Waibaidu Bridge

The Waibaidu Bridge (), called the Garden Bridge in English, is the first all-steel bridge, and the only surviving example of a camelback truss bridge, in China. The present bridge is the fourth Western-designed bridge built at its location since 1856, in the downstream of the estuary of the Suzhou Creek, near its confluence with the Huangpu River, adjacent to the Bund in central Shanghai. It connects the Huangpu and Hongkou districts and was opened on 20 January 1908. With its rich history and unique design the Waibaidu Bridge is one of the symbols of Shanghai. Its modern and industrial image may be regarded as the city's landmark bridge. On 15 February 1994 the Shanghai Municipal Government declared the bridge an example of Heritage Architecture, and one of the outstanding structures in Shanghai. In an ever-changing metropolis, the Waibaidu Bridge still remains a popular attraction, and one of the few constants in the city skyline.
Etymology.
There is considerable debate about the exact meaning of "Waibaidu" (外白渡), the name given to the wooden bridge erected by the Shanghai Municipal Council in 1873. According to one source, "The upper stream of any river was called li 裡 (internal, inside); the lower stream was called “wai”." Xue Liyong (薛理勇), indicates in his book on the history of the Bund:
In several cases, the Chinese used the terms li 裡 (internal) and wai 外 (external) to indicate the greater (nei) or lesser (wai) degree of proximity of a location. There was even an intermediate degree with the use of zhong 中 (middle) for places located between these two extremes. There remains several place names in Shanghai that are linked to this practice. The Chinese name of the Garden Bridge – waibaidu qiao 外白渡橋 – is such a case. The name makes sense only in relation with another bridge called libaidu qiao 裡白渡橋 that was located further inside the Soochow Creek, whereas the Garden Bridge was located at the mouth of the creek where it merges into the Huangpu river.
Another source indicates that in Shanghainese, "waibaidu" means passing through the bridge without paying. Because there was no longer any toll collected to cross the bridge, it began to be called Waibaidu, but "whereas the old name meant 'foreigners/outer ferry crossing bridge' the character bai was changed to a homophonic that altered the meaning to 'outer free crossing bridge'".
History.
Before bridges were built over the Suzhou Creek (then known as the Wusong River), citizens had to use one of three ferry crossings: one near Zhapu Road, one at Jiangxi Road, and one near the mouth of the Suzhou River. These crossings ("du" in Chinese) were the only way to ford the river, until the construction of a sluice gate built in the Ming dynasty, later known as "Old Sluice", where the current Fujian Road bridge is located. During the Qing dynasty, another sluice bridge ("New Sluice") was constructed during the reign of the Yongzheng Emperor (1723–1735), near the location of today's Datong Road bridge.
With Shanghai becoming an international trade port through the Treaty of Nanjing in 1842, and foreign powers being granted concessions in the city, traffic between both sides of Suzhou River soared in the 1850s, increasing the need for a bridge close to the mouth of the river.
Wills' Bridge (1856-1871).
In October 1856, a British businessman named Charles Wills,
of the firm of Jardine, Matheson, and American Edward R. Cunningham (1823–1889), the "brilliant though somewhat impetuous" managing director of Russell & Co., Vice-Consul for the United States (1853) and also consul of the Consul of Sweden and Norway in Shanghai, with the finances provided by a consortium of twenty investors, called the Soochow Creek Bridge Company, the first company in China focusing mainly on bridge construction, constructed the first foreign bridge across the Suzhou Creek, at the location of the outermost ferry crossing to ease traffic between the British Settlement to the south, and the American Settlement to the north of Suzhou River. Built to replace a Chinese bridge that had collapsed in 1855, and "that the Chinese were unable to reconstruct", this new bridge, which soon became known as Wills' Bridge, was made entirely of wood, and "had a total length of 137.16 metres (450 feet) and width of 7.01 metres (23 feet)". It had a "draw" on the Hongkou side to allow larger boats to enter or exit Suzou Creek. According to Francis Pott, it was "not a very sightly structure."
Wills brought capital into China and invested in infrastructure that benefited Chinese and foreigner alike. He invested $12,000 dollars in the 450-foot span (complete with drawbridge), and naturally charged a crossing fee. According to Henriot, "The investment made was to be repaid by a fee charged on all vehicles and passers-by at a rate of 5 taels per year for a horse-cart and one tael for a pedestrian". "The bridge was open to anyone who could pay the small toll, a 'thing hateful to the Shanghai public.'" Both Chinese and foreigners paid this toll, but as with many goods and services in Shanghai, foreigners paid on credit – thus the impression on the part of many Chinese that foreigners passed free." In 1863, when the British and American Settlements merged, the rate was doubled, causing serious protests by the Chinese population. The local population regarded Wills' toll policy as yet another of many restrictions for Chinese people by foreign powers. They responded with protest and boycotted the bridge, and Cantonese merchants opened new ferry services across Soochow Creek." Zhan Re, from Guangdong, established a free ferry near today's Shanxi Road intersection. One letter to the editor of the "Shenbao" newspaper in 1872, expressed outrage that the Chinese had to pay a toll to cross Wills' bridge while foreigners were exempted. Another suggests that the owner of the bridge is certainly "one conversant with profit". According to Barbara Mittler, "This turned out to be untrue, however: the Municipal Council was paying a yearly fee to Wills for foreign users." According to Pott, "The company made a great profit from the tolls collected from those using the bridge, and claimed it had received a charter from the "Taotai" (Chinese:道台 pinyin: daotai) giving it a right to this monopoly for 25 years. The public, however, protested, and denied the authority of the "Taotai" to grant any such charter." Wills soon became a wealthy person, but died on 9 September 1857 at sea on board the P&O steamer "Bengal".
By 1870, Wills' bridge was quite worn out. The Shanghai Municipal Council instructed the owners to repair it, but it was ignored. "In the end the Municipal Council stepped in, built another bridge a dozen paces from Mr Wills's, and allowed everyone to traverse it for free."
The 2nd Wills' Bridge (1871-1873).
With profits for the wooden bridge decreasing, the Soochow Creek Bridge Company decided to build a new bridge. According to Pott, "When the company attempted the erection of a new iron bridge in 1871, two poles gave way and the part of the bridge that had been completed sank into the river."
Soochow Creek Bridge (Garden Bridge) (1873-1907).
The Shanghai Municipal Council resolved the situation by approving the construction of a new wooden floating bridge, several metres west of Wills' original wooden bridge, to be opened to the public in September 1873. The Soochow Creek Bridge was built by S.C. Farnham & Co. at a cost of 19,513 taels (exclusive of the stone abutments). The new bridge was opened to traffic on 2 August 1873.
In October 1873, the Shanghai Municipal Council bought out the owners of the Wills' bridge and eliminated the toll. Thus should have ended the errant complaints of discrimination against locals. Indeed, complaints might have been aimed in the opposite direction. "Wills' bridge was destroyed, and a new bridge was constructed. It built a new bridge that was completed in August 1876. Its size was slightly bigger: 110.30 metres (385 feet) long and 12.19 metres (40 feet) wide, with walkways on each side (2.13 metres). The bridge has cost 12,900 taels. The second bridge remained in place until 1906."
Repairs (1881).
The first extensive repairs to the bridge were made in 1881, with 4,012 taels spent on re-planking the roadway and footpaths.
Sometime after the Public Garden at the northern end of the Bund opened in 1886, and due to its proximity, the Waibaidu bridge was also called the "Garden Bridge" in English.
Colloquially, the bridge was also known as the 'Beggars' Bridge" or "Bridge of Sighs" by 1873, because "here may be seen the most abject poverty and human misery, - sights pitiful enough to draw tears from the eyes of the gorgeous granite-stone dragons who watch the passing, living stream of human wretchedness. The deformed, the leprous, the blind, and the most hideous and disgusting semblance of humanity squat in rows and knots along the sides" of this bridge.
2nd Waibaidu bridge (1907 to today).
The wooden Garden Bridge was demolished in 1906 and a new steel bridge was constructed to accommodate both trams and automobiles. This bridge was built under the supervision of the Shanghai Municipal Council, and imported the steel from England. This second "Waibadu Bridge" ("Garden Bridge"), was designed by the British firm Howarth Erskine Ltd. of Singapore. The Cleveland Bridge & Engineering Company Co. Ltd. of Darlington, County Durham, England, who had built the Victoria Falls Bridge over the Zambezi River in Rhodesia the previous year, were responsible for building the bridge, which started on 4 August 1906. The bridge was completed on 29 December 1907. When it was opened on 20 January 1908, "it was the most substantial structure in China." It was the largest steel bridge in Shanghai and was the first steel truss bridge to be built in China, and is the only surviving example of a camelback truss bridge in the country. The bridge had a "total length was 104.39 metres, with 11.20 metres for vehicles and 2.9 metres on each side for pedestrians. The space between the bridge and the river reached a maximum of 5.57 metres at low ebb and 3.25 metres at high ebb." The bridge weighed 900 tons.
According to Cranley, "The local governor (taotai in Wade–Giles) declined the SMC’s request for Chinese government investment in the construction of the new Garden Bridge, which replaced Wills Bridge in 1907. So residents of the Chinese municipality enjoyed free crossing of the Suzhou Creek from the 1870s thanks to the ratepayers of the International Settlement (a majority of whom were wealthy Chinese, who were taxed but did not have the right to representation on the SMC until the 1920s)."
Assassination of the Governor of Shanghai (1915).
At noon on 10 November 1915 Admiral Tseng Ju Cheng (pinyin: Zheng Ru Cheng; 鄭汝成), governor of Shanghai district loyal to the Beiyang government, was assassinated on the Garden Bridge "en route" to the Japanese consulate, with a bomb thrown by Wang Mingshan (王明山), and eighteen shots fired by Wang Xiaofeng (王晓峰), another anti-monarchist revolutionary, using two Mauser automatic pistols. Revolutionary general Chen Qimei (陳其美), who was loyal to Sun Yat-sen, commanded the operation.
First Shanghai Incident (1932).
The shelling of the Zhabei District during the Shanghai Incident on 28 January 1932, resulted in over 600,000 Chinese refugees attempting to cross the Garden Bridge into the International Settlement. The Japanese military restricted access to the bridge for several weeks. By 20 February 1932, the approaches to "the garden bridge into the foreign settlement again [was] glutted with a human" tide of those "writhing this morning with the torch of war against her breast".
Many White Russian female refugees became prostitutes in Shanghai. The final (or lowest) stage for a courtesan was known as "walking the Garden Bridge", as it involved soliciting on the bridge.
Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945).
During the Battle of Shanghai, the Waibaidu bridge had an important role. On 12 August 1937, thousands of refugees, "a milling mass of humanity", from Greater Shanghai streamed into the foreign settlements through the Garden Bridge to escape the Japanese. Journalist Rhodes Farmer recorded:Word had been passed back that barbed wire and Japanese sentries blocked all the approaches to Shanghai save Garden Bridge and the twenty-foot wide crossing that led to it over the stinking, garbage-filled [Suzhou] Creek. The mid-day sun scorched down pitilessly, for it was still the season of "tahsu" — the Great Heat ...the mass pressed on at snail's pace toward what was becoming the bridge of life."
At the end of August 1937, the Japanese military restricted foreigners from crossing the Garden Bridge: "There is much local criticism of the Japanese naval authorities who, still persist in their refusals to permit foreigners to cross the Garden Bridge." After August 1937 the Waibaidu Bridge was the "de facto" border between the International Settlement and Japanese occupied Hongkew (now Hongkou) and Zhabei. As Mark Gayn recalls: "The creek became the boundary between two worlds. To the north was the world of fear, death, and the Japanese bayonet. To the south, law was still supreme and life remained as normal as it could be with bombs exploding...Of all the bridges, the Garden Bridge alone remained open to traffic, and on its narrow roadway the two hostile worlds met and glared at each other.", The west end of Garden Bridge, was guarded by members of the Shanghai Volunteer Corps. Harold Rattenbury recalls: "Japanese and Scottish sentries face one another on the Garden Bridge. To the Japanese all Chinese must remove their hats; so I took pleasure in removing mine to our Scottish sentries also." Kemp Tolley indicates: "A Japanese sentry stood on the Garden Bridge, over odoriferous Soochow Creek, which separated Honkew from the rest of the International Settlement. Foreigners were expected, on pain of a possible slap in the face, to bow gently from the waist when passing the sentry. Chinese coolies grunted, groaned and yei-hoed, pushing heavily loaded carts up the bridge's steep approaches. An occasional bayonet thrust into a bale or a prick in some tender part of a coolie's anatomy reminded everyone who was boss. Although Honkew was a part of the International Settlement, the Settlement taxis and rickshaws were not allowed there. One had to hire a ramshackle vehicle especially licensed — or walk across the bridge, bowing en route, and pick up a conveyance in Japanese "territory."
