Marae Moana

Marae Moana is a multiple-use marine protected area created on 13 July 2017, when the Parliament of the Cook Islands passed a bill creating the largest multiple-use marine protected area in the world at the time of its passage. Marae Moana covers the Cook Islands' entire exclusive economic zone of over 1.9 million square kilometers.
Kevin Iro, an environmentalist, first proposed the idea in 2010. Upon its passage, Iro said, "It's a historic time, particularly because everyone supported it, including our traditional leaders who spearheaded the whole thing." The bill had bipartisan support. The name of the marine park was created in 2014 during a naming competition won by Bouchard Solomono, a student at Tereora College. Some media speculated that this legislation was the most significant since the independence of the Cook Islands.
Iro, who is a co-chair of the Cook Islands Marine Park Steering Committee, which was tasked with Marae Moana's legal designation, said this bill and marine park signifies “the sacredness of how Cook Islanders view our ocean space. It links us to our ancestors – it’s more than just the ocean.”
The legislation also creates fifteen marine protected areas extending to 50 nautical miles around each island where no large scale commercial fishing or seabed minerals activities are permitted. Fishing and mineral exploration will still exist in the exclusive economic zone, but is to be done sustainably.
The Prime Minister, Henry Puna, said, “Socially, economically and spiritually we must all take care of it – and it is imperative that all those that live and exist both within and beyond its boundaries do recognise and respect its sanctity,”.
“We do not only recognise that the ocean brings us revenue in terms of fishery and tourism and potentially sea bed minerals – it also provides us with clean air, clean water, and clean food to nourish and sustain us.”
“So this bill aims to sustain our livelihoods by protecting species and ecosystems as well as our cultural heritage that we inherit and pass on to future generations.”
Iro was inspired to create this legislation from his experience with the islands and ocean and seeing environmental decay such as pollution and overfishing. "When I moved back here (from New Zealand) about 16 years ago I saw what was happening to the lagoons and reefs and really wanted to protect them for my kids," he said.
"I want them to have the same experience I did as a boy growing up."
Biodiversity.
The park includes atolls, a volcanic island, upraised limestone islands, and a sand cay. It is home to 136 species of coral, over 600 species of fish, and 21 species of cetacea (whales and dolphins). It is also home to three threatened species of turtles, as well as some tuna species. Marae Moana is also home to five species of reef sharks and eleven pelagic shark species. Marae Moana is also home to many birds and plants as well.
Seabed mining controversy.
In late 2018, the Cook Islands government began consultations to revise the seabed minerals act, which would facilitate exploration for deep sea mining. An estimated value of US$146 billion worth of manganese nodules are to be found six kilometres down on the ocean floor, particularly around the northern islands. The mining methods used to retrieve the minerals will likely be violently damaging to the local ecosystems.
In August 2019, a ten-year moratorium was proposed on seabed mining in the protected area at the Pacific Islands Forum creating both national and international debate. Due to significant support within the government for seabed mining the bill was not passed. Although any mining activity must be kept to certain areas of the park where impact on the marine ecosystems will be limited, the failure of the bill has drawn criticism due to the unclear determination of what areas of the park can be mined. Technical Director of the Te Ipukarea Society (TIS) Kelvin Passfield displayed concern about the lack of information available regarding potential mining sites, saying “we’re not saying no to seabed mining, [but] it depends on more information than we’ve got now".
The Cook Islands government has also faced a history of accusations of exploiting its national waters, including selling fishing licenses to foreign companies. Henry Puna, the Prime Minister of the Cook Islands, stated that a motivation to introduce deep-sea mining was a factor in the government's support of the Marae Moana: "We have minerals in our ocean, it’s just a matter of coming up with the technology to exploit it but not damage the environment. That’s why we’re keen to [set up] this marine park first so that it sets the standards for any exploitation: that’s why we’re doing it".
In September 2019, Jacqueline Evans, a prominent marine biologist and Goldman Environmental Prize Recipient who was openly critical of the government's plans for seabed mining was replaced as director of the park by instruction of the Office of the Prime Minister. Evans was responsible for developing the Marae Moana policy and the Marae Moana Act, and since the Act's passage in 2017 has, amongst other things, worked on raising funding for the park, expanding policy and regulations and developing a plan that designates permitted areas for industrial activities. Her removal as director has attracted local media criticism.


Kammweg

The Kammweg ("Ridgeway") was a long-distance path opened in 1904 along the crest of the Elster Mountains, Ore Mountains, Bohemian Switzerland, Lusatian Mountains, Ještěd Mountains, Jizera and Giant Mountains, Śnieżnik Mountains and High Ash Mountains. This path was once the longest tourist trail in the German-speaking region of Europe. Since 2011 the ridgeway tradition has been continued with the Ore Mountains-Vogtland Ridgeway ("Kammweg Erzgebirge–Vogtland"), which runs on the German side of the border.
History.
The planned route was to run along all the mountains along the German border with Bohemia and Moravian Silesia from the Danube to the Oder. At its longest, the path ran all the way from the Háj u Aše (German: "Hainberg") near Aš ("Asch") to the Praděd ("Altvater") in the High Ash Mountains.
After 1945, the continuous signing of the route was abandoned, most parts of the trail were, however, preserved as hiking trails. After 1990, the E3 European long distance path was newly signed, largely following the historical route.
Ore Mountains-Vogtland Ridgeway.
On 13 May 2011, the Ore Mountains-Vogtland Ridgeway ("Kammweg Erzgebirge–Vogtland") was opened. This runs entirely on the German side of the border. It begins in Geising in the Eastern Ore Mountains and ends after 289 kilometres in Blankenstein in Thuringia, where it connects to the Rennsteig and Frankenweg. The main sponsor of the Ore Mountains – Vogtland Ridgeway are the Ore Mountain Tourist Association and Vogtland Tourist Association. The community project was achieved with assistance from the communes and counties on the ridgeway, the Saxony Forestry Commission, the Ore Mountain–Vogtland Nature Park and the hiking clubs in the Vogtland, Ore Mountains and Franconian Forest. The ridgeway is certified as a "quality route".
Course: Geising – Altenberg – Rehefeld – above Holzhau – Rechenberg-Bienenmühle – Clausnitz – Friedebach – Neuhausen – Seiffen – oberhalb Olbernhau – Rübenau – Kühnhaide – Reitzenhain – Satzung – Schmalzgrube – Jöhstadt-Schlössel – Königswalde – Bärenstein – Neudorf/Kretscham-Rothensehma – Fichtelberg (1214.7 m) – Oberwiesenthal – Tellerhäuser – Rittersgrün – Johanngeorgenstadt – Auersberg (1019 m) – Wildenthal – Weitersglashütte – Carlsfeld – Mühlleithen – Muldenberg – Schöneck – Hermsgrün – Leubetha – above Eichigt – Bobenneukirchen – Burgstein/Krebes – Gutenfürst – Gebersreuth – Hirschberg – Pottiga – Blankenberg – Blankenstein.
The "Kammweg" is divided into the following 17 stages:
Signing.
The old ridgeway was marked locally with a "comb" sign ("Kammweg" = "crest way" or "ridgeway", but "Kamm" also means "comb")
Signposts for the Ore Mountains - Vogtland Ridgeway.


Kalamaili Nature Reserve

Mountain Kalamaili Ungulate Nature Reserve ("Kalamaili" means "black earth" in Kazakh, ), also spelled Kalamely Nature Reserve, is a nature reserve in Xinjiang Autonomous Region of China, targeting in preserving the wildlife and natural vegetations in the arid steppe ecosystem. As one of the largest nature reserves in China, established in April 1982, it stretches from the Ulungur River in the north, across the heart of Dzungarian Basin, and reaches to the northern extension of Tianshan Mountains in the south, covering an area of more than .
In February 2019, the Kalamely Nature Reserve was listed as a state-level nature reserve in China.
Wildlife.
Kalamaili Nature Reserve harbors many symbolic species in its arid steppe landscape. Mongolian wild ass ("Equus hemionus hemionus"), goitered gazelle ("Gazella subgutturosa"), Eurasian wolf ("Canis lupus lupus"), red fox ("Vulpes vulpes") are the common ungulate and carnivorous inhabitants. A recent survey showed there were 3128 to 4711 wild asses and 11366 to 16235 goitered gazelles living in Kalamaili. Argali sheep ("Ovis ammon") and Bactrian camel ("Camelus bactrianus") are also reported but very rare.
Przewalski's horse ("Equus ferus przewalskii") has been reintroduced to Kalamaili by Xinjiang Forestry Department since 2001. After initial difficulties, the population is now is distributed in the center of the reserve, at the western part of Mt. Kalamaili. The stabilized and healthy population breeds and grows in the wild each year. By the end of 2010, the population reached to 70 individuals ("5 harem groups and 1 to 2 bachelor groups"). Kalamaili Nature Reserve, Xinjiang Wild Horse Breeding Center, Beijing Forestry University, the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., and Princeton University have been monitoring this population for many years and conducting a series of extensive researches on the population dynamics, behaviors, physiology, genetics, and conservation.
Local community.
Kazakh people have been using Kalamaili as their traditional winter pasture as part of their culture. Every fall before the snow, Kazakh nomads herd their livestock—mostly sheep, camels and horses—from the summer pastures in the alpine meadow of Altai Mountain down to the southern Kalamaili, where winter is milder and snow cover is thinner. They stay in their winter tent and fence the livestock in a pen surrounded by fecal brick walls. When snow is gone (normally around late March to April) they leave Kalamaili and go back to their summer pastures. Although Chinese government is conducting the nomadic pastoralists settlement project in Xinjiang by building houses, fixed pens, and other public facilities, there is still a big proportion of Kazakh herdsmen keeping this nomadic tradition.


