1.
City
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A city is a large and permanent human settlement. Cities generally have complex systems for sanitation, utilities, land usage, housing, a big city or metropolis usually has associated suburbs and exurbs. Such cities are associated with metropolitan areas and urban areas. Once a city expands far enough to another city, this region can be deemed a conurbation or megalopolis. Damascus is arguably the oldest city in the world, in terms of population, the largest city proper is Shanghai, while the fastest-growing is Dubai. There is not enough evidence to assert what conditions gave rise to the first cities, some theorists have speculated on what they consider suitable pre-conditions and basic mechanisms that might have been important driving forces. The conventional view holds that cities first formed after the Neolithic revolution, the Neolithic revolution brought agriculture, which made denser human populations possible, thereby supporting city development. The advent of farming encouraged hunter-gatherers to abandon nomadic lifestyles and to settle near others who lived by agricultural production, the increased population density encouraged by farming and the increased output of food per unit of land created conditions that seem more suitable for city-like activities. In his book, Cities and Economic Development, Paul Bairoch takes up position in his argument that agricultural activity appears necessary before true cities can form. According to Vere Gordon Childe, for a settlement to qualify as a city, it must have enough surplus of raw materials to support trade and a relatively large population. To illustrate this point, Bairoch offers an example, Western Europe during the pre-Neolithic, when the cost of transport is taken into account, the figure rises to 200,000 square kilometres. Bairoch noted that this is roughly the size of Great Britain, the urban theorist Jane Jacobs suggests that city formation preceded the birth of agriculture, but this view is not widely accepted. In his book City Economics, Brendan OFlaherty asserts Cities could persist—as they have for thousands of years—only if their advantages offset the disadvantages, OFlaherty illustrates two similar attracting advantages known as increasing returns to scale and economies of scale, which are concepts usually associated with businesses. Their applications are seen in more basic economic systems as well, increasing returns to scale occurs when doubling all inputs more than doubles the output an activity has economies of scale if doubling output less than doubles cost. To offer an example of these concepts, OFlaherty makes use of one of the oldest reasons why cities were built, in this example, the inputs are anything that would be used for protection and the output is the area protected and everything of value contained in it. OFlaherty then asks that we suppose the protected area is square, the advantage is expressed as, O = s 2, where O is the output and s stands for the length of a side. This equation shows that output is proportional to the square of the length of a side, the inputs depend on the length of the perimeter, I =4 s, where I stands for the quantity of inputs. So there are increasing returns to scale, O = I2 /16 and this equation shows that with twice the inputs, you produce quadruple the output
2.
Texas
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Texas is the second largest state in the United States by both area and population. Other major cities include Austin, the second most populous state capital in the U. S. Texas is nicknamed the Lone Star State to signify its former status as an independent republic, and as a reminder of the states struggle for independence from Mexico. The Lone Star can be found on the Texan state flag, the origin of Texass name is from the word Tejas, which means friends in the Caddo language. Due to its size and geologic features such as the Balcones Fault, although Texas is popularly associated with the U. S. southwestern deserts, less than 10 percent of Texas land area is desert. Most of the centers are located in areas of former prairies, grasslands, forests. Traveling from east to west, one can observe terrain that ranges from coastal swamps and piney woods, to rolling plains and rugged hills, the term six flags over Texas refers to several nations that have ruled over the territory. Spain was the first European country to claim the area of Texas, Mexico controlled the territory until 1836 when Texas won its independence, becoming an independent Republic. In 1845, Texas joined the United States as the 28th state, the states annexation set off a chain of events that caused the Mexican–American War in 1846. A slave state before the American Civil War, Texas declared its secession from the U. S. in early 1861, after the Civil War and the restoration of its representation in the federal government, Texas entered a long period of economic stagnation. One Texan industry that thrived after the Civil War was cattle, due to its long history as a center of the industry, Texas is associated with the image of the cowboy. The states economic fortunes changed in the early 20th century, when oil discoveries initiated a boom in the state. With strong investments in universities, Texas developed a diversified economy, as of 2010 it shares the top of the list of the most Fortune 500 companies with California at 57. With a growing base of industry, the leads in many industries, including agriculture, petrochemicals, energy, computers and electronics, aerospace. Texas has led the nation in export revenue since 2002 and has the second-highest gross state product. The name Texas, based on the Caddo word tejas meaning friends or allies, was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves, during Spanish colonial rule, the area was officially known as the Nuevo Reino de Filipinas, La Provincia de Texas. Texas is the second largest U. S. state, behind Alaska, though 10 percent larger than France and almost twice as large as Germany or Japan, it ranks only 27th worldwide amongst country subdivisions by size. If it were an independent country, Texas would be the 40th largest behind Chile, Texas is in the south central part of the United States of America. Three of its borders are defined by rivers, the Rio Grande forms a natural border with the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas to the south
3.
