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Mormon Row Historic District - Mormon Row is a line of homestead complexes along the Jackson-Moran Road near the southeast corner of Grand Teton National Park, in the valley called Jackson Hole. The rural historic landscape's period of significance includes the construction of the Andy Chambers, T.A. Moulton and John Moulton farms from 1908 to the 1950s. Six building clusters and a separate ruin illustrate Mormon settlement in the area and comprise such features as drainage systems, barns, fields and corrals. Apart from John and T.A. Moulton, other settlers in the area were Joseph Eggleston, Albert Gunther, Henry May, Thomas Murphy and George Riniker. The area is also known as Antelope Flats, situated between the towns of Moose and Kelly. It is a popular destination for tourists and photographers on account of the historic buildings, the herds of bison, and the spectacular Teton Range rising in the background. The alluvial soil to the east of Blacktail Butte was more suitable than most locations in Jackson Hole for farming, somewhat hampered by a lack of readily available water. The Mormon homesteaders began to arrive in the 1890s from Idaho, creating a community called "Gros Ventre", with a total of 27 homesteads. The Mormon settlers tended to create clustered communities, in contrast to the isolated homesteads more typical of Jackson Hole. Mormon Row was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997. [Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mormon_Row_Historic_District]
Grand Teton National Park is a United States National Park in northwestern Wyoming. At approximately 310,000 acres (480 sq mi; 130,000 ha; 1,300 km2), the park includes the major peaks of the 40-mile-long (64 km) Teton Range as well as most of the northern sections of the valley known as Jackson Hole. It is only 10 miles (16 km) south of Yellowstone National Park, to which it is connected by the National Park Service-managed John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway. Along with surrounding National Forests, these three protected areas constitute the almost 18,000,000-acre (7,300,000 ha) Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, one of the largest intact mid-latitude temperate ecosystems in the world. Human history of the Grand Teton region dates back at least 11,000 years, when the first nomadic hunter-gatherer Paleo-Indians began migrating into the region during warmer months pursuing food and supplies. In the early 19th century, the first White explorers encountered the eastern Shoshone natives. Between 1810 and 1840, the region attracted fur trading companies that vied for control of the lucrative beaver pelt trade. U.S. Government expeditions to the region commenced in the mid-19th century as an offshoot of exploration in Yellowstone, with the first permanent white settlers in Jackson Hole arriving in the 1880s. Efforts to preserve the region as a national park commenced in the late 19th century, and in 1929 Grand Teton National Park was established, protecting the major peaks of the Teton Range. The valley of Jackson Hole remained in private ownership until the 1930s, when conservationists led by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. began purchasing land in Jackson Hole to be added to the existing national park. Against public opinion and with repeated Congressional efforts to repeal the measures, much of Jackson Hole was set aside for protection as Jackson Hole National Monument in 1943. The monument was abolished in 1950 and most of the monument land was added to Grand Teton National Park. Grand Teton National Park is named for Grand Teton, the tallest mountain in the Teton Range. The naming of the mountains is attributed to early 19th-century French-speaking trappers—les trois tétons (the three teats) was later anglicized and shortened to Tetons. At 13,775 feet (4,199 m), Grand Teton abruptly rises more than 7,000 feet (2,100 m) above Jackson Hole, almost 850 feet (260 m) higher than Mount Owen, the second-highest summit in the range. The park has numerous lakes, including 15-mile-long (24 km) Jackson Lake as well as streams of varying length and the upper main stem of the Snake River. Though in a state of recession, a dozen small glaciers persist at the higher elevations near the highest peaks in the range. Some of the rocks in the park are the oldest found in any U.S. National Park and have been dated at nearly 2.7 billion years. Grand Teton National Park is an almost pristine ecosystem and the same species of flora and fauna that have existed since prehistoric times can still be found there. More than 1,000 species of vascular plants, dozens of species of mammals, 300 species of birds, more than a dozen fish species and a few species of reptiles and amphibians exist. Due to various changes in the ecosystem, some of them human-induced, efforts have been made to provide enhanced protection to some species of native fish and the increasingly threatened whitebark pine. Grand Teton National Park is a popular destination for mountaineering, hiking, fishing and other forms of recreation. There are more than 1,000 drive-in campsites and over 200 miles (320 km) of hiking trails that provide access to backcountry camping areas. Noted for world-renowned trout fishing, the park is one of the few places to catch Snake River fine-spotted cutthroat trout. Grand Teton has several National Park Service-run visitor centers, and privately operated concessions for motels, lodges, gas stations and marinas.
[source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Teton_National_Park]
Website: www.nps.gov/grte/index.htm
Wiki: Die Forschungseinrichtung für experimentelle Medizin der Charité, ehemals Zentrale Tierlaboratorien der Freien Universität Berlin, ist ein wissenschaftliches Forschungsgebäude. Das Gebäude gehört seit 2003 zur Charité und beherbergte bis 2019 den Hauptsitz der gleichnamigen Zentraleinrichtung.[1] Umgangssprachlich ist das Gebäude als Mäusebunker bekannt.
Im November 2019 erklärte der Landesdenkmalrat, beide Gebäude stellten „unbestreitbar bedeutende bauliche Manifestationen ihrer Zeit dar“, und empfahl den Erhalt des Ensembles.
Wien | Vienna
Here, on 15 March 1938, Adolf Hitler announced the so-called Anschluss, i.e. the annexation of Austria, to a huge and enthusiastic crowd. The poet Ernst Jandl witnessed this event as a twelve-year-old.
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wien:_heldenplatz#/media/Datei:Bund...
www.mediathek.at/1938/heldenplatz/der-heldenplatz-am-15-m...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anschluss
Ernst Jandl
wien : heldenplatz
der glanze heldenplatz zirka
versaggerte in maschenhaftem männchenmeere
drunter auch frauen die ans maskelknie
zu heften heftig sich versuchten, hoffensdick
und brüllzten wesentlich.
verwogener stirnscheitelunterschwang
nach nöten nördlich, kechelte
mit zu-nummernder aufs bluten feilzer stimme
hinsensend sämmertliche eigenwäscher.
pirsch!
döppelte der gottelbock von Sa-Atz zu Sa-Atz
mit hünig sprenkem stimmstummel.
balzerig würmelte es im männechensee
und den weibern ward so pfingstig ums heil
zumahn: wenn ein knie-ender sie hirschelte.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirlmere
Thirlmere is a reservoir in the Borough of Allerdale in Cumbria and the English Lake District. It runs roughly south to north, with a dam at the northern end, and is bordered on the eastern side by the A591 road and on the western side by a minor road.
Thirlmere was constructed in the 19th century by the Manchester Corporation to provide the burgeoning industrial city of Manchester with water supplies. The 96 mile-long Thirlmere Aqueduct still provides water to the Manchester area.
History
Prior to the construction of the reservoir the site was occupied by two smaller lakes - Leathes Water and Wythburn Water. The growth of the industrial city of Manchester during the 19th century had led to an increased demand for water. The water level was raised by construction of a dam by the Manchester Corporation at the northern end of Thirlmere, in 1890–1894. The reservoir was then able to supply water to Manchester via the Thirlmere Aqueduct, roughly 100 miles long. John Frederick Bateman acted as advisor to the corporation for both projects.
There was strong local opposition to the construction of the lake and the Thirlmere Defence Association (TDA) was formed to oppose the parliamentary act which was required before work could begin. The TDA opposed on the basis that raising the water level by 50 feet would submerge the dramatic cliffs which then surrounded the lake and a receding shoreline in summer would expose the smelly and unsightly lake bed. The organisation managed to stall the reading of the act in parliament in 1878 but the act was passed at the second reading in 1879.[
Etymology
" ...Leathes-Water' called also 'Thirlmere' or 'Wythburn-water' 1769...Probably 'the lake with/at the narrowing' from OE 'þyrel' 'aperture', pierced hole' plus OE 'mere' 'lake'. The lake had an especially narrow 'waist', spanned by a cuaseway and bridges," [2] before the dam was built. (OE= Old English).
Geography
The name is sometimes also applied to the whole valley, which connects Grasmere in the south with the Vale of Keswick in the north. The highest point in the valley is Dunmail Raise. The A591 runs the length of the valley and goes over Dunmail Raise.
The Helvellyn ridge lies to the east of Thirlmere. To the west of Thirlmere are a number of fells; for instance, Armboth Fell and Raven Crag both of which give views of the lake.
Management
The reservoir and surrounding forested valley is owned and managed by United Utilities, a private water and waste water company.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pensacola,_Florida
Pensacola is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat of Escambia County, Florida. As of 2018, the population was estimated to be 52,713. Pensacola is the principal city of the Pensacola Metropolitan Area, which had an estimated 494,883 residents as of 2018. Pensacola is one of the largest metropolitan areas in the Gulf Coast region, the largest between New Orleans and Tampa.
Pensacola is the site of the first Spanish settlement within the borders of the continental United States in 1559, predating the establishment of St. Augustine by 6 years, although the settlement was abandoned due to a hurricane and not re-established until 1698. Pensacola is a seaport on Pensacola Bay, which is protected by the barrier island of Santa Rosa and connects to the Gulf of Mexico. A large United States Naval Air Station, the first in the United States, is located southwest of Pensacola near Warrington; it is the base of the Blue Angels flight demonstration team and the National Naval Aviation Museum. The main campus of the University of West Florida is situated north of the city center.
The area was originally inhabited by Muskogean-speaking peoples. The Pensacola people lived there at the time of European contact, and Creek people frequently visited and traded from present-day southern Alabama. Spanish explorer Tristán de Luna founded a short-lived settlement in 1559. In 1698 the Spanish established a presidio in the area, from which the modern city gradually developed. The area changed hands several times as European powers competed in North America. During Florida's British rule (1763–1781), fortifications were strengthened.
It is nicknamed "The City of Five Flags", due to the five governments that have ruled it during its history: the flags of Spain (Castile), France, Great Britain, the United States of America, and the Confederate States of America. Other nicknames include "World's Whitest Beaches" (due to the white sand of Florida panhandle beaches), "Cradle of Naval Aviation", "Western Gate to the Sunshine State", "America's First Settlement", "Emerald Coast", "Red Snapper Capital of the World", and "P-Cola".
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T._T._Wentworth_Jr._Florida_State_M...
The T. T. Wentworth Jr. Florida State Museum is a museum of history located at 330 Jefferson Street in the Plaza Ferdinand VII in Pensacola, Florida. It is part of the Historic Pensacola Village museum complex. The building, reminiscent of the Alamo mission style, was built in 1907 as the Pensacola City Hall and served as such until 1985 when the present city hall was built at 180 Governmental Center, also known as 222 West Main Street. In 1989, the building was listed as the Pensacola City Hall in A Guide to Florida's Historic Architecture, published by the University of Florida Press.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cattle_Egret
The Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis) is a cosmopolitan species of heron (family Ardeidae) found in the tropics, subtropics and warm temperate zones. It is the only member of the monotypic genus Bubulcus, although some authorities regard its two subspecies as full species, the Western Cattle Egret and the Eastern Cattle Egret. Despite the similarities in plumage to the egrets of the genus Egretta, it is more closely related to the herons of Ardea. Originally native to parts of Asia, Africa and Europe, it has undergone a rapid expansion in its distribution and successfully colonised much of the rest of the world.
It is a white bird adorned with buff plumes in the breeding season. It nests in colonies, usually near bodies of water and often with other wading birds. The nest is a platform of sticks in trees or shrubs. Cattle Egrets exploit drier and open habitats more than other heron species. Their feeding habitats include seasonally inundated grasslands, pastures, farmlands, wetlands and rice paddies. They often accompany cattle or other large mammals, catching insect and small vertebrate prey disturbed by these animals. Some populations of the Cattle Egret are migratory and others show post-breeding dispersal.
The adult Cattle Egret has few predators, but birds or mammals may raid its nests, and chicks may be lost to starvation, calcium deficiency or disturbance from other large birds. This species maintains a special relationship with cattle, which extends to other large grazing mammals. The cattle egret removes ticks and flies from cattle and consumes them. This benefits both species, but it has been implicated in the spread of tick-borne animal diseases.
The Cattle Egret was first described in 1758 by Linnaeus in his Systema naturae as Ardea ibis,[2] but was moved to its current genus by Charles Lucien Bonaparte in 1855.[3] Its genus name Bubulcus is Latin for herdsman, referring, like the English name, to this species' association with cattle.[4] Ibis is a Latin and Greek word which originally referred to another white wading bird, the Sacred Ibis.[5]
The Cattle Egret has two geographical races which are sometimes classified as full species, the Western Cattle Egret, B. ibis, and Eastern Cattle Egret, B. coromandus. The two forms were split by McAllan and Bruce,[6] but were regarded as conspecific by almost all other recent authors until the publication of the influential Birds of South Asia.[7] The eastern subspecies B. (i.) coromandus, described by Pieter Boddaert in 1783, breeds in Asia and Australasia, and the western nominate form occupies the rest of the species range, including the Americas.[8] Some authorities recognise a third Seychelles subspecies, B. i. seychellarum, which was first described by Finn Salomonsen in 1934.[9]
Despite superficial similarities in appearance, the Cattle Egret is more closely related to the genus Ardea, which comprises the great or typical herons and the Great Egret (A. alba), than to the majority of species termed egrets in the genus Egretta.[10] Rare cases of hybridization with Little Blue Heron Egretta caerulea, Little Egret Egretta garzetta and Snowy Egret Egretta thula have been recorded.