Cove Mountain (conservation area)

Cove Mountain is a wildland in the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests of western Virginia that has been recognized by the Wilderness Society as a special place worthy of protection from logging and road construction.
The wild area includes a seven-mile section of the Appalachian Trail with four miles following along Cove Mountain ridge. There are excellent winter views of Flat Top Mountain, Sharp Top and Peaks of Otter to the east. The area contains the headwaters of prime trout fisheries.
The area is part of the Glenwood Cluster.
Location and access.
The area is located in the Appalachian Mountains of Southwestern Virginia about 4 miles east of Buchanan, Virginia, between the James River on the north, Va 43 on the west, the Blue Ridge Parkway on the south and McFalls Creek Rd (Va 618) on the east.
The Forest Service 2015 Motor Vehicle Use Map shows roads and trails in the forest and gives the type of vehicle allowed on each route with possible seasonal restrictions. The maps covering Cove Mountain area (Maps 31 and 32) are included in the gallery below. Caution should be taken when using forest service road numbers since they are not consistent in different maps of the area.
Trails and roads into the area include:
The Cove Mountain Shelter is on the AT about 3 miles from the trail's crossing of Jennings Creek.
The boundary of the wildland as determined by the Wilderness Society is shown in the adjacent map. Additional roads and trails are given on National Geographic Map 789. A great variety of information, including topographic maps, aerial views, satellite data and weather information, is obtained by selecting the link with the wildland's coordinates in the upper right of this page.
Beyond maintained trails, old logging roads can be used to explore the area. The Appalachian Mountains were extensively timbered in the early twentieth century leaving logging roads that are becoming overgrown but still passable., Old logging roads and railroad grades can be located by consulting the historical topographic maps available from the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The Cove Mountain wild area is covered by USGS topographic maps Arnold Valley, Buchannan and Montvale. A key to the topographic maps for the northern half of the Jefferson National Forest is in the gallery below.
Natural history.
The habitat of the southern Appalachians is rich in its biological diversity with nearly 10,000 species, some not found anywhere else. The great diversity is related to the many ridges and valleys which form isolated communities in which species evolve separately from one another. The region lies south of the glaciers that covered North America 11,000 years go. To escape the glaciers, northern species retreated south to find refuge in the southern Appalachians. When the glaciers retreated, many of these species remained along with the southern species that were native to the area. The diversity includes trees, mosses, millipedes and salamanders.
According to historians, Bearwallow gap, at the intersection of Va 43 and the Blue Ridge Parkway, was an important path for Buffalo crossing the Blue Ridge Mountain. Until the mid 1700s, buffalo were plentiful in Virginia. There has been a road crossing the gap since the late eighteenth century.
McFall's Creek special biological area, on the southeast side of the wild area, contains rare plants such as the orchid nodding pogonia.
Invasive plants, such as tree of heaven, Paulownia and autumn olive, are a problem in open areas with roads. clearcuts and game openings.
There are several tracts of old growth forest, one near the Appalachian Trail on the south end of the area near Little Cove Mountain Trail, and others to the north and south near the Appalachian Trail. A one-mile long tract on the northeast has trees at least 140 years old.
Wild natural trout streams in Virginia are classified by the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries by their water quality, with class i the highest and class iv the lowest. Peters Creek, McFalls Creek, Yellowstone Branch and McCoglin Branch are ranked as a class ii trout streams.
In 2008, large woody debris enhancement projects in McCoglin Branch and Yellowstone Branch were designed to improve stream habitat for trout and other species by creating small pools that provide habitat for fish. The debris collects organisms for the fish to eat, and protects the streams from erosion during floods.
Topography.
Cove Mountain (elevation 2684 feet) is a spur of the Blue Ridge, stretching from the James River to the Blue Ridge Parkway at Bearwallow Gap.
Bearwallow Creek and Jennings Creek, with many tributaries, are the principal drainages of the area.
Forest Service management.
The Forest Service has conducted a survey of their lands to determine the potential for wilderness designation. Wilderness designation provides a high degree of protection from development. The areas that were found suitable are referred to as inventoried roadless areas. Later a Roadless Rule was adopted that limited road construction in these areas. The rule provided some degree of protection by reducing the negative environmental impact of road construction and thus promoting the conservation of roadless areas. The area was not inventoried in the roadless area review, and therefore not protected from possible road construction and timber sales.
In 1930 a forest fire burned 10,000 acres from the Peaks of Otter to Cove Mountain and down the length of Cove Mountain to within a half mile of Arcadia. There was a wildfire in 2005 near Va 43 and Bearwallow Creek, and in 2008 a wildfire in the Little Cove Creek watershed almost reached Va 43. A bulldozed fire line was constructed south of McFalls Ridge and another across Cove Mountain, near the Cove Mountain Shelter and south of the Buchanan Trail.
The Appalachian Trail Corridor and old growth tracts are protected from timber cutting. The forest plan for the area includes Ruffed Grouse Habitat, where timber cutting and road building are allowed, and mixed successional habitat which allows logging.
Nearby Wildlands.
Nearby wilderness areas, and wildlands recognized as one of Virginia's "Mountain Treasures" by the Wilderness Society are:


Roadium


Howard Hughes Corporation

The Howard Hughes Corporation is a real estate development and management company based in The Woodlands, Texas. It began as part of the oil drilling tool business founded by Howard R. Hughes, Sr., in 1913, which under his son Howard Hughes, Jr., diversified into real estate development. The real estate operations became a separate company, which was acquired by The Rouse Company, which in turn was acquired by General Growth Properties (GGP). In 2010, GGP spun off The Howard Hughes Corporation as a separate company.
History.
Early origins.
The company dates to 1909 when Howard Hughes, Sr. received two patents for his revolutionary oil well drilling bits. In 1913, Hughes and Walter Sharp incorporated the Sharp-Hughes Tool Company. In 1915, Hughes became the sole owner and renamed the company Hughes Tool Company. Hughes Sr. died in 1924, and was succeeded by his son Howard Jr. The younger Hughes became involved in many businesses, including aviation, motion pictures, radio and television broadcasting, and real estate. In the 1950s, Hughes acquired some vacant land in and around Las Vegas; in the 1960s, he moved to Las Vegas, where he lived in (and bought) the Desert Inn Hotel and Casino, acquired other casinos and hotels, and bought up more vacant land, which was left undeveloped during his lifetime.
Formation as Summa Corporation.
In 1972, Hughes Tool Company was separated from other Hughes interests and became a publicly owned company. The rest of Hughes' businesses were regrouped as Summa Corporation. The name "Summa" (Latin for "highest") was adopted by corporate managers against the wishes of Hughes himself, who wanted to use his name. (He suggested "HRH Properties", for "Hughes Resorts and Hotels" – also his own initials, but was ignored.)
Company refocused on real estate.
After Hughes died in 1976 at age 70, successors at Summa refocused the company on real estate development and casino operations, selling all non-core business holdings over the next few years.
Holdings sold off were:
Summa also owned hotels and casinos, primarily in Las Vegas, which constituted the bulk of Summa's business in the 1970s.
Company renamed and sold off.
In 1994, Hughes' heirs renamed Summa "The Howard Hughes Corporation". Hughes' heirs sold the company to The Rouse Company in 1996, and the company survived as a Rouse subsidiary. Rouse was acquired by General Growth Properties (GGP) in 2004.
GGP filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2009. The company proposed a reorganization plan that included spinning off a new company named General Growth Opportunities, which would include those properties that had long-term development potential but little or no income. The name of the proposed spin-off was later changed to The Howard Hughes Corporation (THHC). The spin-off of THHC to GGP's shareholders was completed on November 9, 2010, when GGP exited bankruptcy. The new company held a portfolio that included GGP's master planned communities, mixed-use developments, and undeveloped land. Hedge fund manager Bill Ackman was appointed chairman of the new company.
Current properties.
The company divides its properties into three segments: master planned communities, operating assets, and strategic developments.
Master planned communities.
The company has five master planned communities, with a total of approximately of land remaining to be developed or sold.
Operating assets.
This category comprises 65 revenue-generating assets, including retail, office, multi-family residential, and hotel properties, most of which are located in the company's five master planned communities. The portfolio includes 15 retail properties with 3 million square feet of space; 28 office properties with 4.3 million square feet of space; 8 apartment complexes with a total of 2,351 units; and 4 hotel properties with a total of 975 rooms. Notable properties include:
Strategic developments.
The company lists 29 strategic projects, in various stages of development. Notable projects include:


Skurugata

Skurugata is a rock canyon in Eksjö Municipality, southern Sweden, an 800-metre gorge which runs up to 56 metres deep and is at points only 7 metres wide.
There are several different theories for its origin but one of the more popular theories is that it was created by parallel faulting. The mountain around the gorge itself and the stones spread across its bottom consist largely of grey-brown and dark-brown porphyritic rock with elements of quartz and red feldspar. Several species of moss grow in and around the gorge, including "Junger-mannia orcandesis" and "Steodon inponens".
In the middle of the gorge is a loose rock that can be removed to reveal a guestbook signed by other visitors (the exact location is marked by a small sign). In the summer, the temperature at the bottom of the gorge is typically somewhat lower than the area around the gorge, and in certain extreme years, pockets of snow and ice have remained until well into the summer. Early in the season, and after heavy rainfall, parts of the gorge may fill with water.
The area has been declared a "naturreservat" (forest and wildlife reserve) by the County Forestry Board and it is forbidden to damage the vegetation, to camp and light fires, to drive motor vehicles or to leave litter. Hiking is allowed (and encouraged) with a 2000-metre-long hiking trail through both the gorge and to the hill of Skuruhatt.
There is a legend that trolls live here.


