1.
Milford Track
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The Milford Track is a widely known tramping route in New Zealand – located amidst mountains and temperate rain forest in Fiordland National Park in the southwest of the South Island. The 53.5 km hike starts at Glade Wharf at the head of Lake Te Anau and finishes in Milford Sound at Sandfly Point, traversing rainforests, wetlands, and an alpine pass. The New Zealand Department of Conservation classifies this track as a Great Walk, there are also three private lodges and four day shelters available. The Fastest Known Time is currently held by the american Brian Culmo in 6H55 The native Māori people used the Milford Track for gathering and transporting valuable greenstone, there are many Māori legends about the track and the native species found in it. Coming in from the Milford end, Donald Sutherland and John Mackay were the first European explorers to see what are now known as Mackay Falls and Sutherland Falls and he was the first guide to take walkers from Lake Te Anau to Milford Sound. McKinnon began by guiding tours himself and expanded with a campaign from there. Many parts of the Milford Track are named for McKinnon, including Mackinnon Pass and he also impressed with his ability at cooking pompolonas, a type of scone from which one of the guided trip huts takes its name. The track was famous with women from early on. Some parties consisted of three-quarters females even in the first half of the 20th century. Today, a system allows approximately half the capacity of the track to be used by guided tours. The two types of walker use separate systems of huts, due to its popularity and the limited facilities available for overnighting, the track remains heavily regulated. Unlike most of the other Great Walks the Milford Track has no direct carpark access, there is also foot access to the start via the Dore Pass Route although this is an advanced track and not recommended for most walkers. At the northern end of the track at Sandfly Point another boat is required to take back to Milford Sound. The north to south option still involves both boats but can only be done during the winter season, during the summer peak season of late October to late April, access to the trail is highly regulated. Walkers must complete the track in four days, travelling only in the northward direction, camping is prohibited on the trail. Walkers can tramp the track independently, or as part of a more expensive guided walk with a guide company, a maximum of 90 walkers can start the trail per day. Usually these 90 places are booked out for months in advance. Due to the ticket system and limited hut capacities, trampers need to keep moving even during bad weather
2.
New Zealand
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New Zealand /njuːˈziːlənd/ is an island nation in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The country geographically comprises two main landmasses—the North Island, or Te Ika-a-Māui, and the South Island, or Te Waipounamu—and around 600 smaller islands. New Zealand is situated some 1,500 kilometres east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and roughly 1,000 kilometres south of the Pacific island areas of New Caledonia, Fiji, because of its remoteness, it was one of the last lands to be settled by humans. During its long period of isolation, New Zealand developed a distinct biodiversity of animal, fungal, the countrys varied topography and its sharp mountain peaks, such as the Southern Alps, owe much to the tectonic uplift of land and volcanic eruptions. New Zealands capital city is Wellington, while its most populous city is Auckland, sometime between 1250 and 1300 CE, Polynesians settled in the islands that later were named New Zealand and developed a distinctive Māori culture. In 1642, Dutch explorer Abel Tasman became the first European to sight New Zealand, in 1840, representatives of Britain and Māori chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi, which declared British sovereignty over the islands. In 1841, New Zealand became a colony within the British Empire, today, the majority of New Zealands population of 4.7 million is of European descent, the indigenous Māori are the largest minority, followed by Asians and Pacific Islanders. Reflecting this, New Zealands culture is derived from Māori and early British settlers. The official languages are English, Māori and New Zealand Sign Language, New Zealand is a developed country and ranks highly in international comparisons of national performance, such as health, education, economic freedom and quality of life. Since the 1980s, New Zealand has transformed from an agrarian, Queen Elizabeth II is the countrys head of state and is represented by a governor-general. In addition, New Zealand is organised into 11 regional councils and 67 territorial authorities for local government purposes, the Realm of New Zealand also includes Tokelau, the Cook Islands and Niue, and the Ross Dependency, which is New Zealands territorial claim in Antarctica. New Zealand is a member of the United Nations, Commonwealth of Nations, ANZUS, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Pacific Islands Forum, and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. Dutch explorer Abel Tasman sighted New Zealand in 1642 and called it Staten Landt, in 1645, Dutch cartographers renamed the land Nova Zeelandia after the Dutch province of Zeeland. British explorer James Cook subsequently anglicised the name to New Zealand, Aotearoa is the current Māori name for New Zealand. It is unknown whether Māori had a name for the country before the arrival of Europeans. Māori had several names for the two main islands, including Te Ika-a-Māui for the North Island and Te Waipounamu or Te Waka o Aoraki for the South Island. Early European maps labelled the islands North, Middle and South, in 1830, maps began to use North and South to distinguish the two largest islands and by 1907, this was the accepted norm. The New Zealand Geographic Board discovered in 2009 that the names of the North Island and South Island had never been formalised and this set the names as North Island or Te Ika-a-Māui, and South Island or Te Waipounamu
3.
Plank (wood)
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A plank is timber that is flat, elongated, and rectangular with parallel faces that are higher and longer than wide. Used primarily in carpentry, planks are critical in the construction of ships, houses, bridges, planks also serve as supports to form shelves and tables. Usually made from sawed timber, planks are usually more than 1 1⁄2 in thick, planks are often used as a work surface on elevated scaffolding, and need to be wide enough to provide strength without breaking when walked on. The wood is categorized as a board if its width is less than 2 1⁄2 in, a plank used in a building as a horizontal supporting member that runs between foundations, walls, or beams to support a ceiling or floor is called a joist. However, since the 20th century, wood has largely supplanted in ship construction by iron and steel, to decrease cost. Lumber Plank cooking Walking the plank
4.
Pier
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A pier is a raised structure in a body of water, typically supported by well-spaced piles or pillars. Bridges, buildings, and walkways may all be supported by piers, Piers can range in size and complexity from a simple lightweight wooden structure to major structures extended over 1600 metres. In American English, pier may be synonymous with dock, thus in North America and Australia, where many ports were, until recently, built on the multiple pier model, the term tends to imply a current or former cargo-handling facility. In Europe in contrast, where more often use basins and river-side quays than piers. However, the earliest piers pre-date the Victorian age, Piers can be categorized into different groupings according to the principal purpose. However, there is overlap between these categories. Many piers are floating piers, to ensure that the piers raise and this prevents a situation where lines become overly taut or loose by rising or lowering tides. An overly taut or loose tie-line can damage boats by pulling out of the water or allowing them so much leeway that they bang forcefully against the sides of the pier. Working piers were built for the handling of passengers and cargo onto, working piers themselves fall into two different groups. Longer individual piers are found at ports with large tidal ranges. Such piers provided an alternative to impounded docks where cargo volumes were low, or where specialist bulk cargo was handled. The other form of working pier, often called the pier, was built at ports with smaller tidal ranges. Here the principal advantage was to give a greater available quay length for ships to berth against compared to a linear littoral quayside, typically each pier would carry a single transit shed the length of the pier, with ships berthing bow or stern in to the shore. Some major ports consisted of numbers of such piers lining the foreshore, classic examples being the Hudson River frontage of New York. One example, is in use in Progreso, Yucatán, where a pier extends more than 4 miles into the Gulf of Mexico, making it the longest pier in the world. The Progreso Pier supplies much of the peninsula with transportation for the fishing, many other working piers have been demolished, or remain derelict, but some have been recycled as pleasure piers. The best known example of this is Pier 39 in San Francisco, at Southport and the Tweed River on the Gold Coast in Australia, there are piers that support equipment for a sand bypassing system that maintains the health of sandy beaches and navigation channels. Pleasure piers were first built in Britain during the early 19th century, the earliest structures were Ryde Pier, built in 1813/4, Trinity Chain Pier near Leith, built in 1821, and Brighton Chain Pier, built in 1823
5.
