Alkhanay National Park

Alkhanay National Park () encompasses the area around Mt. Alkhanai, a central focus and sacred mountain to the Buryats people, who today are the largest indigenous group in Siberia. Mt. Alkanai has been adopted as sacred by later Mongols, shamanistic people, and Buddhists. The Dalai Lama has made two unofficial visits to Alkhanay. The area takes its name from an old legend, in which a princess took refuge from her pursuers on the top of the mountain, defiantly shouting as they approached, "kill me!", which translates to "Alkhanai" in the local language. Despite the ancient name, the focus today of Buddhist pilgrims as they ascend the mountain pathway is one of peacefulness and healing. The park seeks to balance support for continued pilgrimage to the rock landforms and mineral springs, with conservation of nature and recreational tourism. Alkhanay NP is located in the Trans-Baikal (East Siberia) region of Russia, about 300 miles east of the lake, and 75 miles north of Mongolia's northern border. It is in the administrative region of Aginsky District, Zabaykalsky Krai.
Topography.
The area is one of steppe-forest on mountains of medium-height (1,000-1,200 meters). The park lies in the transitional zone between the East Siberian taiga to the north, and the Mongolian Steppe province of the Eurasian steppe to the south. It is situated in the Duldurginsky District of Agin-Buryat Okrug in Zabaykalsky Krai. The Mt. Alkhanai massive (1,663 m) dominates the southern slope of the local mountain range (the Mogotuyskogo Range). The park streams feed the Onon River, which is one of the westernmost tributaries of the Amur River, which flows 1,000 miles to the northern Pacific.
The landscapes of the park include forested mountains, steep canyons with streams and waterfalls, springs, and vistas of the vast undulating plains to the south. the tops of the mountains are mostly dome-shaped with bare rock in places. The rock landforms reflect the ancient remains of volcanoes (including Mt. Alkhanai itself), and an underlying fault on which the area was centered in the Jurassic period. There are few lakes, but many wetlands along the streams, and the many springs are cold with calcium carbonate.
Climate and ecoregion.
The region has a subarctic climate (Köppen climate classification "Dwc"). The Siberian High makes the winters so dry (typically with around of rainfall equivalent per month) that snow cover is very limited. Summers are short and relatively cool. The characteristic habitat is temperate grassland, savanna, and shrubland. Mean temperatures range from in January to in July. Average annual precipitation is .
The ecoregion of Alkhanay is "Daurian forest steppe". This region has been described as a “sea of grass that forms the best and most intact example of an undisturbed steppe ecosystem and is also one of the last areas in the Palearctic that still supports stable herds of larger vertebrates” in a semi-mountainous area.
The park's 37 streams form most of the catchment area of the Ilya river, a tributary of the Onon River. The freshwater ecoregion is Temperate Upland River, in this case designated by the WWF as the “Shilka (Amur) Freshwater Ecoregion (WWF ID #619)”. The hilly streams of the Onon region lack the migratory fish found in the lower Amur, and are characterized by the species found on temperate streams with steep forest banks. There is only one endemic species of fish known in the ecoregion - the Bagrid catfish (Pseudobagrus herzensteini), a species reliably known in only the hilly streams of the Onon and Shilka rivers. There are known to be 18 species of fish in the lakes of the park.
Pilgrimage sites.
Mt. Alkhanai is one of the "Five Sacred Peaks" of Northern Buddhism. A significant portion of the visitors to the park are pilgrims, particularly drawn to specific landmarks: mineral springs, rock landforms, and rock-lined mountain trails. Prominent are "Demchog Sume", home of the guardian deity Alkhanov Demchog (yidam Chakrasamvara), "Temple Gate" - a rock with an opening in the center through which pilgrims pass for healing, and "Naro Hazhod", a place of meditation for Buddhist clergy and others. The Buddhist sites on Mt. Alkhanay include paths and platforms for rites to be performed by daily visitors as well as larger ceremonies held at various times during the year by local Buddhist spiritual leaders.
There are 16 natural cultic sites in the park, reflecting the various groups that have dwelt in the area even before Buddhism. There are ancient cave drawings, tiled graves from the 6th century BCE, various sites associated with Buyrat and shamanistic traditions, two Buddhist stupas (including one marking the landing spot of the helicopter than carried the Dalai Lama on a visit to the park in 1991). and the pilgrimage "path to the top of Mt. Alkhanai".
Plants.
There are three altitude zones of plants in Alkhanay: the forest-steppe zone at the base of the mountains (900 m), a forest belt (ceder and pine, with some spruce and fir), and a sub-alpine level of mostly larch towards the peaks. At the higher levels, the Daurian larch is stunted, typically reaching to only 2 meters, with a crown bent by the prevailing northwesterly winds. Other stunted growth at upper levels are the creeping cedar (heights to 50 cm); Sakhalin raspberries (7–10 cm), and Siberian mountain ash (25–35 cm); in stonier places there is Siberian juniper. The undergrowth of the forest belt includes alder bush, willow, rhododendron, and blueberry. Towards the borders, ground pine is a common ground cover. Tundra vegetation is absent, and steppe vegetation is mostly found at the base of Mt. Alkhanay and to the south.
The area provides a wide variety of plants with local medicinal and folk history. One study in 1996 identified 340 species of plants in the park, of which 180 had known uses in local folk practices, including Rose root, astragalus membranous (a type of milk vetch), Baikal skullcap, and many others. Some botanists estimate that there are 700 species of plants in the park, but the area is still not fully studied.
Animals.
Alkhanay is excellent habitat for birds, with grouse in the higher shrub areas, partridges in the edge zones, woodpeckers and nutcrackers in the middle forests, and finches in steppe habitats at the lower elevations. The abundance of small rodents attracts birds of prey, including nesting eagles, harriers, owls, and vultures. In the wetlands there are many wading birds, including the Demoiselle crane, ducks, and shorebirds. The park also provides protected zones for lizards. The largest mammals include black bear, roe deer, elk, red deer, lynx and sable. The park has reported, at the higher elevations, the presence of musk.
Tourism.
The park can be reached from Chita, Zabaykalsky Krai by Highway A167 to the town of Duldirga (250 km). The city of Chita is on the Trans-Siberian Railway, 6,199 km east of Moscow, and 3,900 km west of Vladivostok.
As with most national parks in Russia, Alkhanay is divided into separate zones, providing protected areas for nature, areas of limited resources management, and recreational areas for tourists. The recreational areas feature well-developed trails to the landmarks for all ages and abilities. A fee is charged at the entrance, and park employees are available as guides for tour groups and individuals. Accommodations are available at two different hostels (run by the park and the local district government, outside cabin rental, and campgrounds.