Lighthouse Reef

Lighthouse Reef is an atoll in the Caribbean Sea, the easternmost part of the Belize Barrier Reef and one of its three atolls, the other two being Turneffe Atoll and Glover's Reef. Lighthouse Reef is located about southeast of Belize City. The atoll is of oblong shape, approximately long from north to south, and about wide. It forms a shallow sandy lagoon with an area of and a depth between deep.
The reef is one of the best developed and healthiest reefs in the Caribbean, "with an emergent fringing reef, a sloping fore reef with a coral rimmed shelf edge, vertical coral walls, and numerous patch reefs in the shallow central lagoon."
There are several islands, listed here from north to south:
Lighthouse Reef is known as a snorkelling and diving destination, considered as one of the best dive sites in Belize and the whole Caribbean. Notable diving locations are Half Moon Caye Wall, Long Caye Aquarium ("The Aquarium"), Silver Caves, Tres Cocos, and West Point. In addition to these coral reefs, it is also home to the Great Blue Hole.
Flora and fauna.
The flora on the reef islands is mostly coconut trees. On the western half of Half Moon Caye there is a rare surviving example of an atoll siricote ("Cordia sebestena") forest, while there is natural vegetation on Sandbore Cay. Half Moon Caye is home to a rookery of magnificent frigatebird ("Fregata magnificens"), as well as a nesting colony of some 4000 red-footed booby ("Sula sula"). A colony of white-crowned pigeons ("Columba leucocephala") formerly nested on Long Cay but has been wiped out by overhunting.
The most dominant fish species at the reef are creole wrasse ("Clepticus parrae") and blue chromis ("Chromis cyanea"). Other prevalent species are (in descending order of prevalence) blackcap basslet ("Gramma melacara"), bicolor damselfish ("Pomacentrus partitus"), brown chromis ("Chromis multilineata"), yellowtail snapper ("Ocyurus chrysurus"), bluehead wrasse ("Thalassoma bifasciatum"), royal gramma ("Gramma loreto"), masked goby ("Coryphopterus personatus"), and sunshine chromis ("Chromis insolata").
Endangered and threatened animal species include American crocodile ("Crocodylus acutus"), 3 species of sea turtles (hawksbill ("Eretmochelys imbricata"), loggerhead ("Caretta caretta"), and green sea turtle ("Chelonia mydas")), the Belize endemic leaf-toed gecko ("Phyllodactylus insularis"), and the Allison's anole ("Anolis allisoni").
Environmental protection.
The reef has only partial environmental protection. The Great Blue Hole and Half Moon Caye have been designated as Natural Monuments and are UNESCO World Heritage Sites (as part of the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System) since 1996. The protected areas are and in size respectively. Additionally, 3 more areas are National Protected Areas: Northern Two Cayes (a Nassau Grouper & Species Protection site), Sandbore (a Spawning Aggregation Site Reserve), and South Point (another Spawning Aggregation Site Reserve). Despite the protection, the atoll suffers from human impact in the form of uncontrolled fishing and tourism.


Flyway Byway

The Flyway Byway is a Louisiana Scenic Byway that follows several different state highways:


Castle Clinton

Castle Clinton or Fort Clinton, previously known as Castle Garden, is a circular sandstone fort located in Battery Park, in Manhattan, New York City. Built from 1808 to 1811, it was the first American immigration station (predating Ellis Island), where more than 8 million people arrived in the United States from 1855 to 1890. Over its active life, it has also functioned as a beer garden, exhibition hall, theater, and public aquarium. Castle Clinton National Monument was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966.
Original use.
Castle Clinton stands slightly west of where Fort Amsterdam was built in 1626, when New York City was known by the Dutch name New Amsterdam. Fort Amsterdam was demolished by 1790 after the American Revolutionary War. Proposals for a new fort were made after two separate war scares involving Britain and France in the 1790s, but neither plan was ultimately carried out. By 1805, there were growing tensions between Britain and the U.S., which would mark the run-up to the War of 1812. Late that year, Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Williams of the United States Army Engineers began planning a series of fortifications in New York Harbor. Williams was part of a group of three commissioners who, in 1807, submitted a report that recommended the construction of fortifications in New York Harbor.
Castle Clinton, originally known as West Battery and sometimes as Southwest Battery, was built on a small artificial island just off shore. Construction began in 1808 and the fort was completed in 1811, though modifications continued through the 1820s. Designed by John McComb Jr. and Jonathan Williams, West Battery was roughly circular shaped with a radius of approximately , contained a red brick facade, and had 28 "thirty-two pounder" cannons. About one-eighth of the circle was left "unfinished", with a straight wall constructed between the "unfinished" segments. West Battery was intended to complement the three-tiered Castle Williams, the East Battery, on Governors Island. Though garrisoned in 1812, the fort never saw action in any war.
By 1815, West Battery was renamed Castle Clinton, its current official name, in honor of New York City Mayor DeWitt Clinton (who eventually became Governor of New York). The castle itself was converted to administrative headquarters for the Army. Simultaneously, at the end of the war, there was a public movement to build a park in the Battery area. A 1816 proposal to construct two small office buildings at Castle Clinton was canceled due to public opposition, and the castle lay dormant for three years. Even in 1820, it was only being used as a paymaster's quarters and storage area. The United States Army stopped using the fort in 1821, and it was ceded to the city by an act of Congress in March 1822. By then, the bridge leading to Castle Clinton was frequently used by fishermen who were catching fish from the bridge.
19th century.
Exhibition hall.
The fort was leased to New York City as a place of public entertainment in June 1824. It opened as Castle Garden on July 3, 1824, a name by which it was popularly known for most of its existence. It served in turn as a promenade, beer garden/restaurant, exhibition hall, opera house, and theater. Designed as an open-air structure, it was eventually roofed over to accommodate these uses.
In 1850, the castle was the site of two concerts given for charity by Swedish soprano Jenny Lind to initiate her American tour. A year later, European dancing star Lola Montez performed her notorious "tarantula dance" in Castle Garden. In 1853–54, Louis-Antoine Jullien, the eccentric French conductor and composer of light music, gave dozens of very successful concerts mixing classical and light music. The Max Maretzek Italian Opera Company notably staged the New York premieres of Gaetano Donizetti's "Marino Faliero" on June 17, 1851, and Giuseppe Verdi's "Luisa Miller" on July 20, 1854, at Castle Garden. Landfill was used to expand Battery Park during the 1860s, at which point the island containing the fort was incorporated into the rest of Manhattan Island.
Immigrant landing and registration depot.
In the first half of the 19th century, most immigrants arriving in New York City landed at docks on the east side of the tip of Manhattan, around South Street. On August 1, 1855, Castle Clinton became the Emigrant Landing Depot, functioning as the New York State immigrant registration center (the nation's first such entity). It was operated by the state government until April 18, 1890, when the U. S. government assumed control of immigration processing, soon moving the center to the larger, more isolated Ellis Island facility on January 2, 1892.
After many unnecessary deaths, and scandals over immigration workers cheating and stealing from immigrants, the immigration control was taken over by the federal government and moved to Ellis Island. Most of Castle Clinton's original immigrant passenger records were destroyed in a fire that consumed the first structures on Ellis Island on June 15, 1897, but it is generally accepted that over 8 million immigrants (and perhaps as many as 10 million) were processed during its operation. Many of these records are still extant. Called ' by German immigrants and also by Yiddish-speaking Eastern European Jews, a ' became a generic term for any situation that was noisy, confusing or chaotic, or where a "babel" of languages was spoken (a reference to the multitude of languages heard spoken by the immigrants from many countries at the site). Prominent persons associated with the administration of the immigrant station included Gulian Crommelin Verplanck, Friedrich Kapp, and John Alexander Kennedy.
20th century to present.
From 1896 to 1941, Castle Garden was the site of the New York City Aquarium. For many years, it was the city's most popular attraction, drawing hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. The structure was extensively altered and roofed over to a height of several stories, though the original masonry fort remained.
In 1941, Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority Commissioner Robert Moses wanted to tear the structure down completely, claiming that this was necessary to build the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel. To expedite construction of the tunnel, the city closed the New York Aquarium and moved its fish to other aquariums in September 1941. Moses advocated for the demolition of Castle Clinton, but preservationists who opposed Moses's proposed action asked a federal judge to grant an injunction to prevent demolition. Even though Moses initially got the injunction dismissed, the public outcry prevented his effort at demolition. However, the aquarium was closed and not replaced until Moses opened a new facility on Coney Island in 1957. Moses subsequently proposed creating a Fort Clinton memorial on the site, but would only keep Castle Clinton if the federal government agreed to pay for its restoration. Albert S. Bard, Walter D. Binger, and other civic reformers advocated to save the castle, which resulted in both houses of the United States Congress passing legislation to make the castle a U.S. historic monument. President Harry S. Truman signed the legislation on August 12, 1946.
Although Castle Garden had been designated a national monument, the city still owned the property. In July 1947, the New York City Board of Estimate voted to demolish Castle Garden. However, the Board delayed the demolition for another year to allow the federal government to review the decision. In May 1948, the Board voted to demolish the castle for the sixth time in as many years. After another year of discussion, the New York State Assembly reversed its decision to allow the castle to be demolished. The federal government finally obtained the property on July 18, 1950, after the city deeded the land and castle to the federal government. A project to renovate Castle Clinton was announced in 1956 after funding had been secured.
A major rehabilitation took place in the 1970s, and Castle Clinton reopened in 1975. It is currently administered by the National Park Service and is a departure point for visitors to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. In addition, the fort contains a small history exhibit and occasionally hosts concerts. Castle Clinton has largely been restored to its original appearance.