Intertidal zone
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The intertidal zone, also known as the foreshore and seashore and sometimes referred to as the littoral zone, is the area that is above water at low tide and under water at high tide. This area can include different types of habitats, with many types of animals, such as starfish, sea urchins. The well-known area also includes rocky cliffs, sandy beaches. The area can be a strip, as in Pacific islands that have only a narrow tidal range. Organisms in the zone are adapted to an environment of harsh extremes. The intertidal zone is home to many several species from different taxa including Porifera, Annelids, Coelenterates, Mollusks, crustaceans, Arthropods. Water is available regularly with the tides but varies from fresh with rain to highly saline, wave splash can dislodge residents from the littoral zone. With the intertidal zones high exposure to the sun, the range can be anything from very hot with full sun to near freezing in colder climates. Some microclimates in the zone are ameliorated by local features. Adaptation in the littoral zone allows the use of nutrients supplied in high volume on a basis from the sea. Edges of habitats, in this land and sea, are themselves often significant ecologies. Along most shores, the zone can be clearly separated into the following subzones, high tide zone, middle tide zone. The intertidal zone is one of a number of biomes or habitats, including estuaries, neritic, surface. Marine biologists divide the region into three zones, based on the overall average exposure of the zone. The low intertidal zone, which borders on the shallow subtidal zone, is exposed to air at the lowest of low tides and is primarily marine in character. The mid intertidal zone is exposed and submerged by average tides. The high intertidal zone is covered by the highest of the high tides. The high intertidal zone borders on the splash zone, on shores exposed to heavy wave action, the intertidal zone will be influenced by waves, as the spray from breaking waves will extend the intertidal zone
6.
Greenway (landscape)
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A greenway is a strip of undeveloped land near an urban area, set aside for recreational use or environmental protection. A greenway is a trail, found in urban and rural settings, that is frequently created, out of a disused railway, canal towpath, utility, or similar right of way. Rail trails are one of the most common forms of greenway, in Southern England the term also refers to ancient trackways or green lanes, especially those found on chalk downlands, like the Ridgeway. Some greenways include community gardens as well as typical park-style landscaping of trees and they also tend to have a mostly contiguous pathway. Greenways resemble linear parks, but the latter are found in an urban and suburban environment. Tom Turner analyzed greenways in London, looking for patterns among successful examples. He was inspired by the pattern language technique of architect Christopher Alexander, Turner concluded there are seven types, or patterns, of greenway which he named, parkway, blueway, paveway, glazeway, skyway, ecoway and cycleway. These routes should meet satisfactory standards of width, gradient and surface condition to ensure that they are both user-friendly and low-risk for users of all abilities. Charles Little, describes five general types of greenways, Urban riverside greenways, usually created as part of a redevelopment program along neglected, often run-down, city waterfronts. Recreational greenways, featuring paths and trails of various kinds, often relatively long distance, based on natural corridors as well as canals, abandoned rail beds, and public rights-of-way. Ecologically significant natural corridors, usually along rivers and streams and less often ridgelines, to provide for wildlife migration and species interchange, nature study, Greenways are vegetated, linear, and multi-purpose. They incorporate a footpath or bikeway within a linear park, in urban design they are a component of planning for bicycle commuting and walkability. Greenways are found in areas as well as urban. Corridors redeveloped as greenways often travel through both city and country, connecting them together, however, most examples are in Europe and North America. In Australia, a foreshoreway is a greenway that provides a public right-of-way along the edge of the sea, foreshoreways include oceanways, and resemble promenades and boardwalks. Foreshoreways are usually concerned with the idea of sustainable transport and the term is used to avoid the suggestion that the route favours either pedestrians or cyclists, a foreshoreway is accessible to both pedestrians and cyclists and gives them the opportunity to move unimpeded along the seashore. Dead end paths that offer public access only to the ocean are not part of a foreshoreway, the network includes 36 kilometres of poor, medium and high quality pathways. Others include, The Chicago Lakefront Trail, the Dubai Marina, the East River Greenway, New Plymouth Coastal Walkway, public rights of way frequently exist on the foreshore of beaches throughout the world
7.
River
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A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of water, small rivers can be referred to using names such as stream, creek, brook, rivulet, and rill. There are no official definitions for the term river as applied to geographic features. Many names for small rivers are specific to geographic location, examples are run in parts of the United States, burn in Scotland and northeast England. Sometimes a river is defined as being larger than a creek, but not always, Rivers are part of the hydrological cycle. Potamology is the study of rivers while limnology is the study of inland waters in general. Extraterrestrial rivers of liquid hydrocarbons have recently found on Titan. Channels may indicate past rivers on other planets, specifically outflow channels on Mars and rivers are theorised to exist on planets, a river begins at a source, follows a path called a course, and ends at a mouth or mouths. The water in a river is confined to a channel. In larger rivers there is also a wider floodplain shaped by flood-waters over-topping the channel. Floodplains may be wide in relation to the size of the river channel. This distinction between river channel and floodplain can be blurred, especially in areas where the floodplain of a river channel can become greatly developed by housing. Rivers can flow down mountains, through valleys or along plains, the term upriver refers to the direction towards the source of the river, i. e. against the direction of flow. Likewise, the term describes the direction towards the mouth of the river. The term left bank refers to the bank in the direction of flow. The river channel typically contains a stream of water, but some rivers flow as several interconnecting streams of water. Extensive braided rivers are now found in only a few regions worldwide and they also occur on peneplains and some of the larger river deltas. Anastamosing rivers are similar to braided rivers and are quite rare
8.
