1.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
2.
United States Navy
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The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U. S. Navy is the largest, most capable navy in the world, the U. S. Navy has the worlds largest aircraft carrier fleet, with ten in service, two in the reserve fleet, and three new carriers under construction. The service has 323,792 personnel on duty and 108,515 in the Navy Reserve. It has 274 deployable combat vessels and more than 3,700 operational aircraft as of October 2016, the U. S. Navy traces its origins to the Continental Navy, which was established during the American Revolutionary War and was effectively disbanded as a separate entity shortly thereafter. It played a role in the American Civil War by blockading the Confederacy. It played the role in the World War II defeat of Imperial Japan. The 21st century U. S. Navy maintains a global presence, deploying in strength in such areas as the Western Pacific, the Mediterranean. The Navy is administratively managed by the Department of the Navy, the Department of the Navy is itself a division of the Department of Defense, which is headed by the Secretary of Defense. The Chief of Naval Operations is an admiral and the senior naval officer of the Department of the Navy. The CNO may not be the highest ranking officer in the armed forces if the Chairman or the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The mission of the Navy is to maintain, train and equip combat-ready Naval forces capable of winning wars, deterring aggression, the United States Navy is a seaborne branch of the military of the United States. The Navys three primary areas of responsibility, The preparation of naval forces necessary for the prosecution of war. The development of aircraft, weapons, tactics, technique, organization, U. S. Navy training manuals state that the mission of the U. S. Armed Forces is to prepare and conduct prompt and sustained combat operations in support of the national interest, as part of that establishment, the U. S. Navys functions comprise sea control, power projection and nuclear deterrence, in addition to sealift duties. It follows then as certain as that night succeeds the day, that without a decisive naval force we can do nothing definitive, the Navy was rooted in the colonial seafaring tradition, which produced a large community of sailors, captains, and shipbuilders. In the early stages of the American Revolutionary War, Massachusetts had its own Massachusetts Naval Militia, the establishment of a national navy was an issue of debate among the members of the Second Continental Congress. Supporters argued that a navy would protect shipping, defend the coast, detractors countered that challenging the British Royal Navy, then the worlds preeminent naval power, was a foolish undertaking. Commander in Chief George Washington resolved the debate when he commissioned the ocean-going schooner USS Hannah to interdict British merchant ships, and reported the captures to the Congress
3.
Washington Navy Yard
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The Washington Navy Yard is the former shipyard and ordnance plant of the United States Navy in Southeast Washington, D. C. It is the oldest shore establishment of the U. S. Navy, the Yard currently serves as a ceremonial and administrative center for the U. S. S. Navy Judge Advocate Generals Corps, Marine Corps Institute, the United States Navy Band, in 1998, the yard was listed as a Superfund site due to environmental contamination. The history of the yard can be divided into its history and cultural. The land was purchased under an Act of Congress on July 23,1799, the Washington Navy Yard was established on October 2,1799, the date the property was transferred to the Navy. It is the oldest shore establishment of the U. S. Navy, the original boundaries that were established in 1800, along 9th and M Street SE, are still marked by a white brick wall that surrounds the Yard on the north and east sides. The next year, two lots were purchased. The north wall of the Yard was built in 1809 along with a guardhouse, after the Burning of Washington in 1814, Tingey recommended that the height of the eastern wall be increased to ten feet because of the fire and subsequent looting. The southern boundary of the Yard was formed by the Anacostia River, the west side was undeveloped marsh. The land located along the Anacostia was added to by landfill over the years as it became necessary to increase the size of the Yard, the USS Constitution came to the Yard in 1812 to refit and prepare for combat action. For the first thirty years of the century, the Navy Yard was the Districts principal employer of enslaved African Americans. Their numbers rose rapidly and by 1808, the muster lists, the number of enslaved workers gradually declined during the next thirty years. While the total number of enslaved workers declined, free African Americans remained a presence on the shipyard. Sailors of Navy Yard were part of the hastily assembled American army, the Navy Yard sailors, and Marines of nearby Marine Barracks, Washington, D. C. were in the third and last line of defense at Bladensburg. Together, they fought hand to hand with cutlasses and pikes against the British regulars before being overwhelmed, as the British marched into Washington, holding the Yard became impossible. Tingey, seeing the smoke from the burning Capitol, ordered the Yard burned to prevent its capture by the enemy, both structures are now individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Following the War of 1812, the Washington Navy Yard never regained its prominence as a shipbuilding facility, the waters of the Anacostia River were too shallow to accommodate larger vessels, and the Yard was deemed too inaccessible to the open sea. Thus came a shift to what was to be the character of the Yard for more than a century, ordnance, the Yard possessed one of the earliest steam engines in the United States
4.
Washington, D.C.
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Washington, D. C. formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D. C. is the capital of the United States. The signing of the Residence Act on July 16,1790, Constitution provided for a federal district under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Congress and the District is therefore not a part of any state. The states of Maryland and Virginia each donated land to form the federal district, named in honor of President George Washington, the City of Washington was founded in 1791 to serve as the new national capital. In 1846, Congress returned the land ceded by Virginia, in 1871. Washington had an population of 681,170 as of July 2016. Commuters from the surrounding Maryland and Virginia suburbs raise the population to more than one million during the workweek. The Washington metropolitan area, of which the District is a part, has a population of over 6 million, the centers of all three branches of the federal government of the United States are in the District, including the Congress, President, and Supreme Court. Washington is home to national monuments and museums, which are primarily situated on or around the National Mall. The city hosts 176 foreign embassies as well as the headquarters of international organizations, trade unions, non-profit organizations, lobbying groups. A locally elected mayor and a 13‑member council have governed the District since 1973, However, the Congress maintains supreme authority over the city and may overturn local laws. D. C. residents elect a non-voting, at-large congressional delegate to the House of Representatives, the District receives three electoral votes in presidential elections as permitted by the Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified in 1961. Various tribes of the Algonquian-speaking Piscataway people inhabited the lands around the Potomac River when Europeans first visited the area in the early 17th century, One group known as the Nacotchtank maintained settlements around the Anacostia River within the present-day District of Columbia. Conflicts with European colonists and neighboring tribes forced the relocation of the Piscataway people, some of whom established a new settlement in 1699 near Point of Rocks, Maryland. 43, published January 23,1788, James Madison argued that the new government would need authority over a national capital to provide for its own maintenance. Five years earlier, a band of unpaid soldiers besieged Congress while its members were meeting in Philadelphia, known as the Pennsylvania Mutiny of 1783, the event emphasized the need for the national government not to rely on any state for its own security. However, the Constitution does not specify a location for the capital, on July 9,1790, Congress passed the Residence Act, which approved the creation of a national capital on the Potomac River. The exact location was to be selected by President George Washington, formed from land donated by the states of Maryland and Virginia, the initial shape of the federal district was a square measuring 10 miles on each side, totaling 100 square miles. Two pre-existing settlements were included in the territory, the port of Georgetown, Maryland, founded in 1751, many of the stones are still standing
5.
Vice admiral
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Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to an admiral and junior to an admiral. The rank insignia for a vice admiral often involves three stars, but this is not always the case, in the navy of Iraq, vice admiral insignia involves one star. Vice admiral is the equivalent of air marshal in the Royal Australian Air Force, in the Royal Canadian Navy, the rank of vice-admiral is equivalent to lieutenant-general of the Canadian Army and Royal Canadian Air Force. A vice-admiral is an officer, the naval equivalent of a general officer. A vice-admiral is senior to a rear-admiral and major general, two rows of gold oak leaves are located on the black visor of the white service cap. Vice-admirals are addressed by rank and name, thereafter by subordinates as Sir or Maam, vice-admirals are normally entitled to a staff car, the car will normally bear a flag, dark blue with three gold maple leaves arranged one over two. A vice-admiral generally holds only the most senior command or administrative appointments, barring only Chief of Defence Staff, charles, Prince of Wales holds the honorary rank of vice admiral in the Royal Canadian Navy. The vice-amiral rank used to be an OF-8 rank in NATO charts, the rank of vice-amiral descadre equals a NATO OF-8 rank. In the ancien régime Navy, between 1669 and 1791, the office of Vice-Admiral of France was the highest rank, the supreme office of Admiral of France being purely ceremonial. Distinct offices were, 1669-1791 Vice-admiral of the West, 1778-1791 Vice-admiral of the Asian and American Seas. 1784-1788 Vice-admiral of the Indian Seas, vizeadmiral is an OF-8 three-star rank equivalent to the German Heer and Luftwaffe rank of Generalleutnant. In India, vice admiral is a three star admiral, in Italy, the equivalent to vice admiral is the ammiraglio di squadra or squadron admiral. In the Philippines, the vice admiral is the highest-ranking official of the Philippine Navy. He is recognized as the flag officer in-charge of the Navy, the rank vice-admiral in the Philippines, has the same ranking in the U. S Navy. In Vietnam, the equivalent to vice admiral is the phó đô đốc
6.
Rear admiral
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Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the admiral ranks, in many navies it is referred to as a two-star rank. It originated from the days of naval sailing squadrons and can trace its origins to the Royal Navy, each naval squadron would be assigned an admiral as its head, who would command from the centre vessel and direct the activities of the squadron. The admiral would in turn be assisted by a vice admiral and this has survived into the modern age, with the rank of rear admiral the most-junior of the admiralty ranks of many navies. In some European navies, and in the Canadian Forces French rank translations, in the German Navy the rank is known as Konteradmiral, superior to the flotilla admiral. In the Royal Netherlands Navy, this rank is known as schout-bij-nacht, denoting the role junior to the squadron admiral, the Royal Australian Navy maintains a rank of rear admiral, refer to Australian Defence Force ranks and insignia. Since the mid-1990s, the insignia of a Royal Australian Navy rear admiral is the Crown of St. Edward above a crossed sword and baton, like the Royal Navy version, the sword is a traditional naval cutlass. The stars have eight points, unlike the four pointed Order of the Bath stars used by the army, prior to 1995, the RAN shoulder board was identical to the Royal Navy shoulder board. The Royal Navy shoulder board changed again in 2001 and the Australian, rear Admiral Robyn Walker AM, RAN became the first female admiral in the Royal Australian Navy when she was appointed Surgeon-General of the Australian Defence Force on 16 December 2011. In the Royal Canadian Navy, the rank of rear-admiral is the Navy rank equivalent to major-general of the Army, a rear-admiral is a flag officer, the naval equivalent of a general officer. A rear-admiral is senior to a commodore and brigadier-general, and junior to a vice-admiral and lieutenant-general, the service dress features a wide strip of gold braid around the cuff and, since June 2010, above it a narrower strip of gold braid embellished with the executive curl. On the visor of the cap are two rows of gold oak leaves. Konteradmiral is an OF-7 two-star rank equivalent to the Generalmajor in the German Army, see also The Guyana Defence Force Coast Guard is the naval component of the Military of Guyana. As such, the ranks of the Coast Guard are naval ranks similar to the practice in the respective Coast Guards of Jamaica and Trinidad, the rank of rear admiral was first awarded to chief of staff commodore Gary Best on August 19,2013. The rank insignia consists of two silver pips with green highlights, beneath a crossed sword and baton, all surmounted by the gold-colored Caciques crown with red, the Indian Navy also maintains a rear admiral rank senior to commodore and captain ranks and junior to vice admiral ranks. The rank insignia for a rear-admiral is two stars beneath crossed sword and baton, all surmounted by Emblem of India, worn on shoulder boards, before Islamic Revolution The Iranian Imperial Navy. After Islamic Revolution The Islamic Republic of Iran Navy, also known as the Iranian Navy, a rear admiral in the Pakistani Navy is a senior and two-star rank naval officer, appointed in higher naval commands. Like most Commonwealth navies, the rear admiral rank is superior to commodore, however, the rank is junior to the three-star rank vice-admiral and four-star rank admiral, who is generally a Chief of Naval Staff of the Navy
7.
