Kierland Commons

Kierland Commons is a lifestyle center in Phoenix, Arizona, adjacent to Scottsdale, Arizona which is used for the center's mailing addresses. The mixed-use development is centered on a "Main Street" feel and composed mostly of outdoor retail shops with residential units above and adjoining residential tower.
Development.
The mixed-use destination began construction in 1995 and was completed in 2000. The primary developer was Woodbine Development Corporation of Dallas. The development concept, urban design plan and design guidelines were prepared by Design Workshop, Inc. (Denver, CO) and Communication Arts, Inc. (Boulder, CO). Building design was developed and prepared by Nelsen Architects (now known as Nelsen Partners). Originally owned by Westcor, in 2002 Kierland Commons became part of The Macerich Company's portfolio. Signature Properties was the Exclusive Residential Broker for The Plaza Lofts at Kierland Commons from 2003 through 2013 and remains On-Site to handle resales.
Kierland Commons was one of 10 developments honored as award winners by the Urban Land Institute's (ULI) 2009 Awards for Excellence; the 2009 winners were selected from a pool of 140 projects located across the Americas. The awards are widely considered the land-use industry's most prestigious recognition program. Other awards Kierland Commons has received include the 2010 "Crescordia" Award for Environmental Excellence by the Phoenix Valley Forward Association and the 2004 Honor Award given by the Arizona Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA).
Kierland Commons was the first lifestyle center in Arizona. The Main-Street-style development includes shopping, dining, entertainment, office space and upscale loft condominiums, The Plaza Lofts. Kierland Commons was created to serve as the community gathering place for the master-planned community of Kierland, whose notable features include The Westin Kierland Resort & Spa, the 27-hole Kierland Golf Club, as well as other residential and commercial entities.
Kierland Commons is home to about 75 stores, restaurants and services on approximately and cost approximately US$65 million to build. Like many shopping centers in the Phoenix area, it is managed by the Westcor division of Macerich, though majority ownership is held by the developer, Woodbine Development Corporation.
Some notable retailers at Kierland Commons include Anthropologie, Banana Republic, BCBG Max Azria, Coach, Crate & Barrel, ECCO, Eileen Fisher, J.Crew, Lucky Brand Jeans, Michael Kors, 7 for all mankind and Tommy Bahama. On December 31, 2014, Barnes and Noble closed.
The Plaza Lofts.
The mixed-use development's residential component is composed of The Plaza Lofts at Kierland Commons, located above retail overlooking the central plaza on Main Street and in an adjacent nine-story tower. The Plaza Lofts holds the record for the highest price per square foot of any residential project in Arizona – at $1,051 per square foot on a sale made in February 2007. Signature Properties was the Exclusive Residential Broker for The Plaza Lofts at Kierland Commons from 2003 through 2013 and remains On-Site to handle resales.
The Scottsdale condominium community features 84 residences in two phases. Phase I was completed spring 2005, with all 30 lofts selling out in 30 days with only on-site signage and word-of-mouth. Floor plans include one-bedroom and two-bedroom/study floor plans measuring 1,100 to .
Phase II of The Plaza Lofts was completed summer 2008. The nine-story tower contains 54 residences and offers one-bedroom to two-bedroom/study floor plans stretching 1,100 to . Five penthouse suites occupy the top floor, measuring 3,300 to with sweeping mountain, desert and city views.
Community amenities of The Plaza Lofts include a private residential parking garage; two reception lobbies with card-access entry (one per phase); a professional-grade fitness facility; two community rooms, one with a full kitchen and another with a catering-friendly setup; a heated lap pool and whirlpool; as well as a bi-level outdoor amenity deck featuring fire pits, gas barbecues and comfortable seating areas and a water feature.


The Mall Fund

The Mall Fund owns and operates shopping centres in England using the trading name "The Mall Company". The shopping centres are usually branded and marketed as "the mall".
The Mall Fund owned up to 10% of the covered retail space in the United Kingdom, making it the largest portfolio of branded shopping centres in the United Kingdom, before some of its sites were sold off. The Fund is managed by a team of 62 from Capital & Regional's Mall Corporation.
The Fund was formed in March 2002, by Capital & Regional and Aviva Investors. New investors have come in as the portfolio has expanded, and a secondary market for the units has developed. The fund now has 45 investors, including three overseas institutions.
Locations.
Centres owned by the company include:
Former locations.
The Mall Fund has disposed of some of its centres, usually by selling the premises on to another operator or holding company. In many cases, the centre will cease to use "The Mall" name and brand, and will often switch back to its previous (pre Mall) identity. The Mall Fund's most recent disposals were its shopping centres in Sutton Coldfield and Uxbridge, which were sold in July 2013.
Centres which have been owned by The Mall Fund but are no longer in its portfolio include:


Tunguska Nature Reserve

Tunguska Nature Reserve () (also Tungussky) is a Russian 'zapovednik' (strict nature reserve) located in the central part of the Central Siberian Plateau. As a result of a meteorite in 1908, more than 2,000 km2 of boreal forest was felled and burned. The taiga affected in the disaster area has been restored in the past 100 years. The reserve is situated in the Evenkiysky District of Krasnoyarsk Krai.
Topography.
The reserve sits on a low plateau, with deeply cut river valleys. The valley tops resemble elongated ridges, with hills of a typical height of 100–300 meters. The highest point in the territory is 602 meters above sea level. The Tunguska Event occurred on the northern edge of the reserve. The Stony Tunguska River (Podkamennaya Tunguska River) runs across the southern border of the site. Two main rivers run south through the reserve, the Chamby River and the Hushmy River. The river valleys are generally waterlogged when not frozen. Lake Cheko, a round, picturesque thermokarst lake is on the northern border of the site; it has been suggested as a possible impact site of the 1908 meteorite fall.
Climate and ecoregion.
Tunguska is located in the "East Siberian taiga" ecoregion, which sits between the Yenisei River and Lena River. Its northern border reaches the Arctic Circle, and its southern border reaches 52°N latitude. The dominant vegetation is light coniferous taiga with Dahurian larch (Larix gmelinii) forming the canopy in areas with low snow cover. This ecoregion is rich in minerals.
The climate of Tunguska is "Subarctic climate, without dry season" (Köppen climate classification Subartic climate (Dfc)). This climate is characterized by mild summers (only 1-3 months above ) and cold, snowy winters (coldest month below ).
Flora and fauna.
About 70% of the territory is forested, a further 15-20% is swamp. Aside from the dominant pine and larch there are occasional spruce and cedar. There is undergrowth of alder, dwarf birch, cranberries, blueberries, grasses, mosses and a covering of lichens. Scientists on the reserve have recorded 314 species of angiosperms.
The animals of the reserve are characteristic of the central Siberian taiga. Mammals include elk, brown bear, sable, squirrel, wolf, caribou, and wolverine. Scientists on the reserve have recorded 41 species of mammals and 19 species of fish. Birds are mostly wetland species; 170 species have been recorded in the territory.
History.
A number of archaeological sites from the Neolithic Period (3,000-4,000 BC) have been identified on the site, with stone tools, ceramics and bone fragments.
Ecoeducation and access.
As a strict nature reserve, the Tunguska Reserve is mostly closed to the general public, although scientists and those with 'environmental education' purposes can make arrangements with park management for visits. There are four 'ecotourist' routes in the reserve, however, that are open to the public, but require permits to be obtained in advance. All four lead to the presumed site of the meteor explosion. The main office is in the city of Vanavara. There are several flights per week to Vanavara from Krasnoyarsk.


Hoverberget

Hoverberget is a mountain on a peninsula in the southern part of the Storsjön lake. The mountain, a significant landmark and a Natura 2000 designated nature reserve, lies within Berg Municipality in the southern parts of Jämtland in northern Sweden. The village of Berg lies on the south slope of the Hoverberget, which is above the Storsjön and the surrounding area, and culminates at above sea level.
Hoverberget is made of porphyry, and originates from the same period as the Scandinavian Mountains. For millions of years it has been moving eastwards, and it now lies isolated and apart from other mountains. The mountain is rich in flora, with several orchid species, and many of the plants grow at their northernmost growth boundary. There are several rare species of moss and lichen. The mountain also has a rich bird life, with many birds of prey such as the common kestrel, the Eurasian sparrowhawk and the long-eared owl. Besides more common mammals, Hoverberget is also home to Eurasian lynx.
The tourist attraction called the Hoverberg Cave ("Hoverbergsgrottan") is deep, and is the largest rock cave in Scandinavia. It was discovered 1897 by Jöns Väst, a Swedish-American. of the cave is accessible to visitors. Less known is the Fissure ("Rämnan"), a large ravine in the mountain with a length of about and a depth of about , that is visible from the west and even from the county highway ("länsväg") 321. According to a folk tale, a giant called the Old Man of Hoverberg Lad ("Hoverbergsgubben") resided in the cave, but he moved out when people began to tidy the cave.
At the top of Hoverberget is a small café, which is open in the summer season. Adjacent to it is an observation tower, for those who want to look for the lake monster Storsjöodjuret, a folkloric phenomenon in the lake, or to enjoy the view.


