<p>Andritsaina  is a town and a former municipality in Elis, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Andritsaina-Krestena, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 131.247 km.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>Andritsaina is situated in mountainous southeastern Elis, on the borders with Arcadia and Messenia. The town is built on a hillside, northwest of mount Lykaion. The river Alfeios forms the northeastern border of the municipal unit. The predominant land uses in the municipal unit are forestry and small scale farming. Andritsaina is 22 km northwest of Megalopoli, 28 km southeast of Krestena, 41 km west of Tripoli and 46 km southeast of Pyrgos. The Greek National Road 76 (Krestena - Karytaina - Megalopoli) runs through Andritsaina.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>According to tradition, Andritsaina owes its name to the wife of a Cretan shepherd named Andrikos, who -chasing his runaway sheep- came to a spring on mount Lykaion. There he built an inn that after his death was kept by his wife Andrikaina (meaning "the wife of Andrikos"). From her name and from the local pronunciation of "kai" as "tsai", the inn was named "the hostel of Andritsaina". When houses were built in the surrounding area, the settlement was named "Andritsaina".</p><br>
<p>The area was part of ancient Arcadia. Andritsaina flourished during the Frankish rule (13th-14th centuries AD) and is mentioned in the Chronicle of the Morea. The village played a crucial role during the Orlov Revolt and the Greek War of Independence. In 1826, Andritsaina was destroyed by Ibrahim Pasha&#39;s troops.</p><br>
<h2>Sights</h2><br>
<p>Today, the village has impressive old mansions, cobblestone streets, a square surrounded by tall trees and magnificent views. The fountain in the square (I Trani Vrysi) is the Peloponnese&#39;s oldest fountain, built in 1724. The famous Nikolopouleios library was founded in 1840 from donations of the humanist Agathofron Nikolopoulos, whose family came from Andritsaina. Its collection comprises rare 16th- and 17th-century manuscripts, in Greek and in foreign languages, important documents from the period of the Greek War of Independence and rich folklore material. Today, the library has more than 40000 volumes. The famous Temple of Epicurian Apollo at Bassae is 6 km south of Andritsaina, in Messenia.</p><br>
<h2>Subdivisions</h2><br>
<p>The municipal unit Andritsaina is subdivided into the following communities (constituent villages in brackets):</p><br>
<p>Andritsaina (Andritsaina, Karmio, Myloi, Sykies)</p><br>
<p>Dafnoula (Dafnoula, Chelidoni)</p><br>
<p>Dragogio (Dragogio, Kastrougkaina, Plateia)</p><br>
<p>Fanari</p><br>
<p>Koufopoulo</p><br>
<p>Linistaina</p><br>
<p>Matesi</p><br>
<p>Rovia</p><br>
<p>Sekoulas (Sekoulas, Balaiika)</p><br>
<p>Theisoa</p><br>
<p>The community Andritsaina consists of the main village Andritsaina and the small mountain villages Karmio (3 km to the northeast), Myloi (4 km to the northwest) and Sykies (5 km to the north).</p><br>
<h2>Population</h2><br>
<h2>People</h2><br>
<p>Panagiotis Anagnostopoulos, revolutionary leader</p><br>
<p>Anastasios Christopoulos, revolutionary leader</p><br>
<p>Athanasios Kanellopoulos, politician</p><br>
<p>Dimitrios Kiousopoulos, jurist and politician</p><br>
<p>Konstantinos Nikolopoulos, composer, archeologist, and philologist</p><br>
<p>Lake Pupuke is a heart-shaped freshwater lake occupying a volcanic crater  between the suburbs of Takapuna and Milford on the North Shore of Auckland, New Zealand. The heart shape is a result of its formation by the linking of two circular craters - a larger one forming most of the lake and a smaller one forming the arm in the northeast. Separated from the sea by less than 200 m at one point, it has a circumference of about 4.5 km and reaches 57 m in depth. It is popular for recreational activities and the lakefront property around it.</p><br>
<h2>Geology</h2><br>
<p>Other similar craters in the Auckland volcanic field were either buried by later eruptions, or breached by erosion as rainwater collected and overflowed the edge of the crater. Lake Pupuke remains a lake because, unlike the other vents, its eruptions produced substantial lava flows; water can thus escape through cracks in the lava reaching under the crater wall, creating a series of freshwater springs along the beaches between Takapuna and Milford. The lava flow at the end of Takapuna Beach enveloped a kauri forest, producing an internationally significant collection of tree moulds, which has been called "New Zealand’s only example of a fossil forest preserved in a lava flow" and which "ranks among the best examples in the world." Some moulds have escaped burial by the boat ramp and car park built on top of the lava, and can be viewed at low tide.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>In 1894, a pump house was built on the shore of the lake to supply fresh water to the local area. This was replaced in 1906 by a second pump house. As a result of increasing demand, the water level of the lake fell and water quality decreased. The use of the lake as a fresh water supply was discontinued in 1944 when new supplies were sourced from reservoirs in the Waitakere Ranges. The second pump house has became a Category II protected building under the New Zealand Historic Places Trust in 1983. It is now maintained as a theatre with three performance spaces including an outdoor amphitheatre.</p><br>
<h2>Māori mythology</h2><br>
<p>A Māori myth surrounding the lake tells of a tupua couple, children of the fire gods. After quarreling and cursing Mahuika, the fire-goddess, their home on the mainland was destroyed by Matahoe, god of earthquakes and eruptions, on Mahuika&#39;s behalf. Lake Pupuke resulted from the destruction, while Rangitoto Island rose from the sea as their exile. The mists surrounding Rangitoto at certain times are considered the tears of the tupua couple for their former home.</p><br>
<h2>Human use</h2><br>
<p>Close to the Takapuna city centre, the lake is popular not only with wild birds (such as shags) but with picnickers, paddlers, kayakers, rowers, yachtsmen, divers, and windsurfers (lessons have been given on the lake). Free divers (no tanks) have practiced in the lake. College rowing crews use it. There have been boating races. and the Pupuke Boating Club operates there. Takapuna Boating Club hosts regattas.</p><br>
<p>The Auckland Dragon Boat Association runs an annual regionals race event on the lake, with 200m, 500m and 2 km races. The lake is the venue for Dragon Boat, Canoe sprints, Canoe marathon, and Waka Ama sprint racing within the Canoe Competition at the World Masters Games 2017 held in Auckland.</p><br>
<p>Lake Pupuke is suitable for swimming but murky and contains thick vegetation, and there have been drownings. The lake has been tested for bacteria and generally meets safe swimming conditions.</p><br>
<p>In 2007, recreational fishing has become more prominent since rainbow trout were released into the lake from a fish hatchery. However, since there are no actual streams entering or leaving the lake, trout will not be able to reproduce naturally, and new trout will have to be released periodically. Other fish in the lake include tench, perch, rudd, and carp.</p><br>
<p>The crater wall has been quarried in several places, most intensely on the western side between Shea Terrace and Rangitira Avenue, where Smales Quarry continues to operate. A long thin lagoon called Quarry Lake has been formed there by flooding a former quarry area.</p><br>
<p>Lakeside real estate is expensive. Empty lakefront land is rare; one (almost 1,200-square meter) undeveloped parcel cost $2.7 million in 2008. Lake Pupuke is identified as a "high risk" area in the event of a tsunami, and a high-tech phone alert system was developed for North Shore residents in case of an emergency.</p><br>
<p>Hubbard Lake is a lake in Alcona County in Northern Michigan. The lake covers 8,850 acres  and is seven miles  long  and two miles  wide. It has a maximum depth of 85 feet  with an average depth of 32.6 feet . The lake spans three townships: Caledonia, Alcona, and Hawes.</p><br>
<p>The lake is part of the a large tract of land (more than six million acres (24,000 km²)) that was ceded by the Ojibwa, Ottawa and Potawatomi to the United States in the 1819 Treaty of Saginaw. Permanent white settlers did not begin to arrive in the area until the 1830s and 1940s. At that time, the lake was known as the "Bottomless Lake". It was also for a while known as "Coral Lake" and "Alcona Lake". In 1867, it was named "Hubbard Lake" in honor of Dr. Bela Hubbard, who was a prominent geologist in the state of Michigan.</p><br>
<p>There are many cottage homes around the lake shore. The lake is a favorite vacation spot for many Michiganders.</p><br>
<p>The lake is well stocked with bass, yellow perch, northern pike, tiger muskie, trout and walleye and is a popular destination for summer angling as well as winter ice fishing. The area surrounding the lake has seen tremendous growth and is a prime resort area. Although it is not an incorporated municipality, for statistical purposes, the USA Census Bureau defines the area immediately surrounding the lake as a census-designated place named Hubbard Lake. There is also a separate, small unincorporated community named Hubbard Lake located about one mile (1.6 km) north of the lake in Ossineke Township in neighboring Alpena County.</p><br>
<p>The Bissagos Islands, also spelled Bijagós , are a group of about 88 islands and islets located in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of the African nation of Guinea-Bissau. The archipelago was formed from the ancient delta of the Rio Geba and the Rio Grande and spans an area of 2,624 km .</p><br>
<p>Only some 20 islands are populated year-round, namely Bubaque which is where the Bissagos administrative capital is situated and is the most populated island, Bolama, Carache, Caravela, Enu, Formosa, Galinhas, João Vieira, Maio, Meneque, Orango, Orangozinho, Ponta, Roxa, Rubanhe, Soga, Unhacomo, Uno, and Uracane.</p><br>
<p>There is a high diversity of ecosystems: mangroves with intertidal zones, palm forests, dry and semi-dry forests, secondary and degraded forests, coastal savanna, sand banks and aquatic zones. The archipelago was declared in 1996 a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve—Boloma Bissagos Biosphere Reserve, known for animals including marine turtles, hippopotamus and the southern islands are today a nature reserve.</p><br>
<h2>Demographics</h2><br>
<p>The population is estimated at about 30,000 (2006) and the local ethnic group known as Bissago (Bijagó) predominates. It is a relatively youthful population due to high birth rates and low life expectancy even by African standards.</p><br>
<h2>Economy</h2><br>
<p>The economy is largely rural, with many families living from subsistence farming and fishing. There is some tourist activity, mostly boat charters from neighboring Senegal. Lack of infrastructure and communication links prevent the development of the islands&#39; unique tourism potential.</p><br>
<p>Starting in the early 2000s, several the Bissagos islands began to be used as transit depots for narcotraffic, which is quickly changing the social and economic fabrics of the islands.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>In pre-European colonial times, the islands were central to the trade along the coast of West Africa and they built up a powerful navy. In 1535, this enabled them to rout the Portuguese, who later built a fort on Bissao, which was abandoned in 1703. The islands were not formally annexed by Portugal until 1936.</p><br>
<p>The Bissagos were visited by Austrian anthropologist and photographer Hugo Bernatzik in 1930–1931, who documented daily life among the Bidyogo people.</p><br>
<h2>Culture</h2><br>
<p>Due to difficulties of communication with mainland Guinea-Bissau that persist to this day, the population has a considerable degree of autonomy and has shielded its ancestral culture from outside influence. Mostly Bidyogo (Bijago in Portuguese) is still spoken along with Portuguese and creole. Bijago culture tends to be matriarchal, with women managing the household, the economy, law, as well as initiating courtship.</p><br>
<p>Bissagos society is characted by age-grade progression for both men and women (separately). The grade-ascension ceremonies (generally known as "fanados") take place years apart and entail extensive preparation and ceremony. The Bissagos have been erroneously considered to belong to matriarchal societies but closer examination has revealed a fundamentally patriarchal society where women, in spite of their substantial participation in material production and important roles in social, political, and religious matter, remain essentially unequal to men. It is however true that it is the women who choose their husbands and terminate the matrimony; in Orango they make a single plate of food (often a traditional fish-eye platter) for the spouse-to-be, who agrees to the marriage by eating of the fish.</p><br>
<h2>Art</h2><br>
<p>The Bissagos peoples produce many artifacts for daily use and ritual following a traditional iconography that is unique to their culture, but shows variations from island to island. Among the most striking Bidyogo art pieces are the portable ancestor shrines ("iran") and the zoomorphic masks representing cows ("vaca-bruta"), sharks, stingrays and, occasionally, other local animals. Traditionally-decorated artifacts are also produced for "fanado" coming-of-age ceremonies (wood masks, spears, shields, headgear, bracelets), daily activities (fishing, agriculture) and personal use (stools, basketry, foodware). Its unique aesthetics make Bidyogo art easily distinctive from other African tribal arts.</p><br>
<p>Conneaut Lake is the largest natural lake in Pennsylvania by surface area. It is located in western Crawford County near a town with the same name. The site of the lake is actually in adjacent Sadsbury Township and nearby Summit Township. During the summer season, it is heavily populated with people vacationing to the lake area, some from the area spending time in their houses on the lake, and many others from the surrounding area that like to spend the summer away from home, many of these people being residents of the Pittsburgh area. Other than the lake itself, the largest draw to the area has long been a popular resort known as Conneaut Lake Park, long known for its amusement park.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>Conneaut Lake was formed as a kettle lake at the end of the Pleistocene. A large block of ice broke off the receding ice front and was surrounded by accumulating sediment. After the ice melted, the resulting depression was filled with water forming the lake. Water flows into Conneaut Lake through Inlet Run, a small stream on the north end of the lake. Water exits through the Conneaut Outlet, a larger creek which flows to the south through the Conneaut Marsh. The Conneaut outlet flows into French Creek, making it part of the Mississippi River drainage.</p><br>
<h2>Depth</h2><br>
<p>For the size of the lake, it has an oddly shallow depth. In most areas the lake is around 20 to 25 feet deep, however in some places it is over 50 feet deep. Its greatest depth is about 85 feet.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Before the early 19th century, Conneaut Lake was conspicuously absent from maps of the region, while much smaller nearby lakes were shown. The first recorded account of the lake was on May 5, 1791. A settler named Cornelius Van Horn was captured by Wyandots or their allies near what is today Meadville, Pennsylvania. He was taken on a path through the forest and bound to a tree near the lake&#39;s outlet. Van Horn managed to free himself using a small knife.</p><br>
<p>The Lake level was raised about 10 ft in the 1820s to permit the construction of the Beaver and Erie Canal. In the 1870s, canals were made obsolete by railroads, and the lake was returned to its natural elevation, though a dam remains for flood control. Before the construction of large reservoirs, Conneaut was the largest lake other than Lake Erie in Pennsylvania. The advent of rail travel made it a popular place for recreation. An amusement park, Conneaut Lake Park, was built on its western shore. The lake is notable as a site of early motorboat racing. The deep, cold waters of the lake allow it to stay frozen relatively late into the spring. This made Conneaut Lake a vital source of ice, prior to mechanical refrigeration.</p><br>
<p>During the second half of the 20th century, Conneaut Lake&#39;s prominence as a tourist mecca evaporated. Automobile travel allowed people to travel further from the cities for their weekend leisure. Streams were dammed, forming reservoirs larger than Conneaut Lake throughout the area. However, the scenic, natural lake still draws many locals, and its lack of power restrictions continues to draw powerboats.</p><br>
<p>According to the 2000 Census, roughly 3,000 people live around Conneaut Lake.</p><br>
<p>Fløyen is one of the city mountains in Bergen, Hordaland, Norway, and one of the city’s most popular tourist attractions. Fløyfjellet is the name of the mountain top. It is 399 m above sea level. Looking over the Bergen city centre. The name could originate from fløystangen "weather cock", that was set up to provide signals about the direction of the wind when ships were to set sail. The view of the Bergen peninsula makes fløyfjellet a popular attraction among tourists and city locals. It has a funicular system that transports passengers from the center of Bergen to a height of 320 meters in roughly 8 minutes and the highest point  on Fløyfjellet is approximately 1 km to the northeast. The funicular is used by tourists and citizens all year-around.</p><br>
<h2>Hiking</h2><br>
<p>There is a lot of hiking options on Fløyen, or you can go further on to Vareggen or over Vidden to Ulriken. Fløyfjellet provides signed hiking roads to Blåmannen, Rundemannen and Sandviksfjellet. At midtfjellet at the foot of Blåmannen there is a kiosk called Brushytten.</p><br>
<p>The roads and paths down from Mount Fløyen are floodlit in the winter months and are popular for sledding.</p><br>
<h2>Fløibanen</h2><br>
<p>Fløibanen is an 850-meter-long electric cable funicular that pulls two wagons between Fløyen and the station at Vetrlidsallmenningen in Bergen city centre. It also has three stations: Promsgate, Fjellveien and Skansemyren and it was opened in 1918. Since the opening Fløibanen has carried over 48 million people to and from Fløyfjellet. Over the past few years passenger numbers have averaged 1 million per year. Over the years, Fløibanen has cemented its position as Bergen’s most popular tourist attraction and according to the Norwegian Council for Tourism, Fløibanen was Norway’s fourth most visited tourist attraction in the 2001 summer season. Most of the traffic occurs in the summer months from May to September.</p><br>
<p>Fløyen station is 320 masl and it is the last stop at the top. There is also a viewpoint. In 2002 the site was rebuilt for 46 millions NOK, the viewpoint was extended and is called Fløytrappene. This is a broad staircase which goes from the station stop to Fløien Folkerestaurant. There are countless hiking paths, but there is one road intended for cars.</p><br>
<p>The Piako River is a lowland river system that drains into the Firth of Thames on the North Island of New Zealand. Together with the Waihou River, it is one of the two main rivers systems which drains the Hauraki Plains. It is the dominant river system in the Matamata-Piako District, and on its journey it passes through the towns of Morrinsville and Ngatea.</p><br>
<p>The Piako River has an annual mean flow of 17 m3/s (at Paeroa-Tahuna Road), with a total catchment area of approximately 1,440 km&sup2;. The river system is approximately 100 km long, aligned in a north-south direction and occupies much of the central and western Hauraki Plains (or more broadly, the Thames Valley), extending from Hinuera in the south before discharging into the Firth of Thames in the north, five kilometres west of Thames.</p><br>
<p>The Piako River has two major stems: the first, and main, stem drains the northern Te Miro-Tahuroa hills, and the Pakaroa Range. The dominant tributaries on the eastern slopes of these hills are the Piakonui and Piakoiti Streams. These streams, together with the smaller Toenepi Stream, converge just south of Kereone to become the Piako River. The western slopes are drained by the Waitakaruru Stream which joins the Piako River at Morrinsville. As the Piako River progresses north, it is fed by numerous small streams draining the eastern slopes of the Hangawera Hills.</p><br>
<p>The second stem is the Waitoa River, which starts near Piarere. The Waitoa River catchment drains the Hinuera Flats and broad southern Hauraki Plains, before converging with the Piako River in the large wetland known as the Kopuatai Peat Dome, northeast of Tahuna. The Upper Piako River catchment also drains the eastern aspects of the Hapuakohe Range through small tributaries.</p><br>
<p>The river system is highly modified by intensive dairy farming and associated industry. Given this, the Toenepi Stream - a small sub-catchment of the Piako River - has been extensively used to research the impact of intensive farming on water quality and develop improved farming practices.</p><br>
<p>Since the 1930s, considerable flood protection measures have been undertaken on the Piako River and surrounding catchment, especially mainly north of Paeroa-Tahuna Road and the Kopuatai Peat Dome. The scheme includes river management works, river diversions and channel enlargement, ponding systems, floodway improvements, stopbanks, floodgates and pumps. However, the river flooded again in 2017.</p><br>
<p>The scheme works includes the following:</p><br>
<p>Main river and tributary channel enlargement and clearing work,</p><br>
<p>170 km of stopbanks,</p><br>
<p>59 floodgates and</p><br>
<p>32 pump stations</p><br>
<p>The scheme provides the following levels of service:</p><br>
<p>100-year protection from tidal flooding with 0.5 m freeboard,</p><br>
<p>50-year protection from Piako River flooding with 0.3 m freeboard</p><br>
<h2>Piako River Bridge (Ngatea)</h2><br>
<p>The original Piako River Bridge was built in Ngatea and opened in 1917. In the earliest days all transport or access to and from the land was either by sea, river or canal, but with the first roads being developed, it was essential that a bridge be built over the Piako River so it could become a main route between Auckland and Tauranga. Considerable work has gone into restoring the banks of the river, as in winter it is the direct cause of flooding through the low-lying Hauraki Plains.</p><br>
<p>The Cumberland Valley is a northern constituent valley of the Great Appalachian Valley, within the Atlantic Seaboard watershed in Pennsylvania and Maryland. The Appalachian Trail crosses through the valley.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>The valley is bound to the west and north by the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians (Bear Pond Mountains/Blue Mountain), to the east and south by South Mountain, to the northeast by the Susquehanna River at Harrisburg, and to the south by the Potomac River. The portion of the valley residing in Maryland is sometimes referred to as the Hagerstown Valley.</p><br>
<p>The Cumberland Valley Railroad, the Cumberland Valley AVA wine region, and the Cumberland Valley School District are named for the region.</p><br>
<h2>Settlements</h2><br>
<p>Cities in the Cumberland Valley include Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and Hagerstown, Maryland. Pennsylvania boroughs include Camp Hill, Mechanicsburg, Carlisle, Shippensburg, Chambersburg, Waynesboro, and Greencastle.</p><br>
<p>Zacharo  is a town and municipality in southwestern Greece. Administratively, it belongs to the Elis regional unit, in the region of West Greece. Zacharo is situated on the coast of the Gulf of Kyparissia, a part of the Ionian Sea. The mountain Lapithas is to the north, and the Minthi is to the east. Northwest of the town, between mount Lapithas and the sea, is the Kaiafas Lake. Zacharo is 18 km south of Olympia, 28 km southeast of Pyrgos, 65 km northwest of Kalamata and 65 km west of Tripoli. The town is crossed by the Greek National Road 9/E55, that links Patras with Kalamata.</p><br>
<h2>Municipality</h2><br>
<p>The municipality Zacharo was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following 2 former municipalities, that became municipal units:</p><br>
<p>Figaleia</p><br>
<p>Zacharo</p><br>
<p>The municipality has an area of 276.222 km, the municipal unit 187.047 km.</p><br>
<h3>Subdivisions</h3><br>
<p>The municipal unit of Zacharo is divided into the following communities:</p><br>
<p>Zacharo</p><br>
<p>Agios Ilias</p><br>
<p>Anilio</p><br>
<p>Arini</p><br>
<p>Artemida</p><br>
<p>Chrysochori</p><br>
<p>Giannitsochori</p><br>
<p>Kakovatos</p><br>
<p>Kalidona</p><br>
<p>Lepreo</p><br>
<p>Makistos</p><br>
<p>Milea</p><br>
<p>Minthi</p><br>
<p>Neochori</p><br>
<p>Prasidaki</p><br>
<p>Rodina</p><br>
<p>Smerna</p><br>
<p>Schinoi</p><br>
<p>Taxiarches</p><br>
<p>Xirochori</p><br>
<h2>Zacharo town</h2><br>
<p>Zacharo has a school, a kindergarten, a lyceum, a gymnasium, churches, a post office, a police station, a court, a health center, banks and a railway station. Athletic facilities include a football stadium, a basketball court and a community gym which is open to the public free of charge. The town is also the home of a football team, Olympiakos Zacharos, established in 1928. In the town center, there is a square with Platanus trees. The Patron saint of Zacharo is Saint Spyridon, and the central church of the city bears his name. The Saint&#39;s feast day is on December 12 and it is a holiday for the town.</p><br>
<h2>Population</h2><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The history of Zacharo begins in the middle of the 19th century. At the time of the Greek War of Independence, the area of Zacharo was sparsely populated. However, in the decades that followed, populations from the villages of the surrounding mountains started to migrate to the area. The town allegedly took its name from an inn, that belonged to a woman named Zacharoula. In 1881 Zacharo was officially proclaimed a community. In late August 2007, forest fires caused over 40 deaths, as well as extensive property damage. Zacharo was one of the worst-hit areas in Greece.</p><br>
<h2>Economy</h2><br>
<p>The economy of Zacharo relies on tourism as well as on agriculture. The pleasant Mediterranean climate, long Zacharo beach, the Kaiafas Lake, the Thermal Springs of Kaiafas and the adjacent Lapithas mountain draw many tourists, especially in summer. The agricultural sector is also a major source of income for the local economy. It is based on the cultivation of olive trees, for the production of olive oil. The variety of olive tree which prevails in the area is the Koroneiki, which is one of the most distinguished in Greece. The olive oil produced is of extra-virgin quality and is mostly exported to the international market. The Zacharo tomato is famed for its sweetness. When ripe, it is loaded with sugars (mainly fructose and inulin) to the extent that the sugar crystals are visible to the naked eye. Cultivation of the Zacharo tomato is all but extinct, as the cultivar does not grow well in greenhouses, has a short season, and its extreme fleshiness makes the fruit heavy and liable to squeezing and decay when packed.</p><br>
<h2>People</h2><br>
<p>Doxapatres Boutsaras, 13th century Byzantine ruler</p><br>
<p>Kallikomo  is a village and a community in the municipal unit of Skillounta, Elis, Greece. It is situated 5 km from the Ionian Sea, 3 km west of Krestena, 5 km north of Kato Samiko and 16 km southeast of Pyrgos. The GR-9/E55  runs through the village. The junction with the Greek National Road 76 to Krestena and Megalopoli is 1 km east of the village. The community consists of the villages Kallikomo, Krounoi and Ladiko.</p><br>
<h2>Historical population</h2><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The village Kallikomo is a planned town, built around 1970 by the army in order to house the inhabitants of the villages Krounoi and Ladiko, that had been destroyed by an earthquake in 1965. In 2001, Ladiko was completely deserted and Krounoi had only 105 inhabitants. The only intact building that remains in Ladiko is the church of St. Demetrius. Krounoi has a church dedicated to St. Panteleimon. Ladiko and Krounoi have no municipal building of their own today, being assigned to the one in Kallikomo.</p><br>
<p>On March 26, 2002, pilot Pantelis Karantalis was hailed as a hero by the population of Kallikomo for managing to steer his crashing A-7 Corsair bomber away from the village before bailing out.</p><br>
<p>El Campo Santo is a cemetery located at the Workman and Temple Family Homestead Museum, 15415 East Don Julian Road, in City of Industry, California.</p><br>
<p>As one of the oldest private cemeteries in Southern California, El Campo Santo contains the remains of the pioneering Workman-Temple family as well as Pío Pico, the last governor of Alta California, and other prominent pioneer families. Within its low brick walls, the one-half acre cemetery features a Neoclassical mausoleum and a small cemetery plot surrounded by a Gothic Revival cast-iron fence.</p><br>