Description
The Cattle Egret is a stocky heron with a 88–96 cm (35–38 in) wingspan; it is 46–56 centimetres (18–22 in) long and weighs 270–512 grams (9.5–18.1 oz).[12] It has a relatively short thick neck, sturdy bill, and a hunched posture. The non-breeding adult has mainly white plumage, a yellow bill and greyish-yellow legs. During the breeding season, adults of the nominate western subspecies develop orange-buff plumes on the back, breast and crown, and the bill, legs and irises become bright red for a brief period prior to pairing.[13] The sexes are similar, but the male is marginally larger and has slightly longer breeding plumes than the female; juvenile birds lack coloured plumes and have a black bill.[12][14]
B. i. coromandus differs from the nominate subspecies in breeding plumage, when the buff colour on its head extends to the cheeks and throat, and the plumes are more golden in colour. This subspecies' bill and tarsus are longer on average than in B. i. ibis.[15] B. i. seychellarum is smaller and shorter-winged than the other forms. It has white cheeks and throat, like B. i. ibis, but the nuptial plumes are golden, as with B. i. coromandus.[9]
The positioning of the egret's eyes allows for binocular vision during feeding,[16] and physiological studies suggest that the species may be capable of crepuscular or nocturnal activity.[17] Adapted to foraging on land, they have lost the ability possessed by their wetland relatives to accurately correct for light refraction by water.[18]
This species gives a quiet, throaty "rick-rack" call at the breeding colony, but is otherwise largely silent.
Distribution and habitat
The Cattle Egret has undergone one of the most rapid and wide reaching natural expansions of any bird species.[19] It was originally native to parts of Southern Spain and Portugal, tropical and subtropical Africa and humid tropical and subtropical Asia. In the end of the 19th century it began expanding its range into southern Africa, first breeding in the Cape Province in 1908.[20] Cattle Egrets were first sighted in the Americas on the boundary of Guiana and Suriname in 1877, having apparently flown across the Atlantic Ocean.[8][12] It was not until the 1930s that the species is thought to have become established in that area.[21]
The species first arrived in North America in 1941 (these early sightings were originally dismissed as escapees), bred in Florida in 1953, and spread rapidly, breeding for the first time in Canada in 1962.[20] It is now commonly seen as far west as California. It was first recorded breeding in Cuba in 1957, in Costa Rica in 1958, and in Mexico in 1963, although it was probably established before that.[21] In Europe the species had historically declined in Spain and Portugal, but in the latter part of the 20th century it expanded back through the Iberian Peninsula, and then began to colonise other parts of Europe; southern France in 1958, northern France in 1981 and Italy in 1985.[20] Breeding in the United Kingdom was recorded for the first time in 2008 only a year after an influx seen in the previous year.[22][23] In 2008 cattle egrets were also reported as having moved into Ireland for the first time.[24]
In Australia the colonisation began in the 1940s, with the species establishing itself in the north and east of the continent.[25] It began to regularly visit New Zealand in the 1960s. Since 1948 the Cattle Egret has been permanently resident in Israel. Prior to 1948 it was only a winter visitor. [26]
The massive and rapid expansion of the Cattle Egret's range is due to its relationship with humans and their domesticated animals. Originally adapted to a commensal relationship with large browsing animals, it was easily able to switch to domesticated cattle and horses. As the keeping of livestock spread throughout the world, the Cattle Egret was able to occupy otherwise empty niches.[27] Many populations of Cattle Egrets are highly migratory and dispersive,[19] and this has helped the species' range expansion. The species has been seen as a vagrant in various sub-Antarctic islands, including South Georgia, Marion Island, the South Sandwich Islands and the South Orkney Islands.[28] A small flock of eight birds was also seen in Fiji in 2008.[29]
In addition to the natural expansion of its range, Cattle Egrets have been introduced into a few areas. The species was introduced to Hawaii in 1959, and to the Chagos Archipelago in 1955. Successful releases were also made in the Seychelles and Rodrigues, but attempts to introduce the species to Mauritius failed. Numerous birds were also released by Whipsnade Zoo in England, but the species was never established.[30]
Although the Cattle Egret sometimes feeds in shallow water, unlike most herons it is typically found in fields and dry grassy habitats, reflecting its greater dietary reliance on terrestrial insects rather than aquatic prey.
Migration and movements
Some populations of Cattle Egrets are migratory, others are dispersive, and distinguishing between the two can be difficult for this species.[19] In many areas populations can be both sedentary and migratory. In the northern hemisphere migration is from cooler climes to warmer areas, but Cattle Egrets nesting in Australia migrate to cooler Tasmania and New Zealand in the winter and return in the spring.[25] Migration in western Africa is in response to rainfall, and in South America migrating birds travel south of their breeding range in the non breeding season.[19] Populations in southern India appear to show local migrations in response to the monsoons. They move north from Kerala after September.[32][33] During winter, many birds have been seen flying at night with flocks of Indian Pond Herons (Ardeola grayii) on the southeastern coast of India[34] and a winter influx has also been noted in Sri Lanka.[7]
Young birds are known to disperse up to 5,000 km (3,100 mi) from their breeding area. Flocks may fly vast distances and have been seen over seas and oceans including in the middle of the Atlantic.
Status
This species has a large range, with an estimated global extent of occurrence of 10 million square kilometres (3.8 million square miles). Its global population estimated to be 3.8–6.7 million individuals. For these reasons, the species is evaluated as Least Concern.[1] On the other hand the expansion and establishment of the species over large ranges has led it to be classed as an invasive species (although little, if any impact has been noted yet).[
Behaviour
Breeding
The Cattle Egret nests in colonies, which are often, but not always, found around bodies of water.[19] The colonies are usually found in woodlands near lakes or rivers, in swamps, or on small inland or coastal islands, and are sometimes shared with other wetland birds, such as herons, egrets, ibises and cormorants. The breeding season varies within South Asia.[7] Nesting in northern India begins with the onset of monsoons in May.[37] The breeding season in Australia is November to early January, with one brood laid per season.[38] The North American breeding season lasts from April to October.[19] In the Seychelles, the breeding season of the subspecies B.i. seychellarum is April to October.[39]
The male displays in a tree in the colony, using a range of ritualised behaviours such as shaking a twig and sky-pointing (raising bill vertically upwards),[40] and the pair forms over three or four days. A new mate is chosen in each season and when re-nesting following nest failure.[41] The nest is a small untidy platform of sticks in a tree or shrub constructed by both parents. Sticks are collected by the male and arranged by the female, and stick-stealing is rife.[14] The clutch size can be anywhere from one to five eggs, although three or four is most common. The pale bluish-white eggs are oval-shaped and measure 45 mm × 53 mm. (1.8–2.1 in)[38] Incubation lasts around 23 days, with both sexes sharing incubation duties.[19] The chicks are partly covered with down at hatching, but are not capable of fending for themselves; they become capable of regulating their temperature at 9–12 days and are fully feathered in 13–21 days.[42] They begin to leave the nest and climb around at 2 weeks, fledge at 30 days and become independent at around the 45th day.[41]
The Cattle Egret engages in low levels of brood parasitism, and there are a few instances of Cattle Egret eggs being laid in the nests of Snowy Egrets and Little Blue Herons, although these eggs seldom hatch.[19] There is also evidence of low levels of intraspecific brood parasitism, with females laying eggs in the nests of other Cattle Egrets. As much as 30% extra-pair copulations have been noted.[43][44]
The dominant factor in nesting mortality is starvation. Sibling rivalry can be intense, and in South Africa third and fourth chicks inevitably starve.[41] In the dryer habitats with fewer amphibians the diet may lack sufficient vertebrate content and may cause bone abnormalities in growing chicks due to calcium deficiency.[45] In Barbados, nests were sometimes raided by vervet monkeys,[8] and a study in Florida reported the Fish Crow and black rat as other possible nest raiders. The same study attributed some nestling mortality to Brown Pelicans nesting in the vicinity, which accidentally, but frequently, dislodged nests or caused nestlings to fall.[46] In Australia, Torresian Crows, Wedge-tailed Eagles and White-bellied Sea Eagles take eggs or young, and tick infestation and viral infections may also be causes of mortality.
Feeding
The Cattle Egret feeds on a wide range of prey, particularly insects, especially grasshoppers, crickets, flies (adults and maggots [47]), and moths, as well as spiders, frogs, and earthworms.[48][49] In a rare instance they have been observed foraging along the branches of a Banyan tree for ripe figs.[50] The species is usually found with cattle and other large grazing and browsing animals, and catches small creatures disturbed by the mammals. Studies have shown that Cattle Egret foraging success is much higher when foraging near a large animal than when feeding singly.[51] When foraging with cattle, it has been shown to be 3.6 times more successful in capturing prey than when foraging alone. Its performance is similar when it follows farm machinery, but it is forced to move more.[52]
A Cattle Egret will weakly defend the area around a grazing animal against others of the same species, but if the area is swamped by egrets it will give up and continue foraging elsewhere. Where numerous large animals are present, Cattle Egrets selectively forage around species that move at around 5–15 steps per minute, avoiding faster and slower moving herds; in Africa, Cattle Egrets selectively forage behind Plains Zebras, Waterbuck, Blue Wildebeest and Cape Buffalo.[53] Dominant birds feed nearest to the host, and obtain more food.[14]
The Cattle Egret may also show versatility in its diet. On islands with seabird colonies, it will prey on the eggs and chicks of terns and other seabirds.[30] During migration it has also been reported to eat exhausted migrating landbirds.[54] Birds of the Seychelles race also indulge in some kleptoparasitism, chasing the chicks of Sooty Terns and forcing them to disgorge food.[
Relationship with humans
A conspicuous species, the Cattle Egret has attracted many common names. These mostly relate to its habit of following cattle and other large animals, and it is known variously as cow crane, cow bird or cow heron, or even elephant bird, rhinoceros egret.[19] Its Arabic name, abu qerdan, means "father of ticks", a name derived from the huge number of parasites such as avian ticks found in its breeding colonies.[19][56]
The Cattle Egret is a popular bird with cattle ranchers for its perceived role as a biocontrol of cattle parasites such as ticks and flies.[19] A study in Australia found that Cattle Egrets reduced the number of flies that bothered cattle by pecking them directly off the skin.[57] It was the benefit to stock that prompted ranchers and the Hawaiian Board of Agriculture and Forestry to release the species in Hawaii.[30][58]
Not all interactions between humans and Cattle Egrets are beneficial. The Cattle Egret can be a safety hazard to aircraft due to its habit of feeding in large groups in the grassy verges of airports,[59] and it has been implicated in the spread of animal infections such as heartwater, infectious bursal disease[60] and possibly Newcastle disease
PLASENCIA (Wiki): de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plasencia
PLASENCIA (Tourismus): reisen-nach-spanien.com/extremadura/plasencia#9/40.0423/-...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Wharfe
The River Wharfe is a river in Yorkshire, England. For much of its length it is the county boundary between West Yorkshire and North Yorkshire. The name Wharfe is Celtic and means "twisting, winding".
The valley of the River Wharfe is known as Wharfedale. The river source is at Beckermonds, Langstrothdale in the Yorkshire Dales National Park and flows through Kettlewell, Grassington, Bolton Abbey, Addingham, Ilkley, Burley-in-Wharfedale, Otley, Wetherby and Tadcaster. It then flows into the River Ouse near Cawood. The section of the river from its source to around Addingham is known as Upper Wharfedale and has a very different character to the river downstream.
The river is approximately 97 km long before it joins the River Ouse. It is a public navigation from the weir at Tadcaster to its junction with the River Ouse near Cawood and tidal from Ulleskelf.
Course
The river source is the confluence of Oughtershaw Beck and Green Field Beck in Langstrothdale near Beckermonds. It flows east and south east taking the flows from many small streams, whose sources are the shake holes from Yockenthwaite Moor on the north bank and Horse Head Moor on the south bank. After Hubberholme, the river flows south past Buckden and Starbotton and then south east past Kettlewell before flowing south again. Near Conistone are the gentle waterfalls of Scar Lash. Near Grassington, the river turns south east over Linton Falls. South of Appletreewick, the river flows south west for a short distance until it reaches Gill Beck and returns southward. To the north of Bolton Bridge, the river narrows and goes over waterfalls in an area known as The Strid. The river winds south and south east towards Ilkley where it heads east through Otley and Collingham. It briefly flows north to Wetherby before turning south and then south east past Ulleskelf to the confluence with the River Ouse.