Arapixi Extractive Reserve

The Arapixi Extractive Reserve () is an extractive reserve in the state of Amazonas, Brazil.
Location.
The Arapixi Extractive Reserve is in the municipality of Boca do Acre, Amazonas.
It has an area of .
The Purus River runs through the reserve from west to east. The reserve adjoins the Igarapé Capanã Indigenous Reserve to the west, the Mapiá-Inauini National Forest to the north and the Camicuã Indigenous Territory to the east.
About 300 families make use of the reserve.
The main economic activities are collection of latex from rubber trees and gathering of Brazil nuts.
The families also produce brown sugar, tobacco, flour, bananas, watermelons and beans.
Environment.
The reserve has fairly flat terrain, and lies in the basin of the meandering Purus River.
The region has high temperature and high rainfall.
The main types of vegetation are open alluvial rainforest, open lowland rainforest, dense alluvial rainforest and dense lowland rainforest.
There are small areas that have been converted for use in agriculture or cattle grazing, and areas with secondary vegetation in various stages of regeneration.
A survey of the reserve identified 25 species of fish, seven species of reptiles, 123 species of birds and 33 species of mammals.
The rough survey found the endangered jaguar ("Panthera onca"), giant armadillo ("Priodontes maximus"), giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) and giant otter (Pteronura brasiliensis).
Fish that are over-exploited or threatened by over-exploitation are Colossoma macropomum, Arapaima gigas, Brachyplatystoma vaillantii and Brachyplatystoma filamentosum.
Amazon birds with restricted distribution are speckled chachalaca ("Ortalis guttata"), pale-winged trumpeter ("Psophia leucoptera"), dusky-headed parakeet ("Aratinga weddellii"), cobalt-winged parakeet ("Brotogeris cyanoptera"), tui parakeet ("Brotogeris sanctithomae"), festive amazon (Amazona festiva), Purus jacamar ("Galbacyrhynchus purusianus"), semicollared puffbird (Malacoptila semicincta) and lemon-throated barbet (Eubucco richardsoni).
History.
The local communities began to fight for creation of the reserve in 2000.
The Arapixi Extractive Reserve was created by federal decree on 21 June 2006.
It was created in response to a request from the Union of Rural Workers of Boca do Acre, supported by the National Council of Rubber Tappers and the Amazon Workers Group.
Their expectation was that it would prevent the advance of soybean farming and cattle ranching into the territory, which would devastate the livelihoods of the residents.
The reserve is classed as IUCN protected area category VI (protected area with sustainable use of natural resources).
Its basic objectives protect the livelihoods and culture of the traditional extractive population,
and to ensure the sustainable use of natural resources of the unit.
On 13 December 2006 administrative responsibility was transferred to the Acre office of IBAMA, due to its proximity compared to the Amazonas office.
On 27 December 2006 the Instituto Nacional de Colonização e Reforma Agrária (INCRA) recognised the reserve as meeting the needs of 150 families of small rural producers, who would qualify for PRONAF support.
This was adjusted to 200 families on 18 December 2009.
The deliberative council was created on 12 August 2009.
The management plan was approved on 27 August 2010.
The reserve is now administered by the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio).


Sri Kurmam

Sri Kurmam is a village near Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh, India.
Srikurmam village is situated at a distance of 14.5 km to the South-east of Srikakulam town. It is in the Gara mandal of Srikakulam district. The village was named after the Srikurmam temple, the presiding deity of which is Lord Vishnu in Kurmavathara.
Geography.
Sri Kurmam is located at a latitude of 18° 16' N, a longitude of 84° 1' E and an altitude of 17 meters (59 feet).
This location puts the temple about 3 km from the Bay of Bengal.
Sri Kurmam Temple.
Sri Kurmam (holy tortoise) is a famous place of pilgrimage and the temple here is unique of its kind in the entire India. The temple is noted for its architectural beauty and contains many inscriptions ranging from the Eleventh Century A.D. to the Nineteenth Century A.D. According to inscriptions in the temple dated 1281 AD, the holy place of Kürmakshetra was re-established by Sri Ramanujacharya under the influence of Jagannatha Deva at Jagannatha Puri. Later the temple came under the jurisdiction of the king of Vijayanagara. The inscriptions throw light on the dynasties which held sway over this region. The temple is dedicated to Sri Kurmanatha, the second avatar of Lord Vishnu, Kurma Avatar.
Dolotsavam is the important festival and more than 20,000 pilgrims congregate on this occasion.


Junquillal Bay Wildlife Refuge

Junquillal Bay Wildlife Refuge, also called the Bahia Junquillal National Wildlife Refuge, is a wildlife refuge in Guanacaste Province of northwestern Costa Rica.
It is a part of the Guanacaste Conservation Area and the Area de Conservación Guanacaste World Heritage Site.
It protects areas of tropical dry forest and coastal mangroves.


Triple Five Group

Triple Five Group is a conglomerate based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, which specializes in shopping centres, entertainment complexes, hotels, and banks, along with 3 indoor amusement parks. The company owns and operates two of North America's largest malls, the West Edmonton Mall in Alberta and the Mall of America in Minnesota, both of which contain a wide variety of entertainment attractions alongside traditional retail. The company also owns the American Dream, which opened at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in New Jersey on October 25, 2019.
History.
Early years (1965–1981).
Germez Developments was founded by Jacob Ghermezian in 1965, and his family, the Iranian-Canadian Jewish Ghermezian family, remains the owners and operators of the company today. Jacob's four sons were the core of the business, and after them the brothers' children have begun to take leadership roles in the company, including CEO Don Ghermezian and Braze founder Mark Ghermezian.
In the mid-1970s, Germez Developments was involved in land speculation on the outskirts of Edmonton. The province of Alberta established "restricted development areas" (RDAs) encircling Edmonton and Calgary in 1974, and two years later announced that the areas would be used as "transportation and utility corridors". Germez was one of several companies that bought up large parts of the RDA ring around Edmonton, paying higher prices to rural landowners than the government was willing to offer. Despite not being allowed to develop the land, Germez dramatically raised its prices before selling its parcels back to the government. The Ghermezians made an $18 million profit when the Albertan government purchased the land in 1979, and much of that profit was used to finance their first retail project, the West Edmonton Mall.
Entering retail (1981–1992).
The Ghermezians began developing the West Edmonton Mall in 1974. Early in the development process, Raphael Ghermezian was faced with allegations of attempted bribery towards an alderman on the Edmonton city council. Eskandar Ghermezian retaliated with accusations of favor-seeking against the son of another Edmonton alderman. The first phase of the mall was completed in 1981, and Triple Five immediately began further construction for a second phase which opened in 1983 and a third in 1985. These expansions brought the West Edmonton Mall from the largest in Canada to the largest in the world.
In addition to building the West Edmonton Mall, Triple Five also developed the Eaton's Centre mall and mixed-use development in downtown Edmonton, which began development in 1980 and opened in 1986. The Ghermezians held a 50% stake in the complex, alongside Confederation Life Insurance, which bought Triple Five's share of the development for $1 in 1991.
In 1985, Triple Five created Peoples Trust, a bank and trust company whose first branch was located in their West Edmonton Mall. When Peoples Trust opened, its primary focus was on residential mortgages and guaranteed investments. Today, there are branches across Canada, and the bank offers several other services, including mortgages for care facilities and other commercial properties, and prepaid credit cards.
After the demolition of the Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, Minnesota, in 1985, the Ghermezian brothers approached the Bloomington Port Authority with a proposal for their second mall, which would be larger than West Edmonton Mall was at the time. The project was quickly approved, and ultimately became the Mall of America, which has remained the largest mall in the United States since it opened in 1992.
Searching for a third project (1986–2011).
Triple Five announced its plans in 1986 to build its third major project, considering Toronto, Montreal, and Niagara Falls, New York as possible locations. Montreal was dropped from consideration soon after, pitting the other two cities against each other for a project that was then dubbed "Fantasyworld". In the Toronto suburb of Mississauga, the first proposed location was rejected and the project was ultimately dropped. In Niagara Falls, the state of New York offered $400 million in subsidies to build Fantasyworld. The state later canceled its offer after deciding that the project was unlikely to be completed while Triple Five was preoccupied with building the Mall of America.
The late-1980s Soviet policy of glasnost encouraged Western businesses to seek opportunities in Russia and the other Soviet republics. In December 1988, Triple Five proposed building a megamall in Moscow, competing with the Cyrus Eaton Group's similar proposal in Leningrad. Both proposals were dropped, and within the month Triple Five had moved on to a proposal for a complex in Holbeck, Leeds, England. In addition to over of retail floor space, the Leeds development would have demolished significant parts of Holbeck to build a series of octagonal skyscrapers for mixed-use development. The project was intended to be completed by 1993, but was never approved. Other Triple Five proposals prior to 1994 were made in Burnaby, British Columbia, Tampa, Florida, Beijing, China, Burbank, California, Oberhausen, Germany, and various cities in Japan.
The American Dream Mall was first proposed for Silver Spring, Maryland, in the Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area, in August 1995. A mixed-use development with an area of , Triple Five proposed that only be used for retail space, while also including an NHL-sized ice hockey rink, a large wave pool, an IMAX theater, and a Fantasyland hotel similar to the West Edmonton Mall hotel. With the support of Montgomery County, the plan grew to include "a multimedia educational facility, sports club, and wellness center", and at the request of a board of local residents, a performing arts center and a miniature golf course were added to the project. As with Fantasyworld in Niagara Falls, local and state governments in Maryland were concerned by the amount of public money that was expected to fund the project. Montgomery County gave up on the American Dream project by the end of 1996, and ultimately the site was used for a smaller commercial development called Downtown Silver Spring.
In the early 2000s, Triple Five fought a legal battle over the majority ownership of the Mall of America. TIAA-CREF, who had held a 27.5% equity stake in the property since 1989, sold its share to Simon Property Group in 1999, making Simon the mall's majority owner. Triple Five sued, arguing that this deal was made in secret and that Simon breached its fiduciary duty in doing so. Simon was forced to sell the 27.5% stake to Triple Five when the case was decided in 2003, making Triple Five the majority owner of the mall it had developed and operated.
Triple Five announced in 2004 that its next major project would be the Great Mall of Las Vegas. While not as large as the Mall of America, the plan for over of floor space still would have placed it among the largest shopping malls in the nation. The project was approved by local authorities in early 2008 and was expected to begin construction by the end of the year. However, plans for the mall were shelved as a result of the late 2000s recession, and by the end of 2010 Triple Five defaulted on the loan for the mall's intended real estate.
West Edmonton Mall lost the title of world's largest shopping mall in 2004, with the opening of the Golden Resources Mall in Beijing, China. The following year, the New South China Mall in Dongguan opened and took the title, with an area of over . Triple Five has disputed whether these developments are actually shopping malls, and continues to claim that West Edmonton Mall is the world's largest. In 2005, Triple Five also attempted to enter the Chinese retail market with two proposed projects: the Mall of China in Dalian, and the Triple Five Wenzhou Mall in Wenzhou. Both of these were intended to feature over of floor space, and each would have become the largest mall in the world if completed. As of 2015, a project called "Triple Five China Dream" had been announced as an addition to the under-construction Beijing Daxing International Airport.
Mark Ghermezian founded Appboy, a mobile marketing automation company based in New York City, in 2011.
He has raised millions in venture capital investments from family members and Triple Five. The company, now known as Braze, advertises that it serves 420 million mobile users.
American Dream projects (2011–present).
On April 29, 2011, Triple Five took ownership of the unfinished Meadowlands Xanadu mall in East Rutherford, New Jersey, which had been under construction since 2004. The company had previously attempted to develop the site, having made a proposal for "MeadowFest America" in 2002 before construction on Meadowlands Xanadu began. The project was renamed American Dream, placing it under a brand that had previously been used for the Silver Spring project. The mall was intended to open in fall 2013, but legal disputes with the New York Giants and Jets and financial setbacks have continually delayed construction. The company has pledged 49% of its West Edmonton Mall and Mall of America to finance this project. As with many of Triple Five's projects, the company has requested significant public funding to build American Dream Meadowlands, and has received hundreds of millions of dollars from the state of New Jersey to finish the project. The mall opened on October 25, 2019.
Triple Five announced American Dream Miami in 2015, a project in Miami-Dade County, Florida which would become the largest mall in the United States if built. As of May 2018, the proposal for American Dream Miami has been approved by local authorities, but construction on the mall has not yet begun, pending regulatory approval.