Rickshaws were not permitted to pass the Japanese sentries on the Garden Bridge. Japanese soldiers on both sides of the bridge would stop any Chinese, humiliate them and punish them if they hadn't shown proper respect. Foreigners were also expected to bow to the Japanese sentries, with some men and women forced to strip to the waist. Rena Krasno, a Jewish refugee remembered: "Everyone crossing the Garden Bridge is compelled to remove their hat and bow...The tram halted in front of the Japanese guards, all the passengers bowed and the bayonet-clasping soldiers waved us on with their free hand." For the Japanese, "the sentry was the personification of the glory and power of the Japanese army, and woe befall those who did not pay proper respect to him." According to Clark Lee, the sentries "considered themselves representatives of Emperor Hirohito, and many foreigners had been slapped or clubbed for 'disrespectfully' smoking in front of Imperial Representatives." In August 1937 Admiral Harry E. Yarnell, Commander-in-Chief of the US Asiatic Fleet, was "deliberately and grossly insulted by Japanese naval sentries on the Garden bridge." On 27 December 1937 Japanese authorities announced that foreigners would be permitted to cross the Garden Bridge without passes.
In late February 1938, the garrison commander of the Japanese Expeditionary Forces in China released a list of regulations and inducements to encourage foreigners to return to the Hongkou District to live, shop or do business: "Foreigners returning to districts North of the Creek are especially requested to respect the sentry on point duty at the Garden Bridge and at street corners by giving him a gentle bow, and wishing him 'GOOD MORNING.' Foreigners must realize that the Japanese soldier doing such duty represents the EMPEROR OF JAPAN." In June 1938 an American physician Dr J.C. Thompson was slapped by Japanese sentries on the Garden Bridge. In early July 1938 bombs were thrown at a Japanese sentry post on the Garden Bridge as part of a co-ordinated attack by Chinese resistance fighters on Japanese businesses. From 20 July 1938, the bridge was again referred to as "The Bridge of Sighs", as a result of handing Jiang Haisheng, a nineteen-year-old student who had been apprehended with a grenade in the International Settlement, to Japanese military authorities at the Garden Bridge. Later that month Miss Dorothea Lintihac was "rough housed" by Japanese sentries because she and her mother crossed the Garden Bridge on the wrong side of the street to avoid both dangerous traffic and barbwire entanglements. Subsequently, they were arrested and detained later. The British Consul General Herbert Phillips protested the incident and the "increasingly belligerent attitude" of the Japanese sentries.
In the early hours of 8 December 1941, as Pearl Harbor was being attacked, the International Settlement was occupied by Japanese military forces. Now that "they controlled all of Shanghai, the Japanese removed the hut on the Garden Bridge that used to mark the border between Hongkew and the International Settlement." Additionally, "there was now a barrier at the Garden Bridge over the Soochow Creek, sealing off the Japanese quarter from the rest of the Settlement. Barbed-wire barricades were set up throughout the city, and Japanese sentries posted at all bridges." An American resident, Edna Lee Booker, recalls: "The arrogance and possessiveness of the Japanese began at the top with the Gendarmerie and the inquisitors, and carried down. The Garden Bridge, which leads north into Hongkew, was the scene of many slappings and strikings and jabbings by the Japanese guards."
Repairs (1947).
Since the 1940s, the Waibaidu Bridge has undergone four major repairs and reinforcements, including the most recent one in 1999. By 1947, after 40 years of service, the municipal government did a check that revealed weakness in the structure and a tendency to sink into the ground (12.7 cm since 1907). In June 1947, a private company was contracted to reinforce the structure and prevent further sinking. No other major work was done thereafter, except the widening of the walkways for pedestrians after 1949.
Repairs (1957).
In 1957 The Shanghai Municipal Council's Engineering Bureau, and the Municipal Engineering Design Institute, conducted an extensive examination to assess the condition of the bridge in its fiftieth year of use. Repairs were made and measures taken to conserve the aging bridge. The bridge was originally designed to last fifty years.
Repairs (1961-1965).
During 1961 it was necessary to repair damage to the asphalt surface of the road, and remove rot damage on the bridge deck. In 1964 the bridge was removed to the shipyard for repairs, and the tramway permanently removed. In 1965 the wooden pedestrian sidewalks were replaced with new materials, the concrete columns were reinforced, tooth plate joints were installed, and the bridge repainted.
Cultural Revolution (1966-1976).
In 1967, during the Cultural Revolution, Neale Hunter, an Australian who lived in the Broadway Mansions for nine months, described the Garden Bridge as "an ugly tangle of bolted iron struts", while Red Guards renamed the bridge, "Anti-Imperialism Bridge".
In 1970 extensive sandblasting was conducted on all the steel components of the Waibaidu bridge to remove all rust. A rust-proof zinc spray was then added to the bridge, and the sidewalk railings repainted grey, while the side safety fences were painted white. In 1977 the Shanghai Municipal Design Institute examined and reinforced the beams of the bridge.
Highlights (1980-2007).
In 1985 all of the paint on the bridge was scraped off, and then the bridge was re-painted. In the 1980s to 1990s the traffic volume on the Bund increased dramatically, and the then 90-year-old Waibaidu Bridge could no longer cope. In 1991, the Wusong Floodgate Bridge, a new concrete road bridge was constructed to the west of Waibaidu Bridge, and the river crossing traffic was mainly diverted onto the new bridge. After the completion of the Bund reconfiguration project, the Wusong Floodgate Bridge will be rendered obsolete by a new tunnel and will be demolished.
Renovation (1991).
In 1991 the Shanghai Municipal Council had the Shanghai Railway Bureau assess the Waibaidu bridge. In July 1991 the Shanghai Shipyard completed an overhaul and restoration of the bridge. On 15 February 1994 the Shanghai Municipal Council declared the Waibaidu bridge as the city's most outstanding construction.
Renovation (1999).
In the middle of 1999 the ninety-one year-old bridge "experienced the largest face-lift of its history to date and was restored to its full beauty, glory and strength. Now, in the new century, the bridge is still sturdy and ready again to endure the weathering of the elements and the busy traffic, and to greet the tourists that come to the city."
Centenary (2007).
In December 2007, the Waibaidu bridge celebrated its centenary.
Removal and restoration (2008).
As early as March 2007 it was decided to strengthen the Waibaidu bridge due to "concerns that construction of a nearby tunnel could damage the structure. Construction of the tunnel - known as the Bund passage project - will begin this year for completion in 2010. The piers along the steel truss Waibaidu Bridge will be upgraded following a complete inspection...City engineers have managed to track down the original blueprints, which were written in English." Part of the reason for the restoration project was "to make way for the construction of a huge two-level vehicle tunnel called the "Bund Passage" below the Bund, or Zhongshan Road E1, to alleviate ground traffic congestion." According to the "Shanghai Daily" newspaper in 2008, "Despite its 100 years of use, the bridge recently passed a quality test which showed it would have been safe to use for at least 30 years even without this major facelift." The restoration plan, whose key concept was "restoring and reinforcing the original style", was approved by the State Cultural Relic Bureau, with the stipulation that "the bridge's body above the lowest water level was kept intact".
On 29 February 2008, the Garden Bridge was closed to all traffic, in preparation for its removal. On 1 March 2008, as part of the Bund Refurbishment Project, an extensive reconfiguration of traffic flow along the Bund, and in preparation for World Expo 2010 to be held in Shanghai, Waibaidu Bridge was cut into two sections, detached from its abutments, and moved by boat into a shipyard in Pudong for extensive repairs and restoration. On 6 April 2008, the southern part of the bridge was removed and on 7 April 2008, the northern part was removed as well. The restoration work was undertaken by Shanghai Shipyards at its Minsheng Road docks in Pudong, and formally started on 5 April 2008. According to the project engineers, Almost 160,000 rivets hold China's first steel bridge together. Once common practice in the construction industry, the use of rivets has been replaced by welding. Riveting, a dying art, is now only used on a small scale for building railway bridges and ships. Bridge repairers Shanghai Shipyard found and recruited nearly 60 riveters from two factories in Shanhaiguan of Hebei Province and Xi'an of Shaanxi Province and flew them to Shanghai. They worked in four-man groups, heating rivets to between 900 and 1,000 degrees Celsius before hammering them into the structure. "At night, it was like watching a meteor flying across the sky as one worker cast a heated rivet high and the other quickly took it with tools and hammered it on the bridge without a second's delay, a Shanghai Shipyard engineer said.
Ultimately, "some 63,000 steel rivets have been replaced - about 40% of the total." The "Shanghai Morning Post" reported that engineers found high sulfur content in the bridge after conducting tests on its structural integrity, necessitating the removal of the "rust, ... and aging structures strengthened during the repair". Repainting was another major task with all the rust and old paint removed from the bridge before new coats were applied. According to the project engineers, "There was a thick layer of old paint on the bridge, the result of many rounds of repainting during previous repairs. After it had all been removed, workers used anti-rust paint of the same silver-grey colour as before. Now, not only does the bridge look like new, but it has even more protection against rusting than before."
The restoration project required 205 tons of steel. Some of the original components will go on display at museums in Shanghai. Liu Yanbin, a member of the project team, indicated, "The iron handrails and the cement pavements have will be replaced with wooden ones, and the triangular truss will be replaced with an arc, as it was in 1907." Wooden sidewalks were restored on both sides of the bridge's vehicle lanes. Mao Anji, a project manager, indicated: "The roadways are to be paved after the bridge is moved back to the creek. We will replace the previous concretes with wooden materials to build the new sidewalks to bring back the bridge's original and old style." Additionally, "some triangle-shaped frames on the bridge's two arches have been replaced with curved ones to restore the original appearance. During previous repairs, workers used the triangle structures to replace the old ones because they were easier to create than those with a curve." According to the project engineers, "Compared to the bridge's main structure, its underwater section has been drastically altered. Workers removed nearly 800 wooden pillars that were sunk 11 meters into the river bed. Now the bridge's three piers will be sitting on 36 one-metre-wide concrete supports that are deeply-rooted to a depth of 67 metres under the bottom of the creek." The restored bridge stands on new concrete piles that are wider and deeper than the original wooden supports and is expected to have a safe lifespan of at least another 50 years.
Re-opening (2009).
The restored bridge was reopened to pedestrians on 8 April 2009. It was opened to vehicular traffic early in the morning of 11 April. According to the bridge's repairers, The bridge will "weigh more than 1,000 tons as the result of its 10-month repair and restoration program. It was the most in-depth restoration effort since Waibaidu Bridge was built in 1907."
One of the improvements was the installation of an LED lighting system on the bridge, which cycles through different colours, and was also designed to reduce electricity consumption and make the bridge more attractive at night.
In the media.
Literature.
The Waibaidu bridge has been featured in several novels, including:
Films.
According to film critic William Arnold, "Since colonial days, the focal point of the City of Shanghai has been the spot where the Garden Bridge crosses the meandering Suzhou Creek as it runs into the Huangpo River. It marks the northern boundary of the famous Shanghai Bund, and it's managed to pop up in practically every movie ever made about the city." The most recent Waibaidu Bridge has been featured in a number of films and literary works, including:
Places nearby.
Important or famous places close to Waibaidu Bridge include:


Werner Sauter Wildlife Refuge

Werner Sauter Wildlife Refuge (), is a protected area in Costa Rica, managed under the Tempisque Conservation Area, it was created in 1995 by executive decree 24345-MIRENEM.


Potramarai Tank, Kumbakonam

Potramarai Tank is situated at Kumbakonam in the Thanjavur district, Tamil Nadu, India.
Location.
After Pralaya, of the two holy tanks that came into existence in Kumbakonam one was Potramarai tank. As Thirumagal came from 'golden lotus', Potramarai in Tamil, this tank is called as Potramarai tank. In Kumbakonam, this is considered very sacred, the first being the Mahamaham tank. This tank belonged to Sarangapani temple. The tank has walls on all its four sides. Once writers used to mingle on the banks of the tank.
Holy water bodies.
Potramarai tank, Cavuery and Arasalar are considered as the sacred water bodies of the Sarangapani Temple. By this way this temple gets importance.
Mahamaham connection.
The 12-year cycle Mahamaham festival in Tamil Nadu is observed in the Hindu calendar month of Magha. On the day of Masi Maham, devotees in large numbers come to Kumbakonam and take a bath in Mahamaham tank, the tank which is considered sacred as nine sacred rivers of India such as Ganges, Kaveri, Yamuna, Sarasvati, Godavari, Narmada, Krishna, Sindhu and Sarayu mingle in Mahamaham tank. After having a bath, next they come to Potramarai tank and then to Cauvery.
Tradition.
The sage Hemarishi did penance for getting Lakshmi as his daughter. His prayer was answered and Lakshmi appeared as a child in Potramarai tank. As part of Amrita, the nectar halted in this place and the goddess, as child appeared here, this place is considered very important. The nine rivers mingle at Mahamaham tank and get rid of their sins. It is believed that taking a bath at that time in Potramarai tank will give Punya (Hinduism) to the devotees, as the nine rivers had sacred bath at Potramarai Tank after Mahamaham Tank, those come to Mahamaham are doing so.
2016 Mahamaham.
During 2016 Mahamaham this tank was filled with water for having bath for Mahamaham. Trial for Tirttavari was held on 6 February 2016. For Shiva temples it was held on 22 February 2016 between 12.00 noon and 1.30 p.m. in Mahamaham Tank. For five Vishnu temples it was held on the banks of Kaveri. Those five temples are Sarangapani Temple, Chakrapani Temple, Ramaswamy Temple, Rajagopalaswamy Temple, and Varahaperumal Temple.


Varanasi South (Assembly constituency)

Varanasi South is a constituency of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly covering the city of Varanasi South in the Varanasi district of Uttar Pradesh, India.
Varanasi South is one of five assembly constituencies in the Varanasi (Lok Sabha constituency). Since 2008, this assembly constituency is numbered 389 amongst 403 constituencies.
As of now, this seat belongs to Bharatiya Janta Party candidate "Dr. Neelkanth Tiwari" who won in 2017 Uttar Pradesh Legislative Elections by defeating Indian National Congress candidate "Rajesh Mishra" by a margin of 17,226 votes.


Santubong National Park

The Santubong National Park is a national park in Kuching Division, Sarawak, Malaysia, 35 km north of Kuching. It contains the 810m peak of Mount Santubong and surrounding rainforested slopes. There are a number of jungle treks in the park, including to the peak. Wildlife in the park include proboscis monkeys and rhinoceros hornbills.
This is one of the best places in Sarawak where you can observe the rare Irrawaddy dolphin, which chooses rivers, estuaries and shallow coastal areas as its habitat.


Sanko Harvest

Sanko Harvest was a 32,502 DWT dry bulk carrier that sank off Esperance, Western Australia after striking a charted reef on 14 February 1991. The Korean-crewed Japanese-owned ship was long and was carrying a cargo of 32,790 tonnes of phosphate fertilizer valued at A$8.9 million (2019: A$17.3 million). Also on board were 677 tonnes of heavy bunker fuel and 40 tonnes of light diesel oil.
The wreck site is the second largest wreck dive in the world and the largest off the Australian coast.
Sinking.
"Sanko Harvest" had loaded a bulk cargo of phosphate fertilizer from Florida's Bone Valley mines, at Tampa, Florida and was traveling via the Panama Canal to Esperance when it hit a charted reef at , near Hood Island within the Recherche Archipelago, southeast of Esperance.
Initially, salvage plans were put in place, however the ship started to break up and broke into three pieces and sank on the night of 17 and 18 February. During the break up, all of the highly soluble fertilizer cargo, and the bunker and diesel fuel oils were released into the sea. Most of the fuel oils washed onto the beaches of nearby Cape Le Grand National Park. Two colonies of New Zealand Fur seal pups were oiled by the slick. A CALM rescue operation was able to clean and save over 80% of the oiled seal pups. There were 20 reported bird deaths and no reported fish deaths. 200 drums of chemical dispersant were used in the clean-up operation.
The subsequent investigation by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau found the grounding to be the fault of the Master and Second Officer of the ship, in navigating an area where acceptable hydrographic surveys were incomplete, and in failure to correct the ship's charts of the area, in particular with a 1988 Admiralty notice that described the geographical location of the reef.
Dive site.
The wreck rests in 40 metres of water, with the highest points accessible 13 metres from the surface. It is considered an advanced dive, containing enclosed spaces and potential hazards such as sharp metal debris. The wreck has had a 500 metre radius no-take fishing exclusion zone around it since 1995, which, along with its remoteness, has protected its habitat value. Fish living on and around the wreck include: western blue groper, queen snapper, Australasian snapper, harlequin fish, Port Jackson sharks and the western blue devil. Kelp, macroalgae, sponges, soft and stony corals, sea tulips and sea stars live on the wreck. The wreck is visited by seals, dolphins and the occasional humpback whale.


Port Hughes, South Australia

Port Hughes is a town and locality in the Australian state of South Australia located on northern Yorke Peninsula about north-west of the state capital of Adelaide. It is considered a satellite town of Moonta which is located directly to the east of Port Hughes. At the , Port Hughes had a population of 571.
Description.
Port Hughes is a popular tourist destination, with attractions including a Greg Norman-designed links style golf course, the beach and the jetty. Boating is facilitated by the availability of a boat ramp. The beach is regarded as safe for swimming, which attracts families going on vacation. Fishing is a popular pastime. Fishing takes place on the jetty which is also a popular scuba diving site. Also, boats are available for charter to go fishing. Tourists are catered for with accommodation at the caravan park, which features onsite cabins and villas. There is also a general store and tavern.
History.
The government town of Port Hughes was surveyed in April 1863 and named after Sir Watson Hughes. The boundary of the town was extended in April 1960 and again in October 1985. Boundaries were created for the locality now known as Port Hughes in January 1999 which include the full extent of the former government town. The locality was enlarged in July 2008 by the addition of land from the adjoining locality of Moonta Bay.
In recent years, Port Hughes has been the subject of significant interest from land developers, with several land subdivisions in the local area. The most significant recent developments are the Patrick's Cove and Patrick's View land subdivisions, which have resulted in new housing being constructed and an influx of new residents. In June 2007, "The Dunes Port Hughes", a major new residential development was announced, including the construction of the first Greg Norman designed golf course in Australia, as well as a hotel and convention facility, as part of a major housing development. On 11 July 2012 Ferrier Hodgson partners David Kidman and Martin Lewis were appointed as receivers and managers to sell the remaining allotments and development properties.
Governance.
Port Hughes is located within the federal Division of Grey, the state electoral district of Narungga and the local government area known as the Copper Coast Council.