Water levels
Monitoring Station[1]
Station Elevation
Low water level
High water level
Record high level
Kettlewell 212 m (696 ft) 0.17 m (0.56 ft) 2 m (6.6 ft) 2.54 m (8.3 ft)
Grassington 171 m (561 ft) 0 m (0 ft) 1.5 m (4.9 ft) 2.79 m (9.2 ft)
Ilkley 78 m (256 ft) 0.09 m (0.30 ft) 2.9 m (9.5 ft) 3.88 m (12.7 ft)
Otley 56 m (184 ft) 0.36 m (1.2 ft) 1.5 m (4.9 ft) 2.46 m (8.1 ft)
Pool Bridge 46 m (151 ft) 0.09 m (0.30 ft) 2.9 m (9.5 ft) 3.77 m (12.4 ft)
Arthington 46 m (151 ft) 0.32 m (1.0 ft) 3.3 m (11 ft) 4.14 m (13.6 ft)
Collingham 25 m (82 ft) 0.35 m (1.1 ft) 1.59 m (5.2 ft) 4.7 m (15 ft)
Wetherby 25 m (82 ft) 0.4 m (1.3 ft) 1.8 m (5.9 ft) 3.10 m (10.2 ft)
Tadcaster 11 m (36 ft) 0.18 m (0.59 ft) 2.9 m (9.5 ft) 3.79 m (12.4 ft)
Cock Beck Sluices 6 m (20 ft) 3.44 m (11.3 ft) 7.3 m (24 ft) 9.26 m (30.4 ft)
Fleet Pumping Station 6 m (20 ft) 2 m (6.6 ft) 6.5 m (21 ft) 7.35 m (24.1 ft)
Low and High Water Levels are an average figure.
Natural history
Fauna
There are over 230 species of bird observed along the river valley including Eagle-Owl, Red Grouse, Stonechat, Whinchat, Golden Plover, Pied Flycatcher, Redstart, Wood Warbler, Common Sandpiper, Grey Wagtail, Dipper, Tawny Owl, Sparrowhawk, Greater Spotted Woodpecker, Nuthatch, Treecreeper and, in wetter places, Snipe and Woodcock, Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Garden Warbler, and Twite.[2]
The Wharfe has populations of Signal Crayfish and the few White-clawed Crayfish remaining are at great risk.[2]
There are populations of Rabbit, Red Fox, Grey Squirrel, Otter, Water Voles and deer.[2][3][4]
Flora
Ferns found here include Wall Rue, Maidenhair Spleenwort, Brittle Bladder-fern, Hart's-tongue and Hard Shield-fern. In Upper Wharfedale the scars and screes support a range of plants including the Alpine Cinquefoil and Hoary Whitlowgrass. Also to be found are Lesser Meadow-rue, Goldenrod, Scabious and Bloody Crane's-bill with, to a lesser extent, Mountain Melick, Limestone Fern, Wood Crane's-bill and Melancholy Thistle, Green Spleenwort, Wall Lettuce and Hairy Stonecrop.[2]
Lower down the valley, species including Alpine Cinquefoil, Lily-of-the-valley, Mountain Melick and Herb Paris, blue sesleria, Common Valerian and Wild Angelica. The limestone outcrops have uncommon species including Rock Whitebeam and Solomon's Seal as well as Bird's-eye Primrose, Butterwort, Rockrose, Dropwort and Limestone Bedstraw.
The limestone pavements of the area are a habitat for several species usually confined to woodlands, such as Dog's Mercury, Wood Anemone and Ramsons. Rarer species to be found in the grikes include Baneberry and Downy Currant. Ferns in the moist grikes include Rigid Buckler-fern. Also to be found are Alternate-leaved Golden Saxifrage, Reed Canary-grass and Stone Bramble.
Some of the inaccessible cliffs are home to ledge dwelling flora including mosses and liverworts, such as Red Leskea, Sharp Rock-bristle and the very rare Zygodon gracilis. The ledges also support Woodrush, Polypody and Water Avens, Purple Saxifrage, Yellow Saxifrage, Hoary Whitlowgrass and Roseroot.
Blue Moor-grass can also be found, with Sheep's-fescue and herbs such as Thyme, Salad Burnet and Common Rock-rose. There is Wild Thyme, Common Milkwort, Fairy Flax, Bird's-foot Trefoil, Autumn Gentian, Harebell, Eyebright.
Species of tree and shrub include Ash, Downy Birch, Hazel, Hawthorn, Yew and Rowan. In the woods shrubs such as Wild Privet and Spindle can be found. More rare is Dark Red Helleborine.[2][5]
Geology
Upper Wharfedale is an area from the Lower Carboniferous era and lies north-west of Burnsall. Its main features are the Great Scar Limestone which forms a base to the overlying Yoredale Beds, a 300-metre deep strata of hard limestones, sandstones and shale. These have been slightly tilted, toward the east. To the south-east of the area are the Millstone Grit laid down in the Upper Carboniferous era, and is covered by heather moorland, hard crags and tors.[6][7]
Weathering of the Yoredale Beds has produced a stepped profile to the valley sides, consisting of a shelf of limestone, sometimes grassy but often displaying such karst features as limestone pavement, gorges and sinkholes. During the last ice age, the local ice cap at the head of the Dales fed glaciers to produce the classic U-shaped profiles seen today.[8]
Where the river valley changes course into Lower Wharfedale, the change of underlying rock can be seen in the darker stone in the field walls. The Millstone Grit outcrops at the Cow and Calf Rocks near Ilkley form a rolling dissected plateau. Due to the impermeable nature of the rock, blanket bogs and mires form, and drier areas have wet and dry heaths and acid grasslands.[9]
Coarse sandstones in the area are known as Addingham Edge and Bramhope Grits. The Otley Shell Beds become exposed at Otley Chevin. At Great Dib Wood the Otley Shell Bed is sandwiched between two Namurian sandstones.
Glacial lakes once filled Lower Wharfedale and deposited sand and gravel. These were quarried and now form the basis of the Otley Wetland Reserve, and Ben Rhydding and Knotford Nook gravel pits.[10]
Waterfalls
Linton Fall (Grid Reference: SE001633) are located just south of Grassington and can be accessed from the village down Sedber Lane. There is a footbridge straddling the falls for viewing.
The Strid (Grid Reference: SE064565) is a series of waterfalls and rapids associated with a deep underwater channel caused by the dramatic narrowing of the River Wharfe from approximately 30 ft (9 m) wide just to the north of the start of the Strid, to the width of a long stride less than 100 yd (91 m) later.[11] It is especially dangerous as both banks are undercut,[12][13] and it has been the scene of a number of fatalities including those of a honeymoon couple.[14] The Strid walk is very popular and is accessed from the car park at Bolton Abbey.[15]
History
Wharfe is a Celtic river name meaning the winding river.[16][17]
Iron Age fields and hut circles can still be seen in outline on the hills above Grassington and Kettlewell.[7] The Romans built a road through Wharfedale that went over Stake Moss into neighboring Wensleydale. The local tribe of Brigantes were subdued by the Romans in AD 74. The Romans mined lead in the hills on Greenhow Hill overlooking Appletreewick until AD 410.[7] After AD 620 the Celtic settlers were joined by Angles and increased the amount of forest clearing to establish fields for crops and animals. These were overrun by Danes initially before they too settled to farming near Burnsall and Thorpe. Vikings then settled the area in the 10th century, lending their language to some of the names of hamlets and landscape features of Upper Wharfedale, especially near the head of the valley.[7] During Anglo-Saxon times, large estates were established and the River Wharfe and its valley came under the protection of Earl Edwin of Bolton-in-Craven. After the Norman invasion, the lands were given to Robert Romilly.[7]
In medieval times low intensity methods were used to produce both crops and livestock but the great monasteries of Fountains, Rievaulx and Bolton Priory had large sheep flocks and sold their wool on the European market. In 1155, Alice de Romilly donated land for the establishment of Bolton Priory and land at Kilnsey to Fountains Abbey. The monasteries helped develop vast sheep farms and the founding of drove roads, which can still be seen and walked today. The success of the monasteries was also responsible for the growth of the market towns of Grassington and Kettlewell.[7]
When the monasteries were dissolved in 1539, and wool prices fell, many tenant farmers took to cattle and sheep rearing. However, at the end of the 17th century there was still small-scale arable production. By the early nineteenth century there was a demand for food from the growing industrial towns and farmers and many farms began to produce milk from the lower lands and use the higher fells for sheep.[18]
The river has had appearances in films. In 1992, the town of Grassington was used as a filming location for Wuthering Heights.[19] The 2003 film, Calendar Girls, was filmed at several locations in the river valley including Buckden, Burnsall, Kettlewell and Kilnsey.[20]
Economy
During the 1990s there had been an increase in the number of second home ownership, particularly in the Upper Wharfedale area. This had been partly due to subsidised Council Tax rates for a second property. The 1991 census had shown 13% of homes were classified as second properties, which had risen to 18% by late 1998.[21] The 2001 census showed that this figure had dropped to 15%[22] and further still to just 7% by 2011.[23]
The Upper Wharfedale area has been traditionally associated with farming, but there has been a change in the numbers and types of employment. Whilst there were declines in the number of people in this industry, farming accounted directly for 9.16%[24] of employment in 2001 but this had increased to 11.27% by 2011.[25]
Lead mining was once the main industry in Wharfedale. From the seventeenth century to the late nineteenth it employed hundreds of men and boys, exploiting the veins in the limestone at Greenhow, Hebden, Grassington, Linton and Conistone, Appletreewick and elsewhere. The heaps of mining waste remain, contaminated with lead, and on which little will grow. The few plants that will are known as 'lead plants' such as spring sandwort and alpine penny-cress.[26][27]
Tourism is big part of the rural economy in Wharfedale and there are many short, mid and long distance walks, with clear waymarkers. There are also other outdoor activities such as rock climbing, most notably at Kilnsey Crag, and canoeing. Other activities include cycling, mountain biking, horse riding and caving.[28] The following Long Distance Walks pass near or over the river:[29]
Dales Way (follows the river valley from Beckermonds to Ilkley)
Lady Anne's Way (enters the river valley near Hubberholme and leaves to the west of Bolton Abbey)
Inn Way to the Yorkshire Dales (part of walk from Grassington to Buckden)
The Way of the Roses (part of the cycle route from Appletreewick to Thorpe)
Lists
All lists are from the source of the river:-[30]
Tributaries
Deepdale Gill
Hagg Gill
Bowther Gill
Strans Gill
Kirk Gill
Cow Close Gill
Buckden Beck
Step Gill
Cam Gill Beck
Falcon Beard Beck
Hush Gutter
Kettlewell Beck
Black Geld
River Skirfane
How Beck
White Beck
Davy Keld
Dib Beck
Robin Hood's Beck
Captain Beck
Brow Well
Isingdale Beck
Howling Beck
Hebden Beck
Sandbed Beck
Barden Beck
The Old Gutter
Hall Wells Dike
Foul Sike
Fir Beck
Bumby Dike
Gill Beck
Hollin Beck
Posforth Gill
Cowpert Gill
Stead Dike
Pickles Beck
Raven's Gill Beck
Kex Beck
Lathehouse Beck
Wine Beck
West Hall Beck
Dean Beck
Mill Stream
West Beck
Mill Dam Beck
Boot's Beck
River Washburn
Weeton Beck
Stank Beck
Collingham Beck
Hay Dike
Cock Beck
Owl Sike
Pailbank Drain
The Fleet
Settlements
Beckermonds
Deepdale
Yockenthwaite
Hubberholme
Buckden
Starbotton
Kettlewell
Kilnsey
Conistone
Threshfield
Grassington
Linton
Hebden
Burnsall
Appletreewick
Bolton Abbey
Beamsley
Addingham
Nesfield
Ilkley
Burley in Wharfedale
Otley
Pool
Castley
Netherby
Chapel Hill
Collingham
Linton
Wetherby
Boston Spa
Thorp Arch
Newton Kyme
Tadcaster
Kirkby Wharfe
Ulleskelf
Ozendyke
Ryther
Crossings
New House Farm footbridge
Deepdale Bridge
Yockenthwaite Bridge
Hubberholme Bridge
Buckden Bridge
Starbotton footbridge
B6160 Kettlewell New Bridge
Conistone Bridge
B6265 Grassington Bridge
Tin Bridge (footbridge), Linton Falls
Linton stepping stones
Suspension Bridge (footbridge), Hebden
Burnsall Bridge
Drebley stepping stones
Barden Bridge
Barden Aqueduct and footbridge
Wooden Bridge (at Cavendish Pavilion)
Friars' Steps (stepping stones)
Waterfall Bridge (footbridge)
Bolton Bridge
A59 Bridge
Suspension Bridge (footbridge), Addingham
Old Bridge, Ilkley (footbridge)
New Bridge, Ilkley (New Brook Street)
Ilkley Susupension Bridge (footbridge)
Denton Bridge
Greenholme stepping stones
B6451 Otley Bridge
Footbridge
A658 Pool Bridge
Railway Bridge (Leeds-Harrogate railway line)
A61 Harewood Bridge
Woodhall Bridge (footbridge)
Linton Bridge, Collingham
Footbridge
A661 Wetherby Bridge
A58 bridge, Wetherby
A1(M) bridge, Wetherby
Thorp Arch Bridge, Boston Spa
Wharfe Bridge (dismantled railway)
Viaduct Walk, Tadcaster (footbridge)
A659 Tadcaster Bridge
A64 bridge (Tadcaster By-pass)
Railway Bridge (Dearne Valley Line)
East Coast Main Line Railway Bridge
In the fall, the marcescent foliage of American beech trees can radiate a golden-bronze hue when illuminated by sunlight
Clyde Shepherd Nature Preserve
DeKalb County (Medlock Park), Georgia, USA.
