Jupiter probably has a core of rocky material amounting to something like Earth masses. Above the core lies the main bulk of the planet in the form of liquid metallic hydrogen. This exotic form of the most common of elements is possible only at pressures exceeding million bars, as is the case in the interior of Jupiter and Saturn. Liquid metallic hydrogen consists of ionized protons and electrons like the interior of the Sun but at a far lower temperature. At the temperature and pressure of Jupiter's interior hydrogen is a liquid, not a gas. It is an electrical conductor and the source of Jupiter's magnetic field. This layer probably also contains some helium and traces of various ices.
The outermost layer is composed primarily of ordinary molecular hydrogen and helium which is liquid in the interior and gaseous further out. The atmosphere we see is just the very top of this deep layer. Water, carbon dioxide, methane and other simple molecules are also present in tiny amounts. Recent experiments have shown that hydrogen does not change phase suddenly. Therefore the interiors of the jovian planets probably have indistinct boundaries between their various interior layers.
Three distinct layers of clouds are believed to exist consisting of ammonia ice, ammonium hydrosulfide and a mixture of ice and water. However, the preliminary results from the Galileo probe show only faint indications of clouds one instrument seems to have detected the topmost layer while another may have seen the second. But the probe's entry point left was unusual Earth based telescopic observations and more recent observations by the Galileo orbiter suggest that the probe entry site may well have been one of the warmest and least cloudy areas on Jupiter at that time.
Data from the Galileo atmospheric probe also indicate that there is much less water than expected. The expectation was that Jupiter's atmosphere would contain about twice the amount of oxygen combined with the abundant hydrogen to make water as the Sun. But it now appears that the actual concentration much less than the Sun's. Also surprising was the high temperature and density of the uppermost parts of the atmosphere.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Earth
The Earth is the densest major body in the solar system. The other terrestrial planets probably have similar structures and compositions with some differences the Moon has at most a small core Mercury has an extra large core relative to its diameter the mantles of Mars and the Moon are much thicker; the Moon and Mercury may not have chemically distinct crusts; Earth may be the only one with distinct inner and outer cores. Note, however, that our knowledge of planetary interiors is mostly theoretical even for the Earth.
Unlike the other terrestrial planets, Earth's crust is divided into several separate solid plates which float around independently on top of the hot mantle below. The theory that describes this is known as plate tectonics. It is characterized by two major processes: spreading and subduction. Spreading occurs when two plates move away from each other and new crust is created by upwelling magma from below. Subduction occurs when two plates collide and the edge of one dives beneath the other and ends up being destroyed in the mantle.
There is also transverse motion at some plate boundaries . the San Andreas Fault in California and collisions between continental plates . India Eurasia. There are at present eight major plates: There are also twenty or more small plates such as the Arabian, Cocos, and Philippine Plates. Earthquakes are much more common at the plate boundaries. Plotting their locations makes it easy to see the plate boundaries.
The Earth's surface is very young. In the relatively short by astronomical standards period of years or so erosion and tectonic processes destroy and recreate most of the Earth's surface and thereby eliminate almost all traces of earlier geologic surface history such as impact craters. Thus the very early history of the Earth has mostly been erased. The Earth is billion years old, but the oldest known rocks are about 4 billion years old and rocks older than billion years are rare. The oldest fossils of living organisms are less than billion years old. There is no record of the critical period when life was first getting started.
Unlike the other terrestrial planets, Earth's crust is divided into several separate solid plates which float around independently on top of the hot mantle below. The theory that describes this is known as plate tectonics. It is characterized by two major processes: spreading and subduction. Spreading occurs when two plates move away from each other and new crust is created by upwelling magma from below. Subduction occurs when two plates collide and the edge of one dives beneath the other and ends up being destroyed in the mantle.
There is also transverse motion at some plate boundaries . the San Andreas Fault in California and collisions between continental plates . India Eurasia. There are at present eight major plates: There are also twenty or more small plates such as the Arabian, Cocos, and Philippine Plates. Earthquakes are much more common at the plate boundaries. Plotting their locations makes it easy to see the plate boundaries.
The Earth's surface is very young. In the relatively short by astronomical standards period of years or so erosion and tectonic processes destroy and recreate most of the Earth's surface and thereby eliminate almost all traces of earlier geologic surface history such as impact craters. Thus the very early history of the Earth has mostly been erased. The Earth is billion years old, but the oldest known rocks are about 4 billion years old and rocks older than billion years are rare. The oldest fossils of living organisms are less than billion years old. There is no record of the critical period when life was first getting started.
Uranus
The atmosphere of Uranus is composed of hydrogen, helium, methane and small amounts of acetylene and other hydrocarbons. Methane in the upper atmosphere absorbs red light, giving Uranus its blue-green color. The atmosphere is arranged into clouds running at constant latitudes, similar to the orientation of the more vivid latitudinal bands seen on Jupiter and Saturn. Winds at mid latitudes on Uranus blow in the direction of the planet's rotation. These winds blow at velocities of meters per second miles per hour. Radio science experiments found winds of about meters per second blowing in the opposite direction at the equator.
Uranus is distinguished by the fact that it is tipped on its side. Its unusual position is thought to be the result of a collision with a planet sized body early in the solar system's history. Voyager found that one of the most striking influences of this sideways position is its effect on the tail of the magnetic field, which is itself tilted degrees from the planet's axis of rotation. The magnetotail was shown to be twisted by the planet's rotation into a long corkscrew shape behind the planet.
The magnetic field source is unknown; the electrically conductive, super pressurized ocean of water and ammonia once thought to lie between the core and the atmosphere now appears to be nonexistent. The magnetic fields of Earth and other planets are believed to arise from electrical currents produced in their molten cores. There may be a large number of narrow rings, or possibly incomplete rings or ring arcs, as small as in width.
The individual ring particles were found to be of low reflectivity. At least one ring, the epsilon, was found to be gray in color. The moons Cordelia and Ophelia act as shepherd satellites for the epsilon ring. The greenish color of it atmosphere is due to methane and This view of Uranus was acquired by Voyager on January. The blue-green appearance of its atmosphere results from methane and high altitude photochemical smog. This gas absorbs red wavelengths from the incoming sunlight, leaving the predominant bluish color seen here.
Uranus is distinguished by the fact that it is tipped on its side. Its unusual position is thought to be the result of a collision with a planet sized body early in the solar system's history. Voyager found that one of the most striking influences of this sideways position is its effect on the tail of the magnetic field, which is itself tilted degrees from the planet's axis of rotation. The magnetotail was shown to be twisted by the planet's rotation into a long corkscrew shape behind the planet.
The magnetic field source is unknown; the electrically conductive, super pressurized ocean of water and ammonia once thought to lie between the core and the atmosphere now appears to be nonexistent. The magnetic fields of Earth and other planets are believed to arise from electrical currents produced in their molten cores. There may be a large number of narrow rings, or possibly incomplete rings or ring arcs, as small as in width.
The individual ring particles were found to be of low reflectivity. At least one ring, the epsilon, was found to be gray in color. The moons Cordelia and Ophelia act as shepherd satellites for the epsilon ring. The greenish color of it atmosphere is due to methane and This view of Uranus was acquired by Voyager on January. The blue-green appearance of its atmosphere results from methane and high altitude photochemical smog. This gas absorbs red wavelengths from the incoming sunlight, leaving the predominant bluish color seen here.
Pluto
Pluto is usually farther from the Sun than any of the eight planets; however, due to the eccentricity of its orbit, it is closer than Neptune for out of its orbit. Pluto crossed Neptune's orbit , made its closest approach September and remained within the orbit of Neptune until. This will not occur again until September . As Pluto approaches perihelion it reaches its maximum distance from the ecliptic due to its degree inclination.
Thus, it is far above or below the plane of Neptune's orbit. Under these conditions, Pluto and Neptune will not collide and do not approach closer than to one another. Pluto's rotation period is days, the same as its satellite Charon. Although it is common for a satellite to travel in a synchronous orbit with its planet, Pluto rotates synchronously with the orbit of its satellite. Thus being tidally locked, Pluto and Charon continuously face each other as they travel through space.
Unlike most planets, but similar to Uranus, Pluto rotates with its poles almost in its orbital plane. Pluto's rotational axis is tipped degrees. When Pluto was first discovered, its relatively bright south polar region was the view seen from the Earth. Pluto appeared to grow dim as our viewpoint gradually shifted from nearly pole on in to nearly equator on in. Pluto's equator is now the view seen from Earth.
During the period from through , Earth was aligned with the orbit of Charon around Pluto such that an eclipse could be observed every Pluto day. This provided opportunity to collect significant data which led to albedo maps defining surface reflectivity, and to the first accurate determination of the sizes of Pluto and Charon, including all the numbers that could be calculated therefrom.
Thus, it is far above or below the plane of Neptune's orbit. Under these conditions, Pluto and Neptune will not collide and do not approach closer than to one another. Pluto's rotation period is days, the same as its satellite Charon. Although it is common for a satellite to travel in a synchronous orbit with its planet, Pluto rotates synchronously with the orbit of its satellite. Thus being tidally locked, Pluto and Charon continuously face each other as they travel through space.
Unlike most planets, but similar to Uranus, Pluto rotates with its poles almost in its orbital plane. Pluto's rotational axis is tipped degrees. When Pluto was first discovered, its relatively bright south polar region was the view seen from the Earth. Pluto appeared to grow dim as our viewpoint gradually shifted from nearly pole on in to nearly equator on in. Pluto's equator is now the view seen from Earth.
During the period from through , Earth was aligned with the orbit of Charon around Pluto such that an eclipse could be observed every Pluto day. This provided opportunity to collect significant data which led to albedo maps defining surface reflectivity, and to the first accurate determination of the sizes of Pluto and Charon, including all the numbers that could be calculated therefrom.
Neptune
The first two thirds of Neptune is composed of a mixture of molten rock, water, liquid ammonia and methane. The outer third is a mixture of heated gases comprised of hydrogen, helium, water and methane. Methane gives Neptune its blue cloud color.
Neptune is a dynamic planet with several large, dark spots reminiscent of Jupiter's hurricane like storms. The largest spot, known as the Great Dark Spot, is about the size of the earth and is similar to the Great Red Spot on Jupiter. Voyager revealed a small, irregularly shaped, eastward-moving cloud scooting around Neptune every hours or so. This scooter as it has been dubbed could be a plume rising above a deeper cloud deck.
Long bright clouds, similar to cirrus clouds on Earth, were seen high in Neptune's atmosphere. At low northern latitudes, Voyager captured images of cloud streaks casting their shadows on cloud decks below.
The strongest winds on any planet were measured on Neptune. Most of the winds there blow westward, opposite to the rotation of the planet. Near the Great Dark Spot, winds blow up to kilometers hour.
Neptune has a set of four rings which are narrow and very faint. The rings are made up of dust particles thought to have been made by tiny meteorites smashing into Neptune's moons. From ground based telescopes the rings appear to be arcs but from Voyager the arcs turned out to be bright spots or clumps in the ring system. The exact cause of the bright clumps is unknown.
The magnetic field of Neptune, like that of Uranus, is highly tilted at from the rotation axis and offset at least from the physical center. Comparing the magnetic fields of the two planets, scientists think the extreme orientation may be characteristic of flows in the interior of the planet and not the result of that planet's sideways orientation or of any possible field reversals at either planet.
Neptune is a dynamic planet with several large, dark spots reminiscent of Jupiter's hurricane like storms. The largest spot, known as the Great Dark Spot, is about the size of the earth and is similar to the Great Red Spot on Jupiter. Voyager revealed a small, irregularly shaped, eastward-moving cloud scooting around Neptune every hours or so. This scooter as it has been dubbed could be a plume rising above a deeper cloud deck.
Long bright clouds, similar to cirrus clouds on Earth, were seen high in Neptune's atmosphere. At low northern latitudes, Voyager captured images of cloud streaks casting their shadows on cloud decks below.
The strongest winds on any planet were measured on Neptune. Most of the winds there blow westward, opposite to the rotation of the planet. Near the Great Dark Spot, winds blow up to kilometers hour.
Neptune has a set of four rings which are narrow and very faint. The rings are made up of dust particles thought to have been made by tiny meteorites smashing into Neptune's moons. From ground based telescopes the rings appear to be arcs but from Voyager the arcs turned out to be bright spots or clumps in the ring system. The exact cause of the bright clumps is unknown.
The magnetic field of Neptune, like that of Uranus, is highly tilted at from the rotation axis and offset at least from the physical center. Comparing the magnetic fields of the two planets, scientists think the extreme orientation may be characteristic of flows in the interior of the planet and not the result of that planet's sideways orientation or of any possible field reversals at either planet.
Venus
Venus has been known since prehistoric times. It is the brightest object in the sky except for the Sun and the Moon. Like Mercury, it was popularly thought to be two separate bodies: Eosphorus as the morning star and Hesperus as the evening star, but the Greek astronomers knew better. Venus's apparition as the morning star is also sometimes called Lucifer. Since Venus is an inferior planet, it shows phases when viewed with a telescope from the perspective of Earth.
Galileo's observation of this phenomenon was important evidence in favor of Copernicus's heliocentric theory of the solar system. The first spacecraft to visit Venus was Mariner It was subsequently visited by many others more than in all so far, including Pioneer Venus and the Soviet Venera the first spacecraft to land on another planet, and Venera which returned the first photographs of the surface. The first orbiter, the US spacecraft Magellan.
produced detailed maps of Venus surface using radar. ESA's Venus Express is now in orbit with a large variety of instruments. Venus rotation is somewhat unusual in that it is both very slow Earth days per Venus day, slightly longer than Venus' year and retrograde. In addition, the periods of Venus rotation and of its orbit are synchronized. such that it always presents the same face toward Earth when the two planets are at their closest approach.
Whether this is a resonance effect or merely a coincidence is not known. Venus is sometimes regarded as Earth's sister planet. In some ways they are very similar: Both have few craters indicating relatively young surfaces. Their densities and chemical compositions are similar. Because of these similarities, it was thought that below its dense clouds Venus might be very Earthlike and might even have life. But, unfortunately, more detailed study of Venus reveals that in many important ways it is radically different from Earth. It may be the least hospitable place for life in the solar system.
Galileo's observation of this phenomenon was important evidence in favor of Copernicus's heliocentric theory of the solar system. The first spacecraft to visit Venus was Mariner It was subsequently visited by many others more than in all so far, including Pioneer Venus and the Soviet Venera the first spacecraft to land on another planet, and Venera which returned the first photographs of the surface. The first orbiter, the US spacecraft Magellan.
produced detailed maps of Venus surface using radar. ESA's Venus Express is now in orbit with a large variety of instruments. Venus rotation is somewhat unusual in that it is both very slow Earth days per Venus day, slightly longer than Venus' year and retrograde. In addition, the periods of Venus rotation and of its orbit are synchronized. such that it always presents the same face toward Earth when the two planets are at their closest approach.
Whether this is a resonance effect or merely a coincidence is not known. Venus is sometimes regarded as Earth's sister planet. In some ways they are very similar: Both have few craters indicating relatively young surfaces. Their densities and chemical compositions are similar. Because of these similarities, it was thought that below its dense clouds Venus might be very Earthlike and might even have life. But, unfortunately, more detailed study of Venus reveals that in many important ways it is radically different from Earth. It may be the least hospitable place for life in the solar system.
Mercury
Mercury has a very elliptical oval shaped orbit. At perihelion at its closest point it is about million from the Sun, but at aphelion at its farthest point it is . Mercury is about million from Earth at its closest approach. Mercury is not easily seen from Earth due to its small angular separation from the Sun. Mercury moves around the sun faster than any other planet. Mercury travels about miles per second and it takes Earth days to orbit the sun. The Earth goes around the sun once every.
The planet rotates once about every Earth days, a rotation slower than that of any other planet except Venus. As a result of the planet's slow rotation on its axis and rapid movement around the sun, a day on Mercury lasts Earth days interval between one sunrise and the next. Mercury is the second densest major body in the solar system after Planet Earth and its density is slightly less than the Earths. Mercury's smaller mass makes its force of gravity only about a third as strong as that of the Earth. An object that weighs pounds on the Earth would weigh only about pounds on Mercury.
