and the Scheldt flowing from what are now the Netherlands and Belgium. These rivers formed a single river—the Channel River (Fleuve Manche) that passed through the Dover Strait and drained into the Atlantic Ocean in the western English Channel.</p><br>
<p>The ice sheet which stopped near Finchley deposited Boulder clay to form Dollis Hill and Hanger Hill. Its torrent of meltwater gushed through the Finchley Gap and south towards the new course of the Thames, and proceeded to carve out the Brent Valley in the process. Upon the valley sides there can be seen other terraces of Brickearth; laid over and sometimes interlayered with the clays. These deposits were brought in by the winds during the periglacial periods, suggesting that wide flat marshes were then part of the landscape, which the new river Brent proceeded to cut down. The steepness of the valley sides is witness to the very much lower mean sea levels caused by glaciation locking up so much water on land masses, the potential energy causing the river water to flow rapidly seaward and so erode its bed quickly downwards.</p><br>
<p>The original land surface was some 350 to 350 to 400 ft above the current sea level. The surface had sandy deposits from an ancient sea, laid over sedimentary clay (this is the Blue London Clay). All the erosion down from this higher land surface and sorting action by these changes of water flow and direction, formed what is known as the Thames River Gravel Terraces. Since Roman times and perhaps earlier, however, the isostatic rebound from the weight of previous ice sheets, and its interplay with the eustatic change in sea level, means that the old valley of the river Brent, together with that of the Thames, has been silting up again. Thus, along much of the Brent&#39;s present day course one can make out the water meadows of rich alluvium, which is augmented by frequent floods.</p><br>
<h2>Human history</h2><br>
<h3>Pre-Roman to Norman history</h3><br>
<p>So extensive have the changes to this landscape been that what little evidence there is of man&#39;s presence before the ice came has inevitably shown signs of transportation here by water and reveals nothing specifically local. Likewise, later evidence of occupation, even since the arrival of the Romans, may lie next to the original banks of the Brent but have been buried under centuries of silt.</p><br>
<p>The most prominent pre-Roman settlement on the River Brent was apparently at Brentford. This Bronze Age site pre-dates the Roman occupation of Britain, and thus predates the founding of London itself. Many pre-Roman artifacts have been excavated in and around the area in Brentford known as Old England. The quality and quantity of the artefacts suggests that Brentford was a meeting point for pre-Romanic tribes. One well-known Iron Age piece from about 100 BC to AD 50 is the Brentford horn-cap - a ceremonial chariot fitting that formed part of local antiquarian Thomas Layton&#39;s collection, now held by the Museum of London. Odd Roman artifacts have also been found by the River Brent in both Brentford and Hanwell, suggesting that a trading route may have used the river to trade with the early villages in Roman and post-Roman times.</p><br>
<p>However, can the river Brent be considered a border in the sense that the quality it possessed of dividing the land was notable enough to be given such a descriptive title? The Brent river valley in AD 705 would have looked very different to today. Before modern day dredging, the river was wider and shallower. Before the construction of its weirs, the Brent reservoir and Grand Union Canal (and its Paddington Branch, which takes much of the Brents waters) the river would have flooded more frequently than it does today. The alluvial valley floor would therefore have been swamp. On Google Earth, the signs of many of the old drainage channels that turned the marsh into water meadow are still visible. Bordering these marshes would have been dense thickets of thorn and willow (hence the modern place names of Elthorne, and Spelthorne (the tree of speech)).</p><br>
<p>The earliest surviving reference to the then village of Hanwell is in 959 AD, when it is recorded as Hanewelle in pledge, when Alfwyn (a Saxon) pawned his land for money to go on a pilgrimage. It was only a small hamlet on the river banks in the 10th century.</p><br>
<p>Another conjecture is that one of the possible etymologies given for this ancient parish of Hanwell is Han as Saxon for boundary stone and well as Saxon for fresh water or spring. The Rectory Cottage to the parish church of St Mary has a large stone of about a ton in its garden. A large land owner and historian also put forward the observation that this appeared to line up with what he maintained as traces of the parish being divided up into the Roman Centuria unit of land area, indicating that they used this stone as a datum. However, the position of the field boundaries and roads still wait to be statistically analysed to test this hypothesis.</p><br>
<p>Nevertheless, a cursory inspection of the old ordnance survey maps, blended with an appreciation of how hedges and boundary paths drift with time and use, strongly suggests that they approximated to dimensions of the quintarial limes of the Roman field system by a degree that far exceeds what would be expected by chance alone. Hanwell parish was very narrow in the east-west direction. The letter of AD 705 AD calling a meeting at Brentford to resolve a dispute between the East Saxons and the West Saxons; as early as this the Brent was recognised as a convenient halfway point or boundary. Other later historically important meetings are also recorded here.</p><br>
<p>Going back a little further, etymological evidence of the West Saxons renaming settlements to the west including the Chilterns to the north west can be seen in their many place name endings such as field, ham, ton, and worth but at the Brent they almost stop — the course of the river presenting a boundary between lands named by the invading Saxons to the west and lands retaining the last vestiges of Romano-British London which lasted until the end of the 5th century, having in many cases, older names.</p><br>
<p>Evidence of Roman settlement, that was discovered by the Hendon and District Archaeological Society and others exists in an urn burial of a headless child was found in nearby Sunny Hill Park. Hendon manor is described in Domesday (1087), but the Anglo-Saxon name hēam dūne meaning high hill, is earlier.</p><br>
<h3>Post-Norman history</h3><br>
<p>As partly touched upon, the course of the river Brent still denotes the boundary of many part of the human landscape it passes through including the boundary of Middlesex and Hertfordshire – the border of the old Gore Hundred.</p><br>
<p>By the Middle Ages malaria had reached Britain, locally endemic in the south. There were hot spots of this disease along the course of the river Thames as well as at Romney Marsh, so one might expect that the Brent Valley could also have harboured the disease; thus living near it may have been too unhealthy to encourage many settlements. Only at places where the river gravel beds afforded a firm river bed was fording a safe and practical proposition. Some such fording places were the Roman road crossing in Brentford itself, Green Lanes in Hanwell (a reminder that this was an old droving route, the word green signifying that livestock could graze whilst on their last journey), and Hanwell Bridge on the Uxbridge Road. With only a few fordable places along the river&#39;s course, this presented an ideal natural defensive barrier.</p><br>
<p>The original parish of Hanwell was larger than today and stretched for some three and a half miles north from the Brent&#39;s confluence with the river Thames but was only some half a mile wide, thus separating the parishes of Norwood Green on the east bank of the Brent and Ealing towards the west. To the north it bordered Greenford and Perivale. The original borders of the parish of Hanwell stretched from the bend of the River Brent at Greenford and followed the river all the way down to the River Thames, yet it is only just over 3,000 ft wide along the east-west line of the Uxbridge Road. Its geography, before the draining of the marshes, formed a natural boundary between the different pre- and post-Roman tribes of the south-east of England.</p><br>
<p>Certain accounts of the Romantic Period have speculation from its propensity to suggest regular links to druids, or of some other ancient religious deity, all which alluded more to fancy with which to delight the readers of the new vogue in travelogues, rather than the result of any serious study, the true history of the river Brent from these cannot be made out.</p><br>
<p>The London Borough of Brent derived its name from the river itself when in 1965 the boroughs of Willesden and Wembley chose a name when uniting. This is also reflected in the coat of arms of the borough, showing a stylized river in the shield.</p><br>
<h3>Earliest recorded reference</h3><br>
<p>Brentford was a likely site of a battle recorded by Julius Cæsar between Julius Cæsar and local king, Cassivellaunus, in 54 BC.</p><br>
<p>A letter from the Bishop of London in AD 705 suggesting a meeting at Breguntford, now Brentford, is the earliest record of this place and of the river.</p><br>
<h2>River's course</h2><br>
<h3>From Barnet to Brent Cross</h3><br>
<p>The River Brent starts as the junction of Dollis Brook and Mutton Brook close to Bridge Lane in Hendon, in the London Borough of Barnet.</p><br>
<p>Its main tributary is Dollis Brook, around 10 km or 6 miles long, which rises in Moat Mount Open Space, Mill Hill, and flows eastward through fields and open space to King George V Playing Fields in Totteridge. It then turns south and passes between Totteridge and Whetstone. A tributary, Folly Brook, meets the Dollis not far from Woodside Park tube station. The Dollis then flows through Church End, Finchley, to Hendon.</p><br>
<p>Mutton Brook rises in Cherry Tree Wood, East Finchley. It flows westward, underground, until it comes to the surface shortly after The Bishop&#39;s Avenue, and then flows through parks next to Lyttelton Road, Falloden Way and North Circular Road to meet the Dollis.</p><br>
<p>A small stream called Decoy Brook rises in Turner&#39;s Wood in Hampstead Garden Suburb and runs through Temple Fortune to join the Brent at Riverside Drive in Hendon. Another, Clitterhouse Stream, rises at two locations on the western slopes of Hampstead Heath. One brook feeds the Leg of Mutton Pond on West Heath, and the lower duck pond of Golders Hill Park. On the bank of the stream by Leg of Mutton Pond lies the site of a stone age encampment, which was excavated by the Hendon and District Archaeological Society in the 1970s. Another brook feeds the upper duck pond in Golders Hill Park and then flows to merge with the other branch at the lower duck pond. From Golders Hill Park the stream flows underground approximately in parallel with Dunstan Road to Childs Hill Park. At Granville Road, at the south end of the park, a laundry industry once used the clean water of the stream as did a nursery industry, now all disappeared. From Granville Road the stream flows underground to emerge at Clitterhouse Playing Fields and joins the Brent at Brent Cross shopping centre.</p><br>
<p>The River Brent flows alongside the A406 North Circular Road through Brent Park and then under the Northern line to Brent Cross and the Brent Reservoir, where it is joined by another tributary, the Silk Stream. There are several feeders to the Silk Stream including Burnt Oak Brook, Edgware Brook and Deans Brook.</p><br>
<h3>From Brent Cross to Brentford</h3><br>
<p>From here, still closely following the North Circular Road, the river passes Stonebridge Park, south of Wembley, and under an aqueduct carrying the Paddington Arm of the Grand Union Canal. From Stonebridge Park the river turns westward, and flows under the A40 Western Avenue, past the Lilburne walk into Tokyngton Recreation Ground in Harlesden, and through the adjacent Brent River Park</p><br>
<p>for three miles until it reaches Perivale. It then runs through Perivale Park past the local running track and under the railway bridge and into Stockdove Way crossing Argyle Road at the traffic lights into Perivale Lane, where it joins up with the foot/cyclepath at St Mary&#39;s the Virgin Perivale through to Pitshanger Park. The river runs through Longfield / Perivale East Meadow and Pitshanger Riverside meadows.</p><br>
<p>This part of the river, as it passes through the southern boundary of Greenford Golf Course, was dredged deeper in the 1960s and a control weir built, to reduce the risk of flooding, especially of Costons Lane, along which there is a flood protection wall. Previously, Ruslip Road East would also regularly become impassable.</p><br>
<p>The river then swings south again at Greenford Bridge to Hanwell, a mile away across the fields. The river runs by the local cyclepath, along the northern pavement over Greenford Bridge and into Costons Lane before turning eastwards into Perivale Park.</p><br>
<p>The river continues southeastward past St. Mary&#39;s Church. It flows under the Great Western Railway at the 900-foot-long (270 m) Wharncliffe Viaduct, a high spanned railway viaduct carrying the main-line railway from Paddington to the west of England.</p><br>
<p>Within about 500m, the River Brent is joined from the west by the main line of the Grand Union Canal at the foot of the Hanwell flight of locks, below Lock 97. From here, the Brent is canalised and navigable — the river and canal pass through Osterley Lock - 98, Clitheroe&#39;s Lock - 99 and Brentford Gauging Locks - 100. It finally joins the tidal River Thames at Thames tidal locks - 101 in Old Brentford, a mile upstream of Kew Bridge.</p><br>
<p>The river intersects with the north to south Capital Ring, Section 8, which runs alongside it from Osterley Lock to Greenford.</p><br>
<h2>Industrial heritage</h2><br>
<h3>Brentford Dock</h3><br>
<p>Brentford Dock in west London was a major trans-shipment point between the Great Western Railway (GWR) and barges on the River Thames. The building of Brentford Dock was started in 1855 and it was formally opened in 1859. The dock yard was redeveloped in 1972 and is now Brentford Dock Marina and Brentford Dock Estate.</p><br>
<h3>Brent Reservoir</h3><br>
<p>The Brent Reservoir (popularly called the Welsh Harp Reservoir ) is a reservoir which straddles the boundary between the London boroughs of Brent and Barnet and is owned by British Waterways. The reservoir takes its informal name from a public house called The Welsh Harp, which stood nearby until the early 1970s.</p><br>
<p>In a recent survey, a large number fish were captured in the reservoir and adjoining parts of the River Brent and Silk Stream, 95% of which were Roach. However, fishing is prohibited in the reservoir itself.</p><br>
<p>The plans for the construction laid in 1803 were abandoned because of cost, but by 1820 there was not enough water to supply the Grand Union Canal and the Regents Canal, so under an Act of Parliament in 1819, the Regents Canal Company decided to dam the River Brent and create a reservoir in order to guarantee a sufficient water supply for their canals during drier weather, an accidental damming of the feeder streams and similar times of need.</p><br>
<p>The reservoir was constructed by William Hoof between 1834 and 1835. The water flooded much of Cockmans Farm, to supply the Regents Canal at Paddington. It was called "Kingsbury Reservoir" and its 69 acre spread between Old Kingsbury Church and Edgware Road. Hoof, who was awarded the tender for the work (including the construction of a bridge) received the sum of £2,740 and six shillings. In August 1835, a few months before completion, four brothers named Sidebottom drowned in an accident.</p><br>
<p>The Welsh Harp Conservation Group (WHCG) managed in 1972 to fight off a local development plan. The WHCG organises management work, such as annual refurbishment of the tern rafts and works with Brent and Barnet councils on the site&#39;s management, including applying for National Lottery bids.</p><br>
<h2>Parks and nature reserves</h2><br>
<p>Lower Dollis Brook SINC</p><br>
<p>Soon after its source in Hendon the river runs through Brent Park (Hendon), and the park and the first part of the river until it passes under the Northern line are part of the Lower Dollis Brook Site Borough of Importance for Nature Conservation, Grade II.</p><br>
<p>Brent River Park</p><br>
<p>Brent River Park is one of London&#39;s larger urban green spaces. The natural landscape has recently been improved through the River Brent Project and further plans are proposed for future improvements. A new cycle path and wildlife conservation areas were opened in 2008.</p><br>
<p>The whole of Brent River Park/ River Brent Park area is now designated as a nature conservation area and was so popular it received the Mayor of Londons seal of approval by winning £400,000 for park projects and improvements in 2009, through the mayoral assemblys West London Priority Parks Award.</p><br>
<p>Perivale East Meadow and Pitshanger Riverside Medows</p><br>
<p>The three meadows of Longfield/Perivale East Meadow and Pitshanger Riverside Medows (part of Brent River Park) with natural riverbanks form part of the River Brent flood plain home to mallard ducks, moorhens, kingfishers and grey wagtails. Herons can also be seen along the river. It also passes through Perivale Park, which has had a few herons recently.</p><br>
<p>Tokyngton Park</p><br>
<p>The River Brent also enters Tokyngton Park in Tokyngton, Brent. The extensive flood prevention work undertaken during both the 1940s and 1970s, had led to this section of river in Tokyngton Park in Tokyngton, Brent, being straightened and enclosed in concrete. The river thus provided little or no recreational value to the local populace, whilst the quality of wildlife habitat was poor. During 1999, a local partnership was formed between the local authority, the Environment agency, local community groups and local firms, to implement improvements to the park for both people and wildlife.</p><br>
<p>The park can be accessed either locally by foot or via an official urban walking route from Hanwell railway station and Brent Lodge Park; Perivale tube or most stops served by the Number 95 bus service. Car parking is plentiful in the streets adjacent to Hanwell railway station. To return to the start of the walk, take Number 95 bus from Western Avenue to Greenford Red Lion, then the E3 bus to Hanwell railway station. Public toilets can be found in Brent Lodge Park.</p><br>
<p>Brent Lodge Park and the Churchfields</p><br>
<p>Brent Lodge Park (or BLP) and Churchfields, which is located The Brent River Park, is a pocket of the countryside within the now urban environment of the London Borough of Ealing. the park is bordered by the River Brent on the west and south and has become one of the favourite places for locals to go for tranquillity and chilling out.</p><br>
<p>The park got an EU/Department for Communities and Local Government Green Flag Award in 2009. Brent River and Canal Society with local park ranger Tony Ord look after the park.</p><br>
<p>Brent Lodge Park and the Churchfields is another park along the course of the river as it passes through Ealing. The park is assessable from Hanwell train station by either the E3 and E1 on bus stops on Greenford Avenue, then the 83, 92, 195, 207, 282, 427 and 607 stops on the Uxbridge Road and Ealing Hospital, or a short walk to the entrance on the land by the hospital or via West Middlesex Golf Course. Vehicular parking is limited within the car park at the end of Church Road and parking along Church Road being restricted during summer and weekends. The hospital&#39;s park is only for the hospital staff, patients and visitors to use.</p><br>
<p>It contains both public toilets, a café, animal centre and Millennium maze. The extensive hay meadows and grand trees making it a great place to spot many forms of fauna and flora.</p><br>
<p>Within the bounds of the site there is a grade 2 listed stable block (it contains an animal centre) which is the only remains of the old manor house, which sadly burned down in the 1930s.</p><br>
<p>Wembley riverside walk</p><br>
<p>A public riverside walk (Wembley riverside walk) leads to Wembley Stadium. The River Brent & Grand Union Canal Circular Tour and Ealing Cycling Campaign Routes and Rides follow part of the River Brent. Where the route follows the River Brent, it does so as closely as possible on well-made paths and roads.</p><br>
<h2>Notable buildings</h2><br>
<p>Ealing Hospital was re-built near the banks of the River Brent in the 1970s, on the same site as St Bernard&#39;s Hospital, dating back to 1832 (as Hanwell Asylum).</p><br>
<p>Within the bounds of the site of Brent Lodge Park and the Churchfields there is a grade 2 listed stable block (it contains an animal centre) which is the only remains of the old manor house, which sadly burned down in the 1930s.</p><br>
<h2>Environmental issues</h2><br>
<h3>Pollution</h3><br>
<p>River Brent was badly polluted since 1886 after contamination caused by sewage disposal outlets, rubber works and the early oil industry. The more recent rise in the rate of motor traffic has also become a major reason behind modern day, upstream pollution.</p><br>
<p>High sewerage levels had killed off the local trout at Brentford by the early 1920s. The river was cleaned out and the sewerage sent into a separate underground pipe by World War 2. A few trout began to return in the 1990s.</p><br>
<p>The water quality upstream in the River Brent, and urban diffuse pollution, which has affected biological oxygen levels in Ealing</p><br>
<p>and the area in Brent is affected by diffuse urban pollution and drain misconnections as of 2010.</p><br>
<p>The Silk Stream tributary was still the victim of at least one sewerage outflow pipe in 2010.</p><br>
<p>Thames Water was called in 2010 to replace a collapsed sewer pipe in Queens Walk, Ealing but found that a stretch of town houses were in fact not properly connected to the sewerage system when they had been built in 2000; for 10 years their effluent had been carried into the River Brent. The Environment Agency&#39;s, environment management team leader, Sarah Mills, said: "Approximately eight to nine town houses have been found to be misconnected, which Thames Water have advised would have occurred when they were built around the year 2000."</p><br>
<p>A later, but thankfully much smaller, sewerage leak occurred nearby on 3 April 2011.</p><br>
<h3>Culverting and flood alleviation works</h3><br>
<p>The process of corseting the river began during the 20th century. The River Brents width was heavy limited due to the water that was derived by the Canal Feeder. The river was about 5 feet in depth during the dry season. At the time of heavy downpour, the level of the river water rose to about 14 feet and flooded on occasion to. Local flood alleviation work has mostly taken place from the 1940s to the 1970s, as Brents Tokyngton Park. Brentford&#39;s section has been modified several times since the late 19th century.</p><br>
<p>The River Brent, proto-Brent River Park and surrounding area almost became a section of the Greater London Council&#39;s flood prevention scheme plans for Ealing in the 1970s.The Brent flood prevention scheme was finally completed in the 1980s.</p><br>
<p>The intermittent flooding in the 1970s was causing significant damage to buildings in Greenford&#39;s Costons Lane area and roads and parkland. The then controversial proposal was to channel the Brent into a concrete trough, possibly covered with a concrete lid, some 75 ft wide.</p><br>
<p>The planned scheme had allowed natural flood plains, away from housing, roads and riverside footpaths to soak up the excessive water flow to reduce the level of flooding through the passage of the flood water into the underlying ground water level.</p><br>
<p>Parts of the river&#39;s course that had been buried under concrete for most of the 20th century were planned to be uncovered to revitalise the area in 2008.</p><br>
<h2>Environmental regeneration</h2><br>
<h3>The Brent River and Canal Society (BRCS)</h3><br>
<p>The Brent River and Canal Society (BRCS) volunteer group was founded in 1972 by several Hanwell residents, led by Luke Fitzherbert, under the umbrella of Hanwell Preservation Society, had taken the initiative to clear the river of two years&#39; worth of dumped rubbish.</p><br>
<p>The society went on to campaign vigorously in the 1970s for the creation of Brent River Park, which was set up in 1975, saving it from use in Greater London Councils flood alleviation scheme plans for the London Borough of Ealing at the time. There were mostly plans to resolve extensive flooding which occurred periodically in the Perivale and Ealing areas. The Brent flood alleviation scheme was finally completed in the 1980s. Ultimately, this helped to achieve the Brent River and Canal Society objectives of a continuous urban walk along the rivers course from Hanger Lane to Brentford. The first was Fitzherbert Walk, which passes over the river from Hanwell Bridge on the Uxbridge Road to where the river joins the Grand Union Canal opened in 1983 and was named after Luke Fitzherbert. A new footpath underneath the Wharncliffe Viaduct in Hanwell was opened in 1985 and is now part of the National Footpaths recognised walk, the Capital Ring.</p><br>
<h3>Local community projects</h3><br>
<p>There was a litter removal operation on the 19 and 20 August 2010, in Brent Lodge Park, Hanwell. Volunteers cleared up litter from river and banks to help improve the area for residents and wildlife. The clean-up was to be followed by some family fun activities from 1pm-5pm, including river dipping and refreshments.</p><br>
<p>School children from Alperton Community School were also involved in an Active Citizen Scheme along with the Environment Agency, to remind people not to pollute the Wealdstone Brook and River Brent through the abuse of the street surface water drains who conclude that littering, old plumbing and disposing of waste such as engine oil are destroying local fish spawning grounds.</p><br>
<p>February 2011 saw several community projects launched to clean up the River Brent to reduce the risk of damage to local fish spawning grounds.</p><br>
<h3>The River Brent Project regeneration scheme.</h3><br>
<p>The River Brent Project regeneration scheme is aimed at improving the local environment, wild live habitat and flood prevention among other things. More information on River Brent restoration projects can be found on the River Restoration Website interactive Brent catchment map.</p><br>
<h4>Work at Tokyngton Park, Brent</h4><br>
<p>The extensive flood prevention work undertaken during both the 1940s and 1970s had led to this section of river in Tokyngton Park in Tokyngton, Brent, being straightened and enclosed in concrete. The river thus provided little or no recreational value to the local populace, whilst the quality of wildlife habitat was poor. During 1999, a local partnership was formed between the local authority, the Environment agency, local community groups and local firms, to implement improvements to the park for both people and wildlife.</p><br>
<p>It was hoped that this provides a new lease of life for the river and enhances the quality of the local environment by removing the river from its concrete banks and to create an attractive public open space. The existing concrete river channelling and casing would be removed and the rivers course modified to create new meanders in the middle area of the River Park&#39; zone. The removal of some existing paths and provide new and the provision some new street furniture and a fixed fibre glass gazebo would also occur if further plans go forth.</p><br>
<p>It will also try to emphasise on community participation in the local project.</p><br>
<h3>The Brent Cross Cricklewood development</h3><br>
<p>Under plans for the Brent Cross Cricklewood development, the River Brent, which is currently (as of May 2011) in a 40-year-old concrete channel, and its tributary Clitterhouse Stream will be realigned and restored to a more natural state, incorporating a wetland environmental area and a public riverside walkway. Flood risk is to be reduced by restoring the flood plain and the addition of sustainable drainage, such as green roofs and water permeable paving to reduce surface water, and thus flooding, in future times of heavy rain. New bridges over the river are to be designed so that they will be less easily blocked during a flood. According to the UK Government&#39;s Environment Agency, the development will provide opportunities to adapt the site to climate change, and give the community attractive recreational space and improved wildlife areas.</p><br>
<p>Who is involved-</p><br>
<p>Scott Wilson Group plc</p><br>
<p>ERM Consultants</p><br>
<p>Joseph Partners</p><br>
<p>London Borough of Barnet</p><br>
<h2>Notable floods</h2><br>
<p>The earliest flood record is 1682.</p><br>
<p>1682- A very violent storm of rain, accompanied with thunder and lightning, caused a sudden flood, which did great damage to the town of Brentford. The whole place was overflown; boats rowed up and down the streets, and several houses and other buildings were carried away by the force of the waters.</p><br>
<p>1841- Brentford was flooded by the Brent Reservoir becoming overfull so that the overflow cut a breach in the earth dam. A wave of frothing and roaring water swept down the river&#39;s course taking all before it causing fatalities. Several lives were lost.</p><br>
<p>1976- In the summer of 1976 Britain experienced its worst drought since records began; with Water Companies declaring it would take six or seven years for their empty, dry reservoirs to fill again. However, in August the following year, torrential rain not only filled but overwhelmed the Brent reservoir again, forcing the sluice gate to be opened to their fullest extent. It carried on raining heavily throughout the night. Even before the river broke its banks, the drains had started to overflow with sewerage. People awoke during the night to find their homes being flooded. Commuters set for to work in the morning to find the North London streets grid-locked due to widespread flooding of the Brent river. Trains could not run. Hundreds had to be evacuated and hundreds of shops and businesses had to close to clear up the mess. Roads that were unaffected by the water and sewage were awash with the dozens of news-crews covering the mayhem.</p><br>
<p>2007- August saw heavy rain cause a short bout of flash flooding in Brentford and Hanwell which covered several roads and disrupted both road and rail travel.</p><br>
<p>On 30 Nov 2009- The Environment Agency warned residents of a flooding along River Brent from Hendon to Brentford, after a day of notably heavy rain. Several premises were temporarily flooded in Brentford and Perivale.</p><br>
<h2>In literature and poetry</h2><br>
<p>Poet Laureate Sir John Betjeman in his poem Middlesex.</p><br>
<p>Gentle Brent, I used to know you</p><br>
<p>Wandering Wembley-wards at will,</p><br>
<p>Now what change your waters show you</p><br>
<p>In the meadowlands you fill!</p><br>
<p>Recollect the elm-trees misty</p><br>
<p>And the footpaths climbing twisty</p><br>
<p>Under cedar-shaded palings,</p><br>
<p>Low laburnum-leaned-on railings</p><br>
<p>Out of Northolt on and upward to the heights of Harrow hill.</p><br>
<p>The anthropomorphic personification of the river appears as one of the daughters of Mama Thames in the novel Rivers of London.</p><br>
<h2>Imagery</h2><br>
<p>Gander Lake is located in the central part of the Canadian island of Newfoundland in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is the third-largest lake on Newfoundland.</p><br>
<p>Measuring 56 km in length and several kilometres in width, the lake is oriented roughly northwest&ndash;southeast. The town of Gander is located on the Northern shore at roughly its midpoint, and the towns of Appleton and Glenwood are situated on the Western extremity of the lake, on the banks of the Gander River. Gander Lake has been measured to a depth of 351 m in some areas.</p><br>
<p>It is the main source of water for the towns of Gander, Appleton and Glenwood.</p><br>
<h2>Access</h2><br>
<p>Near the southeastern end of the lake, just over 12 km outside of the town of Gander, there is a small, quarry-cut, artificial harbour, commonly known as "Little Harbour". This area contains is a concrete public boat launch and a fire pit area for day trips. Camping is frowned upon, if not outright forbidden in the immediate area of the boat launch. However there are two pebble beaches which are used by tenters, accessible from the dirt roads surrounding the cove. Boaters have much better access to both pebble and sand beaches that run along both sides of the lake, such as one commonly known as the "fifteen mile brook", which are excellent for camping. Other well known areas throughout the lake include "Hunts Cove", "Southwest", "Gander River" and "Dentys Pit".</p><br>
<p>Himera , was an important ancient Greek city of Sicily, situated on the north coast of the island, at the mouth of the river of the same name , between Panormus  and Cephaloedium . Its remains lie within the borders of the modern comune of Termini Imerese.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<h3>Foundation and earliest history</h3><br>
<p>Himera was the first Greek settlement on this part of the island and was a strategic outpost just outside the eastern boundary of the Carthaginian-controlled west. Thucydides says it was the only Greek city on this coast of Sicily, which must however be understood with reference only to independent cities. Mylae, which was also on the north coast and certainly of Greek origin, was a dependency of Zancle (modern Messina). All authorities agree that Himera was a colony of Zancle, but Thucydides tells us that the emigrants from Zancle mingled with a number of Syracusan exiles, resulting in a city with Chalcidic institutions and a Doric dialect.</p><br>
<p>The foundation of Himera is placed subsequent to that of Mylae (as, from their relative positions, might naturally have been expected) both by Strabo and Scymnus Chius: its date is not mentioned by Thucydides, but Diodorus tells us that it had existed 240 years at the time of its destruction by the Carthaginians, which would fix its first settlement in 648 BCE. There is very little information as to its early history: an obscure notice in Aristotle, from which it appears to have at one time fallen under the dominion of the tyrant Phalaris, being the only mention found of it, until about 490 BCE, when it afforded a temporary refuge to Scythes, tyrant of Zancle, after his expulsion from the latter city. Not long after this event, Himera fell itself under the yoke of a despot named Terillus, who sought to fortify his power by contracting a close alliance with Anaxilas, at that time ruler both of Rhegium (modern Reggio di Calabria) and Zancle. But Terillus was unable to resist the power of Theron, despot of Agrigentum (modern Agrigento), and, being expelled by him from Himera, had recourse to the assistance of the Carthaginians, a circumstance which became the immediate occasion of the first great expedition of that people to Sicily, 480 BCE.</p><br>
<h3>First interaction with Carthage</h3><br>
<p>The magnitude of the armament sent under Hamilcar, who is said to have landed in Sicily with an army of 300,000 men, sufficiently proves that the conquest of Himera was the pretext, rather than the object, of the war. However, it is likely that the growing power of Himeria in the immediate vicinity of the Carthaginian settlements of Panormus and Solus had already caused concern among the Carthaginians. Hence it was against Himera that the first efforts of Hamilcar were directed. Theron, who had thrown himself into the city with all the forces at his command, was able to maintain its defence until the arrival of Gelon of Syracuse. Despite the numerical inferiority of his forces, he defeated the army of the Carthaginians with such slaughter that the Battle of Himera in 480 BCE was regarded by the Greeks of Sicily as worthy of comparison with the contemporary victory of Salamis. The same feeling probably gave rise to the tradition or belief, that both triumphs were achieved on the very same day.</p><br>
<h3>After the Battle of Himera</h3><br>
<p>This victory left Theron in the undisputed possession of the sovereignty of Himera, as well as of that of Agrigentum. He appears to have focused on Agrigentum, and leftthe government of Himera to his son Thrasydaeus. But the young man, by his violent and oppressive rule, soon alienated the minds of the citizens. They applied for relief to Hieron of Syracuse, at that time on terms of hostility with Theron. The Syracusan despot, however, betrayed their overtures to Theron. He took vengeance on the Himeraeans, putting to death a large number of the disaffected citizens and driving others into exile. Shortly after, seeing that the city had suffered greatly from these severities and that its population was much diminished, he sought to restore its prosperity by establishing there a new body of citizens whom he collected from various quarters. The greater part of these new colonists were of Dorian extraction, and though the two bodies of citizens were blended into one and continued to live harmoniously together, at this period Himera became a Doric city. Himera adopted the institutions and followed the policy of the other Doric states of Sicily. This settlement seems to have taken place in 476 BCE, and Himera continued subject to Theron until his death, in 472 BCE, but Thrasydaeus retained possession of the sovereignty for a very short time after the death of his father, and his defeat by Hieron of Syracuse was speedily followed by his expulsion both from Agrigentum and Himera. In 466 BCE we find the Himeraeans, in their turn, sending a force to assist the Syracusans in throwing off the yoke of Thrasybulus; and, in the general settlement of affairs which followed soon after, the exiles were allowed to return to Himera, where they appear to have settled quietly together with the new citizens. From this period Diodorus expressly tells us that Himera was fortunate enough to escape from civil dissensions, and this good government must have secured to it no small share of the prosperity which was enjoyed by the Sicilian cities in general during the succeeding half-century.</p><br>