Tabaconas Namballe National Sanctuary

Tabaconas-Namballe National Sanctuary ("Santuario Nacional Tabaconas-Namballe") is a national sanctuary in Peru established in 1988, and protects the southernmost part of the páramo ecosystem. It is located in San Ignacio Province, Cajamarca and spans an area of .
History.
In the 1940s, national and foreign investors began studies for the use of forests in the provinces of Jaén and San Ignacio. This prompted the Peruvian government to reserve an area that would serve as a nature sanctuary, by creating the Oso Perdido National Forest.
In 1977, a lumber company, El Chaupe, was granted two exploitation contracts by the government in the forests located in the districts of Chirinos, Tabaconas and Namballe, all in the province of San Ignacio. One of the contracts was terminated by the Ministry of Agriculture, declaring an extension of 49 260 hectares as an area for research purposes.
In 1982, the Department of Forest Management of La Molina National University (UNALM) proposed the establishment of the Namballe National Sanctuary. However, it was only in 1987 that some government institutions along with La Molina University carried out the studies for the establishment of a spectacled bear sanctuary in the area.
Tabaconas Namballe National Sanctuary was established on May 20, 1988 by Supreme Decree No. 051-88AG with an area of 29,500 ha.
Geography.
Tabaconas Namballe National Sanctuary is located in the Cordillera de Tabaconas, which is part of the Eastern Andes. The area is mountainous, with rocky outcrops and steep slopes, but with some plain or undulate terrain on the highest parts.
There are three important rivers in the area: Tabaconas, Miraflores and Blanco; the latter having almost all of is extension protected inside the sanctuary. These are part of the Marañón River basin, which in turn is a tributary of the Amazon River. During the rainy season, the flow of these rivers increase by 60%, carrying not only sediment and debris but also boulders.
In the headwaters of the Tabaconas River, in the páramo ecosystem, there is a group of lakes called Las Arrebiatadas. It consists of 4 main lakes and 12 smaller ones, which were declared a Ramsar site in 2007.
Climate.
In the highest parts of the sanctuary (páramo) the mean annual temperature ranges between 6 °C and 12 °C; while in the lowest (montane forest), it ranges between 22.5 °C and 24 °C. Precipitation in the páramo can be as low as 740 mm (March) and as high as 3422 mm (December); while in the montane forest precipitation fluctuates between 1150 – 1400 mm. Fog, rain and hail are frequent in the páramo.
Ecology.
Flora.
There are two types of vegetation in the sanctuary: páramo and montane forest. Species found in páramo include: "Chusquea aristata", "Hypericum laricifolium", "Loricaria" cf. "ferruginea", "Festuca" sp., "Valeriana" sp., "Senecio" sp., "Pernettya prostrata", "Gynoxys" sp., "Berberis" sp., among others. Montane forests in the sanctuary include species from genera: "Podocarpus", "Miconia", "Weinmannia", "Clusia", "Cyathea", "Dicksonia", "Wettinia", "Alchornea", "Hedyosmum", "Ficus", "Chusquea", "Inga", "Guarea", etc.; as well as trees from the family Lauraceae.
Fauna.
Mammals reported in the sanctuary include: the montane guinea pig, the mountain tapir, the spectacled bear, the puma, the white-tailed deer, the grey-bellied shrew opossum, Taczanowski's Oldfield mouse, the hairy yellow-shouldered bat, Thomas's broad-nosed bat, the Venezuelan red howler, the lowland paca, the nine-banded armadillo, etc.
A total of 186 species of birds have been found in the sanctuary, among them are: the neblina metaltail, the mouse-colored thistletail, the bearded guan, the wattled guan, the Andean cock-of-the-rock, the red-billed parrot, the Peruvian racket-tail, the peregrine falcon, the crested quetzal, the chestnut-naped antpitta and the powerful woodpecker.
13 species of amphibians are present in the sanctuary, including: "Lynchius parkeri", "Pristimantis galdi" and "Osteocephalus" sp.
Activities.
It is possible to visit Las Arrebiatadas Lakes, which are a Ramsar site and see the paramo ecosystem. There are also archaeological sites inside the park such as the Manchara petroglyphs and the village of Coyona.
Environmental issues.
Mining, opening of new roads, wood extraction, hunting and forest clearance for pastures and crops (all of these, illegal activities inside a protected area) are polluting the area and causing pressure on local biodiversity. These illegal activities continue due to a lack of support from local authorities to the sanctuary authorities.


Rostov Nature Reserve

Rostov Nature Reserve () (also Rostovsky) is a Russian 'zapovednik' (strict nature reserve) that protects a variety of sensitive southern European steppe wetlands, the largest herd of wild horses in Europe (the Don Mustangs), and also wetland habitat for birds. The protected areas are divided into five sections that cover the waters of Lake Manych-Gudilo, islands in that lake, surrounding steppe and shore lands. The reserve is situated in the Orlovsky District, of Rostov Oblast, about 100 km northeast of Rostov-on-Don. It is part of a Ramsar Wetland site of international importance.
Topography.
The Rostov Nature Reserve is located in the south of the East European plain, in the Manych River valley. The dominant geological feature of the reserve is Lake Manych-Gudilo, a saltwater reservoir which is surrounded be dry steppe and semi-desert landscape. The lake is long and narrow, occupying a portion of the Manych trough between the Sea of Azov and the Caspian Sea; this long depression is the remains of what was once a sea connection between the Black and Caspian Seas.
There are four separated sectors to the Reserve:
Climate and Ecoregion.
The Rostov Reserve is located in middle of the "Pontic steppe" ecoregion, a region of temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands north of the Black Sea and Caspian Sea, between the Dneiper River and the Ural Mountains.
The climate of Rostov is "Humid continental climate, hot summer" (Köppen climate classification (Dfa)). This climate is characterized by large swings in temperature, both diurnally and seasonally, with warm summers and cold winters, and at least one month averaging over . Summers on the Rostov Reserve are hot, with temperatures reaching 40 C degrees. The average precipitation ranges from 250 mm - 500 mm depending on location.
Flora and fauna.
The immediate area of the reserve is a terrain of fescue-feather grass steppe. In this area there are widespread wheatgrasses and patches of bluegrass. The areas with more saline soils support large and complex communities of halophytes (salt-tolerate plants). The Tsagaan-Haq tract in particular features extensive salt marshes.
The reserve is known as a central protected zone of the largest herd of wild horses in Europe. Birds are the most numerous animals by species in the reserve. Residents include the bustard, little tern, Pygmy Cormorant, pink and Dalmatian pelican, spoonbill, black-headed gull, owl, and flamingos. The reserve has recorded more than 200 bird species, of which about 120 nest in the area, and 63 species have been observed here during their migrations.
Ecotourism.
Ecotourism is supported by the Reserve, with two nature trails open to the public. One trail, "The Riddles of the Manycheskoy Valley", is a 2 km hike on a circular route along the lake shore. It has an observation tower for viewing the horses, a picnic gazebo, and a dock for boat excursions to one of the islands of the reserve. The other trail, "Azure Flower", tours fields of tulips and iris and features large flocks of cranes and gulls. Tours are conducted on these routes from April to October and are designed for visitors of all ages. It is also possible to apply for guided visits to some of the smaller salt lakes, which had been used in the past for commercial salt production and medicinal muds from their mudflats. The reserve also operates a visitor center with tourist facilities and a nature museum.
As a strict nature reserve, however, the Rostov Reserve is mostly closed to the general public. Scientists and those with 'environmental education' purposes can make arrangements with park management for visits off the marked ecological trails.


Golija

Golija (, ) is a mountain in southwestern Serbia, between towns of Ivanjica and Novi Pazar. It is part of the Dinaric mountain range. The mountain is heavily forested with significant biodiversity. It contains the Golija-Studenica Biosphere Reserve, the first UNESCO-MAB registered biosphere reserve in Serbia. It is also a small ski resort, with several historical monuments and monasteries. The highest peak is "Jankov Kamen" at .
Geography.
Golija stretches in north-south direction, in an S-shape between Novi Pazar and Raška on south and Ivanjica on the north. It covers an area of about .
The highest peak is Jankov Kamen . It was named after Sibinjanin Janko, Serbian romanticized version of Hungarian medieval knight John Hunyadi. According to local myths, when he was returning back to Hungary after the Second Battle of Kosovo in 1448. He placed a stone on top of the mountain to mark his presence, hence the name which is Serbian for "Janko's stone". The highest peak is followed by Radulovac (), Bojevo Brdo () and Crni Vrh (). The peaks offer sightseeing to Golija's forests and pastures, as well as the peaks of nearby Kopaonik, Komovi and Prokletije mountains. On a clear day, even a distant mountains, like Durmitor in Montenegro or even Kosmaj, close to Belgrade, are visible.
There are over 100 water springs on Golija. The Moravica and Studenica rivers of have their headwaters at this mountain. Studenica breaches through the mountain, in its deep valley with several shorter gorges. The Izubra tributary has three waterfalls of total height of around , and several cascades. There are also several lakes. At the altitude of there are the Košanin Lakes. A natural phenomenon, where the water rescinds during the rain, and the water level rise in dry periods.
Climate.
Golija has three distinguishable climate areas, valley climate below 700 m altitude with moderate continental climate, transitional (700–1300 m) with short sharp winters and heavy snowfall, and the mountainous area (over 1300 m) with severe winters and short summer.
Biodiversity.
Nature park Golija-Studenica covers and area of . Golija's plants account for 25 percent of Serbia's flora. There are recorded 1091 plant species in the park, including 117 types of algae, 40 species of mosses, 7 lichens and 75 species of fungi. Many of the species are relict and endemic. The Heldreich's maple is the symbol of the mountain , which constitutes deciduous and mixed-type forests, some of the best preserved in Serbia. There are also 225 medicinal herbs. Records show that Golija's herbs were used in 1207, in the first hospital in medieval Serbia, which was founded in the Studenica monastery.
Golija is one of important mountainous European ornithology reserves, with 95 registered bird species. The 22 mammal species include the rare and protected wolves, brown bears, least weasels, dormice, red squirrels and water shrew.
In September 2001, the UNESCO declared part of the Golija-Studenica nature park as the Serbia's first biosphere reserve.
Human history.
The reserve contains Studenica Monastery. Built in 1196, it is a cultural World Heritage site since 1986, and a popular tourist destination. Some away are two hermitages, built by Saint Sava after his return from the Mount Athos in the 13th century. Known as the Upper and the Lower Sava's Hermitages, they are located on the steep cliff, several hundred meters above the Studenica river. The Gradac Monastery, finished in 1282, is also located on the mountain. The monasteries of Sopoćani, Stari Ras and lie at the outskirts of Golija.
The Golija area has a population of 6,600 within the 42 dispersed rural communities characteristic of these mountainous regions. The main economic activities are livestock raising, farming, and collection of forest products such as mushrooms and medicinal herbs. Main agricultural products are potatoes, raspberries and buckwheat. The area is known for the local cuisine, which includes buckwheat pie, sirene, kaymak, "tubošak" (curdled milk before all whey is removed), "jurdum"(salted thick sheep's milk) and trout dishes, from the fish caught in the local streams.
Tourism.
The mountain has several skiing facilities, with two hotels built on the mountain itself and several resorts in the vicinity of Ivanjica and Novi Pazar.
There are hunting grounds in Čemernica, Grabovica, and Golija with roe deer, boar, and hare.
At the Daićko Lake, there is a memorial drinking fountain, dedicated to the forestry pioneer on Golija, Vlastimir Parezanović. It holds a carved inscription: "If every man would know which tree is his own, he would never cut it".
External links.
Golijainfo - Tourist center


Clover Mountains Wilderness

Clover Mountains Wilderness is a large wilderness area southeast of Caliente, Nevada in southeast Lincoln County's border region with southwest Utah.
The wilderness comprises much of the Clover Mountains and has biome influences from the Tule Desert adjacent to the southeast. It also lies in a border region on the Great Basin Divide, at the northeast of the Mojave Desert and the south-southeast of the Great Basin regions.
Description.
The large Clover Mountain region contains numerous spires, rock outcrops, meandering canyons, and perennial streams. The peaks in the mountains rise to more than with areas of old-growth forest; riparian streams also yield species of ash and cottonwood.
Geology.
The Clover Mountains Wilderness is a former volcanic region. It contains rhyolite with various colors, pink, red, yellow, orange and browns. Numerous spires, rock outcrops, meandering canyons, and perennial streams occur in the region.
Flora and fauna.
The Clover Mountains Wilderness contains stands of Ponderosa Pine and Quaking Aspen. The southern portion of the wilderness contains species from the Tule Desert (Nevada), sagebrush and Joshua Trees.
Some fauna of the region include mountain lion, badger, bobcat, Desert Bighorn Sheep, prairie falcon, and golden eagles.
External links.
Clover Mountains Wilderness
Clover Mountains


North Shore Scenic Drive


Comanche Peak Wilderness

The Comanche Peak Wilderness is a U.S. Wilderness Area located in the Roosevelt National Forest on the Canyon Lakes Ranger District in Colorado along the northern boundary of Rocky Mountain National Park. The wilderness named for its most prominent peak was established in 1980. There are of hiking trails inside the wilderness. Roosevelt National Forest and Rocky Mountain National Park officially maintain 19 trails within the Wilderness, 5 of which pass into Rocky Mountain National Park. There are also 7 named peaks, 6 named lakes (including Comanche Reservoir) and 16 named rivers and creeks within the wilderness boundaries.


