1.
Modena
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Modena is a city and comune on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. One of Ferraris cars, the 360 Modena, was named after the town itself, the University of Modena, founded in 1175 and expanded by Francesco II dEste in 1686, has traditional strengths in economics, medicine and law and is the second oldest athenaeum in Italy. Italian military officers are trained at the Military Academy of Modena, the Biblioteca Estense houses historical volumes and 3,000 manuscripts. The Cathedral of Modena, the Torre della Ghirlandina and Piazza Grande are a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997, Modena is also known in culinary circles for its production of balsamic vinegar. Modena lies on the Pianura Padana, and is bounded by the two rivers Secchia and Panaro, both affluents of the Po River and their presence is symbolized by the Two Rivers Fountain in the citys center, by Giuseppe Graziosi. The city is connected to the Panaro by the Naviglio channel, the Apennines begin some 10 kilometres from the city, to the south. The commune is divided into four circoscrizioni and these are, Centro storico Crocetta Buon Pastore San Faustino Modena has a humid subtropical climate, with an average annual precipitation of 809 millimetres. Summers are warm and winters are chilly and wetter, with the possibility of snowfall and this climate is described by the Köppen climate classification as Cfa. From 1945 to 1992, Modena had a consecutive series of Communist mayors. From the 1990s, the city has been governed by center-left coalitions, at the April 2006 elections, the city of Modena gave about 50% of its votes to the Democratic Party. The legislative body of the municipality is the City Council which is composed by 35 members elected every five years, Modenas executive body is the City Committee composed by 9 assessors, the deputy-mayor and the mayor. The current mayor of Modena is Giancarlo Muzzarelli, member of the Democratic Party of Italy, the territory around Modena was inhabited by the Villanovans in the Iron Age, and later by Ligurian tribes, Etruscans, and the Gaulish Boii. Livy described it as a fortified citadel where Roman magistrates took shelter, the outcome of the siege is not known, but the city was most likely abandoned after Hannibals arrival. Mutina was refounded as a Roman colony in 183 BC, to be used as a base by Marcus Aemilius Lepidus. In the 1st century BC Mutina was besieged twice, the first siege was by Pompey in 78 BC, when Mutina was defended by Marcus Junius Brutus. The city eventually surrendered out of hunger, and Brutus fled, in the civil war following Caesars assassination, the city was besieged again, this time by Mark Antony, in 44 BC, and defended by Decimus Junius Brutus. Octavian relieved the city with the help of the Senate, cicero called it Mutina splendidissima in his Philippics. It is said that Mutina was never sacked by Attila, for a dense fog hid it, as of December 2008, Italian researchers have discovered the pottery center where the oil lamps that lit the ancient Roman empire were made
2.
Italy
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Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe. Located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy shares open land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, San Marino, Italy covers an area of 301,338 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate and Mediterranean climate. Due to its shape, it is referred to in Italy as lo Stivale. With 61 million inhabitants, it is the fourth most populous EU member state, the Italic tribe known as the Latins formed the Roman Kingdom, which eventually became a republic that conquered and assimilated other nearby civilisations. The legacy of the Roman Empire is widespread and can be observed in the distribution of civilian law, republican governments, Christianity. The Renaissance began in Italy and spread to the rest of Europe, bringing a renewed interest in humanism, science, exploration, Italian culture flourished at this time, producing famous scholars, artists and polymaths such as Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Michelangelo and Machiavelli. The weakened sovereigns soon fell victim to conquest by European powers such as France, Spain and Austria. Despite being one of the victors in World War I, Italy entered a period of economic crisis and social turmoil. The subsequent participation in World War II on the Axis side ended in defeat, economic destruction. Today, Italy has the third largest economy in the Eurozone and it has a very high level of human development and is ranked sixth in the world for life expectancy. The country plays a prominent role in regional and global economic, military, cultural and diplomatic affairs, as a reflection of its cultural wealth, Italy is home to 51 World Heritage Sites, the most in the world, and is the fifth most visited country. The assumptions on the etymology of the name Italia are very numerous, according to one of the more common explanations, the term Italia, from Latin, Italia, was borrowed through Greek from the Oscan Víteliú, meaning land of young cattle. The bull was a symbol of the southern Italic tribes and was often depicted goring the Roman wolf as a defiant symbol of free Italy during the Social War. Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus states this account together with the legend that Italy was named after Italus, mentioned also by Aristotle and Thucydides. The name Italia originally applied only to a part of what is now Southern Italy – according to Antiochus of Syracuse, but by his time Oenotria and Italy had become synonymous, and the name also applied to most of Lucania as well. The Greeks gradually came to apply the name Italia to a larger region, excavations throughout Italy revealed a Neanderthal presence dating back to the Palaeolithic period, some 200,000 years ago, modern Humans arrived about 40,000 years ago. Other ancient Italian peoples of undetermined language families but of possible origins include the Rhaetian people and Cammuni. Also the Phoenicians established colonies on the coasts of Sardinia and Sicily, the Roman legacy has deeply influenced the Western civilisation, shaping most of the modern world
3.