<p>But though we are told in general terms that the period which elapsed from this re-settlement of Himera until its destruction by the Carthaginians (461–408 BCE), was one of peace and prosperity, the only notices we find of the city during this interval refer to the part it took at the time of the Athenian expedition to Sicily, 415 BCE. On that occasion, the Himeraeans were among the first to promise their support to Syracuse: hence, when Nicias presented himself before their port with the Athenian fleet, they altogether refused to receive him; and, shortly after, it was at Himera that Gylippus landed, and from whence he marched across the island to Syracuse, at the head of a force composed in great part of Himeraean citizens.</p><br>
<h3>Destruction by Carthage</h3><br>
<p>In 409 BC the prosperity of the city was brought to an abrupt end by the great Carthaginian expedition to Sicily. The ostensible object of the expedition was the support of the Segestans against their neighbours, the Selinuntines. The Carthaginians, though, had greater ambitions. Immediately after the destruction of Selinus, Hannibal Mago, who commanded the expedition, hastened to turn his arms against Himera. That city was ill-prepared for defence; its fortifications were of little strength, but the citizens made a desperate resistance, and by a vigorous sally inflicted severe loss on the Carthaginians. They were at first supported by a force of about 4000 auxiliaries from Syracuse under the command of Diocles, but that general became seized with a panic fear for the safety of Syracuse itself and abandoned Himera, leaving the unfortunate citizens to contend singlehanded against the Carthaginian power. Their defenses failed and the city was soon taken by storm. A large part of the citizens were killed and at least 3000 of them, who had been taken prisoners, were put to death by Hannibal as a sacrifice to the memory of his grandfather Hamilcar. The city itself was utterly destroyed, its buildings razed to the ground, and even the temples themselves were not spared.</p><br>
<p>Diodorus, who relates the total destruction of Himera, tells us expressly that it was never rebuilt, and that the site remained uninhabited down to his own times. It seems at first in contradiction with this statement, that he elsewhere includes the Himeraeans, as well as the Selinuntines and Agrigentines, among the exiled citizens that were allowed by the treaty, concluded with Carthage, in 405 BCE, to return to their homes, and inhabit their own cities, on condition of paying tribute to Carthage and not restoring their fortifications. And it seems clear that many of them at least availed themselves of this permission, as we find the Himeraeans subsequently mentioned among the states that declared in favour of Dionysius I of Syracuse, at the commencement of his great war with Carthage in 397 BCE; though they quickly returned to the Carthaginian alliance in the following year. The explanation of this difficulty is furnished by Cicero, who tells us that, after the destruction of Himera, those citizens who had survived the calamity of the war established themselves at Thermae, within the confines of the same territory, and not far from their old town. Diodorus gives a somewhat different account of the foundation of Thermae, which he represents as established by the Carthaginians themselves before the close of the war, in 407 BCE. But it is probable that both statements are substantially correct, and that the Carthaginians founded the new town in the immediate neighbourhood of Himera, in order to prevent the old site being again occupied; while the Himeraean exiles, when they returned thither, though they settled in the new town, naturally regarded themselves as still the same people, and would continue to bear the name of Himeraeans. How completely, even at a much later period, the one city was regarded as the representative of the other, appears from the statement of Cicero, that when Scipio Aemilianus, after the capture of Carthage, restored to the Agrigentines and Gelenses the statues that had been carried off from their respective cities, he at the same time restored to the citizens of Thermae those that had been taken from Himera. Hence we cannot be surprised to find that, not only are the Himeraeans still spoken of as an existing people, but even that the name of Himera itself is sometimes inadvertently used as that of their city. Thus, in 314 BCE, Diodorus tells us that, by the treaty between Agathocles and the Carthaginians, it was stipulated that Heracleia, Selinus and Himera should continue subject to Carthage as they had been before. It is much more strange that we find the name of Himera reappear both in Mela and Pliny, though we know from the distinct statements of Cicero and Strabo, as well as Diodorus, that it had ceased to exist centuries before.</p><br>
<h3>Foundation of Thermae</h3><br>
<p>The new town of Thermae or Therma called for the sake of distinction Thermae Himerenses, which thus took the place of Himera, obviously derived its name from the hot springs for which it was celebrated, and the first discovery of which was connected by legends with the wanderings of Hercules. It appears to have early become a considerable town, though it continued, with few and brief exceptions, to be subject to the Carthaginian rule. In the First Punic War its name is repeatedly mentioned. Thus, in 260 BCE, a body of Roman troops were encamped in the neighborhood, when they were attacked by Hamilcar, and defeated with heavy loss. Before the close of the war, Thermae itself was besieged and taken by the Romans. Cicero relates that the Roman government restored to the Thermitani their city and territory, with the free use of their own laws, as a reward for their steady fidelity. They were on hostile terms with Rome during the First Punic War, so it can only be to the subsequent period that these expressions apply; but the occasion to which they refer is unknown. In the time of Cicero, Thermae appears to have been a flourishing place, carrying on a considerable amount of trade, though the orator speaks, of it as oppidum non maximum. It seems to have received a colony in the time of Augustus, whence we find mention in inscriptions of the Ordo et Populus splendidissimae Coloniae Augustae Himeraeorum Thermitanorum: and there can be little doubt that the Thermae colonia of Pliny in reality refers to this town, though he evidently understood it to be Thermae Selinuntiae (modern Sciacca), as he places it on the south coast between Agrigentum and Selinus. There is little subsequent account of Thermae; but, as its name is found in Ptolemy and the Itineraries, it appears to have continued in existence throughout the period of the Roman Empire, and probably never ceased to be inhabited, as the modern town of Termini Imerese retains the ancient site as well as name. The magnificence of the ancient city, and the taste of its citizens for the encouragement of art, are attested by Cicero, who calls it in primis Siciliae clarum et ornatum; and some evidence of it remained, even in the days of that orator, in the statues preserved by the Thermitani, to whom they had been restored by Scipio, after the conquest of Carthage; and which were valuable, not only as relics of the past, but from their high merit as works of art. The numerous examples of coins from Himera testify to the city&#39;s wealth in antiquity.</p><br>
<h2>The Site</h2><br>
<p>The exact position of Himera was a subject of controversy until recent times. Cluverius was followed by almost all writers in the 19th century and placed it on the west bank of the river San Leonardo which flows past the west side of Termini. On this supposition the inhabitants moved from one bank of the river to the other; and this would readily explain the texts in which Himera and Thermae appear to be regarded as identical, and where the river Himera is also said to be flowing past Thermae.</p><br>
<p>Fazello identified the Himera river with the Grande, the mouth of which is 8 miles from Termini and this view is adopted by most modern scholars. This distance is not too great to be reconciled with Ciceros expression, that the new settlement was established non longe ab oppido antique; while the addition that it was in the same territory would seem to imply that it was not very near the old site. It may be added that, in this case, the new site would have had the advantage in the eyes of the Carthaginians of being nearer to their own settlements of Solus and Panormus, and, consequently, more within their command. But Fazellos view that the site of Torre di Bonfornello on the seacoast (on the west bank of the Fiume Grande, close to its mouth), though having no ruins, is supported by abundant ancient relics, such as vases and bronzes, and numerous sepulchres had also been brought to light.</p><br>
<h2>Archaeology</h2><br>
<p>The only visible remains of the city consist of the Tempio della Vittoria (Temple of Victory), a Doric structure supposedly built to commemorate the defeat of the Carthaginians (although recently some scholars have come to doubt this hypothesis). To the south of the temple was the towns necropolis. Some artifacts recovered from this site are kept in a small antiquarium. However, the more impressive displays are in Palermos Museo Archeologico Regionale.</p><br>
<h2>Famous people</h2><br>
<p>Himera is said to be the birthplace of the poet Stesichorus but in fact he was born in the Magna Graecian town of Metauros (modern Gioia Tauro) in 630BC. He moved to Himera in later life and wrote his poetry whilst a resident of the town.</p><br>
<p>Ergoteles, whose victory at the Olympic games is celebrated by Pindar, was a citizen, but not a native, of Himera. On the other hand, Thermae had the honour of being the birthplace of the tyrant Agathocles.</p><br>
<p>The Kodiak Archipelago is an archipelago, or group of islands, south of the main land mass of the state of Alaska , about 405 km by air south of Anchorage in the Gulf of Alaska. The largest island in the archipelago is Kodiak Island, the second largest island in the United States. The archipelago is about 285 km long and 108 km across, from the Barren Islands on the north to Chirikof Island and the Semidi Islands group on the south. The Archipelago contains 13,890 km&sup2; of land. The Kodiak Archipelago contains about 40 small glaciers, numerous streams and many species of land and marine animals. Much of its land is forested.</p><br>
<p>The Kodiak Island Borough contains all of the Kodiak Archipelago and some lands on the mainland. The Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge encompasses a large percentage of the land in the archipelago.</p><br>
<h2>Islands in the Kodiak Archipelago</h2><br>
<p>Afognak - second largest island</p><br>
<p>Aiaktalik Island</p><br>
<p>Ban Island</p><br>
<p>Barren Islands - most northerly</p><br>
<p>Ushagat Island</p><br>
<p>East Amatuli Island</p><br>
<p>West Amatuli Island</p><br>
<p>Chirikof Island - most southernly</p><br>
<p>Dark Island</p><br>
<p>Geese Islands</p><br>
<p>Kodiak Island - largest island in the archipelago</p><br>
<p>Marmot Island - most easterly</p><br>
<p>Near Island</p><br>
<p>Raspberry Island</p><br>
<p>Semidi Islands - most westerly</p><br>
<p>Aghiyuk Island</p><br>
<p>Anowiki Island</p><br>
<p>Chowiet Island</p><br>
<p>Kateekuk Island</p><br>
<p>Kiliktagik Island</p><br>
<p>Shuyak Island</p><br>
<p>Sitkalidak Island</p><br>
<p>Spruce Island</p><br>
<p>Sundstrom Island</p><br>
<p>Trinity Islands</p><br>
<p>Tugidak Island</p><br>
<p>Sitkinak Island</p><br>
<p>Two-Headed Island</p><br>
<p>Ugak Island</p><br>
<p>Whale Island</p><br>
<p>Woody Island</p><br>
<h2>Holocene archaeology</h2><br>
<p>"The archaeological record contains several seemingly abrupt changes suggesting population replacements to some, but the current view, followed here, is that there has been long-term cultural continuity."</p><br>
<p>Ames, Kenneth M. “Tempo and Scale in the Evolution of Social Complexity in Western North America: Four Case Studies.” North American Archaeology. Ed. Pauketat, Timothy R. and Diana Dipaolo Loren. Malden: Blackwell Publishing Ltd., 2005. pp56-78. (Ames et al., p.61)</p><br>
<p>The Late Holocene contains four cultural periods: the Early Kachemak, the Late Kachemak, the Koniag, and the Alutiiq. Each period will be broken down by time period, also including the significance of each.</p><br>
<p>Early Kachemak (1850 BC - 500 BC)=The period is marked by the shift in mobility patterns: residential foragers to logistical collectors. Dwellings were small in size. Technology and subsistence activities were made more efficient. More efficient ways of processing food were introduced. Material remains include toggling harpoons, netweights, ground slate points, nets, ulus (chopping knife). The Ocean Bay people were the first to inhabit the area. They were considered to be a maritime people, but exploited both marine and terrestrial resources, including mammals and fish. Their only hunting kit included hooks, lines, harpoons, and lances with chipped stone points. By the Middle Holocene, more specialized tool kits were introduced. Originally living in small, dispersed settlements, the small 2-3m tents were replaced by small pit houses around 2000 BC.</p><br>
<p>Late Kachemak (500 BC - 1200 AD)=The period is marked by large populations. Logistical patterns of mobility kept increasing, and community sizes increased, having up to ten dwellings. Storage facilities are also introduced. Mortuary practices are considered to be elaborate, and the finding of labrets suggest that social differentiation increased. Craft specialization increased as well.</p><br>
<p>Koniag (1200 AD - European contact)=The population reached its peak. Houses and settlement sizes continued to increase, suggesting the development of social ranking. Architecture started to become more elaborate and storage features kept increasing in size. Shift in location toward the coast suggests better access to marine resources, specifically to whales. "There is also evidence of intensified salmon fishing, food production and processing specializations, exchange, and investment in carpentry". (Ames et al., p.62)</p><br>
<p>Alutiiq (Modern)=These islands are the original or traditional homes of the Alutiiqu (previously Koniag) peoples. The coastal environment provided excellent productivity for these people, as the terrestrial environment seemed somewhat low or lacked natural resources.</p><br>
<p>The Charles Connell House is the present name of the residence of the Hon. Charles Connell . It is located at 128 Connell Street, Woodstock, New Brunswick, Canada. The house was designated a National Historic Sites of Canada in 1975.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>This house was built by an unknown person circa 1839 for Connell. It represents the peak of classicism in local architecture. It was built in the Greek Revival style, where wood is used to imitate the look of stone.</p><br>
<h3>Past use</h3><br>
<p>In the late 19th and early 20th century, it was broken up into apartments. It was made into a double tenement in the 1890s, and further subdivided into three apartments circa 1920, with a fourth created about 1960.</p><br>
<h3>Current use</h3><br>
<p>The house was purchased by the Carleton County Historical Society in 1975, and is currently used to house the society&#39;s archives, artifacts and office. A restoration of the layout of the house, before it was broken up into apartments, was completed in 2008.</p><br>
<p>The Connell House is also available for business meetings, weddings, receptions, and parties for a small fee. The Connell House is fully licensed and has a fully stocked caterer&#39;s kitchen.</p><br>
<p>Derwent Reservoir is a reservoir on the River Derwent, on the border between County Durham and Northumberland, in England. It is west of Consett.It is one of the biggest inland waters in England. It is 3.5 miles  long) and covers an area of 4 km² and has a maximum depth of 100 ft  and when full, holds 11,000 million gallons .</p><br>
<p>The reservoir is a key part of the water supply network in north east England (which is owned and managed by Northumbrian Water) as it is the principal water source for the Tyne and Wear metropolitan area supplying 28,000,000 impgal per day. The reservoir was first proposed in 1957 when the Sunderland and South Shields Water Company promoted the Derwent Water Order. Building work began on the reservoir in 1960, and it was opened in July 1967 by HRH Princess Alexandra. Unlike other reservoirs in Northern England that are flooded valleys with a dam head, Derwent was dug out of the ground and the earth removed was used in its dam head.</p><br>
<p>The flow of the River Derwent can be supplemented, when necessary, by water transferred from the much larger Kielder Water in Northumberland. However this cannot top up the reservoir itself.</p><br>
<p>Sediment within the reservoir has been found to contain elevated levels of zinc, lead and cadmium. These have drained into the reservoir from areas of previous mining activity around Blanchland. Consequently, populations of macroscopic plants in the reservoir are relatively low.</p><br>
<p>Derwent Reservoir also hosts a sailing club, which holds many events throughout the year, including windsurfing, sailing, running and triathlons. The area around the reservoir hosts the annual Tour of the Reservoir cycle race.</p><br>
<p>The reservoir also has hydro electric plant installed, with a rating of 97 kilowatts.</p><br>
<p>Mariposa Grove is a sequoia grove located near Wawona, California, United States, in the southernmost part of Yosemite National Park. It is the largest grove of Giant Sequoias in the park, with several hundred mature examples of the tree. Two of its trees are among the 30 largest Giant Sequoias in the world. The grove closed from 2015 to 2017 for a restoration project.</p><br>
<p>The Mariposa Grove was first visited by non-natives in 1857 when Galen Clark and Milton Mann found it. They named the grove after Mariposa County, California, where the grove is located.</p><br>
<p>The Giant Sequoia named Grizzly Giant is between probably 1900–2400 years old: the oldest tree in the grove. In 1932, park officials claimed it as the fifth largest (by volume) tree in the world, but other trees were subsequently found to be larger. It has a volume of 34,010 cuft, and is counted as the 25th largest tree in the world. It is 210 ft tall, and has a heavily buttressed base with a basal circumference of 28 m (92 ft) or a diameter of 30 ft; above the buttresses at 2.4 m above ground, the circumference is only 23 m. Grizzly Giant&#39;s first branch from the base is 2 m (6 ft) in diameter. Another tree, the Wawona Tree, had a tunnel cut through it in the nineteenth century that was wide enough for horse-drawn carriages and early automobiles to drive through. Weakened by the large opening at its base, the tree fell down in a storm in 1969.</p><br>
<p>Abraham Lincoln signed an Act of Congress on June 30, 1864 ceding Mariposa Grove and Yosemite Valley to the state of California. Criticism of stewardship over the land led to the state&#39;s returning the grove to federal control with the establishment of Yosemite National Park.</p><br>
<p>The Mariposa Grove Museum is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.</p><br>
<h2>Noteworthy trees</h2><br>
<p>Some of the trees found in the grove that are worthy of special note are:</p><br>
<p>The Fallen Monarch: A tree that fell more than three hundred years ago. Giant sequoias are resistant to decay, so their remains can linger for a long period of time if undisturbed.</p><br>
<p>The Bachelor and Three Graces: A group of four trees, three of them growing very close together, with a fourth a little more distant. Their roots are so intertwined that if one of them were to fall, it would likely bring the others along with it.</p><br>
<p>The Grizzly Giant: The oldest tree and second largest tree in the grove, with a volume of 34,010 cuft</p><br>
<p>The Washington tree: the largest tree in the grove, with a volume of 35,950 cuft</p><br>
<p>The California Tunnel Tree: Cut in 1895 to allow coaches to pass through it (and as a marketing scheme to attract visitors to the grove), this is the only living Giant sequoia tree with a tunnel in it since the fall of the Wawona Tunnel Tree in 1969 and the fall of the Pioneer Cabin Tree in 2017.</p><br>
<p>The Faithful Couple: A rare case in which two trees grew so close together that their trunks have fused together at the base.</p><br>
<p>The Clothespin tree: Countless fires throughout the decades nearly severed this tree&#39;s trunk, creating a space in it large enough for a pick-up truck to drive through.</p><br>
<p>The Telescope tree: A tree that has become completely hollow from repeated fires through the decades. Despite that, the tree is still living, as Giant Sequoias do not require a whole trunk to survive. It is possible to walk inside the tree and, from there, see the sky. This condition leaves the tree weakened and makes it more difficult for it to withstand strong winds. This tree (and the Clothespin Tree) could topple at any time.</p><br>
<p>The Columbia tree: The tallest tree in the grove and in Yosemite National Park at 285 ft.</p><br>
<p>The Galen Clark tree: Of historical importance, as it is said to be the first tree seen by Galen Clark when he entered the grove, and inspired his love for the Giant Sequoias and struggle for setting aside the land for preservation, a new concept in the mid-19th century.</p><br>
<p>The Wawona Tunnel Tree: Renamed the "Fallen Tunnel Tree" after it toppled over during a snow storm in 1969. In 1881, this was the first tree to have a tunnel carved through its trunk. Its collapse is seen as a turning point in the preservation program in National Parks in the United States. So grave was the shock of the tree&#39;s collapse that the result was a greater awareness of the sensitivity of ecosystems, even for a living thing as massive as the Giant Sequoias.</p><br>
<p>The Fallen Giant: It was one of the largest trees in the grove, until it fell in 1873.</p><br>
<p>The Massachusetts tree: It was one of the most famous trees in the grove. It fell in 1927.</p><br>
<h2>Mariposa Grove Museum</h2><br>
<p>The Mariposa Grove Museum was built in 1930. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.</p><br>
<p>Bowles Hall is an coed residential college at the University of California, Berkeley, known for its unique traditions, parties, and camaraderie. Designed by George W. Kelham, the building was the first residence hall on campus, dedicated in 1929, and was California&#39;s first state-owned residence hall. It was built in 1928 on a $350,000 grant by Mary McNear Bowles in memory of her husband, Cal alumnus and UC Regent Phillip E. Bowles. Mr. Bowles was said to have three loves: horses, horticulture and the University of California. The Bowles family is said to have lost its fortune during the Depression.</p><br>
<p>The Hall displays appearance of a medieval castle, with a stone exterior and a wood entryway. Although a University-operated residence hall, its male-only tradition, classic facade, partitioned four-man rooms, and community facilities give it a social fraternity atmosphere. Bowlesmen have traditionally been a tight-knit group of students who regularly practice various traditions and rituals that are exclusive to the Hall. In the 1980s, it was listed in the National Register of Historic Places, an example of the style of architecture called Collegiate Gothic.</p><br>
<p>From 2006 to 2014, a group of Hall alumnus led by Robert A. Sayles (Cal Class of &#39;52), worked with University officials to create a plan whereby the Hall would be comprehensively restored and reconstituted as a co-ed Residential College via public-private financing. Following a 14-month restoration project, the Hall reopened in August 2016.</p><br>
<h2>The Building</h2><br>
<p>Designed by George W. Kelham, the building has eight levels comprising two-room suites and a common room (originally designed to house two, but now housing four). The Julien and Helen Hart Memorial Library was added to the building in 1939 through the gift of Professor James D. Hart, their son, and Mrs. Joseph Bransten, their daughter. Dr. Hart was a professor of English and the editor of the Oxford Handbook of American Literature. After retirement, he ran the Bancroft Library. Bowles Hall also has the distinction of sitting right on top of the Hayward Fault.</p><br>
<p>In order to avoid having the aging residence hall dismantled in the late 1980s, the Bowlesmen successfully petitioned to have the building added to the National Register of Historic Places (#89000195, 1989), thereby saving it for future generations.</p><br>
<p>The hall was also designated a City of Berkeley landmark on October 17, 1988.</p><br>
<p>The hall earned LEED Silver certification in August 2017.</p><br>
<h2>Current status</h2><br>
<p>The UC administration attempted to dismantle Bowles Hall and build a new residence hall in its place, but this was deterred when Bowles Hall was entered into the National Register of Historic Places. In April 2001, food service in the dining hall was ended and the dining room made into a generic "recreation room." The dining hall had previously hosted popular barbecue dinners on Friday evenings.</p><br>
<p>In the fall of 2006, the Haas School of Business was planning to turn Bowles into an educational center and conference facility, but the university backed down from that decision. At about this time, a group of Bowles alumni formed the, and then the Bowles Hall Foundation, with the aim of establishing Bowles Hall as a modern residential college.</p><br>
<p>In Spring 2014, the Regents of the University of California approved a plan that enables the, a 501c(3) entity, to renovate and operate Bowles Hall as a residential college under a 45-year lease. Working with a cadre of talented alumni, faculty and student volunteers and selected experienced consultants, the Foundation developed a feasible, self-sustaining plan to completely renovate and refurnish Bowles Hall, with features desired by today’s students, and re-establish the Bowles Hall Residential College experience.</p><br>
<p>The mission and vision of the Bowles Hall Foundation is to re-establish the Bowles Hall experience in a restored Bowles Hall—breathing life back into a noble dream of a robust residential experience for undergraduate students at UC Berkeley and restoring key aspects of the residential college model and the rich heritage of Bowles Hall, including:</p><br>
<p>A self-governed, co-ed residential college academic community of UCB undergraduate and graduate students, emeritus and active faculty, Bowles Hall alumni, BHRC Fellows (selected UCB faculty members) and invited members of the Bay Area community</p><br>
<p>Academic support, career counseling and professional direction to enable BHRC student members to achieve their maximum academic potential in an environment conducive to high personal performance</p><br>
<p>A focus on achieving a higher four-year graduation rate than the campus at large, thereby reducing student expenses and loans and increasing the throughput of the University while preparing the student to excel in advanced professional education and careers</p><br>
<p>On-site dining (the center of the community)</p><br>
<p>Financially self-funding, requiring no funds from the University or taxpayers and demonstrating the potential of a lower-cost, higher-function, self-funding collegiate housing model, with an endowment fund that supports staff, programs and equipment/maintenance needs of the Hall</p><br>
<p>In June 2015, formal agreements with the Regents of the University of California were executed. The Bowles Hall Foundation then assumed management of the Hall for the next 45 years. The 14-month restoration project included a comprehensive overhaul to resident suites, reconstructing them from triples and quads into single- and double-room suites, each with a connected bathroom. The project also restored all common areas, including the Dining Commons that accommodates an extensive in-residence meal service.</p><br>
<p>The restored Hall reopened in August 2016. It serves 188 undergraduate students, three live-in faculty members, and several graduate residents. It is considered on-campus housing for the purposes of financial aid.</p><br>
<h2>Famous alumni</h2><br>
<p>Norman Mineta - United States Secretary of Transportation (2001&ndash;2006)</p><br>
<p>Les Richter - Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker for the Los Angeles Rams</p><br>
<p>John Tuggle - Former professional player (New York Giants 1983)</p><br>
<p>Gale Gilbert - Former professional football quarterback</p><br>
<p>David Cudaback, Astronomer (1929–2006)</p><br>
<p>Mathias Craig, founder of blueEnergy</p><br>
<h2>Movie appearances</h2><br>
<p>Boys and Girls - Known as Carmen Hall in the movie.</p><br>
<h2>Bowles Hall drinking song</h2><br>
<p>Traditionally the Cal Band parades from nearby Memorial Stadium through the campus and streets of Berkeley after a home football game. The band will play in front of Bowles Hall during their tour, playing "By" for the Bowlesmen. The tradition of playing "By" for Bowles Hall is said to have begun back when the entire football team lived there. The band would play for the players as they walked back to their residence hall after the game. However, when the football team was relocated, the band decided not to play in front of Bowles Hall. Subsequently, some of the men of Bowles lay down in the road, blocking the Cal Band from playing, until the band was forced to oblige them. Thus, the tradition of the Cal Band playing for the men of Bowles after a home football game has persisted to this day.</p><br>
<p>We&#39;re the men of Bowles Association,</p><br>
<p>Coming here from over all the nation.</p><br>
<p>Drinking here together one and all,</p><br>
<p>We lift our voices loud for Bowles Hall!</p><br>
<p>(Chorus)</p><br>
<p>Here&#39;s to Bowles Association.</p><br>
<p>Drink it down and then,</p><br>
<p>Drink a toast to home sweet home,</p><br>
<p>Of California men. Rah! Rah! Rah!</p><br>
<p>Fill your glasses to the brim,</p><br>
<p>And lift them in the air.</p><br>
<p>And drink a toast to Bowles Association,</p><br>
<p>And the Golden Bear.</p><br>
<p>Men of Bowles are gathered here together,</p><br>
<p>Toasting everything from girls to weather.</p><br>
<p>But the very greatest toast of all,</p><br>
<p>Is the one that we now give to Bowles Hall!</p><br>
<p>(Chorus)</p><br>
<p>--Joseph Ehrman III, 1948</p><br>
<p>The Corcoran Gallery of Art was an art museum in Washington, D.C. Prior to its closing, it was one of the oldest privately supported cultural institutions in the United States capital. Starting in 1890, a museum school, later known as the Corcoran College of Art + Design, co-existed with the gallery. The museums main focus was American art. In 2014, after decades of financial problems, the Corcoran entered into an agreement with the National Gallery of Art  and the George Washington University whereby almost all of the gallerys 17,000 work collection was placed under the care of the NGA, while the school and historic 17th street gallery building continued operations as a part of the George Washington University&#39;s new Corcoran School of the Arts and Design.</p><br>
<h2>Founding</h2><br>
<p>When the gallery was founded in 1869 by William Wilson Corcoran, the co-founder of Riggs Bank, it was one of the first fine art galleries in the country. Corcoran established the gallery, supported with an endowment, "for the perpetual establishment and encouragement of the Fine Arts." While an independent institution, the Corcoran was the oldest and largest non-federal art museum in the District of Columbia. Its mission was "dedicated to art and used solely for the purpose of encouraging the American genius."</p><br>
<p>The Corcoran Gallery of Art was originally located at 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, in the building that now houses the Renwick Gallery. Construction of that building started before the Civil War. The building, near completion, was used by the government as a warehouse during the Civil War. It was finally completed in 1874 and the gallery opened to the public.</p><br>
<p>By 1897, the Corcoran Gallery collection outgrew the space of its original building. A new building was constructed, designed by Ernest Flagg in a Beaux-Arts style. The 135,000 square feet (12,500 m²) building was built to house an expanded Corcoran collection in addition to the nascent school, which had been formally founded in 1890. The new building features a pair of bronze statues, the Canova Lions, at its entrance. These lions were purchased at auction by the Corcoran Galley in 1888 and placed in front of the museum at its original location. The iconic bronze castings were moved to their current location in 1897 when the museum moved to its current building at 17th Street and New York Avenue.</p><br>
<h2>Years of Growth</h2><br>
<p>In 1928, the art collection of former Senator William A. Clark joined the Corcoran in a new wing designed by Charles Adam Platt, and inaugurated by President Calvin Coolidge. For decades, the Corcoran examined the possibility of adding on a final wing which would complete the campus footprint. These plans abruptly ended in 2005 after a Frank O. Gehry -designed wing was scrapped due to lack of funding, and the remainder of the available property was sold to a private developer.</p><br>
<p>Throughout the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, the gallery continued to display its main collection from Corcoran, Clark, and a few select major donors. At its peak, the museum owned a significant collection including work from Rembrandt Peale, Eugène Delacroix, Edgar Degas, Thomas Gainsborough, John Singer Sargent, Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso, Edward Hopper, Willem de Kooning, Joan Mitchell, Gene Davis, and many others. Space was always a challenge - only a small percentage of the gallery&#39;s permanent collection was able to be displayed in the confines of the 17th street gallery, which shared its roughly 140,000 square feet with the art school.</p><br>
<h2>Mapplethorpe scandal</h2><br>
<p>In 1989, the Corcoran Gallery of Art had agreed to host a traveling solo exhibit of Robert Mapplethorpe&#39;s works. Mapplethorpe decided to show a new series that he had explored shortly before his death, Robert Mapplethorpe: The Perfect Moment curated by Janet Kardon of the Institute of Contemporary Art. Several Trustees of the Corcoran and USA Representatives Dick Armey (TX) and Jesse Helms (NC) were horrified when the works were revealed to them, and the museum director, Christina Orr-Cahall succumbed to pressure and cancelled the exhibit, which had already been announced to its members through an exhibition preview invitation.</p><br>
<p>The Coalition of Washington Artists organized a demonstration to protest the Corcoran Gallery&#39;s cancellation of the exhibit. An estimated 700 people attended the demonstration.</p><br>
<p>In June 1989, pop artist Lowell Blair Nesbitt became involved with a scandal involving Mapplethorpe&#39;s work.</p><br>
<p>It was at this time that Nesbitt, a long-time friend of Mapplethorpe, revealed that he had a $1.5 million bequest to the museum in his will. Nesbitt publicly promised that if the museum refused to host the exhibition he would revoke his bequest. The Corcoran refused and Nesbitt bequeathed the money to the Phillips Collection instead.</p><br>
<p>After the Corcoran cancelled the Mapplethorpe exhibition, the underwriters of the exhibition went to the nonprofit Washington Project for the Arts, which showed the controversial images in its own space from July 21 to August 13, 1989, to large crowds. The 1990 NEA Appropriations Bill included language against "obscene" work.</p><br>
<p>As a result of the scandal, more than a dozen artists canceled exhibitions while the director, Christina Orr-Cahall, resigned and moved to the Norton Museum of Art.</p><br>
<h2>Final years</h2><br>
<p>In its final years, the museum and its affiliated art and design college Corcoran College of Art and Design together had a staff of about 140 and an operating budget of about $24 million. Revenue came from grants and contributions, admissions fees, tuition, membership dues, gift shop and restaurant sales, and an endowment worth around $30 million. In February 2001, two AOL executives (Robert W. Pittman and Barry Schuler) and their wives donated $30 million to the museum, its largest single donation since its founding.</p><br>