Bulow Creek State Park

Bulow Creek State Park is a Florida State Park located five miles (8 km) north of Ormond Beach. It is on Old Dixie Highway (CR 4011), next to the Atlantic Ocean. The park is adjacent to Bulow Plantation Ruins Historic State Park, and close to North Peninsula State Park, Gamble Rogers Memorial State Recreation Area and Tomoka State Park.
Ecology.
Flora.
Containing one of the largest stands of southern live oak remaining on the east coast of Florida, the park's "star" is the Fairchild Oak. Over four centuries old, it is among the largest of its kind in the southern United States.
Fauna.
Among the wildlife of the park are white-tailed deer, barred owls and raccoons.
Recreational activities.
Activities include hiking, canoeing, picnicing, wildlife viewing and primitive camping. Amenities include nature trails, a picnic pavilion and a primitive campsite. The Bulow Woods Trail, more than six miles (10 km) long, leads to Bulow Plantation Ruins Historic State Park.
Hours.
Florida state parks are open between 8 a.m. and sundown every day of the year (including holidays).


Turrubares Hills Protected Zone

Turrubares Hills Protected Zone (), is a protected area in Costa Rica, managed under the Central Conservation Area, it was created in 1983 by law 6300 Art. 3.


Tuntanain Communal Reserve

The Tuntanain Communal Reserve () is a protected area in Peru located in the Amazonas Region. It was created in August 2007 by decree of President Alan García. In 2006, PerúPetro granted Hocol, a French oil concern, the right to drill in territories now partially coextensive with the Reserve.


Buford Mountain Conservation Area

Buford Mountain Conservation Area consists of north of Ironton and southwest of Bismarck, Missouri. The area includes Buford Mountain at above sea level. The mountain consists mostly of rhyolite, with few permanent water sources. However, there are eight fishless ponds each about in size.
The central feature, Buford Mountain, has the name of the local Buford family who settled the area. The Missouri Department of Conservation purchased the area from the Nature Conservancy in 1979. There is a hiking trail that traverses the area for and crosses the summit of Buford Mountain. Hunting is permitted in the area in the appropriate season with permits.


Fathom Five National Marine Park

Fathom Five National Marine Park is a National Marine Conservation Area in the Georgian Bay part of Lake Huron, Ontario, Canada, that seeks to protect and display shipwrecks and lighthouses, and conserve
freshwater ecosystems. The many shipwrecks make the park a popular scuba diving destination, and glass bottom boat tours leave Tobermory regularly, allowing tourists to see the shipwrecks without having to get wet.
Many visitors camp at nearby Bruce Peninsula National Park and use the park as a base to explore Fathom Five and the surrounding area during the day.
Fathom Five also contains numerous islands, notably Flowerpot Island, which has rough camping facilities, marked trails, and its namesake "flowerpots", outlying stacks of escarpment cliff that stand a short distance from the island, most with vegetation (including trees) still growing on them.
Established on 20 July 1987, the park represented a pioneering departure for the national park system, which had centred on land-based conservation until then. Its designation as a "National Marine Park" foresaw the creation of others, though nomenclature for such units would morph into "National Marine Conservation Areas", leaving Fathom Five as the only National Marine Park. Despite its unique name, it is categorized as an NMCA and is deemed the first one in the country.
Visitors' centre.
In 2006, a new visitors' centre opened to serve Fathom Five National Marine Park and the Bruce Peninsula National Park. Designed by Andrew Frontini of Shore Tilbe Irwin + Partners, the CAD $7.82 million centre, approached by a boardwalk, features an information centre, reception area, exhibit hall and theatre. A 20-metre viewing tower was also constructed to provide visitors with aerial views of the surrounding park and Georgian Bay. The centre was designed with environmental sustainability in mind, receiving $224,000 from the Federal House in Order initiative for implementation of innovative greenhouse gas reduction technology.
Shipwrecks.
The park is home to several shipwrecks, many of which are used for scuba diving and some shallower ones are used for snorkelling.
The park also has three non-shipwreck dive sites, these are Dunks Point, Big Tub Lighthouse Point and The Anchor.


Dhosi Hill

Dhosi Hill is an extinct volcano, standing alone at the north-west end of the Aravalli mountain range, of which it is a part, with height varying from about 345 to 470 meters from the surrounding land and 740 meters from the sea level. It has temple, pond, fort and caves on the top and forest around it. The Aravalli range is a Precambrian Malani igneous suite of rocks that have been dated at 732 Ma BP (million years before present).
The hill has all the physical features of a perfect volcanic hill with distinct crater, lava still lying on it and giving a perfect conical view from top.
It is among the most ancient Vedic religious sites in Haryana, along with 48 kos parikrama of Kurukshetra, Adi Badri and Kapal Mochan.
Location.
Dhosi Hill is located on the borders of the Indian states of Haryana and Rajasthan. The Haryana portion lies in Mahendragarh district to the south, from Narnaul on Singhana Road; the Rajasthan portion lies in Jhunjhunu district to the north.
While the ground level is about above sea level, the hilltop is another 900 feet above the ground level.
Administration.
The hill presently falls under the administration of three village panchayats, being those of Dhosi in Jhunjhunu district of Rajasthan state and of Thana and Kultajpur in Mahendragarh district of Haryana state. These villages are situated on the three waterfalls that become active during the monsoons that occur in July–August, being created from the overflow of a reservoir at the summit. The waterfalls are mentioned in the epic "Mahabharata". Each village also has an ancient water reservoir to augment the supply for villagers and animals.
Fort.
Dhosi Hill has remnants of a fort built by Hemu about 500 years ago. There are thick walls, up to high and wide on even the steepest slopes and the top of the volcano. The fort was constructed to safeguard the heritage and ashrams on the hill from frequent attacks by Muslim invaders during the medieval period. To replace the old temple, a fort modeled on the temple of Chyavana was built at the crater of the hill in the 1890s by the Bhargava community.
All-weather stairs in stone and lime plaster are constructed on the Kultajpur and Thana sides.
Water sources.
A (reservoir) that stores rainwater for bathing of pilgrims has existed at the summit of the hill for centuries. The stored water is claimed to contain a few rejuvenating properties and treatment for skin ailments. The water in the reservoir becomes herbal and also cupric because of the quantity of copper in the hill and growth of rare herbs in large quantities.
The reservoir becomes silted over time and is desilted at regular intervals. In 1944, the industrialists Birla brothers, led by G. D. Birla, who hailed from the nearby Pilani village, arranged for the reservoir to be desilted and constructed a proper concrete dam on the site to increase the storage capacity. This was done in the memory of their father, Raja Baldev Rai Birla. A plaque is put on the Dam to this effect which states that reservoir could be used for bathing by all shades of Hindu pilgrims, including Sanatani, Harijan, Arya Samaji, Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs. This plaque shows that there was no caste barrier to use of the facilities.
In 2003, the reservoir was desilted by Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage, an NGO based in Delhi and Haryana.
A well for the supply of water for drinking and other purposes exists on the top of hill which is recharged by seepage and percolation of water from adjoining reservoirs which are charged by the rainwater on the hill. The Government of Haryana now provides drinking water at the hill through mechanical uplifting from the base of the hill.
Parikrama.
Those visiting the hill on pilgrimage have performed a parikrama (circumambulation) of it since the time of Shaunak. The 8–9 km parikrama track includes some portions of which are damaged because of landslides.
Maharishi Chyawan invented Chyavanprash
Temples and religious melas.
Apart from temples at Shiv Kund, halfway to top of hill from Kultajpur side, there are several temples on the crater portion of the hill. Among these is the Chyavana temple, the Shiva temple on the crater, a Devi temple on the hilltop, and a Rama temple next to the Royal Guest House. The Chyavana temple has Shekhawati paintings in the Garbhagrah of the temple and a basement which can be used as a Dharmshala (resting place) for pilgrims. Among other structures on the hill is the renovated Chandrakoop.
Melas are organised at various festivals and other special days. On the day of Somvati Amavasya many people assemble for a holy bath in the . A map from the 1890s indicates there were then separate Ghats for women, known as Janana Ghats, but now they are abandoned.


La Campana National Park

La Campana National Park is located in the Cordillera de la Costa, Quillota Province, in the Valparaíso Region of Chile. La Campana National Park and the Vizcachas Mountains lie northwest of Santiago. This national park covers approximately and is home to one of the last palm forests of "Jubaea chilensis" (Chilean Wine Palm), which prehistorically had a much wider distribution than at present. Another attraction is the Cerro La Campana, which lends its name to the park. In 1834 Charles Darwin climbed this mountain, during the second voyage of HMS Beagle.
In 1984, the park, along with Lago Peñuelas National Reserve, was designated by UNESCO as a Biosphere Reserve.
Biology.
The park is in the Chilean Matorral Ecoregion. Chilean Wine Palm groves occur in the Ocoa Valley. Other typical vegetation species occurring in the park include the Echinopsis chiloensis, Puya chilensis Roble, Boldo, Litre, Peumo, Patagua, Winter's Bark and Lingue.