Jura, Scotland

Jura ( ; ; ) is an island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland, adjacent to and northeast of Islay.
With an area of 36,692 hectares, or 142 square miles, and only 196 inhabitants recorded in the 2011 census, Jura is much more sparsely populated than Islay, and is one of the least densely populated islands of Scotland: in a list of the islands of Scotland ranked by size, Jura comes eighth, whereas by population it comes 31st. Jura is part of the council area of Argyll and Bute. The island is mountainous, bare and infertile, covered largely by extensive areas of blanket bog.
The main settlement is the east coast village of Craighouse, which is its capital. Craighouse is home to the Jura distillery, producing Isle of Jura single malt whisky. The village is also home to the island's only hotel, shop and church. North of Craighouse there are a number of other settlements, all quite small and on or near the east coast: Keils, Knockrome, Ardfernal, Lagg, Tarbert, and Inverlussa.
Between Jura's northern tip and the island of Scarba lies the Gulf of Corryvreckan, where a whirlpool makes passage dangerous at certain states of the tide. The southern part of the island, from Loch Tarbert southwards, is designated a national scenic area (NSA), one of 40 such areas in Scotland, which are defined so as to identify areas of exceptional scenery and ensure their protection from inappropriate development. The Jura NSA covers : 21,072 of land and 9245 of adjacent sea.
George Orwell lived here intermittently after the Second World War and completed his novel "Nineteen Eighty-Four" while living on the island.
Name.
The modern name "Jura" dates from the Norse-Gael era. Two different Old Norse words have been suggested:
The name was recorded in 678 as , possibly meaning "Doraid's Island".
Geology.
Jura is composed largely of Dalradian quartzite, a hard metamorphic rock that provides the jagged surface of the Paps. On the western half of the island the quartzite has been penetrated by a number of linear basalt dykes that were formed during a period of intense volcanic activity in the early Palaeogene period, 56 million years ago. The dykes are most apparent on the west coast, where erosion of the less-resistant rock into which they are intruded has left them exposed as natural walls. The west coast also has a number of raised beaches, which are regarded as a geological feature of international importance.
Paps of Jura.
The island is dominated by three steep-sided conical quartzite mountains on its western side—the Paps of Jura—which rise to . There are three major peaks:
The Paps dominate the landscape in the region and are visible from the Mull of Kintyre and, on a clear day, from the Isle of Skye and Northern Ireland. The route of the annual Isle of Jura Fell Race includes all three Paps and four other hills.
These hills were the subject of William McTaggart's 1902 painting "The Paps of Jura", displayed in the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum.
History.
Early years.
Evidence of settlements on Jura dating from the Mesolithic period was first uncovered by the English archaeologist John Mercer in the 1960s. There is a Neolithic chambered cairn at Poll a' Cheo in the southwest of the island.
Jura is closer to Ireland's northern province of Ulster than it is to Glasgow, so it should not be unexpected that Irish people crossed the Straits of Moyle and established the Gaelic kingdom of Dál Riata. It was divided into a handful of regions, controlled by particular kin groups, of which the Cenél nÓengusa controlled Jura and Islay.
The kingdom thrived for a few centuries, and formed a springboard for Christianisation of the mainland. It is believed that Jura may have been Hinba, the island to which the 6th-century missionary, Columba, retreated from the monastic community he founded on Iona, when he wished for a more contemplative life.
Vikings.
Dál Riata was ultimately destroyed when Vikings invaded, and established their own domain, spreading more extensively over the islands north and west of the mainland, including Jura. This became the Kingdom of the Isles, but following the unification of Norway, the islands were under tenuous Norwegian authority, somewhat resisted by local rulers, like Godred Crovan. Following Godred's death, the local population resisted Norway's choice of replacement, causing Magnus, the Norwegian king, to launch a military campaign to assert his authority. In 1098, under pressure from Magnus, the king of Scotland quitclaimed to him all sovereign authority over the isles.
To Norway, the islands became known as "Suðreyjar" (Old Norse, traditionally anglicised as "Sodor"), meaning "southern isles". The former territory of Dal Riata acquired the geographic description "Argyle" (now "Argyll"): the "Gaelic coast".
Half a century later, however, Somerled, the husband of Godred Crovan's granddaughter, led a successful revolt against Norway, transforming Suðreyjar into an independent kingdom. Somerled built the sea fortress of Claig Castle on an island at the southern tip of Jura, establishing control of the Sound of Islay; on account of the Corryvreckan whirlpool, this essentially gave him control of the sea traffic between the Scottish mainland and the Hebrides.
After his death, nominal Norwegian authority was re-established, but de facto authority was split between Somerled's sons and the Crovan dynasty. Somerled's son Dougall received the part of Jura north of Loch Tarbert (along with adjacent islands further north), while Dougal's nephew Donald received the rest of Jura, as well as Islay, and lands to the east. It is unclear why Jura was split like this, but it may have been connected to a dispute with Donald's other uncle, Angus, who Donald and his brother had ultimately dispossessed.
In the mid 13th century, increased tension between Norway and Scotland led to a series of Battles, culminating in the Battle of Largs, shortly after which the Norwegian king died. In 1266, his more peaceable successor ceded his nominal authority over Suðreyjar to the Scottish king (Alexander III) by the Treaty of Perth, in return for a very large sum of money. Alexander generally acknowledged the semi-independent authority of Somerled's heirs.
Lords of the Isles.
At the end of the 13th century, king John Balliol was challenged for the throne by Robert de Bruys. By this point, Somerled's descendants had formed into three families: the heirs of Dougall (the MacDougalls), those of Donald (the MacDonalds), and those of Donald's brother (the MacRory); the MacDougalls took John's side, while the MacDonalds and MacRory backed de Bruys. When de Bruys defeated John, he declared the MacDougall lands forfeit, and gave them to the MacDonalds. John of Islay, the head of the MacDonald family married the heir of the MacRory family, thereby acquiring the remaining share of Somerled's realm, and transforming it into the Lordship of the Isles, which lasted for over a century.
Throughout all this time, the descendants of the Cenél nÓengusa had retained their identity; they were now the MacInnes (not to be confused with similarly named groups elsewhere in Scotland). Though the MacDougalls had had authority over part of Jura, the MacInnes had been left in unmolested possession of the land, as vassals. Now, however, with the MacDonalds in charge of the entire island, the situation changed. The head of the MacDonalds was unhappy to have tenants who had supported John Balliol and the MacDougalls, so, in 1358, he asked the chief of the MacLean family to assassinate the MacInnes' leaders; so thorough was this carried out that to this day the MacInnes have had no-one to become their new chief, and consequently they dispersed throughout Scotland.
In 1390, the head of the MacDonald family - the Lord of the Isles - granted the MacLeans the lands of northern Jura (the lands which had belonged to the MacInnes). The MacLeans established a castle in Glen Garrisdale, as a stronghold, which they named Aros Castle, like one of their castles elsewhere.
Towards the end of the 15th century, the Lords of the Isles made increasing efforts to establish full independence. John MacDonald, the then Lord, launched a severe raid on Ross, in pursuance of this aim. Within 2 years of the raid, in 1493, the Lordship of the Isles was declared forfeit, and his realm became part of Scotland, rather than a dependency of the Scottish crown. John was exiled from his former lands, and his former subjects now considered themselves to have no superior except the king. A charter was soon sent from the Scottish King confirming this state of affairs; the charter declares that Skye and the Outer Hebrides are to be considered independent from the rest of the former Lordship, leaving only Islay and Jura remaining.
Campbells.
Initially, the MacDonalds of Dunnyveg remained landlords of the southern part of Jura. Following John MacDonald's death, his grandson and heir, Black Donald, was being kept a prisoner at Innes Chonnel Castle (a stronghold of the Campbells). In 1501, Donald escaped, triggering an insurrection in his favour in parts of the former Lordship of the Isles. When Donald was recaptured, in 1506, the king took the precaution of transferring the property of the MacDonald family to the Campbells; in Jura, the Campbells of Craignish were the beneficiaries.
The Campbells established a base for themselves at Ardfin, at the south of Jura, to replace the nearby MacDonald stronghold of Claig Castle. After a century of intermittent violence between the families, in 1607 the Campbells purchased from the MacDonalds a quitclaim of any rights the latter might have on Jura.
Following the Scottish reformation, the MacLeans (opponents) and Campbells (supporters) came into dispute; to a certain extent, the Campbells also saw it as an opportunity for territorial expansion. Having complained for several years about harassment from the MacLeans, in 1647 the Campbells launched a surprise attack on Aros Castle, and killed many MacLeans; for many years in the 20th century, a human skull stood on a ledge in a nearby cave, and it was traditionally said to have been the remains of a Maclean who had been killed in this battle. The skull is no longer there, but the latest editions of Ordnance Survey maps still mark the location as 'Maclean's Skull Cave'.
The north of the island, however, remained in MacLean hands until 1737, when it was sold to Donald MacNeil of Colonsay. The remainder of the island was ruled and largely owned by the Campbells for a total of three centuries, by eleven successive Campbell lairds. Under Campbell influence, shrieval authority was established under the sheriff of Argyll. With inherited Campbell control of the sheriffdom, comital authority was superfluous, and the provincial identity (medieval Latin:"provincia") of Islay-Jura faded away. In the mid 18th century, The Heritable Jurisdictions Act abolished both, leaving only the shrieval unit, and without Campbell control.
According to a local legend, in the early 1700s, the Campbells of Jura evicted a man who prophesied that the last Campbell to leave the island would be one-eyed with his belongings carried in a cart drawn by a lone white horse. In 1938 Charles Campbell, blind in one eye from a war injury, fell on hard times and led his white horse to the old pier for the last time.
Emigration.
Beginning in the later 18th century, long before the notorious Highland Clearances of the following century, there were several waves of emigration from Jura. In 1767, fifty people left for Canada, and from that point the population fluctuated, rising to a peak of 1312 in 1831, before gradually shrinking to its 20th century level of just a few hundred. Mercer notes that although relatively few forced clearances on Jura were recorded, the emigrations were far from voluntary, being the result of factors such as hunger and spiralling rents.
Recent history.
Census records show that Jura's population peaked at 1,312 in 1831, and that, in common with many areas of western Scotland, the island's population declined steadily over the ensuing decades. However, there has been a small increase since 2001. During the decade from 2001 to 2011 Scottish island populations as a whole grew by 4% to 103,702. Alongside the long-term decline in Jura's population has been a decline in the number of Gaelic speakers. The 1881 census reported that 86.6% (out of 946 inhabitants) spoke Gaelic. In 1961, for the first time less than half (46.9%) spoke the language and by 2001, this figure had dropped to 10.6%.
In 1838, the old Campbell mansion at Ardfin was remodelled and extended by the architect William Burn for the laird Colin Campbell and renamed Jura House.
During the first half of the 20th century, the Campbells gradually sold the island as a number of separate estates, beginning with the disposal in 1920 of the northern two-thirds of the island, from the Paps of Jura and the Corran River all the way to the Corryvreckan.
The purchaser was the American-born English politician Waldorf Astor, whose wife, Nancy Astor had recently become the first female MP to sit in the House of Commons. The most southerly part of that acquisition, the Tarbert Estate, remains in the hands of the Astor family to this day, and in recent years the latest generation of Astors have restored the remote Glenbatrick Lodge, which stands on Jura's uninhabited west coast, on the shore of Loch Tarbert. The connection between the Campbell family of landowners and lairds and Jura ended in 1938 with the sale of Jura House and its surrounding land, Ardfin Estate.
George Orwell on Jura.
In his later life, George Orwell moved to Barnhill, on Jura, living there intermittently from 1946. During that time he was critically ill with tuberculosis. Orwell left Jura in January 1949 to get treatment at a sanatorium in Gloucestershire and never returned to the island.
He was known to the residents of Jura by his real name, Eric Blair. He completed "Nineteen Eighty-Four" at Barnhill during 1947–48; he sent the final typescript to his publishers, Secker and Warburg, on 4 December 1948, and they published the book on 8 June 1949. Despite its isolation, Barnhill has in recent years become something of a shrine for his readers.
During his time on Jura, Orwell and his adopted son, a niece and a nephew, nearly lost their lives at the Corryvreckan. He was attempting to navigate the Gulf when the outboard motor fell off the boat. The nephew rowed them to Eilan Mor, where the boat overturned as they were disembarking; the group was rescued by the crew of a lobster boat.
Still owned by the Fletcher family who had rented it to Orwell, the four bedroom Barnhill house is available for rent but is somewhat primitive for this era. A generator supplies electricity, the small refrigerator is gas-powered and heat is provided by a coal-fired Rayburn. The original look and feel of the house has been retained. "If you stay here, you’re really treading in Orwell’s footsteps. He would recognise the place instantly if he were to step through the door today," Orwell Society member Damaris Fletcher told The Guardian.
Government and politics.
In 1899, counties were formally created, on shrieval boundaries, by a Scottish Local Government Act, under which Jura became part of the County of Argyll. In 1975 the counties were replaced by a two-tier system of regions and districts: Jura formed part of the Argyll and Bute district within the wider Strathclyde region, however the County of Argyll continues in use as a registration county. A further re-organisation took place in 1995, and Jura now forms part of the unitary council area of Argyll and Bute. The island also has a community council, which is responsible primarily for representing the views of the local community in dealings with other public bodies, although it can also undertake other activities such as fundraising for local projects and the running of community events.
In the Scottish Parliament Jura forms part of the constituency of Argyll and Bute, which elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the first past the post method of election. It is also one of eight constituencies in the Highlands and Islands electoral region, which elects seven additional members, in addition to the eight constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole. The current MSP for Argyll and Bute is Michael Russell of the Scottish National Party (SNP). At Westminster Jura is represented as part of a constituency also called Argyll and Bute, which is held by Brendan O'Hara, also of the SNP.
Modern ownership.
There are now seven estates on Jura and a whisky distillery, all in separate ownership.
Jura distillery was founded in 1810 but was not used after 1900 and was dismantled. In 1963, two estate owners, Robin Fletcher of Ardlussa and Tony Riley-Smith of Ardfin, took over the old property and built a modern distillery; they expanded it in 1978. In 1985, Invergordon Distillers bought Mackinlays; later the two companies became part of Whyte & Mackay.
There is also a relatively small area owned by Forestry and Land Scotland.
Economy.
In an economic survey published in 2005 by the now-defunct Feolin Study Centre on Jura, the gross turnover of the island was estimated to be just over £3.2 million. This figure covered production and services only, and took no account of public expenditure by government or local authority. In financial terms, the Jura distillery was the largest, and it was also the biggest individual employer, but the island's seven estates, taken together, employed the most full- and part-time staff. The distillery is owned by Whyte and Mackay, which in 2014 was taken over by Emperador Distillers, part of the Alliance Global Group Inc of the Philippines. The estates provide deer stalking and other field sports, together with forestry and a diminishing amount of agriculture. In 2015 a new distillery was established in the north of the island, producing Lussa Gin.
Tourism is the only other significant area of economic activity, and in 2005 over 20% of the island population was directly or indirectly employed in the tourist industry. The distillery, field sports and Jura House Gardens were listed as the main tourist attractions, although the gardens have since been closed to the public. More recently, Conde Nast Traveller suggested that visitors would appreciate the many red deer, "and the distinctive Paps of Jura rise above miles of blanket bog and freshwater lochans" as well as the "remote bays and bothies" or the boat trips to the Corryvreckan whirlpool. The Rough Guides book adds that there is a hotel and some B&Bs on the island, which is "an ideal place to go for peace and quiet and some great walking".
In 2013 Jura Development Trust secured financial support from the Big Lottery Fund and other sources to purchase the island's only shop, which re-opened as a community-owned business in 2014. The trust is also exploring renewable energy options.
Transport.
Jura lies close to the Scottish mainland, and yet it is often described as "remote"; the island's most distinguished resident, George Orwell, famously described it as "extremely ungetatable". This may be because it has no direct air or ferry link to the mainland, apart from a passenger ferry which runs, in the summer only, from the village of Tayvallich near Lochgilphead to Craighouse. Most travellers to Jura go by CalMac car ferry from Kennacraig on the Kintyre Peninsula to Islay, and then cross to Jura from Port Askaig on Islay by the MV Eilean Dhiura, a small vehicle ferry which is run by Argyll and Bute Council. Islay can also be reached by air: Islay Airport is served by daily flights from Glasgow operated by Loganair, and twice weekly flights from Oban and Colonsay operated by Hebridean Air Services.
Jura has only one road of any significance, the single-track A846, which follows the southern and eastern coastline of the island from Feolin Ferry to Craighouse, a distance of around eight miles (13 km). The road then continues to Lagg, Tarbert, Ardlussa and beyond. A private track runs from the road end to the far north of the island. A local bus service on the island is operated by Garelochhead Coaches.
5 electric vehicle charging points are available on Jura. One at the Distillery, two in the Village Hall Carpark and two at the commercial units towards the pier, adjacent to the petrol pumps.
Wildlife and conservation.
The island has a large population of red deer. Through browsing, the deer prevent the vegetation on the island from turning back to woodland, which is the natural climax community; indeed an alternative explanation of the island's name is that it derives from 'the great quantity of yew trees which grew in the island' in earlier times.
Jura is also noted for its bird life, and especially for its raptors, including buzzards, golden eagles, white-tailed eagles and hen harriers. Since 2010 Jura has been designated by NatureScot as a Special Protection Area for golden eagles. Like many other parts of the Hebrides and western Scotland, the shores of Jura are frequented by grey seals, and the elusive otter is also relatively common here, as is the adder, the UK's only venomous snake. The seas around Jura form part of the Inner Hebrides and the Minches Special Area of Conservation due to their importance for Harbour porpoises.
Literary accounts.
In 1549, Donald Monro, Dean of the Isles, wrote that the island was "ane ather fyne forrest for deire, inhabit and manurit at the coist syde", with "fresche water Loches, with meikell of profit" and an abundance of salmon.
However, when the soldier and military historian Sir James Turner visited Jura in 1632, he was less impressed, reporting that '[it is] a horride ile and a habitation fit for deere and wild beastes'.
But at the end of the 17th century, the writer and traveller Martin Martin went there and concluded that 'this isle is perhaps the wholesomest plot of ground either in the isles or continent of Scotland, as appears by the long life of the natives and their state of health'. Martin noted some extraordinary examples of longevity, including one Gillouir MacCrain, who was alleged to have kept one hundred and eighty Christmases in his own house. And he was impressed by the good health of the inhabitants: 'There is no epidemical disease that prevails here. Fevers are but seldom observed by the natives, and any kind of flux is rare. The gout and agues are not so much as known by them, neither are they liable to sciatica. Convulsions, vapours, palsies, surfeits, lethargies, megrims, consumptions, rickets, pains of the stomach or coughs, are not frequent here, and none of them are at any time observed to become mad.'
Culture.
Like all inhabited Hebridean islands, Jura has its own indigenous tradition of Gaelic song and poetry. Since 1993 it has also been the home of the Jura Music Festival, which takes place annually in September.
Jura is featured in the plot of the 2003 novel "A Question of Blood" by Ian Rankin, and the 2007 novel "The Careful Use of Compliments" by the Scottish writer Alexander McCall Smith, and is a setting for some of the narrative and action in Anne Michaels' 2008 novel "The Winter Vault". The island is the setting for the novel "Burning down George Orwell's house, "by Andrew Ervin. In music, Jura is mentioned in: "Crossing to Jura", a song by R. Kennedy and D. MacDonald, recorded in 1997 by JCB with Jerry Holland on the album "A Trip to Cape Breton"; "The Bens of Jura", a song by Capercaillie; and "Isle of Jura", a song by Skyclad. The UK band Mekons recorded an album on the island in 2015 and called it 'Jura'.
The 2010 album "Poets and Lighthouses" by Tuvan singer Albert Kuvezin of the band Yat Kha was recorded and produced by the British musician Giles Perring on Jura, with some of the performances being recorded in the (now largely felled) forest at Lagg. The album, which featured a photo of the Skervuile Lighthouse in the Sound of Jura as its cover, reached Number 1 in the European World Music Charts in January 2011.
Jura and the KLF.
Jura is also known for an event of 23 August 1994, when Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty, formerly known as the music group the KLF, filmed themselves burning £1 million in banknotes in the Ardfin boathouse on the south coast of the island.