1 December 2022.
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▶ "Fagus grandifolia —American beech or North American beech— is a deciduous forest beech tree native to eastern North America, from Ontario to northern Florida. The tree grows 50–115 feet tall (16–35 m), with smooth, silver-gray bark. The leaves are dark green, simple and sparsely-toothed. Beech buds are distinctly thin and long, resembling cigars; this characteristic makes beech trees relatively easy to identify. The fruit is a small, sharply-angled nut, borne in pairs in a soft-spined, four-lobed husk. The mast (crop of nuts) from American beech provides food for numerous species of mammals and birds."
— Wikipedia.
▶ "Handsome foliage develops a golden bronze color in the fall. American beech's graceful, spreading form is superior to other beeches and is attractive throughout the year. Winter, however, emphasizes this tree's other notable attributes - its long, thin, pointed, brown leaf buds and its smooth, thin, light gray, 'wrinkled' bark that resembles an elephant's hide. American beech bark is nearly white and is much paler than European beech. Like oak, beech often holds on to its bottom leaves throughout winter."
***************
▶ Marcescence:
“As summer yields to fall, deciduous trees throughout the mid-Atlantic states lose their leaves in an often-spectacular display of color. However, not all hardwood trees participate in this pageantry, and decide to hang onto their leaves until spring. These trees are practicing 'marcescence.' [For example], this occurs on oaks, American beech, hornbeam, Eastern hophornbeam, and witchhazels. In most deciduous trees, leaf drop occurs in autumn when cells between the twig and the end of the leaf stem create an abscission layer. The cells separate from each other, leading to the leaf falling. But in marcescence, this doesn’t occur until spring.”
— University of Maryland Extension.
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▶ Photographer's note:
Remember to switch off auto ISO when you don't need it!
***************
▶ Photo by Yours For Good Fermentables.com.
▶ For a larger image, type 'L' (without the quotation marks).
— Follow on Facebook: YoursForGoodFermentables.
— Follow on Instagram: @tcizauskas.
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▶ Camera: Olympus OM-D E-M10 II.
— Lens: Olympus M.40-150mm F4.0-5.6 R.
— Edit: Photoshop Elements 15, Nik Collection.
▶ Commercial use requires explicit permission, as per Creative Commons.
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hain-B%C3%A4nderschnecke
Die Hain-Bänderschnecke (Cepaea nemoralis) – auch Hain-Schnirkelschnecke oder Schwarzmündige Bänderschnecke genannt – gehört zur Familie der Schnirkelschnecken (Helicidae), die zur Ordnung der Lungenschnecken (Pulmonata) gerechnet wird.
www.nabu.de/tiere-und-pflanzen/sonstige-arten/weichtiere/...
Färbung und Lebensraum bedingen sich
Wenn die Individuen einer Art ganz verschieden aussehen können, spricht die Wissenschaft von Polymorphismus. Der extreme Polymorphismus der Bänderschnecken ist schon seit Jahrhunderten Gegenstand wissenschaftlicher Forschungen. Besonders die Frage nach der genetischen Fixierung der verschiedenen Muster stand hier oft im Vordergrund. Spannend ist auch die Abhängigkeit der Farbe und Musterung vom Lebensraum. Ein wichtiger Punkt sind dabei die Prädatoren, also jene Tiere, die den Schnecken nachstellen. So ist es einleuchtend, dass in Gebüschen lebende Schnecken am besten getarnt sind, wenn sie ein kräftiges Streifenmuster aufweisen, womit sie zwischen den Schatten der Zweige optisch verschwinden. In Wäldern haben dunkle Farben Vorteile und in offenen Grasbiotopen dominieren oft helle Farben. Wer davon abweicht, kann am besten von Fressfeinden, zum Beispiel Singdrosseln, erbeutet und somit ausgelesen werden.
Lebensgrundlage für viele Tiere
Während wir uns nur an der Farbenpracht und Vielfalt der Bänderschnecken erfreuen, haben sie für eine Vielzahl von Tieren große Bedeutung. Manche Arten sind sogar zum Überleben auf Bänderschnecken, aber auch andere Schnecken-Arten, angewiesen.
Die Singdrossel als Schneckenjäger haben wir schon erwähnt. Doch auch für andere Vogelarten sind Schnecken lebenswichtige Nahrung, denn das Kalzium der Schneckenhäuser ist Baustoff für Eierschalen und Knochen. Vogelforscher haben herausgefunden, dass beim Rückgang der Schnecken auch die Qualität der Eierschale und in Folge der Bruterfolg von Singvögeln zurückging.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forest_of_Bowland
The Forest of Bowland, also known as the Bowland Fells, is an area of barren gritstone fells, deep valleys and peat moorland, mostly in north-east Lancashire, England. A small part lies in North Yorkshire, and much of the area was historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire. It has been designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) since 1964, and is used for grouse shooting, walking and cycling, though it is relatively unfrequented by tourists. One of the best known features of the area is Pendle Hill, which is separated from the main part of the Forest of Bowland AONB by the Ribble Valley.
13% of the AONB is designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest for its important areas of heather moorland and blanket bog. The area is nationally and internationally important for its upland bird populations – the hen harrier is the symbol of the AONB. There are over 500 listed buildings and 18 scheduled monuments within the AONB.
The name 'forest' is used in its traditional sense of 'a royal hunting ground', and much of the land still belongs to the British Crown as part of the Duchy of Lancaster. In the past wild boar, deer, wolves, wild cats and game roamed the forest.
Heather moorland on Clougha, in the north west of the Forest of Bowland, looking towards the Yorkshire three peaks
Bowland remains as the northwestern remainder of the ancient wilderness that once stretched over a huge part of England, encompassing the Forest of Bowland, Sherwood Forest (Nottinghamshire), the New Forest (Hampshire) and Savernake Forest (Wiltshire). While the Trough of Bowland (the valley and high pass connecting the Wyre (at Marshaw) and Langden Brook and dividing the upland core of Bowland into two main blocks) represents the area, to many, on account of its popularity, it is in fact only a small part of the wider Forest of Bowland area.
The hills on the western side of the Forest of Bowland attract walkers from Lancaster and the surrounding area. Overlooking Lancaster is Clougha Pike, the western-most hill. The hills form a large horseshoe shape with its open end facing west. Clockwise from Lancaster the hills are Clougha Pike (413 m), Grit Fell (468 m), Ward's Stone (561 m), Wolfhole Crag (527 m), White Hill (544 m), Whins Brow (476 m), Totridge (496 m), Parlick (432 m), Fair Snape Fell (510 m), Bleasdale Moor (429 m), and Hawthornthwaite fell (478 m).
The area is home to the geographic centre of Great Britain which is close to the Whitendale Hanging Stones, around 4 miles (6.4 km) north of Dunsop Bridge.
The Forest of Bowland is home to an annual challenge event: The Bowland Challenge where teams of walkers navigate around a series of grid references over a ten hour period. Proceeds of the event go to support Bowland Pennine Mountain Rescue Team.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durlston_Castle
Durlston Castle stands within Durlston Country Park, a 1.13 square-kilometre (280-acre) country park and nature reserve stretching along the coastline south of Swanage, on the Isle of Purbeck in Dorset.
History
John Mowlem[1] (1788-1868), a Swanage-born man, was a stonemason and builder. He was the founder of the quarrying and construction company Mowlem. He and his nephew and business partner George Burt[2] (1816-1894) wanted to give something back to their home town, which was the source of their Portland and Purbeck limestone, popular for building at the time. John Mowlem built the Mowlem Institute, a reading room and public library, in 1862. George Burt purchased an undulating tract of land covering Durlston Head during the same year. This estate, the Durlston Estate, included quarries that supplied their firm with limestone. Burt developed this estate as a tourist attraction.
Burt established the Durlston Estate upon the crest of the hill and here he built his folly Durlston Castle. The castle was designed by the Weymouth architect G.R. Crickmay (1830-1907) and built by W.M. Hardy in 1886-87 entirely of local stone. The 'castle' was never a real castle: it was purpose-built by Burt as a restaurant for the visitors to his estate.
The castle played a part in the evolution of radio and telecommunications. A team of Marconi's engineers used the roof of the castle in the 1890s for some of their early wireless experiments to transmit to the Isle of Wight.
The castle passed through the hands of many owners until in 1973 it was bought by Dorset County Council.
Description
The side wall of the castle features a sundial and two stone tablets inscribed with various statistics such as clock times and tides around the world. South of the castle is the Great Globe, built by Burt in 1887.[3] The footpaths around the Castle and Great Globe are lined with cast iron bollards that were brought from London. All around the estate there are further stone plaques carved with quotations from Shakespeare and the Bible, maps showing the English Channel and the United Kingdom, and further facts about the natural world. These surrounds were placed during the period 1887 to 1891.
Also within the Durlston Country Park and within walking distance of the Globe are Durlston Bay, the Tilly Whim Caves and the Anvil Point Lighthouse. The Park is part of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site.
Restoration
Durlston Castle and the Great Globe were both restored during 2010 and 2011 by the Council.[4][5] The castle now houses a new Visitor Centre to Durlston Country Park and National Nature Reserve, and stands as a gateway to the Jurassic Coast.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arizona
Arizona is a state in the Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. Its other neighboring states are Nevada to the northwest and California to the west. It also shares an international border with the Mexican states of Sonora and Baja California to the south and southwest. It is the 6th-largest and the 14th-most-populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix, which is the most populous state capital in the United States.
Arizona is the 48th state and last of the contiguous states to be admitted to the Union, achieving statehood on February 14, 1912. Historically part of the territory of Alta California and Nuevo México in New Spain, it became part of independent Mexico in 1821. After being defeated in the Mexican–American War, Mexico ceded much of this territory to the United States in 1848, where the area became part of the territory of New Mexico. The southernmost portion of the state was acquired in 1853 through the Gadsden Purchase.
Southern Arizona is known for its desert climate, with extremely hot summers and mild winters. Northern Arizona features forests of pine, Douglas fir, and spruce trees; the Colorado Plateau; mountain ranges (such as the San Francisco Mountains); as well as large, deep canyons, with much more moderate summer temperatures and significant winter snowfalls. There are ski resorts in the areas of Flagstaff, Sunrise, and Tucson. In addition to the internationally known Grand Canyon National Park, which is one of the world's seven natural wonders, there are several national forests, national parks, and national monuments.
Arizona is home to a diverse population. About one-quarter of the state is made up of Indian reservations that serve as the home of 27 federally recognized Native American tribes, including the Navajo Nation, the largest in the state and the country, with more than 300,000 citizens. Since the 1980s, the proportion of Hispanics has grown significantly owing to migration from Mexico and Central America. A substantial portion of the population are followers of the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Arizona's population and economy have grown dramatically since the 1950s because of inward migration, and the state is now a major hub of the Sun Belt. Cities such as Phoenix and Tucson have developed large, sprawling suburban areas. Many large companies, such as PetSmart and Circle K, have headquarters in the state, and Arizona is home to major universities, including the University of Arizona, Arizona State University, and Northern Arizona University. The state is known for a history of conservative politicians such as Barry Goldwater and John McCain, though it has become a swing state in recent years.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Page,_Arizona
Page is a city in Coconino County, Arizona, United States, near the Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city was 7,247.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horseshoe_Bend_(Arizona)
Horseshoe Bend is a horseshoe-shaped incised meander of the Colorado River located near the town of Page, Arizona, United States. It is also referred to as the "east rim of the Grand Canyon."
Horseshoe Bend is located 5 miles (8 km) downstream from the Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell within Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, about 4 miles (6 km) southwest of Page.]