Hohle Fels

The Hohle Fels () (also Hohlefels, Hohler Fels, German for "hollow rock") is a cave in the Swabian Jura of Germany that has yielded a number of important archaeological finds dating from the Upper Paleolithic. Artifacts found in the cave represent some of the earliest examples of prehistoric art and musical instruments ever discovered. The cave is just outside the town of Schelklingen in the state of Baden-Württemberg, near Ulm. In 2017 the site became part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Caves and Ice Age Art in the Swabian Jura".
Features.
The cave entrance is at above sea level. The cave consists of a tunnel of about length and a main hall with a volume of , making the cave hall one of the largest of Southern Germany.
Discoveries.
The first excavation took place in 1870, yielding remnants of cave bears, reindeer, mammoths and horses as well as tools belonging to the Aurignacian culture of the Upper Paleolithic.
Further excavations during 1958 to 1960, 1977, and 2002 yielded a number of spectacular finds, including several specimens of prehistoric sculpture such as an ivory bird and a human-lion hybrid figure similar to the Löwenmensch figurine but only 2.5 cm tall. In 2005, one of the oldest phallic representations was discovered.
In 2008, a team from the University of Tübingen, led by archaeologist Nicholas Conard, discovered an artifact known as the Venus of Hohle Fels, dated to about 35,000 to 40,000 years ago. This is the earliest known Venus figurine and the earliest undisputed example of expressly human figurative art. The team also unearthed a bone flute in the cave, and found two fragments of ivory flutes in nearby caves. The flutes date back at least 35,000 years and are some of the earliest musical instruments ever found. In 2012, it was announced that an earlier discovery of bone flute fragments in Geißenklösterle Cave now date back to about 42,000 years, instead of 37,000 years, as earlier perceived.
In 2020 a twenty centimetre long forty thousand year old mammoth tusk with a line of four holes drilled into it was interpreted as being a device for making rope. Grooves around each hole would have held plant fibres in place. The instrument was found near the base of the Aurignacian deposits at Hohle Fels by a team led by Nicholas Conard of the institute of archaeological sciences at the University of Tübingen. Veerle Rots, of the University of Liège in Belgium was able to make four twisted strands of twine, using a bronze replica of the Hohle Fels cave device, an example of reconstruction archaeology. A similar 15,000 years old device, made of reindeer antler, was found in Gough's Cave in Cheddar Gorge, Somerset and at many other sites. The existence of these tools at different locations indicates rope-making had already become an important human activity by the Upper Paleolithic. Chris Stringer Research Leader in Human Origins at the Natural History Museum said, “These devices were called batons and were originally thought to have been carried by chiefs as badges of rank. However, they had holes with spirals round them and we now realise they must have been used to make or manipulate ropes.” The ropes could then have been used to construct fishing nets, snares and traps, bows and arrows, clothing and containers for carrying food. Heavy objects, such as sleds, could now be hauled on ropes while spear points could be lashed to poles.
Archaeogenetics.
The remains of at least five distinct individuals were found at Hohle Fels. In 2016, researchers successfully extracted the DNA from three samples taken from the Magdalenian period found at Hohle Fels. The tests were performed on two femur fragments, "HohleFels10" and "HohleFels49", and a cranial fragment, "HohleFels79". The two femur fragments possibly came from one individual. "HohleFels10" and "HohleFels49" were indirectly dated to around 16,000-14,260 BP BP, while "HohleFels79" was directly dated to around 15,070-14,270 BP. All three samples were found to belong to mtDNA Haplogroup U8a. The Hohle Fels samples were found to be genetically closest to other ancient samples from the Magdalenian, showing closest genetic affinity to each other and for other samples taken from the Swabian Jura, such as Brillenhöhle, while also showing genetic affinity for another Magdalenian sample, taken from the Red Lady of El Mirón, as well as a sample from the Aurignacian, "GoyetQ116-1", taken from Goyet Caves.
UNESCO World Heritage Site.
In January 2016, the federal government of Germany applied for the status of World Heritage Site for two valleys with six caves named "Höhlen der ältesten Eiszeitkunst" ("Caves with the oldest Ice Age art"). The site would encompass areas in the Lonetal (valley of the Lone) and the Achtal (valley of the Ach) both in the southern Swabian Jura. The former includes the caves "Hohlenstein-Stadel", "Vogelherd" and "Bocksteinhöhle", the latter "Geissenklösterle", "Hohle Fels" and "Sirgenstein Cave". Each valley would contain a core area of around length, surrounded by a buffer zone of a least width.
In the argument why these sites deserve recognition as a part of the universal human heritage, the area is described as the source of the currently oldest (non-stationary) works of human art in the form of carved animal and humanoid figurines as well as the oldest musical instruments. Their creators lived, were inspired and worked in and around these caves. The caves also served as the repositories of the figurines which may have been used in a religious context. In addition, they were the venue where performers used the excavated musical instruments and where the social groups lived from which the artists sprang.
The committee awarded the status of WHS in July 2017.


Yarrangobilly Caves

The Yarrangobilly Caves are located in a karst region along the Yarrangobilly River valley in the north of Kosciuszko National Park, New South Wales, Australia.
Discovered to British colonists by a cattleman, the Yarrangobilly Caves system includes several independent limestone caves formed over different time periods, from several million to a few hundred thousand years old. The older examples are in higher strata and have more speleothem decoration.
The caves are administered by the National Parks and Wildlife Service. Three lit show caves are regularly open to visitors, two for guided tours and the third for a self-guided tour. The caves complex also includes a and up to thermal pool, fed by natural warm-water springs, and a number of walking tracks.
History.
The cave was formed in 440-million-year-old limestone, and was first discovered by Europeans in 1834 when a stockman John Bowman came across the complex.
Leo James Hoad was associated with the caves from 1904–1950, serving as the official caretaker of the caves from 1919 to 1946. He discovered the Jillabenan Cave in 1910.
The largest building on the site is Caves House, built in 1901 when the caves were the most popular resort in New South Wales. It can be booked as accommodation for groups of visitors.
Show caves.
South Glory Cave is a self-guided cave, with a path length of , including 206 steps plus ramps.
Jersey Cave is noted for its rare displays of black and grey flowstone, coloured by ash from ancient bushfires. The path length is and includes 217 steps.
Jillabenan Cave features soda straw stalactites, flowstone shawls, cave coral and helictites. The path length is and includes 15 stairs. It is suitable for wheelchair access (though the Parks wheelchair must be used, as the rails over steps inside the cave are fixed-width).
The North Glory Cave has a common entrance with the South Glory through Glory Arch and features chambers such as the Queens Chamber, Helictite Chamber and Devils Kitchen. The path length is and includes 191 stairs.
Several other unlit caves in the Yarrangobilly complex can be visited with tours run by the NPWS: North Glory Cave and Smugglers Passage, Harrie Wood Cave and Castle Cave. These tours run daily during Christmas and Easter, or by prior arrangement, and require a minimum of eight people to run. For the unlit caves, helmets and lights are provided.


Hamilton Town Center

Hamilton Town Center is a retail lifestyle center in Noblesville, Indiana, United States. Opened in 2008, it is managed by Simon Property Group, who owns 50% of it.
History.
The center opened in 2008 with Dick's Sporting Goods, J. C. Penney, Bed Bath & Beyond, Borders Books & Music (closed 2011), Designer Shoe Warehouse, Ulta, Stein Mart, and Squeeze Play are among its anchor stores. Bed Bath & Beyond and J. C. Penney predated the mall's opening by several months. Borders closed in 2011 and was replaced by an Earth Fare organic supermarket, which has also since closed.