Dagestan Nature Reserve

Dagestan Nature Reserve () (also Dagestansky) is a Russian 'zapovednik' (strict nature reserve) protects an area of sand dunes and ridges on the northwest coast of the Caspian Sea in the southeast of European Russia. The reserve, a wintering place for migratory birds, is the richest nature reserve in Russia in terms of the number of species - over 300 species have been recorded in the reserve, its buffer zones and subordinate reserves. The reserve is part of several "Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas" (IBAs). The Sarykum sand dune is the highest sand dune in Europe, at . The reserve is situated in the Tarumovsky District of Dagestan.
Topography.
The Dagestan Reserve sits on the northwest coast of the Caspian Sea, at the mouth of the Kuma River as it empties into Kizlyar Bay. The reserve covers the low, marshy wetlands of the Kuma delta, as well as the entirety of Kizlyar Bay. Tyuleniy Island lies to the east of the reserve, from the coast, just outside of the bay. To the north the landscape changes to semi-desert.
The reserve includes four sectors that are disconnected from the Kizlar Bay territory:
Climate and ecoregion.
Dagestan is located in the "Caspian lowland desert" ecoregion. This ecoregion covers the coastal desert - sand dunes, salt deserts, solonchaks (shors) and clay deserts (takyrs) - on the north and east shores of the Caspian Sea. Vegetation is sparse, but highly specialized with mostly halophytes (salt-tolerant plants), shrubs and semi-shrubs.
The climate of Dagestan is "Humid continental climate, cool summer" (Köppen climate classification (Dwb)). This climate is characterized by high variation in temperature, both daily and seasonally; with dry winters and cool summers. The strong heating of the sand on Sarykoum, the dune reaches temperatures of in the summer. The average temperature in January is ; in August it is degrees. Average annual rainfall is .
Flora and fauna.
The plants of the wetlands are mostly reeds with a height of . The meadows on drier ground are grasses and sedges. Desert vegetations is represented by saltwort, sagerush-saltwort, wormwood. In the reedlands, the mammals include wild boar, muskrat, nutria, and water rat. On the steppes are hare, fox, and wolf.
The main focus of the reserve is the birdlife, particularly waterfowl. The boundaries of the main reserve area of the Kuma Delta includes three "Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas" (IBAs) as defined by Birdlife International: "Nizhnekumiskiye floodplains (along the mouth of the Kuma in an area that is about half desert and half riverine grasslands), "Kizlar Bay" (which is about 90% marine, and 10% humid grassland), and "Tyuleni Island" (which is itself mostly wetlands, mudflats, and shingle/stony beach).
Notable species include the vulnerable Dalmatian pelican, one of the largest birds, with a wingspan. On the salt marshes are ibis, herons, terns, stilts, curlew and other waders. During the migrations on the west coast of the Caspian are large numbers of cormorants, grebes, ducks, geese and gulls.
Ecoeducation and access.
As a strict nature reserve, the Dagestan Reserve is mostly closed to the general public, although scientists and those with 'environmental education' purposes can make arrangements with park management for visits. Excursions can be arranged by the public. but permits must be obtained in advance. The main office is in the city of Makhachkala.


Banaras


Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument

Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument is a U.S. national monument in the state of Texas. For thousands of years, people came to the red bluffs above the Canadian River for flint, vital to their existence. Demand for the high-quality, rainbow-hued flint is reflected in the distribution of Alibates flint through the Great Plains and beyond. Indians of the Ice Age Clovis culture used Alibates flint for spear points to hunt the imperial mammoth before the Great Lakes were formed. The flint usually lies just below the surface at ridge level in a layer up to 6 ft thick. The quarry pits were not very large, between 5 and 25 ft wide and 4 to 7 ft deep. Many of these quarries were exploited by the Antelope Creek people of the Panhandle culture between 1200 and 1450 AD. The stone-slabbed, multiroom houses built by the Antelope Creek people have long been of interest to the public and studied by archaeologists. Today, this area is protected by the U.S. National Park Service and can only be viewed by ranger-led guided tours, which must be reserved in advance.
Alibates Flint Quarries was the only national monument in the state of Texas until the Military Working Dog Teams National Monument was created in 2013, and is adjacent to and managed together with Lake Meredith National Recreation Area.
The monument was authorized as Alibates Flint Quarries and Texas Panhandle Pueblo Culture National Monument on August 31, 1965, but the designation was shortened to the current name on November 10, 1978.


El Chompipe Hill Protected Zone

El Chompipe Hill Protected Zone (), is a protected area in Costa Rica, managed under the Central Pacific Conservation Area, it was created in 1999 by decree 28196-MINAE.


Avittathur

Avittathur is a small village in Thrissur district of Kerala state, India. It was one of the 64 original Brahmin settlement in the Kerala state. It is famous for an ancient shiva temple, where 4 very old inscriptions have been discovered. According to legend, the temple was consecrated by sage agastya and the name of the village was originally agastyaputtur but it seems to be just the Sanskritization of the word. Legendary Chakyar Koothu and Koodiyattam maestro "Nātyāchārya Vidūshakaratnam Padma Shri" Māni Mādhava Chākyār used to perform here for decades.
External links.
avittathur gramam
Avittathur Mahadeva Temple


Makna, Saudi Arabia

Makna also known as Magna is a town in Tabuk provence of Saudi Arabia. Located at 28° 23' 51"N and 34° 44' 59"E. it is on the coast of Gulf of Aqaba southwest of Al-Bad', Saudi Arabia. It lies on the border of the Hejaz region, and was in antiquity in Southern Midian. The Red Sea near Makna hold pristine Coral reefs and is renowned as a scuba dive site.
Local tradition holds that "Bir al Saidni" located in Makna, is the well from which Moses rolled away the stone to draw water for the flocks of Jethro's daughters. A Jewish community at was known here from at least the 9th century.


Kidike Root Site

The Kidike Root Site is a nature area in the central part of Pemba Island. It has the endangered Pemba Flying Fox, considered the largest number bat species in the world. Other animals in the island are the vervet monkeys, Mozambique cobras, tortoises, bush crabs, red eyed doves and mangrove king fishers.
Kidike Root Site is located close to the village Ole-Mjini, some 12 km north-east of Chake-Chake. A local NGO is offering tours.


Arevik National Park

Arevik National Park, is one of the four protected national parks of Armenia. Occupying an area of 344 km2, it is located in the southern Syunik Province of Armenia.
Fauna.
Invertebrates.
Among over 150 species of butterflies recorded in the national park, there are several species included in Red Book of Armenia. Those are "Parnassius mnemosyne", "Parnassius apollo", "Papilio alexanor", Pontia chloridice, Colias aurorina, "Polyommatus zarathustra", and others. Ranges of some endangered species, like "Polyommatus damonides", are not covered by the protected area.
Birds.
Among over 180 species of birds recorded in the national park, there are number of species included in Red Book of Armenia: lammergeyer, griffon vulture, Egyptian vulture, golden eagle, peregrine falcon, Levant sparrowhawk, woodchat shrike, and others.
Flora.
A part of the population of the endangered and rare "Iris grossheimii" is located within Park, which allows continual monitoring and protection.
Conservation.
There are seven Prime Butterfly Areas (PBA) designated for the region, most of those are at least partly covered by the area of the national park, except Meghri PBA, which has no national conservation status.


Georgian Mall

Georgian Mall is the largest mall in Barrie, Ontario, Canada. It is located on the east side of Bayfield Street, approximately north of Highway 400. Anchor stores are Hudson's Bay and HomeSense.
History.
Georgian Mall originally opened in 1968 with Sears as its only department store and Dominion as a supermarket. Next door in a separate development was a free-standing K-mart department store. The first major expansion added a single floor Eaton's as anchor to a new two-level mall addition. (when Eaton's went bankrupt this space was divided into Sport Chek and Home Sense.) The next addition connected the mall to the K-mart building. When K-mart was bought by Hudson’s Bay Company, this space was converted to The Bay. Another former anchor was Sears, which was closed in January 2018 with the liquidation of Sears' Canadian operations.
See also.
There are two other malls in Barrie:
Bayfield Mall is a smaller 70 store mall located at Bayfield and Coulter Streets just off Highway 400 and from Georgian Mall. Anchored by Canadian Tire and surrounded by smaller stores with a pad like configuration as well as a bowling alley. It is managed by Avison and Young.
Kozlov Shopping Centre is a mall built in 1986 with anchors like Urban Planet (formerly Zellers), Ardene, and Metro (formerly A&P).


Zasavica (bog)