Mercury has a large iron core which is most likely at least partially molten and generates a magnetic field about as strong as that of Earth's. Mercury's interior appears to resemble that of the Earth. Both planets have a rocky layer called a mantle beneath their crust and both planets have an iron core.The surface of Mercury consists of cratered terrain and smooth plains and many deep craters similar to those on the moon. The craters formed when meteors or small comets crashed into the planet. The largest known crater is Caloris Basin, with a diameter.
Like the other terrestrial planets Venus, Earth and Mars Mercury is made mostly of rock and metal. Mercury's surface appears to be much like that of the moon. It reflects approximately percent of the sunlight it receives, about the same as the moon's surface reflects. Like the moon, Mercury is covered by a thin layer of minerals called silicates in the form of tiny particles. Scans of Mercury made by Earth-based radar indicate that craters at Mercury's poles contain water ice. The floors of the craters are permanently shielded from sunlight, so the temperature never gets high enough to melt the ice.
The planet rotates once about every Earth days, a rotation slower than that of any other planet except Venus. As a result of the planet's slow rotation on its axis and rapid movement around the sun, a day on Mercury lasts Earth days interval between one sunrise and the next. Mercury is the second densest major body in the solar system after Planet Earth and its density is slightly less than the Earths. Mercury's smaller mass makes its force of gravity only about a third as strong as that of the Earth. An object that weighs pounds on the Earth would weigh only about pounds on Mercury.
Mercury has a large iron core which is most likely at least partially molten and generates a magnetic field about as strong as that of Earth's. Mercury's interior appears to resemble that of the Earth. Both planets have a rocky layer called a mantle beneath their crust and both planets have an iron core.The surface of Mercury consists of cratered terrain and smooth plains and many deep craters similar to those on the moon. The craters formed when meteors or small comets crashed into the planet. The largest known crater is Caloris Basin, with a diameter.
Like the other terrestrial planets Venus, Earth and Mars Mercury is made mostly of rock and metal. Mercury's surface appears to be much like that of the moon. It reflects approximately percent of the sunlight it receives, about the same as the moon's surface reflects. Like the moon, Mercury is covered by a thin layer of minerals called silicates in the form of tiny particles. Scans of Mercury made by Earth-based radar indicate that craters at Mercury's poles contain water ice. The floors of the craters are permanently shielded from sunlight, so the temperature never gets high enough to melt the ice.
Saturn
Saturn's interior is similar to Jupiter's consisting of a rocky core, a liquid metallic hydrogen layer and a molecular hydrogen layer. Traces of various ices are also present. Saturn's interior is hot K at the core and Saturn radiates more energy into space than it receives from the Sun. Most of the extra energy is generated by the Kelvin Helmholtz mechanism as in Jupiter.
But this may not be sufficient to explain Saturn's luminosity; some additional mechanism may be at work, perhaps the "raining out" of helium deep in Saturn's interior. The bands so prominent on Jupiter are much fainter on Saturn. They are also much wider near the equator. Details in the cloud tops are invisible from Earth so it was not until the Voyager encounters that any detail of Saturn's atmospheric circulation could be studied.
Saturn also exhibits long lived ovals red spot at center of image at right and other features common on Jupiter. In , HST observed an enormous white cloud near Saturn's equator which was not present during the Voyager encounters; in another, smaller storm was observed left.Two prominent rings A and B and one faint ring C can be seen from the Earth. The gap between the A and B rings is known as the Cassini division.
The much fainter gap in the outer part of the A ring is known as the Encke Division but this is somewhat of a misnomer since it was very likely never seen by Encke. The Voyager pictures show four additional faint rings. Saturn's rings, unlike the rings of the other planets, are very bright albedo. Though they look continuous from the Earth, the rings are actually composed of innumerable small particles each in an independent orbit. They range in size from a centimeter or so to several meters. A few kilometer-sized objects are also likely.
Saturn's rings are extraordinarily thin: though they're km or more in diameter they're less than one kilometer thick. Despite their impressive appearance, there's really very little material in the rings if the rings were compressed into a single body it would be no more than km across.
But this may not be sufficient to explain Saturn's luminosity; some additional mechanism may be at work, perhaps the "raining out" of helium deep in Saturn's interior. The bands so prominent on Jupiter are much fainter on Saturn. They are also much wider near the equator. Details in the cloud tops are invisible from Earth so it was not until the Voyager encounters that any detail of Saturn's atmospheric circulation could be studied.
Saturn also exhibits long lived ovals red spot at center of image at right and other features common on Jupiter. In , HST observed an enormous white cloud near Saturn's equator which was not present during the Voyager encounters; in another, smaller storm was observed left.Two prominent rings A and B and one faint ring C can be seen from the Earth. The gap between the A and B rings is known as the Cassini division.
The much fainter gap in the outer part of the A ring is known as the Encke Division but this is somewhat of a misnomer since it was very likely never seen by Encke. The Voyager pictures show four additional faint rings. Saturn's rings, unlike the rings of the other planets, are very bright albedo. Though they look continuous from the Earth, the rings are actually composed of innumerable small particles each in an independent orbit. They range in size from a centimeter or so to several meters. A few kilometer-sized objects are also likely.
Saturn's rings are extraordinarily thin: though they're km or more in diameter they're less than one kilometer thick. Despite their impressive appearance, there's really very little material in the rings if the rings were compressed into a single body it would be no more than km across.
Mars
Mars continues its evening climb in the eastern sky and is growing in brightness and apparent diameter daily. It is now pretty close to its biggest and brightest of the season at and mag . The actual peak will occur at the end of the month when Mars reaches just over and a blazing mag . In the meantime, just kick back and enjoy the views. Incredible details on the red planet are visible to almost any decent telescope at this point. on virtually any clear evening. Those of you with high quality optics will be amazed at the views you get. especially on nights of good seeing.
We recently had the privilege of viewing Mars through the Clark Refractor down at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. To say that the views were sweet through this magnificent instrument would be an understatement. These were without a doubt the finest views of Mars that I've ever seen. Mars will only improve over the remainder of the month. and will remain quite spectacular well into the fall. Be sure to look for the red planet each clear night we get throughout the fall.
The planet Mars was in the news often in due to its close orbital pass. Expect to hear about Mars often in as well due to a host of Missions to the red planet. The first mission to arrive is the Mars Express. On Dec. , it released the Beagle lander which is expected to land on the Martian surface on Christmas day. This is the same day that the Mars Express spacecraft is scheduled for orbit insertion. Visit the Mars Express Website for the latest information.
For the latest information on Mars, checkout The Weekly Utah Skies Report Or. Subscribe and have it sent to your inbox. Mars is currently rising in the southeast about. By about or so, it should be at its highest due south. and should be sinking in the southwest around midnight. Mars is still bright enough that you just can't miss it. It sounds like the plot of a sci fi movie rogue black holes roaming our galaxy, threatening to swallow anything that gets too close.
We recently had the privilege of viewing Mars through the Clark Refractor down at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. To say that the views were sweet through this magnificent instrument would be an understatement. These were without a doubt the finest views of Mars that I've ever seen. Mars will only improve over the remainder of the month. and will remain quite spectacular well into the fall. Be sure to look for the red planet each clear night we get throughout the fall.
The planet Mars was in the news often in due to its close orbital pass. Expect to hear about Mars often in as well due to a host of Missions to the red planet. The first mission to arrive is the Mars Express. On Dec. , it released the Beagle lander which is expected to land on the Martian surface on Christmas day. This is the same day that the Mars Express spacecraft is scheduled for orbit insertion. Visit the Mars Express Website for the latest information.
For the latest information on Mars, checkout The Weekly Utah Skies Report Or. Subscribe and have it sent to your inbox. Mars is currently rising in the southeast about. By about or so, it should be at its highest due south. and should be sinking in the southwest around midnight. Mars is still bright enough that you just can't miss it. It sounds like the plot of a sci fi movie rogue black holes roaming our galaxy, threatening to swallow anything that gets too close.
Savana grass land
It is characterized by a grassy ground layer and a distinct upper layer of woody plants. Where this upper layer is near the ground the vegetation may be referred to as Shrubveld, where it is dense as Woodland, and the intermediate stages are locally known as Bushveld. The environmental factors delimiting the biome are complex: altitude ranges from sea level to rainfall varies from per year; frost may occur from days per year; and almost every major geological and soil type occurs within the biome.
A major factor delimiting the biome is the lack of sufficient rainfall which prevents the upper layer from dominating, coupled with fires and grazing, which keep the grass layer dominant. Summer rainfall is essential for the grass dominance, which, with its fine material, fuels near annual fires. In fact, almost all species are adapted to survive fires, usually with less than of plants, both in the grass and tree layer, killed by fire. Even with severe burning, most species can resprout from the stem bases.
The grass layer is dominated by type grasses, which are at an advantage where the growing season is hot, but where rainfall has a stronger winter component, type grasses dominate. The shrub tree layer may vary from in height, but in Bushveld typically varies from. The shrub tree element may come to dominate the vegetation in areas which are being overgrazed.
Most of the savanna vegetation types are used for grazing, mainly by cattle or game. In the southernmost savanna types, goats are the major stock. In some types crops and subtropical fruit are cultivated. These mainly include the Clay Thorn Bushveld , parts of Mixed Bushveld , and Sweet Lowveld Bushveld. Urbanization is not a problem, perhaps because the hot, moist climate and diseases sleeping sickness, malaria hindered urban development.
Conservation of savanna is good in principle, mainly due to the presence of the Kruger and Kalahari Gemsbok National Parks within the biome. Similarly, in neighbouring countries, large reserves occur, such as Etosha, Gemsbok, Chobe and Hwange National Parks and the Central Kalahari Game Reserve.
Grass land
The Grassland Biome is found chiefly on the high central plateau of South Africa, and the inland areas of KwaZuluNatal and the Eastern Cape. The topography is mainly flat and rolling, but includes the escarpment itself. Altitude varies from near sea level to above sea level. Grasslands also known locally as Grassveld are dominated by a single layer of grasses. The amount of cover depends on rainfall and the degree of grazing.
Trees are absent, except in a few localized habitats. Geophytes bulbs are often abundant. Frosts, fire and grazing maintain the grass dominance and prevent the establishment of trees. There are two categories of grass plants: sweet grasses have a lower fibre content, maintain their nutrients in the leaves in winter and are therefore palatable to stock. Sour grasses have a higher fibre content and tend to withdraw their nutrients from the leaves during winter so that they are unpalatable to stock.
At higher rainfall and on more acidic soils, sour grasses prevail, with per year taken as the level at which unpalatable grasses predominate. grasses dominate throughout the biome, except at the highest altitudes where grasses become prominent. Grass plants tolerate grazing, fire, and even mowing, well most produce new stems readily, using a wide variety of strategies. Overgrazing tends to increase the proportion of pioneer, creeping and annual grasses, and it is in the transition zones between sweet and sour grass dominance that careful management is required to maintain the abundance of sweet grasses.
The Grassland Biome is the mainstay of dairy, beef and wool production in South Africa. Pastures may be augmented in wetter areas by the addition of legumes and sweet grasses. The Grassland Biome is the cornerstone of the maize crop, and many grassland types have been converted to this crop. Sorghum, wheat and sunflowers are also farmed on a smaller scale.
Trees are absent, except in a few localized habitats. Geophytes bulbs are often abundant. Frosts, fire and grazing maintain the grass dominance and prevent the establishment of trees. There are two categories of grass plants: sweet grasses have a lower fibre content, maintain their nutrients in the leaves in winter and are therefore palatable to stock. Sour grasses have a higher fibre content and tend to withdraw their nutrients from the leaves during winter so that they are unpalatable to stock.
At higher rainfall and on more acidic soils, sour grasses prevail, with per year taken as the level at which unpalatable grasses predominate. grasses dominate throughout the biome, except at the highest altitudes where grasses become prominent. Grass plants tolerate grazing, fire, and even mowing, well most produce new stems readily, using a wide variety of strategies. Overgrazing tends to increase the proportion of pioneer, creeping and annual grasses, and it is in the transition zones between sweet and sour grass dominance that careful management is required to maintain the abundance of sweet grasses.
The Grassland Biome is the mainstay of dairy, beef and wool production in South Africa. Pastures may be augmented in wetter areas by the addition of legumes and sweet grasses. The Grassland Biome is the cornerstone of the maize crop, and many grassland types have been converted to this crop. Sorghum, wheat and sunflowers are also farmed on a smaller scale.
Indian forest service
India is one of the First countries in the world to have stated scientific management of its forests. During the year the then British India Government started the Imperial Forest Department and appointed Dr. Dietrich Brandis, a German Forest officer Inspector General of Forests in . Having recognized the need to have a premier forest service to mange the varied natural resources of the vast country and to organize the affairs of the Imperial Forest Department, Imperial Forest Service was constituted in .
Having realized the importance of a multi tier forest Administration in the federal and provincial Governments for effective management of forest resources the British India Government also constituted Provincial Forest Service and Executive Subordinate Services, which were quite similar to the present day forest administrative hierarchy. The officers appointed to the Imperial Forest Service from were trained in France and Germany. Thereafter, until they were trained at Cooper's Hill, London, which had been one of the prestigious professional colleges of Forestry at that time.
From the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge and Edinburgh had undertaken the task of training the officers of the Imperial Forest Service. The Imperial Forest Research Institute, Dehra Dun, presently & popularly known all over the world as FRI was established at Dehra Dun in the year . The baton to train the IFS officers was passed on to Forest Research Institute, which it did successfully from . Subsequently the Indian Forest College IFC was established in the year at Dehra Dun and the officers recruited to the Superior Forest Service by the provinces states were trained there. The subject of Forestry which was managed by the Federal Government until then, was transferred to the Provincial List by the Government of India Act, and subsequently recruitment to the Imperial Forest Service was discontinued.
The Indian Forest Service, one of the three All India Services, was constituted in the year under the All India Services Act, by the Government of India. The main mandate of the service is the implementation of the National Forest Policy which envisages scientific management of forests and to exploit them on a sustained basis for primary timber products, among other things. Since the management of the forests remained in the hands of the Provincial Governments and even today the Forest Departments are managing the forests of the country under the respective State governments.
Having realized the importance of a multi tier forest Administration in the federal and provincial Governments for effective management of forest resources the British India Government also constituted Provincial Forest Service and Executive Subordinate Services, which were quite similar to the present day forest administrative hierarchy. The officers appointed to the Imperial Forest Service from were trained in France and Germany. Thereafter, until they were trained at Cooper's Hill, London, which had been one of the prestigious professional colleges of Forestry at that time.
From the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge and Edinburgh had undertaken the task of training the officers of the Imperial Forest Service. The Imperial Forest Research Institute, Dehra Dun, presently & popularly known all over the world as FRI was established at Dehra Dun in the year . The baton to train the IFS officers was passed on to Forest Research Institute, which it did successfully from . Subsequently the Indian Forest College IFC was established in the year at Dehra Dun and the officers recruited to the Superior Forest Service by the provinces states were trained there. The subject of Forestry which was managed by the Federal Government until then, was transferred to the Provincial List by the Government of India Act, and subsequently recruitment to the Imperial Forest Service was discontinued.
The Indian Forest Service, one of the three All India Services, was constituted in the year under the All India Services Act, by the Government of India. The main mandate of the service is the implementation of the National Forest Policy which envisages scientific management of forests and to exploit them on a sustained basis for primary timber products, among other things. Since the management of the forests remained in the hands of the Provincial Governments and even today the Forest Departments are managing the forests of the country under the respective State governments.
Ocean
It may seem strange, but many of the words we use every day come from maritime cultures. After all, until very recently in our country's and the world's history, most long distance travel took place across the seas. Many of our ancestors came to the United States on ships, and most of the first settlements they founded were ports. They depended on the ocean for food, trade, and news from their home countries.
In fact, it is hard to find a city or large community in the United States that is not close to a major body of water. So, it makes sense that many words in our language reflect our ocean culture, both past and present. The ties between modern language and the sea are strong, and the origins of many words and expressions are often clear.
For example, the meaning of phrases such as Don't give up the ship, Like a fish out of water, and Take the wind out of his sails seem almost obvious. Even the name of our country comes from an ocean map maker Amerigo Vespucci, and our nation's capital, the District of Columbia, is named after the famous explorer Christopher Columbus. However, the origins of many words and phrases are not as obvious and require some understanding of life at, and close to, the sea At the helm, Batten down the hatches, Blow over, Down the hatch, Learn the ropes, Flotsam and jetsam, Full speed ahead, Get underway, Get the drift, Keel over, Make headway, On deck, Out of Commission, and Go off the deep end.