<p>In 2014, following decades of financial problems, the Corcoran Trustees chose to break the founders deed of trust by going to court to have the Corcoran dissolved. Following a court order dissolving the citys oldest independent museum, the trustees gave the former college of art and design, the $200 million Beaux Arts building, and $50 million to George Washington University to renovate the facility and operate the school programs. The 17,000 piece art collection worth $2 billion was donated to the National Gallery of Art.</p><br>
<p>Chaco Culture National Historical Park is a United States National Historical Park hosting the densest and most exceptional concentration of pueblos in the American Southwest. The park is located in northwestern New Mexico, between Albuquerque and Farmington, in a remote canyon cut by the Chaco Wash. Containing the most sweeping collection of ancient ruins north of Mexico, the park preserves one of the most important pre-Columbian cultural and historical areas in the United States.</p><br>
<p>Between AD 900 and 1150, Chaco Canyon was a major center of culture for the Ancient Pueblo Peoples. Chacoans quarried sandstone blocks and hauled timber from great distances, assembling fifteen major complexes that remained the largest buildings in North America until the 19th century. Evidence of archaeoastronomy at Chaco has been proposed, with the "Sun Dagger" petroglyph at Fajada Butte a popular example. Many Chacoan buildings may have been aligned to capture the solar and lunar cycles, requiring generations of astronomical observations and centuries of skillfully coordinated construction. Climate change is thought to have led to the emigration of Chacoans and the eventual abandonment of the canyon, beginning with a fifty-year drought commencing in 1130.</p><br>
<p>Comprising a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in the arid and sparsely populated Four Corners region, the Chacoan cultural sites are fragile – concerns of erosion caused by tourists have led to the closure of Fajada Butte to the public. The sites are considered sacred ancestral homelands by the Hopi and Pueblo people, who maintain oral accounts of their historical migration from Chaco and their spiritual relationship to the land. Though park preservation efforts can conflict with native religious beliefs, tribal representatives work closely with the National Park Service to share their knowledge and respect the heritage of the Chacoan culture.</p><br>
<p>The park is on the Trails of the Ancients Byway, one of the designated New Mexico Scenic Byways.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>Chaco Canyon lies within the San Juan Basin, atop the vast Colorado Plateau, surrounded by the Chuska Mountains to the west, the San Juan Mountains to the north, and the San Pedro Mountains to the east. Ancient Chacoans drew upon dense forests of oak, piñon, ponderosa pine, and juniper to obtain timber and other resources. The canyon itself, located within lowlands circumscribed by dune fields, ridges, and mountains, is aligned along a roughly northwest-to-southeast axis and is rimmed by flat massifs known as mesas. Large gaps between the southwestern cliff faces—side canyons known as rincons—were critical in funneling rain-bearing storms into the canyon and boosting local precipitation levels. The principal Chacoan complexes, such as Pueblo Bonito, Nuevo Alto, and Kin Kletso, have elevations of 6200 to 6440 ft.</p><br>
<p>The alluvial canyon floor slopes downward to the northwest at a gentle grade of 30 ft per mile (6meters per kilometer); it is bisected by the Chaco Wash, an arroyo that rarely bears water. The canyon&#39;s main aquifers were too deep to be of use to ancient Chacoans: only several smaller and shallower sources supported the small springs that sustained them. Today, aside from occasional storm runoff coursing through arroyos, substantial surface water—springs, pools, wells—is virtually nonexistent.</p><br>
<h2>Geology</h2><br>
<p>After the Pangaean supercontinent sundered during the Cretaceous period, the region became part of a shifting transition zone between a shallow inland sea—the Western Interior Seaway—and a band of plains and low hills to the west. A sandy and swampy coastline oscillated east and west, alternately submerging and uncovering the area atop the present Colorado Plateau that Chaco Canyon now occupies.</p><br>
<p>The Chaco Wash flowed across the upper strata of what is now the 400 ft Chacra Mesa, cutting into it and gouging out a broad canyon over the course of millions of years. The mesa comprises sandstone and shale formations dating from the Late Cretaceous, which are of the Mesa Verde formation. The canyon bottomlands were further eroded, exposing Menefee Shale bedrock; this was subsequently buried under roughly 125 ft of sediment. The canyon and mesa lie within the "Chaco Core"—which is distinct from the wider Chaco Plateau, a flat region of grassland with infrequent stands of timber. As the Continental Divide is only 15.5 mi east of the canyon, geological characteristics and different patterns of drainage differentiate these two regions both from each other and from the nearby Chaco Slope, the Gobernador Slope, and the Chuska Valley.</p><br>
<h2>Climate</h2><br>
<p>An arid region of high xeric scrubland and desert steppe, the canyon and wider basin average 8 in of rainfall annually; the park averages 9.1 in. Chaco Canyon lies on the leeward side of extensive mountain ranges to the south and west, resulting in a rainshadow effect that fosters the prevailing lack of moisture in the region. The region sees four distinct seasons. Rainfall is most likely between July and September, while May and June are the driest months. Orographic precipitation, which results from moisture wrung out of storm systems ascending the mountain ranges around Chaco Canyon, is responsible for most of the summer and winter precipitation, and rainfall increases with higher elevation. Occasional aberrant northward excursions of the intertropical convergence zone may boost precipitation in some years.</p><br>
<p>Chaco endures remarkable climatic extremes: temperatures range between -38 to 102 F, and may swing 60°F (33°C) in a single day. The region averages fewer than 150frost-free days per year, and the local climate swings wildly from years of plentiful rainfall to prolonged drought. The heavy influence of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation contributes to the canyon&#39;s fickle climate.</p><br>
<h2>Flora and fauna</h2><br>
<p>Chacoan flora typifies that of North American high deserts: sagebrush and several species of cactus are interspersed with dry scrub forests of piñon and juniper, the latter primarily on the mesa tops. The canyon is far drier than other parts of New Mexico located at similar latitudes and elevations, and it lacks the temperate coniferous forests plentiful to the east. The prevailing sparseness of plants and wildlife was echoed in ancient times, when overpopulation, expanding cultivation, overhunting, habitat destruction, and drought may have led the Chacoans to strip the canyon of wild plants and game. It has been suggested that even during wet periods the canyon was able to sustain only 2,000 people.</p><br>
<p>Among Chacoan mammals are the plentiful coyote (Canis latrans); mule deer, elk, and pronghorn also live within the canyon, though they are rarely encountered by visitors. Important smaller carnivores include bobcats, badgers, foxes, and two species of skunk. The park hosts abundant populations of rodents, including several prairie dog towns. Small colonies of bats are present during the summer. The local shortage of water means that relatively few bird species are present; these include roadrunners, large hawks (such as Cooper&#39;s hawks and American kestrels), owls, vultures, and ravens, though they are less abundant in the canyon than in the wetter mountain ranges to the east. Sizeable populations of smaller birds, including warblers, sparrows, and house finches, are also common. Three species of hummingbirds are present: one is the tiny but highly pugnacious rufous hummingbird, which compete intensely with the more mild-tempered black-chinned hummingbirds for breeding habitat in shrubs or trees located near water. Western (prairie) rattlesnakes are occasionally seen in the backcountry, though various lizards and skinks are far more abundant.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<h3>Archaic–Early Basketmakers</h3><br>
<p>The first people in the San Juan Basin were hunter-gatherers: the Archaic–Early Basketmaker people. These small bands descended from nomadic Clovis big-game hunters who arrived in the Southwest around 10,000 BC. More than 70 campsites from this period, carbon-dated to the period 7000–1500 BC and mostly consisting of stone chips and other leavings, were found in Atlatl Cave and elsewhere within Chaco Canyon, with at least one of the sites located on the canyon floor near an exposed arroyo. The Archaic–Early Basketmaker people were nomadic or semi-nomadic hunter-gatherers who over time began making baskets to store gathered plants. By the end of the period, some people cultivated food. Excavation of their campsites and rock shelters has revealed that they made tools, gathered wild plants, and killed and processed game. Slab-lined storage cists indicate a change from a wholly nomadic lifestyle.</p><br>
<h3>Ancestral Puebloans</h3><br>
<p>By 900 BC, Archaic people lived at Atlatl Cave and like sites. They left little evidence of their presence in Chaco Canyon. By AD 490, their descendants, of the Late Basketmaker II Era, farmed lands around Shabik&#39;eshchee Village and other pit-house settlements at Chaco.</p><br>
<p>A small population of Basketmakers remained in the Chaco Canyon area. The broad arc of their cultural elaboration culminated around 800, during the Pueblo I Era, when they were building crescent-shaped stone complexes, each comprising four to five residential suites abutting subterranean kivas, large enclosed areas reserved for rites. Such structures characterize the Early Pueblo People. By 850, the Ancient Pueblo population—the "Anasazi", from a Ute term adopted by the Navajo denoting the "ancient ones" or "enemy ancestors"—had rapidly expanded: groups resided in larger, more densely populated pueblos. Strong evidence attests to a canyon-wide turquoise processing and trading industry dating from the 10th century. Around then, the first section of Pueblo Bonito was built: a curved row of 50 rooms near its present north wall.</p><br>
<p>The cohesive Chacoan system began unravelling around 1140, perhaps triggered by an extreme fifty-year drought that began in 1130; chronic climatic instability, including a series of severe droughts, again struck the region between 1250 and 1450. Poor water management led to arroyo cutting; deforestation was extensive and economically devastating: timber for construction had to be hauled instead from outlying mountain ranges such as the Chuska mountains, which are more than 50 mi to the west. Outlying communities began to depopulate and, by the end of the century, the buildings in the central canyon had been neatly sealed and abandoned.</p><br>
<p>Some scholars suggest that violence and warfare, perhaps involving cannibalism, impelled the evacuations. Hints of such include dismembered bodies—dating from Chacoan times—found at two sites within the central canyon. Yet Chacoan complexes showed little evidence of being defended or defensively sited high on cliff faces or atop mesas. Only several minor sites at Chaco have evidence of the large-scale burning that would suggest enemy raids. Archaeological and cultural evidence leads scientists to believe people from this region migrated south, east, and west into the valleys and drainages of the Little Colorado River, the Rio Puerco, and the Rio Grande. Anthropologist Joseph Tainter deals at length with the structure and decline of Chaco civilization in his 1988 study The Collapse of Complex Societies.</p><br>
<h3>Athabaskan succession</h3><br>
<p>Numic-speaking peoples, such as the Ute and Shoshone, were present on the Colorado Plateau beginning in the 12th century. Nomadic Southern Athabaskan-speaking peoples, such as the Apache and Navajo, succeeded the Pueblo people in this region by the 15th century. In the process, they acquired Chacoan customs and agricultural skills. Ute tribal groups also frequented the region, primarily during hunting and raiding expeditions. The modern Navajo Nation lies west of Chaco Canyon, and many Navajo live in surrounding areas.</p><br>
<h3>Excavation and protection</h3><br>
<p>The first documented trip through Chaco Canyon was an 1823 expedition led by New Mexican governor José Antonio Vizcarra when the area was under Mexican rule. He noted several large ruins in the canyon.</p><br>
<p>The American trader Josiah Gregg wrote about the ruins of Chaco Canyon, referring in 1832 to Pueblo Bonito as "built of fine-grit sandstone". In 1849, a USA Army detachment passed through and surveyed the ruins, following United States acquisition of the Southwest with its victory in the Mexican War in 1848. The canyon was so remote, however, that it was scarcely visited over the next 50 years. After brief reconnaissance work by Smithsonian scholars in the 1870s, formal archaeological work began in 1896 when a party from the American Museum of Natural History based in New York City —the Hyde Exploring Expedition—began excavating Pueblo Bonito. Spending five summers in the region, they sent over 60,000 artifacts back to New York and operated a series of trading posts in the area.</p><br>
<p>In 1901 Richard Wetherill, who had worked for the Hyde expedition, claimed a homestead of 161 acre that included Pueblo Bonito, Pueblo del Arroyo, and Chetro Ketl. While investigating Wetherill&#39;s land claim, federal land agent Samuel J. Holsinger detailed the physical setting of the canyon and the sites, noted prehistoric road segments and stairways above Chetro Ketl, and documented prehistoric dams and irrigation systems. His report went unpublished and unheeded. It urged the creation of a national park to safeguard Chacoan sites.</p><br>
<p>The next year, Edgar Lee Hewett, president of New Mexico Normal University (later renamed New Mexico Highlands University), mapped many Chacoan sites. Hewett and others helped enact the Federal Antiquities Act of 1906, the first USA law to protect relics; it was, in effect, a direct consequence of Wetherill&#39;s controversial activities at Chaco. The Act also authorized the President to establish national monuments: on March 11, 1907, Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed Chaco Canyon National Monument. Wetherill relinquished his land claims.</p><br>
<p>In 1920, the National Geographic Society began an archaeological examination of Chaco Canyon and appointed Neil Judd, then 32, to head the project. After a reconnaissance trip that year, Judd proposed to excavate Pueblo Bonito, the largest ruin at Chaco. Beginning in 1921, Judd spent seven field seasons at Chaco. Living and working conditions were spartan at best. In his memoirs, Judd noted dryly that "Chaco Canyon has its limitations as a summer resort". By 1925, Judds excavators had removed 100,000 short tons of overburden, using a team of "35 or more Indians, ten white men, and eight or nine horses". Judds team found only 69 hearths in the ruin, a puzzling discovery as winters are cold at Chaco. Judd sent A. E. Douglass more than 90 specimens for tree-ring dating, then in its infancy. At that time, Douglass had only a "floating" chronology. it was not until 1929 that a Judd-led team found the "missing link". Most of the beams used at Chaco were cut between 1033 and 1092, the height of construction there.</p><br>
<p>In 1949, the University of New Mexico deeded over adjoining lands to form an expanded Chaco Canyon National Monument. In return, the university maintained scientific research rights to the area. By 1959, the National Park Service had constructed a park visitor center, staff housing, and campgrounds. As a historic property of the National Park Service, the National Monument was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966. In 1971, researchers Robert Lister and James Judge established the "Chaco Center," a division for cultural research that functioned as a joint project between the University of New Mexico and the National Park Service. A number of multi-disciplinary research projects, archaeological surveys, and limited excavations began during this time. The Chaco Center extensively surveyed the Chacoan roads, well-constructed and strongly reinforced thoroughfares radiating from the central canyon.</p><br>
<p>The richness of the cultural remains at park sites led to the expansion of the small National Monument into the Chaco Culture National Historical Park on December 19, 1980, when an additional 13,000 acre were added to the protected area. In 1987, the park was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. To safeguard Chacoan sites on adjacent Bureau of Land Management and Navajo Nation lands, the Park Service developed the multi-agency Chaco Culture Archaeological Protection Site program. These initiatives have identified more than 2,400 archeological sites within the current park&#39;s boundaries; only a small percentage of these have been excavated.</p><br>
<h2>Management</h2><br>
<p>Chaco Culture National Historical Park is managed by the National Park Service, a federal agency within the Department of the Interior; neighboring federal lands hosting Chacoan roads are controlled by the Bureau of Land Management. In the 2002–03 fiscal year, the park&#39;s total annual operating budget was $1,434,000. The park has a visitor center, which features the "Chaco Collection Museum", an information desk, a theater, a book store, and a gift shop. Prior to the 1980s, archeological excavations within current park boundaries were intensive: compound walls were dismantled or demolished, and thousands of artifacts were extracted. Starting in 1981, a new approach, informed by traditional Hopi and Pueblo beliefs, stopped such intrusions. Remote sensing, anthropological study of Indian oral traditions, and dendrochronology—which left Chacoan relics undisturbed—were pursued. In this vein, the "Chaco American Indian Consultation Committee" was established in 1991 to give Navajo, Hopi, Pueblo, and other Indian representatives a voice in park oversight.</p><br>
<p>Current park policy mandates partial restoration of excavated sites. "Backfilling", or re-burying excavated sites with sand, is one such means. Other measures attempt to safeguard the areas ancient ambiance and mystique, such as the "Chaco Night Sky Program", which seeks to eliminate the effect of light pollution on the parks acclaimed night skies; under the program, some 14,000 visitors make use of the Chaco Observatory (inaugurated in 1998), park telescopes, and astronomy-related programs. The park was named a Gold-tier Dark Sky Park by the International Dark-Sky Association in 2013. Chacoan relics outside the current park&#39;s boundaries have been threatened by development: an example was the proposed competitive leasing of federal lands in the San Juan Basin for surface coal mining beginning in 1983. As ample coal deposits abut the park, this strip mining threatened the web of ancient Chacoan roads. The year-long "Chaco Roads Project" thus documented the roads, which were later protected from mining.</p><br>
<h2>Sites</h2><br>
<p>The Chacoans built their complexes along a 9 mi stretch of canyon floor, with the walls of some structures aligned cardinally and others aligned with the 18.6-year cycle of minimum and maximum moonrise and moonset.</p><br>
<h3>Central canyon</h3><br>
<p>The central portion of the canyon contains the largest Chacoan complexes. The most studied is Pueblo Bonito. Covering almost 2 acre and comprising at least 650 rooms, it is the largest great house; in parts of the complex, the structure was four stories high. The builders&#39; use of core-and-veneer architecture and multi-story construction necessitated massive masonry walls up to 3 ft thick. Pueblo Bonito is divided into two sections by a wall precisely aligned to run north-south, bisecting the central plaza. A great kiva was placed on either side of the wall, creating a symmetrical pattern common to many Chacoan great houses. The scale of the complex, upon completion, rivaled that of the Colosseum. Nearby is Pueblo del Arroyo, which was founded between AD 1050 and 1075 and completed in the early 12th century; it sits at a drainage outlet known as South Gap.</p><br>
<p>Casa Rinconada, isolated from the other central sites, sits to the south side of Chaco Wash, adjacent to a Chacoan road leading to a set of steep stairs that reached the top of Chacra Mesa. Its sole kiva stands alone, with no residential or support structures whatsoever; it did once have a 39 ft passageway leading from the underground kiva to several above-ground levels. Chetro Ketl, located near Pueblo Bonito, bears the typical D-shape of many other central complexes. Begun between 1020 and 1050, its 450–550 rooms shared one great kiva. Experts estimate that it took 29,135man-hours to erect Chetro Ketl alone; Hewett estimated that it took the wood of 5,000 trees and 50 million stone blocks.</p><br>
<p>Kin Kletso ("Yellow House") was a medium-sized complex located 0.5 mi west of Pueblo Bonito. It shows strong evidence of construction and occupation by Pueblo peoples from the northern San Juan Basin. Its rectangular shape and design is related to the Pueblo II cultural group, rather than the Pueblo III style or its Chacoan variant. It contains 55 rooms, four ground-floor kivas, and a two-story cylindrical tower that may have functioned as a kiva or religious center. Evidence of an obsidian-processing industry was discovered near the village, which was erected between 1125 and 1130.</p><br>
<p>Pueblo Alto is a great house of 89 rooms located on a mesa top near the middle of Chaco Canyon, 0.6 mi from Pueblo Bonito; it was begun between AD 1020 and 1050 during a wider building boom throughout the canyon. Its location made the community visible to most of the inhabitants of the San Juan Basin; indeed, it was only 2.3 mi north of Tsin Kletzin, on the opposite side of the canyon. The community was the center of a bead- and turquoise-processing industry that influenced the development of all villages in the canyon; chert tool production was common. Research at the site conducted by archaeologist Tom Windes suggests only a handful of families, perhaps as few as five to twenty, lived in the complex; this may imply that Pueblo Alto served a primarily non-residential role. Another great house, Nuevo Alto, was built on the north mesa near Pueblo Alto; it was founded in the late 12th century, a time when the Chacoan population was declining.</p><br>
<h3>Outliers</h3><br>
<p>Another cluster of great houses lies in Chacos northern reaches; among the largest is Casa Chiquita ("Small House"), a village built in the 1080s, when, in a period of ample rainfall, Chacoan culture was expanding. Its layout featured a smaller, squarer profile; it also lacked the open plazas and separate kivas of its predecessors. Larger, squarer blocks of stone were used in the masonry; kivas were designed in the northern Mesa Verdean tradition. Two miles down the canyon is Peñasco Blanco ("White Bluff"), an arc-shaped compound built atop the canyons southern rim in five distinct stages between 900 and 1125. A nearby cliff painting (the "Supernova Platograph") may record the sighting of the SN 1054 supernova on July 5, 1054.</p><br>
<p>Hungo Pavi, located 1 mi from Una Vida, measured 872 ft in circumference. Initial probes revealed 72 ground-level rooms, with structures reaching four stories in height; one large circular kiva has been identified. Kin Nahasbas, built in either the 9th or 10th century, is sited slightly north of Una Vida, positioned at the foot of the north mesa. Limited excavation of it has taken place. Tsin Kletzin ("Charcoal Place"), a compound located on the Chacra Mesa and positioned above Casa Rinconada, is 2.3 mi due south of Pueblo Alto, on the opposite side of the canyon. Nearby is Weritos Dam, a massive earthen structure that scientists believe provided Tsin Kletzin with all of its domestic water. The dam worked by retaining stormwater runoff in a reservoir. Massive amounts of silt accumulated during flash floods would have forced the residents to regularly rebuild the dam and dredge the catchment area.</p><br>
<p>Deeper in the canyon, Una Vida ("One Life") is one of the three oldest great houses; construction began around 900. Comprising at least two stories and 124 rooms, it shares an arc or "D"-shaped design with its contemporaries, Peñasco Blanco and Pueblo Bonito, but has a unique "dog leg" addition made necessary by topography. It is located in one of the canyon&#39;s major side drainages, near Gallo Wash, and was massively expanded after 930. Wijiji ("black greasewood"), comprising just over one hundred rooms, is the smallest of the great houses. Built between 1110 and 1115, it was the last Chacoan great house to be constructed. Somewhat isolated within the narrow wash, it is positioned 1 mi from neighboring Una Vida. Directly north are communities even more remote: Salmon Ruins and Aztec Ruins, sited on the San Juan and Animas Rivers near Farmington, were built during a thirty-year wet period commencing in 1100. Some 60 mi directly south of Chaco Canyon, on the Great South Road, lies another cluster of outlying communities. The largest, Kin Nizhoni, stands atop a 7,000 ft mesa surrounded by marshy bottomlands.</p><br>
<p>Casamero Pueblo is located on McKinley County Road 19, near Tecolote Mesa, a red sandstone mesa. It was connected to its nearby outlier, Andrews Ranch, by a Chacoan road. Chaco Canyon, Aztec Ruins, Salmon Ruins, and Casamero Pueblo are on the Trail of the Ancients Scenic Byway.</p><br>
<h2>Ruins</h2><br>
<h3>Great houses</h3><br>
<p>Immense complexes known as "great houses" embodied worship at Chaco. The Chacoans used masonry techniques unique for their time, and their building constructions lasted decades and even centuries. As architectural forms evolved and centuries passed, the houses kept several core traits. Most apparent is their sheer bulk; complexes averaged more than 200 rooms each, and some enclosed up to 700 rooms. Individual rooms were substantial in size, with higher ceilings than Anasazi works of preceding periods. They were well-planned: vast sections or wings erected were finished in a single stage, rather than in increments. Houses generally faced the south, and plaza areas were almost always girt with edifices of sealed-off rooms or high walls. Houses often stood four or five stories tall, with single-story rooms facing the plaza; room blocks were terraced to allow the tallest sections to compose the pueblo&#39;s rear edifice. Rooms were often organized into suites, with front rooms larger than rear, interior, and storage rooms or areas.</p><br>
<p>Ceremonial structures known as kivas were built in proportion to the number of rooms in a pueblo. One small kiva was built for roughly every 29 rooms. Nine complexes each hosted an oversized great kiva, each up to 63 ft in diameter. "T"-shaped doorways and stone lintels marked all Chacoan kivas. Though simple and compound walls were often used, great houses were primarily constructed of core-and-veneer walls: two parallel load-bearing walls comprising dressed, flat sandstone blocks bound in clay mortar were erected. Gaps between walls were packed with rubble, forming the wall&#39;s core. Walls were then covered in a veneer of small sandstone pieces, which were pressed into a layer of binding mud. These surfacing stones were often placed in distinctive patterns. The Chacoan structures altogether required the wood of 200,000 coniferous trees, mostly hauled—on foot—from mountain ranges up to 70 mi away.</p><br>
<h3>Uses</h3><br>
<p>The meticulously designed buildings composing the larger Chacoan complexes did not emerge until around AD 1030. The Chacoans melded pre-planned architectural designs, astronomical alignments, geometry, landscaping, and engineering into ancient urban centers of unique public architecture. Researchers have concluded that the complex may have had a relatively small residential population, with larger groups assembling only temporarily for annual ceremonies. Smaller sites, apparently more residential in character, are scattered near the great houses in and around Chaco. The canyon itself runs along one of the lunar alignment lines, suggesting the location was originally chosen for its astronomical significance. If nothing else, this allowed alignment with several other key structures in the canyon.</p><br>
<p>Turquoise was very important to the people of Chaco. Around 200,000 pieces of turquoise have been excavated from the ruins at Chaco Canyon, and workshops for local manufacture of turquoise beads have been found. The turquoise was used locally for grave goods, burials and ceremonial offerings. Over 15,000 turquoise beads and pendants accompanied two burials at Pueblo Bonito.</p><br>
<p>Around this time, the extended Ancestral Puebloan (Anasazi) community experienced a population and construction boom. Throughout the 10th century, Chacoan building techniques spread from the canyon to neighboring regions. By AD 1115 at least 70 outlying pueblos of Chacoan provenance had been built within the 25,000 square miles composing the San Juan Basin. Experts speculate the function of these compounds, some large enough to be considered great houses in their own right. Some suggest they may have been more than agricultural communities, perhaps functioning as trading posts or ceremonial sites.</p><br>
<p>Thirty such outliers spread across 65,000 square miles are connected to the central canyon and to one another by an enigmatic web of six Chacoan road systems. Extending up to 60 mi in generally straight routes, they appear to have been extensively surveyed and engineered. Their depressed and scraped caliche beds reach 30 ft wide; earthen berms or rocks, at times composing low walls, delimit their edges. When necessary, the roads deploy steep stone stairways and rock ramps to surmount cliffs and other obstacles. Though their purpose may never be certain, archaeologist Harold Gladwin noted that nearby Navajo believe that the Anasazi built the roads to transport timber; archaeologist Neil Judd offered a similar hypothesis.</p><br>
<h2>Archaeoastronomy</h2><br>
<h3>Sun Dagger</h3><br>
<p>Two whorl-shaped etchings near the top of Fajada Butte compose the "Sun Dagger" petroglyph, itself tucked behind the eponymous rock panels of the "Three-Slab Site". They are symbolically focal.</p><br>
<p>It consists of two spirals: one principal and one ancillary. The latter left-hand spiral captured both spring and fall equinoxes; its artifice was revealed by a descending spear of light, itself filtered through the slabs, that shined upon it and split it in two. The former and larger whorl to its right was lit by the titular "sun dagger", which bisected it through another interplay of slab and sun. It struck it, brilliantly, as the summer sun attains its solstice midday peak. The Chacoans were said to be marking, as artist, "Sun Dagger" discoverer, and leading proponent Anna Sofaer puts it, "the middle of time". Each turn of the 9.25-turn large spiral was found to mark one year in the 18.6-year "lunar excursion cycle" of the rising mid-winter full moon. This record is kept by a slab-cast lunar shadow whose edge strikes in succession each ring. As the full "minimum moon" closest to the winter solstice rises, the shadow&#39;s edge precisely strikes the center of the larger spiral; it steps outward year by year, ring by ring, until it strikes the outermost edge of it during the full "maximum moon", again in mid-winter.</p><br>
<p>Fajada Butte bears five other petroglyphs—including a carving of a "rattlesnake", other spirals, and a rectangle—that are conspicuously lit by contrasts between sunbeams and shadows during equinoxes or solstices. Public access to the butte was curtailed when, in 1989, erosion from modern foot traffic was found to be responsible for one of the three screening slabs at the "Sun Dagger" site shifting out of its ancient position; the assemblage of stones has thus lost some of its former spatial and temporal precision as a solar and lunar calendar. In 1990 the screens were stabilized and placed under observation, but the wayward slab was not moved back into its original orientation.</p><br>
<h3>Alignments</h3><br>
<p>Some parties have advanced the theory that at least 12 of the 14 principal Chacoan complexes were sited and aligned in coordination, and that each was oriented along axes that mirrored the passing of the Sun and Moon at visually pivotal times. The first great house known to evince fastidious proportioning and alignment was Casa Rinconada: the twinned "T"-shaped portals of its 10 m radius great kiva were north-south collinear, and axes joining opposing windows passed within 10 cm of its center. The great houses of Pueblo Bonito and Chetro Ketl were found by the "Solstice Project" and the USA National Geodetic Survey to be sited along a precisely east-west line, an axis that captures the passage of the equinox sun. The lines perpendicularly bisecting their principal walls are aligned north-south, implying a possible intent to mirror the equinox midday. Pueblo Alto and Tsin Kletsin are also north-south aligned. These two axes form an inverted cross when viewed from above; its northbound reach is extended another 35 mi past Pueblo Alto by the ramrod-straight Great North Road, a pilgrimage route that modern-day Pueblo Indians believe to be an allusion to myths surrounding their arrival from the distant north.</p><br>
<p>Two shared-latitude but diametrically opposed complexes, Pueblo Pintado and Kin Bineola, are located some 15 mi from the core buildings of the central canyon. Each lie on a path from the central canyon that is collinear with the passage and setting of the full mid-winter "minimum moon", which recurs every 18.6 years. Two other complexes that are less distant from Pueblo Bonito, Una Vida and Peñasco Blanco, share an axis collinear with the passage of the full "maximum moon". The terms "minimum" and "maximum" refer to the azimuthal extreme points in the lunar excursion cycle, or the swings in direction relative to true north that the setting full moon exhibits. It takes roughly 9.25 years for the rising or setting full moon nearest to winter solstice to proceed from its maximum azimuthal north, or "maximum extremum", to its southernmost azimuth, known as "minimum extremum".</p><br>
<p>Reasons for the alignments have been offered:</p><br>
<h2>Photo gallery</h2><br>
<p>Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument is a USA National Monument created to protect Mogollon cliff dwellings in the Gila Wilderness on the headwaters of the Gila River in southwest New Mexico. The 533 acre national monument was established by President Theodore Roosevelt through executive proclamation on November 16, 1907. It is located in the extreme southern portion of Catron County. Visitors can access the Monument by traveling northbound from Silver City, New Mexico approximately 37 miles on NM 15.</p><br>
<h2>Cliff dwellings in New Mexico</h2><br>
<p>Considered by archaeologists to be on the northernmost portion of the Mogollon Peoples sphere of influence, the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument is home to two prominent ruins sites among a collection of smaller sites located within the Gila Wilderness inside the Gila National Forest. The Monument landscape ranges in elevation from around 5,700 to 7,300 feet above sea level and follows the branches of the Gila River. The terrain around the ruins is rugged and arid, and contains steep-sided canyons cut by shallow spring rivers and mesas and bluffs forested with Ponderosa pine, Gambels oak, Douglas fir, New Mexico juniper, pinon pine, and alligator juniper (among others). The area geologic history stems from the Oligocene epoch and volcanic activity that subsequently covered the area with ash. The Monument&#39;s hot springs are remnants of this volcanic history.</p><br>
<p>The Monument consists of 553 acre and contains the remains of a Mimbres Culture community in various locations, two of which are most prominent. The namesake ruins&#39; developers made use of natural caves to build interlinked dwellings within five cliff alcoves above Cliff Dweller Canyon. The TJ Ruins are located on a bluff overlooking the Gila River. The Mogollon Peoples are believed to have inhabited the region from between 1275 and into the early 14th century, during the Pueblo III Era.</p><br>
<p>Archaeologists have identified 46 rooms in the five caves on Cliff Dweller Canyon, and believed they were occupied by 10 to 15 families. The "Heart-Bar Site" or the TJ Ruins (named for the former ranch which the mesa takes its name from) located on TJ Mesa are largely un-excavated. It is not known why the community was abandoned.</p><br>
<p>Hopi oral tradition refers to migrations occurred based cycles calendars, and in response to changing environmental conditions. Other ruins include Javalina House, about 1/3 mile above the main ruin, West Fork Ruin, currently under Highway 15 across from Woody Corral, Three Mile Ruin along the west fork of the Gila River, and middle fork of the Gila River at the 11 room Cosgrove Ruin. Dendrochronology (tree ring dating) determined that the wood used in the dwellings were cut between 1276 and 1287. The region provided for growing, gathering and hunting food.</p><br>