Portuguese discoveries
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Portuguese discoveries are the numerous territories and maritime routes discovered by the Portuguese as a result of their intensive maritime exploration during the 15th and 16th centuries. Portuguese sailors were at the vanguard of European overseas exploration, discovering and mapping the coasts of Africa, Canada, Asia and Brazil, in what became known as the Age of Discovery. Ten years later, in 1498, Vasco da Gama led the first fleet around Africa to India, arriving in Calicut, Portuguese explorations then proceeded to southeast Asia, where they reached Japan in 1542, forty-four years after their first arrival in India. In 1500, the Portuguese nobleman Pedro Álvares Cabral became the first European to discover Brazil, in 1139 the Kingdom of Portugal achieved independence from León, having doubled its area with the Reconquista under Afonso Henriques. In 1297 king Denis of Portugal took personal interest in the development of exports, on May 10,1293 he instituted a maritime insurance fund for Portuguese traders living in the County of Flanders, which were to pay certain sums according to tonnage, accrued to them when necessary. Portuguese imported armors and munitions, fine clothes and several manufactured products from Flanders, Genoese and Florentine communities established since then in Portugal, who profited from the enterprise and financial experience of these rivals of the Republic of Venice. Only the sea offered alternatives, with most people settling in fishing and trading coastal areas, young prince Henry the Navigator was there and became aware of profit possibilities in the Saharan trade routes. Later his brother Prince Pedro, granted him a Royal Flush of all profits from trading within the areas discovered, soon the Atlantic islands of Madeira and Azores were reached. There wheat and later sugarcane were cultivated, like in Algarve, by the Genoese and this helped them become more wealthy. Henry the Navigator took the role in encouraging Portuguese maritime exploration until his death in 1460. At the time, Europeans did not know what lay beyond Cape Bojador on the African coast, in 1420 Zarco and Teixeira returned with Bartolomeu Perestrelo and began Portuguese settlement of the islands. A Portuguese attempt to capture Grand Canary, one of the nearby Canary Islands, at around the same time as the unsuccessful attack on the Canary Islands, the Portuguese began to explore the North African coast. Sailors feared what lay beyond Cape Bojador, and whether it was possible to return once it was passed, in 1434 one of Prince Henrys captains, Gil Eanes, passed this obstacle. Once this psychological barrier had been crossed, it became easier to further along the coast. Within two decades of exploration, Portuguese ships bypassed the Sahara, Henry suffered a serious setback in 1437 after the failure of an expedition to capture Tangier, having encouraged his brother, King Edward, to mount an overland attack from Ceuta. The Portuguese army was defeated and only escaped destruction by surrendering Prince Ferdinand, after the defeat at Tangier, Henry retired to Sagres on the southern tip of Portugal where he continued to direct Portuguese exploration until his death in 1460. In 1443 Prince Pedro, Henrys brother, granted him the monopoly of navigation, war, using this new maritime technology, Portuguese navigators reached ever more southerly latitudes, advancing at an average rate of one degree a year. Senegal and Cape Verde Peninsula were reached in 1445, in 1446, Álvaro Fernandes pushed on almost as far as present-day Sierra Leone and the Gulf of Guinea was reached in the 1460s
4.
