Saturday, May 20, 2023

05-20-2023-1450 - variety, etc. (continued...) (draft)

Saara hardwickii

Conservation status
CITES Appendix II (CITES)^[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Iguania
Family:	Agamidae
Genus:	Saara
Species:	S. hardwickii
Binomial name
*Saara hardwickii* (Gray, 1827)
Synonyms^[2]^[3]
Uromastix hardwickii Gray, 1827 Uromastyx hardwickii — Das, 2002 Saara hardwickii — Wilms et al., 2009

Saara hardwickii, commonly known as Hardwicke's spiny-tailed lizard or the Indian spiny-tailed lizard is a species of lizard in the family Agamidae. The species is found in patches across the Thar desert, Kutch, and surrounding arid zones in India and Pakistan. It is mainly herbivorous and lives in numbers in some areas. Since it is found in loose clusters it often attracts predators such as raptors. It is also hunted by local peoples in the belief that the fat extracted from it is an aphrodisiac.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saara_hardwickii

3rd Colorado Cavalry Regiment
The unit at the Sand Creek massacre
Active	August 20, 1864 – December 31, 1864
Disbanded	December 31, 1864
Country	United States
Allegiance	Union
Branch	Cavalry
Garrison/HQ	Denver, Colorado
Nickname(s)	Bloodless Third
Engagements	American Civil War Sand Creek massacre
Commanders
Notable commanders	Colonel George L. Shoup Colonel John M. Chivington (as District commander)

The 3rd Colorado Cavalry Regiment was a Union Army unit formed in the mid-1860s when increased traffic on the United States emigrant trails and settler encroachment resulted in numerous attacks against them by the Cheyenne and Arapaho. The Hungate massacre and the display in Denver of mutilated victims raised political pressure for the government to protect its people. Governor John Evans sought and gained authorization from the War Department in Washington to found the Third. More a militia than a military unit, the "Bloodless Third" was composed of "100-daysers," that is, volunteers who signed on for 100 days to fight against the Indians. (Its nickname came from its lack of battle experience.) The unit's only commander was Col. George L. Shoup, a politician from Colorado.^[1]^[2] The regiment was assigned to the District of Colorado commanded by Col. John M. Chivington.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3rd_Colorado_Cavalry_Regiment

List of reptiles of Mongolia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is a list of reptiles of Mongolia.

Family Gekkonidae

Kaspischer even-fingered gecko or squeaky pygmy gecko (Alsophylax pipiens)
Yangihissar gecko (Tenuidactylus elongatus)
Przewalski's wonder gecko or plate-tailed gecko (Teratoscincus przewalskii)

Family Agamidae

Phrynocephalus versicolor

Mongolian agama or Mongolian rock agama (Paralaudakia stoliczkana)
Sunwatcher toad-head agama (Phrynocephalus helioscopus)
Tuva toad-head agama (Phrynocephalus versicolor)

Family Lacertidae

Eremias przewalskii

Mongolian racerunner (Eremias argus)
Stepperunner or arguta (Eremias arguta)
Dzungarian racerunner (Eremias dzungarica)
Multi-oscillated racerunner (Eremias multiocellata)
Gobi racerunner (Eremias przewalskii)
Variegated racerunner (Eremias vermiculata)
Sand lizard (Lacerta agilis)
Viviparous lizard or common lizard (Zootoca vivipara)

Family Boidae

Tatary sand boa (Eryx tataricus)

Family Colubridae

Slender racer (Orientocoluber spinalis)

Steppes rat snake, Dione snake or Pallas' coluber (Elaphe dione)

Amur rat snake, great black snake, Manchurian black, Siberian rat snake or Russian rat snake (Elaphe schrenckii)

Elaphe schrenckii
European grass snake or grass snake (Natrix natrix)
Steppe ribbon racer (Psammophis lineolatus)

Family Viperidae

Halys pit viper or Asian viper (Gloydius halys)
Ussuri mamushi (Gloydius ussuriensis)
Adder or common northern viper (Vipera berus)

Sources

Mongolian Red List of Reptiles and Amphibians. Zoological Society of London, Regent’s Park, London, NW1 4RY, 2006

v t e List of reptiles of Asia
Sovereign states	Afghanistan Armenia Azerbaijan Bahrain Bangladesh Bhutan Brunei Cambodia China Cyprus East Timor (Timor-Leste) Egypt Georgia India Indonesia Iran Iraq Israel Japan Jordan Kazakhstan North Korea South Korea Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Lebanon Malaysia Maldives Mongolia Myanmar Nepal Oman Pakistan Philippines Qatar Russia Saudi Arabia Singapore Sri Lanka Syria Tajikistan Thailand Turkey Turkmenistan United Arab Emirates Uzbekistan Vietnam Yemen
States with limited recognition	Abkhazia Artsakh Northern Cyprus Palestine South Ossetia Taiwan
Dependencies and other territories	British Indian Ocean Territory Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Hong Kong Macau
Category Asia portal

Categories:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_reptiles_of_Mongolia

Mortar holding weathered bricks

Mortar is a workable paste which hardens to bind building blocks such as stones, bricks, and concrete masonry units, to fill and seal the irregular gaps between them, spread the weight of them evenly, and sometimes to add decorative colors or patterns to masonry walls. In its broadest sense, mortar includes pitch, asphalt, and soft mud or clay, as those used between mud bricks, as well as cement mortar. The word "mortar" comes from Old French mortier, "builder's mortar, plaster; bowl for mixing." (13c.).^[1]

Cement mortar becomes hard when it cures, resulting in a rigid aggregate structure; however, the mortar functions as a weaker component than the building blocks and serves as the sacrificial element in the masonry, because mortar is easier and less expensive to repair than the building blocks. Bricklayers typically make mortars using a mixture of sand, a binder, and water. The most common binder since the early 20th century is Portland cement, but the ancient binder lime mortar is still used in some specialty new construction. Lime, lime mortar, and gypsum in the form of plaster of Paris are used particularly in the repair and repointing of historic buildings and structures, so that the repair materials will be similar in performance and appearance to the original materials. Several types of cement mortars and additives exist.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mortar_(masonry)

A soldier's sketch of British troops "brewing up" (making tea) in the Libyan desert, 1940 to 1943.

The Benghazi burner or Benghazi cooker was an improvised petrol stove or brazier used by British Army troops and their Commonwealth and Imperial allies in the Second World War, during and after the North African Campaign.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benghazi_burner

Psychodidae Temporal range: Norian–Present PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N

Male Clogmia albipunctata. A moth-like dense coat of small hairs gives rise to the term "moth fly".
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Diptera
Suborder:	Nematocera
Infraorder:	Psychodomorpha
Superfamily:	Psychodoidea
Family:	Psychodidae Newman, 1834^[1]
Synonyms
Phlebotomidae

Psychodidae, also called drain flies, sink flies, filter flies,^[2] sewer flies, or sewer gnats, is a family of true flies. Some genera have short, hairy bodies and wings, giving them a "furry" moth-like appearance, hence one of their common names, moth flies.^[2] Members of the sub-family Phlebotominae, which are hematophagous (feed on blood), may be called sand flies in some countries, although this term is also used for other unrelated flies.

There are more than 2,600 described species worldwide, most of them native to the humid tropics. This makes them one of the most diverse families of their order.^[3] Drain flies sometimes inhabit plumbing drains and sewage systems, where they are harmless, but may be a persistent annoyance.^[4]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychodidae

White spruce

Mature white spruce in Fairbanks, Alaska
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)^[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Gymnosperms
Division:	Pinophyta
Class:	Pinopsida
Order:	Pinales
Family:	Pinaceae
Genus:	Picea
Species:	P. glauca
Binomial name
*Picea glauca* (Moench) Voss

Natural range
Synonyms^[2]

List

Genomic information
NCBI genome ID	3330
Ploidy	2
Genome size	20 Gbp
Number of chromosomes	12
Year of completion	2015
Sequenced organelle	plastid and mitochondrion
Organelle size	123 kbp and 5.93 Mbp
Year of completion	2015

Picea glauca, the white spruce,^[3] is a species of spruce native to the northern temperate and boreal forests in North America. Picea glauca is native from central Alaska all through the east, across western and southern/central Canada to the Avalon Peninsula in Newfoundland, and south to Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Upstate New York and Vermont, along with the mountainous and immediate coastal portions of New Hampshire and Maine, where temperatures are just barely cool and moist enough to support it. There is also an isolated population in the Black Hills of South Dakota and Wyoming.^[4]^[5]^[1]^[6] It is also known as Canadian spruce, skunk spruce, cat spruce, Black Hills spruce, western white spruce, Alberta white spruce, and Porsild spruce.^[7]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picea_glauca

Cebrennus rechenbergi

Cebrennus rechenbergi in action
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Chelicerata
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Araneae
Infraorder:	Araneomorphae
Family:	Sparassidae
Genus:	Cebrennus
Species:	C. rechenbergi
Binomial name
*Cebrennus rechenbergi* Peter Jäger, 2014

Map of Morocco with the Errachidia Province in dark red, the region where Cebrennus rechenbergi lives

Cebrennus rechenbergi, also known as the Moroccan flic-flac spider and cartwheeling spider,^[1] is a species of huntsman spider indigenous to the sand dunes of the Erg Chebbi desert in Morocco. If provoked or threatened it can escape by doubling its normal walking speed using forward or backward flips similar to acrobatic flic-flac movements used by gymnasts.^[2]^[3] C. rechenbergi is the only spider known to use this unique form of rolling locomotion.^[4] The discovery of the Moroccan flic-flac spider has influenced biomimetic robot research, resulting in the development of an experimental robot based on the spider's motion.^[5]^[6]

^{https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cebrennus_rechenbergi}

Quartz
Quartz crystal cluster from Tibet
General
Category	silicate mineral^[1]
Formula (repeating unit)	SiO₂
IMA symbol	Qz^[2]
Strunz classification	4.DA.05 (oxides)
Dana classification	75.01.03.01 (tectosilicates)
Crystal system	α-quartz: trigonal β-quartz: hexagonal
Crystal class	α-quartz: trapezohedral (class 3 2) β-quartz: trapezohedral (class 6 2 2)^[3]
Space group	α-quartz: P3₂21 (no. 154)^[4] β-quartz: P6₂22 (no. 180) or P6₄22 (no. 181)^[5]
Unit cell	a = 4.9133 Å, c = 5.4053 Å; Z=3
Identification
Formula mass	60.083 g·mol⁻¹
Color	Colorless through various colors (pink, orange, purple, dark brown) to black
Crystal habit	6-sided prism ending in 6-sided pyramid (typical), drusy, fine-grained to microcrystalline, massive
Twinning	Common Dauphine law, Brazil law and Japan law
Cleavage	{0110} Indistinct
Fracture	Conchoidal
Tenacity	Brittle
Mohs scale hardness	7 – lower in impure varieties (defining mineral)
Luster	Vitreous – waxy to dull when massive
Streak	White
Diaphaneity	Transparent to nearly opaque
Specific gravity	2.65; variable 2.59–2.63 in impure varieties
Optical properties	Uniaxial (+)
Refractive index	n_ω = 1.543–1.545 n_ε = 1.552–1.554
Birefringence	+0.009 (B-G interval)
Pleochroism	None
Melting point	1670 °C (β tridymite) 1713 °C (β cristobalite)^[3]
Solubility	Insoluble at STP; 1 ppm_mass at 400 °C and 500 lb/in² to 2600 ppm_mass at 500 °C and 1500 lb/in²^[3]
Other characteristics	lattice: hexagonal, Piezoelectric, may be triboluminescent, chiral (hence optically active if not racemic)
References	^[6]^[7]^[8]^[9]

Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO₄ silicon–oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall chemical formula of SiO₂. Quartz is the second most abundant mineral in Earth's continental crust, behind feldspar.^[10]

Quartz exists in two forms, the normal α-quartz and the high-temperature β-quartz, both of which are chiral. The transformation from α-quartz to β-quartz takes place abruptly at 573 °C (846 K; 1,063 °F). Since the transformation is accompanied by a significant change in volume, it can easily induce microfracturing of ceramics or rocks passing through this temperature threshold.

There are many different varieties of quartz, several of which are classified as gemstones. Since antiquity, varieties of quartz have been the most commonly used minerals in the making of jewelry and hardstone carvings, especially in Eurasia.

Quartz is the mineral defining the value of 7 on the Mohs scale of hardness, a qualitative scratch method for determining the hardness of a material to abrasion.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quartz

String theory

Fundamental objects
String Cosmic string Brane D-brane
Perturbative theory
Bosonic Superstring (Type I, Type II, Heterotic)
Non-perturbative results
S-duality T-duality U-duality M-theory F-theory AdS/CFT correspondence
Phenomenology
Phenomenology Cosmology Landscape
Mathematics
Geometric Langlands correspondence Mirror symmetry Monstrous moonshine Vertex algebra

The holographic principle is an axiom in string theories and a supposed property of quantum gravity that states that the description of a volume of space can be thought of as encoded on a lower-dimensional boundary to the region — such as a light-like boundary like a gravitational horizon.^[1]^[2] First proposed by Gerard 't Hooft, it was given a precise string-theory interpretation by Leonard Susskind,^[3] who combined his ideas with previous ones of 't Hooft and Charles Thorn.^[3]^[4] Leonard Susskind said, “The three-dimensional world of ordinary experience––the universe filled with galaxies, stars, planets, houses, boulders, and people––is a hologram, an image of reality coded on a distant two-dimensional surface."^[5] As pointed out by Raphael Bousso,^[6] Thorn observed in 1978 that string theory admits a lower-dimensional description in which gravity emerges from it in what would now be called a holographic way. The prime example of holography is the AdS/CFT correspondence.

The holographic principle was inspired by black hole thermodynamics, which conjectures that the maximum entropy in any region scales with the radius squared, and not cubed as might be expected. In the case of a black hole, the insight was that the information content of all the objects that have fallen into the hole might be entirely contained in surface fluctuations of the event horizon. The holographic principle resolves the black hole information paradox within the framework of string theory.^[5] However, there exist classical solutions to the Einstein equations that allow values of the entropy larger than those allowed by an area law (radius squared), hence in principle larger than those of a black hole. These are the so-called "Wheeler's bags of gold". The existence of such solutions conflicts with the holographic interpretation, and their effects in a quantum theory of gravity including the holographic principle are not yet fully understood.^[7]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holographic_principle

String theory

Fundamental objects
String Cosmic string Brane D-brane
Perturbative theory
Bosonic Superstring (Type I, Type II, Heterotic)
Non-perturbative results
S-duality T-duality U-duality M-theory F-theory AdS/CFT correspondence
Phenomenology
Phenomenology Cosmology Landscape
Mathematics
Geometric Langlands correspondence Mirror symmetry Monstrous moonshine Vertex algebra

In theoretical physics, the anti-de Sitter/conformal field theory correspondence, sometimes called Maldacena duality or gauge/gravity duality, is a conjectured relationship between two kinds of physical theories. On one side are anti-de Sitter spaces (AdS) which are used in theories of quantum gravity, formulated in terms of string theory or M-theory. On the other side of the correspondence are conformal field theories (CFT) which are quantum field theories, including theories similar to the Yang–Mills theories that describe elementary particles.

The duality represents a major advance in the understanding of string theory and quantum gravity.^[1] This is because it provides a non-perturbative formulation of string theory with certain boundary conditions and because it is the most successful realization of the holographic principle, an idea in quantum gravity originally proposed by Gerard 't Hooft and promoted by Leonard Susskind.

It also provides a powerful toolkit for studying strongly coupled quantum field theories.^[2] Much of the usefulness of the duality results from the fact that it is a strong–weak duality: when the fields of the quantum field theory are strongly interacting, the ones in the gravitational theory are weakly interacting and thus more mathematically tractable. This fact has been used to study many aspects of nuclear and condensed matter physics by translating problems in those subjects into more mathematically tractable problems in string theory.

The AdS/CFT correspondence was first proposed by Juan Maldacena in late 1997.^[3] Important aspects of the correspondence were soon elaborated on in two articles, one by Steven Gubser, Igor Klebanov and Alexander Polyakov, and another by Edward Witten. By 2015, Maldacena's article had over 10,000 citations, becoming the most highly cited article in the field of high energy physics,^[4] reaching over 20,000 citations in 2020.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AdS/CFT_correspondence

Shows a region where a differential equation is valid and the associated boundary values

In mathematics, in the field of differential equations, a boundary value problem is a differential equation together with a set of additional constraints, called the boundary conditions.^[1] A solution to a boundary value problem is a solution to the differential equation which also satisfies the boundary conditions.

Boundary value problems arise in several branches of physics as any physical differential equation will have them. Problems involving the wave equation, such as the determination of normal modes, are often stated as boundary value problems. A large class of important boundary value problems are the Sturm–Liouville problems. The analysis of these problems involves the eigenfunctions of a differential operator.

To be useful in applications, a boundary value problem should be well posed. This means that given the input to the problem there exists a unique solution, which depends continuously on the input. Much theoretical work in the field of partial differential equations is devoted to proving that boundary value problems arising from scientific and engineering applications are in fact well-posed.

Among the earliest boundary value problems to be studied is the Dirichlet problem, of finding the harmonic functions (solutions to Laplace's equation); the solution was given by the Dirichlet's principle.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boundary_value_problem

A normal mode of a dynamical system is a pattern of motion in which all parts of the system move sinusoidally with the same frequency and with a fixed phase relation. The free motion described by the normal modes takes place at fixed frequencies. These fixed frequencies of the normal modes of a system are known as its natural frequencies or resonant frequencies. A physical object, such as a building, bridge, or molecule, has a set of normal modes and their natural frequencies that depend on its structure, materials and boundary conditions.

The most general motion of a system is a superposition of its normal modes. The modes are normal in the sense that they can move independently, that is to say that an excitation of one mode will never cause motion of a different mode. In mathematical terms, normal modes are orthogonal to each other.

Vibration of a single normal mode of a circular disc with a pinned boundary condition along the entire outer edge. See other modes.

A flash photo of a cup of black coffee vibrating in normal modes

1:19

Excitation of normal modes in a drop of water during the Leidenfrost effect

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normal_mode

In multivariable calculus, an initial value problem^[a] (IVP) is an ordinary differential equation together with an initial condition which specifies the value of the unknown function at a given point in the domain. Modeling a system in physics or other sciences frequently amounts to solving an initial value problem. In that context, the differential initial value is an equation which specifies how the system evolves with time given the initial conditions of the problem.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Initial_value_problem

In theoretical physics, compactification means changing a theory with respect to one of its space-time dimensions. Instead of having a theory with this dimension being infinite, one changes the theory so that this dimension has a finite length, and may also be periodic.

Compactification plays an important part in thermal field theory where one compactifies time, in string theory where one compactifies the extra dimensions of the theory, and in two- or one-dimensional solid state physics, where one considers a system which is limited in one of the three usual spatial dimensions.

At the limit where the size of the compact dimension goes to zero, no fields depend on this extra dimension, and the theory is dimensionally reduced.

The space

M \times C

is compactified over the compact

C

and after Kaluza–Klein decomposition, we have an effective field theory over

M

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compactification_(physics)

In physics, quasiparticles and collective excitations are closely related phenomena arising when a microscopically complicated system such as a solid behaves as if it contained different weakly interacting particles in vacuum.

For example, as an electron travels through a semiconductor, its motion is disturbed in a complex way by its interactions with other electrons and with atomic nuclei. The electron behaves as though it has a different effective mass travelling unperturbed in vacuum. Such an electron is called an electron quasiparticle.^[1] In another example, the aggregate motion of electrons in the valence band of a semiconductor or a hole band in a metal^[2] behave as though the material instead contained positively charged quasiparticles called electron holes. Other quasiparticles or collective excitations include the phonon, a quasiparticle derived from the vibrations of atoms in a solid, and the plasmons, a particle derived from plasma oscillation.

These phenomena are typically called quasiparticles if they are related to fermions, and called collective excitations if they are related to bosons,^[1] although the precise distinction is not universally agreed upon.^[3] Thus, electrons and electron holes (fermions) are typically called quasiparticles, while phonons and plasmons (bosons) are typically called collective excitations.

The quasiparticle concept is important in condensed matter physics because it can simplify the many-body problem in quantum mechanics. The theory of quasiparticles was started by the Soviet physicist Lev Landau in the 1930s.^[4]^[5]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quasiparticle

Subcritical ethane, liquid and gas phase coexist.
Critical point (32.17 °C, 48.72 bar), opalescence.
Supercritical ethane, fluid.^[1]

In thermodynamics, a critical point (or critical state) is the end point of a phase equilibrium curve. One example is the liquid–vapor critical point, the end point of the pressure–temperature curve that designates conditions under which a liquid and its vapor can coexist. At higher temperatures, the gas cannot be liquefied by pressure alone. At the critical point, defined by a critical temperature T_c and a critical pressure p_c, phase boundaries vanish. Other examples include the liquid–liquid critical points in mixtures, and the ferromagnet–paramagnet transition (Curie temperature) in the absence of an external magnetic field.^[2]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_point_(thermodynamics)

In general relativity, a vacuum solution is a Lorentzian manifold whose Einstein tensor vanishes identically. According to the Einstein field equation, this means that the stress–energy tensor also vanishes identically, so that no matter or non-gravitational fields are present. These are distinct from the electrovacuum solutions, which take into account the electromagnetic field in addition to the gravitational field. Vacuum solutions are also distinct from the lambdavacuum solutions, where the only term in the stress–energy tensor is the cosmological constant term (and thus, the lambdavacuums can be taken as cosmological models).

More generally, a vacuum region in a Lorentzian manifold is a region in which the Einstein tensor vanishes.

Vacuum solutions are a special case of the more general exact solutions in general relativity.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vacuum_solution_(general_relativity)

Now imagine a stack of hyperbolic disks where each disk represents the state of the universe at a given time. The resulting geometric object is three-dimensional anti-de Sitter space.^[19] It looks like a solid cylinder in which any cross section is a copy of the hyperbolic disk. Time runs along the vertical direction in this picture. The surface of this cylinder plays an important role in the AdS/CFT correspondence. As with the hyperbolic plane, anti-de Sitter space is curved in such a way that any point in the interior is actually infinitely far from this boundary surface.^[21]

Three-dimensional anti-de Sitter space is like a stack of hyperbolic disks, each one representing the state of the universe at a given time. The resulting spacetime looks like a solid cylinder.

This construction describes a hypothetical universe with only two space and one time dimension, but it can be generalized to any number of dimensions. Indeed, hyperbolic space can have more than two dimensions and one can "stack up" copies of hyperbolic space to get higher-dimensional models of anti-de Sitter space.^[19]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AdS/CFT_correspondence

The most famous example of the AdS/CFT correspondence states that type IIB string theory on the product space ${A d S}_{5} \times S^{5}$ is equivalent to N = 4 supersymmetric Yang–Mills theory on the four-dimensional boundary.^[26] In this example, the spacetime on which the gravitational theory lives is effectively five-dimensional (hence the notation ${A d S}_{5}$ ), and there are five additional compact dimensions (encoded by the $S^{5}$ factor). In the real world, spacetime is four-dimensional, at least macroscopically, so this version of the correspondence does not provide a realistic model of gravity. Likewise, the dual theory is not a viable model of any real-world system as it assumes a large amount of supersymmetry. Nevertheless, as explained below, this boundary theory shares some features in common with quantum chromodynamics, the fundamental theory of the strong force. It describes particles similar to the gluons of quantum chromodynamics together with certain fermions.^[8] As a result, it has found applications in nuclear physics, particularly in the study of the quark–gluon plasma.^[27]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AdS/CFT_correspondence

Another realization of the correspondence states that M-theory on ${A d S}_{7} \times S^{4}$ is equivalent to the so-called (2,0)-theory in six dimensions.^[3] In this example, the spacetime of the gravitational theory is effectively seven-dimensional. The existence of the (2,0)-theory that appears on one side of the duality is predicted by the classification of superconformal field theories. It is still poorly understood because it is a quantum mechanical theory without a classical limit.^[28] Despite the inherent difficulty in studying this theory, it is considered to be an interesting object for a variety of reasons, both physical and mathematical.^[29]

Yet another realization of the correspondence states that M-theory on ${A d S}_{4} \times S^{7}$ is equivalent to the ABJM superconformal field theory in three dimensions.^[30] Here the gravitational theory has four noncompact dimensions, so this version of the correspondence provides a somewhat more realistic description of gravity.^[31]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AdS/CFT_correspondence

Applications to quantum gravity

A non-perturbative formulation of string theory

Interaction in the quantum world: world lines of point-like particles or a world sheet swept up by closed strings in string theory.

In quantum field theory, one typically computes the probabilities of various physical events using the techniques of perturbation theory. Developed by Richard Feynman and others in the first half of the twentieth century, perturbative quantum field theory uses special diagrams called Feynman diagrams to organize computations. One imagines that these diagrams depict the paths of point-like particles and their interactions.^[32] Although this formalism is extremely useful for making predictions, these predictions are only possible when the strength of the interactions, the coupling constant, is small enough to reliably describe the theory as being close to a theory without interactions.^[33]

The starting point for string theory is the idea that the point-like particles of quantum field theory can also be modeled as one-dimensional objects called strings. The interaction of strings is most straightforwardly defined by generalizing the perturbation theory used in ordinary quantum field theory. At the level of Feynman diagrams, this means replacing the one-dimensional diagram representing the path of a point particle by a two-dimensional surface representing the motion of a string. Unlike in quantum field theory, string theory does not yet have a full non-perturbative definition, so many of the theoretical questions that physicists would like to answer remain out of reach.^[34]

The problem of developing a non-perturbative formulation of string theory was one of the original motivations for studying the AdS/CFT correspondence.^[35] As explained above, the correspondence provides several examples of quantum field theories which are equivalent to string theory on anti-de Sitter space. One can alternatively view this correspondence as providing a definition of string theory in the special case where the gravitational field is asymptotically anti-de Sitter (that is, when the gravitational field resembles that of anti-de Sitter space at spatial infinity). Physically interesting quantities in string theory are defined in terms of quantities in the dual quantum field theory.^[20]

Black hole information paradox

In 1975, Stephen Hawking published a calculation which suggested that black holes are not completely black but emit a dim radiation due to quantum effects near the event horizon.^[36] At first, Hawking's result posed a problem for theorists because it suggested that black holes destroy information. More precisely, Hawking's calculation seemed to conflict with one of the basic postulates of quantum mechanics, which states that physical systems evolve in time according to the Schrödinger equation. This property is usually referred to as unitarity of time evolution. The apparent contradiction between Hawking's calculation and the unitarity postulate of quantum mechanics came to be known as the black hole information paradox.^[37]

The AdS/CFT correspondence resolves the black hole information paradox, at least to some extent, because it shows how a black hole can evolve in a manner consistent with quantum mechanics in some contexts. Indeed, one can consider black holes in the context of the AdS/CFT correspondence, and any such black hole corresponds to a configuration of particles on the boundary of anti-de Sitter space.^[38] These particles obey the usual rules of quantum mechanics and in particular evolve in a unitary fashion, so the black hole must also evolve in a unitary fashion, respecting the principles of quantum mechanics.^[39] In 2005, Hawking announced that the paradox had been settled in favor of information conservation by the AdS/CFT correspondence, and he suggested a concrete mechanism by which black holes might preserve information.^[40]

Applications to quantum field theory

Nuclear physics

One physical system which has been studied using the AdS/CFT correspondence is the quark–gluon plasma, an exotic state of matter produced in particle accelerators. This state of matter arises for brief instants when heavy ions such as gold or lead nuclei are collided at high energies. Such collisions cause the quarks that make up atomic nuclei to deconfine at temperatures of approximately two trillion kelvins, conditions similar to those present at around 10⁻¹¹ seconds after the Big Bang.^[41]

The physics of the quark–gluon plasma is governed by quantum chromodynamics, but this theory is mathematically intractable in problems involving the quark–gluon plasma.^[42] In an article appearing in 2005, Đàm Thanh Sơn and his collaborators showed that the AdS/CFT correspondence could be used to understand some aspects of the quark–gluon plasma by describing it in the language of string theory.^[27] By applying the AdS/CFT correspondence, Sơn and his collaborators were able to describe the quark gluon plasma in terms of black holes in five-dimensional spacetime. The calculation showed that the ratio of two quantities associated with the quark–gluon plasma, the shear viscosity $η$ and volume density of entropy $s$ , should be approximately equal to a certain universal constant:

\frac{η}{s} \approx \frac{ℏ}{4 π k}

where $ℏ$ denotes the reduced Planck constant and $k$ is the Boltzmann constant.^[43] In addition, the authors conjectured that this universal constant provides a lower bound for $η / s$ in a large class of systems. In 2008, the predicted value of this ratio for the quark–gluon plasma was confirmed at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider at Brookhaven National Laboratory.^[44]

Another important property of the quark–gluon plasma is that very high energy quarks moving through the plasma are stopped or "quenched" after traveling only a few femtometers. This phenomenon is characterized by a number $\hat{q}$ called the jet quenching parameter, which relates the energy loss of such a quark to the squared distance traveled through the plasma. Calculations based on the AdS/CFT correspondence have allowed theorists to estimate $\hat{q}$ , and the results agree roughly with the measured value of this parameter, suggesting that the AdS/CFT correspondence will be useful for developing a deeper understanding of this phenomenon.^[45]

Condensed matter physics

A magnet levitating above a high-temperature superconductor. Today some physicists are working to understand high-temperature superconductivity using the AdS/CFT correspondence.^[46]

Over the decades, experimental condensed matter physicists have discovered a number of exotic states of matter, including superconductors and superfluids. These states are described using the formalism of quantum field theory, but some phenomena are difficult to explain using standard field theoretic techniques. Some condensed matter theorists including Subir Sachdev hope that the AdS/CFT correspondence will make it possible to describe these systems in the language of string theory and learn more about their behavior.^[47]

So far some success has been achieved in using string theory methods to describe the transition of a superfluid to an insulator. A superfluid is a system of electrically neutral atoms that flows without any friction. Such systems are often produced in the laboratory using liquid helium, but recently^[when?] experimentalists have developed new ways of producing artificial superfluids by pouring trillions of cold atoms into a lattice of criss-crossing lasers. These atoms initially behave as a superfluid, but as experimentalists increase the intensity of the lasers, they become less mobile and then suddenly transition to an insulating state. During the transition, the atoms behave in an unusual way. For example, the atoms slow to a halt at a rate that depends on the temperature and on Planck's constant, the fundamental parameter of quantum mechanics, which does not enter into the description of the other phases. This behavior has recently been understood by considering a dual description where properties of the fluid are described in terms of a higher dimensional black hole.^[48]

Criticism

With many physicists turning towards string-based methods to solve problems in nuclear and condensed matter physics, some theorists working in these areas have expressed doubts about whether the AdS/CFT correspondence can provide the tools needed to realistically model real-world systems. In a talk at the Quark Matter conference in 2006,^[49] an American physicist, Larry McLerran pointed out that the N = 4 super Yang–Mills theory that appears in the AdS/CFT correspondence differs significantly from quantum chromodynamics, making it difficult to apply these methods to nuclear physics. According to McLerran,

$N = 4$ supersymmetric Yang–Mills is not QCD ... It has no mass scale and is conformally invariant. It has no confinement and no running coupling constant. It is supersymmetric. It has no chiral symmetry breaking or mass generation. It has six scalar and fermions in the adjoint representation ... It may be possible to correct some or all of the above problems, or, for various physical problems, some of the objections may not be relevant. As yet there is not consensus nor compelling arguments for the conjectured fixes or phenomena which would insure that the $N = 4$ supersymmetric Yang Mills results would reliably reflect QCD.^[49]

In a letter to Physics Today, Nobel laureate Philip W. Anderson voiced similar concerns about applications of AdS/CFT to condensed matter physics, stating

As a very general problem with the AdS/CFT approach in condensed-matter theory, we can point to those telltale initials "CFT"—conformal field theory. Condensed-matter problems are, in general, neither relativistic nor conformal. Near a quantum critical point, both time and space may be scaling, but even there we still have a preferred coordinate system and, usually, a lattice. There is some evidence of other linear-T phases to the left of the strange metal about which they are welcome to speculate, but again in this case the condensed-matter problem is overdetermined by experimental facts.^[50]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AdS/CFT_correspondence

Three-dimensional gravity

In order to better understand the quantum aspects of gravity in our four-dimensional universe, some physicists have considered a lower-dimensional mathematical model in which spacetime has only two spatial dimensions and one time dimension.^[64] In this setting, the mathematics describing the gravitational field simplifies drastically, and one can study quantum gravity using familiar methods from quantum field theory, eliminating the need for string theory or other more radical approaches to quantum gravity in four dimensions.^[65]

Beginning with the work of J. David Brown and Marc Henneaux in 1986,^[66] physicists have noticed that quantum gravity in a three-dimensional spacetime is closely related to two-dimensional conformal field theory. In 1995, Henneaux and his coworkers explored this relationship in more detail, suggesting that three-dimensional gravity in anti-de Sitter space is equivalent to the conformal field theory known as Liouville field theory.^[67] Another conjecture formulated by Edward Witten states that three-dimensional gravity in anti-de Sitter space is equivalent to a conformal field theory with monster group symmetry.^[68] These conjectures provide examples of the AdS/CFT correspondence that do not require the full apparatus of string or M-theory.^[69]

dS/CFT correspondence

Unlike our universe, which is now known to be expanding at an accelerating rate, anti-de Sitter space is neither expanding nor contracting. Instead it looks the same at all times.^[19] In more technical language, one says that anti-de Sitter space corresponds to a universe with a negative cosmological constant, whereas the real universe has a small positive cosmological constant.^[70]

Although the properties of gravity at short distances should be somewhat independent of the value of the cosmological constant,^[71] it is desirable to have a version of the AdS/CFT correspondence for positive cosmological constant. In 2001, Andrew Strominger introduced a version of the duality called the dS/CFT correspondence.^[72] This duality involves a model of spacetime called de Sitter space with a positive cosmological constant. Such a duality is interesting from the point of view of cosmology since many cosmologists believe that the very early universe was close to being de Sitter space.^[19] Our universe may also resemble de Sitter space in the distant future.^[19]

Kerr/CFT correspondence

Although the AdS/CFT correspondence is often useful for studying the properties of black holes,^[73] most of the black holes considered in the context of AdS/CFT are physically unrealistic. Indeed, as explained above, most versions of the AdS/CFT correspondence involve higher-dimensional models of spacetime with unphysical supersymmetry.