<p>To visit the namesake dwellings, requires visitors to hike a well-traveled mile (1.6 km) long trail loop with several foot bridges over a stream. The entire walk takes about an hour. The hike begins at an elevation of 5695 Feet (1736 Meters) and ends at 5875 Feet (1790 Meters).</p><br>
<h2>Modern history</h2><br>
<p>Though local Native American Indians were aware of the location of ruins, the first European contact with the Gila Cliff Dwellings was by Henry B. Ailman (an emigrant to New Mexico who was residing in Silver City at the time). In the summer of 1878, Ailman and several friends were summoned to serve for jury duty and in an effort to avoid the summons, they organized a prospecting trip to the Gila River where they subsequently came upon the site.</p><br>
<p>Throughout the following years, many visitors would study the dwellings. Soon the site became more accessible and in the 1890s the Hill brothers had established a resort at the nearby Gila Hot Springs. The Hill brothers would begin the first tours to the ruin for their guests. In June 1906, Rep. John F. Lacey of Iowa and chairman of the House Public Lands Committee introduced a bill for the regulation of prehistoric sites. The Act for the Preservation of Antiquities, commonly known as the Antiquities Act, authorized the US President to set aside land that contained prehistoric and historic ruins by executive order.</p><br>
<p>Several mummified bodies had been found at the Gila Cliff Dwellings location, though most were lost to looters and private collectors. In 1912, a burial ground was found; a mummified infant later referred to as “Zeke” was located. The discovery gained national attention and increased the monument&#39;s popularity and visitor numbers. In turn, additional improvements were made in the following years. The mummy is the only known mummy to be acquired by Smithsonian from the monument.</p><br>
<p>Administration of the monument was transferred from the USA Department of Agriculture to the National Park Service on August 10, 1933, by Executive Order 6166. President Kennedy would later sign proclamation no. 3467, that added approximately 375 acre and contained the TJ site, as well as additional wilderness area. In the spring of 1975, the National Park Service and the United States Forest Service signed a cooperative agreement where the Gila National Forest is responsible for administration of the monument.</p><br>
<h2>Monument exhibits and services</h2><br>
<p>A museum and visitors center is located at the monument near the TJ Ruins. The visitor center is jointly operated by the USA Forest Service, and the National Park Service. The Museum hosts exhibits of Apache and Mogollon artifacts, uncovered both in the surrounding wilderness, and at the Monument. Displayed items include a bracelet crafted from Glycymeris (shells) Bittersweet clam shell. Believed to have been brought via trade from the Gulf of California, to Snaketown (an ancient village on the right bank of the Gila River on the modern-day Gila River Indian Community south of the village of Ahwatukee), the shell eventually was etched and drilled by Hohokam artisans. The bracelet is believed then to have made its way up the Gila River from Arizona to the Gila river community, again, by way of trade.</p><br>
<p>Other nearby attractions include hot springs, associated ruins sites, national forest hiking trails and fishing along the Gila River.</p><br>
<p>The Minas Basin is an inlet of the Bay of Fundy and a sub-basin of the Fundy Basin located in Nova Scotia, Canada. It is known for its extremely high tides.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<h3>Boundary</h3><br>
<p>The Minas Basin forms the eastern part of the Bay of Fundy which splits at Cape Chignecto and is delineated by the massive basalt headlands of Cape Split and Cape d&#39;Or. The Minas Basin is split into four sections: Cobequid Bay, from the mouth of the Salmon River to a narrow point between Economy and the Noel Shore; Central Minas Basin, from the mouth of Cobequid Bay to the narrow point between Parrsboro and Cape Blomidon; the Southern Bight, from the mouth of the Avon River to the narrow point between Cape Blomidon and the Noel Shore; and the Minas Channel, from Central Minas Basin to the narrow line between Cape Chignecto and the Annapolis Valley Shore.</p><br>
<p>Several important rivers in Nova Scotia drain into the Minas Basin: Shubenacadie River, Cornwallis River, Avon River, Gaspereau River, and the Salmon River. Lesser rivers include the Canard River, Diligent River, Farrell River, and Debert River.</p><br>
<p>Along the northern edge of the Minas Basin lies a chain of intermittent high-cliffed basaltic bluffs and islands called the Basalt Headlands.</p><br>
<h3>Tides</h3><br>
<p>Burntcoat Head, located on the "Noel Shore" along the south side of the Minas Basin, is the location of the highest tidal range ever recorded, exceeding 16 m during a spring tide only) and has one of the highest average tidal ranges every day. The waters of Minas Bay exchange with the main part of the Bay of Fundy through the Minas Channel which flows between Cape Split and Cape Sharp, creating extremely strong tidal currents and, near Cape d&#39;Or, the turbulent collision of currents known as the Dory Rips. The water in the Minas Basin is a dense and nearly opaque reddish brown due to large amounts of suspended silt which are continually churned by tidal currents. At mid-tide, the currents exceed 8 knots (4 m per second), and the flow in the deep, 5 km -wide channel on the north side of Cape Split equals the combined flow of all the rivers and streams on Earth together (about 4 km3 per hour.).</p><br>
<h3>Communities</h3><br>
<p>Several communities border the Minas Basin or the rivers that flow into it. They include Truro, Windsor, Parrsboro, Great Village, Bass River, Five Islands, Economy, Wolfville, Walton, and Kingsport. Historically, Parrsboro, Wolfville, and Kingsport were connected by the MV Kipawo ferry, whose name was derived from the three communities.</p><br>
<h3>Parks</h3><br>
<p>Provincial parks at Anthony (near Truro), Five Islands, and Cape Blomidon allow visitors to enjoy and explore the Minas Basin. Community parks interpreting the Basin include the Kingsport waterfront in Kings County; the Walton Lighthouse and Burntcoat Head Lighthouse in Hants County and the Lookout Tower in Economy and the Ottawa House Museum in Parrsboro in Cumberland County.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<h3>Settlement</h3><br>
<p>The Mikmaq were the first people to inhabit the area around the Minas Basin. Mikmaq tradition ties the god Glooscap in with significant geographical features such as Cape Blomidon and Five Islands.</p><br>
<p>European explorers and traders arrived in the early 1600s. Among them were the French explorer Samuel de Champlain who explored the copper deposits at Cape dOr at the entrance to the Basin in 1607. Champlain bestowed the name Port of Mines on nearby Advocate Harbour to reflect the seams of copper ore at Cape dOr. While the French did not establish a mine, the name "Les Mines" became associated with the upper Bay of Fundy beyond Cape dOr which became known as the "Baie des Mines" later Anglicized to Minas Basin.</p><br>
<p>French Acadian settlements began in the late 1600s first with settlements around the southern shore of the Minas Basin which became known as Les Mines. The Acadians had a particularly significant impact of the area in that they reclaimed considerable farmland through the use of dykes and aboiteaux. They founded in the area Grand-Pré, Les Mines, Pisiguit, Cobequid, Rivière-aux-Canards, and Beaubassin. Even today their dyke systems—greatly expanded by later additions—are still used near Truro and Wolfville at Port Williams and Grand Pré. In 1755, the British forcibly expelled the over 12,000 Acadians from Grand Pré, Pisiguit, Cobequid, and Beaubassin, in what became known as the Grand Dérangement, or Great Expulsion.</p><br>
<h2>Demographics</h2><br>
<p>The vacant Acadian settlements around the Minas Basin were succeeded by the New England Planters who arrived in 1760 and were later joined by Loyalists settlers in the 1780s. The Planters rebuilt and expanded the Acadian dyke systems, reclaiming more farmland from the Basin through projects like the Wellington Dyke in 1816.</p><br>
<h3>Industry</h3><br>
<p>The communities around the Minas Basin were sustained by fishing, logging, farming, mining, boat building and shipbuilding. In the late 19th Century the Basins shipyards produced some of the highest numbers of wooden ships in Canadian history and some of the largest, including the ship William D. Lawrence, the largest wooden ship built in Canada along with the giant barques Kings County, Canadas largest four masted-barque and Hamburg, Canada&#39;s largest three-masted barque. The tidal water also provided a means of transporting commodities such as lumber, apples and gypsum and powered Tide mills at locations such as Canning, Hantsport and Walton.</p><br>
<p>Mining included gypsum (several locations including Windsor and Cheverie), iron (Londonderry), barite (near Walton and the Eureka Mine at Five Islands), manganese (several locations including Cheverie and Tennycape), and copper (the Colonial Copper Company at Cape d&#39;Or). Gypsum was shipped from Hantsport until 2009.</p><br>
<h2>Nature</h2><br>
<p>Marine mammals include seals and porpoises. Fish include bass, and flounder; lobster, crab, mussel, and clam are common. Many types of seaweed, sponges, worms, seajellys and more are also found. Birds include sandpipers, terns (visitors only), eagles, falcons, seagulls, herons, and kingfishers.</p><br>
<p>Fossils are found near Parrsboro, Blue Beach and other areas along the Avon River. Rarely, fossils have been found at Evangeline Beach, Burntcoat Head, and other locations. These fossils include various shells (brachiopods, molluscs), sponges, trees, fish, amphibians, reptiles, and dinosaurs. Trace fossils include vertebrate footprints, fish fin-tracks, invertebrate trackways (ex. scorpions at Blue Beach), raindrop inprints, and wave ripples. They range from the beginning of the Carboniferous to the Jurassic. They were deposited when the region was warm and tropical, later when it was covered by a shallow sea, and later still when it was a desert.</p><br>
<p>Minerals include a variety zeolites from the basalt cliffs at Cape Split, the area around Parrsboro, Five Islands and Cap DOr. These include Nova Scotias provincial mineral stilbite, as well as heulandite, analcime, chabazite, gmelinite, natrolite and thomsonite. Other minerals found in the basalts include calcite, magnetite, copper, and quartz (often as amethyst). Beautiful agate is also found. In the sedimentary rocks, gypsum is commonly found at Blomidon, Clarke Head, and near Windsor in both the colorless variety (selenite) and the fibrous variety (satin spar), the latter sometimes being bright orange. Other minerals from the sedimentary rocks include pyrite, calcite, barite, manganite, and pyrolusite. Small amounts of fluorite, celestite, howlite have also been found at Cheverie.</p><br>
<p>Cobequid Bay is an inlet of the Bay of Fundy and the easternmost part of the Minas Basin, located in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. The bay was carved by rivers flowing into the eastern end of the Bay of Fundy.</p><br>
<p>The eastern end of the bay hosts the estuary of the Salmon River, whereas the west end of the bay is less well-defined, typically delineated by Burntcoat Head on the southern shore and Five Islands or Economy Mountain on the northern shore.</p><br>
<p>The highest tidal range in the world was measured at Burntcoat Head where average tidal ranges measure a 12.4 m (41 ft) vertical difference in water level between low tide and high tide.</p><br>
<p>The bays name is derived from the Acadian spelling of We’kopekwitk, the Mikmaq name for the area. Acadian settlers came to this area in the early 1700s.</p><br>
<p>Rinca, also known as Rincah and Rindja, is a small island near Komodo and Flores island, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia, within the West Manggarai Regency. It is one of the three biggest island part of Komodo National Park. The island is famous for Komodo dragons, giant lizards that can measure up to 3 m long. Rinca is also populated with many other species such as wild pigs, buffalos and many birds.</p><br>
<p>Being less known and less visited than Komodo, it is a good place to see the Komodo dragon in its natural environment with fewer people to disturb them. Day trips can be arranged from Labuan Bajo on Flores by small boat at the park headquarters.</p><br>
<p>The island&#39;s area is 198 km&sup2;.</p><br>
<p>Living conditions for local people on the island are often difficult. Education facilities, for example, are quite limited for children. Some non-government organisations help with the provision of books for children on Rinca. Local people must also take some care to avoid Komodo dragons because Komodos in the area occasionally attack and kill humans.</p><br>
<h2>Sea conditions</h2><br>
<p>Rinca and Komodo bracket a north-south passage between the Indian Ocean and the Flores Sea. Due to the large bodies of water and narrow gap, the waters between Rinca and Komodo are subject to whirlpools and currents in excess of 10 knots.</p><br>
<p>In June 2008, five scuba divers (three British, one French and one Swedish) were found on the Southern coast of Rinca after having been missing for 2 days. The group had drifted 20 mi from where their dive boat abandoned them. They survived on oysters and other shellfish.</p><br>
<p>Gabriola Island is one of the Gulf Islands in the Strait of Georgia, in British Columbia , Canada. Gabriola lies about 5 km east of Nanaimo on Vancouver Island, to which it is linked by a 20-minute ferry trip from Nanaimo harbour. It has a land area of about 57.6 km&sup2; and a resident population of slightly more than 4,000.</p><br>
<p>Gabriola is endowed with public beaches and forests and has an established community spread around the island. On the island, housing, roads, shopping centres, restaurants, a library, an elementary school, and a museum are found. Its cultural life includes annual festivals related to art, poetry, gardens, music, boating, and fishing. The hosts three large annual events: the (in April), (in August) and (in October). These events, plus many more, feature the wide range of artistic talents held on Gabriola Island, making it the "Isle of the Arts".</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<h3>Pre-contact</h3><br>
<p>Gabriola is part of the traditional territory of the Snunéymux, and the name of the nearby city, Nanaimo, is an anglicized form of their name. The earliest archeological record on Gabriola is a cave burial dated to about 1500 BCE, but sites on nearby Valdes Island and other Gulf Islands have been found to date to at least 3000 BCE.</p><br>
<p>The pre-contact population of Gabriola has been difficult to estimate, but in mid-Marpole times—between about 0 and 1000 CE—several thousand people lived in the village at False Narrows, the site of today&#39;s El Verano Drive. Archaeologists have found that infant mortality at that time was surprisingly low and that the population was well adapted to its environment. Other smaller villages on Gabriola were scattered around the coast. After contact, and perhaps as early as 1500 CE, the population of the Snunéymux declined drastically because of smallpox and other diseases brought to North America by Europeans.</p><br>
<p>The island is famous for its petroglyphs, which are commonly asserted to be thousands of years old. The reality is that they are almost impossible to date. Because they are carved in relatively soft sandstone, they are eroding rapidly.</p><br>
<h3>Post-contact</h3><br>
<p>The first European visit to Gabriola was by the Spanish schooner Santa Saturnina under José María Narváez in 1791. Narváez is said to have given the name Punta de Gaviola to the southeastern end of the island and that over time Gaviola was corrupted into Gabriola and applied to the whole island. It may have been Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra, rather than Narváez who gave the name. Gaviola is sometimes said to be a misspelling of gaviota ("seagull"), but it may refer to the Spanish surname Gaviola. In 1792 the island was again visited by a Spanish expedition, under Galiano and Valdés. Galiano and Valdés stayed at Pilot Bay, which they called Cala del Descanso for several days, repairing their ships and boats and exploring the vicinity of Nanaimo. This site was later wrongly identified as the present Descanso Bay by British cartographers. The name Descanso means "rest" and the anchorage was so called because the Spanish wanted to give their sailors a break. The British expedition of George Vancouver may also have visited the island very briefly in 1792. While the Spanish explored and charted the Strait of Georgia, they left no permanent settlements. In 1827, fur traders of the Hudson&#39;s Bay Company established a post at Fort Langley on the Fraser River, but no Europeans settled in the Nanaimo area until the discovery of coal there in 1852. From the mid-1850s on, coal miners and ex-gold miners began to move to Gabriola, where they started farms to supply the growing population of Nanaimo.</p><br>
<p>By 1874, 17 settlers were working the land on Gabriola, and two-thirds of those had First Nations wives and young families. The mixed marriages resulted in part from the gender imbalance in the immigrant population but also in part because the wives knew how to survive on the west coast.</p><br>
<p>In the early 20th century, the population of Gabriola grew slowly. By the 1950s, fewer than 400 people lived full-time on the island. Electricity came to Gabriola in 1955, but even then the population grew only about one percent a year until the 1970s. In roughly the next 10 years, the population tripled, in part due to hippie immigration from the United States. By the mid-1980s, the population was 2,000, half the current figure.</p><br>
<p>In summer, the island&#39;s population greatly increases. Even in the first half of the 20th century, families came from Nanaimo or Vancouver to spend weeks or months living a simpler, rural life on the island. In the 21st century, about 2,000 "summer people" come to Gabriola each year for the sun, music, art, and relaxed pace, and they raise the population temporarily to about 6,000.</p><br>
<p>Apart from farming, Gabriola experienced industrial development in the 20th century. A brickyard produced 80,000 high-quality bricks a day in the early part of the century, and they were sent principally to Victoria and Vancouver. The brickyard ceased functioning in the 1950s. In the 1890s and early twentieth century, sandstone blocks were cut from a quarry near Descanso Bay and shipped for architectural use in public buildings in Vancouver and Victoria. In the early- to mid-1930s, millstones were cut from the sandstone and sent to towns along the west coast and as far away as Finland for use in the pulp and paper industry. A small diatomaceous earth industry also flourished in the 1930s. After World War II, the shipyard at Silva Bay became the major employer on the island until the 1970s.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>Gabriola, part of the Regional District of Nanaimo, is the most northerly of the Southern Gulf Islands in the Strait of Georgia between mainland BC to the east and Vancouver Island to the west. The Gulf Islands are an archipelago consisting of hundreds of islands of various sizes stretching from the San Juan Islands in the United States to the Northern Gulf Islands, north of Gabriola. The biggest of the Southern Gulf Islands are Gabriola Island, Galiano Island, Kuper Island, North and South Pender Island, Saltspring Island, Saturna Island, Thetis Island, and Valdes Island.</p><br>
<p>The Southern Gulf Islands consist mainly of former seabed sediments crumpled and gradually thrust upward by tectonic plate movement between 55 to 42 million years ago. Subsequent periods of glaciation scraped away topsoil and some of the bedrock. During the peak of the Fraser Glaciation, 30,000 to 11,000 years ago, Gabriola was covered with ice up to 2 km thick. Though melting glaciers left deposits of sand, gravel, and boulders, the main rocks exposed on Gabriolas surface are sandstone and shale. Differential erosion of relatively soft shales and relatively hard sandstones helped create cliffs, points, and bays along Gabriolas shoreline.</p><br>
<p>Gabriola is about 14 km long by 4.2 km wide on average with a land area of 57.6 km&sup2;. The topography varies from flat sandy beaches at sea level to forested hills rising to 160 m on Stoney Ridge in the center of the island.</p><br>
<p>Gabriola lies about 5 km east of Nanaimo, the second largest city on Vancouver Island, to which it is linked by BC Ferries. The ferry, which takes 20 minutes for the crossing, runs almost hourly from about 5.30 a.m. to about 11.30 p.m. daily. Residents of Gabriola who work or attend high school in Nanaimo use the ferry to commute. Gabriola may also be reached by float plane or small boat.</p><br>
<p>The island has three provincial parks—Gabriola Sands Provincial Park on the northwest shore, Sandwell Provincial Park on the northeast shore, and Drumbeg Provincial Park on the east shore—as well as Descanso Bay Regional Park and an adjacent community park near the ferry terminal. Large coastal sandstone formations known as the Malaspina Galleries are preserved in this community park. The formations were named after the 18th-century Spanish explorer Alejandro Malaspina.</p><br>
<h2>Demographics</h2><br>
<p>The population of Gabriola rose by 15 percent, from 3,522 to 4,050, between 2001 and 2006. This growth rate was higher than that for BC as a whole, which grew at a rate of 5.3 percent. The population density was 70.3/km² (182.1 mi²) in 2006 compared to 4.4/km² (11.4 mi²) for all of BC.</p><br>
<p>The total number of private dwellings on Gabriola was 2,744 in 2006, of which 1,998 were occupied by the usual residents. The median age of the population was 52.9 years compared to the BC median of 40.8. Of the total population, 1,960 were male and 2,090 were female.</p><br>
<h2>Climate</h2><br>
<p>Under the Köppen climate classification, the island has a cool summer Mediterranean climate due to its dry summers. Other climate classification systems, such as Trewartha, place it firmly in the Oceanic zone (Do). Cool and moist, the island averages 138 rainy days per year and seven days with snowfall greater than 0.2 cm. Days with high temperatures of 30 &deg;C or higher are rare, averaging less than one per year. Days with temperatures below 0 &deg;C occur about 25 times per year. Winters are cool and wet with the average temperature in January being 3.7 &deg;C and an average precipitation of 130 mm. Due to its mild winters, the average annual snowfall is low at 40 cm during the season. Summers, on the other hand are dry and mild with a July average of 16.9 &deg;C with only 26 mm of precipitation.</p><br>
<h2>Community</h2><br>
<p>Island festivals include the annual Isle of the Arts Festival in April, Gabriola Theatre Festival in August, and the Thanksgiving Weekend Studio and Gallery Tour, all three events sponsored by the Gabriola Arts Council. The Shipyard School "Launch Festival" is held mid April in Silva Bay to celebrate the graduation of the students - this is a well-attended, two-day event high on the list for anyone interested in traditional wooden boats and their construction. The Home and Garden Tour is held in June. The Gabriola Haiku Weekend, celebrating haiku poetry, has been held each July since 2002. The Concert on the Green and the Annual Salmon Barbecue occur in August. Throughout the summer, the Saturday Market at the Agricultural Hall features local produce and baked goods from the island, as well as crafts and artwork. Habonim Dror Camp Miriam, a Jewish summer camp, operates on the island from the end of June through the end of August.</p><br>
<p>Gabriola and surrounding islands have more than 70 known petroglyphs - sandstone carvings, some of which may be as old as 2,000 years or more. A small park at the Gabriola Museum contains reproductions of some of these petroglyphs.</p><br>
<h2>Flora and fauna</h2><br>
<p>A few of the plants common to the island include the trees Douglas-fir, Western red cedar, arbutus, Garry oak, big leaf maple, and red alder; the shrubs Oregon-grape, and red-flowering currant; the perennial bulb small camas (common camas); the semi-aquatic or terrestrial herb Western skunk cabbage (swamp lantern), and the evergreen perennial Western sword fern.</p><br>
<p>Sea creatures near Gabriola include orcas (killer whales), sea lions, seals, otters, oysters, mussels, clams, wolf eels, octopuses, and salmon. Deer and raccoons are among the island&#39;s more common land animals.</p><br>
<p>In the winter months, the coast of Gabriola is visited by many species of waterfowl such as the scoter, bufflehead, Barrow&#39;s goldeneye, and harlequin duck. Shorebirds such as the black turnstone and ruddy turnstone frequent the island as do garden birds such as the ruby-crowned kinglet, golden-crowned kinglet, thrushes, warblers, pileated woodpeckers, and flickers. The bald eagle, European starling, peafowl and turkey vulture are common year round. More than 250 bird species live in or migrate through the Nanaimo–Gabriola area.</p><br>
<p>Mayne Island is a 21 km&sup2; island in the southern Gulf Islands chain of British Columbia. It is situated midway between the Lower Mainland of BC and Vancouver Island, and has a population of 1071. Mount Parke in the south-central heart of the island is its highest peak at 255 meters .</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Originally, Mayne Island was inhabited by members of the Tsartlip First Nation, prior to European colonization. Several middens are present on the island, along with period articles &mdash; most notably including a 2 tonne stone bowl which was stolen in 1982 and again, in 2007.</p><br>
<p>In 1794 Captain George Vancouver camped on Georgina Point where his crew left a coin and a knife found over a century later by early settlers.</p><br>
<p>In 1857 Captain George Richards of the Royal Navy surveyed the area as captain of the Royal Navy vessel HMS Plumper, naming the island after his Lieutenant Richard Charles Mayne, son of the first commissioner of the London Metropolitan Police. His journals concerning his explorations of British Columbia are important sources for early British Columbia history, as are those of his colleague in many of those explorations, Royal Engineer Lieutenant Henry Spencer Palmer.</p><br>
<p>During the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush of 1858-1860 and after, Vancouver Island miners gathered on Mayne Island before rowing across Georgia Strait to the mainland of BC in search of their fortunes. The earliest homesteaders registered land claims in the Miners Bay area in 1859.</p><br>
<p>During the late 19th century Mayne Island was both the commercial and social centre of the Gulf Islands. The port at Miners Bay was always busy due to the steady stream of marine traffic travelling through Active Pass, the narrow, curving strait separating Mayne from Galiano Island to the north, which is the main ferry route between the Mainland and Vancouver Island today. The historic village at Miners Bay remains the commercial centre of the island, with the annual Fall Fair still being held at the old Agricultural Hall like so many years before. Miners Bay is also the site of The Springwater Lodge which was built in 1892 and remains the oldest continuously operated hotel in British Columbia. Nearby Active Pass still throbs with a steady stream of marine traffic, a bustling contrast to the island&#39;s quiet interior byways. Village Bay, with its BC Ferries terminal, has several late 19th century to 1930s buildings. Active Pass is named after the American survey ship USCS Active, the first steam vessel to navigate the pass.</p><br>
<p>The Japanese-Canadian community on Mayne Island played a historical role in the islands economics and society from the turn of the 20th century until World War II. The community had close ties to the European-Canadian population throughout the Gulf Islands and was involved in major economic initiatives such as greenhouse farming. In 1941 the Japanese Canadians living on Mayne Island were interned by the government and resettled in New Denver for the duration of World War II. Many of the families would never return to the island after the loss of land and their community. Today, the Japanese Gardens, located near Dinner Bay, are dedicated to the memory and legacy of the Mayne Islands Japanese-Canadian community.</p><br>
<p>The Mayne Island community holds a Farmer&#39;s Market every Saturday morning throughout the summer months. Islanders sell their local produce, handicrafts, baked goods, and art work.</p><br>
<h2>Transportation</h2><br>
<p>BC Ferries operates a vehicle and passenger scheduled ferry service from Tsawwassen (Vancouver) on the mainland and Swartz Bay (Victoria) on Vancouver Island as well as to the other major southern Gulf Islands. SeaAir Seaplanes operates a scheduled float plane service calling at Mayne Island from Vancouver downtown and the airport. Hitchhiking is common on the island in the summer and dedicated "car stops" for pick-ups are located along the major roadways.</p><br>
<h2>Climate</h2><br>
<h2>Parks and beaches</h2><br>
<p>Gulf Islands National Park Reserve offers opportunities for boating, kayaking, hiking, wildlife viewing and picnicking. There is an easy 1.5 km loop trail at Bennett Bay that leads to Campbell Point. Campbell Point features remnant old-growth forest and views of Georgeson Island. Bennett Bay has a sandy beach which is suitable for sunbathing and swimming. Georgina Point is the location of a historic lighthouse. Built in 1885, the Georgina Point lighthouse marks the entrance to Active Pass. Orca whales, harbour seals and seabirds can all be seen at Georgina Point.</p><br>
<p>Jostedal Glacier  is the largest glacier in continental Europe. It is situated in Sogn og Fjordane county in Western Norway. Jostedalsbreen lies in the municipalities of Luster, Sogndal, Jølster, and Stryn. The highest peak in the area is Lodalskåpa at a height of 2083 m.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>In 1906 work was being done on footpaths that could accommodate tourists.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>Jostedal Glacier has a total area of 487 km&sup2;. The highest point is Høgste Breakulen at 1,957 m above mean sea level. Branches of the glacier reach down into the valleys, for instance Bøyabreen in Fjærland and Nigardsbreen, both at 300 m above sea level. The thickest part of the glacier is 600 m. Jostedalsbreen has a length of a little more than 60 km and it is a part of the 1,310 km&sup2; Jostedalsbreen National Park, which was established in 1991. The glacier covers over half of the national park.</p><br>
<p>The glacier is maintained by the high snowfall rates in the region, not the cold temperatures. This means the glacier has high melting rates in its snouts. The Jostedalsbreen has around 50 glacier arms such as the Nigardsbreen and Tunsbergdalsbreen in Jostedal, the Briksdalsbreen near Olden, the Bøyabreen by Fjærland, the Kjenndalsbreen and Tindefjellbreen near Loen, and Austerdalsbreen.</p><br>
<p>In 2012, the glacier arm Briksdalsbreen lost 50 m of ice in a few months. More recent measurements now show that Briksdalsbreen retreated 146 m in 2006, and could be in danger of breaking away from the upper icefield. Ice climbing has now been terminated because of this event.</p><br>
<p>Kupreanof Island is an island in the Alexander Archipelago in southeastern Alaska. The island is 84 km long and 32 km wide with a total land area is 2,802.84 km&sup2, making it the 13th largest island in the United States and the 170th largest island in the world. The Lindenberg Peninsula, on the southeast side of the island is considered part of the island. The peninsula is separated from the rest of the island by a narrow inlet called Duncan Canal. The island&#39;s population was 785 at the 2000 census.</p><br>
<p>The island was first charted in 1793-94 by James Johnstone and Joseph Whidbey, both part of George Vancouver&#39;s 1791-95 expedition. The island is named after vice admiral Ivan Antonovich Kupreianov, governor of the Russian American colonies from 1836 to 1840; the name was published in 1848 on a Russian Hydrographic Department chart as "Os(trov) Kupreyanova".</p><br>
<p>The largest settlement on the island is Kake, on the northwestern side of the island. The only other city is Kupreanof, on the eastern side, across the Wrangell Narrows from the city of Petersburg on nearby Mitkof Island. The island lies within the limits of Tongass National Forest (Petersburg Ranger District). The Petersburg Creek-Duncan Salt Chuck Wilderness is a part of the forest that is located on the island.</p><br>
<p>San Pietro di Castello , formerly Olivolo , is an island in the Venetian Lagoon, northern Italy, forming part of the Castello sestiere. It is linked to the main islands of Venice by two bridges.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The island was the site of a castle from at least the 6th century, and it is from this that the island and the sestiere are named. In the seventh century, it became the seat of the Bishop of Olivolo, later renamed Bishop of Castello. When Castello was merged into the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Venice it remained the seat of that archdiocese until 1807. The Church of San Pietro was the seat from the ninth century, while other attractions on the island include a campanile with a ring of bells in C, and the greenery of the Campo San Pietro.</p><br>
<p>St. Paul&#39;s School is a 500-room brick edifice in the Village of Garden City, New York, United States. As of 2010, the building is not currently used.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>St. Pauls was built by Cornelia Stewart, widow of Alexander Stewart, and dedicated in his honor. This building is of High Victorian Gothic design. The architect was William H Harris, who had also designed the Cathedral of the Incarnation. The cornerstone was laid on June 18, 1879, with attended by Cornelia Stewart, her brother Charles Clinch, executor of Alexander Stewarts estate, Judge Henry Hilton, and Bishop Littlejohn, Protestant Episcopal Bishop of Long Island. It took James L&#39;Hommedieu four years to complete construction of this massive E-shaped building. It was crowned with a slate roof and a clock and bell tower. There were laboratories, classrooms, libraries, several dining halls, kitchens, a large reception parlor, permanent workspaces for staff, a beautiful gothic chapel, with seating for 400, dormitory space for 300 students, with spacious interior apartments on the top floors for masters, i.e. teachers.</p><br>
<p>It opened in 1883 as a military school for boys, owned by the Cathedral of the Incarnation in the Episcopal Diocese of Long Island. In 1884, the St. Pauls football team won the New York area championship. The school also had baseball and ice hockey teams. St. Pauls remained a military school for only 10 years, afterward becoming a college preparatory academy, modeled in the British tradition. It designated academic years as Forms, with the first form being seventh grade, the second form corresponding to eighth grade, up to the sixth form being twelfth grade. Students studied Latin and the classics.</p><br>
<p>At the turn of the twentieth century, headmaster Father Frederick Luther Gamage stated the schools mission to be to "develop manly, Christian character, a strong physique, and the power to think." During Father Gamages tenure, a benefactor, George Bywater Cluett, an owner of the Cluett, Peabody and Company, a collar and shirt making firm in Troy, New York, provided funds for a gymnasium to be constructed as a memorial to Mr. Cluett&#39;s son, Alfonzo Rockwell Cluett, who had been a student of Headmaster Gamage, approximately class of 1896, and after graduating from Yale University in 1900, died the following Christmas Eve of typhoid fever. A swimming pool was built on the lower level of that gymnasium.</p><br>
<p>Approximately 1906, William Bradford Turner, a direct descendant of Massachuttes Bay Colony Governor William Bradford, enrolled at St. Paul&#39;s in the third form (i.e. ninth grade); Turner would later go on to posthumously win the Congressional Medal of Honor, being killed in World War I.</p><br>
<p>In 1907, Headmaster Gamage left St. Paul&#39;s, and some of its prestigious students, like Turner, and donors, like Cluett, went with him to found Trinity-Pawling School upstate. However, the school continued to prosper.</p><br>
<p>After the World Series finished in 1917, the pennant winning teams, the Chicago White Sox and New York Giants, came to St. Paul&#39;s to play an exhibition baseball game to entertain the soldiers of the United States Army Rainbow Division, which was encamped nearby in Garden City. Participants in that game for the New York Giants included Manager John McGraw, and Jim Thorpe. The White Sox players included those soon to be infamous in the Black Sox Scandal.</p><br>
<p>The brother of future United States President Donald Trump, Fred Trump, graduated from St. Paul&#39;s in 1956. Their father, Fred Trump Sr., donated money to improve the soccer field, which was temporarily renamed Trump Field.</p><br>
<p>In the late 1960s, the New York Jets entered into discussions to use St. Paul&#39;s as their practice facility, although the parties could not agree to terms, and the Jets used nearby Hofstra University instead.</p><br>