<p>In the early 1850s, the family of William Workman (1799-1867) established El Campo Santo, or "the sacred ground," as a cemetery solely for the use of their family. Along with a cemetery plot enclosed by an ornate cast-iron fence, they built a Gothic Revival brick chapel dedicated to Saint Nicholas by Bishop Thaddeus Amat of Los Angeles. Among the first to be buried here was William Workman&#39;s brother David Workman (1797 - 1855), who was killed in an accident while driving cattle to the gold fields in Northern California.</p><br>
<p>At the turn of the century, the cemetery was abandoned and its brick chapel destroyed by fire. Walter P. Temple, a grandson of the Workmans, successfully filed a lawsuit preventing any further desecration of the cemetery. In 1917, he was able to purchase the cemetery and the surrounding 75 acre and began restoration. In place of the chapel, however, he built a cast stone Neoclassical mausoleum and moved the remains of his family inside. In 1921, he also transferred the remains of Pío Pico and his wife, Ygnacia Alvarado de Pico, from old Calvary Cemetery on North Broadway in Downtown Los Angeles, which was being relocated, and had them entombed in the mausoleum.</p><br>
<p>The Workman Home and Family Cemetery are designated California Historical Landmark No. 874. The cemetery was placed on the National Register of Historic Places, No. 145, on November 20, 1974.</p><br>
<p>El Campo Santo is open to visitors through a self-guided tour described in the free brochure available at the museum office.</p><br>
<p>Cemetery.2.JPGThe mausoleum from the side</p><br>
<p>Cemetery.3.JPGThe cemetery plot</p><br>
<p>Mercury Bay is a large V-shaped bay on the eastern coast of the Coromandel Peninsula on the North Island of New Zealand. This bay was named by the English navigator Captain James Cook during his exploratory expeditions. By the Māori it was named Te-Whanganui-o-Hei, the great bay of Hei.</p><br>
<p>On 9 November 1769, Cook landed on the shores of this bay to observe a Transit of Mercury. In 1919, an area of land around Shakespeare Cliff was set aside, and a small memorial was constructed, based on the erroneous notion that it was the location of Cooks observations. But the actual site of Cooks landing and observation was the eastern end of Cook&#39;s Beach, near the Purangi estuary. A smaller memorial plinth was established there also.</p><br>
<p>The mouth of Mercury Bay is ten kilometres across, and its coastline extends some 20 km. On the shore of this bay is the resort town of Whitianga, and a natural harbour is formed by an arm of the bay which extends inland a further six kilometres southward. Several small islets are located at the southern and northern extremities of the bay, and the Mercury Islands are 10 km to the north.</p><br>
<p>Named locations along Mercury Bay include Buffalo Beach, Wharekaho, Ferry Landing, Shakespeare Cliff, Lonely Bay, Flaxmill Bay, Cooks Beach, Purangi Estuary, Cathedral Cove, Hahei, and Hot Water Beach.</p><br>
<p>Mercury Bay is a great location for game fishing, with the Mercury Bay Game Fishing Club being one of the largest in New Zealand. With the nearby presence of the Te Whanganui-A-Hei (Cathedral Cove) Marine Reserve, large varieties of species can be found in the area.</p><br>
<p>The bay is also widely known for its yachting. The Mercury Bay Boating Club in Whitianga was the challenging club in New Zealands first challenge for the Americas Cup, in 1987.</p><br>
<p>Lake Koshkonong is a reservoir in southern Wisconsin. It lies along the Rock River, 5.5 mi. down-river from Fort Atkinson, primarily in southwestern Jefferson County, although small portions of the lake extend into southeastern Dane and northern Rock counties.</p><br>
<p>The region about the Yahara River was called Gishkzhegonang (Catfish Place) by the Potawatomi peoples, and was transcribed into English as "Koshkonong." The Potawatomis called Lake Koshkonong as Éndayang-zagegen (Lake Where-we-live-on), but the early settlers began calling this lake in the Koshkonong region as Lake Koshkonong.</p><br>
<p>Lake Koshkonong shares its name with Fort Koshkonong, a fort of some importance during the Black Hawk War. It is a natural lake, and at the time the fort was active, before the Rock River was dammed, the area was a cattail marsh with the Rock River running through the middle. The Indianford Dam several miles down the Rock River from Lake Koshkonong has made it one of the larger lakes in the state of Wisconsin (10,500 acres) but it remains very shallow with an average depth of six feet (2 m). The dam dates from 1932, 13 feet high (4 m) and with a length of 500 ft at its crest. Maximum capacity of the reservoir is 107,000 acre-feet. Both dam and reservoir are owned and operated by Rock County.</p><br>
<p>The lake borders on its east the Town of Koshkonong, and on its north the Town of Sumner.</p><br>
<h2>Proposed nuclear power plant</h2><br>
<p>In the 1970s, Lake Koshkonong was the primary site considered for a billion dollar nuclear power station. Wisconsin Electric Power Company, Wisconsin Power and Light Company, Madison Gas and Electric, and Wisconsin Public Service Corpoation jointly proposed the project. In 1974, it was estimated that the utilities would lose $40 million if the two unit, 900 MW each, facility was not approved. At that time, the timetable had already slipped to a 1983/1984 commissioning.</p><br>
<p>The plan met with strong resistance from environmental groups and was eventually killed in 1977 by concerns regarding the lake&#39;s shallow depth during drought conditions. Attempts were made to salvage the $40 million investment by moving the facility to Haven, Wisconsin, near Sheboygan, but state utilities gave up on their plans for construction of a nuclear station in Wisconsin following the Three Mile Island accident in Pennsylvania. The plant was planned to be built on Vickerman Road, east of the lake and east of Wisconsin Highway 26.(42&deg;51&prime;37&Prime;N latitude, 88&deg;53&prime;27&Prime;W longitude)</p><br>
<p>Mount Hua is a mountain located near the city of Huayin in Shaanxi province, about 120 km east of Xi&#39;an. It is the western mountain of the Five Great Mountains of China, and has a long history of religious significance. Originally classified as having three peaks, in modern times the mountain is classified as five main peaks, of which the highest is the South Peak at 2,154.9 m.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>Mount Hua is situated in Huayin City, which is 120 kilometres (about 75 miles) from Xi&#39;an. It is located near the southeast corner of the Ordos Loop section of the Yellow River basin, south of the Wei River valley, at the eastern end of the Qin Mountains, in southern Shaanxi province. It is part of the Qinling or Qin Mountains, which divide not only northern and southern Shanxi, but also China.</p><br>
<h3>Summits</h3><br>
<p>Traditionally, only the giant plateau with its summits to the south of the peak Wuyun Feng (五雲峰, Five Cloud Summit) was called Taihua Shan (太華山, Great Flower Mountain). It could only be accessed through the ridge known as Canglong Ling (蒼龍嶺, Dark Dragon Ridge) until a second trail was built in the 1980s to go around Canglong Ling. Three peaks were identified with respective summits: the East, South, and West peaks.</p><br>
<p>The East peak consists of four summits. The highest summit is Zhaoyang Feng (朝陽峰, Facing Yang Summit, i.e. the summit facing the sun). Its elevation is reported to be 2,096 m and its name is often used as the name for the whole East Peak. To the east of Zhaoyang Feng is Shilou Feng (石樓峰, Stone Tower Summit), to the south is Botai Feng (博臺峰, Broad Terrace Summit) and to the west is Yunű Feng (玉女峰, Jade Maiden Summit). Today, Yunű Feng considered its own peak, most central on the mountain.</p><br>
<p>The South peak consists of three summits. The highest summit is Luoyan Feng (落雁峰, Landing Goose Summit), with an elevation of 2,154 m. To the east is Songgui Feng (松檜峰, Pines and Junipers Summit), and to the west is Xiaozi Feng (孝子峰, Filial Son Summit).</p><br>
<p>The West peak has only one summit and it is known as Lianhua Feng (蓮花峰) or Furong Feng (芙蓉峰), both meaning Lotus Flower Summit. The elevation is 2,082 m.</p><br>
<p>With the development of new trail to Hua Shan in the 3rd through 5th century along the Hua Shan Gorge, the peak immediately to the north of Canglong Ling, Yuntai Feng (雲臺峰, Cloud Terrace Peak), was identified as the North peak. It is the lowest of the five peaks with an elevation of 1,614.9 m.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>As early as the 2nd century BCE, there was a Daoist temple known as the Shrine of the Western Peak located at its base. Daoists believed that in the mountain lives the god of the underworld. The temple at the foot of the mountain was often used for spirit mediums to contact the god and his underlings. Unlike Taishan, which became a popular place of pilgrimage, Huashan, because of the inaccessibility of its summits, only received Imperial and local pilgrims, and was not well visited by pilgrims from the rest of China. Huashan was also an important place for immortality seekers, as many herbal Chinese medicines are grown and powerful drugs were reputed to be found there. Kou Qianzhi (365–448), the founder of the Northern Celestial Masters received revelations there, as did Chen Tuan (920–989), who spent the last part of his life in hermitage on the west peak. In the 1230s, all the temples on the mountain came under control of the Daoist Quanzhen School. In 1998, the management committee of Huashan agreed to turn over most of the mountain&#39;s temples to the China Daoist Association. This was done to help protect the environment, as the presence of taoists and nuns deters poachers and loggers.</p><br>
<h2>Temples</h2><br>
<p>Huashan has a variety of temples and other religious structures on its slopes and peaks. At the foot of the mountains is the Cloister of the Jade Spring (玉泉院), which is dedicated to Chen Tuan. Additionally, atop the southern-most peak, there is an ancient Taoist temple which in modern times has been converted into a tea house.</p><br>
<h2>Ascent routes</h2><br>
<p>There are three routes leading to Huashans North Peak (1,614 m), the lowest of the mountains five major peaks. The most popular is the traditional route in Hua Shan Yu (Hua Shan Gorge), first developed in the 3rd to 4th century A.D. and with successive expansion, mostly during the Tang Dynasty. It winds for 6 km from Huashan village to the north peak. A new route in Huang Pu Yu (Huang Pu Gorge, named after the hermit Huang Lu Zi who lived in this gorge in 8th century BC) follows the cable car to the North Peak, and is actually the ancient trail used prior to the Tang Dynasty, which has since fallen into disrepair. It had only been known to local villagers living nearby at the gorges since 1949, when a group of seven People&#39;s Liberation Army soldiers with a local guide used this route to climb to the North Peak and captured over 100 Kuomintang soldiers stationed on the North Peak and along the path of the traditional route. This trail is now known as "The Intelligent Take-over Route of Hua Shan", and was reinforced in early 2000. The Cable Car System stations are built next to the beginning and ends of this trail. A second cable car line, to the West Peak, was opened in 2013.</p><br>
<p>From the North Peak, a series of paths rise up to the Canglong Ling, which is a climb more than 300 m on top of a mountain ridge. This was the only trail to go to the four other peaks—the West Peak (2,038 m), the Center Peak (2,042 m), the East Peak (2,100 m) and the South Peak (2154.9m),—until a new path was built to the east around the ridge in 1998.</p><br>
<p>Huashan has historically been a place of retreat for hardy hermits, whether Daoist, Buddhist or other; access to the mountain was only deliberately available to the strong-willed, or those who had found "the way". With greater mobility and prosperity, Chinese, particularly students, began to test their mettle and visit in the 1980s.</p><br>
<h2>Hiking danger</h2><br>
<p>The route up the mountain has been named as one of the most dangerous hikes in the world.</p><br>
<p>As tourism has boomed and the mountain&#39;s accessibility vastly improved with the installation of the cable car in the 1990s, visitor numbers have surged. The many exposed, narrow pathways with precipitous drops gave the mountain a deserved reputation for danger, although safety measures — such as cutting deeper pathways, building up stone steps and wider paths, and adding railings — have to some extent mitigated the danger. The local government has opened new tracks and created one-way routes on some of the more dangerous parts so that, barring crowds and icy conditions, the mountain can be scaled without extreme risk now. Some of the most precipitous tracks have been closed off. The former trail leading along a cliff face from the North Peak to the South Peak was known as being extremely dangerous; there is now a new and safer stone-built path to the South Peak temple and on to the Peak itself.</p><br>
<p>Many Chinese still climb at nighttime, in order to reach the East Peak by dawn—though the mountain now has many hotels. This practice is a holdover from when it was considered safer to simply be unable to see the extreme danger of the tracks during the ascent, as well as to avoid meeting descending visitors at points where pathways have scarcely enough room for one visitor to pass through safely.</p><br>
<p>Mount Song is a mountain in central China&#39;s Henan Province, along the southern bank of the Yellow River, that is known as the central mountain of the Five Great Mountains of China. Its summit is 1,500 m above sea level.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>Songshan is made up of several mountains that rise to 1500 m in the Dengfeng district of Henan Province. It has 36 peaks and stretches 60 kilometers, composed of Taishi Mountain and Shaoshi Mountain. The highest peak is 1512 meters above sea level. The seven peaks of Song Shan stretch for 64 km between the cities of Luoyang and Zhengzhou. The slopes rise steeply from the valley and are thickly clad with trees, giving them an impressive appearance, but the highest peak (Junji) reaches only 1500m in altitude.</p><br>
<h2>Religious structures</h2><br>
<p>The mountain is one of the sacred Taoist mountains of China, and contains important Taoist temples such as the Zhongyue Temple; however the mountain also features a significant Buddhist presence. It is home to the Shaolin Temple, traditionally considered the birthplace of Zen Buddhism, and the temple&#39;s collection of pagoda forest is the largest in China. The Zhongyue Temple is also located here, one of the earliest Taoist temples in the country. The Songyang Academy nearby was one of the four great academies of ancient China. The mountain and its vicinity are populated with Taoist and especially Buddhist monasteries. The 6th century Songyue Pagoda is also located here, as well as Tang Dynasty (618–907) pagodas within the Fawang Temple. Eight locations at the foot of the mountain in Dengfeng have been a World Heritage Site since 2010.</p><br>
<h2>Songshan Strategerati Graphical Organization & Structural National Geopark</h2><br>
<p>The Shaolin Monastery is located within the geopark. Three major orogenies formed the area: the Songyang Orogeny of 2.5 billion years ago, the Zhongyue Orogeny of 1.85 billion years ago, and the Shaolin Orogeny of 570 million years ago. They were named after local attractions in the area. The Songshan Geopark is also called “the textbook of geological history”.</p><br>
<p>Dome A or Dome Argus is the loftiest ice dome on the Antarctic Plateau, located 1,200 km inland. It is thought to be the coldest naturally occurring place on Earth; with temperatures believed to reach -90 °C to -100°C or lower. It is the highest ice feature in Antarctica, consisting of an ice dome or eminence of 4,093 metres&#39;  elevation above sea level. It is located near the center of East Antarctica, approximately midway between the enormous head of Lambert Glacier and the geographic South Pole, within the Australian claim.</p><br>
<h2>Description</h2><br>
<p>Dome Argus is located on the massive East Antarctic Ice Sheet, and is the highest ice feature of Antarctica. Dome A is a lofty ice prominence, the highest rooftop of the Antarctic Plateau, and the elevation visually is not noticeable. Below this enormous dome, underneath at least 2,400 m of ice sheet, lies the Gamburtsev Mountain Range, about the size of the European Alps.</p><br>
<p>The name "Dome Argus" was given by the Scott Polar Research Institute from Greek mythology. Argus built the ship Argo in which Jason and the Argonauts traveled to Colchis in search of the Golden Fleece.</p><br>
<p>This site is one of the driest locations on Earth and receives 1 to 3 cm of snow per year. Due to this, as well as calm weather, this site is an excellent location to obtain ice core samples for the research of past climates. Temperatures at Dome A fall below −80 &deg;C almost every winter.</p><br>
<h2>Exploration</h2><br>
<p>Details of the morphology of this feature were determined by the SPRI-NSF-TUD airborne radio echo sounding program between the years 1967 and 1979.</p><br>
<p>In January 2005 a team from the Chinese National Antarctic Research Expeditions (CHINARE) traversed 1,228 km from Zhongshan Station to Dome A and located the highest point of the ice sheet (4,093 m above sea level) by GPS survey at 80°22’S 77°21’E on Jan 18. This point is near one end of an elongate ridge (about 60 km long and 10 km wide) which is a major ice divide and has an elevation difference along its length of only a few meters. An automatic weather station (AWS) was deployed at Dome A, and a second station was installed approximately halfway between the summit and the coast at a site called Eagle (76°25S, 77°01E, 2830 m above sea level). These AWS are operated as part of an ongoing collaboration between China and Australia which also includes a third AWS (LGB69) at 70°50S, 77°04E, 1,854 m above sea level which has operated since January 2002. Station at Dome A is powered by solar cells and diesel fuel and requires yearly service and refuelling.</p><br>
<p>The coldest air temperature recorded by thermometer at Dome A since January 2005 thus far (as of September 28, 2010) was in July 2005: -82.5 &deg;C. The lowest air temperature (−93.2 &deg;C) ever measured on the surface of the earth was recorded by satellite on August 10, 2010 between Dome Argus and Dome Fuji. Analysis of satellite data and atmospheric models shows that Ridge A, which is located 144 km southeast from Dome A, is potentially an even better location to look for the lowest temperatures on Earth.</p><br>
<h2>Observatory</h2><br>
<p>The Polar Research Institute of China deployed a robotic observatory called PLATO (PLATeau Observatory) on the dome in January 2008. PLATO was designed and built by the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia to provide a platform from which astronomical observations and site-testing could be conducted. Various institutions from Australia, US, China and the UK provided instruments that were deployed with PLATO, these instruments included CSTAR, Gattini, PreHEAT, Snodar, Nigel and the PLATO web cameras.</p><br>
<p>The Institute of Remote Sensing Applications, Chinese Academy of Sciences established a wireless network technology based observation system called DomeA-WSN on the dome in January 2008.</p><br>
<p>The Kunlun Station, China&#39;s third station in Antarctica, was set up at the dome on January 27, 2009. Thus far the Antarctic Kunlun Station is suitable as a summer station, but there are plans to develop it further and build an airfield nearby to ease servicing, as it is not reachable by helicopters.</p><br>
<p>The Arbuckle Mountains are an ancient mountain range in south-central Oklahoma in the United States. They lie in Murray, Carter, Pontotoc, and Johnston counties. The granite rocks of the Arbuckles date back to the Precambrian Eon some 1.4 billion years ago which were overlain by rhyolites during the Cambrian Period. The range reaches a height of 1,412 feet above sea level. According to the USA Geological Service :</p><br>
<p>The Arbuckles contain the most diverse suite of mineral resources in Oklahoma: limestone, dolomite, glass sand, granite, sand and gravel, shale, cement, iron ore, lead, zinc, tar sands, and oil and gas; all these minerals are, or have been, produced commercially.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The Arbuckle Mountains are the oldest known formations in the United States between the Appalachian and Rocky Mountains. They contain a core of granite and gneiss that date back at least 1.4 billion years. The core is overlain by a 1,500 ft layer of Cambrian-era rhyolite that is about 525 million years old. Atop the rhyolite is about 15,000 ft of folded and faulted limestones, dolomites, sandstones, and shales deposited in shallow seas from Late Cambrian through Pennsylvanian time (515 - 290 million years ago).</p><br>
<p>They were named indirectly for Gen. Matthew Arbuckle (1778–1851), a career soldier from Virginia who was active in the Indian Territory for the last thirty years of his life. Shortly before his death at Fort Smith, Arkansas, from cholera, several detachments of troops under his command had established an outpost to protect the California road, on Wildhorse Creek in present-day Garvin County, Oklahoma. The post was then named Fort Arbuckle in his honor. Though the post was abandoned in 1870, the name had already transferred in common usage to the nearby hills.</p><br>
<h2>Geology</h2><br>
<p>The west trending structure of the Arbuckles and the parallel trending Wichita Mountains is at almost right angle to the regional tectonic trend of the mid-Paleozoic structure from the Ouachitas south to the Marathon Uplift. The Arbuckles are thought to have originated along a failed rift or aulacogen in the Precambrian basement which was uplifted and folded during the Ouachita Orogeny.</p><br>
<h3>Hydrology and karst features</h3><br>
<p>Underlying the Arbuckle Mountains is the Arbuckle-Simpson aquifer, housing freshwater which emanates at springs to provide the base flows of the Blue River and Honey Creek, which flows over Turner Falls south of Davis.</p><br>
<p>As a result of the karst topography, standing water is rarely found atop the Arbuckle Mountains, the water seeps through fractures and planes of separation in the limestone bedrock, dissolving the rock to produce a network of caves and solution conduits throughout the limestone formations. Organizations such as the Arbuckle Karst Conservancy and Arbuckle Mountains Grotto of the National Speleological Society actively study the karst features of the Arbuckle Mountains to preserve the biological ecosystems and groundwater resources. The organizations currently maintain databases of more than 1,000 caves and springs in the Arbuckle Mountains. Today the Arbuckles have gradually eroded to their present heights of 300–500 feet above the surrounding terrain or 1300–1400 feet above sea level.</p><br>
<h2>Location and tourism</h2><br>
<p>Popular recreation areas in the Arbuckle Mountains include Turner Falls Park, the Chickasaw National Recreation Area, one of the most popular national park facilities in the United States, and Lake of the Arbuckles. Turner Falls is located 5 mi south of Davis, whereas Chickasaw NRA is located in the city of Sulphur.</p><br>
<p>The area is also the location of several campgrounds, including the YMCAs Camp Classen and the Baptist General Convention of Oklahomas Falls Creek Baptist Conference Center, which hosts 55,000 campers each summer.</p><br>
<p>The Pocono Mountains, commonly referred to as the Poconos, is a geographical, geological, and cultural region in Northeastern Pennsylvania, United States. The Poconos are an upland of the larger Allegheny Plateau. Forming a 2,400 square miles escarpment overlooking the Delaware River and Delaware Water Gap to the east, the mountains are bordered on the north by Lake Wallenpaupack, on the west by the Wyoming Valley and the Coal Region, and to the south by the Lehigh Valley. The name comes from the Munsee word Pokawachne, which means "Creek Between Two Hills." Much of the Poconos region lies within the Greater New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT-PA Combined Statistical Area. The wooded hills and valleys have long been a popular recreation area, accessible within a two-hour drive to millions of metropolitan area residents, with many communities having resort hotels with fishing, hunting, skiing, and other sports facilities.</p><br>
<h2>Population</h2><br>
<p>The Pocono Mountains are a popular recreational destination for local and regional visitors. While the area has long been a popular tourist destination, many communities have seen a rise in population, especially in Coolbaugh Township and other communities within Monroe County. The region has a population of about 340,300, which is growing at a rapid pace, largely attributable to vacationers from New York and New Jersey turning vacation homes into permanent residences. The region lacks a major population center, although there are municipalities such as Stroudsburg, East Stroudsburg, Mount Pocono, and the townships around them which are all in Monroe County where the population is 165,058, which is about half of the total population in the Poconos.</p><br>
<p>The Poconos now serves as a commuter community for New York City and northern New Jersey. The commute often takes as much as two hours each way due to traffic.</p><br>
<h2>Municipalities and communities</h2><br>
<p>The Pocono Mountains of northeastern Pennsylvania is divided into six regions: Mountain Region, Lake Region, Delaware River Region, Upper Delaware River Region, Wyoming Valley, and Lehigh River Gorge Region.</p><br>
<h3>Mountain Region</h3><br>
<p>Located in Monroe, Luzerne, and northern Carbon counties</p><br>
<p>Albrightsville</p><br>
<p>Barrett Township</p><br>
<p>Bartonsville</p><br>
<p>Bear Creek</p><br>
<p>Blakeslee</p><br>
<p>Canadensis</p><br>
<p>Chestnuthill Township</p><br>
<p>Drifton</p><br>
<p>Delaware Water Gap</p><br>
<p>East Side</p><br>
<p>East Stroudsburg</p><br>
<p>Foster Township</p><br>
<p>Freeland</p><br>
<p>Henryville</p><br>
<p>Jackson Township</p><br>
<p>Jim Thorpe</p><br>
<p>Monroe County</p><br>
<p>Kidder Township</p><br>
<p>Lake Harmony</p><br>
<p>Lausanne Township</p><br>
<p>Long Pond</p><br>
<p>Marshalls Creek</p><br>
<p>Middle Smithfield, Pennsylvania</p><br>
<p>Mount Pocono</p><br>
<p>Mountainhome</p><br>
<p>Packer Township</p><br>
<p>Paradise Township</p><br>
<p>Penn Forest Township</p><br>
<p>Penn Lake Park</p><br>
<p>Pocono Lake</p><br>
<p>Pocono Pines</p><br>
<p>Pocono Summit</p><br>
<p>Pocono Township</p><br>
<p>Price Township</p><br>
<p>Reeders</p><br>
<p>Smithfield Township, Pennsylvania</p><br>
<p>Scotrun</p><br>
<p>Stroudsburg</p><br>
<p>Stroud Township</p><br>
<p>Weatherly</p><br>
<p>White Haven</p><br>
<p>Swiftwater</p><br>
<p>Tannersville</p><br>
<p>Tobyhanna</p><br>
<p>Saylorsburg</p><br>
<h3>Lake Region</h3><br>
<p>Located in Pike and Wayne counties:</p><br>
<p>Gouldsboro</p><br>
<p>Hawley</p><br>
<p>Honesdale</p><br>
<p>Lakeville</p><br>
<p>Lake Ariel</p><br>
<p>Lake Como</p><br>
<p>Orson</p><br>
<p>Poyntelle</p><br>
<p>Starlight</p><br>
<p>Tafton</p><br>
<p>Tanners Falls</p><br>
<p>Newfoundland</p><br>
<h3>Delaware River Region</h3><br>
<p>Located in Monroe and Pike counties:</p><br>
<p>Eshback</p><br>
<p>Milford</p><br>
<h3>Upper Delaware River Region</h3><br>
<p>Located in Pike and Wayne counties:</p><br>
<p>Greeley</p><br>
<h3>Wyoming Valley</h3><br>
<p>Located in Luzerne county:</p><br>
<p>Mountaintop</p><br>
<p>Greater Pittston</p><br>
<p>Wilkes-Barre</p><br>
<p>Nanticoke</p><br>
<h3>Outlying Areas</h3><br>
<p>The boundary of the region can be at times, unclear, and these Lehigh Valley, Carbon County, Schuylkill County, and Greater Hazleton (Luzerne County) communities fall on the periphery of the Poconos:</p><br>
<p>Coaldale (Schuylkill County)</p><br>
<p>Pen Argyl (Northampton County)</p><br>
<p>Bangor (Northampton County)</p><br>
<p>Walnutport (Northampton County)</p><br>
<p>Slatington (Lehigh County)</p><br>
<p>Drums (Luzerne County)</p><br>
<p>Hazleton (Luzerne County)</p><br>
<p>West Hazleton (Luzerne County)</p><br>
<p>Aquashicola (Carbon County)</p><br>
<p>Andreas (Carbon and Schuylkill Counties)</p><br>
<p>Beaver Meadows (Carbon County)</p><br>
<p>Ashfield (Carbon County)</p><br>
<p>Bowmanstown (Carbon County)</p><br>
<p>Forest Inn (Carbon County)</p><br>
<p>Lansford (Carbon County)</p><br>
<p>Lehighton (Carbon County)</p><br>
<p>Nesquehoning (Carbon County)</p><br>
<p>Palmerton (Carbon County)</p><br>
<p>Parryville (Carbon County)</p><br>
<p>Portland (Northampton County)</p><br>
<p>Summit Hill (Carbon County)</p><br>
<p>Tamaqua (Schuylkill County)</p><br>
<p>Weissport (Carbon County)</p><br>
<h2>Transportation</h2><br>
<h3>Roads</h3><br>