It is accessible via hiking a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) round trip from a parking area just off U.S. Route 89 within southwestern Page. The land south of the Bend's parking area, trail, and overlook are on the Navajo Nation territory.
Horseshoe Bend can be viewed from the steep cliff above.
The overlook is 4,200 feet (1,300 m) above sea level, and the Colorado River is at 3,200 feet (1,000 m) above sea level, making it a 1,000-foot (300 m) drop.
Source: www.nps.gov/glca/planyourvisit/horseshoe-bend.htm
A social media darling, Horseshoe Bend has become one of the most recognized and visited places in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. The parking lot and trailhead is located off US Highway 89, approximately 5 miles (8 km) south of the Carl Hayden Visitor Center.
Additional Foreign Language Tags:
(United States) "الولايات المتحدة" "Vereinigte Staaten" "アメリカ" "米国" "美国" "미국" "Estados Unidos" "États-Unis" "ארצות הברית" "संयुक्त राज्य" "США"
(Arizona) "أريزونا" "亚利桑那州" "אריזונה" "एरिजोना" "アリゾナ州" "애리조나" "Аризона"
Excerpt from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wat_Pho:
The wat and the reclining Buddha were built by Rama III in 1832. The image of the reclining Buddha represents the entry of Buddha into Nirvana and the end of all reincarnations. The posture of the image is referred to as sihasaiyas, the posture of a sleeping or reclining lion. The figure is 15 m high and 46 m long, and it is one of the largest Buddha statues in Thailand.
The figure has a brick core, which was modelled and shaped with plaster, then gilded. The right arm of the Buddha supports the head with tight curls, which rests on two box-pillows encrusted with glass mosaics. The soles of the feet of the Buddha are 3 m high and 4.5 m long, and inlaid with mother-of-pearl. They are each divided into 108 arranged panels, displaying the auspicious symbols by which Buddha can be identified, such as flowers, dancers, white elephants, tigers, and altar accessories. At the center of each foot is a circle representing a chakra or 'energy point'. There are 108 bronze bowls in the corridor representing the 108 auspicious characters of Buddha. Visitors may drop coins in these bowls as it is believed to bring good fortune, and it also helps the monks to maintain the wat.
Although the reclining Buddha is not a pilgrimage destination, it remains an object of popular piety. An annual celebration for the reclining Buddha is held around the time of the Siamese Songkran or New Year in April, which also helps raise funds for the upkeep of Wat Pho.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Canyon
The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is 277 miles (446 km) long, up to 18 miles (29 km) wide and attains a depth of over a mile (6,093 feet or 1,857 meters).
The canyon and adjacent rim are contained within Grand Canyon National Park, the Kaibab National Forest, Grand Canyon–Parashant National Monument, the Hualapai Indian Reservation, the Havasupai Indian Reservation and the Navajo Nation. The surrounding area is contained within the Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument. President Theodore Roosevelt was a major proponent of the preservation of the Grand Canyon area and visited it on numerous occasions to hunt and enjoy the scenery.
Nearly two billion years of Earth's geological history have been exposed as the Colorado River and its tributaries cut their channels through layer after layer of rock while the Colorado Plateau was uplifted. While some aspects about the history of incision of the canyon are debated by geologists, several recent studies support the hypothesis that the Colorado River established its course through the area about 5 to 6 million years ago. Since that time, the Colorado River has driven the down-cutting of the tributaries and retreat of the cliffs, simultaneously deepening and widening the canyon.
For thousands of years, the area has been continuously inhabited by Native Americans, who built settlements within the canyon and its many caves. The Pueblo people considered the Grand Canyon a holy site, and made pilgrimages to it. The first European known to have viewed the Grand Canyon was García López de Cárdenas from Spain, who arrived in 1540.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Canyon_National_Park
Grand Canyon National Park is a national park of the United States located in northwestern Arizona, the 15th site to have been named as a national park. The park's central feature is the Grand Canyon, a gorge of the Colorado River, which is often considered one of the Wonders of the World. The park, which covers 1,217,262 acres (1,901.972 sq mi; 4,926.08 km2) of unincorporated area in Coconino and Mohave counties, received more than 4.7 million recreational visitors in 2023. The Grand Canyon was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1979. The park celebrated its 100th anniversary on February 26, 2019.
Source: www.nps.gov/grca/index.htm
Entirely within the state of Arizona, the park encompasses 278 miles (447 km) of the Colorado River and adjacent uplands. Located on the ancestral homelands of 11 present day Tribal Communities, Grand Canyon is one of the most spectacular examples of erosion anywhere in the world—a mile deep canyon unmatched in the incomparable vistas it offers visitors from both north and south rims.
Additional Foreign Language Tags:
(United States) "الولايات المتحدة" "Vereinigte Staaten" "アメリカ" "米国" "美国" "미국" "Estados Unidos" "États-Unis" "ארצות הברית" "संयुक्त राज्य" "США"
(Arizona) "أريزونا" "亚利桑那州" "אריזונה" "एरिजोना" "アリゾナ州" "애리조나" "Аризона"
(Grand Canyon) "جراند كانيون" "大峡谷" "גרנד קניון" "ग्रांड कैन्यन" "グランドキャニオン" "그랜드 캐니언" "Гранд-Каньон" "Gran Cañón"
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nudibranch
Glossodoris atromarginata
www.nudipixel.net/photographer/david_marriott/
The Steps scuba diving site. Kurnell National Park, Sydney, NSW, Australia
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pensacola,_Florida
Pensacola is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat of Escambia County, Florida. As of 2018, the population was estimated to be 52,713. Pensacola is the principal city of the Pensacola Metropolitan Area, which had an estimated 494,883 residents as of 2018. Pensacola is one of the largest metropolitan areas in the Gulf Coast region, the largest between New Orleans and Tampa.
Pensacola is the site of the first Spanish settlement within the borders of the continental United States in 1559, predating the establishment of St. Augustine by 6 years, although the settlement was abandoned due to a hurricane and not re-established until 1698. Pensacola is a seaport on Pensacola Bay, which is protected by the barrier island of Santa Rosa and connects to the Gulf of Mexico. A large United States Naval Air Station, the first in the United States, is located southwest of Pensacola near Warrington; it is the base of the Blue Angels flight demonstration team and the National Naval Aviation Museum. The main campus of the University of West Florida is situated north of the city center.
The area was originally inhabited by Muskogean-speaking peoples. The Pensacola people lived there at the time of European contact, and Creek people frequently visited and traded from present-day southern Alabama. Spanish explorer Tristán de Luna founded a short-lived settlement in 1559. In 1698 the Spanish established a presidio in the area, from which the modern city gradually developed. The area changed hands several times as European powers competed in North America. During Florida's British rule (1763–1781), fortifications were strengthened.
It is nicknamed "The City of Five Flags", due to the five governments that have ruled it during its history: the flags of Spain (Castile), France, Great Britain, the United States of America, and the Confederate States of America. Other nicknames include "World's Whitest Beaches" (due to the white sand of Florida panhandle beaches), "Cradle of Naval Aviation", "Western Gate to the Sunshine State", "America's First Settlement", "Emerald Coast", "Red Snapper Capital of the World", and "P-Cola".
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinckneyville,_Illinois
Pinckneyville is a city in and the county seat of Perry County, Illinois, United States. The population was 5,066 at the 2020 census. It is named for Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, an early American diplomat and presidential candidate.
Pinckneyville is the location of the Pinckneyville Power Plant, a combustion turbine generator (CTG)-type power plant run by Ameren.
Source: www.americanthresherman.com/history.html
ATA HISTORY
The American Thresherman Association (ATA) was organized in March of 1959.
At the annual meeting in 1962, Amos Rixman commented that the Association "organized three years ago this month for the purpose of furnishing some enjoyment to its members and to be the beginning of something very worthwhile." Already in its brief life the Association had earned such a reputation that three towns vied for the chance to become the permanent site for the show. The Pinckneyville Chamber of Commerce invited the ATA with open arms and pledges of support, and the Perry County community was chosen over Mascoutah and Highland for the 1962 show site.
Additional Foreign Language Tags:
(United States) "الولايات المتحدة" "Vereinigte Staaten" "アメリカ" "美国" "미국" "Estados Unidos" "États-Unis"
(Illinois) "الينوي" "伊利诺伊州" "इलिनोइस" "イリノイ" "일리노이" "Иллинойс"
(Pinckneyville) "بينكنيفيل" "平克尼维尔" "पिंकनीविले" "ピンクニービル" "핀크니빌" "Пинкнивилль"
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monument_Valley
Monument Valley (Navajo: Tsé Biiʼ Ndzisgaii, pronounced [tsʰépìːʔ ǹtsɪ̀skɑ̀ìː], meaning "valley of the rocks") is a region of the Colorado Plateau characterized by a cluster of sandstone buttes, with the largest reaching 1,000 ft (300 m) above the valley floor. The most famous butte formations are located in northeastern Arizona along the Utah–Arizona state line. The valley is considered sacred by the Navajo Nation, the Native American people within whose reservation it lies.
Monument Valley has been featured in many forms of media since the 1930s. Famed director John Ford used the location for a number of his Westerns. Film critic Keith Phipps wrote that "its five square miles [13 km2] have defined what decades of moviegoers think of when they imagine the American West".
Sourc: navajonationparks.org/navajo-tribal-parks/monument-valley/
History
Before human existence, the Park was once a lowland basin. For hundreds of millions of years, materials that eroded from the early Rock Mountains deposited layer upon layer of sediment which cemented a slow and gentle uplift, generated by ceaseless pressure from below the surface, elevating these horizontal strata quite uniformly one to three miles above sea level. What was once a basin became a plateau.
Natural forces of wind and water that eroded the land spent the last 50 million years cutting into and peeling away at the surface of the plateau. The simple wearing down of altering layers of soft and hard rock slowly revealed the natural wonders of Monument Valley today.
From the visitor center, you see the world-famous panorama of the Mitten Buttes and Merrick Butte. You can also purchase guided tours from Navajo tour operators, who take you down into the valley in Jeeps for a narrated cruise through these mythical formations. Places such as Ear of the Wind and other landmarks can only be accessed via guided tours. During the summer months, the visitor center also features Haskenneini Restaurant, which specializes in both native Navajo and American cuisines, and a film/snack/souvenir shop. There are year-round restroom facilities. One mile before the center, numerous Navajo vendors sell arts, crafts, native food, and souvenirs at roadside stands.
Additional Foreign Language Tags:
(United States) "الولايات المتحدة" "Vereinigte Staaten" "アメリカ" "米国" "美国" "미국" "Estados Unidos" "États-Unis" "ארצות הברית" "संयुक्त राज्य" "США"
(Arizona) "أريزونا" "亚利桑那州" "אריזונה" "एरिजोना" "アリゾナ州" "애리조나" "Аризона"
(Utah) "يوتا" "犹他州" "יוטה" "यूटा" "ユタ州" "유타" "Юта"
(Monument Valley) "وادي النصب التذكاري" "纪念碑谷" "Vallée des monuments" "מוניומנט ואלי" "स्मारक घाटी" "モニュメントバレー" "모뉴먼트 밸리" "Долина Монументов" "Valle de los Monumentos"
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takht-i-Bahi
Takht-i-Bhai (also spelled Takht Bahi, Takht Bhai or Takh Bay) is a Parthian archaeological site in Mardan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It was first a Zoroastrian complex which, after the later arrival of Buddhism, was then converted into a Buddhist monastic complex. It is dated to the 1st century BCE.[1] The complex is regarded by archaeologists as being particularly representative of the architecture of Buddhist monastic centers from its era.[2] It was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980.
Etymology
The word Takht-i-Bahi (Urdu: تخت بھائی) may have different explanations. Local believes that site got its name from two wells on the hill or the springs nearby. In Persian, Takht means "top" or "throne" while bahi means "spring" or "water". When combined together its meaning is Spring from the Top or High Spring, and there were two springs on the top of mountains. Another meaning suggested is Throne of Origin.[3]
Location
The ruins are located about 15 kilometers from Mardan in Pakistan's Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province.[1] A small fortified city, dating from the same era, sits nearby.[4] The ruins also sit near a modern village known by the same name.[5] It is located around 500 feet atop the small hill and around 2 km from village bazar.[3] The surrounding area is famous for sugar cane, wheat, maize, vegetable, and orchard cultivation.