Malesanden and Huse Wildlife Sanctuary

The Malesanden and Huse Wildlife Sanctuary () is located on the east side of Harøya island in the municipality of Ålesund in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway.
The area received protection in 1988 "to preserve an important wetland area with its habitat, bird life and other wildlife," according to the conservation regulations. The area consists of a low, wide sandy beach that is a nesting, resting, and overwintering site for various birds: waders, the common shelduck, and the greylag goose. Waterfowl and seabirds overwinter to such an extent that it is considered to have national or even international importance. The dunes also have botanical interest, especially the dune heath, which is one of three intact ones in the county.
The Malesanden and Huse Wildlife Sanctuary is a buffer zone with two subareas covering : the Malesanden Bird Sanctuary () and the Huse Bird Sanctuary ().
The wildlife sanctuary is one of six natural areas that were included in the Harøya Wetlands System Ramsar site, which was established in 1996.


Holmes Educational State Forest

Holmes Educational State Forest (HESF) is a state forest, located in Henderson County, North Carolina. It is near the much larger DuPont State Recreational Forest, which is responsible for its management. The forest is in the Blue Ridge Mountains, and it has rugged terrain with a mixture of hardwood forest, rhododendron, and flame azalea.
The forest's primary purpose is education and promotion of forest resources. Forest rangers regularly conduct outdoor classes for schools and other groups from spring to fall. The forest also has self-guided interpretive trails, which teach visitors about forestry through the use of trail-side exhibits, displays and audio boxes. In addition, the forest offers a small network of hiking trails, a picnic area with a shelter and a group campground.
The state originally purchased the forest in 1938 to establish a tree nursery, which was subsequently constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps. The state received a federal grant in 1972 to convert the nursery into an educational state forest. The forest was opened in May 1977, during its dedication to North Carolina's first state forester, Dr. John S. Holmes.


Nature Reserve Pineta Dannunziana

The Nature Reserve Pineta Dannunziana (informally known as D'Avalos Park) is a nature reserve located in Pescara, Abruzzo, Italy. It was established in 2000.
History.
In 1528, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, granted the entire area corresponding to the present town of Pescara to Costanza d'Avalos, Duchess of Francavilla. In 1700, the extension of the forest was resized due to the growing urbanization of the city.
In 2001, the Abruzzo region established a nature reserve, protecting the pine forest and covering an area of 53 hectares. The park includes some buildings of historical value, such as the former Aurum factory, a horseshoe-shaped building designed by Giovanni Michelucci in 1939, as well as some Art Nouveau villas. The nature reserve is also the house of the D'Annunzio Theater and the Flaiano Auditorium.