ZIP Code
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ZIP Codes are a system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service since 1963. The term ZIP, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, was chosen to suggest that the travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly. The basic format consists of five numerical digits, an extended ZIP+4 code, introduced in 1983, includes the five digits of the ZIP Code, a hyphen, and four additional digits that determine a more specific location within a given ZIP Code. The term ZIP Code was originally registered as a servicemark by the U. S. Postal Service, USPS style for ZIP is all caps and the c in code is also capitalized, although style sheets for some publications use sentence case or lowercase. The early history and context of postal codes began with postal district/zone numbers, the United States Post Office Department implemented postal zones for numerous large cities in 1943. For example, Mr. John Smith 3256 Epiphenomenal Avenue Minneapolis 16, by the early 1960s a more organized system was needed, and on July 1,1963, non-mandatory five-digit ZIP Codes were introduced nationwide. Three months later, on October 1,1963, the U. S, an earlier list in June had proposed capitalized abbreviations ranging from two to five letters. The abbreviations have remained unchanged, with one exception, according to the historian of the U. S. Robert Moon, an employee of the post office, is considered the father of the ZIP Code, he submitted his proposal in 1944 while working as a postal inspector. The post office gives credit to Moon only for the first three digits of the ZIP Code, which describe the sectional center facility or sec center, an SCF is a central mail processing facility with those three digits. The SCF sorts mail to all post offices with those first three digits in their ZIP Codes, the mail is sorted according to the final two digits of the ZIP Code and sent to the corresponding post offices in the early morning. Sectional centers do not deliver mail and are not open to the public, Mail picked up at post offices is sent to their own SCF in the afternoon, where the mail is sorted overnight. The United States Post Office used a character, which it called Mr. ZIP. He was often depicted with a such as USE ZIP CODE in the selvage of panes of stamps or on labels contained in, or the covers of. In 1983, the U. S. Postal Service introduced an expanded ZIP Code system that it called ZIP+4, often called plus-four codes, add-on codes, or add ons. But initial attempts to promote use of the new format met with public resistance. For Post Office Boxes, the rule is that each box has its own ZIP+4 code. However, there is no rule, so the ZIP+4 Code must be looked up individually for each box. It is common to use add-on code 9998 for mail addressed to the postmaster,9999 for general delivery, for a unique ZIP Code, the add-on code is typically 0001
4.