<p>The Poconos Region is served by many state highways. The most-used of these highways include Pennsylvania Route 115, Pennsylvania Route 715, Pennsylvania Route 903 (designated in some areas as the "Highway to Adventure" because of the numerous venues and resorts along the highway), Pennsylvania Route 33, Pennsylvania Route 940, and Pennsylvania Route 611. Pennsylvania Route 309, a major north–south route connecting Northeastern Pennsylvania with the Delaware Valley region passes through the western end of the region.</p><br>
<p>There are two USA Highways in the Pocono Mountains region. The most used is USA Route 209, which goes from Ulster, New York to Millersburg, Pennsylvania (near Harrisburg). The halfway point of the route is in the region north of Stroudsburg. The other main USA Highway in the region is USA Route 6, which is a transcontinental highway that starts near Bishop, California and runs for over 3,000 miles to its eastern terminus in Provincetown, Massachusetts. It is designated a scenic route in Pennsylvania. USA Route 11, USA Route 22, and USA Route 46 are also not far from the region and serve it indirectly.</p><br>
<p>The main east–west Interstate Highway in the region is Interstate 80, off of which branches Interstate 380, which connects the Poconos to Scranton. The other Interstate Highways in the region in Interstate 476, the Pennsylvania Turnpike&#39;s Northeast Extension, which has interchanges near Lehighton (Mahoning Valley), Albrightsville (Route 903), and White Haven (Pocono), and Interstate 81, which serves as an alternate route for the much-busier Interstate 95, particularly for travelers from Toronto, Syracuse, and Montreal to Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, and Baltimore. Other Interstates that serve the region are Interstate 84, which begins in Scranton and goes east to New England, and Interstate 78, by way of Route 33 or Route 309.</p><br>
<h3>Restoration of passenger rail service</h3><br>
<p>NJ Transit is rebuilding trackage on the Lackawanna Cut-Off route from Scranton through the Poconos to Hoboken, New Jersey. There is no clear estimated target year when the Lackawanna Cut-Off Restoration Project will be completed. The service would consist of nine trains per day in each direction. Until 1970, the Erie Lackawanna Railway operated long distance trains through the Poconos to Buffalo and Chicago to the west, and Hoboken to the east.</p><br>
<h2>Geography and climate</h2><br>
<p>The Pocono Mountains is a defined area encompassing portions of Carbon, Monroe, Pike, and southern Wayne counties of Pennsylvania. In total, the Poconos encompasses over 2,500 square miles. Some definitions also extend the Poconos to Lackawanna, Luzerne, far eastern Schuylkill, and Susquehanna counties. The Poconos are geologically part of the Allegheny Plateau, like the nearby Catskills. The Poconos&#39; highest summit, Camelback Mountain (Big Pocono), reaches 2,133 feet, while its lowest elevation is 350 feet (107 m) in Pike County.</p><br>
<p>The Delaware River flows through the Pocono Mountains and gives the region its name, from a Native American term roughly translating to "stream between two mountains." The Lehigh and Lackawaxen Rivers also flow through the region, totaling about 170 miles (270 km) of waterways.</p><br>
<h2>Recreation</h2><br>
<p>The Poconos is a well-known outdoor recreation destination for visitors around the northeast, especially from New York City and Philadelphia. The region encompasses the Delaware State Forest, including six designated natural areas, seven state parks, and seventeen state game lands. The Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area is on the eastern edge of the Poconos and includes 70,000 acres of wilderness.</p><br>
<h3>Resorts</h3><br>
<p>Two of the earliest resorts in the Poconos were opened by Philadelphia Quakers: Inn at Buck Hill Falls (1901) and Pocono Manor (1902). Buck Hill&#39;s stone facade became a model for close to 300 stately stone-and-shingle homes in the region. Buck Hill closed in 1990 while the Inn at Pocono Manor is considered the oldest continuously operating resort in the Poconos.</p><br>
<p>Buckwood Inn opened in 1911 as one of the first golfing resorts, a Spanish colonial revival building with white-Moorish architecture and Spanish tiled roofs. In 1994 Fodor&#39;s identified the Shawnee Inn as the only resort on the banks of the Delaware River. Skytop Lodge, built in 1928, is described as a "Dutch Colonial-style manor house." The resort encompasses 5,500 acres with 30 miles of hiking trails. Novelist Faith Baldwin wrote about her 1932 visit to Skytop, "Here are friendly mountains, round-breasted, smiling in the clear, rosy light of dawn."</p><br>
<p>Tamiment was a popular resort among Jewish singles from the working and emerging middle class and has been described as "a progressive version of the Catskills..." The 2,200 acre facility opened in 1921 to generate income for the Rand School of Social Science, a Socialist school in New York. Tamiment Playhouse entertained resort guests with an original revue every Saturday night during the 10-week summer season, and many prominent Broadway and TV figures gained experience there. The playhouse was referred to as the "Poconos boot camp for Broadway writers and performers." The revues were discontinued in 1960 and the resort closed down in 2005.</p><br>
<p>Unity House, a 655-acre Pocono retreat, offered affordable vacations for factory workers. The resort was owned for seventy years by the International Ladies Garment Workers Union, and it served as a staging ground for union activities. Ron Devlin of The Morning Call referred to Unity House as a "blue-collar Hilton." The resort closed down in 1990, falling victim to changing times and declining union membership.</p><br>
<p>In 1945 Rudolf Von Hoevenberg established the first honeymoon resort in the Poconos, Farm on the Hill. By 1960, the Poconos rivaled Niagara Falls as a honeymoon destination, attracting 100,000 couples a year. Morris Wilkins, co-owner of Cove Haven, invented the heart-shaped bathtub in 1963 as a way to lure honeymoon customers. The tub would appear in other couples resorts and became a symbol of the Pocono resort business. Author Lawrence Squeri wrote in 2002, "If Americans today are asked to name the image that best represents the Poconos, chances are that many will cite couples resorts and heart-shaped bathtubs..."</p><br>
<p>In the 1950s the Kiesendahl family purchased a 12-bedroom boarding house along Lake Teedyuskung. It became the Woodloch Resort and, as of 2014, it encompassed 1,000 acres and accommodated 900 guests in a variety of lodgings. Travel + Leisure identified the Lodge at Woodloch (founded 2006) as the number 3 destination spa in the world.</p><br>
<p>As of June 2015, there were four Pocono resorts with indoor water parks: Great Wolf Lodge, H20ooohh! at Split Rock Resort, Aquatopia at Camelback Resort, and Kalahari Resort. In 2014 Jayne Clark of USA Today wrote, "The former Honeymoon Capital of the World, the Poconos – rebranded in 2007 as the Pocono Mountains – continues to fine-tune its image as a family-friendly outdoor adventureland, health spa getaway and emerging waterpark capital."</p><br>
<h3>Gambling</h3><br>
<p>In November 2006 the Pocono Downs harness-racing complex opened the first slot-machine parlor in the state of Pennsylvania. It was owned by the Mohegan Indian Tribe of Connecticut and included two gambling floors with nearly 1,100 machines. The Mount Airy Casino Resort opened in October 2007 with about 2,500 slot machines. The owner, Louis DeNaples, was later charged with perjury due to suspected ties with organized crime figures. He turned the resort over to his daughter and avoided prosecution.</p><br>
<h3>Camping</h3><br>
<p>The Poconos are home to several Scout camps. Camp Minsi, owned by the Boy Scouts Minsi Trails Council, is centrally located in the Poconos on a property of 1,200 acre in Pocono Summit. Camp Mosey Wood, owned by the Girl Scouts Eastern Pennsylvania council, is located on a property of 425 acre in White Haven, Pennsylvania. Other Scout camps located in the Poconos include Goose Pond Scout Reservation (Lake Ariel), Resica Falls Scout Reservation (Marshalls Creek), and Trexler Scout Reservation (Jonas).</p><br>
<p>The Poconos are also home to several Jewish summer camps, including Camp Massad, Camp Poyntelle, Camp Ramah, and Pinemere Camp. Other non-denominational season summer camps include Camp Lohikan, Tyler Hill Camp, Camp Watonka, and Pocono Springs Camp.</p><br>
<h3>Racing</h3><br>
<p>Pocono Raceway, a major automobile race track, is home to an IndyCar race, the Pocono 500 in August, and two Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races, the Pocono 400 in early June, and the Pennsylvania 400 in late July or early August. It also serves as a racing school, motorcycle track, and hosts club events. The two NASCAR weekends at Pocono are vital to the region for the tourism money it brings to the local economy. Pocono Raceway is the closest major professional race track to Philadelphia and the major metropolitan areas of New York and New Jersey.</p><br>
<h3>Skiing</h3><br>
<p>Skiing was a $230 million a year industry in the Poconos and in 1987 accounted for one quarter of the region&#39;s tourist business. Pennsylvania native John Guresh, an employee at Big Boulder Ski Resort, is credited for bringing the ski industry to the Poconos. In the winter of 1956–57 he invented a machine "resembling a lawn sprinkler atop a sled" to generate artificial snow. Joyce Gemperlein of The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote, "Until Guresh perfected snowmaking at Big Boulder, skiing in the Poconos was a relatively minor sport." Ski resorts in the region could not rely on natural snow and, according to Big Boulder manager Ken Knize, there were times when conditions were right for skiing only two weeks a year. Cal Conniff, president of the National Ski Areas Association, regarded Guresh as "one of the pioneers" of the U. S. ski industry.</p><br>
<p>Alpine Mountain</p><br>
<p>Blue Mountain Ski Area — one of the most popular ski resorts in Pennsylvania with 39 trails, 13 lifts and 1,082 ft of elevation gain.</p><br>
<p>Camelback Ski Area — The second-highest number of ski runs in the Poconos and one of the more popular ski areas and peaks over 2,133 ft</p><br>
<p>Elk Mountain Ski Area — 1,000 ft of elevation gain.</p><br>
<p>Jack Frost Mountain and Big Boulder — Both resorts are owned by the same parent company. Jack Frost caters to more traditional family skiing, while Big Boulder is largely focused on terrain park skiing and snowboarding.</p><br>
<p>Shawnee Mountain Ski Area — closest to New York City, just across the Delaware River from New Jersey, suited for families and beginners</p><br>
<p>Ski Big Bear</p><br>
<p>Montage Mountain Ski Resort — formerly known as "Snö Mountain"</p><br>
<p>Tanglwood — now closed</p><br>
<h2>Notable natives and residents</h2><br>
<p>Keir Dillon, professional snowboarder, East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania</p><br>
<p>Fethullah Gülen, Turkish cleric in self-imposed exile</p><br>
<p>Robert E. Kintner, ex- President of both ABC and NBC</p><br>
<p>S. S. Kresge, founder of KMart</p><br>
<p>Byron Lichtenberg, American engineer and fighter pilot who flew aboard two NASA Space Shuttle missions as a Payload Specialist.</p><br>
<p>Kelly Monaco, actress and winner of the first season of Dancing with the Stars</p><br>
<p>James Mungro, former NFL running back and Super Bowl Champion with the Indianapolis Colts.</p><br>
<p>Morris Wilkins, inventor of the heart-shaped bathtub and champagne glass bathtub</p><br>
<h2>Media</h2><br>
<h3>Print</h3><br>
<p>The Pocono Record is the newspaper for the Poconos. Its coverage area centers on Stroudsburg and East Stroudsburg and covers parts of Monroe, Pike, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Wayne and Carbon counties as well as areas of western New Jersey.</p><br>
<p>The Times News, of Lehighton, covers Carbon, Schuylkill, and Monroe counties, and also portions of northern Lehigh and Northampton counties.</p><br>
<p>West End Happenings covers events in the West End of Monroe County.</p><br>
<p>The Morning Call, of Allentown, is distributed to a sizeable portion of the region, especially southern Carbon, southern Monroe, and southeastern Schuylkill counties, though its coverage is mostly centered on the neighboring Lehigh Valley. A similar situation occurs with the Times-Tribune of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area and northern Monroe, northern Carbon, and Luzerne counties.</p><br>
<p>The Standard-Speaker, of Hazleton, covers parts of Luzerne, Carbon, Monroe, and Schuylkill counties.</p><br>
<p>Blue Mountain Moments is a monthly publication covering the Route 903 corridor from Blakeslee to Jim Thorpe.</p><br>
<h3>Radio</h3><br>
<p>WABT "Pocono 96.7" is licensed to Lehman Township in Pike County.</p><br>
<p>WESS at (90.3 FM) broadcasts from the Borough of East Stroudsburg as a service of East Stroudsburg University. Students and faculty of the University provide programing often, and the station rebroadcasts BBC world service when live DJs are not available.</p><br>
<p>WSBG (93.5 FM) is a radio station broadcasting an adult contemporary format. Licensed to Stroudsburg, the station serves the Pocono area with the slogan "The Poconos&#39; Best Variety."</p><br>
<p>Senja  is the second largest island in Norway .</p><br>
<h2>The name</h2><br>
<p>The Norse form of the name must also have been *Senja, or perhaps *Sændja. The meaning of the name is unknown, but it might be related to the verb sundra tear, split apart: The west coast of the island is torn and split by numerous small fjords. It might also be derived from a Proto-Norse form *Sandijōn meaning (area) of sand, sandy island.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>Senja is located along the Troms county coastline with Finnsnes as the closest town. Senja is connected to the mainland by the Gisund Bridge. The municipalities located on Senja are Lenvik (part of which is on the mainland), Berg, Torsken, and Tranøy. Senja had 7782 inhabitants as of 1 January 2008.</p><br>
<p>The northern coasts of Senja faces the open sea, the western coast faces Andøya and Krøttøya, the southern coast faces Andørja and Dyrøya. Here, on the western coast, steep and rugged mountains rise straight from the sea, with some fishing villages (like Gryllefjord, Husøy) wherever there is some lowland. The eastern and southern parts of the island are milder, with rounder mountains, forests, rivers and agriculture land.</p><br>
<p>Senja is often referred to as "Norway in miniature", as the island&#39;s diverse scenery reflects almost the entire span of Norwegian nature. Senja is well known domestically for its beautiful scenery, and is marketed as a tourist attraction.</p><br>
<h2>Attractions</h2><br>
<p>Among the sights of the island are Ånderdalen National Park with coastal pine forests and mountains, traditional fishing communities, and the Senja Troll, the world&#39;s largest troll. The southernmost municipality Tranøy also has several small museums documenting local history, among these the Halibut Museum ("Kveitmuseet") in Skrolsvik.</p><br>
<h2>Climate</h2><br>
<p>Climate data from Gibostad village on the eastern side of the island, facing the mainland (base period 1961-90). The western side of the island, facing the Norwegian Sea, will have slightly milder but more windy winters.</p><br>
<h2>In popular culture</h2><br>
<p>Senja is mentioned in David Armine Howarth&#39;s World War II novel We Die Alone: A WWII Epic of Escape and Endurance. It has a namesake island in the MMORPG Tibia.</p><br>
<p>Norwegian musician Moddi comes from the island and his music is said to have been influenced by its beauty.</p><br>
<p>File:View from a ridge between Segla and Hesten, Senja, Norway, 2014 August.jpgView from a ridge between Segla and Hesten, Senja, Norway,</p><br>
<p>Bear Butte is a geological laccolith feature located near Sturgis, South Dakota, United States, that was established as a State Park in 1961. An important landmark and religious site for the Plains Indians tribes long before Europeans reached South Dakota, Bear Butte is called Mathó Pahá, or Bear Mountain, by the Lakota, or Sioux. To the Cheyenne, it is known as Noahȧ-vose  or Náhkȯhe-vose , and is the place where Maheoo  imparted to Sweet Medicine, a Cheyenne prophet, the knowledge from which the Cheyenne derive their religious, political, social, and economic customs.</p><br>
<p>The mountain is sacred to many indigenous peoples, who make pilgrimages to leave prayer cloths and tobacco bundles tied to the branches of the trees along the mountain’s flanks. Other offerings are often left at the top of the mountain. The site is associated with various religious ceremonies throughout the year. The mountain is a place of prayer, meditation, and peace.</p><br>
<p>The park includes a campsite west of South Dakota Highway 79 where horseback riding, fishing, and boating are permitted. On the summit side of Highway 79, a moderately sized herd of buffalo roams the base of the mountain. An education center and a summit trail are available. Official park policy advises visitors to Bear Butte to respect worshipers and to leave religious offerings undisturbed. Park fees are waived for those undertaking religious activities.</p><br>
<p>In 2007, Gov. Mike Rounds of South Dakota announced a proposal to use state, federal and private money to buy a perpetual easement in order to prevent commercial and residential development of some land on the western side of Bear Butte. This would cost more than $1 million, but would prevent development of nuisance businesses (such as potentially lucrative biker bars) on ranch land near the mountain on the northern edge of the Black Hills.</p><br>
<h2>Geological history</h2><br>
<p>Bear Butte is not strictly a butte (created primarily by erosion of sedimentary strata), but a laccolith: an intrusive body of igneous rock, uplifting the earlier sedimentary layers, which have since largely eroded away. This is the result of the forcible entry (or intrusion) of magma into cooler crustal rock in the Black Hills area during the Eocene Epoch. In this, Bear Butte shares a similar geological history with other formations in the region, including the Black Hills, Devils Tower, the Missouri Buttes, and some parts of the Rocky Mountains. It is possible that when the intrusion was emplaced, some magma may have breached the surface, forming a volcano; however, it would have eroded away long ago.</p><br>
<p>The peak rises 1,253.5 ft above the surrounding plain and is 4,426 ft above sea level.</p><br>
<h2>Modern history</h2><br>
<p>Human artifacts have been found on or near Bear Butte that date back 10,000 years, indicating a long and continuous interest in the mountain. The Cheyenne and Lakota people have maintained a spiritual interest in Bear Butte from their earliest recorded history.</p><br>
<p>Notable visitors like Red Cloud, Crazy Horse, and Sitting Bull made pilgrimages to the site. In 1857, a council of many Indian nations gathered at Bear Butte to discuss the growing presence of white settlers in the Black Hills.</p><br>
<p>Violating a treaty of 1868, George Armstrong Custer led an expedition to the Black Hills region in 1874, and according to custom he camped near Bear Butte. Custer verified the rumors of gold in the Black Hills, and Bear Butte then served as an easily identifiable landmark for the rush of invading prospectors and settlers into the region. Indian reaction to the illegal movements of whites into the area was intense and hostile. Ultimately the government reneged on its treaty obligations regarding the Black Hills and instead embarked on a program to confine all northern Plains tribes to reservations.</p><br>
<p>Ezra Bovee homesteaded on the southern slopes of the mountain, and by the time of World War II, he and his family were the legal owners of the site. In the spring of 1945, the Northern Cheyenne received permission from Bovee to hold a ceremony at Bear Butte to pray for the end of World War II. The Cheyenne found that the Bovee family welcomed their interest in the mountain, and over the years the Bovees continued to encourage native religious ceremonies.</p><br>
<p>By the mid-1950s Ezra Bovee was attempting to stir up interest in making Bear Butte a national park. After his death, his family continued the effort. When federal interest in the project waned, the state government in Pierre took action, and Bear Butte became a state park in 1961 and was registered as a National Historic Landmark in 1981.</p><br>
<p>Frank Fools Crow, the Lakota ceremonial chief (d. 1989), made pilgrimages to Bear Butte throughout his lifetime. Fools Crow taught racial harmony not just between whites and Indians, but among all the peoples of the world. He believed the Lakota should never sell the Black Hills. A bust and plaque in front of the education center at Bear Butte State Park honor Fools Crow’s efforts.</p><br>
<p>Frank Fools Crow was the plaintiff in one of the most prominent attempts by Native Americans to gain access to sacred lands under the American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978. The case, Fools Crow v. Gullett, related to the introduction in 1982 of limits on when and for how long Lakota and Cheyenne religious ceremonies could take place on the Bluff. The Indian Americans argued that both the American Indian Religious Freedom Act and the First Amendment protected their right to unlimited access to the Bluff. They also wanted the Bluff to remain untouched as it was sacred. The plaintiffs lost their case on both the District and Appellate level and were denied a hearing by the Supreme Court.</p><br>
<p>In 2011, the National Trust for Historic Preservation included Bear Butte on its list of the 11 Most Endangered Places.</p><br>
<p>Sacsayhuamán, Sacsayhuaman, Sacsahuaman, Saxahuaman, Saksaywaman, Saqsaywaman, Sasawaman, Saksawaman, Sacsahuayman, Sasaywaman or Saksaq Waman  is a citadel on the northern outskirts of the city of Cusco, Peru, the historic capital of the Inca Empire. Sections were first built by the Killke culture about 1100; they had occupied the area since 900. The complex was expanded and added to by the Inca from the 13th century; they built dry stone walls constructed of huge stones. The workers carefully cut the boulders to fit them together tightly without mortar. The site is at an altitude of 3,701 m.</p><br>
<p>In 1983, Cusco and Sacsayhuamán together were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List for recognition and protection.</p><br>
<h2>Description</h2><br>
<p>Located on a steep hill that overlooks the city, the fortified complex has a wide view of the valley to the southeast. Archeological studies of surface collections of pottery at Sacsayhuamán indicate that the earliest occupation of the hilltop dates to about 900 CE.</p><br>
<p>According to Inca oral history, Tupac Inca "remembered that his father Pachacuti had called city of Cuzco the lion city. He said that the tail was where the two rivers unite which flow through it, that the body was the great square and the houses round it, and that the head was wanting." The Inca decided the "best head would be to make a fortress on a high plateau to the north of the city." But archeologists have found that Sacsayhuamán was built by the preceding Killke culture; it was expanded by the Inca beginning about the 13th century.</p><br>
<p>After the Battle of Cajamarca during the Spanish Conquest of the Inca, Francisco Pizarro sent Martin Bueno and two other Spaniards to transport the gold and silver from the Temple of Coricancha to Cajamarca, the base of the Spanish. They found the Temple of the Sun "covered with plates of gold", which the Spanish ordered removed in payment for Atahualpas ransom. Seven hundred plates were removed, and added to two hundred cargas of gold transported back to Cajamarca. The royal mummies, draped in robes, and seated in gold embossed chairs, were left alone. But, while desecrating the temple, Pizarros three men also defiled the Virgins of the Sun.</p><br>
<p>After Francisco Pizarro finally entered Cuzco, his brother Pedro Pizarro described, "on top of a hill they had a very strong fort surrounded with masonry walls of stones and having two very high round towers. And in the lower part of this wall there were stones so large and thick that it seemed impossible that human hands could have set them in place...they were so close together, and so well fitted, that the point of a pin could not have been inserted in one of the joints. The whole fortress was built up in terraces and flat spaces." The numerous rooms were "filled with arms, lances, arrows, darts, clubs, bucklers and large oblong shields...there were many morions...there were also...certain stretchers in which the Lords travelled, as in litters." Pedro Pizarro described in detail storage rooms that were within the complex and filled with military equipment.</p><br>
<p>Because of its location high above Cusco and its immense terrace walls, this area of Sacsayhuamán is frequently referred to as a fortress. The importance of its military functions was highlighted in 1536 when Manco Inca lay siege to Cusco. Much of the fighting occurred in and around Sacsayhuamán, as it was critical to maintaining control over the city. Descriptions of the siege, as well as excavations at the site, had recorded towers on the summit of the site, as well as a series of other buildings. For example Pedro Sancho, who visited the complex before the siege, mentions the labyrinth-like quality of the complex and its many storage rooms filled with a wide variety of items. He also notes that there were buildings with large windows that looked over the city. These structures, like so much of the site, have long since been destroyed.</p><br>
<p>The large plaza area, capable of holding thousands of people, is well designed for ceremonial activities. Several of the large structures at the site may also have been used during rituals. A similar relationship to that between Cuzco and Sacsayhuamán was replicated by the Inca in their distant colony where Santiago, Chile has developed. The Inca fortress, known as Chena, predated the Spanish colonial city; it was a ceremonial ritual site of Huaca de Chena.</p><br>
<p>The best-known zone of Sacsayhuamán includes its great plaza and its adjacent three massive terrace walls. The stones used in the construction of these terraces are among the largest used in any building in prehispanic America. They display a precision of fitting that is unmatched in the Americas. The stones are so closely spaced that a single piece of paper will not fit between many of the stones. This precision, combined with the rounded corners of the blocks, the variety of their interlocking shapes, and the way the walls lean inward, is thought to have helped the ruins survive devastating earthquakes in Cuzco. The longest of three walls is about 400 meters. They are about 6 meters tall. The estimated volume of stone is over 6,000 cubic meters. Estimates for the weight of the largest Andesite block vary from 128 tonnes to almost 200 tonnes.</p><br>
<p>Following the siege of Cusco, the Spaniards began to use Sacsayhuamán as a source of stones for building Spanish Cuzco; within a few years, they had taken apart and demolished much of the complex. The site was destroyed block-by-block to build the new Spanish governmental and religious buildings of the colonial city, as well as the houses of the wealthiest Spaniards. In the words of Garcilaso de la Vega (1966:471 ): "to save themselves the expense, effort and delay with which the Indians worked the stone, they pulled down all the smooth masonry in the walls. There is indeed not a house in the city that has not been made of this stone, or at least the houses built by the Spaniards." Today, only the stones that were too large to be easily moved remain at the site.</p><br>
<p>On 13 March 2008, archaeologists discovered additional ruins at the periphery of Sacsayhuamán. They are believed to have been built by the Killke culture. While appearing to be ceremonial in nature, the exact function remains unknown. This culture built structures and occupied the site for hundreds of years before the Inca, between 900 and 1200 AD.</p><br>
<p>In January 2010, parts of the site were damaged during periods of heavy rainfall in the region.</p><br>
<h2>Theories about construction</h2><br>
<p>The Inca used similar construction techniques in building Sacsayhuamán as they used on all their stonework, albeit on a far more massive scale. The stones were rough-cut to the approximate shape in the quarries using river cobbles. They were dragged by rope to the construction site, a feat that at times required hundreds of men. The ropes were so impressive that they warranted mention by Diego de Trujillo (1948:63 ) as he inspected a room filled with building materials. The stones were shaped into their final form at the building site and then laid in place. The work, while supervised by Inca architects, was largely carried out by groups of individuals fulfilling their labor obligations to the state. In this system of mita or "turn" labor, each village or ethnic group provided a certain number of individuals to participate in such public works projects.</p><br>
<p>Although multiple regions might provide labor for a single, large-scale state project, the ethnic composition of the work-gangs remained intact, as different groups were assigned different tasks. Cieza de León (1976:153–154), who visited Sacsayhuamán two times in the late 1540s, mentions the quarrying of the stones, their transposition to the site, and the digging of foundation trenches. All this was conducted by rotational labor under the close supervision of Imperial architects.</p><br>