Assateague Island National Seashore

Assateague Island National Seashore is a unit of the National Park Service system of the U.S. Department of the Interior. Located on the East Coast along the Atlantic Ocean in Maryland and Virginia, Assateague Island is the largest natural barrier island ecosystem in the Middle Atlantic states region that remains predominantly unaffected by human development. Located within a three-hour drive to the east and south of Richmond, Washington, Baltimore, Wilmington, Philadelphia major metropolitan areas plus north of the several clustered smaller cities around Hampton Roads harbor of Virginia with Newport News, Hampton, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Chesapeake and Virginia Beach. The National Seashore offers a setting in which to experience a dynamic barrier island and to pursue a multitude of recreational opportunities. The stated mission of the park is to preserve and protect “unique coastal resources and the natural ecosystem conditions and processes upon which they depend, provide high-quality resource-based recreational opportunities compatible with resource protection and educate the public as to the values and significance of the area”.
Assateague Island encompasses a 37-mile-long barrier island, adjacent marsh islands and waters in Maryland and Virginia, and the Assateague Island Visitor Center on the Maryland mainland. 41,346 acres of land and water are within the seashore’s boundaries. The island consists of three public areas; Assateague Island National Seashore (managed by the National Park Service), Assateague State Park (managed by the Maryland Park Service of the Department of Natural Resources) and Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge (managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service).
Geography.
The park is located on a barrier island shaped by the stormy seas and gentle winds along the coast of the Delmarva Peninsula. The island is approximately long, yet never more than a mile wide. The park is divided into the Maryland District in the north and the Virginia District in the south. It is not possible to drive down the island from one district to the other. All automobile traffic must travel through the mainland to access one end of the island from the other.
The Maryland District of Assateague Island extends from the Ocean City Inlet to the Virginia state line. The Assateague Island National Seashore visitor center, campground, three nature trails, lifeguarded beach, and park headquarters and the smaller Assateague State Park sits within the borders of this district. The only access to the Maryland District is via the Verrazano Bridge on Maryland Route 611.
The Virginia District of Assateague Island extends from the Maryland state line south to the Chincoteague Inlet. This area of the island is designated as the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge and is managed by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). However, the National Park Service operates with a recreational beach, lifeguarded area and visitor center within a one-mile parking and visitor use section. This collaboration between the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Park Service is defined in an agreement or Memorandum of Understanding.The Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge on the southern end of Assateague Island should not be confused with Chincoteague Island, the neighboring island to the west with a residential community on it. One must drive through Chincoteague Island in order to reach the Virginia District.
Geology and hydrology.
Assateague Island is part of a chain of barrier islands that extend from Maine to Texas. The island is built from sand moving south via longshore drift building the island's length. The source of the sand is erosion and run-off from the Appalachian Mountains. The island is moving westward as a result of natural barrier processes during storms. Water washes over the island, sending beach sand backward toward the bay. This barrier island “rollover” is accelerated as the climate changes and the sea level rises. This condition is most pronounced at the northern end of the island, where Ocean City's jetties have stabilized the islands north of the Ocean City Inlet and have starved Assateague of new sand. As a result, Assateague's beach is shifted several hundred meters westwards compared to Ocean City's. The inlet was formed during the 1933 Chesapeake–Potomac hurricane, separating Fenwick and Assateague islands, and a jetty was immediately constructed to stabilize the inlet. After severe nor'easters in 1998, a sand replenishment program was undertaken to restore a sand supply to the north end of Assateague and to ensure a continuing supply.
History.
Before the national seashore was created in 1965, the island was going to be turned into a private resort community called Ocean Beach, Maryland. Some 5,000 private lots comprising what is now NPS property were zoned and sold for resort development in the 1950s. However, the Ash Wednesday Storm of 1962 halted the plans for development. The nor'easter destroyed the few existing structures on the island that had been built and ripped the roads apart. Realizing that the island was too unstable to build upon, the housing development firm sold all of its land to the federal government. To this day, it is not possible to drive the entire length of the island; one must travel on the mainland to journey between the National Seashore in Maryland and the National Wildlife Refuge in Virginia.
Activities.
Since the park's creation, several improvements have been made to aid the public in recreation. The park maintains a stretch of road on the island that travels through the state park in order for visitors to reach the National Seashore. A new visitor center was built in 2010 which is located on the mainland before visitors cross over the bridge to get to the island. The visitor center provides orientation information and exhibits for the public. Many ranger-led programs are available in the summer and fall. The park service also opened a new visitor contact station for campground operations, passes and permits on the island in 2012. The building is powered by new solar panels built in the nearby North Beach parking lot.
Camping.
The park service maintains 148 campsites for both tents and recreational vehicles. On the Maryland side, campers have the option of an oceanside campsite on the west side of the main dune, or a bayside campsite on a peninsula projecting into Sinepuxent Bay. While the oceanside campsites have quick access to the beach and ocean, the bayside campsites offer better views of the wetlands, often with horses grazing there throughout the day. The park also offers six backcountry camping sites, four located on the bayside which can be accessed by canoe, kayak, or hiking, and two hike-in oceanside sites. No fresh water is available at any of the backcountry sites. The bayside sites see high populations of biting insects in summer. No camping is available on the VA portion of the Island however there are several surrounding campgrounds in the town of Chincoteague and on the mainland.
Except for the backcountry sites, reservations must be made for all campsites. Reservations can be made online or by calling 1-877-444-6777. Reservations are opened six months ahead of time and often book quickly, especially for weekends and holidays.
Hiking.
The national seashore has three short nature trails, each of which are under a mile long.
The marsh trail is a half-mile trail on an elevated boardwalk over the marsh. Its elevation provides relief from mosquitoes and other bugs, and it provides excellent views of the salt marsh habitat.
The forest trail is also a half-mile long, consisting of easily walkable hard pack surface and boardwalk. Much of the trail is shaded by woodlands providing relief from the heat.
The dunes trail is three-quarters of a mile long, walked entirely in the sand. The trail offers a look at many of the different plants that can be found in this habitat, as well as a section of Baltimore Boulevard, a road that existed on the island before it was destroyed in the 1962 storm.
Swimming.
While visitors can swim anywhere in the ocean, the National Park Service provides a lifeguarded beach in both MD and VA. During the summer, lifeguards are on duty between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. The national seashore is also a popular destination for surfers, however, surfing is prohibited within the lifeguarded area.
Fishing.
Saltwater fishing is a very popular activity at the national seashore. Anglers age 16 and older must possess a valid fishing license when fishing in Maryland or Virginia. Starting in 2011, all anglers must purchase a valid Maryland fishing license before going out.
Over-Sand Vehicle Zone.
The over-sand vehicle (OSV) zone is designated for four-wheel drive vehicles to drive on the beach. The Maryland OSV zone extends from the main camping area in the park to the Virginia state line where the horse fence prevents access into the national refuge. A permit and a verified list of safety equipment is required for access to the OSV zone. OSV access is limited to 145 vehicles at any time in Maryland, enforced by automatic gates, and 48 in Virginia, unless the Tom's Cove Hook is closed, in which case access is limited to 18 vehicles. OSV permits are issued for a year from the month of purchase. The permit fee ranges from $70 to $150, depending upon the type of access desired. All vehicles using the OSV zone must display a valid OSV Permit. Upon signing the registration for the OSV permit, operators accept responsibility for knowing and following all OSV regulations.
Ecology.
The national seashore provides habitat for a variety of plants and animals adapted to the coastline environment. The coastal salt marsh environment attracts wading birds, seabirds and mammals, as well as animals that have adapted to the harsh environment.
Birds.
Shorebirds and wading birds are abundant at Assateague. Breeding birds include piping plovers, great egrets and red-winged blackbirds. Seabirds include brown pelicans and several species of gulls and terns. Wooded habitats shelter ruby-crowned kinglets and white-eyed vireos. During the winter the area shelters northern birds, including brant geese and northern saw-whet owls.
As a National Seashore, Assateague Island is required by federal law to protect species listed under the endangered species act. Piping Plovers, listed federally as a threatened species, fall under this category and are therefore protected on the island. During their summer breeding period, closures of the OSV zone and North end of the island often occur in order to prevent visitors from disturbing their nests or harming the newborn chicks.
Horses.
Bands of feral horses, commonly known as Chincoteague ponies or as Assateague horses, freely roam on Assateague Island. Although local legend claims that the horses are descendants of animals that survived a shipwreck on the coast, it is more likely that the horses are descendants of domestic horses confined on the island by local residents in lieu of fencing them in on the mainland, where fences were taxed. The salty low-nutrient diet of saltmarsh grasses has resulted in the horses' short stature and bloated abdomens.
Two herds are kept separate by a fence at the Maryland-Virginia border. The horses in Virginia are owned by the Chincoteague Fire Department. These are the famous ponies that are herded every July and then swim to nearby Chincoteague Island as a fundraiser called "Pony Penning." In order to ensure healthy ponies to auction off, the firefighters provide them with food, water, and vet care. The Maryland herd is treated as wildlife and are not rounded up or removed from the island, nor do they receive veterinary care. The National Park Service uses birth control to manage the herd size, injecting a vaccine known as PZP via a dart to control pregnancy and to keep the size of the herd within 80–100 horses.
Though many of the horses on the island measure under 14 hands (4 ft 8 inches) in height, which would normally qualify them as ponies, most of their stock comes from horse breeds. Thus, despite their stunted height, which is attributed to their salty diet, they are considered horses and not ponies.
Though the horses, especially those in the developed area, may appear tame, they have been known to bite and kick park visitors. Visitors should be wary of the horses as they are feral animals and can cause serious harm to visitors who are too close to them. Additionally, rangers may write citations for visitors who are seen petting, feeding, or simply moving within 40 feet of the horses.
Fees and passes.
Fees to enter Assateague Island National Seashore are charged per motor vehicle, and are reciprocal with passes from Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge in Virginia. Additionally, all forms of Federal Recreational Lands passes, including golden age, military, and access passes are accepted as long as the passholder is present in the vehicle. A full fee schedule can be found online.


Laurentino-Acqua Acetosa Nature Reserve

The Laurentino-Acqua Acetosa nature reserve is a protected natural area located in the Province of Rome.
It occupies an area of 273 hectares in the zone of Rome Fonte Ostiense and is classified by the Municipality of Rome as an "intermediate value area".
Territory.
The nature reserve, whose soil consists mainly of tuff, is spread on the slopes of the Latium Volcano and occupies three little valley floors (in Italian "fosso", meaning "ditch"): from north to south Fosso del Ciuccio, Fosso dell'Acqua Acetosa and Fosso del Vallerano. The first two streams reach the Vallerano downstream of the hamlet "il Castellaccio" (after Via Cristoforo Colombo), a few hundred meters before it flows into the Tiber.
The first ditch, heavily urbanized, is the axis around which the Laurentino 38 ring road develops. It is partially equipped for leisure.
In the second ditch the use of the territory is varied, since there are both residential and agricultural areas. Its peculiarity derives from the presence, in the eastern part, of the Acqua Acetosa Ostiense archeological area and, at the south-eastern edge, of the San Paolo mineral water source.
The third ditch shows the characteristics of an agricultural valley and has kept the appearance conferred by the hydraulic reclamation carried out in the 1930s.
Fauna.
In the freshwater streams that cross the Reserve live the river crab ("Potamon fluviatile"), the frog ("Rana"), the toad ("Bufo bufo") and the newt ("Triturus"). Among the reptiles, there is the grass snake ("Natrix natrix"), as well as the green whip snake ("Hierophis viridiflavus"), the lizard ("Lacertilia"), the gecko ("Tarentola mauritanica").
The nocturnal fauna includes foxes ("Vulpes vulpes"), common pipistrelles ("Pipistrellus pipistrellus"), crested porcupines ("Hystrix cristata") and hedgehogs ("Erinaceus europaeus").
Among the raptors, which often nest in the numerous farmhouses of the Reserve, there are the kestrel ("Falco tinnunculus"), the little owl ("Athene noctua") and the peregrine falcon ("Falco peregrinus").
Finally, the Reserve hosts several species of birds, including the grey heron ("Ardea cinerea"), the common moorhen ("Gallinula chloropus"), the hoopoe ("Upupa epops"), the nightingale ("Luscinia megarhynchos") and the common pheasant ("Phasianus colchicus"). The presence of the barn owl ("Tyto alba") has been signaled.
Flora.
In the Reserve grow holm oak ("Quercus ilex") and downy oak ("Quercus pubescens") woods, as well as willows ("Salix"), poplars ("Populus"), eucalyptus ("Eucalyptus"). The area shows a modest forest cover, modified by the intense agricultural use and by the surrounding urbanization, but with good chance of recovery.
Places of interest.
The name "Acqua Acetosa" (or "Acquacetosa" or "Acqua Cetosa") is due to the presence of the ditch of Acqua Acetosa, a tributary stream of the Vallerano, in turn a left tributary of the Tiber, otherwise known as "Acqua Acetosa Ostiense", to distinguish it from another stream with the same name in the quarter Parioli.
Roughly at kilometer 8 of the Via Laurentina there is a source of sulfur mineral water.
The source, known to the ancient Romans, was probably used for therapeutic purposes. This water was sold by street vendors known as "Acquacetosari".
In 1937 a plant for the bottling and sale of the water was installed; the plant, called "Fonte S. Paolo", is currently closed "sine die", due to pollution of the acquifer.
Probably this source was already used in protohistoric times, since a settlement - maybe the ancient "Tellenae" - developed on the plateau overlooking the ditch and the source of Acqua Acetosa. In 1976 the village and the nearby necropolis were protected with the establishment of the archaeological area of Acqua Acetosa, which however is not part of the Nature Reserve.
Issues.
The area included in the Reserve is one of the smallest (152 hectares, then increased up to 273) and the most degraded in the Province of Rome. Biodiversity is reduced to just few floral and faunal species, mainly anthropophilic. The agricultural areas are those that maintain an appearance more similar to that preceding the massive building expansion.
As for the archaeological site, this is closed to the public - although it falls within the redevelopment area of the Reserve - since it is under the exclusive control of the Archaeological Superintendence of Rome. This patch of land of a few hectares is actually a crucial knot to untie for a coherent development of the Reserve, since, in addition to Roman antiquities, it includes the 17th-century "casale" of San Sisto, the old bottling plant of Fonte San Paolo, the Judicial Deposit and an unofficial landfill.