Texas and Pacific Railway
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The Texas and Pacific Railway Company was created by federal charter in 1871 with the purpose of building a southern transcontinental railroad between Marshall, Texas, and San Diego, California. The T&P had a significant foothold in Texas by the mid-1880s, construction difficulties delayed westward progress, until American financier Jay Gould acquired an interest in the railroad in 1879. The T&P never reached San Diego, instead it met the Southern Pacific at Sierra Blanca, Texas, the Missouri Pacific Railroad, also controlled by Gould, leased the T&P from 1881 to 1885 and continued a cooperative relationship with the T&P after the lease ended. On January 8,1980, the Missouri Pacific Railroad was purchased by the Union Pacific Railroad, because of lawsuits filed by competing railroads, the merger was not approved until September 13,1982. However, due to outstanding bonds of the Missouri Pacific, the merger with the Union Pacific Railroad took place on January 1,1997. The warehouse still exists but there are plans to renovate it, the passenger terminal and corporate offices have been converted into luxury condominiums. Note, This is a different Southern Pacific Railroad company from the one referred to above, march 21,1872 - The Southern Pacific is purchased. March 30 - Southern Trans-Continental Railway Company is purchased,1872 - Thomas A. Scott, president of the Pennsylvania Railroad, becomes president of the Texas & Pacific. May 2,1872 - an Act of Congress changes the name to Texas and Pacific Railway Company June 12,1873 - Memphis, El Paso and Pacific Railroad Company purchased. July 1,1873 - First rail line opened between Longview, Texas, and Dallas, Texas December 28,1873 - Rail line from Marshall, Texas, to Texarkana, Texas,1881 - Abilene, TX connected to the line. 1925 - Lima Locomotive Works delivers 2-10-4 locomotives to the T&P, the type is nicknamed Texas as a result. October 15,1976 - merged with the Missouri Pacific T&P includes its subsidiary roads, the Texas and Pacific was unable to finance construction to San Diego, and as a result the Southern Pacific was able to build from California to Sierra Blanca, Texas. In doing so, Southern Pacific used land designated for, and surveyed by Texas and Pacific, in its line from Yuma, Arizona, to El Paso. This resulted in lawsuits, which were settled with agreements to share tracks, most of the features advantageous to Texas and Pacific were later disallowed by legislation. Under the influence of General Buell the TPRR was originally to be 3 ft 6 in gauge, from 1873 to 1881 the Texas and Pacific built a total of 972 miles of track, as a result it was entitled to land grants totalling 12,441,600 acres. T&P, however, received land only for the construction of track east of Fort Worth and this meant the firm received only 5,173,120 acres. The State of Texas did not award the additional area because, it said, the state ultimately recovered 256,046 acres giving a net grant to the T&P of 4,917,074 acres, or 7,683 square miles. By comparison, the state of Connecticut is 5,543 square miles.5 million acres
5.
Atlanta
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Atlanta is the capital of and the most populous city in the U. S. state of Georgia, with an estimated 2015 population of 463,878. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, home to 5,710,795 people, Atlanta is the county seat of Fulton County, and a small portion of the city extends eastward into DeKalb County. In 1837, Atlanta was founded at the intersection of two lines, and the city rose from the ashes of the American Civil War to become a national center of commerce. Atlantas economy is considered diverse, with dominant sectors that include logistics, professional and business services, media operations, Atlanta has topographic features that include rolling hills and dense tree coverage. Revitalization of Atlantas neighborhoods, initially spurred by the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, has intensified in the 21st century, altering the demographics, politics. Prior to the arrival of European settlers in north Georgia, Creek Indians inhabited the area, standing Peachtree, a Creek village located where Peachtree Creek flows into the Chattahoochee River, was the closest Indian settlement to what is now Atlanta. As part of the removal of Native Americans from northern Georgia from 1802 to 1825, the Creek ceded the area in 1821. In 1836, the Georgia General Assembly voted to build the Western, the initial route was to run southward from Chattanooga to a terminus east of the Chattahoochee River, which would then be linked to Savannah. After engineers surveyed various possible locations for the terminus, the zero milepost was driven into the ground in what is now Five Points. A year later, the area around the milepost had developed into a settlement, first known as Terminus, and later as Thrasherville after a merchant who built homes. By 1842, the town had six buildings and 30 residents and was renamed Marthasville to honor the Governors daughter, later, J. Edgar Thomson, Chief Engineer of the Georgia Railroad, suggested the town be renamed Atlantica-Pacifica, which was shortened to Atlanta. The residents approved, and the town was incorporated as Atlanta on December 29,1847, by 1860, Atlantas population had grown to 9,554. During the American Civil War, the nexus of multiple railroads in Atlanta made the city a hub for the distribution of military supplies, in 1864, the Union Army moved southward following the capture of Chattanooga and began its invasion of north Georgia. On the next day, Mayor James Calhoun surrendered Atlanta to the Union Army, on November 11,1864, Sherman prepared for the Union Armys March to the Sea by ordering Atlanta to be burned to the ground, sparing only the citys churches and hospitals. After the Civil War ended in 1865, Atlanta was gradually rebuilt, due to the citys superior rail transportation network, the state capital was moved from Milledgeville to Atlanta in 1868. In the 1880 Census, Atlanta surpassed Savannah as Georgias largest city, by 1885, the founding of the Georgia School of Technology and the citys black colleges had established Atlanta as a center for higher education. In 1895, Atlanta hosted the Cotton States and International Exposition, during the first decades of the 20th century, Atlanta experienced a period of unprecedented growth. In three decades time, Atlantas population tripled as the city expanded to include nearby streetcar suburbs
6.