Emile Brunel Studio and Sculpture Garden

The Emile Brunel Sculpture Garden and Studio, also known as the Totem Indian Trading Post, Le Chalet Indien, and Brunel Park, is located on Da Silva Road, just off the NY 28 state highway, in Boiceville, Town of Olive, New York, United States. It consists of seven sculptures and three buildings.
Brunel was a French immigrant and artist who had become fascinated by the Native American tribes of the West during his travels there in the early 20th century. After a successful career as a photographer he bought a tract of land in the Catskills and built a studio residence and a resort on it, decorated with sculptures inspired by the Native American art he had seen. The resort closed and the statues were relocated soon thereafter when Route 28 was widened through it at the end of World War II, but the sculpture garden remained a popular roadside attraction afterwards.
In 1929 Brunel began construction of a studio residence on the site in the "neo-rustic" or French Arts and Craft style. His wife and daughter (both named Gladyse) kept the sculpture garden maintained after his death in 1944, operating a nearby souvenir shop until 1985. The artist's home and studio remain intact, and were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.
Property.
The studio and sculpture garden are located on a lot at the intersection of Da Silva and Route 28, approximately a half-mile (1 km) south of the small hamlet of Boiceville. The area is primarily wooded, with the land generally sloping westward towards Esopus Creek. There are some other houses on the former resort property uphill and to the east, and along Route 28 to the south. The land across the highway is undeveloped since it is owned by the New York City Department of Environmental Protection as a buffer for Ashokan Reservoir to the south.
There are nine resources on the property. Seven (the sculptures and totem poles) are art objects and three are buildings: the studio, a shed and a log cabin fronting on Da Silva. The latter was built in 1960 to serve as a souvenir store and is thus not old enough to be considered a contributing resource to the National Register listing.
Studio.
The studio, on the west side of Da Silva, is a two-story frame building with exposed basement, sided in rough stucco with carved reliefs of Native American scenes and a profile of Brunel and his wife with the legend "Le don de Dieu" (French for "the gift of God"). Its gabled roof, with broad overhanging eaves, is pierced on the south (front) by two gabled dormer windows. Fenestration is irregular and asymmetrical.
Inside it has a garage and storage room on the first story, a living room, kitchen and dining room on the second, and bedrooms in the attic. The first floor fireplace has a stucco surround with carvings of large birds, and birds are also painted on the windows. Finishes of fiberboard sheathing, simple moldings, beamed ceilings and built-in cabinetry are original.
Sculpture garden.
A short path west of the house climbs a gentle rise a short distance to the sculpture garden. It is dominated by three large sculptures created by shaped wire mesh filled with rocks and then covered in concrete. On the south of the garden is the 30-foot–tall (10 m) "Moon Haw Haw", a male figure with a single feather at the rear of his head looking skywards towards the Burroughs Range to the west with both arms outstretched, palms facing upwards. It is complemented by "Natache", a similarly attired seated female figure with one hand held aloft. On her back is a child in a papoose.
The third sculpture, "The Great White Spirit", is located in the north corner. It is a tree with spreading roots, of the same height as "Moon Haw Haw". At its top are four faces representing Buddhism, Christianity, Islam and Judaism. They are complemented by four faces at the base, representing the vices of jealousy, greed, hate and lust. Alternatively the four faces at the base represent the anti-thesis of those on top: Jesus and Satan; Moses and Pharaoh; Bhudda and Mara, the king of Demons; and Mohammed and Bacchus, the god of wine. The work was Brunel's last and also serves as his monument, as his ashes are interred within it.
There are also two large totem poles made by the same method. A third which collapsed and was partially buried was resurrected in 2002. Smaller sculptures, including a nesting pelican and seated chief, which serves as a bbq chimney are also located around the garden.
History.
A native of Châteauneuf, Brunel came to the U.S. in 1904 at the age of 30. He set out for the West, where for several years he made a living as an itinerant painter, focusing on scenes of the vanishing frontier life and painting signs and broadsides for traveling circuses and whiskey makers. Shortly after his arrival he met his future wife, Gladyse McCloud, a 14-year-old girl working as a caricaturist at one of the circuses. He promised to return for her when he had become successful.
He began turning to photography, using newer camera equipment and finding Native Americans a major subject. His photographs began to sell, and he returned to New York. There he became involved with the early film industry, where he met and later worked for Cecil B. DeMille. He produced and directed a film, "The Hand of God", founded the New York Institute of Photography and perfected one-hour film processing, an advance which allowed dailies to become part of the filmmaking process.
Building on this, he established himself as a photojournalist for the "New York Times Magazine", and started a chain of photo studios in the upscale commercial districts in Manhattan, including studios in Tiffany's and Bloomingdales. He had achieved success, and called for Gladyse, still not yet out of her teens. She returned, and the couple married.
His success allowed him to start purchasing the land around an existing hotel in the Catskills in 1918. Eventually he acquired around the current property, which became the Chalet Indien resort. He added tennis and croquet courts, bridle paths, and what local lore claims was the first Olympic-size swimming pool in Ulster County.
The resort was very successful, with many celebrity guests, due to its location on Route 28's C-shaped course up through the Catskills into the Adirondacks, in an era when auto touring was just beginning. During WWII it was a choice vacation spot among New York's European cultural elite. It was listed as the summer time residence of Broadway producer Harold Prince, father and son abstract painters Max and Jimmy Ernst, the Austrian composer Karol Rathaus, and the architect Frederick John Kiesler. Jimmy Ernst painted one of his very first mural's for the hotel's parlor. Edward the VII and Mrs. Simpson also were known to be frequent guests as were Enrico Caruso and George M. Cohan. Brunel also counted the Roosevelt's amongst his many friends. Eleanor Roosevelt once wrote to him: "I have long since ceased caring about what other people may think."
Brunel exhibited Native art and artifacts he had collected out west along with his own sculptures that he had started making in the years after he had bought the land. In 1929 he built a home and studio in an Arts and Crafts style evoking the farmhouses of his native France. It was an unusual house for the area, where most older houses reflect Dutch and English building traditions
Chalet Indien continued to prosper over the next two decades. In 1944, two events led to its demise. The state announced plans to reroute Route 28 in a way that compromised the future of the resort, and Brunel died. Before World War II ended the following year, it would close.
Gladyse and the Brunels' daughter continued to operate the trading post on the property, selling goods manufactured by local tribes. They sold off parcels of the resort and consolidated the sculptures in their present garden and built the log cabin for the store around 1960, nine years after Gladyse died. Her daughter continued to run the store until her death in 1985; after that, her own daughter kept it going for another ten years before selling it. It closed around the end of the 20th century. In 1997 the property was sold to the current owners who have been preserving the home and restoring the gardens in keeping with the original style, spirit and unrealized plans for both.


Andreafsky Wilderness

Andreafsky Wilderness is a wilderness area in the U.S. state of Alaska. Located within the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge, it is about in area, and was designated by the United States Congress in 1980.
History.
Andreafsky Wilderness is designated by the United States Congress now it contains a total area of 1,300,000 acres and managed by Fish & Wildlife service. The Andreafsky River and its East Fork, in the northern section, flow southwest along parallel paths and drain into the Yukon River.


Playa Blanca Marine Wetland

Playa Blanca Marine Wetland ("Blanca Beach Marine Wetland", ), is a protected area in Costa Rica, managed under the Central Pacific Conservation Area, it was created in 1994 by decree 23127-MIRENEM.


Rajang Mangroves National Park

The Rajang Mangroves National Park is a national park in Sarikei Division, Sarawak, Malaysia.
It is home to species such as proboscis monkeys, silvered langurs, lesser adjutant storks and hornbills.
It has a very important role in preserving the coast, from the occurrence of erosion, tidal floods and salt intrusions.


Cedar Bench Wilderness

Cedar Bench Wilderness is a protected wilderness area in the Prescott National Forest in the U.S. state of Arizona. Established in 1984 under the Arizona Wilderness Act, the area protects the large "bench" that divides the Agua Fria and Verde River drainages . Elevations range from 4,500 feet (1,371 m) to 6,700 feet (2,042 m) with vegetation that includes saguaro cactus along the Verde river to chaparral to smaller amounts of pinyon pine and Utah juniper along the high points.


Las Baulas de Guanacaste Protected Zone

Las Baulas de Guanacaste Protected Zone (), is a protected area in Costa Rica, managed under the Tempisque Conservation Area, it was created in 1991 by decree 20518-MIRENEM.


Taichung City Second Market

Taichung City Second Market (), formerly Shintomichō Market, is a public market located in Central District, Taichung, Taiwan that is known for its local cuisine.
History.
Taichung City Second Market was built in 1917 by the Japanese colonial government as the second out of five planned marketplaces in Taichung. Like the first market (currently ASEAN Square), the Second Market was built with three wings extending radially from the center. The market was located in Shintomichō, whose residents were mostly Japanese; hence, it was known as the "Japanese market". The Second Market sold higher-end food and clothing for its affluent customers. During this time, the market also sold fruit and vegetables wholesale.
The market was already too small during the Japanese era, and the trend worsened when the Kuomingtang took over. Therefore, additional buildings were built around the original and completely surrounded it. However, the market's commercial importance diminished with the westward shift of the city's central business district, the arrival of department stores, and the construction of public markets specifically for wholesale fruit and vegetables.
In the late 20th century, the market transitioned into a tourist attraction known for its wide offerings of Taiwanese cuisine. Renovation projects also helped improve the "dirty" public image of the market. One stall selling "ba-wan" inside the market is mentioned in the Michelin Guide.
Architecture.
The market has a total floor space of 2,388 ping and has a total of 331 vendors inside (54 stores, 150 permanent stalls, 107 temporary stalls). The market is composed of a Japanese-era structure with three wings surrounded by street-facing qilou on all sides. The original Japanese building is built of brick, a style popular during the Taishō era. In the middle of the three wings, there is a two-story hexagonal tower, which was once the tallest structure in Taichung and had a bell serving as a fire alarm. There are six hallways extending from the center in a radial fashion.