The Bund (TV series)

The Bund is a Hong Kong period drama television series first broadcast on TVB in 1980. It is praised as ""The Godfather" of the East" and spawned two sequels, two remakes, and a film adaptation. The theme song, which shares the same Chinese title as the series and was performed by Frances Yip, also became a memorable Cantopop hit.
Plot.
The series is set in China in the 1920s. Hui Man-keung is a Yenching University graduate who served three years in prison for participating in the May Fourth Movement. He decides to make a fresh start in Shanghai, where he meets and befriends Ting Lik, a fruit vendor. He invites Ting to be his partner after seizing an important position in a small-time gang. He also builds up a good relationship with Fung King-yiu, a wealthy tycoon and gang boss, after saving Fung's daughter, Ching-ching, who had been taken hostage. Fung wants Hui to work for him but Hui refuses. Ching-ching falls in love with Hui.
After Ting kills a rival in a personal dispute over a woman, other gangs attack Hui and Ting and destroy their small-time gang. Hui and Ting then join Fung's bigger gang for protection. Later, Hui discovers that Fung is collaborating with secret agents from the Japanese right-wing Black Dragon Society to destroy the Ching-mou School, a Chinese martial arts school committed to defending China from foreign aggression. He enters a dilemma on whether to side with Ching-mou School or turn against Fung. Hui eventually decides to help the Ching-mou School and he kills a Japanese spy, Yamaguchi Kaoriko, in a gunfight. Furious upon learning of Hui's betrayal, Fung sends his men to hunt down and kill Hui. On account of their friendship, Ting secretly helps Hui escape from Shanghai.
Hui fakes his death to evade Fung's men and settles in Hong Kong, where he marries So Wong-tai, starts a new life with her family, and opens a small restaurant. Meanwhile, in Shanghai, Ching-ching is unable to accept the news of Hui's death so she visits Hong Kong when she hears rumours that Hui is still alive there. She meets Hui there but refuses to believe him when he tells her he is already married. Hui then brings her home to show her his family. Unknown to them, Fung's men had secretly followed them and they kill Hui's family while he was out. After learning that Fung's men had murdered his family, Hui swears vengeance on Fung and returns to Shanghai to take his revenge.
Hui becomes an adviser to Nip Yan-wong, Fung's main rival. Through many successful manoeuvres, Hui assists Nip in crippling Fung financially and politically. He also tells Ching-ching that they can never be together. During Hui's absence, Ting begins to court Ching-ching. After Ting is seriously injured on one occasion, Ching-ching agrees to marry him. Hui suffers an emotional breakdown due to the loss of his family, and after seeing that his ex-lover is about to marry his best friend. His depression ignites the anger in him and increases his thirst for revenge. Hui wants to kill Fung and asks Ting to help him. Ting sets them up for a game of Russian roulette in which Hui emerges victorious.
Ching-ching is unable to forgive Hui for killing her father and she leaves China for France. Hui and Ting cooperate and manage to form the most powerful gang in the Shanghai underworld. However, Hui is not interested in gang affairs as he is eager to find Ching-ching and patch up with her. On the night before he is due to leave for France, Hui is gunned down outside a restaurant by unknown assailants.
Theme song.
The theme song "Seung Hoi Tan" () is a well-known Cantopop song. The song was originally performed in Cantonese by Frances Yip. It was one of the early collaborations composed by Joseph Koo with the lyrics by Wong Jim. The song would also become one of the top 10 songs awarded in the 1980 RTHK Gold songs awards.
The 1996 film "Shanghai Grand" released some 16 years later also re-used the same song. This version was performed by Andy Lau.
DVD release.
In 2015, TVBI distributed The Bund on 5 DVDs in its original state. Each of the 25 episodes are 45 minutes long. Audio is available in Cantonese or Mandarin with Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese subtitles. No English subtitles. However, it is only available in Hong Kong and Macao. On 6 February 2009, TVB released the original series and its two sequels on DVD format. The original series, substantially edited, was previously released on VCD in 2000.
Cultural references.
Two scenes have subsequently been replicated and parodied in many films and television series in Hong Kong. The wedding of Ting Lik and Fung Ching-ching was one. The death of Hui Man-keung was another. In particular, Chow Yun-fat was propelled into the limelight and became a household name in Hong Kong. The scene where Hui is assassinated outside a restaurant is culturally considered one of the all-time greatest scenes in Hong Kong television.
Sequels, remakes and adaptations.
The series was a phenomenal success throughout Asia and the episodes were subsequently re-edited into two features in 1983. Chow Yun-fat's popularity also increased due to his performance in the series.
Chow Yun-fat's character had died at the end of "The Bund" so he did not return for the sequel, "The Bund II", except for a brief flashback cameo appearance. Ray Lui continued portraying his character in "The Bund II" and "The Bund III".
In 1996, "The Bund" was remade into the Hong Kong television series "Once Upon a Time in Shanghai", starring Sunny Chan, Gordon Lam and Nadia Chan as the original characters, and Adam Cheng and Carol Cheng as new characters.
The plot of the 1996 Hong Kong film "Shanghai Grand", directed by Poon Man-kit and produced by Tsui Hark, is similar to that of "The Bund". Leslie Cheung and Andy Lau starred as Hui Man-keung and Ting Lik respectively.
"The Bund" was remade again in 2007 into a mainland Chinese television series, "Shanghai Bund", directed by Gao Xixi. Huang Xiaoming, Susan Sun, Li Xuejian and Huang Haibo starred as the original characters.
In 2016, "The Bund" was adapted into a mainland Chinese film under the title "The Game Changer", directed by Gao Xixi (who also directed the 2007 remake), and starring Huang Zitao and Peter Ho.


Chuckanut Drive Scenic Byway


Ashdown Gorge Wilderness

The Ashdown Gorge Wilderness is located in eastern Iron County, Utah, United States, within the arid Colorado Plateau region.
Description.
The wilderness is within the Dixie National Forest adjacent to Cedar Breaks National Monument and characterized by extremely steep-walled canyons cut through the west rim of the Markagunt Plateau. Elevations in the wilderness range from to . Rattlesnake Creek and Ashdown Creek flow through the wilderness. The wilderness area was designated by the U.S. Congress in 1984 and is administered is by the United States Forest Service.
Like the more famous Cedar Breaks National Monument, Ashdown Gorge is known for its multicolored rock formations and plateau-top stands of 1,000-year-old bristlecone pines. The Gorge is named after the family of George Ashdown who set up a sawmill there in 1898. Today there are of private land inholdings mostly surrounded by the wilderness.
In 2006, Iron County officials were considering a proposal to expand Cedar Breaks National Monument to include the Ashdown Gorge Wilderness, the private inholdings and nearby Flanigan Arch. With congressional approval the area would be renamed Cedar Breaks National Park.


Kuyuluk Nature Park

Kuyuluk Nature Park is a nature park in Turkey.
The park is in the Mezitli second level municipality of Mersin at . It is situated on the road to Fındıkpınarı in the southern slopes of the Toros Mountains. Its distance to Mersin is only . It was declared a picnic area in 1984 and a nature park in 2011.
The area of the nature park is . It is surrounded by Turkish pine ("Pinus brutia") and Mediterranean type scrub.


Cheremske Nature Reserve

Cheremske Nature Reserve () is a protected nature reserve of Ukraine that covers forest and wetlands of the Western Polesia region, in the northwest of the country. The area is one of high biodiversity because of the varied habitat in transitional ecological zones. The reserve is in the administrative district of Manevychi in Volyn Oblast
Topography.
The terrain is flat and boggy, with fluvial deposits of the Ice Age. In places the peat is 10 meters thick.
Climate and ecoregion.
The climate of Cheremske is "Humid continental climate, warm summer" (Köppen climate classification (Dfb)). This climate is characterized by large seasonal temperature differentials and a warm summer (at least four months averaging over , but no month averaging over .
The reserve is located in the "Central European mixed forests" ecoregion, a temperate hardwood forest covering much of northeastern Europe, from Germany to Russia.
Flora and fauna.
The reserve is approximately 65% forested and 35% wetlands. The Cherem transitional sedge-sphagnum bogs is one of the largest and best preserved in Ukraine.
Public use.
As a strict nature reserve, Chermeske's primary purpose is protection of nature and scientific study. Public access is limited: mass recreation and construction of facilities is prohibited as are hunting and fishing. There are several "ecological" educational trails for supervised public use.