Logging
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Logging is the cutting, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars. In forestry, the logging is sometimes used in a narrow sense concerning the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest. However, in usage, the term may be used to indicate a range of forestry or silviculture activities. Illegal logging refers to what in forestry might be called timber theft by the timber mafia and it can also refer to the harvesting, transportation, purchase, or sale of timber in violation of laws. Clearcut logging is not necessarily considered a type of logging but a harvesting or silviculture method, in the forest products industry logging companies may be referred to as logging contractors, with the smaller, non-union crews referred to as gyppo loggers. Cutting trees with the highest value and leaving those with lower value and it is sometimes called selective logging, and confused with selection cutting, the practice of managing stands by harvesting a proportion of trees. Logging usually refers to above-ground forestry logging, submerged forests exist on land that has been flooded by damming to create reservoirs. Such trees are logged using underwater logging or by the lowering of the reservoirs in question, ootsa Lake and Williston Lake in British Columbia, Canada are notable examples where timber recovery has been needed to remove inundated forests. Clearcutting, or clearfelling, is a method of harvesting that removes all the standing trees in a selected area. Silviculture objectives for clearcutting, and a focus on forestry distinguish it from deforestation, other methods include shelterwood cutting, group selective, single selective, seed-tree cutting, patch cut, and retention cutting. The above operations can be carried out by different methods, of which the three are considered industrial methods, Trees are felled and then delimbed and topped at the stump. The log is then transported to the landing, where it is bucked and loaded on a truck and this leaves the slash in the cut area, where it must be further treated if wild land fires are of concern. This ability is due to the advancement in the style felling head that can be used, the trees are then delimbed, topped, and bucked at the landing. This method requires that slash be treated at the landing, in areas with access to cogeneration facilities, the slash can be chipped and used for the production of electricity or heat. Full-tree harvesting also refers to utilization of the tree including branches. Cut-to-length logging is the process of felling, delimbing, bucking, harvesters fell the tree, delimb, and buck it, and place the resulting logs in bunks to be brought to the landing by a skidder or forwarder. This method is available for trees up to 900 mm in diameter. Harvesters are employed effectively in level to steep terrain
7.