The oceans connect many lands and languages, carrying words from different cultures into our own language. For example, the term First rate came from a system that was used in Britain from Elizabethan times through the nineteenth century to evaluate warships. No matter how high a ship's rating, if it sailed too close to the shore it risked running aground on a strand, or beach, and so becoming stranded. However, if the crew were Gung ho, they could call upon their enthusiasm to get them out of a tough situation. This Chinese expression meaning work together was first adopted as a motto by Marine Lieutenant Colonel Evans Carlson during World War II for his division.
In fact, it is hard to find a city or large community in the United States that is not close to a major body of water. So, it makes sense that many words in our language reflect our ocean culture, both past and present. The ties between modern language and the sea are strong, and the origins of many words and expressions are often clear.
For example, the meaning of phrases such as Don't give up the ship, Like a fish out of water, and Take the wind out of his sails seem almost obvious. Even the name of our country comes from an ocean map maker Amerigo Vespucci, and our nation's capital, the District of Columbia, is named after the famous explorer Christopher Columbus. However, the origins of many words and phrases are not as obvious and require some understanding of life at, and close to, the sea At the helm, Batten down the hatches, Blow over, Down the hatch, Learn the ropes, Flotsam and jetsam, Full speed ahead, Get underway, Get the drift, Keel over, Make headway, On deck, Out of Commission, and Go off the deep end.
The oceans connect many lands and languages, carrying words from different cultures into our own language. For example, the term First rate came from a system that was used in Britain from Elizabethan times through the nineteenth century to evaluate warships. No matter how high a ship's rating, if it sailed too close to the shore it risked running aground on a strand, or beach, and so becoming stranded. However, if the crew were Gung ho, they could call upon their enthusiasm to get them out of a tough situation. This Chinese expression meaning work together was first adopted as a motto by Marine Lieutenant Colonel Evans Carlson during World War II for his division.
Mount everst
The photograph of Tenzing Norgay taken by Edmund Hillary on Everest's summit on has become an iconic image, exemplifying ideas of success and achievement. Although Everest was photographed from the Indian borders during the century, it was not until that the first expedition to the mountain took place. Its members, including George Mallory , extensively photographed the mountain, its surroundings, and the local Tibetan people, and General Wheeler's accompanying photographic survey party photographed and mapped the Everest region.
The British monopolized access to the mountain until , and images taken by members of various expeditions, including A. F. R. Wollaston , Eric Shipton , and Alfred Gregory , are held at the Royal Geographical Society.On may a team led by Colonel L. V. S. Blacker , in two Westland biplanes, took black and white and infrared photographs, and cine-film, during the first flight over Everest. Two special Williamson Eagle cameras were used, protected by electrically heated jackets. Later RAF pictures of the mountain's flanks, made in the ,
Provided vital clues to how it could be climbed from the south side, and were used by John Hunt's team in its successful ascent in .Contemporary photographers like David Breashears and climbers such as Doug Scott and Reinhold Messner have continued to record their experiences of Everest with the camera. Today, digital images are taken and downloaded immediately to websites to acquaint interested parties, especially sponsors, with an expedition's every move.
Peak, on the border of Tibet and Nepal, in the central Himalayas. It is the highest elevation in the world. Called Chomolungma or Qomolangma Mother Goddess of the Land by Tibetans and Sagarmatha head of the sea by Nepalis, it is named in English for the surveyor Sir George Everest. It was first climbed on May , when Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay of Nepal reached the summit. The body of George H. L. Mallory, who died in an earlier attempt , was found on the mountain in .
The British monopolized access to the mountain until , and images taken by members of various expeditions, including A. F. R. Wollaston , Eric Shipton , and Alfred Gregory , are held at the Royal Geographical Society.On may a team led by Colonel L. V. S. Blacker , in two Westland biplanes, took black and white and infrared photographs, and cine-film, during the first flight over Everest. Two special Williamson Eagle cameras were used, protected by electrically heated jackets. Later RAF pictures of the mountain's flanks, made in the ,
Provided vital clues to how it could be climbed from the south side, and were used by John Hunt's team in its successful ascent in .Contemporary photographers like David Breashears and climbers such as Doug Scott and Reinhold Messner have continued to record their experiences of Everest with the camera. Today, digital images are taken and downloaded immediately to websites to acquaint interested parties, especially sponsors, with an expedition's every move.
Peak, on the border of Tibet and Nepal, in the central Himalayas. It is the highest elevation in the world. Called Chomolungma or Qomolangma Mother Goddess of the Land by Tibetans and Sagarmatha head of the sea by Nepalis, it is named in English for the surveyor Sir George Everest. It was first climbed on May , when Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay of Nepal reached the summit. The body of George H. L. Mallory, who died in an earlier attempt , was found on the mountain in .
Munors mountain
Before the publication of Munro's Tables there was considerable uncertainty about the number of peaks in Scotland, with estimates ranging from . Sir Hugh Munro's original list, published in the Scottish Mountaineering Club Journal in September, listed summits over feet, of which were regarded as separate mountains the term Munro applies to the latter, while the lesser summits are known as tops.
Munro did not set any measure of topographic prominence by which a peak qualified as a separate mountain, and much debate has since taken place over how distinct two hills must be if they are to be considered as two separate Munros.The Scottish Mountaineering Club SMC have carried out a number of revisions of the tables, both in response to new height data on Ordnance Survey maps and to address the perceived inconsistency as to which peaks qualify for Munro status. As of , all peaks with a prominence o or more have been given Munro status.
This has resulted in the subsidiary summits of several well known mountains, such as Beinn Alligin, Beinn Eighe and Buachaille Etive Mòr, gaining Munro status. This is in line with other classification schemes in Scotland, such as the Corbetts and Grahams, which require a peak to have a prominence of feet for inclusion; however, the Munros still lack a rigid set of criteria for inclusion, with many summits of lesser prominence listed.
The current revision, published in , lists Munros and further subsidiary tops. They are all in the Scottish Highlands, north of the Highland Boundary Fault.Despite their relatively modest height compared with some continental ranges, walking and climbing in the Scottish mountains may be made treacherous by their latitude and exposure to Atlantic weather systems.
Munro did not set any measure of topographic prominence by which a peak qualified as a separate mountain, and much debate has since taken place over how distinct two hills must be if they are to be considered as two separate Munros.The Scottish Mountaineering Club SMC have carried out a number of revisions of the tables, both in response to new height data on Ordnance Survey maps and to address the perceived inconsistency as to which peaks qualify for Munro status. As of , all peaks with a prominence o or more have been given Munro status.
This has resulted in the subsidiary summits of several well known mountains, such as Beinn Alligin, Beinn Eighe and Buachaille Etive Mòr, gaining Munro status. This is in line with other classification schemes in Scotland, such as the Corbetts and Grahams, which require a peak to have a prominence of feet for inclusion; however, the Munros still lack a rigid set of criteria for inclusion, with many summits of lesser prominence listed.
The current revision, published in , lists Munros and further subsidiary tops. They are all in the Scottish Highlands, north of the Highland Boundary Fault.Despite their relatively modest height compared with some continental ranges, walking and climbing in the Scottish mountains may be made treacherous by their latitude and exposure to Atlantic weather systems.
Mountains of north america
This article comprises three sortable tables of major mountain peaks of Greater North America.This article defines Greater North America as the northern portion of the continental landmass of the Americas extending from the Panama to Alaska plus the islands surrounding North America. This article defines the Islands of North America to include the coastal islands of North America, the islands of the Caribbean Sea.
The Bahamas, the Bermuda Islands Greenland and its surrounding islands, the islands of Northern Canada, the islands of Alaska, the Hawaiian Islands, and the islands of the northeastern Pacific Ocean.Topographic elevation is the vertical distance above the reference geoid, a precise mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface. Topographic prominence is the elevation difference between the summit and the highest or key col to a higher summit.
Topographic isolation is the minimum great circle distance to a point of higher elevation.This article defines a major mountain peak as a summit with at least meters of topographic prominence. An ultra prominent peak is a summit with at least meters of topographic prominence. The following sortable table lists the highest mountain peaks of Greater North America with at least meters of topographic prominence.
Of these highest major summits, are located in the United States, in Canada, and in México. Four of these peaks lie on the international border between Canad and the United States.See the Highest mountain peaks of North America for a table of all summits with at least meters of topographic elevation and at least meters of topographic prominence.
The Bahamas, the Bermuda Islands Greenland and its surrounding islands, the islands of Northern Canada, the islands of Alaska, the Hawaiian Islands, and the islands of the northeastern Pacific Ocean.Topographic elevation is the vertical distance above the reference geoid, a precise mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface. Topographic prominence is the elevation difference between the summit and the highest or key col to a higher summit.
Topographic isolation is the minimum great circle distance to a point of higher elevation.This article defines a major mountain peak as a summit with at least meters of topographic prominence. An ultra prominent peak is a summit with at least meters of topographic prominence. The following sortable table lists the highest mountain peaks of Greater North America with at least meters of topographic prominence.
Of these highest major summits, are located in the United States, in Canada, and in México. Four of these peaks lie on the international border between Canad and the United States.See the Highest mountain peaks of North America for a table of all summits with at least meters of topographic elevation and at least meters of topographic prominence.
Green land ice cape
The Greenland Ice Sheet is also sometimes referred to under the term inland ice, or its Danish equivalent, indlandsis. It is also sometimes referred to as an ice cap. Ice sheet, however, is considered the more correct term as ice cap generally refers to less extensive ice masses.The ice in the current ice sheet is as old as years. However, it is generally thought that the Greenland Ice Sheet formed in the late Pliocene or early Pleistocene by coalescence of ice caps and glaciers. It did not develop at all until the late Pliocene, but apparently developed very rapidly with the first continental glaciation.
The massive weight of the ice has depressed the central area of Greenland; the bedrock surface is near sea level over most of the interior of Greenland, but mountains occur around the periphery, confining the sheet along its margins. If the ice were to disappear, Greenland would most probably appear as an archipelago, at least until isostasy would lift the land surface above sea level once again. The ice surface reaches its greatest altitude on two north south elongated domes, or ridges. The southern dome reaches almost metres at latitudes the northern dome reaches about metres at about latitude .
The crests of both domes are displaced east of the centre line of Greenland. The unconfined ice sheet does not reach the sea along a broad front anywhere in Greenland, so that no large ice shelves occur. The ice margin just reaches the sea, however, in a region of irregular topography in the area of Melville Bay southeast of Thule. Large outlet glaciers, which are restricted tongues of the ice sheet, move through bordering valleys around the periphery of Greenland to calve off into the ocean, producing the numerous icebergs that sometimes occur in North Atlantic shipping lanes.
The best known of these outlet glaciers is Jakobshavn Isbræ Kalaallisut Sermeq Kujalleq, which, at its terminus, flows at speeds of metres per day.On the ice sheet, temperatures are generally substantially lower than elsewhere in Greenland. The lowest mean annual temperatures, about occur on the north central part of the north dome, and temperatures at the crest of the south dome are about .During winter, the ice sheet takes on a strikingly clear blue green color. During summer, the top layer of ice melts leaving pockets of air in the ice that makes it look white.
The massive weight of the ice has depressed the central area of Greenland; the bedrock surface is near sea level over most of the interior of Greenland, but mountains occur around the periphery, confining the sheet along its margins. If the ice were to disappear, Greenland would most probably appear as an archipelago, at least until isostasy would lift the land surface above sea level once again. The ice surface reaches its greatest altitude on two north south elongated domes, or ridges. The southern dome reaches almost metres at latitudes the northern dome reaches about metres at about latitude .
The crests of both domes are displaced east of the centre line of Greenland. The unconfined ice sheet does not reach the sea along a broad front anywhere in Greenland, so that no large ice shelves occur. The ice margin just reaches the sea, however, in a region of irregular topography in the area of Melville Bay southeast of Thule. Large outlet glaciers, which are restricted tongues of the ice sheet, move through bordering valleys around the periphery of Greenland to calve off into the ocean, producing the numerous icebergs that sometimes occur in North Atlantic shipping lanes.
The best known of these outlet glaciers is Jakobshavn Isbræ Kalaallisut Sermeq Kujalleq, which, at its terminus, flows at speeds of metres per day.On the ice sheet, temperatures are generally substantially lower than elsewhere in Greenland. The lowest mean annual temperatures, about occur on the north central part of the north dome, and temperatures at the crest of the south dome are about .During winter, the ice sheet takes on a strikingly clear blue green color. During summer, the top layer of ice melts leaving pockets of air in the ice that makes it look white.
Mountains peak of Mexico
This article comprises three sortable tables of major mountain peaks of Mexico.Topographic elevation is the vertical distance above the reference geoid a precise mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface. Topographic prominence is the elevation difference between the summit and the highest or key col to a higher summit. Topographic isolation is the minimum great circle distance to a point of higher elevation.
This article defines a major mountain peak as a summit with at least meters topographic prominence. An ultra prominent peak is a summit with at least, topographic prominence.The following sortable table lists the most topographically prominent mountain peaks of Mexico.Four of these most prominent summits are located in Oaxaca, three in Puebla, three in Coahuila, three in Nuevo León, two in Veracruz, two in Mexico State, two in Jalisco, two in Michoacán, two in Baja California Sur, and one each in Morelos, Chiapas Guerrero, Baja California Tlaxcala, and Querétaro. Volcán Tacaná lies on the international border between Mexico and Guatemala.
See the Most prominent mountain peaks of Mexico for a table of all summits with at least meters of topographic prominence.is the vertical distance above the reference geoid, a precise mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface. Topographic prominence is the elevation difference between the summit and the highest or key col to a higher summit. Topographic isolation is the minimum great circle distance to a point of higher elevation.
This article defines a major mountain peak as a summit with at least of topographic prominence. An ultra prominent peak is a summit with at least topographic prominence.Four of these most isolated summits are located in Coahuila, four in Baja California, four in Oaxaca, three in Nuevo León, three in Baja California Sur, two in Puebla, two in Veracruz, two in Chiapas, two in Mexico State, two in Michoacán, and one each in Colima, Durango, Jalisco, Aguascalientes, GuerreroChihuahua, Sonora, Morelos, Guanajuato, and Querétaro.
This article defines a major mountain peak as a summit with at least meters topographic prominence. An ultra prominent peak is a summit with at least, topographic prominence.The following sortable table lists the most topographically prominent mountain peaks of Mexico.Four of these most prominent summits are located in Oaxaca, three in Puebla, three in Coahuila, three in Nuevo León, two in Veracruz, two in Mexico State, two in Jalisco, two in Michoacán, two in Baja California Sur, and one each in Morelos, Chiapas Guerrero, Baja California Tlaxcala, and Querétaro. Volcán Tacaná lies on the international border between Mexico and Guatemala.
See the Most prominent mountain peaks of Mexico for a table of all summits with at least meters of topographic prominence.is the vertical distance above the reference geoid, a precise mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface. Topographic prominence is the elevation difference between the summit and the highest or key col to a higher summit. Topographic isolation is the minimum great circle distance to a point of higher elevation.
This article defines a major mountain peak as a summit with at least of topographic prominence. An ultra prominent peak is a summit with at least topographic prominence.Four of these most isolated summits are located in Coahuila, four in Baja California, four in Oaxaca, three in Nuevo León, three in Baja California Sur, two in Puebla, two in Veracruz, two in Chiapas, two in Mexico State, two in Michoacán, and one each in Colima, Durango, Jalisco, Aguascalientes, GuerreroChihuahua, Sonora, Morelos, Guanajuato, and Querétaro.
Hindu kush mountain
The Hindu Kush is a mountain range in eastern and central Afghanistan, northwestern Pakistan, and northwestern India.It is the westernmost extension of the Pamir Mountains, the Karakoram Range, and is a subrange of the Himalayas. It is also calculated to be the geographic center of population of the world. The western Safid Koh, the Malmand, Chalap Dalan, Siah Band and Doshakh are commonly referred to as the Paropamise by western scholars, though that name has been slowly falling out of use over the last few decdes.
Rivers that flow from the mountain system include the Helmand River, the Hari River and the Kabul River, watersheds for the Sistan Basin.Numerous high passes kotal transect the mountains, forming a strategically important network for the transit of caravans. The most important mountain pass is the Kotal e Salang it links Kabul and points south of it to northern Afghanistan.