Portugal
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Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. It is the westernmost country of mainland Europe, to the west and south it is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean and to the east and north by Spain. The Portugal–Spain border is 1,214 kilometres long and considered the longest uninterrupted border within the European Union, the republic also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira, both autonomous regions with their own regional governments. The territory of modern Portugal has been settled, invaded. The Pre-Celts, Celts, Carthaginians and the Romans were followed by the invasions of the Visigothic, in 711 the Iberian Peninsula was invaded by the Moors, making Portugal part of Muslim Al Andalus. Portugal was born as result of the Christian Reconquista, and in 1139, Afonso Henriques was proclaimed King of Portugal, in the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal established the first global empire, becoming one of the worlds major economic, political and military powers. Portugal monopolized the trade during this time, and the Portuguese Empire expanded with military campaigns led in Asia. After the 1910 revolution deposed the monarchy, the democratic but unstable Portuguese First Republic was established, democracy was restored after the Portuguese Colonial War and the Carnation Revolution in 1974. Shortly after, independence was granted to almost all its overseas territories, Portugal has left a profound cultural and architectural influence across the globe and a legacy of over 250 million Portuguese speakers today. Portugal is a country with a high-income advanced economy and a high living standard. It is the 5th most peaceful country in the world, maintaining a unitary semi-presidential republican form of government and it has the 18th highest Social Progress in the world, putting it ahead of other Western European countries like France, Spain and Italy. Portugal is a pioneer when it comes to drug decriminalization, as the nation decriminalized the possession of all drugs for use in 2001. The early history of Portugal is shared with the rest of the Iberian Peninsula located in South Western Europe, the name of Portugal derives from the joined Romano-Celtic name Portus Cale. Other influences include some 5th-century vestiges of Alan settlements, which were found in Alenquer, Coimbra, the region of present-day Portugal was inhabited by Neanderthals and then by Homo sapiens, who roamed the border-less region of the northern Iberian peninsula. These were subsistence societies that, although they did not establish prosperous settlements, neolithic Portugal experimented with domestication of herding animals, the raising of some cereal crops and fluvial or marine fishing. Chief among these tribes were the Calaicians or Gallaeci of Northern Portugal, the Lusitanians of central Portugal, the Celtici of Alentejo, a few small, semi-permanent, commercial coastal settlements were also founded in the Algarve region by Phoenicians-Carthaginians. Romans first invaded the Iberian Peninsula in 219 BC, during the last days of Julius Caesar, almost the entire peninsula had been annexed to the Roman Republic. The Carthaginians, Romes adversary in the Punic Wars, were expelled from their coastal colonies and it suffered a severe setback in 150 BC, when a rebellion began in the north
5.
Brazil
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Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. As the worlds fifth-largest country by area and population, it is the largest country to have Portuguese as an official language. Its Amazon River basin includes a vast tropical forest, home to wildlife, a variety of ecological systems. This unique environmental heritage makes Brazil one of 17 megadiverse countries, Brazil was inhabited by numerous tribal nations prior to the landing in 1500 of explorer Pedro Álvares Cabral, who claimed the area for the Portuguese Empire. Brazil remained a Portuguese colony until 1808, when the capital of the empire was transferred from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro, in 1815, the colony was elevated to the rank of kingdom upon the formation of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves. Independence was achieved in 1822 with the creation of the Empire of Brazil, a state governed under a constitutional monarchy. The ratification of the first constitution in 1824 led to the formation of a bicameral legislature, the country became a presidential republic in 1889 following a military coup détat. An authoritarian military junta came to power in 1964 and ruled until 1985, Brazils current constitution, formulated in 1988, defines it as a democratic federal republic. The federation is composed of the union of the Federal District, the 26 states, Brazils economy is the worlds ninth-largest by nominal GDP and seventh-largest by GDP as of 2015. A member of the BRICS group, Brazil until 2010 had one of the worlds fastest growing economies, with its economic reforms giving the country new international recognition. Brazils national development bank plays an important role for the economic growth. Brazil is a member of the United Nations, the G20, BRICS, Unasul, Mercosul, Organization of American States, Organization of Ibero-American States, CPLP. Brazil is a power in Latin America and a middle power in international affairs. One of the worlds major breadbaskets, Brazil has been the largest producer of coffee for the last 150 years and it is likely that the word Brazil comes from the Portuguese word for brazilwood, a tree that once grew plentifully along the Brazilian coast. In Portuguese, brazilwood is called pau-brasil, with the word brasil commonly given the etymology red like an ember, formed from Latin brasa and the suffix -il. As brazilwood produces a red dye, it was highly valued by the European cloth industry and was the earliest commercially exploited product from Brazil. The popular appellation eclipsed and eventually supplanted the official Portuguese name, early sailors sometimes also called it the Land of Parrots. In the Guarani language, a language of Paraguay, Brazil is called Pindorama
6.