<p>Jean-Pierre Protzen, a professor of architecture, has shown how the Inca built long and complex ramps within the stone quarries near Ollantaytambo, and how additional ramps were built to drag the blocks to the construction above the village. He suggests that similar ramps would have been built at Sacsayhuaman.</p><br>
<p>Vince Lee, an author, architect, and explorer who has studied various ancient sites where people moved large megaliths, theorizes that the blocks at Sacsayhuaman were put into place by carving them precisely. The method used to match precisely the shape of a stone with the adjacent stones is unknown; it may have been scribing or by templating. The blocks would be towed up a ramp and above the wall, where they would be placed on top of a stack of logs. The logs would be removed one at a time to lower the stones into place.</p><br>
<h2>Modern-day use</h2><br>
<p>Today, Peruvians celebrate Inti Raymi, the annual Inca festival of the winter solstice and new year. It is held near Sacsayhuamán on 24 June. Another important festival is Warachikuy, held annually on the third Sunday of September. Some people from Cusco use the large field within the walls of the complex for jogging, t&#39;ai chi, and other athletic activities.</p><br>
<p>Taquile  is an island on the Peruvian side of Lake Titicaca 45 km offshore from the city of Puno. About 2,200 people live on the island, which is 5.5 by in size , with an area of 5.72 km&sup2;. The highest point of the island is 4,050 m above sea level and the main village is at 3,950 m. The inhabitants, known as Taquileños, speak Puno Quechua.</p><br>
<p>In 2005, "Taquile and Its Textile Art" were honored by being proclaimed "Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity" by UNESCO.</p><br>
<h2>Textiles</h2><br>
<p>Taquileños are known for their fine handwoven textiles and clothing, which are regarded as among the highest-quality handicrafts in Peru. Knitting is exclusively performed by males, beginning in early boyhood. Women spin wool and use vegetables and minerals to dye the wool to be used by the community. Women are also the weavers of the Chumpis, the wide belts with woven designs worn by everyone in the community of Taquile.</p><br>
<h2>Tourism</h2><br>
<p>Taquileans are known for having created an innovative, community-controlled sustainable tourism model, offering home stays, transportation, lodging for groups, cultural activities, local guides and restaurants. Ever since tourism started coming to Taquile in the 1970s, the Taquileans slowly lost control over the mass day-tourism operated by non-Taquileans. Taquile community have their own Travel Agency Munay Taquile has been established to regain local control over tourism.</p><br>
<h2>Society and economy</h2><br>
<p>Taquileños run their society based on community collectivism and on the Inca moral code ama sua, ama llulla, ama qhilla, (Quechua for "do not steal, do not lie, do not be lazy"). The island is divided into six sectors or suyus for crop rotation purposes. The economy is based on fishing, terraced farming horticulture based on potato cultivation and tourist-generated income from the approximately 40,000 tourists who visit each year. Taquile&#39;s families own rams, sheep, cows, chickens and sometimes guinea pigs.</p><br>
<h2>Cuisine</h2><br>
<p>Taquile offers a wide range of typical dishes. Breakfast consists of two pancakes with sugar or bread with eggs, with a cup of tea made from either Muña or Coca. For lunch, dishes are a vegetable soup, fish with rice and a tomato and onion salad. For dinner, the Taquilean people serve vegetable soup with bread.</p><br>
<h2>Religion</h2><br>
<p>The majority of the inhabitants of Taquile are Catholic. They adapted this religion, harmonizing Andean religion with the syncretic Christian culture. The mother earth (Pachamama), the principal Andean deity, directly controls harvesting and fertility; the island is home to four Apus, Andean mountaintop deities. People make several offerings to these deities each year, and they offer three coca leaves prior to each activity or trip. God is present throughout the year in the festivities. The two Catholic churches are in Centre and Huayllano; a Seventh-day Adventist church is located in Huayrapata.</p><br>
<h2>Infrastructure</h2><br>
<p>Taquile has a radio station and is equipped with generators. Islanders have elected to use solar panels to generate energy.</p><br>
<h2>Flora</h2><br>
<p>Flowers and trees on the Island include Kolle, the tree used to roof the houses and for firewood, the Cantuta flower (the national flower of Peru), the Chukjo (used as detergent) and Muña, used as natural medicines. Coca leaves are not cultivated in Taquile.</p><br>
<p>The Dundee–Happy Hollow Historic District is located west of Midtown Omaha, Nebraska. It covers the area between Leavenworth Street on the south, Hamilton Street on the north, Happy Hollow Boulevard on the west, and 46th Street on the east. The "heart" of Dundee is located at 50th and Underwood Avenue in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. It was founded in 1880 and annexed into the city in 1915. Dundee is home to Warren Buffett and nationally syndicated editorial cartoonist Jeff Koterba and birthplace of Academy Award-winning filmmaker Alexander Payne.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The neighborhood was developed in 1880 and has been dubbed Omaha&#39;s first suburb.</p><br>
<p>The Shannon Brothers of Kansas City were hired to construct six homes between 48th and 52nd Street, Capitol to California. The brothers had just converted the Kansas City Fairgrounds on the edge of Downtown Kansas City into a planned residential development called Dundee Place and they hoped to do the same in Omaha. Unlike other suburban development where the houses look similar, the houses in Dundee were built to look distinctive.</p><br>
<p>The Omaha Herald on October 30, 1888 noted neighborhood covenants required that the buildings be for residential purposes only, stand at least 25 feet away from the street, cost at least $2500, and not be "used for any immoral or illegal business, nor shall any spirits or malt liquors be sold or bartered away."</p><br>
<p>The houses did not initially sell well and the developers set out to create the neighborhood as a self-contained village. Developers planted 2,000 maple trees along the roadways (one of which was named Underwood for one of the developers). In 1905 developer Luke Toot O&#39;Keefe offered free lots if the buyer built. If the buyer stayed for more than a year he got a bonus of $500. Interest in the neighborhood skyrocketed and the developers expanded to be south of Dodge Street and north of Cuming Street.</p><br>
<p>C.C. and J.E. George laid out Happy Hollow Boulevard and developed the area south of Dodge and west of 50th to Elmwood Park. They filled in the creek that ran along 50th Street and added sidewalks and the Dundee lights. Homes in the area reflected the Colonial, Georgian and Tudor Revival styles. Omaha annexed Dundee on June 20, 1915. At that time it was 0.7 mi² and had 2500 residents.</p><br>
<p>The district includes 30 known works by Omaha architect F. A. Henninger.</p><br>
<h3>World War II bombing</h3><br>
<p>In April 1945 a Japanese fire balloon exploded over Dundee. The incident was part of a large World War II campaign by the Japanese military to cause mass chaos in American cities. However, the story was suppressed by the American military until after the war was over. Nobody was hurt in the explosion.</p><br>
<h2>Education</h2><br>
<p>This central Omaha neighborhood is home to Dundee Elementary School, which is in the Omaha Public Schools district. Brownell-Talbot School is a historic, traditionally Episcopalian school. St. Margaret Marys school is the local Catholic school. SMM was rated the citys best private school when it received the "Blue Ribbon Award" in 2006. On the outskirts of Dundee is Harrison Elementary School, which is also part of the Omaha Public Schools. Most children from the two OPS elementary schools attend Lewis & Clark Middle School, and then Omaha Central High School. The area is renowned for its numerous historic residences.</p><br>
<h2>Parks and attractions</h2><br>
<p>Two major area parks are in the neighborhood are Memorial Park and Elmwood Park. St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church and Dundee Presbyterian Church (the church where Warren Buffett attended and was married) are among many congregations in Dundee. The area is home to numerous businesses, including Dundee Dell, Dundee Theatre, Marks Bistro, the Blue Line Coffee Shop, the Underwood Bar, and Dario&#39;s Brasserie. The area is promoted and preserved by Dundee-Memorial Park Association. St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church, and the associated school, are known for extreme pride in their neighborhood. Dundee annually hosts Dundee Day, featuring a neighborhood festival and dance showdown.</p><br>
<p>Warren Buffett, the "Oracle of Omaha", lives in a house bought for $31,500 in 1958 in Dundee, on the corner of Farnam and 55th. The average sales price of a home in Dundee as of today is $234,000</p><br>
<p>Dundee Community Garden, located on 49th and Underwood, serves as a neighborhood common space open to the public. Plots for planting are available to community members for a nominal fee. Members of the garden routinely provide free vegetables from the communal beds to underserved population in the community.</p><br>
<h2>American Planning Association's Great American Places of 2011</h2><br>
<p>Dundee-Memorial Park district has been named one of APA’s Great American Places of 2011 because of the neighborhoods pro-active vibrant community. The community has developed a street car plan and they seek National Register status. The community also created an adopt-a-streetlight program with efforts to restore 328 historic cast-iron poles. They pushed to be named a neighborhood conservation and enhancement district. The neighborhood offers a variety of architecture as well as two major parks in Omaha, Nebraska.</p><br>
<p>The city has made many substantial efforts to improve the daily life within the neighborhood. They decided to allocate “$550,000 of $2.2 million needed to implement merchant-funded street-scape master plan (2009) to improve traffic flow, increase parking, and add amenities.” Dundee Neighborhood Conservation-Enhancement District Plan has also preserved a two block district for historical preservation.</p><br>
<p>Goat Island  is a small island in the Niagara River, located in the middle of Niagara Falls between the Bridal Veil Falls and the Horseshoe Falls. The island is at the southwest corner of the City of Niagara Falls , New York, in the United States and is part of Niagara Falls State Park.</p><br>
<p>Goat Island has no residents, but is a destination for tourists visiting the falls on the USA side. It has a number of viewing points, including from Terrapin Point. Goat Island is connected to the USA mainland by two bridges carrying foot, car, and trackless train traffic, and to the smaller Luna Island (adjacent to the American Falls) by a pedestrian bridge. Goat island is largely wooded and is interlaced with foot trails. The Cave of the Winds tour elevator provides access down to the foot of the falls.</p><br>
<h2>Geology</h2><br>
<p>The island was formed during the recent retreat of the falls as it cut inward (upstream) through the Niagara Escarpment. The Niagara Rivers channel splits in two above the falls, creating two sets of falls, one on either side of the island. In 1959–60, the islands eastern side was extended about 8.5 acre for additional parking and a helicopter pad. Fill was provided from excavation for the construction of the Robert Moses State Parkway. In 1955 the area between the Terrapin Rocks and Goat Island was filled in, creating Terrapin Point.</p><br>
<p>In the early 1980s, the United States Army Corps of Engineers filled in more land and built diversion dams and retaining walls to force the water away from Terrapin Point. All together 400 ft of the Horseshoe Falls was eliminated, including 100 ft on the Canadian side. According to author Ginger Strand, the Horseshoe Falls is now entirely in Canada. Other sources say "most of" Horseshoe Falls is in Canada.</p><br>
<p>The island&#39;s western end is slowly being eroded by the falls and the entire island will eventually disappear as the falls erode further upstream. The waters around Goat Island are relatively shallow and studded with islets and rocks, many of them scenes of dramatic rescues and rescue attempts.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>John Stedman—an early pioneer and miller—kept a herd of goats on the island. Upon returning to the island after the terrible winter of 1780, Stedman found all but one of the goats had died, thus giving the island its name.</p><br>
<p>The islands preservation as parkland is due to the early efforts of Augustus Porter, who in the middle 19th century recognized the long-term value of the falls as a tourist attraction. Porter purchased the island and allowed a group of Tuscarora Native Americans to live on it and sell their crafts to the tourists who came to the falls by stagecoach and early railroads. In spite of pressure, Porter refused to tame the environment on the island. In 1817, he built a toll bridge to the island for tourists. It was swept away by ice, so another was built the following year downstream. Basil Hall called it "one of the most singular pieces of engineering in the world". Almost seven hundred feet long, it soon became the regions best-travelled walkway.</p><br>
<p>In 1885, the island was included in the Niagara Reservation State Park which is the oldest state park in the USA</p><br>
<h3>Tesla Monument</h3><br>
<p>The island is home to the Tesla Monument which honors the Serbian-American inventor, Nikola Tesla. The statue was a given to the United States by the government of Yugoslavia in 1976. The sculptor of the statue is Frano Kršinić (1897–1982), a renowned Yugoslav sculptor. In mid-2016, the statue was relocated to Stedman’s Bluff, the section of the island that overlooks the Bridal Veil Falls and the American Falls, to increase popularity.</p><br>
<h2>Botany</h2><br>
<p>In 1879, landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, wrote that he had travelled four thousand miles throughout the continent "without finding elsewhere the same quality of forest beauty which was once abundant about the falls, and which is still to be observed in those parts of Goat Island where the original growth of trees and shrubs had not been disturbed..." Olmsted concluded that the spray from the Falls created a natural nursery for indigenous plant life. Since that time, regular mowing of the Goat Island meadow, heavy foot traffic, and the incursion of invasive species have significantly altered the floral landscape of the island.</p><br>
<h2>In fiction</h2><br>
<p>Part of H. G. Wells&#39;s 1908 novel The War in the Air is set on Goat Island. During the fictional invasion of the US by the forces of Imperial Germany, depicted in the book, the protagonist is stranded on the island, with bridges to the mainland having been destroyed in the fighting, and is involved in a grim battle for survival with two equally stranded German soldiers.</p><br>
<h2>Image gallery</h2><br>
<p>Red Mountain is a long ridge running southwest-northeast and dividing Jones Valley from Shades Valley south of Birmingham, Alabama. It is part of the Ridge-and-Valley region of the Appalachian mountains. The Red Mountain Formation of hard Silurian rock strata lies exposed in several long crests, and was named "Red Mountain" because of the rust-stained rock faces and prominent seams of red hematite iron ore. The mountain was the site of the Sloss Mines, which supplied ore to Birminghams iron furnaces. The best displays of the mountains geological strata occur at the Twentieth Street cut near the Vulcan statue and at the USA Route 31 highway cut leading into the suburb of Homewood. Most of Birminghams television and radio stations have their transmission towers located on Red Mountain. Red Mountain is also home to the newly created, one of the nations largest urban parks at 1,500 acre, making it larger than even New York City&#39;s Central Park.</p><br>
<h2>Description</h2><br>
<h2>Neighborhood</h2><br>
<p>There are many neighborhoods that are located along the 33 miles of Red Mountain, that stretches from Sparks Gap on the southwest to Trussville in the northeast. Some of these are Raimund, Muscoda, Lipscomb, Wenonah, Ishkooda, Greensprings, Irondale, Ruffner, and Trussville. Located just southeast of downtown Birmingham, on Red Mountain, is Redmont Park, which was developed in the 1920s by Robert Jemison. It was the home to Birminghams early bankers and iron and steel industrialists. It became one of Birminghams most prominent neighborhoods, home to the majority of the multimillion-dollar residences and estates that are located within the city proper. The prestigious Altamont School, a private school well known for its arts and science programs, is located in the neighborhood, as well as Saint Rose Academy, a Catholic parochial school run by Dominican sisters.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The proximity of Red Mountains ore to nearby sources of coal and limestone was the impetus to develop and promote the Birmingham District as an industrial site. The mining of iron ore along Red Mountain began in the early 1860s as the Civil War created a demand for iron necessary to sustain the Confederate war efforts. The Union army destroyed the Oxmoor, Irondale and Tannehill furnaces in 1865 and at this point mining stopped along Red Mountain. After the Civil War the production of iron was again being renewed but this time on a commercial level. Under the leadership of such men as Debardeleben, Sloss, and Woodward the mining of iron ore along Red Mountain began again. The mountain developed a symbolic place as the source of wealth in the region and was even portrayed as a character in pageants sponsored by the steel companies in their company towns. In the Altamont and Redmont areas the abandoned mine sites served as the locations for large estates and upper-class developments which offered cool breezes and a panoramic view of the growing industrial city from above the constant layer of thick black smoke. Alex Harvey "Rick" Woodwards home is in this area along Altamont Road. His home is now owned and maintained by the University of Alabama at Birmingham and used as the residence of the University president.</p><br>
<p>As the steel furnaces modernized, labor cost rose, and geological faults in the local ore mines made the ore harder to reach, it became more economical to purchase pelletized ore from distant sources than to continue mining ore from Red Mountain. The last ore mine on Red Mountain closed in 1962 and was operated by US Steel. The last ore mine in the Birmingham district closed in 1972. It was the Pyne Mine off Highway 150 near Bessemer and was operated by the Woodward Iron Company.</p><br>
<p>In 1938, the giant cast-iron statue of the Roman god of the forge, Vulcan, which represented Birmingham in the 1904 St. Louis Worlds Fair was put on display atop a sandstone tower built by the Works Progress Administration. This is the worlds largest cast-iron statue.</p><br>
<p>Red Mountain serves as a natural promontory for Birmingham&#39;s radio and television broadcast stations, and a setting for noteworthy private restaurant "The Club."</p><br>
<h3>Red Mountain Expressway Cut</h3><br>
<p>In 1970, the "Red Mountain Expressway" was completed after many years of work cutting through Red Mountain. This highway linked Birmingham with its southern suburbs and spurred suburban growth towards the south of Birmingham. The resultant cut exposed geological strata spanning millions of years, including the red ore seam that spurred Birmingham&#39;s development. A new species of Lower Silurian (middle Llandovery) phacopsid trilobite, Acaste birminghamensis, was first collected from exposures on Red Mountain</p><br>
<h2>Red Mountain Museum</h2><br>
<p>A science museum, the Red Mountain Museum, was opened on the slope adjacent to the cut in 1971. Interpretive signage was installed along one of the terraces of the cut and guardrails and fencing installed to allow museum visitors to inspect the exposed rock close-up. From the late 1970s until 1994, the Red Mountain Museum was quite active in paleontological research, collecting fossil vertebrates and invertebrates from hundreds of localities throughout the state. The staff collected and cataloged tens of thousands of fossils, including many Cretaceous mosasaurs, Pleistocene ground sloths, and primitive Eocene archaeocete whales. Paleontologists, zoologists, geologists and archeologists once employed at the Red Mountain Museum, either as paid staff or as volunteers, include its first curator Whitman Cross, Gorden L. Bell, Jr., James P. Lamb, Winston C. Lancaster, Caitlín R. Kiernan, Susan Henson, and Amy Sheldon.</p><br>
<p>The Red Mountain Museum later formed a partnership with a nearby children&#39;s science museum, The Discovery Place, to form "Discovery 2000", which then moved away from Red Mountain to downtown Birmingham and became the McWane Science Center which opened on July 11, 1998. In 1987 the Red Mountain Expressway Cut was granted National Natural Landmark status by the National Park Service. Deemed unsafe because of the potential for rock slides, the interpretive trail has since been closed to the public. The extensive Red Mountain Museum collection is now stored at the McWane Science Center and once again available to scientists. As of October 2007, the former Red Mountain Museum building had been demolished, but plans for the site are unknown.</p><br>
<h2>Literary allusions</h2><br>
<p>The fantasy writer and paleontologist Caitlín R. Kiernan has used Red Mountain, particularly the area west of USA Route 31 and the Red Mountain cut, as the setting for four of her novels – Silk (1998), Threshold (2001), Low Red Moon (2003), and, to a much lesser extent, Murder of Angels (2004). The geography and geology of the mountain was integral to the plot of Threshold, and in a chapbook on the novel (Trilobite: The Writing of Threshold; Subterranean Press, 2003), Kiernan includes an afterword describing the geological history and paleontology of the Paleozoic strata of Red Mountain. Fannie Flaggs novel, I Still Dream About You,&#39; features Red Mountain prominently.</p><br>
<p>The Luangwa River is one of the major tributaries of the Zambezi River, and one of the four biggest rivers of Zambia. The river generally floods in the rainy season  and then falls considerably in the dry season. It is one of the biggest unaltered rivers in Southern Africa and the 20,000 square miles  that make up the surrounding valley are home to abundant wildlife.</p><br>
<h2>Source and Upper-Middle Luangwa Valley</h2><br>
<p>Note: distances stated are approximate straight-line distances from source. The Luangwa rises in the Lilonda and Mafinga Hills in north-east Zambia at an elevation of around 1500 m, near the border with Tanzania and Malawi, and flows in a southwesterly direction through a broad valley. About 150 km from its source it has dropped to an elevation of about 690 m and becomes a meandering river with a flood-plain several kilometres wide. Over the next 300 km the meanders increase, with many oxbow lakes and abandoned meanders. Near Mfuwe, the river&#39;s elevation has dropped to about 520 m, the flood plain is about 10 km wide and the valley reaches about 100 km wide, with a north-west escarpment (Muchinga Escarpment) about 700 m high, and a south-western escarpment about 450 m high. In the dry season some sections, especially in the upper reaches, dry out completely, leaving isolated pools.</p><br>
<p>The upper and middle parts of the valley contain the North Luangwa National Park and South Luangwa National Parks of Zambia, which are among some of the finest in Africa. The river itself is home to large populations of hippopotami and crocodiles. The world&#39;s largest concentration of hippos lives in the Luangwa Valley. In the dry season they are restricted by the shrinking river and pools, and are easily seen especially in isolated pools.</p><br>
<p>In addition to being a source of water, the oxbow lakes and pools increase the biodiversity of the valley in other ways. The hippopotami which live in them feed on land vegetation at night. Their dung feeds some fish and fertilises the pools, increasing fish life which in turn feed crocodiles and birds.</p><br>
<p>In the dry season, the grazing land animals and their predators congregate near the river and pools, and are easily seen. In the rainy season they graze further afield and are more easily hidden in the growth of new vegetation.</p><br>
<p>At about 500 km the valley narrows to about 50 km and becomes divided by a ridge into two parallel valleys, with a tributary, the Lukusashi River in a 25 km-wide valley to the north-west, and the Luangwa in a 15 km wide valley to the southeast. The river meanders less, and the flood plain narrows.</p><br>
<p>The principal settlement in the Middle and Upper Luangwa Valley is Mfuwe which serves the tourism industry and has an international airport. Very few humans otherwise inhabit the valley.</p><br>
<h2>Lower Luangwa</h2><br>
<p>At 600 km the river abruptly enters a narrow valley between hills rising some 200 m from the broader valley floor, becoming almost a gorge. About 700 km from source the Luangwa merges with its tributary the Lukusashi after the latter has merged with the Lunsemfwa River coming from the opposite direction, and turns due south through a steep narrow valley: this is its exit from the Luangwa Rift Valley (see following section). After only 20 km it emerges from the hills into the broad valley of the Zambezi and meanders over sandy flats about 1.5 km wide in a flood plain of 3–5 km wide. It merges with the deeper Zambezi at Luangwa town.</p><br>
<h2>The Luangwa Rift Valley</h2><br>
<p>This section explains the geomorphology of the Luangwa Valley. It is a rift valley or graben forming a south-west extension of the east African Rift, branching off its Lake Rukwa-Lake Malawi southern section, and reaching almost as far as Lusaka. The junction is not obvious because it filled with material spewed out from an ancient, extinct volcano. There are at least 20 hot springs, characteristic of a rift valley, in the valley or on its escarpments.</p><br>
<p>The Luangwa flows along four-fifths of the Luangwa Rift Valley to the point where it meets the Lukusashi and the Lunsemfwa which has come from the opposite direction. At one time, millions of years ago, there was no way out and the Luangwa Rift filled with a Rift Valley Lake called the Madumabisa Lake, which rivalled Lake Malawi in size. The water of the lake overflowed in a river to the south-west, towards what is now the Kalahari, where it combined with the Okavango, Upper Zambezi, Cuando and Kafue rivers, emptying into the Limpopo River and flowing to the Indian Ocean.</p><br>
<p>Several geological events combined to produce the current river systems. Faulting produced another graben just to the south of the Luangwa Rift, and running east-west: the Zambezi Rift Valley and the Chicoa Trough. A tributary of the Shire River at the south end of the Great Rift Valley then cut back eastwards through the Chicao Trough and Zambezi Valley, capturing the southerly overspill of the Madumabisa Lake. This tributary became the Zambezi, which over millions of years captured the Kafue, Cuando and the upper Zambezi. Faulting lowered the land between the Luangwa Rift and the Zambezi Rift allowing Madumabisa Lake to drain out into the Zambezi in a channel which became the lower Luangwa River.</p><br>
<h2>The Luangwa as a barrier</h2><br>
<p>The Luangwa Rift Valley and rivers within it form a natural barrier, with a very low population density. This, the steepness of the terrain, and the existence of the wildlife reserves have resulted in no highways crossing the valley between the Lusaka-Kabwe roads in the west and the Isoka-Chisenga road in the north, a distance of about 800 km. The lower Luangwa Valley is crossed by just one road, the Great East Road at the Luangwa Bridge, about 10 km south of the Luangwa-Lunsemfwa confluence.</p><br>
<h2>Bibliography</h2><br>
<p>Camerapix: Spectrum Guide to Zambia, Camerapix International Publishing, Nairobi, 1996.</p><br>
<p>Terracarta: Zambia, 2nd edition, International Travel Maps, Vancouver, Canada, 2000.</p><br>
<p>Jean-Jacques Tiercelin et al., AAPG Annual Meeting, Houston, 2002. Accessed 18 February 2007.</p><br>
<p>A.E. Moore: &#39;"Drainage evolution in south-central Africa since the breakup of Gondwana". South African Journal of Geology, March 2001, v. 104; no. 1; p. 47-68.</p><br>
<p>J.H. Dumisani: "Seismotectonics of Zimbabwe." African Journal of Science and Technology (AJST), Science and Engineering Series Vol. 1, No.4, pp. 22–28</p><br>