In 2009, Monica Guica, Thomas Hartman, Wei Song, and Andrew Strominger showed that the ideas of AdS/CFT could nevertheless be used to understand certain astrophysical black holes. More precisely, their results apply to black holes that are approximated by extremal Kerr black holes, which have the largest possible angular momentum compatible with a given mass.^[74] They showed that such black holes have an equivalent description in terms of conformal field theory. The Kerr/CFT correspondence was later extended to black holes with lower angular momentum.^[75]

Higher spin gauge theories

The AdS/CFT correspondence is closely related to another duality conjectured by Igor Klebanov and Alexander Markovich Polyakov in 2002.^[76] This duality states that certain "higher spin gauge theories" on anti-de Sitter space are equivalent to conformal field theories with O(N) symmetry. Here the theory in the bulk is a type of gauge theory describing particles of arbitrarily high spin. It is similar to string theory, where the excited modes of vibrating strings correspond to particles with higher spin, and it may help to better understand the string theoretic versions of AdS/CFT and possibly even prove the correspondence.^[77] In 2010, Simone Giombi and Xi Yin obtained further evidence for this duality by computing quantities called three-point functions.^[78]

Part of a series on the
Paranormal

UTAS UTS-15
The UTAS UTS-15
Type	Pump-action shotgun
Place of origin	Turkey
Production history
Designed	2006–2012
Manufacturer	UTAS
Produced	2012–present
Variants	UTS-15 Desert UTS-15 Marine UTS-15 Hunting
Specifications
Mass	6.9 lb (3.1 kg) empty
Length	28.3 in (72 cm)
Barrel length	18.5 in (47 cm)

Cartridge	12 gauge
Action	Pump-action
Feed system	Dual, selectable 7-round tube magazines
Sights	Picatinny rail provided for optics

Mare Boreum quadrangle

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mare Boreum quadrangle
Map of Mare Boreum quadrangle from Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) data. The highest elevations are red and the lowest are blue.
Coordinates	75°N 0°ECoordinates: 75°N 0°E

Image of the Mare Boreum Quadrangle (MC-1). The region includes the North Polar ice cap, Korolov crater and Chasma Boreale.

The Mare Boreum quadrangle is one of a series of 30 quadrangle maps of Mars used by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Astrogeology Research Program. The Mare Boreum quadrangle is also referred to as MC-1 (Mars Chart-1).^[1] Its name derives from an older name for a feature that is now called Planum Boreum, a large plain surrounding the polar cap.^[2]

The quadrangle covers all of the Martian surface north of latitude 65°. It includes the north polar ice cap, which has a swirl pattern and is roughly 1,100 kilometres (680 miles) across. Mariner 9 in 1972 discovered a belt of sand dunes that ring the polar ice deposits, which is 500 kilometres (310 miles) across in some places and may be the largest dune field in the Solar System.^[3] The ice cap is surrounded by the vast plains of Planum Boreum and Vastitas Borealis. Close to the pole, there is a large valley, Chasma Boreale, that may have been formed from water melting from the ice cap.^[4] An alternative view is that it was made by winds coming off the cold pole.^[5]^[6] Another prominent feature is a smooth rise, formerly called Olympia Planitia. In the summer, a dark collar around the residual cap becomes visible; it is mostly caused by dunes.^[7] The quadrangle includes some very large craters that stand out in the north because the area is smooth with little change in topography. These large craters are Lomonosov and Korolev. Although smaller, the crater Stokes is also prominent.

The Phoenix lander landed on Vastitas Borealis within the Mare Boreum quadrangle at 68.218830° N and 234.250778° E on May 25, 2008.^[8] The probe collected and analyzed soil samples in an effort to detect water and determine how hospitable the planet might once have been for life to grow. It remained active there until winter conditions became too harsh around five months later.^[9]

After the mission ended the journal Science reported that chloride, bicarbonate, magnesium, sodium potassium, calcium, and possibly sulfate were detected in the samples analyzed by Phoenix. The pH was narrowed down to 7.7±0.5. Perchlorate (ClO₄), a strong oxidizer at elevated temperatures, was detected. This was a significant discovery because the chemical has the potential of being used for rocket fuel and as a source of oxygen for future colonists. Also, under certain conditions perchlorate can inhibit life; however some microorganisms obtain energy from the substance (by anaerobic reduction). The chemical when mixed with water can greatly lower freezing points, in a manner similar to how salt is applied to roads to melt ice. So, perchlorate may be allowing small amounts of liquid water to form on Mars today. Gullies, which are common in certain areas of Mars, may have formed from perchlorate melting ice and causing water to erode soil on steep slopes.^[10]

Much direct evidence was found for water at this location.^[11]

Freezing of atmosphere

Research based on slight changes in the orbits of spacecraft around Mars over 16 years found that when one hemisphere experiences winter, approximately 3 trillion to 4 trillion tons of carbon dioxide freezes out of the atmosphere onto the northern and southern polar caps. This represents 12 to 16 percent of the mass of the entire Martian atmosphere. These observation support predictions from the Mars Global Reference Atmospheric Model—2010.^[12]^[13]

Proof for ocean

Strong evidence for a one time ancient ocean was found in Mare Boreum near the north pole (as well as the south pole). In March 2015, a team of scientists published results showing that this region was highly enriched with deuterium, heavy hydrogen, by seven times as much as the Earth. This means that Mars has lost a volume of water 6.5 times what is stored in today's polar caps. The water for a time would have formed an ocean in the low-lying Mare Boreum. The amount of water could have covered the planet about 140 meters, but was probably in an ocean that in places would be almost 1 mile deep.

This international team used ESO's Very Large Telescope, along with instruments at the W. M. Keck Observatory and the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility, to map out different forms of water in Mars's atmosphere over a six-year period.^[14]^[15]

Ice cap

From observations with the Shallow Radar instrument (SHARAD) onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, researchers determined that the total volume of water ice in the northern ice cap is 821000 cubic kilometers. That is equal to 30% of the Earth's Greenland ice sheet, or enough to cover the surface of Mars to a depth of 5.6 meters^[16]^[17]^[18]

Layers exposed in northern ice cap, as seen by HiRISE under HiWish program
Close view of layers exposed in northern ice cap, as seen by HiRISE under HiWish program
Layers exposed in northern ice cap, as seen by HiRISE under HiWish program
Close view of layers exposed in northern ice cap, as seen by HiRISE under HiWish program
Layers in northern ice cap with an angular unconformity, as seen by HiRISE under HiWish program
Close view of layers in northern ice cap, as seen by HiRISE under HiWish program Arrows point to an angular unconformity.
Close, color view of layers in northern ice cap, as seen by HiRISE under HiWish program

Ridges

Ridges, as seen by HiRISE under HiWish program These may be associated with past glacial activity.

Dunes

Sand dunes have been found in many places on Mars. The presence of dunes shows that the planet has an atmosphere with wind, for dunes require wind to pile up the sand. Most dunes on Mars are black because of the weathering of the volcanic rock basalt.^[19]^[7] Black sand can be found on Earth on Hawaii and on some tropical South Pacific islands.^[20] Sand is common on Mars due to the old age of the surface that has allowed rocks to erode into sand. Dunes on Mars have been observed to move many meters.^[21]^[22] In this process, sand moves up the windward side and then falls down the leeward side of the dune, thus caused the dune to go toward the leeward side (or slip face).^[23] When images are enlarged, some dunes on Mars display ripples on their surfaces.^[24] These are caused by sand grains rolling and bouncing up the windward surface of a dune. The bouncing grains tend to land on the windward side of each ripple. The grains do not bounce very high so it does not take much to stop them.

Defrosting dunes and ice in troughs of polygons, as seen by HiRISE under HiWish program
Color view of defrosting dunes and ice in troughs of polygons, as seen by HiRISE under HiWish program
Defrosting surface, as seen by HiRISE under HiWish program Frost is disappearing in patches from a dune. The trough boundaries around the polygon shapes still contain frost; hence they are white. Note: the north side (side near top) has not defrosted because the sun is coming from the other side.
Defrosting surface, as seen by HiRISE under HiWish program Frost is disappearing in patches from a dune and from the surrounding surface. The trough boundaries around the polygon shapes still contain frost; hence they are white. Note: the north side (side near top) has not defrosted because the sun is coming from the other side.
Wide view of field of dunes, as seen by HiRISE under HiWish program
Closer view of field of dunes, as seen by HiRISE under HiWish program
Closer view of dunes, as seen by HiRISE under HiWish program
Boulder and boulder tracks, as seen by HiRISE under HiWish program The arrow shows a boulder that has made a track in the sand as it rolled down dune.
Boulders and tracks, as seen by HiRISE under HiWish program The arrows show a boulders that have produced a track by rolling down dune.

Other Mars Quadrangles

Clickable image of the 30 cartographic quadrangles of Mars, defined by the USGS.^[25]^[26] Quadrangle numbers (beginning with MC for "Mars Chart")^[27] and names link to the corresponding articles. North is at the top; 0°N 180°W is at the far left on the equator. The map images were taken by the Mars Global Surveyor.

()

Interactive Mars map

Interactive image map of the global topography of Mars. Hover your mouse over the image to see the names of over 60 prominent geographic features, and click to link to them. Coloring of the base map indicates relative elevations, based on data from the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor. Whites and browns indicate the highest elevations (+12 to +8 km); followed by pinks and reds (+8 to +3 km); yellow is 0 km; greens and blues are lower elevations (down to −8 km). Axes are latitude and longitude; Polar regions are noted.

(See also: Mars Rovers map and Mars Memorial map) (view • discuss)

References

Davies, M.E.; Batson, R.M.; Wu, S.S.C. "Geodesy and Cartography" in Kieffer, H.H.; Jakosky, B.M.; Snyder, C.W.; Matthews, M.S., Eds. Mars. University of Arizona Press: Tucson, 1992.

Patrick Moore and Robin Rees, ed. Patrick Moore's Data Book of Astronomy (Cambridge University Press, 2011), p. 130.

Hartmann, W. 2003. A Traveler's Guide to Mars. Workman Publishing. NY NY.

Clifford, S. 1987. Polar basal melting on Mars. J. Geophys. Res. 92: 9135-9152.

Howard, A. 2000. The role of eolian processes in forming surface features of the martian polar layered deposits. Icarus. 144: 267-288.

Edgett, K. et al. 2003. Mars landscape evolution: influence of stratigraphy on geomorphology of the north polar region. Geomorphology. 52: 289-298.

Michael H. Carr (2006). The surface of Mars. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-87201-0. Retrieved 21 March 2011.

Lakdawalla, Emily (2008-05-27). "Phoenix Sol 2 press conference, in a nutshell". The Planetary Society weblog. Planetary Society. Retrieved 2008-06-04.

"Mars lander aims for touchdown in 'Green Valley'". New Scientist Space. Retrieved 2008-04-14.

Hecht, M. et al. 2009. Detection of Perchlorate and the Soluble Chemistry of Martian Soil at the Phoenix Lander Site. Science: 325. 64–67

Smith, P., et al. 2009. H₂O at the Phoenix Landing Site. Science: 325, 58-61.

NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center. "New gravity map gives best view yet inside Mars." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 21 March 2016. <https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/03/160321154013.htm>.

Antonio Genova, Sander Goossens, Frank G. Lemoine, Erwan Mazarico, Gregory A. Neumann, David E. Smith, Maria T. Zuber. Seasonal and static gravity field of Mars from MGS, Mars Odyssey and MRO radio science. Icarus, 2016; 272: 228 DOI: 10.1016/j.icarus.2016.02.05

"Mars: The planet that lost an ocean's worth of water".

. Villanueva, L., Mumma, R. Novak, H. Käufl, P. Hartogh, T. Encrenaz, A. Tokunaga, A. Khayat, M. Smith. Strong water isotopic anomalies in the martian atmosphere: Probing current and ancient reservoirs. Science, 2015 DOI: 10.1126/science.aaa3630

"Radar Map of Buried Mars Layers Matches Climate Cycles". 22 September 2009.

"Radar Map of Buried Mars Layers Matches Climate Cycles - SpaceRef". 24 May 2013.

"Radar Map of Mars Layers Matches Climate Cycles".

"HiRISE | Dunes and Inverted Craters in Arabia Terra (ESP_016459_1830)".

"Sand Dunes - Phenomena of the Wind - DesertUSA".

Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Curiosity Rover Report (Dec. 15, 2015): First Visit to Martian Dunes". YouTube.

"The Flowing Sands of Mars". 9 May 2012.

Namowitz, S., Stone, D. 1975. earth science the world we live in. American Book Company. New York.

"NASA Rover's Sand-Dune Studies Yield Surprise". Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Morton, Oliver (2002). Mapping Mars: Science, Imagination, and the Birth of a World. New York: Picador USA. p. 98. ISBN 0-312-24551-3.

"Online Atlas of Mars". Ralphaeschliman.com. Retrieved December 16, 2012.

"PIA03467: The MGS MOC Wide Angle Map of Mars". Photojournal. NASA / Jet Propulsion Laboratory. February 16, 2002. Retrieved December 16, 2012.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mare Boreum quadrangle.

Categories:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mare_Boreum_quadrangle

Megapode

Australian brushturkey (Alectura lathami)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Galliformes
Family:	Megapodiidae Lesson, 1831
Genera
Eulipoa Megapodius Macrocephalon Leipoa Talegalla Aepypodius Alectura

Brushturkeys can often be found in parks or gardens.

The megapodes, also known as incubator birds or mound-builders, are stocky, medium-large, chicken-like birds with small heads and large feet in the family Megapodiidae. Their name literally means "large foot" and is a reference to the heavy legs and feet typical of these terrestrial birds. All are browsers, and all but the malleefowl occupy wooded habitats. Most are brown or black in color. Megapodes are superprecocial, hatching from their eggs in the most mature condition of any bird. They hatch with open eyes, bodily coordination and strength, full wing feathers, and downy body feathers, and are able to run, pursue prey, and in some species, fly on the same day they hatch.^[1]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megapode

Drama
- Closet drama
- Performance

Folklore/Orature

Poetry

Prose

Parable • Religious • Wisdom

Fiction
Children's Coming-of-age Crime Erotic Historical Romantic Speculative Fantasy Horror Science fiction
Non-fiction
Academic Philosophy Documentary Epistle Essay History Anecdote Journalism Letter Life Nature Persuasive Oration Saying Travelogue

History

Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry.^[1] In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include oral literature, much of which has been transcribed.^[2]^[3] Literature is a method of recording, preserving, and transmitting knowledge and entertainment, and can also have a social, psychological, spiritual, or political role.

Literature, as an art form, can also include works in various non-fiction genres, such as biography, diaries, memoir, letters, and essays. Within its broad definition, literature includes non-fictional books, articles or other printed information on a particular subject.^[4]^[5]

Etymologically, the term derives from Latin literatura/litteratura "learning, a writing, grammar," originally "writing formed with letters," from litera/littera "letter".^[6] In spite of this, the term has also been applied to spoken or sung texts.^[7]^[8] Literature is often referred to synecdochically as "writing," and poetically as "the craft of writing" or simply "the craft." Syd Field described his discipline, screenwriting, as "a craft that occasionally rises to the level of art."^[9]

Developments in print technology have allowed an ever-growing distribution and proliferation of written works, which now includes electronic literature.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literature

Nucras tessellata

Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)^[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Family:	Lacertidae
Genus:	Nucras
Species:	N. tessellata
Binomial name
*Nucras tessellata* (Smith, 1838)

Nucras tessellata, also known as the western sandveld lizard, striped sandveld lizard, tiger lizard, striped sand lizard or banded sand lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae.^[1]^[2] It is native to western Southern Africa and is found in western South Africa (Western Cape and Northern Cape provinces), southwestern Botswana, and southern and central Namibia north to Khomas Highland. Its range includes several protected areas, including Tankwa Karoo National Park and ǀAi-ǀAis/Richtersveld Transfrontier Park.^[1]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nucras_tessellata

Kalij pheasant

Male L. leucomelanos hamiltoni, Uttarakhand, India

Female L. leucomelanos hamiltoni, Uttarakhand, India
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)^[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Galliformes
Family:	Phasianidae
Genus:	Lophura
Species:	L. leucomelanos
Binomial name
*Lophura leucomelanos* (Latham, 1790)

The kalij pheasant (Lophura leucomelanos) is a pheasant found in forests and thickets, especially in the Himalayan foothills, from Nepal, Pakistan to western Thailand. Males are rather variable depending on the subspecies involved, but all have at least partially glossy bluish-black plumage, while females are overall brownish. Both sexes have a bare red face and greyish legs (the latter separating it from the red-legged silver pheasant).^[2] It is generally common and widespread, though three of its eastern subspecies (L. l. oatesi, L. l. lineata, and L. l. crawfurdi) are considered threatened and L. l. moffitti is virtually unknown in the wild.^[2] On 21 October 2021, the Government of Jammu and Kashmir declared Kalij Pheasant as bird of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.^[3]

The name is also spelled kaleege in old texts, such as Game Birds of India and Asia by Frank Finn,^[4] though no longer in his Indian Sporting Birds.^[5] The species was introduced to Hawaii^[1] in 1962 as a gamebird.^[6]

^{https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalij_pheasant}

Physical properties of soil

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The physical properties of soil, in order of decreasing importance for ecosystem services such as crop production, are texture, structure, bulk density, porosity, consistency, temperature, colour and resistivity.^[1] Soil texture is determined by the relative proportion of the three kinds of soil mineral particles, called soil separates: sand, silt, and clay. At the next larger scale, soil structures called peds or more commonly soil aggregates are created from the soil separates when iron oxides, carbonates, clay, silica and humus, coat particles and cause them to adhere into larger, relatively stable secondary structures.^[2] Soil bulk density, when determined at standardized moisture conditions, is an estimate of soil compaction.^[3] Soil porosity consists of the void part of the soil volume and is occupied by gases or water. Soil consistency is the ability of soil materials to stick together. Soil temperature and colour are self-defining. Resistivity refers to the resistance to conduction of electric currents and affects the rate of corrosion of metal and concrete structures which are buried in soil.^[4] These properties vary through the depth of a soil profile, i.e. through soil horizons. Most of these properties determine the aeration of the soil and the ability of water to infiltrate and to be held within the soil.^[5]

**Influence of Soil Texture Separates on Some Properties of Soils**^[6]
Property/behavior	Sand	Silt	Clay
Water-holding capacity	Low	Medium to high	High
Aeration	Good	Medium	Poor
Drainage rate	High	Slow to medium	Very slow
Soil organic matter level	Low	Medium to high	High to medium
Decomposition of organic matter	Rapid	Medium	Slow
Warm-up in spring	Rapid	Moderate	Slow
Compactability	Low	Medium	High
Susceptibility to wind erosion	Moderate (High if fine sand)	High	Low
Susceptibility to water erosion	Low (unless fine sand)	High	Low if aggregated, otherwise high
Shrink/Swell Potential	Very Low	Low	Moderate to very high
Sealing of ponds, dams, and landfills	Poor	Poor	Good
Suitability for tillage after rain	Good	Medium	Poor
Pollutant leaching potential	High	Medium	Low (unless cracked)
Ability to store plant nutrients	Poor	Medium to High	High
Resistance to pH change	Low	Medium	High

Texture

Soil types by clay, silt, and sand composition as used by the USDA

Iron-rich soil near Paint Pots in Kootenay National Park, Canada

The mineral components of soil are sand, silt and clay, and their relative proportions determine a soil's texture. Properties that are influenced by soil texture include porosity, permeability, infiltration, shrink-swell rate, water-holding capacity, and susceptibility to erosion. In the illustrated USDA textural classification triangle, the only soil in which neither sand, silt nor clay predominates is called loam. While even pure sand, silt or clay may be considered a soil, from the perspective of conventional agriculture a loam soil with a small amount of organic material is considered "ideal", inasmuch as fertilizers or manure are currently used to mitigate nutrient losses due to crop yields in the long term.^[7] The mineral constituents of a loam soil might be 40% sand, 40% silt and the balance 20% clay by weight. Soil texture affects soil behaviour, in particular, its retention capacity for nutrients (e.g., cation exchange capacity)^[8] and water.

Sand and silt are the products of physical and chemical weathering of the parent rock;^[9] clay, on the other hand, is most often the product of the precipitation of the dissolved parent rock as a secondary mineral, except when derived from the weathering of mica.^[10] It is the surface area to volume ratio (specific surface area) of soil particles and the unbalanced ionic electric charges within those that determine their role in the fertility of soil, as measured by its cation exchange capacity.^[11]^[12] Sand is least active, having the least specific surface area, followed by silt; clay is the most active. Sand's greatest benefit to soil is that it resists compaction and increases soil porosity, although this property stands only for pure sand, not for sand mixed with smaller minerals which fill the voids among sand grains.^[13] Silt is mineralogically like sand but with its higher specific surface area it is more chemically and physically active than sand. But it is the clay content of soil, with its very high specific surface area and generally large number of negative charges, that gives a soil its high retention capacity for water and nutrients.^[11] Clay soils also resist wind and water erosion better than silty and sandy soils, as the particles bond tightly to each other,^[14] and that with a strong mitigation effect of organic matter.^[15]

Sand is the most stable of the mineral components of soil; it consists of rock fragments, primarily quartz particles, ranging in size from 2.0 to 0.05 mm (0.0787 to 0.0020 in) in diameter. Silt ranges in size from 0.05 to 0.002 mm (0.001969 to 7.9×10⁻⁵ in). Clay cannot be resolved by optical microscopes as its particles are 0.002 mm (7.9×10⁻⁵ in) or less in diameter and a thickness of only 10 angstroms (10⁻¹⁰ m).^[16]^[17] In medium-textured soils, clay is often washed downward through the soil profile (a process called eluviation) and accumulates in the subsoil (a process called illuviation). There is no clear relationship between the size of soil mineral components and their mineralogical nature: sand and silt particles can be calcareous as well as siliceous,^[18] while textural clay (0.002 mm (7.9×10⁻⁵ in)) can be made of very fine quartz particles as well as of multi-layered secondary minerals.^[19] Soil mineral components belonging to a given textural class may thus share properties linked to their specific surface area (e.g. moisture retention) but not those linked to their chemical composition (e.g. cation exchange capacity).

Soil components larger than 2.0 mm (0.079 in) are classed as rock and gravel and are removed before determining the percentages of the remaining components and the textural class of the soil, but are included in the name. For example, a sandy loam soil with 20% gravel would be called gravelly sandy loam.

When the organic component of a soil is substantial, the soil is called organic soil rather than mineral soil. A soil is called organic if:

Mineral fraction is 0% clay and organic matter is 20% or more
Mineral fraction is 0% to 50% clay and organic matter is between 20% and 30%
Mineral fraction is 50% or more clay and organic matter 30% or more.^[20]

Structure

The clumping of the soil textural components of sand, silt and clay causes aggregates to form and the further association of those aggregates into larger units creates soil structures called peds (a contraction of the word pedolith). The adhesion of the soil textural components by organic substances, iron oxides, carbonates, clays, and silica, the breakage of those aggregates from expansion-contraction caused by freezing-thawing and wetting-drying cycles,^[21] and the build-up of aggregates by soil animals, microbial colonies and root tips^[22] shape soil into distinct geometric forms.^[23]^[24] The peds evolve into units which have various shapes, sizes and degrees of development.^[25] A soil clod, however, is not a ped but rather a mass of soil that results from mechanical disturbance of the soil such as cultivation. Soil structure affects aeration, water movement, conduction of heat, plant root growth and resistance to erosion.^[26] Water, in turn, has a strong effect on soil structure, directly via the dissolution and precipitation of minerals, the mechanical destruction of aggregates (slaking)^[27] and indirectly by promoting plant, animal and microbial growth.

Soil structure often gives clues to its texture, organic matter content, biological activity, past soil evolution, human use, and the chemical and mineralogical conditions under which the soil formed. While texture is defined by the mineral component of a soil and is an innate property of the soil that does not change with agricultural activities, soil structure can be improved or destroyed by the choice and timing of farming practices.^[23]

Soil structural classes:^[28]

Types: Shape and arrangement of peds
1. Platy: Peds are flattened one atop the other 1–10 mm thick. Found in the A-horizon of forest soils and lake sedimentation.
2. Prismatic and Columnar: Prismlike peds are long in the vertical dimension, 10–100 mm wide. Prismatic peds have flat tops, columnar peds have rounded tops. Tend to form in the B-horizon in high sodium soil where clay has accumulated.
3. Angular and subangular: Blocky peds are imperfect cubes, 5–50 mm, angular have sharp edges, subangular have rounded edges. Tend to form in the B-horizon where clay has accumulated and indicate poor water penetration.
4. Granular and Crumb: Spheroid peds of polyhedrons, 1–10 mm, often found in the A-horizon in the presence of organic material. Crumb peds are more porous and are considered ideal.
Classes: Size of peds whose ranges depend upon the above type
1. Very fine or very thin: <1 mm platy and spherical; <5 mm blocky; <10 mm prismlike.
2. Fine or thin: 1–2 mm platy, and spherical; 5–10 mm blocky; 10–20 mm prismlike.
3. Medium: 2–5 mm platy, granular; 10–20 mm blocky; 20–50 prismlike.
4. Coarse or thick: 5–10 mm platy, granular; 20–50 mm blocky; 50–100 mm prismlike.
5. Very coarse or very thick: >10 mm platy, granular; >50 mm blocky; >100 mm prismlike.
Grades: Is a measure of the degree of development or cementation within the peds that results in their strength and stability.
1. Weak: Weak cementation allows peds to fall apart into the three textural constituents, sand, silt and clay.
2. Moderate: Peds are not distinct in undisturbed soil but when removed they break into aggregates, some broken aggregates and little unaggregated material. This is considered ideal.
3. Strong:Peds are distinct before removed from the profile and do not break apart easily.
4. Structureless: Soil is entirely cemented together in one great mass such as slabs of clay or no cementation at all such as with sand.

At the largest scale, the forces that shape a soil's structure result from swelling and shrinkage that initially tend to act horizontally, causing vertically oriented prismatic peds. This mechanical process is mainly exemplified in the development of vertisols.^[29] Clayey soil, due to its differential drying rate with respect to the surface, will induce horizontal cracks, reducing columns to blocky peds.^[30] Roots, rodents, worms, and freezing-thawing cycles further break the peds into smaller peds of a more or less spherical shape.^[22]

At a smaller scale, plant roots extend into voids (macropores) and remove water^[31] causing macroporosity to increase and microporosity to decrease,^[32] thereby decreasing aggregate size.^[33] At the same time, root hairs and fungal hyphae create microscopic tunnels (micropores) that break up peds.^[34]^[35]

At an even smaller scale, soil aggregation continues as bacteria and fungi exude sticky polysaccharides which bind soil into smaller peds.^[36] The addition of the raw organic matter that bacteria and fungi feed upon encourages the formation of this desirable soil structure.^[37]

At the lowest scale, the soil chemistry affects the aggregation or dispersal of soil particles. The clay particles contain polyvalent cations, such as aluminium, which give the faces of clay layers localized negative charges.^[38] At the same time, the edges of the clay plates have a slight positive charge, due to the sorption of aluminium from the soil solution to exposed hydroxyl groups, thereby allowing the edges to adhere to the negative charges on the faces of other clay particles or to flocculate (form clumps).^[39] On the other hand, when monovalent ions, such as sodium, invade and displace the polyvalent cations (single displacement reaction), they weaken the positive charges on the edges, while the negative surface charges are relatively strengthened. This leaves negative charge on the clay faces that repel other clay, causing the particles to push apart, and by doing so deflocculate clay suspensions.^[40] As a result, the clay disperses and settles into voids between peds, causing those to close. In this way the open structure of the soil is destroyed and the soil is made impenetrable to air and water.^[41] Such sodic soil (also called haline soil) tends to form columnar peds near the surface.^[42]

Density

Representative bulk densities of soils. The percentage pore space was calculated using 2.7 g/cm³ for particle density except for the peat soil, which is estimated.^[43]
Soil treatment and identification	Bulk density (g/cm³)	Pore space (%)
Tilled surface soil of a cotton field	1.3	51
Trafficked inter-rows where wheels passed surface	1.67	37
Traffic pan at 25 cm deep	1.7	36
Undisturbed soil below traffic pan, clay loam	1.5	43
Rocky silt loam soil under aspen forest	1.62	40
Loamy sand surface soil	1.5	43
Decomposed peat	0.55	65

Soil particle density is typically 2.60 to 2.75 grams per cm³ and is usually unchanging for a given soil.^[44] Soil particle density is lower for soils with high organic matter content,^[45] and is higher for soils with high iron-oxides content.^[46] Soil bulk density is equal to the dry mass of the soil divided by the volume of the soil; i.e., it includes air space and organic materials of the soil volume. Thereby soil bulk density is always less than soil particle density and is a good indicator of soil compaction.^[47] The soil bulk density of cultivated loam is about 1.1 to 1.4 g/cm³ (for comparison water is 1.0 g/cm³).^[48] Contrary to particle density, soil bulk density is highly variable for a given soil, with a strong causal relationship with soil biological activity and management strategies.^[49] However, it has been shown that, depending on species and the size of their aggregates (faeces), earthworms may either increase or decrease soil bulk density.^[50] A lower bulk density by itself does not indicate suitability for plant growth due to the confounding influence of soil texture and structure.^[51] A high bulk density is indicative of either soil compaction or a mixture of soil textural classes in which small particles fill the voids among coarser particles.^[52] Hence the positive correlation between the fractal dimension of soil, considered as a porous medium, and its bulk density,^[53] that explains the poor hydraulic conductivity of silty clay loam in the absence of a faunal structure.^[54]

Porosity

Pore space is that part of the bulk volume of soil that is not occupied by either mineral or organic matter but is open space occupied by either gases or water. In a productive, medium-textured soil the total pore space is typically about 50% of the soil volume.^[55] Pore size varies considerably; the smallest pores (cryptopores; <0.1 μm) hold water too tightly for use by plant roots; plant-available water is held in ultramicropores, micropores and mesopores (0.1–75 μm); and macropores (>75 μm) are generally air-filled when the soil is at field capacity.