Lisbon
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Lisbon is the capital and the largest city of Portugal, with a population of 552,700 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km². Its urban area extends beyond the administrative limits with a population of around 2.7 million people. About 2.8 million people live in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area and it is continental Europes westernmost capital city and the only one along the Atlantic coast. Lisbon lies in the western Iberian Peninsula on the Atlantic Ocean, the westernmost areas of its metro area is the westernmost point of Continental Europe. Lisbon is recognised as a city because of its importance in finance, commerce, media, entertainment, arts, international trade, education. It is one of the economic centres on the continent, with a growing financial sector. Humberto Delgado Airport serves over 20 million passengers annually, as of 2015, and the motorway network, the city is the 7th-most-visited city in Southern Europe, after Istanbul, Rome, Barcelona, Madrid, Athens and Milan, with 1,740,000 tourists in 2009. The Lisbon region contributes with a higher GDP PPP per capita than any region in Portugal. Its GDP amounts to 96.3 billion USD and thus $32,434 per capita, the city occupies 32nd place of highest gross earnings in the world. Most of the headquarters of multinationals in the country are located in the Lisbon area and it is also the political centre of the country, as its seat of Government and residence of the Head of State. Lisbon is one of the oldest cities in the world, julius Caesar made it a municipium called Felicitas Julia, adding to the name Olissipo. Ruled by a series of Germanic tribes from the 5th century, in 1147, the Crusaders under Afonso Henriques reconquered the city and since then it has been a major political, economic and cultural centre of Portugal. Unlike most capital cities, Lisbons status as the capital of Portugal has never been granted or confirmed officially – by statute or in written form. Its position as the capital has formed through constitutional convention, making its position as de facto capital a part of the Constitution of Portugal. It has one of the warmest winters of any metropolis in Europe, the typical summer season lasts about four months, from June to September, although also in April temperatures sometimes reach around 25 °C. Although modern archaeological excavations show a Phoenician presence at this location since 1200 BC, another conjecture based on ancient hydronymy suggests that the name of the settlement derived from the pre-Roman appellation for the Tagus, Lisso or Lucio. Lisbons name was written Ulyssippo in Latin by the geographer Pomponius Mela and it was later referred to as Olisippo by Pliny the Elder and by the Greeks as Olissipo or Olissipona. The Indo-European Celts invaded in the 1st millennium BC, mixing with the Pre-Indo-European population and this indigenous settlement maintained commercial relations with the Phoenicians, which would account for the recent findings of Phoenician pottery and other material objects
7.