<p>In 1970, a new gymnasium field house was built, and named for Father Nicholas Feringa, the former headmaster. At opening, it was the largest indoor sports fieldhouse on Long Island, with four contiguous basketball courts. The New York Nets professional basketball team used it as their training facility, splitting the basketball complex with the students. Future Hall of Famer Rick Barry was on the Nets at that time, with the Nets using the same gym and the same locker rooms concurrently with the St. Paul&#39;s students.</p><br>
<p>In 1991, St. Pauls owner, the Episcopal Diocese of Long Island, entered bankruptcy, and being forced to sell its assets, St. Pauls shut down. The Village of Garden City negotiated a "friendly condemnation", and obtained the buildings and all 48 acres of land. The village has used the gymnasiums and athletic fields, but the village trustees have not been able reach consensus on what to do with the main building, and therefore have ignored basic repairs needed for its maintenance, such as roof repairs. As a result, the magnificent main buildings upper floors have been subject to flooding from rain, and the building decays further every year.</p><br>
<p>The AIA Architectural Guide to Nassau and Suffolk Counties describes the building as having "poly-chromatic voussoir arched windows, elaborate cast-iron balustrades, and Dorchester stone trim." The building was selected in 2003 by the Preservation League of New York State as one of its "Seven to Save" endangered properties ().</p><br>
<h2>Development and demolition</h2><br>
<p>In 1993, the building was sold to the Incorporated Village of Garden City. The residents of Garden City were unable to come up with a viable plan to use the school for a different purpose. The Mayor of Garden City appointed a committee to make recommend uses for the buildings which recommended that the property be redeveloped, and leased for 99 years to a private senior assisted living company. The proposal was controversial because there was no municipal use of the buildings and because the proposal increased the building footprint and decreased green space, as well as lack of significant tax revenues.</p><br>
<p>In 1995, Tishman Speyer Properties conducted a preliminary inspection and evaluation on the potential to adapt the St. Paul&#39;s buildings as the new Garden City High School. Tishman Speyer submitted four preliminary designs to the Garden City Board of Education for their consideration. The proposal was supported by many of the younger families; however, the Eastern Property Owners Association vigorously lobbied the Board of Education not to consider it out of fear it would cost more, and the Board of Education eventually took it off the table. Ironically, the alternative cost of renovating the Garden City Middle and High School subsequently proved to be even more.</p><br>
<p>In 1996, a Village-wide opinion poll was held, with voters being offered a "yes" or "no", if they supported the Senior Assisted Living initiative at St. Paul&#39;s. The vote was 50.1% opposed, and 49.9% in favor.</p><br>
<p>In 2004, the Village Board of the Incorporated Village of Garden City voted to dedicate St. Pauls Schools 48 acre (194,000 m²) site as parkland, with then Mayor Barbara Miller voting twice to break the tie of 4 board members in favor and 4 members opposed, on December 16. Removal of its designation as parkland would require the approval of the New York State Legislature.</p><br>
<p>In 2008, a Village-wide opinion poll was held, and the results were () Approve Demolition: 2,272 votes (45.4%); Approve Mothballing of Main Building: 1,857 votes (37.1%); Approve of the Avalon Bay proposal: 873 votes (17.5%) - Total Voter Turnout 5,002.</p><br>
<p>The Village Board of the Incorporated Village of Garden City is considering the demolition () of the building to add to open space. It is currently undergoing environmental reviews of the demolition proposal. Demolition would only save the village $100,000 a year in maintenance charges.</p><br>
<p>In 2014, an annex known as Ellis Hall, built in 1969 to provide additional school space, was demolished. Many people supported this, despite the fact that most preservation plans included saving this annex as well.</p><br>
<h2>Notable alumni</h2><br>
<p>Henry C. Allen (1872–1942), represented New Jersey&#39;s 6th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1905 to 1907.</p><br>
<p>Joe Mohen Internet Entrepreneur, graduated in 1974</p><br>
<p>Theodore E. Steinway, chairman of Steinway & Sons, graduated in 1900</p><br>
<p>William B. Turner (1906) World War One hero, Medal of Honor recipient</p><br>
<p>Harry Whitney (1873-1936), Hunter, author, and adventurer who went to Greenland with the Peary expedition in 1908, and stayed with the Eskimos through the winter.</p><br>
<p>The Greater Khingan Range , is a volcanic mountain range in northeast China. The range extends roughly 1,200 km from northeast to southwest.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>The area has an elevation of 1200 to 1300 m, and the highest peak reaches 2,035 m. The range is much broader in the north, at 306 km, than it is in the south, at 97 km. It was formed during the Jurassic Period (roughly 200 to 145 million years ago), and is essentially a tilted fault block; its ancient fault line forms its eastern edge, facing the Northeast China Plain. The ranges are markedly asymmetrical, with a sharp eastern face and a more gentle western slope down to the Mongolian Plateau at an elevation of 790 to 1000 m. The eastern slopes are more heavily dissected by the numerous tributaries of the Nen and Songhua rivers, but generally the mountains are rounded with flat peaks. The ranges are composed largely of igneous rocks (i.e., formed through the solidification of magma).</p><br>
<h2>Population</h2><br>
<p>Its slopes are a relatively rich grazing area. The Khitan people lived on the eastern slopes</p><br>
<p>Much of the area is inhabited by peoples speaking Mongol and, in the north, Tungusic languages, such as the Oroqen people and the Evenk people. Logging continues to be the major economic activity.</p><br>
<p>The Argun or Ergune is a 1,007 mi river that forms part of the eastern China–Russia border, together with the Amur River . Its upper reaches are known as Hailar River in China. The Ergune marks the border  between Russia and China for about 944 km, until it meets the Amur River.</p><br>
<h2>Name</h2><br>
<p>The name derives from Buryat Urgengol wide river (urgen wide + gol river). Mongolian word "ergün" (in Traditional Mongolian alphabet) or "örgön" (in modern Mongolian) means "wide".</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>The river flows from the Western slope of the Greater Xingan Range in Chinas Inner Mongolia, and forms the Chinese side of the two rivers that flow together to produce the Amur (Heilong). Its confluence with the Shilka River at Ust-Strelka on the Russian side forms the Amur River.</p><br>
<h2>Kherlen–Ergune–Amur</h2><br>
<p>In years with high precipitation, the normally exitless Hulun Lake may overflow at its northern shore, and the water will meet the Ergune after about 30 km. The Kherlen–Ergune–Amur system has a total length of 5,052 km.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>In The Secret History of the Mongols is a legend related to the Ergüne hun Mongol ancestry. In this legend, the Mongols prevailed over other tribes and carried such slaughter among them, that in living remained no more than two men and two women. These two families, in fear of the enemy, fled to the inhospitable terrain, which included only mountains and forests and to which there was no road. Among those mountains was the abundant grass and healthy climate of the steppe. Then, legend tells that in Ergune-Khun, Mongols multiplied and become masters of iron smelting and blacksmithing. According to legend, it is the art of melting iron that has helped them escape from the mountain gorges on scope of the current Mongolian steppes, to the Kherlen (Kelulun) and Onon River.</p><br>
<p>Prior to the emergence of the Mongols, the Amur River basin was home to certain tribes of Jurchen people, who founded the Liao (907–1125) and Jinn (1115–1234) dynasties in northern China. The Manchu people who founded the Qing dynasty (1644–1912) additionally claimed descent from the Jurchens. Following the Russian conquest of Siberia in the 17th century, Russia-China relations were formalized in the 1689 Treaty of Nerchinsk, which established the Argun River as the China–Russia border. However, prior to the Amur Annexation of Outer Manchurian territory, China&#39;s border extended further to include the so-called Sixty-Four Villages East of the River in present-day Amur Oblast, southern Khabarovsk, and all of Primorsky Krai. Although the subsequent Amur Annexation fixed the eastern Sino-Russian border at the Amur, it would only be at the 1991 Sino-Soviet Border Agreement when all Sino-Soviet border conflicts would be resolved.</p><br>
<p>Lake Nokomis is one of several lakes in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The lake was previously named Lake Amelia in honor of Captain George Goodings daughter, Amelia, in 1819. Its current name was adopted in 1910 to honor Nokomis, grandmother of Hiawatha . It is located in the southern part of the city, west of the Mississippi River and south of Lake Hiawatha. The lake is oval in shape, with a long axis running southwest to northeast. Because the lower part of the lake is crossed by Cedar Avenue running north-south, the impression from the ground is that the lake is shaped like an L. The lake has an area of 204 acre.</p><br>
<p>When purchased in 1907, the lake was very shallow, only 5 ft deep in the deepest spot. Much of it was actually marshland or slough—a drainage area for the neighborhood. It was deepened by dredging to produce the current lake.</p><br>
<p>In 1940, Dr. Chris Lambertsen performed about 12 Scuba dives in his Lambertsen Amphibious Respiratory Unit (LARU) prototype in Lake Nokomis. The LARU was the first rebreather designed and built in the United States and these dives are the first closed-circuit oxygen dives in USA history. On one of these dives, Lambertsen experienced an episode of oxygen toxicity but managed to surface without assistance.</p><br>
<p>Lake Nokomis has recently undergone a preservation project, creating areas of native vegetation along its shores. Several artificial ponds have been added to a more practical degree, as the areas where they are now were almost always flooded.</p><br>
<p>The local population uses the lake for a variety of purposes. Fishing and sailing are popular, there are two beaches with good (imported) sand, and the surrounding large park has facilities for walking and running, softball, cycling, and other sports.</p><br>
<p>The main beach along the northwest side has a restaurant, concessions, restrooms, and a variety of rental equipment, along with a playground. The smaller beach on the northeast side has no concessions but does have portable toilets. The lake bed drops off suddenly beyond the designated swimming areas, prompting a surprising and potentially dangerous environment for anyone swimming outside the ropes. This was cited as a contributing factor in the drowning death of an area teen in July 2006 at the beach.</p><br>
<p>Lake Nokomis has been the site of one of the more distinctive activities in the Minneapolis Aquatennial celebration, the "Milk Carton Boat Race," from 1983 to 2000, although that event was relocated back to Lake Calhoun in 2001. It is also home to the Life Time Fitness triathlon each July, and numerous other races on summer weekends.</p><br>
<p>Up until 1998 the lake was noted for having a number of very large and old trees which spanned several feet in diameter along the east shore, but these were uprooted in 1998 when a severe storm with high winds moved through the area.</p><br>
<h2>Fish</h2><br>
<p>The lake contains black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, bowfin, largemouth bass, carp, golden shiner, hybrid sunfish, pumpkinseed, tiger muskellunge, walleye, white sucker, yellow bullhead, and yellow perch. Some fish consumption guideline restrictions have been placed on the lake&#39;s walleye and white sucker due to mercury contamination.</p><br>
<p>The Embassy of the United States of America in Ottawa  is the diplomatic mission of the United States of America in Canada. The current complex in Ottawa opened in 1999.</p><br>
<h2>Original mission</h2><br>
<p>Before 1999, the mission occupied a 1930s era building directly across from Parliament Hill at 100 Wellington Street. The Beaux-Arts structure was designed by Cass Gilbert for the American legation in 1932 (full ambassador status was with the United States Embassy in Britain at the time), then as a full embassy after 1943. The older building, a three storey Indiana limestone built in 1930-1931, proved to be too small, however, and embassy employees were spread between eight other Ottawa buildings. Security concerns associated with this distribution necessitated centralization. The road to a new embassy was a long and difficult one, with attempts made at getting a new structure beginning in the 1960s. Finding an appropriate site and receiving acceptance from both governments proved to be difficult; one proposal to build the embassy in Rockcliffe Park, near the Canada Aviation Museum, was opposed by locals who worried about security threats and congestion.</p><br>
<h2>New embassy</h2><br>
<p>The new embassy is located on what used to be a small hill and parking lot on the western edge of the Byward Market. Early in Ottawa&#39;s history it had been the site of a number of small homes and businesses, but the land was expropriated by the federal government during the First World War and a temporary office building was built on the site for government workers. The building was torn down after the war, but another temporary structure was built on the site during World War II. This structure survived until 1972, when it was razed and left as a parking lot.</p><br>
<p>To the west of the embassy is Major&#39;s Hill Park and the Federal district. The National Gallery of Canada is just to the northwest of the embassy while the Peacekeeping Monument is to the north. To the east of the embassy is the Byward Market and York Street is steps to the south.</p><br>
<p>The building&#39;s design in 1999, by noted architect David Childs of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, sought to reflect the close relationship of friendly neighbors. The embassy’s interior, showcasing the art of 59 artists from the United States, is organized as two bars of office space, joined by an atrium in the center. The embassy was dedicated by President Bill Clinton on October 8, 1999, the first time in American history a president had personally dedicated a new embassy. The building was included amongst other architecturally interesting and historically significant buildings in Doors Open Ottawa, held June 2 and 3, 2012.</p><br>
<h2>Controversy</h2><br>
<p>Local architects and citizens complained that the structure overshadowed the historic market and suggested that it looked like a battleship, or worried about the danger posed to local businesses by potential terrorist attacks against the embassy. These complaints were aggravated after the September 11 attacks, when a number of roads around the embassy were blocked, congesting traffic and hurting businesses. The immediately adjacent lane on Sussex Drive was permanently closed.</p><br>
<p>Security concerns voiced by the Bureau of Diplomatic Security before the completion of construction were overruled by its parent agency, the USA Department of State. In the aftermath of the 1998 embassy bombings in Africa there was serious consideration given at the time if the new USA Embassy should be completed, especially considering the large amount of glass on one side of the new Chancery that faced a public street. The cost of not finishing and moving into the new Chancery, in terms of money and political capital, could not be overcome.</p><br>
<p>Kuiu Island is an island in the Alexander Archipelago in southeastern Alaska. It lies between Kupreanof Island, to its east, and Baranof Island, to its west. The island is 105 km long, and 10 to 23 km wide. It is nearly cut in two by Affleck Canal. It has 1,936.16 km&sup2; of land area, making it the 15th largest island in the United States. The entire island is part of Tongass National Forest. The population was 10 persons at the 2000 census. It is separated from Baranof Island by Chatham Strait.</p><br>
<p>The Cape Decision Light is located on Kuiu Island. Also on the island are the Kuiu Wilderness and the Tebenkof Bay Wilderness areas.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The island was first charted by Joseph Whidbey and James Johnstone, two of George Vancouver&#39;s men during his 1791-95 expedition, in 1793-94. The latter, Johnstone, proved its insularity.</p><br>
<p>The Ngonye Falls or Sioma Falls are a waterfall on the Zambezi river in Western Zambia, near the town of Sioma and a few hundred kilometers upstream from the Victoria Falls. Situated in the southern part of Barotseland, the falls are a difficult two- or three-day journey from the capital, Lusaka. Their inaccessibility makes them much less known than Victoria Falls. The surrounding area was converted into a national park in 2010/11.</p><br>
<p>The falls are formed by the same geological process as Victoria Falls, with cracks in the basalt riverbed being eroded away to form the drop. Their height is only 10-25 meters, but the width of the falls is impressive. They form a broad crescent, interrupted by rocky outcrops.</p><br>
<p>Upstream from the falls, the river is broad and shallow as it flows across Kalahari sands, but below the falls extensive white water rapids exist, as the river is hemmed in by gorges cut into basalt rock.</p><br>
<p>The surrounding area supports extensive wildlife, especially in the nearby Sioma Ngwezi National Park, and elephants are frequently seen by the river in the vicinity of the falls.</p><br>
<p>The Allegheny Front is the major southeast- or east-facing escarpment in the Allegheny Mountains in southern Pennsylvania, western Maryland, and eastern West Virginia, USA. The Allegheny Front forms the boundary between the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians to its east and the Appalachian Plateau  to its west. The Front is closely associated with the Appalachian Mountains&#39; Eastern Continental Divide, which in this area divides the waters of the Ohio/Mississippi river system, flowing to the Gulf of Mexico, from rivers flowing into Chesapeake Bay and from there into the Atlantic Ocean.</p><br>
<p>However, the Front and the Divide do not always coincide; for example, the North Branch of the Potomac River begins well west of the Allegheny Front, at the Fairfax Stone near the southwestern tip of Maryland, and only about 10 mi and across the actual divide from the headwaters of the Youghiogheny River draining westwards into the Monongahela and Ohio rivers.</p><br>
<p>The Allegheny Front is one of the windiest spots east of the Mississippi, leading to the recent establishment of wind farming there.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>The Allegheny Front forms part of the Appalachian Structural Front, separating the Appalachian Plateau from the Appalachians&#39; Ridge and Valley Province. The various other escarpments along this structural feature include the Catskill Escarpment to the northeast and the Cumberland Escarpment to the southwest. The Allegheny Front itself extends for about 180 mi southwesterly from south-central Pennsylvania through western Maryland, then divides the eastern panhandle of West Virginia from the rest of that state.</p><br>
<p>The name "Allegheny Front" is applied to the escarpment throughout much of its extent, although it is little used in Maryland.</p><br>
<h3>Elevations</h3><br>
<p>The highest part of the crest of the Allegheny Front is also its southernmost high point, Mount Porte Crayon at 4,770 ft, on the Pendleton/Randolph county line in West Virginia. Its lowest point, 790 ft, is along the North Branch of the Potomac River near Keyser, West Virginia. Other high points along the Front include the Dolly Sods area in West Virginia, a broad, rocky plateau at an elevation of about 4,000 ft; Dan&#39;s Rock on Dans Mountain in Maryland at 2,895 ft; and Blue Knob in northern Bedford County, Pennsylvania, with an elevation greater than 3,120 ft.</p><br>
<h3>Eastern Continental Divide</h3><br>
<p>Local segments of the Eastern Continental Divide usually pass within a few miles of the Allegheny Front, and in many places coincide with it; this divide between waters of the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico separates the westward-flowing Ohio River watershed from the eastward-flowing watersheds of the Susquehanna, Potomac, and James rivers. A number of eastward-flowing creeks and rivers have their headwaters incised into Allegheny Front, displacing the Divide westward from the Front, including the North Branch of the Potomac River west of Cumberland, Maryland, which originates well into the Appalachian Plateau at the Fairfax Stone, just south of Maryland&#39;s southwestern tip. No waterway crosses the Front from east to west.</p><br>
<p>The Allegheny Plateau, the Eastern drainage divide, and the emphasis the cartographer placed on the Allegheny Front is obvious in this minimalist styled 19th century map.</p><br>
<p>So lightly settled were the lands, the cartographer has traced known trails, likely proven wagon tracks throughout, exposed the unsettled lands and shows their convergence through the few climbable gaps in the Allegheny Front.</p><br>
<p>Note this map is three years after the legislation authorizing the Allegheny Portage Railroad and the Main Line of Public Works and Pennsylvania Canal System that would connect Philadelphia to the Ohio River. The portage railroad ascends the gap due east of the mining town of Ebensburg, PA.</p><br>
<h3>Course in detail</h3><br>
<p>The Allegheny Front begins in central Pennsylvania just northwest of the town of Lock Haven and extends southwest paralleling, first, Bald Eagle Mountain, and then Brush Mountain to its east. The Front continues to a point a little north of the Pennsylvania/Maryland boundary where it is offset about 10 mi to the east as it changes from the bold escarpment that characterized it west of Altoona to its more gentle rise in Maryland.</p><br>
<p>Across the Mason–Dixon line in Maryland, the Front becomes Dans Mountain, west of Cumberland, which reaches 2,895 ft in elevation at Dans Rock. Along Marylands southern border, the North Branch of the Potomac River cuts down through the Front at 790 ft just west of Keyser, West Virginia.</p><br>
<p>South of the Potomac, in West Virginia, the Front continues through the Mount Storm area, then passes along the eastern edge of Dolly Sods, a wide plateau of Pottsville conglomerate bedrock at about 4,000 ft elevation. From the Sods, the front continues southward as an increasingly steep escarpment west of the North Fork of the South Branch of the Potomac River, with the Roaring Plains continuing the high plateaus of the Dolly Sods area along the escarpments crest. The Allegheny Fronts southern end is Mount Porte Crayon (4,770 ft), after which the land drops steeply to Seneca Creek, west of Seneca Rocks.</p><br>
<h3>Escarpments southward</h3><br>
<p>South of Mount Porte Crayon and Seneca Creek, the Appalachian Structural Front is less clearly unified. Pottsville-capped Spruce Mountain, south and east of Seneca Creek, continues the Allegheny Fronts geology southward; this ridge reaches an elevation of 4,863 ft at Spruce Knob, West Virginias highest point. Similarly steep escarpments sharing much of the same geologic structure are also present nearby along the eastern slopes of Allegheny Mountain and Back Allegheny Mountain (along with the southern end of Shavers Mountain), but these mountains lack the Pottsville caps characteristic of the Allegheny Front. Allegheny Mountain&#39;s long, nearly level crest is generally about 4000 to 4200 ft in elevation, with Paddy Knob reaching 4,477 ft. High points on Back Allegheny Mountain and adjacent Shavers Mountain include Gaudineer Knob (4,432 ft) and Bald Knob (4,842 ft); these two mountains form a part of the divide between the Monongahela River and New River portions of the Ohio River watershed.</p><br>
<h2>Geology</h2><br>
<p>Most of the Allegheny Front is capped by a nearly horizontal, erosion-resistant stratum (rock layer) of white Pottsville conglomerate, sometimes where flat with younger Carboniferous strata on top. The silica-cemented gravel-containing Pottsville rock formed as part of a vast delta in the Pennsylvanian geologic period.</p><br>
<p>The region was then uplifted and folded during the Alleghenian Orogeny about 320-250 million years ago, during the Carboniferous and Permian geological periods, forming the modern Appalachian Mountains as the ancient continents of North America and Africa collided due to plate tectonics processes.</p><br>
<p>Subsequent erosion (for more than 200,000,000 years) has prefentially removed various softer surrounding rocks, especially the easily dissolved Greenbrier limestone, leaving areas of the hard Pottsville conglomerate as a caprock protecting softer rock strata immediately beneath. The Pottsville bedrock outcrops conspicuously in various more exposed areas along the Fronts eastern edge. Many of these clifftops offer broad scenic views, unlike most mountaintops within the generally forested Appalachians, and the more readily accessible are popular tourist destinations, including Dans Rock on Dans Mountain in Maryland and the Dolly Sods and an overlook along USA Route 50 in West Virginia.</p><br>
<p>Since the eastern side of the Front is drained by Chesapeake Bay rivers that drop fairly rapidly through the Ridge and Valley Province to the low-elevation waters of the Great Appalachian Valley, erosion on the eastern slope of this caprock layer has been much more intense than on the western slope, where drainage to low elevations is spread over a greater distance (particularly considering stream meanders) through the Appalachian Plateau to the Ohio River. These contrasting patterns of erosion produce a steep escarpment along much of the Front&#39;s eastern edge, with the mountains west of the Front generally grading more gently into the Appalachian Plateau.</p><br>
<h2>Ecology</h2><br>
<p>The nearly continuous high elevation and clifftop bedrock exposures of the Allegheny Front provide an important corridor of upland habitat in the central Appalachian Mountains.</p><br>
<h3>Migratory bird flyway</h3><br>
<p>During the fall, the Allegheny Front is associated with an important flyway for migratory birds traveling from their northern breeding grounds to their southern wintering sites. In good weather, the birds can be seen from late morning, when they take advantage of the thermals — rising pockets of warm air — to facilitate flying, until the thermals cease in late afternoon.</p><br>
<p>Among the bird-banding stations and migratory bird observatories associated with this flyway are:</p><br>
<p>Allegheny Front Hawk Watch on the border between Bedford and Somerset counties, Pennsylvania. On 20 September 2003, after the remnants of Hurricane Isabel passed western Pennsylvania, 833 hawks were counted passing the site. The Allegheny Front Hawk Watch set three Eastern Flyway Golden Eagle records during the 2015 migration. The first was counting 74 Golden Eagle on October 24, 2015. This helped propel the hawk site to a new fall record of 320 Golden Eagles being counted during the fall migration. This coupled with the 66 goldens counted in the spring of 2015, yielded a total of 386 migrating birds for the year.</p><br>
<p>Allegheny Front Migratory Observatory (Bird Banding Station) near the Red Creek Campground at Dolly Sods, West Virginia. The station is open from August to October in good weather. Established in 1958, it is the only cooperative banding station in West Virginia.</p><br>
<h3>The Dolly Sods area</h3><br>
<p>In the Dolly Sods area of West Virginia, and southward toward Mount Porte Crayon, the Front is topped for more than 10 mi by a broad, nearly flat plateau with many wide areas of exposed bedrock along the edge of the escarpments 2800 to 3200 ft drop to the North Fork River to the east, along the Fronts base. Many of these windswept cliff-edge outcrops are sparsely vegetated, with occasional one-sided (flagged) red spruce (Picea rubens) trees, and open habitats dominated by various low-growing Appalachian and boreal plant species.</p><br>
<h2>Economic importance</h2><br>
<p>The long, steep, nearly continuous, often windswept escarpment of the Allegheny Front has both positive and negative effects on society and culture in the central Appalachians region.</p><br>
<h3>Challenge to transportation and communication</h3><br>
<p>Few roads or railroads cross the Allegheny Front, limiting transportation and communication between the regions to its east and west. Establishing passage of the Front was key to the development of the USA railroad network during the second half of the 19th century, thereby connecting the Midwest by rail with the Atlantic seaboard. The Pennsylvania Railroad built the Horseshoe Curve track section west of Altoona, so that goods trains could ascend and descend to or from the Allegheny Plateau to the west.</p><br>
<h3>Recreation and tourism</h3><br>
<p>Substantial portions of the Allegheny Front&#39;s crest and slopes are parts of a national forest (the Monongahela in West Virginia) or various state, local, or private wildlands parks or preserves.</p><br>
<p>The few readily accessible scenic viewpoints atop the Allegheny Front are popular tourist destinations. The Skyline Overlook along USA Route 50 in West Virginia is readily accessible by a major road. The Front is also a significant part of scenic views from various highways and mountains to its east, such as North Fork Mountain in West Virginia.</p><br>
<h3>Wind farming</h3><br>
<p>The NedPower Mount Storm Wind Project in West Virginia includes 132 wind turbines along 12 mi of the Allegheny Front in Grant County near Mount Storm. Constructed between 2006 and 2008, it generates up to 264 megawatts of electricity for the mid-Atlantic power grid, enough to service about 66,000 homes and businesses.</p><br>
<p>In December 2016, Save Our Allegheny Ridges, a group that opposes energy development on forested mountaintops, said in a news release that Invenergy plans to install a series of wind turbines atop Shaffer Mountain in Somerset County just a few miles north of the Allegheny Front Hawk Watch.</p><br>
<p>The Dufourspitze is the highest peak of Monte Rosa, a huge ice-covered mountain massif in the Alps. Dufourspitze is the highest mountain peak of both Switzerland and the Pennine Alps and is also the second-highest mountain of the Alps and Europe outside the Caucasus. It is located between Switzerland  and Italy .</p><br>
<p>Following a long series of attempts beginning in the early nineteenth century, Monte Rosa&#39;s summit, then still called Höchste Spitze (Highest Peak), was first reached on 1 August, the Swiss National celebration day, in 1855 from Zermatt by a party of eight climbers led by three guides: Matthäus and Johannes Zumtaugwald, Ulrich Lauener, Christopher and James Smyth, Charles Hudson, John Birkbeck and Edward Stephenson.</p><br>
<h2>Naming</h2><br>
<p>The peak is distinguished by the name Dufourspitze (in German, lit. Dufour Peak; Pointe Dufour, Punta Dufour). This replaced the former name Höchste Spitze (Highest Peak) that was indicated on the Swiss maps before the Federal Council, on January 28, 1863, decided to rename the mountain in honor of Guillaume-Henri Dufour. Dufour was a Swiss engineer, topographer, co-founder of the Red Cross and army general who led the Sonderbund campaign. This decision followed the completion of the Dufour Map, a series of military topographical maps created under the command of Dufour.</p><br>
<p>The point just 80 m east of the Dufourspitze and only 2 metres lower, the Dunantspitze, was renamed in 2014 in honor of Henry Dunant, the main founder of the Red Cross.</p><br>
<h2>Elevation</h2><br>
<p>The Dufourspitze of Monte Rosa is the most elevated point of Valais and Switzerland, although it is not the most prominent of the country, that distinction belonging to the Finsteraarhorn, nor the most isolated, that distinction belonging to Piz Bernina. The Swiss national map gives an elevation of 4,634.0 m for the summit, which is 4,441 metres above Lake Maggiore, Switzerland&#39;s lowest point. The height difference between the summit and the plains of northern Italy, from where Monte Rosa is well visible, reaches over 4,500 m. Monte Rosa has a topographic prominence of 2,165 m, the Great St Bernard Pass being the lowest col between it and the culminating point of the Alps. A 2000 survey, involving universities and the offices of cartography of Italy and Switzerland and part of the TOWER project (Top of the World Elevations Remeasurement), was made in order to record a more precise elevation for Monte Rosa. The result was 4,635.25 m from the Italian side and 4,634.97 m from the Swiss side, with a margin of error of 0.1 m. Monte Rosa succeeded the Finsteraarhorn as the highest summit of Switzerland in 1815, when Valais joined the Swiss Confederation.</p><br>
<p>Though the Mediterranean can hardly be visible from the summit of Monte Rosa because of intervening mountains, the view to the south extends to the Apennines, the mountains of Corsica and the Maritime Alps. On the north side the view extends to the Jura and further to the Vosges, the Swiss Plateau being mostly hidden by the high range of the Bernese Alps.Thomas Hinchliff, after reaching the summit of Monte Rosa in 1856, described the panorama (Hinchliff, Summer months among the Alps: with the ascent of Monte Rosa, pp. 127–132):</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<h3>Early exploration</h3><br>
<p>Monte Rosa could be seen from many places on the south side of the Alps and it had been mentioned in many travel diaries. At the end of the 15th century some outlines of the mountain may possibly have been painted by Leonardo da Vinci into the background of the Madonna of the Rocks or other pictures. Da Vinci explored the Italian side of the mountain and made some observations, though there is but scanty evidence that he had climbed even a minor summit in the neighbourhood. He was intringued by the permanent snow lying on the mountain and the darkness of the sky above him, he wrote:</p><br>
<p>At the end of the eighteenth century, the people of the Italian valleys believed that a lost valley existed, hidden away between the glaciers of the great chain. The discovery of the valley was due to Joseph Beck of Gressoney-Saint-Jean. He put together a party, including his brother Valentin, and the Gressoney mountain guides Sebastian Linty, Joseph Zumstein, Nicolas (Niklaus) Vincent, François Castel and Étienne Lisco. They set out on a Sunday of August 1778. They started from their sleeping places at midnight, and roped carefully. They had furnished themselves with climbing irons and alpenstocks. At the head of the glacier, they encountered a slope of rock devoid of snow, which they climbed.</p><br>
<p>The valley, in fact, was none other than the upper valley of Zermatt, and the pass, which these early explorers had reached, was the Lysjoch, where, to this day, the rock on which they rested bears the name that they gave it, the "Entdeckungsfels" (German: Rock of Discovery). Beck&#39;s party thus reached a height of 4,178 metres (13,707 ft), probably a record in the Alps at that times.</p><br>
<p>Count Morozzo of Turin was inspired by the view of Monte Rosa and in 1787 he tried to reach its summit from the east face. However he did not go very high, and the mountain looked much too inaccessible to encourage him to proceed further. He reached the place of the actual Marinelli hut, 1,500 m below the summit. The route on the east face was opened only in 1872. In 1789, following the recommendation of the Count, Horace-Bénédict de Saussure went to Macugnaga to explore the mountain. He climbed Pizzo Bianco, a 3215 m summit facing the mountain from the east and measured the altitude of Monte Rosa. He found a height of 2430 toises.</p><br>
<p>A first serious attempt was made in 1801 by a doctor of Alagna, Pietro Giordani. He reached alone a great height when climbing a 4,046 metres high point on the south-east ridge of the Vincent Pyramid, later named Giordanispétz or Punta Giordani in his honour. He arrived too late to proceed to the Vincent Pyramid summit and night drove him away. He had to sleep in a cleft of ice at about 14,000 feet. He wrote an account of his exploit: After an eloquent description of the view, he expresses his annoyance at the lack of scientific instruments, and the lateness of the hour which prevented him from ascending "Monte Rosa" itself.</p><br>
<p>The 4215 m Vincent Pyramid summit was eventually successfully climbed on 15 August 1819 by Johann Niklaus and Joseph Vincent from Gressoney, after whom the peak has been named. The brothers Vincent tried to reach the highest summit again the next year, together with Joseph Zumstein, and guides and porters. On August 1, 1820, they reached a 4,563 metres high secondary summit, later named Zumsteinspitze. The climb was dangerous, as the party had to traverse under threatening walls of ice; they also had great difficulties on descent, because the afternoon sun had melted the snow on the slopes. They used mules to carry their equipment as far as the snow-line. During the expedition they thought they had climbed the true highest peak, but when they reached the summit they found out it was only a subpeak of Monte Rosa. Zumstein was anxious to return later and reach the highest summit, but his desire did not materialize.</p><br>