Soil texture determines total volume of the smallest pores;^[56] clay soils have smaller pores, but more total pore space than sands,^[57] despite of a much lower permeability.^[58] Soil structure has a strong influence on the larger pores that affect soil aeration, water infiltration and drainage.^[59] Tillage has the short-term benefit of temporarily increasing the number of pores of largest size, but these can be rapidly degraded by the destruction of soil aggregation.^[60]

The pore size distribution affects the ability of plants and other organisms to access water and oxygen; large, continuous pores allow rapid transmission of air, water and dissolved nutrients through soil, and small pores store water between rainfall or irrigation events.^[61] Pore size variation also compartmentalizes the soil pore space such that many microbial and faunal organisms are not in direct competition with one another, which may explain not only the large number of species present, but the fact that functionally redundant organisms (organisms with the same ecological niche) can co-exist within the same soil.^[62]

Consistency

Consistency is the ability of soil to stick to itself or to other objects (cohesion and adhesion, respectively) and its ability to resist deformation and rupture. It is of approximate use in predicting cultivation problems^[63] and the engineering of foundations.^[64] Consistency is measured at three moisture conditions: air-dry, moist, and wet.^[65] In those conditions the consistency quality depends upon the clay content. In the wet state, the two qualities of stickiness and plasticity are assessed. A soil's resistance to fragmentation and crumbling is assessed in the dry state by rubbing the sample. Its resistance to shearing forces is assessed in the moist state by thumb and finger pressure. Additionally, the cemented consistency depends on cementation by substances other than clay, such as calcium carbonate, silica, oxides and salts; moisture content has little effect on its assessment. The measures of consistency border on subjective compared to other measures such as pH, since they employ the apparent feel of the soil in those states.

The terms used to describe the soil consistency in three moisture states and a last not affected by the amount of moisture are as follows:

Consistency of Dry Soil: loose, soft, slightly hard, hard, very hard, extremely hard
Consistency of Moist Soil: loose, very friable, friable, firm, very firm, extremely firm
Consistency of Wet Soil: nonsticky, slightly sticky, sticky, very sticky; nonplastic, slightly plastic, plastic, very plastic
Consistency of Cemented Soil: weakly cemented, strongly cemented, indurated (requires hammer blows to break up)^[66]

Soil consistency is useful in estimating the ability of soil to support buildings and roads. More precise measures of soil strength are often made prior to construction.^[67]

Temperature

Soil temperature depends on the ratio of the energy absorbed to that lost.^[68] Soil has a mean annual temperature from -10 to 26 °C according to biomes.^[69] Soil temperature regulates seed germination,^[70] breaking of seed dormancy,^[71]^[72] plant and root growth^[73] and the availability of nutrients.^[74] Soil temperature has important seasonal, monthly and daily variations, fluctuations in soil temperature being much lower with increasing soil depth.^[75] Heavy mulching (a type of soil cover) can slow the warming of soil in summer, and, at the same time, reduce fluctuations in surface temperature.^[76]

Most often, agricultural activities must adapt to soil temperatures by:

maximizing germination and growth by timing of planting (also determined by photoperiod)^[77]
optimizing use of anhydrous ammonia by applying to soil below 10 °C (50 °F)^[78]
preventing heaving and thawing due to frosts from damaging shallow-rooted crops^[79]
preventing damage to desirable soil structure by freezing of saturated soils^[80]
improving uptake of phosphorus by plants^[81]

Soil temperatures can be raised by drying soils^[82] or the use of clear plastic mulches.^[83] Organic mulches slow the warming of the soil.^[76]

There are various factors that affect soil temperature, such as water content,^[84] soil color,^[85] and relief (slope, orientation, and elevation),^[86] and soil cover (shading and insulation), in addition to air temperature.^[87] The color of the ground cover and its insulating properties have a strong influence on soil temperature.^[88] Whiter soil tends to have a higher albedo than blacker soil cover, which encourages whiter soils to have lower soil temperatures.^[85] The specific heat of soil is the energy required to raise the temperature of soil by 1 °C. The specific heat of soil increases as water content increases, since the heat capacity of water is greater than that of dry soil.^[89] The specific heat of pure water is ~ 1 calorie per gram, the specific heat of dry soil is ~ 0.2 calories per gram, hence, the specific heat of wet soil is ~ 0.2 to 1 calories per gram (0.8 to 4.2 kJ per kilogram).^[90] Also, a tremendous energy (~584 cal/g or 2442 kJ/kg at 25 °C) is required to evaporate water (known as the heat of vaporization). As such, wet soil usually warms more slowly than dry soil – wet surface soil is typically 3 to 6 °C colder than dry surface soil.^[91]

Soil heat flux refers to the rate at which heat energy moves through the soil in response to a temperature difference between two points in the soil. The heat flux density is the amount of energy that flows through soil per unit area per unit time and has both magnitude and direction. For the simple case of conduction into or out of the soil in the vertical direction, which is most often applicable the heat flux density is:

q_{x} = - k \frac{δ T}{δ x}

In SI units

q

is the heat flux density, in SI the units are W·m⁻²

k

is the soils' conductivity, W·m⁻¹·K⁻¹. The thermal conductivity is sometimes a constant, otherwise an average value of conductivity for the soil condition between the surface and the point at depth is used.

δ T

is the temperature difference (temperature gradient) between the two points in the soil between which the heat flux density is to be calculated. In SI the units are kelvin, K.

δ x

is the distance between the two points within the soil, at which the temperatures are measured and between which the heat flux density is being calculated. In SI the units are meters m, and where x is measured positive downward.

Heat flux is in the direction opposite the temperature gradient, hence the minus sign. That is to say, if the temperature of the surface is higher than at depth x, the negative sign will result in a positive value for the heat flux q, and which is interpreted as the heat being conducted into the soil.

Component	Thermal Conductivity (W·m‐1·K‐1)
Quartz	8.8
Clay	2.9
Organic matter	0.25
Water	0.57
Ice	2.4
Air	0.025
Dry soil	0.2‐0.4
Wet soil	1–3

(Source^[6])

Soil temperature is important for the survival and early growth of seedlings.^[92] Soil temperatures affect the anatomical and morphological character of root systems.^[93] All physical, chemical, and biological processes in soil and roots are affected in particular because of the increased viscosities of water and protoplasm at low temperatures.^[94] In general, climates that do not preclude survival and growth of white spruce above ground are sufficiently benign to provide soil temperatures able to maintain white spruce root systems. In some northwestern parts of the range, white spruce occurs on permafrost sites^[95] and although young unlignified roots of conifers may have little resistance to freezing,^[96] the root system of containerized white spruce was not affected by exposure to a temperature of 5 to 20 °C.^[97]

Optimum temperatures for tree root growth range between 10 °C and 25 °C in general^[98] and for spruce in particular.^[99] In 2-week-old white spruce seedlings that were then grown for 6 weeks in soil at temperatures of 15 °C, 19 °C, 23 °C, 27 °C, and 31 °C; shoot height, shoot dry weight, stem diameter, root penetration, root volume, and root dry weight all reached maxima at 19 °C.^[100]

However, whereas strong positive relationships between soil temperature (5 °C to 25 °C) and growth have been found in trembling aspen and balsam poplar, white and other spruce species have shown little or no changes in growth with increasing soil temperature.^[99]^[101]^[102]^[103]^[104] Such insensitivity to soil low temperature may be common among a number of western and boreal conifers.^[105]

Soil temperatures are increasing worldwide under the influence of present-day global climate warming, with opposing views about expected effects on carbon capture and storage and feedback loops to climate change^[106] Most threats are about permafrost thawing and attended effects on carbon destocking^[107] and ecosystem collapse.^[108]

Colour

Soil colour is often the first impression one has when viewing soil. Striking colours and contrasting patterns are especially noticeable. The Red River of the South carries sediment eroded from extensive reddish soils like Port Silt Loam in Oklahoma. The Yellow River in China carries yellow sediment from eroding loess soils. Mollisols in the Great Plains of North America are darkened and enriched by organic matter. Podsols in boreal forests have highly contrasting layers due to acidity and leaching.

In general, color is determined by the organic matter content, drainage conditions, and degree of oxidation. Soil color, while easily discerned, has little use in predicting soil characteristics.^[109] It is of use in distinguishing boundaries of horizons within a soil profile,^[110] determining the origin of a soil's parent material,^[111] as an indication of wetness and waterlogged conditions,^[112] and as a qualitative means of measuring organic,^[113] iron oxide^[114] and clay contents of soils.^[111] Color is recorded in the Munsell color system as for instance 10YR3/4 Dusky Red, with 10YR as hue, 3 as value and 4 as chroma. Munsell color dimensions (hue, value and chroma) can be averaged among samples and treated as quantitative parameters, displaying significant correlations with various soil^[115] and vegetation properties.^[116]

Soil color is primarily influenced by soil mineralogy. Many soil colours are due to various iron minerals.^[114] The development and distribution of colour in a soil profile result from chemical and biological weathering, especially redox reactions.^[112] As the primary minerals in soil parent material weather, the elements combine into new and colourful compounds. Iron forms secondary minerals of a yellow or red colour,^[117] organic matter decomposes into black and brown humic compounds,^[118] and manganese^[119] and sulfur^[120] can form black mineral deposits. These pigments can produce various colour patterns within a soil. Aerobic conditions produce uniform or gradual colour changes, while reducing environments (anaerobic) result in rapid colour flow with complex, mottled patterns and points of colour concentration.^[121]

Resistivity

Soil resistivity is a measure of a soil's ability to retard the conduction of an electric current. The electrical resistivity of soil can affect the rate of corrosion of metallic structures in contact with the soil.^[122] Higher moisture content or increased electrolyte concentration can lower resistivity and increase conductivity, thereby increasing the rate of corrosion.^[123]^[124] Soil resistivity values typically range from about 1 to 100000 Ω·m, extreme values being for saline soils and dry soils overlaying cristalline rocks, respectively.^[125]

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Category:

Soil

^{https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physical_properties_of_soil}

Northern gannet pair

In biology, a pair bond is the strong affinity that develops in some species between a mating pair, often leading to the production and rearing of offspring and potentially a lifelong bond. Pair-bonding is a term coined in the 1940s^[1] that is frequently used in sociobiology and evolutionary biology circles. The term often implies either a lifelong socially monogamous relationship or a stage of mating interaction in socially monogamous species. It is sometimes used in reference to human relationships.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pair_bond

Coordinates: 22°13′25″N 159°24′49″W

Secret Beach

Secret Beach Kauapea on Kauai, Hawaii

Secret Beach, officially known as Kauapea Beach, is a beach in Kalihiwai and Kīlauea on the north shore of the island of Kauai, Hawaii. The beach is known for its size, seclusion, and beauty.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret_Beach

Afghan leopard gecko

A female Afghan Leopard Gecko
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Family:	Eublepharidae
Genus:	Eublepharis
Species:	E. macularius
Subspecies:	E. m. afghanicus
Trinomial name
*Eublepharis macularius afghanicus* Börner 1976

The Afghan leopard gecko (Eublepharis macularius afghanicus) is one of the five subspecies of the common leopard gecko, a small to midsized lizard belonging to the family Gekkonidae.^[1] This subspecies was first discovered by entomologist Carl Julius Bernhard Börner in 1976. It is much smaller than other leopard gecko subspecies.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghan_leopard_gecko

The black mummy technique

The black mummy technique (5000 to 3000 BCE) involved taking the dead person's body apart, treating it, and reassembling it. The head, arms, and legs were removed from the trunk; the skin was often removed, too. The body was heat-dried, and the flesh and tissue were completely stripped from the bone by using stone tools. Evidence exists that the bones were dried by hot ashes or coal. After reassembly, the body was then covered with a white ash paste, filling the gaps with grass, ashes, soil, animal hair and more. The paste was also used to fill out the person's normal facial features. The person's skin (including facial skin with a wig attachment of short black human hair) was refitted on the body, sometimes in smaller pieces, sometimes in one almost-whole piece. Sea lion skin was sometimes used as well. Then the skin (or, in the case of children, who were often missing their skin layer, the white ash layer) was painted with black manganese giving their color.^[2]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinchorro_mummies#The_black_mummy_technique

White Sands National Park
IUCN category V (protected landscape/seascape)^[1]
Aerial view of dunefield
Location in the United States Show map of the United StatesShow map of New MexicoShow all
Location	Otero County and Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States
Nearest city	Alamogordo, New Mexico^[2]
Coordinates	32°46′45″N 106°10′19″WCoordinates: 32°46′45″N 106°10′19″W^[2]
Area	145,762 acres (227.753 sq mi; 589.88 km²)^[3]⁺^[4]
Established	January 18, 1933 (as a national monument)^[3] December 20, 2019 (as a national park)^[4]
Visitors	782,469^[3] (in 2021)
Governing body	National Park Service
Website	Official website

Significant dates

White Sands National Monument Historic District
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
Former U.S. National Monument
NM State Register of Cultural Properties
Visitor center
Built	1936–38 (original NRHP buildings)
Architect	Lyle E. Bennett, et al.
Architectural style	Pueblo Revival
NRHP reference No.	88000751^[5]
NMSRCP No.	1491
Added to NRHP	June 23, 1988
Designated NMSRCP	September 9, 1988

White Sands National Park is an American national park located in the state of New Mexico and completely surrounded by the White Sands Missile Range. The park covers 145,762 acres (227.8 sq mi; 589.9 km²) in the Tularosa Basin, including the southern 41% of a 275 sq mi (710 km²) field of white sand dunes composed of gypsum crystals. This gypsum dunefield is the largest of its kind on Earth,^[6] with a depth of about 30 feet (9.1 m), dunes as tall as 60 feet (18 m), and about 4.5 billion short tons (4.1 billion metric tons) of gypsum sand.

Approximately 12,000 years ago, the land within the Tularosa Basin featured large lakes, streams, grasslands, and Ice Age mammals. As the climate warmed, rain and snowmelt dissolved gypsum from the surrounding mountains and carried it into the basin. Further warming and drying caused the lakes to evaporate and form selenite crystals. Strong winds then broke up crystals and transported them eastward. A similar process continues to produce gypsum sand today.^[7]

Thousands of species of animal inhabit the park, a large portion of which are invertebrates. Several animal species feature a white or off-white coloration. At least 45 species are endemic, living only in this park, with 40 of them being moth species. The Tularosa Basin has also seen a number of human inhabitants, from Paleo-Indians 12,000 years ago to modern farmers, ranchers, and miners.

White Sands National Park was originally designated White Sands National Monument on January 18, 1933 by President Herbert Hoover; it was redesignated as a national park by Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump on December 20, 2019. It is the most visited NPS site in New Mexico, with about 600,000 visitors each year.^[8] The park features a drive from the visitor center to the heart of the dunes, picnic areas, backcountry campground in the dunefield, marked hiking trails, and sledding on the dunes. Ranger-guided orientation and nature walks occur at various times and months throughout the year.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Sands_National_Park

Giant sea bass

A giant sea bass at the California Academy of Sciences
Conservation status
Critically Endangered (IUCN 3.1)^[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Perciformes
Family:	Polyprionidae
Genus:	Stereolepis
Species:	S. gigas
Binomial name
*Stereolepis gigas* Ayres, 1859
Synonyms^[2]
Stereolepis californicus Gill, 1863 Megaperca ischinagi Hilgendorf, 1878

The giant sea bass (Stereolepis gigas) is a fish native to the North Pacific Ocean. Although commonly referred to as a giant sea bass, black sea bass or giant black sea bass, it is actually a wreckfish in the family Polyprionidae rather than in the sea bass family Serranidae.^[3]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_sea_bass

Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail
Formerly known as Pangani Forest Exploration Trail from August 1998-May 2016

Disney's Animal Kingdom
Area	Africa
Coordinates	28°21′36.97″N 81°35′31.72″WCoordinates: 28°21′36.97″N 81°35′31.72″W
Status	Operating
Opening date	April 22, 1998
Ride statistics
Attraction type	Trail
Designer	Walt Disney Imagineering
Theme	African Rainforest
Stations	2
Animals	Primates
Animal Viewing Locations	4
Observing Stations	3
Main animal	Western lowland gorilla
Other animals	Black and white colobus monkey, meerkat, yellow-backed duiker, okapi, birds, gerenuk
Wheelchair accessible

The Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail (formerly known as Pangani Forest Exploration Trail from August 1998 to May 2016) is a walkway next to Kilimanjaro Safaris at the Disney's Animal Kingdom in the Walt Disney World Resort, Florida, from which visitors can see African animals. It is about three-eighths of a mile in length. There are "research students" positioned at most locations to give information about the animals and answer questions.

The attraction originally opened on April 22, 1998 as Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail, but the name was changed to Pangani Forest Exploration Trail in August 1998.^[1] The attraction reverted to its original name on May 27, 2016.^[2]

^{https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorilla_Falls_Exploration_Trail}

Permanent mold casting

Permanent mold casting is a metal casting process that employs reusable molds ("permanent molds"), usually made from metal. The most common process uses gravity to fill the mold, however gas pressure or a vacuum are also used. A variation on the typical gravity casting process, called slush casting, produces hollow castings. Common casting metals are aluminium, magnesium, and copper alloys. Other materials include tin, zinc, and lead alloys and iron and steel are also cast in graphite molds.^[1]^[2]

Typical products are components such as gears, splines, wheels, gear housings, pipe fittings, fuel injection housings, and automotive engine pistons.^[1]

^{https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permanent_mold_casting}

Doctorfish tang

Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)^[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Perciformes
Family:	Acanthuridae
Genus:	Acanthurus
Species:	A. chirurgus
Binomial name
*Acanthurus chirurgus* (Bloch, 1787)

Synonyms
Acanthurus chirurgicus Bloch, 1787 Acanthurus hepatus non Linnaeus, 1766 Acanthurus nigricans non Linnaeus, 1758 Acanthurus phlebotomus Valenciennes, 1835 Chaetodon chirurgus Bloch, 1787 Hepatus hepatus non Linnaeus, 1766 Teuthis hepatus non Linnaeus, 1766

Acanthurus chirurgus, commonly called doctorfish or doctorfish tang in English and barbero rayado or cirujano rayado in Spanish, is a tropical marine fish common in the Atlantic Ocean.

^{https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctorfish_tang}

This is a list of all genera, species and subspecies of the subfamily Viperinae, otherwise referred to as viperines, true vipers, pitless vipers or Old World vipers. It follows the taxonomy of McDiarmid et al. (1999)^[1] and ITIS.^[2]

Atheris, Bush vipers
- Atheris acuminata
- Atheris anisolepis
- Atheris barbouri, Uzungwe mountain bush viper
- Atheris broadleyi
- Atheris ceratophora, Horned bush viper
- Atheris chlorechis, Western bush viper
- Atheris desaixi, Mount Kenya bush viper
- Atheris hetfieldi
- Atheris hirsuta, Tai hairy bush viper
- Atheris hispida, Bristly bush viper
- Atheris katangensis, Katanga mountain bush viper
- Atheris mabuensis, Mount Mabu forest viper
- Atheris matildae, Matilda's horned viper
- Atheris mongoensis
- Atheris nitschei, Great Lakes bush viper
- Atheris rungweensis, Rungwe tree viper
- Atheris squamigera, Rough-scaled bush viper
- Atheris subocularis
Bitis, Puff adders
- Bitis albanica, Albany adder
- Bitis arietans, Common puff adder
  - Bitis arietans arietans, Common puff adder
  - Bitis arietans somalica, Somali puff adder
- Bitis armata, Southern adder
- Bitis atropos, Mountain adder
- Bitis caudalis, Horned adder
- Bitis cornuta, Many-horned adder
- Bitis gabonica, Gaboon viper (3003 Viper)
  - Bitis gabonica, East African gaboon viper
- Bitis harenna
- Bitis heraldica, Angolan adder
- Bitis inornata, Plain mountain adder
- Bitis nasicornis, Rhinoceros viper
- Bitis parviocula, Ethiopian viper
- Bitis peringueyi, Peringuey's desert adder
- Bitis rhinoceros, West African gaboon viper
- Bitis rubida, Red adder
- Bitis schneideri, Namaqua dwarf adder
- Bitis worthingtoni, Kenyan horned viper
- Bitis xeropaga, Desert mountain adder
Causus, night adders
- Causus bilineatus, lined night adder, two-striped night adder
- Causus defilippii, snouted night adder
- Causus lichtensteinii, forest night adder
- Causus maculatus, forest rhombic night adder, West African night adder
- Causus rasmusseni
- Causus resimus, green night adder
- Causus rhombeatus, rhombic night adder
Cerastes, Horned vipers
- Cerastes boehmeii Tunesian horned viper
- Cerastes cerastes, Saharan horned viper
- Cerastes gasperettii, Arabian horned viper
- Cerastes vipera, Sahara sand viper
Daboia
- Daboia mauritanica, Moorish viper
- Daboia palaestinae, Palestine viper
- Daboia russelii, Russell's viper
- Daboia siamensis, Eastern Russell's viper
Echis, Saw-scaled vipers
- Echis borkini
- Echis carinatus, Saw-scaled viper
  - Echis carinatus astolae, Astola saw-scaled viper
  - Echis carinatus carinatus, South Indian saw-scaled viper
  - Echis carinatus multisquamatus, Central Asian saw-scaled viper
  - Echis carinatus sinhaleyus, Sri Lankan saw-scaled viper
  - Echis carinatus sochureki, Sochurek's saw-scaled viper
- Echis coloratus, Painted saw-scaled viper
- Echis hughesi, Hughes' saw-scaled viper
- Echis jogeri, Joger's saw-scaled viper
- Echis khosatzkii
- Echis leucogaster, White-bellied saw-scaled viper
- Echis megalocephalus, Cherlin's saw-scaled viper
- Echis ocellatus, West African saw-scaled viper
- Echis omanensis, Oman saw-scaled viper
- Echis pyramidum, Egyptian saw-scaled viper
  - Echis pyramidum aliaborri, Red carpet viper
  - Echis pyramidum leakeyi, Kenyan carpet viper
  - Echis pyramidum pyramidum, Egyptian saw-scaled viper
- Echis romani
Eristicophis, McMahon's desert viper
- Eristicophis macmahonii, McMahon's desert viper
Macrovipera, Large Palearctic vipers
- Macrovipera lebetina, Blunt-nosed viper
  - Macrovipera lebetina cernovi
  - Macrovipera lebetina lebetina, Blunt-nosed viper
  - Macrovipera lebetina obtusa, West-Asian blunt-nosed viper
  - Macrovipera lebetina transmediterranea
  - Macrovipera lebetina turanica, Turan blunt-nosed viper
- Macrovipera razii
- Macrovipera schweizeri, Milos viper
- Montatheris hindii, Montane viper
Montivipera
- Montivipera albizona, Central Turkish mountain viper
- Montivipera bornmuelleri, Lebanon viper (Endangered)
- Montivipera bulgardaghica, Mount Bulgar viper
- Montivipera kuhrangica, Kuhrang mountain viper
- Montivipera latifii, Latifi's viper
- Montivipera raddei, Rock viper
  - Montivipera raddei albicornuta, Iranian mountain viper
  - Montivipera raddei kurdistanica , Kurdistan viper
- Montivipera wagneri, Ocellated mountain viper
- Montivipera xanthina, Rock viper
Proatheris, Lowland swamp viper
- Proatheris superciliaris, Lowland swamp viper
Pseudocerastes
- Pseudocerastes fieldi, Field's horned viper
- Pseudocerastes persicus, Persian horned viper
- Pseudocerastes urarachnoides, Iranian spider viper
Vipera, Palearctic vipers
- Vipera altaica , Kazachstan viper
- Vipera ammodytes, Sand viper
  - Vipera ammodytes ammodytes, Western sand viper
  - Vipera ammodytes gregorwallneri
  - Vipera ammodytes meridionalis, Eastern sand viper
  - Vipera ammodytes montandoni, Transdanubian sand viper
- Vipera anatolica , Anatolian viper (critically endangered)
- Vipera aspis, Asp viper
  - Vipera aspis aspis, European asp
  - Vipera aspis atra, Black asp
  - Vipera aspis francisciredi, Central Italian asp
  - Vipera aspis hugyi, Southern Italian asp
  - Vipera aspis zinnikeri, Gascony asp
- Vipera barani, Baran's adder
- Vipera berus, common viper, adder
  - Vipera berus berus, Common European adder
  - Vipera berus bosniensis, Balkan cross adder
  - Vipera berus sachalinensis, Sakhalin Island adder
- Vipera darevskii, Darevsky's viper
- Vipera dinniki, Dinnik's viper
- Vipera ebneri , Iranian Mountain steppe viper
- Vipera eriwanensis, Armenian steppe viper
- Vipera graeca, Greek meadow viper
- Vipera kaznakovi, Caucasus viper
- Vipera latastei, Lataste's viper
  - Vipera latastei gaditana
  - Vipera latastei latastei, Lataste's viper
- Vipera lotievi, Caucasian meadow viper
- Vipera magnifica, Magnificent viper
- Vipera monticola, Atlas mountain viper
- Vipera nikolskii, Nikolski's viper
- Vipera olguni
- Vipera orlovi, Orlov's viper (critically Endangered)
- Vipera pontica, Pontic adder, Black sea viper
- Vipera renardi, Steppe viper
  - Vipera renardi renardi
  - Vipera renardi parursini
- Vipera renardi tienshanica, Kasackstan steppe viper
- Vipera seoanei, Baskian viper
  - Vipera seoanei cantabrica
  - Vipera seoanei seoanei, Baskian viper
- Vipera shemakhensis
- Vipera transcaucasiana, Transcaucasian longnose viper
- Vipera ursinii, Meadow vipers
  - Vipera ursinii macrops, Albanian meadow viper
  - Vipera ursinii moldavica, Romanian meadow viper
  - Vipera ursinii rakosiensis, Hungarian meadow viper
  - Vipera ursinii wettsteini, Provence meadow viper
  - Vipera ursinii ursini , Italian meadow viper
- Vipera walser, Piemont viper

References

McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré T. 1999. Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, vol. 1. Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. ISBN 1-893777-00-6 (series). ISBN 1-893777-01-4 (volume).

"Viperinae". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 23 March 2007.

Categories:

^{https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_viperine_species_and_subspecies}

Sea of Azov
Sea of Azov shoreline at Yalta, Donetsk Oblast
Sea of Azov Show map of Black SeaShow map of EuropeShow all
Sea of Azov, upper right
Coordinates	46°N 37°ECoordinates: 46°N 37°E
Type	Sea
Primary inflows	Don and Kuban
Basin countries	Russia, Ukraine

Max. length	360 km (220 mi)^[1]
Max. width	180 km (110 mi)^[1]
Surface area	39,000 km² (15,000 sq mi)^[1]^[2]
Average depth	7 metres (23 ft)^[1]
Max. depth	14 m (46 ft)^[1]
Water volume	290 km³ (240×10⁶ acre⋅ft)^[1]

The Sea of Azov (Crimean Tatar: Azaq deñizi; Russian: Азовское море, romanized: Azovskoye more; Ukrainian: Азовське море, romanized: Azovs'ke more)^[3] is an inland shelf sea in Eastern Europe connected to the Black Sea by the narrow (about 4 km or 2.5 mi) Strait of Kerch, and is sometimes regarded as a northern extension of the Black Sea.^[4]^[5] The sea is bounded by Russia on the east, and by Ukraine on the northwest and southwest, currently under Russian occupation. It is an important access route for Central Asia, from the Caspian Sea via the Volga-Don Canal.

The sea is largely affected by the inflow of the Don, Kuban, and other rivers, which bring sand, silt, and shells, which in turn form numerous bays, limans, and narrow spits. Because of these deposits, the sea bottom is relatively smooth and flat with the depth gradually increasing toward the middle. Because of the river inflow, water in the sea has low salinity and a high amount of biomass (such as green algae) that affects the water colour. Abundant plankton result in unusually high fish productivity. The sea shores and spits are low; they are rich in vegetation and bird colonies. The Sea of Azov is the shallowest sea in the world, with the depth varying between 0.9 and 14 metres (3 and 46 ft).^[1]^[6]^[7]^[8]^[9] There is a constant outflow of water from the Sea of Azov to the Black Sea.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_of_Azov

Gabara subnivosella

Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Superfamily:	Noctuoidea
Family:	Erebidae
Genus:	Gabara
Species:	G. subnivosella
Binomial name
*Gabara subnivosella* Walker, 1866
Synonyms
Gabara nivealis (J. B. Smith, 1903) Gabara subnivosella bipuncta

Gabara subnivosella, the wet sand savannah moth, is a moth in the family Erebidae. The species was first described by Francis Walker in 1866. It is found in North America from Manitoba south to Maryland, Massachusetts and New York.

The wingspan is about 25 mm.

Adults are extremely variable in colour and maculation (spots). The colour ranges from nearly white to dark grey and immaculate to specimens with a central nearly black streak across the width of the forewing.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabara_subnivosella

Bluespotted ribbontail ray resting on the seafloor

Rhinogobius flumineus swim on the beds of rivers

Demersal fish, also known as groundfish, live and feed on or near the bottom of seas or lakes (the demersal zone).^[1] They occupy the sea floors and lake beds, which usually consist of mud, sand, gravel or rocks.^[1] In coastal waters they are found on or near the continental shelf, and in deep waters they are found on or near the continental slope or along the continental rise. They are not generally found in the deepest waters, such as abyssal depths or on the abyssal plain, but they can be found around seamounts and islands. The word demersal comes from the Latin demergere, which means to sink.

Demersal fish are bottom feeders. They can be contrasted with pelagic fish which live and feed away from the bottom in the open water column. Demersal fish fillets contain little fish oil (one to four percent), whereas pelagic fish can contain up to 30 percent.^{[not verified in body]}

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demersal_fish

Florida sand darter

Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)^[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Perciformes
Family:	Percidae
Genus:	Ammocrypta
Species:	A. bifascia
Binomial name
*Ammocrypta bifascia* J. D. Williams, 1975
Synonyms^[2]
Etheostoma bifascia (J.D. Williams, 1975)

The Florida sand darter ('Ammocrypta bifascia) is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish, a darter from the subfamily Etheostomatinae, part of the family Percidae, which also contains the perches, ruffes and pikeperches. It is endemic to Gulf Coast drainages from the Aplalachicola to the Perdido River in Florida and southern Alabama.^[2] It inhabits streams with waters that are clear to tannin-stained where there are shifting sand bottoms and a moderate to fast flow. It is most frequently encountered where there is a moderate current in medium-sized to large streams, but it will enter smaller streams on occasion.^[1] Its appearance is identical to the naked sand darter aside from 2 black bands on each dorsal fin. This species can reach a length of 7.1 cm (2.8 in), though most are only about 4.7 cm (1.9 in) in length, at depths of 61 to 122 centimetres (2.00 to 4.00 ft).^[2] The Florida sand darter was first formally described in 1975 by James D. Williams with the type locality given as the Choctawhatchee River, 2.4 kilometres (1.5 mi) west of Pittman, Florida.^[3] This species forms a clade with the naked sand darter (A. beanii) the Western sand darter (A. clara).^[4]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_sand_darter

The Slavic creation myth is a cosmogonic myth in Slavic mythology that explains how the world was created, who created it, and what principles guide it. This myth, in its Christianized form, survived until the nineteenth and twentieth century in various parts of the Slavdom in chronicles or folklore. In the Slavic mythology there are three versions of this myth: the first version is the so-called earth-diver myth, which intertwines two main motifs: the dualistic motif – the cooperation of God and the Devil (that is, the "good god" and the "bad god") is required to create the world, and the oceanic motif – the pre-existence water, where the seed of the Earth comes from; the second version speaks about the origin of the universe and the world from the Cosmic Egg and the World Tree; the third one about creation from a dismemberment of a primordial being.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavic_creation_myth

Holothuria edulis

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Holothuria edulis

Pink form from Malaysia
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)^[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Echinodermata
Class:	Holothuroidea
Order:	Holothuriida
Family:	Holothuriidae
Genus:	Holothuria
Subgenus:	Halodeima
Species:	H. edulis
Binomial name
*Holothuria edulis* Lesson, 1830^[2]
Synonyms^[2]
Halodeima edulis (Lesson) Holothuria (Halodeima) signata Ludwig, 1875 Holothuria (Thyone) edulis Lesson, 1830 Holothuria albida Bell, 1887

Holothuria edulis, commonly known as the edible sea cucumber or the pink and black sea cucumber, is a species of echinoderm in the family Holothuriidae. It was placed in the subgenus Halodeima by Pearson in 1914, making its full scientific name Holothuria (Halodeima) edulis.^[2] It is found in shallow water in the tropical Indo-Pacific Ocean.^[1]

Description

Holothuria edulis is a medium-sized sea cucumber reaching a length of about 30 centimetres (12 in). It has a roughly cylindrical shape with rounded ends but can retract and expand its body and adopt different shapes. It is usually soft and pliable with a smooth skin but, due to the special characteristics of its connective tissue, it can become firm and rigid. The body is lined with longitudinal rows of small tube feet which can be withdrawn into the body wall, leaving small hollows. About twenty tube feet in a ring round the mouth are modified into feeding tentacles. This sea cucumber is usually a dark reddish-black colour on its upper side and a pinkish-mauve colour below, but can be grey or dark brown.^[3]^[4]^[5]

Classical specimen
In Maldives
In Japan

Distribution and habitat

Grey form from Japan

Holothuria edulis is a common and widespread species in the Indo-Pacific Ocean. It lives on the seabed at depths down to 20 metres (66 ft). Its range extends from the Red Sea and East African coast to Sri Lanka, Japan, China, Indonesia, the Philippines, northern Australia and various Pacific islands.^[1] It is found in a number of different habitats including on sandy or muddy substrates, on coral rubble and in seagrass meadows. It can be found on inner and outer reef flats, on back reef slopes and in lagoons.^[2]

Biology

Holothuria edulis is mainly nocturnal and tends to hide during the day under rocks or pieces of coral. It is a detritivore and feeds by ingesting sand and debris which has accumulated on the seabed which it picks up using its feeding tentacles. Sand is pushed into the mouth and any organic matter present, including the biofilm round the grains, is digested as the sand passes through the gut. The indigestible matter is expelled from the anus leaving a sand ridge as the animal moves around. During its feeding activities, the sea cucumber churns up the top few centimetres of seabed and aerates the sediment.^[4]

Locomotion in Holothuria edulis is very slow. It moves mainly by peristaltic action of its body wall, assisted to a limited extent by its tube feet. It can also anchor its feeding tentacles into the sand and haul itself along. If it gets overturned, it can use its feeding tentacles to help right itself.^[4]

Holothuria edulis has separate sexes and spawns at any time of year with gametes being liberated into the water column. The larvae are planktonic. This sea cucumber can also reproduce asexually by breaking into two parts, each of which then regrows the missing organs.^[4]

Human use

As food

As its name implies, Holothuria edulis is edible. It is dried and sold as "bêche-de-mer" or "trepang" in China and Indonesia.^[6]

As aquarium animal

Holothuria edulis is common in the aquarium trade for its colors and its ability to eat detritus. It needs a tank size of 50 US gallons (190 litres) or more. It is easy to care for but may release a toxin when stressed, although this only happens very rarely.^[7]

References

Conand, C.; Purcell, S.; Gamboa, R. (2013). "Holothuria edulis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2013: e.T180400A1625901. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T180400A1625901.en. Retrieved 20 November 2021.