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<p>The Nakdong River or Nakdonggang is the longest river in South Korea, and passes through major cities such as Daegu and Busan. It takes its name from its role as the eastern border of the Gaya confederacy during Korea&#39;s Three Kingdoms Era.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>The Nakdong flows from the Taebaek Mountains to the South Sea or Korean Strait, that separates Korea from Japan. The river originates from the junction of the Cheolamcheon and Hwangjicheon streams in Dongjeom-dong, Taebaek city, Gangwon province. From there to its mouth it winds for about 506 km. The width of the river ranges from only a few metres in its upper reaches, to several hundred metres towards its estuary.</p><br>
<p>Major tributaries include the Yeong, Geumho, and Nam rivers. Together with its tributaries, the Nakdong drains most of North Gyeongsang and South Gyeongsang provinces, along with small portions of North Jeolla, South Jeolla, and Gangwon. The total watershed is 23,384 km².</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The Nakdong River has played an important role throughout Korean history. The river basin has been a favored dwelling-place for as long as people have inhabited the Korean peninsula. Numerous Neolithic remains have been found in the valley.</p><br>
<p>Around the 1st century, the valley is believed to have been inhabited by the Byeonhan confederacy tribes. During the Three Kingdoms period, the Gaya confederacy controlled the valley, until they were overrun by Silla in 562. These states exploited the river&#39;s potential for navigation and commerce, operating a thriving trade in armor and weapons with neighboring countries, including Yamato period Japan. Through the Silla, Goryeo, and Joseon periods, the river continued to serve as a major transportation corridor in the Gyeongsang region. It was especially used for transporting fresh seafood inland, such as mackerel, which were salted and dried in order to prevent them from spoiling. The city of Andong was the farthest inland the fish could be brought before going bad, so many people flocked there during the Joseon Dynasty to eat fish.</p><br>
<p>As a barrier to movement, the Nakdong River gained sudden prominence during the Korean War. The southern length of the river formed the western portion of the Pusan Perimeter, which the UN forces fought to maintain during the autumn of 1950. The bridge over the Nakdong River at Waegwan was blown up on August 3, 1950 in an effort to prevent North Korean forces from advancing on Daegu. A large number of Korean refugees were killed in the explosion. Although some North Korean forces did cross the Nakdong River in places, for the most part the river still marks their furthest advance.</p><br>
<h3>Nakdong river phenol contamination incident</h3><br>
<p>In 1991, there was an incident where phenol was leaked into the river twice by Doosan Electronics.</p><br>
<h2>Ecology</h2><br>
<p>The Nakdong valley includes numerous floodplain wetlands, the most well-known of which are the Joonam Reservoirs near Changwon City and Upo Ramsar site, in Changnyeong County, South Gyeongsang. These wetlands, while significantly degraded and overdeveloped, still provide habitat to a significant number of rare and threatened species, most especially birds (such as the Baikal Teal, Anas formosa, and White-naped Crane, Grus vipio), fish and plants. Despite being home to the bustling Port of Busan, the Nakdong Estuary is also internationally important for waterbirds, despite recent ecologically-destructive developments including reclamation for housing and industry (e.g. the Busan New Port), the ongoing construction of a major bridge (the Miyeonji Bridge) and most recently the threatened construction of the Korean Grand Canal project.</p><br>
<p>The Nakdong and its tributaries also serve as a major source of drinking water for the inhabitants of the river basin and others nearby. However, water pollution due to domestic and agricultural wastewater remains a serious concern.</p><br>
<h2>Economic role</h2><br>
<p>Although all but the southernmost reaches of the Nakdong River have ceased to serve as a major commercial waterway, the river continues to feed those dwelling near it, both directly through fishing and indirectly through irrigation. Substantial amounts of snails and catfish are taken from the waters and used in local cuisine.</p><br>
<p>Near Andong, a series of massive hydroelectric dams have been constructed, creating a small chain of artificial lakes of which Andong Lake is the largest. These lakes also support a substantial recreational industry. Bass fishing is especially popular, since the lakes have been artificially stocked with bass.</p><br>
<p>In the early 2010s, the Nakdong River was to be part of former Korean president Lee Myung Baks canal project, the Grand Korean Waterway. The project would link the Nakdong with the Han River to the north, creating a shipping canal spanning length of the country, from Seoul to Busan. Encountering considerable controversy nationwide as well as from residents along the Nakdong, the Waterway project was scrapped by the end of Lees presidency.</p><br>
<p>Ben Lawers  is the highest mountain in the southern part of the Scottish Highlands. It lies to the north side of Loch Tay, and is the highest point of a long ridge that includes seven Munros. Ben Lawers was long thought to be over 4,000 ft in height; accurate measurement in the 1870s showed it to be some 17 ft short of this figure. In 1878, a group of twenty men spent a day building a large cairn in the hope of bringing the summit above the "magic" figure. The cairn is no longer there; in any case the Ordnance Survey ignored it as an artificial structure that was not truly part of the hill.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>There is much evidence of former settlements and other human activity on the southern slopes of Ben Lawers above Loch Tay. The discovery of many boulders with cup and ring marks "suggests it was a very significant landscape in prehistory." There are ruins of cottages each surrounded by a small group of trees and the ridged pastures are signs of early cultivation. Overgrown tracks climb up the mountain from the valley to the peat beds and sheilings on the hillside. The fertile limestone and schist soils on these southern slopes have been farmed since very early times and there are many Bronze Age remains.</p><br>
<p>Prior to the 14th century, the mountain stood on the lands of Clan MacMillan. Chalmers of Lawers obtained the land by force from the clan in the mid 14th century in the reign of David II. The land was confiscated from the Chalmers family in 1473 by James III and given to Sir Colin Campbell of Glenorchy after Thomas Chalmers was implicated in the murder of James I. The lands have mainly remained in the ownership of the Campbells of Glenorchy and Breadalbane right up to the present day, with some notable exceptions. Many of the farms were sold off in the late 1940s and today some, like Tombreck, are leading the way in regenerating their homeland and learning to preserve its beauty whilst creating a sustainable environment for the people who live there.</p><br>
<h2>National Trust for Scotland</h2><br>
<p>Most of the south side of the Ben Lawers range has since 1950 been owned by the National Trust for Scotland and was purchased through the generosity of Percy Unna, a mountaineer and one time president of the Scottish Mountaineering Club. The area of land under Trust ownership was extended in 1996 by the purchase of the neighbouring Tarmachan range. The Trust owned a visitor centre located at the western end of the range that had an exhibition that explained the geological formation of the mountain, but it was closed and demolished in 2010.</p><br>
<p>A new car park has been built on the opposite side of the road, from where a path leads to the summit of Ben Lawers by way of the intermediate peak of Beinn Ghlas. There is a nature trail on the lower section of this path, with information leaflets available in the car park.</p><br>
<h2>Flora and fauna</h2><br>
<p>Ben Lawers is designated as a National Nature Reserve due to the abundance of rare alpine plants. It is regarded by botanists as one of the richest areas for alpine flora in the UK, due to the schist rocks of the mountain which are situated at the correct altitude for the plants. The rocks supply an adequate amount of calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium and iron to the plants and breaks down to a clayish soil which retains moisture. Some of the plants found on Lawers include Alpine Forget-me-not, roseroot, Net-leaved Willow and most of the Saxifrages. The mountain is also of interest to zoologists. Some of the bird species include ravens, ring ouzels, red grouse, ptarmigan, dippers and curlews. Other rare species include the Viviparous lizard and the Wildcat.</p><br>
<h2>Ascents</h2><br>
<p>Alternative routes that avoid the erosion caused by the popularity of the two routes described above usually start by following Lawers Burn, which meet the A827 at the village of Lawers. Heading north from the burn allows the walker to climb the peaks to the northeast of Ben Lawers on the way. The most direct route from Lawers is to continue along the burn until Lochan nan Cat ("small lake of the cat"), then heading straight to the summit by way of the east ridge.</p><br>
<h2>Gallery of images</h2><br>
<p>Chizumulu can be reached by steamer from the port of Nkhata Bay on the mainland of Malawi. The MV Ilala steamer that weekly crosses Lake Malawi stops at Chizumulu. Smaller boats including dhows cross the strait between Likoma and Chizumulu.</p><br>
<p>The island supports a population of about 4,000 people. Like Likoma, the island imports most of its food from the mainland. There is electricity on the island from 6am-10pm (with a break between 12-2pm), and no road. However, there is a well-constructed path which runs around the outside of the island, which can be walked around in about three hours.</p><br>
<p>The island consists of two large hills, with a flatter area to the south. Cassava plantations cover much of the lower slopes of the hills, with the upper parts being forested. Many baobab trees are present.</p><br>
<p>The locals speak a Nkamanga dialect, a variety of Nyanja.</p><br>
<p>The town of New Amsterdam is situated on the river’s east bank, approximately four miles inside the river’s estuary, where it enters the Atlantic Ocean. A new bridge over the river joins New Amsterdam to Rosignol. Other communities on the Berbice River include Everton, Mara, Takama, Kalkuni and Kwakwani.</p><br>
<p>Obstructed by shallows at its estuary, the Berbice River’s mouth is the location of Crab Island, opposite the mouth of the Canje River, the Berbice&#39;s main tributary.</p><br>
<p>On December 23, 2008, construction of the Berbice Bridge linking D’Edward Village, Crab Island, and the Corentyne Highway was completed.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>In 1627, the settlement of Nassau (the name was used for many of the Dutch forts in the seventeenth century) was founded by the Dutch West India Company.</p><br>
<p>Amba Alagi is a mountain, or an amba, in northern Ethiopia. Located in the Debubawi Zone of the Tigray Region, Amba Alagi dominates the roadway that runs past it from the city of Mek&#39;ele south to Maychew. Because of its strategic location, Amba Alagi has been the location of several battles. As Anthony Mockler describes it,</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The first mention of Amba Alagi is in the Chronicle of Emperor Baeda Maryam (1468–1478 AD), who personally led an expedition against the Dobe&#39;a, who lived around Amba Alagi and raided the caravan routes. In the early 19th century, Ras Wolde Selassie controlled the amba, and used it on 18 August 1811 to imprison Gebre Guro, the brother of Sabagadis, for 18 months because he had rebelled against the Ras. The road built from the coast south to Magdala during the British 1868 Expedition to Abyssinia passed through Amba Alagi. A generation later, the mountain was the scene of a battle in February 1889 between Ras Alula Engida and Ras Seyoum Gebre in which Alula was wounded.</p><br>
<h3>First Battle of Amba Alagi</h3><br>
<p>The first Battle of Amba Alagi occurred in December 1895. On December 7, the Ethiopians defeated an Italian army of 2,350 led by Pietro Toselli and a day later, on December 8, the Ethiopian emperor, Menelik II, drove out the Italian forces of General Oreste Baratieri. After the defeat, the Italians withdrew from Amba Alagi and Gondar to their half-finished fort at Mek&#39;ele, which Menelik then besieged for 15 days (6–21 January 1896).</p><br>
<h3>Second Battle of Amba Alagi</h3><br>
<p>The second Battle of Amba Alagi was fought in May 1941, during World War II, part of the East African Campaign. The mountain had galleries carved into the rock to protect the defending troops and hold ample ammunition and stores. The defenders, Italian troops under command of the Viceroy, the Duke of Aosta, thought themselves to be impregnable. The initial attacks on the approaches to Amba Alagi by British troops under Major-General Mayne from the north, commenced on May 4 with a pincer from the eastern and western sides. There was hard fighting in the jagged mountainous terrain. Maynes troops were joined on May 12 by Brigadier Dan Pienaars 1st South African Brigade, which had captured the Italian garrison of Dessie (April 20) located 200 miles south of Amba Alagi, and by May 14 Amba Alagi was completely surrounded. A final assault was planned for the next day but a lucky strike by an artillery shell hit an Italian fuel dump, sending a stream of oil into their last remaining drinking water and forcing the garrison&#39;s surrender.</p><br>
<p>The film La Pattuglia dell&#39;Amba Alagi, shot in 1953 by Flavio Calzavara, glorifies the Italian defense against the British.</p><br>
<h3>Third Battle of Amba Alagi</h3><br>
<p>In 1943, Amba Alagi was the location of the decisive battle of the "Woyane Rebellion" in Enderta Province. After capturing Mek&#39;ele, the Woyane rebels swept south to the mountain where they encountered a government force consisting of 2,000 regular soldiers and 8,000 territorials. From 18 September through 6 October 1943, rebels under the personal leadership of Blatta Haile Mariam Redda repeatedly stormed the government positions, until artillery barrages and British Blenheim bombers at last dispersed the rebels.</p><br>
<p>The Tibesti Mountains are a mountain range in the central Sahara, primarily located in the extreme north of Chad, with a small extension into southern Libya. The highest peak in the range, Emi Koussi, lies to the south at a height of 3,445 m and is the highest point in both Chad and the Sahara. Bikku Bitti, the highest peak in Libya, is located in the north of the range. The central third of the Tibesti is of volcanic origin and consists of five shield volcanoes topped by large craters: Emi Koussi, Tarso Toon, Tarso Voon, Tarso Yega and Toussidé. Major lava flows have formed vast plateaus that overlie Paleozoic sandstone. The volcanic activity was the result of a continental hotspot that arose during the Oligocene and continued in some places until the Holocene, creating fumaroles, hot springs, mud pools and deposits of natron and sulfur. Erosion has shaped volcanic spires and carved an extensive network of canyons through which run rivers subject to highly irregular flows that are rapidly lost to the desert sands.</p><br>
<p>Tibesti, which means "place where the mountain people live," is the domain of the Toubou people. The Toubou live mainly along the wadis, on rare oases where palm trees and limited grains grow. They harness the water that collects in gueltas, the supply of which is highly variable from year-to-year and decade-to-decade. The plateaus are used to graze livestock in the winter and harvest grain in the summer. Temperatures are high, although the altitude ensures that the range is cooler than the surrounding desert. The Toubou, who first appeared in the range in the 5th century BC, adapted to these conditions and turned the range into a large natural fortress. They arrived in several waves, taking refuge in times of conflict and dispersing in times of prosperity, although not without intense internal hostility at times.</p><br>
<p>The Toubou came into contact with the Carthaginians, Berbers, Tuaregs, Ottomans and the Arabs, as well as the French colonists who first entered the range in 1914 and took control of the area in 1929. The independent spirit of the Toubou and the geopolitical situation in the region has complicated the exploration of the range as well as the ascent of its peaks. Tensions continued after Chad and Libya gained independence in the mid-20th century, with hostage-taking and armed struggles occurring amid border disputes over the allocation of natural resources. The geopolitical situation and the lack of infrastructure has hampered the development of tourism.</p><br>
<p>The Saharomontane flora and fauna, which include the rhim gazelle and Barbary sheep, have adapted to the mountains, yet the climate has not always been as harsh. Greater biodiversity existed in the past, as evidenced by scenes portrayed in rock and parietal art found throughout the range, which date back several millennia, even before the arrival of Toubou. The isolation of the Tibesti has sparked the cultural imagination in both art and literature.</p><br>
<h2>Toponymy</h2><br>
<p>The Tibesti Mountains are named for the Toubou people, also written Tibu or Tubu, that inhabit the area. In the Kanuri language, tu means "rock" or "mountain" and bu means "a person" or "dweller," and thus Toubou roughly translates to "people of the mountains" and Tibesti to "place where the mountain people live."</p><br>
<p>Most of the mountain names are derived from Arabic as well as the Tedaga and Dazaga languages. The term ehi refers to peaks and rocky hills, emi to larger mountains, era to craters and tarso to high plateaus or gently sloping mountains. For example, the Ehi Mousgou is a 2,849 m stratovolcano near Tarso Voon; likewise, Era Kohor is a crater on top of Emi Koussi. The name Toussidé means "that which killed the Tou," as in the Toubou, reflecting the danger of the still active volcano. The name of Bardaï, the principal town in the range, means "cold" in Chadian Arabic, because of its low nocturnal temperatures. In the Tedaga language, the town is known as Goumodi, which means "red pass," signifying the color of the mountains at dusk.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<h3>Location</h3><br>
<p>The mountains lie on the border between Chad and Libya, straddling the Chadian regions of Borkou and Tibesti and the Libyan districts of Murzuq and Kufra, around 1,000 km north of N&#39;djamena and 1,500 km south-southeast of Tripoli. The range is adjacent to Niger and located approximately halfway between the Mediterranean Sea and Lake Chad, just south of the Tropic of Cancer. The East African Rift is 1,900 km to the east and the Cameroon line lies 1,800 km to the southwest.</p><br>
<p>The range is 380 km in length, 350 km in width, and spans 100,000 km&sup2;. It draws a large triangle with sides of 400 km and vertices facing south, northwest and northeast in the heart of the Sahara, making it the largest geologic area of the desert. It is slightly larger than the Massif Central in France, with which it shares some geomorphological characteristics.</p><br>
<h3>Topography</h3><br>
<p>The highest peak in the Tibesti Mountains, as well as the highest point in Chad and the Sahara Desert, is the 3,445 m Emi Koussi, located at the southern end of the range. Other prominent peaks include Pic Toussidé at 3,296 m and the 3,012 m Ehi Timi on its western side, the 2,972 m Tarso Yega, the 2,925 m Tarso Tieroko, the 2,849 m Ehi Mousgou, the 2,845 m Tarso Voon, the 2,820 m Ehi Sunni, and the 2,774 m Ehi Yéy near the center of the range. The 2,978 m Mouskorbe and the 2,812 m Kegueur Terbi are two peaks notable for their height in the northeastern part of the mountain range. The 2,267 m Bikku Bitti, the highest point in Libya, is nearby, on the other side of the border. The average elevation of the Tibesti Mountains is about 2,000 m; sixty percent of its area exceeds 1,500 m in elevation.</p><br>
<p>The range includes five shield volcanoes whose diameter can reach 80 km, with broad bases and the steepest peaks topped with large craters: Emi Koussi; Tarso Toon, which rises 2,575 m above sea level; Tarso Voon; Tarso Yega; and Tarso Toussidé, which culminates in the peak of the same name. Tarso Yega has the largest crater, with a diameter of 20 km and a depth of approximately 300 m, while Tarso Voon has the deepest crater, with a depth of approximately 1,000 m and a diameter of 12 to 13 km. They are complemented by four large lava dome complexes, 1300 to 2000 m high and several km wide, all located in the central part of the mountain range: Tarso Tieroko; Ehi Yéy; Ehi Mousgou; and Tarso Abeki, which rises to 2,691 m above sea level. These volcanic complexes are now considered inactive, but according to the Smithsonian Institution were active during the Holocene. Tarso Toussidé is an active volcano that has spewed lava over the past two millennia. Gases escaping from fumaroles on Toussidé are visible when evaporation is low. The volcano&#39;s crater, Trou au Natron, is 8 km in diameter and 768 m deep. On the northwest side of Tarso Voon is the Soborom geothermal field, which contains mud pools and fumaroles that vent sulfuric acid. Sulfur and iron have stained the soil bright colors. Fumaroles are also present at the Yi Yerra hot springs on Emi Koussi. Tarso Tôh was an active volcano in the early Holocene. The volcanic area of the Tibesti Mountains is located entirely in Chad; it covers about a third of the total area of the Tibesti Mountains and is responsible for between 5,000 and of rock.</p><br>
<p>The rest of the Tibesti Mountains consists of volcanic plateaus (tarsos in the Tedaga language), located between 1,200 and elevation, as well as lava fields and ejecta deposits. The plateaus are larger and more numerous in the east: the 7,700 km&sup2; Tarso Emi Chi, the 6,500 km&sup2; Tarso Aozi, the 3,000 km&sup2; Tarso Ahon to the north of Emi Koussi, and the 1,200 km&sup2; Tarso Mohi. In the center is Tarso Ourari at about 700 km&sup2;. To the west, in the vicinity of Tarso Toussidé, are the small plateaus of Tarso Tôh and Tarso Tamertiou, at 490 km&sup2; and 98 km&sup2, respectively. The plateaus are strewn with volcanic spires and are separated by canyons that have been formed by the irregular flow of wadis. The central part of the range is striated by a network of dry valleys with the north- and east- facing slopes silted by the prevailing winds. After the typically violent rains, these slopes form ephemeral streams and flora. The southwest slopes in the south and west of the mountain range have a gentle rise, while the northern slope of the range is a cliff overlooking the vast Libyan desert pavement known as the Sarir Tibesti.</p><br>
<h3>Hydrology</h3><br>
<p>Five rivers in the northern half of the Tibesti Mountains flow to Libya and are part of the Mediterranean Basin, while the southern half belongs to the endorheic basin of Lake Chad. However, none of the rivers travel long distances, as the water evaporates in the desert heat or seeps into the ground, although the latter may be carried great distances by subterranean aquifers.</p><br>
<p>The wadis in the Tibesti are called enneris. The water originates from the storms that periodically rage over the mountains. Their flow is highly variable. For example, the largest wadi, named Bardagué (or Enneri Zoumeri on its upstream portion) and located in the northern part of the range, recorded a flow of 425 m3/s in 1954, yet over the next nine years it experienced four years of total drought, four years of flow less than 5 m3/s and one year where three different flow rates were measured: 4. This variability is partly due to the irregularity of the monsoon that can bring rainfall from the southwest up to 20 degrees north latitude, but in some years may retreat before it reaches this latitude. Two other significant rivers cut into the mountains: the Enneri Yebige flows northward until its riverbed disappears on the Sarir Tibesti plateau, while Enneri Touaoul joins the south-flowing Enneri Ke to form Enneri Miski, which then disappears in the plains of Borkou. Their basins are separated by an 1,800 m high watershed that runs from Tarso Tieroko in the west to Tarso Mohi in the east. The Enneri Tijitinga is the longest wadi in the range, flowing some 400 km southward. It forms in the west of the range and peters out in the Bodélé Depression, as does Enneri Miski a little further to the east, along with other wadis such as the Enneri Korom and Enneri Aouei. The Enneri Douanré also flows southward. The Enneri Torku and Enneri Ofoundoui lie to the north; the Enneri Uri, Enneri Binem and Enneri Modiounga are in the east; the Enneri Yeo, Enneri Mamar, Enneri Tao, Enneri Woudoui and Enneri Dooze are to the west. Several rivers flow radially on the southern slopes of the Emi Koussi before seeping into the sands of Borkou and then reemerging at escarpments up to 400 km south of the summit, near the Ennedi Plateau.</p><br>
<p>At the bottom of many canyons are gueltas, wetlands that accumulate water mainly during storms and which can last most of the year. Above 2,000 m, enneri beds sometimes contain sequential pools of water that remain largely unexplored. The water is replenished several times a year during flooding, and salinity levels are low. The Mare de Zoui is a small permanent body of water 600 m above sea level, located in the northern part of the mountains in the wadi of the Enneri Bardagué, 10 km north of Bardaï. Supplied by sources upstream of the wadi, in heavy rains it overflows and spills into small wetlands.</p><br>
<p>The Yi Yerra hot springs is located on the southern flank of Emi Koussi, at about 850 m elevation. Water emerges from the springs at 37 &deg;C. A dozen hot springs are also located at the Soborom geothermal field on the northwest side of Tarso Voon, where water emerges at temperatures ranging between 22 and.</p><br>
<h3>Geology</h3><br>
<p>The Tibesti Mountains are a large area of tectonic uplift that, according to contemporary theory, resulted from a mantle plume in the craton of the African lithosphere, which is about 130 to 140 km thick. This tectonic uplift may have been accompanied by the opening, and subsequent closure via subduction, of a rift zone. The heart of the Tibesti is composed of schist, basalt and diorite of the Ediacaran period, one of six exposures of Precambrian crystalline rock in North Africa. These are overlaid by sandstone of the Paleozoic era, while the peaks consist of volcanic rock.</p><br>
<p>The continental hotspot activity began as early as the Oligocene, although the basalt in the area dates primarily from the Miocene to the Lower Pleistocene and, in places, to the Holocene. Due to the comparatively slow movement of the African plate—between 0 and per year since the Oligocene—there is no relationship between the age of the volcanoes and their dimensions, geographic distribution or alignment, similar to the Hawaiian–Emperor and Cook-Austral seamount chains. This phenomenon is also seen in Martian volcanoes, particularly Elysium Mons. The volcanic activity has created trap basalt formations that extend tens of kilometers and stack up to 300 m thick. A system of regional faults, although partially obscured by the volcanic product, has two distinct orientations: a NNE-SSW alignment that could be an extension of Cameroon line, and a NNW-SSE alignment that could extend to the Great Rift Valley; however, the relationship between these fault systems has not been conclusively demonstrated. More recently in geologic time, the volcanic activity has deposited dacite and ignimbrite, as well as trachyte and trachyandesite. This trend towards the production of more felsic, viscous lavas could be a sign of a waning mantle plume.</p><br>
<p>The volcanic activity took place in several phases. In the first phase, uplift and extension of the Precambrian basement occurred in the central area. The first structure to be formed was probably Tarso Abeki, followed by Tarso Tamertiou, Tarso Tieroko, Tarso Yega, Tarso Toon, and Ehi Yéy. The product of this early volcanic activity has been completely obscured by later eruptions. In the second phase, the volcanic activity moved north and east, forming Tarso Ourari and the ignimbrite bases of the vast tarsos, as well as Emi Koussi to the southeast. Thereafter, during the third phase, the outpouring of lava and ejecta deposits increased from Tarso Yega, Tarso Toon, Tarso Tieroko and Ehi Yéy; the collapse of these structures formed the first calderas. This phase also saw the formation of the Bounaï lava dome and Tarso Voon. To the east, the lava flows formed the large plateaus of Tarso Emi Chi, Tarso Ahon and Tarso Toon. Emi Koussi increased in height. The fourth phase saw the formation of Tarso Toussidé and the lava flows of Tarso Tôh in the west, the collapse of the caldera on the summit of Tarso Voon and associated ejecta deposits in the center, and the decline in lava production in the east, with the exception of Emi Koussi, which continued to rise. The end of this phase coincided with the beginning of the Holocene. The Yirrigué volcano emitted pyroclastic ignimbrite up to 50 km in all directions, filling in valleys. In the fifth phase, volcanic activity became much more localized and lava production continued to wane. Calderas form on top of Tarso Toussidé and Emi Koussi, and the lava domes Ehi Sosso and Ehi Mousgou appeared. Finally, in the sixth phase, Pic Toussidé formed on the western rim of several pre-Trou au Natron calderas, along with new lava flows, including Timi on the northern slope of Tarso Toussidé. With scarce time for erosion, these lava flows have a dark, youthful appearance. The Trou au Natron and Doon Kidimi craters have formed even more recently, with the former dissecting the earlier Toussidé calderas. Lava flows, minor pyroclastic deposits, and the appearance of small cinder cones, and the formation of the Era Kohor crater are the most recent volcanic activities on Emi Koussi. Presently, there are reports of volcanic activity in various parts of the massif, including hot springs at the Soborom geothermal field and fumaroles on Tarso Voon, Yi Yerra near Emi Koussi and Pic Toussidé. Deposits of sodium carbonate in the Trou au Natron and Era Kohor craters reflect recent events, as does the formation of volcanic centers on the floor of Trou au Natron.</p><br>