Lummelunda Cave

The Lummelunda Cave (, also known as the "Rövarkulan", "The Robbers' Den") is located in a nature reserve at Lummelunda north of Visby on Gotland, Sweden. The explored part of this karst cave is almost , making it one of the longest caves in Sweden. It is created by the drainage water from the Martebo mire. The water forms a stream with its outlet in the Baltic Sea. In the 15th to 19th centuries, mills and an ironwork were set up by the stream.
Although the entrance of the cave has been known for centuries, the main part of it was discovered by three teenage boys during the 1940s–50s. It is visited by around 100,000 people every year and is one of the major tourist attractions on Gotland.
History.
The cave was most likely formed before the last ice age. The water that creates it is drainage from the Martebo mire which is approximately east of Lummelunda. Most of the water runs as a stream, the "Lummelundsån", through the north part of the cave system, exiting the limestone cliffs (known as the "Klint") a few hundred meters from the coastline. The stream was much larger and more forceful before the mire, once the largest on Gotland, was drained at the end of the 19th century. The remaining drainage is led through an underground canal, dropping from Martebo mire to Lummelunda, at 400 liters/second.
The stream has been used for industry since the Middle Ages. According to an undocumented litigation in 1778, a mill was built at Lummelunda in 1418. The oldest reliable record is from 1594, where three mills are listed at the stream. In the 1620s, six mills were in use at the "Lummelundsån". The cave itself has been known as long as the stream has been used. Carl Linnaeus wrote about the cave during his journey to Gotland in the summer of 1741. The part of the cave where the stream has its outlet, the Linné's Cave, is named after him. The Linné's Cave is wide, high and about long. The bottom of it is filled with water. The Lummelunda Cave is mentioned in the 1917 cave investigation made by geologist and Gotlander Henrik Munthe, where it is called "Kytt-Janns källare" ("Kytt-Jann's cellar").
The first documented attempt to explore the cave was made in 1924 by zoologist Torsten Gislén, but he never got further than into the cave despite several later attempts.
"The Three Boys".
The breakthrough in finding the cave system happened in 1948, when three teenage boys, Lars Olsson, Örjan Håkansson and Percy Nilsson, known as "The Three Boys" ("De tre pojkarna"), found an entrance to the rest of the cave. For seven years they explored the cave on Sundays using matches, candles, planks and a small boat to get deeper into the system.
After having explored the first hall of the cave for two years, a large block of stone fell from one of the walls, widening a small opening in the cliff. This led to a long passage (later called "The Boys' Passage", "Pojkarnas gång") into the first large cave hall, "The Mountain King's Hall" ("Bergakungens sal"). From 1959 onwards, this hall became the location for the start of the guided tours. A bit further in is "The Chapel" ("Kapellet"), named thus by the boys who thought it looked like a church, where their exploration was hindered by a lake. It was not until 1955, that they managed to get another further in, using an inflatable boat.
On 21January 2011, "The Three Boys" were honored in a ceremony at the Campus Gotland. Lars Olsson died on 19 October 2011, and Percy Nilsson died in December 2013. All three were made honorary members of the Swedish Speleology Society ("Sveriges Speleologförbund, SSF").
Further explorations.
In 1959, a long tunnel was made from the surface to "The Mountain King's Hall" to make the cave more accessible to visitors. Another of tunnels and the largest hall so far, was discovered by cave divers in September 1985, after they had passed four underwater passages (or "traps").
Geology and geography.
The Lummelunda Cave is situated in Lummelunda, about north of Visby. Its opening is behind the Lummelunda Manor at the old mill "Överstekvarn" ("The Topmost Mill).
The cave is a karst cave, formed by surface water trickling down through cracks in the limestones of the Lower Visby Formation. When the surface water meets the groundwater, it starts to dissolve the limestone and widen the cracks into passages and halls.
It is one of the longest caves in Sweden; the explored part of it is almost long.
33 sinkholes have been found in the main canal leading the water from Martebo mire to the cave. In the area west of the cliff there are five springs. After the draining of the mire the flow of water in the canal have decreased significantly, from in 1948, to in 1977. This has caused some of the sinkholes to disappear. During dry summers there is an impending danger that the cave is completely drained.
The cave is roughly divided into two parts: one dry, also called the fossil system, and a wet, active part. A large number of fossils and stalactite formations can be found in the dry part. The cave has a relatively stable climate with a humidity of 95–100%. According to a source from 1989, the temperature is on average and points out that fluctuations in temperature have been noticed as a result of the many visitors. A source from 2011, states that the temperature is .
Nature reserve.
A nature reserve to protect the Lummelunda Cave, was established on 20March 1989. The reserve is ; it includes the cave and the corresponding area above the ground and is called the Lummelunda Cave Nature Reserve ("Naturreservatet Lummelundagrottan").
Biology.
At least 83 different species of animals including worms, spiders, centipedes, crayfish, beetles, butterflies, fish, mice and bats, have been found in the cave. Plants grow near the artificial lights in the outer parts of the cave. Since the plants are not a natural part of it, they are removed to keep the environment as original as possible. The many visitors also have a negative effect on the biology of the cave.
The landscape above the cave, which is also part of the nature reserve, is characterized by the karstification of the area. It is bisected by a steep cliff running in a north–south direction through the reserve. The eastern part on top of the cliff, is covered in pine forest, and the western part between the cliff and the shore is grassland with deciduous trees.
Tourism and tours.
The Lummelunda Cave has been open to the public since 1959. It is visited by about 100,000 people each year, making it the most visited cave in Sweden, and one of the major tourist attractions on Gotland. "The Mountain King's Hall" and "The Chapel" (these combined are called the Visitors' Cave) are included in the regular tours. It is also possible to go another into the cave system with the special tours. These tours require a trained guide and visitors have to wear special gear and use small boats.


Pier Park (Florida)

Pier Park is a lifestyle center in Panama City Beach, Florida. It opened in 2008 and features Dillard's, J. C. Penney, and Target as anchor stores.
History.
In the late 1990s to early 2000s there were talks about an outdoor shopping complex on Panama City Beach that would be adjacent to the Gulf Front with retail stores, dining options, and a movie theatre. The Pier Park project officially broke ground in 2002 with a 5 to 6 year timeline for completion it neared completion in late 2007 for a Spring 2008 opening date.
Pier Park officially opened on February 14, 2008. Among the first stores to open were anchor stores including a Dillard's, J. C. Penney, and Target, all of which are still in operation. Other tenants include Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville restaurant, Buffalo Wild Wings, Marble Slab Creamery, Old Navy, Nike Factory Outlet, Five Guys Burgers and Fries, Victoria's Secret and Dick's Last Resort, and a movie theater owned by Southern Theatres, The Grand 16, which features IMAX 3D as well as RealD 3D. Forever 21 opened in the former Borders Group, which closed in 2011.
In early 2021 after 12 years in operation the Nike Factory Outlet will be closing the Pier Park location on January 21, 2021
The opening of Pier Park led to many other developments in the area, including a Walmart store, an adjacent strip mall called Pier Park West, and a second shopping center complex called Pier Park North. Pier Park West contains GameStop, Dickey's Barbecue Pit, Jimmy John's, and Chipotle. Pier Park North, completed in 2015, is home to Bealls Outlet, Five Below, Dick's Sporting Goods, Ross Dress For Less, The Fresh Market, Petsmart, Cost Plus World Market, Bed Bath & Beyond, Rooms To Go, Chili's, Texas Roadhouse, Wayback Burgers, and Jersey Mike's Subs. A fourth development Pier Park East is in the works to include a extension of the current Pier Park with more retail, a indoor family entertainment center, a hotel and residential units construction has yet to begun.


Dan yr Ogof

Dan yr Ogof (), located at the National Showcaves Centre for Wales, is a long cave system in south Wales, about north of Ystradgynlais and southwest of Brecon, in the Brecon Beacons National Park. It is the main feature of a show cave complex, which is claimed to be the largest in the UK and is a tourist attraction in Wales. The first section of the cave system is open to the public, but the extensive cave system beyond is scheduled as a national nature reserve and is open only to "bona fide" cavers.
The bones of some 42 humans, as well as numerous animal bones, have been found in one of the nearby chambers of this cave system. In a 2005 poll of "Radio Times" readers, Dan yr Ogof was named as the greatest natural wonder in Britain.
Exploration.

The cave was first explored in 1912 by three local brothers, Edwin, Tommy and Jeff Morgan, using candles and primitive equipment. Completely unsure of what they would discover, they armed themselves with a revolver. Edwin was the first to enter, as he was the smallest of the Morgan brothers. Initial expedition was halted at a large lake, which they later managed to cross by coracle. They eventually crossed three more lakes in the same manner, but were stopped by a tight crawl.
This squeeze, known as the Long Crawl, was first passed by Eileen Davies, a member of the South Wales Caving Club in 1963. The initials 'PO' were found by Eileen Davies at the pitch to Gerard Platten Hall. Peter Ogden had not descended the pitch due to lack of the required equipment and was prevented from returning by an extended period of bad weather. Exploration has been steadily continued by later cavers who have extended the cave to its present length. Some of this length was reached by cave diving. One of these explorers was Martyn Farr, who wrote a book about the system in which he claims that the system will eventually be extended to at least .
Filming location.
The cave was used as a filming location for the "Doctor Who" serial "The Pirate Planet".