Paulay, Gustav (2010). "Holothuria (Halodeima) edulis Lesson, 1830". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 2013-03-26.

"Holothuria edulis". North Australian Sea Cucumbers. Marine Species Identification Portal. Retrieved 2013-03-26.

Turschwell, Mischa (2011). "Holothuria edulis: Edible sea cucumber". Great Barrier Reef Invertebrates. University of Queensland. Retrieved 2013-03-27.

Rudman, W. B. (1998). "Sea cucumbers". Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum. Retrieved 2013-03-27.

Wikisource:1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Bêche-de-Mer

Sea Cucumber. Sea Cucumber. LiveAquaria. Accessed August 30, 2016

Taxon identifiers	Wikidata: Q2305882 AFD: Holothuria_(Halodeima)_edulis BOLD: 153582 CoL: 6LZC7 GBIF: 4343017 iNaturalist: 142085 IRMNG: 10534847 ITIS: 1079628 IUCN: 180400 NCBI: 206668 SeaLifeBase: 83486 WoRMS: 210882

Categories:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holothuria_edulis

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

(Redirected from Mottled sand grasshopper)

Mottled sand grasshopper

Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Orthoptera
Family:	Acrididae
Genus:	Spharagemon
Species:	S. collare
Binomial name
*Spharagemon collare* (Scudder, 1872)

Spharagemon collare, the mottled sand grasshopper, is found in sandy-soiled, grassy areas of northern United States and southern Canada. They are known to be a minor pest of wheat crops; however, populations are rarely large enough to cause appreciable damage.^[1]^[2]

^{https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spharagemon_collare}

Chinese mountain cat

Chinese mountain cat in Xining Zoo
Conservation status
Vulnerable (IUCN 3.1)^[3]
CITES Appendix II (CITES)^[3]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Suborder:	Feliformia
Family:	Felidae
Subfamily:	Felinae
Genus:	Felis
Species:	F. bieti^[1]^[2]
Binomial name
*Felis bieti^[1]^[2]* Milne-Edwards, 1892

Distribution of the Chinese mountain cat, 2022^[3]

The Chinese mountain cat (Felis bieti), also known as Chinese desert cat and Chinese steppe cat, is a small wild cat endemic to western China that has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 2002, as the effective population size may be fewer than 10,000 mature breeding individuals.^[3]

It was provisionally classified as a wildcat subspecies with the name F. silvestris bieti in 2007.^[4] It is recognised as a valid species since 2017, as it is morphologically distinct from wildcats.^[1]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_mountain_cat

Common tern

1:21
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)^[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Charadriiformes
Family:	Laridae
Genus:	Sterna
Species:	S. hirundo
Binomial name
*Sterna hirundo* Linnaeus, 1758

Breeding Resident Non-breeding Passage Vagrant (seasonality uncertain)
Synonyms
Sterna fluviatilis (Naumann, 1839)

Twisted head

The common tern^[2] (Sterna hirundo) is a seabird in the family Laridae. This bird has a circumpolar distribution, its four subspecies breeding in temperate and subarctic regions of Europe, Asia and North America. It is strongly migratory, wintering in coastal tropical and subtropical regions. Breeding adults have light grey upperparts, white to very light grey underparts, a black cap, orange-red legs, and a narrow pointed bill. Depending on the subspecies, the bill may be mostly red with a black tip or all black. There are several similar species, including the partly sympatric Arctic tern, which can be separated on plumage details, leg and bill colour, or vocalisations.

Breeding in a wider range of habitats than any of its relatives, the common tern nests on any flat, poorly vegetated surface close to water, including beaches and islands, and it readily adapts to artificial substrates such as floating rafts. The nest may be a bare scrape in sand or gravel, but it is often lined or edged with whatever debris is available. Up to three eggs may be laid, their dull colours and blotchy patterns providing camouflage on the open beach. Incubation is by both sexes, and the eggs hatch in around 21–22 days, longer if the colony is disturbed by predators. The downy chicks fledge in 22–28 days. Like most terns, this species feeds by plunge-diving for fish, either in the sea or in freshwater, but molluscs, crustaceans and other invertebrate prey may form a significant part of the diet in some areas.

Eggs and young are vulnerable to predation by mammals such as rats and American mink, and large birds including gulls, owls and herons. Common terns may be infected by lice, parasitic worms, and mites, although blood parasites appear to be rare. Its large population and huge breeding range mean that this species is classed as being of least concern, although numbers in North America have declined sharply in recent decades. Despite international legislation protecting the common tern, in some areas, populations are threatened by habitat loss, pollution, or the disturbance of breeding colonies.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_tern

Herons Temporal range: Early Oligocene–Holocene 32–0 Ma^[1] PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N

Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Pelecaniformes
Suborder:	Ardei
Family:	Ardeidae Leach, 1820
Type genus
Ardea Linnaeus, 1758
Genera
18 extant, see text

Global distribution of herons
Synonyms
Cochlearidae

The herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae,^[2] with 72 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genera Botaurus and Ixobrychus are referred to as bitterns, and, together with the zigzag heron, or zigzag bittern, in the monotypic genus Zebrilus, form a monophyletic group within the Ardeidae. Egrets do not form a biologically distinct group from herons, and tend to be named differently because they are mainly white or have decorative plumes in breeding plumage. Herons, by evolutionary adaptation, have long beaks.

The classification of the individual heron/egret species is fraught with difficulty, and no clear consensus exists about the correct placement of many species into either of the two major genera, Ardea and Egretta. Similarly, the relationships of the genera in the family are not completely resolved. However, one species formerly considered to constitute a separate monotypic family, the Cochlearidae or the boat-billed heron, is now regarded as a member of the Ardeidae.

Although herons resemble birds in some other families, such as the storks, ibises, spoonbills, and cranes, they differ from these in flying with their necks retracted, not outstretched. They are also one of the bird groups that have powder down. Some members of this group nest colonially in trees, while others, notably the bitterns, use reed beds. A group of them is called a "siege."^[3]

^{https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heron}

Gull (commonly seagull) Temporal range: Early Oligocene – Present

Adult Vega gull
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Charadriiformes
Suborder:	Lari
Family:	Laridae
Genera
11, see text

Flying subadult silver gulls at Kiama beach, Australia, during Christmas 2013

Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the family Laridae in the suborder Lari. They are most closely related to the terns and skimmers and only distantly related to auks, and even more distantly to waders. Until the 21st century, most gulls were placed in the genus Larus, but that arrangement is now considered polyphyletic, leading to the resurrection of several genera.^[1] An older name for gulls is mews, which is cognate with German Möwe, Danish måge, Swedish mås, Dutch meeuw, Norwegian måke/måse and French mouette, and can still be found in certain regional dialects.^[2]^[3]^[4]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gull

Owl Temporal range: Late Paleocene to recent 60–0 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N

Left Strigidae: Tawny owl (Strix aluco), Eurasian eagle-owl (Bubo bubo), Little owl (Athene noctua), Northern saw-whet owl (Aegolius acadicus); Right Tytonidae: Barn owl (Tyto alba), Lesser sooty owl (Tyto multipunctata), Tasmanian masked owl (Tyto novaehollandiae castanops), Sri Lanka bay owl (Phodilus assimilis).
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Clade:	Telluraves
Order:	Strigiformes Wagler, 1830
Families
Strigidae Tytonidae Ogygoptyngidae (fossil) Palaeoglaucidae (fossil) Protostrigidae (fossil) Sophiornithidae (fossil)

Range of the owl, all species.
Synonyms
Strigidae sensu Sibley & Ahlquist

Owls are birds from the order Strigiformes^[1] (/ˈstrɪdʒəfɔːrmiːz/), which includes over 200 species of mostly solitary and nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vision, binaural hearing, sharp talons, and feathers adapted for silent flight. Exceptions include the diurnal northern hawk-owl and the gregarious burrowing owl.

Owls hunt mostly small mammals, insects, and other birds, although a few species specialize in hunting fish. They are found in all regions of the Earth except the polar ice caps and some remote islands.

Owls are divided into two families: the true (or typical) owl family, Strigidae, and the barn-owl family, Tytonidae.^[2]

A group of owls is called a "parliament".^[3]

Cross-eyed owl

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owl

Cariamiformes Temporal range: Early Eocene–present PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N Suspected, but still not confirmed, late Cretaceous origin by molecular clock

Red-legged seriema, Cariama cristata (Cariamidae)

Kelenken (Phorusrhacidae)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Clade:	Australaves
Order:	Cariamiformes Fürbringer, 1888
Families
Cariamidae †Ameghinornithidae^[1] †Bathornithidae †Elaphrocnemus^[2] †Idiornithidae †Phorusrhacidae ?†Qianshanornithidae †Salmilidae

Cariamiformes (or Cariamae) is an order of primarily flightless birds that has existed for over 60 million years. The group includes the family Cariamidae (seriemas) and the extinct families Phorusrhacidae, Bathornithidae, Idiornithidae and Ameghinornithidae. Though traditionally considered a suborder within Gruiformes, both morphological and genetic studies^[3] show that it belongs to a separate group of birds, Australaves, whose other living members are Falconidae, Psittaciformes and Passeriformes.^[4]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cariamiformes

Wieslochia fossil

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passerine

Cathartiformes Temporal range: Eocene to present

California condor
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Clade:	Accipitrimorphae
Order:	Cathartiformes Coues, 1884
Subtaxa
†Diatropornis †Parasarcoramphus †Teratornithidae Cathartidae

The order Cathartiformes /kəˈθɑːrtɪfɔːrmiːz/ of raptors or birds of prey includes the New World vultures and the now-extinct Teratornithidae.^[1] These raptors are classified by most taxonomic authorities in the order Accipitriformes (which includes the eagles and hawks). In the past, they were considered to be a sister group to the storks of the order Ciconiiformes based on DNA–DNA hybridization and morphology.^[2]^[3] However, a 2021 analysis of mitochondrial genes among Accipitrimorphae, which include Cathartiformes, reinforced prior findings on the phylogenetic relationships between Cathartiformes and other subfamilies of Accipitriformes.^[4]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathartiformes

Phalangeriformes Temporal range: Oligocene–present PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N

Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Infraclass:	Marsupialia
Order:	Diprotodontia
Suborder:	Phalangeriformes Szalay in Archer, 1982
Groups included
Phalangeroidea †Ektopodontidae Burramyidae Phalangeridae Petauroidea Pseudocheiridae Petauridae Tarsipedidae Acrobatidae
Cladistically included but traditionally excluded taxa
Macropodiformes

Phalangeriformes /fəˈlændʒərɪfɔːrmiːz/ is a paraphyletic^[1] suborder of about 70 species of small to medium-sized arboreal marsupials native to Australia, New Guinea, and Sulawesi.^[2] The species are commonly known as possums, gliders, and cuscus. The common name "possum" for various Phalangeriformes species derives from the creatures' resemblance to the opossums of the Americas (the term comes from Powhatan language aposoum "white animal", from Proto-Algonquian *wa·p-aʔɬemwa "white dog"). However, although opossums are also marsupials, Australasian possums are more closely related to other Australasian marsupials such as kangaroos.

Phalangeriformes are quadrupedal diprotodont marsupials with long tails. The smallest species, indeed the smallest diprotodont marsupial, is the Tasmanian pygmy possum, with an adult head-body length of 70 mm (2+3⁄4 in) and a weight of 10 g (3⁄8 oz). The largest are the two species of bear cuscus, which may exceed 7 kg (15 lb 7 oz). Phalangeriformes species are typically nocturnal and at least partially arboreal. They inhabit most vegetated habitats, and several species have adjusted well to urban settings. Diets range from generalist herbivores or omnivores (the common brushtail possum) to specialist browsers of eucalyptus (greater glider), insectivores (mountain pygmy possum) and nectar-feeders (honey possum).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phalangeriformes

Evolution and systematics

A great horned owl (Bubo virginianus) sleeping during daytime in a hollow tree

Recent phylogenetic studies place owls within the clade Telluraves, most closely related to the Accipitrimorphae and the Coraciimorphae,^[35]^[36] although the exact placement within Telluraves is disputed.^[37]^[38]

See below cladogram:

Telluraves

Accipitrimorphae

	Cathartiformes (New World vultures)

	Accipitriformes (hawks and relatives)

Strigiformes (owls)

Coraciimorphae

Coliiformes (mouse birds)

Cavitaves

Leptosomiformes (cuckoo roller)

Trogoniformes (trogons and quetzals)

Picocoraciae

Bucerotiformes (hornbills and relatives)

Picodynastornithes

	Coraciiformes (kingfishers and relatives)

	Piciformes (woodpeckers and relatives)

Australaves

Cariamiformes (seriemas)

Eufalconimorphae

Falconiformes (falcons)

Psittacopasserae

	Psittaciformes (parrots)

	Passeriformes (passerines)

Cladogram of Telluraves relationships based on Braun & Kimball (2021)^[39]

Some 220 to 225 extant species of owls are known, subdivided into two families: 1. true owls or typical owls family (Strigidae) and 2. barn-owls family (Tytonidae). Some entirely extinct families have also been erected based on fossil remains; these differ much from modern owls in being less specialized or specialized in a very different way (such as the terrestrial Sophiornithidae). The Paleocene genera Berruornis and Ogygoptynx show that owls were already present as a distinct lineage some 60–57 million years ago (Mya), hence, possibly also some 5 million years earlier, at the extinction of the non-avian dinosaurs. This makes them one of the oldest known groups of non-Galloanserae landbirds. The supposed "Cretaceous owls" Bradycneme and Heptasteornis are apparently non-avialan maniraptors.^[40]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owl

Karakum (Desert)
Sand dunes in the desert, in Turkmenistan
The Karakum Desert by NASA World Wind
Area	350,000 km² (140,000 sq mi)
Geography
Country	Turkmenistan
State/Province	Central Asia
Coordinates	40°30′N 60°00′ECoordinates: 40°30′N 60°00′E

The Karakum Desert, also spelled Kara-Kum and Gara-Gum (Turkmen: Garagum, pronounced [ɡɑɾɑˈɡʊm]; Russian: Караку́мы, tr. Karakumy, IPA: [kərɐˈkumɨ]), is a desert in Central Asia. Its name in Turkic languages means "black sand": "kum" means sand; "kara" is a contraction of garaňky: "dark" or may pre-date that (be a derivation from a likely broader meaning which the word for black bore: gara) in this language family.^[a] This refers to the shale-rich sand generally beneath the sand of much of the desert.^[1] It occupies about 70 percent, 350,000 km² (140,000 sq mi), of Turkmenistan.

The population is sparse, with an average of one person per 6.5 km² (2.5 sq mi). Rainfall is also rare, ranging from 70 to 150 mm (3 to 6 in) per year.^[2]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karakum_Desert

Sand Hollow State Park
IUCN category V (protected landscape/seascape)
Red Mountain in Sand Hollow State Park
Location of Sand Hollow State Park in Utah Show map of UtahShow map of the United StatesShow all
Location	Washington County, Utah, United States
Coordinates	37°6′56″N 113°22′35″WCoordinates: 37°6′56″N 113°22′35″W
Area	20,611 acres (83.41 km²)^[1]
Elevation	3,000 ft (910 m)^[2]
Established	2003^[2]
Visitors	183691 (in 2011)^[3]
Operator	Utah State Parks

Sand Hollow State Park is a state park located in Utah, USA, featuring a 1,322-acre (535 ha) reservoir and an extensive off highway vehicle recreation area on Sand Mountain. The park is near the town of Hurricane.

The park was officially dedicated in April 2003 and surrounds the Sand Hollow Reservoir. Sand Hollow quickly became a popular site for camping, fishing, boating, and ATV riding on nearby sand dunes.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sand_Hollow_State_Park

Sand cat

Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)^[2]
CITES Appendix II (CITES)^[2]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Suborder:	Feliformia
Family:	Felidae
Subfamily:	Felinae
Genus:	Felis
Species:	F. margarita^[1]
Binomial name
*Felis margarita^[1]* Loche, 1858
Subspecies
F. m. margarita Loche, 1858 F. m. thinobia (Ognev, 1927)

Distribution of the sand cat in 2016^[2]
Synonyms^[1]

List

The sand cat (Felis margarita) is a small wild cat that inhabits sandy and stony deserts far from water sources. With its sandy to light grey fur, it is well camouflaged in a desert environment. Its head-and-body length ranges from 39–52 cm (15–20 in) with a 23–31 cm (9.1–12.2 in) long tail. Its 5–7 cm (2.0–2.8 in) short ears are set low on the sides of the head, aiding detection of prey moving underground. The long hair covering the soles of its paws insulates its pads against the extremely hot and cold temperatures in deserts.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sand_cat

Black Mountain is a summit in the Cleveland National Forest of the Peninsular Ranges in eastern San Diego County, California, north of Ramona. The peak is measured at 4,048 feet (1,234 m), and is sometimes referenced as Big Black Mountain to distinguish it from the smaller Rancho Peñasquitos Black Mountain Open Space Park in the city of San Diego. Black Mountain offers a WX channel for people who wish to tune in on radios to hear the weather; channel is located on VHF frequency 162.4000 MHz.

Black Mountain is home to one of the largest remaining tracts of the threatened Engelmann Oak (Quercus engelmannii).^[4]^[5]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Mountain_(San_Diego_County,_California)

View of the beach.

Punaluʻu Beach (also called Black Sand Beach) is a beach between Pāhala and Nāʻālehu on the Big Island of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The beach has black sand made of basalt and created by lava flowing into the ocean which explodes as it reaches the ocean and cools. This volcanic activity is in the Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. Punaluʻu is frequented by endangered hawksbill and green turtles, which can often be seen basking on the black sand.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punalu%CA%BBu_Beach

The Beach

Close-up of black sand

The swimming area is very rocky, and it can be dangerous to swim. The beach also has a large amount of underground fresh water that flows in it. This fresh water is very cold and looks almost like gasoline mixing with the water. Legend has it that in the time of drought, the ancient Hawaiians living in the area would dive underwater with a jug to get their fresh water. In the Hawaiian language puna luʻu means "spring [water] diver for".^[1] The beach is located at coordinates 19.136°N 155.504°WCoordinates: 19.136°N 155.504°W. Access is from the Hawaii Belt Road: take Ninole loop road or the entrance to the Sea Mountain Resort. Camping is permitted at the Punaluʻu Black Sand Beach Park.^[2]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punalu%CA%BBu_Beach


Black Diamond Mines
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
California Historical Landmark No. 932^[2]

Show map of CaliforniaShow map of the United StatesShow all
Nearest city	Antioch, California
Coordinates	37°57′1″N 121°51′25″WCoordinates: 37°57′1″N 121°51′25″W
NRHP reference No.	91001425^[1]
CHISL No.	932^[2]
Added to NRHP	October 02, 1991

Rose Hill Cemetery, Black Diamond Mines

Trail to a mine, Black Diamond Mines

The Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve is a 6,000-acre (2,400 ha) park located north of Mount Diablo in Contra Costa County, California under the administration of the East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD). The district acquired the property in 1973. The preserve contains relics of 3 mining towns, former coal and sand mines, and offers guided tours of a former sand mine. The 60 miles (97 km) of trails in the Preserve cross rolling foothill terrain covered with grassland, California oak woodland, California mixed evergreen forest, and chaparral.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Diamond_Mines_Regional_Preserve

Teton Range
Teton Range, from the Snake River overlook, by Ansel Adams
Highest point
Peak	Grand Teton
Elevation	13,775 ft (4,199 m) NAVD 88^[1]
Coordinates	43°44′28″N 110°48′06″W
Dimensions
Length	40 mi (64 km)
Width	12 mi (19 km)
Geography
Country	United States
State	Wyoming
Range coordinates	43°45′N 110°50′WCoordinates: 43°45′N 110°50′W
Parent range	Rocky Mountains

Aerial view of the Cathedral Group of the Teton Range from the southeast with South Teton, Nez Perce Peak, Middle Teton, Grand Teton, Mount Owen, Teewinot Mountain (from left to right; see the image annotations), Taggart Lake (left), and Bradley Lake (right)

The Teton Range is a mountain range of the Rocky Mountains in North America. It extends for approximately 40 miles (64 km) in a north–south direction through the U.S. state of Wyoming, east of the Idaho state line. It is south of Yellowstone National Park, and most of the east side of the range is within Grand Teton National Park.

One theory says the early French voyageurs named the range les trois tétons ("the three nipples") after the breast-like shapes of its peaks.^[2] Another theory says the range is named for the Teton Sioux (from Thítȟuŋwaŋ), also known as the Lakota people.^[3] It is likely that the local Shoshone people once called the whole range Teewinot, meaning "many pinnacles".^[4]

The principal summits of the central massif, sometimes referred to as the Cathedral Group, are Grand Teton (13,775 feet (4,199 m)), Mount Owen (12,928 feet (3,940 m)), Teewinot (12,325 feet (3,757 m)), Middle Teton (12,804 feet (3,903 m)) and South Teton (12,514 feet (3,814 m)). Other peaks in the range include Mount Moran (12,605 feet (3,842 m)), Mount Wister (11,490 feet (3,500 m)), Buck Mountain (11,938 feet (3,639 m)) and Static Peak (11,303 feet (3,445 m)).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teton_Range

Denali in Alaska is the highest mountain peak in North America. Denali is the third most topographically prominent and third most topographically isolated summit on Earth after Mount Everest and Aconcagua.

The following sortable table comprises the 477 mountain peaks of the United States with at least 3,000 m (9,843 ft) of topographic elevation and at least 500 m (1,640 ft) of topographic prominence.^[1]

The summit of a mountain or hill may be measured in three principal ways:

The topographic elevation of a summit measures the height of the summit above a geodetic sea level.^[2]^[3]
The topographic prominence of a summit is a measure of how high the summit rises above its surroundings.^[4]^[3]
The topographic isolation (or radius of dominance) of a summit measures how far the summit lies from its nearest point of equal elevation.^[5]

In the United States, only Denali exceeds 6000 meters (19,685 feet) elevation. Four major summits exceed 5000 meters (16,404 feet), nine exceed 4500 meters (14,764 feet), 104 exceed 4000 meters (13,123 feet), 246 exceed 3500 meters (11,483 feet), and the following 477 major summits exceed 3000 meters (9843 feet) elevation.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_the_highest_major_summits_of_the_United_States

American black bear Temporal range: 2.6–0 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓ Late Pliocene–Holocene

An American black bear in Manitoba's Riding Mountain National Park
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)^[1]
CITES Appendix II (CITES)^[2]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Family:	Ursidae
Genus:	Ursus
Species:	U. americanus
Binomial name
*Ursus americanus* Pallas, 1780
Subspecies
16, see text

American black bear range^[1] Present-day range Extirpated
Synonyms
Euarctos americanus

The American black bear (Ursus americanus), also known as the black bear or sometimes in European languages baribal,^[3] is a species of medium-sized bear endemic to North America. It is the continent's smallest and most widely distributed bear species. The American black bear is an omnivore, with its diet varying greatly depending on season and location. It typically lives in largely forested areas, but will leave forests in search of food, and is sometimes attracted to human communities due to the immediate availability of food.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists the American black bear as a least-concern species, due to its widespread distribution and a large population estimated to be twice that of all other bear species combined. Along with the brown bear (Ursus arctos), it is one of only two modern bear species not considered by the IUCN to be globally threatened with extinction.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_black_bear

Leonberger

Common nicknames

Leo

Origin

Germany

Traits
Height	Dogs	72–80 cm (28–31 in)
	Bitches	65–75 cm (26–30 in)
Coat	Long and coarse with mane on neck and chest and feathering on extremities
Colour	Yellow, red, reddish brown or sandy including all combinations in between, with a black mask

Kennel club standards
VDH	standard
Fédération Cynologique Internationale	standard

Dog (domestic dog)

The Leonberger is a dog breed, whose name derives from the city of Leonberg in Baden-Württemberg, Germany.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonberger

Iron sand from Phoenix, Arizona, attracted to a magnet

Ironsand, also known as iron-sand or iron sand, is a type of sand with heavy concentrations of iron. It is typically dark grey or blackish in colour.

It is composed mainly of magnetite, Fe₃O₄, and also contains small amounts of titanium, silica, manganese, calcium and vanadium.^[1]

Ironsand has a tendency to heat up in direct sunlight, causing temperatures high enough to cause minor burns. As such it forms a hazard in New Zealand at popular west-coast surf beaches such as Piha.^[2]

^{https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ironsand}

Journey to the West
Earliest known edition of the book from the 16th century
Author	Wu Cheng'en
Original title	西遊記
Country	Ming China
Language	Chinese
Genre	Gods and demons fiction, Chinese mythology, fantasy, adventure
Set in	China, 7th century AD
Publication date	c. 1592 (print)^[1]
Published in English	1942 (abridged) 1977–1983 (complete)
Dewey Decimal	895.1346
Original text	西遊記 at Chinese Wikisource

Journey to the West

Journey to the West in Traditional (top) and Simplified (bottom) Chinese characters

Traditional Chinese

西遊記

Simplified Chinese

西游记

Literal meaning

"West Journey Record"

Transcriptions

Journey to the West (Chinese: 西遊記; pinyin: Xī Yóu Jì; Wade–Giles: Hsi¹ Yu² Chi⁴) is a Chinese novel published in the 16th century during the Ming dynasty and attributed to Wu Cheng'en. It is regarded as one of the greatest Classic Chinese Novels, and has been described as arguably the most popular literary work in East Asia.^[2] Arthur Waley's 1942 abridged translation, Monkey, is known in English-speaking countries.

The novel is an extended account of the legendary pilgrimage of the Tang dynasty Buddhist monk Xuanzang, who traveled to the "Western Regions" (Central Asia and India) to obtain Buddhist sūtras (sacred texts) and returned after many trials and much suffering. The monk is referred to as Tang Sanzang in the novel. The novel retains the broad outline of Xuanzang's own account, Great Tang Records on the Western Regions, but adds elements from folk tales and the author's invention: Gautama Buddha gives this task to the monk and provides him with three protectors who agree to help him as an atonement for their sins. These disciples are Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, and Sha Wujing, together with a dragon prince who acts as Tang Sanzang's steed, a white horse. The group of pilgrims journeys towards enlightenment by the power and virtue of cooperation.

Journey to the West has strong roots in Chinese folk religion, Chinese mythology, Confucianism, Taoist, and Buddhist theology, and the pantheon of Taoist immortals and Buddhist bodhisattvas are still reflective of some Chinese religious attitudes today. Enduringly popular,^[3] the novel is at once a comic adventure story, a humorous satire of Chinese bureaucracy, a source of spiritual insight, and an extended allegory.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journey_to_the_West

Tehachapi Mountains
Tehachapi Mountains Crest peaks
Highest point
Peak	Double Mountain
Elevation	7,981 ft (2,433 m)
Dimensions
Length	40 mi (64 km)
Geography

Country	United States
State	California
Counties	Kern and Los Angeles
Range coordinates	34°57′N 118°35′WCoordinates: 34°57′N 118°35′W
Parent range	Transverse Ranges
Borders on	Sierra Nevada, San Emigdio Mountains and Sierra Pelona Mountains

The Tehachapi Mountains (/təˈhætʃəpi/; Kawaiisu: Tihachipia, meaning "hard climb")^[1]^[2] are a mountain range in the Transverse Ranges system of California in the Western United States. The range extends for approximately 40 miles (64 km) in southern Kern County and northwestern Los Angeles County and form part of the boundary between the San Joaquin Valley and the Mojave Desert.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tehachapi_Mountains

Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes

The Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes are at the northern end of the valley floor and are nearly surrounded by mountains on all sides. Due to their easy access from the road and the overall proximity of Death Valley to Hollywood, these dunes have been used to film sand dune scenes for several movies including films in the Star Wars series. The largest dune is called Star Dune and is relatively stable and stationary because it is at a point where the various winds that shape the dunes converge. The depth of the sand at its crest is 130–140 feet (40–43 metres) but this is small compared to other dunes in the area that have sand depths of up to 600–700 feet (180–210 metres) deep.

The primary source of the dune sands is probably the Cottonwood Mountains which lie to the north and northwest. The tiny grains of quartz and feldspar that form the sinuous sculptures that make up this dune field began as much larger pieces of solid rock.

In between many of the dunes are stands of creosote bush and some mesquite on the sand and on dried mud, which used to cover this part of the valley before the dunes intruded (mesquite was the dominant plant here before the sand dunes but creosote does much better in the sand dune conditions).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Places_of_interest_in_the_Death_Valley_area#Mesquite_Flat_Sand_Dunes

Fletcher's frog

Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)^[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Amphibia
Order:	Anura
Family:	Limnodynastidae
Genus:	Platyplectrum
Species:	P. fletcheri
Binomial name
*Platyplectrum fletcheri* (Boulenger, 1890)

Range of the Fletcher's frog
Synonyms
Lechriodus fletcheri Boulenger, 1890

Fletcher's frog (Platyplectrum fletcheri), commonly known as the sandpaper frog or black-soled frog, is a species of nocturnal, terrestrial frog native to eastern Australia.^[2] It is primarily found in wet sclerophyll forests along mountain ranges and the coast.^[3]

The Fletcher's frog's breeding behavior revolves around ephemeral water bodies created by rainfall. Male frogs compete with one another over territories that contain these pools, while female frogs choose desirable males to mate with. Female frogs produce foam and lay their eggs within the frothy mass. The nest's mucus has protective properties that enhance the survival odds of the progeny.^[4]

Because ephemeral environments are resource-poor, sandpaper frog tadpoles rely primarily on the cannibalism of conspecific eggs to satisfy their nutritional needs. The Fletcher's frog's post-metamorphic life revolves around foraging for food in leaf litter and searching for mates.^[5]

The Fletcher's frog is semelparous species, mating and laying an abundance of eggs after a courtship opportunity that might arise once in a lifetime.^[6]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fletcher%27s_frog

Mount Elbert in the Sawatch Range is the highest peak of the Rocky Mountains and the highest point in the U.S. State of Colorado.

This is a list of major mountain peaks in the U.S. State of Colorado.

This article comprises three sortable tables of major mountain peaks^[a] in Colorado.