<p>The study of fluvial terraces has revealed coarse sand and gravel alternating with terraces of silt, clay and fine sand. This alternation highlights repeated changes in the dominant fluvial or wind patterns in the valleys of Tibesti during the Quaternary Period. The phases of erosion and sendimentation are indicative of the climate alternating between dry and wet conditions, the latter of which fostered dense vegetation in the Tibesti that was likely far more diverse than that which exists today (with the exception of grasses). Furthermore, the discovery of calcified charophyta (particularly of the family Characeae) and gastropod fossils in Trou au Natron indicates the presence of a lake at least 300 m deep during the Late Pleistocene. These phenomena are associated with various changes in climate, most notably during the last glacial maximum, which increased precipitation and reduced evaporation due to lower temperatures. In fact, the Tibesti supplied a considerable amount of water to the Paleolake Chad until the 5th millennium BC.</p><br>
<h3>Climate</h3><br>
<p>The Tibesti climate is substantially less dry than that of the surrounding Sahara Desert. Rainfall events are more intense and more frequent, but they are also highly variable from year to year. Indeed, the Tibesti can see seven to eight years pass between storms. In the south of the range, this variation is largely due to oscillations of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), which steadily moves northward toward Northern Chad from November until August, accompanied by the humid monsoonal air. Normally, the ITCZ repels the Harmattan, a dry trade wind that blows south-west from the Sahara Desert, and brings rainfall to southern Tibesti. However, sometimes the front retires early, before reaching the Tibesti, resulting one or more years of drought. In the northern Tibesti, where the monsoon has little influence, storms are caused by Sahara-Sudanese weather systems. For example, between 1957 and 1968, Bardaï saw an average of 12 mm of precipitation annually, although some years were dry while others saw 60 mm of rainfall. In general, the range receives a little less than 20 mm of rainfall per year. However, at elevations above 2,000 m, average precipitation exceeds 100 to 150 mm per year. When the rainfall coincides with low temperatures, it can fall as snow. This occurs, on average, once every seven years.</p><br>
<p>The average maximum temperature is 30 &deg;C at lower elevations and 20 &deg;C in the highlands. The average minimum temperature is 12 &deg;C in the valleys but only 9 &deg;C on most plateaus, and it can drop to 0 &deg;C on the highest peaks in winter. Lows of -10 &deg;C are not uncommon. Bardaï, located in a wadi 1,020 m above sea level, experiences average temperatures ranging between 4.6 and in winter, between 14.4 and in spring, and between 19.4 and in summer. At Zouar, temperatures can rise to 44 &deg;C in the summer and drop below 0 &deg;C in the winter, and can fall to -19 &deg;C on the surrounding plateaus.</p><br>
<h3>Flora and fauna</h3><br>
<p>The Tibesti Mountains are part of the Tibesti-Jebel Uweinat montane xeric woodlands ecoregion, which covers 31,700 square miles.</p><br>
<h4>Flora</h4><br>
<p>The flora in the Tibesti is Saharomontane, mixing Mediterranean, Sahara, Sahel and Afromontane vegetation. Biodiversity and endemism levels are much higher in the Tibesti than in the Aïr Mountains or the Ennedi Plateau, although the vegetation&#39;s coverage is highly dependent on rainfall. A number of oases lie along the courses of the enneris such as Enneri Yebige, which is virtually unexplored. These oases, which are more numerous to the north and west of the range, have vegetation of the genera Acacia, Ficus (fig trees), Hyphaene and Tamarix. Most gueltas are lined with macrophytes including Cyperus laevigatus, Equisetum ramosissimum, Juncus fontanesii and Scirpus holoschoenus. Acacia nilotica grow near these water basins. Myrtus nivellei and Nerium oleander grow between elevations of 1,500 and in the western part of the range, while Tamarix nilotica grow at similar elevations in its northern part. Downstream, where the current of the enneris is slower and the riverbed is deeper, there are dense thickets of Tamarix aphylla and Salvadora persica (locally known as yii).</p><br>
<p>Around the edge of the Tibesti, where the canyons exit the range, are doum palms (Hyphaene thebaica, known locally as soboo). The banks of Mare de Zoui are home to dense stands of reeds (Phragmites australis and Typha capensis), along with Scirpoides holoschoenus, Juncus maritimus, Juncus bufonius and Equisetum ramosissimum, while species of pond weed (Potamogeton) grow in the open water. Although the lake appears rich in phytoplankton, it has not been thoroughly studied. To the south and southwest of the range, between 1,600 and elevation, the wadis support endemic Ficus salicifolia as well as woody species characteristic of the Sahel: Balanites aegyptiaca, Boscia salicifolia, Cordia sinensis, Ficus ingens, Ficus salicifolia, Ficus sycomorus, Flueggea virosa, Grewia tenax, Gymnosporia senegalensis, Rhus incana and also Senegalia laeta. Chrysopogon plumulosus is the most common Poaceae in the area. Other plants have more Mediterranean characteristics, such as Globularia alypum and Lavandula pubescens or the more tropical Abutilon fruticosum and Rhynchosia minima.</p><br>
<p>Saharomontane grasslands are found on the slopes, plateaus and the upper portions of the wadis at elevations between 1,800 and. They are dominated by Stipagrostis obtusa and Aristida caerulescens, as well some Eragrostis papposa locally. In addition, shrubs represented by Anabasis articulata, Fagonia flamandii and Zilla spinosa dot this environment. On the sheltered upper slopes of Emi Koussi is the endemic grass Eragrostis kohorica, named after the volcano&#39;s crater.</p><br>
<p>The vegetation above 2,600 m consists of dwarf shrubs, which are generally limited to 20 to 60 cm in height and do not exceed one meter. The shrubbery consists of the species Pentzia monodiana, Artemisia tilhoana and Ephedra tilhoana. Finally, at the highest elevation elevations of the Tibesti, tree heath (Erica arborea) grows from moist crevices formed by early lava flows, and 24 different species of moss provide substrate for the tree heath.</p><br>
<h4>Fauna</h4><br>
<p>The large mammals present in the ecoregion are the addax (Addax nasomaculatus), Barbary sheep (Ammotragus lervia), dorcas gazelle (Gazella dorcas), and rhim gazelle (Gazella leptoceros). Bats are heavily represented in the Tibesti, including the desert long-eared bat (Otonycteris hemprichii), greater mouse-tailed bat (Rhinopoma microphyllum), Hamilton&#39;s tomb bat (Taphozous hamiltoni), Mauritian tomb bat (Taphozous mauritianus) and the trident bat (Asellia tridens). The Cape hare (Lepus capensis), desert hedgehog (Paraechinus aethiopicus), olive baboon (Papio anubis), rock hyrax (Procavia capensis) and the Saharan striped polecat (Ictonyx libyca) also populate the area.</p><br>
<p>Reptile and amphibian fauna is poor in the Tibesti range. There are gecko populations, including the Algerian sand gecko (Tropiocolotes steudneri), northern sand gecko (Tropiocolotes tripolitanus), Ragazzis fan-footed gecko (Ptyodactylus ragazzii), ringed wall gecko (Tarentola annularis) and yellow fan-fingered gecko (Ptyodactylus hasselquistii). Snake species include the braid snake (Coluber rhodorachis), horseshoe whip snake (Hemorrhois hippocrepis), long-nosed worm snake (Leptotyphlops macrorhynchus), and the Saharan horn viper (Cerastes cerastes). Among the lizards are Bells dabb lizard (Uromastyx acanthinura), Bibron&#39;s agama (Agama impalearis), the desert monitor (Varanus griseus), red spotted lizzard (Mesalina rubropunctata), and the sandfish (Scincus scincus).</p><br>
<p>Many birds can be found in the Tibesti, as they nest or shelter there during migrations. These include the</p><br>
<p>Abyssinian roller (Coracias abyssinicus),</p><br>
<p>African black duck (Anas sparsa),</p><br>
<p>anteater chat (Myrmecocichla aethiops),</p><br>
<p>bar-tailed lark (Ammomanes cincturus),</p><br>
<p>Barbary dove (Streptopelia risoria),</p><br>
<p>Barbary partridge (Alectoris barbara),</p><br>
<p>barn swallow (Hirundo rustica),</p><br>
<p>black crake (Amaurornis flavirostra),</p><br>
<p>blackstart (Cercomela melanura),</p><br>
<p>blue rock thrush (Monticola solitarius),</p><br>
<p>brown-necked raven (Corvus ruficollis),</p><br>
<p>Cape teal (Anas capensis),</p><br>
<p>common bulbul (Pycnonotus barbatus),</p><br>
<p>common chiffchaff (Phylloscopus collybita),</p><br>
<p>common kestrel (Falco tinnunculus),</p><br>
<p>common moorhen (Gallinula chloropus),</p><br>
<p>common quail (Coturnix coturnix),</p><br>
<p>cream-colored courser (Cursorius cursor),</p><br>
<p>crested lark (Galerida cristata),</p><br>
<p>crowned sandgrouse (Pterocles coronatus),</p><br>
<p>desert lark (Ammomanes deserti),</p><br>
<p>desert sparrow (Passer simplex),</p><br>
<p>desert wheatear (Oenanthe deserti),</p><br>
<p>eastern olivaceous warbler (Iduna pallida),</p><br>
<p>Egyptian nightjar (Caprimulgus aegyptius),</p><br>
<p>Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus),</p><br>
<p>Eurasian stone-curlew (Burhinus oedicnemus),</p><br>
<p>fan-tailed raven (Corvus rhipidurus),</p><br>
<p>fulvous babbler (Turdoides fulva),</p><br>
<p>greater hoopoe-lark (Alaemon alaudipes),</p><br>
<p>greater short-toed lark (Calandrella brachydactyla),</p><br>
<p>helmeted guineafowl (Numida meleagris),</p><br>
<p>hottentot teal (Anas hottentota),</p><br>
<p>lanner falcon (Falco biarmicus),</p><br>
<p>lappet-faced vulture (Torgos tracheliotus),</p><br>
<p>laughing dove (Streptopelia senegalensis),</p><br>
<p>Lichtensteins sandgrouse ("Pterocles lichtensteinii&#39;),</p><br>
<p>little owl (Athene noctua),</p><br>
<p>northern wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe),</p><br>
<p>Nubian bustard (Neotis Nuba),</p><br>
<p>pallid swift (Apus pallidus),</p><br>
<p>pygmy sunbird (Anthreptes platurus),</p><br>
<p>red-billed teal (Anas erythrorhyncha),</p><br>
<p>rock dove (Columba livia),</p><br>
<p>rock martin (Ptyonoprogne fuligula),</p><br>
<p>rufous-tailed scrub robin (Erythropygia galactotes),</p><br>
<p>Rüppell&#39;s warbler (Sylvia rueppelli),</p><br>
<p>sand martin (Riparia riparia),</p><br>
<p>southern grey shrike (Lanius meridionalis),</p><br>
<p>spotted sandgrouse (Pterocles senegallus),</p><br>
<p>striolated bunting (Emberiza striolata),</p><br>
<p>subalpine warbler (Sylvia cantillans),</p><br>
<p>Sudan golden sparrow (Passer luteus),</p><br>
<p>tawny eagle (Aquila rapax),</p><br>
<p>trumpeter finch (Bucanetes githagineus),</p><br>
<p>turtle dove (Streptopelia turtur),</p><br>
<p>western yellow wagtail (Motacilla flava)</p><br>
<p>and the</p><br>
<p>white-crowned wheatear (Oenanthe leucopyga).</p><br>
<p>Fish survive in some rivers by gathering in gueltas during drought. The main species are</p><br>
<p>Barbus anema,</p><br>
<p>Barbus apleurogramma (East African red-finned barb),</p><br>
<p>Barbus deserti,</p><br>
<p>various Barilius species,</p><br>
<p>Clarias gariepinus (African sharptooth catfish),</p><br>
<p>Coptodon zillii (redbelly tilapia),</p><br>
<p>Labeo annectens,</p><br>
<p>Labeo niloticus (Nile carp),</p><br>
<p>Labeo parvus,</p><br>
<p>Labeobarbus batesii,</p><br>
<p>Sarotherodon galilaeus (mango tilapia).</p><br>
<h3>Population</h3><br>
<p>The principal settlements in the Tibesti are Bardaï, Aozou and Zouar, respectively located in the center, north and west of the range, and each situated on oases along the enneris. Bardaï, at an elevation of 1,020 m, is the capital of Chad&#39;s Tibesti Region with around 1,500 inhabitants. It is connected to Zouar by a track that crosses Tarso Toussidé. The village of Omchi is accessible from Bardaï via Aderké, or from Auzou via Irbi. These rough tracks extend southward towards Yebbi Souma and Yebbi Bou, and then follow the course of Enneri Misky. The eastern half of the Tibesti is cut off from the western half, as the eastern village of Aozi is accessible from Libya via Ouri. Zouar has an airport, as does Bardaï at Zougra. Bardaï also has a hospital, although the medical supply is very much dependent upon the prevailing political situation. In the early 1980s, the population of the Tibesti Mountains was estimated to number 8,000 which was dispersed among the interior valleys, outer slopes and plateaus. Around a quarter of the population was located around Zouar, 18% in the center and in the northeastern valley of the Enneri Bardagué where many palm trees are cultivated, 16% in the north around Aozou and the valley of the Enneri Yebige, and 7% on the plains. The remaining third of the population was dispersed among the tarsos.</p><br>
<p>The vast majority of the population is Teda, one of the two ethnicities of the Toubou people. However, some clans are Daza, the other Toubou ethnicity, who left their traditional homes in the lowlands to the south and moved north to the Tibesti. The Toubou, in general, are semi-nomadic and live primarily in northern Chad, but also in southern Libya and eastern Niger. The Toubou language has two main dialects, Tedaga, spoken by the Teda, and Dazaga, spoken by the Daza. Despite their cultural proximity, the two Toubou groups do not identify as a single ethnic group. The Toubou elect a chief, the Derdé, from the Tomagra clan, although never from the same family consecutively. The Derdé resides in Zouar and aims to impose religious and judicial authority over the Tibesti population; however, efforts toward executive cooperation and war alliances are usually destined for failure. The descendants of previous Derdé retain authority which transfers from father to son. These appointed Maïna govern portions of the Toubou territories. Individual clans rarely have more than a thousand members and are quite dispersed throughout the Tibesti.</p><br>
<p>Toubou life is punctuated by the seasons, divided between animal husbandry and agriculture. In the palm groves, some Toubou still live in traditional round huts built with stone walls bound by mortar or clay, or built from clay or salt blocks, with roofs of simple branches arranged in a dome shape. In the highlands, the buildings are built of stone, forming circles 1.5 m in diameter and one metre (three ft) high, which serve as shelters for goats, or as granaries, or as human shelters and defense structures. In other cases, the Toubou live in tents that can be easily moved between the fields and the palm groves.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<h3>Human settlement</h3><br>
<p>There is evidence of human occupation of the Tibesti dating back to the Stone Age, when richer paleovegetation facilitated human habitation. Around this time, Herodotus portrayed the Toubou, which he labeled "Ethiopians" because of their skin color, and described as having a language akin to the "cry of bats."</p><br>
<p>According to historian Raffael Joorde, a Roman traveler and diplomat named Julius Maternus explored with the king of the Garamantes the territory of the Tibesti mountains, while this king did a military campaign (or a "razzia") against rebellious subjects in the region a Agisymba Raffael Joorde."</p><br>
<p>Römische Vorstöße ins Innere Afrikas südlich der Sahara: die geheimnisvolle</p><br>
<p>Landschaft Agisymba", Dortmund, 2015 ()</p><br>
<p>In the 12th century, the geographer Muhammad al-Idrisi spoke of a "country of Zaghawa negroes", or camel herders, that had converted to Islam. The historian Ibn Khaldun described the Toubou in the 14th century. In the 15th and 16th centuries, Al-Maqrizi and Leo Africanus recognized the "country of the Berdoa", that is to say Bardaï, the former associating the Toubou with the Berbers and the latter describing them as Numidian relatives of the Taureg.</p><br>
<p>The Toubou settled in the Tibesti in several waves. Generally, newcomers either killed or absorbed the previous clans after battles that were often both long-lasting and bloody. The Teda clans, considered indigenous to the area, were first established around Enneri Bardagué. Namely, these clans were the Cerdegua, Zouia, Kossseda (nicknamed yobat or "hunters of well water"), and possibly the Ederguia, although the Ederguia&#39;s origin may be Zaghawa and only go back to the 17th century. These clans controlled the palm groves, and made a peace pact with the Tomagra, a nearby clan of camel herders who practiced Ghazw. It was upon the agreement to this pact at the end of the 16th century that power was consolidated under the Derdé, the principal regulator of the clans, whose appointment is always made from the Tomagra clan.</p><br>
<p>There is evidence of early Daza settlements in the Tibesti; however, these early clans—the Goga, Kida, Terbouna and Obokina—were assimilated into later Daza clans, who arrived in the Tibesti between the 15th and 18th centuries, having fled the Kanem-Bornu Empire in the southwest after the Toubou allied with a Kanem enemy, the Bilala. These later Daza arrivals include the Arna Souinga in the south, Gouboda in the center-west, Tchioda and Dirsina in the west, Torama in the northwest and center-east, and the Derdekichia (literally, "descendants of the chief," the products of a union between an Arna Souinga and an Emmeouia) in the north. The Tibesti then played the role of an impregnable mountain stronghold for the newcomers. Meanwhile, constant migration between the north and southwest of Chad, along with significant mixing of the populations, forged a significant degree of cohesion among the Toubou ethnicities. Periods of territorial expansion in the 10th and 13th centuries and periods of recession in the 15th and 16th centuries likely coincided with more or less pronounced wet and dry periods.</p><br>
<p>Several clans with traditions similar to those of the Donzas of the Borkou region, south of the Tibesti, settled in the range in the 16th and 17th centuries. These include the Keressa and Odobaya in the west, Foctoa in the northwest and northeast, and Emmeouia in the north. Several other clans—the Mogodi in the west, Terintere in the north, Tozoba in the center, and Tegua and Mada in the south—are originally clans of the Bideyat people who immigrated from the Ennedi Plateau, southeast of Tibesti, around the same time. The Mada, however, have since largely emigrated to Borkou, Kaouar and Kanem.</p><br>
<p>The early 17th century also saw the arrival of three clans from the region of Kufra to the northeast. The Taïzera settled in the plateau in the center and west of the mass, probably fleeing the Arab push into present-day Libya. They were initially rejected by the Daza clans and lived in isolation until they began investing in the oases by planting numerous palms. The Mahadena occupy the northeast quarter of the range and are likely from the Cyrenaica and Jalu regions and thus related to the Mogharba Arab tribes, although an alternative hypothesis is that they are of Bideyat origin. Following years of conflict, a branch of the Mahadena clan, the Fortena, withdrew to the western margin of the Tibesti. The Fortena Mado ("Red Fortena") settled there, while the Fortena Yasko ("Black Fortena") pushed further west to Kaouar.</p><br>
<p>The Tuareg people intermixed with the Toubou clans, especially with the early Goga clan, which produced the Gouboda, and with the later Arna clan, which produced the Mormorea. In both instances, the new clans were placed under the authority of suzerain clans of the traditionally feudal Tuareg, although they were eventually assimilated into the Toubou majority. However, the Tuareg have not entered the Tibesti since the signing of a peace treaty that included mutual recognition of Toubou and Tuareg territories. The treaty was reaffirmed in 1820.</p><br>
<h3>Regional relations and colonization</h3><br>
<p>The Ottoman Empire came into contact with the Toubou in 1560. Their relationship broke out into conflict in the late 17th century, with the Turks favoring the authority of local Maïna at the expense of the authority of the Derdé. In 1780, the Derdé initiated an attack against the Ottomans. The Ottoman retaliation killed 60 percent the Toubou population. The Teda then began launching attacks on Turkish caravans in an effort to disrupt Ottoman trade. In 1890, Maï Getty Tchénimémi established diplomatic relations with the Ottoman Empire and began receiving firearms. Meanwhile, Derdé Chachaï allied with the Senussi Arabs and agreed that the southern half of the Tibesti could serve as a fallback base for the Senussi in their struggle against the French Colonial Army. The Tibesti was then effectively spit two, with the "pro-Maï" in the southwest and the "pro-Derdé" in the northeast. With the Derdé&#39;s blessing, the Senussi founded a Zawiya in Bardaï, which quickly promoted the total Islamization of the Tibesti. At the outbreak of the Italo-Turkish War, the Senussi allied with the Ottoman Empire and, at the request of the Derdé, the Turks established garrisons in Tibesti beginning in March 1911. These garrisons fell apart a few months later, and the Toubou attacked the Turkish troops.</p><br>
<p>While the Italians occupied the Fezzan, a French column entered the Tibesti in early 1914 from Kaouar, flouting an agreement with the Maï from the previous winter and forcing the Derdé Chachaï into exile. The region was at the heart of the dispute between the colonial powers, with the Italian Empire to the north and French West Africa to the south. During World War I, a Senussi revolt forced the Italians to temporarily withdraw from the Fezzan and the northeastern part of the range. Maï Getty Tchénimémi allied with the supporters of the Derdé and led the resistance against the French troops until their withdrawal in 1916. The Tibesti was reconquered by the French colonial empire in 1929, and the region was placed under the administration of French Equatorial Africa.</p><br>
<h3>Modern history</h3><br>
<h4>Chadian Civil War</h4><br>
<p>Chad gained independence from France in 1960 and in 1965 the Chadian government led by François Tombalbaye imposed its administrative and judicial authority in the Tibesti. Mere days after the withdrawal of French troops from the region rebellion erupted in Bardaï, followed by numerous small-scale clashes over subsequent months and a more famous clash again in Bardaï in September. In response, the Tombalbaye government imposed travel and trade restrictions on the Toubou and voided the traditional power of the then Derdé, Oueddei Kichidemi. Kichidemi went into exile in Libya the following year and became a national symbol in Chad for opposition to the government. These events were a direct trigger of the First Chadian Civil War, which lasted from 1965 to 1979.</p><br>
<p>In 1968, the French Army, at the request of Tombalbaye, intervened in an attempt to put an end to the rebellion, killing 25 rebels and 121 civilians in various towns, including Zouar. However, the French leader of the intervention force, General Edouard Cortadellas, admitted that the Tibesti area was basically ungovernable, remarking, "I believe we should draw a line below and leave them to their stones. We can never subdue them." The French therefore concentrated its intervention to the center and the east of the country, leaving the Tibesti region area largely alone.</p><br>
<p>In 1969, Goukouni Oueddei, a Teda leader, and Hissène Habré, a Daza leader, emerged from the Tibesti to form the Second Liberation Army, initially an arm of the National Liberation Front of Chad (FROLINAT) but which later broke from the group due to its close relationship with Libya. In April 1974, the Second Liberation Army captured Bardaï from the Chadian government and took hostage the French archeologist Françoise Claustre, German doctor Christophe Staewen and Marc Combe, an assistant to Claustres husband, and held them in the mountains. Staewens wife and two soldiers of the Chadian army were killed. The hostage incident, known as "L&#39;affaire Claustre" served to further destabilize Chad.</p><br>
<p>In 1976, the Second Liberation Army split into two factions, one affiliated with Libya and led by Goukouni, and the other led by Habré. In June 1977, Goukounis forces attacked Chadian government strongholds in Bardaï and Zouar, killing 300 government troops. Bardaï surrendered to the rebels on July 4, while Zouar was evacuated. The government, led by Félix Malloum since Tombalbayes overthrow in 1975, signed a peace agreement with Habré in 1978, although fighting with other rebel groups, many aligned with Libya, continued.</p><br>
<h4>Chadian–Libyan conflict</h4><br>
<p>The Aouzou strip in the Tibesti region was defined for the first time in the discussions between France and Italy after World War I, in relation to an award to Italy for the victory in that war. At the Paris Peace Conference, 1919, France agreed to give some Saharan territories to Italian Libya: the area around Aouzou in the Tibesti region.</p><br>
<p>After many discussions during the 1920s, in 1935 the Franco-Italian Agreement was signed between Benito Mussolini and Pierre Laval, which included a provision under which Italy would receive the Aouzou strip, which was to be added to Libya. But the "instruments of ratification" of the Mussolini-Laval Treaty never were exchanged with France by the Italian Parliament (that wanted more territories). Despite this the new border was conventionally assumed to be the southern boundary of Libya until 1955, when the strip was returned to French Chad.</p><br>
<p>In 1978, Chad and Libya came into conflict over the Aozou Strip, a narrow, 114,000 km&sup2; borderland that extends into the Tibesti region and is supposedly rich in uranium deposits. Prior to this, in 1972, the Chadian government under Tombalbaye had ceded the strip to Libya in a secret agreement with Libya&#39;s leader Muammar Gaddafi. Following this agreement, Libya issued residents of the Aozou Strip Libyan identification cards.</p><br>
<p>Following Libyas withdrawal from southern Chad in 1982, Habrés Armed Forces of the North (FAN) took control of the entirety of Chad with the exception of the Tibesti, where Goukouni remained with his Libyan-backed Government of National Unity (GUNT) forces. Goukouni established a National Peace Government in Bardaï and proclaimed it the legitimate government of Chad. Habré attacked the GUNT in the Tibesti in both December 1982 and January 1983 but was repelled on both occasions. Although fighting intensified over the next several months, the mountains remained under the control of the GUNT and Libyan forces.</p><br>
<h4>Tibesti War</h4><br>
<p>By 1986, following a series of military defeats, the GUNT had begun to disintegrate along with relations between Goukouni and Gaddafi. In August, Goukouni was arrested by the Libyans, which spurred his troops to attack Libyan positions in the Tibesti, forcing their withdrawal from the mountains. In October the remnant GUNT forces pledged themselves to Habré.</p><br>
<p>Libya sought to retake Bardaï and Zouar, and sent a task-force of 2,000 troops with T-62 tanks and heavy support by the Libyan Air Force into the Tibesti. The offensive started successfully, expelling the GUNT from its key strongholds, aided by the use of napalm. The attack ultimately backfired, however, as it resulted in the prompt reaction of Habré, who sent 2,000 soldiers to support the GUNT forces. Although the Libyans were only partially repelled from the Tibesti, the campaign was a great strategic victory, as it transformed a civil war into a national war against a foreign invader, stimulating a sense of national unity never been seen before in Chad. After a series of defeats in northeastern Chad, Libyan forces withdrew fully from the Tibesti in March 1987. Although the Tibesti has since entered an era of relative peace, the years of conflict have left the area strewn with thousands of landmines.</p><br>
<h3>Scientific exploration and research</h3><br>
<p>Due to its isolation and geopolitical situation, the Tibesti Mountains were long unexplored by scientists. The German Gustav Nachtigal, dispatched by Otto von Bismarck, as he was convicted by the Toubou of spying for Bismarck and only released after the intervention of Maï Arami Tetimi.</p><br>