<h3>First ascents</h3><br>
<p>The first approaches to the summit were made from the northern slopes over the Gorner glacier via the Silbersattel (4,510 m). This pass was first reached on August 12, 1847, by Matthias and Johann zum Taugwald (guides from Zermatt whose name is also written "Zumtaugwald"), Johann Brantschen and Joseph Moser guiding the French professors Victor Puisieux and Edouard Ordinaire. Precisely a year later (12 August 1848), Johann Madutz from Matt, Glarus, and Matthias Zumtaugwald guided the Swiss theologian :de:Melchior Ulrich to the pass for an ascent of the highest summit. Ulrich had to give up, but the guides proceeded to climb to what they thought to be the Eastern summit of the Dufourspitze (Ostspitze, since 2014 Dunantspitze, 4632 m) and established a new altitude record in Switzerland. The descent over the same route was so tricky that Madutz at places had to lower down Zum Taugwald by rope. Three years later, on 22 August 1851, Johann Zumtaugwald returned, with Peter Taugwalder and Peter Inderbinen and the Swiss botanist brothers Adolf and Hermann Schlagintweit to repeat this ascent. They did not dare to traverse to the western summit, which the Schlagintweits estimated to be 7 meters higher. In 1891, W.A.B. Coolidge analyzed these ascents and concluded that both parties had reached the 4,618 m Grenzgipfel instead, which is a mere 50 meters to the east of Ostspitze. He transferred the honor of first climbing the Ostgipfel to Ulrich Lauener from Lauterbrunnen and the brothers Christopher, Edmund and James G. Smyth from Great Yarmouth, who reached the Ostspitze on September 1, 1854 from the Silbersattel. Some sources have the Zumtaugwald brothers also among this party. Zumtaugwald brothers returned twice more to the East summit, Johann and Matthias 10 days later (11 Sep 1854) with Edward Shirley Kennedy and Benedict Leir, and Matthias and Stephan later again with Edward Levi Ames. On these five occasions they never tried the difficult traverse to the western summit, also because the summits were both mapped as 4,638 m high at the time. Partially with the technical difficulty (UIAA III) of the route from Silbersattel in mind, many consider the Madutz and Zumtaugwald ascent in 1849 the true first ascent of Monta Rosa.</p><br>
<p>The first ascent of the western summit finally took place on August 1, 1855, by the above guides Matthias and Johann zum Taugwald and Ulrich Lauener and two of the Smyth brothers (James Greenville and Christopher). They were joined by the English gentlemen John Birkbeck, Charles Hudson and Edward Stephenson. Deeming the approach from the east summit unfeasible, the guides devised a route over the junction of the Monte Rosa and Grenz glaciers and over the west ridge directly to the west summit. Not two weeks later, on 13 August 1855, Johann and his brother Peter zum Taugwald guided eight more people, including Johann Jakob Weilenmann, to the summit over the same route. The west ridge route immediately became very popular and is still the normal route to the Dufourspitze.</p><br>
<p>The Irish physicist John Tyndall was guided to the summit in a group led by Ulrich Lauener in August 1858, but returned the next day (or week?) to make the first solo ascent of Dufourspitze on 17 August 1858, which he described in his account, Glaciers of the Alps.</p><br>
<p>After encountering a party of climbers guided by Lauener, Tyndall reached alone the summit:</p><br>
<p>Among mountain guides, the eastern wall had the reputation of being unconquerable. Ferdinand Imseng was convinced that the long snow couloir in the middle of the face could be ascended. He succeeded in convincing other climbers and, on 22 July 1872, Richard Pendlebury, William and Charles Taylor, Ferdinand Imseng, Gabriel Spechtenhauser and Giovanni Oberto began the ascent from Macugnaga. They were aware of the objective dangers of the wall but they decided to go as high as possible, without compromising their lives. After a bivouac on the actual Marinelli hut emplacement, they headed towards the Grenzsattel. Suddenly, when they arrived near the Grenzsattel, an avalanche started and rivers of snow began to flow everywhere around the climbers. They were able to reach the safe rocks of the Grenzgipfel just in time to save their lives. They finally reached the summit and descended to Riffelalp on the other side, concluding an 18-hour journey.</p><br>
<p>This ascent made Ferdinand Imseng a famous mountain guide. He lost his life in 1881 on the east wall during the third ascent with Damiano Marinelli and guide Battista Pedranzini. On 8 August, they were caught by an avalanche and brought 1,200 metres down. The accident was reported by a porter who survived. The couloir was then named Canalone Marinelli.</p><br>
<h3>Other ascents</h3><br>
<p>In 1889 Achille Ratti, who became later Pope Pius XI, made the first traverse from Macugnaga to Zermatt by the Zumsteinjoch. After climbing the Dufourspitze, he spent the night on the summit with his companions.</p><br>
<p>Visiting Zermatt in 1894, the young Winston Churchill insisted on an ascent of Monte Rosa rather than of the Matterhorn, not only because of its superior height but also because the guides&#39; fee was substantially less.</p><br>
<p>More recently, on August 1 (which happens to be the Swiss National Day), 2005, the Swiss Minister of Treasure Joseph Deiss climbed the Dufourspitze. The expedition marked the 150th anniversary of the first ascent.</p><br>
<h2>Huts and climbing routes</h2><br>
<p>The Monte Rosa Hut (2,883 m) is the only mountain hut in the massif owned by the Swiss Alpine Club. It is situated on the Plattje, a rocky island between the Gorner and Grenz glaciers. It is accessible from Rotenboden, a station on the Gornergratbahn line. The hut was inaugurated in 1894 and rebuilt in 1940. In 2009, a new high technology mountain hut was inaugurated. The five-story crystal-shaped building is designed to obtain 90 per cent of its power needs from the sun and will be used as a research station.</p><br>
<p>The other huts are owned by the Italian Alpine Club, among them the Regina Margherita Hut located at 4,559 metres on the Signalkuppe. Inaugurated in 1893 and replaced in 1979, it is still the highest construction in Europe, which include a laboratory and observatory.</p><br>
<p>Other huts owned by the Italian Alpine Club are the Marinelli Hut (3,036 m), used for the ascent of the east face, and the Bivacco Città di Gallarate (3,960 m), located near the summit of the Jägerhorn.</p><br>
<h3>Normal route</h3><br>
<p>The normal route to the summit start from the Monte Rosa Hut. The normal route is mainly a glacier itinerary on the west slopes of Monte Rosa (Monte Rosa Glacier), with the final rocky west ridge to the summit. Although the itinerary itself is not difficult, it requires physical endurance and a good acclimatization.</p><br>
<h3>Marinelli couloir</h3><br>
<p>The route starts from the Marinelli Hut and follows the steep Marinelli couloir on the east face. It is a long and dangerous route and has to be ascended very early in the morning on cold days in order to decrease the risk of avalanches.</p><br>
<h2>Timeline</h2><br>
<p>First ascent in 1855 (normal route).</p><br>
<p>First ascent by a woman - Lucy Walker July 15, 1862 with Frank Walker and guide Melchior Anderegg</p><br>
<p>First ascent on the eastern wall, via the Marinelli Couloir in 1872 (July 22) by Taylor, Pendlebury and Ferdinand Imseng (guide)</p><br>
<p>First ascent via the southern spur (Cresta Rey) by Eustace Hulton with guides Joseph Moser and Peter Rubi on 20 August 1874.</p><br>
<p>First ascent via the southeast ridge (today route from Margherita hut) by F. P. Barlow, G. W. Prothero with guides Antonio Carrel and Peter Taugwalder on 31 August 1874.</p><br>
<p>First winter ascent via the southern spur (Cresta Rey) by Vittorio Sella with guides Daniel Maquignaz and Joseph Maquignaz on 26 January 1884.</p><br>
<p>First winter ascent via the southeast ridge by Mario Piacenza, A. Curta, A. Lazier, O. Lazier on 18 January 1907.</p><br>
<p>First solo ascent of the east face by Angelo Taveggia in 1924.</p><br>
<p>First winter ascent of the east face in 1965 (February 5–6) by mountain guides Luciano Bettineschi, Felice Jacchini, Michele Pala and Lino Pironi.</p><br>
<p>In June 1969, the extreme skier Sylvain Saudan descended the entire Marinelli Couloir on the east face.</p><br>
<p>First solo winter ascent via the east face on February 4, 1991, by Walter Bernardi. Injured, he was rescued by helicopter on the descent near the Grenzsattel.</p><br>
<h2>Panorama</h2><br>
<p>Oeno Island or Holiday Island is a coral atoll in the South Pacific Ocean, part of the Pitcairn Islands overseas territory.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>Located 143 km northwest of Pitcairn Island, at 23&deg;55&prime;26&Prime;S latitude, 130&deg;44&prime;03&Prime;W longitude. Oeno Atoll measures about 5 km in diameter, including the central lagoon, with a total area exceeding 20 km&sup2;. There are two larger and three smaller islets on or within the rim of the atoll. Their aggregate land area is only 0.69 km&sup2;. Oeno Island serves as a private holiday site for the few residents of Pitcairn Island, who travel there and stay for two weeks in January.</p><br>
<p>The main island (Oeno), about 0.5 km&sup2; in area, has forest and scrub with pandanus and palm trees. It is located in the southwest part of the atoll&#39;s lagoon. There is a water tap installed on the island. The maximum elevation is less than 5 m. Sandy Island (or Islands) is to the northeast and may be an ephemeral island. Three smaller islets are to the south and west of the main island.</p><br>
<p>Oeno is the only land from which the total Solar eclipse of July 2, 2019 will be visible outside South America.</p><br>
<h3>Important Bird Area</h3><br>
<p>The island has been identified by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area (IBA) principally for its colony of Murphy&#39;s petrels, which, at some 12,500 pairs, is estimated to be the second largest colony of these birds in the world.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Chichagof Island, or Shee Kaax, is an island in the Alexander Archipelago of the Alaska Panhandle. At 75 mi long and 50 mi wide, it has a land area of 2,048.61 square miles, making it the fifth largest island in the United States and the 109th largest island in the world. Its coastline measures 742 miles. There was a 2000 census population of 1,342 persons. It is one of the ABC islands of Alaska.</p><br>
<p>Chichagof Island has the highest population of bears per square mile of any place on Earth.</p><br>
<p>Chichagof Island is directly north of Baranof Island, with Peril Strait separating the two islands. It is bounded by Chatham Strait to the east, Icy Strait to the northeast, Cross Sound to the northwest, and the Gulf of Alaska to the west.</p><br>
<p>The communities of Hoonah, Pelican, Tenakee Springs, and Elfin Cove are all located on the northern half of Chichagof Island, in the Hoonah-Angoon Census Area. The southern half of the island comprises the northern part of the City and Borough of Sitka. Only eight persons were counted in this portion of Sitka at the 2000 census. The primary economic sources for all these communities come from either Chichagof Island or the waters and fjords surrounding it. Commercial Fishing, guided hunting trips, charter fishing and logging are all vital economic facets of the local economies.</p><br>
<p>This island is named after Admiral Vasili Chichagov, a Russian Arctic explorer who never visited Alaska. The entire island lies within the limits of Tongass National Forest. The western coastal portion has been officially designated as the West Chichagof-Yakobi Wilderness.</p><br>
<p>The Mahakam River is a river in Kalimantan, Indonesia. It flows 980 km from the district of Long Apari in the highlands of Borneo, to its mouth at the Makassar Strait.</p><br>
<p>The city of Samarinda, the provincial capital of East Kalimantan, lies along the river 48 km (30 mi) from the river mouth.</p><br>
<p>The delta Mahakam river consist of specific micro climate which is influenced by high and low tide at sea level.</p><br>
<h2>Summary</h2><br>
<p>The Mahakam River is the largest river in East Kalimantan, Indonesia, with a catchment area of approximately 77,100 km. The catchment lies between 2˚N to 1˚S latitude and 113˚E to 118˚E longitude. The river originates in Cemaru from where it flows south-eastwards, meeting the River Kedang Pahu at the city of Muara Pahu. From there, the river flows eastward through the Mahakam lakes region, which is a flat tropical lowland area surrounded by peat land. Thirty shallow lakes are situated in this area, which are connected to the Mahakam through small channels. Downstream of the connection with the Semayang and Melintang lakes, the Mahakam meets three other main tributaries - the rivers Belayan, Kedang Kepala, and Kedang Rantau - and flows south-eastwards through the Mahakam delta distributaries, to the Makassar Strait.</p><br>
<h2>Geology</h2><br>
<p>Kalimantan, where the Mahakam lies, is part of the Sunda Continental Plate. The large island has mountain ranges between Indonesia and Malaysia. As described by van Bemmelen (1949), River Mahakam rises in Cemaru (1,681 m) in the centre of Kalimantan, from there it cuts through the pre-tertiary axis of the island east of the Batuayan (1,652 m) and then reaches the tertiary basin of Kutai. Its middle course traverses a lowland plain with many marshy lakes. This intermontane depression is separated from the neighboring basin, the Barito depression, by a broad hilly tract of less than 500 m altitude. After this region, the Mahakam cuts through the Samarinda anticlinorium and reaches its alluvial delta, which spreads like a broad fan over the shelf-sea, with a base of 65 km and a radius of about 30 km.</p><br>
<p>Upstream of Long Iram (upstream part of Mahakam river basin) the river is flowing in tertiary rocks (Voss, 1983). Between Long Iram and Muara Kaman (middle Mahakam area) the river is flowing in quaternary alluvium, while in the downstream area between Muara Kaman and the coast including the Mahakam delta, tertiary rocks are again present. The presence of the large delta is explained by the formation and rejuvenation of the hilly region near Samarinda.</p><br>
<h2>Climate</h2><br>
<p>The Mahakam catchment is around the equator. According to Köppen climate classification, this area belongs to type Af (tropical rainforest) that has a minimum temperature ≥18 °C and precipitation of the driest month in normal year ≥60 mm Transfer of mass and energy in the tropical zone occurred through general air circulation known as the Hadley cell. According to Seidel et al. (2008) the precipitation pattern in this area is largely determined by this large-scale atmospheric wind patterns, which is observable in several ways throughout the atmosphere. This circulation carries moisture into the air, generating rainfall in equatorial regions, whereas at the edges of the tropical belt are drier. Within this circulation, evaporation occurs intensively around the equator on the centre of low pressure called the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), characterized by accumulation of cloud in the area. The ITCZ moves following the pseudo-motion of the sun within 23.5°N and 23.5°S zone, therefore its position always changes according to this motion.</p><br>
<p>The ITCZ drives the Indo-Australian monsoon phenomena which influence the regional climate including the Mahakam catchment. In December, January, February (winter in northern hemisphere) the concentration of high pressure in Asia and low pressure in Australia make the west wind blows in Indonesia (west monsoon). In June, July, August concentration of low pressure in Asia (summer in northern hemisphere) and concentration of high pressure in Australia make the east wind blows in Indonesia (east monsoon). Due to the global air circulation and the regional climate mentioned above, the Mahakam catchment which is located around the equator has a bimodal rainfall pattern with two peaks of rainfall, which are generally occurred in December and May. This is because the ITCZ passed through the equator twice a year, from the northern hemisphere in September and from the southern hemisphere in March.</p><br>
<h2>Lakes</h2><br>
<p>There are about 76 lakes spread in the Mahakam river basin and about 30 lakes are located in the middle Mahakam area including the three main lakes (Lake Jempang 15,000 Ha; Lake Semayang 13,000 Ha; Lake Melintang 11,000 Ha). The lakes levels are seasonally fluctuated from 0.5 m – 1 m during dry period to seven meters during rainy season. The Mahakam lakes and surrounding wetlands act as water storage as well as a trap of sediment contained in the water flowing into the lakes which are now known to become shallower, presumably as a result of an imbalance between sediment input and slow subsidence.</p><br>
<p>Fishing is the primary source of livelihood in the Mahakam lakes area, most of the people around the lakes are fishermen. The middle Mahakam lake area is an area of intensive fishing activity with a productivity of 25,000 to 35,000 metric tons per year since 1970.</p><br>
<h2>Delta</h2><br>
<p>The Mahakam delta is a mixed fluvial-tidal dominated delta. The delta covers about 1800 km, consisting of mangrove areas near the shore, Nypa swamps in the central areas, and lowland forest near the apex, corresponding to the first bifurcation, however, recent fishery development in this area has converted a vast area of mangrove into shrimp ponds (tambak). The delta has three main distributaries system directed Northeast, Southeast and South. The area between distributaries consists of a series of tidal channels generally unconnected to the main distributaries. The distributary channels are narrow and rectilinear with the depth ranging from 8 to 15 m and distributary channel bifurcations appear every 10 to 15 km.</p><br>
<p>This lower Mahakam area is the second most productive hydrocarbon basin of Indonesia which contains around 3 billion barrels of oil and 30 Tcf of gas reserves. Field geological investigations in this area was started in 1888 and in 1897 exploration drilling discovered oil at shallow depth of 46 m on the Louise structure. Production started in 1898 followed by expansion of exploration to the entire Mahakam.</p><br>
<h2>Ecology</h2><br>
<p>Mahakam and its floodplain is an ecologically important region. A total of 147 indigenous freshwater fish species had been identified from the Mahakam. The Mahakam hosts the freshwater dolphin Irrawaddy Dolphin (Orcaella brevirostris; called Pesut by local people) a critically endangered species, which is included on CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) Appendix I. The Mahakam river basin is also an important breeding and resting place for 298 bird species, among them 70 protected and five endemic species: Borneo Dusky Mannikin (Lonchura fuscans), Borneo Whistler (Pachycephala hypoxantha), Bornean Peacock-pheasant (Polyplectron schleiermacheri), Bornean Blue-flycatcher (Cyornis superbus) and Bornean Bristlehead (Pityriasis gymnocephala).</p><br>
<p>A research cluster (): "Upsetting the balance in the Mahakam Delta: past, present and future impacts of sea-level rise, climate change, upstream controls and human intervention on sediment and mangrove dynamics" extensively carry out research on the Mahakam. The cluster&#39;s objective is to study the impact of external forcing factors such as sea-level rise, climate change, upstream sediment, as well as human interference on past, present and future development of the Mahakam delta in different time scales.</p><br>
<h3>Pollution</h3><br>
<p>Logging and mining activities have contributed to the "alarming rate" of pollution of East Kalimantan’s Mahakam River. Tests of water pollutants showed levels increased sharply between 2009 and 2011. Despite the growing pollution, it is claimed that "the water is basically still safe for consumption."</p><br>
<p>Unsafe concentrations of heavy metals have been observed in Mahakam fish. A 2015 study found lead concentrations in excess of 1000 times safe levels along with unsafe levels of copper, zinc, and cadmium.</p><br>
<h2>Bridges</h2><br>
<p>Bridges include the 400 m Mahakam Bridge and the 710 m Kutai Kartanegara Bridge. The latter collapsed on 2011-11-26, it took 3 years of planning and one and half years more to rebuild new bridge on the same spot. The new Kutai Kertanegara Bridge now open for public since 2015-12-08 after opening ceremony held by local regent.</p><br>
<h2>Social aspect</h2><br>
<p>The River Mahakam is an economic resource for fishermen and farmers, and as freshwater source, as a waterway since ancient time until today. It is in this river basin where the Kutai kingdom evolved. The Kutai history is divided into two periods, Kutai Martadipura (around 350-400) and Kutai Kartanegara period (around 1300). Kutai Martadipura, a Hindu kingdom founded by Mulawarman at Muara Kaman, is regarded as the oldest kingdom in Indonesia. Kutai Kartanegara was founded by settlers from Java at Kutai Lama near the mouth of Mahakam. In around 1565, Islam was extensively spread in Kartanegara by two Moslem preachers from Java, Tunggang Parangan and Ri Bandang.</p><br>
<p>The Dayaks are the indigenous people inhabiting Kalimantan beside the Kutais and the Banjars. Since the 1970s transmigration of people to East Kalimantan was organised by the Indonesian government especially in areas near River Mahakam. Transmigration aims to migrate people from overpopulated Java, Bali, and Madura islands to stimulate greater agricultural productivity in outer islands. By 1973, almost 26% of the land under cultivation in East Kalimantan was being worked by transmigrants.</p><br>
<p>Monument Avenue is an avenue in Richmond, Virginia with a tree-lined grassy mall dividing the east- and westbound traffic and is punctuated by statues memorializing Virginian Confederate participants of the American Civil War, including Robert E. Lee, J.E.B. Stuart, Jefferson Davis, Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, and Matthew Fontaine Maury. There is also a monument to Arthur Ashe, a Richmond native and international tennis star who was African-American. The first monument, a statue of Robert E. Lee, was erected in 1890. Between 1900 and 1925, Monument Avenue greatly expanded with architecturally significant houses, churches and apartment buildings.</p><br>
<p>Monument Avenue is the site of several annual events, particularly in the spring, including an annual Monument Avenue 10K race. At various times (such as Robert E. Lee&#39;s birthday and Confederate History Month) the Sons of Confederate Veterans gather along Monument Avenue in period military costumes. Monument Avenue is also the site of "Easter on Parade," another spring tradition during which many Richmonders stroll the avenue wearing Easter bonnets and other finery.</p><br>
<p>"Monument Avenue Historic District" includes the part of Monument Avenue begins at the termination of West Franklin Street at Stuart Circle in the east extending westward for some fourteen blocks to Roseneath Avenue in the west, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a National Historic Landmark District. In 2007, the American Planning Association named Monument Avenue one of the 10 Great Streets in the country. The APA said Monument Avenue was selected for its historic architecture, urban form, quality residential and religious architecture, diversity of land uses, public art and integration of multiple modes of transportation.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Monument Avenue was conceived during a site search for a memorial statue of General Robert E. Lee after Lee&#39;s death in 1870. Richmond citizens had been wanting to erect statues for three Virginians who had helped defend the city (two of whom were killed in the defense). City plans as early as 1887 show the proposed site, a circle of land, just past the end of West Franklin Street, a premier downtown residential avenue. The land was owned by a wealthy Richmonder, Otway C. Allen. The plan for the statue included building a grand avenue extending west lined with trees along a central grassy median. The plan shows building plots which Allen intended to sell to developers and those wishing to build houses on the new grand avenue.</p><br>
<p>On May 29, 1890, crowds were estimated at 100,000 to view the unveiling of the first monument, to Robert E. Lee.</p><br>
<p>It would take about 10 years for wealthy Richmonders and speculative developers to start buying the lots and building houses along the avenue, but in the years between 1900 and 1925 Monument Avenue exploded with architecturally significant houses, churches and apartment buildings. The architects who built on Monument Avenue practiced in the region and nationally, and included the firms of John Russell Pope, William Bottomley, Duncan Lee, Marcellus Wright, Claude Howell, Henry Baskervill, D. Wiley Anderson and Albert Huntt. Speculative builders such as W. J. Payne, Harvey C. Brown and the Davis Brothers bought lots and built many houses to sell to those not designing with an architect.</p><br>
<p>The street was originally, and continues to be, a favored living area for Richmond&#39;s upper class. It (especially the Fan District section) is lined with enormous mansions from the end of the gilded age. The Museum District part of Monument Avenue includes a combination of such houses (especially in the 3100 block), apartment buildings and smaller single-family houses. West of Interstate 195, Monument Avenue becomes a more commonplace suburban avenue.</p><br>
<p>Through the decades the avenue has had its ups and downs. As early as 1910, but mostly during the 1950s and &#39;60s, many of the large houses were subdivided into apartments, or interior rooms and carriage houses were let to boarders. A few houses were demolished to make way for parking lots or building expansions, and several modern additions were tucked between earlier existing buildings. But protections put in place by the city by designating Monument Avenue as an Old and Historic Neighborhood have helped maintain the integrity of the neighborhood. In 1969 a group was incorporated called The Residents and Associates for the Preservation of Monument Avenue, led by Zayde Rennolds Dotts (Mrs. Walter Dotts, Jr.), granddaughter of Beulah and John Kerr Branch, who had commissioned a house on Monument Avenue in 1914 by the firm of John Russell Pope. In 1970 the group changed its name to the Monument Avenue Preservation Society (MAPS).</p><br>
<p>From 1981 to 1988, just over 1 mi of Monument Avenue between Malvern Avenue (VA 197) and the Boulevard (VA 161) was officially designated State Route 418 but this was not posted on the route itself.</p><br>
<p>In August 2017, following violence linked to far right white supremacist groups in Charlottesville, VA, Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney announced that the city&#39;s Monument Avenue commission would include potential removal of the confederate statues as an option for dealing with the issues raised by statues glorifying the legacy of the south.</p><br>
<h2>Monuments</h2><br>
<p>Robert E. Lee Monument – equestrian sculpture by Antonin Mercié; unveiled May 29, 1890</p><br>
<p>J.E.B. Stuart – equestrian sculpture by Frederick Moynihan; unveiled May 30, 1907</p><br>
<p>Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of America – sculpted by Edward Valentine; unveiled June 3, 1907</p><br>
<p>Stonewall Jackson – equestrian sculpture by Frederick William Sievers; unveiled October 11, 1919</p><br>
<p>Matthew Fontaine Maury, oceanographer – sculpted by Frederick William Sievers; unveiled November 11, 1929</p><br>
<p>Arthur Ashe, tennis player – sculpted by Paul DiPasquale; unveiled July 10, 1996</p><br>
<h3>J.E.B. Stuart</h3><br>
<p>Starting from the east the first from downtown is traffic circle known as Stuart Circle after the termination of West Franklin Street and the beginning of Monument Avenue and cross street of Lombardy. In Stuart Circle is the J.E.B. Stuart Monument, an equestrian bronze statue sitting atop a granite base. The statue which was sculpted by Fred Moynihan of New York was the second monument unveiled on Monument Ave in 1907 and was inspired of the British General Outram sculpture in Calcutta. Stuart is turned in the saddle facing east while the horse faces north. The horses stance has been viewed as being awkward by many Virginians.</p><br>
<p>Plans for the sculpture was first discussed publicly as early as 1875, however the competition was not done held until 1903. Fitzhugh Lee again chaired the selection committee, as he had for the Lee Monument. The site location was chosen in 1904 as Stuart was one of the two whom died helping to defend the city that citizens had been wanting to memorialize in a house nearby. At the same time plans for the third Davis Monument was being planned further west at Monument Ave and Cedar Street. The dual unveiling drew large crowds even larger than the Lee unveiling. Crowds were estimated between 80,000 - 200,000 which included 18,000 veteran attendees who camped out for the week.</p><br>
<h3>Robert E. Lee Monument</h3><br>
<p>One block west of Stuart Circle is the big traffic circle of Lee Circle. The Robert E. Lee Monument was the first and is the largest of the street&#39;s monuments.</p><br>
<h3>Jefferson Davis Memorial</h3><br>
<p>Four blocks to the west of Lee Circle is a tall central column surrounded by a Doric colonnade of the impressive Davis Memorial unveiled in 1907. The United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) had been appealing to include a Jefferson Davis memorial and in 1904 the first addition to the plan was made. UDC chose the site as it had been the former location of Star Fort, the innermost westward protection for Richmond. The defenses is also marked by a cannon just to the east of Davis Memorial.</p><br>
<h3>Stonewall Jackson Monument</h3><br>
<p>Three blocks west of Davis Memorial is the equestrian statue of Stonewall Jackson located at corner of Monument Ave and Boulevard.</p><br>
<h3>Matthew Fontaine Maury Monument</h3><br>
<p>The "Pathfinder of the Seas" monument of Matthew Fontaine Maury is located on Monument Avenue at Belmont Avenue, closest to the Arthur Ashe monument. The Maury monument is not a Confederate war monument per se, demonstrating little indication of his role in the Confederate war, which included serving as chief of sea coast, river and harbor defenses and acquiring ships and supplies for the Confederacy through his work in the Confederate Secret Service in Europe, mainly in Ireland, France and England. When the Sons of Confederate Veterans celebrate Confederate History Month or Lee-Jackson Day by parading in period military costumes from east to west on Monument Avenue, they make a turn before they get to the Maury monument, a further indication that Commander Maury&#39;s monument is not a Civil War monument. Most of the Confederate veterans were gone when Monument Avenue turned to the sciences with the 1929 statue to Maury.</p><br>
<p>In 1915 the Matthew Fontaine Maury Association was founded with the purpose of erecting a monument to Maury though serious fundraising did not happen until after the end of the First World War. Eventually the United Daughters of the Confederacy joined in the fundraising, the State Virginia and the City of Richmond each donated $1,000, and even President Wilson, a native Virginian, joined the Association.</p><br>
<p>The committee selected Richmond sculptor Frederick William Sievers, the author of many Lost Cause memorials, to produce the work and he created the "most allegorical of Richmond’s monuments.” The monument was unveiled as part of an Armistice Day celebration on November 11, 1929.</p><br>
<p>The figure of Maury faces eastward, toward the Atlantic Ocean that the "Pathfinder of the Seas" charted. He holds in his left hand a pencil and compass and in his right hand a copy of his charts. Beside his left foot is his book, Physical Geography of the Sea, as well as a Bible, indicating the central role that faith played in Maurys life. A globe of the Earth is tilted slightly on its axis behind his head. It represents both land and sea, and the woman standing calmly is a representation of Mother Nature between the land and sea. Around the base of the globe are depictions of people clinging to a sinking boat in bad weather representing the dangers of the sea with a woman in the center, and on the right (north) side of the globe there is a farmer, boy and a dog representing Maurys work promoting land weather service, which dates back further than 1853. Maury attended the International Meteorological Organization in Brussels, Belgium on August 23, 1853, where Maury, leading the way for this conference with his ideas of land and sea weather predictions and representing the United States, promoted his ideas of safety on both land and at sea to many nations which agreed to follow his ideas. Every maritime nation had its ships reporting to Maury at the National (later Naval) Observatory in Washington D.C. These elements represent Maurys work with atmospheric science, to the benefit of all mankind and their enterprises on land and on the sea. Weather warnings and reports had been dreams of Maury during his lifetime up until when he died and he was successful in his work. He thought of the ships at sea as "a thousand temples of science for all of humanity" and believed these brought men and nations closer together in a common self-protection against storms and deaths. There are fish, dolphins, jellyfish and birds around the monuments perimeter.</p><br>
<h3>Arthur Ashe Monument</h3><br>
<p>The decision to place the statue of Arthur Ashe by Paul DiPasquale on Monument Avenue was controversial. Detractors pointed to a lack of correlation between the Richmond native tennis star and Confederate leaders. Some residents thought the monument should be placed at the Arthur Ashe Athletic Center instead. The monument became a focal point of racial tensions in the city around the times of its commission and its unveiling. Many of the citys majority African American residents cited Ashes distinguished place in the modern history of the city as a reason for inclusion, while some residents and other parties rejected it as inappropriate for Monument Avenue, which until 1996 contained only statues of men with a relationship to the Confederate States of America.</p><br>
<p>The controversy over the statue may have also been driven by design and placement choices. Ashes statue is much smaller than those of most of the Confederate leaders and is the farthest from downtown Richmond, situated just outside the citys Fan district.</p><br>
<p>Mount Arayat is a non volcanic "mountain" on Luzon Island, Philippines, rising to a height of 1,030 m, its last activity probably dates to the Holocene epoch.</p><br>
<p>The mountain is located in a flat agricultural region at 15&deg;12&prime;N latitude, 120&deg;45&prime;E longitude. The southern half of the mountain lies within the municipality of Arayat, Pampanga, while the north half and the mountain summit lies within Magalang. Ten miles to the west of Mount Arayat is Angeles City and the former Clark Air Base. Mount Pinatubo is located a further 26 km west. The Volcano is a popular Tourist destination for people visiting the central plains. About 10 km to the north west is the "Angeles City flying club" that offers pilots education and sightseeing flights to Mount Arayat with ultralight airplanes. The territory is called "Woodland Air Park" in Magalang.</p><br>
<p>The mountain is considered a mystical one, the legendary home of Aung/Aring Sinukuan/Sinkuan/Suku or the Fairy known as diwata Mariang Sinukuan depending on which version of the story the readers or listeners prefer, but in ancient Kapampangan folklore as well as the research known to have been gathered by Kapampangan students of Henry Otley Beyer, it was and is the abode of Apung/Aring Sinukuan, rival of Namalyari of Mount Pinatubo, who is in varying versions, the son of Cargon-Cargon who was mortally wounded in a fight with a giant from the Zambales Mountain Range which is said to be the home of Apu Namalyari.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>Mount Arayat stands in the middle of the flat Central Luzon Plain, consisting of rice paddies and a typical elevation of about 15 to 35 metres MSL. The mountain is topped by a circular volcanic crater about 1.2 km in diameter, much of which has collapsed on the western and part of the northern rim due to erosion. This has resulted in a breached crater which opens in a west-northwest direction. This area is the apparent source of a major debris-avalanche deposit that forms hummocky terrain beyond the west and northwest sides of the volcano. The 1026-metre summit stands on the northeast side of the breached crater, known as North Peak, while the 984-metre Pinnacle Peak is located on the southeast crater rim. Post-collapse activity formed an andesitic dome known as White Rock in the collapse amphitheater.</p><br>
<h2>Eruptions</h2><br>