Senior Executive Service (United States)
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The Senior Executive Service is a position classification in the civil service of the United States federal government, somewhat analogous to general officer or flag officer ranks in the U. S. It was created in 1979 when the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 went into effect under President Jimmy Carter, SES positions are considered to be above the GS-15 level of the General Schedule, and below Level III of the Executive Schedule. Career members of the SES ranks are eligible for the Presidential Rank Awards program, up to 10% of SES positions can be filled as political appointments rather than by career employees. About half of the SES is designated Career Reserved, which can only be filled by career employees, the other half is designated General, which can be filled by either career employees or political appointments as desired by the administration. Due to the 10% limitation, most General positions are filled by career appointees. Unlike the General Schedule grades, SES pay is determined at agency discretion within certain parameters, the minimum pay level for the SES is set at 120 percent of the basic pay for GS-15 Step 1 employees. If the agency does not have a system, the maximum pay is set at Level III of the Executive Schedule. Total aggregate pay is limited to the salary of the Vice President of the United States, Senior Foreign Service Official website Senior Executive Service at the Wayback Machine
8.
Master chief petty officer
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Master chief petty officer is the ninth, and highest, enlisted rate in the U. S. Navy and U. S. Coast Guard, just above senior chief petty officer. Master Chief Petty Officers are addressed as Master Chief and they constitute the top 1. 25% of the members of the maritime forces. Prior to 1958, chief petty officer was the highest enlisted rate in both the U. S. Navy and U. S. Coast Guard. This changed on 20 May 1958 with the passage Public Law 85-422, the Military Pay Act of 1958, in the U. S. Navy and U. S. In the Navy, advancement to master chief petty officer is similar to that of petty officer. It carries requirements of time in service, superior evaluation scores, similarly, senior chief petty officers and chief petty officers are chosen by selection boards. In the Coast Guard, advancement to master chief petty officer is similar to other advancements consisting of competition with other advancement-eligible senior chief petty officers. Advancement-eligible senior chief petty officers are prioritized based on written scores, evaluations, award points, time in service. Master chief petty officers are then selected monthly from this prioritization list as positions become available, Petty officers of all grades possess both a rate and rating. The full title is a combination of the two, thus, a master chief petty officer with the rating of fire controlman would properly be called a master chief fire controlman. Each rating has an official abbreviation, such as FC for fire controlman, FT for fire control technician, when combined with the rate abbreviation, it produces the full rate designation, such as FCCM for master chief fire controlman. It is not uncommon practice to refer to the chief by this shorthand in all. Mostly, though, they are simply called Master Chief, regardless of rating, the rate insignia for a master chief is a white eagle with spread wings above three chevrons. The chevrons are topped by a rocker that goes behind the eagle, two inverted silver stars are placed above the eagle. Between the arc and the top chevron is the specialty mark of the enlisted rating, in the picture above, the two crossed anchors is the specialty mark of a boatswains mate. This is used on the dress blue, dinner dress blue jacket. On other uniforms, the used for shirt collars and caps is the one that has become universally accepted as the symbol of the chief petty officer. This is a foul anchor superimposed with a silver USN or a silver shield
9.
Chief of Naval Operations
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The Chief of Naval Operations is a statutory office held by a four-star admiral in the United States Navy, and is the most senior naval officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Navy. The office is an adviser and deputy to the Secretary of the Navy. The current Chief of Naval Operations is Admiral John M. Richardson, under the authority of the Secretary of the Navy, the CNO also designates naval personnel and naval resources to the commanders of Unified Combatant Commands. The CNO also performs all other functions prescribed under 10 U. S. C. §5033, the CNO is typically the highest-ranking officer on active duty in the Navy unless the Chairman and/or the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff are naval officers. Like the other joint chiefs, the CNO is a position and has no operational command authority over United States naval forces. The Chief of Naval Operations is nominated by the President for appointment, however, the president may waive those requirements if he determines that appointing the officer is necessary for the national interest. By statute, the CNO is appointed as a four-star admiral, number One Observatory Circle, located on the northeast grounds of the United States Naval Observatory in Washington, DC, was built in 1893 for its superintendent. The Chief of Naval Operations liked the house so much that in 1923 he took over the house as his own official residence and it remained the residence of the CNO until 1974, when Congress authorized its transformation to an official residence for the Vice President. The Chief of Naval Operations currently resides in Quarters A in the Washington Naval Yard, the position of CNO replaced the position of Aide for Naval Operations, which was a position established by regulation rather than statutory law. Lists of Commanding Officers and Senior Officials of the US Navy, archived from the original on 18 December 2007
10.
Bureau of Medicine and Surgery
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The Bureau of Medicine and Surgery is an agency of the United States Department of the Navy that manages health care activities for the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps. BUMED operates hospitals and other care facilities as well as laboratories for biomedical research. Its headquarters is located at the Defense Health Headquarters in Falls Church, BUMED has 63,000 medical personnel and more than a million eligible beneficiaries. BUMED was one of the original five Navy bureaus formed in 1842 to replace the Board of Navy Commissioners and it is one of two bureaus still in existence. BUMED was housed at the Old Naval Observatory from 1942 until 2012, in 2005, Navy Medicine aligned its shore facilities into four overarching commands, Navy Medicine East, Navy Medicine West, Navy Medicine National Capital Area, and Navy Medicine Support Command. In 2012, Navy Medicine Support Command was renamed and realigned into the Navy Medicine Education and Training Command, with its non-training units becoming independent under BUMED. All three military medical commands were all moved to share the new Defense Health Headquarters facility in Falls Church with DHA, again as a result of the 2005 Base Realignment. The commanding officer of BUMED is the Surgeon General of the United States Navy, BUMED is divided into ten departments, each referred to with an alphanumerical code. Each of the corps is headed by a rear admiral, except for the Hospital Corps. The other department heads are mostly either rear admirals or civilians, USNS Mercy, San Diego, California USNS Comfort, Norfolk, Virginia 9
11.
Naval Sea Systems Command
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The Naval Sea Systems Command is the largest of the United States Navys five systems commands, or materiel organizations. NAVSEA consists of four shipyards, nine warfare centers, four major shipbuilding locations, nAVSEAs primary objective is to engineer, build, and support the U. S. Navys fleet of ships and its combat systems. NAVSEA accounts for one quarter of the Navys entire budget, with more than 150 acquisition programs under its oversight, since then various organizations were established and succeeded them to oversee design, construction and repair of ships and ordnance. These bureaus traced their origins back to earlier organizations, the Naval Ship Systems Command was established in 1966 replacing BuShips. The Naval Sea Systems Command was established on July 1,1974 with the merger of the Naval Ship Systems Command with the Naval Ordnance Systems Command, NAVORD was the successor to the Bureau of Naval Weapons and the earlier Bureau of Ordnance. C. PEOs report to the NAVSEA commander for planning and execution of in-service support, and to the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for acquisition-related matters. Tom Moore, June 2016- Vice Adm. William H. Hilarides, June 2013 - June 2016 Vice Adm. Kevin M. McCoy, June 2008 - June 2013 Vice Adm. Paul E. Sullivan, July 2005 - August 2008 Vice Adm. Earl B. Fowler, Jr. March 1980-June 1985 On Monday, September 16,2013, alexis was killed after engaging in a shootout with responding police. Official website National Archives – Records of the Bureau of Ships
12.
Morale, Welfare and Recreation
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Roughly 70% of Army & Air Force Exchange Service earnings are paid to MWR programs. In the last ten years, more than $2.24 billion has been contributed by the Exchange to the Army and Air Force to spend on quality of life improvements for Soldiers, Airmen, each branch of the United States Armed Forces has a branch of MWR. MWR provides free and discounted recreation to military personnel and their families, Army MWR also offers accredited family child care and youth and school aged services at many installations. The United States Army’s MWR is run by the G9, Family, the United States Marines’ MWR program, Marine Corps Community Services. The United States Navy has MWR in most areas there are Navy personnel stationed in the United States, internationally. Many of their programs are operated by non-appropriated funds, or by the proceeds that they rather than by tax dollars. The United States Air Force’s Outdoor Rec agency, the Air Force Services Activity
13.
Rear admiral (United States)
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Rear admiral in the United States refers to two different ranks of commissioned officers — one-star flag officers and two-star flag officers. By contrast, in most nations, the rear admiral refers to an officer of two-star rank. The abbreviation for personnel from the USN, USCG, and NOAA is RDML, whereas for the USPHS, Rear admiral ranks above captain and below rear admiral. Rear admiral is equivalent to the rank of general in the other uniformed services. In the United States uniformed services, rear admiral replaced the rank of commodore in 1985, Rear admiral ranks above rear admiral and below vice admiral. Rear admiral is equivalent to the rank of general in the other uniformed services. It is the highest permanent rank during peacetime in the uniformed services, all higher ranks are temporary ranks and linked to their specific commands or office and expire with the expiration of their term of command or office. Before the American Civil War, the American Navy had resisted creating the rank of admiral, instead, they preferred the term flag officer, in order to distinguish the rank from the traditions of the European navies. During the American Civil War, The US Congress honored David Glasgow Farraguts successful assault on the city of New Orleans by creating the rank of admiral on July 16,1862. During World War II, the U. S. Navy, by the end of the war, all incumbents had been advanced to the rank of two-star rear admiral and the commodore rank was eliminated in both services. Lower-half rear admirals were promoted to full rear admirals, or upper half status. However, both categories of rear admiral wore two-star insignia, an issue that was a source of consternation to the other services. Although not flag officers, these officers were entitled to a blue and white command pennant containing the initials. 97–86 expanded commodore from a title to a permanent grade by creating the one-star rank of commodore admiral. After only 11 months, the rank was reverted to just commodore, however, this caused issues with the Navy due to the difficulty in discriminating those commodores who were flag officers from commodores who were senior captains in certain command positions. 99–145 renamed commodore to the current grade of rear admiral effective on November 8,1985, up until 1981, all rear admirals wore two stars on their shoulder bars and rank insignia. Since then, rear admirals wear one star while rear admirals wear two, verbal address remains rear admiral for both ranks, on correspondence, where the rear admirals rank is spelled out, the acronym and follows the rear admirals rank title to distinguish between one and two stars. The flags of restricted line officers and staff officers have blue stars on a white field
14.