Allegheny Islands Wilderness

The Allegheny River Islands Wilderness is located in the Allegheny National Forest. It comprises seven islands in the Allegheny River, totaling . All are alluvial origin. The islands are located between Buckaloons Recreation Area and Tionesta, Pennsylvania.
The Allegheny River Islands Wilderness was created by Congress in 1984 as part of the National Wilderness Preservation System. It is one of the smallest wilderness areas of the United States.
Flora.
These islands are characterized by river bottom forest types such as willows, American sycamore, shagbark hickory, green ash, and silver maple. Crull's and Thompson's Island contain of mature and old-growth forests.
Fauna.
Bald eagles have returned to the area, and otters have been re-introduced. The area is home to ospreys, soft-shelled turtles, great blue herons, kingfishers, common mergansers, mallards, and beavers.
The Allegheny River is home to a variety of freshwater mussels.
The islands are home to the federally endangered clubshell mussel ("Pleurobema clava") and the Northern riffleshell ("Epioblasma torulosa rangiana").
They are also home to rare fishes, including the bluebreast darter ("Etheostoma camurum"), and the spotted darter ("Etheostoma maculatum").
In popular culture.
The area was featured in "Brian Finch's Black Op," the November 3, 2015 episode of "Limitless."


Castle Rock (Michigan)

Castle Rock is a geological limestone stack and tourist attraction located 3 miles (5 km) north of St. Ignace, Michigan on Interstate 75 in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.
Description.
Castle Rock, which rises 195.8 feet (59 m) over the waters of nearby Lake Huron, was created by erosion of surrounding land. After the Wisconsinan Glaciation, post-glacial Lake Algonquin formed. The Ice Age melt off caused the waters of Lake Algonquin to be much higher than the water level of Lake Huron is today. Over time, the declining water eroded much of the land. Castle Rock, which resisted this erosion, is made of limestone "breccia"; it is a sea stack or sea chimney, geologically similar to several features on nearby Mackinac Island, such as Arch Rock or Sugar Loaf.
Local residents have told many stories about Castle Rock and its mythical and actual history. It has been advertised as "Ojibway's Lookout", but the nearby hill of Rabbit's Back was more than likely the true lookout. Heroic statues of Paul Bunyan and his sidekick, Babe the Blue Ox, greet visitors to the rock, and there is a gift shop.
C. C. Eby purchased the stack and an adjacent tourist stand in 1928, and opened Castle Rock to the public. It continues to be owned and operated by the Eby family as a seasonal tourist attraction. It is open for business from mid- May through mid-October. Visitors are encouraged to climb an outdoor staircase to the top of the rock. A small admission fee is charged.


U.S. Route 98 (Florida panhandle coast)


Capitan Mountains Wilderness

Capitan Mountains Wilderness is a Wilderness area located within the Lincoln National Forest in New Mexico. The area was added to the National Wilderness Preservation System on December 19, 1980 by Public Law 96-550. Located in the Capitan Mountains, this area is recognized as the birthplace of Smokey Bear. There are a number of trails through the wilderness, but access to trailheads is difficult as most are only reachable by four-wheel-drive roads.


First Canadian Place

First Canadian Place (originally First Bank Building) is a skyscraper in the Financial District of Toronto, Ontario, at the northwest corner of King and Bay streets, and serves as the global operational headquarters of the Bank of Montreal. At , it is Canada's tallest skyscraper and the 15th tallest building in North America to structural top (spires) and 9th highest to the roof top, and the 105th tallest in the world. It is the third tallest free-standing structure in Canada, after the CN Tower (also in Toronto) and the Inco Superstack chimney in Sudbury, Ontario. The building is owned by Manulife Financial Corporation (50%) in addition to a private consortium of investors including CPP Investments. The building is managed by Brookfield Office Properties.
History and architecture.
First Canadian Place is named for Canada's first bank, the Bank of Montreal. Designed by B+H Architects with Edward Durell Stone as design consultant, First Canadian Place was constructed in 1975 and originally named "First Bank Building". The tower and associated buildings occupy a block once home to two major newspapers, the "Toronto Star’s" Toronto Star Building and "The Globe and Mail"s William H. Wright Building. The site was the last of corners of King and Bay to be redeveloped in the 1960s and 1970s, and a major bidding war began over the property. The then little known firm of Olympia and York eventually obtained nearly the whole city block, though the election of reformist mayor David Crombie led to new rules banning skyscrapers and it took three years of lobbying before permission for First Canadian Place was granted. When completed, the building was nearly identical in appearance to Stone's Aon Center in Chicago, Illinois; completed two years previous as the Standard Oil Building, the Chicago tower is of the same floor plan and clad in the same marble, the only overtly visible difference being the vertical orientation of the windows, as opposed to the horizontal run of those on First Canadian Place.
First Canadian Place was the 6th tallest building in the world to structural top (currently 103rd) and the tallest building overall outside of Chicago and New York when built in 1975. It was also the tallest building in the Commonwealth of Nations until the completion of the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 1998. The Bank of Montreal "M-bar" logo at the top of the building was the highest sign in the world from 1975 until overtaken by the sign atop CITIC Plaza in 1997. The roof is still the location of a number of antennas used for radio and television broadcasting. The structure contains 29 elevators, and is one of only a few buildings in the world that uses the double-decked variety, and is connected to the underground PATH system.
The building was pictured on the front and rear cover of the 1981 album "This Is the Ice Age" by Canadian New Wave band Martha and the Muffins and also their 7" single "Women Around the World at Work". The album featured two photos which were taken from the same place but at different times by Muffins guitarist Mark Gane using a time lapse camera and features the building at midday and dusk. The 7" cover again features the same photo but has 9 small images taken at various times of the day and night.
Cladding.
The same white Carrara marble used on Aon Center was employed as an exterior cladding and interior finish for First Canadian Place, with approximately 45,000 marble panels weighing around each. Foreshadowing what would take place with First Canadian Place in 2007, one of the marble slabs of Aon Center, when it was named the Standard Oil Building, detached in 1974, falling and penetrating the roof of a neighbouring building, resulting in an eventual recladding of the entire Aon Center in white granite between 1992 and 1994. This problem would surface at First Canadian Place as well, during an intense storm on the evening of 15 May 2007, a , white marble panel fell from the 60th storey of the tower's southern face onto the 3rd floor mezzanine roof below, causing authorities to close surrounding streets as a precaution.
In late 2009, owner Brookfield Properties announced it would follow the example of Aon Center and, over three years, replace the tower's 45,000 marble panels with new ones in glass, those on the main expanses with a white ceramic frit and the corners in a bronze tint. Brookfield and the co-owners also launched a multi-faceted rejuvenation program, including "upgrades to the building's mechanical, electrical, and lighting systems that will redefine the standard for enhanced performance, comfort, and greening". FCP's common areas including upper and lower level entrance and elevator lobbies, the retail concourse and Market Place were to also undergo renovation, with new natural stone flooring, fritted glass accents, brushed metal handrails, landscaping, and water features. The rejuvenation program design architects were Moed de Armas & Shannon Architects and Bregman + Hamann Architects were the architects of record. The entire project, completed in 2012, cost was in excess of CA$100 million, paid by the owner. This extensive capital improvement project was intended to provide a new exterior for FCP and eliminate the maintenance costs associated with marble upkeep.
Tenants.
Broadcasting.
The following Toronto-area broadcasters have their transmitters atop First Canadian Place:
FM stations.
+ synchronous transmitter; provides supplementary coverage to primary transmitter in Ajax<br>
Amateur Radio.
The Amateur Radio Digital mobile radio repeater for the Greater Toronto area (VA3XPR) has its antennas mounted just above the broadcast antennas on the radio mast.
Shopping Mall.
According to the First Canadian Place website, the lower floors of the building feature:


Cinder Cone Wilderness

Cinder Cone Wilderness is a 16,935-acre (6,853 ha) wilderness area in the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Established in 2019, this Wilderness located in the West Potrillo Mountains, contains a high concentration of cinder cones among a landscape typical of a Chihuahuan Desert ecosystem.


Kara Kara National Park

The Kara Kara National Park is a national park located in the Wimmera/Goldfields region of Victoria, Australia. The national park is situated approximately north-west of Melbourne, west of the Sunraysia Highway, and to the south of the town of St Arnaud.
Features.
Kara Kara National Park protects one of the most intact remnants of Victoria's box-ironbark forests. Parts of the national park are relatively unmodified in comparison to other areas of forest in the central goldfields and are a fine example of the type of vegetation that once covered almost 13% of Victoria. The national park is of importance to the Dja Dja Wurrung people.
Most of the national park lies within the Northern Grampians Shire and the southern part of the national park is within the Pyrenees Shire. The national park was proclaimed on as the St Arnaud Range National Park which included the former Kara Kara State Park and most of the St Arnaud Range State Forest. Following release of a draft park management plan in April 2009 and subsequent consultations in accordance with the and Guidelines for Geographic Names (2010), the national park was renamed as the Kara Kara National Park.
The national park lies within the St Arnaud Box-Ironbark Region Important Bird Area, identified as such by BirdLife International because of its importance for swift parrots and other woodland birds.
The national park has numerous tracks of varying grades and quality for mountain biking and hiking with easy access off Sunraysia Highway between Redbank and St Arnaud.