The Zasavica (Serbian Cyrillic: Засавица) is a bog in the region of Mačva, west-central Serbia. It is a major wildlife refuge and one of the last authentically preserved wetlands in Serbia. In the 2000s it became a popular attraction with the successful reintroduction of beavers, which had become extinct 100 years before.
Location.
Zasavica is located just several kilometers across the Sava river from the town of Sremska Mitrovica. The entire Zasavica system is located in the Mačva region and is administratively divided between the province of Vojvodina (northern part; municipality of Sremska Mitrovica) and Central Serbia (southern part; municipality of Bogatić. It roughly extends between the settlements of Crna Bara, Banovo Polje, Ravnje, Zasavica I, Zasavica II, Salaš Noćajski, Noćaj and Mačvanska Mitrovica.
Geography.
The Zasavica bog is a marshy lowland in the floodplain of the Sava river. It is a typical elongated oxbow (in Serbian: "mrtvaja", dead [water]). The fossilized, parallel bed of the Sava is so elongated that it actually stretches almost to the Drina river. In time, Zasavica river was formed from the subterranean waters from the Drina and from several streams, most notably, Duboka Jovača and Prekopac canal (gravitationally, from the Cer mountain. The final section connecting Zasavica and Sava has been channeled (Bogaz canal). The river slowly meanders into and through the bog, widening from meters to almost . The marsh, consisting of several connected bogs, covers an area of . During normal water levels, the bog is deep on average, but it can get up to deep. The marshland's altitude varies from 76 to 82 meters (250 to 270 ft). The entire biotype includes also the Batar stream and several other canal-tributaries to Zasavica, and consists of an ecological row of water and marsh systems with fragments of flooded meadows and forests. Through the rivers Sava and Danube, the Zasavica biotype belongs to the Black Sea drainage basin.
Human history.
Remains show that humans were already settled the marshy areas of Mačva in 5000 BCE. They made canals and water alleys in the marsh, using them both for irrigation and drainage. That way, they participated in the volatile process of constant change of the Sava and Drina rivers directions, creation of meanders, change of the landscape, etc. Time erased memories of the first recorded settlers and the remains of their work was attributed by the later settlers as the work of giants, creating one of two popular legends in Zasavica. Other legend connected to the area is that of winged dragons. Ancient Celtic maps show area of Zasavica as one of eight dragon-inhabited places in the Balkans.
From recent history, Zasavica is known as both the hiding place and a battle ground of Zeka Buljubaša, one of the heroes of the First Serbian Uprising. He was finally defeated and killed by the Ottomans in Zasavica in 1813.
In 2017-2020, a dozen of sculptures of the animals which inhabit the reserve were carved and exhibited in the open, including beaver, umbra fish and donkey. They were made by the artistic team of archaeologist Zoran Đajić. In September 2020, a massive, 15-ton heavy sculpture of "Serbian ox" was placed at the main entry. Celebrating importance of oxen in older Serbian history, the sculpture was carved from one slab of hard, ancient Brazilian stone, formed over 1 billion years ago. Author is sculptor Velimir Karavelić.
Since 2005 it is owned by Codeluppi Internatiolan Groop.
Preservation.
Special reservation of nature of Zasavica was formed in 1997 and placed under the state protection as the category I natural treasure of exquisite value. It includes the bog and surrounding terrains, with a total area of 18.25 square kilometers. Of that, or 37% is placed under the level I of protection and the rest is in levels II and III. The majority of the protected area covers the water surfaces of the rivers and canals Zasavica, Jovac, Prekopac and Batar. Zasavica has a priority nomination to become a Ramsar site. It is proclaimed an Important Bird Area and since 2001 it is a member of the Europark Federation, federation of the national parks od Europe.
Wildlife.
Plants.
Flowering plants.
There are over 600 species of plants are recorded in the reservation. Several of them are endangered natural rarities and listed in the Serbia's Red Book of Endangered Species: European white water-lily, yellow waterlily, water soldier, fringed water-lily, marsh nettle, sweet flag, aquatic bladderwort, triangular club-rush, common mare's tail, water violet, greater spearwort and the endemic Pannonian plain species of Pannonian cornflower. In the Valjevac section of Zasavica a rare and endangered marshland bio-community "Acoro-Glyceretum maximae" is found.
Fungi.
150 species of Fungi has been widely distributed in the entire reservation, in every eco-system (ground, trees, logs, meadows, pastures, etc.). Many are edible, including the rare species of morel. Poisonous mushrooms are rare and few, including panther cap, death cap and yellow-staining mushroom.
Trees.
Though dozens of species of trees are found, forests, which make % of the reservation, are mainly made of narrow-leafed ash and to the lesser extent of white poplar, willow or black alder. Alluvial slopes are inhabited by pedunculate oak, European hornbeam, linden and European Turkey oak. Since 1962 a plantations of willow and hybrid poplars were planted. White orchid also lives in Zasavica.
Invertebrate.
Plankton.
Phytoplankton is represented with 234 species and zooplankton with 220. Representatives of the first group are the "Batrachospermnum" algae, fresh water sponge ("Spongilla lacustris") and fresh water jellyfish ("Craspedacustra sowerbii"). Out of the second group, 21 taxa are new and recently discovered in Serbia.
Insects.
250 species of insects live in Zasavica and 15 of them are protected. There are several rare species of longhorn beetle (out of 35 living in Zasavica) and endemic Balkan species including three recently discovered in Serbia: Syrian longhorn beetle ("Arhopalus syriacus"), "Morimus asper" and "Agapanthia lais". Species of "Cerambyx cerdo" and "Morimus funereus" are protected. Endemic and rare cricket "Zeuneriana amplipennis", living only in Serbia, is also found.
Vertebrate.
Fish.
In Zasavica live 23 species of fish, categorised in 8 families and 20 genera. The most common are members of the carp family. Of those, 20 species ar autochthonous and three are imported (two from North America, one from China), though even the common carp had been introduced by Romans. Seven species are protected: "Umbra krameri", "Rhodeus sericeus amarus", loach ("Misgumus fossilis"), "Cobitis tenia", etc. Six species are classified as endangered, five as vulnerable and six as rare. As part of the "Return of the autochthonous species of fish" project, the wels catfish has been reintroduced into Zasavica.
Herpetofauna.
Zasavica hosts 27 species of reptiles and amphibians, of which all 12 amphibian and 4 reptilian species are protected and some of them are on the preliminary list to be included into the Red Book. Six amphibian and seven reptilian species are also classified as the endangered species by the Bern Convention. Two endemic Balkan species live in Zasavica: Danube crested newt and eastern sub-species of the sand lizard, "Lacerta agilis bosnica", which is European Protected Species.
Birds.
There are 185 species of birds in the reserve, of which 120 are resident. Because of such large number of birds, including rarities like night heron and spotted crake, Zasavica is included in the list of IBAs, (important bird areas). Since 1998, 20 artificial nesting platforms have been placed throughout the reserve. Other species include common moorhen, little grebe, Eurasian coot, great reed warbler, little bittern, mallard, common quail, white stork, black stork, Eurasian bittern, white-tailed eagle, western marsh harrier, common kestrel, mute swan, northern lapwing, etc.
Mammals.
So far, 45 species of mammals are found in Zasavica. It is ideal for the water-bound species like Eurasian otter or wildcat, which are protected all over Europe. Otters were not spotted for years though. Recent but unconfirmed sightings of otters recently prompted the ecology organisations from Sremska Mitrovica to announce an award for those who capture otter on camera. Fur animals also live in Zasavica, most notably muskrat. Eurasian shrew, striped field mouse, fat dormouse and several species of bats are listed as rarities in Serbia.
Special residents of Zasavica.
Balkan donkey.
Zasavica is the location of the only farm of the Balkan donkey on the territory of former Yugoslavia. The farm was founded in the early 1990s and holds some 120 donkeys. They are kept for meat but mostly for their milk, which is used to make the pule cheese, one of the most expensive in the world with the price of 1,000 euros per kilogram (there are farms of the Balkan donkeys in Italy, Belgium and France with over 700 animals). Meat is used for the sausages and kulen while the milk is also used in the cosmetic industry (creams, soaps) but for the cream liqueur, too. Every April, a festival called World's Donkey Day is held. Teams from several countries (Serbia, Hungary, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, etc.) compete in the preparation of the donkey stew, while other meat and milk products are being exchanged and tasted.
Beavers.
The main attraction in the reservation are the reintroduced beavers. Zoologist Alfred Brehm wrote in 1887 that a beaver has been spotted on the right bank of the Sava, near Sremska Mitrovica. Extinct in the early 1900s, four families with five members each, plus 11 single animals (31 in total) were reintroduced in 2004 with the help from the Bavarian Science Society. From Serbian side, project is conducted by the Biology Faculty of the Belgrade University. Each animal has a subdermal tracking microchip implant.
Initial fears that the beavers will not adapt proved to be groundless as very soon first dam was spotted and the animals began to reproduce. A dam is long and tall (of that, above the water) and located at the Batar's mouth into Zasavica. In the late 2006 a dam in the canal Glušci, which flows into the Zasavica, was discovered and the beavers, though not the dams, are spotted in the river of Jadar some to the south down the Drina. As the area surrounding the Zasavica is entirely agricultural, farmers don't share the excitement of the biologists as they claim the beavers ruin their crops saying that was the original reason for their extinction a hundred years ago, though they were also hunted for the valuable fur and the meat which could be consummated during the religious fasting.
By 2012, beavers in Zasavica built 17 burrows and 6 dams, their population grew to a 100 and the chipped specimen have been caught near Šabac, Obrenovac and even Brčko, upstream, in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Population found in Obedska Bara is a local one, being reintroduced in the same time and as the part of the same project as the Zasavica beavers. Initially knocking down the poplars and willows, causing damage to the surrounding arable land, after several years in which they adapted the habitat to their needs, beavers for the most part stopped being a nuisance to the local inhabitants.
By 2020 they spread all over the northern and western parts of Serbia. Apart from the Sava, Drina and Jadar, they have been spotted in the Danube, Tamnava, Tisza, Bega, Timiș, Great Morava and canal systems in the Vojvodina province. To the north, they reached Petrovaradin and Novi Sad, while at the south they are spotted near Velika Plana. They also inhabited the surroundings of Belgrade, like Ritopek and Krnjača, which is part of urban Belgrade, but has much unurbanized area in the former marsh of Pančevački Rit.
Mangulica.
Mangulica is the only surviving autochthonous Serbian breed of domesticated pig. Other two, "Šiška" and "Šumadinka" died out. A breed, also known as "woolen pig", due to its good qualities, is considered a "noble", but it almost died out in the 1980s. Its fat has up to 80% less cholesterol and triglycerides than a common, white pig. In 1998 Mangulica was introduced in Zasavica, but unlike Podolian cattle, they are left to roam free in the reservation, becoming feral since then. A cases of breeding with wild boar are known. By the early 2010s, their number grew to 1,000.
Podolian.
In 1998 the cattle of the Podolian breed was introduced in Zasavica. First animals arrived in the spring of 1998 from Mionica, in western Serbia. Pasture "Valjevac", near the small "Goransko-ribolovačko" lake was chosen as their home. The pasture has an area of 3 square kilometers and numbered 80 cattle by 2011. Breeding of Podolian cattle is being part of the program for the preservation of the animal species, developed by the Serbian Ministry of agriculture.
In the reserve there are several other, today rare, breeds of domesticated animals: Buša cattle, Bosnian Mountain Horse and wooly goat.
Umbra.
"Umbra krameri" or in Serbian "mrguda" ("frown fish") in Serbia lives only in Zasavica. It has been classified as an endangered species in the entire of Europe and placed under the strict protection by the Bern Convention. In Serbia it has been protected in 1993. In March 2008 the fish has been discovered in the village of Bački Monoštor, near town of Sombor, almost 150 kilometers north of Zasavica.


Allenton Access

Allenton Access is a protected nature area consisting of in western St. Louis County, Missouri. It is located southwest of the town of Eureka, east of the town of Pacific and bordered to the south by the Meramec River. It is part of the Meramec Greenway and Henry Shaw Ozark Corridor.
Allenton Access consists of a boat launch, parking lot, and restroom surrounded by forest. Fishing is permitted with the appropriate permit. There have been 46 bird species recorded at Allenton Access.