Structure[edit]
There are four main areas of the Takht Bahi complex:
The Stupa Court, a cluster of stupas located in a central courtyard.[2]
The monastic chambers, consisting of individual cells arranged around a courtyard, assembly halls, and a dining area.[2]
A temple complex, consisting of stupas and similar to the Stupa Court, but of later construction.[2]
The Tantric monastic complex, which consists of small, dark cells with low openings, which may have been used for certain forms of Tantric meditation.[2]
Additional structures on the site may have served as residences or meeting halls, or filled secular purposes.[5] All of the buildings on the site are constructed from local stone, and are mortared with lime and mud.[
History
Archaeologists have divided the history of the complex into four periods, beginning in the 1st Century BCE.[5]
The monastic complex was likely founded in the early 1st Century BCE.[4] It is proven by an inscriptions found bearing the name of Gondophares (20-46 CE).[3] After Gondophares, the place fell under control of Kujula Kadphises,[3] the first Kushan king. This first era continued until the 2nd Century CE, and is associated with the another Kushan king Kanishka, as well as early Parthian and later Kushan kings.[5] The second construction period, which included the creation of the Stupa Court and assembly hall, took place during the 3rd and 4th Centuries CE. A third construction period, associated with the later Kushan dynasty and the Kidara Kushana rulers, occurred during the 4th and 5th centuries. The final construction period, which saw the creation of the so-called Tantric complex, took place in the 6th and 7th Centuries CE, and was overseen by invading Hun rulers.
Despite numerous invasions into the area, Takht-i-Bahi's hilltop location seems to have protected it from destruction, unlike many comparable early Buddhist monastic complexes.[4] The complex was occupied continuously until Late Antiquity (7th century CE),[3] when charitable funding for the site ended.[2]
The first modern historical reference to these ruins was made in 1836 by the French Officer, the Buddhist remains are in a village named Mazdoorabad.[5] Explorations and excavations on this site began in 1864.[5] A significant number of objects from the site can be found in the British Museum.[6] The site underwent a major restoration in the 1920s.[2]
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monument_Valley
Monument Valley (Navajo: Tsé Biiʼ Ndzisgaii, pronounced [tsʰépìːʔ ǹtsɪ̀skɑ̀ìː], meaning "valley of the rocks") is a region of the Colorado Plateau characterized by a cluster of sandstone buttes, with the largest reaching 1,000 ft (300 m) above the valley floor. The most famous butte formations are located in northeastern Arizona along the Utah–Arizona state line. The valley is considered sacred by the Navajo Nation, the Native American people within whose reservation it lies.
Monument Valley has been featured in many forms of media since the 1930s. Famed director John Ford used the location for a number of his Westerns. Film critic Keith Phipps wrote that "its five square miles [13 km2] have defined what decades of moviegoers think of when they imagine the American West".
Sourc: navajonationparks.org/navajo-tribal-parks/monument-valley/
History
Before human existence, the Park was once a lowland basin. For hundreds of millions of years, materials that eroded from the early Rock Mountains deposited layer upon layer of sediment which cemented a slow and gentle uplift, generated by ceaseless pressure from below the surface, elevating these horizontal strata quite uniformly one to three miles above sea level. What was once a basin became a plateau.
Natural forces of wind and water that eroded the land spent the last 50 million years cutting into and peeling away at the surface of the plateau. The simple wearing down of altering layers of soft and hard rock slowly revealed the natural wonders of Monument Valley today.
From the visitor center, you see the world-famous panorama of the Mitten Buttes and Merrick Butte. You can also purchase guided tours from Navajo tour operators, who take you down into the valley in Jeeps for a narrated cruise through these mythical formations. Places such as Ear of the Wind and other landmarks can only be accessed via guided tours. During the summer months, the visitor center also features Haskenneini Restaurant, which specializes in both native Navajo and American cuisines, and a film/snack/souvenir shop. There are year-round restroom facilities. One mile before the center, numerous Navajo vendors sell arts, crafts, native food, and souvenirs at roadside stands.
Additional Foreign Language Tags:
(United States) "الولايات المتحدة" "Vereinigte Staaten" "アメリカ" "米国" "美国" "미국" "Estados Unidos" "États-Unis" "ארצות הברית" "संयुक्त राज्य" "США"
(Arizona) "أريزونا" "亚利桑那州" "אריזונה" "एरिजोना" "アリゾナ州" "애리조나" "Аризона"
(Utah) "يوتا" "犹他州" "יוטה" "यूटा" "ユタ州" "유타" "Юта"
(Monument Valley) "وادي النصب التذكاري" "纪念碑谷" "Vallée des monuments" "מוניומנט ואלי" "स्मारक घाटी" "モニュメントバレー" "모뉴먼트 밸리" "Долина Монументов" "Valle de los Monumentos"
nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Groote_Club
"De Groote Club was a gentlemen's club at Dam Square in Amsterdam from 1872 to 1975. In 1975 the Club merged with ‘’De Industrieele Club’’, which was founded in 1913. Together they formed ‘’’De Industrieele Groote Club’’’.
Architects Theodoor Gerard Schill and D.H. Haverkamp designed the building, which was finished in 1914.
During World War II, the Germans occupied the building.
On 7 May 1945, 75 years ago today, Amsterdam people gathered at Dam Square to celebrate the liberation of The Netherlands. In the Afternoon a shooting took place, by the Germans from De Groote Club, which killed 31 people and wounded 117."
After WWII, De Groote Club became one of the meeting places of Nederlandsch-Chineesche Vereeniging (Dutch-Chinese Association) and Nederlandse Reünisten Vereniging China (NRVC, Dutch Reunists Association China).
In the Netherlands, on 4 May the people who died in WWII for our freedom are commemorated and 5 May the Liberation is celebrated.
This photo was taken during the first lockdown in The Netherlands due to Covid-19, you hardly see a person in the street. One year later, during King's Day celebrations on 27 April 2021, crowds of people were gathering all over Amsterdam to feel free and festive again, unaware of the lives in danger, as overcrowded hospitals had to postpone operations and other treatments.
Photo by Pieter Lommerse
Excerpt from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axolotl:
The axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum) is a paedomorphic salamander closely related to the tiger salamander. It is unusual among amphibians in that it reaches adulthood without undergoing metamorphosis. Instead of taking to the land, adults remain aquatic and gilled. The species was originally found in several lakes underlying what is now Mexico City, such as Lake Xochimilco and Lake Chalco. These lakes were drained by Spanish settlers after the conquest of the Aztec Empire, leading to the destruction of much of the axolotl's natural habitat.
A sexually mature adult axolotl, at age 18–27 months, ranges in length from 15 to 45 cm (6 to 18 in), although a size close to 23 cm (9 in) is most common and greater than 30 cm (12 in) is rare. Axolotls possess features typical of salamander larvae, including external gills and a caudal fin extending from behind the head to the vent. External gills are usually lost when salamander species mature into adulthood, although the axolotl maintains this feature.[15] This is due to their neoteny evolution, where axolotls are much more aquatic than other salamander species.
Their heads are wide, and their eyes are lidless. Their limbs are underdeveloped and possess long, thin digits. Males are identified by their swollen cloacae lined with papillae, while females are noticeable for their wider bodies full of eggs. Three pairs of external gill stalks (rami) originate behind their heads and are used to move oxygenated water. The external gill rami are lined with filaments (fimbriae) to increase surface area for gas exchange. Four-gill slits lined with gill rakers are hidden underneath the external gills, which prevent food from entering and allow particles to filter through.
Axolotls have barely visible vestigial teeth, which develop during metamorphosis. The primary method of feeding is by suction, during which their rakers interlock to close the gill slits. External gills are used for respiration, although buccal pumping (gulping air from the surface) may also be used to provide oxygen to their lungs.[15] Buccal pumping can occur in a two-stroke manner that pumps air from the mouth to the lungs, and with four-stroke that reverses this pathway with compression forces.
Axolotls exhibit diverse color variations driven by mutations in their pigmentation genes. These genes play a crucial role in determining the coloration of these unique creatures.
Wiki - The Historic Villages of Shirakawa-gō and Gokayama are one of Japan's UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The site is located in the Shogawa river valley stretching across the border of Gifu and Toyama Prefectures in central Japan. Shirakawa-gō (白川郷, "White River Old-District") is located in the village of Shirakawa in Gifu Prefecture.
These villages are well known for their houses constructed in the architectural style known as gasshō-zukuri (合掌造り). The Gasshō-zukuri, "prayer-hands construction" style is characterized by a thatched and steeply slanting roof resembling two hands joined in prayer. The design is exceptionally strong and, in combination with the unique properties of the thatching, allow the houses to withstand and shed the weight of the region's heavy snowfalls in winter.
The houses are large, with three to four stories encompassed between the low eaves, and historically intended to house large extended families and a highly efficient space for a variety of industries. The densely forested mountains of the region still occupy 96% of all land in the area, and prior to the introduction of heavy earth-moving machinery, the narrow bands of flat lands running the length of the river valley limited the area available for agriculture and homestead development. The upper storeys of the gasshō houses were usually set aside for sericulture, while the areas below the first (ground) floor were often used for the production of nitre, one of the raw materials needed for the production of gunpowder.
All Rights Reserved. Please do not reproduce, copy, edit, publish, transmit or upload material in my gallery without my permission.
"Bungaroo" near the present day suburbs of Saint Ives and Davidson.
This was the site of the first of many inland explorations of the colony of New South Wales. A group of ten? men, searching for arable land on April 16, 1788. They found nothing good here.
That grumpy curmudgeon Surgeon White said of this place "the most desert, wild and solitary seclusion that the imagination can form any idea of".
Also present was the colonial governor, Captain Arthur Phillip. his deputy the Lieutenant Governor David Collins, a future Lieutenant Governor George Johnston, a sailor and a soldier.. So, it was nice to reconnect at the camping spot where those famous people slept. At the same time, a long way away in Vienna. Mozart was preparing to write his famous last three symphonies.
The camping spot here would be familiar to the ten men, back in 1788. They were the governor, naval Lieutenant Ball, Lieutenant George Johnston of the marines, David Collins the judge advocate, Surgeon White, three soldiers and two seamen.
Johnston later became lieutenant governor and was influential in the Rum Rebellion. Collins name is for Collins Street in Melbourne. Ball's pyramid at Lord Howe Island. White's Bay named after the doctor. And many things named for the governor, Arthur Phillip.
The reports from this trip say the campers were tormented by mosquitos, which is easy to understand. They can be ferocious outdoors in most months of the year. Particularly in April at night.
Lieutenant Ball, a marine and two fatigued seamen here left the main party to return to Sydney Cove via the North shore. Looks like they didn't camp here at Bungaroo.
This place has probably changed little. Surgeon White was a talented man, but he had a bad and cranky view of Australia. Surgeon White had a duel with another of the colonial doctors, Dr William Balmain. They both shot each other. The young scot receiving minor injuries to his thigh. White was also slightly injured.
The governor was horrified about this event, complaining how his doctors were trying to kill each other.
In 1790, Balmain saved Governor Phillip's life when he was speared at Manly.
Surgeon White was not an easy man to get on with. He is considered a man of many virtues as well as his rather poor record in other areas.
Yesterday I photographed a plant not far from the camping site. Collected by Surgeon White a few years later in Sydney. Here's the photo and new article: Leptospermum parvifolium.
But this is a magnificent spot. The tidal limit of Middle Harbour creek where the colonials camped. Four famous men supported by two others. Upstream was land unsuited to agriculture. Very poor sandstone soils. So, this trip in 1788 failed to find suitable land.
See wikipedia Mare Imbrium and wikipedia Crater Copernicus for more information.
Photographed with Nikon Coolpix P900 (83x optical zoom) + HDR (Photomatix)
===
Das "Meer des Regens" mit dem Krater Kopernikus (ca. 90 - 95 km Durchmesser) und seinem imposanten Strahlensystem unterhalb. Das Mare Imbrium hat einen Durchmesser von ca. 1.146 Kilometern. Seine Flächengröße beträgt etwa 830.000 km² - das ist mehr als die doppelte Fläche von Deutschland.
Das Mare Imbrium war das Ziel mehrerer Mond Missionen: neben der sowjetischen Sonde Lunik 2, die am 13. September 1959 als erstes vom Menschen geschaffene Objekt hier den Mond erreichte und dem ebenfalls sowjetischen Mondrover Lunochod 1 (17. November 1970 bis zum 4. Oktober 1971) landete auch Apollo 15 (am 31. Juli 1971 ) im östlichen Randbereich. Zuletzt besuchte die chinesische Raumsonde Chang’e-3 mit dem Rover Yutu den Norden des Mares am 14. Dezember 2013.
Weitere Informationen siehe wikipedia.
Excerpt from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Studio_City_(Macau):
Studio City is a hotel casino resort on the Cotai Strip in Cotai, Macau. The Hollywood studio-themed leisure resort is the first in Asia to integrate television and film production facilities, retail, gaming and hotels. It is majority-owned by Melco Resorts & Entertainment and its subsidiary Studio City International Holdings Limited (SCIHL), Its two towers are connected by the world's first and highest figure-8 ferris wheel.
Inspired by the Golden Age of Hollywood, the cinematic-themed resort comprises a 30,000-square-foot Family Entertainment Center in collaboration with Time Warner Inc. subsidiaries Warner Bros and DC Comics. The entertainment center features DC Comics characters, such as Superman, Wonder Woman and The Flash.