Northern Virginia
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With 2.8 million residents, it is the most populous region of Virginia and the Washington metropolitan area. Communities in the form the Virginia portion of the Washington metropolitan area. Notable features of the include the Pentagon and the Central Intelligence Agency, and the many companies which serve them. The areas attractions include various monuments and Colonial and Civil War-era sites such as Mount Vernon and Arlington National Cemetery and it is the most affluent region in the nation. g. Eastern United States vs. western Massachusetts, the name Northern Virginia does not seem to have been used in the early history of the area. The Fairfax line, surveyed in 1746, ran from the first spring of the Potomac to the first spring of the Rappahannock, at the head of the Conway River. The Northern Neck was composed of 5,282,000 acres, at some point, these eastern counties came to be called separately simply the Northern Neck, and, for the remaining area west of them, the term was no longer used. One of the most prominent early mentions of Northern Virginia as a title was the naming of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia during the American Civil War. The most common definition of Northern Virginia includes those counties and independent cities on the Virginia side of the Washington-Baltimore-Northern Virginia Combined Statistical Area. Most narrowly defined, Northern Virginia consists of the counties of Arlington and Fairfax, as well as the independent cities of Alexandria, Falls Church, businesses, governments and non-profit agencies may define the area considered Northern Virginia differently for various purposes. Eight of his supporters were named, among them Thomas Culpeper. On February 25,1673, a new charter was given to Thomas Lord Culpeper, Lord Culpeper was named the Royal Governor of Virginia from 1677–1683. Culpeper County was later named for him when it was formed in 1749, however, in 1682 rioting in the colony forced him to return, but by the time he arrived, the riots were already quelled. After apparently misappropriating £9,500 from the treasury of the colony, he returned to England, during this tumultuous time, Culpepers erratic behavior meant that he had to rely increasingly on his cousin and Virginia agent, Col. Nicholas Spencer. Spencer succeeded Culpeper as acting Governor upon Lord Culpepers departure from the colony, for many years, Lord Culpepers descendants allowed men in Virginia to manage the properties. The lands of Lord Fairfax were defined as that between the Rappahannock and Potomac rivers, and were called the Northern Neck. In 1746 a back line was surveyed and established between the headwaters of the Potomac and Rappahannock rivers, defining the west end of the grants. According to documents held by the Handley Regional Library of the Winchester–Frederick County Historical Society, Lord Fairfax was a lifelong bachelor, and became one of the more well-known persons of the late colonial era
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Maryland
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The states largest city is Baltimore, and its capital is Annapolis. Among its occasional nicknames are Old Line State, the Free State, the state is named after Henrietta Maria of France, the wife of Charles I of England. George Calvert was the first Lord of Baltimore and the first English proprietor of the colonial grant. Maryland was the state to ratify the United States Constitution. Maryland is one of the smallest U. S. states in terms of area, as well as one of the most densely populated, Maryland has an area of 12,406.68 square miles and is comparable in overall area with Belgium. It is the 42nd largest and 9th smallest state and is closest in size to the state of Hawaii, the next largest state, its neighbor West Virginia, is almost twice the size of Maryland. Maryland possesses a variety of topography within its borders, contributing to its nickname America in Miniature. The mid-portion of this border is interrupted by Washington, D. C. which sits on land that was part of Montgomery and Prince Georges counties and including the town of Georgetown. This land was ceded to the United States Federal Government in 1790 to form the District of Columbia, the Chesapeake Bay nearly bisects the state and the counties east of the bay are known collectively as the Eastern Shore. Close to the town of Hancock, in western Maryland, about two-thirds of the way across the state. This geographical curiosity makes Maryland the narrowest state, bordered by the Mason–Dixon line to the north, portions of Maryland are included in various official and unofficial geographic regions. Much of the Baltimore–Washington corridor lies just south of the Piedmont in the Coastal Plain, earthquakes in Maryland are infrequent and small due to the states distance from seismic/earthquake zones. The M5.8 Virginia earthquake in 2011 was felt moderately throughout Maryland, buildings in the state are not well-designed for earthquakes and can suffer damage easily. The lack of any glacial history accounts for the scarcity of Marylands natural lakes, laurel Oxbow Lake is an over one-hundred-year-old 55-acre natural lake two miles north of Maryland City and adjacent to Russett. Chews Lake is a natural lake two miles south-southeast of Upper Marlboro. There are numerous lakes, the largest of them being the Deep Creek Lake. Maryland has shale formations containing natural gas, where fracking is theoretically possible, as is typical of states on the East Coast, Marylands plant life is abundant and healthy. Middle Atlantic coastal forests, typical of the southeastern Atlantic coastal plain, grow around Chesapeake Bay, moving west, a mixture of Northeastern coastal forests and Southeastern mixed forests cover the central part of the state
16.
Prince George's County, Maryland
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Prince George’s County, also known as P. G. County, is a county in the U. S. state of Maryland, bordering the eastern portion of Washington, D. C. As of the 2010 U. S. Census, the population was 863,420 and its county seat is Upper Marlboro. Prince George’s County is included in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area, the official name of the county, as specified in the countys charter, is Prince George’s County, Maryland. The county is named after Prince George of Denmark, the husband of Anne, Queen of Great Britain, the countys demonym is Prince Georgian and its motto is Semper Eadem, a phrase used by Queen Anne. Prince Georges County is frequently referred to as P. G. or P. G, County, an abbreviation viewed as pejorative by some residents. The Cretaceous Era brought dinosaurs to the area left a number of fossils. The site, which among other finds has yielded fossilized teeth from Astrodon and Priconodon species, has called the most prolific in the eastern United States. In the mid to late Holocene era, the area was occupied by Paleo-Native Americans and then later, when the first European settlers arrived, what is now Prince Georges County was inhabited by people of the Piscataway Indian Nation. Three branches of the tribe are living today, two of which are headquartered in Prince Georges County. Prince Georges County was created by the English Council of Maryland in the Province of Maryland in 1696 from portions of Charles, the county was divided into six districts referred to as Hundreds, Mattapany, Petuxant, Collington, Mount Calvert, Piscattoway and New Scotland. A portion was detached in 1748 to form Frederick County, during the War of 1812, the British marched through the county by way of Bladensburg to burn the White House. On their return, they kidnapped a prominent doctor, William Beanes, lawyer Francis Scott Key was asked to negotiate for his release, which resulted in his writing The Star-Spangled Banner. Since much of the part of the county was tobacco farms that were worked by enslaved Africans. After the Civil War, many African Americans attempted to become part of Maryland politics, in April 1865, John Wilkes Booth made his escape through Prince Georges County after shooting President Abraham Lincoln. He was on his way to Virginia, the population of African Americans declined during the first half of the 20th century, but was renewed to over 50% in the early 1990s when the county again became majority African American. The first African American County Executive was Wayne K. Curry and this was done after city residents voted to be under the sole jurisdiction of Montgomery County, and subsequent approval by both counties and the Maryland General Assembly. This was the first change in Prince Georges Countys boundaries since 1968, the county has a number of properties on the National Register of Historic Places
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Montgomery County, Maryland
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Montgomery County, officially the County of Montgomery, is a county in the U. S. state of Maryland. As of the 2010 census, the population was 971,777 and it is the most populous county in Maryland. The county seat and largest municipality is Rockville, although the place of Germantown is the most populous place. Montgomery County is included in the Washington–Arlington–Alexandria, DC–VA–MD–WV Metropolitan Statistical Area, as one of the most affluent counties in the United States, it also has the highest percentage of residents over 25 years of age who hold post-graduate degrees. In 2011, it was ranked by Forbes as the 10th richest in the United States, the Maryland state legislature named Montgomery County after Richard Montgomery, the county was created from lands that had at one point or another been part of Frederick County. The name use of Montgomery and Washington County were seen as further defiance to Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War, the countys nickname of MoCo is derived from Montgomery County, after the pattern of SoHo, Manhattan. The countys motto, adopted in 1976, is Gardez Bien, the countys motto is also the motto of its namesakes family. Before European immigration, the now known as Montgomery County was covered in a vast swath of forest crossed by the creeks and small streams that feed the Potomac. A few small villages of the Piscataway, members of the Algonquian people, were scattered across the southern portions of the county. Captain John Smith of the English settlement at Jamestown was probably the first European to explore the area, during his travels along the Potomac River and throughout the Chesapeake region. These lands were claimed by Europeans for the first time when George Calvert and he and other early claimants had no intention of settling their families. They were little more than speculators, securing grants from the colonial leadership, thus, it was not until approximately 1715 that the first British settlers began building farms and plantations in the area. Most of these settlers were small farmers, growing wheat. Many of the farmers owned slaves and they transported the tobacco they grew to market through the Potomac River port of Georgetown. Sparsely settled, the farms and taverns were nonetheless of strategic importance as access to the interior. General Edward Braddocks army traveled through the county on the way to its disastrous defeat at Fort Duquesne during the French, like other regions of the American colonies, the region that is now Montgomery County saw protests against British taxation in the years before the American Revolution. In 1774, local residents met at Hungerfords Tavern and agreed to break off commerce with Great Britain, following the signing of the Declaration of Independence, representatives of the area helped to draft the new state constitution and began to build a Maryland free of proprietary control. The leaders of the new county chose as their county seat an area adjacent to Hungerfords Tavern near the center of the county, the newly formed Montgomery County supplied arms, food and forage for the Continental Army during the Revolution, in addition to soldiers
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St. Mary's County, Maryland
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Saint Marys County, established in 1637, is a county located in the U. S. state of Maryland. As of the 2010 census, the population was 105,151, the name is in honor of the Catholic saint Mary, the mother of Jesus as told in the Bible. St. Marys County comprises the California-Lexington Park, MD Metropolitan Statistical Area and it is part of the Southern Maryland region. The county was the home to the first Maryland Colony, settled by English Catholics, it is considered to be the birthplace of religious freedom in North America, at a time when the British colonies were settled primarily by Protestants. It is also home to the Patuxent River Naval Air Station, St. Marys County has been traditionally known for its unique and historic culture of Chesapeake Bay tidewater farming, fishing and crabbing communities. The settlement of Lord Baltimores Maryland began with the arrival of passengers from England at St. Clements Island in the Potomac River in what is now southwestern St. Marys County on March 25,1634. The passengers arrived in two vessels, the Ark and the Dove, which had set sail from the Isle of Wight on November 22,1633, the county is also home to the first Catholic Mass celebrated in one of the original thirteen colonies -after theyd become English colonies. Due to the size of the Island, and its lack of resources. Instead it was used as a base for the settlers while scouting for a suitable site. This was how a bluff overlooking the nearby St. Marys River was chosen for numerous reasons and it would soon be named St. Marys City. St. Marys City, Maryland is the site of the first Maryland Capitol and remained so for over 50 years until 1695, today Historic St. Marys City is a major attraction in Maryland with four museums, a reconstructed colonial village and the reconstructed Maryland Dove settlers ship. It is also now one of the top archeological research sites in North America, St. Marys County was the first county established in Maryland, in 1637, probably by an order of the Governor. There is a statue in St. Marys City commemorating this event, along with museums, a reconstructed Colonial town, living history actors. St. Marys County is where Francis Scott Key, the author of a poem which became The Star Spangled Banner, St. Marys County was the birthplace of Dashiell Hammett, and Orlando Tubby Smith, head basketball coach at Texas Tech. The largest employer is Patuxent River Naval Air Station and its related aerospace contract firms, there are both Amish and Mennonite communities who follow traditional ways. Tobacco, once dominant crop, has declined in recent years, the Maryland International Raceway attracts many auto racing enthusiasts. St. Marys County has some of the oldest still-standing buildings in English North America, many of these of properties are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. These buildings range through many periods, starting from the 1600s and running through the 1700s, 1800s