Protected Landscape of Barreiro da Faneca

The Protected Landscape of Barreiro da Faneca () is a geological region and protected landscape in the civil parish of São Pedro, in the municipality of Vila do Porto, on the Portuguese island of Santa Maria, archipelago of the Azores.
History.
The Barreiro da Faneca was integrated into the "Área de Paisagem Protegida do Barreiro da Faneca" ("Protected Landscape of Barreiro da Faneca") with the promulgation of Regional Decree 47/2008/A (7 November 2008), administered by the "Secretário Regional do Ambiente e do Mar" ("Regional Secretariat of the Environment and the Sea").
Geography.
The Protected Landscape of Barreiro da Faneca extends from Ponta dos Frades until the northern cliff of the island, and includes not only Barreiro da Faneca and the bays of Raposo, Cré and Tagarete; the protected area includes a superficie of approximately 1542 hectares. Contiguous to the protected area is the Bay of Cré, known for the accumulation of sediments, such as limestone and fossilized conglomerates, with visible marine fossils. The Bay of Raposo, nearby is known for its cliffs, waterfall and river mouth, while the Bay of Tagarete is also known for deposits of marine fossils.
Physical geography.
Barreiro da Fancea is a superficial area of arid and clay terrain, built up from the geological area known as "Formação de Feteiras" ("Feteiras Formation"), that corresponds to the most recent volcanism that was essentially explosive, and constituted of pyroclastic materials. Later, these projectiles and deposits were altered in reddish clays due to the warm and humid climate, resulting in an area of semi-desert-like geology composed of yellowish-red sands.
The location is situated at above sea level and includes a hummocky surface, with gentle slopes of 4-5% incline and a limited drainage capability. The areas with limited or lacking vegetation the soils are susceptible to erosion, resulting in the formation of dunes caused by hydrological or wind-based erosion. These conditions have resulted in a landscape that is completely unique to Santa Maria in the archipelago, resulting in it becoming named the "Deserto Vermelho dos Açores" ("Red Desert of the Azores").
Biome.
At the same time, there has been encroachment of vegetation in 70% of the area, including the spontaneous blooming of endemic species, such as Heather ("Erica azorica"), White wood ("Picconia azorica"), Globe daisy shrub("Scabiosa nitens"), Spurge ("Euphorbia azorica"), and other species of important Laurel and Faia-da-terra.
The group of bays are limited by large cliffs with extreme slopes, with altitudes ranging from above sea level, and are recognized for their ecological importance and distinct landscapes, that include the islet of Lagoinhas, known for support of marine bird habits. Populations of migratory and marine birds like Shearwaters ("Calonectris diomedea borealis"), Garajau-comum ("Sterna hirundo") and Garajau-rosado ("Sterna dougallii").


Inner Space Cavern

Inner Space Cavern (Also known as Laubach Cave) is a karst cave located in Georgetown, Texas. The cavern was formed by water passing through Edwards limestone. The cavern is estimated to be around 20-25 million years old but were only open to the surface since the late Pleistocene period 14,000–45,000 years ago.
Geology.
Speleogenesis.
Inner Space Cavern lies within limestone and dolomite rocks of the Edwards Group formed during the Cretaceous period. Following the formation of the Balcones Fault, a series of vertical fractures through the Edwards Formations allowed ground water to freely move through the limestone marking the beginning of the cavern's formation. As water from the surface became ground water, carbon dioxide (CO2) was picked up from the atmosphere and from decaying organic matter, creating carbonic acid (H2CO3), which would react with and dissolve the limestone rocks creating voids. Over millions of years these voids grew leaving behind large rooms and passages.
Fossil Record.
There were several large openings to the caverns during the Ice Age, an evidence of several skeletons of prehistoric Ice-Age animals including a baby mammoth, giant sloth and the saber-toothed tiger have been found in the cavern; many were trapped in the cavern after they fell through the opening, unable to escape, and others drowned in thick, quicksand-like mud at the bottom of watering holes. Some filled-in sinkholes have been found, including the prehistoric entrance to the cavern. All natural entrances closed approximately 14,000 years ago.
Discovery.
Inner Space Cavern was discovered by the Texas Highway Department drilling team in the spring 1963 during the construction of an overpass for Interstate 35. The cavern was mapped for the first time by the Texas Speleological Association in 1963; since then, several miles of the cavern's passage have been surveyed, with many sections of the cavern remaining unexplored, due to filled-in areas being blocked.
Time as a Tourist Attraction.
The cavern was opened to the public in 1966. Three different levels of tours are available, ranging from a basic walking guided tour to an advanced wild cave spelunking tour, with over 1.2 miles of passage being open to the public. However, non-public passages are well-guarded and independent exploration is not allowed. Apart from the main entrance, which was created by dynamite blasts, a vertical borehole, located in the Inner Cathedral Room, serves as an emergency entryway/exit and a means for ventilating the cavern.


Citico Creek Wilderness

Citico Creek Wilderness is a wilderness area within the Cherokee National Forest in the U.S. state of Tennessee. The wilderness contains the entire upper drainage of Citico Creek, which consists of the north and south forks and at least eight tributaries. Three steep-sided ridges descend west from the crest of the Unicoi Mountains — Brush Mountain, Pine Ridge, and Sassafras Ridge.
History.
Citico Creek is named after the ancient Overhill Cherokee village of Citico, which was located at the creek's mouth along the Little Tennessee River. The village site was inundated by the creation of Tellico Reservoir in 1979.
Most of the Citico Creek watershed was logged in the early 1920s by the Babcock Lumber Company, and most of what was not logged was destroyed by a massive forest fire in 1925. The United States Forest Service purchased the devastated land in the 1930s, and its policy of allowing natural processes to heal the forest has led to the development of a mature, second-growth deciduous forest along Citico Creek.
Forest.
Diverse cove hardwood forests— which include yellow poplar, white oak, red oak, and hemlock— are found in the bottomlands along stream beds. The ridge slopes are covered by a mixed hardwood-pine forest consisting primarily of white oak, red oak, and hickory in moist areas and substantial stands of white pine, pitch pine, and shortleaf pine on drier slopes and ridgecrests.
While most of the forest is second-growth, two pockets of old growth forest remain within the wilderness area. One is a stand of primarily beech and maple in the vicinity of Falls Branch Falls, which is easily accessible from the Cherohala Skyway via the Falls Branch Falls Trail. The other is an isolated patch of hemlock near Glenn Gap.
Recreation and protection.
Citico Creek Wilderness is bordered on the east by the Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock Wilderness and on the north by the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (on the other side of the Little Tennessee River). The Bald River Gorge Wilderness is located immediately to the southwest. The Cherohala Skyway traverses the southern boundary of the Citico Creek Wilderness, and the Benton MacKaye Trail roughly follows its eastern boundary.


Spannagel Cave

The Spannagel Cave () is a show cave near Hintertux, in the Zillertal Alps in the Austrian state of Tyrol. Currently about 10 kilometres of cave have been discovered; guided tours enable access to 500 metres of the cave. Its entrance lies below the Spannagelhaus (2531 m), a mountain hut formerly run by the Austrian Tourist Club (ÖTK). The cave and the hut are named after Dr. Rudolf Spannagel, who was the president of the ÖTK from 1902 to 1904.
Formation.
The overwhelming part of the Zillertal Alps consists of the crystalline primary rocks, plutons and metamorphic rock, that do not support the formation of caves. The only exceptions are pockets of rock capable of karstification such as limestone, dolomite, gypsum and other carbonates. These pockets are generally of quite low thickness, and only allow small caves to be formed. The creation of caves also requires water solubility. The Spannagel Cave has arisen in a large vein of Jurassic calcite marble of the Hochstegen Formation, a marble with over 90% total carbonate content, that runs through the slate mantle of the "Western Tauern window". The formation of this extensive cave as a result of geological corrosion (and mixing corrosion) is explained by the tectonics of the region.
Features.
The cave is characterised by the strong presence of damps and heavy moisture penetration (even leading to cascades). The various stream passages ("Mündungslöcher") form siphons in places that are only accessible by diving. In those cave passages far from daylight there are rare helictites. The Spannagel Cave System extends from the "Gefrorne-Wand-Kees" glacier to the "Lärmstange", 2,686 m, and is the highest large cave in Europe with a measured length to date of 10 kilometres. During guided tours the cave's many features (coloured marble, various calc-sinter formations, speleothems, crystals, banded marbles and kolks) are explained. In addition, the age of the cave and its formation are described, as are its flora and fauna, climate and cave atmosphere which is beneficial for those suffering from lung ailments. Bats only appear in the vicinity of the cave exits - albeit some get lost in the entrance area. A cave museum has been established in the eastern section of this passageway where several discoveries from the interior of the mountain are displayed.
Discovery.
In 1919 Alois Hotter, the proprietor of the Spannagelhaus, discovered the cave entrance. He called the cave the Grausliches Loch and used it, as did several other tenants after him, as a rubbish pit.
In 1960 Rudolf Radislovich first explored the front part of the cave with its main entrance ("Hauptgang") and "water entrance" ("Wassergang"), both of which meet in the Hall of Union ("Halle der Vereinigung"). In the following year, Max H. Fink surveyed the known section of the cave and discovered the "Labyrinth". In 1964 the Federal Monuments Office ("Bundesdenkmalamt") designated the cave as a natural monument because of its scientific importance. In 1968 Walter Knezicek and Günther J. Wolf discovered two shafts and the "Knesi-Harnisch" at the right hand edge of the "Halle der Vereinigung", which all led down into a tunnel about 10 metres below. This was the start of what later became known as the "Schrauben-Cañon" ("Screw Canyon"). In 1970 Hannes Jodl found the "Postkastl" ("Postbox") at the left hand end of the "Halle der Vereinigung", which turned out to be a continuation of the Spannagel Cave. The first person to enter this section was Günther J. Wolf with seven members of his ice course. The research of the "Kolkgang" passage (ascending to the "Elchschädelgang" passage and "Dirndlkammer" chamber, a link with the "Wassergang", and descending via the "Kolkgang" to the "Hannes-Jodl-Dom", at whose ceiling the "Schrauben-Cañon" enters, onwards to the "Dr.-Klaus-Karger-Halle" and continuing as the "Kolkgang" to the edge of the "ÖTK-Schacht" shaft) resulted in a doubling of the hitherto known extent of the cave and offered an incentive for further exploration.
The years 1972 to 1975 saw four survey expeditions by the State Caving Club in Tyrol ("Landesverein für Höhlenkunde in Tirol"), that advanced as far as the Gneisbach stream. In 1975, as part of a research week by the "Groupe Spéléologique Luxembourgeois" with E. Jacoby, M. Möller, G. Mutschlechner and B. Schmitz, the course of the Höhlenbach stream was established. By dying the water it was demonstrated that it surfaced at about 1,980 m in the middle of a rock face south of Waldeben. Likewise the Schneefleck Cave ("Schneefleckhöhle"), which runs parallel to the Spannagel Cave, was discovered and surveyed. In 1976 the Caving Club erected a bivouac in the "Umkehrhalle" hall. A 50-hour expedition led by E. Jacoby in 1976/77 discovered and researched the "Spinnengang" passage, the "Mutschlechner-Dom" cavern and the "Schatzkammer" chamber. In 1978 F. Maiberger and W. Mayr reached the westernmost point of the cave, the "Bauchbad".
In 1984 German speleologists in the Tyrolean Caving Club under the direction of C. Cavelius surveyed the South System ("Südsystem"). In 1987 and 1988 the entrance area of the cave was cleared out, and the gallery joining the "Trümmerhalle" and "Gneisbach" were discovered and surveyed by W. Mayr and G. Völkl. The "Schrauben-Cañon" was first negotiated in 1989 by E. Türke and R. Tobitsch.