Toroweap Overlook

Toroweap Overlook (also known as Tuweep Overlook or Toroweap Point) is a viewpoint within the Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona, United States. It is located in a remote area on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, west of the North Rim Headquarters (but by road). The overlook is the only viewpoint in the National Park from where the Colorado River can be seen vertically below. The overlook stands above the river.
Terminology.
Toroweap and Tuweep are used more or less interchangeably. The term Tuweep, a Paiute word for "the earth", was used for an early Mormon settlement in the valley, and is now used by the National Park Service to refer to the area. Toroweap, a Paiute term meaning "dry or barren valley", strictly refers to the valley and the overlook.
Geology.
At Toroweap the layer of soft Hermit Shale is about 800 feet thick, much thicker than farther east. Erosion of this layer formed the broad Esplanade Platform on the resistant Esplanade Sandstone. Further erosion formed a deep side canyon, draining into the Colorado. The Toroweap Fault underlies the valley, and volcanic activity along the fault resulted in the Uinkaret volcanic field, from where lava flows filled the side canyon. Sediment and lava flows eventually filled the side canyon to the level of the Esplanade Platform. The high outer rim of the Grand Canyon is absent at Toroweap, and the overlook can therefore be reached by a road which follows the Toroweap Valley to the brink of the Inner Gorge.
Just west of the overlook the Lava Falls can be seen spilling over the rim and falling to the river. Nearby is Vulcan's Throne, a cinder cone from the period of volcanic activity.
Access.
Toroweap is reached by rough unpaved roads. Mohave County road 109 leaves State Route 389 8 miles west of Fredonia, and runs 61 miles south to the overlook. The Clay Hole road reaches the overlook from Colorado City, 56 miles from Toroweap, however, this route should not be traveled after rain or snow. Toroweap can also be reached by the "Mt. Trumbull/Main Street Route" from St. George, Utah, 90 miles away on Bureau of Land Management road 1069 and Mohave County road 5.
Facilities.
There is no lodging, food, gas or water in the area. The National Park Service only intermittently staffs the Tuweep ranger station 6 miles north of the overlook. There is no cell phone service in this remote area. There is a primitive campground 1 mile north of the overlook that now requires reservations several days in advance from the Grand Canyon National Park backcountry office.
Hiking trails.
The short Saddle Horse Loop Trail allows access to more viewpoints near the overlook. The Tuckup Trail starts near the Toroweap campground. The Lava Falls Trail provides a difficult route to the river from near Vulcans Throne. Another hike to the river is much shorter with only 1,000 feet of elevation change to the river compared to 3,000 feet at Toroweap. This trail starts in Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument at Whitmore Canyon Overlook, 9 miles west of Toroweap. It is located in Whitmore Canyon at the overlook on the BLM1045 road. Take the Mt. Trumbull/Main Street Route west from Toroweap Valley past Mt. Trumbull. Turn south onto BLM1045 at the Mt. Trumbull Schoolhouse. This is a better option to reach the river.


Casuarina Coastal Reserve

Casuarina Coastal Reserve is a protected area in the northern area of Darwin in the Northern Territory of Australia.
The reserve comprises approximately of habitats between Rapid Creek and Buffalo Creek. The area includes of sandy beaches backed by Casuarina trees and sandstone cliffs. The reserve includes areas of mangroves, paperbark forests and monsoon vine thickets.
The Buffalo Creek boat ramp was built in the early 1970s and the reserve area was acquired by the Commonwealth of Australia in 1978. During the 1980s the boat ramp was upgraded and a carpark and toilets were constructed nearby. In 2001 facilities were upgraded and the second management plan was completed.
Fauna found within the reserve include ospreys, sea eagles, cormorants, gulls and a variety of marine life including crocodiles. Mammals found in the area include the northern brushtail possum and the northern brown bandicoot which both thrive in the forests.
See also.
Protected areas of the Northern Territory


Coopracambra National Park

The Coopracambra National Park is a national park located in the Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia. The national park is situated approximately east of Melbourne and south of Canberra, near the town of .
Features.
The northern boundary of the park is defined by the Black-Allan Line that marks part of the border between Victoria and New South Wales. The Monaro Highway defines the park's western boundary. Within the confines of the park, the Genoa River flows eastwards to the Tasman Sea. The highest peaks in the park are Mount Coopracambra, with an elevation of above sea level; Mount Kaye, with an elevation of , and Mount Denmarsh, with an elevation of .
Combined with the adjoining South East Forests National Park located in New South Wales, the Coopracambra National Park forms one of the largest contiguous areas of high quality wilderness in
south-eastern Australia that spans from in New South Wales to the town of Cann River in Victoria.


Covered Market, Preston

The Covered Market in Earl Street, Preston, Lancashire, England is a Grade II listed landmark structure built 1870-75.
After three aborted attempts to start the project in the early 1800's , and a serious construction accident in 1870 that set back progress, the covered market was finished in 1875. Since then, new buildings have been added to the market and it has been modernized several times.
Description.
Built to the original specification, the covered market is built of cast iron pillars and lattice work iron roof structure supporting a wood and glass roof. It has a 90-foot span free from internal pillars, and the roof ridge slope drops 13 feet from Lancaster Road to Market Street.
Perhaps the most unusual feature is the rainwater drainage. Water from the roof is collected in a concealed gutter and transferred via the structure to drain down the center of the hollow pillars.
Early proposals.
In 1837, the Preston Corporation began exploring a covered market. By 1841 the Corporation had solicited proposals. The sites included: east of the present market , on Lune Street, and in "the Orchard" . During this period, the Corporation moved the fish market to a covered area next to the corn exchange. They also restricted ‘moveable stalls’ on the streets. However, in February 1842, the Corporation stopped the project due to lack of money.
In 1846, the "Preston Guardian" stated that "the space allotted to the corn market has always been much larger than was needed" and that the Corn Exchange should be remodelled to create a new covered market. Nothing was done.
In 1848, the Corporation began a new exploration of a covered market. They prepared a request to the British Parliament for "a sum not exceeding £40,000 upon the security of such market and the tolls, stallage, etc., ". The new proposed sites were Lune Street, Friargate, Fishergate and the Old Market Place. However, the Corporation again abandoned the project due to lack of funding.
In the early 1850s, the Corporation again made plans for a covered market, but they were again put aside.
Planning begins.
In 1860, work on the Preston covered market finally began.
The Corporation formed a "Town Hall and Covered Market Committee" and obtained financing through the Preston Corporation Markets Act of 1861 and the Preston Improvement Act 1869.
The Council minutes of the 1860s show steady expenditure on the land and properties required for the market and its access (and, indeed, income in the form of rent from the occupiers), and comment in the press catalogues the difficult negotiation between the Earl of Derby, the principal landowner and the Corporation. The papers also describes what a congested and inaccessible place Preston Town Centre was at the time, "choked by blocks of buildings" and how the requirement "for complete and broad approaches from every side" for the new market would open it up.
The journalist and local historian Terry Farrell suggests there were three plans for a covered market, and states that Edward Garlick, the Borough Treasurer and Surveyor, "visited several counties to inspect various markets"
Garlick finally proposed a market plan to the Preston Council, which they approved. The project was put out to tender in 1870. A total of ten tenders for the building contract were received ranging in cost from £6,070 to £9,480. On 19 January 1870 the council approved the tender and prepared a contract with Joseph Clayton, owner of a foundry in Greenbank Street, Preston. His £6,070 tender was the lowest submitted (). Clayton was told Preston required "a commodious market without excessive cost", and a contract stipulating completion by 31 July 1870 was signed.
Construction fiasco.
The market site remained untouched through February and March 1871. The Council became impatient, but Clayton blamed the delay on the necessity to make all the casting at his foundry before any work could begin on site. In April 1870 the first pillars were erected. However, Clayton missed the completion date of 31 July. Council members began to press for a £50 a week penalty to be imposed on the contractor.
On Saturday 6 August 1870, ten men, five on the ground and five on the roof, were at work on the market. At approximately 7.30 am, "...all at once, without the least warning, a great portion of the vast fabric — in fact the whole which had been roofed in — fell with a tremendous crash to the ground". Contemporary historian, Anthony Hewitson, states "the roof, or as much of the roof as had up to that date, been fixed, fell, and the site presented in the centre — the roof collapsed inwardly-by disjointed principals, twisted and broken rods &c., was, indeed, most chaotic". Nine of the workers, including four from the roof, somehow managed to escape uninjured. The fifth, however, named Thomas Bateson of 6 Wells Street was seriously injured and rushed to the Infirmary where he eventually recovered.
A contemporary photograph and an illustration still exist which show total structural failure. New reports stated that that 31 out of 32 pillars had been erected, indicating that the basic structure was almost complete.
Collapse controversy.
After the collapse of the unfinished covered market, controversy continued over its cause. Questions over the structural safety of the design almost immediately surfaced and went on to reach as far as the national trade press but were always firmly refuted. Lack of scaffolding support, and the fact that the pillars and roof were being constructed from Lancaster Road down the incline to Orchard Street, were other possible reasons cited.
The Council made numerous accusations against Clayton. One suggestion was that Clayton thought Garlick's design somewhat ‘over engineered’ and have cut corners. The Council finally came to believe that the building scafolding did not have enough larch poles for support. Clayton and the Council blamed each other for this failing.
The Council wanted Clayton to complete the project, but he submitted three new proposals, at extra cost, to make the project safer. The Council rejected these proposals and allowed Clayton to withdraw from the project after repaying his original advance of £2,300 with interest.
New contractors.
In 1871, the Council awarded Messrs P B Bennett and Co of Birmingham the contract to complete the covered market for £9,000. However, Bennett never started work, citing safety concerns over defects in the design. The Council refuted these and insisted on construction to the original specifications. No work proceeded
In November 1871, the Council gave the contract to William Allsup of Preston. However, Bennett did not vacate the site until April 1872. in May 1872, Allsup was able to begin work at a cost of £9,126 and five shillings.
Allsups finished construction of the Preston covered market in November 1875.
In 1878, the dispute between the Council and Bennett ended with an enforced settlement with Bennett paying £1450 for non-completion of contract,).
Modern history.
The old fish market was covered in 1924. Major alterations to the Covered Market were made in 1958 when the glass skylights were removed, electric lighting was installed and the cobbled floor was replaced.
In the 1970s a market hall was built next to the covered market. In the 2010s a proposal was made for demolition of the 1970s building and construction of a cinema and restaurants on the site. A replacement would be built under the roof of the covered market at the Market Street end. The plans were approved in 2016 and in 2017 the structure was refurbished and the new market hall was built, to be opened in 2018.