Ocean City, Maryland
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Ocean City, officially the Town of Ocean City, is an Atlantic resort town in Worcester County, Maryland. Ocean City is widely known in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and is a frequent destination for vacationers in that area. The population was 7,102 at the 2010 U. S. Census, during the summer, Ocean City becomes the second most populated municipality in Maryland, after Baltimore. It is part of the Salisbury metropolitan area, the land upon which the city was built, as well as much of the surrounding area, was obtained by Englishman Thomas Fenwick from the Native Americans. In 1869, businessman Isaac Coffin built the first beach-front cottage to receive paying guests, during those days, people arrived by stage coach and ferry. Soon after, other boarding houses were built on the strip of sand, with the activity attracting prominent businessmen from the Maryland Eastern Shore, Baltimore, Philadelphia. They came not so much to visit as to survey the spit, a decision was made to develop it and 250 lots were cut into it, and a corporation was formed to help with the development of the land. The corporation stock of 4,000 shares sold for $25 each, prior to 1870, what is now Ocean City was known as The Ladies Resort to the Ocean. The Atlantic Hotel, the first major hotel in the town, the Atlantic Hotel was originally owned by the Atlantic Hotel Company, but eventually Charles W. Purnell bought it in 1923. It is still owned and operated by the Purnell family. Besides the beach and ocean, it offered dancing and billiard rooms to the visitors of its more than 400 rooms, by 1878 tourists could come by railroad from Berlin to the shores of Sinepuxent Bay across from the town. The Ocean City Inlet was formed during a significant hurricane in 1933, the inlet separated what is now Ocean City from Assateague Island. The Army Corps of Engineers took advantage of natures intervention and made the inlet at the end of Ocean City permanent. The inlet eventually helped to establish Ocean City as an important Mid-Atlantic fishing port as it offered access to the fishing grounds of the Atlantic Ocean. In the late 1930s, the Army Corps of Engineers dredged a new channel on the bayside of Ocean City to allow boats to have access to Sinepuxent Bay. The dredge was pumped back onto the shore of Ocean City allowing the creation of Chicago Avenue and St. Louis Avenue. Ocean City has become a city in Maryland due to the rapid expansion of Ocean City that took place during the post-war boom. In 1952, with the completion of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, in 1964, with the completion of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, a whole new pathway to the south was opened
9.
Esplanade
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An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The original meaning of esplanade was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide fields of fire for the fortress guns. In modern usage the space allows people to walk for recreational purposes, esplanades are often on sea fronts, esplanades became popular in Victorian times when it was fashionable to visit seaside resorts. A promenade, often abbreviated to Prom, was an area where people - couples and families especially - would go to walk for a while in order to be seen, in North America, esplanade has another meaning, being also a median dividing a roadway or boulevard. Sometimes they are just strips of grass, or some may have gardens, some roadway esplanades may be used as parks with a walking/jogging trail and benches. Esplanade and promenade are used interchangeably. The derivation of promenade indicates a place intended for walking, though many modern promenades and esplanades also allow bicycles. Some esplanades also include large boulevards or avenues where cars are permitted, a similar term with the same meaning in the eastern coastal region of Spain is rambla, but more widely referred to as paseo marítimo, paseo or explanada in the Hispanic world. C
10.
New Jersey
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New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania, New Jersey is the fourth-smallest state but the 11th-most populous and the most densely populated of the 50 United States. New Jersey lies entirely within the statistical areas of New York City. New Jersey was inhabited by Native Americans for more than 2,800 years, in the early 17th century, the Dutch and the Swedes made the first European settlements. New Jersey was the site of decisive battles during the American Revolutionary War in the 18th century. In the 19th century, factories in cities such as Camden, Paterson, Newark, Trenton, around 180 million years ago, during the Jurassic Period, New Jersey bordered North Africa. The pressure of the collision between North America and Africa gave rise to the Appalachian Mountains, around 18,000 years ago, the Ice Age resulted in glaciers that reached New Jersey. As the glaciers retreated, they left behind Lake Passaic, as well as rivers, swamps. New Jersey was originally settled by Native Americans, with the Lenni-Lenape being dominant at the time of contact, scheyichbi is the Lenape name for the land that is now New Jersey. The Lenape society was divided into clans that were based upon common female ancestors. These clans were organized into three distinct phratries identified by their animal sign, Turtle, Turkey, and Wolf and they first encountered the Dutch in the early 17th century, and their primary relationship with the Europeans was through fur trade. The Dutch became the first Europeans to lay claim to lands in New Jersey, the Dutch colony of New Netherland consisted of parts of modern Middle Atlantic states. Although the European principle of ownership was not recognized by the Lenape. The first to do so was Michiel Pauw who established a patronship called Pavonia in 1630 along the North River which eventually became the Bergen, peter Minuits purchase of lands along the Delaware River established the colony of New Sweden. During the English Civil War, the Channel Island of Jersey remained loyal to the British Crown and it was from the Royal Square in St. Helier that Charles II of England was proclaimed King in 1649, following the execution of his father, Charles I. The North American lands were divided by Charles II, who gave his brother, the Duke of York, the region between New England and Maryland as a proprietary colony. James then granted the land between the Hudson River and the Delaware River to two friends who had remained loyal through the English Civil War, Sir George Carteret and Lord Berkeley of Stratton, the area was named the Province of New Jersey. Since the states inception, New Jersey has been characterized by ethnic, New England Congregationalists settled alongside Scots Presbyterians and Dutch Reformed migrants
11.
Atlantic City, New Jersey
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Atlantic City is a resort city in New Jersey, United States, known for its casinos, boardwalk and beach. In 2010, it had a population of 39,558, incorporated on May 1,1854, from portions of Egg Harbor Township and Galloway Township, the city borders Absecon, Brigantine, Pleasantville, Ventnor City, West Atlantic City and the Atlantic Ocean. Atlantic City inspired the American version of the board game Monopoly, especially the street names, since 1921, Atlantic City has been the home of the Miss America pageant. Because of its location in South Jersey, hugging the Atlantic Ocean between marshlands and islands, Atlantic City was viewed by developers as prime real estate and a resort town. In 1853, the first commercial hotel, the Belloe House, was built at the intersection of Massachusetts, the city was incorporated in 1854, the same year in which the Camden and Atlantic Railroad train service began. Built on the edge of the bay, this served as the link of this remote parcel of land with Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. That same year, construction of the Absecon Lighthouse, designed by George Meade of the Corps of Topographical Engineers, was approved, by 1874, almost 500,000 passengers a year were coming to Atlantic City by rail. In Boardwalk Empire, The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City, the hotel was owned by the railroad. It was a sprawling, four-story structure built to house 2,000 guests and it opened while it was still under construction, with only one wing standing, and even that wasnt completed. By years end, when it was constructed, the United States Hotel was not only the first hotel in Atlantic City. Its rooms totaled more than 600, and its grounds covered some 14 acres, the first boardwalk was built in 1870 along a portion of the beach in an effort to help hotel owners keep sand out of their lobbies. Businesses were restricted and the boardwalk was removed each year at the end of the peak season, because of its effectiveness and popularity, the boardwalk was expanded in length and width, and modified several times in subsequent years. The historic length of the boardwalk, before the destructive 1944 Great Atlantic Hurricane, was about 7 miles and it extended from Atlantic City to Longport, through Ventnor, the first road connecting the city to the mainland at Pleasantville was completed in 1870 and charged a 30-cent toll. Albany Avenue was the first road to the mainland available without a toll, by 1878, because of the growing popularity of the city, one railroad line could no longer keep up with demand. Soon, the Philadelphia and Atlantic City Railway was also constructed to transport tourists to Atlantic City, at this point massive hotels like The United States and Surf House, as well as smaller rooming houses, had sprung up all over town. The United States Hotel took up a city block between Atlantic, Pacific, Delaware, and Maryland Avenues. These hotels were not only impressive in size, but featured the most updated amenities, in the early part of the 20th century, Atlantic City went through a radical building boom. Many of the modest boarding houses dotted the boardwalk were replaced with large hotels
12.