<p>Although the Tibesti is one of the world&#39;s most significant examples of intracontinental volcanism, ongoing political instability and the presence of landmines means that, today, geologic research often must be conducted on the basis of satellite images and comparison with research on Martian volcanoes. Little public geologic research had been conducted in the Tibesti Mountains until the work of Gourgaud and Vincent in 2004; however an expedition in 2015 sought to assess the feasibility of establishing a new geoscience research station in Bardaï.</p><br>
<h3>Climbing history</h3><br>
<p>The first mountain to be climbed by a westerner in the Tibesti was Pic Toussidé in 1869 by Gustav Nachtigal during his exploration of the area, although the peak is not technically difficult. In 1938, Emi Koussi was summited by Wilfred Thesiger. The first sporting climb was probably that of the peak and needle of Botoum, at 2,400 m and 2,400 m, respectively, by a Swiss expedition led by Edouard Wyss-Dunant in 1948.</p><br>
<p>In 1957, P.R. Steele, R.F. Marks and W.W. Tuck of the University of Cambridge embarked on an expedition to Tarso Tieroko, which Thesiger had described as "probably the most beautiful peak in Tibesti," and which offered an interesting climbing opportunity. They started at the wadi Ybbu Bou and hired guides and camels for the three-day journey. Following a week of exploring the southern flank of the mountain and climbing the two peaks situated on a ridge to the north, they attempted to summit Tieroko from their camp at Wadi Modra. After ascending to an elevation of 10,500 ft, just 200 ft from the summit, they were faced with a vertical, crumbling rock wall, and thus were forced to descend. Following this defeat, they took the opportunity to climb Emi Koussi, 19 years after its first ascent by Thesiger, and also Pic Woubou, a prominent spire located between Bardaï and Aozou.</p><br>
<p>In 1962, the Swiss René Dittert and Robert Gréloz scaled Ou Obou, a 1,640 m peak. In 1963, an Italian expedition led by Guido Monzino ascended Torre Innominata, a 970 m aiguille of Sissé, west of Tarso Toussidé. In 2005, Bikku Bitti was scaled by Englishman Eamon "Ginge" Fullen and Chadian guides. Due to the unstable political situation, the alpine conquest of the Tibesti Mountains remains very much incomplete.</p><br>
<h2>Economy</h2><br>
<h3>Natural resources</h3><br>
<p>The Tibesti and its surroundings could contain significant quantities of uranium, tin, tungsten, niobium, beryllium, lead, zinc, copper, platinum, and nickel. Gold, diamonds and emeralds have been found in small quantities. The natron extracted from Trou au Natron on Tarso Toussidé is used as a food supplement for animals. The Soborom geothermal field, the name of which means "water cure," is known to locals for its medicinal qualities; the 42 &deg;C pools are rumored to cure dermatitis and rheumatism after several days of soaking. The Yerike hot spring is rich in natural gas; its water temperature ranges between 22 and.</p><br>
<p>Other than a nearby oasis, Mare de Zoui and its surroundings are rarely visited. However, there are numerous small oases on the plains of Borkou, near Emi Koussi, which are extensively exploited. It is thought that water flows underground from the southern Tibesti mountains and then emerges in these springs.</p><br>
<h3>Agriculture</h3><br>
<p>The oases to the west and north of the range have the easiest access. Where mosquitoes do not abound, they support several villages, such as Zouar, where indigenous plant species have largely been replaced by some 56,000 date palms (Phoenix dactylifera) for the production of dates. These are harvested between late July and early August. In winter, when reserves are depleted, it is not uncommon for the cores of the dates and the fiber of the palms to be ground into a paste and consumed. These palm groves can also grow millet and corn, but the crop is spotty and sometimes swept away by early flooding. The banks of the enneris grow desert gourd (Citrullus colocynthis), which are collected in October to extract the bitter seeds which, after being washed, are ground to make flour. Horticulture is practiced on a small scale using traditional irrigation methods. Goats and, more rarely, sheep number 50,000 heads, and 8,000 camels and 7,000 donkeys are raised in the range. Chickens are also numerous, although the consumption of meat is rare, usually done so through salting.</p><br>
<p>Most animals spend the winter on the plateaus or in the high valleys. They descend into the lower valleys in February, just after the sowing of wheat, and then return in June to allow harvest. In total, including barley, the Tibesti produces 300 t of cereals each year, which are mainly consumed in the form of cakes (dogo) and pancakes (fodack) and complemented with wild grasses. Women are responsible for gathering wild grains on the tarsos in August. Fishing is possible in the water holes. On the plains of Borkou, some fields are irrigated, where cattle, goats and camels can drink. Despite the date palm plantations, native species remain, such as the doum palm (Hyphaene thebaica), from which the sweet bark is collected, ground and consumed, despite its low nutritional value. Agricultural product is traded once a year in exchange for fabrics.</p><br>
<h3>Tourism</h3><br>
<p>Tibesti has tourism potential, with its primary attractions being the palm groves, rock and parietal art, canyons, basalt spires, volcanoes and hot springs. However, the Zouar airfield cannot accommodate aircraft with more than a 20-seat capacity. This pushes the cost of air tickets from Ndjamena up to 60 percent of the cost to fly from Ndjamena to major European cities. Furthermore, tourist accommodations are virtually absent. As a result, the majority of tourists, most of whom are German, enter Libya, purchase all-terrain vehicles or caravans on the spot, and then cross the border into Chad. Thus, the economic benefits to Chad amount to only around 100 euros per tourist. The presence of numerous landmines is a danger to tourists, and thus hiking is generally limited to the southern end of the range. The ascent up Emi Koussi, around the Era Kohor, and then on to Yi Yerra hot springs generally takes about three days. The volcano has been climbed by 100 westerners since 1957.</p><br>
<h3>Conservation</h3><br>
<p>A protected area in the Tibesti range has been proposed to preserve the area&#39;s rhim gazelle (Gazella leptoceros) and Barbary sheep (Ammotragus lervia) populations, which are the largest in the world. The protected area would be modeled after the Ouadi Rimé-Ouadi Achim Faunal Reserve to the south; however, there is currently insufficient funding available for the project.</p><br>
<h2>Culture</h2><br>
<p>The Tibesti Mountains are renowned for their rock and parietal art. Around 200 engraving sites—including some 1800 different representations—and 100 painting sites have been identified. Most date from between the 5th and 3rd millennia BC, although some date from the 6th millennium BC, centuries before the arrival of the Toubou. The art has suffered the effects of time, including weathering from sand blown by the wind. The earliest works often portray animals that have since died out due to climate change in the Tibesti, including elephants, rhinoceros, hippopotamus and giraffes. More recent art includes ostriches and antelopes, which have an exceptional presence on the edge of the range, as well as gazelles and sheep, which are more common.</p><br>
<p>Later works, dated less than 2000 years old, portray domesticated animals, such as oxen and camels. Other engravings portray warriors, known as owoza, dressed in feathers or spiked ornaments and armed with bows, shields, assegai, or traditional knives. Some portray dance scenes. The walls of a canyon near Bardaï have engravings that measure over 2 m in height, including that of the "man of Gonoa," Gonoa being the name of the enneri that runs through the valley. These primarily show hunting scenes. The paintings, often drawn with a red Faidherbia albida base, signify a turn towards domestication in the Tibesti, because the scenes are more pastoral. The Tibesti art is unique in the Sahara because of the absence of inscriptions, the relative lack of chariots, and the low representation of camels and horses until comparatively recently. The art has remained important to the Toubou; around 1200 AD, a man named Yerbou engraved a palm leaf into rock, symbolizing his love for a married woman.</p><br>
<p>In 1989, French painter and sculptor Jean Vérame used the natural surroundings of the Ehi Kourné, a few kilometers south of Bardaï, to create multidimensional land art works by painting rocks. The project was supported by the Chadian president and the United Nations Development Programme, as well as private corporations such as the French oil company Total S.A. Over time, the Klein Blue paint turned patina white and red, and today is pinkish in color.</p><br>
<p>The volcanic spires of the Tibesti, along with a stylized sheep&#39;s head, were displayed on a 20 CFA franc postage stamp issued by Republic of Chad in 1961.</p><br>
<p>The Tibesti range was featured in the 1966 short story "Le Mura di Anagoor" ("The Walls of Anagoor") by the Italian novelist Dino Buzzati. In the story, a local guide offers to show a traveller the walls of a great city that is absent from the maps. The city is exceedingly opulent, yet exists in total autarky and does not submit to local authority. The traveler waits many years, in vain, to enter the Tibesti city.</p><br>
<p>The Northern Limestone Alps , also called the Northern Calcareous Alps, are the ranges of the Eastern Alps north of the Central Eastern Alps located in Austria and the adjacent Bavarian lands of southeastern Germany. The distinction from the latter group, where the higher peaks are located, is based on differences in geological composition.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>If viewed on a west-east axis, the Northern Limestone Alps extend from the Rhine valley and the Bregenz Forest in Vorarlberg, Austria in the west extending along the border between the German federal-state of Bavaria and Austrian Tyrol, through Salzburg, Upper Austria, Styria and Lower Austria and finally ending at the Wienerwald at the city-limits of Vienna in the east.</p><br>
<p>The highest peaks in the Northern Limestone Alps are the Parseierspitze (3,036 m/9,961 ft) in the Lechtal Alps, and the Hoher Dachstein (2,996 m/9,826 ft). Other notable peaks in this range include the Zugspitze, (2,962 m/9,717 ft), located on the German-Austrian frontier and listed as the highest peak in Germany.</p><br>
<h2>Alpine Club classification</h2><br>
<p>Ranges of the Northern Limestone Alps according to the Alpine Club classification of the Eastern Alps (from east to west):</p><br>
<p>The Central Eastern Alps , also referred to as Austrian Central Alps  or just Central Alps comprise the main chain of the Eastern Alps in Austria and the adjacent regions of Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Italy and Slovenia.</p><br>
<p>The term "Central Alps" is very common in the Geography of Austria as one of the seven major landscape regions of the country. "Central Eastern Alps" is usually used in connection with the Alpine Club classification of the Eastern Alps (Alpenvereinseinteilung, AVE). The Central Alps form the eastern part of the Alpine divide, its central chain of mountains, as well as those ranges that extend or accompany it to the north and south.</p><br>
<p>The highest mountain in the Austrian Central Alps is Grossglockner at 3,798 m.</p><br>
<h2>Location</h2><br>
<p>The Central Alps have the highest peaks of the Eastern Alps, and are located between the Northern Limestone Alps and the Southern Limestone Alps, from which they differ in geological composition.</p><br>
<p>The term "Central Eastern Alps" may also be used more broadly to refer to a larger area of the Eastern Alps, mainly located in Austria, extending from the foot of the Bergamasque Alps at Lake Como and the Bernina Range in the Graubünden canton of eastern Switzerland along the Liechtenstein shore of the Rhine in the west as far as to the lower promontories east of the Mur river including the Hochwechsel in Austrian Styria. The valleys of the rivers Inn, Salzach and Enns mark their northern boundary, the Drau river (roughly corresponding to the Periadriatic Seam) their southern border. In the proposed SOIUSA system, the "Central-eastern Alps" include the Rhaetian Alps, of which the Bernina Range includes the 4,049-meter Piz Bernina in Switzerland, the easternmost 4,000 meter peak of the Alps. In the AVE system, however, the full list of mountain groups in the Alpine Club classification of the Eastern Alps includes the Bernina and neighboring ranges within the Western Limestone Alps, not the Central Eastern Alps as the Alpine Club defines them.</p><br>
<h2>Central Alps as a major landscape region in Austria</h2><br>
<p>In Austria, the Eastern Alps are divided into the Northern Alps, the Greywacke zone, the Central Alps and the Southern Alps. The latter lie in South Carinthia, but mainly in Northeast Italy.</p><br>
<p>The Central and Northern Alps are separated by the Northern Longitudinal Trough (nördliche Längstalfurche), the line Klostertal–Arlberg–Inn Valley–Salzach Valley as far as Lake Zell–Wagrain Heights–Upper Enns Valley–Schober Pass–Mürz Valley Alps–Semmering–southern Vienna Basin. The Central Alps and Southern Alps are separated from one another by the Southern Longitudinal Valley (südlichen Längstalzug) Puster Valley (Rienz Valle–Toblach Field–upper Drava (Drau) Valley)–Drava Valley–Klagenfurt Basin–Meža (Mieß), or the Periadriatic Seam, which is not entirely identical with the Southern Longitudinal Trough.</p><br>
<h2>Geomorphology</h2><br>
<p>The range has the highest summits in the Eastern Alps and is the most glaciated. In the transition zone between the East und West Alps its peaks clearly dominate the region to the west (Piz d&#39;Err, Piz Roseg). On the perimeter, however, there are also less high, often less rugged mountain chains, like the Gurktal Alps and the eastern foothills.</p><br>
<p>The Eastern Alps is separated from the Western Alps by a line from Lake Constance to Lake Como along the Alpine Rhine valley and via the Splügen Pass.</p><br>
<h2>Geology</h2><br>
<p>The Central Alps consist mainly of the gneiss and slate rocks of the various Austroalpine nappes (Lower and Upper Austroalpine), with the exception of the Hohe Tauern and Engadine windows, where they are composed mostly of Jurassic rock and limestones and, locally, (Bergell and Rieserferner) also of granite. The Austroalpine nappes are thrusted over the Penninic nappe stack. Massifs of autochthonous, crystalline rock, which hardly moved at all during Alpine folding, do not occur in the Central Alps – unlike the case in the Western Alps. The aforementioned granite intruded near the fracture zone of the Periadriatic Seam. The Western Alps do not have this division into the Northern Limestone Alps, Central Alps and Southern Limestone Alps.</p><br>
<p>The Austroalpine submerges itself at the eastern edge of the Alps under the Tertiary sediments of the Alpine Foreland in the east and the Pannonian Basin. This fracture zone exhibits active volcanism (e.g. in the Styrian thermal region).</p><br>
<h2>Alpine Club classification</h2><br>
<p>The Central Eastern Alps also comprise the following ranges of the West Eastern Alps according to AVE classification, which geologically belong to the Southern Alps and are also subsumed under the Western Limestone Alps division.:</p><br>
<p>The Ortler Alps as well as the Sobretta-Gavia Group are also sometimes classified with the Central Alps, because they lie north of the geological fault of the Periadriatic Seam; in a general regional geographic sense, however, they are seen as part of the Southern Limestone Alps, because they are found south of the longitudinal trough Veltlin (Adda)–Vintschgau (Etsch). Also in terms of rock, the Ortler main crest is part of the Southern Limestone Alps.</p><br>
<p>Aotea Harbour is the smallest of three large natural inlets in the Tasman Sea coast of the Waikato region of New Zealand&#39;s North Island. It is located between Raglan Harbour to the north and Kawhia Harbour to the south, 30 kilometres southwest of Hamilton. 54% of the area around the harbour is in sheep and beef grazing. Since 1850 native forest cover has declined from 98% to 28%, about 18% managed by the Department of Conservation.</p><br>
<p>Aotea Harbour is a drowned valley system following the post glacial Aranuian sea level rise of over 100m in the last 14,000 years, but its level may also be influenced by the Makomako and Te Maari faults. It has a high-tide area of 32 km&sup2; and a low-tide area of 6 km&sup2;,</p><br>
<p>Bridal Veil Falls is located on Pakoka River, and Lake Disappear is on Pakihi Stream, both of which flow into Aotea Harbour.</p><br>
<p>Lake Karapiro is an artificial reservoir lake on the Waikato River, 30 km south-east of the city of Hamilton in New Zealand&#39;s North Island. The lake was formed in 1947 by damming the Waikato River to store water for the 96-megawatt Karapiro hydroelectric power station.</p><br>
<h2>Etymology</h2><br>
<p>Kara means stone (dark basalt), piro means evil-smelling. According to legend, Karapiro was the stronghold of the chief O-Te-Ihingarangi, and was where the Ngati Haua and their Tauranga allies made a defensive pact during the land wars of 1864.</p><br>
<h2>Rowing venue</h2><br>
<p>The lake, regarded as one of New Zealands best rowing venues, hosted the World Rowing Championships in 1978 and 2010, as well as the rowing events for the 1950 British Empire Games. Lake Karapiro alternates with the South Islands Lake Ruataniwha in hosting the New Zealand national rowing championships and the New Zealand secondary school rowing championships (Maadi Cup). Rowers who train on the lake mostly live in nearby Cambridge.</p><br>
<p>An International Rowing Federation inspection panel visited Lake Karapiro in March 2006 and said in its report that it was one of the fairest courses in the world they had seen and that the lake was one of the most picturesque in the world.</p><br>
<h2>Hydroelectric power</h2><br>
<p>The 96-megawatt Karapiro Power Station is located adjacent to the dam at the head of the lake, and is the eighth and last hydroelectric power station located on the Waikato River. Water for the power station up to 362 m3/s at full power, is taken from the lake and passed through three Kaplan turbines in the powerhouse, before being deposited into the lower Waikato River. Each turbine turns a 32 MW generator, and the electricity from the generators is fed into Transpower&#39;s national transmission grid. The station is a base load generator due to its need to maintain water flows into the Waikato River system beyond the lake.</p><br>
<p>The ten-megawatt Horahora Power Station at Horahora, 13 km upstream of Karapiro Dam, part of an earlier hydroelectric power scheme, was flooded with the formation of Lake Karapiro.</p><br>
<p>The Tooth of Time is geological feature on the Philmont Scout Ranch located five miles  southwest of Cimarron, New Mexico, United States, and is one of Philmont&#39;s most popular sights. It is an igneous intrusion of dacite porphyry formed in the Paleogene Period of the Cenozoic Era some 22-40 million years ago.</p><br>
<h2>Santa Fe Trail</h2><br>
<p>The Tooth rises prominently from the valley floor, some 2,500 ft below, creating a sheer vertical face unable to support substantial plant life. Both its pinkish-gray color and its unusual shape make it a particularly notable geological landmark. It was well-known among the overland traders on the Santa Fe Trail, who used it to mark the final seven-day push to Santa Fe, New Mexico.</p><br>
<h2>Geology</h2><br>
<p>The Tooth was formed when magma from deep within the Earth rose through older rock layers and slowly cooled. Over many thousands of years, the older sedimentary rock eroded and left the harder igneous formation. The sedimentary rock acted as a mold for the intrusive magma, causing it to harden and cool where the sedimentary rock was strongest.</p><br>
<p>The Tooth sits atop a prominent ridge created through the process mentioned above. In the fourth episode of the TV mini-series western Lonesome Dove, the Tooth is readily visible as Pea Eye Parker, one of the protagonists, walks across the plain towards the cattle herd.</p><br>
<h2>Climbing</h2><br>
<p>The Tooth of Time is located on the east end of Tooth of Time Ridge, while Shaefers Peak is located on the west end of the ridge. A trail extends about 3.5 miles from Shaefers Pass to the Tooth Ridge campsite, located at the base of the Tooth of Time, with a short scramble ascending the Tooth. Another trail, known as the Stockade Trail, extends along the steeper back side and terminates at an animal stockade along a road. The first roped ascent of the main face was completed in July, 1972 by Lee Davis, Rick Barrett and Randy Wright.</p><br>
<p>Nidelva is a river in the county Sør-Trøndelag, Norway. It travels through Trondheim and Klæbu municipalities. The name translates to "River Nid", Elva or Elven being Norwegian for river.</p><br>
<h2>Location</h2><br>
<p>Nidelva starts at the Hyttfossen waterfall which rises from Bjørsjøen, a small lake located just below Selbusjøen, the largest lake in Sør-Trøndelag County. Nidelva runs via Tiller and through the city of Trondheim before reaching Trondheim Fjord by the island of Brattøra near Trondheim Central Station. Nidelva is at its deepest at Trongfossen, a deep ravine in the village of Klæbu. There are six hydro-electric power stations along the river. Nidelva forms the last part of the Nea-Nidelv watershed (Nea-Nidelvvassdraget). Nea River is a tributary which empties into Selbusjøen.</p><br>
<p>The popular Norwegian waltz, "Nidelven quiet and beautiful you are" (Nidelven Stille og Vakker du er), was written by composer Oskar Hoddø (1916–1943). According to tradition, Hoddø wrote the waltz about the Nidelva River one night in late April 1940 while he was standing at Gamle Bybro in Trondheim.</p><br>
<p>The Kreuzeck Group is a mountain range of the Central Eastern Alps. It may be considered either a separate range or part of the larger High Tauern chain. Administratively, the range belongs to the Austrian states of Carinthia and, in the westernmost part, Tyrol .</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>The Kreuzeck Group is geographically separated from the main chain of the High Tauern in the north by the Möll, a left tributary of the Drava, up to the confluence within the Lurnfeld basin in the east. In the south, the Drava forms the border with the Gailtal Alps, part of the Southern Limestone Alps. The Iselsberg Pass near Lienz, connecting the Drava and Möll valleys, marks the western end.</p><br>
<p>The range is mainly composed of gneiss and garnet-mica-schists. The mountainous area (approximately 450 km²) is sparsely populated and used mainly for forestry and hunting. However, its tourism industry has improved in recent years. The area of the Reißeck municipality in the Möll valley is the site of the Reißeck-Kreuzeck hydroelectric power plant run by the Austrian Verbund company, whereby water is collected in several reservoirs in the Kreuzeck range.</p><br>
<p>Though named after Mt. Kreuzeck (2,701 m), the highest peaks of the range are the Mölltaler Polinik (2,784 m), Striedenkopf (2,749 m), and Hochkreuz (2,709 m).</p><br>
<h2>Classification</h2><br>
<p>According to the Alpine Club classification of the Eastern Alps, the Kreuzeck group (AVE 43) together with the Rieserferner group, the Villgraten Mountains (Defereggen) and the Schober group forms the southern front of the High Tauern ranges, a section of the Alpine divide.</p><br>
<p>According to the 2005 SOIUSA (International Standardized Mountain Subdivision of the Alps) proposal, the Kreuzeck group (II/A-17.IV.) is a subsection of the Western Tauern Alps.</p><br>
<p>Spruce Knob, at 4,863 ft, is the highest point in the state of West Virginia and the summit of Spruce Mountain, the highest peak in the Allegheny Mountains.</p><br>
<h2>Overview</h2><br>
<p>The summit of Spruce Knob has a definite alpine feel, much more so than most other mountains of the Southern Appalachians. The upper few hundred feet are covered in a dense spruce forest, a relic boreal forest environment similar to those found in northern New England and Canada. The summit is accessible both via trails and a paved Forest Service road, and is crowned with a stone lookout tower amid a mixture of boulder fields, meadows and trees. A handicap-accessible nature trail half a mile (0.8 km) long circles the topmost part of the mountain. High west winds near the summit have gnarled the spruce there like Krummholz, flagged with limbs only on their leeward (eastward) side.</p><br>
<p>As is typical in the southern Appalachians, the highest point on a ridge is frequently referred to as a knob or dome. Spruce Knob is the highest point along a ridge known as the Allegheny Front. Dropping steeply to the east, it offers views of the Germany Valley and North Fork Mountain; to the west is the Allegheny Plateau. It also is the highest point in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.</p><br>
<h2>Geology</h2><br>
<p>Like the rest of this part of the Appalachian Mountains, Spruce Knob began to form with the breakup of Pangea I between 570 and 500 mya. The African Plate separated from the North American Plate opening the Proto-Atlantic Ocean. The North American Plate stretched and thinned, allowing it to backfill with a shallow inland sea. About 50 million years later, with the Taconic Orogeny, the two plates reversed course and began to move towards each other. Mid-ocean subduction created a volcanic arc (now known as the Blue Ridge Mountains) which eventually collided with the North American Plate. The arc fused onto the continent and the land to the west was uplifted.</p><br>
<p>The accumulation of shells and other hard parts of marine organisms (made of CaCO3, calcium carbonate) at the bottom of the shallow inland sea cemented into a layer of Greenbrier Limestone. The shallow inland sea began to retreat with the uplift. This caused fine grains of mud and silt to settle out and lithify into a layer of Mauch Chunk Shale on top of the Greenbrier Limestone. As the Blue Ridge eroded, rivers carried sediment down to the low-lying areas that formed a layer of Pottsville Conglomerate on top of the shale. The large boulders on the summit are remnants of this layer, and outcrops of both Mauch Chunk Shale and Greenbrier Limestone can be found lower on the mountain.</p><br>
<p>When the North American and African Plates finally collided around 250 mya, it caused a massive uplift that folded and faulted these layers of sedimentary rock. Spruce Knob was originally in the bottom (syncline) of one of these folds, but over time cracks in the Pottsville Conglomerate in the higher elevations allowed it to erode quickly, and the softer layers of shale and limestone were quick to follow. This left Spruce Knob as the highest point in the landscape. Spruce Knob (Spruce Mountain) is the westernmost extent of this intense folding and faulting. To the west, the Allegheny Plateau is composed of more gently sloping hills and dendritic drainages.</p><br>
<h2>Climate</h2><br>
<p>Spruce Knob&#39;s climate can be classified as cold continental or highland. Summers are cool and often damp, with thunderstorms common both in spring and summer. Winters are cold and snowy, with an average of around 180 in of annual snowfall leaving the summit access road often impassible between October and April. Blizzard conditions can develop in minutes behind cold frontal passages and last days with upslope snowfall continuing with northwest winds, making travel on the mountain dangerous during the colder months. This mountain can receive high winds year-round; red spruce deformed by constant exposure to strong westerly winds are scattered across its rocky ridges.</p><br>
<h2>Ecology</h2><br>
<p>The summit was named for the spruce trees which grow there. Red spruce (Picea rubens) is the most common tree species on the summit. The lower altitudes are populated by oak, hickory, birch, beech and maple. Bald eagles, hawks and peregrine falcons have been seen on the mountain. Mammals such as black bear, white-tailed deer, weasel, porcupine, skunk and rabbit are also found.</p><br>
<h2>Recreation</h2><br>
<p>Spruce Knob is within the Spruce Knob-Seneca Rocks National Recreation Area, which in turn is part of Monongahela National Forest. Established in 1965, it was the first National Recreation Area designated by the USA Forest Service and includes more than 100,000 acre.</p><br>
<p>There are over 75 mi of hiking trails around the mountain and a small 25 acre lake well stocked with trout on the west side of the mountain. Two campgrounds are also on the mountain.</p><br>
<h2>Access</h2><br>
<p>Paved access is from USA Route 33/West Virginia Route 28 about 2 mi south of Riverton. Briery Gap Road (County Route 33/4), Forest Road 112 and Forest Road 104 have been reconstructed and paved to provide a hard-surfaced road to the summit.</p><br>
<p>Forest Roads 104 and 112 are not maintained in the winter. Impassable conditions can be expected any time from mid-October to mid-April.</p><br>