California State Route 24

State Route 24 (SR 24) is a heavily traveled east–west state highway in the U.S. state of California that serves the eastern side of the San Francisco Bay Area. A freeway throughout its entire length, it runs from the Interstate 580/Interstate 980 interchange (just east of the MacArthur Maze) in Oakland, and through the Caldecott Tunnel under the Berkeley Hills, to the Interstate 680 junction in Walnut Creek. It lies in Alameda County, where it is highly urban, and Contra Costa County, where it passes through wooded hillsides and suburbs. SR 24 is a major connection between the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge/MacArthur Maze complex and the inland cities of the East Bay.
Route description.
SR 24 begins at the four-level stack interchange with Interstate 580 and Interstate 980 in Oakland; this interchange is located on top of Grove Shafter Park. SR 24 initially heads north before turning east near the Berkeley city limits. Route 24 rises from near sea level in downtown Oakland past its interchange with State Route 13, which is a freeway south of SR 24 (upgraded August 1999) and a surface street north of SR 24. After this, SR 24 crosses the Contra Costa County county line through the four-bore Caldecott Tunnel and offers some attractive views of the hilly terrain through which it passes. Some protection of the views comes from the highway's designation as a California Scenic Highway.
On the other side of the tunnel, SR 24 travels through unincorporated Contra Costa County before entering Orinda. SR 24 crosses the Mokelumne Aqueduct soon after entering the city of Lafayette. SR 24 terminates at the intersection with Interstate 680 just inside the city limits of Walnut Creek.
The Antioch–SFO/Millbrae line of the Bay Area Rapid Transit runs in the freeway's center median, excepting the vicinity of the Caldecott Tunnel and the approach to the interchange with Interstate 680.
SR 24 is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System, and is part of the National Highway System, a network of highways that are considered essential to the country's economy, defense, and mobility by the Federal Highway Administration. SR 24 is eligible to be included in the State Scenic Highway System; however, Caltrans has only designated it as a scenic highway between the eastern end of the Caldecott Tunnel and I-680, meaning that it is a substantial section of highway passing through a "memorable landscape" with no "visual intrusions", where the potential designation has gained popular favor with the community. SR 24 is designated as both the Grove Shafter Freeway, after streets the route travels along (Grove Street was later renamed Martin Luther King Jr. Way), and the William Byron Rumford Freeway, honoring the first African American elected to a state public office in Northern California, from the Caldecott Tunnel to the I-580 interchange segment of the MacArthur Maze, continuing henceforth as I-980 to the terminus with I-880.
History.
Highway 24 was designated in 1932 in conjunction with the ongoing construction of the Broadway Low Level Tunnel (renamed the Caldecott Tunnel in 1960) which opened in 1937, connecting with the new Eastshore Highway and the approaches to the new Bay Bridge by way of Tunnel Road and Ashby Avenue through Berkeley west of the Berkeley Hills, and routed along Mount Diablo Boulevard through Contra Costa County east of the hills. Before either the bridge or the tunnel were completed, Highway 24 was provisionally routed starting from downtown Oakland at the major intersection of San Pablo and Broadway, which was also the terminal point of US 40 and State Highway 17. From this point, Highway 24 proceeded northward along Broadway to College Avenue, then along College to Claremont Avenue, up Claremont to Tunnel Road, then up into the Berkeley Hills on Tunnel Road to the old Intercounty Tunnel (also called the Kennedy Tunnel), through the tunnel into Contra Costa County.
Highway 24 remained along Ashby Avenue until completion of the Grove-Shafter Freeway in the late 1960s. This new freeway, which ran from the Caldecott Tunnel through downtown Oakland to the MacArthur and Nimitz Freeways, was designated Route 24 and Ashby was re-designated Route 13.
Route 24 used to extend much further east. The section of Interstate 680 between the current terminus of SR 24 and State Route 242 was dual-signed I-680 and SR 24 until ca. 1987; State Route 242 which runs primarily in Concord was signed as Route 24 until the same time. Older maps show routes for 24 which continue along State Route 4 from the current intersection of 242 to the Antioch Bridge, continuing along the river road to Sacramento, currently State Route 160, then continuing north to Woodland, Marysville, Oroville, along the North Fork of the Feather River to a junction with State Route 89 (this segment is currently State Route 70), where it continued dual-numbered with 89 through Quincy. Highway 24 split from 89 near Graeagle, and continued east through Portola east until its terminus at U.S. Route 395. Parts of the same route were also sometimes designated as State Route 84.
At least one published map from the 1960s incorrectly showed Route 24 extending eastward from Interstate 680 in Walnut Creek to Route 4 in Pittsburg that followed the Ygnacio Valley Road-Kirker Pass Road-Railroad Avenue corridor, presumably as a future extension that never materialized.
A 1956 version of Thomas Brothers maps shows Mt. Diablo Blvd. where present day Northgate Road is and labeled as Route 24, winding and climbing the mountain.
Exit list.
Mileage is measured from the route's original western terminus, now part of Interstate 980.


Arkaroola Protection Area

Arkaroola Protection Area is a protected area located about north of the Adelaide city centre in the Australian state of South Australia. It was established in 2012 by the "Arkaroola Protection Act 2012" "to provide for the proper management and care of the area; and to prohibit mining activities in the area". The protection area is reported as satisfying the definition of a "category II National Park".
Extent.
The protection area which consists of the majority of the Arkaroola Pastoral Lease and the Mawson Plateau part of the Mount Freeling Pastoral Lease covers an area of about . The former of the two leases which has not been stocked for over 30 years is operated for the purpose of conservation and tourism under the name, Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary.
History.
Following the public outcry that resulted from Marathon Resources' misconduct in the Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary—including the illegal dumping of many tonnes of exploration waste in shallow pits, the South Australian government promised to introduce legislation to ban all mining activities in the sanctuary, with the Premier stating that "we have decided to give the region unprecedented protection".
The protection enacted by the South Australian government prohibits any and all mining within in an area roughly coincident with the Arkaroola pastoral lease on which the Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary is located. This area includes Mount Gee and the Mount Painter inlier.


Baganga Protected Landscape

The Baganga Protected Landscape, in Mindanao in the Philippines, is one of four protected watershed areas of the province of Davao Oriental. It covers the Upper Baganga River Basin in the Mindanao Pacific Cordillera, the primary source of water for the Baganga Water District. The Baganga River, the main river channel of the municipality of Baganga, flows on a northeastern direction towards the Baganga Bay. The river system includes the Languyon River, Daquit River, Mahanob River, Dapnan River and Kinablang River all emptying into the Philippine Sea. It was established in 1987 as the Baganga Watershed Forest Reserve with an area of . The watershed was declared a protected landscape in 2000.
Wildlife.
The Baganga Protected Landscape is home to the Philippine long-tailed macaque and Asian water monitor. It also supports the following bird species:


North Cascades Highway


Padirac Cave

The Padirac Chasm (French: "Gouffre de Padirac") is a cave located near Gramat, in the Lot department, Occitanie region, France.
Features.
The chasm itself is deep, with a diameter of approximately . Visitors descend 75 m via a lift or a staircase before entering into the cave system. The cave, contains a subterranean river system that is partly negotiable by boat, and is regarded as "one of the most extraordinary natural phenomena of the Massif Central".
Formation.
The chasm was created at an undetermined point in time when the roof collapsed into a large internal cavern. It is known that the cavern existed in the 3rd century, and was inhabited during the 15th and 16th centuries, when potassium nitrate was excavated from the area.
Tourism.
The first tourists visited the cave on 1 November 1898; however, the site was officially opened for tourism on 10 April 1899 by Georges Leygues, the 87th prime minister of France (then called "président du conseil"). Today, although the chasm system is made up of more than of galleries, only 2 km have been opened for tourism.
Since the 1930s, visitors can access the cave system by descending 75 m by lift or stairs, and then exploring the chasm system on foot and by boat.
Padirac is the most frequently visited underground tourism facility in France, with more than 350,000 visitors annually, and a record of 460,000 in 1991.
Exploration.
The chasm was first explored, in 1889, by Édouard-Alfred Martel. Much of the credit for opening the cave system is owed to Guy de Lavaur (1903–1986), who came to Padirac in 1938 and managed to penetrate of the passages.


Box-Death Hollow Wilderness

Box-Death Hollow Wilderness is a wilderness area located in south-central Utah, United States, on the Dixie National Forest. Vertical gray-orange walls of Navajo sandstone stand above two canyon tributaries of the Escalante River in Box-Death Hollow. The name Death Hollow gives reference to a number of livestock that plunged to their death trying to cross the steep canyon.
Running north-south through a steeply dipping monocline, Pine Creek forms the box canyon (a canyon accessible only at the lower end) known appropriately as "The Box." Death Hollow Creek, east of The Box, has carved its way through a gently dipping monocline. Raging waters often flood these canyon narrows after a rain. Pinyon and juniper cover many of the plateaus above the canyons. Brown and rainbow trout are plentiful in Pine Creek and in portions of Sand Creek. Along the creek banks, you may see mule deer, an occasional cougar, or even elk in winter. Three bird species listed by the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources as "sensitive" can be found in the wilderness - Lewis's woodpecker, the western bluebird, and the mountain bluebird. Nine miles of trail run the distance of "the Box", while hiking in the remainder of this wilderness requires following drainages or undesignated routes.
The larger Phipps-Death Hollow Outstanding Natural Area, a Bureau of Land Management wilderness study area, is adjacent to the wilderness on the south. Phipps-Death Hollow is part of the Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument.
The Box-Death Hollow Wilderness briefly became the center of controversy during debate over the Utah Wilderness Act of 1984 due to a company that was interested in drilling exploration wells for carbon dioxide. The ridge-top well sites and routes leading to them were cherry-stemmed out of the north side of the legislated boundary, but the project never went into production.