The completion of a tunnel within this pass in reduced travel time between Kabul and the north to a few hours. Previously access to the north through the Kotal e Shibar took three days. The Salang tunnel at and the extensive network of galleries on the approach roads were constructed with Soviet financial and technological assistance and involved drilling miles through the heart of the Hindu Kush.
Before the Salang road was constructed, the most famous passes in the Western historical perceptions of Afghanistan were those leading to India. They include the Khyber Pass in Pakistan, and the Kotal e Lataband east of Kabul, which was superseded in by a road constructed within the Kabul River's most spectacular gorge, the Tang e Gharu. This remarkable engineering feat reduced travel time between Kabul and the Pakistan border from two days to a few hours.
Rivers that flow from the mountain system include the Helmand River, the Hari River and the Kabul River, watersheds for the Sistan Basin.Numerous high passes kotal transect the mountains, forming a strategically important network for the transit of caravans. The most important mountain pass is the Kotal e Salang it links Kabul and points south of it to northern Afghanistan.
The completion of a tunnel within this pass in reduced travel time between Kabul and the north to a few hours. Previously access to the north through the Kotal e Shibar took three days. The Salang tunnel at and the extensive network of galleries on the approach roads were constructed with Soviet financial and technological assistance and involved drilling miles through the heart of the Hindu Kush.
Before the Salang road was constructed, the most famous passes in the Western historical perceptions of Afghanistan were those leading to India. They include the Khyber Pass in Pakistan, and the Kotal e Lataband east of Kabul, which was superseded in by a road constructed within the Kabul River's most spectacular gorge, the Tang e Gharu. This remarkable engineering feat reduced travel time between Kabul and the Pakistan border from two days to a few hours.
Anamudi mountain
Anamudi a derived word from Tamil in Malayalam meaning The Elephant Peak and Anai mudi in Tamil, meaning elephant's brow as well as Elephant Head or Peak is the highest peak in the Western Ghats in India, having an elevation of metres. It is located in the southern region of Eravikulam National Park at the junction of the Cardamom Hills, the Anaimalai Hills and the Palni Hills. The nearest town is Munnar away.
Anamudi is the highest point in South India, and also the highest point in India outside the Himalaya Karakoram system. This gives Anamudi its relatively large topographic prominence of the associated key saddle being away at. The peak is not exceptionally dramatic in terms of steepness or local relief.The easiest route to the summit of Anamudi is a technically easy hike on grass slopes, starting from a rolling hill plateau with a base elevation of about.
The north and south slopes are gentle, while the east and west slopes are steeper, with more difficult rock faces. The first recorded ascent of the Anamudi was by General Douglas Hamilton of the Madras Army on May but it is likely that there had been earlier ascents by local people.Eravikulam National Park is a national park located along the Western Ghats in the Idukki district of Kerala in India, between latitude and longitude. See:map.
The park is administered by the Kerala Department of Forests and Wildlife, Munnar Wildlife Division, together with the nearby Mathikettan Shola National Park, Anamudi Shola National Park, Pambadum Shola National Park, Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary and the Kurinjimala Sanctuary. The Western Ghats, Anamalai Sub Cluster, including all of Eravikulam National Park, is under consideration by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee for selection as a World Heritage Site.
Anamudi is the highest point in South India, and also the highest point in India outside the Himalaya Karakoram system. This gives Anamudi its relatively large topographic prominence of the associated key saddle being away at. The peak is not exceptionally dramatic in terms of steepness or local relief.The easiest route to the summit of Anamudi is a technically easy hike on grass slopes, starting from a rolling hill plateau with a base elevation of about.
The north and south slopes are gentle, while the east and west slopes are steeper, with more difficult rock faces. The first recorded ascent of the Anamudi was by General Douglas Hamilton of the Madras Army on May but it is likely that there had been earlier ascents by local people.Eravikulam National Park is a national park located along the Western Ghats in the Idukki district of Kerala in India, between latitude and longitude. See:map.
The park is administered by the Kerala Department of Forests and Wildlife, Munnar Wildlife Division, together with the nearby Mathikettan Shola National Park, Anamudi Shola National Park, Pambadum Shola National Park, Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary and the Kurinjimala Sanctuary. The Western Ghats, Anamalai Sub Cluster, including all of Eravikulam National Park, is under consideration by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee for selection as a World Heritage Site.
Ararat mountain
Rising from the common borders of Turkey and Iran, Mt. Agri Ararat, an inactive volcano capped year round with ice and snow, reaches meters. The Old Testament records that it was on this mountain that Noah's Ark came to rest after the great flood. Southwest of the mountain, the Little Mt. Agri Ararat reaches up to meters. The Serdarbulak lava plateau stretches out between the two pinnacles. Whatever your motivation for visiting this region and exploring the mountain range, climbing the spectacular Agri Ararat is a challenging and rewarding experience.
In the summer, the weather in the area and on Mt. Agri Ararat itself is sunny, warm and dry. However, in the winter and spring, cold and harsh conditions prevail, and mountain climbers occasionally face blizzards and turbulent weather. July, August and September are the months when most world mountain climbers come to the area and when the climb up Agri Ararat is most enjoyable. Despite the usual sunny and clear weather at that time of year, high altitude mountain weather prevails above meters.
The Southern face of the mountain offers the easiest and safest ascent to the summit with the best routes and communication, transportation and safety considerations. It is not advised to climb Mt. Agri Ararat alone and without a guide. The Trabzon Erzurum Teheran international transit highway, an excellent asphalt road, skirts the Western and Southern flanks of Agri Ararat before heading into Iran. Dogubayazit, from Erzurum, and nearby Igdir, the two closest towns to the mountain, are situated on this route. Daily planes, trains, and buses connect Erzurum with Ankara.
The area surrounding Agri Ararat has retained its natural beauty and the local population still engages in the traditional lifestyle. During the summer months, whole villages move to the yayla, the summer pasture, to find fresh grazing for their herds of sheep, goats, cattle and horses. Women continue to weave carpets and kilims in time honoured designs; Örtülü village is particularly renowned as a centre of beautiful handicrafts. Other nearby tourist attractions include the Ishakpasa Palace, a fabulous century castle of a local potentate awaits for the visitors.
In the summer, the weather in the area and on Mt. Agri Ararat itself is sunny, warm and dry. However, in the winter and spring, cold and harsh conditions prevail, and mountain climbers occasionally face blizzards and turbulent weather. July, August and September are the months when most world mountain climbers come to the area and when the climb up Agri Ararat is most enjoyable. Despite the usual sunny and clear weather at that time of year, high altitude mountain weather prevails above meters.
The Southern face of the mountain offers the easiest and safest ascent to the summit with the best routes and communication, transportation and safety considerations. It is not advised to climb Mt. Agri Ararat alone and without a guide. The Trabzon Erzurum Teheran international transit highway, an excellent asphalt road, skirts the Western and Southern flanks of Agri Ararat before heading into Iran. Dogubayazit, from Erzurum, and nearby Igdir, the two closest towns to the mountain, are situated on this route. Daily planes, trains, and buses connect Erzurum with Ankara.
The area surrounding Agri Ararat has retained its natural beauty and the local population still engages in the traditional lifestyle. During the summer months, whole villages move to the yayla, the summer pasture, to find fresh grazing for their herds of sheep, goats, cattle and horses. Women continue to weave carpets and kilims in time honoured designs; Örtülü village is particularly renowned as a centre of beautiful handicrafts. Other nearby tourist attractions include the Ishakpasa Palace, a fabulous century castle of a local potentate awaits for the visitors.
Ancient river
The highest mountain range in the world, out of the highest peaks in the world all over feet and a river runs through it. Actually there are several rivers that run through it, but we will only give a picture of one of them. The picture below is a vertical view of the Himalayan Mountains. The bright yellow line marks the border between China Tibet to the north and Nepal to the south. A small piece of India can be seen in the lower right corner.
Mt. Everest at feet is the highest mountain in the world. The summit is under the second in the Everest label. Lhotse label not shown tops out at feet and is just miles to the southeast. Makalu at feet is miles east southeast of Everest and is the highest mountain in the world. Kanchenjunga at is the third highest and can be found on the Nepal India border in the lower right hand corner.
Water drainage from the slopes of Mount Everest is an interesting study in antecedence. Starting from the top of Mt. Everest, the Rongbuk Glacier flows miles to the north northwest into China. The Rongbuk Monastery is miles NNW of Everest and can be reached by road from China. Melt water from the glacier becomes part of the headwaters for the Rong River.miles north-northwest of Everest, the Rong River turns eastward. You can locate this point in the above picture by going NNW from Everest until you intersect a faint yellow road.
The Rong River flows ENE and then ESE until it joins the Arun River some miles northeast of Mt. Everest. This is near the intersection of two local roads faint yellow lines in the pictureThe Arun River flows nearly due south from this point. If you look closely, you can follow its path from the road intersection above, across the China Nepal border the crest of the Himalayas, and through the in Europa.
Mt. Everest at feet is the highest mountain in the world. The summit is under the second in the Everest label. Lhotse label not shown tops out at feet and is just miles to the southeast. Makalu at feet is miles east southeast of Everest and is the highest mountain in the world. Kanchenjunga at is the third highest and can be found on the Nepal India border in the lower right hand corner.
Water drainage from the slopes of Mount Everest is an interesting study in antecedence. Starting from the top of Mt. Everest, the Rongbuk Glacier flows miles to the north northwest into China. The Rongbuk Monastery is miles NNW of Everest and can be reached by road from China. Melt water from the glacier becomes part of the headwaters for the Rong River.miles north-northwest of Everest, the Rong River turns eastward. You can locate this point in the above picture by going NNW from Everest until you intersect a faint yellow road.
The Rong River flows ENE and then ESE until it joins the Arun River some miles northeast of Mt. Everest. This is near the intersection of two local roads faint yellow lines in the pictureThe Arun River flows nearly due south from this point. If you look closely, you can follow its path from the road intersection above, across the China Nepal border the crest of the Himalayas, and through the in Europa.
Euphrates river
The Euphrates River originates in the mountains of Turkey, flows southward into Syria, and then turns east-southeast through eastern Syria and Iraq. Eastern Syria is a dry desert. Areas near the Euphrates have water available for irrigation, and the resulting vegetation shows up as dark areas. If water is not available, the land is dry sand and rock, and has a lighter color.
In the picture above, the Euphrates River is flowing from left to right through a mesa in eastern Syria. The low farmland both upstream and downstream from the mesa is about feet above sea level while the mesa ranges from feet to feet. Information on the origin of the mesa is lacking, and the Google Earth image has relatively low resolution. Thus, its geologic history is not known and the following eyeball analysis by the author should be considered speculative.
Five to ten million years ago the Euphrates River flowed through the valley. The mesa did not exist. Sometime during the last few million years, volcanic eruptions of fluid lava covered the area that is now the mesa. These volcanic eruptions would form temporary dams across the river. The river would quickly overflow interim layers that were built up, and try to start cutting a canyon down through the mesa. However, subsequent eruptions and lava flows would fill in these initial attempts to cut a canyon, and leave a new flat surface.
The volcanic eruptions ended perhaps one to two million years ago Since then the Euphrates has cut down through the mesa to generate its canyon. Ordinary erosion has also removed some of the surrounding terrain that was not protected by the hard lava layer. The steep sides of the canyon plus the fact that they have not eroded very far back from the river indicate that this has all been done very recently.
In the picture above, the Euphrates River is flowing from left to right through a mesa in eastern Syria. The low farmland both upstream and downstream from the mesa is about feet above sea level while the mesa ranges from feet to feet. Information on the origin of the mesa is lacking, and the Google Earth image has relatively low resolution. Thus, its geologic history is not known and the following eyeball analysis by the author should be considered speculative.
Five to ten million years ago the Euphrates River flowed through the valley. The mesa did not exist. Sometime during the last few million years, volcanic eruptions of fluid lava covered the area that is now the mesa. These volcanic eruptions would form temporary dams across the river. The river would quickly overflow interim layers that were built up, and try to start cutting a canyon down through the mesa. However, subsequent eruptions and lava flows would fill in these initial attempts to cut a canyon, and leave a new flat surface.
The volcanic eruptions ended perhaps one to two million years ago Since then the Euphrates has cut down through the mesa to generate its canyon. Ordinary erosion has also removed some of the surrounding terrain that was not protected by the hard lava layer. The steep sides of the canyon plus the fact that they have not eroded very far back from the river indicate that this has all been done very recently.
Yangtze river
China has probably the most widespread ongoing geologic activity in Asia. The downside of this is that they have had many devastating earthquakes that have killed thousand There are multiple areas in China where rivers cut through mountain systems instead of going around them. We will only concentrate on one river, the Yangtze, but will use two pictures. The picture above shows the Yangtze River and some of its tributaries in central China. The Yangtze enters from the lower edge and flows northeastward off the right portion of the top edge. Three major tributaries join at left the Fu, Jialing, and Qu and the combination joins the Yangtze.
Of interest are the ridges that are cut by these rivers. The ridges rise anywhere from to feet above the river systems. They look remarkably similar to the river ridge systems in the northeastern United States. See Ancestral Rivers of the Eastern United States. While very little is known about the uplifted history here in China, the similarity suggests that this also an example of superimposition.
The Wu enters from the right and is no slouch as it cuts across upturned sedimentary ridges to produce a foot deep canyon just inside the right edge. What will be of even more interest will be the Yangtze in the next picture when it cuts to the right, from the lowlands, back into these high ridges.Actual river elevations and the areas between the ridges typically run between and feet above sea level.
The horizontal extent of the picture spans about miles from the bottom edge to the top edge. Keep these dimensions in mind as you view the next picture. The picture above is another view of the Yangtze, but this is further downstream in the famous Yangtze Gorges. The Three Gorges Dam is about linear miles downstream and off the right edge. The Yangtze is cutting across ridge systems that range from feet above sea level. At the right cut, the mountain rises abruptly more than a mile above the river.
Of interest are the ridges that are cut by these rivers. The ridges rise anywhere from to feet above the river systems. They look remarkably similar to the river ridge systems in the northeastern United States. See Ancestral Rivers of the Eastern United States. While very little is known about the uplifted history here in China, the similarity suggests that this also an example of superimposition.
The Wu enters from the right and is no slouch as it cuts across upturned sedimentary ridges to produce a foot deep canyon just inside the right edge. What will be of even more interest will be the Yangtze in the next picture when it cuts to the right, from the lowlands, back into these high ridges.Actual river elevations and the areas between the ridges typically run between and feet above sea level.
The horizontal extent of the picture spans about miles from the bottom edge to the top edge. Keep these dimensions in mind as you view the next picture. The picture above is another view of the Yangtze, but this is further downstream in the famous Yangtze Gorges. The Three Gorges Dam is about linear miles downstream and off the right edge. The Yangtze is cutting across ridge systems that range from feet above sea level. At the right cut, the mountain rises abruptly more than a mile above the river.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Data entry job
I completely understand all the hyped programs that end up scamming their members. I understand the ratio of scams to legitimate programs is and we would expect skepticism because of this. I would like the opportunity to show you who we are, and that we follow a code of business ethics. I want all of our members to be part of something special through the ups and downs, the good and the bad.
It is all about being part of a company and team doing legitimate business. However, I must add we like to focus on the Ups and the Goods of doing this job.If you read through this opportunity and feel this is just another get rich quick scheme, we will completely understand. We hope you will give us a few minutes, so we can try to make you feel more confident in our company and the program we are offering to our team members.We have been offering work from home data entry jobs which include: Traditional Data Entry at home, Phone Transcription, Medical Coding, Business Coding, Legal Transcription, Document Data Recording, Input Data Capturing and many more work-from home data entry jobs. Now we have added a work from home data entry jobs called Global Data Entry and Home Typist which is designed for people with no prior experience in any of the data entry fields listed above.
Everyday more companies are downsizing, moving overseas and outsourcing many of their positions. Because of this, a brand new opportunity has come about. A work from home data entry called Global Data Entry at home, because there is a large amount of companies from all over the world they turn to companies like us, to provide them with workers, and fill many openings in this brand new field. This is considered more Non Traditional Data Entry from home, unlike anything you have ever seen. We will also provide you with a list of Traditional Data Entry Jobs, if you are interested in that field of work. We have designed a program for our team members to take advantage of this fast growing market. You may have come across just a few sites that are offering this type of data entry at home program.