<h2>Summit panorama</h2><br>
<p>White Mountain Peak , at 4,344.0 m, is the highest peak in the White Mountains of California, the highest peak in Mono County, and the third highest peak in the state after Mount Whitney and Mount Williamson.</p><br>
<p>It is the fourteenth most topographically prominent peak in the contiguous United States. White Mountain Peak is one of only two fourteeners (peaks above 14,000 feet) in California that are not in the Sierra Nevada, the other being Mount Shasta at the far northern end of the state.</p><br>
<h2>Research Station</h2><br>
<p>The University of California operates the White Mountain Research Center www.wmrc.edu, comprising three high altitude research stations, on the mountain: Crooked Creek Station at 10,200 ft, Barcroft Station at 12,470 ft, and a small hut at the summit. The effects of altitude on physiology are studied at the Barcroft Station and summit Hut.</p><br>
<h2>Climbing</h2><br>
<p>There is a winding dirt road leading to the summit station that is usually cleared of snow between late June and November. Access is restricted to hikers only by a locked gate about 2 miles before Barcroft station, but White Mountain Research Station usually opens this locked gate at 11,680 ft twice each year. Open gate days are typically two Sundays in the summer.</p><br>
<p>The normal round-trip hike from the gate is about 14 mi round trip with less than 2,600 ft of vertical gain. However, there are two different dips in the trail of about 250 feet each, adding up to a total elevation gain during the roundtrip of over 3500 feet. The open gate shaves about 4 mi and 790 ft of gain off the round trip. This route is popular with mountain bikers.</p><br>
<p>While the peak is arguably California&#39;s easiest fourteener via the jeep road, it features more strenuous climbs such as its western ridge, an 8,150 ft climb out of Owens Valley via a steep ridge from the end of a rough road. The peak is rarely approached from the north where it is guarded by a narrow arête or knife-edge ridge. A better nontechnical alternative to the jeep road would be to drive as far as possible up Leidy Canyon from Fish Lake Valley, then take a graded cattle trail up the broad ridge to Perry Aiken Flat.</p><br>
<p>From the flats it is an easy traverse south into the cirque of the North Fork, North Branch of Perry Aiken Creek. A moderate scramble up the ridge between the North Branch and the larger cirque of the main North Fork leads to the easier upper slopes of the peak. While the peak does not require technical climbing skills, it still poses a serious challenge to hikers because of the high altitude.</p><br>
<h2>Climate</h2><br>
<p>The summit and the weather station at 12,470 ft has an alpine tundra climate (Köppen climate classification: ET). Most of the mountain, however, has a warm summer continental climate (Dfb) or semi-arid climate (BSk). Winters are extremely severe, with the peak receiving upwards of 13 ft of snow annually.</p><br>
<p>The Irazú Volcano  is an active volcano in Costa Rica, situated in the Cordillera Central close to the city of Cartago.</p><br>
<p>The name could come from either the combination of "ara" (point) and "tzu" (thunder) or a corruption of Iztarú, which was the name of an indigenous village on the flanks of the volcano. In Costa Rica it is known by the name of "El Coloso" (The Colossus) due to the catastrophes that it has provoked in the past.</p><br>
<p>The volcano&#39;s summit has several craters, one of which contains Diego de la Haya, a green crater lake of variable depth. At 11,260 feet (3,432 m), the Irazú Volcano is the highest active volcano in Costa Rica. It is easily visited from San José, with a road leading right up to the summit craters and a weekly bus service to the top. It is thus a popular tourist spot. The summit of the volcano also houses a few television transmitters for television stations in San José.</p><br>
<p>From the top it is possible to see both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans on a clear day. However, such clear days are rare, and the volcano&#39;s summit is usually cloud-covered.</p><br>
<p>The volcano is contained within the Irazú Volcano National Park, which spreads across 5,705 acres (2,300 ha). The national park contains both primary and secondary montane forests and is home to armadillos, owls, rabbits, foxes, woodpeckers, and hummingbirds.</p><br>
<h2>Geology</h2><br>
<p>The Irazú volcano is a complex volcanic shield. It is the highest active volcano in Costa Rica, and has an area of 500 km&sup2;. It has an irregular subconic shape, and temperatures at its summit vary between 3 and, with a record low of -6 °C(21.2 °F) and a record high of 23 °C(73.4 °F). Irazu volcano is a stratovolcano with a summit elevation of 3,432 m. Its five craters are easily differentiated. The most important ones, because of their activity, are The Main Crater and the Diego de la Haya crater. The Main Crater is almost circular, has very inclined walls and it measures 1,050 m in diameter and 300 m deep. The Diego de la Haya crater is 600 m in diameter and 100 m deep. Other craters are Playa Hermosa, La Laguna, and El Piroclastico.</p><br>
<p>Irazú is the southernmost of the ten Quaternary volcanoes which form a northwest-trending line through central and northern Costa Rica. Radioactive dating has shown an age of at least 854,000 years with eruption peaks at 570,000 years and the most recent active phase from 136,000 years to present. The most recent activity includes lava flows along with strombolian and phreatomagmatic explosions. Lava types include basalt and andesite erupted during different events suggesting the volcano is fed by two distinct magma chambers. Scientists believed that pulses of magma mixed together in the chamber before climbing upward—a process estimated to take several thousands of years. But Columbia University volcanologists found that the eruption of Costa Rica’s Irazu volcano in 1963 was likely triggered by magma that took a nonstop route from the mantle over just a few months. Study authors called it the highway from hell.</p><br>
<h2>Eruptive history</h2><br>
<p>Irazú has erupted frequently in historical times — at least 23 times since its first historically recorded eruption in 1723. Its most famous eruption began March 19, 1963 (continuing until 1965) on the day US President John F. Kennedy started a state visit to Costa Rica. It showered the capital San José and much of the central highlands of Costa Rica with ash.</p><br>
<p>Its historical eruptions generally have VEIs of 1 to 3. All historical eruptions have been explosive, and there have been many phreatic eruptions, and some have produced pyroclastic flows. The latest eruption lasted only 1 day, and occurred on December 8, 1994. It occurred at a flank vent and was a phreatic eruption, which produced lahars.</p><br>
<p>Acatenango is a stratovolcano in Guatemala, close to the city of Antigua. The volcano has two peaks, Pico Mayor  and Yepocapa  which is also known as Tres Hermanas . Acatenango is joined with Volcán de Fuego and collectively the volcano complex is known as La Horqueta.</p><br>
<h2>Description</h2><br>
<p>The Fuego-Acatenango massif comprises a string of five or more volcanic vents along a north-south trend that is perpendicular to that of the Central American Volcanic Arc in Guatemala. From north to south, known centres of volcanism are Ancient Acatenango, Yepocapa, Pico Mayor de Acatenango, Meseta, and Fuego. Volcanism along the trend stretches back more than 200,000 years. Although many of the centres have been active contemporaneously, there is a general sequence of younger volcanism, from north to south along the trend.</p><br>
<p>This massive volcano complex towers more than 3,500 metres above the Pacific coastal plain to the south and 2,000 metres above the Guatemalan Highlands to the north. The volcano complex comprises remnants of multiple eruptive centres, which periodically have collapsed to form huge debris avalanches. The largest of these avalanches extended more than 50 kilometres from its source and covered more than 300 square kilometres.</p><br>
<h2>Eruption history</h2><br>
<p>The only known historical eruptions of Acatenango volcano occurred in the 20th century, between 1924 and 1927 from just north of the summit peak (Pico Mayor) and again in December 1972 from the saddle between Yepocapa and Pico Mayor. These phreatic explosions generated ballistic volcanic bombs that fell near the summit craters and fine volcanic ash that fell up to 25 km away.</p><br>
<p>In prehistoric time, Acatenango has erupted explosively to form widespread fall deposits, hot pyroclastic flows and lava flows. There have been numerous eruptions during the past 80,000 years from vents along the massif. The most recent explosive eruptions of Acatenango occurred 1,900 years ago (Pico Mayor), 2,300 years ago (Pico Mayor) and about 5,000 years ago (Yepocapa). If such eruptions were to recur, many people and costly infrastructure would be at risk.</p><br>
<h2>Volcanic hazards</h2><br>
<p>The volcano has potential to produce huge debris avalanches that could inundate large areas of the Pacific coastal plain. In areas around the volcanoes and downslope toward the coastal plain, more than 100,000 people are potentially at risk from these and other flowage phenomena.</p><br>
<h2>Hiking the Volcano</h2><br>
<p>For visitors to Antigua in Guatemala; Acatenango Volcano and the neighbouring Volcan de Fuego (Fire Volcano) can be an irresistible adventure. While it would be unsafe and irresponsible to hike the active Volcan de Fuego, it is possible to hike to the summit of Acatenango and watch Fuego erupt from a safe distance. It is a tough hike up steep slopes with loose volcanic rocks and the altitude can be a challenge for some. There are different options, 1 day or 2 days tours available from Antigua. To get the most from the hike, it is best to spend the night on the volcano, so that it is possible to see Fuego erupt at night, when it is most impressive. Make sure you research the tour company you are doing your trek with well – six tourists died of exposure on Acetanango in January 2017</p><br>
<h2>Economy</h2><br>
<p>The Acatenango Valley is a designated coffee-producing region of Anacafé.</p><br>
<p>Volcán de Agua  is a stratovolcano located in the departments of Sacatepéquez and Escuintla in Guatemala. At, Agua Volcano towers more than above the Pacific coastal plain to the south and above the Guatemalan Highlands to the north. It dominates the local landscape except when hidden by cloud cover. The volcano is within of the city of Antigua Guatemala and several other large towns situated on its northern apron. These towns have a combined population of nearly 100,000. It is within about 20 km of Escuintla  to the south. Coffee is grown on the volcano&#39;s lower slopes.</p><br>
<h2>Brief description and history</h2><br>
<p>The local Kaqchikel people have always called the volcano Hunapú "place of flowers" or Jun Ajpu "one hunter (The calendar date for the sacred site; a typical method for naming sacred sites in Mayan cosmovision)" in current Kaqchikel orthography. The Spanish conquistadors also called it Hunapú until a lahar from the volcano in 1541 destroyed the original capital of Guatemala (now known as Ciudad Vieja) and the city was moved to the current site of Antigua Guatemala following this disaster. Among the casualties was the governor Beatriz de la Cueva. As the lahar produced a destructive flood of water, this prompted the modern name "Volcán de Agua" meaning "Volcano of Water", in contrast to the nearby "Volcán de Fuego" or "Volcano of Fire". The Kaqchikels call Volcan de Fuego Chi Gag, which translates to "where the fire is" or Chi Qaq&#39; in current Kaqchikel orthography.</p><br>
<p>The volcano has not had any historical eruptions, but it has the potential to produce debris flows and lahars that could inundate nearby populated areas. This is proven by the fact that on 11 September 1541, newly founded villa of Santiago de los Caballeros was ruined by a "formidable landslide that came down Volcán de Agua; the mudslide brought along heavy rocks that destroyed part of the buildings and damaged the rest". The city was destroyed and the survivors had no direction, since governor Beatriz de la Cueva died during the disaster, which took place shortly after her husband, Adelantado Pedro de Alvarado, died and she was appointed governor by the Ayuntamiento (English:City Hall). Beatriz de la Cueva had been beside herself with grief and on 9 September 1541, when she had signed the Cabildo documents, she did so as "la sin ventura" (English: the hapless one), a phrase that turned out to be prophetic.</p><br>
<p>In 1895 Anne Cary Maudslay and her husband, archeologist Alfred Percival Maudslay visited the Antigua Guatemala region as part of a journey through Guatemala&#39;s Maya and colonial archeological monuments, and climb the Volcán de Agua; she wrote a book called A glimpse at Guatemala where she explains that water from the volcano crater could not have destroyed the old Santiago: "The cause of this catastrophe is usually said to have been the bursting of the side of a lake which had been formed in the crater of the extinct Volcán de Agua; but an examination of the crater shows this explanation to be improbable, as the break in the crater-wall is in an opposite direction, and no water flowing from it could have reached the town. Moreover, there is no evidence to show that the deeper portion of the crater, which is still intact, has held water since the reported outbreak. Indeed, an accumulation of water during the exceptionally heavy rain, through some temporary obstruction in one of the deep worn gullies which indent the beautiful slope of that great mountain, and a subsequent landslip would probably account for the damage done without the aid of either an eruption of water from the crater or the supernatural appearances which are duly noted by the old chroniclers."</p><br>
<p>The volcano was last blanketed by snowfall in January 1967.</p><br>
<p>The Volcán de Agua has been declared a protected area in 1956 and covers an area of 12,600 Ha.</p><br>
<p>On 21 January 2012, 12,000 Guatemalans formed a human chain all the way to the peak Volcan de Agua in a protest against domestic violence.</p><br>
<p>Volcán de Fuego  is an active stratovolcano in Guatemala, on the borders of Chimaltenango, Escuintla and Sacatepéquez departments. It sits about 16 km west of Antigua Guatemala, one of Guatemala’s most famous cities and a tourist destination. It has erupted frequently since the Spanish conquest.</p><br>
<h2>Description</h2><br>
<p>"Fuego" is famous for being almost constantly active at a low level. Smoke issues from its top daily, but larger eruptions are rare. On 9 August 2007 Fuego erupted spewing lava, rock and ash. Guatemala&#39;s volcanology service reported that seven families were evacuated from their homes near the volcano.</p><br>
<p>The volcano is joined with Acatenango and collectively the complex is known as La Horqueta. A new round of activity began on 19 May 2012, with lava flows and ejections of ash, and has continued into January 2016.</p><br>
<h2>Early expeditions</h2><br>
<p>In 1881, French writer Eugenio Dussaussay climbed the volcano, then practically unexplored. First, he needed to ask for permission to climb from the Sacatepéquez governor, who gave him a letter for the Alotenango mayor asking for his assistance with guides to help the explorer and his companion, Tadeo Trabanino. They wanted to climb the central peak, unexplored at the time, but could not find a guide and had to climb to the active cone, which had a recent eruption in 1880.</p><br>
<p>British archeologist Alfred Percival Maudslay climbed the volcano on 7 January 1892. Here is how he described his expedition:</p><br>
<p>so we arranged to start the very next day for the village of Alotenango. On the 7th January we left that village about 7 oclock in the morning with seven Mozos, carrying food, clothing, and my camp-bed, and rode for an hour towards the mountains, when we dismounted and sent back our mules. The first two hours climb was not so very steep, but it was tiring work walking over the loose mould and dry leaves under the thick forest. we recommenced our climb under shadow of the forest by a steep path cut through the undergrowth. At the height of about 9500 feet we, for the first time since starting, got a sight of the peak rising on the other side of a deep ravine. The whole of the slope on which we looked was bare of vegetation, and presented to the eye nothing but desolate slopes of ashes and scoriae broken higher up with patches of burnt rock; we scrambled on through the thick undergrowth, often with loose earth under foot, and by degrees the vegetation changed and we got amongst the pine-trees. At about 11,200 feet we came to a spot where the earth had been levelled for a few yards by the Indians, and there we determined to pass the night. then returned and watched the reflection of the sunset over the more distant peaks and against the perfect cone of Agua. but the cold which followed the sunset soon took all our attention. We turned out of our shelter at about half-past four in the morning, and felt all the better after drinking hot coffee; we then sat for an hour watching a most beautiful dawn and sunrise. At the opposite side of the valley rose the Volcano of Agua, sloping on one side to the plain of Antigua, and on the other in a long unbroken sweep to the sea, more than forty miles away. Peak after peak stood out against the red light into the far distance, and on the right the low coast-line and the sea showed up very clearly. As soon as the sun was up we started for the summit. I stopped on the way to get a photograph of the cone, which lay to the left of us as we ascended; but the clouds came over just as I was ready, and I had to give it up. A little over 12,000 feet we left the scraggy pine-trees and arrived at the northern end of a cinder ridge, called the Meseta, which is at the summit of the slope we had been climbing.</p><br>
<h2>Notable eruptions</h2><br>
<h3>Destruction of Santiago de los Caballeros</h3><br>
<p>The strongest earthquakes experienced by the city of Santiago de los Caballeros before its final move in 1776 were the San Miguel earthquakes in 1717. In the city, people also believed that the proximity of the Volcán de Fuego (English:Volcano of Fire) was the cause of earthquakes; the great architect Diego de Porres even said that all the earthquakes were caused by volcano explosions.</p><br>
<p>On August 27 there was a strong eruption of Volcán de Fuego, which lasted until August 30; the residents of the city asked for help to Santo Cristo of the Cathedral and to the Virgen del Socorro who were sworn patrons of the Volcan de Fuego. On August 29 a Virgen del Rosario procession took to the streets after a century without leaving her temple, and there were many more holy processions until 29 September, the day of San Miguel. Early afternoon earthquakes were minor, but at about 7:00 pm there was a strong earthquake that forced residents to leave their homes; tremors and rumblings followed until four o&#39;clock. The neighbors took to the streets and loudly confessed their sins, bracing for the worst.</p><br>
<p>The San Miguel earthquake damaged the city considerably, to the point that some rooms and walls of the Royal Palace were destroyed. There was also a partial abandonment of the city, food shortages, lack of manpower and extensive damage to the city infrastructure; not to mention numerous dead and injured. These earthquakes made the authorities consider moving to a new city less prone to seismic activity. City residents strongly oppose the move, and even took to the Royal Palace in protest; in the end, the city did not move, but the number of elements in the Army Battalion to safeguard the order was considerable. The damage to the palace were repaired by Diego de Porres, who finished repairs in 1720; although there are indications that there were more jobs done by Porres until 1736.</p><br>
<p>In 1773, the Santa Marta earthquakes destroyed much of the town, which led to the third change in location for the city. The Spanish Crown ordered, in 1776, the removal of the capital to a safer location, the Valley of the Shrine, where Guatemala City, the modern capital of Guatemala, now stands. This new city did not retain its old name and was christened Nueva Guatemala de la Asunción (New Guatemala of the Assumption), and its patron saint is Our Lady of the Assumption. The badly damaged city of Santiago de los Caballeros was ordered abandoned, although not everyone left, and was thereafter referred to as la Antigua Guatemala (the Old Guatemala).</p><br>
<p>Werneth Low is a hill in Greater Manchester, England, and a part of the Pennines. It is located on the borders of Stockport and Tameside in the town of Hyde and rises to a height of 279 m. The villages of Woodley, Greave, Gee Cross, Mottram and Romiley lie on the sides of the low.</p><br>
<p>The term "low" does not refer to any lack of altitude, it being a North English word for hill.</p><br>
<p>Werneth Low offers panoramic views over the Greater Manchester Urban Area and in clear weather, the Winter Hill transmitting station can be seen from here. To the south, Stockport town centre, part of</p><br>
<p>Wythenshawe in south Manchester and the Welsh Mountains can be viewed in clear weather.</p><br>
<p>The majority of Werneth Low is administered jointly by Hyde War Memorial Trust (link below) and Tameside Council. The Trust organise the Remembrance and Peace day services. The trust was established to be guardian of Werneth Low and to keep it "For the people of Hyde" and provide a lasting monument to the 710 men of Hyde that perished in World War I.</p><br>
<p>Various landmarks can be seen from the top of Werneth Low. For example, Manchesters Beetham Tower; the Oldham Civic Centre; and Jodrell Bank Observatorys radio telescope (visible from the South Western End of the hilltop).</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>A flint knife and a Bronze Age stone mace head have been discovered on Werneth Low. Hangingbank is the site of a possible Iron Age farmstead dating to the first millennium BC, enclosed by a double ditch and featuring crop marks. A Roman road from Melandra to Astbury probably crosses the hill, however the exact course has not been identified. The site covers 1.23 hectare. There is also evidence of Romano-British activity on Werneth Low, a sherd of Roman pottery dating to the 2nd century AD was discovered in the material filling one of the ditches at Hangingbank, indicating that was when the site fell out of use. There is a possible temporary Roman camp and excavations have recovered a posthole. The name Werneth derives from the Welsh verno for alder meaning the place where alders grow.</p><br>
<p>In 1920 Lower Higham Farm and all its land was purchased by the War Memorial Committee of the Hyde Borough Council in 1920, and in 1921 Hyde&#39;s main war memorial was officially unveiled. A Royal Observer Corps monitoring post was active here from 1962 to 1968, it was intended to give warning of hostile aircraft and nuclear attacks on the United Kingdom. In the late 1980s, Greater Manchester Council, Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council and the Hyde War Memorial Trust worked together to establish Werneth Low country park which covers 80 hectare; the park was officially opened in 1980.</p><br>
<h2>Transport</h2><br>
<p>Werneth Low was served by bus number 304 on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays only. With effect from 31 January 2010, GMPTE diverted this bus onto routes on which other bus services run, and as a result, Werneth Low is no longer served by any form of public transport.</p><br>
<p>Arøya is a group of isles located in the outer part of the Langesund fjord in Norway. The isles, in detail referred to as Store Arøy, Lille Arøy and Vesle Arøy , are situated approximately midway between the towns of Langesund and Helgeroa in the municipality of Larvik. Arøya is a typical recreational cottage area for the population in the Grenland area as well as cityslickers from the Norwegian capital Oslo a 1,5h drive away. There are still a few families residing on the isles, where fishing is the prime source of income.</p><br>
<p>In the Summer season a local ferry (Skjæløy) connects Helgeroa with Langesund. The ferry makes several stops on the isles. The trip is frequently used by tourists going roundtrip for a great view of the area. Bikers also use the ferry as a shortcut connection to the southern shores of Norway.</p><br>
<p>Canons Ashby House is a Grade I listed Elizabethan manor house located in the village of Canons Ashby, about 11 mi south of the town of Daventry in the county of Northamptonshire, England. It has been owned by the National Trust since 1981 when the house was close to collapse and the gardens had turned into a meadow. "The Tower" of the building is in the care of the Landmark Trust and available for holiday lets.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The house had been the home of the Dryden family since its construction in the 16th century; the manor house was built in approximately 1550 with additions in the 1590s, in the 1630s and 1710.</p><br>
<p>John Dryden had married Elizabeth Cope in 1551 and inherited, through his wife, an L-shaped farmhouse which he gradually extended. In the 1590s his son, Sir Erasmus Dryden completed the final north range of the house which enclosed the Pebble Courtyard.</p><br>
<p>The interior of the house is noted for its Elizabethan wall paintings and its Jacobean plasterwork. It has remained essentially unchanged since 1710 and is presented as it was during the time of Sir Henry Edward Leigh Dryden (1818–1899), a Victorian antiquary with an interest in history. His daughter, the historian and photographer Alice Dryden (1866–1956) was born in the house and lived there for 33 years. She moved away after her father died, since a woman could not inherit the estate and it went to her uncle, Sir Alfred Erasmus Dryden (1821–1912).</p><br>
<p>The house sits in the midst of a formal garden with colourful herbaceous borders, an orchard featuring varieties of fruit trees from the 16th century, terraces, walls and gate piers from 1710. There is also the remains of a medieval priory church (from which the house gets its name).</p><br>
<p>Louis Osman (1914–1996), an architect and accomplished British goldsmith lived at Canons Ashby from 1969/70 to 1979. Whilst there, Osman made the crown, with his enamelist wife, Dilys Roberts, which was used at the investiture of Charles, Prince of Wales in 1969. They also made the gold enameled casket that held the Magna Carta which was on view in the United States Capitol, Washington, DC in 1976 for the United States Bicentennial.</p><br>
<p>Gervase Jackson-Stops, who was the Architectural Adviser to the National Trust for over twenty years, broke fresh ground when he fought for the rescue of the then decaying manor-house in the 1980s. This was the first time that the Trust used government funds rather than the traditional family endowment to save an historic house.</p><br>
<p>Pineia  is a former municipality in Elis, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Ilida, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 148.572 km. Its seat of administration was in the village Simopoulo. Pineia is named after the river Pineios, which forms its northern border. The area is hilly and sparsely populated. It is about 20 km east of Amaliada, 25 km northeast of Pyrgos and 45 km southwest of Patras.</p><br>
<h2>Subdivisions</h2><br>
<p>The municipal unit Pineia is subdivided into the following communities (constituent villages in brackets):</p><br>
<p>Agnanta (Agnanta, Ampelakia)</p><br>
<p>Agrapidochori (Agrapidochori, Valmi, Kotrona)</p><br>
<p>Anthonas (Anthonas, Kalo Paidi)</p><br>
<p>Avgi (Avgi, Oraia)</p><br>
<p>Efyra (Efyra, Pirio)</p><br>
<p>Kampos</p><br>
<p>Laganas</p><br>
<p>Latas</p><br>
<p>Loukas (Loukas, Prinari)</p><br>
<p>Mazaraki (Mazaraki, Apidoula, Prodromos)</p><br>
<p>Oinoi</p><br>
<p>Rodia (Rodia, Akropotamia)</p><br>
<p>Simopoulo (Simopoulo, Agios Nikolaos)</p><br>
<p>Skliva</p><br>
<p>Velanidi (Velanidi, Roupakia, Souli)</p><br>
<p>Vouliagmeni (Vouliagmeni, Gavrakia)</p><br>
<h2>Historical population</h2><br>
<p>The Patea River is in Taranaki in the North Island of New Zealand. It runs for 105 kilometres from the eastern slopes of Mount Taranaki, passing east through Stratford before swinging south and reaching the South Taranaki Bight near the town of Patea.</p><br>
<p>The river was the original portal to South Taranaki for both Māori and Europeans. In the early days of colonial New Zealand, the Patea River defined the boundary between New Ulster Province and New Munster Province (from 1841 to 1853 - refer to Provinces of New Zealand).</p><br>
<p>Many enjoy canoeing in the Patea River - it is the only navigable river in South Taranaki.</p><br>
<p>Lake Rotorangi on the river is the longest man-made lake in New Zealand (46 km), formed when the Egmont Electric Power Board built the Patea Dam in 1979-84. The interesting southern access drive is via Ball Road through Alton and Hurleyville. There is a free camping site with toilet facilities at the dam.</p><br>