Plitvice Lakes National Park
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Plitvice Lakes National Park is one of the oldest national parks in Southeast Europe and the largest national park in Croatia. In 1979, Plitvice Lakes National Park was added to the UNESCO World Heritage register, the national park was founded in 1949 and is situated in the mountainous karst area of central Croatia, at the border to Bosnia and Herzegovina. The important north-south road connection, which passes through the park area. The protected area extends over 296.85 square kilometres, about 90% of this area is part of Lika-Senj County, while the remaining 10% is part of Karlovac County. Each year, more than 1 million visitors are recorded, entrance is subject to variable charges, up to 180 kuna or around €24 per adult in peak season. The national park is world-famous for its lakes arranged in cascades, currently,16 lakes can be seen from the surface. These lakes are a result of the confluence of small rivers. The lakes are all interconnected and follow the water flow and they are separated by natural dams of travertine, which is deposited by the action of moss, algae, and bacteria. The particularly sensitive travertine barriers are the result of an interplay between water, air and plants, the encrusted plants and bacteria accumulate on top of each other, forming travertine barriers which grow at the rate of about 1 cm per year. The lakes collectively cover an area of two square kilometres, with the water exiting from the lowest lake forming the Korana River. The lakes are renowned for their colors, ranging from azure to green. The colors change constantly depending on the quantity of minerals or organisms in the water, through different climatic influences and the large difference in elevation within the protected area, a multifaceted flora and fauna has been created. The national park area is home to endemic species. Those species that prevailed at the lakes before the arrival of man still exist, the name Plitvice was first mentioned in a written document in 1777 by Dominik Vukasović, the priest of Otočac. This name was designated due to phenomena that have created the lakes. Nature formed shallow basins, which have filled with water. For centuries, water has changed the limestone and thus the landscape of this area, the emerging travertine barriers decelerated and retained the flowing water. These dams are continuously growing in height, some scientists refer to the river Plitvica as origin of the name
13.
Croatia
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Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a sovereign state between Central Europe, Southeast Europe, and the Mediterranean. Its capital city is Zagreb, which one of the countrys primary subdivisions. Croatia covers 56,594 square kilometres and has diverse, mostly continental, Croatias Adriatic Sea coast contains more than a thousand islands. The countrys population is 4.28 million, most of whom are Croats, the Croats arrived in the area of present-day Croatia during the early part of the 7th century AD. They organised the state into two duchies by the 9th century, tomislav became the first king by 925, elevating Croatia to the status of a kingdom. The Kingdom of Croatia retained its sovereignty for nearly two centuries, reaching its peak during the rule of Kings Petar Krešimir IV and Dmitar Zvonimir, Croatia entered a personal union with Hungary in 1102. In 1527, faced with Ottoman conquest, the Croatian Parliament elected Ferdinand I of the House of Habsburg to the Croatian throne. In 1918, after World War I, Croatia was included in the unrecognized State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs which seceded from Austria-Hungary, a fascist Croatian puppet state backed by Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany existed during World War II. After the war, Croatia became a member and a federal constituent of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. On 25 June 1991 Croatia declared independence, which came wholly into effect on 8 October of the same year, the Croatian War of Independence was fought successfully during the four years following the declaration. A unitary state, Croatia is a republic governed under a parliamentary system, the International Monetary Fund classified Croatia as an emerging and developing economy, and the World Bank identified it as a high-income economy. Croatia is a member of the European Union, United Nations, the Council of Europe, NATO, the World Trade Organization, the service sector dominates Croatias economy, followed by the industrial sector and agriculture. Tourism is a significant source of revenue during the summer, with Croatia ranked the 18th most popular tourist destination in the world, the state controls a part of the economy, with substantial government expenditure. The European Union is Croatias most important trading partner, since 2000, the Croatian government constantly invests in infrastructure, especially transport routes and facilities along the Pan-European corridors. Internal sources produce a significant portion of energy in Croatia, the rest is imported, the origin of the name is uncertain, but is thought to be a Gothic or Indo-Aryan term assigned to a Slavic tribe. The oldest preserved record of the Croatian ethnonym *xъrvatъ is of variable stem, the first attestation of the Latin term is attributed to a charter of Duke Trpimir from the year 852. The original is lost, and just a 1568 copy is preserved—leading to doubts over the authenticity of the claim, the oldest preserved stone inscription is the 9th-century Branimir Inscription, where Duke Branimir is styled as Dux Cruatorvm. The inscription is not believed to be dated accurately, but is likely to be from during the period of 879–892, the area known as Croatia today was inhabited throughout the prehistoric period
14.
Soomaa National Park
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Soomaa National Park is national park in south-western Estonia. Soomaa protects 390 km², and is a Ramsar site of protected wetlands, the park was created in 1993. The national park, situated in Transitional Estonia, has created to protect large raised bogs, flood plain grasslands, paludified forests. The territory of the park is mostly covered with large mires, separated from each other by the rivers of the Pärnu River basin — the Navesti, Halliste, Raudna. Of the raised bogs, the most noteworthy is the Kuresoo raised bog, whose steep southern slope, falling into the Lemmejõgi, on the eastern margin of the national park lie the highest dunes on the Estonian mainland, situated some 50 kilometres off the contemporary coastline. The Ruunaraipe Dunes are the highest of the area, the dune ridge, winding from northwest to southeast is a 1.2 km long sand ridge, whose maximum height is 12 metres. When vast amounts of water run down the Sakala Upland, the rivers of Soomaa cannot contain it all, the water flows over flood plain grasslands and forests, and covers roads, disrupting connection with the outer world. In some years the spring floods have risen by a meter a day for 3–4 days. The Riisa flood area is formed in such a way, with an area covering 175 square kilometres at its largest, it is the biggest regularly flooded area in Estonia. At the maximum level the water-covered area can be 7–8 km across. Steep-sloped, raised bogs stand as islands in the water, the flood is often called the fifth season in Soomaa. Soomaa National Park is the most valuable part of the extensive wilderness area in South-West Estonia. Kuresoo Bog is one of the two best surviving large bogs in Estonia with species diversity amongst the highest, flora The alluvial meadows and forests that cover the riverbanks are of great botanical value. Approximately 200 species have recorded, including Gladiolus imbricatus, Iris sibirica. The unique swamp forests surrounding the site are also of special interest, species recorded include Aquila chrysaetos, Numenius phaeopus, Pluvialis apricaria Calidris alpina schinzii, Falco columbarius, Lagopus lagopus, and Circus pygargus. During the autumn migration, it is a stopover and roosting site for Grus grus and Cygnus columbianus, crex crex is still numerous on floodplain meadows. It is an important spawning ground for the fish Esox lucius, as a large wilderness area, Soomaa is a home and breading area for several mammals that are extinct or very rare in other parts of Europe. The most numerous species of the mammals are the roe deer, elk
15.