Washington State Route 202

State Route 202 (SR 202) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Washington, serving part of the Seattle metropolitan area. It runs southeasterly for in the Eastside region of King County, connecting Woodinville, Redmond, Fall City, and North Bend. The highway begins at SR 522 in Woodinville, intersects SR 520 in Redmond and SR 203 in Fall City, and terminates at Interstate 90 (I-90) in North Bend. The entire highway is designated as the Cascade Valleys Scenic Byway, a state scenic and recreational highway.
Railroads and roads in the Sammamish River and Snoqualmie River valleys, where modern-day SR 202 runs, were built during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The early roads were incorporated into the Yellowstone Trail in the 1910s and became a state highway in 1925. SR 202 was established in 1964 as part of a new state highway system, running from Woodinville to Monroe; SR 522 was designated to the Woodinville–North Bend highway, continuing west to Seattle. By 1970, the designations were reversed, with SR 202 moved to the Woodinville–North Bend highway, and SR 522 moved to the Bothell–Monroe highway.
Route description.
SR 202 begins at an interchange with SR 522 northwest of downtown Woodinville and east of the I-405 interchange. The highway travels south on 131st Avenue NE, crossing under a railroad overpass, before turning west onto NE 175th Street. SR 202 then crosses a railroad grade crossing and bridges the Sammamish River, before turning south onto Redmond–Woodinville Road. The highway travels south along the west side of the Sammamish River valley into Woodinville wine country, a district of wineries and tasting rooms south of Woodinville. SR 202 turns east onto NE 145th Street and crosses over the Sammamish River, and then enters the first in a series of three roundabouts that turn the highway southward.
SR 202 continues south along the east side of the rural Sammamish River valley and passes Sammamish River Regional Park before entering the city of Redmond. The highway travels along the western end of Education Hill and turns due south onto 164th Avenue NE while approaching downtown Redmond. SR 202 turns east onto Redmond Way at the terminus of former SR 908 and passes through Downtown Redmond near the Redmond Town Center. The street crosses over Bear Creek and under a freeway interchange with SR 520 before turning southeast. SR 202 continues along the edge of Marymoor Park near the north shore of Lake Sammamish, leaving Redmond and briefly entering the city of Sammamish.
SR 202 continues into unincorporated King County, traveling east and south around the Sammamish Plateau by following the course of Patterson Creek. The highway turns east at Duthie Hill and passes through Fall City, turning north to cross the Snoqualmie River. At the north end of the bridge, SR 202 intersects SR 203 in a roundabout, forming the latter's terminus. The highway continues southeast along the Snoqualmie River, passing Fall City Airport and crossing Tokul Creek via a long hairpin turn. SR 202 passes Snoqualmie Falls, enters a roundabout at Tokul Road, and travels south across the Snoqualmie River towards downtown Snoqualmie. From Snoqualmie, it travels southeast through the Three Forks lowlands and crosses the South Fork Snoqualmie River into North Bend. The highway turns southwest onto Bendigo Boulevard and travels through the city's downtown, exiting via a crossing of the South Fork Snoqualmie River. SR 202 passes the North Bend Premium Outlets mall and intersects I-90, where it terminates at a partial dumbbell interchange.
SR 202 is maintained by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), who conduct an annual survey on its highways to measure traffic volume in terms of average annual daily traffic. In 2016, WSDOT calculated that 40,000 vehicles used SR 202 at its western terminus in Woodinville and 7,500 vehicles used it in Woodinville wine country, the highest and lowest counts along the highway, respectively. The entire highway is also designated as the Cascade Valleys Scenic Byway, a state scenic and recreational highway and heritage corridor.
History.
The Sammamish River valley was settled in the late 19th century and served by the Seattle, Lake Shore and Eastern Railroad, built in 1889 from Bothell to North Bend, traveling through Redmond, Issaquah, Fall City, and Snoqualmie. By 1902, several wagon roads were built along the railroad, including a road between Fall City and North Bend, which was incorporated into the Sunset Highway when it was designated as a state highway in 1909. The road from Redmond to North Bend became part of the national Yellowstone Trail in the 1910s, including a section near Redmond that was paved with bricks in 1913. A portion of the Yellowstone Trail, along with unpaved roads from Redmond to Bothell, were designated as a state highway in 1925. The highway was paved in the late 1920s, and was incorporated into the Seattle–Fall City branch of the Sunset Highway (Primary State Highway 2) in 1937. After the opening of the North Bend bypass in 1941, the branch highway was extended to North Bend over the former Sunset Highway.
In 1963, the Washington State Legislature commissioned a new state highway numbering system to ease confusion over similarly-numbered routes. The new system debuted in 1964, assigning State Route 522 (SR 522) to the Seattle–Bothell–North Bend highway, and State Route 202 (SR 202) to a proposed branch of the Stevens Pass Highway between Monroe and Bothell. By 1970, SR 522 was moved to the completed Bothell–Monroe highway, retaining the Seattle–Bothell portion, while SR 202 was designated to the remaining highway from Woodinville (east of Bothell) to North Bend.
SR 202 was extended southwest of downtown North Bend to a new interchange with I-90 in 1978, after it was moved to a freeway bypass of North Bend. The area around the new interchange was annexed by the city of North Bend prior to the opening of the I-90 bypass, and a factory outlet mall opened at the interchange in 1990. Since the early 2000s, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) has built several roundabouts on SR 202 in Woodinville, Snoqualmie, Fall City, and North Bend, in an effort to improve the road's safety as traffic increases along the corridor. Another section of SR 202 between Redmond and Sammamish was widened in 2008 to accommodate additional traffic and included the construction of a new flyover ramp at the SR 520 interchange. In 2007, WSDOT also studied possible improvements to SR 202 in the Sammamish area, recommending the construction of new lanes, traffic signals, guardrails, and other projects. The study's recommended projects would cost an estimated $52.9 million to complete, and were not funded by the state government.


Chinook Centre

Chinook Centre (corporately styled as "CF Chinook Centre") is the largest shopping mall in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It is located near the geographic centre of the city on Macleod Trail, north of Glenmore Trail about south of downtown, and three blocks west of the Chinook C-Train station. The mall is operated by Cadillac Fairview.
CF Chinook Centre covers () of space, and includes three major anchor stores (Hudson's Bay, Nordstrom, and Saks Fifth Avenue) and 250 stores and restaurants. As the largest shopping destination in Calgary, it offers a range of mid-priced retailers as well as higher-end offerings in a luxury wing anchored by Saks Fifth Avenue. Junior anchors include Sport Chek, H&M, Old Navy, and Chapters.
The centre also includes a professional tower, bowling alley, 900-seat Dining Hall, and the 16-screen Scotiabank Theatre Chinook.
The focal point of the mall is a four-storey-high rotunda, including a time capsule at the centre's axis, set to be opened on December 31, 2999.
History.
In 1960, with Calgary's population and city limits rapidly expanding, the first section of Chinook Centre was opened August 16 on the site of the Chinook Drive-In Theatre and the adjacent Skyline drive-in and driving range. Designed as an open-air complex, the mall was anchored by Woodward's, Holt Renfrew, a bowling alley, and a branch of the Calgary Public Library.
In the mid-1960s, a separate mall, Southridge, was opened across the street from Chinook. Built to be a competing centre with Sears and approximately 30 other stores, Southridge operated separately until 1974, when the malls came under common ownership and an expansion was built to bridge the centres together. The new, larger mall was renamed Chinook Ridge Shopping Centre, and included a major enclosed parking structure, a movie theatre, an office tower, and a food court.
In the 1980s, a two-storey wing of specialty retailers was added leading to a new anchor store (fashion retailer Bretton's, since closed) and a new food court. This expansion brought the mall's store count to approximately 300.
A popular feature of the mall was an indoor merry-go-round, which was initially located outside the entrance to The Bay; following the 2000s renovation (see below), the attraction was relocated to the expanded food court. The construction of a pedestrian bridge from the food court required the removal of the carousel in the late 2010s.
2000 overhaul.
In the late 1990s, Chinook Centre underwent a $300 million, three-year renovation. The complex was completely rebuilt in three phases, and added new stores for Sears, The Bay and Zellers, as well as the south parkade and theatre complex. The former Chinook Movie Theatre location, which had closed in the early 1990s and converted into a large gaming arcade, became a much-expanded food hall. The move to larger format retailers reduced the number of stores to approximately 200. This re-merchandising program was unkind to smaller, locally owned businesses who were squeezed out by the 'upscaling' of the property. Some relocated to strip malls located near Chinook for a time.
2010 expansion.
On September 29, 2010, a major 2-level expansion was opened. The new wing added approximately 60 new retailers, many of which were new to the Calgary market or considered high-end luxury brand stores. The expansion increased the number of retailers to 250, and added two levels of underground parking.
Pedestrian and transit access.
Until the late 2010s, pedestrian access to the mall from east of Macleod Trail was facilitated by way of a thin pedestrian bridge, an underground tunnel, and an at-grade crosswalk. Use of these three options grew after the City's CTrain station was built approximately five blocks east of the mall (a location dictated by the placement of existing rail lines). Concerns over pedestrian safety resulted in a large pedestrian bridge being constructed in the late 2010s; running more than a block, it connects the Dining Hall on the second level to 61st Avenue, which in turn takes pedestrians to the CTrain station. In late 2018, the pedestrian tunnel was closed due to safety concerns, and the new bridge allowed the removal of the at-grade crosswalk at Macleod and 61st.
Expansion plans.
CF Chinook Centre is currently working on designs to add 2.3 million square feet of retail and mixed-use space.


Blue Range Wilderness

Blue Range Wilderness, along with Aldo Leopold Wilderness and Gila Wilderness, is part of Gila National Forest. It is located on the western border of New Mexico and west of U.S. Route 180 between Reserve and Glenwood. The wilderness is crossed by the Mogollon Rim. It became part of the National Wilderness Preservation System in 1980.
It is home to wildlife species including black bear, pronghorn, bald eagle, peregrine falcon, elk, white-tailed deer, osprey, mule deer, bobcat, spotted owl, cougar, timber wolf, gray fox, white-nosed coati, collared peccary, bighorn sheep, and wild turkey.
The adjacent and larger Blue Range Primitive Area of Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest in Arizona was also recommended for Wilderness status in 1971, but only the New Mexico portion has been acted upon by Congress.


Okomu Forest Reserve

The Okomu Forest Reserve is a forest block covering an area of 1081 km in Edo State, about 50 km west of Benin City, Nigeria. The Okomu National Park lies within the reserve. The park holds a small part of the forests that once covered the region, and is the last habitat for many endangered species.
The Okomu Forest Reserve was originally established by the British colonial government in 1912.


Bamingui-Bangoran National Park and Biosphere Reserve

The Bamingui-Bangoran National Park complex is a national park and biosphere reserve located in the northern region of the Central African Republic. It makes up part of the Guinea-Congo Forest biome. It was established in 1993. The Vassako Bolo Strict Nature Reserve is in the midst of the park.
Geography.
The park and biosphere reserve complex is located in the country's centre-north, west of N'Délé and close to the border with Chad. Reachable from Bangui, the capital city, it is situated to the west of Manovo-Gounda St. Floris National Park, and holds a higher density and a larger number of wild animals than Manovo-Gounda.
The national park is 1,070,000 ha in size, and lies within the mid-Sudanian phytogeographic domain of the Central African Republic. The park is situated on a plateau at an elevation of to above sea level. Its waterways drain north-westwards to the Chari River. The left bank floodplain of the Bamingui River is protected for as are of floodplain on the Bangoran River. A relatively small section, approximately section on the Bangoran's right bank, is excluded from protection.
The climate includes a rainy season of May–October in the southern reaches while diminishing to June–September in the northern areas. It can be muggy all year.
Flora and fauna.
Bamingui-Bangoran's major ecosystem is characterized as tropical dry or deciduous forests while the major habitats and land covers are dry forests, wooded savannas, edaphic savannas, and gallery forests. Trees include the "Terminalia", "Isoberlinia doka" and "Anogeissus".
The sub-specific endemism seen in the large mammals appears to link to Chari-Logone River system Pleistocene isolation. One mammal is considered endangered, the Chadian wild dog, while the Sudan cheetah, Central African lion, and African manatee are classified as vulnerable. According to Spinage, antelope populations have declined markedly since 1960 within the park.
The park reserve's amphibians include the Mascarene ridged frog, sharp-nosed ridged frog, Schilluk ridged frog, Galam white-lipped frog, cryptic sand frog, ornate frog, crowned bullfrog, flat-backed toad, shovelnose frog, Senegal kassina, and Natal puddle frog. The red faced lovebird is found here and in Nigeria's Gashaka Gumti National Park.
Threats.
Ecological threats to the park reserve include foreign timber and mining concessions, poaching, and agriculture land-clearance.