Studio City features an Art Deco design inspired by two asteroids shooting through a Gotham City building. The resort was designed by Goddard Group, a Los Angeles–based entertainment design firm that also designed Galaxy Macau.
The resort's two hotel towers – Star Tower and Celebrity Tower – are connected by the Golden Reel, the world's first and highest figure-8 ferris wheel. Boarding at the hotel's 23rd floor, the wheel features 17 steampunk-themed cabins holding up to 10 passengers each, also designed by the Goddard Group, with hardware manufactured by Liechtenstein's Intamin Amusement Rides. Batman Dark Flight is a 4D flight simulation theatre attraction, along with a 40,000 square foot children's playground, the Warner Brothers Fun Zone.
Facilities include Legend Heroes Park, an immersive tech-based entertainment park (TBE), a 5,000-seat live performance arena, an indoor/outdoor water park, opened in May 2021, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, a fitness centre and meeting rooms. Star Tower is rated 5-star by Forbes Travel Guide and houses several award-winning restaurants, the Zensa Spa and Pacha Macau nightclub, as well as 1,233 gaming machines and about 250 gaming tables. Studio City Event Center hosts concerts and sporting events.
Guests may also view space through giant portal windows at the Cosmos Food Station food court. Restaurants at Studio City include Michelin-starred Pearl Dragon, Bi Ying, Rossi Trattoria and Hide Yamamoto.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_koel
The female of the nominate race is brownish on the crown and has rufous streaks on the head. The back, rump and wing coverts are dark brown with white and buff spots. The underparts are whitish, but is heavily striped. The other subspecies differ in colouration and size.[9] The upper plumage of young birds is more like that of the male and they have a black beak.[10] They are very vocal during the breeding season (March to August in the Indian Subcontinent), with a range of different calls. The familiar song of the male is a repeated koo-Ooo. The female makes a shrill kik-kik-kik... call. FPDR P1380449_DxO
Wiki: The creator of the cartoon character Wiley Coyote, Chuck Jones, based the character on Mark Twain's book Roughing It, in which Twain described the coyote as "a long, slim, sick and sorry-looking skeleton" that is "a living, breathing allegory of Want. He is always hungry."
Wöltingerode (Wiki): de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kloster_W%C3%B6ltingerode
Klostergut: www.woeltingerode.de/das-klostergut.html
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sefton_Park
Sefton Park is a public park in south Liverpool, England. The park is in a district of the same name within the Liverpool City Council Ward of Mossley Hill, and roughly within the historic bounds of the large area of Toxteth Park. Neighbouring districts include modern-day Toxteth, Aigburth, Mossley Hill, and St Michael's Hamlet.
The park is 235 acres (0.95 km2) in area[1] and has been designated a Grade II* Historic Park by English Heritage[citation needed] making it one of three such parks in the city, along with the nearby Princes Park and St James Cemetery.
History
The site of the park was once within the boundaries of the 2,300-acre (9.3 km2) Royal Deer Park of Toxteth which became "disparked" in 1591. The land eventually came under the control of the Earl of Sefton.
As Toxteth rapidly grew, the green fields and woodland of Toxteth Park grew into narrow streets and courts packed tiny uninhabitable houses where the air was stagnant, there was little or no sanitation and running water consisted of one tap in the middle of the court. At the same time there was demand for large aristocratic mansions in the South of Liverpool. In 1862 the Borough Council Engineer recommended a site for this development. An Act of Parliament[which?] in 1864 permitted corporations to borrow sums of money up to half a million pounds to be repaid over thirty years. This allowed steps to be taken towards the purchase of land for Sefton Park. In 1867 the Council purchased 375 acres (1.52 km2) of land for the development of the park for £250,000 from the Earl of Sefton.
Even though it was recognised by politicians that clean, fresh open spaces were now regarded as necessity there was an outcry from the public that £250,000 was extravagant and wasteful. As with neighbouring Princes Park plots of land on the perimeter were sold for housing which helped in the funding of the layout of the park.
Soon after, a European competition was launched to design a grand park. 29 entries were received and the competition was won by a French landscape architect Édouard André with work on the design also undertaken by Liverpool architect Lewis Hornblower. The park was opened on 20 May 1872 by Prince Arthur who dedicated it "for the health and enjoyment of the townspeople".
The Park design is based on circular, oval and marginal footpaths, framing the green spaces, with two natural watercourses flowing into the 7-acre (0.028 km2) man-made lake. Hornblower’s designs for the park lodges and entrances were elaborate structures, and included follies[specify], shelters and boathouses. The parkland itself included a deer park and the strong water theme was reflected by the presence of pools, waterfalls and stepping stones. The Park, its exclusive villas and ornamentation reflected the grandeur of the City during its mid Victorian period when Liverpool was the second city of the Empire.
The perimeter road's outer edge is lined with Victorian buildings constructed to around 1890, and Edwardian houses. Additional development of the park continued with the construction of the iron bridge in 1873.
The park had a gallops[specify] which led to it being nicknamed "the Hyde Park of the North" but was always referred to by locals as "The Jockey Sands".[citation needed]
A major park improvement programme was undertaken in 1983 prior to International Garden Festival.
Sporting uses
Sefton Park Cricket Club moved their ground to the park in 1876 and WG Grace was amongst the three Gloucestershire players who made up a "South of England" team who won there in 1877. The park also has tennis courts, a bowling green, a popular jogging circuit and local league football is a regular weekend fixture. It is also used every November to hold the European Cross Country Championships trial races for the British team.
Entertainment uses
The park has also been a site for Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra's summer pops season, Africa Oyé and the Moscow State Circus. Bands have also played at the park in the 80s such as Echo and the Bunneymen.
Restoration
In 2005 the park received provisional approval for a major £5 million Heritage Lottery funded renovation project which involves the refurbishment and improvement of many of the park's features. The work began in June 2007 was expected to be completed in summer 2009. This work was very controversial with some regular users of the park as it included destroying trees and breeding sites of birds.[2] The work led to the formation of the "Friends of Sefton Park" campaigns.
Notable features of the park
Palm House
This is a Grade II* three-tier dome conservatory palm house designed and built by MacKenzie and Moncur of Edinburgh which opened in 1896. Liverpool millionaire Henry Yates Thompson (the great nephew of the founder of Princes Park) gifted £10,000 to the city to fund the construction. It was designed in the tradition of Joseph Paxton's glass houses and was stocked originally with a rich collection of exotic plants.
During the Liverpool Blitz of May 1941 a bomb fell nearby and shattered the glass. It was reglazed in 1950 at a cost of £6,163 with costs covered by War Restoration funds. A period of decline and deterioration culminated in its closure in the 1980s on grounds of safety.
In June 1992, a public meeting was held highlighting the dereliction and calling for restoration. A petition was presented to the City Council by what had become the "Save the Palm House" campaign. A public fund raising campaign was established, with a "sponsor a pane" programme generating over £35,000. This led directly to the conversion of Save the Palm House into a registered charity (Friends of Sefton Park Palm House). The Palm House was partially repaired and reopened in 1993. It was fully restored at a cost of £3.5 million with Heritage Lottery and European funding and reopened in September 2001. It is now both a popular visitor attraction offering free and paid-for public entertainment and is venue for hire.
The eight ‘corners’ of the Palm House are marked by statues by the French sculptor Leon-Joseph Chavalliaud. These include explorers Captain Cook, Christopher Columbus, navigators Gerardus Mercator and Henry the Navigator, botanists and explorers Charles Darwin, Carl Linnaeus and John Parkinson and landscape architect Andre le Notre. Inside the Palm House are two sculptures by Benjamin Edward Spence "Highland Mary" and "The Angel's Whisper".
The grounds of the Palm House feature a statue of Peter Pan which was one of the last works by the British sculptor Sir George Frampton. This is Grade II listed and is a replica of a similar statue given as a gift for the visiting public to Kensington Gardens by author J.M. Barrie. The statue was donated to the park by George Audley in 1928 and was unveiled in the presence of Barrie. It originally sat in Sefton Park but was damaged in the 1990s. It was restored at Liverpool's Conservation Centre, and returned to the more secure location of the Palm House's grounds in December 2005.
Shaftesbury Memorial and Eros Fountain
This is Grade II listed and situated in the centre of the Park next to the cafe and former site of the aviary. The fountain, made from bronze and aluminium, was unveiled in 1932 and is a replica of a memorial to Lord Shaftesbury created by Sir Alfred Gilbert in London's Piccadilly Circus. It was restored in 2008 with a new aluminium Eros statue replacing the original which now resides in Liverpool's Conservation Centre.
Grotto
An artificial cave also known as Old Nick's Caves. This was built around 1870 by French rockwork specialist M. Combaz. It includes a waterfall which flows into a mirror pond.
Other statues and facilities
The park features a Gothic drinking fountain and several prominent statues including a memorial to William Rathbone V by Sir Thomas Brock unveiled in 1887, and an obelisk, the Samuel Smith memorial located by the principal entrance to the Park. There is a bandstand, popular since the Victorian era, which is said[by whom?] to be the inspiration for The Beatles' song Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band. An iron bridge was opened in 1873 which spans the Fairy Glen. There is a cafe in the centre of the park called the Aviary Cafe and a pirate themed children's play area opened in 2009.
Former features of the park
Aviary
An aviary was introduced to the park in 1901 and was home to many exotic birds. After falling into disuse in the 1990s, the old cages were removed during the restoration project and replaced with a new curved viewing point overlooking new outside planting.
The Concert
The park also boasted a small open-air theatre – "The Concert" – near the café which featured singers, magicians and talent contests to entertain local children during the summer holidays. This was removed in the 1970s.
Boating lake
The lake was a popular venue for boating until the 1970s, with a jetty and boat hire facilities. The lake was totally emptied in 2007 for the extensive renovation work and all of the fish (which included specimen weights of carp, tench, roach, pike and golden orf)[citation needed] were caught with large nets and sent to various locations across the UK. Following its restoration, the lake was refilled in 2010. Turtles have also been spotted in the lake.
Others
There was a small pirate ship located in one of the lakes until the early 1990s when it was removed due to falling into disrepair.
Wiki enjoys the little seasonal stream nearby. It runs between our house and our friend and neighbor's house part of the year when we have rain.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Canyon
The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is 277 miles (446 km) long, up to 18 miles (29 km) wide and attains a depth of over a mile (6,093 feet or 1,857 meters).
The canyon and adjacent rim are contained within Grand Canyon National Park, the Kaibab National Forest, Grand Canyon–Parashant National Monument, the Hualapai Indian Reservation, the Havasupai Indian Reservation and the Navajo Nation. The surrounding area is contained within the Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument. President Theodore Roosevelt was a major proponent of the preservation of the Grand Canyon area and visited it on numerous occasions to hunt and enjoy the scenery.
Nearly two billion years of Earth's geological history have been exposed as the Colorado River and its tributaries cut their channels through layer after layer of rock while the Colorado Plateau was uplifted. While some aspects about the history of incision of the canyon are debated by geologists, several recent studies support the hypothesis that the Colorado River established its course through the area about 5 to 6 million years ago. Since that time, the Colorado River has driven the down-cutting of the tributaries and retreat of the cliffs, simultaneously deepening and widening the canyon.
For thousands of years, the area has been continuously inhabited by Native Americans, who built settlements within the canyon and its many caves. The Pueblo people considered the Grand Canyon a holy site, and made pilgrimages to it. The first European known to have viewed the Grand Canyon was García López de Cárdenas from Spain, who arrived in 1540.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Canyon_National_Park
Grand Canyon National Park is a national park of the United States located in northwestern Arizona, the 15th site to have been named as a national park. The park's central feature is the Grand Canyon, a gorge of the Colorado River, which is often considered one of the Wonders of the World. The park, which covers 1,217,262 acres (1,901.972 sq mi; 4,926.08 km2) of unincorporated area in Coconino and Mohave counties, received more than 4.7 million recreational visitors in 2023. The Grand Canyon was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1979. The park celebrated its 100th anniversary on February 26, 2019.
Source: www.nps.gov/grca/index.htm
Entirely within the state of Arizona, the park encompasses 278 miles (447 km) of the Colorado River and adjacent uplands. Located on the ancestral homelands of 11 present day Tribal Communities, Grand Canyon is one of the most spectacular examples of erosion anywhere in the world—a mile deep canyon unmatched in the incomparable vistas it offers visitors from both north and south rims.