Great Depression
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The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression that took place during the 1930s. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, in most countries it started in 1929 and it was the longest, deepest, and most widespread depression of the 20th century. In the 21st century, the Great Depression is commonly used as an example of how far the economy can decline. The depression originated in the United States, after a fall in stock prices that began around September 4,1929. Between 1929 and 1932, worldwide GDP fell by an estimated 15%, by comparison, worldwide GDP fell by less than 1% from 2008 to 2009 during the Great Recession. Some economies started to recover by the mid-1930s, however, in many countries, the negative effects of the Great Depression lasted until the beginning of World War II. The Great Depression had devastating effects in both rich and poor. Personal income, tax revenue, profits and prices dropped, while international trade plunged by more than 50%, unemployment in the U. S. rose to 25% and in some countries rose as high as 33%. Cities all around the world were hit hard, especially dependent on heavy industry. Construction was virtually halted in many countries, farming communities and rural areas suffered as crop prices fell by about 60%. Facing plummeting demand with few sources of jobs, areas dependent on primary sector industries such as mining and logging suffered the most. Even after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 optimism persisted for some time, john D. Rockefeller said These are days when many are discouraged. In the 93 years of my life, depressions have come, prosperity has always returned and will again. The stock market turned upward in early 1930, returning to early 1929 levels by April and this was still almost 30% below the peak of September 1929. Together, government and business spent more in the first half of 1930 than in the period of the previous year. On the other hand, consumers, many of whom had suffered losses in the stock market the previous year. In addition, beginning in the mid-1930s, a severe drought ravaged the agricultural heartland of the U. S, by mid-1930, interest rates had dropped to low levels, but expected deflation and the continuing reluctance of people to borrow meant that consumer spending and investment were depressed. By May 1930, automobile sales had declined to below the levels of 1928, prices in general began to decline, although wages held steady in 1930
8.
U.S. Route 59
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U. S. Route 59 is a north–south United States highway. A latecomer to the U. S. numbered route system, US59 is now a border-to-border route and it parallels U. S. Route 75 for nearly its entire route, never much more than 100 miles away, until it veers southwest in Houston, Texas. Its number is out of place since US59 is either concurrent with or entirely west of U. S. Route 71, the highways northern terminus is nine miles north of Lancaster, Minnesota, at the Canada–US border, where it continues as Manitoba Highway 59. Its southern terminus is at the Mexico–US border in Laredo, Texas, U. S. Highway 59 in the U. S. state of Texas is named the Lloyd Bentsen Highway, after Lloyd Bentsen, former U. S. In northern Houston, US59, co-signed with Interstate 69, is the Eastex Freeway. US59 actually straddles the border between Texas and Arkansas north of I-30 near Texarkana, with the east side of the highway on the Arkansas side and the west side of the highway on the Texas side. In the past, both remained on the border past I-30 as State Line Avenue to downtown Texarkana, today. Nearly 90% of this route is designated to become part of I-69 in the future, currently 75 mph speed limits are allowed on US59 in Duval County and portions of northern Polk County. From the southwestern suburbs of Houston to Downtown Houston, U. S.59 is commonly referred to as the Southwest Freeway, supporting 371,000 vehicles per day, it is one of the busiest freeways in the United States. U. S.59 is known as the Eastex Freeway in the north/northeast part of the Houston region, at the Mexico–US border, it ends at the World Trade International Bridge in Laredo, Texas. In Laredo, U. S.59 is co-signed with both Interstate 69W and Loop 20 and has an intersection with Interstate 35 which ends at the Juarez-Lincoln International Bridge. After crossing the bridge into Mexico, Interstate 35 continues as Mexican Federal Highway 85 in Nuevo Laredo which then runs through Mexico and Central America and ends in Panama at the Panama Canal. In Arkansas, US59 is concurrent with U. S. Route 71 from Interstate 30 at Texarkana to Acorn, US59 and U. S. Route 412 are co-signed for 10 miles in Delaware County, Oklahoma. US59 is co-signed with U. S. Route 270 from the Arkansas State Line to Heavener and it is also co-signed with U. S. Route 64 in Sallisaw. U. S.59 enters the state just south of Chetopa, U. S.59 runs concurrently with U. S.169 starting about four miles south of Garnett and diverges north again immediately south of Garnett. The intersection immediately south of Garnett used to be an intersection with stop. It was identified as a high location in 2001, and was rebuilt as a roundabout that opened in April 2006. The Kansas Department of Transportation is rebuilding or planning to rebuild several other rural intersections as roundabouts for increased safety
9.