<p>There are no cultural records of historical eruptions. However, weak steaming is currently present in some of the heavily eroded vents on the North Western side of the summit. The ancient eruptions were said to have caused the formation of a Lava Dome on the Western Slopes of the mountain known as White Rock which makes a nice tourist destination and is usually a field trip destination for students of Pampanga State Agricultural University. The Arayat amphitheatre is said to have been caused by the summit&#39;s collapse on the western side but a much deeper crater is present on the eastern side, it was said that the mountain was once a volcanic island, until eruptions covered the surrounding area with soil, eruptions were said to be the possible cause of a theorized re-route of Pampanga River which is said to have once passed on the western side rather than eastern side where it currently moves.</p><br>
<h2>Geology</h2><br>
<p>Rock types are basalt and andesite. The only rocks reported to have been dated are 0.53 and 0.65 million-year-old basalts. These predate the crater collapse and formation of the lava dome known as White Rock, which could have occurred in the last 2000 years.</p><br>
<p>The mountain which is believed to be several peaks merged at the top by some local people is actually a Single-Cone Stratovolcano.</p><br>
<h2>Hiking activity</h2><br>
<p>Two trails lead to the peaks of Mount Arayat. Mount Arayat National Park Located at San Juan Baño in Arayat, Pampanga has a trail to the southern Peak, taking around 3–4 hours to reach the peak. The Southern Peak offers views of Central Luzon, including a view of Pampanga River. The collapsed western Slope that forms the other half of its caldera-like crater can also be seen. It offers a view of the mountains of Zambales and Bataan (to the west), and the mountains of the Sierra Madre range (to the east). The northern or higher Peak can be accessed on a route from Pampanga Agricultural College in Magalang, Pampanga, taking a similar time to reach the peak, however, this route takes you through the Arayat Amphitheatre and the so-called White Rock which legend claims to be the Home of Apung/Aring Sinukuan or Sinukuan.</p><br>
<h3>Arayat in Folklore</h3><br>
<p>The Mountain is said to be the home of the god/sorcerer named Sinukuan/Sinukwan or Sucu, which could mean "The end" or "he who others have surrendered to." The mountain was said to have been located in the swamp to its south but relocated because of the evil ways of those who lived there, in addition to which, the people of the swamp were made to suffer numerous misfortunes. Sinukuan is believed to be able to transform and do as he pleases at will, his only real rival being Namalyari of Mount Pinatubo. The waterfalls at Ayala in Magalang, Pampanga is said to be his bathing quarters, and it is often visited by tourists and natives alike. Sinukuan is said to live at the White rock, a Lava dome possibly formed by the last eruption, where its glimmering properties were most likely to have inspired the legend. Contrary to reality, the mountain is believed to be several mountains merging at the center including the tallest two peaks.</p><br>
<p>In other legends, Sinukuan is said to have bested Makiling of southern Luzon almost effortlessly unlike his arch rival Namalyari.</p><br>
<p>Sinukuan is believed to have daughters who come down only during time of grace and are disguised as humans, Sinukuan himself can be disguised as human. The day he comes back is believed to either be when he responds to the attack of Namalyari on Mount Pinatubo&#39;s 1991 eruption or when the time to call his servants upon the end of the world has come.</p><br>
<p>Mount Arayat Relief Map, SRTM-1.jpgRelief Map</p><br>
<h2>Listings</h2><br>
<p>Fumarole activity is reported on the NW side of the summit.</p><br>
<p>The Global Volcanism Program lists Mount Arayat as Holocene?</p><br>
<p>Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS), list Mount Arayat as Inactive.</p><br>
<p>Les Cheneaux Islands  are a group of 36 small islands, some inhabited, along 12 miles of Lake Huron shoreline on the southeastern tip of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in the United States. The name is French for "the Channels", noting the many channels between the islands in the group. They are about 30 miles northeast of Mackinac Island and about 35 miles south of Sault Ste. Marie. The islands are a popular resort and boating and kayaking area. The nearby communities of Hessel and Cedarville on the mainland offer marinas, camping, lodging, restaurants, and shopping. The Les Chenaux Islands Antique Boat Show & Festival of the Arts has been held on the second Saturday of each August since 1976 in Hessel. It is the world&#39;s largest antique wooden boat show.</p><br>
<h2>Overview of Area</h2><br>
<p>The named islands include:</p><br>
<p>Alligator Island</p><br>
<p>Bear Island</p><br>
<p>Birch Island</p><br>
<p>Boot Island</p><br>
<p>Burnham Island</p><br>
<p>Coryell Island</p><br>
<p>Cove Island</p><br>
<p>Crow Island</p><br>
<p>Dollar Island</p><br>
<p>Echo Island</p><br>
<p>Eagle Island</p><br>
<p>Goat Island</p><br>
<p>Goose Island</p><br>
<p>Government Island, federally owned, administered through Hiawatha National Forest, primitive campground</p><br>
<p>Gravelly Island</p><br>
<p>Haven Island</p><br>
<p>Hill Island, connected by causeway and bridge with the mainland</p><br>
<p>Holsinger Island</p><br>
<p>Island No. 8, connected by bridge with the mainland via Hill Island</p><br>
<p>La Salle Island</p><br>
<p>Little Island (Also known as "Skunk Island" to locals)</p><br>
<p>Little Joe&#39;s Island (Also known as White Loon Island)</p><br>
<p>Little La Salle Island</p><br>
<p>Lone Susan Island</p><br>
<p>Long Island</p><br>
<p>Marquette Island, the largest of all 36 islands</p><br>
<p>Penny Island</p><br>
<p>Rodger Island</p><br>
<p>Rover Island</p><br>
<p>St. Ledger Island</p><br>
<p>Strongs Island</p><br>
<p>Winona Island</p><br>
<p>The island chain forms many bays, harbors, and inland lakes, including:</p><br>
<p>Bass Cove Lake</p><br>
<p>Bush Bay</p><br>
<p>Cedarville Bay</p><br>
<p>Duck Bay</p><br>
<p>Flower Bay</p><br>
<p>Government Bay</p><br>
<p>Mackinac Bay</p><br>
<p>Marquette Bay</p><br>
<p>McKay Bay</p><br>
<p>Melchers Bay</p><br>
<p>Mismer Bay</p><br>
<p>Muscallonge Bay</p><br>
<p>Peck Bay</p><br>
<p>Prentiss Bay</p><br>
<p>Sand Bay</p><br>
<p>Scammons Harbor</p><br>
<p>Sheppard Bay</p><br>
<p>Urie Bay</p><br>
<p>Voight Bay</p><br>
<p>Wilderness Bay</p><br>
<p>From Lake Huron, there are four major entrances to access the islands:</p><br>
<p>East Entrance (Between Boot Island and Strongs Island)</p><br>
<p>Middle Entrance (Between Marquette Island and Little La Salle Island)</p><br>
<p>West Entrance (between Point Brulee and Marquette Island, main entrance to Hessel)</p><br>
<p>The fourth entrance, though unnamed on official charts, is often known as "Yacht Entrance," named for the many yachts that access Government Bay for overnight anchorage.</p><br>
<h2>Les Cheneaux Ensign Class: Fleet 31</h2><br>
<p>The Les Cheneaux Islands are home to Fleet 31 of the Ensign Class. The fleet sails out of the Les Cheneaux Yacht Club located on Marquette Island. It is the largest fleet of ensigns worldwide, featuring 64 boats sailing as of summer 2008. Fleet 31 hosted the 2008 Ensign Class Region V Championships on July 10–12, 2008. Fleet 31 was selected by the Ensign Class Association to host the National Ensign Regatta in 2010.</p><br>
<p>Jays Grave  is supposedly the last resting place of a suicide victim who is thought to have died in the late 18th century. It has become a well-known landmark on Dartmoor, Devon, in South-West England, and is the subject of local folklore, and several ghost stories.</p><br>
<p>The small burial mound is at the side of a minor road, about 1 mile (1.6 km) north west of Hound Tor, at the entrance to a green lane that leads to Natsworthy. Fresh flowers are regularly placed on the grave, although no-one admits to putting them there.</p><br>
<h2>Folklore</h2><br>
<p>Since it was first set down in the late 19th century, the story attached to the grave has changed and has been greatly embellished.</p><br>
<h3>Early references</h3><br>
<p>An early newspaper account of the discovery of the grave appears on page 5 of the North Devon Journal for 23 January 1851, under "County Intelligence":</p><br>
<p>In 1876 Robert Dymond edited and published a book entitled "Things Old and New" Concerning the Parish of Widecombe-in-the-Moor and its Neighbourhood which contains the following:</p><br>
<p>In Volume 1 of the Western Antiquary, dated October 1881, one F. B. Doveton asked for further details of a grave that he had noted by the side of the road to Hey Tor. Doveton&#39;s guide had told him that it</p><br>
<p>In a reply to Doveton&#39;s enquiry that was published later the same month, P. F. S. Amery quoted the above passage from Dymond and added some extra information:</p><br>
<p>Twenty years later, in the first volume of Devon Notes and Queries (1900–01), W. H. Thornton, who identified himself as the rector of North Bovey, asked:</p><br>
<p>In reply to this enquiry P. F. S. Amery, who was by now one of the editors of Devon Notes and Queries, wrote:</p><br>
<p>In 1909, William Crossing, in his Guide to Dartmoor repeated Amery&#39;s report, though he named the suicide as "Kitty Jay, as she used to be spoken of", and amended the location of the incident to "Canna, a farm not far from the foot of East Down".</p><br>
<p>The Dartmoor author Beatrice Chase wrote about the legend in her 1914 novel The Heart of the Moor, and claimed in a prefixed publisher&#39;s note that the events it describes are true. In the novel she says:</p><br>
<p>Because there is no inscription on the grave she sets out to discover whose it might be. After asking several locals and searching maps and guidebooks without success, she eventually finds that "Granny Caunter" knows the story:</p><br>
<p>Patricia Milton, writing in 2006, points out that Chase was being disingenuous in her novel, because as early as 1905 the grave was being mentioned in guidebooks, and coach drivers were already pointing it out to tourists.</p><br>
<h3>Later versions</h3><br>
<p>By 1965 Jay&#39;s Grave had become a major Dartmoor attraction, with tourist coaches stopping there while the driver/guide related his own version of the story. The mysterious appearance of fresh flowers upon the grave was always mentioned.</p><br>
<p>Recent versions of the legend include embellishments such as the orphaned baby being taken into the Poor House in Newton Abbot or Wolborough where she was given the name Mary Jay. She now sometimes acquires the name Kitty after being sent to Canna Farm as a teenage apprentice. In one version of the tale she is raped by a local farmhand. In another version she finds romance with the farmers son. Either way she becomes pregnant which results in her being thrown out of the farm and left with a reputation as a slut&#39;. Such is her shame and despair that she hangs herself in a barn, or perhaps from the great kitchen fireplace lintel, or else she drowns herself in a shallow pool.See, for instance,</p><br>
<p>It is now said that the three local parishes of Widecombe-in-the-Moor, North Bovey and Manaton all refused to bury her body within consecrated ground, so she was buried at a crossroads, which was standard practice for suicide victims at the time. It is also often said that this crossroads is at the point where the three parishes met, though the Ordnance Survey map confirms that this is not the case.</p><br>
<h2>The grave</h2><br>
<p>There are always fresh flowers on the grave, the placement of which is the subject of local folklore - some claim they are placed there by pixies, but it is known that the author Beatrice Chase was one person who did this, before her death in 1955. By 2007 the placing of flowers had expanded into all sorts of votive offerings: coins, candles, shells, small crosses and toys, for instance.</p><br>
<p>Motorists, passing at night, claim to have glimpsed ghostly figures in their headlights, others report seeing a dark, hooded figure kneeling there.</p><br>
<h2>Notable uses of the story</h2><br>
<p>Jays Grave was the inspiration for John Galsworthys short story The Apple Tree, written in 1916. In the 1970s, knowledge of the legend prompted Martin Turner of British rock band Wishbone Ash to write the lyrics to a song called "Lady Jay" which appears on the bands 1974 album Theres the Rub. David Rudkin wrote an episode inspired by the tale entitled The Living Grave for the BBC 2 TV anthology series Leap in the Dark, broadcast in 1980. It also inspired Seth Lakeman to write his 2004 song and album, both called Kitty Jay.</p><br>
<p>The First Christian Church  in Columbus, Indiana, was built in 1942. It was the first contemporary building in Columbus and one of the first churches in the United States to be built in a contemporary architectural style.</p><br>
<p>The building, designed by Finnish architect Eliel Saarinen, consists of a glass-fronted main hall, with a tower and bridge section. Interior details such as light fixtures, screen and furniture were designed by Saarinen&#39;s son Eero Saarinen (who would later design the North Christian Church in Columbus) and Charles Eames.</p><br>
<p>The building was designated a National Historic Landmark by the National Park Service in 2001.</p><br>
<h2>Plans for a new church</h2><br>
<p>A larger church was needed to accommodate the growing needs of the congregation between World War I and World War II. Linnie I. Sweeney, the wife of Reverend Z. T. Sweeney, and her brother W. G. Irwin first discussed plans for a Gothic or Early American church, but her son and his nephew J. Irwin Miller, who had been following an architectural appreciation course at Yale University, proposed the idea for a Modern church instead. Designing and building the church became a two-generation family affair.</p><br>
<p>The family was introduced to Eliel Saarinen through the Reverend’s daughter Nettie Sweeney Miller, who became chairwoman of the building committee. Saarinen had only built one church before, in Lithuania, and was apprehensive about the project until he heard the proposal for the building:</p><br>
<p>Saarinen, the son of a Lutheran pastor, was thrilled by the idea and agreed to design the building. He disliked overly indulgent and theatrical churches and believed Gothic and Georgian style churches were overdone and no longer relevant.</p><br>
<h2>Design</h2><br>
<p>Rather than imitating a historic style with no personal relevance to Columbus, Saarinen chose to reflect the fundamentals of Christian faith in the church design, in an effort to unite the different denominations in the town. He believed Modern architecture was particularly appropriate for this form of Christianity – the church would be based on the fundamentals of religion and architecture and freed from traditional theology and style.</p><br>
<h3>Layout</h3><br>
<p>The church is divided into four major features: the East Wing, containing the church proper, the chapel, and the auditorium; the West wing, containing part of the Bible school; the connecting bridge between the East and West wings, containing the rest of the Bible school; and the tower. The building is divided this way to create a balanced mass that is lively, yet restful.</p><br>
<h3>Sunken Terrace</h3><br>
<p>The area between the East and West wings is set 8 feet below street level. The northern part of this sunken area contained a pool of 140 by 120 feet that was drained and filled in 1957 due to leaks. Today it contains a grassy area used for outdoor gatherings. The rest of the area forms a terrace that is bordered by the wings of the building on three sides and partially covered by the connecting bridge. The entire terrace is paved in a mosaic pattern and surrounded by plant and flowerbeds. Weather permitting, the area is used for church and Bible school activities.</p><br>
<h3>Tower</h3><br>
<p>The church tower was planned as a separate unit detached from the rest of the church, rising from the terrace level in an unbroken line of 166 feet. The base, measured at 17 by 23 feet, is located at the northeastern corner of the terrace pool.</p><br>
<p>The tower is designed in a simple, geometric form with plain brick walls that open into a perforated design at the top. The perforated section surrounds the sounding chamber from which the organ chimes are broadcast. The simple design of the tower gives it dignity and strength, and its separate placement in relation to the church proper provides balance to the building.</p><br>
<h3>Church Proper</h3><br>
<p>The church proper, located on the northeastern corner of the property, is set on a platform reached from the street by a set of nine steps. The entrance leads to the narthex, to the right of which is a coatroom and to the left of which are stairs that lead to the gallery. Three doors connect the narthex to the church nave, one to the central aisle, the second to the side aisle, and the last to a low passage that connects the church with the Bible school.</p><br>
<p>The church proper was designed to create a serene, spatial atmosphere and thus has a unique asymmetrical design. Saarinen did not believe in forced symmetry because it created an artificial and sterile environment. Instead, he chose to focus on creating balance between various features and points of interest in the room. To this end, the cross at the end of the chancel is off center, but the communion table, integral to the service, is placed at the central axis of the church. Symmetry is used to accentuate the spirit of the service, instead of creating an artificial environment. Similarly, the middle aisle of the nave and the pulpit are slightly off center as well.</p><br>
<p>Unlike many traditional churches, there are no stained glass windows. Instead, Saarinen designed windows with the same pattern used in the perforated part of the tower, adding to the unity and natural symmetry of the building. The flow of light into the room was designed to highlight the serenity of the room. Daylight from the floor-to-ceiling windows light up the nave and chancel during morning services, adding to the spiritual nature of the service.</p><br>
<p>The church is 144 feet in length, 46 feet in width, and seats 580 people. With an additional rear gallery that holds 180 and a choir of 40, its total capacity is 800 individuals.</p><br>
<h3>Chapel</h3><br>
<p>The chapel, like the church, also features Saarinen’s asymmetrical design. Instead of a central aisle, there is a wide aisle on the west side and a narrow aisle on the east. Similar floor to ceiling windows provide light here too.</p><br>
<h3>Baptistry</h3><br>
<p>The Baptistry is placed at the rear of the chancel, screened from the audience with swinging doors. It is lit with daylight from the windows in the church proper, and the light flows above those being baptized. The use of natural light to light the ceremony symbolizes the belief in the natural arrangements of death, burial, and resurrection. Facilities like dressing rooms, showers, an toilets for men and women are located on the second floor above.</p><br>
<h3>Organ</h3><br>
<p>The church organ was the latest model by the Aeolian-Skinner Organ Company at the time and consists of 4 manuals and pedals, 72 speaking stops, 4695 pipes, 61 harp bars, 25 chimes, and 73 other couplers and accessories. The size of pipes vary from 32 feet to ¾ of an inch long. It is housed in a chamber on the left of the chancel.</p><br>
<p>The organ was adapted to suit the needs of the church. It is based on an 18th-century organ with great tonal richness and clarity, but modern mechanical additions were made to make it easier to play. This resulted in an organ based on a classical foundation with enough flexibility to perform music of all periods.</p><br>
<h3>Tapestry</h3><br>
<p>The 35 by 11 ½ foot tapestry decorating the church was designed by Saarinen and woven by trained Scandinavian weavers under the direction of his wife, Loja Saarinen. Woven with wool and flax, it depicts the Sermon on the Mount in an image of animals and listeners. It was the largest tapestry in the country at the time.</p><br>
<h3>Auditorium and Reception Room</h3><br>
<p>The auditorium space is used for dinners, plays, and other entertainment involving a large number of people. The 500 seats can be stored under the stage to create an open space. Floor length windows open out into the terrace and pool for outdoor entertainment as well.The entire room is 92 feet long, 46 feet wide, and a little more that 12 feet high. The stage is 31 feet deep.</p><br>
<p>Connected to the auditorium is a reception room, used for a variety of activities and providing access to coat and toilet facilities. The room is 24 by 64 feet in size.</p><br>
<h3>Kitchen and Offices</h3><br>
<p>The kitchen and pantry, an area of 900 square feet, is located on the East side of the East wing, arranged so that it does not interrupt church services and disturb the rest of the building. The office area adjacent to the East entrance hall consists of the Pastor’s study, the secretary’s office, a library, and a reception room.</p><br>
<p>The Irwin Conference Center  was designed by Eero Saarinen and built in 1954 in Columbus, Indiana. It is currently owned and operated by Cummins, whose world headquarters is located across Jackson Street in the Cummins Corporate Office Building. In recogniztion of its unique and beautiful design, the resource was designated a National Historic Landmark by the National Park Service in 2001.</p><br>
<p>The building consists of a one-story bank structure and adjacent three-story office annex. A portion of the office annex was built along with the banking hall in 1954. The remaining, much larger portion, designed by Kevin Roche, John Dinkeloo and Associates, was built in 1973.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Irwin Miller became president of the Irwin Union Trust Company after his fathers death in 1947. Three years later, he commissioned Eero Saarinen to design a new building for the bank. The building was designed to distance the Irwin Union Bank from traditional banking architecture, which mostly echoed imposing, neoclassical style buildings of brick or stone. Miller wanted the building to symbolize the banks progressive mission, which included offering some of the first credit cards and earliest drive-through banking. Instead of having tellers behind iron bars and removed from their customers, Saarinen worked to develop a building that would welcome customers rather than intimidate them.</p><br>
<p>The structure has changed ownership twice since 2008 and is now operated by the corporate hospitality division of Cummins.</p><br>
<h2>Design</h2><br>
<p>The glass building may look simple, but like all Saarinen&#39;s projects, every aspect of the space was designed after extensive research of its use. The ceiling was designed at 11 ft in height so the space would not feel oppressive. A freestanding structure for files occupies the center in the building, so that the office floor would be open and uncluttered. The colorful counters where tellers worked were equipped with removable plastic hoods when traffic demanded additional counters. A small elevator and spiral staircase gave tellers secure access to the cash vault below and two steel and glass vestibules connect the glass pavilion to the three-story office annex, where customers could transact business privately.</p><br>
<p>The grid of large domes on the roof of the bank was a source of amusement for the townspeople, who jokingly called the bank a "brassiere factory". Nevertheless, they loved the building and customers increased fourfold.</p><br>
<h2>Landscape</h2><br>
<p>The bank building only occupied one-third of the site, the rear portion housed a drive-through window and large parking lot surrounded and intersected with trees. Landscape architect Dan Kiley chose specific types of trees and foliage in order to integrate the bank with its neighboring buildings and help shade the inside of the bank. He used littleleaf linden trees as the basis of the space, with euonymus as ground cover and seasonal spring bulbs, begonias, geraniums, and chrysanthemums as accents.</p><br>
<p>The goal was to create a green space in the middle of downtown Columbus and provide the city with some breathing room. Since the bank building is lower than the surrounding buildings, its landscape feels more park-like. As the number of automobiles on the streets grew in the early 1950s, spaces like this helped relieve the congestion of busy downtown areas.</p><br>
<h2>Bank closure</h2><br>
<p>On September 18, 2009, the Indiana Department of Financial Institutions closed the Irwin Union Bank and Trust Company and named the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver. First Financial Bank of Hamilton, Ohio, purchased all deposits and virtually all assets of Irwin Union Bank and participated in a loss-share transaction jointly with the FDIC. The FDIC estimated that the cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) for both institutions was $850 million.</p><br>
<h2>Cummins ownership</h2><br>
<p>In 2010, Cummins purchased the building from First Financial and announced its intention to remodel the bank and associated buildings at a cost of $5.25 million. First Financial would continue to occupy the building until its new facility is completed in 2012. Cummins then expects to complete renovations by summer 2014. The Saarinen-designed structure will be used for a corporate conference center and meeting space.</p><br>
<p>First Baptist Church is one of six national historic landmarks in Columbus, Indiana. It was designed by distinguished architect Harry Weese; construction was completed in 1965. Since completion, few alterations have been made and the building has retained its integrity.</p><br>
<h2>Location</h2><br>
<p>The First Baptist Church of Columbus is located at 3300 Fairlawn Drive in Columbus, Indiana. It occupies one-third of an open area in a suburban neighborhood of single-family homes developed in the 1960s and 1970s. Richards Elementary School (designed by Edward Larrabee Barnes and built in 1965) and Par 3 Golf Course and Clubhouse (designed by Bruce Adams and built in 1972) comprise the other two-thirds of the "town square". These structures are easily visible as they create the skyline of this residential subdivision.</p><br>
<h2>Description</h2><br>
<p>The First Baptist Church was one of Columbus&#39;s early congregations. It occupied a previous site (which has not been preserved) before moving to Fairlawn Drive in 1965. The facility occupies a 7.1 acre site at the base of a gently sloping hill which the group chose because the site allowed room for growth and parking. The parcel originally contained a row of walnut trees along its southern boundary, however other trees have been planted on the grounds.</p><br>
<p>The red brick building has five distinct sections (narthex, sanctuary, office wing, fellowship hall, and chapel) built around a central courtyard. The windows are tall and narrow.</p><br>
<p>The sanctuary is the principal interior space of the building. It is a windowless room, made up of simple elements that combine to create a space that is at the same time dramatic and serene. Each element is a simple object—a brick wall, a beam, an opening, a skylight—but all exaggerated slightly in size, proportion, or height.</p><br>
<p>Stuart Island is one of the San Juan Islands, north of San Juan Island and west of Waldron Island in the USA state of Washington. The 7.462 km&sup2; island is home to two communities of full and part-time residents, a state park, a one-room schoolhouse, and two airstrips .</p><br>
<p>The 2000 census (erroneously) reported a population of 200 permanent residents.</p><br>
<h2>Facilities</h2><br>
<p>Two sites, both part of Stuart Island State Park, are on public lands. One is located near the center of the island, and another in on the western coast, the site of the Turn Point Light Station, a lighthouse guiding shipping in the busy waters of Boundary Pass to the islands north. Turn Point Light Station is on land administered by the Bureau of Land Managements Spokane District, Wenatchee Resource Area, Lopez Island Office.</p><br>
<p>The lighthouse and nearby "Lover&#39;s Leap" are popular hiking destinations accessible by county road. Sheltered anchorages for boaters can be found in Reid Harbor and Prevost Harbor, with public state park facilities in each.</p><br>
<p>There are no stores or other public commercial establishments on the island, aside from a wooden box, stocked by a local family with printed T-shirts and other souvenir items; each souvenir comes with an envelope through which visitors return payment by mail, based on an honor system. The local schoolhouse closed in fall of 2007 due to lack of students, but reopened in 2008 with two students.</p><br>
<p>Satellite Island, which lies in Prevost Harbor on the northeast side of the island, is used by YMCA Camp Orkila as a basecamp for teen expeditions and for field trips by campers. Prevost Harbor is named for James Charles Prevost, captain of the HMS Satellite. Nearby Prevost Island in British Columbia is also named after Prevost, while Satellite Island is named after his ship.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Stuart Island was named by Charles Wilkes during the Wilkes Expedition of 1838&ndash;42, to honor Frederick D. Stuart, the captain&#39;s clerk of the expedition.</p><br>
<p>Glacier Bay Basin in southeastern Alaska, in the United States, encompasses the Glacier Bay and surrounding mountains and glaciers, which was first proclaimed a USA National Monument on February 25, 1925, and which was later, on December 2, 1980, enlarged and designated as the Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve under the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, covering an area of 3,283,000 acres . In 1986, UNESCO declared an area of 57,000 acres  within a World Biosphere Reserve. This is the largest UNESCO protected biosphere in the world. In 1992, UNESCO included this area as a part of a World Heritage site, extending over an area of 24,300,000-acre  which also included the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Kluane National Park  and Tatshenshini-Alsek Park . Part of the National Park is also designated a Wilderness area covering 2,658,000 acres .</p><br>
<p>Current glaciers cover an area 1,375 square miles (3,560 km) and accounts for 27% of the Park area. Up until the early 1700s the area was a large single glacier of solid ice. It has since retreated and evolved into the largest protected water area park in the world. Glacier Bay, on the Gulf of Alaska, was known as the Grand Pacific Glacier, about 4,000 feet (1,200 m) thick and around 20 miles (32 km) in width. Over the last 200 years the glaciers have retreated, exposing 65 miles (105 km) of ocean, and in this process left 20 separate other glaciers in its trail. In 1890, the name “Glacier Bay” as such was given to the bay by Captain Lester A. Beardslee of the USA Navy. It was first proclaimed a USA National Monument on February 25, 1925, by President Calvin Coolidge.</p><br>
<p>The Glacier Bay has many branches, inlets, lagoons, islands, and channels that holds prospects for scientific exploration and visual treat. Thus, the area is popular as a cruise ship destination during summer season. However, there are restrictions imposed by the National Park Service on the numbers of vessels that can operate in a day to 2 cruise ships, 3 tour boats, 6 charter vessels, and 25 private vessels. According to National Park Service statistics for calendar year 2009, 444,653 people visited Glacier Bay, with 422,919 of those being cruise ship passengers.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Geologists believe that Glacier Bay existed during a minimum of four Glacial periods ending with the Little Ice Age, which has a 4,000-year-old record, as the latest period. All glaciers in the park today are said to be remnants of this glacial period.</p><br>
<p>The earliest recorded history of the Glacier Bay area starts with the 1741 Russian expedition of Vitus Bering and Aleksei Chirikov. La Perouse (after whom one of the glaciers in the bay was named subsequently) established contact with the local inhabitants, the Tlingits at Lutya Bay, in 1786. This was followed by the Russians staking their claim to the region.</p><br>
<p>In 1794, Joseph Whidbey, master of the Discovery during George Vancouver&#39;s 1791–95 expedition, reported that his exploration of this part of the coast was blocked by a wall of 2 miles (3.2 km) width and 1,200 metres (3,900 ft)) thick. Vancouver claimed the land for Britain in conflict with an earlier Russian claim, which was resolved by the Anglo-Russian Convention of 1825. The United States purchased Alaska from the Russians in 1867 with a claim under that treaty of owning all lands up to "the summit of the mountains situated parallel to the coast". The United States and Canada agreed that an arbitration board would draw the exact boundary. The arbitration award given in 1903 resolved the Alaska boundary dispute by drawing a line that linked the mountain peaks in this area. Because the agreement froze the exact boundary in 1903, further retreat of the glacier does not alter the boundary as the coast extends northward. As a result, the northern edge of Tarr Inlet is approaching the boundary.</p><br>
<p>With the discovery of gold in the area, gold rush brought miners to the area. In 1890, Willoughby Island in Glacier Bay was the scene of a meeting of the miners, which was followed by the establishment of the Berry mining district. In the 1890s, a salt mine was established at Bartlett Cove. Fox farms and a cannery were also established; however, the cannery was abandoned in 1935.</p><br>
<p>J. Richardson (seated) on the shoulder of Mt. Wright overlooking Muir.</p><br>
<p>John Muir, the naturalist, conservationist and scientist, pioneered the focus of the world on the Glacier Bay phenomenon. During his research Muir had witnessed the glaciers in action. He had noted that the ice had retreated almost all the way up.</p><br>
<p>In 1899, wealthy railroad magnate Edward Harriman arranged for a maritime expedition called the Harriman Alaska Expedition to Alaska comprising an elite community of scientists, artists, photographers, and naturalists to explore and document the Alaskan coast. The voyagers, spent two months traveling from Seattle, along the coast of Alaska, to Siberia, and back again. In many ways, the expedition was an intersection of 19th-century science and 20th-century science. The expedition claimed to have discovered some 600 species that were new to science, including 38 new fossil species. They charted the geographic distribution of many species. They discovered an unmapped fiord and named several glaciers. John Muir and his friend Harriman who were members of this expedition were instrumental in governmental lobbying on National Park legislation says. The Herriman expedition was instrumental in documenting the extent of the glacier&#39;s retreat in 1899.</p><br>
<p>John Muir was seeking corroboration of the continental glaciation theories of Louis Agassiz, whose controversial Etudes sur les Glaciers was published in 1840. The year 1893 recorded the arrival of the first tourist ship at the entrance to the Bay, at Bartlett Cove, which over the years has become central to the tourist trade in the Glacier Bay. By 1916, the Grand Pacific Glacier was at the head of Tarr Inlet, about 65 mi from Glacier Bay&#39;s mouth. This is the fastest documented glacial retreat ever. In 1925, Glacier Bay was declared a national monument.</p><br>
<p>For centuries, the Glacier Bay has been the home land of the Huna Tlingit native tribes of Alaska. Their oral traditions indicate being displaced by the last advance of the glacier. They continue to be part of the Bay residents and it is woven into the "tapestry of their lives".</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>Glacier Bay is subsumed within the larger about 3.3 e6acre National Park and Preserve. The preserve, which is a spectacular ensemble of marine and terrestrial life, is delimited by: The Tongass National Forest borders on the east and north east; by the international boundary with Tatshenshini-Alsek Wilderness Provincial Park in British Columbia, Canada on the north; by the waters of Cross Sound and Icy Strait border on the south; and by the Pacific Ocean on the west. When President Calvin Coolidge declared the Glacial Bay to be a national monument, in 1925, the objective clearly stated was:</p><br>
<p>The Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act of 1980 changed its status to a National Park and Reserve covering an area of 3,283,000 acre including 57,000 acre as a preserve: However,2,670,000 acre have been declared as Wilderness. The Glacier Bay also encompasses about 400 acre of two mining claim groups, and about 3,000 acre allotted to Alaska Natives; some small private tracts are also reported within the limits of the Glacier Bay.</p><br>
<p>The Glacier Bay Basin is now a myriad combination of tidewater glaciers, snow-capped mountain ranges, ocean coastlines, deep fjords, and freshwater rivers and lakes that provide widely varying land and seascape and “hosts a mosaic of plant communities and a variety of marine and terrestrial wildlife.”</p><br>