The summit of a mountain or hill may be measured in three principal ways:

The topographic elevation of a summit measures the height of the summit above a geodetic sea level.^[b]^[c] The first table below ranks the 55 highest major summits of Colorado by elevation.
The topographic prominence of a summit is a measure of how high the summit rises above its surroundings.^[d]^[c] The second table below ranks the 50 most prominent summits of Colorado.
The topographic isolation (or radius of dominance) of a summit measures how far the summit lies from its nearest point of equal elevation.^[e] The third table below ranks the 50 most isolated major summits of Colorado.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mountain_peaks_of_Colorado

A map from 1964-65 showing the Namibian "homelands" or Bantustans^[1] when Namibia was under the rule of apartheid South Africa. The Skeleton Coast is the coastal region bordering the Atlantic Ocean to the west and Kaokoveld and Damaraland to the east.

One of many rusting ship hulls along the Skeleton Coast (Dunedin Star)

Shipwreck of Eduard Bohlen

The Skeleton Coast is the northern part of the Atlantic coast of Namibia and south of Angola from the Kunene River south to the Swakop River, although the name is sometimes used to describe the entire Namib Desert coast. The indigenous San people (formerly known as Bushmen), of the Namibian interior called the region "The Land God Made in Anger", while Portuguese sailors once referred to it as "The Gates of Hell".

On the coast, the upwelling of the cold Benguela current gives rise to dense ocean fogs (called cassimbo by the Angolans) for much of the year. The winds blow from land to sea, rainfall rarely exceeds 10 millimetres (0.39 in) annually, and the climate is highly inhospitable. There is a constant, heavy surf on the beaches. In the days before engine-powered ships and boats, it was possible to get ashore through the surf but impossible to launch from the shore. The only way out was by going through a marsh hundreds of kilometres long and only accessible via a hot and arid desert.

The coast is largely soft sand occasionally interrupted by rocky outcrops. The southern section consists of gravel plains, while north of Terrace Bay the landscape is dominated by high sand dunes. Skeleton Bay is now known as a great location for surfing. The Saltyjackal, a surf camp located in Swakopmund, Namibia, is currently the only group that runs guided surf trips along the Skeleton Coast.^[2]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skeleton_Coast

List of mountain ranges of Oregon

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Map all coordinates using: OpenStreetMap
Download coordinates as: KML

The Calapooya Mountains in Lane County

Mount Thielsen in the Cascade Range in southern Oregon

The Pueblo Mountains south of Fields

Trout Creek Mountains, Southeastern Oregon

The Wallowa Mountains in northeastern Oregon

There are at least 50 named mountain ranges in the U.S. state of Oregon. Many of these ranges extend into the neighboring states of California, Idaho, Nevada, and Washington. Elevations and coordinates are from the U.S. Geological Survey, Geographic Names Information System, unless otherwise indicated.

range	county	elevation		coordinate	GNIS citation
range	county	ft	m	coordinate	GNIS citation
Aldrich Mountains	Grant County, Oregon	6,214	1,894	44°18′55″N 119°18′29″W	^[1]
Bilk Creek Mountains	Harney County, Oregon	5,535	1,687	41°40′28″N 118°19′25″W	^[2]
Black Hills	Lake County, Oregon	5,111	1,558	43°10′10″N 120°40′48″W	^[3]
Blue Mountains	Union County, Oregon	9,108	2,776	45°30′00″N 118°00′05″W	^[4]
Buck Mountain	Crook County, Oregon	5,213	1,589	43°42′52″N 119°48′44″W	^[5]
Calapooya Mountains	Douglas County, Oregon	3,996	1,218	43°29′59″N 122°30′04″W	^[6]
Canby Mountains	Klamath County, Oregon	4,938	1,505	42°31′29″N 121°49′29″W	^[7]
Cardwell Hills	Benton County, Oregon	1,952	595	44°38′34″N 123°22′24″W	^[8]
Cascade Range or The Cascades or Oregon Cascades	Marion County, Oregon	14,409	4,392	46°51′10″N 121°45′37″W	^[9]
Chehalem Mountains	Yamhill County, Oregon	1,325	404	45°22′34″N 123°02′14″W	^[10]
Coast Ranges
Coburg Hills	Lane County, Oregon	1,299	396	44°10′23″N 122°55′29″W	^[11]
Coleman Hills	Lake County, Oregon	5,102	1,555	42°47′50″N 120°04′54″W	^[12]
Connley Hills	Lake County, Oregon	5,269	1,606	43°15′29″N 121°00′34″W	^[13]
Cottonwood Mountain	Malheur County, Oregon	6,476	1,974	44°10′07″N 117°39′44″W	^[14]
Coyote Hills	Baker County, Oregon	3,671	1,119	44°55′15″N 117°54′04″W	^[15]
Crooked Creek Range	Malheur County, Oregon	4,206	1,282	42°34′00″N 118°02′38″W	^[16]
Crowcamp Hills	Harney County, Oregon	5,617	1,712	43°31′30″N 118°30′09″W	^[17]
Elkhorn Mountains	Baker County, Oregon	9,108	2,776	44°52′20″N 118°11′34″W	^[18]
Eola Hills	Yamhill County, Oregon	833	254	45°04′31″N 123°07′25″W	^[19]
Farley Hills	Baker County, Oregon	4,022	1,226	44°57′55″N 117°48′14″W	^[20]
Gage Range	Wheeler County, Oregon	2,723	830	44°34′52″N 120°16′23″W	^[21]
Grampian Hills	Klamath County, Oregon	6,037	1,840	42°16′45″N 122°05′04″W	^[22]
Grassy Range	Jackson County, Oregon	5,157	1,572	42°53′19″N 122°41′04″W	^[23]
Greenhorn Mountains	Grant County, Oregon	8,100	2,500	44°42′50″N 118°33′39″W	^[24]
Hagerhorst Mountains	Klamath County, Oregon	6,781	2,067	42°28′30″N 120°55′04″W	^[25]
Horse Range	Josephine County, Oregon	2,001	610	42°39′36″N 123°41′34″W	^[26]
Hot Spring Hills	Malheur County, Oregon	4,744	1,446	42°04′50″N 117°45′07″W	^[27]
Klamath Mountains	Siskiyou County, California	4,416	1,346	42°00′00″N 123°20′04″W	^[28]
Maury Mountains	Crook County, Oregon	6,050	1,840	44°01′58″N 120°25′06″W	^[29]
Mosquito Mountain	Washoe County, Nevada	6,421	1,957	41°54′03″N 119°48′24″W	^[30]
Mutton Mountains	Wasco County, Oregon	4,091	1,247	44°56′51″N 121°10′36″W	^[31]
Ochoco Mountains	Crook County, Oregon	5,489	1,673	44°26′35″N 120°23′37″W	^[32]
Oregon Canyon Mountains	Malheur County, Oregon	6,437	1,962	42°10′00″N 117°57′34″W	^[33]
Owyhee Mountains	Owyhee County, Idaho	8,386	2,556	42°58′51″N 116°39′31″W	^[34]
Paulina Mountains	Deschutes County, Oregon	7,969	2,429	43°41′21″N 121°15′17″W	^[35]
Pueblo Mountains	Harney County, Oregon	6,716	2,047	42°06′15″N 118°43′28″W	^[36]
Red Hills of Dundee	Yamhill County, Oregon	820	250	45°17′08″N 123°03′07″W	^[37]
Rogue River Range	Jackson County, Oregon	2,405	733	42°45′52″N 122°40′04″W	^[38]
Sage Hen Hills	Humboldt County, Nevada	6,073	1,851	41°57′14″N 119°16′02″W	^[39]
Salem Hills	Marion County, Oregon	823	251	44°50′35″N 123°04′06″W	^[40]
Sand Hills	Harney County, Oregon	4,183	1,275	42°01′30″N 118°35′14″W	^[41]
Sheepshead Mountains	Malheur County, Oregon	5,590	1,700	42°53′37″N 118°08′42″W	^[42]
Siskiyou Mountains	Jackson County, Oregon	7,536	2,297^[43]	41°49′59″N 123°40′04″W	^[44]
Strawberry Range	Grant County, Oregon	9,042	2,756^[45]	44°18′30″N 118°35′04″W	^[46]
Trout Creek Mountains (southern boundary of Alvord Basin)	Harney County, Oregon	7,060	2,150	42°06′00″N 118°17′34″W	^[47]
Virtue Hills	Baker County, Oregon	4,692	1,430	44°44′40″N 117°42′49″W	^[48]
Wallowa Mountains	Wallowa County, Oregon	9,838	2,999	45°12′00″N 117°19′04″W	^[49]
Whiskey Hills	Lake County, Oregon	5,515	1,681	42°58′50″N 120°30′09″W	^[50]
White Horse Mountains	Harney County, Oregon	4,616	1,407	42°13′00″N 118°30′05″W	^[51]

Notes

"Aldrich Mountains". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.

"Bilk Creek Mountains". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.

"Black Hills". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.

"Blue Mountains". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.

"Buck Mountain". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.

"Calapooya Mountains". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.

"Canby Mountains". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.

"Cardwell Hills". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.

"Cascade Range". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.

"Chehalem Mountains". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.

"Coburg Hills". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.

"Coleman Hills". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.

"Connley Hills". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.

"Cottonwood Mountain". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.

"Coyote Hills". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.

"Crooked Creek Range". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.

"Crowcamp Hills". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.

"Elkhorn Mountains". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.

"Eola Hills". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.

"Farley Hills". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.

"Gage Range". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.

"Grampian Hills". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.

"Grassy Range". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.

"Greenhorn Mountains". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.

"Hagerhorst Mountains". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.

"Horse Range". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.

"Hot Spring Hills". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.

"Klamath Mountains". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.

"Maury Mountains". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.

"Mosquito Mountain". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.

"Mutton Mountains". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.

"Ochoco Mountains". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.

"Oregon Canyon Mountains". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.

"Owyhee Mountains". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.

"Paulina Mountains". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.

"Pueblo Mountains". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.

"Red Hills of Dundee". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.

"Rogue River Range". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.

"Sage Hen Hills". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.

"Salem Hills". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.

"Sand Hills". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.

"Sheepshead Mountains". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.

"Mt Ashland". NGS Data Sheet. National Geodetic Survey, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, United States Department of Commerce. Retrieved January 12, 2014.

"Siskiyou Mountains". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.

"Strawberry". NGS Data Sheet. National Geodetic Survey, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, United States Department of Commerce. Retrieved January 12, 2014.

"Strawberry Range". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.

"Trout Creek Mountains". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.

"Virtue Hills". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.

"Wallowa Mountains". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.

"Whiskey Hills". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.

"White Horse Mountains". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.

Categories:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mountain_ranges_of_Oregon

Guadalupe Mountains National Park
IUCN category II (national park)
Guadalupe Peak, the highest point in Texas, as seen from Hunter Peak
Location in the United States Show map of TexasShow map of the United StatesShow all
Location	Culberson County and Hudspeth County, Texas, United States
Nearest city	Dell City, Texas
Coordinates	31°55′N 104°52′WCoordinates: 31°55′N 104°52′W
Area	86,367 acres (349.51 km²)^[1]
Established	September 30, 1972
Visitors	172,347 (in 2018)^[2]
Governing body	National Park Service
Website	Guadalupe Mountains National Park

Guadalupe Mountains National Park is an American national park in the Guadalupe Mountains, east of El Paso, Texas. The mountain range includes Guadalupe Peak, the highest point in Texas at 8,751 feet (2,667 m), and El Capitan used as a landmark by travelers on the route later followed by the Butterfield Overland Mail stagecoach line. The ruins of a stagecoach station stand near the Pine Springs visitor center. The restored Frijole Ranch contains a small museum of local history and is the trailhead for Smith Spring. The park covers 86,367 acres (134.9 sq mi; 349.5 km²)^[1] in the same mountain range as Carlsbad Caverns National Park, about 25 miles (40 km) to the north in New Mexico. The Guadalupe Peak Trail winds through pinyon pine and Douglas-fir forests as it ascends over 3,000 feet (910 m) to the summit of Guadalupe Peak, with views of El Capitan and the Chihuahuan Desert.

The McKittrick Canyon trail leads to a stone cabin built in the early 1930s as the vacation home of Wallace Pratt, a petroleum geologist who donated the land. Dog Canyon, on the northern park boundary at the Texas-New Mexico State line, is accessed via Carlsbad, New Mexico or Dell City, Texas. Camping is available at the Pine Springs campground and at Dog Canyon. A public corral for livestock is available by reservation. The park observes Mountain Time.

The Gypsum sand dunes lie on the west side of the park near Dell City.^[3] A rough four-wheel drive road leads to the Williams Ranch.^[4]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guadalupe_Mountains_National_Park

Ural
The river Ural from an airplane between Uralsk and Atyrau, Kazakhstan

Location
Countries	Kazakhstan, Russia
Cities	Magnitogorsk, Orsk, Novotroitsk, Orenburg, Oral, Atyrau
Physical characteristics
Source
• location	Ural Mountains
Mouth	Caspian Sea
• coordinates	46°53′N 51°37′ECoordinates: 46°53′N 51°37′E
Length	2,428 km (1,509 mi)
Basin size	231,000 km² (89,000 sq mi)
Discharge
• average	400 m³/s (14,000 cu ft/s)

Ramsar Wetland
Official name	Ural River Delta and adjacent Caspian Sea coast
Designated	10 March 2009
Reference no.	1856^[1]

The Ural (Russian: Урал, pronounced [ʊˈraɫ]), known before 1775 as Yaik (Russian: Яик, Bashkir: Яйыҡ, romanized: Yayıq, pronounced [jɑˈjɯq]; Kazakh: Жайық, romanized: Jaiyq, pronounced [ʑɑˈjəq]), is a river flowing through Russia and Kazakhstan in the continental border between Europe and Asia. It originates in the southern Ural Mountains and discharges into the Caspian Sea. At 2,428 kilometres (1,509 mi), it is the third-longest river in Europe after the Volga and the Danube, and the 18th-longest river in Asia. The Ural is conventionally considered part of the boundary between the continents of Europe and Asia.

The Ural rises near Mount Kruglaya in the Ural Mountains, flows south parallel and west of the north-flowing Tobol, through Magnitogorsk, and around the southern end of the Urals, through Orsk where it turns west for about 300 kilometres (190 mi), to Orenburg, where the river Sakmara joins. From Orenburg it continues west, passing into Kazakhstan, then turning south again at Oral, and meandering through a broad flat plain until it reaches the Caspian a few miles below Atyrau, where it forms a fine 'digitate' (tree-like) delta.^[2]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ural_(river)

Mount Bromo
View of Mts. Bromo, Semeru, Batok, and Widodaren, Tengger Caldera
Highest point
Elevation	2,329 m (7,641 ft)^[1]
Listing	Spesial Ribu
Coordinates	7°56′30″S 112°57′00″ECoordinates: 7°56′30″S 112°57′00″E^[1]
Geography
Mount Bromo Java, Indonesia Show map of JavaShow map of IndonesiaShow all
Geology
Mountain type	Somma volcano
Last eruption	21 March 2019 (ongoing)^[2]

Mount Bromo HD Timelapse

The Bromo (Javanese: ꦧꦿꦩ), or Mount Bromo (Javanese: ꦒꦸꦤꦸꦁꦧꦿꦩ Pegon: ڮنڠ برومو‎, romanized: Gunung Bromo) is an active somma volcano and part of the Tengger mountains, in East Java, Indonesia. At 2,329 meters (7,641 ft) it is not the highest peak of the massif, but the most famous. The area is one of the most visited tourist destinations in East Java, and the volcano is included in the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park. The name Bromo comes from the Javanese pronunciation of Brahma, the Hindu god of creation. At the mouth of the crater, there is an idol of Ganesha, the Hindu god of wisdom which is being worshipped by the Javanese Hindus.^[3] Mount Bromo is located in the middle of a plain called "Sea of Sand" (Javanese: Segara Wedi or Indonesian: Lautan Pasir), a nature reserve that has been protected since 1919.

A typical way to visit Mount Bromo is from the nearby mountain village of Cemoro Lawang. From there it is possible to walk to the volcano in about 45 minutes, but it is also possible to take an organized jeep tour, including stops at the viewpoint of Mount Penanjakan (2,770 m (9,090 ft)) (Indonesian: Gunung Penanjakan). The sights on Mount Penanjakan can also be reached on foot in about two hours. Depending on the level of volcanic activity, the Indonesian Center for Volcanology and Disaster Mitigation sometimes issues a warning not to visit Mount Bromo.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Bromo

Horse Ranch Mountain
Horse Ranch Mountain, as seen from the Taylor Creek area, August 2004
Highest point
Elevation	8,733 ft (2,662 m)^[1]
Prominence	966 feet (294 m)
Coordinates	37°28′40″N 113°9′30″W^[2]
Geography
Location	Zion National Park in Washington County, Utah, United States
Parent range	Colorado Plateau
Topo map	USGS Kolob Arch

Horse Ranch Mountain is an 8,733-foot (2,662 m) mountain in the Kolob Canyons section of Zion National Park in northeastern Washington County, Utah, United States,^[1] that is the highest summit within the national park.^[3] It rises above Camp Creek to the north and Taylor Creek to the south. Its neighbors include Tucupit Point, 1 mi (1.6 km) to the south, and Timber Top Mountain is situated 3.9 mi (6.3 km) to the south-southwest.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horse_Ranch_Mountain

Rock of Gibraltar
Western face of the Rock of Gibraltar, in April 2006
Highest point
Elevation	426 m (1,398 ft)
Prominence	423 m (1,388 ft)^[1]
Coordinates	36°07′28.1″N 05°20′35.2″WCoordinates: 36°07′28.1″N 05°20′35.2″W^[2]
Geography
Location of the Rock of Gibraltar's summit
Location	Gibraltar
Parent range	Betic Cordillera
Geology
Age of rock	Jurassic
Climbing
Easiest route	Gibraltar Cable Car, Road, Hike

The Rock of Gibraltar (from the Arabic name Jabel-al-Tariq) is a monolithic limestone promontory located in the British territory of Gibraltar, near the southwestern tip of Europe on the Iberian Peninsula, and near the entrance to the Mediterranean.^[3] It is 426 m (1,398 ft) high. Most of the Rock's upper area is covered by a nature reserve, which is home to around 300 Barbary macaques. These macaques, as well as a labyrinthine network of tunnels, attract many tourists each year.

The Rock of Gibraltar, one of the two traditional Pillars of Hercules, was known to the Romans as Mons Calpe, the other pillar being Mons Abila, either Monte Hacho or Jebel Musa on the African side of the Strait. According to ancient myths fostered by the Greeks and the Phoenicians,^[3] and later perpetuated by the Romans,^[4] the two points marked the limit to the known world, although the Phoenicians had actually sailed beyond this point into the Atlantic, both northward and southward.^[4]

The Mediterranean Sea surrounds Gibraltar.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_of_Gibraltar

Goitered gazelle

Male of the Persian subspecies (G. s. subgutturosa) at Korkeasaari Zoo in Helsinki

Female goitered gazelle at the Shirvan National Park, Azerbaijan
Conservation status
Vulnerable (IUCN 3.1)^[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Artiodactyla
Family:	Bovidae
Subfamily:	Antilopinae
Tribe:	Antilopini
Genus:	Gazella
Species:	G. subgutturosa
Binomial name
*Gazella subgutturosa* (Güldenstädt, 1780)
Subspecies
Gazella subgutturosa subgutturosa Gazella subgutturosa hilleriana Gazella subgutturosa yarkandensis

The goitered gazelle (Gazella subgutturosa) or black-tailed gazelle is a gazelle native to Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Iran, parts of Iraq and Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and in northwestern China and Mongolia.^[1] The specific name, meaning "full below the throat", refers to the male having an enlargement of the neck and throat during the mating season.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goitered_gazelle

Arabian Desert ٱلصَّحْرَاء ٱلْعَرَبِيَّة
Desert near Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
Map of the Arabian Desert ecoregion
Ecology
Realm	Palearctic
Biome	deserts and xeric shrublands
Borders

Geography
List
Area	1,855,470^[1] km² (716,400 sq mi)
Countries

Conservation
List
Conservation status	critical/endangered^[2]
Protected	4.368%^[1]

The Arabian Desert (Arabic: ٱلصَّحْرَاء ٱلْعَرَبِيَّة) is a vast desert wilderness in Western Asia that occupies almost the entire Arabian Peninsula.^[3] It stretches from Yemen to the Persian Gulf and Oman to Jordan and Iraq. It occupies most of the Arabian Peninsula, with an area of 2,330,000 square kilometers (900,000 sq mi). It is the fifth largest desert in the world, and the largest in Asia. At its center is Ar-Rub' al-Khali (The Empty Quarter), one of the largest continuous bodies of sand in the world. It is an extension of the Sahara Desert.^[4]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabian_Desert

Kings Mountain, North Carolina
City
The downtown of Kings Mountain along Battleground Avenue
Motto: The Historical City
Location of Kings Mountain, North Carolina
Coordinates: 35°14′39″N 81°20′33″WCoordinates: 35°14′39″N 81°20′33″W
Country	United States
State	North Carolina
County	Cleveland, Gaston
Government
• Type	Mayor-Council
• Mayor	Scott Neisler
• City Manager	Marilyn Sellers
Area ^[1]
• Total	13.97 sq mi (36.19 km²)
• Land	13.76 sq mi (35.65 km²)
• Water	0.21 sq mi (0.54 km²)
Elevation	1,007 ft (307 m)
Population (2020)
• Total	11,142
• Density	809.50/sq mi (312.55/km²)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
ZIP Code	28086
Area code	704
FIPS code	37-35880^[2]
GNIS feature ID	0988003^[3]
Website	www.cityofkm.com

Kings Mountain is a small suburban city within the Charlotte metropolitan area in Cleveland and Gaston counties, North Carolina, United States. Most of the city is in Cleveland County, with a small eastern portion in Gaston County. The population was 10,296 at the 2010 census.^[4]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kings_Mountain,_North_Carolina

Abu Simbel temples
History
The Great Temple of Ramesses II (left) and the Small Temple of Hathor and Nefertari (right).
Shown within Egypt Show map of EgyptShow map of Northeast AfricaShow all
Location	Aswan Governorate, Egypt
Region	Nubia
Coordinates	22°20′13″N 31°37′32″ECoordinates: 22°20′13″N 31°37′32″E
Type	Temple
Builder	Ramesses II
Founded	Approximately 1264 BC
Periods	New Kingdom of Egypt

UNESCO World Heritage Site
Official name	Nubian Monuments from Abu Simbel to Philae
Type	Cultural
Criteria	i, iii, vi
Designated	1979 (3rd session)
Reference no.	88
Region	Arab States

Abu Simbel is a historic site comprising two massive rock-cut temples in the village of Abu Simbel (Arabic: أبو سمبل), Aswan Governorate, Upper Egypt, near the border with Sudan. It is situated on the western bank of Lake Nasser, about 230 km (140 mi) southwest of Aswan (about 300 km (190 mi) by road). The twin temples were originally carved out of the mountainside in the 13th century BC, during the 19th Dynasty reign of the Pharaoh Ramesses II. Their huge external rock relief figures of Ramesses II have become iconic. His wife, Nefertari, and children can be seen in smaller figures by his feet. Sculptures inside the Great Temple commemorate Ramesses II's heroic leadership at the Battle of Kadesh.

The complex was relocated in its entirety in 1968 to higher ground to avoid it being submerged by Lake Nasser, the Aswan Dam reservoir. As part of International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia, an artificial hill was made from a domed structure to house the Abu Simbel Temples, under the supervision of a Polish archaeologist, Kazimierz Michałowski, from the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology University of Warsaw.^[1]^[2]

The Abu Simbel complex, and other relocated temples from Nubian sites such as Philae, Amada, Wadi es-Sebua, are part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site known as the "Nubian Monuments".^[2]

^{https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Simbel}

The Killpecker Sand Dunes of the Red Desert support a wide range of wildlife and vegetation, ranging from elk who use the adjoining sagebrush steppe for shelter to aquatic organisms that thrive in snowmelt ponds. Photo by the Bureau of Land Management.

The Red Desert is a high-altitude desert and sagebrush steppe located in the south-central portion of the U.S. state of Wyoming, comprising approximately 9,320 square miles (24,100 square kilometers). Among the natural features in the Red Desert region are the Great Divide Basin, a unique endorheic drainage basin formed by a division in the Continental Divide, and the Killpecker Sand Dunes, the largest living dune system in the United States. In the 19th century, the Oregon, California, and Mormon Trails crossed the Continental Divide at South Pass, just north of the Red Desert. Today, busy Interstate 80 bisects the desert's southern region while gas field roads cross the desert.

The majority of the Red Desert is public land managed by the Rock Springs and Rawlins field offices of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The region is rich in oil, natural gas, uranium, and coal. An estimated 84% of the Red Desert has been "industrialized" by oil and gas drilling or by mining operations and associated roads.^[1]

The Red Desert supports an abundance of wildlife, despite its scarcity of water and vegetation. The largest migratory herd of pronghorn in the lower 48 states and a rare desert elk herd, said to be the world's largest, live in the desert.^[2] Ponds fed by summer snowmelt attract a wide range of migratory birds such as ducks, trumpeter swans,^{[citation needed]} and white pelicans.^{[citation needed]} Herds of wild, free-roaming horses protected under the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971 roam the area, despite roundups and population control efforts by the BLM. Bison were once common as well and their skulls and horns can occasionally be found there.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Desert_(Wyoming)

1941 edition (publ. Random House)

The Black Stallion, known as the Black or Shêtân, is the title character from author Walter Farley's bestselling series about the Arab stallion and his young owner, Alec Ramsay. The series chronicles the story of a Sheikh's prized stallion after he comes into Alec's possession through a ship journey gone awry. Later books in the series furnish the Black's backstory. Shaytan (under various transliterations) is the Arabic word for "devil".

The first book in the series, published in 1941, is titled The Black Stallion. The subsequent novels are about the Black himself and the stallion's three main offspring: his firstborn colt, Satan; his second colt, Bonfire; and his firstborn filly, Black Minx. Along with the Black, the series introduces a second stallion that is considered the Black's only equal - The Island Stallion, Flame. This is a separate storyline until Flame and the Black meet in two books - The Black Stallion and Flame, and The Black Stallion Challenged. However, news of Flame's win in an international race in Cuba, and his mysterious disappearance, are mentioned at the end of The Black Stallion Mystery, which serves as the first introduction of this rival for the later books in which they meet.

The first two books, as well as the final book of the series, were adapted for the films The Black Stallion (1979), The Black Stallion Returns (1983), and The Young Black Stallion (2003).

The Black Stallion was described as "the most famous fictional horse of the century" by The New York Times.^[1]

^{https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Black_Stallion}

A farmer and his two sons during a dust storm in Cimarron County, Oklahoma, April 1936. Iconic photo entitled "Dust Bowl Cimarron County, Oklahoma" taken by Arthur Rothstein.

Map of states and counties affected by the Dust Bowl between 1935 and 1938 originally prepared by the Soil Conservation Service. The most severely affected counties during this period are colored .

The Dust Bowl was a period of severe dust storms that greatly damaged the ecology and agriculture of the American and Canadian prairies during the 1930s. The phenomenon was caused by a combination of both natural factors (severe drought) and manmade factors (a failure to apply dryland farming methods to prevent wind erosion, most notably the destruction of the natural topsoil by settlers in the region).^[1]^[2] The drought came in three waves: 1934, 1936, and 1939–1940, but some regions of the High Plains experienced drought conditions for as many as eight years.^[3]

The Dust Bowl has been the subject of many cultural works, notably the novel The Grapes of Wrath (1939) by John Steinbeck, the folk music of Woody Guthrie, and photographs depicting the conditions of migrants by Dorothea Lange, particularly the Migrant Mother, taken in 1936.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dust_Bowl

Florida black bear

A Florida black bear in the Ocala National Forest
Conservation status
Apparently Secure (NatureServe)^[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Family:	Ursidae
Genus:	Ursus
Species:	U. americanus
Subspecies:	U. a. floridanus
Trinomial name
*Ursus americanus floridanus* Merriam, 1896

Florida black bear range^[2]

The Florida black bear (Ursus americanus floridanus) is a subspecies of the American black bear that has historically ranged throughout most of Florida and the southern portions of Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi. The large black-furred bears live mainly in forested areas and have seen recent habitat reduction throughout the state due to increased human development, as well as habitat modifications within bear habitat.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_black_bear

The sandhill crane (Antigone canadensis) is a species of large crane of North America and extreme northeastern Siberia. The common name of this bird refers to habitat like that at the Platte River, on the edge of Nebraska's Sandhills on the American Great Plains. Sandhill Cranes are known to hangout at the edges of bodies of water especially in the Central Florida region. The central Platte River valley in Nebraska is the most important stopover area for the nominotypical subspecies, the lesser sandhill crane (A. c. canadensis), with up to 450,000 of these birds migrating through annually.^[3]^[4]

^{https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandhill_crane}

Barn swallow

H. r. rustica at Bygholm Vejle, Denmark
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)^[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Hirundinidae
Genus:	Hirundo
Species:	H. rustica
Binomial name
*Hirundo rustica* Linnaeus, 1758
Subspecies
6, see text

Range of H. rustica Breeding Resident Passage Non-breeding
Synonyms
Hirundo erythrogaster (Boddaert, 1783)

The barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) is the most widespread species of swallow in the world. It appears to have the largest natural distribution of any of the world's passerines, ranging over 251 million square kilometres globally. It is a distinctive passerine bird with blue upperparts and a long, deeply forked tail. It is found in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas. In Anglophone Europe it is just called the swallow; in northern Europe it is the only common species called a "swallow" rather than a "martin".

There are six subspecies of barn swallow, which breed across the Northern Hemisphere. Four are strongly migratory, and their wintering grounds cover much of the Southern Hemisphere as far south as central Argentina, the Cape Province of South Africa, and northern Australia. Its huge range means that the barn swallow is not endangered, although there may be local population declines due to specific threats.

The barn swallow is a bird of open country that normally uses man-made structures to breed and consequently has spread with human expansion. It builds a cup nest from mud pellets in barns or similar structures and feeds on insects caught in flight. This species lives in close association with humans, and its insect-eating habits mean that it is tolerated by humans; this acceptance was reinforced in the past by superstitions regarding the bird and its nest. There are frequent cultural references to the barn swallow in literary and religious works due to both its living in close proximity to humans and its annual migration. The barn swallow is the national bird of Austria and Estonia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barn_swallow

Gary
City
From top, left to right: City Hall (left) and Superior Courthouse (right), City Methodist Church, Knights of Columbus Building, Genesis Convention Center, 2300 Jackson Street in Midtown, and Gary Public Library & Cultural Center
Seal Logo
Nicknames: "City in Motion", "City of the Century", "Magic City", "Steel City", "City on the Move"
Motto: We Are Doing Great Things
Location of Gary in Lake County, Indiana
Coordinates: 41°35′44″N 87°20′43″WCoordinates: 41°35′44″N 87°20′43″W^[1]
Country	United States
State	Indiana
County	Lake
Townships	Calumet, Hobart
Incorporated	July 14, 1906
Named for	Elbert Henry Gary
Government ^[2]
• Type	Strong mayor–council
• Body	City council
• Mayor	Jerome A. Prince (D)
• City Clerk	Suzette Raggs (D)
• City Judge	Deidre L. Monroe (D)
Area ^[3]
• Total	50.60 sq mi (131.05 km²)
• Land	49.87 sq mi (129.15 km²)
• Water	0.73 sq mi (1.89 km²)
Elevation ^[1]	607 ft (185 m)
Population (2020)
• Total	69,093
• Density	1,385.55/sq mi (534.97/km²)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (Central)
ZIP Codes	46401–46411
Area code	219
FIPS code	18-27000
GNIS feature ID	2394863^[1]
Website	Official website

Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city has been historically dominated by major industrial activity and is home to U.S. Steel's Gary Works, the largest steel mill complex in North America. Gary is located along the southern shore of Lake Michigan about 25 miles (40 km) east of downtown Chicago, Illinois. The city is adjacent to the Indiana Dunes National Park, and is within the Chicago metropolitan area.^[4]^[5]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary,_Indiana

Boyne Mountain Resort

Boyne Mountain Resort Location within Michigan Show map of MichiganShow map of the United StatesShow all
Location	Boyne Valley Township, Charlevoix County
Nearest major city	Boyne Falls, Michigan
Coordinates	45°09′50″N 84°55′58″WCoordinates: 45°09′50″N 84°55′58″W
Status	Operating
Owner	Boyne Resorts
Vertical	500 ft (150 m)
Top elevation	1,120 ft (340 m)
Base elevation	620 ft (190 m)
Skiable area	450 acres (1.8 km²)
Runs	60
Lift capacity	22,650
Terrain parks	Yes, 4
Snowmaking	Yes, 90%
Night skiing	Yes
Website	Boyne.com

Boyne Mountain Resort is a ski resort with a collection of accommodations in Northern Michigan located near Boyne City operated by Boyne Resorts. The center piece is an upscale resort called The Mountain Grand Lodge and Spa.^[1]

Boyne Mountain has continued use of the first chairlift built, constructed by the Union Pacific Railroad in 1936 for use at its new resort in Sun Valley, Idaho. It is also the location of Avalanche Bay, the largest indoor water park in Michigan.^[2] Boyne Mountain is the sister resort of Boyne Highlands.^[3]

^{https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boyne_Mountain_Resort}

The Schwarzwaldhochstraße on the Mummelsee. The Vosges visible on the horizon over the fog-filled Rhine valley.