Kayavarohan

Kayavarohan or Karvan is a village in the Vadodara district of the state of Gujarat, India. Kayavarohan is popularly known as Karvan and is situated on the National Highway 8 at a distance of 30 km from Vadodara. Kayavarohan is considered as the birthplace of Lakulisha, the 2nd Century C.E. Shaivite revivalist, reformer and propounder of the pashupata doctrine. It is an important religious place on account of its Lakulisha temple.
History.
Kayavarohan (Karvan) is an ancient town believed to have existed through each of the Four Ages. As per Shaivite mythology, Lord Shiva in the Lakulish manifestation appeared at this place. According to mythology and puranas, from here Lord Shiva transmigrated into the form of a Brahmin child. Thus the place came to be known as Kayavarohan [Kaya (Body) + Avarohan (Descent) = Where the body of the Lord has descended]. It is an ancient town believed to have existed through each of the Four Ages according to the Hindus. According to a popularly held belief, it was from here that Lord Shiva in the guise of a child transmigrated after death and his body disappeared. Thus the place came to be known as Kayavarohan.
A number of copper coins and a stone quern have been found from here. A beautiful head of Tapas, the image of Kartikeya and an idol of Uma Maheshwara are some of the archaeological specimen discovered from here that are preserved locally in a museum.
Religious Significance.
Kayavarohan is one of the sixty-eight ‘teerthas' (Pilgrimage) of Lord Shiva as mentioned in the Shiva Purana. However, Kayavarohan is not among the 12 Jyotirlingas as mentioned in the Shiva Purana.
It is of great significance to the Pasupatas (Followers of the Pashupati), those in the spiritual following of Lakulish, for it is considered to be the place of Shiva's appearance on earth in that incarnation. Lakulish is considered to be the 28th birth of Shiva. Shiva had come to the earth in the form of Lakulisha through Kayavarohan, literally meaning ‘"Descent of the form"’.
Kayavarohan harbours the Brahmeshwar Jyotirshivlang temple, claimed to have been founded by Maharshi Vishwamitra. It has been held that the incarnation of Shiva in Lakulish has merged with the linga in Shambavi Mudra.
The Kayavarohan lingam represents the "formless" but a unique, exceptional iconic form of Shiva bearing the image of a meditating yogi, who holds parchments in one hand and citron (Matulinga) in the other.
It is believed the main place of pilgrimage was Ichhapuri in Satya Yuga, Mayapuri in Treta Yuga, Meghavati in Dvapara Yuga, and Kayavarohan in the present Kali Yuga. This temple has a Lingam of Lord Shiva, made up of black stone. It is believed that Maharshi Vishwamitra had installed this Linga of Lord Shiva during the Ramayana period.
In the Vedic times, Kayavarohan/Karvan was a popular centre of learning and education and used to house numerous Vedic Universities, Yajna Shalas and the temples of many Hindu Gods.
The myth has it that during the barbarian invasion of Mahmood of Ghazni, the luminous jyotirlinga with Lakulish merged the light of all of the other 12 jyotirlingas into its form and disappeared.
Presently, there is an underground meditation cave at the Kayavarohana temple used for seclusion and meditation.
There is a Swaminarayan Hindu temple built by Haricharandas Swami in Vikram Samvat 1971 which falls under the Vadtal Gadi. It is located by Kayavarohan Tower near Gam panchayat.
Maha Shivratri is most famous festival in Kayavarohan. During the sacred day, hundreds of men wear Lord Mahadev's attire and appear at the temples.
Archaeological Significance.
The village and its surrounding areas are of great archaeological significance. Ancient sculptures and relics belonging to the 2nd century have been excavated from this place.
Later during the Dark Ages of Hinduism (Muslim invasions and subsequent reign from 11th century CE. to 17th century CE), starting with the attacks of barbarian Muslim marauder Mahmud Ghazni, who looted and destroyed the temple of Somnath in Gujarat, all the Shiva temples at Karvan were desecrated and razed by the iconoclast Muslim invaders. However, the Shiva Lingas of the destroyed temples still survive and remain at the site, without temples around them.
The temple of Lakulish and temples of Karvan were rebuilt and restored during the late twentieth century by the Hindu spiritual leader Kripalvanand.
Numerous Hindu icons, number of copper coins and a stone quern have been found from Kayavarohan. A grand head of Tapasvi, the image of Kartikeya and an idol of Uma Maheshwara are some of the rare and unmatched archaeological specimen discovered from Kayavarohan. Kayavarohan is a place of great archaeological importance and the A.S.I. Archaeological Survey of India has listed Karvan as a heritage site and has set up a special museum for the remains found around this site. Karvan is one of the major sites of Indian Heritage.


Quillotro Mixed Wildlife Refuge

Quillotro Mixed Wildlife Refuge (), is a protected area in Costa Rica, managed under the Osa Conservation Area, it was created in 1999 by decree 27923-MINAE.


Glooscap Trail

The Glooscap Trail is a scenic roadway in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia.
It is located in the central and northern part of the province around the Minas Basin and Cobequid Bay, sub-basins of the Bay of Fundy. The route connects Amherst in Cumberland County, near the interprovincial boundary with New Brunswick, with Scot's Bay in Kings County, Nova Scotia. A spur of Glooscap Trail follows Trunk 2 in Truro, through the Shubenacadie Valley, to Enfield at the boundary with Halifax Regional Municipality.
The main route measures , with the Shubenacadie Valley spur being .
Name.
According to a Mikmaq legend, Glooscap was a giant god-like man who was created by Gisoolg (the Great Spirit Creator) and lived on the high cliffs of Cape Blomidon, overlooking the Bay of Fundy. He was created by a lightning bolt striking sand.
The legend credits Glooscap with creating the Five Islands in the Minas Basin. These islands were formed from giant clods of mud thrown by Glooscap at a disrespectful beaver (the beaver's dam had flooded Glooscap's garden). Glooscap smashed the beaver's dam and allowed the water to flow freely, creating the Bay of Fundy tides.


Honghe National Nature Reserve

The Honghe National Nature Reserve (HNNR), is a Ramsar Convention-designated site in Heilongjiang Province in northeastern China. It was first established in 1984 as a provincial wetland reserve, and was upgraded to be a national nature reserve in 1996. 173 birds are known from the Reserve including protected species such as black stork, black-billed capercaillie, greater spotted eagle, the Kamchatkan or Steller's sea eagle, mandarin duck, Oriental white stork, red-crowned crane, white-naped crane, white-tailed sea eagle, and whooper swan.
Ecological status.
Zhou, et al. (2009) conducted a statistical analysis using historical survey data to study marsh degradation and changes in the hydrological regime from both natural and human impacts and concluded strategies are urgently needed to maintain sustainable economic benefits while preserving this nature reserve.


Junipero Serra Freeway


Winchester Mystery House

The Winchester Mystery House is a mansion in San Jose, California, that was once the personal residence of Sarah Winchester, the widow of firearms magnate William Wirt Winchester. Located at 525 South Winchester Blvd. in San Jose, the Queen Anne Style Victorian mansion is renowned for its size, its architectural curiosities, and its lack of any master building plan. It is a designated California historical landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is privately owned and serves as a tourist attraction.
Since its construction in 1886, the property and mansion were claimed by many to be haunted by the ghosts of those killed with Winchester rifles. Under Winchester's day-to-day guidance, its "from-the-ground-up" construction proceeded around the clock, by some accounts, without interruption, until her death on September 5, 1922, at which time work immediately ceased. Sarah Winchester's biographer, however, says that Winchester "routinely dismissed workers for months at a time 'to take such rest as I might'" and notes that "this flies in the face of claims by today's Mystery House proprietors that work at the ranch was ceaseless for thirty-eight years."
History.
After her husband's death from tuberculosis in 1881, Sarah Winchester inherited more than US$20.5 million (equivalent to $ million in ). She also received nearly fifty percent ownership of the Winchester Repeating Arms Company, giving her an income of roughly $1,000 per day, equivalent to $ a day in . These inheritances gave her a tremendous amount of wealth which she used to fund the ongoing construction.
After her infant daughter died of an illness known as marasmus, a children's disease in which the body wastes away, and her husband died of pulmonary tuberculosis, a Boston medium told her (while supposedly channeling her late husband) that she should leave her home in New Haven and travel West, where she must continuously build a home for herself and the spirits of people who had fallen victim to Winchester rifles.
Winchester left New Haven and headed for California. Although it is possible she was simply seeking a change of location and a hobby during her lengthy depression, other sources say that Winchester came to believe her family and fortune were haunted by ghosts and that only by moving West and continuously building a house to hide from the spirits that fell to the firearms of her late husband.
In 1884, she purchased an unfinished farmhouse in the Santa Clara Valley and began building her mansion. Carpenters were hired and worked on the house day and night until it became a seven-story mansion. She did not use an architect and added on to the building in a haphazard fashion, so the home contains numerous oddities such as doors and stairs that go nowhere, windows overlooking other rooms and stairs with odd-sized risers. Many accounts attribute these oddities to her belief in ghosts. Environmental psychologists have theorized that the odd layout itself contributes to the feeling of the house being haunted today.
Before the 1906 earthquake, the house had been seven stories high and carpenters may have been brought in initially to repair damages caused by the quake. Today it is only four stories. The house is predominantly made of redwood, as Mrs. Winchester preferred the wood; however, she disliked the look of it. She, therefore, demanded that a faux grain and stain be applied. This is why almost all the wood in the home is covered. Approximately of paint were required to paint the house. The home itself is built using a floating foundation that is believed to have saved it from total collapse in the 1906 earthquake and the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. This type of construction allows the home to shift freely, as it is not completely attached to its brick base. There are roughly 161 rooms, including 40 bedrooms, 2 ballrooms (one completed and one unfinished) as well as 47 fireplaces, over 10,000 panes of glass, 17 chimneys (with evidence of two others), two basement levels and three elevators. Winchester's property was about at one time, but the estate has since been reduced to  – the minimum necessary to contain the house and nearby outbuildings. It has gold and silver chandeliers, hand-inlaid parquet floors and trim, and a vast array of colors and materials. Due to Mrs. Winchester's debilitating arthritis, special "easy riser" stairways were installed as a replacement for her original steep construction. This allowed her to move about her home freely as she was only able to raise each foot a few inches. There was only one working toilet for Winchester; it has been said that "all other restrooms were decoys to confuse spirits" and that this is also "the reason why she slept in a different room each night".
The home's conveniences were rare at the time of its construction. These included steam and forced-air heating, modern indoor toilets and plumbing, push-button gas lights, and Mrs. Winchester's personal (and only) hot shower from indoor plumbing. There are also three elevators, including an Otis electric and one of which was powered by a rare horizontal hydraulic elevator piston. Most elevator pistons are vertical to save space, but Winchester preferred the improved functionality of the horizontal configuration.
Mrs. Winchester never skimped on the many adornments that she believed contributed to its architectural beauty. Many of the stained glass windows were created by the Pacific American Decorative Company. Some were designed specifically for her, and others by her, including a "spider web" window that featured her favorite web design and the repetition of the number thirteen, another of her preoccupations. This window was never installed but exists in the so-called "$25,000 storage room" – so named because its contents were originally appraised at a value of $25,000. The value today is inestimable, but $25,000 would be . A second window was designed by Tiffany himself so that when sunlight strikes the prismatic crystals a rainbow is cast across the room. The window was installed in an interior wall in a room with no light exposure, preventing the effect from being seen.
When Winchester died, all of her possessions (apart from the house) were bequeathed to her niece and personal secretary. Her niece then took everything she wanted and sold the rest in a private auction. It supposedly took six trucks working eight hours a day for six weeks to remove all of the furniture from the home, an account disputed by Winchester's biographer. Mrs. Winchester made no mention of the mansion in her will, and appraisers considered the house worthless due to damage caused by the earthquake, the unfinished design, and the impractical nature of its construction. It was sold at auction to a local investor for over $135,000, and subsequently leased for 10 years to John and Mayme Brown, who eventually purchased the house. In February 1923, five months after Winchester's death, the house was opened to the public, with Mayme Brown serving as the first tour guide.
Today the home is owned by Winchester Investments LLC, a privately held company representing the descendants of John and Mayme Brown. The home retains unique touches that reflect Mrs. Winchester's beliefs and her reported preoccupation with warding off malevolent spirits. These spirits are said to have directly inspired her as to the way the house should be built. The number thirteen and spider web motifs, which carried spiritual significance for her, occur throughout the house. Tour guides at the house often make claims of Sarah Winchester having patented various architectural features of the house, but a simple search of the US Patent and Trademark Database produces zero patents assigned to her.
In 2016, it was announced that another room with period furniture was built in the courtyard: an attic space that contains a pump organ, Victorian couch, dress form, sewing machine, and paintings. This room was made available for viewing by the public and features a shooting range game.
In 2017, the Winchester Mystery House debuted their first new daytime tour in 20 years, the "Explore More Tour". This tour takes guests through rooms never before opened to the public and explores the rooms left unfinished at the time of Sarah Winchester's death.
References.
Citations
Bibliography