Estonia
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Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia, across the Baltic Sea lies Sweden in the west and Finland in the north. The territory of Estonia consists of a mainland and 2,222 islands and islets in the Baltic Sea, covering 45,339 km2 of land and water, and is influenced by a humid continental climate. The territory of Estonia has been inhabited since at least 6500 BC, in 1988, during the Singing Revolution, the Estonian Supreme Soviet issued the Estonian Sovereignty Declaration in defiance of Soviet rule, and independence was restored on 20 August 1991. Estonia is a parliamentary republic divided into fifteen counties. Its capital and largest city is Tallinn, with a population of 1.3 million, it is one of the least-populous member states of the European Union, Eurozone, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, OECD and Schengen Area. Estonia is a country with an advanced, high-income economy that is among the fastest growing in the EU. Its Human Development Index ranks very highly, and it performs favourably in measurements of economic freedom, civil liberties, the 2015 PISA test places Estonian high school students 3rd in the world, behind Singapore and Japan. Citizens of Estonia are provided with health care, free education. Since independence the country has developed its IT sector, becoming one of the worlds most digitally advanced societies. In 2005 Estonia became the first nation to hold elections over the Internet, in the Estonian language, the oldest known endonym of the Estonians was maarahvas, meaning country people or people of the land. The land inhabited by Estonians was called Maavald meaning Country Parish or Land Parish, one hypothesis regarding the modern name of Estonia is that it originated from the Aesti, a people described by the Roman historian Tacitus in his Germania. The historic Aesti were allegedly Baltic people, whereas the modern Estonians are Finno-Ugric, the geographical areas between Aesti and Estonia do not match, with Aesti being further down south. Ancient Scandinavian sagas refer to a land called Eistland, as the country is called in Icelandic. Early Latin and other ancient versions of the name are Estia and Hestia, esthonia was a common alternative English spelling prior to 1921. Human settlement in Estonia became possible 13,000 to 11,000 years ago, the oldest known settlement in Estonia is the Pulli settlement, which was on the banks of the river Pärnu, near the town of Sindi, in south-western Estonia. According to radiocarbon dating it was settled around 11,000 years ago, the earliest human inhabitation during the Mesolithic period is connected to Kunda culture, which is named after the town of Kunda in northern Estonia. At that time the country was covered with forests, and people lived in communities near bodies of water
16.
Horicon Marsh
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Horicon Marsh is a marsh located in northern Dodge and southern Fond du Lac counties of Wisconsin. It is the site of both a national and a wildlife refuge. The extinct glacial lake is the largest freshwater marsh in the United States. Horicon Marsh was created by the Green Bay lobe of the Wisconsin glaciation during the Pleistocene era, the glacier, during its advance created many drumlins in the region, many of which have become the islands of Horicon Marsh. The marsh and surrounding Dodge County have the highest concentration of drumlins in the world, during the glaciers retreat, a moraine was created, forming a natural dam holding back the waters from the melting glacier and forming Glacial Lake Horicon. The Rock River slowly eroded the moraine, and the lake drained, as the levels of silt, clay and peat accumulated in the former lakes basin, the Horicon Marsh was formed. The Horicon Marsh area has been inhabited by humans, including the Paleo-Indians, the Hopewellian people, dozens of 1200-year-old effigy mounds were built by the Mound Builders in the surrounding low ridges. Arrowheads have been dating to 12,000 years ago. Later the region was inhabited by the Potawotomi, primarily to the east of the marsh, seven well-traveled Native American foot trails met at the southern end of the marsh at the present location of Horicon. When Europeans first arrived in the area, they named the marsh The Great Marsh of the Winnebagos, the first permanent modern settlement along the marsh was the town of Horicon. In 1846, a dam was built to power the towns first sawmill, the dam held the water in the marsh, causing the water level to rise by nine feet. The marsh was called Lake Horicon, and was, at the time, in 1869, the dam was torn down by order of the State Supreme Court, which ruled in favor of landowners whose land had been flooded. The area became a marsh once more, in 1883, two sportsmens clubs reported huge flocks of geese in the marsh, and stated that 500,000 ducks hatched annually, and 30,000 muskrats and mink were trapped in the southern half of the marsh. Both birds and hunters flocked to the area, and the duck population was devastated. From 1910 to 1914, an attempt was made to drain the marsh and convert it into farmland, these attempts failed, during the 1940s, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service bought the northern portions of the marsh. Presently, the marsh is 32,000 acres in area, most of it open water and it is managed by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Millions of waterfowl, including over 200,000 Canada geese, the northern two-thirds, approximately 21,400 acres, forms the Horicon National Wildlife Refuge. Originally created as an area for the redhead duck, it is managed by the U. S. Fish
17.
Greece
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Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, historically also known as Hellas, is a country in southeastern Europe, with a population of approximately 11 million as of 2015. Athens is the capital and largest city, followed by Thessaloniki. Greece is strategically located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, situated on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, the Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to the northeast. Greece consists of nine regions, Macedonia, Central Greece, the Peloponnese, Thessaly, Epirus, the Aegean Islands, Thrace, Crete. The Aegean Sea lies to the east of the mainland, the Ionian Sea to the west, the Cretan Sea and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. Greece has the longest coastline on the Mediterranean Basin and the 11th longest coastline in the world at 13,676 km in length, featuring a vast number of islands, eighty percent of Greece is mountainous, with Mount Olympus being the highest peak at 2,918 metres. From the eighth century BC, the Greeks were organised into various independent city-states, known as polis, which spanned the entire Mediterranean region and the Black Sea. Greece was annexed by Rome in the second century BC, becoming a part of the Roman Empire and its successor. The Greek Orthodox Church also shaped modern Greek identity and transmitted Greek traditions to the wider Orthodox World, falling under Ottoman dominion in the mid-15th century, the modern nation state of Greece emerged in 1830 following a war of independence. Greeces rich historical legacy is reflected by its 18 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, among the most in Europe, Greece is a democratic and developed country with an advanced high-income economy, a high quality of life, and a very high standard of living. A founding member of the United Nations, Greece was the member to join the European Communities and has been part of the Eurozone since 2001. Greeces unique cultural heritage, large industry, prominent shipping sector. It is the largest economy in the Balkans, where it is an important regional investor, the names for the nation of Greece and the Greek people differ from the names used in other languages, locations and cultures. The earliest evidence of the presence of human ancestors in the southern Balkans, dated to 270,000 BC, is to be found in the Petralona cave, all three stages of the stone age are represented in Greece, for example in the Franchthi Cave. Neolithic settlements in Greece, dating from the 7th millennium BC, are the oldest in Europe by several centuries and these civilizations possessed writing, the Minoans writing in an undeciphered script known as Linear A, and the Mycenaeans in Linear B, an early form of Greek. The Mycenaeans gradually absorbed the Minoans, but collapsed violently around 1200 BC and this ushered in a period known as the Greek Dark Ages, from which written records are absent. The end of the Dark Ages is traditionally dated to 776 BC, the Iliad and the Odyssey, the foundational texts of Western literature, are believed to have been composed by Homer in the 7th or 8th centuries BC. With the end of the Dark Ages, there emerged various kingdoms and city-states across the Greek peninsula, in 508 BC, Cleisthenes instituted the worlds first democratic system of government in Athens
18.