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Calvert County, Maryland
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Calvert County is a county located in the U. S. state of Maryland. As of the 2010 census, the population was 88,737 and its county seat is Prince Frederick. The countys name is derived from the name of the Barons of Baltimore. Calvert County is included in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area and it occupies the Calvert Peninsula, which is bordered on the east by Chesapeake Bay and on the west by the Patuxent River. Calvert County is part of the Southern Maryland region, the county has one of the highest median household incomes in the United States. First colonized as part of Charles County around 1650, it was renamed, Patuxent County was established in 1654 by an Order in Council. In 1658 the county was renamed Calvert County and it is one of the older counties in Maryland, after St. Marys County, Kent County and Anne Arundel County. Once made up primarily of farms and tobacco fields, the county has become a fast-growing exurban neighbor of Washington, many home prices have nearly quadrupled in the past decade, with many four-bedroom homes in the northern half of the county averaging over $1,000,000. The popular weekend resort towns of Solomons, Chesapeake Beach, the county has a number of properties on the National Register of Historic Places. Calvert County is governed by a group of five county commissioners and it is part of the 5th Congressional District, along with much of Southern Maryland. The current representative is Democratic House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, according to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 345 square miles, of which 213 square miles is land and 132 square miles is water. It is the smallest county in Maryland by land area and third-smallest by total area, Calvert County lies in the humid subtropical climate zone, with hot, humid summers and mild to chilly winters with plentiful precipitation year-round. Its proximity to the Chesapeake Bay has an effect on temperatures compared with locales further inland. The population density was 346 people per square mile, there were 27,576 housing units at an average density of 128 per square mile. 1. 52% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race,15. 5% were of Irish,15. 0% German,12. 0% English,11. 5% United States or American and 7. 1% Italian ancestry. 16. 30% of all households were made up of individuals and 5. 70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older, the average household size was 2.91 and the average family size was 3.26. In the county, the population was out with 29. 60% under the age of 18,6. 40% from 18 to 24,31. 70% from 25 to 44,23. 40% from 45 to 64. The median age was 36 years, for every 100 females there were 97.30 males
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Charles County, Maryland
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Charles County is a county located in the southern central portion of the U. S. state of Maryland. As of the 2010 census, the population was 146,551, the county seat is La Plata. The county was named for Charles Calvert, third Baron Baltimore, Charles County is included in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Southern Maryland region. Charles County was created in 1658 by an Order in Council, there was also an earlier Charles County from 1650 to 1653, sometimes referred to in historic documents as Old Charles County. In April 1865, John Wilkes Booth made his escape through Charles County after shooting President Abraham Lincoln and he was on his way to Virginia. On April 28,2002, a cut through the County. The county has a number of properties on the National Register of Historic Places, among which, are the distinguished Green Park and the historical Pleasant Hill, home of the Green and Spalding Families. On December 4,2004, an arson took place in the development of Hunters Brooke which is located a few miles southeast of Indian Head and it later became the largest residential arson in the history of the state of Maryland. Charles County is reliably Democratic, although not as overwhelmingly so as other parts of Marylands Washington, Charles County is governed by county commissioners, the traditional form of county government in Maryland. As of 2015, they are, Charles County is entirely located within the 5th Congressional District, which also includes Calvert, St. Marys, the current representative is Democratic House Minority Whip Steny H. Hoyer. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 643 square miles. In its western wing, along the southernmost bend in Maryland Route 224, Charles County contains an instance where the traveler is due north, east, south. Thomas Stone National Historic Site As of the census of 2000, there were 120,546 people,41,668 households, the population density was 262 people per square mile. There were 43,903 housing units at a density of 95 per square mile. 2. 26% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race,11. 6% were of German,10. 8% Irish,10. 2% English,9. 3% American and 5. 3% Italian ancestry. 17. 20% of all households were made up of individuals and 5. 20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older, the average household size was 2.86 and the average family size was 3.21. In the county, the population was out with 28. 70% under the age of 18,7. 60% from 18 to 24,33. 20% from 25 to 44,22. 70% from 45 to 64. The median age was 35 years, for every 100 females there were 95.50 males
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Naval Base Kitsap
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Naval Base Kitsap is a U. S. Navy base located on the Kitsap Peninsula in Washington state. It was created in 2004 by merging the former Naval Station Bremerton with Naval Submarine Base Bangor, Naval Base Kitsap also provides service, programs, and facilities to meet the needs of their hosted combat commands, tenant activities, ships crews, and civilian employees. Naval Base Kitsap is the largest naval organization in Navy Region Northwest, and it is composed of installations at Bremerton, Bangor, Manchester, Indian Island, and Keyport, Washington. Naval Base Kitsap was the recipient of the 2005 Commander in Chiefs Award for Installation Excellence - the Best Base in the U. S. Navy, Naval Base Kitsap is the third-largest Navy base in the U. S. Pacific Fleet, this Trident submarine base is the one of two such bases operated by the U. S. Navy. The Trident submarine base at Kings Bay, Georgia, used by the U. S, atlantic Fleet is the only other. Nearby is Strategic Weapons Facility Pacific, where missiles are stored and maintained, Naval Base Kitsap is home to Naval Hospital Bremerton. In 2010, after purchasing the bases first hybrid bus on April 29,2010, Naval Base Kitsap purchased two additional hybrid buses, with five others to be delivered by the end of July. On Nov.2,2009, five protesters, including 82-year-old priest William J. Bichsel, the protesters put up banners, sprinkled blood on the ground, scattered sunflower seeds and prayed until they were arrested, all faced prison sentences. Bichsel was released from prison on February 9,2012
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Silverdale, Washington
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Silverdale is a census-designated place in Kitsap County, Washington, in the United States. The population was 19,204 at the 2010 census, despite many attempts at incorporation, Silverdale remains an unincorporated community. Silverdale ranks 158th of 522 areas in Washington for which per capita data is collected. Silverdale is on the Kitsap Peninsula, situated ten miles northwest of the city of Bremerton, Silverdale lies at the north tip of Dyes Inlet, which connects it to Bremerton via Sinclair Inlet and the Pacific Ocean via Puget Sound. According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP of Silverdale has an area of 7.9 square miles. Silverdale is located at 47°39′34″N 122°40′36″W, as of the census of 2010, there were 19,204 people,5,867 households, and 4,059 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 2,277.9 people per square mile, there were 6,246 housing units at an average density of 899.6 per square mile. The racial makeup of the CDP in 2005 was 74. 9% White,9. 8% Asian,3. 5% African American,1. 9% Native American,1. 1% Pacific Islander,1. 45% from other races, and 5. 01% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4. 4% of the population,22. 7% of all households were made up of individuals and 6. 1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average family size was 3.14 people. In the CDP, the population was out with 28. 0% under the age of 18,12. 2% from 18 to 24,31. 1% from 25 to 44,19. 7% from 45 to 64. The median age was 32 years, for every 100 females there were 96.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.0 males, the median income for a household in the CDP was $48,164, and the median income for a family was $54,538. Males had an income of $38,504 versus $28,414 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $21,763, about 2. 8% of families and 4. 8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5. 1% of those under age 18 and 6. 4% of those age 65 or over. Silverdale is a center with many businesses in and surrounding Kitsap Mall. There is a Costco Wholesale Center, Best Buy, Target, Trader Joes, a branch of Harrison Hospital opened on Myhre Road in 2000. The U. S. Navy has increased personnel for an expansion of a logistics program, Central Kitsap School District serves about 11,000 students from kindergarten through grade 12
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Washington (state)
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It was admitted to the Union as the 42nd state in 1889. Washington is sometimes referred to as Washington State or the State of Washington to distinguish it from Washington, Washington is the 18th largest state with an area of 71,362 square miles, and the 13th most populous state with over 7 million people. Washington is the second most populous state on the West Coast and in the Western United States, Mount Rainier, an active stratovolcano, is the states highest elevation at almost 14,411 feet and is the most topographically prominent mountain in the contiguous United States. Washington is a leading lumber producer and its rugged surface is rich in stands of Douglas fir, hemlock, ponderosa pine, white pine, spruce, larch, and cedar. Manufacturing industries in Washington include aircraft and missiles, shipbuilding and other equipment, lumber, food processing, metals and metal products, chemicals. Washington has over 1,000 dams, including the Grand Coulee Dam, built for a variety of purposes including irrigation, power, flood control, the Washington Territory was named after George Washington, the first President of the United States. The area was part of a region called the Columbia District after the Columbia River. The area was renamed Washington in order to avoid confusion with the District of Columbia, Washington is the only U. S. state named after a president. To distinguish it from the U. S. capital, which is named for George Washington, Washington is sometimes referred to as Washington State, or, in more formal contexts. Washingtonians and other residents of the Pacific Northwest refer to the state simply as Washington, calling the nations capital Washington, D. C. or, often, Washington is the northwestern-most state of the contiguous United States. Washington is bordered by Oregon to the south, with the Columbia River forming the western part, to the west of Washington lies the Pacific Ocean. The high mountains of the Cascade Range run north-south, bisecting the state, from the Cascade Mountains westward, Western Washington has a mostly marine west coast climate, with mild temperatures and wet winters, autumns and springs, and relatively dry summers. The Cascade Range contains several volcanoes, which reach altitudes significantly higher than the rest of the mountains, from the north to the south, these major volcanoes are Mount Baker, Glacier Peak, Mount Rainier, Mount St. Helens, and Mount Adams. Mount Rainier, the tallest mountain in the state, is 50 miles south of the city of Seattle and it is also covered with more glacial ice than any other peak in the contiguous 48 states. Western Washington also is home of the Olympic Mountains, far west on the Olympic Peninsula and these deep forests, such as the Hoh Rainforest, are among the only temperate rainforests in the continental United States. Eastern Washington – the part of the state east of the Cascades – has a dry climate. It includes large areas of steppe and a few truly arid deserts lying in the rain shadow of the Cascades. Farther east, the climate becomes less arid, with annual rainfall increasing as one goes east to 21.2 inches in Pullman, the Okanogan Highlands and the rugged Kettle River Range and Selkirk Mountains cover much of the northeastern quadrant of the state
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Alaska