The Mummelsee

The ski slope Seibelseckle between Mummelsee and Ruhestein.

The Schwarzwaldhochstraße or Black Forest High Road is the oldest and one of the best known themed drives in Germany. It is a part of the B 500 federal highway and leads over 60 km from Baden-Baden to Freudenstadt.^[1]

^{https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schwarzwaldhochstra%C3%9Fe}

Mount Rushmore National Memorial
Mount Rushmore with Gutzon Borglum's sculpted heads of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln (left to right)
Show map of South DakotaShow map of the United StatesShow all
Location	Pennington County, South Dakota
Nearest city	Keystone, South Dakota
Coordinates	43°52′44″N 103°27′35″WCoordinates: 43°52′44″N 103°27′35″W
Area	1,278 acres (5.17 km²)
Authorized	March 3, 1925
Visitors	2,074,986 (in 2020)^[1]
Governing body	National Park Service
Website	www.nps.gov/moru

Mount Rushmore National Memorial
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
Built	1927–1941
Architect	Gutzon and Lincoln Borglum
NRHP reference No.	66000718
Added to NRHP	October 15, 1966

The Mount Rushmore National Memorial is a national memorial centered on a colossal sculpture carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore (Lakota: Tȟuŋkášila Šákpe, or Six Grandfathers) in the Black Hills near Keystone, South Dakota, United States. Sculptor Gutzon Borglum designed the sculpture, called Shrine of Democracy,^[2] and oversaw the project's execution from 1927 to 1941 with the help of his son, Lincoln Borglum.^[3]^[4] The sculpture features the 60-foot-tall (18 m) heads of four United States presidents: George Washington (1732–1799), Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) and Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865).^[5] Mount Rushmore attracts more than two million visitors annually.^[1] The four presidents were chosen to represent the nation's birth, growth, development and preservation, respectively.^[6] The memorial park covers 1,278 acres (2.00 sq mi; 5.17 km²)^[7] and the mountain's elevation is 5,725 feet (1,745 m) above sea level.^[8]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Rushmore

Brecon Beacons
Welsh: Bannau Brycheiniog
IUCN category V (protected landscape/seascape)
Part of the Brecon Beacons, looking from the highest point Pen y Fan, 886 m (2907 ft), to Cribyn, 795 m (2608 ft)
Location	Powys, Wales (Brecon Beacons National Park)

The Brecon Beacons (Welsh: Bannau Brycheiniog, [ˈbanai̯ brəˈχəi̯njɔɡ] (listen)) is a mountain range in South Wales.^[1] In a narrow sense, the name refers to the range of Old Red Sandstone peaks which lie to the south of Brecon. Sometimes referred to as 'the central Beacons' they include South Wales' highest mountain, Pen y Fan.^[2] The range forms the central section of the Brecon Beacons National Park (Parc Cenedlaethol Bannau Brycheiniog), a designation which also encompasses ranges both to the east and the west of 'the central Beacons'. This much wider area is also commonly referred to as 'the Brecon Beacons', and it includes the Black Mountains to the east as well as the similarly named but quite distinct Black Mountain to the west. The highest peaks include Fan Brycheiniog to the west and Pen y Fan in the central part. They share the same basic geology as the central range, and so exhibit many similar features, such as the north-facing escarpment and glacial features such as lakes and cwms (cirques).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brecon_Beacons

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Two cirques with semi-permanent snowpatches near Abisko National Park, Sweden

Upper Thornton Lake Cirque in North Cascades National Park, U.S.

A cirque (French: [siʁk]; from the Latin word circus) is an amphitheatre-like valley formed by glacial erosion. Alternative names for this landform are corrie (from Scottish Gaelic: coire, meaning a pot or cauldron)^[1] and cwm (Welsh for 'valley'; pronounced [kʊm]). A cirque may also be a similarly shaped landform arising from fluvial erosion.

The concave shape of a glacial cirque is open on the downhill side, while the cupped section is generally steep. Cliff-like slopes, down which ice and glaciated debris combine and converge, form the three or more higher sides. The floor of the cirque ends up bowl-shaped, as it is the complex convergence zone of combining ice flows from multiple directions and their accompanying rock burdens. Hence, it experiences somewhat greater erosion forces and is most often overdeepened below the level of the cirque's low-side outlet (stage) and its down-slope (backstage) valley. If the cirque is subject to seasonal melting, the floor of the cirque most often forms a tarn (small lake) behind a dam, which marks the downstream limit of the glacial overdeepening. The dam itself can be composed of moraine, glacial till, or a lip of the underlying bedrock.^[2]

The fluvial cirque or makhtesh, found in karst landscapes, is formed by intermittent river flow cutting through layers of limestone and chalk leaving sheer cliffs. A common feature for all fluvial-erosion cirques is a terrain which includes erosion resistant upper structures overlying materials which are more easily eroded.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cirque

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mount Bromo
View of Mts. Bromo, Semeru, Batok, and Widodaren, Tengger Caldera
Highest point
Elevation	2,329 m (7,641 ft)^[1]
Listing	Spesial Ribu
Coordinates	7°56′30″S 112°57′00″ECoordinates: 7°56′30″S 112°57′00″E^[1]
Geography
Mount Bromo Java, Indonesia Show map of JavaShow map of IndonesiaShow all
Geology
Mountain type	Somma volcano
Last eruption	21 March 2019 (ongoing)^[2]

Mount Bromo HD Timelapse

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Bromo

Andean mountain cat

Conservation status
Endangered (IUCN 3.1)^[2]
CITES Appendix I (CITES)^[2]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Suborder:	Feliformia
Family:	Felidae
Subfamily:	Felinae
Genus:	Leopardus
Species:	L. jacobita^[1]
Binomial name
*Leopardus jacobita^[1]* (Cornalia, 1865)

Distribution of the Andean cat, 2016^[2]
Synonyms
Oreailurus jacobita

The Andean mountain cat (Leopardus jacobita) is a small wild cat native to the high Andes that has been listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List because fewer than 1,500 individuals are thought to exist in the wild.^[2] It is traditionally considered a sacred animal by indigenous Aymara and Quechua people.^[3]

The Andean mountain cat was first described by Emilio Cornalia who named it in honor of Jacobita Mantegazza. It is a monotypic species.^[4]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andean_mountain_cat

Saguache County
County
Entering Saguache County from the north on U.S. 285
Seal
Location within the U.S. state of Colorado
Colorado's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 38°05′N 106°18′W
Country	United States
State	Colorado
Founded	December 29, 1866
Seat	Saguache
Largest town	Center
Area
• Total	3,170 sq mi (8,200 km²)
• Land	3,169 sq mi (8,210 km²)
• Water	1.7 sq mi (4 km²) 0.05%%
Population
• Estimate (2020)	6,368
• Density	2.0/sq mi (0.8/km²)
Time zone	UTC−7 (Mountain)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−6 (MDT)
Congressional district	3rd
Website	saguachecounty.colorado.gov

Saguache County (suh-WATCH /səˈwɑːtʃ/ (listen)) is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado.^[3] As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,368.^[4] The county seat is Saguache.^[5]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saguache_County,_Colorado

Coordinates: 41°22′45″N 112°07′55″W

Willard Bay

Willard Bay is a man-made fresh water reservoir in the Great Salt Lake, in northern Utah. The bay was separated from the Great Salt Lake in 1964, and has since served as a source of irrigation water and recreation for the northern Wasatch Front metro area.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willard_Bay

Ore Mountains
Erz Mountains Krušné Mountains
Reservoir near Myslivny
Highest point
Peak	Klínovec
Elevation	1,244 m (4,081 ft)
Coordinates	50°23′46″N 12°58′04″E
Naming
Native name	Erzgebirge (German) Krušné hory (Czech) Rudne horiny (Upper Sorbian)
Geography
Location in Germany Location in the Czech Republic Physical map
Countries	Czech Republic and Germany
Regions/States	Karlovy Vary, Ústí nad Labem and Saxony
Range coordinates	50°35′N 13°00′ECoordinates: 50°35′N 13°00′E
Geology
Orogeny	Variscan
Age of rock	Paleozoic
Type of rock	sedimentary, metamorphic and igneous rocks

UNESCO World Heritage Site
Official name	Erzgebirge/Krušnohoří Mining Region
Type	Cultural
Criteria	(ii), (iii), (iv)
Designated	2019
Reference no.	1478
Region	Western Europe/Eastern Europe

The Ore Mountains lie along the Czech–German border, separating the historical regions of Bohemia in the Czech Republic and Saxony in Germany. The highest peaks are the Klínovec in the Czech Republic (German: Keilberg), which rises to 1,244 metres (4,081 ft) above sea level and the Fichtelberg in Germany (1,215 metres (3,986 ft)).

The nature of the Ore Mountains has been intensively shaped by human intervention and has created a diverse cultural landscape. In particular, mining with its tips, dams, ditches and sinkholes directly shaped the landscape and the habitats of plants and animals in many places. The region was also the setting of the earliest stages of the early modern transformation of mining and metallurgy from a craft to a large-scale industry, a process that preceded and enabled the later Industrial Revolution.

The higher altitudes from around 500 m above sea level on the German side belong to the Ore Mountains/Vogtland Nature Park – the largest of its kind in Germany with a length of 120 km. The eastern Ore Mountains are protected landscape. Other smaller areas on the German and Czech side are protected as nature reserves and natural monuments. On the ridges there are also several larger raised bogs that are only fed by rainwater. The mountains are popular for hiking and there are winter sports areas at higher elevations. In 2019, the region became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.^[1]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ore_Mountains

Brown-throated martin

In Natal, South Africa
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)^[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Hirundinidae
Genus:	Riparia
Species:	R. paludicola
Binomial name
*Riparia paludicola* (Vieillot, 1817)

Riparia paludicola

The brown-throated martin or brown-throated sand martin (Riparia paludicola) is a small passerine bird in the swallow family. It was first formally described as Hirundo paludicola by French ornithologist Louis Vieillot in 1817 in his Nouveau Dictionnaire d'Histoire Naturelle.^[2] It was formerly regarded as conspecific with the grey-throated martin (R. chinensis) under the name "plain martin".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown-throated_martin

Purple martin

Adult male

Adult female
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)^[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Hirundinidae
Genus:	Progne
Species:	P. subis
Binomial name
*Progne subis* (Linnaeus, 1758)

Orange: breeding; yellow: migration; blue: nonbreeding
Synonyms
Hirundo subis Linnaeus, 1758

The purple martin (Progne subis) is a passerine bird in the swallow family Hirundinidae. It is the largest swallow in North America. Despite its name, the purple martin is not truly purple. The dark blackish-blue feathers have an iridescent sheen caused by the refraction of incident light^[2] giving them a bright blue to navy blue or deep purple appearance. In some light they may even appear green in color.

Being migratory, their breeding range extends from central Alberta down through the eastern United States. Subspecies breed in Baja California, Arizona, and New Mexico. Most make a brief stopover in the Yucatán Peninsula or Cuba during pre-breeding migration to North America and during post-breeding migration before reaching their overwintering site in South America.^[3]

They are known for their speed, agility, and their characteristic mix of rapid flapping and gliding flight pattern. When approaching their nesting site, they will dive from the sky at great speeds with their wings tucked, just like the peregrine falcon does when hunting smaller birds.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purple_martin

Astolfo and Caligorante

Astolfo (also Astolpho, Estous, and Estouls) is a fictional character in the Matter of France where he is one of Charlemagne's paladins. He is the son of Otto, the King of England (possibly referring to Charles' contemporary Offa of Mercia), and is a cousin to Orlando and Rinaldo, and a descendant of Charles Martel. While Astolfo's name appeared in the Old French chanson de geste The Four Sons of Aymon, his first major appearance was in the anonymous early fourteenth-century Franco-Venetian epic poem La Prise de Pampelune.^[1] He was subsequently a major character (typically humorous) in Italian Renaissance romance epics, such as Morgante by Luigi Pulci, Orlando Innamorato by Matteo Maria Boiardo, and Orlando Furioso by Ludovico Ariosto.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astolfo

List of pines by region

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is a list of pine species by geographical distribution. For a taxonomy of the genus, see Pinus classification.

Old World

Mature Pinus pinea (stone pine); note umbrella-shaped canopy

Pollen cones of Pinus pinea (stone pine)

A red pine (Pinus resinosa) with exposed roots

Young spring growth ("candles") on a loblolly pine

Monterey pine bark

Monterey pine cone on forest floor

Whitebark pine in the Sierra Nevada

Hartweg's pine forest in Mexico

The bark of a pine in Tecpan, Guatemala

A pine, probably P. pseudostrobus, in Guatemala

Europe, Mediterranean, West Asia

Pinus brutia - Turkish pine
Pinus canariensis - Canary Island pine
Pinus cembra - Swiss pine
Pinus halepensis - Aleppo pine
Pinus heldreichii - Bosnian pine
Pinus mugo - Mountain pine
Pinus nigra - European black pine, Austrian pine
Pinus peuce - Macedonian pine
Pinus pinaster - Maritime pine
Pinus pinea - Stone pine
Pinus sylvestris - Scots pine

East Asia, Southeast Asia

Pinus amamiana - Yakushima white pine
Pinus armandii - Chinese white pine
Pinus bhutanica - Bhutan white pine
Pinus bungeana - Lacebark pine
Pinus dalatensis - Vietnamese white pine
Pinus densata - Sikang pine
Pinus densiflora - Korean red pine
Pinus fenzeliana - Hainan white pine
Pinus hwangshanensis - Huangshan pine
Pinus kesiya - Khasi pine
Pinus koraiensis - Korean pine
Pinus krempfii - Krempf's pine
Pinus latteri - Tenasserim pine
Pinus luchuensis - Luchu pine
Pinus massoniana - Masson's pine
Pinus merkusii - Sumatran pine
Pinus morrisonicola - Taiwan white pine
Pinus parviflora - Japanese white pine
Pinus pumila - Siberian dwarf pine
Pinus roxburghii - Chir pine
Pinus sibirica - Siberian pine
Pinus squamata - Qiaojia pine
Pinus tabuliformis - Chinese red pine
Pinus taiwanensis - Taiwan red pine
Pinus thunbergii - Japanese black pine
Pinus wallichiana - Blue pine or Bhutan pine
Pinus wangii (syn. P. kwangtungensis) - Guangdong white pine
Pinus yunnanensis - Yunnan pine

New World

Eastern Canada, Eastern United States

Pinus banksiana - Jack pine
Pinus clausa - Sand pine
Pinus echinata - Shortleaf pine
Pinus elliottii - Slash pine
Pinus glabra - Spruce pine
Pinus palustris - Longleaf pine
Pinus pungens - Table Mountain pine
Pinus resinosa - Red pine
Pinus rigida - Pitch pine
Pinus serotina - Pond pine
Pinus strobus - Eastern white pine
Pinus taeda - Loblolly pine
Pinus virginiana - Virginia pine

Western Canada, Western United States, Northern Mexico

Pinus albicaulis - Whitebark pine
Pinus aristata - Rocky Mountains bristlecone pine
Pinus attenuata - Knobcone pine
Pinus balfouriana - Foxtail pine
Pinus contorta - Lodgepole pine
Pinus coulteri - Coulter pine
Pinus edulis - Colorado pinyon
Pinus flexilis - Limber pine
Pinus jeffreyi - Jeffrey pine
Pinus lambertiana - Sugar pine
Pinus longaeva - Great Basin bristlecone pine
Pinus monophylla - Single-leaf pinyon
Pinus monticola - Western white pine
Pinus muricata - Bishop pine
Pinus ponderosa (syn. P. washoensis) - Ponderosa pine
Pinus radiata - Monterey pine, radiata pine
Pinus remota - Texas pinyon, papershell pinyon
Pinus sabineana - Gray pine, foothill pine, digger pine
Pinus strobiformis - Southwestern white pine
Pinus torreyana - Torrey pine

Southwestern United States, Mexico, Central America, Caribbean

Pinus arizonica - Arizona pine
Pinus ayacahuite - Mexican white pine
Pinus caribaea - Caribbean pine
Pinus cembroides - Mexican pinyon
Pinus chiapensis - Chiapas white pine
Pinus cooperi - Cooper's pine
Pinus cubensis - Cuban pine
Pinus culminicola - Potosi pinyon
Pinus devoniana (syn. P. michoacana) - Michoacan pine
Pinus durangensis - Durango pine
Pinus engelmannii - Apache pine
Pinus douglasiana - Douglas pine
Pinus greggii - Gregg's pine
Pinus hartwegii - Hartweg's pine
Pinus herrerae - Herrera's pine
Pinus jaliscana - Jalisco pine
Pinus johannis - Johann's pinyon
Pinus lawsonii - Lawson's pine
Pinus leiophylla - Chihuahua pine
Pinus lumholtzii - Lumholtz's pine
Pinus luzmariae
Pinus maximartinezii - Big-cone pinyon
Pinus maximinoi (syn. P. tenuifolia) - Thinleaf pine
Pinus montezumae - Montezuma pine
Pinus nelsonii - Nelson's pinyon
Pinus occidentalis - Hispaniolan pine
Pinus oocarpa - Egg-cone pine
Pinus patula - Patula pine
Pinus orizabensis - Orizaba pinyon
Pinus pinceana - Weeping pinyon
Pinus praetermissa - McVaugh's pine
Pinus pringlei - Pringle's pine
Pinus pseudostrobus - Smooth-bark Mexican pine
Pinus quadrifolia - Parry pinyon
Pinus rzedowskii - Rzedowski's pine
Pinus strobiformis - Chihuahua white pine
Pinus tecunumanii - Tecun Uman pine
Pinus teocote - Teocote pine
Pinus tropicalis - Tropical pine

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Pinus by country.

Categories:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_pines_by_region

Table Mountain seen from Signal Hill, across the Cape Town city bowl. The portion of the mountain made up of Table Mountain Sandstone is indicated on the right.^[1] It is this mountain that has given its name to the geological structure that occurs in the mountains throughout the Western Cape

Schematic diagram of an approximate 100 km west-east (left to right) geological cross-section through the Cedarberg portion of the Cape Fold Belt (South Africa). The rocky layers (in different colors) belong to the Cape Supergroup. Not to scale. The green layer is the Pakhuis diamictite formation which divides the Table Mountain Sandstone (or Peninsula Formation Sandstone) into a lower and upper portion. It is the lower (older) portion that is particularly hard and erosion resistant, and, therefore, forms most of the highest and most conspicuous peaks in the Western Cape, as well as the steepest cliffs of the Cape Fold Mountains (including Table Mountain - see upper illustration).^[2] The Upper Table Mountain Sandstone Formation, above the Pakhuis tillite layer, is considerably softer and more easily eroded than the lower Formation. In the Cederberg Mountains This formation has been sculpted by wind erosion into many fantastic shapes and caverns, for which these mountains have become famous.^[3] The Graafwater Formation forms the lowermost layer of the Cape Supergroup in this region, but is, for simplicity, incorporated into the Table Mountain Sandstone Formation in this diagram.

Schematic geological west-east cross section through Cape Peninsula, based on a section through the Back Table just south of Table Mountain. Not to scale. On the Peninsula the basement layer consists in the main of Cape Granite. The Table Mountain Sandstone (in the same colour as in the diagram on the left) forms the steep escarpments that surround the approximately 5 km-wide central plateau. It consists of the layer below the "Pakhuis diamictite", of which there is only a trace at the highest point on Table Mountain at 1085 m above sea level. The lowermost formation of the Table Mountain Group is the "Graafwater Formation", which rests unconformally on the Cape Granite base, as opposed to the Malmesbury Formation base in most of the rest of the extent of Cape Supergroup in the Western Cape (see illustration above, on the left). Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, and all the major wines estates on the Peninsula are situated on the fertile (weathered) granite slopes on the east side of the mountain. The soils derived from Table Mountain Sandstone are very poor in nutrition.

The Table Mountain Sandstone (TMS) is a group of rock formations within the Cape Supergroup sequence of rocks. Although the term "Table Mountain Sandstone" is still widely used in common parlance, the term TMS is no longer formally recognized; the correct name is the "Peninsula Formation Sandstone", which is part of the Table Mountain Group. The designation "Table Mountain Sandstone" will, however, in deference to the title, continue to be used in the rest of this article. The name is derived from the famous landmark in Cape Town, Table Mountain.

Table Mountain Sandstone is made up predominantly of quartzitic sandstone laid down between 510 (Cambrian Period) and 400 (Silurian Period) million years ago. It is the hardest, and most erosion resistant layer of the Cape Supergroup. It therefore forms most of the highest and most conspicuous peaks in the Western Cape, as well as the steepest cliffs of the Cape Fold Mountains, despite being the oldest, and, therefore, lowermost of the Cape Supergroup sequence.^[2] The folding of the sequence into the parallel mountain ranges of the Western Cape started about 330 million years ago, affecting the Cape Supergroup from about Clanwilliam (approximately 200 km north of Cape Town), to about Port Elizabeth (approximately 650 km east of Cape Town). The Cape Supergroup sediments beyond these points are not folded into mountain ranges, but do, in places, form steep cliffs or gorges, where the surrounding sediments have been eroded away (see, for instance, Oribi Gorge in KwaZulu-Natal).^[4]^[5]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Table_Mountain_Sandstone

Look up midge in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Midges

A biting midge feeding on blood through an artificial membrane for insect rearing
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Diptera
Suborder:	Nematocera

A midge is any small fly, including species in several families of non-mosquito Nematoceran Diptera. Midges are found (seasonally or otherwise) on practically every land area outside permanently arid deserts and the frigid zones. Some midges, such as many Phlebotominae (sand fly) and Simuliidae (black fly), are vectors of various diseases. Many others play useful roles as prey for insectivores, such as various frogs and swallows. Others are important as detritivores, and form part of various nutrient cycles. The habits of midges vary greatly from species to species, though within any particular family, midges commonly have similar ecological roles.

Examples of families that include species of midges include:^[1]

Blephariceridae, net-winged midges
Cecidomyiidae, gall midges
Ceratopogonidae, biting midges (also known as no-see-ums or punkies in North America^[2] and sandflies^[3] in Australia)
Chaoboridae, phantom midges
Chironomidae, non-biting midges (also known as muckleheads,^[4] muffleheads^[5] or lake flies^[6] in the Great Lakes region of North America)
Deuterophlebiidae, mountain midges
Dixidae, meniscus midges
Scatopsidae, dung midges
Thaumaleidae, solitary midges

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midge

Milk snake

Red milk snake (Lampropeltis triangulum syspila)
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)^[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Colubridae
Genus:	Lampropeltis
Species:	L. triangulum
Binomial name
*Lampropeltis triangulum* (Lacépède, 1788)^[2]
Subspecies
24 subspecies, see text
Synonyms
Coluber triangulum Lacépède, 1788 Pseudoëlaps Y Berthold, 1843 Ablabes triangulum — A.M.C. Duméril & Bibron, 1854 Lampropeltis triangula — Cope, 1860 Coronella triangulum — Boulenger, 1894 Osceola doliata triangula — Cope, 1900

The milk snake or milksnake (Lampropeltis triangulum), is a species of kingsnake; 24 subspecies are currently recognized. Lampropeltis elapsoides, the scarlet kingsnake, was formerly classified as a 25th subspecies (L. t. elapsoides), but is now recognized as a distinct species.^[2] The subspecies have strikingly different appearances, and many of them have their own common names. Some authorities suggest that this species could be split into several separate species.^[2] They are not venomous to humans.^[3]^[4]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milk_snake

African penguin

At Boulders Beach in Cape Town, South Africa
Conservation status
Endangered (IUCN 3.1)^[1]
CITES Appendix II (CITES)^[2]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Sphenisciformes
Family:	Spheniscidae
Genus:	Spheniscus
Species:	S. demersus
Binomial name
*Spheniscus demersus* (Linnaeus, 1758)

Distribution of the African penguin
Synonyms
Diomedea demersa Linnaeus, 1758

The African penguin (Spheniscus demersus), also known as Cape penguin or South African penguin, is a species of penguin confined to southern African waters. Like all extant penguins, it is flightless, with a streamlined body and wings stiffened and flattened into flippers for a marine habitat. Adults weigh an average of 2.2–3.5 kg (4.9–7.7 lb) and are 60–70 cm (24–28 in) tall. The species has distinctive pink patches of skin above the eyes and a black facial mask. The body's upper parts are black and sharply delineated from the white underparts, which are spotted and marked with a black band.

The African penguin is a pursuit diver and feeds primarily on fish and squid. Once extremely numerous, the African penguin is declining rapidly due to a combination of several threats and is classified as endangered. It is a charismatic species and is popular with tourists. Other vernacular names of the species include black-footed penguin and jackass penguin, due to the species' loud, donkey-like noise,^[3] although several related species of South Jackass penguins produce the same sound. They can be found along the coast of South Africa and Namibia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_penguin

Black Park
Site of Special Scientific Interest

Location	Buckinghamshire
Grid reference	TQ013842
Interest	Biological
Area	15.3 hectares
Notification	1990
Location map	Magic Map

Black Park is a country park in Wexham, Buckinghamshire, England to the north of the A412 road. It is managed by Buckinghamshire Council, formerly County Council.^[1] It has an area of 250 hectares (618 acres),^[2] of which two separate areas totalling 15.7 hectares (39 acres) have been designated a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).^[3]^[4] and a larger area of 66 hectares is a local nature reserve.^[5]^[6]

^{https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Park}

Capulin Volcano National Monument
Last erupted between 55,000 to 62,000 years ago^[1]
Show map of New MexicoShow map of the United StatesShow all
Location	Raton-Clayton Volcanic Field, Union County, New Mexico, New Mexico, United States
Coordinates	36°46′56″N 103°58′12″WCoordinates: 36°46′56″N 103°58′12″W
Area	793 acres (321 ha)^[2]
Elevation	2,494 m (8,182 ft)
Max. elevation	8,182
Authorized	August 9, 1916
Visitors	67,442 (in 2018)^[3]
Governing body	Department of the Interior
Website	Capulin Volcano National Monument

Capulin Volcano National Monument is a U.S. National Monument located in northeastern New Mexico that protects and interprets an extinct cinder cone volcano and is part of the Raton-Clayton volcanic field. A paved road spirals gradually around the volcano and visitors can drive up to a parking lot at the rim of the extinct volcano. Hiking trails circle the rim as well as lead down into the mouth of the volcano. The monument was designated on August 9, 1916, and is administered by the National Park Service. The volcano is located 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) north of the village of Capulin.

The visitor center features exhibits about the volcano and the area's geology, natural and cultural history, and offers educational programs about volcanoes. There is also a video presentation about the volcano. The name capulin comes from a type of choke cherry, Prunus virginiana, that is native to southern North America.

Apollo 16's John Young and Charlie Duke did some of their geologic training here in May 1971. William R. Muehlberger was one of the geology instructors.^[4]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capulin_Volcano_National_Monument

Revealing Eden
First edition hardcover
Author	Victoria Foyt
Country	United States
Language	English
Series	Save the Pearls
Genre	Dystopian, Science fiction, Young Adult, Romance
Publisher	Sand Dollar Press Inc
Publication date	January 10, 2012
Media type	Print (hardback & e-book)
Pages	320 (first edition, hardback)
ISBN	0983650322 (first edition, hardback)
Followed by	Adapting Eden

Save the Pearls: Revealing Eden is a 2012 young adult novel by American author Victoria Foyt and the first book in the Save the Pearls series. The book is set in a post-apocalyptic dystopian society and follows the titular character of Eden as she attempts to move outside of her set station in life and find a way to survive outside the norms set by society.

Book two of the series, Adapting Eden, was released in the spring of 2013.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Save_the_Pearls:_Revealing_Eden

Mountain effects

Orographic or relief snowfall is created when moist air is forced up the windward side of mountain ranges by a large-scale wind flow. The lifting of moist air up the side of a mountain range results in adiabatic cooling, and ultimately condensation and precipitation. Moisture is gradually removed from the air by this process, leaving drier and warmer air on the descending, or leeward, side.^[12] The resulting enhanced snowfall,^[13] along with the decrease in temperature with elevation,^[14] combine to increase snow depth and seasonal persistence of snowpack in snow-prone areas.^[1]^[15]

Mountain waves have also been found to help enhance precipitation amounts downwind of mountain ranges by enhancing the lift needed for condensation and precipitation.^[16]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow#Mountain_effects

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_poems_by_Robert_Frost#Mountain_Interval_%281916%29

Coati

White-nosed coati (Nasua narica)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Family:	Procyonidae
Subfamily:	Procyoninae
Tribe:	Procyonini
Subtribe:	Nasuina
Genera
Nasua Nasuella

Range map

Coatis (from Tupí),^[1] also known as coatimundis (/koʊˌɑːtɪˈmʌndi/),^[2]^[3] are members of the family Procyonidae in the genera Nasua and Nasuella. They are diurnal mammals native to South America, Central America, Mexico, and the southwestern United States. The name "coatimundi" comes from the Tupian languages of Brazil, where it means "lone coati".^[4]^[5] Locally in Belize, the coati is known as "quash".^[6]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coati

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

American Indian Wars

Part of the European colonization of the Americas, expansion of Canada and the expansion of the United States

An 1899 chromolithograph of U.S. Cavalrymen pursuing American Indians

Date	1609 – June 2, 1924 (intermittent)
Location	United States and Canada
Result	Sovereignty of various combatants extended or lost Massive indigenous population decline Deportation and forced assimilation of indigenous tribes Many treaties, truces, and armistices made and broken by combatants Indian reservations and reserves established in the United States and Canada respectively

Belligerents

Amerindians:

American Indians, including the tribes: Cherokee, Creek (Muscogee) and Creek Red Sticks,
Haudenosaunee,

Lakota, Meskwaki, Miami, Odawa, Potawatomi, Shawnee, Seminole, Wampanoag, Wyandot and including the confederacies: Tecumseh's confederacy and the Northwestern Confederacy

First Nations, including:

Blackfoot, Cree,

Mikmaq/Miꞌkmaꞌki,

Colonists, Viceroyalty and Europeans:

British North America

Spanish Empire:

Council of the Indies:

Viceroyalty of New Spain

Russian Empire:

Mexico

Confederate States^[a]

Commanders and leaders

Tecumseh
William Weatherford
Tenskwatawa

Little Turtle

Henri Membertou

Francis Peck

Michael Tooma

Frank Tooma Jr.

William Augustus Bowles

Louis I

William Henry Harrison

The American Indian Wars, also known as the American Frontier Wars, and the Indian Wars, were fought by European governments and colonists in North America, and later by the United States and Canadian governments and American and Canadian settlers, against various American Indian and First Nation tribes. These conflicts occurred in North America from the time of the earliest colonial settlements in the 17th century until the early 20th century. The various wars resulted from a wide variety of factors, the most common being the desire of settlers and governments for Indian tribes' lands. The European powers and their colonies also enlisted allied Indian tribes to help them conduct warfare against each other's colonial settlements. After the American Revolution, many conflicts were local to specific states or regions and frequently involved disputes over land use; some entailed cycles of violent reprisal.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Indian_Wars

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_electric_companies

List of plants by common name

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is a list of plants organized by their common names. However, the common names of plants often vary from region to region, which is why most plant encyclopedias refer to plants using their scientific names, in other words using binomials or "Latin" names.