Kos
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Kos or Cos is a Greek island, part of the Dodecanese island chain in the southeastern Aegean Sea, off the Anatolian coast of Turkey. Kos is the third largest of the Dodecanese by area, after Rhodes and Karpathos, it has a population of 33,388, making it the second most populous of the Dodecanese, after Rhodes. The island measures 40 by 8 kilometres, and is 4 km from the coast of the ancient region of Caria in Turkey, administratively, Kos constitutes a municipality within the Kos regional unit, which is part of the South Aegean region. The principal town of the island and seat of the municipality is Kos town, the name Kos is first attested in the Iliad, and has been in continuous use since. Other ancient names include Meropis, Cea, and Nymphaea, the similar Istanbul, and Stimpoli, Crete. Under the rule of the Knights Hospitaller of Rhodes, it was known as Lango or Langò, in The Travels of Sir John Mandeville, the author misunderstands this, and treats Lango and Kos as distinct islands. In Italian, the island is known as Coo, a person from Kos is called a Koan in English. The word is also an adjective, as in Koan goods, Kos is in the Aegean Sea. Its coastline is 112 kilometres long and it extends from west to east, in addition to the main town and port, also called Kos, the main villages of Kos island are Kardamena, Kefalos, Tingaki, Antimachia, Mastihari, Marmari and Pyli. Smaller ones are Zia, Zipari, Platani, Lagoudi and Asfendiou, tourism is the main industry in Kos, the islands beaches being the primary attraction. The seaside village of Kardamena is a resort for young holidaymakers and has a large number of bars. Farming is the principal occupation, with the main crops being grapes, almonds, figs, olives. Cos lettuce may be here, but the name is unrelated. In Homers Iliad, a contingent of Koans fought for the Greeks in the Trojan War, in classical mythology, the island was visited by Heracles. The island was colonised by the Carians. The Dorians invaded it in the 11th century BC, establishing a Dorian colony with a contingent of settlers from Epidaurus. The other chief sources of the islands lay in its wines and, in later days. Its early history–as part of the religious-political amphictyony that included Lindos, Kamiros, Ialysos, Cnidus and Halicarnassus, at the end of the 6th century, Kos fell under Achaemenid domination but rebelled after the Greek victory at the Battle of Mycale in 479
19.
Lapland (Finland)
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Lapland is the largest and northernmost region of Finland. The municipalities in the region cooperate in a Regional Council, Lapland borders the region of Northern Ostrobothnia in the south. It also borders the Gulf of Bothnia, Norrbotten County in Sweden, Finnmark County and Troms County in Norway, and Murmansk Oblast and the Republic of Karelia in Russia. The area of Lapland region is 100,367 km², which consists of 92,667 km²of dry land,6,316 km² fresh water and 1,383 km² of sea areas. In south it borders Northern Ostrobothnia region, in west Sweden, in north and west Norway and its borders follow three rivers, Tana, Muonio and Torne. The largest lake is Lake Inari,1,102 km², highest point is on Halti, which reaches 1,324 m on Finnish side of the border. There are eight national parks in Lapland, Bothnian Bay, Lemmenjoki, Oulanka, Pallas-Yllästunturi, Pyhä-Luosto, Riisitunturi, Syöte, the very first snowflakes fall to the ground in late August or early September over the higher peaks. The first ground-covering snow arrives in average in October or late September, permanent snow cover comes between mid-October and end of November, significantly earlier than in southern Finland. The winter is long, approximately seven months, the snow cover is usually thickest in early April. Soon after that the snow starts to melt fast. The thickest snow cover ever was measured in Kilpisjärvi in 19 April 1997, due to the warming effect of the Arctic Sea, the coldest spot is not located in northernmost Lapland but in the north-western corner. The annual mean temperature varies from a couple of degrees below zero in Northwest to a couple of degrees above zero in the southwest, the area of Lapland was split between two counties of the Swedish Realm from 1634 to 1809. The northern and western areas were part of Västerbotten County, while the areas were part of Ostrobothnia County. The northern and western areas were transferred in 1809 to Oulu County, under the royalist constitution of Finland during the first half of 1918, Lapland was to become a Grand Principality and part of the inheritance of the proposed king of Finland. Lapland Province was separated from Oulu Province in 1938, during the Interim Peace and beginning of the Continuation War the government of Finland allowed the Nazi German Army to station itself in Lapland as a part of Operation Barbarossa. After Finland made a peace with the Soviet Union in 1944. The result was the Lapland War, during which almost the whole population of Lapland was evacuated. The Germans used scorched earth tactics in Lapland, before they withdrew to Norway, ninety percent of Rovaniemi, the capital of Lapland, was burned to the ground, with only a few pre-war buildings surviving the destruction
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Finland
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Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a sovereign state in Northern Europe. A peninsula with the Gulf of Finland to the south and the Gulf of Bothnia to the west, the country has borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north. Estonia is south of the country across the Gulf of Finland, Finland is a Nordic country situated in the geographical region of Fennoscandia, which also includes Scandinavia. Finlands population is 5.5 million, and the majority of the population is concentrated in the southern region,88. 7% of the population is Finnish people who speak Finnish, a Uralic language unrelated to the Scandinavian languages, the second major group are the Finland-Swedes. In terms of area, it is the eighth largest country in Europe, Finland is a parliamentary republic with a central government based in the capital Helsinki, local governments in 311 municipalities, and an autonomous region, the Åland Islands. Over 1.4 million people live in the Greater Helsinki metropolitan area, from the late 12th century, Finland was an integral part of Sweden, a legacy reflected in the prevalence of the Swedish language and its official status. In the spirit of the notion of Adolf Ivar Arwidsson, we are not Swedes, we do not want to become Russians, let us therefore be Finns, nevertheless, in 1809, Finland was incorporated into the Russian Empire as the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland. In 1906, Finland became the nation in the world to give the right to vote to all adult citizens. Following the 1917 Russian Revolution, Finland declared itself independent, in 1918, the fledgling state was divided by civil war, with the Bolshevik-leaning Reds supported by the equally new Soviet Russia, fighting the Whites, supported by the German Empire. After a brief attempt to establish a kingdom, the became a republic. During World War II, the Soviet Union sought repeatedly to occupy Finland, with Finland losing parts of Karelia, Salla and Kuusamo, Petsamo and some islands, Finland joined the United Nations in 1955 and established an official policy of neutrality. The Finno-Soviet Treaty of 1948 gave the Soviet Union some leverage in Finnish domestic politics during the Cold War era, Finland was a relative latecomer to industrialization, remaining a largely agrarian country until the 1950s. It rapidly developed an advanced economy while building an extensive Nordic-style welfare state, resulting in widespread prosperity, however, Finnish GDP growth has been negative in 2012–2014, with a preceding nadir of −8% in 2009. Finland is a top performer in numerous metrics of national performance, including education, economic competitiveness, civil liberties, quality of life, a large majority of Finns are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, though freedom of religion is guaranteed under the Finnish Constitution. The first known appearance of the name Finland is thought to be on three rune-stones. Two were found in the Swedish province of Uppland and have the inscription finlonti, the third was found in Gotland, in the Baltic Sea. It has the inscription finlandi and dates from the 13th century, the name can be assumed to be related to the tribe name Finns, which is mentioned first known time AD98. The name Suomi has uncertain origins, but a candidate for a source is the Proto-Baltic word *źemē, in addition to the close relatives of Finnish, this name is also used in the Baltic languages Latvian and Lithuanian
21.