It is all about being part of a company and team doing legitimate business. However, I must add we like to focus on the Ups and the Goods of doing this job.If you read through this opportunity and feel this is just another get rich quick scheme, we will completely understand. We hope you will give us a few minutes, so we can try to make you feel more confident in our company and the program we are offering to our team members.We have been offering work from home data entry jobs which include: Traditional Data Entry at home, Phone Transcription, Medical Coding, Business Coding, Legal Transcription, Document Data Recording, Input Data Capturing and many more work-from home data entry jobs. Now we have added a work from home data entry jobs called Global Data Entry and Home Typist which is designed for people with no prior experience in any of the data entry fields listed above.
Everyday more companies are downsizing, moving overseas and outsourcing many of their positions. Because of this, a brand new opportunity has come about. A work from home data entry called Global Data Entry at home, because there is a large amount of companies from all over the world they turn to companies like us, to provide them with workers, and fill many openings in this brand new field. This is considered more Non Traditional Data Entry from home, unlike anything you have ever seen. We will also provide you with a list of Traditional Data Entry Jobs, if you are interested in that field of work. We have designed a program for our team members to take advantage of this fast growing market. You may have come across just a few sites that are offering this type of data entry at home program.
Online job
Main problem to searching online money making opportunities is online scams. Here i am going to share with you about my experience about how overcome these problems and how to know about the online scams. Not only sharing experience with you Also i will teach you about, how you to make money online by working from home in part time.
Before to start sharing my experience with you, You should aware of different scams which available in online. If you really interested to make money online to working from home using part time jobs opportunity please avoid such a things Like data entry jobs, MLM, Form filling Jobs, Posting in discussion board, Forum posting, get rich quick schemes, survey jobs and paid to click programs. Better you should avoid such things to make money online.
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money online using part time online jobs opportunity to working from home.If you really interested to make money online from home, we will provide you Like online training. Once you get trained from us, you can earn up itself. Just need a computer and internet connection. No investment required.We provide you live online training via messenger to make money online from home. Training session around Minutes depends on your internet knowledge.
Before to start sharing my experience with you, You should aware of different scams which available in online. If you really interested to make money online to working from home using part time jobs opportunity please avoid such a things Like data entry jobs, MLM, Form filling Jobs, Posting in discussion board, Forum posting, get rich quick schemes, survey jobs and paid to click programs. Better you should avoid such things to make money online.
So, how do you make money online through working from home in part time jobs Now a days online advertisements and affiliate programs had major role in Internet industry. We will utilize these genuine opportunities to make money online.In this website i will explain you about how to make money online using online part time jobs as working from home to earn genuine income. Always knowledge is the very important to start anything new. If it is in online or real life. So, Surf throughout this website and learn the basics about Earning.
money online using part time online jobs opportunity to working from home.If you really interested to make money online from home, we will provide you Like online training. Once you get trained from us, you can earn up itself. Just need a computer and internet connection. No investment required.We provide you live online training via messenger to make money online from home. Training session around Minutes depends on your internet knowledge.
India
The Indian subcontinent consists of a number of separate linguistic communities each of which share a common language and culture. The people of India speak many languages and dialects which are mostly varieties of about principal languages. Some Indian languages have a long literary history Sanskrit literature is more than years old and Tamil . India also has some languages that do not have written forms. There are officially recognized languages in India Konkani, Manipuri and Nepali were added in each has produced a literature of great vitality and richness.
Though distinctive in parts, all stand for a homogeneous culture that is the essence of the great Indian literature. This is an evolution in a land of myriad dialects. The number of people speaking each language varies greatly. For example, Hindi has more than million speakers, but relatively few people speak Andamanese.Although some of the languages are called tribal or aboriginal, their populations may be larger than those that speak some European languages. For example, Bhili and Santali, both tribal languages, each have more than million speakers. Gondi is spoken by nearly million people. India's schools teach different languages. The nation has newspapers in languages, radio programmes in , and films in.
The Indian languages belong to four language families: Indo-European, Dravidian, Mon Khmer, and Sino Tibetan. Indo European and Dravidian languages are used by a large majority of India's population. The language families divide roughly into geographic groups. Languages of the Indo European group are spoken mainly in northern and central regions.The languages of southern India are mainly of the Dravidian group. Some ethnic groups in Assam and other parts of eastern India speak languages of the Mon Khmer group.
People in the northern Himalayan region and near the Burmese border speak Sino Tibetan languages. Speakers of different languages of the Indo European family make up about three quarters of India's population. Twenty Dravidian languages are spoken by nearly a quarter of the people. Speakers of Mon Khmer languages and Sino Tibetan languages together make up about per cent of the population.
Though distinctive in parts, all stand for a homogeneous culture that is the essence of the great Indian literature. This is an evolution in a land of myriad dialects. The number of people speaking each language varies greatly. For example, Hindi has more than million speakers, but relatively few people speak Andamanese.Although some of the languages are called tribal or aboriginal, their populations may be larger than those that speak some European languages. For example, Bhili and Santali, both tribal languages, each have more than million speakers. Gondi is spoken by nearly million people. India's schools teach different languages. The nation has newspapers in languages, radio programmes in , and films in.
The Indian languages belong to four language families: Indo-European, Dravidian, Mon Khmer, and Sino Tibetan. Indo European and Dravidian languages are used by a large majority of India's population. The language families divide roughly into geographic groups. Languages of the Indo European group are spoken mainly in northern and central regions.The languages of southern India are mainly of the Dravidian group. Some ethnic groups in Assam and other parts of eastern India speak languages of the Mon Khmer group.
People in the northern Himalayan region and near the Burmese border speak Sino Tibetan languages. Speakers of different languages of the Indo European family make up about three quarters of India's population. Twenty Dravidian languages are spoken by nearly a quarter of the people. Speakers of Mon Khmer languages and Sino Tibetan languages together make up about per cent of the population.
Bhutan
Paro valley is one of the most populated areas of the whole country. The valley of Paro contains a wealth of attractions and requires a few days to be properly explored. Casting a shadow across the town of Paro is the elegant and perfectly symmetrical Rinpung Dzong. Built in by Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal, the first spiritual and temporal ruler of Bhutan. Eighteen kms from Paro town on the south side of the valley are the burnt ruins of Drugyel Dzong victorious fortress. It was from this monastery that the Bhutanese repelled several invading Tibetan armies during the th century.
Thimphu, perhaps the most unusual capital city in the world, is a bustling town on the banks of its own river and set gloriously in the hills of its own valley. A regal town, Thimphu is home to the revered Bhutanese Royal family and to several foreign missions and development projects. On the bank of the river lies Tashichho Dzong,the main,the main secretariat building which houses the throne room of His Majesty the king of Bhutan. Five miles from Thimphu stands the Century Simtokha Dzong on a lifty ridge.Built in,the oldest Dzong in the land houses the school for Buddhist studies.The road to Dorchula Pass and on to eastern Bhutan winds its way upwards from Simtokha Dzong.
The road winds up from Simtokha Dzong into pine forest and through small villages for Kms and then opens miraculously onto the northern ridge of the mountain.The view over the Himalayan panoply at Dorchula Pass at Feet is one of the most sepactacular in all Bhutan. Punakha lies about two hours drive from Dorchula down low in its valley.Punakha served as the capital of Bhutan untill. Punakha Dzong was strategically built at the junction of the two rivers in the Century by the first Shabdrung to serve as the religious and admininistrative centre.Punakha Dzong houses sacred temples including the Marchen where the embalmed body of Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal lies in the state.
In the cenre of Bhutan and four hours by road from Wangduephodrang, Tongsa offers a welcome rest to travellers.The approach to the town involves a frustrating trip around Tongsa Valley. A vantage point from the opposite side of the valley,still from Tongsa,provides a spectacular view of Dzong and the town.Like alomost all towns in Bhutan,the secular and the religious centre,the Dzong,dominates the horizon,dwarfing the surrounding buildings. Tongsa is the Royal Family’s ancestral home.Protected from invaders by an impenetrable valley,Tongsa Dzong is an impregnable fortress.The Dzong itself is a labyrinth of temples corridors and offices holding court over the local community.
Austria
The Alps dominate the western and southern parts of Austria while the eastern provinces including Vienna, the capital lie in the Danube basin.Until the end of World War I, Austria had been the centre of a vast empire, which controlled much of central Europe for centuries. Austria is now a federal republic, consisting of nine states.Vienna hosts a number of international organisations, including the Secretariat of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries.
The Austrian Parliament has two chambers. The National Council, or Nationalrat, has one hundered and eighty three members, who are elected by direct popular vote to serve a four year term. The Federal Council, or Bundesrat, is the upper house with about members who represent each province. Its members serve a four or six-year term Austria has a rich cultural heritage.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart occupies a place of his own as a composer, while the music of Franz Schubert also enjoys great popularity. In the world of philosophy and ideas, the work of Siegmund Freud continues to provoke controversy, while Ludwig Wittgenstein was one of the major influences in century philosophical thinking. In art, the paintings of Gustav Klimt from the late are widely admired.
Austria has a mixed industrial and agricultural economy, while tourism is also an important source of income.In cuisine, Austrian specialities such as Wiener Schnitzel and Apfelstrudel have become international dishes which need no translation. The Austrian National Tourist Office trains travel agents to become Austrian Certified Travel Specialists. A list of all travel agents who have gained comprehensive knowledge on Austria and are holding the ACTS status.
The Austrian Parliament has two chambers. The National Council, or Nationalrat, has one hundered and eighty three members, who are elected by direct popular vote to serve a four year term. The Federal Council, or Bundesrat, is the upper house with about members who represent each province. Its members serve a four or six-year term Austria has a rich cultural heritage.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart occupies a place of his own as a composer, while the music of Franz Schubert also enjoys great popularity. In the world of philosophy and ideas, the work of Siegmund Freud continues to provoke controversy, while Ludwig Wittgenstein was one of the major influences in century philosophical thinking. In art, the paintings of Gustav Klimt from the late are widely admired.
Austria has a mixed industrial and agricultural economy, while tourism is also an important source of income.In cuisine, Austrian specialities such as Wiener Schnitzel and Apfelstrudel have become international dishes which need no translation. The Austrian National Tourist Office trains travel agents to become Austrian Certified Travel Specialists. A list of all travel agents who have gained comprehensive knowledge on Austria and are holding the ACTS status.
Belgium
Belgium is a federal state divided into three regions: Dutch speaking Flanders in the north, francophone Wallonia in the south and Brussels, the bilingual capital, where French and Dutch share official status. There is also a small German speaking minority of some seventy thousand in the eastern part of the country.
Belgium’s landscape varies widely sixty seven kilometres of seacoast and flat coastal plains along the North Sea, a central plateau and the rolling hills and forests of the Ardennes region in the southeast.Brussels hosts several international organizations most of the European institutions are located here as well as the NATO headquarters.Independent since , Belgium is a constitutional monarchy.
The two houses of Parliament are the Chamber of Representatives, whose members are elected for a maximum period of four years, and the Senate or upper house, whose members are elected or co-opted. Given its political make up, Belgium is generally run by coalition governments. Among the best known Belgians are Georges Rémi Hergé, creator of the Tintin comic-strip, writers Georges Simenon and Hugo Claus, composer and singer Jacques Brel and cyclist Eddy Merckx.
Painters like James Ensor, Paul Delvaux and René Magritte are the modern day successors of Rubens and the other Flemish masters of yesteryear.Belgium is famous for its chocolates, which are appreciated the world over. A favourite dish is mussels and chips French fries which, according to legend, are a Belgian invention. The country also produces over one thousand brands of beer.
Belgium’s landscape varies widely sixty seven kilometres of seacoast and flat coastal plains along the North Sea, a central plateau and the rolling hills and forests of the Ardennes region in the southeast.Brussels hosts several international organizations most of the European institutions are located here as well as the NATO headquarters.Independent since , Belgium is a constitutional monarchy.
The two houses of Parliament are the Chamber of Representatives, whose members are elected for a maximum period of four years, and the Senate or upper house, whose members are elected or co-opted. Given its political make up, Belgium is generally run by coalition governments. Among the best known Belgians are Georges Rémi Hergé, creator of the Tintin comic-strip, writers Georges Simenon and Hugo Claus, composer and singer Jacques Brel and cyclist Eddy Merckx.
Painters like James Ensor, Paul Delvaux and René Magritte are the modern day successors of Rubens and the other Flemish masters of yesteryear.Belgium is famous for its chocolates, which are appreciated the world over. A favourite dish is mussels and chips French fries which, according to legend, are a Belgian invention. The country also produces over one thousand brands of beer.
Cyprus
Cyprus is the largest island in the eastern Mediterranean and is situated south of Turkey. The two main mountain ranges are the Pentadactylos in the north and the Troodos in central and south-western part of the island. Between them is the fertile plain of Messaoria.Cyprus has long been a crossing point between Europe, Asia and Africa and still has many traces of successive civilisations Roman theatres and villas, Byzantine churches and monasteries, Crusader castles and pre historic habitats.
The island’s main economic activities are tourism, clothing and craft exports and merchant shipping. Traditional crafts include embroidery, pottery and copperwork.Traditional local dishes include the meze a selection of appetizers served as a main dish, halloumi cheese and the zivania schnapps.Since Turkey occupied the north of the island in , the Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot communities have been separated by the so called Green Line.
Cyprus is well known as the island of Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, who, according to legend, was born here.In modern literature, names such as Costas Montis poet and writer and Demetris Gotsis writer stand out, while Evagoras Karageorgis and Marios Tokas are well known for their musical compositions.
Europe is a continent with many different traditions and languages, but also with shared values. The EU defends these values. It fosters co-operation among the peoples of Europe, promoting unity while preserving diversity and ensuring that decisions are taken as close as possible to the citizens.In the increasingly interdependent world of the century, it will be even more necessary for every European citizen to co operate with people from other countries in a spirit of curiosity, tolerance and solidarity.
The island’s main economic activities are tourism, clothing and craft exports and merchant shipping. Traditional crafts include embroidery, pottery and copperwork.Traditional local dishes include the meze a selection of appetizers served as a main dish, halloumi cheese and the zivania schnapps.Since Turkey occupied the north of the island in , the Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot communities have been separated by the so called Green Line.
Cyprus is well known as the island of Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, who, according to legend, was born here.In modern literature, names such as Costas Montis poet and writer and Demetris Gotsis writer stand out, while Evagoras Karageorgis and Marios Tokas are well known for their musical compositions.
Europe is a continent with many different traditions and languages, but also with shared values. The EU defends these values. It fosters co-operation among the peoples of Europe, promoting unity while preserving diversity and ensuring that decisions are taken as close as possible to the citizens.In the increasingly interdependent world of the century, it will be even more necessary for every European citizen to co operate with people from other countries in a spirit of curiosity, tolerance and solidarity.
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic became an independent state in January after Czechoslovakia split into its two constituent parts. Before World War II, Czechoslovakia was one of the ten most industrialised states in the world, and the only central European country to remain a democracy until .The Czech capital, Prague, is more than thousand years old and has a wealth of historic architecture of different styles.
Because of this, the city has become a favoured location for many international film makers.Manufacturing is still a major economic activity, especially the production of automobiles, machine tools, and engineering products. Iron and steel industries are important in Moravia in the east of the country. The chief crops are maize, sugar beet, potatoes, wheat, barley, and rye.
Hills and mountains cover about of the country ideal for skiing, mountain biking and hill walking. Wild boar and foxes are found in the abundant woodlands.The Czech Republic produces world famous beer, including Pilsner. Wine is produced in the southern regions of Moravia and in part of Bohemia.
A record ninehundered natural springs have also ensured that the country produces plenty of mineral water. Traditional dishes include “knedlíky”, a type of dumpling made from potatoes or bread.Famous Czechs include the Art Nouveau artist Alfons Mucha, composers Antonin Dvorák and Bedrich Smetana, marathon runner Emil Zátopek and the writers Franz Kafka and Milan Kundera.
Because of this, the city has become a favoured location for many international film makers.Manufacturing is still a major economic activity, especially the production of automobiles, machine tools, and engineering products. Iron and steel industries are important in Moravia in the east of the country. The chief crops are maize, sugar beet, potatoes, wheat, barley, and rye.