A

Angel trumpet (Brugmansia suaveolens)

African sheepbush – Pentzia incana
Alder – Alnus
- Black alder – Alnus glutinosa, Ilex verticillata
- Common alder – Alnus glutinosa
- False alder – Ilex verticillata
- Gray alder – Alnus incana
- Speckled alder – Alnus incana
- White alder – Alnus incana, Alnus rhombifolia, Ilex verticillata
Almond – Prunus dulcis
Aloe vera – Aloe vera
Amaranth – Amaranthus
- Foxtail amaranth – Amaranthus caudatus
Ambrosia
- Tall ambrosia – Ambrosia trifida
Amy root – Apocynum cannabinum
Angel trumpet – Brugmansia suaveolens
Apple – Malus domestica
Apricot – Prunus armeniaca
Arfaj – Rhanterium epapposum
Arizona sycamore – Platanus wrighitii
Arrowwood – Cornus florida
- Indian arrowwood – Cornus florida
Ash – Fraxinus spp.
- Black ash – Acer negundo, Fraxinus nigra
- Blue ash – Fraxinus quadrangulata
- Cane ash – Fraxinus americana
- European ash – Fraxinus excelsior^[1]
- Green ash – Fraxinus pennsylvanica lanceolata
- Maple ash – Acer negundo
- Red ash – Fraxinus pennsylvanica lanceolata
- River ash – Fraxinus pennsylvanica
- Swamp ash – Fraxinus pennsylvanica
- White ash – Fraxinus americana
- Water ash – Acer negundo, Fraxinus pennsylvanica
Azolla – Azolla
- Carolina azolla – Azolla caroliniana

B

Fruits of four different banana cultivars

Bamboo – bamboosa ardinarifolia
Banana – mainly Musa × paradisica, but also other Musa species and hybrids
Baobab – Adansonia
Bay – Laurus spp. or Umbellularia spp.
- Bay laurel – Laurus nobilis (culinary)
- California bay – Umbellularia californica
Bean – Fabaceae, specifically Phaseolus spp.
Bearberry – Ilex decidua
Bear corn – Veratrum viride
Beech – Fagus
Bindweed
- Blue bindweed – Solanum dulcamara
Bird's nest – Daucus carota
Bird's nest plant – Daucus carota
Bird of paradise – Strelitzia reginae
Birch – Betula spp.
- Black birch – Betula lenta, Betula nigra
- Bolean birch – Betula papyrifera
- Canoe birch – Betula papyrifera
- Cherry birch – Betula lenta
- European weeping birch – Betula pendula
- European white birch – Betula pendula
- Gray birch – Betula alleghaniensis
- Mahogany birch – Betula lenta
- Paper birch – Betula papyrifera
- Red birch – Betula nigra
- River birch – Betula nigra, Betula lenta
- Silver birch – Betula papyrifera
- Spice birch – Betula lenta
- Sweet birch – Betula lenta
- Water birch – Betula nigra
- Weeping birch – Betula pendula
- White birch – Betula papyrifera, Betula pendula
- Yellow birch – Betula alleghaniensis
Bittercress – Barbarea vulgaris, Cardamine bulbosa, Cardamine hirsuta
- Hairy bittercress – Cardamine hirsuta
Bittersweet – Solanum dulcamara
- Trailing bittersweet – Solanum dulcamara
Bitterweed – Any plant in the genus Ambrosia, especially Ambrosia artemisiifolia, Artemisia trifida, Helenium amarum
Blackberry – Rubus spp., Rubus pensilvanicus, Rubus occidentalis
- Hispid swamp blackberry – Rubus hispidus
- Pennsylvania blackberry – Rubus pensilvanicus
- Running swamp blackberry – Rubus hispidus
Black cap – Rubus occidentalis
Black-eyed Susan – Rudbeckia hirta, Rudbeckia fulgida
Blackhaw – Viburnum prunifolium
Blackiehead – Rudbeckia hirta
Black-weed – Ambrosia artemisiifolia
Blueberry – Vaccinium (Cyanococcus) spp.
Bluebell – Hyacinthoides non-scripta
Blue-of-the-heavens – Allium caeruleum
Bow-wood – Maclura pomifera
Box – Buxus
- False box – Cornus florida
Boxelder – Acer negundo
Boxwood – Buxus, Cornus florida
- False boxwood – Cornus florida
Brier
- Sand brier – Solanum carolinense
Brittlebush – Encelia farinosa
Broadleaf – Plantago major
Brown Betty – Rudbeckia hirta
Brown-eyed susan – Rudbeckia hirta, Rudbeckia triloba
Buckeye (California buckeye) – Aesculus californica
Buckeye – Aesculus spp.
Buffalo weed – Ambrosia trifida
Bugle – Ajuga reptans
Butterfly flower – Asclepias syriaca
Butterfly weed – Asclepias tuberosa

C

Columbine (Aquilegia vulgaris)

Cabbage – Brassica oleracea
- Clumpfoot cabbage – Symplocarpus foetidus
- Meadow cabbage – Symplocarpus foetidus
- Skunk cabbage – Symplocarpus foetidus, Lysichiton spp.
- Swamp cabbage – Symplocarpus foetidus
California bay – Umbellularia californica
California buckeye – Aesculus californica
California sycamore – Platanus racemosa
California walnut – Juglans californica
Canada root – Asclepias tuberosa
Cancer jalap – Phytolacca americana
Carrot – Daucus carota
- Wild carrot – Daucus carota
Carrot weed – Ambrosia artemisiifolia
Cart track plant – Plantago major
Catalina ironwood – Lyonothamnus floribundus ssp. floribundus
Cedar – Cedrus spp.
- Blue Atlas cedar – Cedrus atlantica
- Deodar cedar – Cedrus deodara
Chalk milkwort – Polygala calcarea
Charlock – Sinapis arvensis
Cherry – Prunus spp.
- Black cherry – Prunus serotina
- Cabinet cherry – Prunus serotina
- Rum cherry – Prunus serotina
- Whiskey cherry – Prunus serotina
- Wild cherry – Prunus avium, Prunus serotina
- Wild black cherry – Prunus serotina
Chestnut – Castanea spp.
Chigger flower – Asclepias tuberosa
Chrysanthemum – Dendranthema grandiflora [vi], Chrysanthemum morifolium
(True) cinnamon – Cinnamomum verum
Clove – Syzygium aromaticum
Clover – Trifolium spp.
Coakum – Phytolacca americana
Coconut – Cocos nucifera
Coffee plant – Coffea spp.
Colic weed – Corydalis flavula
Collard – Symplocarpus foetidus
Columbine – Aquilegia vulgaris
Colwort
- Hare's colwort – Sonchus oleraceus
Comfrey – Symphytum spp.
Coneflower
- Brilliant coneflower – Rudbeckia fulgida
- Cutleaf coneflower – Rudbeckia laciniata
- Eastern coneflower – Rudbeckia fulgida
- Green-headed Coneflower – Rudbeckia laciniata
- Orange coneflower – Rudbeckia fulgida
- Tall coneflower – Rudbeckia laciniata
- Thin-leaved Coneflower – Rudbeckia triloba
- Three-leaved Coneflower – Rudbeckia triloba
Cornel
- Blueberry cornel – Cornus amomum
- Silky cornel – Cornus amomum
- White cornel – Cornus florida
Cornelian tree – Cornus florida
Corydalis – Corydalis spp.
- Fern-leaf Corydalis – Corydalis chelidoniifolia
- Golden corydalis – Corydalis aurea
- Pale corydalis – Corydalis flavula, Corydalis sempervirens
- Pink corydalis – Corydalis sempervirens
- Yellow corydalis – Corydalis lutea, Corydalis flavula
Cotton plant – Gossypium
Creeping yellowcress – Rorippa sylvestris
Cress – (several genera)
- American cress – Barbarea verna
- Bank cress – Barbarea verna
- Belle Isle cress – Barbarea verna
- Bermuda cress – Barbarea verna
- Bulbous cress – Cardamine bulbosa
- Lamb's cress – Cardamine hirsuta
- Land cress – Barbarea verna, Cardamine hirsuta
- Scurvy cress – Barbarea verna
- Spring cress – Cardamine bulbosa
- Upland cress – Barbarea verna
Crowfoot – Cardamine concatenata
Crow's nest – Daucus carota
Crow's toes – Cardamine concatenata
Cucumber – Cucumis sativus

D

Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida)

Daisy
- Brown daisy – Rudbeckia hirta
- Common daisy, daisy – Bellis perennis
- Gloriosa daisy – Rudbeckia hirta
- Poorland daisy – Rudbeckia hirta
- Yellow daisy – Rudbeckia hirta
- Yellow ox-eye daisy – Rudbeckia hirta
Deadnettle – Lamium spp.
- Henbit deadnettle – Lamium amplexicaule
- Red deadnettle – Lamium purpureum
- Spotted deadnettle – Lamium maculatum
Desert Rose – Adenium obesum
Devil's bite – Veratrum viride
Devil's darning needle – Clematis virginiana
Devil's nose – Clematis virginiana
Devil's plague – Daucus carota
Dewberry
- Bristly dewberry – Rubus hispidus
- Swamp dewberry – Rubus hispidus
Dindle – Sonchus arvensis
Dogwood – Cornus spp.
- American dogwood – Cornus florida
- Florida dogwood – Cornus florida
- Flowering dogwood – Cornus florida
- Japanese flowering dogwood – Cornus kousa
- Kousa dogwood – Cornus kousa
Drumstick – Moringa oleifera
- Pacific dogwood – Cornus nuttallii
- Silky dogwood – Cornus amomum
- Swamp dogwood – Cornus amomum
Duck retten – Veratrum viride
Duscle – Solanum nigrum
Durian – Durio zibethinus
- Durian kura kura – Durio testudinarius
- Durian munjit – Durio grandiflorus
- Durian pulu – Durio kutejensis
- Red durian – Durio dulcis
Dye-leaves – Ilex glabra

E

Easter orchid (Cattleya schroederae)

Easter orchid – Cattleya schroederae
Earth gall – Veratrum viride
Elderberry – Sambucus
Elegant lupine – Lupinus elegans
Elephant apple – Dillenia indica
English bull's eye – Rudbeckia hirta
Eucalyptus – Eucalyptus spp.
Evergreen huckleberry – Vaccinium ovatum
Extinguisher moss – Encalypta
Eytelia – Amphipappus

F

Fellenwort (Solanum dulcamara)

Fair-maid-of-France – Achillea ptarmica
Fairymoss Azolla caroliniana
Fellenwort – Solanum dulcamara
Felonwood – Solanum dulcamara
Felonwort – Solanum dulcamara
Fennel – Foeniculum vulgare
Ferns
- Boston fern or sword fern – Nephrolepis exaltata
- Christmas fern – Polystichum acrostichoides
- Coast polypody – Polypodium scouleri
- Kimberly queen fern – Nephrolepis obliterata
- Korean rock fern – Polystichum tsus-simense
- Mosquito fern – Azolla caroliniana
- Sword ferns – Polystichum spp.
- Water fern – Azolla caroliniana
- Western sword fern – Polystichum munitum
Feverbush – Ilex verticillata
Feverfew – Tanacetum parthenium
Field forget-me-not – Myosotis arvensis
Fig – Ficus spp.
- Common fig – Ficus carica
Flax
- European flax – Linum usitatissimum
- New Zealand flax – Phormium tenax, Phormium colensoi
Fluxroot – Asclepias tuberosa
Foxglove – Digitalis purpurea
Fumewort
- Yellow fumewort – Corydalis flavula

G

Golden chain (Laburnum)

Gallberry – Ilex glabra
Garget – Phytolacca americana
Garlic
- Golden garlic – Allium moly
- Wild garlic – Allium canadense
Garlic mustard – Alliaria petiolata
Garlic root – Alliaria petiolata
Germander speedwell – Veronica chamaedrys
Gilliflower
- Dame's gilliflower – Hesperis matronalis
- Night scented gilliflower – Hesperis matronalis
- Queen's gilliflower – Hesperis matronalis
- Rogue's gilliflower – Hesperis matronalis
- Winter gilliflower – Hesperis matronalis
Golden buttons – Tanacetum vulgare
Golden chain – Laburnum
Goldenglow – Rudbeckia laciniata
Golden Jerusalem – Rudbeckia hirta
Gordaldo – Achillea millefolium
Goose tongue – Achillea ptarmica
Grapefruit – Citrus × paradisi
Grapevine – Vitis
Grass - Poaceae
- Bermuda grass - Cynodon dactylon
Green berry nightshade – Solanum opacum
Groundberry – Rubus hispidus
- Bristly groundberry – Rubus hispidus
Gutweed – Sonchus arvensis

H

Hellebore (Helleborus orientalis)

Haldi – Curcuma domestica
Harlequin
- Rock harlequin – Corydalis sempervirens
- Yellow harlequin – Corydalis flavula
Hay fever weed – Ambrosia artemisiifolia, Artemisia trifida
Healing blade – Plantago major
Hedge plant – Maclura pomifera
Hellebore – Helleborus
- American white hellebore – Veratrum viride
- Big hellebore – Veratrum viride
- Black hellebore – Veratrum nigrum
- European white hellebore – Veratrum album
- False hellebore – Veratrum album, Veratrum viride
- Swamp hellebore – Veratrum viride
- White hellebore – Veratrum album, Veratrum viride
Hemp – Cannabis spp., specifically Cannabis sativa
Hemp dogbane – Apocynum cannabinum
Hen plant – Plantago major
Herb barbara – Barbarea vulgaris
Hogweed – Ambrosia artemisiifolia
Holly – Ilex spp.
- Deciduous holly – Ilex decidua, Ilex verticillata
- European holly – Ilex aquifolium
- Inkberry holly – Ilex glabra
- Meadow holly – Ilex decidua
- Swamp holly – Ilex decidua
- Winterberry holly – Ilex verticillata
Honesty – Lunaria annua
Horse cane – Ambrosia trifida
Horseradish – Armoracia rusticana
Hound's berry – Solanum nigrum
Huckleberry – Vaccinium spp.
- Evergreen huckleberry – Vaccinium ovatum
- Trailing red huckleberry – Vaccinium parvifolium
Houseleek – Sempervivum tectorum
Hydrangea – Hydrangea macrophylla

I

Ivy (Hedera)

Indian hemp – various genera
- Indian hemp – Apocynum cannabinum, Cannabis indica
- White Indian hemp – Asclepias incarnata
Indian paintbrush – Castilleja, Castilleja mutis, Asclepias tuberosa
Indian posy – Asclepias tuberosa
Inkberry – Ilex glabra, Phytolacca americana
Ironwood – Acacia estrophiolata
Isle of Man cabbage – Coincya monensis
Itchweed – Veratrum viride
Ivy – Hedera spp.

J

Jasmine (Jasminum officinale)

Jack-by-the-hedge – Alliaria petiolata
Jack-in-the-bush – Alliaria petiolata
Jasmine – Jasminum officinale
Jewel orchid – Ludisia discolor
Jointed rush – Juncus kraussii
Jugflower – Adenanthos obovatus
Juneberry – Amelanchier canadensis
Juniper – Various species in the genus Juniperus

K

Kudzu (Pueraria montana)

Keek – Rorippa sylvestris
King fern – Ptisana salicina
Kinnikinnik – Cornus amomum
Kittentail – Veronica bullii
Knotweed (Japanese) – Reynoutria japonica (syn. Fallopia japonica)
Kousa – Cornus kousa
Kudzu – Pueraria montana
Kumarahou – Pomaderris kumeraho

L

Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia)

Laceflower – Daucus carota
Lace fern – Asparagus setaceus
Lady's mantle – Alchemilla mollis
Lady's smock – Cardamine pratensis
Lamb's foot – Plantago major
Latanier palm – Phoenicophorium
Laurel magnolia – Magnolia splendens
Lavender – Lavandula
Leek – Allium
Lemon – Citrus × limon
Leopard lily – Lilium catesbaei
Lily of the Nile – Agapanthus praecox
Lettuce – Lactuca sativa
- Lily leek – Allium moly
Lilac
- Summer lilac – Hesperis matronalis
Little sunflower – Helianthella
Lone fleabane – Erigeron cavernensis
Love-lies-bleeding – Amaranthus caudatus
Love vine – Clematis virginiana
Lupin – Lupinus

M

Southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora)

Magnolia – Magnolia
- Bracken's Brown Beauty magnolia – Magnolia grandiflora
- Galaxy magnolia – Magnolia x
- Jane magnolia – Magnolia x
- Kay Parris magnolia – Magnolia grandiflora
- Little Gem magnolia – Magnolia grandiflora
- Moonglow magnolia – Magnolia virginiana
- Royal Star magnolia – Magnolia stellata
- Serendipity Ruby magnolia – Magnolia figo
- Southern magnolia – Magnolia grandiflora
- Stellar Ruby magnolia – Magnolia figo
- Sweetbay magnolia – Magnolia virginiana
- Waterlilly Star magnolia – Magnolia stellata
Maize – Zea mays
Mango – Mangifera indica
Maple – Acer
- Ash-leaved maple – Acer negundo
- Black maple – Acer nigrum
- Creek maple – Acer saccharinum
- Cutleaf maple – Acer negundo
- Maple ash – Acer negundo
- Moose maple – Acer pensylvanicum
- Red river maple – Acer negundo
- River maple – Acer saccharinum
- Silver maple – Acer saccharinum
- Silverleaf maple – Acer saccharinum
- Soft maple – Acer saccharinum
- Striped maple – Acer pensylvanicum
- Sugar maple – Acer saccharum (main use), Acer barbatum, Acer leucoderme,
- Swamp maple – Acer saccharinum
- Water maple – Acer saccharinum
- White maple – Acer saccharinum
Mesquite – Prosopis
- Honey mesquite – Prosopis glandulosa
- Screwbean mesquite – Prosopis pubescens
Milfoil – Achillea millefolium
Milkweed – Asclepias, Sonchus oleraceus
- Blunt-leaved Milkweed – Asclepias amplexicaulis
- Common milkweed – Asclepias syriaca
- Horsetail milkweed – Asclepias verticillata
- Orange milkweed – Asclepias tuberosa
- Swamp milkweed – Asclepias incarnata
- Rose milkweed – Asclepias incarnata
- Whorled milkweed – Asclepias verticillata
- Yellow milkweed – Asclepias tuberosa
Milky tassel – Sonchus oleraceus
Moosewood – Acer pensylvanicum

Petty morel (Solanum nigrum)

Petty morel – Solanum nigrum
Morelle verte – Solanum opacum
Mosquito plant – Azolla caroliniana
Mother-of-the-evening – Hesperis matronalis
Mountain mahogany – Betula lenta
Mulberry – Morus
- Red mulberry – Morus rubra
- White mulberry – Morus alba

N

Native fuchsia (Epacris longiflora)

Native fuchsia – Epacris longiflora
Necklace fern – Asplenium flabellifolium
Neem – Azadirachta indica
Nettle – Urtica dioica
- Bull nettle – Solanum carolinense
- Carolina horse nettle – Solanum carolinense
- Horse nettle – Solanum carolinense
Night-blooming cactus – Hylocereus
Nightshade
- American nightshade – Phytolacca americana, Solanum americanum
- Bitter nightshade – Solanum dulcamara
- Black nightshade – Solanum nigrum, Solanum americanum
- Climbing nightshade – Solanum dulcamara
- Deadly nightshade – Atropa belladonna
- Garden nightshade – Solanum nigrum
- Trailing nightshade – Solanum dulcamara
  - Trailing violet nightshade – Solanum dulcamara
  - Woody nightshade – Solanum dulcamara
Nodding wakerobin – Trillium cernuum
Northern moonwort – Botrychium boreale
Nosebleed – Achillea millefolium

O

Sweet orange (Citrus × sinensis)

Oak tree – Quercus
- Algerian Oak – Quercus canariensis
- Blue oak – Quercus douglasii
- Bur oak – Quercus macrocarpa
- California Black Oak Quercus kelloggii
- Canyon Live Oak Quercus chrysolepis
- Champion oak – Quercus rubra
- Coast live oak – Quercus agrifolia
- Cork oak – Quercus suber
- Dyer's oak – Quercus velutina
- Eastern black oak – Quercus velutina
- English oak – Quercus robur
- Island oak – Quercus tomentella
- Mirbeck's oak – Quercus canariensis
- Mossycup white oak – Quercus macrocarpa
- Northern red oak – Quercus rubra
- Pedunculate oak – Quercus robur
- Pin oak – Quercus palustris
- Red oak – Quercus rubra, Quercus coccinea
- Scarlet oak – Quercus coccinea
- Scrub oak – Quercus macrocarpa
- Sessile oak – Quercus petraea
- Spanish oak – Quercus coccinea, Quercus rubra
- Spotted oak – Quercus velutina
- Swamp oak – Quercus palustris, Quercus bicolor
- Swamp Spanish oak – Quercus palustris
- Swamp white oak – Quercus bicolor
- Valley oak – Quercus lobata
- White oak – Quercus alba
- Yellowbark oak – Quercus velutina
Obedient Plant – Physostegia virginiana
Olive – Olea europaea
Onion – Allium
- Common onion – Allium cepa
- Giant onion – Allium giganteum
- Nodding onion – Allium cernuum
- Tree onion – Allium canadense
- Wild onion – Allium canadense
Orange –
- Osage orange – Maclura pomifera
- Sweet orange – Citrus × sinensis
- Wild orange – Maclura pomifera
Orange-root – Asclepias tuberosa
Osage – Maclura pomifera
Osier – Salix; (in North America) Cornus
- Red osier – Cornus amomum

P

Golden poppy (Eschscholzia californica)

Parsley – Petroselinum crispum
Parsnip – Pastinaca sativa, Daucus carota
Pawpaw - Asimina triloba
Pea – Pisum sativum
Peach – Prunus persica
Peanut – Arachis hypogaea
Pear – Pyrus
Pellitory
- Bastard pellitory – Achillea ptarmica
- European pellitory – Achillea ptarmica
- Wild pellitory – Achillea ptarmica
Penny hedge – Alliaria petiolata
Pepper root – Cardamine concatenata
Petty spurge – Euphorbia peplus
Pigeon berry – Phytolacca americana
Pine – Pinus
- Loblolly Pine – Pinus taeda
Pineapple – Ananas comosus
Pistachio – Pistacia vera
Plane (European sycamore) – Platanus acerifolia
Plantain
- Broadleaf plantain – Plantago major
- Common plantain – Plantago major
- Dooryard plantain – Plantago major
- Greater plantain – Plantago major
- Roundleaf plantain – Plantago major
- Wayside plantain – Plantago major
Pleurisy root – Asclepias tuberosa
Poached egg plant – Limnanthes douglasii
Pocan bush – Phytolacca americana
Poison ivy – Toxicodendron radicans
Poisonberry – Solanum dulcamara
Poisonflower – Solanum dulcamara
Poke – Phytolacca americana
- Indian poke – Veratrum viride
Pokeroot – Phytolacca americana
Pokeweed – Phytolacca americana
Polkweed – Symplocarpus foetidus
Polecat weed – Symplocarpus foetidus
Poor Annie – Veratrum viride
Poor man's mustard – Alliaria petiolata
Poplar – Populus
Poppy – Papaveraceae
Possumhaw – Ilex decidua
Potato – Solanum tuberosum
Primrose – Primula vulgaris

Q

Queen Anne's lace – Daucus carota, Anthriscus sylvestris
Quercitron – Quercus velutina

R

Multiflora rose (Rosa multiflora)

Radical weed – Solanum carolinense
Ragweed – Ambrosia
- Common ragweed – Ambrosia artemisiifolia
- Giant ragweed – Ambrosia trifida
- Great ragweed – Ambrosia trifida
Ragwort – Senecio
- Common ragwort – Senecio jacobaea
- Hoary ragwort – Senecio erucifolius
- Marsh ragwort – Senecio aquaticus
- Oxford ragwort – Senecio squalidus
- Silver ragwort – Senecio cineraria
Rantipole – Daucus carota
Rapeseed – Brassica napus
Raspberry – Rubus (Idaeobatus) spp.
- Black raspberry – Rubus occidentalis
- Purple raspberry – Rubus occidentalis
Redbrush – Cornus amomum
Redbud – Cercis spp.
- Eastern redbud – Cercis canadensis
- Western redbud – Cercis occidentalis
- Judas-tree – Cercis siliquastrum
Red ink plant – Phytolacca americana
Redweed – Phytolacca americana
Rheumatism root – Apocynum cannabinum
Rhubarb – Rheum rhabarbarum
Ribwort – Plantago major
Rice
- Asian rice – Oryza sativa
- African rice – Oryza glaberrima
Roadweed – Plantago major
Rocket – (several genera)
- Dame's rocket – Hesperis matronalis
- Sweet rocket – Hesperis matronalis
- Winter rocket – Barbarea vulgaris
- Yellow rocket – Barbarea vulgaris
Rocketcress – Barbarea vulgaris
Rose – Rosa
- Baby rose – Rosa multiflora
- Dwarf wild rose – Rosa virginiana
- Low rose – Rosa virginiana
- Multiflora rose – Rosa multiflora
- Prairie rose – Rosa virginiana
- Rambler rose – Rosa multiflora
- Wild rose – Rosa virginiana
Rosemary – Rosmarinus officinalis
Rye – Secale cereale

S

Snowdrop (Galanthus)

Saffron crocus – Crocus sativus
Sanguinary – Achillea millefolium
Saskatoon – Amelanchier alnifolia
Sauce-alone – Alliaria petiolata
Scarlet berry – Solanum dulcamara
Scoke – Phytolacca americana
Scotch cap – Rubus occidentalis
Scrambled eggs – Corydalis aurea
Scurvy grass – Barbarea verna
Serviceberry – Amelanchier
- Common serviceberry – Amelanchier arborea
- Downy serviceberry – Amelanchier arborea
- Shadblow serviceberry – Amelanchier canadensis
Shadblow – Amelanchier canadensis
Shadbush – Amelanchier canadensis
Shrubby mayweed – Oncosiphon suffruticosum
Silkweed – Asclepias syriaca
- Swamp silkweed – Asclepias incarnata
- Virginia silkweed – Asclepias syriaca
Skunkweed – Symplocarpus foetidus
Snakeberry – Solanum dulcamara
Snowdrop – Galanthus
Sorrel – Oxalis
- Redwood sorrel – Oxalis oregana
Speedwell
- Corn speedwell – Veronica arvensis
- Wall speedwell – Veronica arvensis
Spikenard – Nardostachys jatamansi
Spoolwood – Betula papyrifera
Squaw bush – Cornus amomum
Stammerwort – Ambrosia artemisiifolia
Star-of-Persia – Allium cristophii
Stickweed – Ambrosia artemisiifolia
Strawberry – Fragaria × ananassa
Strawberry tree – Arbutus unedo
Strawberry tree 'Marina' – Madrone – Arbutus 'Marina'
Sugarcane – Saccharum
Swallow-wort
- Orange swallow-wort – Asclepias tuberosa
- Silky swallow-wort – Asclepias syriaca
Sneezeweed – Achillea ptarmica
Sneezewort – Achillea ptarmica
Sunflower – Helianthus annuus
Sugarplum – Amelanchier canadensis
Soldier's woundwort – Achillea millefolium
Stag bush – Viburnum prunifolium
Swallow-wort
- Orange swallow-wort – Asclepias tuberosa
- Silky swallow-wort – Asclepias syriaca
Sweet potato – Ipomoea batatas
Sweet potato vine – Ipomoea batatas
Swinies – Sonchus oleraceus
Sycamore – Platanus spp.
- Sycamore (California) – Platanus racemosa
- Sycamore (Arizona) – Platanus wrighitii
- Sycamore (American) – Platanus occidentalis
- Sundari (Bangladesh) – Heritiera fomes
- Gewa (Bangladesh) – Excoecaria agallocha

T

Tobacco plant (Nicotiana glauca)

Tansy
- Common tansy – Tanacetum vulgare
- White tansy – Achillea ptarmica
- Wild tansy – Ambrosia artemisiifolia
Tea – Camellia sinensis
- Appalachian tea – Ilex glabra
Thimbleberry – Rubus occidentalis
Thimbleweed – Rudbeckia laciniata
Thousand-leaf – Achillea millefolium
Thousand-seal – Achillea millefolium
Tassel weed – Ambrosia artemisiifolia
Thistle – (Several genera)
- Annual sow thistle – Sonchus oleraceus
- California thistle – Cirsium arvense
- Canada thistle – Cirsium arvense
- Corn thistle – Cirsium arvense
- Corn sow thistle – Sonchus arvensis
- Creeping thistle – Cirsium arvense
- Cursed thistle – Cirsium arvense
- Field sow thistle – Sonchus arvensis
- Green thistle – Cirsium arvense
- Hard thistle – Cirsium arvense
- Hare's thistle – Sonchus oleraceus
- Milk thistle – Sonchus oleraceus
- Nodding thistle – Carduus nutans L.
- Perennial thistle – Cirsium arvense
- Prickly thistle – Cirsium arvense
- Sharp-fringed sow Thistle – Sonchus asper
- Small-flowered Thistle – Cirsium arvense
- Spiny sow thistle – Sonchus asper
- Spiny-leaved sow Thistle – Sonchus asper
- Swine thistle – Sonchus arvensis
- Tree sow thistle – Sonchus arvensis
- Way thistle – Cirsium arvense
Thyme – Thymus, specifically Thymus vulgaris
Tickleweed – Veratrum viride
Tobacco plant – Nicotiana
Tomato – Solanum lycopersicum
Toothwort – Cardamine concatenata
- Cutleaf toothwort – Cardamine concatenata
- Purple-flowered Toothwort – Cardamine concatenata
Touch-me-not – Impatiens capensis, Impatiens pallida, Mimosa pudica, Cardamine hirsuta
Traveller's joy – Clematis virginiana
Tread-softly – Solanum carolinense
Tree tobacco – Nicotiana glauca
Trillium – Trillium spp.
- Western trillium – Trillium ovatum
  - Western wake robin – Trillium ovatum
- White trillium – Trillium grandiflorum
Tuber-root – Asclepias tuberosa
Tulip – Tulipa
Tulsi – Ocimum santalum

U

Umbrella palm – Hedyscepe canterburyana
Umbrella papyrus – Cyperus alternifolius

V

Voodoo lily (Dracunculus vulgaris)

Vanilla orchid – Vanilla
Varnish tree – Koelreuteria paniculata
Velvet bean – Mucuna pruriens
Viburnum – Viburnum
- Blackhaw viburnum – Viburnum prunifolium
- Leatherleaf viburnum – Viburnum rhytidophyllum
Violet – (several genera)
- Viola species
- African violet – Streptocarpus sect. Saintpaulia species
- Damask violet – Hesperis matronalis
- Dame's violet – Hesperis matronalis
- Dog's-tooth-violet or dogtooth violet – Erythronium dens-canis
Violet bloom – Solanum dulcamara
Viper's grass – Scorzonera hispanica
Virgin's bower – Clematis virginiana
- Virginia virgin's bower – Clematis virginiana
Voodoo lily – Dracunculus vulgaris

W

Woolly morning glory (Argyreia nervosa)

Walnut – Juglans sp.
Wattle – Acacia
- Mount Connor wattle – Acacia ammobia
Waybread – Plantago major
Weed (Marijuana) — Cannabis Sativa, Cannabis Indica, Cannabis Ruderalis
Western redbud – Cercis occidentalis
Wheat – Triticum spp.
White man's foot – Plantago major
White-root – Asclepias tuberosa
Wild cotton – Apocynum cannabinum, Asclepias syriaca
Wild honeysuckle – Lambertia
- Prickly honeysuckle – Lambertia echinata
- Heath-leaved honeysuckle – Lambertia ericifolia
- Fairall's honeysuckle – Lambertia fairallii
- Mountain devil – Lambertia formosa
- Honey flower – Lambertia formosa
- Holly-leaved honeysuckle – Lambertia ilicifolia
- Chittick – Lambertia inermis
- Many-flowered honeysuckle – Lambertia multiflora
- Round-leaf honeysuckle – Lambertia orbifolia
- Green honeysuckle – Lambertia rariflora
Wild hops – Clematis virginiana
Willow – Salix
- Coyote willow – Salix exigua
- Goodding willow – Salix gooddingii
- Red willow – Cornus amomum
- Rose willow – Cornus amomum
Windroot – Asclepias tuberosa
Wineberry – Rubus phoenicolasius
Winterberry – Ilex verticillata
- American winterberry – Ilex verticillata
- Evergreen winterberry – Ilex glabra
- Virginia winterberry – Ilex verticillata
Wintercress – Barbarea vulgaris
- Early wintercress – Barbarea verna
Woodbine – Clematis virginiana
Woolly morning glory – Argyreia nervosa
Wormwood
- Roman wormwood – Ambrosia artemisiifolia, Corydalis sempervirens
Wound rocket – Barbarea vulgaris

X

Y

Yellow coneflower (Echinacea paradoxa)

Yarrow – Achillea
- Common yarrow – Achillea millefolium
- Fernleaf yarrow – Achillea filipendulina
- Sneezewort yarrow – Achillea ptarmica
- Woolly yarrow – Achillea tomentosa
Yellow fieldcress – Rorippa sylvestris
Yellowwood – Cladrastis lutea, Maclura pomifera
Yellow coneflower – Echinacea paradoxa
Yam – Dioscorea; (in North America) Ipomoea batatas
Yunnan camellia – Camellia yunnanensis

Z

Zebrawood (Brachystegia spiciformis)

Zebrawood – Brachystegia spiciformis
Zedoary – Curcuma zedoaria

References

"White Ash Burns With Fall Splendor". The Spruce. Retrieved 2018-09-24.