Cabo Polonio

Cabo Polonio is a hamlet located in the eastern coast of Uruguay in the Rocha Department.
Cabo Polonio has no roads leading to it and is located about 7 km from the main highway. It is accessible by walking through the dunes or by 4x4 vehicles. The region has no electricity or running water for the few houses of this town, and wind power and a few generators are used to power some of the "posadas" and grocery store. There is a lighthouse that gets power from the national grid. Residents obtain water from nearby water wells or collecting rain water.
Population.
According to the 2011 census, it had a population of 95 inhabitants.
Features.
Cabo Polonio sits on the tip of a peninsula that extends into the Atlantic Ocean. The ocean side of the peninsula experiences strong waves, while the bay interior to the peninsula is sheltered. At the top end, a lighthouse stands over boulders tumbling into the sea. Three small, rocky islands dot the coast nearby.
Near to the village is a colony of sea lions. The shore also has mobile sand dunes, in which the sand is blown by the wind and the dunes change their position over time. The village land is shared by the Uruguayan government and private owners. The government has included the area into the SNAP (Sistema Nacional de Áreas Protegidas) National System of Protected Areas.
In popular culture.
Cabo Polonio is the setting for events spread over a 36-year period in Carolina de Robertis' novel "Cantoras".


Polo Park

Polo Park (corporately styled as "CF Polo Park") is a shopping centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is situated on the former Polo Park Racetrack near the junction of Portage Avenue and St. James Street and is the largest mall of the eight malls in the city. It is the 15th largest shopping centre in Canada, between Guildford Town Centre and Laurier Québec.
History.
The Polo Park Mall opened Thursday August 20, 1959 and became one of the first enclosed shopping malls in Canada when a roof was added in 1963, the other being the Park Royal Shopping Centre.
The district was once the sports hub of Winnipeg, with the Winnipeg Arena, Canad Inns Stadium, and Winnipeg Velodrome all of which had been located at Polo Park. The Velodrome was torn down in the 1990s to make way for a strip mall that includes Home Depot and Chapters. The arena and stadium have also since been demolished and replaced by new retail and office complexes.
The former CKY building is situated next to the mall. It used to house the city's CTV Television Network affiliate, CKY-TV, CKY radio, and FM 92 CITI. It was the original home of the WTN network. Corus Radio Winnipeg has occupied the building since 2011, as part of a lease agreement between Corus Entertainment and Cadillac Fairview. Studios for CJOB 680, CFPG-FM 99.1 and CJKR-FM 97.5 are located on the second floor of the three-story building.
Expansions.
In the spring of 1968 a $7.5 million expansion of Polo Park was completed. The addition brought a three-storey Eaton's department store to the mix. With this add-on, Polo Park became the second largest shopping centre in Canada at the time.
In 1986, the mall underwent a $75 million renovation that added a second level to the building. This addition was panned by downtown Winnipeg merchants, who voiced their objections to the plan at city council meetings in 1984; however, city council approved the expansion. The expanded shopping centre opened in mid-August 1986.
Another expansion took place in 2007, which added . The cost of this addition was $30 million.
A new $49-million expansion to Polo Park opened October 1, 2014 in the former Zellers space on the mall's second level. The redeveloped space included of retail space and 17 new stores.
Polo Park has also added new retail complexes which are located on properties adjacent to the north of the mall. "Polo North" is located on the site of the former Winnipeg Arena, while "The Plaza at Polo Park" is being developed on the former Canad Inns Stadium grounds.


Isola Bella (Sicily)

Isola Bella (Sicilian: Ìsula Bedda) is a small island near Taormina, Sicily, southern Italy. Also known as The Pearl of the Ionian Sea, it is located within a small bay on the Ionian Sea; it was a private property owned by Florence Trevelyan until 1990, when it was bought by the Region of Sicily, being turned into a nature reserve, administrated by the Italian branch of the World Wide Fund for Nature. There is a narrow path that often connects the island to the mainland beach. The island is surrounded by sea grottos and has a small and rather rocky beach which is a popular destination for sunbathers.
History.
King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies gifted the island to the nearby town of Taormina in 1806. The island was in 1890 bought from the town by Trevelyan, who built a small house facing the sea and imported exotic plants, which thrived in the Mediterranean climate. Subsequent owners kept up the island, until the owner went bankrupt, and auctioned the island in 1990. The island had been noted by conservationists as early as 1983, and it was quickly obtained by the region and designated as a protected natural site. The island is home to several species of birds, and a few types of lizards.


Abashiri Quasi-National Park

 is a quasi-national park in Japan. The park protects the waters and surrounding coastline of the lakes and lagoons along the Sea of Okhotsk on Hokkaidō. This includes such lakes as Lake Abashiri and Lake Notoro as well as Lake Tōfutsu and Lake Saroma. Lake Saroma is the fourth largest lake in Japan. Most of the park lies within the limits of Abashiri in Abashiri Subprefecture of northeastern Hokkaidō.
The park includes a Marine Protected Area, which falls under the IUCN category Ib. The park is either 37261 ha or 43559 ha.
An important part of Abashiri Quasi-National Park is its floral display. Some of the most prominent species are in the following table.


King station (Toronto)

King is a subway station on Line 1 Yonge–University of the Toronto subway system. The station is located at the intersection of King Street and Yonge Street in Toronto's Financial District. Wi-Fi service is available at this station.
History.
King station opened in 1954 as part of the first stretch of subway line built in Toronto, between and stations.
The original address for the station was 70 Yonge Street, which is still used in Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) maps, but the official website uses the address 3 King Street East, which both point to the intersection of the two streets, and the numbers are not used by nearby buildings.
A scissors crossover was installed just north of the station when the line was built, so that trains could easily crossover from one track to another, but was later removed in May 1984 during track rehabilitation because of maintenance costs. In 2012, the TTC decided to restore this crossover, as it would allow trains to turn back during service disruptions after the implementation of automatic train control, which occurred on 2020-02-24.
Station description.
The station lies underneath Yonge Street at King Street, and is built on three levels. All five entrances are located on ground level, with three of them being sidewalk staircases from the northeast, southwest, and southeast corners of the Yonge Street and King Street intersection. The northwest corner entrance is through Scotia Plaza, and a semi-automatic entrance from Commerce Court East at 21 Melinda Street is staffed by a collector during rush hour. There is also an "exit only" sidewalk staircase from the southbound subway platform, just south of Melinda Street. There are no elevators in this station, and it is not accessible for persons with physical disabilities.
Below ground level are two separate concourses, located under King Street (north concourse), and under Commerce Court (south concourse). All entrances and exits connect to the north concourse except for ones along Melinda Street. Below the concourses are the subway platforms, connected by stairs and one escalator to the northbound platform on weekdays from 3:00 pm to 6:30 pm.
Gateway Newsstands located in the north concourse is the only tenant in the station.
Station improvements.
As part of its Public Art Program announced in June 2017, the TTC intends to install an artwork titled "Light Canopy" by artist Sean Martindale. The work is an animated lighting system to be set into the ceiling above the stairwell at King station's western entrance, and will give passers-by the feeling of passing under tree foliage.
Subway infrastructure in the vicinity.
North of the station, the subway travels through a scissors crossover through its tunnels underneath Yonge Street, past Queen Street, and into Queen station. South of the station, the subway continues underneath Yonge Street, until it reaches Front Street, where it turns 90 degrees west and passes through a crossover into Union station.
Nearby destinations.
The destination for many people using King station is the financial district and its numerous office towers, connected to the station by the underground PATH system of pedestrian tunnels. These include the Canadian Pacific Building, Scotia Plaza, Commerce Court, Toronto-Dominion Centre and First Canadian Place.
This is also the closest station to One Yonge Street, the King Edward Hotel, St. James Cathedral, Toronto Sculpture Garden, St. Lawrence Hall and the St. Lawrence Market.
Surface connections.
A transfer is required to connect between the subway system and these surface routes:
TTC routes serving the station include:


Poronaysky Nature Reserve

Poronaysky Nature Reserve () (also Poronaisky) is a Russian 'zapovednik' (strict nature reserve) covering Cape Patience, on the eastern side of Sakhalin Island in the Russian Far East. A specific purpose of the reserve is to protect rookeries for arctic birds on Cape Patience, which is a 65 km peninsula extending into the Okhotsk Sea. The reserve includes the southern part of the East Sakhalin Mountains, and the widest part of the Tym-Poronaisk dale. The reserve is situated in the Poronaysky District of Sakhalin Oblast, 50 km east of the regional city of Poronaysk. It was formally established in 1988, and covers .
Topography.
The Poronaysky Reserve is bounded on the north by central Sakhalin Island, on the east and south by the Okhostsk Sea, and on the west by Gulf of Patience. The Poronay River does not actually run through the reserve, rather it flows into the Gulf of Patience just to the west of the protected territory. The reserve has a dense network of smaller rivers on plains, with a number of lakes.
There are two separate sites in Poronaysky, separated by 20 km:
Climate and ecoregion.
Poronaysky is located in the "Sakhalin Island taiga" ecoregion. This ecoregion covers all of Sakhalin Island except for the southern tip. The island separates the Sea of Okhotsk from the Sea of Japan. The island is often connected to the Russian mainland by ice across a five-mile strait. The ecoregion is characterized by wet subarctic coniferous forest dominated by spruce and fir trees on the edge of tundra.
The climate of Poronaysky is "Subarctic climate, without dry season" (Köppen climate classification Subartic climate (Dfc)). This climate is characterized by mild summers (only 1-3 months above ) and cold, snowy winters (coldest month below ). In Poronaysky, there are over 100 rainstorms per year (average precipitation 600 mm/year), with frequent fog in the summer. The average air temperature in January is , in July .
Flora and fauna.
The plant life of the reserve is that of wet subarctic coniferous forest. Dominant trees are spruce and fir, with some larch forests. The treeless areas are sometimes called "tundra" for some physical resemblance to true tundra, by in fact contain extensive peat bogs up to 6 meters thick. Characteristic plants are sedges, grasses, and plants with underground runners. The spruce-fir forests are mossy and have little undergrowth. Scientists on the reserve have recorded 400 species of vascular plants.
The animal life of the reserve reflects the position of Sakhalin Island as being at times connected or unconnected to the mainland. Fauna communities of Amur, Kamchatka, and Japanese regions are found. the Sakhalin Musk Deer is an example of a subspecies that has developed in isolation, and is endemic to the island. Common mammals include the brown bear, fox, otter, mink, hare and Siberian Chipmunk. Scientists on the reserve have recorded over 50 species of mammals, 231 of birds, 4 of amphibians, and one species of reptile.
Ecoeducation and access.
As a strict nature reserve, the Poronaysky Reserve is mostly closed to the general public, although scientists and those with 'environmental education' purposes can make arrangements with park management for visits. There are several 'ecotourist' routes in the reserve, however, that are open to the public. These require permits to be obtained in advance. Because vehicles are not allowed, some of the multi-day guided hiking trips require a degree of physical fitness to complete. There is a public nature museum at the main office is in the city of Poronaysk.