Attukal Temple

The Attukal Bhagavathy Temple is a Hindu religious shrine at Attukal in Kerala, India. Goddess Bhadrakali (Kannaki), mounted over 'vethala', is the main deity in this temple. Bhadrakali, a form of Mahakali, who killed the demon king Daruka, believed to be born from the third eye of lord Shiva. 'Bhadra' means good and 'Kali' means goddess of time. So Bhadrakali is considered as the goddess of prosperity and salvation. Goddess 'Attukal devi', itself is the supreme mother 'Bhaadrkali devi', (in soumya aspect) the goddess of power and courage. She is often referred as Kannaki, the heroine of Ilanko Adikal's 'Silapathikaaram'. The temple is renowned for the annual "Attukal Pongal" festival, in which over three million women participate. A festival that has figured in the Guinness Book of World Records for being the single largest gathering of women for a religious activity, the Attukal Pongala continues to draw millions of women with each passing year. According to the Attukal Temple Trust, around 4.5 million devotees are expected to attend the pongala in 2016. Attukal Temple is situated near the heart of the city, 2 kilometres away from Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple, East Fort in Thiruvananthapuram. Devotees believe that all of their wishes will be fulfilled by the goddess, provide prosperity and can attain salvation. Attukal devi is often worshipped in 3 forms such as Maha Saraswati (goddess of knowledge, arts, and language), Maha Lakshmi (goddess of wealth, auspiciousness, and power) and Mahakali/ Parvathy (goddess of marriage, time, death).
History.
The Goddess Kannaki (Bhadrakali) is the main deity in this temple. The mythology behind the temple, relates to the story of Kannagi who was married to Kovalan, son of a wealthy merchant. After marriage, Kovalan met a dancer Madhavi and spent all his riches on her forgetting his wife. But when he was penniless, he went back to Kannagi. The only precious thing left to be sold was Kannagi's pair of anklets. They went with it to the king of Madurai to sell it. But an anklet was stolen from the Queen which looked similar to Kannagi's. When Kovalan tried to sell it, he was mistaken for the theft and beheaded by the king's soldiers.
Kannagi got infuriated when she heard the news and rushed to the King with the second pair of anklet. She broke one of the anklets and it contained rubies while the Queen's contained pearls. She cursed the city of Madurai, and it is said that due to her chastity, the curse came true and Madurai burned. Kannagi is said to have attained salvation after the Goddess of the city appeared before her.
It is said that on her way to Kodungallur, Kannagi passed Attukal. She took the form of a little girl. An old man was sitting on the banks of a stream, when the girl went to him and asked him whether he could help her cross it. Surprised to find the young girl alone, he took her home. But she disappeared. She came back in his sleep and asked him to build a temple where he found 3 golden lines in his grove. He went ahead and did the same, and it is said that this is at the location of the present Attukal temple. Goddess Attukalamma (Bhadrakali/Kannaki) is believed to be present at Attukal during the festival days. Ponkala is offered to celebrate the victory of Kannaki over the king Pandya. Another story says that 'Attukal devi' is Bhadrakali, born from the third eye of lord Shiva to kill the demon king Daruka. Mother Bhadrakali is a form of Shakthi devi (Mahakali) worshipped mainly in Kerala. 'Bhadra' means good and 'Kali' means goddess of time. So Bhadrakali is often referred as the goddess of prosperity, time and salvation.
Pongala festival.
"Attukal Pongala" is the main festival of this temple. Attukal Pongala Mahotsavam is a 10 days festival which falls on February – March every year (Malayalam month of Kumbham). The festival begins on the Karthika star with the traditional Kappukettu and Kudiyiruthu ceremony, the idol of Devi, is embellished with Kappu (Bangles).
The 9th day of the festival, 'Pooram day' is the major attraction, The Attukal Pongala day and the festival will conclude with the Kuruthitharpanam at 10th day makam star night.
Millions of women gather every year in the month of Kumbham around this temple and prepare "Pongala" (rice cooked with jaggery, ghee, coconut as well as other ingredients) in the open in small pots to please the Goddess Kannaki. Pongala (literally means to boil over) is a ritualistic offering of a sweet dish, consisting of rice porridge, sweet brown molasses, coconut gratings, nuts and raisins. It is done as an offering to the presiding deity of the temple – the Goddess – popularly known as Attukal Amma. Goddess Attukal devi is believed to fulfill their wishes and provide prosperity.
The Attukal Pongala is scheduled to be held on 9 March 2020.
Other festivals.
The other festivals in this temple are:
References.
https://web.archive.org/web/20170317235359/http://roughroads.com/attukal-pongala-of-trivandrum-national-festival-of-women/ Attukal Pongala of Trivandrum- National festival of Women
http://www.stancemagazine.in/a-goddesss-biography/
https://web.archive.org/web/20161010184502/http://www.yentha.com/news/view/features/no-stones-left-unturned-journey-with-attukal-amma
http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/thiruvananthapuram/2016/aug/02/Delving-into-the-mystery-of-Attukal-Bhagavathy-1500875.html
https://www.scribd.com/document/326477317/Attukal-Amma-and-Kannaki-of-Chilappathikaram-Are-Two-Different-Entities
http://www.deccanchronicle.com/lifestyle/books-and-art/070816/attukal-amma-when-devotees-fight-over-deity.html


DoubleDragon Properties

DoubleDragon Properties Corporation (formerly, Injap Land Corporation) is a Philippine real estate development company based in Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines. It was founded in 2009 as a subsidiary of Injap Investments, Inc. In 2012, the company became a joint venture between Injap Investments, Inc. and Honeystar Holdings Corporation.
It is the parent company of CityMall, which plans to build 100 shopping malls by 2020.
The company went public in 2014. As of May 2017, it has a market cap of PHP 112.6 billion.


Haql

Ḥaql () or Ḥaqal () is a city in the northwest of Saudi Arabia near the head of the Gulf of Aqaba, adjacent to Aqaba across the Jordanian border. The coasts of Egypt, Israel and Jordan can be seen from Haql.
Haql is a small city and it is not a port used for Red Sea shipping, and the relatively small Saudi population does not engage in water desalination. As a result, the reefs in this area are pristine and populated with diverse flora and fauna. The coasts of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aqaba in this region are scenic. There are views of the mountains of the Sinai Peninsula across the Gulf of Aqaba. Shipping is limited to traffic to and from the Port of Aqaba, Jordan. It lies from the Jordanian border. It has become one of the most attractive cities to visit for diving sports and accommodation. The two most attractive factors are its climate and geographical location. The Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA) has added more than 4 attractive spots on Haql.
Climate.
Haql has a desert climate and most rainfall is in the winter. The Köppen-Geiger climate classification is BWh. The average annual temperature in Haql is . About of precipitation falls annually.


Silkosiya Reserve

Silkosia () is a nature reserve in Strandzha Nature Park, located in the homonymous mountain, southeastern Bulgaria. Its territory close to the villages Kosti and Balgari. Silkosia is the oldest reserve in the country, declared on 23 July 1931 in order to protect the evergreen bushes unique for Europe. It encompasses part of the Veleka river catchment area with a territory of 389.6 ha or 3.896 km2. The terrain is various, in the lower parts there are predominantly swamp areas with typical Central European flora. The reserve encompasses territory between 100 and 250 m altitude and is thus among the lowest-lying nature reserves in the country.
Flora.
The variety of plant species is high and includes 260 vascular plant species on a territory of less than 4 km2. Of them, 3 are endemic and 16 are relict species. There are specimen from different geographical latitudes which makes it interesting for the scientists. Plant inversion can be observed in the reserve. Usually, the beech trees are located in the higher and cooler areas, while the oak trees occupy the lower parts. In Silkosia it is the other way round: the oak forests are located higher in the mountain. Forests cover 97.9% of the total area of the reserve. The average age of the trees is 120–130 years, at places – over 200 years.
In the wet valley rare species such as the strandzhan periwinkle, laurel, caucausian blueberry, common yew can be observed. It is also the only place in Europe, where the wild medlar tree can be found. The most common flowers are the caucausian cowslip and the spring cyclamen which blossom in February and March.
Fauna.
The Silkosia reserve has rich wildlife. The most common amphibian species include the European green toad, European tree frog and the agile frog.
Typical reptilians in the reserve are the spur-thighed tortoise, Hermann's tortoise, slowworm and scheltopusik. There are also many species of snakes - Caspian whipsnake, Aesculapian snake, Blotched snake, and Montpellier snake among the others.
There are various bird species. The golden oriole, nightingale, Sardinian warbler, whitethroat, common blackbird, Eurasian jay, common chaffinch nest in the reserve, as well as different species of falcons, woodpeckers and many others.
Mammals include the wild cat, beech marten, European pine marten, gray wolf, wild boar and others.


Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary

Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary is a marine wildlife sanctuary located in Odisha and is a very popular tourist attraction of Odisha in India. It is the world's largest nesting beach for Olive Ridley Turtles. It extends from Dhamra River mouth in the north to Brahmani river mouth in the south.
It is very famous for its nesting beach for olive ridley sea turtles. It is the one of world's most important nesting beach for turtles.


Cebolla Wilderness

Cebolla Wilderness is a Wilderness area located within the El Malpais National Conservation Area in New Mexico. The area was added to the National Wilderness Preservation System on December 31, 1987 by Public Law 100-225. The area is a bordered by the Acoma Pueblo to the east and the El Malpais National Monument and New Mexico Highway 117 to the west. Elevations range from to . The sandstone canyons and mesas of this rimrock area include features such as La Ventana natural arch.


Species management area