Hills and mountains cover about of the country ideal for skiing, mountain biking and hill walking. Wild boar and foxes are found in the abundant woodlands.The Czech Republic produces world famous beer, including Pilsner. Wine is produced in the southern regions of Moravia and in part of Bohemia.
A record ninehundered natural springs have also ensured that the country produces plenty of mineral water. Traditional dishes include “knedlíky”, a type of dumpling made from potatoes or bread.Famous Czechs include the Art Nouveau artist Alfons Mucha, composers Antonin Dvorák and Bedrich Smetana, marathon runner Emil Zátopek and the writers Franz Kafka and Milan Kundera.
France
France is the largest country in the EU, stretching from the North Sea to the Mediterranean. The landscape is diverse, with mountains in the east and south, including the Alpine peak of Mont Blanc Four thousand eight hunderedand ten metre which is western Europe's highest point. Lowland France consists of four river basins, the Seine in the north, the Loire and the Garonne flowing westwards and the Rhône, which flows from Lake Geneva to the Mediterranean Sea.
The president of the Republic has an important political role. He chairs the meetings of the Council of Ministers cabinet, and retains overall responsibility in key areas of foreign affairs and defence. The day to day running of the country is in the hands of the prime minister. The president is elected by direct popular vote for a period of five years. The parliament consists of a National Assembly, directly elected every five years, and a Senate whose members are chosen by an electoral college.
France has an advanced industrial economy and an efficient farm sector. Main activities include automobile manufacture, aerospace, information technology, electronics, chemicals and pharmaceuticals and fashion.France has produced some of the continent's most influential writers and thinkers from Descartes and Pascal in the seventh century, to Rousseau and Voltaire in the eigthyth, Balzac.
Baudelaire and Flaubert in the ninth and Sartre and Camus in the twentyth. In the last two centuries it has given the art world the works of Renoir, Monet, Cezanne, Gauguin, Matisse and Braque, to name but a few.French cuisine is one of the finest in Europe; cooking and eating are part of French culture and lifestyle.
The president of the Republic has an important political role. He chairs the meetings of the Council of Ministers cabinet, and retains overall responsibility in key areas of foreign affairs and defence. The day to day running of the country is in the hands of the prime minister. The president is elected by direct popular vote for a period of five years. The parliament consists of a National Assembly, directly elected every five years, and a Senate whose members are chosen by an electoral college.
France has an advanced industrial economy and an efficient farm sector. Main activities include automobile manufacture, aerospace, information technology, electronics, chemicals and pharmaceuticals and fashion.France has produced some of the continent's most influential writers and thinkers from Descartes and Pascal in the seventh century, to Rousseau and Voltaire in the eigthyth, Balzac.
Baudelaire and Flaubert in the ninth and Sartre and Camus in the twentyth. In the last two centuries it has given the art world the works of Renoir, Monet, Cezanne, Gauguin, Matisse and Braque, to name but a few.French cuisine is one of the finest in Europe; cooking and eating are part of French culture and lifestyle.
Germany
Germany has the largest population of any EU country. Its territory stretches from the North Sea and the Baltic in the north to the Alps in the south and is traversed by some of Europe's major rivers such as the Rhine, Danube and Elbe.Germany is a federal republic. The lawmakers at the national level are the Bundestag, whose members are elected every four years by popular vote and the Bundesrat, which consists of representatives of the states Bundesländer.
After the Second World War, Germany was divided into the democratic West and the Communist East German Democratic Republic. The Berlin Wall became the symbol of this division. It fell in and Germany was reunited a year later.German is the most widely spoken first language in the European Union. Germany is the world's third largest economy, producing automobiles, precision engineering products, electronic and communications equipment, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, and much more besides.
Its companies have invested heavily in the central and east European countries which joined the EU in .As birthplace of Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven, Johannes Brahms and Richard Wagner, among others, Germany's gift to European classical music is important. In thought and word.
Germany’s huge heritage includes the works of Luther, Goethe, Schiller, Nietzsche, Kant, Brecht and Thomas Mann.Germany is the second largest producer of hops in the world and the country is known for its quality beers. Wine is produced in the Moselle and Rhine valleys. In Deutschland ist jetzt bei drei Menschen das Schweinegrippe Virus festgestellt worden. Bei den Betroffenen handelt es sich um Mexiko Reisende. Für die Bevölkerung in Deutschland wird derzeit keine allgemeine Gefährdung durch die Schweinegrippe gesehen.
After the Second World War, Germany was divided into the democratic West and the Communist East German Democratic Republic. The Berlin Wall became the symbol of this division. It fell in and Germany was reunited a year later.German is the most widely spoken first language in the European Union. Germany is the world's third largest economy, producing automobiles, precision engineering products, electronic and communications equipment, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, and much more besides.
Its companies have invested heavily in the central and east European countries which joined the EU in .As birthplace of Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven, Johannes Brahms and Richard Wagner, among others, Germany's gift to European classical music is important. In thought and word.
Germany’s huge heritage includes the works of Luther, Goethe, Schiller, Nietzsche, Kant, Brecht and Thomas Mann.Germany is the second largest producer of hops in the world and the country is known for its quality beers. Wine is produced in the Moselle and Rhine valleys. In Deutschland ist jetzt bei drei Menschen das Schweinegrippe Virus festgestellt worden. Bei den Betroffenen handelt es sich um Mexiko Reisende. Für die Bevölkerung in Deutschland wird derzeit keine allgemeine Gefährdung durch die Schweinegrippe gesehen.
United kingdom
The United Kingdom UK consists of England, Wales, Scotland who together make up Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The UK’s geography is varied, and includes cliffs along some coastlines, highlands and lowlands and many islands off the coast of Scotland. The highest mountain is Ben Nevis in Scotland which reaches a height of .
The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy. The main chamber of parliament is the lower house, the House of Commons, which has members elected by universal suffrage. About people are eligible to sit in the upper house, the House of Lords, including life peers, hereditary peers, and bishops. There is a Scottish parliament in Edinburgh with wide ranging local powers, and a Welsh Assembly in Cardiff which has more limited authority for Welsh affairs but can legislate in some areas.
The English account for more than of the population. The Scots make up nearly and the Welsh and Northern Irish most of the rest. The UK is also home to diverse immigrant communities, mainly from its former colonies in the West Indies, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Africa.The economy one of the largest in the EU is increasingly services based although it maintains industrial capacity in high tech and other sectors. The City of London is a world centre for financial services.
Home of the Industrial Revolution, the United Kingdom has produced many great scientists and engineers including Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin. The father of modern economics, Adam Smith, was a Scot. English literature has produced an endless stream of poets, dramatists, essayists and novelists from Geoffrey Chaucer via Shakespeare and his contemporaries to a plethora of modern writers such as J. K. Rowling and the Nobel Prizewinner, Doris Lessing.
Sweden
Sweden has the largest population of the Nordic countries. It is separated in the west from Norway by a range of mountains and shares the Gulf of Bothnia to the north of the Baltic Sea with Finland.The southern part of the country is chiefly agricultural, with forests covering an increasing percentage of the land the further north one goes.
Population density is also higher in southern Sweden, with many people living in the valley of Lake Mälaren and the Öresund region.In the Riksdag became a single-chamber Parliament. Its three hundered fourty nine members are elected on the basis of proportional representation for a four year term.
The country has at least seventeen thousand indigenous Samis among its population a community that derives most of its income from reindeer. Sweden is also home to a small number of ethnic Finns. Sweden exports cars, engineering products, steel, electronic devices, communications equipment and paper products.
Swedes played a pioneering role of the early days of cinema. Leading the way were Mauritz Stiller and Victor Sjöström. Later on, directors like Ingmar Bergman and actresses such as Greta Garbo, Ingrid Bergman and Anita Ekberg made careers abroad. Swedish music is in many minds synonymous with the pop group ABBA.Swedish cuisine is known for its Smorgåsbord a buffet of savoury delicacies Baltic herring, pea soup and pancakes.
Population density is also higher in southern Sweden, with many people living in the valley of Lake Mälaren and the Öresund region.In the Riksdag became a single-chamber Parliament. Its three hundered fourty nine members are elected on the basis of proportional representation for a four year term.
The country has at least seventeen thousand indigenous Samis among its population a community that derives most of its income from reindeer. Sweden is also home to a small number of ethnic Finns. Sweden exports cars, engineering products, steel, electronic devices, communications equipment and paper products.
Swedes played a pioneering role of the early days of cinema. Leading the way were Mauritz Stiller and Victor Sjöström. Later on, directors like Ingmar Bergman and actresses such as Greta Garbo, Ingrid Bergman and Anita Ekberg made careers abroad. Swedish music is in many minds synonymous with the pop group ABBA.Swedish cuisine is known for its Smorgåsbord a buffet of savoury delicacies Baltic herring, pea soup and pancakes.
Spain
High plateaux and mountain ranges such as the Pyrenees and the Sierra Nevada dominate mainland Spain. Running from these heights are several major rivers such as the Ebro, the Duero, the Tagus and the Guadalquivir. The Balearic Islands lie offshore in the Mediterranean while the autonomous Canary Islands are to be found off the African coast.
Spain is a constitutional monarchy, with a hereditary monarch and a parliament with two chambers: the Cortes. The constitution values linguistic and cultural diversity within a united Spain. The country is divided into seventeen autonomous communities regions which all have their own directly elected authorities. In Catalonia, the Basque Country and Galicia, the regional languages have official status alongside the national Spanish language, which is also called Castilian.
Spain’s service and manufacturing sectors are strong, while agriculture especially fruit and vegetables, olive oil and wine and tourism are also very profitable.From Velázquez in the seventh century, through Goya in the eigthyth and ninteenth, to Picasso, Dali and Miro in the twenth, Spain has a rich artistic culture.
Spanish Flamenco music and dance are widely admired around the world while Cervantes' novel Don Quixote is one of the landmarks of modern European literature. Spanish film directors such as Pedro Almodóvar, Alejandro Amenábar and Luis Buñuel have received several international prizes.Spanish cuisine is known for its paella a rice dish with chicken, seafood and vegetables, tortilla omelette with potatoes and sangria red wine served with fruit.
Spain is a constitutional monarchy, with a hereditary monarch and a parliament with two chambers: the Cortes. The constitution values linguistic and cultural diversity within a united Spain. The country is divided into seventeen autonomous communities regions which all have their own directly elected authorities. In Catalonia, the Basque Country and Galicia, the regional languages have official status alongside the national Spanish language, which is also called Castilian.
Spain’s service and manufacturing sectors are strong, while agriculture especially fruit and vegetables, olive oil and wine and tourism are also very profitable.From Velázquez in the seventh century, through Goya in the eigthyth and ninteenth, to Picasso, Dali and Miro in the twenth, Spain has a rich artistic culture.
Spanish Flamenco music and dance are widely admired around the world while Cervantes' novel Don Quixote is one of the landmarks of modern European literature. Spanish film directors such as Pedro Almodóvar, Alejandro Amenábar and Luis Buñuel have received several international prizes.Spanish cuisine is known for its paella a rice dish with chicken, seafood and vegetables, tortilla omelette with potatoes and sangria red wine served with fruit.
Algeria
have inhabited Algeria since at least ten thousand BC after thousand BC, the Carthaginians began establishing settlements along the coast. The Berbers seized the opportunity offered by the Punic Wars to become independent of Carthage, and Berber kingdoms began to emerge, most notably Numidia. In two hundered BC, however, they were once again taken over, this time by the Roman Republic.
When the Western Roman Empire collapsed, Berbers became independent again in many areas, while the Vandals took control over other parts, where they remained until expelled by the generals of the Byzantine Emperor, Justinian I. The Byzantine Empire then retained a precarious grip on the east of the country until the coming of the Arabs in the eighth century.
It is the largest country on the Mediterranean sea, the second largest on the African continent and the eleventh-largest country in the world in terms of land area. It is bordered by Tunisia in the northeast, Libya in the east, Niger in the southeast, Mali and Mauritania in the southwest, a few kilometers of the Western Sahara in the west, Morocco in the northwest, and Mediterranean Sea in the north. Its size is almost with an estimated population near. The capital of Algeria is Algiers.Algeria is a member of the Arab League, United Nations, African Union and OPEC. It also contributed towards the creation of the Arab Maghreb Union.
After the waves of Muslim Arab armies that conquered Algeria from its former Berber rulers and the rule of the Umayyid Arab Dynasty fell, numerous Dynasties emerged thereafter. Amongst those dynasties are the Fatimids of Egypt. Having converted the Kutama of Kabylie to its cause, the Shia Fatimids overthrew the Rustamids, and conquered Egypt, leaving Algeria and Tunisia to their Zirid vassals. When the latter rebelled, the Shia Fatimids sent in the Banu Hilal, a populous Arab tribe, to weaken them. This continued the influx of Arabs into the region since numerous other tribes then migrated with the Banu Hilal such as Banu Sulaym, Banu Muqal, Banu Jashm, Banu Khalt, and others.
When the Western Roman Empire collapsed, Berbers became independent again in many areas, while the Vandals took control over other parts, where they remained until expelled by the generals of the Byzantine Emperor, Justinian I. The Byzantine Empire then retained a precarious grip on the east of the country until the coming of the Arabs in the eighth century.
It is the largest country on the Mediterranean sea, the second largest on the African continent and the eleventh-largest country in the world in terms of land area. It is bordered by Tunisia in the northeast, Libya in the east, Niger in the southeast, Mali and Mauritania in the southwest, a few kilometers of the Western Sahara in the west, Morocco in the northwest, and Mediterranean Sea in the north. Its size is almost with an estimated population near. The capital of Algeria is Algiers.Algeria is a member of the Arab League, United Nations, African Union and OPEC. It also contributed towards the creation of the Arab Maghreb Union.
After the waves of Muslim Arab armies that conquered Algeria from its former Berber rulers and the rule of the Umayyid Arab Dynasty fell, numerous Dynasties emerged thereafter. Amongst those dynasties are the Fatimids of Egypt. Having converted the Kutama of Kabylie to its cause, the Shia Fatimids overthrew the Rustamids, and conquered Egypt, leaving Algeria and Tunisia to their Zirid vassals. When the latter rebelled, the Shia Fatimids sent in the Banu Hilal, a populous Arab tribe, to weaken them. This continued the influx of Arabs into the region since numerous other tribes then migrated with the Banu Hilal such as Banu Sulaym, Banu Muqal, Banu Jashm, Banu Khalt, and others.
Angola
officially the Republic of Angola Portuguese República de Angola, pronounced IPA Repubilika ya Ngola a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean. The exclave province of Cabinda has a border with the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Angola was a Portuguese overseas territory from the century to .
The country is the second largest petroleum and diamond producer in sub-Saharan Africa; however, its life expectancy and infant mortality rates are both among the worst ranked in the world. According to the International Monetary Fund, more than billion in oil receipts have disappeared from Angola's treasury in the. In August , a peace treaty was signed with a faction of the FLEC, a separatist guerrilla group from the Cabinda exclave in the North, which is still active. About of Angola's oil comes from that region.
Are some of the earliest known modern human inhabitants of the area. They were largely replaced by Bantu tribes during the Bantu migration, though small numbers of Khoisans remain in parts of southern Angola to the present day. The Bantu came from the north, probably from somewhere near the present day Republic of Cameroon. When they reached what is now Angola, they encountered the Khoisans, Bushmen and other groups considerably less advanced than themselves, whom they easily dominated with their superior knowledge of metal working, ceramics and agriculture. The establishment of the Bantus took many centuries and gave rise to various groups who took on different ethnic characteristics.
The BaKongo kingdoms of Angola established trade routes with other trading cities and civilizations up and down the coast of southwestern and West Africa but engaged in little or no transoceanic trade. This contrasts with the Great Zimbabwe Mutapa civilization which traded with India, the Persian Gulf civilizations and China. They engaged in limited trading with Great Zimbabwe and traded copper and iron for salt, food and raffia textiles across the Kongo River.
The country is the second largest petroleum and diamond producer in sub-Saharan Africa; however, its life expectancy and infant mortality rates are both among the worst ranked in the world. According to the International Monetary Fund, more than billion in oil receipts have disappeared from Angola's treasury in the. In August , a peace treaty was signed with a faction of the FLEC, a separatist guerrilla group from the Cabinda exclave in the North, which is still active. About of Angola's oil comes from that region.