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Alaska is a U. S. state located in the northwest extremity of North America. To the north are the Chukchi and Beaufort seas–the southern parts of the Arctic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean lies to the south and southwest. Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area, the 3rd least populous, approximately half of Alaskas residents live within the Anchorage metropolitan area. Alaskas economy is dominated by the fishing, natural gas, military bases and tourism are also a significant part of the economy. The United States purchased Alaska from the Russian Empire on March 30,1867, the area went through several administrative changes before becoming organized as a territory on May 11,1912. It was admitted as the 49th state of the U. S. on January 3,1959, the name Alaska was introduced in the Russian colonial period when it was used to refer to the peninsula. It was derived from an Aleut, or Unangam idiom, which refers to the mainland of Alaska. Literally, it means object to which the action of the sea is directed, Alaska is the northernmost and westernmost state in the United States and has the most easterly longitude in the United States because the Aleutian Islands extend into the Eastern Hemisphere. Alaska is the only non-contiguous U. S. state on continental North America and it is technically part of the continental U. S. but is sometimes not included in colloquial use, Alaska is not part of the contiguous U. S. often called the Lower 48. The capital city, Juneau, is situated on the mainland of the North American continent but is not connected by road to the rest of the North American highway system. Alaskas territorial waters touch Russias territorial waters in the Bering Strait, as the Russian Big Diomede Island, Alaska has a longer coastline than all the other U. S. states combined. Alaska is the largest state in the United States by total area at 663,268 square miles, over twice the size of Texas, Alaska is larger than all but 18 sovereign countries. Counting territorial waters, Alaska is larger than the area of the next three largest states, Texas, California, and Montana. It is also larger than the area of the 22 smallest U. S. states. Also referred to as the Panhandle or Inside Passage, this is the region of Alaska closest to the rest of the United States, as such, this was where most of the initial non-indigenous settlement occurred in the years following the Alaska Purchase. The region is dominated by the Alexander Archipelago as well as the Tongass National Forest and it contains the state capital Juneau, the former capital Sitka, and Ketchikan, at one time Alaskas largest city. The Alaska Marine Highway provides a vital transportation link throughout the area. The Interior is the largest region of Alaska, much of it is uninhabited wilderness, Fairbanks is the only large city in the region
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Oregon
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Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Oregon is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean, on the north by Washington, on the south by California, on the east by Idaho, the Columbia River delineates much of Oregons northern boundary, and the Snake River delineates much of the eastern boundary. The parallel 42° north delineates the boundary with California and Nevada. Oregon was inhabited by indigenous tribes before Western traders, explorers. An autonomous government was formed in the Oregon Country in 1843 before the Oregon Territory was created in 1848, Oregon became the 33rd state on February 14,1859. Today, at 98,000 square miles, Oregon is the ninth largest and, with a population of 4 million, the capital of Oregon is Salem, the second most populous of its cities, with 164,549 residents. Portland is Oregons most populous city, with 632,309 residents, Portlands metro population of 2,389,228 ranks the 23rd largest metro in the nation. The Willamette Valley in western Oregon is the states most densely populated area, the tall conifers, mainly Douglas fir, along Oregons rainy west coast contrast with the lighter-timbered and fire-prone pine and juniper forests covering portions to the east. Abundant alders in the west fix nitrogen for the conifers, stretching east from central Oregon are semi-arid shrublands, prairies, deserts, steppes, and meadows. At 11,249 feet, Mount Hood is the states highest point, Oregons only national park, Crater Lake National Park, comprises the caldera surrounding Crater Lake, the deepest lake in the United States. The state is home to the single largest organism in the world, Armillaria ostoyae. Because of its landscapes and waterways, Oregons economy is largely powered by various forms of agriculture, fishing. It is also the top timber-producer of the lower 48 states, Technology is another one of the states major economic forces, which began in the 1970s with the establishment of the Silicon Forest and the expansion of Tektronix and Intel. Sportswear company Nike, Inc. headquartered in Beaverton, is the states largest public corporation with a revenue of $30.6 billion. The earliest evidence of the name Oregon has Spanish origins and this chronicle is the first topographical and linguistic source with respect to the place name Oregon. There are also two other sources with Spanish origins such as the name Oregano which grows in the part of the region. Another early use of the name, spelled Ouragon, was in a 1765 petition by Major Robert Rogers to the Kingdom of Great Britain, the term referred to the then-mythical River of the West. By 1778 the spelling had shifted to Oregon, in his 1765 petition, Rogers wrote, The rout. is from the Great Lakes towards the Head of the Mississippi, and from thence to the River called by the Indians Ouragon
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Idaho
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Idaho is a state in the northwestern region of the United States. It borders the state of Montana to the east and northeast, Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, to the north, it shares a small portion of the Canadian border with the province of British Columbia. With a population of around 1.7 million people and an area of 83,569 square miles, Idaho is the 14th largest, the states capital and largest city is Boise. Idaho prior to European settlement was inhabited solely by Native American peoples, in the early 19th century, Idaho was considered part of the Oregon Country, an area disputed between the U. S. and the United Kingdom. Idaho was eventually admitted to the Union on July 3,1890, forming part of the Pacific Northwest, Idaho is divided into several distinct geographic and climatic regions. In the states north, the relatively isolated Idaho Panhandle is closely linked with Eastern Washington, the states south includes the Snake River Plain, while the south-east incorporates part of the Great Basin. Idaho is quite mountainous, and contains several stretches of the Rocky Mountains, additionally, around 38 percent of Idahos land is held by the United States Forest Service, the most of any state. Industries significant for the economy include manufacturing, agriculture, mining, forestry. Idahos agricultural sector supplies a number of different products, but the state is best known for its potato crop, the official state nickname is the Gem State, which references Idahos reputation for gemstones and, more broadly, its many wilderness areas. The exact origin of the remains a mystery. Willing later claimed that he had invented the name. Congress ultimately decided to name the area Colorado Territory when it was created in February 1861, thinking they would get a jump on the name, locals named a community in Colorado Idaho Springs. However, the name Idaho did not fall into obscurity, the same year Congress created Colorado Territory, a county called Idaho County was created in eastern Washington Territory. The county was named after a steamship named Idaho, which was launched on the Columbia River in 1860 and it is unclear whether the steamship was named before or after Willings claim was revealed. Regardless, a portion of Washington Territory, including Idaho County, was used to create Idaho Territory in 1863. Despite this lack of evidence for the origin of the name, the name Idaho may be derived from the Plains Apache word ídaahę́, which means enemy. The Comanches used this word to refer to the Idaho Territory, a 1956 Idaho history textbook says, Idaho is a Shoshoni Indian exclamation. The word consists of three parts, the first is Ee, which in English conveys the idea of coming down
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Montana
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Montana /mɒnˈtænə/ is a state in the Western region of the United States. The states name is derived from the Spanish word montaña, Montana has several nicknames, although none official, including Big Sky Country and The Treasure State, and slogans that include Land of the Shining Mountains and more recently The Last Best Place. Montana has a 545-mile border with three Canadian provinces, British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan, the state to do so. It also borders North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, Montana is ranked 4th in size, but 44th in population and 48th in population density of the 50 United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges, smaller island ranges are found throughout the state. In total,77 named ranges are part of the Rocky Mountains, the eastern half of Montana is characterized by western prairie terrain and badlands. The economy is based on agriculture, including ranching and cereal grain farming. Other significant economic activities include oil, gas, coal and hard rock mining, lumber, the health care, service, and government sectors also are significant to the states economy. Millions of tourists annually visit Glacier National Park, the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, the name Montana comes from the Spanish word Montaña and the Latin word Montana, meaning mountain, or more broadly, mountainous country. Montaña del Norte was the name given by early Spanish explorers to the mountainous region of the west. The name was changed by Representatives Henry Wilson and Benjamin F. Harding, when Ashley presented a bill to establish a temporary government in 1864 for a new territory to be carved out of Idaho, he again chose Montana Territory. This time Rep. Samuel Cox, also of Ohio, objected to the name, Cox complained that the name was a misnomer given most of the territory was not mountainous and that a Native American name would be more appropriate than a Spanish one. Other names such as Shoshone were suggested, but it was decided that the Committee on Territories could name it whatever they wanted, with an area of 147,040 square miles, Montana is slightly larger than Japan. It is the fourth largest state in the United States after Alaska, Texas, and California, the largest landlocked U. S. state, and the worlds 56th largest national state/province subdivision. To the north, Montana shares a 545-mile border with three Canadian provinces, British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan, the state to do so. It borders North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, the states topography is roughly defined by the Continental Divide, which splits much of the state into distinct eastern and western regions. Most of Montanas 100 or more named mountain ranges are in the western half. The Absaroka and Beartooth ranges in the states south-central part are part of the Central Rocky Mountains
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Wyoming
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Wyoming /waɪˈoʊmɪŋ/ is a state in the mountain region of the western United States. The state is the tenth largest by area, the least populous, Wyoming is bordered on the north by Montana, on the east by South Dakota and Nebraska, on the south by Colorado, on the southwest by Utah, and on the west by Idaho. Cheyenne is the capital and the most populous city in Wyoming, the state population was estimated at 586,107 in 2015, which is less than the population of 31 of the largest U. S. cities. The Crow, Arapaho, Lakota, and Shoshone were some of the inhabitants of the region. Southwestern Wyoming was included in the Spanish Empire and then Mexican territory until it was ceded to the United States in 1848 at the end of the Mexican–American War. The region acquired the name Wyoming when a bill was introduced to Congress in 1865 to provide a government for the territory of Wyoming. The territory was named after the Wyoming Valley in Pennsylvania, with the name ultimately being derived from the Munsee word xwé, wamənk, the mineral extraction industry—especially coal, oil, natural gas, and trona—along with the travel and tourism sector are the main drivers behind Wyomings economy. Agriculture has historically been an important component of the economy with the main commodities being livestock, hay, sugar beets, grain. The climate is generally semi-arid and continental, being drier and windier in comparison to the rest of the United States, except for the 1964 election, Wyoming has been a politically conservative state since the 1950s, with the Republican party winning every presidential election. Wyoming is one of three states to have borders along only straight latitudinal and longitudinal lines, rather than being defined by natural landmarks. Wyoming is bordered on the north by Montana, on the east by South Dakota and Nebraska, on the south by Colorado, on the southwest by Utah, and on the west by Idaho. It is the tenth largest state in the United States in total area, from the north border to the south border it is 276 miles, and from the east to the west border is 365 miles at its south end and 342 miles at the north end. The Great Plains meet the Rocky Mountains in Wyoming, the state is a great plateau broken by many mountain ranges. Surface elevations range from the summit of Gannett Peak in the Wind River Mountain Range, at 13,804 feet, to the Belle Fourche River valley in the states northeast corner, at 3,125 feet. In the northwest are the Absaroka, Owl Creek, Gros Ventre, Wind River, in the north central are the Big Horn Mountains, in the northeast, the Black Hills, and in the southern region the Laramie, Snowy and Sierra Madre ranges. The Snowy Range in the central part of the state is an extension of the Colorado Rockies in both geology and appearance. The Wind River Range in the west central part of the state is remote and includes more than 40 mountain peaks in excess of 13,000 ft tall in addition to Gannett Peak, the highest peak in the state. The Big Horn Mountains in the central portion are somewhat isolated from the bulk of the Rocky Mountains
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North Dakota