Ocmulgee National Monument
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They represented highly skilled engineering techniques and soil knowledge, and the organization of many laborers. The site has evidence of 17,000 years of human habitation. The 702-acre park is located on the east bank of the Ocmulgee River, present-day Macon, Georgia developed around the site after the United States built Fort Benjamin Hawkins nearby in 1806. Varying cultures of indigenous peoples settled on what is called the Macon Plateau at the Fall Line. The monument designation includes the Lamar Mounds and Village Site, located downriver about three miles from Macon, the monument park was designated for federal protection by the National Park Service in 1934 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1966. In 1997, the NPS designated the monument a Traditional Cultural Property, the Works Progress Administration sponsored large-scale archaeological digs at the site between 1933 and 1942. Workers excavated portions of eight mounds, finding an array of significant archeological artifacts that revealed a trading network and complex. On June 14,1934, the park was authorized as a National Monument, as an historic unit of the Park Service, the National Monument was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 15,1966. In the early 1990s, the National Park Service renovated its facilities at the park, in 1997, it designated the Ocmulgee National Monument as a Traditional Cultural Property, the first such site named east of the Mississippi River. Ocmulgees visitor center includes an archaeology museum and it displays artifacts and interprets the successive cultures of the prehistoric Native Americans who inhabited this site, as well as the historic Muscogee and diverse peoples of the colonial era. The large park encompasses 702 acres, with 5 1⁄2 miles of walking trails, near the visitor center is a reconstructed ceremonial earthlodge, based on a 1, 000-year-old structure excavated by archeologists. Visitors can reach the Great Temple Mound via a walk or the park road. Other surviving prehistoric features in the include a burial mound, platform mounds. The historic site of the English colonial Ocumulgee trading post is part of the park. The visitor center includes a short film for the monument site. The main section of Ocmulgee National Monument is accessible from U. S. Route 80 and it is open daily except Christmas Day and New Years Day. The Lamar Mounds and Village Site is a unit of the monument. The Lamar Site is open on a limited basis, Ocmulgee is a memorial to ancient indigenous peoples in Southeastern North America
22.
Causeway
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In modern usage, a causeway is a road or railway on top an embankment usually across a broad body of water or wetland. When first used, the word appeared in a such as causey way making clear its derivation from the earlier form causey. This word seems to have come from the source by two different routes. It derives ultimately, from the Latin for heel, calx, anciently, the construction was trodden down, one layer at a time, often by slaves or flocks of sheep. Today, this work is done by machines, the same technique would have been used for road embankments, raised river banks, sea banks and fortification earthworks. The second derivation route is simply the hard, trodden surface of a path, the name by this route came to be applied to a firmly-surfaced road. It is now little-used except in dialect and in the names of roads which were notable for their solidly-made surface. The 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica states causey, a mound or dam, which is derived, through the Norman-French caucie, from the late Latin via calciata, a road stamped firm with the feet. The word is comparable in both meanings with the French chaussée, from a form of which it reached English by way of Norman French. The French adjective, chaussée, carries the meaning of having given a hardened surface. As a noun chaussée is used on the one hand for a metalled carriageway, other languages have a noun with similar dual meaning. The Welsh is relevant here, as it also has a verb, sarnu, a transport corridor that is carried instead on a series of arches, perhaps approaching a bridge, is a viaduct. In the U. S. a short stretch of viaduct is called an overpass, some low causeways across shore waters become inaccessible when covered at high tide. The modern embankment may be constructed within a cofferdam, two parallel steel sheet pile or concrete retaining walls, anchored to each other with steel cables or rods. This construction may also serve as a dyke that keeps two bodies of water apart, such as bodies with a different water level on each side, or with water on one side. This may also be the purpose of a structure, the road providing a hardened crest for the dike. It also provides access for maintenance as well perhaps, as a public service, notable causeways include those that connect Singapore and Malaysia, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia and Venice to the mainland, all of which carry roadways and railways. In the Netherlands there are a number of prominent dykes which also double as causeways, including the Afsluitdijk, Brouwersdam, in Louisiana, two very long bridges, called the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, stretch across Lake Pontchartrain for almost 38 km, making them the worlds longest bridges
23.
Duckboards
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A duckboard is a platform made of wooden slats built over muddy ground to form a dry passageway. Duckboards are used to allow hikers to safely pass moist areas of ground, specially wide duckboards are often used to provide wheelchair access. Duckboards are nailed into the end of their logs, with wooden stakes. During World War I, duckboards were used to line the bottom of trenches on the Western Front, as these were regularly flooded, the boards helped to keep the soldiers feet dry and prevent the development of trench foot, caused by prolonged standing in waterlogged conditions. They also allowed for easier movement through the trench systems. In the Ypres Salient, duckboards were laid at ground level to help soldiers advance to the front lines, combat troops on nearly all sides routinely wore hobnail style Trench Boots that often slipped on the new duck boards when they were wet, and required extra caution. Falling or slipping off the duckboards could often be dangerous, even fatal, unfortunate soldiers were left struggling to rise under the weight of their equipment in the intractable and sometimes deep water/mud. If this happened at ground level during an advance, the rising soldier could be left a defenseless target for enemy fire as well as hinder forward progress. He could also go unnoticed in the ensuing melee. Used in factories with concrete floors, wooden duckboards provide a platform for workers who stand in one place. The flex of wood is easier on the legs than concrete, boardwalk Corduroy road Marsden Matting - a 20th-century equivalent for airport runways Plank road Sweet Track and Post Track Timber trackway Media related to Duckboards at Wikimedia Commons
24.