Are some of the earliest known modern human inhabitants of the area. They were largely replaced by Bantu tribes during the Bantu migration, though small numbers of Khoisans remain in parts of southern Angola to the present day. The Bantu came from the north, probably from somewhere near the present day Republic of Cameroon. When they reached what is now Angola, they encountered the Khoisans, Bushmen and other groups considerably less advanced than themselves, whom they easily dominated with their superior knowledge of metal working, ceramics and agriculture. The establishment of the Bantus took many centuries and gave rise to various groups who took on different ethnic characteristics.
The BaKongo kingdoms of Angola established trade routes with other trading cities and civilizations up and down the coast of southwestern and West Africa but engaged in little or no transoceanic trade. This contrasts with the Great Zimbabwe Mutapa civilization which traded with India, the Persian Gulf civilizations and China. They engaged in limited trading with Great Zimbabwe and traded copper and iron for salt, food and raffia textiles across the Kongo River.
Benin
During the colonial period and at independence, the country was known as Dahomey. It was changed in to the People's Republic of Benin after the body of water on which the country lies, the Bight of Benin, which had in turn been named after the Benin Empire. Thus the country of Benin has no direct connection to Benin City in modern Nigeria, nor to the Benin bronzes.The new name was chosen for its neutrality. Dahomey was the name of the former Kingdom of Dahomey, which covered only the southern third of the present country and therefore did not represent the northwestern Atakora nor the kingdom of Borgu, which covered the northeastern third.
The kingdom of Dahomey formed from a mixture of ethnic groups on the Abomey plain. Historians theorized that the insecurity caused by slave trading may have contributed to mass migrations of groups to modern day Abomey, including some Aja, a Gbe people who are believed to have founded the city. Those Aja living in Abomey mingled with the local Fons, also a Gbe people, creating a new ethnic group known as Dahomey. The Gbe peoples are said to be descendents of a number of migrants from Wyo. Gangnihessou, a member of an Aja dynasty that in the th century along with the Ajay populace had come from Tadeo before settling and ruling separately in what is now Abominate, Allard, and Porto Novo, became the first ruler of the Dahomey Kingdom. Dahomey had a military culture aimed at securing and eventually expanding the borders of the small kingdom with its capital at modern day Abomey.
The Dahomey kingdom was known for its culture and traditions. Boys were often apprenticed to older soldiers at a young age, and learned about the kingdom's military customs until they were old enough to join the navy. Dahomey was also famous for instituting an elite female soldier corps, called Ahosi or "our mothers" in the Fongbe language, and known by many Europeans as the Dahomean Amazons. This emphasis on military preparation and achievement earned Dahomey the nickname of black Sparta from European observers and century explorers like Sir Richard Burton.
Though the leaders of Dahomey appeared initially to resist the slave trade, it flourished in the region of Dahomey for almost three hundred years, leading to the area being named "the Slave Coast". Court protocols, which demanded that a portion of war captives from the kingdom's many battles be decapitated, decreased the number of enslaved people exported from the area. The number went from per year at the beginning of the seventeenth century to at the beginning of the. The decline was partly due to the banning of the trans Atlantic trade by Britain and other countries. This decline continued until, when the last Portuguese slave ship departed from the coast of present day Benin Republic.
By the middle of the nineteenth century, Dahomey started to lose its status as the regional power. This enabled the French to take over the area in . In the French included land called Dahomey within the French West Africa colony. In France granted autonomy to the Republic of Dahomey, and full independence as of August . The president who led them to independence was Hubert Maga.For the next years, ethnic strife contributed to a period of turbulence. There were several coups and regime changes, with three figures dominating Sourou Apithy, Hubert Maga, and Justin Ahomadegbé each of them representing a different area and ethnicity of the country. These three agreed to form a presidential council after violence marred the elections.
The kingdom of Dahomey formed from a mixture of ethnic groups on the Abomey plain. Historians theorized that the insecurity caused by slave trading may have contributed to mass migrations of groups to modern day Abomey, including some Aja, a Gbe people who are believed to have founded the city. Those Aja living in Abomey mingled with the local Fons, also a Gbe people, creating a new ethnic group known as Dahomey. The Gbe peoples are said to be descendents of a number of migrants from Wyo. Gangnihessou, a member of an Aja dynasty that in the th century along with the Ajay populace had come from Tadeo before settling and ruling separately in what is now Abominate, Allard, and Porto Novo, became the first ruler of the Dahomey Kingdom. Dahomey had a military culture aimed at securing and eventually expanding the borders of the small kingdom with its capital at modern day Abomey.
The Dahomey kingdom was known for its culture and traditions. Boys were often apprenticed to older soldiers at a young age, and learned about the kingdom's military customs until they were old enough to join the navy. Dahomey was also famous for instituting an elite female soldier corps, called Ahosi or "our mothers" in the Fongbe language, and known by many Europeans as the Dahomean Amazons. This emphasis on military preparation and achievement earned Dahomey the nickname of black Sparta from European observers and century explorers like Sir Richard Burton.
Though the leaders of Dahomey appeared initially to resist the slave trade, it flourished in the region of Dahomey for almost three hundred years, leading to the area being named "the Slave Coast". Court protocols, which demanded that a portion of war captives from the kingdom's many battles be decapitated, decreased the number of enslaved people exported from the area. The number went from per year at the beginning of the seventeenth century to at the beginning of the. The decline was partly due to the banning of the trans Atlantic trade by Britain and other countries. This decline continued until, when the last Portuguese slave ship departed from the coast of present day Benin Republic.
By the middle of the nineteenth century, Dahomey started to lose its status as the regional power. This enabled the French to take over the area in . In the French included land called Dahomey within the French West Africa colony. In France granted autonomy to the Republic of Dahomey, and full independence as of August . The president who led them to independence was Hubert Maga.For the next years, ethnic strife contributed to a period of turbulence. There were several coups and regime changes, with three figures dominating Sourou Apithy, Hubert Maga, and Justin Ahomadegbé each of them representing a different area and ethnicity of the country. These three agreed to form a presidential council after violence marred the elections.
Cameroon
The Republic of Cameroon FrenchRépublique du Cameroun is a unitary republic of central and western Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the Bight of Bonny, part of the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean. The country is called Africa in miniaturefor its geological and cultural diversity. Natural features include beaches, deserts, mountains, rainforests, and savannas. The highest point is Mount Cameroon in the southwest, and the largest cities are Douala, Yaoundé, and Garoua. Cameroon is home to over different ethnic and linguistic groups. The country is well known for its native styles of music, particularly makossa and bikutsi, and for its successful national football team. English and French are the official languages.
Early inhabitants of the territory included the Sao civilisation around Lake Chad and the Baka hunter-gatherers in the southeastern rainforest. Portuguese explorers reached the coast in the century and named the area Rio dos Camarões River of Prawns, the name from which Cameroon derives. Fulani soldiers founded the Adamawa Emirate in the north in the century, and various ethnic groups of the west and northwest established powerful chiefdoms and fondoms. Cameroon became a German colony in.
After World War I, the territory was divided between France and Britain as League of Nations mandates. The Union des Populations du Cameroun political party advocated independence but was outlawed in the. It waged war on French and Cameroonian forces until. In French Cameroun independent as the Republic of Cameroun under President Ahmadou Ahidjo. The southern part of British Cameroons merged with it in to form the Federal Republic of Cameroon. The country was renamed the United Republic of Cameroon in and the Republic of Cameroon in.
Compared to other African countries, Cameroon enjoys relatively high political and social stability. This has permitted the development of agriculture, roads, railways, and large petroleum and timber industries. Nevertheless, large numbers of Cameroonians live in poverty as subsistence farmers. Power lies firmly in the hands of the president, Paul Biya, and his Cameroon People's Democratic Movement party, and corruption is widespread. The Anglophone community has grown increasingly alienated from the government, and Anglophone politicians have called for greater decentralisation and even the secession of the former British-governed territories.
Early inhabitants of the territory included the Sao civilisation around Lake Chad and the Baka hunter-gatherers in the southeastern rainforest. Portuguese explorers reached the coast in the century and named the area Rio dos Camarões River of Prawns, the name from which Cameroon derives. Fulani soldiers founded the Adamawa Emirate in the north in the century, and various ethnic groups of the west and northwest established powerful chiefdoms and fondoms. Cameroon became a German colony in.
After World War I, the territory was divided between France and Britain as League of Nations mandates. The Union des Populations du Cameroun political party advocated independence but was outlawed in the. It waged war on French and Cameroonian forces until. In French Cameroun independent as the Republic of Cameroun under President Ahmadou Ahidjo. The southern part of British Cameroons merged with it in to form the Federal Republic of Cameroon. The country was renamed the United Republic of Cameroon in and the Republic of Cameroon in.
Compared to other African countries, Cameroon enjoys relatively high political and social stability. This has permitted the development of agriculture, roads, railways, and large petroleum and timber industries. Nevertheless, large numbers of Cameroonians live in poverty as subsistence farmers. Power lies firmly in the hands of the president, Paul Biya, and his Cameroon People's Democratic Movement party, and corruption is widespread. The Anglophone community has grown increasingly alienated from the government, and Anglophone politicians have called for greater decentralisation and even the secession of the former British-governed territories.
Egypt
Egypt is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia. Covering an area of about square kilometers, Egypt is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west.
Egypt is one of the most populous countries in Africa and the Middle East. The great majority of its estimated million. live near the banks of the Nile River, in an area of about square kilometers where the only arable agricultural land is found. The large areas of the Sahara Desert are sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypt's residents live in urban areas, with the majority spread across the densely-populated centres of greater Cairo, Alexandria and other major cities in the Nile Delta.
Egypt is famous for its ancient civilization and some of the world's most famous monuments, including the Giza pyramid complex and its Great Sphinx. The southern city of Luxor contains numerous ancient artifacts, such as the Karnak Temple and the Valley of the Kings. Egypt is widely regarded as an important political and cultural nation of the Middle East.
Egypt possesses one of the most developed economies in the Middle East, with sectors such as tourism, agriculture, industry and service at almost equal rates in national production. Consequently, the Egyptian economy is rapidly developing, due in part to legislation aimed at luring investments, coupled with both internal and political stability, along with recent trade and market liberalization.
Egypt is one of the most populous countries in Africa and the Middle East. The great majority of its estimated million. live near the banks of the Nile River, in an area of about square kilometers where the only arable agricultural land is found. The large areas of the Sahara Desert are sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypt's residents live in urban areas, with the majority spread across the densely-populated centres of greater Cairo, Alexandria and other major cities in the Nile Delta.
Egypt is famous for its ancient civilization and some of the world's most famous monuments, including the Giza pyramid complex and its Great Sphinx. The southern city of Luxor contains numerous ancient artifacts, such as the Karnak Temple and the Valley of the Kings. Egypt is widely regarded as an important political and cultural nation of the Middle East.
Egypt possesses one of the most developed economies in the Middle East, with sectors such as tourism, agriculture, industry and service at almost equal rates in national production. Consequently, the Egyptian economy is rapidly developing, due in part to legislation aimed at luring investments, coupled with both internal and political stability, along with recent trade and market liberalization.
Hahneman
Hahnemann conceived of homeopathy while translating a medical treatise by Scottish physician and chemist William Cullen into German. Being skeptical of Cullen's theory concerning cinchon action in malaria, Hahnemann ingested some of the bark specifically to see if it cured fever "by virtue of its effect of strengthening the stomach Upon ingesting the bark, he noticed few stomach symptoms, but did experience fever, shivering and joint pain, symptoms similar to some of the early symptoms of malaria, the disease that the bark was ordinarily used to treat.
From this, Hahnemann came to believe that all effective drugs produce symptoms in healthy individuals similar to those of the diseases that they treat. This later became known as the law of similars, the most important concept of homeopathy The term homeopathy was coined by Hahnemann and first appeared in print in , although he began outlining his theories of medical similar in a series of articles and monographs in.
Hahnemann began to test what effects substances produced in humans, a procedure which would later become known as homeopathic proving. These time consuming tests required subjects to clearly record all of their symptoms as well as the ancillary conditions under which they appeared. Hahnemann saw these data as a way of identifying substances suitable for the treatment of particular diseases. The first collection of provings was published in and a second collection of remedies appeared in his book, Materia Medica Pura, in .
Hahnemann believed that large doses of drugs that caused similar symptoms would only aggravate illness, so he advocated extreme dilutions of the substances; he devised a technique for making dilutions that he believed would preserve a substance's therapeutic properties while removing its harmful effects, proposing that this process aroused and enhanced "spirit-like medicinal powers held within a drug.He gathered and published a complete overview of his new medical system in his book, The Organon of the Healing Art whose 6th edition, published in , is still used by homeopaths today.
From this, Hahnemann came to believe that all effective drugs produce symptoms in healthy individuals similar to those of the diseases that they treat. This later became known as the law of similars, the most important concept of homeopathy The term homeopathy was coined by Hahnemann and first appeared in print in , although he began outlining his theories of medical similar in a series of articles and monographs in.
Hahnemann began to test what effects substances produced in humans, a procedure which would later become known as homeopathic proving. These time consuming tests required subjects to clearly record all of their symptoms as well as the ancillary conditions under which they appeared. Hahnemann saw these data as a way of identifying substances suitable for the treatment of particular diseases. The first collection of provings was published in and a second collection of remedies appeared in his book, Materia Medica Pura, in .
Hahnemann believed that large doses of drugs that caused similar symptoms would only aggravate illness, so he advocated extreme dilutions of the substances; he devised a technique for making dilutions that he believed would preserve a substance's therapeutic properties while removing its harmful effects, proposing that this process aroused and enhanced "spirit-like medicinal powers held within a drug.He gathered and published a complete overview of his new medical system in his book, The Organon of the Healing Art whose 6th edition, published in , is still used by homeopaths today.
Asthma
Asthma is a chronic disease characterized by recurrent attacks of breathlessness and wheezing, which vary in severity and frequency from person to person. Symptoms may occur several times in a day or week in affected individuals, and for some people become worse during physical activity or at night. During an asthma attack, the lining of the bronchial tubes swell, causing the airways to narrow and reducing the flow of air into and out of the lungs. Recurrent asthma symptoms frequently cause sleeplessness, daytime fatigue, reduced activity levels and school and work absenteeism. Asthma has a relatively low fatality rate compared to other chronic diseases.
Although asthma cannot be cured, appropriate management can control the disease and enable people to enjoy a good quality of life. Short-term medications are used to relieve symptoms. People with persistent symptoms must take long-term medication daily to control the underlying inflammation and prevent symptoms and exacerbations.
Medication is not the only way to control asthma. It is also important to avoid asthma triggers stimuli that irritate and inflame the airways. With medical support, each asthma patient must learn what triggers he or she should avoid.Although asthma does not kill on the scale of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease COPD or other chronic diseases, failure to use app ropriate medications or to adhere to treatment can lead to death.
WHO recognizes that asthma is of major public health importance. The Organization plays a role in coordinating international efforts against the disease. The aim of its strategy is to support Member States in their efforts to reduce the disability and premature death related to asthma.surveillance to map the magnitude of asthma, analyse its determinants and monitor trends, with emphasis on poor and disadvantaged populations primary prevention to reduce the level of exposure to common risk factors, particularly tobacco smoke, frequent lower respiratory infections during childhood, and air pollution indoor, outdoor, and occupational exposure and identifying cost-effective interventions, upgrading standards and accessibility of care at different levels of the health care system.
Although asthma cannot be cured, appropriate management can control the disease and enable people to enjoy a good quality of life. Short-term medications are used to relieve symptoms. People with persistent symptoms must take long-term medication daily to control the underlying inflammation and prevent symptoms and exacerbations.
Medication is not the only way to control asthma. It is also important to avoid asthma triggers stimuli that irritate and inflame the airways. With medical support, each asthma patient must learn what triggers he or she should avoid.Although asthma does not kill on the scale of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease COPD or other chronic diseases, failure to use app ropriate medications or to adhere to treatment can lead to death.
WHO recognizes that asthma is of major public health importance. The Organization plays a role in coordinating international efforts against the disease. The aim of its strategy is to support Member States in their efforts to reduce the disability and premature death related to asthma.surveillance to map the magnitude of asthma, analyse its determinants and monitor trends, with emphasis on poor and disadvantaged populations primary prevention to reduce the level of exposure to common risk factors, particularly tobacco smoke, frequent lower respiratory infections during childhood, and air pollution indoor, outdoor, and occupational exposure and identifying cost-effective interventions, upgrading standards and accessibility of care at different levels of the health care system.