Whyalla

Whyalla was founded as "Hummocks Hill", and was known by that name until 1916. It is the fourth most populous city in the Australian state of South Australia after Adelaide, Mount Gambier and Gawler. As at June 2018, Whyalla had an urban population of 21,742, having declined at an average annual rate of -0.75% year-on-year over the preceding five years. It is a seaport located on the east coast of the Eyre Peninsula and is known as the "Steel City" due to its integrated steelworks and shipbuilding heritage. The port of Whyalla has been exporting iron ore since 1903.
Description.
The city consists of an urban area bounded to the north by the railway to the mining town of Iron Knob, to the east by Spencer Gulf and to the south by the Lincoln Highway. The urban area consists of the following suburbs laid from east to west extending from a natural hill known as Hummock Hill – Whyalla, Whyalla Playford, Whyalla Norrie, Whyalla Stuart and Whyalla Jenkins. A port facility, a railyard serving the railway line to Iron Knob and an industrial complex are located to the immediate north of Hummock Hill. Whyalla Barson and the Whyalla Conservation Park are located about north of the city.
Nomenclature.
The origin of the name Whyalla is disputed. In 1916 it was referred to as the "native" name, having been ascribed during a survey conducted a few years beforehand. During the 1940s, Mr Tindale, the ethnologist at the South Australian Museum believed that the name could have been derived from aboriginal words "Wajala" meaning "west" in a language common to Port Pirie, or "Waiala" meaning "I don't know" in a language more common to Port Augusta. In 1945, BHP advised that the name had been taken from nearby Mount Whyalla, which lies north-west of Whyalla, roughly midway between the town and Iron Knob. Other meanings ascribed to the word Whyalla include "dingo", "by the water" and "a place of water". Another hypothesis is that the name was brought by European settlers and was derived from a place called Whyalla in Durham, England.
History.
A mariner named William Morgan Burgoyne purportedly recommended the site for the establishment of a port on False Bay to Harry Morgan of the Broken Hill Proprietary Company. Burgoyne had spent several weeks there on a trip out from Port Augusta hunting kangaroo with his brother and another man called Alf Rowarth. At that time there was no settlement between Middleback Station and the Point Lowly lighthouse and kangaroos were plentiful there.
Burgoyne recalled that the tug Florrie ferried a crew there a week later and pegged out the settlement first known as Hummocky. It was officially founded as Hummock's Hill in 1901 by the Broken Hill Proprietary Company (BHP) as the end of a tramway bringing iron ore from Iron Knob in the Middleback Range to sea. Its first shipment was transported across Spencer Gulf to Port Pirie where it was used in lead smelters as a flux. A jetty was built to transfer the ore and the first shipment was sent in 1903. The early settlement consisted of small cottages and tents clustered around the base of the hill. The Post Office opened in 1901 as Hummock's Hill.
In 1905 the town's first school opened. It was originally called Hummock Hill School, and was subsequently renamed as Whyalla Primary School and Whyalla Higher Primary School. The school's current name is Whyalla Town Primary School.
The arid environment and lack of natural fresh water resources made it necessary to import water in barges from Port Pirie.
The Post Office was renamed Whyalla on 1 November 1919, and on 16 April 1920 the town was officially proclaimed with its new name. The ore conveyor on the jetty was improved, and the shipping of ore to the newly built Newcastle, New South Wales steelworks commenced. The town grew slowly prior to the development of steelmaking and shipbuilding facilities in the late 1930s.
The BHP Indenture Act was proclaimed in 1937 and provided the impetus for the construction of a blast furnace and harbour. In 1939 the blast furnace and harbour began to be constructed and a commitment for a water supply pipeline from the Murray River was made. A shipyard was built to provide ships for the Royal Australian Navy during World War II. The population began to rise rapidly and many new facilities, including a hospital and abattoirs, were built.
In 1941 the first ship from the new shipyard, , was launched and the blast furnace became operational. By 1943 the population was more than 5,000. On 31 March 1943, the Morgan-Whyalla pipeline became operational. In 1945 the city came under combined company and public administration and the shipyard began producing commercial ships. In 1948, displaced persons began arriving from Europe increasing the cultural diversity of Whyalla.
In 1958 the Company decided to build an integrated steelworks at Whyalla and it was completed in 1965. In the following year, salt harvesting began and coke ovens were built. The population grew extremely rapidly, and the South Australian Housing Trust was building 500 houses each year to cope with the demand. Plans for a city of 100,000 were produced by the Department of Lands. A second water supply pipeline from Morgan was built to cope with the demand.
In 1970 the city adopted full local government status. Fierce competition from Japanese ship builders resulted in the closing of the shipyards in 1978, which were at the time the largest in Australia. From a peak population of 38,130 in 1976 the population dropped rapidly. A decline in the BHP iron and steel industry since 1981 also impacted employment.
The BHP long products division was divested in 2000 to form OneSteel which is the sole producer of rail and steel sleepers in Australia. On 2 July 2012, OneSteel formally changed its name to Arrium.
From 2004 northern South Australia enjoyed a mineral exploration boom and Whyalla found itself well placed to benefit from new ventures, being situated on the edge of the Gawler Craton. The city experienced an economic upturn with the population slowly increasing and the unemployment rate falling to a more typical level.
Heritage listings.
Whyalla has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
Port.
Since its beginnings as Hummock Hill, the town has served as a port for the shipment of iron ore from deposits along the Middleback Range.
The port's first conveyor belt loading system was installed in 1915, and was capable of loading 1,000 tonnes of ore per hour. In 1943, it took 5½ to 6 hours to load a single 5,000-ton freighter.
In 2007, new transshipment handling processes were implemented, which allowed Arrium (formerly Onesteel) to load iron ore onto larger capesize bulk carrier vessels in deeper water. The transshipment process involves the filling of barges with ore which is then transferred into the receiving vessels at one of three transshipment anchorages.
In the financial year 2014–15, 12.5 million tonnes of hematite ore was exported from Whyalla, using the transshipment process.
In October 2015 Arrium loaded its largest capesize cargo via transshipment. The FPMCB Nature was loaded with approximately 205,698 wet metric tonnes (wmt) of iron ore – significantly more than the average load of about 170,000 wmt.
The port's inner harbor receives shipments of coal which is used to produce coke for the Whyalla steelworks and exports smaller cargoes of finished steel products.
Geography.
Climate.
Whyalla has a hot semi-arid climate (Koppen: Bsh) with hot summers and mild to cool winters, and mild rainfall spread throughout the year.
Demographics.
According to the 2016 census of Population, there were 21,751 people in Whyalla.
Transport.
Road.
The Lincoln Highway passes directly through Whyalla. The city is served by a coach bus service operated by Stateliner which operates four services to and from Adelaide (via Port Augusta) each week day (less on weekends) and one service each way to Port Lincoln. There are however occasional exceptions to the week day route due to lack of demand to travel through Whyalla.
Rail.
The BHP Whyalla Tramway was built to Iron Knob to supply iron ore originally used as flux when smelting copper ore. This ore became the basis of the steelworks. As the Iron Knob deposits were worked out, the railway was diverted to other sources of ore at Iron Monarch, Iron Prince, Iron Duke and Iron Baron.
To enable interchange between the BHP's other steelworks in Newcastle and Port Kembla of specialised rollingstock, the railway system within the Whyalla steelworks was converted to standard gauge in the 1960s.
Although the steelworks produced railway rail, for several decades there was no railway connection to the mainland system. Finally in 1972, the standard gauge Whyalla line to Port Augusta was completed and Whyalla railway station opened. The station was served daily from Adelaide till 1975, then again from 1986 to 1990 by the "Iron Triangle Limited". The station was demolished in 2012.
Some iron ore is exported from Whyalla. In 2007, steps were being taken to export iron ore mined at Peculiar Knob near Coober Pedy, 600 km away. To meet this increased demand, a balloon loop was installed in 2012 at the port for both gauges.
Air.
Whyalla Airport is southwest of the city. It is served by Regional Express flying into Whyalla from Adelaide a number of times a day, and QantasLink which operates twice daily services from Adelaide.
Sea.
There is a small boat marina (populated by a number of dolphins), a sailing club, and a boat ramp on the coastline below Hummock Hill, where there is a fish-cleaning station situated nearby. Iron ore is exported through an off-shore facility.
Media.
Whyalla is served by several radio and TV stations. Radio stations include 5YYY FM (Local community station), Magic FM (Commercial station based in Port Augusta), and 5AU/5CS (Commercial station based in Port Pirie). The local TV station is Southern Cross TV.
The local newspaper, "The" "Whyalla News""," was first published on 5 April 1940, and is currently owned by Fairfax Media. Historically, another short-lived monthly newspaper called the "Whyalla Times" (January - October 1960) was also printed for the town by E.J. McAllister and Co., from their premises in Blythe Street, Adelaide. Another publication called "Scope" (May 1973–November 1982) was also printed in the town. According to the State Library, "Scope was a monthly regional magazine in newspaper format published by the Willson family of the Whyalla News. It was issued as an insert to six local newspapers: the Recorder (Port Pirie), Transcontinental (Port Augusta), Eyre Peninsula Tribune (Cleve), Port Lincoln Times, West Coast Sentinel (Streaky Bay) and Northern Argus (Clare)."
Tourism.
The industrial and cultural history of Whyalla is accessible to tourists via several museums and public tours.
Visitors can view the ex-HMAS "Whyalla" from the Lincoln Highway and take a guided tour of it via the Whyalla Maritime Museum. The ship is a retired World War II-era corvette and was the first ship built in the city of Whyalla during the war. It was relocated to the highway in 1987. The Whyalla Maritime Museum features various displays commemorating the town's ship building and mining history, including miniature replicas of various ships and a model railway diorama. Further displays introduce visitors to the region's natural and indigenous cultural histories.
Tours of the Whyalla steelworks allow visitors to view the production of long products at the working plant. Tours departing from the Whyalla Visitors Centre.
The town's development and social history is presented at the volunteer-run Mount Laura Homestead National Trust Museum, which is located near the Westlands shopping centre.
Ecotourism.
In the late 1990s the annual migration of the Australian Giant Cuttlefish "Sepia apama" to shallow, inshore rocky reef areas in Spencer Gulf north of Whyalla became recognized by divers and marine scientists. Divers and snorkellers can see the aggregation of animals from May through August each year, in water one to six metres deep. The most popular places to view the aggregation are Black Point, Stony Point and Point Lowly. Car parking and boardwalks or stairs to the waters edge are present at each location, making access easy.
Dolphins frequent the Whyalla marina, but concerns have been raised that their confidence around humans may increase their vulnerability.
The Whyalla Conservation Park provides an example of the natural semi-arid environment accessible via walking trails. A gentle climb to the top of Wild Dog Hill provides a view of the surrounding landscape and information on native vegetation via a series of interpretive signs.
Fishing.
Boat launching facilities exist at Whyalla and Point Lowly North marinas. The Whyalla Marina also has a jetty which is illuminated at night for the convenience of fishers.
Whyalla was home to an annual Snapper Fishing Competition. The largest of it's kind and renowned for attracting tourists and fisherman from all over Australia, if not the world. However due to major over fishing, a blanket ban was put in place to protect the species, and is presently still in effect. Subsequently, the annual fishing competition was closed.
Politics.
State and Federal.
Whyalla is part of the state electoral district of Giles, which is presently held by Labor MP Eddie Hughes. Giles was previously held by Labor MP Lyn Breuer from 1997 until her retirement in 2014. In federal politics, the city is part of the division of Grey, and has been represented by Liberal MP Rowan Ramsey since 2007. Grey is held with a margin of 8.86% and is considered safe-liberal. The results shown are from the largest polling station in Whyalla Norrie – which is located at Nicolson Avenue Primary School.
Local.
Whyalla is in the City of Whyalla local government area (along with some of the sparsely inhabited areas around it).
Education.
Primary schools.
Primary schools in Whyalla include Whyalla Town Primary School, Fisk Street Primary School, Long Street Primary School, Hincks Avenue Primary School, Memorial Oval Primary School, Whyalla Stuart Campus, Nicolson Avenue Primary School, Sunrise Christian School, St Teresa's and Our Lady Help of Christians (both Samaritan College).
Secondary schools.
Secondary Education is provided by Whyalla High School, Stuart High School, Samaritan College, Edward John Eyre High School and Saint John's College, Whyalla. Saint John's College is one of the three schools that make up Samaritan College.
On 1 November 2017 a new high school was announced by DECD for Whyalla which will combine Edward John Eyre, Stuart High and Whyalla High Schools into a new purpose built facility located between UniSA and TAFE SA Campuses.
Tertiary education.
Tertiary education is provided by the Spencer Institute of TAFE, and the Whyalla Campus of the University of South Australia. UniSA Whyalla's academic programs include business, social work, nursing and research opportunities in rural health and community development.
Arts.
The D'Faces of Youth Arts community youth arts organisation has run workshops and activities for young people aged 7 to 27 in theatre, dance, visual arts and music since 1994.
The Whyalla Recording Scholarship is awarded annually for Whyalla residents aged from 12 to 21. The Inaugural (2017) Winner was seventeen year old Breeze Millard from Whyalla.
The Second (2018) Whyalla Recording Scholarship was launched on 23 April 2018 with 2 Winners (17 year old Liberty Tuohy from Port Neill and 19 year old Shakira Fauser from Whyalla) and 1 Runner-Up (15 year old Jaylee Daniels from Whyalla) being announced on 17 September 2018. On 24 February 2019 Jaylee Daniels' Debut Single "Papa's Song" reached Number 7, and Shakira Lea's "I Miss You" Number 18 on the iTunes Australia Country Chart In 2021 both Jaylee (with "Tonight") and Shakira (with "Drowning") released their second Singles. On 21st February 2021 Jaylee Daniels' "Tonight" reached Number 3 on the iTunes Australia Singer Songwriter Chart.
Sport.
The Whyalla Football League is an Australian rules football competition supporting half-a-dozen clubs. In 1998, Bennett Oval hosted an NRL match between the Adelaide Rams and Illawarra Steelers. The Steelers won 39–4.
Sister cities.
Whyalla's sister city is Texas City, Texas. It was proclaimed in 1984, during the sesquicentennials of both Texas and South Australia.
Ties with a former sister city, Ezhou in China, were cut in the 1990s.
In 1997, both cities signed an agreement reestablishing their sister city relationship.