Footbridge
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A footbridge is a bridge designed for pedestrians and in some cases cyclists, animal traffic, and horse riders, instead of vehicular traffic. Footbridges complement the landscape and can be used decoratively to visually link two distinct areas or to signal a transaction, in many developed countries, footbridges are both functional and can be beautiful works of art and sculpture. Simple suspension bridge designs have developed to be sustainable and easily constructible in such rural areas using only local materials. An enclosed footbridge between two buildings is known as a skyway. Bridges providing for both pedestrians and cyclists are often referred to as greenbridges and form an important part of sustainable transport movement towards more sustainable cities. Footbridges are often situated to allow pedestrians to cross water or railways in areas where there are no roads to necessitate a road bridge. They are also located across roads to let pedestrians cross safely without slowing down the traffic, the latter is a type of pedestrian separation structure, examples of which are particularly found near schools, to help prevent children running in front of moving cars. Small footbridges can also be used for an effect in ornamental gardens. Complicated engineering is not needed and the footbridges are built with readily available materials, most footbridges are equipped with guard rails to reduce the risk of pedestrians falling. Where they pass over busy roads or railways, they may include a fence or other such barrier to prevent pedestrians from jumping. Much rural travel takes place on local paths, tracks and village roads and these provide essential access to water, firewood, farm plots and the classified road network. Communities and/or local government are responsible for this infrastructure. Pedestrian overpasses over highways or railroads are expensive, especially when elevators or long ramps for users are required. Without elevators or ramps, people with mobility handicaps will not be able to use the structure, often, people will prefer to walk across a busy road at grade rather than expend the effort to climb up the bridge and go over it. Overpasses should only be used where the number of users justify the costs, narrow, enclosed structures can result in perceptions of low personal security among users. Wider structures and good lighting can reduce this. Footbridges are small, but important, because they are presented in townscape. The appearance of footbridges, and indeed of any other bridges, people have to live with these structures, usually seeing them every day
25.
Plank road
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A plank road is a dirt path or road covered with a series of wooden planks. Plank roads were found in the Canadian province of Ontario. They were often built by turnpike companies, in the late 1840s plank roads led to an investment boom and subsequent bust. The first plank road in the US was built in North Syracuse, New York in order to transport salt and other goods, ultimately the technology failed to live up to its promise and millions of dollars in investments evaporated almost overnight. Three plank roads, the Hackensack, the Paterson, and the Newark, were major arteries in northern New Jersey, the roads travelled over the New Jersey Meadowlands, connecting the cities for which they were named to the Hudson River waterfront. Kingston Road, Danforth Avenue in Toronto were plank roads built by the Don and Danforth Plank Road Company in the late 18th, highway 2 from Toronto eastwards was once plank roads in the 19th century and later paved. In Perth, Western Australia, plank roads were important in the growth of the agricultural and outer urban areas, given the distances imposed by swamps. As it cost UK£2,000 per kilometre to construct roads by conventional means, the 90-centimetre gap was filled with limestone rubble to be used by horses. This reduced the cost of building by up to 85 percent after their widespread introduction in 1908. However, increased traffic and suburban development rendered these routes unsatisfactory over time and by the 1950s they had been replaced with bitumen surfaced roads
26.
Timber trackway
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A timber trackway is a simple raised wooden walkway used as the shortest route between two places in a bog or peatland. They have been built for thousands of years as a means of getting two points. Timber trackways have been identified in archaeological finds in Neolithic England, radiocarbon methods date them to be about 6,000 years old. The earlier corduroy trackways are in Germany and Holland and they date to approximately 3000 BC. Their construction is consistently between 3.5 m and 4 m wide, and are simple structures without pegs, the Lindholme Trackway is later and dates to around 2900-2500 BC. The construction for these is mostly 3 m, and occasionally up to 4 m, later corduroy trackways include the one in Cloonbony, Ireland. This dates to around 2630–2470 BC, the construction of this is 2.5 m wide. This is a complex structure, pegged at intervals. The Lindholme Trackway fits within a trend of narrowing and increased sophistication during the third millennium BC and it has been argued that this shift could relate to the growing complexity of wheeled transport at the time
27.
Under the Boardwalk
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Under the Boardwalk is a hit pop song written by Kenny Young and Arthur Resnick and recorded by The Drifters in 1964. It charted at four on the Billboard Hot 100 charts on August 22,1964. The song ranked #489 on Rolling Stones list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The lyric describes a tryst between a man and his beloved in a town, who plan to privately meet out of the sun. The instrumentation includes güiro, triangle and violins, the songs chorus is unusual in that it switches from a major to minor key. The song was set to be recorded on May 21,1964, Lewis had sung lead on most of their hits since the 1960 departure of Ben E. King, including Up on the Roof. Rather than reschedule the session to find a new frontman. The personnel on that recording included Ernie Hayes on piano, Everett Barksdale, Bill Suyker and Bob Bushnell on guitar, Milt Hinton on bass, Gary Chester on drums, there are two versions of the song. The mono 45 USA released version contains the line Well be falling in love, beneath the line Well be falling in love on the stereo album version, the line Well be making love can be heard. These are two different recordings, not edits of one another, as the line on a blanket with my baby is where Ill be is sung differently in each version. The version appearing on the Drifters Golden Hits compilation is a composite of the two, using making love in the first two choruses and falling in love in the third. Because of the line making love several radio stations banned the song, under the Boardwalk has since been covered by many artists, including Bette Midler, and the Tom Tom Club. Versions by Billy Joe Royal, Bruce Willis, and Lynn Anderson all reached the Billboard charts. The song has been translated to Spanish and interpreted by the pioneer Argentine rock group Los Gatos Salvajes under the title of Bajo la rambla and it was also covered by the Argentine band Los Perros on their 1992 album Perfume y dolor. In Mexico it was covered by Los Apson Boys in 1966. It was also covered by Ana Gabriel in 1996 with a Spanish version called Fue en Un cafe using the music from Bette Midlers version of the song and she also sang the song in its original English version. Both versions are on her 1996 album Vivencias, a cover of this song by the Rolling Stones appeared on their albums. Their 1964 version was released as a single-only in Australia, South Africa and Rhodesia and it appeared on their albums 12 X5 and The Rolling Stones No.2