Arctic Valley Ski Area

Arctic Valley Ski Area, formerly known as Alpenglow at Arctic Valley, is a ski area in Anchorage, Alaska. It is located on Ski Bowl Road in Chugach State Park, in the upper Ship Creek valley adjacent to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. It touts its accessibility, being closer to the majority of Anchorage's population than the city's other major ski area, the much larger Alyeska Resort.
The area encompasses nearly with a base elevation of and rises to almost at Rendezvous Peak. Arctic Valley has three chair lifts, one pony tow, and four bowls. Volunteers of the Anchorage Ski Club operate the ski area.
Arctic Valley is only open on Saturday and Sunday so snow which falls weekdays is first accessible each Saturday.
History.
The Anchorage Ski Club was founded in 1937 by Al Corey and Ralph Soberg. It has provided skiing at Arctic Valley since the 1940s. The club has a long-term lease of more than from the State of Alaska Department of Natural Resources. The Anchorage Ski Club also has an area use permit for additional neighboring acreage in Chugach State Park. Ninety percent of the area's operations are volunteered, including ticket sellers, lift attendants, bookkeepers, and maintenance.
Arctic Valley is considered an economical and "grass roots" alternative to skiing which typically attracted locals and committed recreational skiers.
Arctic Valley is the only multiple chair ski area located within of Anchorage.
In 2012, Arctic Valley opened a tubing park serviced by a pony tow lift. This is the only tubing park open to the general public in southcentral Alaska.


Salem Sue

Salem Sue (or The World's Largest Holstein Cow) is a giant fiberglass Holstein cow sculpture located in New Salem, North Dakota, United States. Salem Sue was built in 1974 for $40,000, by donations from local farmers and residents, and was sponsored by the New Salem Lions Club in honor of the local dairy farming industry.
The artist was Dave Oswald, who is also known for designing the world's largest catfish, which sits in Wahpeton, North Dakota. The cow, which is hollow, was constructed by Sculpture Mfg. Co in La Crosse, Wisconsin and then transported in 3 parts before being put together. The statue stands high and long and weighs about . It sits on School Hill near Interstate 94 off exit 127 S and can be viewed for several miles.
Salem Sue was the second giant roadside animal sculpture built in North Dakota, after the world's largest buffalo was erected in Jamestown, North Dakota in 1959.
A road leads up to the base of the statue, where one may view the surrounding terrain for a distance of several miles.
Although it is free to visit, an at-will donation bin, shaped like a milk can, sits at the bottom of the hill to help maintain the property and re-paint the cow as needed.
A brochure available at the nearby gas station contains the "Ballad of the Holstein" to the tune of "Joy to the World":


Awenda Provincial Park

Awenda Provincial Park is a provincial park in Tiny Township, Simcoe County in Central Ontario, Canada, located on a peninsula jutting into Georgian Bay north of Penetanguishene. The park occupies an area of and was established in 1975. It is classified as a Natural Environment Park and therefore all land is protected.
Giants Tomb Island, located in southern Georgian Bay approximately from the mainland and the majority of the island is part of the park. On the island, no overnight camping is allowed, and no facilities are provided.
Recreational activities at Awenda include camping, swimming, canoeing and hiking. Geological features include the Nipissing Bluff and a kettle lake formed during the retreat of the glaciers at the end of the most recent ice age. The shoreline consists of a series of sand, cobble, and boulder beaches.
Much of this area was logged around the beginning of the 20th century, so most of the mature deciduous forests here are actually second growth. Although dominated by mature deciduous forest, the park has an incredible diversity of habitats for its size, including: bogs, fens, coastal meadow marshes, dunes and pine oak savanna. It supports a rich variety of plant and animal life -including 32 species of amphibians and reptiles.
Park information.
The park contains 6 public campgrounds with approximately 330 sites available and 3 group camping sites allowing for large groups to camp together. Several sites are equipped with electricity and available for RVs. Camp sites are available in quiet zones (radio free) and one area of the campground (Snake campground) is pet-free and radio free. Check in times for campsites is 2pm on the date of arrival and campers must be checked out by 2pm on the date of departure. However, with the use of the vehicle permit that is given at time of arrival a camper can use park facilities until 10pm on the day of departure. The park includes 5 beaches, one of which is pet-friendly (pets are required to be on a leash).
The park also has over of hiking trails, with a variety of shorter and longer trails. These include the:
Canoes can be rented at the park to be used on Kettle's Lake. No bike or kayak rentals available. Natural Heritage programs are scheduled throughout the summer and include Owl Prowls, nature hikes, and children's programs. Park wardens are on staff at all times and are constantly monitoring campgrounds in case of emergency.


Bayou Cocodrie National Wildlife Refuge

Bayou Cocodrie National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1992 to preserve waterfowl habitat and hardwood forest of the lower Mississippi river. The refuge is located in Concordia Parish, Louisiana, southwest of Vidalia, Louisiana. It is named for the state-designated scenic river of Bayou Cocodrie.
The Nature Conservancy purchased an core tract in 1991 from the Fisher Lumber Company, a subsidiary of General Motors Corporation. The Conservancy then sold the land to the US Fish and Wildlife Service over a span of five years.
The bottomland hardwoods at Bayou Cocodrie have been noted as some of the last remaining, least disturbed timber of what historically was once a vast hardwood forest along the Mississippi River from Illinois to Louisiana.
Flora and fauna.
The majority of the refuge is hardwood forest of oak, gum, and ash. A site of hardwood is designated a natural resource area for study purposes. The remaining habitat is wetlands utilized by wintering waterfowl such as mallard, pintail and shoveler duck species. The wood duck is found in the refuge and is one of the reasons for the establishment of the Bayou Cocodrie National Wildlife Refuge. Other birds include bald eagle, peregrine falcon, osprey and Swainson's warbler. At least 186 bird species have been identified in the refuge.
The Louisiana black bear, federally listed as threatened since 1992, is known to occur in the Bayou Cocodrie. The historic range of the Louisiana black bear included southern Louisiana, Mississippi and east Texas, and is a subspecies of the American black bear.


Scenes from a Mall

Scenes from a Mall is a 1991 American comedy film directed by Paul Mazursky, written by Mazursky and Roger L. Simon, and starring Bette Midler and Woody Allen. The title is a play on Ingmar Bergman's "Scenes from a Marriage", and the film itself features similar themes of marital disintegration.
The film received mostly negative reviews, with critics focusing on the characters' arbitrary and unrealistic emotional reactions, the lack of successful humor, and the overdone production.
Plot.
Nick (Woody Allen), a sports lawyer, is married to psychotherapist and author Deborah (Bette Midler). After years of being happily married, Nick reveals to Deborah that he has had an affair. She is soon shocked and requests a divorce, but later admits that she herself has been unfaithful.
Production.
Most of the mall scenes were filmed at the Kaufman Astoria Studios sound stages in Queens, New York. Mall scenes with elevators and escalators were filmed at the Stamford Town Center in Stamford, Connecticut. Mall exteriors were filmed at the Beverly Center in Los Angeles, California, the mall where most of the picture is set.
Reception.
The film received mostly negative reviews, and rated at 32% on Rotten Tomatoes from an aggregate of 25 reviews. At the time of its release, film critics almost unanimously commented that the characters' emotional responses were contrived and false, and that the gaudy set design and production seemed an obvious effort to hide the film's lack of both comedic value and dramatic substance. Roger Ebert summarized the story as "a fog of arbitrary storytelling and desperate gimmicks, sudden revelations and unmotivated mood swings, in a movie that seems to have been written without having been thought about very much." The "Los Angeles Times" Peter Rainder opined that "the pairing of Allen and Midler, which might seem like the kind of weirdo match-up that could produce a comedy classic, never takes flight. ... Allen and Midler are such highly individual actors that they never quite seem to be in the same orbit; the series of juicy marital revelations that keep perking the movie come across as forced and schematic because we never really believe in the relationship." "Variety" similarly said that the characters' "emotional storms never achieve any veracity. They seem like just another indulgence on the part of the pampered, secure spouses."
Many critics found the film's awfulness to be especially startling in light of its esteemed director and lead actors. "Time Out", for example, said it "comes over as a piss-take of Mazursky by Mazursky." However, most commented that Allen and Midler's performances were not to blame, as there was simply no way to play the characters that would have made them likable or believable. Vincent Canby of "The New York Times", one of the few to give the film a positive recommendation, instead argued that Allen and Midler saved the thin and unstructured script: "Little by little, though, the stars take over their characters. They play together with a straight-on honesty that is funny because of the oddball situations, and moving for the unexpected, easy legitimacy of the performances."
"Scenes from a Mall" was amongst Siskel & Ebert's worst movies of 1991. Gene Siskel, who chose the film for the list with Ebert approving the choice, remarked, "Bette Midler and Woody Allen in the same film as a married couple? Well, the very idea of that is funnier than anything in the movie!"
Box office.
The film was not a box office success but did manage to bring back its budget.