Newfoundland and Labrador
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Newfoundland and Labrador is the most easterly province of Canada. Situated in the countrys Atlantic region, it comprises the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador to the northwest, in 2013, the provinces population was estimated at 526,702. About 92% of the population lives on the island of Newfoundland. The province is Canadas most linguistically homogeneous, with 97. 6% of residents reporting English as their mother tongue in the 2006 census, historically, Newfoundland was also home to unique varieties of French and Irish, as well as the extinct Beothuk language. In Labrador, local dialects of Innu-aimun and Inuktitut are also spoken, Newfoundland and Labradors capital and largest city, St. Johns, is Canadas 20th-largest census metropolitan area and is home to almost 40 percent of the provinces population. St. Johns is the seat of government, home to the House of Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador and to the highest court in the jurisdiction and it became the tenth province to enter the Canadian Confederation on March 31,1949, as Newfoundland. On December 6,2001, an amendment was made to the Constitution of Canada to change the official name to Newfoundland. The name Newfoundland is a translation of the Portuguese Terra Nova, the influence of early Portuguese exploration is also reflected in the name of Labrador, which derives from the surname of the Portuguese navigator João Fernandes Lavrador. Newfoundland and Labrador is the most easterly province in Canada, and is located at the corner of North America. The Strait of Belle Isle separates the province into two divisions, Labrador, which is a large area of mainland Canada, and Newfoundland. The province also includes over 7,000 tiny islands, each side is about 400 km long, and its area is 108,860 km2. Newfoundland and its small islands have a total area of 111,390 km2. Newfoundland extends between latitudes 46°36′N and 51°38′N, Labrador is an irregular shape, the western part of its border with Quebec is the drainage divide of the Labrador Peninsula. Lands drained by rivers that flow into the Atlantic Ocean are part of Labrador, most of Labradors southern boundary with Quebec follows the 52nd parallel of latitude. Labradors extreme northern tip, at 60°22′N, shares a border with Nunavut. Together, Newfoundland and Labrador make up 4. 06% of Canadas area, Labrador is the easternmost part of the Canadian Shield, a vast area of ancient metamorphic rock comprising much of northeastern North America. Colliding tectonic plates have shaped much of the geology of Newfoundland, gros Morne National Park has a reputation as an outstanding example of tectonics at work, and as such has been designated a World Heritage Site. The Long Range Mountains on Newfoundlands west coast are the northeasternmost extension of the Appalachian Mountains, the north-south extent of the province, prevalent westerly winds, cold ocean currents and local factors such as mountains and coastline combine to create the various climates of the province
8.
Ducat
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The ducat /ˈdʌkət/ was a gold or silver coin used as a trade coin in Europe from the later medieval centuries until as late as the 20th century. Many types of ducats had various metallic content and purchasing power throughout the period, the gold ducat of Venice gained wide international acceptance, like the medieval Byzantine hyperpyron and the Florentine florin, or the modern British pound sterling and the United States dollar. The word ducat is from Medieval Latin ducatus = relating to a duke, Doge Enrico Dandolo of Venice, whose title means duke, introduced a silver ducat whose types are related to the ducats of Roger II. Later gold ducats of Venice, however, became so important that the name ducat was associated exclusively with them, the Venetian business model of the 13th century was importing goods from the East and selling them at a profit north of the Alps. They paid for goods with Byzantine gold coins but when the Byzantine emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos backed a rebellion called the Sicilian Vespers in 1282. This was just one more in a series of debasements of the hyperpyron, both Florence and Genoa had introduced gold coins in 1252 and the florin of Florence had become the standard European gold coin. Venice modeled the size and weight of their ducat on the florin, the Venetian ducat contained 3.545 grams of 99. 47% fine gold, the highest purity medieval metallurgy could produce. Gold ducat types derive from silver ducat types, which were ultimately Byzantine, the obverse shows the Doge of Venice kneeling before St. Mark, the patron saint of Venice. Saint Mark holds the gospel, which is his usual attribute, the legend on the left identifies the saint as S M VENET, i. e. Saint Mark of Venice, and the legend on the right identifies the doge, with his title DVX in the field. On the reverse, Christ stands among a field of stars in an oval frame, the reverse legend is the same as on Roger II’s ducats. Succeeding doges of Venice continued striking ducats, changing only their name on the obverse, during the 15th century, the value of the ducat in terms of silver money was stable at 124 Venetian soldi, i. e. schillings. The term ducat became identified with this amount of money as well as the gold coin. Conflict between England and Spain in 1567, however, increased the price of gold and upset this equivalence, at this point, the coin was called the ducato de zecca, i. e. ducat of the mint, which was shortened to zecchino and corrupted to sequin. Leonardo Loredan extended the coinage with a half ducat and subsequent doges added a quarter, all of these coins continued to use the designs and weight standards of the original 1284 ducat. Even after dates became a feature of western coinage, Venice struck ducats without them until Napoleon ended the Venetian Republic in 1797. Instead, the Roman coin showed a senator kneeling before St. Peter on the obverse, the Popes subsequently changed these designs, but continued to strike ducats of the same weight and size into the 16th century. Most imitations of the Venetian ducat were made in the Levant, the Knights of Saint John struck ducats with grand master Dieudonné de Gozon, 1346-1353, kneeling before Saint John on the obverse and an angel seated on the Sepulcher of Christ on the reverse. Subsequent Grand masters, however, found it expedient to copy the Venetian types more exactly, first at Rhodes and they struck ducats at Chios that could be distinguished from the Venetian originals only by their workmanship
9.