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North Dakota is the 39th state of the United States, having been admitted to the union on November 2,1889. The state capital is Bismarck, and the largest city is Fargo, North Dakota is the 19th most extensive but the 4th least populous and the 4th least densely populated of the 50 United States. The development has driven strong job and population growth, and low unemployment, North Dakota is located in the U. S. region known as the Great Plains. The state shares the Red River of the North with Minnesota on the east, South Dakota is to the south, Montana is to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba are to the north. North Dakota is situated near the middle of North America with a marker in Rugby. With an area of 70,762 square miles, North Dakota is the 19th largest state, the western half of the state consists of the hilly Great Plains as well as the northern part of the Badlands, which are to the west of the Missouri River. The states high point, White Butte at 3,506 feet, the region is abundant in fossil fuels including natural gas, crude oil and lignite coal. The Missouri River forms Lake Sakakawea, the third largest man-made lake in the United States, the central region of the state is divided into the Drift Prairie and the Missouri Plateau. The eastern part of the consists of the flat Red River Valley. Its fertile soil, drained by the meandering Red River flowing northward into Lake Winnipeg, Devils Lake, the largest natural lake in the state, is also found in the east. Eastern North Dakota is overall flat, however, there are significant hills, most of the state is covered in grassland, crops cover most of eastern North Dakota but become increasingly sparse in the center and farther west. This diverse terrain supports nearly 2,000 species of plants, the state of North Dakota is home to the geographical center of North America located near Rugby, North Dakota North Dakota has a continental climate with hot summers and cold winters. The temperature differences are rather extreme because of its far inland position and being in the center of the Northern Hemisphere, with equal distances to the North Pole. As such, summers are almost subtropical in nature, but winters are cold enough to plant hardiness is very low. Native American peoples lived in what is now North Dakota for thousands of years before the coming of Europeans and their tribes included the Mandan people, the Dakota people and the Yanktonai, the latter two from the Lakota peoples. The first European to reach the area was the French-Canadian trader Pierre Gaultier, sieur de La Vérendrye, in 1762 the region became part of Spanish Louisiana until 1802. Dakota Territory was settled sparsely by European Americans until the late 19th century, with the advantage of grants of land, they vigorously marketed their properties, extolling the region as ideal for agriculture. An omnibus bill for statehood for North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana and his successor, Benjamin Harrison, signed the proclamations formally admitting North Dakota and South Dakota to the Union on November 2,1889
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South Dakota
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South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux Native American tribes, South Dakota is the 17th most expansive, but the 5th least populous and the 5th least densely populated of the 50 United States. Once the southern portion of the Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2,1889, Pierre is the state capital and Sioux Falls, with a population of about 171,000, is South Dakotas largest city. South Dakota is bordered by the states of North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, the state is bisected by the Missouri River, dividing South Dakota into two geographically and socially distinct halves, known to residents as East River and West River. Eastern South Dakota is home to most of the states population, West of the Missouri, ranching is the predominant agricultural activity, and the economy is more dependent on tourism and defense spending. Most of the Native American reservations are located in West River, the Black Hills, a group of low pine-covered mountains sacred to the Sioux, are located in the southwest part of the state. Mount Rushmore, a major tourist destination, is located there, South Dakota experiences a temperate continental climate, with four distinct seasons and precipitation ranging from moderate in the east to semi-arid in the west. The ecology of the state features species typical of a North American grassland biome, humans have inhabited the area for several millennia, with the Sioux becoming dominant by the early 19th century. In the late 19th century, European-American settlement intensified after a rush in the Black Hills. Encroaching miners and settlers triggered a number of Indian wars, ending with the Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890, historically dominated by an agricultural economy and a rural lifestyle, South Dakota has recently sought to diversify its economy in areas to attract and retain residents. South Dakotas history and rural character still strongly influence the culture of the state, South Dakota is situated in the north-central United States, and is considered a part of the Midwest by the U. S. Census Bureau, it is also part of the Great Plains region. The culture, economy, and geography of western South Dakota have more in common with the West than the Midwest, South Dakota has a total area of 77,116 square miles, making the state the 17th largest in the Union. Black Elk Peak, formerly named Harney Peak, with an elevation of 7,242 ft, is the states highest point, while the shoreline of Big Stone Lake is the lowest, with an elevation of 966 ft. South Dakota is bordered to the north by North Dakota, to the south by Nebraska, to the east by Iowa and Minnesota, the geographical center of the U. S. is 17 miles west of Castle Rock in Butte County. The North American continental pole of inaccessibility is located between Allen and Kyle,1,024 mi from the nearest coastline, the Missouri River is the largest and longest river in the state. Other major South Dakota rivers include the Cheyenne, James, Big Sioux, Eastern South Dakota has many natural lakes, mostly created by periods of glaciation. Additionally, dams on the Missouri River create four large reservoirs, Lake Oahe, Lake Sharpe, Lake Francis Case, South Dakota can generally be divided into three regions, eastern South Dakota, western South Dakota, and the Black Hills. The Missouri River serves as a boundary in terms of geographic, social, at times the Black Hills are combined with the rest of western South Dakota, and people often refer to the resulting two regions divided by the Missouri River as West River and East River
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Nebraska
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Nebraska /nᵻˈbræskə/ is a state that lies in both the Great Plains and the Midwestern United States. Its area is just over 77,220 sq mi with almost 1.9 million people and its largest city is Omaha, which is on the Missouri River. The state is crossed by many trails and was explored by the Lewis. Nebraska was admitted as the 37th state of the United States in 1867 and it is the only state in the United States whose legislature is unicameral and officially nonpartisan. Nebraska is composed of two major regions, the Dissected Till Plains and the Great Plains. The Dissected Till Plains is a region of rolling hills. The Great Plains occupy most of western Nebraska, characterized by treeless prairie, the state has a large agriculture sector and is a major producer of beef, pork, corn, and soybeans. Two major climatic zones are represented in Nebraska, the half of the state has a humid continental climate, and the western half. Indigenous peoples lived in the region of present-day Nebraska for thousands of years before European exploration. The historic tribes in the state included the Omaha, Missouria, Ponca, Pawnee, Otoe, when European exploration, trade, and settlement began, both Spain and France sought to control the region. In the 1690s, Spain established trade connections with the Apaches, by 1703, France had developed a regular trade with the native peoples along the Missouri River in Nebraska, and by 1719 had signed treaties with several of these peoples. After war broke out between the two countries, Spain dispatched an expedition to Nebraska under Lieutenant General Pedro de Villasur in 1720. The party was attacked and destroyed near present-day Columbus by a force of Pawnees and Otoes. The massacre of the Villasur expedition effectively put an end to Spanish exploration of Nebraska for the remainder of the 18th century, in 1762, during the Seven Years War, France ceded the Louisiana territory to Spain. Frances withdrawal from the area left Britain and Spain competing for dominance along the Mississippi, by 1773, later that year, Mackays party built a trading post, dubbed Fort Carlos IV, near present-day Homer. In 1819, the United States established Fort Atkinson as the first U. S. Army post west of the Missouri River, the army abandoned the fort in 1827 as migration moved further west. European-American settlement did not begin in any numbers until after 1848, on May 30,1854, the US Congress created the Kansas and the Nebraska territories, divided by the Parallel 40° North, under the Kansas–Nebraska Act. The Nebraska Territory included parts of the current states of Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, the territorial capital of Nebraska was Omaha
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Minnesota
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Minnesota is a state in the midwestern and northern regions of the United States. Minnesota was admitted as the 32nd U. S. state on May 11,1858, the state has a large number of lakes, and is known by the slogan Land of 10,000 Lakes. Its official motto is LÉtoile du Nord, Minnesota is the 12th largest in area and the 21st most populous of the U. S. Minnesota is known for its progressive political orientation and its high rate of civic participation and voter turnout. Until European settlement, Minnesota was inhabited by the Dakota and Ojibwe/Anishinaabe, in recent decades, immigration from Asia, the Horn of Africa, and Latin America has broadened its historic demographic and cultural composition. Minnesotas standard of living index is among the highest in the United States, Native Americans demonstrated the name to early settlers by dropping milk into water and calling it mnisota. Many places in the state have similar names, such as Minnehaha Falls, Minneiska, Minneota, Minnetonka, Minnetrista, and Minneapolis, a combination of mni and polis, Minnesota is the second northernmost U. S. state. Its isolated Northwest Angle in Lake of the Woods county is the part of the 48 contiguous states lying north of the 49th parallel. The state is part of the U. S. region known as the Upper Midwest and it shares a Lake Superior water border with Michigan and a land and water border with Wisconsin to the east. Iowa is to the south, North Dakota and South Dakota are to the west, with 86,943 square miles, or approximately 2.25 percent of the United States, Minnesota is the 12th-largest state. Minnesota has some of the Earths oldest rocks, gneisses that are about 3.6 billion years old. About 2.7 billion years ago, basaltic lava poured out of cracks in the floor of the primordial ocean, the roots of these volcanic mountains and the action of Precambrian seas formed the Iron Range of northern Minnesota. Following a period of volcanism 1, in more recent times, massive ice sheets at least one kilometer thick ravaged the landscape of the state and sculpted its terrain. The Wisconsin glaciation left 12,000 years ago and these glaciers covered all of Minnesota except the far southeast, an area characterized by steep hills and streams that cut into the bedrock. This area is known as the Driftless Zone for its absence of glacial drift, much of the remainder of the state outside the northeast has 50 feet or more of glacial till left behind as the last glaciers retreated. Gigantic Lake Agassiz formed in the northwest 13,000 years ago and its bed created the fertile Red River valley, and its outflow, glacial River Warren, carved the valley of the Minnesota River and the Upper Mississippi downstream from Fort Snelling. Minnesota is geologically quiet today, it experiences earthquakes infrequently, the states high point is Eagle Mountain at 2,301 feet, which is only 13 miles away from the low of 601 feet at the shore of Lake Superior. Notwithstanding dramatic local differences in elevation, much of the state is a rolling peneplain. Two major drainage divides meet in Minnesotas northeast in rural Hibbing, forming a triple watershed, precipitation can follow the Mississippi River south to the Gulf of Mexico, the Saint Lawrence Seaway east to the Atlantic Ocean, or the Hudson Bay watershed to the Arctic Ocean
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Iowa
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Iowa is a U. S. state in the Midwestern United States, bordered by the Mississippi River on the east and the Missouri River and the Big Sioux River on the west. Surrounding states include Wisconsin and Illinois to the east, Missouri to the south, Nebraska and South Dakota to the west, in colonial times, Iowa was a part of French Louisiana and Spanish Louisiana, its state flag is patterned after the flag of France. After the Louisiana Purchase, people laid the foundation for an economy in the heart of the Corn Belt. Iowa is the 26th most extensive in area and the 30th most populous of the 50 United States. Its capital and largest city by population is Des Moines, Iowa has been listed as one of the safest states in which to live. Its nickname is the Hawkeye State, Iowa derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many Native American tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa is bordered by the Mississippi River on the east, the Missouri River and the Big Sioux River on the west, Iowa is the only state whose east and west borders are formed entirely by rivers. Iowa has 99 counties, but 100 county seats because Lee County has two, the state capital, Des Moines, is in Polk County. Iowas bedrock geology generally increases in age from west to east, in northwest Iowa, Cretaceous bedrock can be 74 million years old, in eastern Iowa Cambrian bedrock dates to c.500 million years ago. Iowa is generally not flat, most of the consists of rolling hills. Iowa can be divided into eight landforms based on glaciation, soils, topography, Loess hills lie along the western border of the state, some of which are several hundred feet thick. Northeast Iowa along the Mississippi River is part of the Driftless Zone, consisting of steep hills, several natural lakes exist, most notably Spirit Lake, West Okoboji Lake, and East Okoboji Lake in northwest Iowa. To the east lies Clear Lake, man-made lakes include Lake Odessa, Saylorville Lake, Lake Red Rock, Coralville Lake, Lake MacBride, and Rathbun Lake. The states northwest area has remnants of the once common wetlands. Iowas natural vegetation is tallgrass prairie and savanna in areas, with dense forest and wetlands in flood plains and protected river valleys. Most of Iowa is used for agriculture, crops cover 60% of the state, grasslands cover 30%, as of 2005 Iowa ranked 49th of U. S. states in public land holdings. Endangered or threatened plants include western prairie fringed orchid, eastern prairie fringed orchid, Meads milkweed, prairie bush clover, the explosion in the number of high-density livestock facilities in Iowa has led to increased rural water contamination and a decline in air quality. Iowa has a continental climate throughout the state