MANGROVE FOREST
The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Delhi and Duke University, analyzed deaths in villages in the poor, mostly rural Kendrapada District of the Indian state of Orissa, just north of the cyclone's landfall.Our analysis shows a clear inverse relationship between the number of deaths per village and the width of the mangroves located between those villages and the coast," said Jeffrey R. Vincent, Clarence F. Korstian Professor of Forest Economics and Management at Duke's Nicholas School of the Environment.
Taking other environmental and socioeconomic factors into account, villages with wider mangroves suffered significantly fewer deaths than ones with narrower or no mangroves, Vincent said. We believe this is the first robust evidence that mangroves can protect coastal villages against certain types of natural disasters.Vincent conducted the analysis with Saudamini Das of the University of Delhi's Swami Shradanand College. Their findings appear in a paper in this week's online early edition of The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Mangroves are dense forests of trees and shrubs that grow in brackish, low lying coastal swamps in the tropics and subtropics. mangroves covered nearly hectares of land in Kendrapada District and the average village had kilometers of mangroves between it and the coast. Since then, nearly half the area has been cleared, mostly for rice production. Today, the average width of mangroves between the villages and the coast has shrunk to kilometers.
The storm, which made landfall on Oct. killed nearly people, more than percent of whom drowned in its surge.Using statistical models, Das and Vincent predicted there would have been additional deaths per village within kilometers of the coast if the mangrove width had been reduced to zero.
"This is a measure of the life saving impact of the mangroves that remained in Vincent said. It implies that they cut the death toll by about twothirds.Although mangroves evidently saved fewer lives than an early warning issued by the Indian government, the retention of the remaining mangroves in Orissa is economically justified, Vincent believes, even without considering the many other environmental benefits they provide, such as acting as nurseries for economically and environmentally vital fisheries, or sites for ecotourism. Previously published estimates of Indians' willingness to pay to reduce the risk of accidental deaths are higher than Das and Vincent's estimate of the cost of saving lives in Orissa by retaining mangroves.
Taking other environmental and socioeconomic factors into account, villages with wider mangroves suffered significantly fewer deaths than ones with narrower or no mangroves, Vincent said. We believe this is the first robust evidence that mangroves can protect coastal villages against certain types of natural disasters.Vincent conducted the analysis with Saudamini Das of the University of Delhi's Swami Shradanand College. Their findings appear in a paper in this week's online early edition of The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Mangroves are dense forests of trees and shrubs that grow in brackish, low lying coastal swamps in the tropics and subtropics. mangroves covered nearly hectares of land in Kendrapada District and the average village had kilometers of mangroves between it and the coast. Since then, nearly half the area has been cleared, mostly for rice production. Today, the average width of mangroves between the villages and the coast has shrunk to kilometers.
The storm, which made landfall on Oct. killed nearly people, more than percent of whom drowned in its surge.Using statistical models, Das and Vincent predicted there would have been additional deaths per village within kilometers of the coast if the mangrove width had been reduced to zero.
"This is a measure of the life saving impact of the mangroves that remained in Vincent said. It implies that they cut the death toll by about twothirds.Although mangroves evidently saved fewer lives than an early warning issued by the Indian government, the retention of the remaining mangroves in Orissa is economically justified, Vincent believes, even without considering the many other environmental benefits they provide, such as acting as nurseries for economically and environmentally vital fisheries, or sites for ecotourism. Previously published estimates of Indians' willingness to pay to reduce the risk of accidental deaths are higher than Das and Vincent's estimate of the cost of saving lives in Orissa by retaining mangroves.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Reptiles
Reptiles Class Reptilia are cold-blooded vertebrates that diverged from ancestral amphibians about million years ago. There are two characteristics that distinguished early reptiles from amphibians and enabled them to colonize terrestrial habitats more extensively than their ancestors, scales and the ability to lay hard shelled amniotic eggs. Scales protect reptiles from abrasion and loss of body moisture. Hard shelled eggs provide a protective environment in which the embryo can develop.
Reptiles includes snakes, amphisbaenians, lizards, alligators, caimans, crocodiles, tortoises, turtles, and tuataras. There are over species of reptiles. Since reptiles do not produce their own body heat they are cold-blooded, also known as ectothermic, they modify their activity and behavior to best adapt to changing environmental temperatures.
When air temperatures are low night, early morning, evening a reptile, for example a lizard, often seeks shelter. As the temperature increases in the morning, the lizard might bask in the sunlight to increase its body temperature. It may then be active for several hours, seeking shelter if afternoon heat is too extreme.
One major characteristic of reptiles is the presence of scales composed of a protein called keratin. These scales form a waterproof barrier of skin, which allows reptiles to exist away from water without the threat of dehydration. Another characteristic is the regulation of internal body temperature by the external absorption of heat. Thus, reptiles are ectothermic. Unlike endothermic creatures, which must use calories from food to regulate body temperature, reptiles don't require much food to maintain body temperature and survive.
Reptiles includes snakes, amphisbaenians, lizards, alligators, caimans, crocodiles, tortoises, turtles, and tuataras. There are over species of reptiles. Since reptiles do not produce their own body heat they are cold-blooded, also known as ectothermic, they modify their activity and behavior to best adapt to changing environmental temperatures.
When air temperatures are low night, early morning, evening a reptile, for example a lizard, often seeks shelter. As the temperature increases in the morning, the lizard might bask in the sunlight to increase its body temperature. It may then be active for several hours, seeking shelter if afternoon heat is too extreme.
One major characteristic of reptiles is the presence of scales composed of a protein called keratin. These scales form a waterproof barrier of skin, which allows reptiles to exist away from water without the threat of dehydration. Another characteristic is the regulation of internal body temperature by the external absorption of heat. Thus, reptiles are ectothermic. Unlike endothermic creatures, which must use calories from food to regulate body temperature, reptiles don't require much food to maintain body temperature and survive.
RHINOCEROS
The black rhinoceros Diceros bicornis, also known as the hooked-lipped rhinoceros, is one of five living species of rhinos. Despite its name, the skin of the black rhinoceros is not truly black but instead slate grey in color. Skin color can varry depending on the mud in which the black rhino wallows. When covered in dry mud, the black rhinoceros may appear white, light grey, reddish, or black.
Of all the rhinoceros species, black rhinos are most closely related to white rhinos Ceratotherium simum, but there are a number of respects in which the two species differ. Black rhinos are smaller than white rhinos. Black rhinoceroses also have a smaller head which they hold higher and in horizontal orientation. White rhinos have a comparitively larger head which they hold lower to the ground. The lips of black rhinoceroses are also unique. They have a pointed upper lip that is muscular and enables them to grasp shrubs and vegetation which they pull from the ground as they eat.
Black rhinos were once the most numerous of the five rhino species. Sadly, their population has plummeted by more than percent since the. In the rhino population fell to just individuals. Since that time their numbers have recovered modestly but the species remains classified as Critically Endangered on the Threatened Species.
The main threats to black rhinos are poaching and habitat destruction. The horns of the black rhinoceros are prized for use in traditional medicine and for carvings and ornaments. As a result, intense poaching of black rhinos has been a major force in the decline of the black rhino population. Additionally, conservation efforts have been marred by civil unrest in regions such as Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, DR Congo, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan and Uganda.
Black rhinos have a poor sense of sight but acute sense of smell. When threatened, black rhinos may charge, although in some cases the charges are bluffs and the animal stops a few feet before it makes contact with its target. Black rhinos inhabit home ranges, and individual territories often overlap. Waterholes are necessary parts of a rhino's home range, as it provide water for drinking as well as wallowing.
Of all the rhinoceros species, black rhinos are most closely related to white rhinos Ceratotherium simum, but there are a number of respects in which the two species differ. Black rhinos are smaller than white rhinos. Black rhinoceroses also have a smaller head which they hold higher and in horizontal orientation. White rhinos have a comparitively larger head which they hold lower to the ground. The lips of black rhinoceroses are also unique. They have a pointed upper lip that is muscular and enables them to grasp shrubs and vegetation which they pull from the ground as they eat.
Black rhinos were once the most numerous of the five rhino species. Sadly, their population has plummeted by more than percent since the. In the rhino population fell to just individuals. Since that time their numbers have recovered modestly but the species remains classified as Critically Endangered on the Threatened Species.
The main threats to black rhinos are poaching and habitat destruction. The horns of the black rhinoceros are prized for use in traditional medicine and for carvings and ornaments. As a result, intense poaching of black rhinos has been a major force in the decline of the black rhino population. Additionally, conservation efforts have been marred by civil unrest in regions such as Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, DR Congo, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan and Uganda.
Black rhinos have a poor sense of sight but acute sense of smell. When threatened, black rhinos may charge, although in some cases the charges are bluffs and the animal stops a few feet before it makes contact with its target. Black rhinos inhabit home ranges, and individual territories often overlap. Waterholes are necessary parts of a rhino's home range, as it provide water for drinking as well as wallowing.
Mammals
Mammals Class Mammalia belong to a group of vertebrates that includes approximately extant species. Mammals display a remarkable array of adaptations that enable them to inhabit a wide range of habitats. Mammals range in size from the minute Bumblebee Bat which measures a mere three centimeters in length, to the magnificent blue whale, which can measure metres head to tail at such immense dimension, it is undoubtedly the largest animal alive today.
Hair is a defining characteristic of mammals: no other organisms possess true hair and all mammals have hair covering at least part of their body at some time during their life. Hair grows from skin cells known as follicles. The hair shaft is made of a protein called keratin. Hair serves numerous functions. When present as a thick covering over the animal's body known as pelage, it provides insulation. The pelage of most mammals is a mosaic of different kinds of individual hairs such as guard hairs, barbs, bristles, awns, underfur, wool, fur, and velli; each of these has a different structure and serves a slightly different purpose.
The adaptive benefits of mammalian hair are numerous. Hair provides insulation from extreme cold, enabling mammals to inhabit some of the harshest habitats on Earth. It also provides mammals with protection for their skin from abrasions and damaging UV rays. Many mammals have pelage that displays cryptic coloration, which helps to conceal them from predators or in some cases prey. Another characteristic unique to mammals is the presence of mammary glands.Mammary glands, like hair, are a uniquely mammalian trait. Though present in both males and females, mammary glands only fully develop in females.
Mammary glands consist of ducts and glandular tissues that secrete milk through nipples. Young mammals obtain milk from their mother by feeding from her nipples. The milk provides the young with much needed protein, sugars, fat, vitamins, and salts. A third characteristic unique to mammals is the presence of the presence of three middle ear bones. These ear bones the malleus, incus, and stapes transform sound vibrations into neural impulses. Mammals are also characterized by having a diaphram, a four-chambered heart, and a large cereberal cortex. Additionally, some mammals hibernate during time periods when resources are scarce, such as during the winter season.
Hair is a defining characteristic of mammals: no other organisms possess true hair and all mammals have hair covering at least part of their body at some time during their life. Hair grows from skin cells known as follicles. The hair shaft is made of a protein called keratin. Hair serves numerous functions. When present as a thick covering over the animal's body known as pelage, it provides insulation. The pelage of most mammals is a mosaic of different kinds of individual hairs such as guard hairs, barbs, bristles, awns, underfur, wool, fur, and velli; each of these has a different structure and serves a slightly different purpose.
The adaptive benefits of mammalian hair are numerous. Hair provides insulation from extreme cold, enabling mammals to inhabit some of the harshest habitats on Earth. It also provides mammals with protection for their skin from abrasions and damaging UV rays. Many mammals have pelage that displays cryptic coloration, which helps to conceal them from predators or in some cases prey. Another characteristic unique to mammals is the presence of mammary glands.Mammary glands, like hair, are a uniquely mammalian trait. Though present in both males and females, mammary glands only fully develop in females.
Mammary glands consist of ducts and glandular tissues that secrete milk through nipples. Young mammals obtain milk from their mother by feeding from her nipples. The milk provides the young with much needed protein, sugars, fat, vitamins, and salts. A third characteristic unique to mammals is the presence of the presence of three middle ear bones. These ear bones the malleus, incus, and stapes transform sound vibrations into neural impulses. Mammals are also characterized by having a diaphram, a four-chambered heart, and a large cereberal cortex. Additionally, some mammals hibernate during time periods when resources are scarce, such as during the winter season.
Owls
Owls Order Strigiformes are a diverse group of birds that includes over species. The Order Strigiformes is subdivided into two families, Family Strigidae typical owls and Family Tytonidae barn owls. Many owls share characteristics such as strong talons, feathered legs, soft plummage, silent flight, keen hearing and eyesight. Their eyes face forward, requiring them to turn their head to see at different angles.
Owls, unlike many birds, do not build nests and instead use nests built by other species or inhabit hollows in trees. They inhabit terrestrial habitats around the world. They hunt prey that includes mammals, other birds, reptiles, and insects.are a group of birds known for their distinct calls, nocturnal habits, and silent flight. Owls are familiar to many people because they are often depected in various ways in popular culture. For instance, owls are often among the animals we associate with Halloween. They are also a favorite character in a variety of children's stories, such as Winnie the Pooh, The Secrets of NIMH, and Harry Potter.
But widespread understanding about this unique group of birds is often quite limited. So in this article, I'd like to explore ten things we should all know about owls: The Order Strigiformes is further divided into two families, the barn owls Family Tytonidae and the typical owls Family Strigidae. Owls are a diverse group of birds, with over species of owls belonging to the Order Strigiformes.
Owls feed on a wide variety of prey including mammals, other birds, insects, and reptiles. There are even some species of owls that live in Africa and Asia that feed on birds. Owls cannot chew their prey since, like all birds, they do not have teeth. Instead, they swallow small prey whole and must tear larger prey into smaller pieces before swallowing. They later regurgitate pellets of indigestible material such as bone, fur, and feathers.
Most owls are active at night. A few species such as the pygmy owls are active in the early morning or at dusk while some such as the burrowing owl and the short eared owl are active during the day.Owls are unable to move their eyes within their sockets to a great extent, which means they must turn their entire head to see in a different direction. Because owls have forward-facing eyes, they have well-developed binocular vision.Owls have developed special feather adaptations that enable them to minimize the sound made when flapping their wings. For instance, the leading edges of their primary feathers have a stiff fringes that reduces noise while the trailing edge of their primaries have soft fringes that helps to reduce turbulence. Downy feathers cover the surfaces of the wing to further reduce sound.
Owls, unlike many birds, do not build nests and instead use nests built by other species or inhabit hollows in trees. They inhabit terrestrial habitats around the world. They hunt prey that includes mammals, other birds, reptiles, and insects.are a group of birds known for their distinct calls, nocturnal habits, and silent flight. Owls are familiar to many people because they are often depected in various ways in popular culture. For instance, owls are often among the animals we associate with Halloween. They are also a favorite character in a variety of children's stories, such as Winnie the Pooh, The Secrets of NIMH, and Harry Potter.
But widespread understanding about this unique group of birds is often quite limited. So in this article, I'd like to explore ten things we should all know about owls: The Order Strigiformes is further divided into two families, the barn owls Family Tytonidae and the typical owls Family Strigidae. Owls are a diverse group of birds, with over species of owls belonging to the Order Strigiformes.
Owls feed on a wide variety of prey including mammals, other birds, insects, and reptiles. There are even some species of owls that live in Africa and Asia that feed on birds. Owls cannot chew their prey since, like all birds, they do not have teeth. Instead, they swallow small prey whole and must tear larger prey into smaller pieces before swallowing. They later regurgitate pellets of indigestible material such as bone, fur, and feathers.
Most owls are active at night. A few species such as the pygmy owls are active in the early morning or at dusk while some such as the burrowing owl and the short eared owl are active during the day.Owls are unable to move their eyes within their sockets to a great extent, which means they must turn their entire head to see in a different direction. Because owls have forward-facing eyes, they have well-developed binocular vision.Owls have developed special feather adaptations that enable them to minimize the sound made when flapping their wings. For instance, the leading edges of their primary feathers have a stiff fringes that reduces noise while the trailing edge of their primaries have soft fringes that helps to reduce turbulence. Downy feathers cover the surfaces of the wing to further reduce sound.
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