Atlantic Ocean
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The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the worlds oceans with a total area of about 106,460,000 square kilometres. It covers approximately 20 percent of the Earths surface and about 29 percent of its surface area. It separates the Old World from the New World, the Atlantic Ocean occupies an elongated, S-shaped basin extending longitudinally between Eurasia and Africa to the east, and the Americas to the west. The Equatorial Counter Current subdivides it into the North Atlantic Ocean, in contrast, the term Atlantic originally referred specifically to the Atlas Mountains in Morocco and the sea off the Strait of Gibraltar and the North African coast. The Greek word thalassa has been reused by scientists for the huge Panthalassa ocean that surrounded the supercontinent Pangaea hundreds of years ago. The term Aethiopian Ocean, derived from Ancient Ethiopia, was applied to the Southern Atlantic as late as the mid-19th century, many Irish or British people refer to the United States and Canada as across the pond, and vice versa. The Black Atlantic refers to the role of ocean in shaping black peoples history. Irish migration to the US is meant when the term The Green Atlantic is used, the term Red Atlantic has been used in reference to the Marxian concept of an Atlantic working class, as well as to the Atlantic experience of indigenous Americans. Correspondingly, the extent and number of oceans and seas varies, the Atlantic Ocean is bounded on the west by North and South America. It connects to the Arctic Ocean through the Denmark Strait, Greenland Sea, Norwegian Sea, to the east, the boundaries of the ocean proper are Europe, the Strait of Gibraltar and Africa. In the southeast, the Atlantic merges into the Indian Ocean, the 20° East meridian, running south from Cape Agulhas to Antarctica defines its border. In the 1953 definition it extends south to Antarctica, while in later maps it is bounded at the 60° parallel by the Southern Ocean, the Atlantic has irregular coasts indented by numerous bays, gulfs, and seas. Including these marginal seas the coast line of the Atlantic measures 111,866 km compared to 135,663 km for the Pacific. Including its marginal seas, the Atlantic covers an area of 106,460,000 km2 or 23. 5% of the ocean and has a volume of 310,410,900 km3 or 23. 3%. Excluding its marginal seas, the Atlantic covers 81,760,000 km2 and has a volume of 305,811,900 km3, the North Atlantic covers 41,490,000 km2 and the South Atlantic 40,270,000 km2. The average depth is 3,646 m and the maximum depth, the bathymetry of the Atlantic is dominated by a submarine mountain range called the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. It runs from 87°N or 300 km south of the North Pole to the subantarctic Bouvet Island at 42°S, the MAR divides the Atlantic longitudinally into two halves, in each of which a series of basins are delimited by secondary, transverse ridges. The MAR reaches above 2000 m along most of its length, the MAR is a barrier for bottom water, but at these two transform faults deep water currents can pass from one side to the other
10.