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Broadway Pier, San Diego
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Broadway Pier in Downtown San Diego, California, is located on San Diego Bay at the intersection of Broadway and North Harbor Drive. It houses one of San Diegos two cruise ship terminals, built in 1913, the pier has a long history of servicing passenger vessels. The 800-foot pier was the first of San Diegos reinforced concrete piers found on the bay and it has been operated by the Port of San Diego since 1962. In the 1970s, the Broadway Pier was remodeled by San Diego architecture firm Innis-Tennebaum architects Donald Innis and it was designed and configured so that a person looking down Broadway could still see the bay. It’s innovative 1970s remodeling also originally featured planter boxes with trees and foliage, the pier was featured as a location in the 1979 film Hardcore directed by Paul Schrader and starring George C. In 2010, the 1970s version of the Broadway Pier building was demolished, media related to Broadway Pier at Wikimedia Commons
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San Diego
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San Diego is a major city in California, United States. It is in San Diego County, on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, approximately 120 miles south of Los Angeles and immediately adjacent to the border with Mexico. With an estimated population of 1,394,928 as of July 1,2015, San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest in California. It is part of the San Diego–Tijuana conurbation, the second-largest transborder agglomeration between the US and a country after Detroit–Windsor, with a population of 4,922,723 people. San Diego has been called the birthplace of California, historically home to the Kumeyaay people, San Diego was the first site visited by Europeans on what is now the West Coast of the United States. Upon landing in San Diego Bay in 1542, Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo claimed the area for Spain, the Presidio and Mission San Diego de Alcalá, founded in 1769, formed the first European settlement in what is now California. In 1821, San Diego became part of the newly independent Mexico, in 1850, California became part of the United States following the Mexican–American War and the admission of California to the union. The city is the seat of San Diego County and is the center of the region as well as the San Diego–Tijuana metropolitan area. San Diegos main economic engines are military and defense-related activities, tourism, international trade, the presence of the University of California, San Diego, with the affiliated UCSD Medical Center, has helped make the area a center of research in biotechnology. The original inhabitants of the region are now known as the San Dieguito, the area of San Diego has been inhabited by the Kumeyaay people. The first European to visit the region was Portuguese-born explorer Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo sailing under the flag of Castile, sailing his flagship San Salvador from Navidad, New Spain, Cabrillo claimed the bay for the Spanish Empire in 1542, and named the site San Miguel. In November 1602, Sebastián Vizcaíno was sent to map the California coast, in May 1769, Gaspar de Portolà established the Fort Presidio of San Diego on a hill near the San Diego River. It was the first settlement by Europeans in what is now the state of California, in July of the same year, Mission San Diego de Alcalá was founded by Franciscan friars under Junípero Serra. By 1797, the mission boasted the largest native population in Alta California, with over 1,400 neophytes living in, Mission San Diego was the southern anchor in California of the historic mission trail El Camino Real. Both the Presidio and the Mission are National Historic Landmarks, in 1821, Mexico won its independence from Spain, and San Diego became part of the Mexican territory of Alta California. In 1822, Mexico began attempting to extend its authority over the territory of Alta California. The fort on Presidio Hill was gradually abandoned, while the town of San Diego grew up on the land below Presidio Hill. The Mission was secularized by the Mexican government in 1833, the 432 residents of the town petitioned the governor to form a pueblo, and Juan María Osuna was elected the first alcalde, defeating Pío Pico in the vote
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California
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California is the most populous state in the United States and the third most extensive by area. Located on the western coast of the U. S, California is bordered by the other U. S. states of Oregon, Nevada, and Arizona and shares an international border with the Mexican state of Baja California. Los Angeles is Californias most populous city, and the second largest after New York City. The Los Angeles Area and the San Francisco Bay Area are the nations second- and fifth-most populous urban regions, California also has the nations most populous county, Los Angeles County, and its largest county by area, San Bernardino County. The Central Valley, an agricultural area, dominates the states center. What is now California was first settled by various Native American tribes before being explored by a number of European expeditions during the 16th and 17th centuries, the Spanish Empire then claimed it as part of Alta California in their New Spain colony. The area became a part of Mexico in 1821 following its war for independence. The western portion of Alta California then was organized as the State of California, the California Gold Rush starting in 1848 led to dramatic social and demographic changes, with large-scale emigration from the east and abroad with an accompanying economic boom. If it were a country, California would be the 6th largest economy in the world, fifty-eight percent of the states economy is centered on finance, government, real estate services, technology, and professional, scientific and technical business services. Although it accounts for only 1.5 percent of the states economy, the story of Calafia is recorded in a 1510 work The Adventures of Esplandián, written as a sequel to Amadis de Gaula by Spanish adventure writer Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo. The kingdom of Queen Calafia, according to Montalvo, was said to be a land inhabited by griffins and other strange beasts. This conventional wisdom that California was an island, with maps drawn to reflect this belief, shortened forms of the states name include CA, Cal. Calif. and US-CA. Settled by successive waves of arrivals during the last 10,000 years, various estimates of the native population range from 100,000 to 300,000. The Indigenous peoples of California included more than 70 distinct groups of Native Americans, ranging from large, settled populations living on the coast to groups in the interior. California groups also were diverse in their organization with bands, tribes, villages. Trade, intermarriage and military alliances fostered many social and economic relationships among the diverse groups, the first European effort to explore the coast as far north as the Russian River was a Spanish sailing expedition, led by Portuguese captain Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, in 1542. Some 37 years later English explorer Francis Drake also explored and claimed a portion of the California coast in 1579. Spanish traders made unintended visits with the Manila galleons on their trips from the Philippines beginning in 1565
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Nevada
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Nevada is a state in the Western, Mountain West, and Southwestern regions of the United States of America. Nevada is the 7th most extensive, the 34th most populous, nearly three-quarters of Nevadas people live in Clark County, which contains the Las Vegas–Paradise metropolitan area where three of the states four largest incorporated cities are located. Nevada is officially known as the Silver State because of the importance of silver to its history and economy. It is also known as the Battle Born State, because it achieved statehood during the Civil War, as the Sage-brush State, for the plant of the same name. Nevada borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, Nevada is largely desert and semi-arid, much of it located within the Great Basin. Areas south of the Great Basin are located within the Mojave Desert, while Lake Tahoe, about 86% of the states land is managed by various jurisdictions of the U. S. federal government, both civilian and military. Before European contact, Native Americans of the Paiute, Shoshone, the first Europeans to explore the region were Spanish. They called the region Nevada because of the snow covered the mountains in winter. The area formed part of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, the United States annexed the area in 1848 after its victory in the Mexican–American War, and it was incorporated as part of Utah Territory in 1850. The discovery of silver at the Comstock Lode in 1859 led to a boom that became an impetus to the creation of Nevada Territory out of western Utah Territory in 1861. Nevada became the 36th state on October 31,1864, as the second of two added to the Union during the Civil War. Nevada has a reputation for its libertarian laws, in 1940, with a population of just over 110,000 people, Nevada was by far the least-populated state, with less than half the population of the next least-populated state. However, legalized gambling and lenient marriage and divorce laws transformed Nevada into a major tourist destination in the 20th century, Nevada is the only U. S. state where prostitution is legal, though it is illegal in Clark County, Washoe County and Carson City. The tourism industry remains Nevadas largest employer, with mining continuing as a sector of the economy. The name Nevada comes from the Spanish nevada, meaning snow-covered, most Nevadans pronounce the second syllable of their state name using the vowel of trap. Many from outside the Western United States pronounce it with the vowel of father, although the latter pronunciation is closer to the Spanish pronunciation, it is not the pronunciation preferred by most Nevadans. State Assemblyman Harry Mortenson proposed a bill to recognize the alternate pronunciation of Nevada, though the bill was not supported by most legislators, the Nevadan pronunciation is the de facto official one, since it is the one used by the state legislature. Nevada is almost entirely within the Basin and Range Province, and is broken up by many mountain ranges
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Utah
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Utah is a state in the western United States. It became the 45th state admitted to the U. S. on January 4,1896, Utah is the 13th-largest by area, 31st-most-populous, and 10th-least-densely populated of the 50 United States. Utah has a population of more than 3 million, approximately 80% of whom live along the Wasatch Front, Utah is bordered by Colorado to the east, Wyoming to the northeast, Idaho to the north, Arizona to the south, and Nevada to the west. It also touches a corner of New Mexico in the southeast, approximately 62% of Utahns are reported to be members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or LDS, which greatly influences Utahn culture and daily life. The LDS Churchs world headquarters is located in Salt Lake City, Utah is the only state with a majority population belonging to a single church. The state is a center of transportation, education, information technology and research, government services, mining, in 2013, the U. S. Census Bureau estimated that Utah had the second fastest-growing population of any state. St. George was the metropolitan area in the United States from 2000 to 2005. Utah also has the 14th highest median income and the least income inequality of any U. S. state. A2012 Gallup national survey found Utah overall to be the best state to live in based on 13 forward-looking measurements including various economic, lifestyle, the name Utah is derived from the name of the Ute tribe. It means people of the mountains in the Ute language, according to other sources Utah is derived from the Apache name Yudah which means Tall. These Native American tribes are subgroups of the Ute-Aztec Native American ethnicity and were sedentary, the Ancestral Pueblo people built their homes through excavations in mountains, and the Fremont people built houses of straw before disappearing from the region around the 15th century. Another group of Native Americans, the Navajo, settled in the region around the 18th century, in the mid-18th century, other Uto-Aztecan tribes, including the Goshute, the Paiute, the Shoshone, and the Ute people, also settled in the region. These five groups were present when the first European explorers arrived, the southern Utah region was explored by the Spanish in 1540, led by Francisco Vásquez de Coronado, while looking for the legendary Cíbola. A group led by two Catholic priests—sometimes called the Dominguez-Escalante Expedition—left Santa Fe in 1776, hoping to find a route to the coast of California, the expedition traveled as far north as Utah Lake and encountered the native residents. The Spanish made further explorations in the region, but were not interested in colonizing the area because of its desert nature, in 1821, the year Mexico achieved its independence from Spain, the region became known as part of its territory of Alta California. European trappers and fur traders explored some areas of Utah in the early 19th century from Canada, the city of Provo, Utah was named for one, Étienne Provost, who visited the area in 1825. The city of Ogden, Utah was named after Peter Skene Ogden, in late 1824, Jim Bridger became the first known English-speaking person to sight the Great Salt Lake. Due to the salinity of its waters, Bridger thought he had found the Pacific Ocean
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Arizona