<p>Glacier Bay is covered with 1,375 square miles of glaciers which accounts for 27% of the Park area with most glaciers originating in mountains with elevation range of 8,000 -. There are over 50 named glaciers (both tidewater and terrestrial glaciers); 10 tide water glaciers – one on the east arm of the bay and all others on the west arm reach shorelines and calved) (literal meaning: "breaking off") to produce icebergs. Seven of these glaciers are reported to be active tidewater glaciers, which depict the calving phenomenon, which means that they break into icebergs and fall into the sea with thundering noise raising large waves. The McBride Glacier is the only tidewater glacier in the eastern arm at a distance of 40 nmi from Bartlett Cove. Of the other glaciers on the western arm, Johns Hopkins Glacier is at the farthest end – 63 nmi from the entrance to the bay while the Margerie Glacier is about 55 nmi away.</p><br>
<p>The National Park Service manages a total of 607,099 acres of marine waters of the Glacier Bay. It covers a coastline of 1,180 square miles including some reach of the coast outside the Bay. Glacier Bay Basin as such has a coast line of 760 square miles including all islands; the coast line without counting islands accounts for statute 563 mi. The deepest point in the bay is 1,410 ft below sea level with the diurnal tides occurring every 6 hours, with a tide range of -5 to 18 ft (upper limit of the range is reported to be 23 ft.</p><br>
<p>According to the recorded findings, most glaciers are retreating except the Johns Hopkins Glacier, which is advancing and the Margerie Glacier which is stable.</p><br>
<p>Post Little Ice Age Rebound in the Glacier Bay Basin has been studied by researchers of the Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Alaska in association with National Park and Preserve Service, under a National Science Foundation grant using GPS geodesy combined with studies of raised shorelines and tide gauges. The studies have established that the fastest rates of glacier rebound in the world are now taking place in the Glacier Bay region. The studies have also reported that "these adjustments to LIA loading and unloading are producing significant stresses on the earth’s crust which can affect seismicity and regional tectonics. The rising land also is continually changing the geomorphic texture of shoreline throughout the Park and causing changes in hydrologic patterns, erosion, and sedimentation. All these changes have a direct impact on the ecosystems of the Park."</p><br>
<p>Glacier Bay can be approached only by boats or ships and partly by hiking along three trails (10 mi) and by kayaking along 700 mi) of shore line. The nearest road head and airport are in the small town of Gustavus, which is known as the southern gateway to the Glacier Bay. However, Gustavus as such is approachable only by air and sea. Juneau, the capital of Alaska, is about 60 mi). The approximate distance between Anchorage and Juneau is 567 mi.</p><br>
<p>The advancing and retreating characteristics of the glaciers in the Glacier Bay are explained in simple terms as a steady state of snow getting converted into ice on the hills. Ice, as a lens of water on the base of bedrock, slides by gravity downwards. The good moraine of rock and rubble insulates it from water erosion. As a result, during freezing temperatures that exists all the year, the glacier advances. When the insulation and erosion effect of the hills gets reduced erosion sets in and along with rising temperatures the glaciers start retreating. Another unpredictable phenomenon that is observed in many glaciers in the Glacier Bay is that of calving. Calving is a process in which blocks of ice get detached or break off from the glacier, irrespective of weather conditions, all the year round, and crash into the sea with thundering noise creating a boiling like turbulence.</p><br>
<p>The Glacier Bay was closed for ships almost a decade after the 1899 earthquake (magnitude 8.4 on the Richter Scale). This was on account of the shattered ice blocks which filled the Bay consequent to the earthquake. Even though the Bay is in volcanic activity region of the Pacific "Rim of Fire", active volcanoes have not been recorded within the Glacier Bay Basin. However, these two factors have been inferred to have effects on the environmental changes occurring in the Glacier Bay.</p><br>
<h3>Archeological findings</h3><br>
<p>Archaeological findings have been unearthed at two sites in the Glacier Bay, which links the region to Holocene period. On the Baranoff Island, a prehistoric finding dates occupation of the region between 3200 and 4600 BP. Another finding in the form of a house, microlithic tools and heavy wood working tools at Ground Hog Bay has been dated to about 2000 BP. This is stated to be "towards the end of the Hypsithermal (thermal maximum climatic fluctuation) and the beginning of the Little Ice Age". Thus, it has been interpreted by comparison with similarly placed locations in the region, such as the southern coast of British Columbia, that the type of culture seen here is comparable to the culture that existed during historic times on the Northwest Coast. The potential for finding more such sites are stated to be high.</p><br>
<h3>Ethnographic aspects</h3><br>
<p>The Tlingits regard Glacier Bay as their sacred homeland. The National Park Service takes the view that "Glacier Bay National Park is the spiritual homeland of the Huna Tlingit, and Glacier Bay National Preserve is the homeland of the Ghunaaxhoo Kwaan unit of the Yakutat Tlingit Tribe". The tribes&#39; oral history supports that they were pushed out and migrated south when the glacier advanced. They moved back to the area when the Glacier retreated in the 1880s. There are 60 odd proto-historic or historic sites in the Glacier Bay, which are identified with Tlingit Indians or European Americans. They are an integral part of Northwest Coast people inferred to be belonging to Haida, Tlingit or Eyak clans. Their settlements existed even in the 1880s in Dry Bay, Excursion Inlet, Point Couverden and the Port Frederick area (now known as Hoonah) and Dundas Bay. A Tlingit cemetery of the period has also been located in the park area. Seasonal hunting, gathering and fishing was their way of life, woven around a central village, with shifting fishing and hunting camps. The food source of the natives was the rich Salmon fish resources of the area. A complex society evolved with rich artistic traditions. Tlingits claimed their fishing-dependent lifestyle was helped during the National Monument years, which kept out commercial fishing. After the area became a National Park, their fishing and hunting activities were curtailed except for certain religious exemptions. However, the National Park administration is closely interacting with the Tlingits to foster their cultural heritage. They are allowed access to the park to "harvest berries, a variety of seafoods, and traditional use items such as spruce roots and mountain goat hair (for weaving traditional blankets)". In addition the park is planning to establish a Tlingit longhouse near its main office, where Tlingit culture would be fully highlighted and also facilitate holding of cultural events.</p><br>
<h3>Climate</h3><br>
<p>The bay has a cool wet, coastal temperate rainforest climate. Three climatic zones have been discerned in the Glacier Bay; the outer coast along the Gulf of Alaska, which records mild temperatures and higher precipitation. However, it experiences less snowfall, the upper Glacier Bay where it is much colder and heavy snowfall occurs, and the lower Glacier Bay, which experiences heavy rainfall throughout the year.</p><br>
<p>In the Bay as a whole, the summer temperatures vary between 50 &deg;F) and 60 &deg;F, while the winter temperatures lie in the range of 20 to 30 F, with minimum going up to -10 &deg;F.</p><br>
<p>Annual precipitation is in the form of rainfall and snowfall. On an average, 228 days are recorded as precipitation days per year, and precipitation is in the range of 70 - including 14 ft of annual snowfall; the highest recorded snowfall is of the order of 100 ft in the Fairweather Mountains.</p><br>
<h2>Flora and fauna</h2><br>
<p>The environment of Glacier Bay has been categorized under four main land ecosystems namely, the wet tundra, the coastal western hemlock/Sitka spruce forest, the alpine tundra, and the glaciers and ice fields; within the Bay proper, further break up into three major marine ecosystems are marked namely, “within in and around continental shelf, wave-beaten coasts, and fjord estuaries.”</p><br>
<p>Plants progressively moved in as the glacier retreated, so a 200-year-old spruce and hemlock forest presently exists at the entrance, grading up to more primitive plants such as mosses and lichens at the head of the bay. Because of current local climate change some glaciers are now retreating at a rate of up to a quarter of a mile per year.</p><br>
<p>The retreat of the glaciers exposed land areas and as a result “Plant communities and animal populations ranging from "pioneer species" in areas recently exposed by receding glaciers to climax communities in older coastal and alpine ecosystems” have emerged.</p><br>
<p>In general, wild life in Glacier Bay, has been identified under aqua fauna, avifauna and fauna; 160 marine and estuarine fish species, 242 bird species and 41 species of mammals have been recorded.</p><br>
<p>Bears, both black and brown, are seen in Glacier Bay in the intertidal zone which they frequent for foraging. They are also seen “scraping barnacles off of rocks and munching mussels.” Invariably they are spotted wandering alone along the beaches of the Glacier Bay in search of salmon. The habitats of the black bears are generally the southern forested areas of the bay. However, the brown bears are mostly found in the northern, more recently glaciated zones of the Glacier Bay. Occasionally, black bears are sighted near the glaciers or near Gustavus town. Black bears with black dots and brown bears with brown dots have been seen over the last 10 years. Their travel routes have been identified as along the easy tracks such as along beaches, stream beds and river valleys. The most commonly identified locations for sighting bears in the Glacier Bay are: The Bartlett Cove, the Bartlett River, the Beardslee Islands and North and South Sandy Cove locations for black bears, while brown bears are seen to the north of Tidal Inlet in the west arm of glacier and north of Adams Inlet in the east arm. They are also seen swimming in the Bay, crossing from one bank to the other. Salmon are their favorite food, apart from bumblebees, sand fleas, bird eggs, birds, voles and marine mammal carcasses.</p><br>
<p>Humpback whales have been sighted in the lower region of Glacier Bay; also in Sitakaday Narrows, Whidbey Passage and the waters around South Marble Island. For kayakers, Hugh Miller Inlet and the Beardslee Islands are good locations to see humpback whales from a safe distance of about a quarter mile. Other marine whales sighted are grey, minke, fin, and killer whales (orcas).</p><br>
<p>Harbor seals, northern fur seals, sea otters, harbor porpoises, Dall&#39;s porpoises and Steller sea lions are also seen in Glacier Bay.</p><br>
<p>Land mammals sighted in Glacier Bay are: blue bears (glacier), moose, Sitka black-tailed deer, mountain goat, wolf, coyote, lynx, wolverine, marmots, land and river otters, weasels, ermine, mink, squirrels, beaver and red fox. Porcupines, voles, shrews, hares, and bats are also found.</p><br>
<p>200 species of birds have been recorded in the Bay. These include: the bald eagle, golden eagle, raven, northern hawk owl, sandhill crane, loon, Steller&#39;s jay, murre, cormorant, puffin, murrelet, oyster catchers, herons, geese, ducks, ptarmigan, crow, osprey, blue grouse, woodpecker, pigeon guillemot, sparrow, sandpiper, plover, Arctic tern, kittiwake and gulls.</p><br>
<p>Fish species found in the bay are: Chinook, chum, sockeye, pink and coho salmon, halibut, trout, steelhead, Dolly Varden, lingcod, whitefish, blackfish, char and herring. As for shellfish, there are Dungeness crabs, scallops, shrimp and clams. Salmon are very important food of bears, particularly in the late summer and fall. In the southern part of the bay, there are streams which abound in salmon. They are also seen colonizing in the northern bay, consequent to the retreat of many glaciers and the streams emerging. These salmon food sources are expected to support more bear populations in the years ahead.</p><br>
<p>Plant recolonization and succession has occurred in Glacier Bay as a result of the retreat of the glacier bay in the last about 300 years. The succession, which occurred in the new wilderness of Glacier Bay was stated to be a raw landscape. A simile given is that “It was like seeing an owl with no feathers”. A vegetative wilderness has been created, which has resulted in the coastal forest. 333 Vascular plant species of individual taxa have been recorded in the Glacier Bay. Dense thickets of Sitka alder and devil&#39;s club abound along the shoreline.</p><br>
<h2>Landmarks</h2><br>
<p>There are 50 odd glaciers identified in the Glacier Bay, which are both terrestrial and tidewater type. Some of the major inlets, glaciers and the mountains in the order of their location from the entry have been identified from the National Park Service Map. At the entry to the Bay there are (as read from the map): The small Gustavus town and then the Visitor Center of the National Park Service and the Glacier Bay Lodge followed by several islands within the main channel. On the western side of the channel, the first inlet is the Muir Inlet which has several inlets and glaciers such as Adam’s Inlet, Casement Glacier, McBride Glacier, Riggs Glacier, Muir Glacier followed by the Wachusett Inlet. Coming out of the Muir inlet and entering and cruising toward the north along the main Bay, on the west shore are the Gelkie Inlet, Reid Glacier and Lamplugh Glacier fed by Brady Ice field and Brady Glacier, followed by Johns Hopkins Glacier, Margerie Glacier and the Great Pacific Glacier at the head of the Bay. The east shore line has the Queen Inlet with its Carroll Glacier, and the Rendu Inlet with its Rendu Glacier. The Fairweather Range of hills which feeds the Johns Hopkins and Margerie Glaciers form the western boundary of the Glacier Bay and the highest mountains seen here are the Mt. Fairweather (15,300 ft), Mt. Quincy Adams (13,650 ft), Mt. Salisbury (12,000 ft), Mt. Crillon (12,276 ft), Mt. Bertha (10,204 ft), Mt. Abbe (8,750 ft) and Mt. Cooper (6,780 ft). The major island, opposite to the Johns Hopkins Inlet, is the Russel Island in the midst of the main channel.</p><br>
<h3>Muir Glacier</h3><br>
<p>The Muir Glacier was named after John Muir, the naturalist, who identified it in 1889. The Muir Glacier was once a tide water glacier with a width of 1.5 mi, a length of 2 mi, and a height of 265 ft. It has now turned into terrestrial glacier; it has receded and does not flow into the sea. Its retreat has been very rapid and well-documented since its Little Ice Age maximum position at the mouth of Glacier Bay around 1780. During its retreating stage which began in 1889, calving was intense. The flow was at the rate of about 6,000 ft per year or about 16 ft per day until 1979 and as a result the glacier became terrestrial by 1993. The flow was reported to be 0.5 ft per day between 1999 and 2001. The glacier is now only 0.5 mi in width, 150 ft in height, and extends for 13 mi. Morse Glacier is its tributary and is also retreating faster than the Muir. Further, during this process of retreat, glacial till left behind two large deltas extending to a width of about 1,400 ft at the water edge during low tide.</p><br>
<h3>Reid Glacier</h3><br>
<p>The Reid Glacier was named by the members of the Harriman Alaska Expedition for Harry Fielding Reid (1859–1944), professor of geology at Johns Hopkins University, who was well known for his studies of glacier flow and stratification in Alaska and the Alps. The glacier has its origin in Brady Icefield and has a flow rate of 15 ft per day. At the water edge, its width is 0.75 mi, rises to a height of 150 ft and stretches to a length of 10 mi and flows into Bigourdan Fjord. In view of fast rate of retreat, this glacier has turned from tide water to terrestrial glacier, particularly on its eastern and western one third widths. Sediment deposits from the glacier have gradually filled the eastern and western margins at its inlet, as seen during low tides. The central one third of the glacier, however, touches water edge with a recorded depth of 30 ft of water, during high tide. The walls of the fjord of the glacier, however, also show marks of lateral deposits of the glaciers right up to rock faces.</p><br>
<h3>Lamplugh Glacier</h3><br>
<p>The Lamplugh Glacier was named by Lawrence Martin of the USA Geological Survey (USGS) around 1912 for the English geologist George William Lamplugh (1859–1926), who visited the Glacier Bay in 1884. The Glacier originates in the Brady Icefield to the east of Fairweather Range. The glacier has a width of about 0.75 mi at the water face. Its rises to height of 150 - with depth of 10 - at the waterline. It stretches to over 16 mi. The ice flow rate from the glacier is estimated at 900 - per year and is noted to be receding in the central and eastern part of the ice face due to calving; the western part is, however, seen mostly grounded except during the high tide range. In the central part, a subglacial stream has developed which is seen to shift its position laterally. This phenomenon is attributed to the deposition of fluvial sediment in the embayment. It forms a delta, as observed during low tide. It also results in water turning from brown to tan milky.</p><br>
<h3>Johns Hopkins Inlet</h3><br>
<p>The Johns Hopkins Inlet is a stunning 9 mi long fjord, which has several tide water glaciers. The Lamplugh Glacier is about 1.5 mi away from the inlet and further inside is the Johns Hopkins Glacier, which is now the largest tidewater glacier in Glacier Bay Johns Hopkins Inlet is closed to boats in May and June in order to protect unweaned harbor seal pups.</p><br>
<h3>Johns Hopkins Glacier</h3><br>
<p>The Johns Hopkins Glacier rises from the Fairweather Range on the east slopes of Lituya Mountain and Mount Salisbury and has a westerly flow towards the head of Johns Hopkins Inlet, 1 mile (1.6 km) southwest of the terminus of Clark Glacier and 79 miles (127 km) northwest of Hoonah. Its rock, ice and snow depict a variety of impressive colors such as grey, blue and white. It was named in 1893 by H.F. Reid after the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, which sponsored an expedition to this glacier. It is the only advancing tidewater glacier now (its advance started in 1924 when Grand Pacific Glacier started receding towards Tarr Inlet) and is combined with Gilman Glacier (first got attached to Hopkins in the 1990s, broke off and rejoined several times and once again it appears joined since 2000); both are advancing as one single ice block, and at the waterfront, has a width of 1 mi with a depth of 250 ft, rises to a height of 250 ft and stretches to about 12 mi upstream. Submarine calving has also been recorded.</p><br>
<p>The Johns Hopkins Glacier, for example, cannot be approached any nearer than about 2 mi by sea because of the volume of the ice blocks that break loose from its cliffs. Most visitors to the park come by cruise ship and thus view the glaciers from the water.</p><br>
<h3>Gilman Glacier</h3><br>
<p>Gilman Glacier got attached to Johns Hopkins Glacier sometime in 1990. In the following decade, the two glaciers merged and de-merged several times. However, in 2000 it was again attached to Johns Hopkins glacier and the two together are stated to be advancing along the 150 to 200 ft steep ice face.</p><br>
<h3>Tarr Inlet</h3><br>
<p>The Tarr Inlet at the head of the Glacier Bay is a scene of ice and snow, and "sits cater-corner to Johns Hopkins Inlet". This inlet provides excellent views of the Grand Pacific Glacier to its north and the Margerie Glacier to its west. The west shore line of this inlet is steep and rocky, extends to 4 mi up to a small stream where a beach has been formed. A further 3 mi along the channel, a glacier knob is seen in the center of the west shore of the inlet. A cove formation here provides for good camping grounds, where strong winds and ice flows are experienced. This location also provides a panoramic view of the Tarr Inlet. Two miles north of this location is the Margerie Glacier. Grand Pacific Glacier is located to the east side of the Margerie Glacier at the head of the Tarr Inlet where extensive gravel outwash is seen. From Grand Pacific, the Tarr Inlet continues for 5 mi with steep gravel shore line interspersed with minor streams separated by gravel outwash.</p><br>
<h3>Margerie Glacier</h3><br>
<p>The Margerie Glacier is a 21 mi long tide water glacier that begins on the south slope of Mount Root, at the Alaska-Canada border in the Fairweather Range (elevation above 9,000 ft), and flows southeast and northeast to Tarr Inlet, one mile (1.6 km) north of the terminus of Grand Pacific Glacier and 87 mi northwest of Hoonah. It was named for famed French geographer and geologist Emmanuel de Margerie (1862–1953), who visited Glacier Bay in 1913. Located at the deep end of the Glacier Bay, Margerie Glacier extends over a width of about 1 mi and extends upstream for a length of 21 mi till its source on the southern slopes of the hill of Mount Root, at the Alaska-Canada border. Mount Root (elevation 12,860 ft), named Boundary Peak 165, is a mountain in Alaska and British Columbia, is part of the Fairweather Range of the Saint Elias Mountains.</p><br>
<h3>Grand Pacific Glacier</h3><br>
<p>The Grand Pacific Glacier, at the head of the Tarr Inlet on the north, has a streaked face covered with gravel and stones (more than 3 ft) thick in many areas). Landslides and medial moraines cover much of eastern side of the glacier extending to about two-thirds width of the ice face. It is not an active glacier. In the earlier 18th century, it was a one single block of ice at the Gulf of Alaska, when Captain Vancouver first saw it, which has receded to the present location that is 65 mi) from the Glacier Bay inlet. At the present site, Grand Pacific Glacier has a width of 2 mi) with a water depth of 30 ft) and with an average height of 150 ft) and stretches to 35 mi). It calves into the Tarr Inlet and its western two thirds part is formed by the tributary Ferris Glacier. Its flow rate is reported to be about 1,500 ft) per year or about 4 ft) per day. However, the eastern part of the Glacier is reportedly moving at the rate of about 15 -) per year. Margerie Glacier had merged with this glacier in 1992. As the glacier started receding it got demerged from Margerie and only a small stream separates the two glaciers now.</p><br>
<h3>Fairweather Range</h3><br>
<p>The Fairweather Range is the unofficial name for a mountain range located in the USA state of Alaska and the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is the southernmost range of the Saint Elias Mountains. The northernmost section of the range is situated in Tatshenshini-Alsek Provincial Park while the southernmost section resides in Glacier Bay National Park in the Hoonah-Angoon Census Area. In between, it goes through the southeastern corner of Yakutat Borough. Peaks of this range include Mount Fairweather, the highest point in British Columbia and Mount Quincy Adams 4,150 m.</p><br>
<p>Between the bay and the coast, snow-clad peaks of the Fairweather Range capture the moisture coming in off the Gulf of Alaska and, in turn, spawn the park’s largest glaciers. Mt. Fairweather is the tallest peak in the Fairweather Range and is very much unlike its name as it has a very harsh terrain.</p><br>
<p>The Mt. Fairweather (officially gazetted as Fairweather Mountain in Canada but referred to as Mount Fairweather), is located 20 km east of the Pacific Ocean in the Glacier Bay region. While most of the mountain lies within the City and Borough of Yakutat, the summit is also in Tatshenshini-Alsek Provincial Park, British Columbia (Canada), making it the highest point in that province. It is also designated as Boundary Peak 164 or as US/Canada Boundary Point #164. The mountain was named on May 3, 1778 by Captain James Cook, apparently for the unusually good weather encountered at the time. The name has been variously translated. It was called "Mt. Beautemps" by La Perouse (1786, atlas), "Mte. Buen-tiempo" by Galiano (1802, map 3), "Gor-Khoroshy-pogody" on Russian Hydrographic Service Chart 1378 in 1847, and "G Fayerveder" by Captain Tebenkov (1852, map 7), Imperial Russian Navy. It was called "Schonwetterberg" by Constantin Grewink in 1850 and "Schonwetter Berg" by Justus Perthes in 1882. Mt. Fairweather was first climbed in 1931 by Allen Carpé and Terris Moore.</p><br>
<p>Pewabic Pottery is a ceramic studio and school at 10125 East Jefferson Avenue, Detroit, Michigan. Founded in 1903, the studio is known for its iridescent glazes, some of which grace notable buildings such as the Shedd Aquarium and Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. The pottery continues in operation today, and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1991.</p><br>
<h2>Origin and history</h2><br>
<p>The pottery was founded in 1903 by the artist and teacher Mary Chase Perry Stratton and Horace James Caulkins, her business partner. Caulkins was considered a high-heat and kiln specialist, and developed the "Revelation kiln". Mary Perry Stratton was "the artistic and marketing force." The collaboration of two and their blend of art and technology gave the pottery its distinctive qualities as Detroit&#39;s contribution to the International Arts and Crafts movement and exemplified the American Craftsman Style.</p><br>
<p>The word Pewabic is derived from the Ojibwa (or Chippewa) word "wabic", which means metal, or "bewabic", which means iron or steel, and specifically referring to the "Pewabic" Upper Peninsula copper mine where Ms. Stratton walked with her father. The company is well known for the unusual iridescent glaze covering the pottery and tiles created in a manner outlined by the International Arts and Crafts movement.</p><br>
<p>In 1991, Pewabic Pottery was designated as a National Historic Landmark. See also, List of National Historic Landmarks in Michigan. As Michigan&#39;s only historic pottery, the center continues to operate in a 1907 Tudor Revival building as a non-profit educational institution. They offer classes in ceramics, hold exhibitions, sell pottery made in house, showcase and sell artists from across the United States, and offer design and fabrication services for public and private buildings.</p><br>
<h2>Museum and galleries</h2><br>
<p>The museums exhibits focus on the companys role in the history of Detroit, the Arts and Crafts movement in America and the development of ceramic art in the country. The galleries also showcase new works by modern ceramic artists.</p><br>
<h2>Famous works</h2><br>
<p>Pewabic Pottery produces many kinds of hand made decorative objects. They are part of the collections of the Detroit Institute of Arts and the Freer Gallery of Art. Examples abound in the External Links hereafter.</p><br>
<p>Under Mary Strattons artistic leadership, Pewabic Pottery employees created lamps, vessels, and architectural tiles.Architectural pieces have been a staple in Pewabics history. They were known for their iridescent (like an oil slick with an incredible translucent quality and a phantasmagoric depth of color) glazes. Architectural tiles were used in churches, concert halls, fountains, libraries, museums, schools and public buildings. The studio&#39;s work graces numerous edifices throughout Michigan and the rest of the United States. Noteworthy examples include Herzstein Hall at Rice University in Houston, Texas, and the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. Illinois. Detailed maps of public installations in the Detroit Metropolitan Area and the USA are available. See Architectural tile infra.</p><br>
<p>Particularly notable was the company&#39;s work at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., consisting of arches outlined with iridescent Pewabic tile, huge ceramic medallions set in the ceiling, and fourteen Stations of the Cross for the crypt.</p><br>
<p>Pewabics design team continues to create ornate tile conceptions for public and private buildings. Contemporary installations include Comerica Park, home of the Detroit Tigers, Detroit Medical Center Childrens Hospital, five Detroit People Mover stations, Third Man Records (Detroit), stations for the Q-Line, and the Herald Square in New York City.</p><br>
<h2>Architectural tile</h2><br>
<p>Pewabic tile was (and continues to be) in great demand in Detroit and the southeastern Michigan area for the use in buildings and it can be found in many of the area&#39;s finest structures. These include:</p><br>
<p>Belle Isle Aquarium, Belle Isle Park Detroit, Michigan</p><br>
<p>Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Detroit, Michigan</p><br>
<p>Charles Lang Freer House, 71 East Ferry Avenue (Current name: Palmer, Merrill, Institute of Human Development & Family Life) Detroit, Michigan</p><br>
<p>Christ Church, Cranbrook, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan</p><br>
<p>Compuware World Headquarters, Detroit, Michigan</p><br>
<p>Cowles House (a/k/a Alice B. Cowles house, formerly known as Faculty Row House Number 7 and presently the Michigan State University President&#39;s home), East Lansing, Michigan</p><br>
<p>Cranbrook Kingswood School, many facilities</p><br>
<p>Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, Michigan (loggia)</p><br>
<p>Detroit People Mover many stations, Detroit, Michigan</p><br>
<p>Detroit Public Library Children&#39;s Room, Detroit, Michigan</p><br>
<p>Detroit Zoological Park, Royal Oak, Michigan</p><br>
<p>Edward H. McNamara Terminal, Northwest Airlines, Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, Romulus, Michigan</p><br>
<p>English Inn (formerly Medovue Manor), Eaton Rapids, Michigan built in 1927 for Oldsmobile President Irving Jacob Reuter</p><br>
<p>Father Solanus Casey Center, Detroit, Michigan</p><br>
<p>Fisher Building, Detroit, Michigan</p><br>
<p>Guardian Building, Detroit, Michigan.</p><br>
<p>Harper House, 1408 Cambridge Drive, Lansing, Michigan</p><br>
<p>Hill Auditorium, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan</p><br>
<p>Kedzie North, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan</p><br>
<p>Kirk in the Hills, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan</p><br>
<p>Lawrence Fisher Mansion, Detroit, Michigan</p><br>
<p>Mackenzie High School, 9275 Wyoming Avenue, Detroit, Michigan (Now at the landfill - demolished)</p><br>
<p>Maude Priest School, Detroit, Michigan</p><br>
<p>Michigan Historical Museum, Lansing, Michigan</p><br>
<p>Michigan League, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan</p><br>
<p>Michigan Union, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan</p><br>
<p>Michigan State University Memorial Chapel, East Lansing, Michigan</p><br>
<p>Michigan State University Union Women&#39;s Lounge (fireplace), East Lansing, Michigan</p><br>
<p>Morton High School, Richmond, Indiana</p><br>
<p>National Theater, Monroe and Farmer, Detroit, Michigan (facade, 1911)</p><br>
<p>North Kedzie Hall, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan</p><br>
<p>Oakland Family Services, Pontiac, Michigan</p><br>
<p>Sacred Heart Major Seminary, Detroit, Michigan</p><br>
<p>Scott Fountain, Belle Isle Park, Detroit, Michigan, 1922</p><br>
<p>Shaw Hall, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan</p><br>
<p>Southfield Public Library, Southfield, Michigan</p><br>
<p>Stephen M. Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan</p><br>
<p>Wayne State University David Adamany Undergraduate Library, 5155 Gullen Mall Detroit, MI 48202-3962</p><br>
<p>Wayne State University Merrill Palmer Institute, Detroit, Michigan</p><br>
<p>Wayne State University, Old Main, Previously, Detroit Central High School, 4841 Cass Detroit, MI 48201</p><br>
<p>Women&#39;s City Club now Detroit Police Academy, Elizabeth and Park, Detroit, Michigan</p><br>
<p>Muir Glacier is a glacier in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve in the USA state of Alaska. It is currently about 0.7 km wide at the terminus. As recently as the mid-1980s the glacier was a tidewater glacier and calved icebergs from a wall of ice 90 m  tall.</p><br>
<p>The glacier is named after Scottish-born naturalist John Muir, who traveled around the area and wrote about it, generating interest in the local environment and in its preservation. His first two visits were in 1879 (at age 41) and 1880. During the visits, he sent an account of his visits in installments to the San Francisco Bulletin. Later, he collected and edited these installments in a book, Travels in Alaska, published in 1915, the year after he died.</p><br>
<h2>Retreat</h2><br>
<p>Muir Glacier has undergone very rapid, well-documented retreat since its Little Ice Age maximum position at the mouth of Glacier Bay around 1780. In 1794, the explorer Captain George Vancouver found that most of Glacier Bay was covered by an enormous ice sheet, some 1,200 m in places.</p><br>
<p>From 1892 to approximately 1980, it had retreated nearly 32 km. Between 1941 and 2004, the glacier retreated more than 12 km and thinned by over 800 m. Ocean water has filled the valley replacing the ice.</p><br>
<p>Pyramid Lake is a reservoir formed by Pyramid Dam on Piru Creek in the eastern San Emigdio Mountains, near Castaic, Southern California. It is a part of the West Branch California Aqueduct, which is a part of the California State Water Project. Its water is fed by the system after being pumped up from the San Joaquin Valley and through the Tehachapi Mountains.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>In 1843, gold was discovered near what is now Pyramid Lake, in the Santa Feliciana Canyon, just south of what is now Pyramid Dam. The small find failed to trigger a rush to the mountainous countryside. Only Francisco Lopes, owner of Rancho Temescal, a Mexican land grant, and a handful of ranchers attempted to settle the region.</p><br>
<p>This lake was created in 1972, and completed in 1973, as a holding reservoir for the California State Water Project. The lake was named after a pyramid-shaped rock carved out by engineers building USA Route 99. Travelers between Los Angeles and Bakersfield christened the landmark “Pyramid Rock,” which still stands just adjacent to the dam.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>Pyramid Lake is the deepest lake in the California Water Project system, built up along the steep canyon walls surrounding Piru Creek.</p><br>
<p>The 180,000 acre.ft reservoir lies on the border between the Angeles National Forest and the Los Padres National Forest, in the northwestern portion of Los Angeles County. It is to the west of Interstate 5 (I-5) south of Tejon Pass. The former alignment of US 99 is below the waters here, replaced by I-5.</p><br>
<p>Just below the dam, Piru Creek returns to its natural state as it winds down through the Topatopa Mountains to feed into the Lake Piru reservoir and later the Santa Clara River. Pumps carry water from Pyramid Lake to Castaic Lake, which is the terminus of the west branch of the aqueduct. Pyramid and Castaic act as the upper and lower reservoirs for a 1,495-megawatt pumped storage hydroelectric plant.</p><br>
<h2>Description</h2><br>
<p>The 118 m earth and rock dam was built by the California Department of Water Resources and was completed in 1973. Pyramid Lake is part of the California Aqueduct, which is part of the California State Water Project. Outflow goes downstream to Castaic Lake, which is the terminus of this West Branch aqueduct line.</p><br>
<p>Pyramid and Castaic act as the upper and lower reservoirs for the Castaic Power Plant; a 1,495 megawatt pumped storage hydroelectric plant. It is the deepest lake in the California Water Project system. Its name comes from the Pyramid Rock, created when a ridge was cut through in 1932 by the Ridge Route Alternate (US 99). Pyramid Rock still exists directly in front of the dam.</p><br>
<h3>Recreation</h3><br>
<p>Pyramid Lake offers boating, fishing, jet skiing, and picnic areas (including 5 unique sites that are accessible only by boat), and courtesy docks. Vista del Lago Visitors Center overlooks the lake. Access is from Interstate 5 exit on Vista Del Lago.</p><br>
<p>Fishing is allowed from every location at Pyramid Lake. You can catch fish such as large mouth bass, small mouth bass, striped bass, blue gill, crappie, and some trout.</p><br>
<p>Guadalupe Peak, also known as Signal Peak, is the highest natural point in Texas, with an elevation of 8,751 ft above sea level. It is located in Guadalupe Mountains National Park, and is part of the Guadalupe Mountains range in southeastern New Mexico and West Texas. The mountain is about 90 mi east of El Paso and about 50 mi southwest of Carlsbad, New Mexico. The peak rises more than 3,000 ft above the arid floor of the Chihuahuan Desert.</p><br>
<h2>Trail and summit</h2><br>
<p>The peak can be climbed by a maintained stony trail (4.25 mi each way) with a 3,000 feet elevation gain at any time of the year. The trail is part of the network of hiking trails in the surrounding national park.</p><br>
<p>A stainless steel pyramid marks the summit. It was erected by American Airlines in 1958 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Butterfield Overland Mail, a stagecoach route that passed south of the mountain. One side of the pyramid has the American Airlines logo. The second side displays a USA Postal Service tribute to the Pony Express Riders of the Butterfield Stage. The third side displays a compass with the logo of the Boy Scouts of America. A summit register contained in a metal ammunition box is located at the base of the pyramid.</p><br>