St. Johns River
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The St. Johns River is the longest river in the U. S. state of Florida and its most significant one for commercial and recreational use. At 310 miles long, it winds through or borders twelve counties, three of which are the states largest. The drop in elevation from headwaters to mouth is less than 30 feet, like most Florida waterways and it is notable among some that the rivers course flows north, a relatively rare characteristic. Numerous lakes are formed by the river or flow into it, the narrowest point is in the headwaters, an unnavigable marsh in Indian River County. The St. Johns drainage basin of 8,840 square miles includes some of Floridas major wetlands and it is separated into three major basins and two associated watersheds for Lake George and the Ocklawaha River, all managed by the St. Johns River Water Management District. It has been the subject of William Bartrams journals, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings books, when attention was turned to the state, however, much of the land was rapidly overdeveloped in a national zeal for progress. The St. Johns, like many Florida rivers, was altered to make way for agricultural and residential centers and it suffered severe pollution and human interference that has diminished the natural order of life in and around the river. In all,3.5 million people live within the watersheds that feed into the St. Johns River. The St. Johns, named one of 14 American Heritage Rivers in 1998, was included on a list of Americas Ten Most Endangered Rivers in 2008. Restoration efforts are under way for the basins around the St. Johns as Florida continues to deal with population increases in the rivers vicinity, starting in Indian River County and meeting the Atlantic Ocean at Duval County, the St. Johns is Floridas primary commercial and recreational waterway. It flows north from its headwaters, originating in the direction of the Lake Wales Ridge, because of this low elevation drop, the river has a long backwater. It ebbs and flows with tides that pass through the barrier islands, uniquely, it shares the same regional terrain as the parallel Kissimmee River, although the Kissimmee flows south. The St. Johns River is separated into three basins and two associated watersheds managed by the St. Johns River Water Management District, because the river flows in a northerly direction, the upper basin is located in the headwaters of the river at its southernmost point. Indian River County is where the river begins as a network of marshes, the St. Johns River is a blackwater stream, meaning that it is fed primarily by swamps and marshes lying beneath it, water seeps through the sandy soil and collects in a slight valley. The upper basin measures approximately 2,000 square miles, the St. Johns transforms into a waterway in Brevard County. The river touches on the borders of Osceola and Orange Counties, the upper basin of the St. Johns was significantly lowered in the 1920s with the establishment of the Melbourne Tillman drainage project. This drained the St. Johns headwaters eastward to the Indian River through canals dug across the Ten-Mile Ridge near Palm Bay, as of 2015, these past diversions are being partially reversed through the first phase of the Canal 1 Rediversion project. The river is at its narrowest and most unpredictable in this basin, channel flows are not apparent and are usually unmarked
11.
China
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China, officially the Peoples Republic of China, is a unitary sovereign state in East Asia and the worlds most populous country, with a population of over 1.381 billion. The state is governed by the Communist Party of China and its capital is Beijing, the countrys major urban areas include Shanghai, Guangzhou, Beijing, Chongqing, Shenzhen, Tianjin and Hong Kong. China is a power and a major regional power within Asia. Chinas landscape is vast and diverse, ranging from forest steppes, the Himalaya, Karakoram, Pamir and Tian Shan mountain ranges separate China from much of South and Central Asia. The Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, the third and sixth longest in the world, respectively, Chinas coastline along the Pacific Ocean is 14,500 kilometers long and is bounded by the Bohai, Yellow, East China and South China seas. China emerged as one of the worlds earliest civilizations in the basin of the Yellow River in the North China Plain. For millennia, Chinas political system was based on hereditary monarchies known as dynasties, in 1912, the Republic of China replaced the last dynasty and ruled the Chinese mainland until 1949, when it was defeated by the communist Peoples Liberation Army in the Chinese Civil War. The Communist Party established the Peoples Republic of China in Beijing on 1 October 1949, both the ROC and PRC continue to claim to be the legitimate government of all China, though the latter has more recognition in the world and controls more territory. China had the largest economy in the world for much of the last two years, during which it has seen cycles of prosperity and decline. Since the introduction of reforms in 1978, China has become one of the worlds fastest-growing major economies. As of 2016, it is the worlds second-largest economy by nominal GDP, China is also the worlds largest exporter and second-largest importer of goods. China is a nuclear weapons state and has the worlds largest standing army. The PRC is a member of the United Nations, as it replaced the ROC as a permanent member of the U. N. Security Council in 1971. China is also a member of numerous formal and informal multilateral organizations, including the WTO, APEC, BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the BCIM, the English name China is first attested in Richard Edens 1555 translation of the 1516 journal of the Portuguese explorer Duarte Barbosa. The demonym, that is, the name for the people, Portuguese China is thought to derive from Persian Chīn, and perhaps ultimately from Sanskrit Cīna. Cīna was first used in early Hindu scripture, including the Mahābhārata, there are, however, other suggestions for the derivation of China. The official name of the state is the Peoples Republic of China. The shorter form is China Zhōngguó, from zhōng and guó and it was then applied to the area around Luoyi during the Eastern Zhou and then to Chinas Central Plain before being used as an occasional synonym for the state under the Qing
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