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Arizona is a state in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the Western United States and the Mountain West states and it is the sixth largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix, Arizona is one of the Four Corners states. It has borders with New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, California, and Mexico, Arizonas border with Mexico is 389 miles long, on the northern border of the Mexican states of Sonora and Baja California. Arizona is the 48th state and last of the states to be admitted to the Union. Historically part of the territory of Alta California in New Spain, after being defeated in the Mexican–American War, Mexico ceded much of this territory to the United States in 1848. The southernmost portion of the state was acquired in 1853 through the Gadsden Purchase, Southern Arizona is known for its desert climate, with very hot summers and mild winters. There are ski resorts in the areas of Flagstaff, Alpine, in addition to the Grand Canyon National Park, there are several national forests, national parks, and national monuments. To the European settlers, their pronunciation sounded like Arissona, the area is still known as alĭ ṣonak in the Oodham language. Another possible origin is the Basque phrase haritz ona, as there were numerous Basque sheepherders in the area, There is a misconception that the states name originated from the Spanish term Árida Zona. See also lists of counties, islands, rivers, lakes, state parks, national parks, Arizona is in the Southwestern United States as one of the Four Corners states. Arizona is the sixth largest state by area, ranked after New Mexico, of the states 113,998 square miles, approximately 15% is privately owned. The remaining area is public forest and park land, state trust land, Arizona is well known for its desert Basin and Range region in the states southern portions, which is rich in a landscape of xerophyte plants such as the cactus. This regions topography was shaped by volcanism, followed by the cooling-off. Its climate has hot summers and mild winters. The state is well known for its pine-covered north-central portion of the high country of the Colorado Plateau. Like other states of the Southwest United States, Arizona has an abundance of mountains, despite the states aridity, 27% of Arizona is forest, a percentage comparable to modern-day France or Germany. The worlds largest stand of pine trees is in Arizona
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Colorado
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Colorado is a state in the United States encompassing most of the Southern Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains. Colorado is part of the Western United States, the Southwestern United States, Colorado is the 8th most extensive and the 21st most populous of the 50 United States. The United States Census Bureau estimates that the population of Colorado was 5,540,545 on July 1,2016, the state was named for the Colorado River, which Spanish travelers named the Río Colorado for the ruddy silt the river carried from the mountains. The Territory of Colorado was organized on February 28,1861, Colorado is nicknamed the Centennial State because it became a state in the same year as the centennial of the United States Declaration of Independence. Colorado is noted for its landscape of mountains, forests, high plains, mesas, canyons, plateaus, rivers. Denver is the capital and the most populous city of Colorado, residents of the state are properly known as Coloradans, although the term Coloradoan has been used archaically and lives on in the title of Fort Collins newspaper, the Coloradoan. Colorado, Wyoming and Utah are the states which have boundaries defined solely by lines of latitude and longitude. The summit of Mount Elbert at 14,440 feet elevation in Lake County is the highest point in Colorado, Colorado is the only U. S. state that lies entirely above 1,000 meters elevation. The point where the Arikaree River flows out of Yuma County, Colorado and this point, which holds the distinction of being the highest low elevation point of any state, is higher than the high elevation points of 18 states and the District of Columbia. A little less than one half of the area of Colorado is flat, East of the Rocky Mountains are the Colorado Eastern Plains of the High Plains, the section of the Great Plains within Nebraska at elevations ranging from roughly 3,350 to 7,500 feet. The Colorado plains were mostly prairies, but they have many patches of forests, buttes. Eastern Colorado is presently covered in farmland and rangeland, along with small farming villages. Precipitation is fair, averaging from 15 to 25 inches annually, corn, wheat, hay, soybeans, and oats are all typical crops, and most of the villages and towns in this region boast both a water tower and a grain elevator. Irrigation water is available from the South Platte, the Arkansas River, and a few other streams, however, heavy use of ground water from wells for irrigation has caused underground water reserves to decline. As well as agriculture, eastern Colorado hosts considerable livestock, such as cattle ranches. Roughly 70% of Colorados population resides along the edge of the Rocky Mountains in the Front Range Urban Corridor between Cheyenne, Wyoming, and Pueblo, Colorado. This region is protected from prevailing storms that blow in from the Pacific Ocean region by the high Rockies in the middle of Colorado. The Front Range includes Denver, Boulder, Fort Collins, Loveland, Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Greeley and other townships, on the other side of the Rockies, the significant population centers in Western Colorado are the cities of Grand Junction, Durango, and Montrose
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New Mexico
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New Mexico is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States of America. It was admitted to the Union as the 47th state on January 6,1912 and it is usually considered one of the Mountain States. New Mexico is fifth by area, the 36th-most populous, inhabited by Native Americans for thousands of years before European exploration, New Mexico was colonized by the Spanish in 1598 Imperial Spanish viceroyalty of New Spain. Later, it was part of independent Mexico before becoming a U. S. territory and eventually a U. S. state as a result of the Mexican–American War. Among U. S. states, New Mexico has the highest percentage of Hispanics, the major Native American nations in the state are Navajo, Pueblo, and Apache peoples. The demography and culture of the state are shaped by these strong Hispanic and Native American influences and its scarlet and gold colors are taken from the royal standards of Spain, along with the ancient sun symbol of the Zia, a Pueblo-related tribe. New Mexico, or Nuevo México in Spanish, is incorrectly believed to have taken its name from the nation of Mexico. The name simply stuck, even though the area had no connection to Mexico or the Mexica Indian tribes, Mexico, formerly a part of New Spain, adopted its name centuries later in 1821, after winning independence from Spanish rule. New Mexico was a part of the independent Mexican Empire and Federal Republic of Mexico for 27 years,1821 through 1848, New Mexico and Mexico developed as neighboring Spanish-speaking communities under Spanish rule, with relatively independent histories. The states total area is 121,412 square miles, the eastern border of New Mexico lies along 103° W longitude with the state of Oklahoma, and 2.2 miles west of 103° W longitude with Texas. On the southern border, Texas makes up the eastern two-thirds, while the Mexican states of Chihuahua and Sonora make up the western third, the western border with Arizona runs along the 109°03 W longitude. The southwestern corner of the state is known as the Bootheel, the 37° N latitude parallel forms the northern boundary with Colorado. The states New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, and Utah come together at the Four Corners in the corner of New Mexico. New Mexico, although a state, has very little water. Its surface water area is about 250 square miles, the New Mexican landscape ranges from wide, rose-colored deserts to broken mesas to high, snow-capped peaks. Despite New Mexicos arid image, heavily forested mountain wildernesses cover a significant portion of the state, the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, the southernmost part of the Rocky Mountains, run roughly north-south along the east side of the Rio Grande in the rugged, pastoral north. The most important of New Mexicos rivers are the Rio Grande, Pecos, Canadian, San Juan, the Rio Grande is tied for the fourth-longest river in the United States. Tourists visiting these sites bring significant money to the state, other areas of geographical and scenic interest include Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument and the Gila Wilderness in the southwest of the state
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Naval Air Station Jacksonville
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Naval Air Station Jacksonville is a military airport, eight miles south of the central business district of Jacksonville, Florida, United States. NAS Jacksonville and Naval Station Mayport are the two bases in Duval County. During World War I, the now occupied by NAS Jacksonville, often referred to colloquially as NAS Jax, was named Camp Joseph E. Johnston. The United States Army trained quartermasters and the center included more than 600 buildings, by 1918 Camp Johnston was the largest of all Quartermaster mobilization and training camps. The second largest rifle range in the U. S. was constructed there, the Florida National Guard began using the site in 1928 and it was renamed Camp J. Clifford R. Foster. Most of their names are lost to history, only two are known, Charles Bennett and Ira Lane. On the same date, Captain Charles P. Mason, USN, prior to the commissioning, on September 7, Commander Jimmy Grant became the first pilot to land on the still unfinished runway in his N3N-3 biplane. More than 10,000 pilots and 11,000 aircrewmen followed their lead to earn their wings of gold at the air station during World War II, increased training and construction characterized NAS Jacksonville’s response to America’s entry into World War II. Three runways over 6,000 feet long were operating, as were seaplane runways in the St. Johns River and seaplane ramps leading from the water. More than 700 buildings sprung to life on the base before V-J Day, including an 80-acre hospital, archbishop Francis J. Spellman dedicated the Catholic Chapel at its Birmingham Avenue location on January 17,1943. The chapel and other buildings constructed during the war years, intended for a life of only 20 years, are still in use, during the late 1940s, the jet age was dawning and in 1948 the Navy’s first jet carrier air groups and squadrons came to NAS Jacksonville. NAS Jacksonville continued growing throughout the late 1940s, Fleet Air Wing Eleven made its move to the base, bringing with it Patrol Squadron THREE from NAS Coco Solo, Panama and Patrol Squadron FIVE from NAS San Juan, Puerto Rico. The Blues would not return to the station for more than two years, in the early 1950s, Naval Air Technical Training Center Jacksonville was also reactivated and included nine different schools. In the mid-1950s, an air control center for joint use by the Navy, Air Force. Major changes also occurred as parking ramps were added shore-based aircraft hangars, by the mid-1950s, with the stations continuing growth, the Navy was having a tremendous impact on the economic growth in the Jacksonville and Duval County area. The station had over 11,000 military personnel assigned, along with 5,000 civilians, vMA-142 would remain at NAS Jax until its relocation to nearby NAS Cecil Field in 1978. These squadrons consisted of Attack Squadron TWO ZERO THREE, Patrol Squadron SIXTY-TWO, in 1973, with the assignment of Helicopter Antisubmarine Wing One, the station’s primary mission became antisubmarine warfare. Accompanying the wing were five helicopter squadrons which are based here today
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Jacksonville, Florida
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Jacksonville is a seaport city and the seat of Duval County, Florida, United States. With an estimated 868,031 residents as of 2015, Jacksonville is the most populous city in both the state of Florida and the southeastern United States. It is estimated to be the 12th most populous city in the United States and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. The Jacksonville metropolitan area has a population of 1,603,497 and is the 34th largest in the United States and fourth largest in the state of Florida. The city is situated on the banks of the St. Johns River, in the First Coast region of North Florida, prior to European settlement, the Jacksonville area was inhabited by Native American people known as the Timucua. In 1564, the French established the colony of Fort Caroline at the mouth of the St. Johns River. In 1822, a year after the United States gained Florida from Spain, Jacksonville is the cultural, commercial and financial center of North Florida. A major military and civilian deep-water port, the citys riverine location supports two United States Navy bases and the Port of Jacksonville, Floridas third largest seaport. The two US Navy bases, Blount Island Command and the nearby Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Jacksonville is also home to several colleges and universities, including University of North Florida, Jacksonville University and Florida State College at Jacksonville. The area of the city of Jacksonville has been inhabited for thousands of years. In the 16th century, the beginning of the era, the region was inhabited by the Mocama. At the time of contact with Europeans, all Mocama villages in present-day Jacksonville were part of the powerful chiefdom known as the Saturiwa, centered around the mouth of the St. Johns River. One early map shows a village called Ossachite at the site of what is now downtown Jacksonville, French Huguenot explorer Jean Ribault charted the St. Johns River in 1562 calling it the River of May because he discovered it in May. Ribault erected a column near present-day Jacksonville claiming the newly discovered land for France. In 1564, René Goulaine de Laudonnière established the first European settlement, Fort Caroline, philip II of Spain ordered Pedro Menéndez de Avilés to protect the interest of Spain by attacking the French presence at Fort Caroline. On September 20,1565, a Spanish force from the nearby Spanish settlement of St. Augustine attacked Fort Caroline, the Spanish renamed the fort San Mateo, and following the ejection of the French, St. Augustines position as the most important settlement in Florida was solidified. The location of Fort Caroline is subject to debate but a reconstruction of the fort was established on the St. Johns River in 1964. Spain ceded Florida to the British in 1763 after the French and Indian War, the British introduced the cultivation of sugar cane, indigo and fruits as well the export of lumber
United States
United States Navy