Timahoe Esker

Timahoe Esker is a national nature reserve of approximately located in County Laois, Ireland. It is managed by the Irish National Parks & Wildlife Service.
Features.
Timahoe Esker was legally protected as a national nature reserve by the Irish government in 1985. It is also deemed to be a site of County Geological Significance by the Geological Survey of Ireland.
Timahoe Esker, with Richmond Esker, is one of only a small number of esker ridges that remain in Ireland and that have native woodland. The area was planted with conifers in 1963. The woodland is made up of ash, pedunculate oak and grey willow with hazel and hawthorn. Other flora on the site include bugle, shield fern, and bluebells. Long-tailed tits nest on the site. Buckthorn, blue fleabane and carline thistle are also found on the site.
Timahoe Esker is one of the few extant eskers in County Laois that was not extensively quarried for sand and gravel. Only two of the five esker high ridge segments at Timahoe are intact. The ridges were deposited at the end of the last Ice Age under and at the withdrawing margins of the ice sheet. Four segments of the esker are also Natural Heritage Areas, number 000421. There is a 1 km walk along the site, known as the Esker Walk.


Second Valley, South Australia

Second Valley is a coastal town on the Fleurieu Peninsula in South Australia.
The name is derived from being the next valley north of Rapid Bay, the initial camp on South Australian mainland of Colonel William Light. It is a popular scuba diving destination.
Despite its small size, Second Valley has been rated as one of Australia's top ten beaches, with the variety of activities and opportunities to explore cited as contributing factors.
Governance.
Second Valley is located within the federal division of Mayo, the state electoral district of Mawson and the local government area of the District Council of Yankalilla.


Bancroft Tower

Bancroft Tower is a natural stone and granite tower, which looks like a miniature feudal castle. It is located in Salisbury Park, in the city of Worcester, Massachusetts. It was erected in 1900, in memory of Worcester native politician, historian, and statesman George Bancroft. The tower was designed by Worcester architects Earle and Fisher. The cost of construction was roughly $15,000. Bancroft Tower is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Description.
Bancroft Tower is located northwest of downtown Worcester, in Salisbury Park, a public park located west of Park Avenue and south of Drury Lane. It is a two-story stone structure, built out of boulders and cobbles, with a rock-faced granite exterior. It is asymmetrical in plan, with crenellated square towers at the corners and a taller off-center circular tower in between. To the right of that tower is an arched gate.
History.
This tower was erected by Stephen Salisbury III in honor of George Bancroft, a prominent historian and statesman who had been a childhood friend of Salisbury's father. It was one of three towers built on high points of the city, and is the only one to survive. The park and tower remained in Salisbury's ownership until his death in 1907. The tower was bequeathed to the Worcester Art Museum, which in turn donated it to the Worcester Parks Department in 1912. The Bancroft tower was listed on the National Register of Historical Places on March 5, 1980.
Plaque.
A plaque set into the ground in front of it explains its purpose:
BANCROFT TOWER
THIS TOWER WAS BUILT IN 1900
TO HONOR THE MEMORY OF
GEORGE BANCROFT
1800–1891
BORN AT THE FOOT OF THIS HILL
HE ROSE TO THE POSTS OF
SECRETARY OF THE NAVY
FOUNDER OF THE U.S. NAVAL ACADEMY
ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND
U.S. MINISTER TO GREAT BRITAIN
AND GERMANY
THIS MEMORIAL WAS BUILT BY HIS
FRIEND AND ADMIRER
STEPHEN SALISBURY III
Also notable about the small park in which the tower stands are the two half-compasses set into the ground in front of and behind the tower itself. They are marked as if they pointed to the other six of the Seven Hills of Worcester (Bancroft Hill itself being one of the seven), but it doesn't appear, from the top of the hill, that they really do.


Bogdo-Baskunchak Nature Reserve

Bogdinsko-Baskunchakski Nature Reserve () (also Bogdinsko-Baskunchaksky) is a Russian 'zapovednik' (strict nature reserve) in a semi-arid area around two notable features: Lake Baskunchak, Russia's largest undrained salt lake, and Big Bogdo Mountain, the highest point (at 147 meters) in the Caspian Depression and home to the "singing rocks". It is about halfway between Volgograd and Astrakhan, placing it about 200 km north of the Volga River Delta, where the river enters the Caspian Sea from the northwest. About 20 km east of the lake is the border with Kazakhstan. Baskunchak has been a source of salt to Russia for centuries. The reserve is an important site on the bird migration route between northern Siberia and wintering regions. The reserve is situated in the Akhtubinsky District of Astrakhan Oblast.
Topography.
The reserve lies in the trough of the Caspian Depression, just east of the Volga's present main floodplain. The boundaries wrap around the north, east and south shores of the lake, and the mountain is in a separate sector just south of the lake. The main features - the shores of Lake Baskunchak and Big Bogdo Mountain, are seated about 25 meters below sea level. The top of Big Bogdo is 130 meters above the terrain. The hill itself is a karst (limestone) formation with over 30 caves. It is growing approximately 1 mm in height each year due to the pressure of the underlying salt dome.
Climate and Ecoregion.
Bogdinsko-Baskunchakski is located in the northwest of the Caspian lowland desert ecoregion. This region, on the north and northeast shores of the Caspian Sea, is characterized by sand dunes and ridges, salt soil, clay deserts (takyrs), and in places solonchaks (shors) or salt pans of 30–40 cm thickness devoid of vegetation. The sedimentary landscape is recently exposed lake bed (during the Tertiary the Caspian Basin was connected across the Black Sea to the Mediterranean.)
The climate of Bogdinsko-Baskunchakski is "Humid continental climate, cool summer" (Köppen climate classification (Dwb)). This climate is characterized by high variation in temperature, both daily and seasonally; with dry winters and cool summers. Average annual temperature is 15.4 C. Annual precipitation averages 150 mm.
Flora and fauna.
Plant life is sparse but features highly specialized halophytes (salt-tolerant plants). Big Bogdo Mountain is the only habitat in Russia of the squeaky gecko (Alsophylax pipiens). It is also a site for the endangered Russian Steppe eagle.
Ecotourism.
Big Bogdo mountain is considered a sacred site by some Buddhists, and there is one trail open to visitors - a 2.5 km hike to Big Bogdo ("Trail Legends of the Holy Mountain") with an observation deck and informational placards. There is also driving tour escorted by reserve officers to the shore of the lake. Passes must be obtained from the reserve office in Akhtubinsk. As a strict nature reserve in a sensitive environment, however, most of the Reserve is closed to the general public and access is strictly guarded by patrols. Scientists and those with 'environmental education' purposes can make arrangements with reserve management for visits.