Additional Foreign Language Tags:
(United States) "الولايات المتحدة" "Vereinigte Staaten" "アメリカ" "米国" "美国" "미국" "Estados Unidos" "États-Unis" "ארצות הברית" "संयुक्त राज्य" "США"
(Arizona) "أريزونا" "亚利桑那州" "אריזונה" "एरिजोना" "アリゾナ州" "애리조나" "Аризона"
(Grand Canyon) "جراند كانيون" "大峡谷" "גרנד קניון" "ग्रांड कैन्यन" "グランドキャニオン" "그랜드 캐니언" "Гранд-Каньон" "Gran Cañón"
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-tailed_wheatear
The red-tailed wheatear (Oenanthe chrysopygia), also known as the rusty-tailed wheatear, Persian wheatear or Afghan wheatear, is a small passerine bird breeding in mountainous areas of south-west and central Asia. It belongs to the wheatear genus Oenanthe which was formerly placed in the thrush family Turdidae but is now in the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae. The red-tailed wheatear used to be considered a subspecies of the Kurdish wheatear (O. xanthoprymna) but is now often regarded as a separate species.
Description
It is 14.5 cm long with a wingspan of 26–27 cm and a weight of about 20-27 g.[2] The plumage is fairly drab, mainly grey-brown above and greyish-white below. It has a faint pale stripe over the eye, a rufous tinge to the ear-coverts and silvery-white underwing-coverts.[3] The rump and bases of the outer tail-feathers are reddish while the rest of the tail is black forming a T-shaped pattern.[4] There is little difference between males and females but the male has black between the eye and bill.[5]
The female Kurdistan wheatear can be very similar but usually has white bases to the outer tail-feathers. Adult males and some females of the Kurdistan wheatear are quite different with a black face and throat and greyer upperparts.
The song is a simple repeated whistle. The bird has several clicking, rasping and whistling calls.[2]
Taxonomy
The species was described in 1863 by the Italian zoologist Filippo de Filippi who named it Dromolaea chrysopgyia. It was later treated as a subspecies of the Kurdish wheatear (O. xanthoprymna) after birds with an appearance intermediate between the two ("O. x. cummingi") were found, suggesting that they could interbreed. However, these hybrid birds may in fact be first-winter Kurdish wheatears.[6]
Red-tailed wheatears in the eastern part of the range are slightly paler and are sometimes regarded as a separate subspecies, O. c. kingi.
Distribution and habitat
Its breeding range extends from north-east Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan eastwards through Iran to Afghanistan, southern Tajikistan and western Pakistan. It migrates south to winter in the Arabian Peninsula, Eritrea, southern parts of Iraq and Iran, Pakistan and north-west India. It has occurred as a vagrant in Israel, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Nepal.
It breeds in mountainous areas from 1,200—4,000 m above sea-level. It nests on steep, barren, rocky ground with little vegetation. It winters at lower levels occurring on rocky hills, steppe, scrubland and semi-desert.
Behaviour
It usually forages on bare ground, feeding mainly on insects such as ants, beetles and caterpillars. It will pick food from vegetation, dig with its bill for beetle larvae and launch attacks from an exposed perch on a rock or stone.[2]
It breeds from late March or April to June, raising two broods. The nest is a cup of grass and other plant material built in a hole in rocks, stones or a wall. Four to six eggs are laid and are incubated for 13 days. The eggs are pale bluish-white, sometimes with reddish-brown spots.[
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sefton_Park
Sefton Park is a public park in south Liverpool, England. The park is in a district of the same name within the Liverpool City Council Ward of Mossley Hill, and roughly within the historic bounds of the large area of Toxteth Park. Neighbouring districts include modern-day Toxteth, Aigburth, Mossley Hill, and St Michael's Hamlet.
The park is 235 acres (0.95 km2) in area[1] and has been designated a Grade II* Historic Park by English Heritage[citation needed] making it one of three such parks in the city, along with the nearby Princes Park and St James Cemetery.
History
The site of the park was once within the boundaries of the 2,300-acre (9.3 km2) Royal Deer Park of Toxteth which became "disparked" in 1591. The land eventually came under the control of the Earl of Sefton.
As Toxteth rapidly grew, the green fields and woodland of Toxteth Park grew into narrow streets and courts packed tiny uninhabitable houses where the air was stagnant, there was little or no sanitation and running water consisted of one tap in the middle of the court. At the same time there was demand for large aristocratic mansions in the South of Liverpool. In 1862 the Borough Council Engineer recommended a site for this development. An Act of Parliament[which?] in 1864 permitted corporations to borrow sums of money up to half a million pounds to be repaid over thirty years. This allowed steps to be taken towards the purchase of land for Sefton Park. In 1867 the Council purchased 375 acres (1.52 km2) of land for the development of the park for £250,000 from the Earl of Sefton.
Even though it was recognised by politicians that clean, fresh open spaces were now regarded as necessity there was an outcry from the public that £250,000 was extravagant and wasteful. As with neighbouring Princes Park plots of land on the perimeter were sold for housing which helped in the funding of the layout of the park.
Soon after, a European competition was launched to design a grand park. 29 entries were received and the competition was won by a French landscape architect Édouard André with work on the design also undertaken by Liverpool architect Lewis Hornblower. The park was opened on 20 May 1872 by Prince Arthur who dedicated it "for the health and enjoyment of the townspeople".
The Park design is based on circular, oval and marginal footpaths, framing the green spaces, with two natural watercourses flowing into the 7-acre (0.028 km2) man-made lake. Hornblower’s designs for the park lodges and entrances were elaborate structures, and included follies[specify], shelters and boathouses. The parkland itself included a deer park and the strong water theme was reflected by the presence of pools, waterfalls and stepping stones. The Park, its exclusive villas and ornamentation reflected the grandeur of the City during its mid Victorian period when Liverpool was the second city of the Empire.
The perimeter road's outer edge is lined with Victorian buildings constructed to around 1890, and Edwardian houses. Additional development of the park continued with the construction of the iron bridge in 1873.
The park had a gallops[specify] which led to it being nicknamed "the Hyde Park of the North" but was always referred to by locals as "The Jockey Sands".[citation needed]
A major park improvement programme was undertaken in 1983 prior to International Garden Festival.
Sporting uses
Sefton Park Cricket Club moved their ground to the park in 1876 and WG Grace was amongst the three Gloucestershire players who made up a "South of England" team who won there in 1877. The park also has tennis courts, a bowling green, a popular jogging circuit and local league football is a regular weekend fixture. It is also used every November to hold the European Cross Country Championships trial races for the British team.
Entertainment uses
The park has also been a site for Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra's summer pops season, Africa Oyé and the Moscow State Circus. Bands have also played at the park in the 80s such as Echo and the Bunneymen.
Restoration
In 2005 the park received provisional approval for a major £5 million Heritage Lottery funded renovation project which involves the refurbishment and improvement of many of the park's features. The work began in June 2007 was expected to be completed in summer 2009. This work was very controversial with some regular users of the park as it included destroying trees and breeding sites of birds.[2] The work led to the formation of the "Friends of Sefton Park" campaigns.
Notable features of the park
Palm House
This is a Grade II* three-tier dome conservatory palm house designed and built by MacKenzie and Moncur of Edinburgh which opened in 1896. Liverpool millionaire Henry Yates Thompson (the great nephew of the founder of Princes Park) gifted £10,000 to the city to fund the construction. It was designed in the tradition of Joseph Paxton's glass houses and was stocked originally with a rich collection of exotic plants.
During the Liverpool Blitz of May 1941 a bomb fell nearby and shattered the glass. It was reglazed in 1950 at a cost of £6,163 with costs covered by War Restoration funds. A period of decline and deterioration culminated in its closure in the 1980s on grounds of safety.
In June 1992, a public meeting was held highlighting the dereliction and calling for restoration. A petition was presented to the City Council by what had become the "Save the Palm House" campaign. A public fund raising campaign was established, with a "sponsor a pane" programme generating over £35,000. This led directly to the conversion of Save the Palm House into a registered charity (Friends of Sefton Park Palm House). The Palm House was partially repaired and reopened in 1993. It was fully restored at a cost of £3.5 million with Heritage Lottery and European funding and reopened in September 2001. It is now both a popular visitor attraction offering free and paid-for public entertainment and is venue for hire.
The eight ‘corners’ of the Palm House are marked by statues by the French sculptor Leon-Joseph Chavalliaud. These include explorers Captain Cook, Christopher Columbus, navigators Gerardus Mercator and Henry the Navigator, botanists and explorers Charles Darwin, Carl Linnaeus and John Parkinson and landscape architect Andre le Notre. Inside the Palm House are two sculptures by Benjamin Edward Spence "Highland Mary" and "The Angel's Whisper".
The grounds of the Palm House feature a statue of Peter Pan which was one of the last works by the British sculptor Sir George Frampton. This is Grade II listed and is a replica of a similar statue given as a gift for the visiting public to Kensington Gardens by author J.M. Barrie. The statue was donated to the park by George Audley in 1928 and was unveiled in the presence of Barrie. It originally sat in Sefton Park but was damaged in the 1990s. It was restored at Liverpool's Conservation Centre, and returned to the more secure location of the Palm House's grounds in December 2005.
Shaftesbury Memorial and Eros Fountain
This is Grade II listed and situated in the centre of the Park next to the cafe and former site of the aviary. The fountain, made from bronze and aluminium, was unveiled in 1932 and is a replica of a memorial to Lord Shaftesbury created by Sir Alfred Gilbert in London's Piccadilly Circus. It was restored in 2008 with a new aluminium Eros statue replacing the original which now resides in Liverpool's Conservation Centre.
Grotto
An artificial cave also known as Old Nick's Caves. This was built around 1870 by French rockwork specialist M. Combaz. It includes a waterfall which flows into a mirror pond.
Other statues and facilities
The park features a Gothic drinking fountain and several prominent statues including a memorial to William Rathbone V by Sir Thomas Brock unveiled in 1887, and an obelisk, the Samuel Smith memorial located by the principal entrance to the Park. There is a bandstand, popular since the Victorian era, which is said[by whom?] to be the inspiration for The Beatles' song Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band. An iron bridge was opened in 1873 which spans the Fairy Glen. There is a cafe in the centre of the park called the Aviary Cafe and a pirate themed children's play area opened in 2009.
Former features of the park
Aviary
An aviary was introduced to the park in 1901 and was home to many exotic birds. After falling into disuse in the 1990s, the old cages were removed during the restoration project and replaced with a new curved viewing point overlooking new outside planting.
The Concert
The park also boasted a small open-air theatre – "The Concert" – near the café which featured singers, magicians and talent contests to entertain local children during the summer holidays. This was removed in the 1970s.
Boating lake
The lake was a popular venue for boating until the 1970s, with a jetty and boat hire facilities. The lake was totally emptied in 2007 for the extensive renovation work and all of the fish (which included specimen weights of carp, tench, roach, pike and golden orf)[citation needed] were caught with large nets and sent to various locations across the UK. Following its restoration, the lake was refilled in 2010. Turtles have also been spotted in the lake.
Others
There was a small pirate ship located in one of the lakes until the early 1990s when it was removed due to falling into disrepair.
The view from the monopteros of the English Garden.
A vista a partir do monóptero do Jardim Inglês.
I'll show this one to my barber next time I want something specific.
Okay, I lied, I don't go to the barber.
2,5x magnification of a robber fly
One shot, handheld, diffused twin flash.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risley_Moss
Risley Moss is an area of peat bog situated near Birchwood in Warrington, England. It covers an area of 210.5 acres (85.2 ha) and is one of the last remaining fragments of the raised bogs that once covered large areas of South Lancashire and North Cheshire. Natural depressions in the glacial drift left by the ice sheets which covered the Cheshire–Shropshire plain during the last ice age, 10,000–15,000 years ago, filled with water, forming the meres and mosses characteristic of the area today. In some cases, like Risley Moss, peat accumulation filled the depression, allowing colonisation by bog mosses such as the Sphagnum varieties, thus giving rise to the name "moss".
Risley Moss is one of only two mosses in Cheshire where the water level has been deliberately raised in an attempt to encourage the regeneration of an active bog surface.[1] The long-term restoration project to re-wet the moss began in 1978 and was completed in 2002. This scheme was undertaken to create a series of scrapes and bunds to retain water and recreate the perfect conditions for bog flora such as cotton grass and sphagnum mosses to re-colonise the bogs.[2]
It was the former site of a large Royal Ordnance Factory. Today, it is managed by Cheshire County Council as a country park and an educational nature reserve. It was designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest in 1986.[1] Risley Moss, together with Astley and Bedford Mosses and Holcroft Moss, is also a European Union designated Special Area of Conservation, known as Manchester Mosses.[3]
Features
The main feature of Risley Moss is the large peat bog flats, overlooked by two observation points: a large watchtower, ideal for bird watching, and a smaller lookout. These points have additional information inside relating to bird species and landscape layouts. The Moss also has several smaller huts located inside the forested area for bird watching and nature enthusiasts.
Tours across the flats and nature reserve are available from the main information centre and are undertaken by local rangers.
In addition to the natural features and landscape, there are several sculptures around the site, usually with a natural theme.