Categories:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_plants_by_common_name

Black Hills Expedition (1874)

Part of the Sioux Wars

Date	July 2, 1874 – August 30, 1874
Location	Dakota Territory and Montana Territory

Belligerents

United States

Commanders and leaders

George A. Custer

Frederick D. Grant

Units involved

7th United States Cavalry Regiment

Strength

~1,200 Soldiers and Civilians

Casualties and losses

1 killed

The Black Hills Expedition was a United States Army expedition in 1874 led by Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer that set out on July 2, 1874, from modern day Bismarck, North Dakota, which was then Fort Abraham Lincoln in the Dakota Territory, with orders to travel to the previously uncharted Black Hills of South Dakota. Its mission was to look for suitable locations for a fort, find a route to the southwest, and to investigate the possibility of gold mining.^[1] Custer and his unit, the 7th Cavalry, arrived in the Black Hills on July 22, 1874, with orders to return by August 30. The expedition set up a camp at the site of the future town of Custer; while Custer and the military units searched for a suitable location for a fort, civilians searched for gold, and it is disputed whether or not any substantial amount was found. Nonetheless, this prompted a mass gold rush which in turn antagonised the Sioux Indians who had been promised protection of their sacred land through Treaties made by the US government,^[2] and who were later to kill Custer at the Battle of the Little Big Horn in the Great Sioux War of 1876–1877 between themselves and the United States.^[1]

The entire expedition was photographed by William H. Illingworth, an English photographer who accompanied Custer after selection by the then-Captain William Ludlow. Ludlow, the engineer for the expedition, financed Illingworth's photography and paid him $30 per month to provide photographic plates for the US Army, of which he made 70 in all.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Hills_Expedition

Cat Temporal range: 9,500 years ago – present
Various types of cats
Conservation status
Domesticated
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Suborder:	Feliformia
Family:	Felidae
Subfamily:	Felinae
Genus:	Felis
Species:	F. catus^[1]
Binomial name
*Felis catus^[1]* Linnaeus, 1758^[2]
Synonyms
Catus domesticus Erxleben, 1777^[3] F. angorensis Gmelin, 1788 F. vulgaris Fischer, 1829

The cat (Felis catus) is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal.^[1]^[2] It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of the family.^[4] Cats are commonly kept as house pets but can also be farm cats or feral cats; the feral cat ranges freely and avoids human contact.^[5] Domestic cats are valued by humans for companionship and their ability to kill small rodents. About 60 cat breeds are recognized by various cat registries.^[6]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat

Nevada State Route 375

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

(Redirected from Black mailbox)

State Route 375

Extraterrestrial Highway
Warm Springs Road

Route information

Maintained by NDOT

Length

98.443 mi^[1] (158.429 km)

Existed

1976–present

History

SR 25 by 1933; became SR 375 in 1976; highway named in 1996.

Major junctions

South end

SR 318 at Crystal Springs

North end

US 6 at Warm Springs

Location

Country

United States

State

Nevada

Counties

Nye, Lincoln

Highway system

Nevada State Highway System

←

SR 374

→

SR 376

State Route 375 (SR 375) is a 98.414-mile (158.382 km) state highway in Nye and Lincoln counties in south-central Nevada, United States. The highway stretches from State Route 318 at Crystal Springs northwest to U.S. Route 6 (US 6) at Warm Springs. The route travels through mostly unoccupied desert terrain, with much of its alignment paralleling the northern edges of the Nellis Air Force Range. The road originally traversed through what is now the northern reaches of the air force range in the 1930s, when it was previously designated State Route 25A and later part of State Route 25.

The top-secret Area 51 government base is near SR 375, and many travelers have reported UFO observations and other strange alien activity along this road. Such stories prompted the state to officially designate the route as the Extraterrestrial Highway in 1996. The small town of Rachel, located near the midpoint of the highway, caters to tourists, geocachers, and UFO seekers with alien-themed businesses. Although the area receives some tourism due to alleged extraterrestrial activity, SR 375 remains a lightly traveled route.

Route description

View from the north end of SR 375 looking southbound, July 2014

The "black mailbox", October 2005

State Route 375 begins at a "Y" junction with State Route 318 at Crystal Springs, a ghost town in the northern end of the Pahranagat Valley in the center of Lincoln County. The site, which is little more than the junction and a few trees, functions as a rest area.^[2] From Crystal Springs, the highway curves southwest to pass between the Pahrangat and Mount Irish ranges to ascend 5,592-foot (1,704 m) Hancock Summit.^[2]

Descending the summit, SR 375 nears the border of the Nellis Air Force Range. As the highway heads northwest through Tikaboo Valley, it meets Mail Box Road. It used to be marked by a single postal drop known as the "black mailbox": the dirt access road leads to the restricted lands surrounding Area 51. The original mailbox was a normal black mailbox, however due to people constantly sifting through it, it was replaced with a white one that was much more secure. The name "Black Mailbox" still stuck. It was commonly used as a gathering place for UFO seekers,^[3] and two to three UFO sightings per week allegedly occur in the area.^[4] The mailbox was removed by its owner, Steve Medlin, due to continued vandalism.^[5] SR 375 continues heading northwest from the mailbox, climbing in elevation again to reach the top of Coyote Summit at 5,591 feet (1,704 m).^[2]

West of the summit, the Extraterrestrial Highway descends into the Sand Spring Valley and the community of Rachel becomes visible. The small town of about 50 residents is little more than homes and a few businesses. The Little A'Le'Inn (pronounced "alien") is the focal point of the town, providing a small motel, an alien-themed restaurant/bar, and extraterrestrial souvenirs.^[4]^[6] The civilian-run Area 51 Research Center, based out of a yellow house trailer^[7] and documenting paranormal activity in the area, closed in 2001.^[4]^[8] As of early 2021, there is now a gas station and general store open in Rachel, with a campground and RV hookup planned to open by spring of 2022.^{[citation needed]}

Leaving Rachel, SR 375 continues northwest to enter Nye County. The route climbs out of Sand Spring Valley and heads over the 5,935-foot (1,809 m) Queen City Summit, the highest point on the highway.^[2] After passing the summit, the route descends into the southern end of Railroad Valley, curving nearly due north for several miles as it follows the base of Reveille Range. As the mountains subside, the road turns westward again to head to its northern terminus at the junction of US 6 at Warm Springs.^[2]

History

Route development

SR 375 originated as State Route 25A and later became the western segment of State Route 25.

SR 375 passing through Sand Spring Valley, October 1997

Map showing the location of Rachel, and State Route 375 as it passes north of Area 51

An unimproved road approximating the present alignment of State Route 375 came into existence by 1932. This route, christened State Route 25A, connected Crystal Springs to State Route 4 (now US 6) just east of Tonopah.^[9] By 1933, SR 25A had been renumbered to become a new western segment of State Route 25.^[10] The route underwent periodic realignments over the next few years, but the highway's terminal junctions remained mostly unchanged.

In 1942, SR 25 appeared to have a significant gap in its route. State maps from the time show a large area within Nye and Lincoln Counties where all roads had been removed.^[11] The route existed in one piece again by 1946, although it had been realigned northward and shortened to 111 miles (179 km).^[12] A sizable portion of SR 25 passing through the Tonopah U.S. Army Air Force Bombing Range (now the Nellis Air Force Range and Nevada Test Site) was restricted from public travel by 1950, the restricted section being approximately the same area that was removed in 1942.^[11]^[13] To avoid the restricted area of the testing range, the west end of SR 25 was realigned by 1957. The highway connected to US 6 at Warm Springs about 37 miles (60 km) east of the previous terminus, heading north around the Reveille Range instead of climbing the Kawich Range within the bombing area.^[14]

With the 1957 realignment, the routing of SR 25 attained its final form. The entire highway was paved by the following year.^[15] SR 25 remained unchanged until the 1976 renumbering of Nevada's state highways, through which the western section of SR 25 became the new State Route 375.^[16] The new route number was first seen on the 1978 edition of the official state highway map.^[17]

Naming the highway

Extraterrestrial Highway (State Route 375) sign, September 2012

In 1989, an engineer named Bob Lazar claimed to have worked on alien spaceships and to have viewed saucer test flights in Tikaboo Valley, telling his story to a Las Vegas television station which was subsequently broadcast as an exclusive report.^[3] By the 1990s, stories of the top-secret U.S. government base at Area 51 had become mainstream, and many books and personal accounts had been published regarding extraterrestrial spacecraft and alien activity in the region surrounding Groom Lake. Rachel, being the closest settlement to the restricted facility, attracted people in search of UFOs and alien life.^[18] To capitalize on the purported paranormal activity along the route, the Nevada Commission on Tourism sought to rename the highway. State officials drew inspiration from the alien legends and dubbed SR 375 the Extraterrestrial Highway in February 1996.^[19] The tourism commission hoped that the renaming would "draw travelers to the austere and remote reaches of south-central Nevada, where old atomic bomb test sites, secret Defense Department airstrips and huge, sequestered tracts of military land create a marketable mystique".^[6]

The Little A'Le'Inn in Rachel benefits from tourism brought by the renamed highway, October 1997

News of the highway's renaming reached Twentieth Century Fox. The studio used the opportunity to promote the release of the film Independence Day, whose plot involves an alien invasion of Earth and the secret facility at Area 51. A public dedication ceremony for the Extraterrestrial Highway was held in Rachel in April 1996.^[20] State dignitaries at the ceremony were joined by studio executives and Independence Day stars Jeff Goldblum, Robert Loggia, Bill Pullman, and Brent Spiner.^[20]^[21] Nevada Governor Bob Miller presided over the ceremony, speaking with humorous space references and unveiling special "Extraterrestrial Highway 375" and "Speed Limit Warp 7" signs for the highway.^[21] The event concluded with several guests placing items related to Nevada and the film into a time capsule commemorating the occasion.^[20]^[21]

Looking northwest near Rachel, visitors have left their marks on the Extraterrestrial Highway, March 2004

To promote the Extraterrestrial Highway after its renaming, the tourism commission launched "The ET Experience" in July 1996. Tourists could contact the Nevada Commission on Tourism to receive a traveler's kit containing information about the highway, nearby cultural attractions, and area services. Visitors that patronized businesses in Rachel and central Nevada and submitted an account of their journey received Extraterrestrial Highway memorabilia. Stories from travelers were also published in a newsletter available to those that had completed the experience.^[19] Despite tourism generated by people searching for signs of alien life, only "an average of about 200 cars drive some portion of the Extraterrestrial Highway every day, making it one of the state’s least traveled routes."^[6]

In keeping with the supposed alien links of the area, in 2006, KFC established what was said to be the first corporate logo visible from space, made from 87,500 square feet (8,130 m²) of tiles and sited just off the Extraterrestrial Highway in Rachel.^[22]^[23] The logo has since been removed.^[24]

Major intersections

Note: Mileposts in Nevada reset at county lines. The start and end mileposts for each county are given in the county column.

County	Location	mi^[1]	km	Destinations	Notes
Lincoln 0.00-49.102	Crystal Springs	0.000	0.000	SR 318 north – Hiko, Ely SR 318 south – to US 93 (Great Basin Highway), Alamo, Caliente, Las Vegas	Southern terminus
Nye 0.00-49.341	Warm Springs	98.443	158.429	US 6 east – Ely, Delta (Utah) US 6 west – Tonopah, Bishop (California)	Northern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

"State Maintained Highways of Nevada, Descriptions and Maps". Nevada Department of Transportation. 2020. Retrieved June 8, 2020.

Official Highway Map of Nevada (Map) (2007–08 ed.). Nevada Department of Transportation. 2007. § D4, E4, E5.

Powers, Ashley (August 21, 2008). "In the Nevada Desert, There's Something Out There—The Black Mailbox". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 21, 2009.

Zekan, Karen (April 30, 1999). "The 'X' Miles". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved January 13, 2009.

Zackofalltrades. "The Black Mailbox". Atlas Obscura. Retrieved August 3, 2015.

Regenold, Stephen (April 13, 2007). "Lonesome Highway to Another World?". The New York Times. Retrieved January 13, 2009.

"Area 51 Research Center". The Center for Land Use Interpretation. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved April 25, 2009.

"Official Homepage of Rachel, Nevada". Rachel, Nevada. March 12, 2007. Retrieved April 25, 2009.

Road Map (Map). 1 in = 20 mi. Nevada Department of Highways. 1932. Archived from the original on June 13, 2015. Retrieved April 10, 2009.

Official Road Map of Nevada (Map). Nevada State Highway Department. 1933. Archived from the original on December 5, 2012. Retrieved April 10, 2009.

Official Road Map of the State of Nevada (Map). Nevada Department of Highways. 1942. Archived from the original on December 15, 2012. Retrieved April 10, 2009.

Official Road Map of the State of Nevada (Map). Nevada Department of Highways. 1946. Archived from the original on December 15, 2012. Retrieved April 10, 2009.

Official Highway Map of Nevada (Map). Nevada Department of Highways. 1950. § F4-G6. Archived from the original on December 15, 2012. Retrieved April 11, 2009.

Official Highway Map of Nevada (Map). Nevada Department of Highways. 1957. § F4-G6. Archived from the original on December 15, 2012. Retrieved April 11, 2009.

Official Highway Map of Nevada (Map). Nevada Department of Highways. 1958. § F4-G6. Archived from the original on December 15, 2012. Retrieved April 11, 2009.

Nevada State Maintained Highways: Descriptions, Index and Maps. Nevada Department of Transportation. January 2001. p. 112.

Official Highway Map of Nevada (Map) (1978-79 ed.). Nevada State Highway Department. 1978. § D4, E4, E5. Archived from the original on January 22, 2015. Retrieved April 11, 2009.

Moreno, Richard (2000). Roadside History of Nevada. Missoula, MT: Mountain Press Publishing Company. pp. 91–92. ISBN 0-87842-410-5.

"Tourism Commission Has Really Gone Far Out There". Las Vegas Sun. July 5, 1996. Retrieved January 13, 2009.

"Nevada Dedicates Extraterrestrial Highway". Las Vegas Leisure Guide. January 9, 1997. Retrieved January 13, 2009.

Manning, Mary (April 19, 1999). "Rural Highway Out of this World". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved January 13, 2009.

"KFC Unveils New Logo with Giant Image in Nevada Desert". Fox News. Associated Press. November 14, 2006. Retrieved June 10, 2019.

"KFC Creates World's First Brand Visible from Space as Colonel Sanders Takes One Small Step for Humankind but One Giant Leap for Fried Chicken" (Press release). Business Wire. November 14, 2006. Retrieved June 10, 2019.

Jennings, Ken (June 9, 2014). "The Fast-Food Advertisement That Was Visible From Space". Conde Nast Traveler. Retrieved June 10, 2019.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nevada State Route 375.

Route map:

KML file (edit • help)

Extraterrestrial Highway Home Page, includes photos and many useful links
Extraterrestrial Highway at Vegas.com, includes short video preview
The Extraterrestrial Highway at Roadtrip America
Nevada 375/Extraterrestrial Highway at AARoads

Categories:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nevada_State_Route_375

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Salt_Lake

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_volcano

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Army_Combat_Uniform

Arabia Mountain

View from the summit of Arabia Mountain

Highest point

955 ft (291 m)

172 ft (52 m)

Geography

Location

DeKalb County, Georgia

Climbing

First ascent

unknown

Easiest route

Hike

Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area
IUCN category III (natural monument or feature)

Location	Southeast of Atlanta, Georgia
Nearest city	Lithonia, Georgia
Coordinates	33°39′54″N 84°7′6″WCoordinates: 33°39′54″N 84°7′6″W
Established	2006
Governing body	Arabia Mountain Heritage Area Alliance

Arabia Mountain, a part of Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area, is the northern of two peaks in the Davidson-Arabia Mountain Nature Preserve, in DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. A low saddle separates it from Bradley Mountain, several hundred feet to its south. The two form a monadnock. The peak is 955 feet (290 m) above sea level, rising 172 feet (52 m) above Arabia Lake reservoir. Bradley Mountain is closer to the visitor trails than Arabia Mountain and is often misidentified by visitors as Arabia Mountain.

The mountain is also in a namesake National Heritage Area^[1] in the U.S. state of Georgia that encompasses natural, cultural, and historical elements to form a cohesive, nationally significant landscape.^[2] The area is due east of Atlanta and spans 40,000 acres (16,000 ha) reaching from the historic commercial center of Lithonia to the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers, including a number of sites in between, including Panola Mountain State Park, Davidson-Arabia Mountain Nature Preserve, the historic Flat Rock Community with the Flat Rock Archives, and more. The National Heritage Area was established in 2006 and is coordinated by the Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area Alliance, which includes board members, representatives from the community and local organizations, and staff.

Additionally, Davidson-Arabia Mountain Nature Preserve includes 2,550 acres in DeKalb County, Georgia with a multi-use bike path, hiking trails, and lakes for fishing. The park features large exposed granite formations, wetlands, pine forest, oak forest, streams habitat and two lakes. Plant species include the rare red diamorpha in the winter and yellow daises in the fall. The area included rock quarries and abandoned structures from the mining operations.^[3]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabia_Mountain

Georgia O'Keeffe
O'Keeffe in 1918, photograph by Alfred Stieglitz
Born	Georgia Totto O'Keeffe November 15, 1887 Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, U.S.
Died	March 6, 1986 (aged 98) Santa Fe, New Mexico, U.S.
Education	School of the Art Institute of Chicago Columbia College Teachers College, Columbia University University of Virginia Art Students League of New York
Known for	Painting
Movement	American modernism, Precisionism
Spouse	Alfred Stieglitz (m. 1924; died 1946)
Family	Ida O'Keeffe (sister)
Awards	National Medal of Arts (1985) Presidential Medal of Freedom (1977) Edward MacDowell Medal (1972)

Georgia Totto O'Keeffe (November 15, 1887 – March 6, 1986) was an American modernist artist. She was known for her paintings of enlarged flowers, New York skyscrapers, and New Mexico landscapes. O'Keeffe has been called the "Mother of American modernism".^[1]^[2]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_O%27Keeffe

Phantom cats, also known as alien big cats (ABCs), are large felids which allegedly appear in regions outside their indigenous range. Sightings, tracks, and predation have been reported in a number of countries including Australia, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, India, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, Switzerland, and the United States.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phantom_cat#Blue_Mountains_panther

In Australian folklore, the Blue Mountains panther or Lithgow panther is a big cat said to exist by residents of the Blue Mountains area, west of Sydney, New South Wales, for over a century.

Theories suggest the animal may be a descendant of big cats released by World War II US soldiers, which had been used as military mascots.^[1] Alternatively, accounts of big cats released by travelling circuses, or which had escaped circuses, exist; as well as rumours that big cats were available for black market purchase in New South Wales in the 20th century.^[1]

Over 500 sightings in 20 years have been reported of the panther.^[1] In 2018, Grant Denyer and his wife, television producer Cheryl Rogers, reported to have sighted the cat on their property.^[2] Photographs have also been recorded in Gippsland and Hawkesbury.^[3] In 2002, a Kenthurst teenager Luke Walker was attacked by what he stated to be a large feline; he suffered deep lacerations.^[4] Sightings have been made by a NSW Police Force detective, an officer of the Department of Agriculture, and Rural Fire Service personnel, as well as pilots.^[4]

Encounters continue to be reported upon in national newspapers as of 2020, when video footage was allegedly recorded in the grounds of Sydney Adventist Hospital, Wahroonga^[5]^[6] Most recently in April 2020, the Go Pro-associated Instagram collective bluemtns_explore shared photographs of alleged big cat tracks discovered during a mountain trek.^[7] The Grose Vale Group, which has collected reports of sightings since 1998, claims it collects 20 to 30 sightings a year.^[8]

^{https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Mountains_panther}

Roborovski hamster

Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)^[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Rodentia
Family:	Cricetidae
Subfamily:	Cricetinae
Genus:	Phodopus
Species:	P. roborovskii
Binomial name
*Phodopus roborovskii* (Satunin, 1903)

Distribution of P. roborovskii
Synonyms
Cricetulus bedfordiae Thomas, 1908 Phodopus praedilectus Mori, 1930

The Roborovski hamster (Phodopus roborovskii), also known as the desert hamster, Robo dwarf hamster, or simply dwarf hamster, is the smallest of three species of hamster in the genus Phodopus. It lives in the deserts of Central Asia, averaging 1.8 centimetres (0.7 in) at birth and 4.8 centimetres (1.9 in) and 12–24 grams (0.42–0.85 oz) during adulthood.^[2] Distinguishing characteristics of the Roborovskis are eyebrow-like white spots and the lack of any dorsal stripe (found on the other members of the genus Phodopus). The average lifespan for the Roborovski hamster is 2–3 years, though this is dependent on living conditions (extremes being four years in captivity and two in the wild).^[3] Roborovskis are known for their speed and have been said to run up to 6 miles a night.^[4]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roborovski_dwarf_hamster

Red Mountain is a long ridge running southwest-northeast and dividing Jones Valley from Shades Valley south of Birmingham, Alabama. It is part of the Ridge-and-Valley region of the Appalachian mountains. The Red Mountain Formation of hard Silurian rock strata lies exposed in several long crests, and was named "Red Mountain" because of the rust-stained rock faces and prominent seams of red hematite iron ore. The mountain was the site of the Sloss, Republic Steel, Woodward Iron and Tennessee Coal and iron mines which supplied ore to Birmingham's iron furnaces. The best displays of the mountain's geological strata occur at the Twentieth Street cut near the Vulcan statue and at the U.S. Route 31 highway cut leading into the suburb of Homewood. Most of Birmingham's television and radio stations have their transmission towers located on Red Mountain.

Red Mountain is also home to Red Mountain Park, one of the largest urban parks in the United States at 1,500 acres (6.1 km²).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Mountain_(Birmingham)

Cavite
Province
Province of Cavite
Clockwise (from the top): Aguinaldo Shrine, monolith of Mount Pico de Loro, Tagaytay, Corregidor Island, monument of the Thirteen Martyrs of Cavite
Flag Seal
Nickname: Historical Capital of the Philippines^[1]
Motto(s): Filipino: Dangal at Pag-ibig sa Bayan English: (Honor and Love for Country)
Anthem: Filipino: Himno ng Kabite English: (Cavite Hymn) 2:24
Location in the Philippines

Government ^[4]
OpenStreetMap
Coordinates: 14°16′N 120°52′ECoordinates: 14°16′N 120°52′E
Country	Philippines
Region	Calabarzon
Established	1614^[2]^[3]
Capital	Trece Martires^[a] (de facto) Imus (de jure)
Largest city	Dasmariñas
• Type	Sangguniang Panlalawigan
• Governor	Jonvic Remulla (NUP)
• Vice Governor	Athena Bryana Tolentino (NUP)
• Legislature	Cavite Provincial Board
Area ^[5]^[6]
• Total	1,574.17 km² (607.79 sq mi)
• Land	1,426.06 km² (550.60 sq mi)
• Rank	67th out of 81
Highest elevation (Pico de Loro)	688 m (2,257 ft)
Population (2020 census)^[7]
• Total	4,344,829
• Rank	1st out of 81
• Density	2,800/km² (7,100/sq mi)
• Rank	2nd out of 81
Demonym(s)	Caviteño (masculine or neutral) Caviteña (feminine)
Divisions
• Independent cities	0
• Component cities

7
• Municipalities

Demographics
16
• Barangays	829
• Districts	Legislative districts of Cavite
• Ethnic groups	Tagalog (85%) Others (8%) Bisaya (5%) Bicolano (3%)
• Native languages	Tagalog Chavacano
• Languages	(Major language) Filipino English Chavacano (Minor language) Bicolano Cebuano Ilocano Hiligaynon Waray
• Major religions	Roman Catholicism Aglipayan Church Protestantism Eastern Orthodoxy Buddhism Hinduism Islam
• Feast date	2nd and 3rd Sunday of November
• Ecclesiastical dioceses	Diocese of Imus (Roman Catholic) Diocese of Cavite (Aglipayan Church) Diocese of the Philippines and Vietnam (Eastern Orthodoxy)
• Patron saint	Our Lady of Solitude of Porta Vaga^[8]^[9]
Time zone	UTC+8 (PHT)
IDD : area code	+63 (0)46
ISO 3166 code	PH-CAV
Website	www.cavite.gov.ph

Cavite, officially the Province of Cavite (Tagalog: Lalawigan ng Kabite;^[b] Chavacano: Provincia de Cavite), is a province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region in Luzon. Located on the southern shores of Manila Bay and southwest of Manila, it is one of the most industrialized and fastest-growing provinces in the Philippines. As of 2020, it has a population of 4,344,829, making it the most populated province in the country if the independent cities of Cebu are excluded from Cebu's population figure.

The de facto capital and seat of the government of the province is Trece Martires, although Imus is the official (de jure) capital while the City of Dasmariñas is the largest city in the province.

For over 300 years, the province played an important role in both the country's colonial past and eventual fight for independence, earning it the title "Historical Capital of the Philippines". It became the cradle of the Philippine Revolution, which led to the renouncement of Spanish colonial control, finally culminating in the Philippine Declaration of Independence on June 12, 1898 in Kawit. The old provincial capital, Cavite City also hosted docks for the Manila galleon, becoming an essential part of commerce between Asia and Latin America.

Originally an agricultural province, its northern cities of Bacoor, Imus, and Dasmariñas (with a combined population of 1,864,560 at the 2020 Census) are now suburbs of Manila due to increasing urbanization in the late 1900s. This province forms part of the Greater Manila Area.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cavite

Navajo Nation

Use	National flag and ensign
Proportion	10:19
Adopted	1968
Design	Large Rainbow compassing the Flag, four Mountains one White, Blue, Yellow and Black; Navajo Reservation outline in Copper Orange.

The flag of the Navajo Nation is the official flag of the Navajo Nation, a Native American governed nation in the Four Corners states of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah.^[1]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_the_Navajo_Nation

Llyn y Fan Fach

Llyn y Fan Fach
Location	Brecon Beacons National Park, Carmarthenshire: View from near Picws Du
Coordinates	51°52′55″N 3°44′31″WCoordinates: 51°52′55″N 3°44′31″W
Type	reservoir, natural lake
Primary outflows	River Sawdde
Basin countries	United Kingdom

Max. depth	29 m (95 ft)
Surface elevation	506 m (1,660 ft)

Llyn y Fan Fach (Welsh meaning "little lake (near) the peak")^[1] is a lake of approximately 10 hectares (25 acres) on the northern margin of the Black Mountain in Carmarthenshire, South Wales and lying within the Brecon Beacons National Park. The lake lies at an altitude of approximately 1,660 feet (510 m), immediately to the north of the ridge of the Carmarthen Fans. It is the smaller of two lakes within this mountain massif: the slightly larger Llyn y Fan Fawr is about 2 miles (3.2 km) to the east.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Llyn_y_Fan_Fach

Oil sands, tar sands, crude bitumen, or bituminous sands, are a type of unconventional petroleum deposit. Oil sands are either loose sands or partially consolidated sandstone containing a naturally occurring mixture of sand, clay, and water, soaked with bitumen, a dense and extremely viscous form of petroleum.

Significant bitumen deposits are reported in Canada,^[1]^[2] Kazakhstan, Russia, and Venezuela. The estimated worldwide deposits of oil are more than 2 trillion barrels (320 billion cubic metres);^[3]. Proven reserves of bitumen contain approximately 100 billion barrels,^[4] and total natural bitumen reserves are estimated at 249.67 Gbbl (39.694×10⁹ m³) worldwide, of which 176.8 Gbbl (28.11×10⁹ m³), or 70.8%, are in Alberta, Canada.^[1]

Crude bitumen is a thick, sticky form of crude oil, so viscous that it will not flow unless heated or diluted with lighter hydrocarbons such as light crude oil or natural-gas condensate. At room temperature, it is much like cold molasses.^[5] The Orinoco Belt in Venezuela is sometimes described as oil sands, but these deposits are non-bituminous, falling instead into the category of heavy or extra-heavy oil due to their lower viscosity.^[6] Natural bitumen and extra-heavy oil differ in the degree by which they have been degraded from the original conventional oils by bacteria.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_sands

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Staircase%E2%80%93Escalante_National_Monument

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_rough-winged_swallow

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limestone

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beetle

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volcano

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escudilla_Mountain

African wildcat

An African wildcat at Parc des Félins
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)^[1]
CITES Appendix II (CITES)^[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Suborder:	Feliformia
Family:	Felidae
Subfamily:	Felinae
Genus:	Felis
Species:	F. lybica
Binomial name
*Felis lybica* Forster, 1780
Subspecies
F. l. lybica Forster, 1780 F. l. cafra (Desmarest, 1822) F. l. ornata (Gray, 1830)

Distribution of the African wildcat as of 2015^[1]

The African wildcat (Felis lybica) is a small wildcat species with sandy grey fur, pale vertical stripes on the sides and around the face. It is native to Africa, West and Central Asia, and is distributed to Rajasthan in India and Xinjiang in China. It inhabits a broad variety of landscapes ranging from deserts to savannas, shrublands and grasslands.

Chelidonura livida

A live individual of Chelidonura livida, in situ off Sharm el Sheik, Egypt
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
(unranked):	clade Heterobranchia clade Euthyneura clade Euopisthobranchia clade Cephalaspidea
Superfamily:	Philinoidea
Family:	Aglajidae
Genus:	Chelidonura
Species:	C. livida
Binomial name
*Chelidonura livida* Yonow, 1994


First attested	November 1966
Other name(s)	Winged Man, Bird Man, UFO-Bird, Mason Bird Monster
Country	United States
Region	Point Pleasant, West Virginia

Golden moles^[2] Temporal range: Lutetian–Recent^[1] PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N

Cape golden mole
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Afrosoricida
Suborder:	Chrysochloridea Broom, 1915
Family:	Chrysochloridae Gray, 1825
Type genus
Chrysochloris Lacépède, 1799
Genera
Eremitalpa Roberts, 1924 Chrysospalax Gill, 1883 Chrysochloris Lacépède, 1799 Cryptochloris Shortridge & Carter, 1938 Carpitalpa Lundholm, 1955 Huetia Chlorotalpa Roberts, 1924 Calcochloris Mivart, 1867 †Damarachloris Pickford, 2019 Amblysomus Pomel, 1848 Neamblysomus Roberts, 1924

Blog Archive

Saturday, May 20, 2023

05-20-2023-1450 - variety, etc. (continued...) (draft)

List of reptiles of Mongolia

Family Gekkonidae

Family Agamidae

Family Lacertidae

Family Boidae

Family Colubridae

Family Viperidae

Sources

Applications to quantum gravity

A non-perturbative formulation of string theory

Black hole information paradox

Applications to quantum field theory

Nuclear physics

Condensed matter physics

Criticism

Three-dimensional gravity

dS/CFT correspondence

Kerr/CFT correspondence

Higher spin gauge theories

See also

Schwarzschild wormholes

Mare Boreum quadrangle

Freezing of atmosphere

Proof for ocean

Ice cap

Ridges

Dunes

Other Mars Quadrangles

Interactive Mars map

See also

References

External links

Physical properties of soil

Texture

Structure

Density

Porosity

Consistency

Temperature

Colour

Resistivity

See also

References

Bibliography

The black mummy technique

References

Holothuria edulis

Description

Distribution and habitat

Biology

Human use

As food

As aquarium animal

References

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_mountain_cat

Evolution and systematics

The Beach

Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes

List of mountain ranges of Oregon

See also

Notes

List of pines by region

Old World

Europe, Mediterranean, West Asia

East Asia, Southeast Asia

New World

Eastern Canada, Eastern United States

Western Canada, Western United States, Northern Mexico

Southwestern United States, Mexico, Central America, Caribbean

External links

Mountain effects

List of plants by common name

A

B

C

D

E