Louisiana
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Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Louisiana is the 31st most extensive and the 25th most populous of the 50 United States and its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the state in the U. S. with political subdivisions termed parishes. The largest parish by population is East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana is bordered by Arkansas to the north, Mississippi to the east, Texas to the west, and the Gulf of Mexico to the south. Much of the lands were formed from sediment washed down the Mississippi River, leaving enormous deltas and vast areas of coastal marsh. These contain a rich southern biota, typical examples include birds such as ibis, there are also many species of tree frogs, and fish such as sturgeon and paddlefish. In more elevated areas, fire is a process in the landscape. These support a large number of plant species, including many species of orchids. Louisiana has more Native American tribes than any other state, including four that are federally recognized, ten that are state recognized. Before the American purchase of the territory in 1803, the current Louisiana State had been both a French colony and for a period, a Spanish one. In addition, colonists imported numerous African people as slaves in the 18th century, many came from peoples of the same region of West Africa, thus concentrating their culture. Louisiana was named after Louis XIV, King of France from 1643 to 1715, when René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle claimed the territory drained by the Mississippi River for France, he named it La Louisiane. The suffix -ana is a Latin suffix that can refer to information relating to an individual, subject. Thus, roughly, Louis + ana carries the idea of related to Louis, the Gulf of Mexico did not exist 250 million years ago when there was but one supercontinent, Pangea. As Pangea split apart, the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico opened, Louisiana slowly developed, over millions of years, from water into land, and from north to south. The oldest rocks are exposed in the north, in such as the Kisatchie National Forest. The oldest rocks date back to the early Tertiary Era, some 60 million years ago, the history of the formation of these rocks can be found in D. Spearings Roadside Geology of Louisiana. The sediments were carried north to south by the Mississippi River
10.
Marshall, Texas
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Marshall is a city in and the county seat of Harrison County in the northeastern corner of the U. S. state of Texas. Marshall is a cultural and educational center in East Texas. At the 2010 census, the population of Marshall was about 23,523, Marshall was a political and production center of the Confederacy during the Civil War. Later it was a railroad center of the T&P Railroad from the late 19th century until the mid-20th century. This area of Texas was developed for cotton plantations, planters brought slaves with them from other regions or bought them in the domestic slave trade. It had a proportion of slaves than other regions of the state, and the wealth of the county depended on slave labor. The city was founded in 1841 as the seat of Harrison County after failed attempts to establish a county seat on the Sabine River. The Republic of Texas decided to choose the land donated for the seat by Peter Whetstone, the citys growing importance was confirmed when Marshall was linked by a telegraph line to New Orleans, it was the first city in Texas to have a telegraph service. By 1860, Marshall was the fourth-largest city in Texas and the seat of its richest county, developed as cotton plantations, the county held more slaves than any other in the state. Many planters and other whites were strongly anti-Union because of their investment in slavery, for example, brothers Lionel and Emmanuel Kahn, Jewish merchants in Marshall, fought on opposing sides in the conflict. When Governor Sam Houston refused to take an oath of allegiance to the Confederacy, pendleton Murrah, Texass third Confederate governor, was also from Marshall. The city became a major Confederate supply depot and manufactory of gunpowder for the Confederate Army, the city was used as the capital of Missouris Confederate government-in-exile, earning it the nickname the City of Seven Flags. This was a nod to the flag of Missouri, in addition to the six flags of nations, Marshall became the seat of Confederate civil authority and headquarters of the Trans-Mississippi Postal Department after the fall of Vicksburg. The city may have been the target of a failed Union advance that was rebuffed at Mansfield. Toward the end of the American Civil War, the Confederate government had $9.0 million in Treasury notes and they may have intended Marshall as the destination of a government preparing to flee from advancing armies. Marshall was occupied by Union forces on June 17,1865, during Reconstruction, the city was home to an office of the Freedmens Bureau and was the base for Union troops. In 1873 the Methodist Episcopal Church founded Wiley College to educate freedmen, African Americans came to the city seeking opportunities and protection until 1878. The White Citizens Party, led by former Confederate General Walter P. Lane and his brother George and their militia ran Unionists, Republicans and many African Americans out of town
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