Bartlett Woods

Bartlett Woods (formerly Knox Grove) is a Nature Preserve located in Lee County, Illinois, USA, situated along the bank of the Big Bureau Creek. It is a remnant of a larger forest which is no longer extant.
History.
The name Knox Grove is derived from William Knox, who first settled the area around 1830. By 1846, Knox Grove was a settlement of roughly 14 families covering an area of . The following year, the first schoolhouse was started out of the (now abandoned) home of Mr. Knox.
In 1848, an American black bear weighing was reported as being killed by a group of men in the northern reach of the grove. That same year, a post office opened under the name of Ovid.
By 1855, the Illinois Central Railroad's choice of routing led to the creation of the nearby town of Sublette, where the majority of the population of Knox Grove shortly relocated.
Ecology.
Bartlett Woods lies in a flat depression between the Theiss and LaMoille moraines which were deposited during Pleistocene glaciation. Within the woods, several shallow ravines drain excess water from the mesic upland forest into Bureau Creek. The most common tree species are sugar maple, red and white oak, red elm and basswood. To a lesser extent, black walnut, butternut and hophornbeam can be found in certain areas of the preserve. The herbaceous layer contains regionally common wildflowers such as doll's eyes, columbine, trout lily and miterwort. The undeveloped forest is also home to a sizable population of White-tailed Deer as well as smaller fauna such as pheasants and groundhogs.


Calakmul Biosphere Reserve

The Calakmul Biosphere Reserve () is located at the base of the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico, in Calakmul Municipality in the state of Campeche, bordering the Guatemalan department of El Petén to the south. It occupies and includes about 12% of the subperennial jungles of Mexico. The Reserve, which was established in 1989, is one of the largest protected areas in Mexico, covering more than 14% of the state.
The important pre-Columbian Maya civilization archaeological site of Calakmul, one of the largest-known Maya sites, is located in the Biosphere Reserve.
Flora and fauna.
The Reserve and the contiguous forested areas of the Maya Biosphere Reserve "(Reserva de la Biosfera Maya)" in the Guatemalan department of El Petén form one of the largest and least disturbed tracts of rainforest in the Americas north of Colombia. The forest is classified as dry forest to the west and tall and medium-height subperennial rainforest to the east. Among the trees, there are ceibas, Honduras mahogany ("Swietenia macrophylla"), strangler figs ("Ficus"), chaká ("Bursera simaruba"), and chicle or chicozapote ("Manilkara chicle").
The biosphere is home to 86 species of mammals, 18 of which can be found in the Official Registry of Mexican Ecology, a resource that outlines flora and fauna that are in danger of extinction, rare, threatened or are under protection. The area is home to 5 of the 6 large cats that are native to Mexico.
This includes its small but healthy population of jaguars as well as jaguarundis, ocelots, pumas and margays. The fauna also includes Central American agoutis, Geoffroy's spider monkeys, Guatemalan black howlers, Baird's tapir, white-nosed coatis, ocellated turkeys, crested guans, toucans, and parrots.
Threats.
The reserve has been given a critically threatened designation, which means that prompt measures must be taken to continue to protect and conserve its biodiversity. These threats include: Population growth, subsistence hunting and poaching, tourist infrastructure, and the emergence of highways and roads.
Human population within the reserve has been rapidly increasing since the 1980s due to increased migration as well as high birthrates. This has put increasing strain on natural resources due to the locals' agricultural and ranching subsistence.
Although 80% of the hunting in the reserve is done for personal consumption among the local people, this subsistence hunting has had an increasingly drastic impact on the wildlife populations. These animals are also being poached by military units that are in active duty within the area.
There has been an increasing amount of tourist activity, since the reserve was given UNESCO designation, which has created several problems. Although water is scarce in the region, the consumable water near villages or towns is reserved for tourists, creating a water shortage among the locals. There is growing awareness of a possible water crisis due to the inability to meet the needs of the locals and the tourism industry.
Due to problems with the design of the reserve, two main roads have been built that cross through two of the core, important areas of the reserve. There have been proposals of a tourism destination called Maya World which would involve a highway connecting different areas of the biosphere reserve. Although the plans for the highway have been put aside for the time being, hotel construction continues in those areas.
Political Issues.
The area was declared a biosphere reserve by Carlos Salinas de Gortari in 1989. The cited reasons for the designation were protection of biological diversity, as well as protection of the numerous ancient Mayan ruins that are within the limits of the reserve. Since then there has been disparity between the views and philosophies of the local people who live on the land and those government officials and urban environmentalists who wish to protect its resources .
The people who live on the land are migrants representing 23 of the 32 states of Mexico that were drawn to the land in the 1960s when the Mexican government put land distribution projects in place. Although their cultures may differ, they share the common identity of "campesinos" and of subsistence farmers who live off the land. As subsistence farmers they all share the common belief that the environment is a place to work, which contrasts with the agendas of environmentalists and government official who believe that an "ideal environment is one devoid of human presence". These outside parties have the "do not touch" mentality. Thus the Campesinos have created a united front in pushing for access to important resources that enable them to farm and provide for themselves.
In 1991 the Mexican president gave the Campesinos "care for the reserve" which provided funding to aid in the protection of the remaining forests while encouraging self-sufficiency in the local farming sector. This has been in line with the philosophy that biodiversity is "diversity in use".
These issues of debate has led to a resistance movement from the local farmers. Due to their beliefs surrounding the uses of the environment and work, many believe that those on the other side of the debate (government officials and urban environmentalists) wish to use the land for their own profitable means. Many farmers recognize the difference between symbolic and actual land ownership and feel as though the government is undermining their subsistence practices. Whereas the Campesinos practice subsistence farming and therefore do not receive a salary, there is a high vulnerability that they face from others implementing regulations.


List of South Carolina Scenic Byways

The South Carolina Scenic Byways consists of roads in the state of South Carolina that travel through areas of scenic, historic, and cultural significance. The intent of this system is to provide travelers with a safe and interesting alternate route.


Agua Fria National Monument

Agua Fria National Monument is in the U.S. state of Arizona, approximately north of downtown Phoenix, Arizona. Created by Presidential proclamation on January 11, 2000, the monument is managed by the Bureau of Land Management, an agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior. The Bureau of Land Management already managed the lands; however, under monument status the level of protection and preservation of resources within the new monument have been enhanced.
The monument is a unit of the BLM's National Landscape Conservation System. Over 450 distinct Native American structures have been recorded in the monument, some of large pueblos containing more than 100 rooms each. The enhanced protection status also provides greater habitat protection for the numerous plant and animal communities.
Antiquities.
Petroglyphs are scattered across the numerous puebloan ruins, which were built between 1250 and 1450 C.E. when several thousand Native Americans, known as the Perry Mesa Tradition, inhabited the region. The petroglyphs depict animals, geometric figures and abstract symbols and are found by the thousands. Numerous ruins of agricultural terraces and irrigation devices indicate that farming was widespread during this period. Other historical entities that are found include 19th century mining features and Basque sheep camps.
Natural history.
Situated between and in elevation, the monument is primarily composed of semi-desert grassland but also contains extensive riparian stands of cottonwoods and willows which are tied to the Agua Fria River. More than 140 bird species have been recorded at the monument. Notable species of reptiles and amphibians, including the leopard frog, the garter snake, and the desert tortoise, can be seen at the monument. Mammals such as the pronghorn, mule deer, white-tail deer and javelina are relatively common. The elk, black bears and mountain lions are also found in the monument, but are much less common. Native fish including the longfin dace, the Gila mountain sucker, speckled dace, and three endangered native fish including the Gila intermedia, charalito, and desert pupfish exist in the -long Agua Fria River and its tributaries.
In late 2004, the BLM and the Sierra Club helped spark the formation of the Friends of the Agua Fria National Monument, a non-profit organization created to assist the federal agency in monument protection, management, and outreach.


Pickles Reef

Pickles Reef is a small coral reef located within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. It lies to the southeast of Key Largo, to the south the Key Largo Existing Management Area and John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. Unlike many reefs within the Sanctuary, this reef is not within a Sanctuary Preservation Area (SPA).
The reef gets its name from the Pickle Barrel wreck.
Another small reef called Snapper Ledge is nearby.
Shipwreck.
Various types of debris are scattered across the reef, including a number of barrel-shaped concrete objects. Local legend was that the concrete objects had been barrels of concrete on a ship or barge that had wrecked on the reef during the Civil War, but an analysis performed in 2008 showed that the concrete was a type of Portland cement produced between 1890 and 1923. Archaeologists have found evidence of an iron- or steel-hulled vessel with two masts that wrecked on the reef, but have not identified the ship. It is not clear how much of the debris on the reef is from that wreck.


Rohkunborri National Park

Rohkunborri National Park (, ) is a national park in Troms county, Norway, that was established in 2011. The park consists of a protected area, and is located in Bardu Municipality along the border with Sweden, about southeast of the village of Setermoen and about northeast of the town of Narvik.
Rohkunborri borders on the Swedish Vadvetjåkka National Park to the south, and it is located less than south of Øvre Dividal National Park. The park includes parts of the Sørdalen valley (canyon), the large lake Geavdnjajávri, and the mountain Rohkunborri. The large lakes Altevatnet and Leinavatnet both lie just north of the park boundary.
The nature varies from rich boreal deciduous forest on the lower elevations to alpine tundra higher up. The park is home to brown bears, wolverines, and lynx, as well as the snowy owl, gyrfalcon, and reindeer (with Sami owners). There are also wetlands and alpine vegetation on bedrock rich in lime, as well as bogs. The Arctic rhododendron ("no:Lapprose") is present. The lakes in the eastern part have Arctic char. The mountains on both sides of the canyon reach up to above sea level.