1.
Parliament
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In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative, elected body of government. Generally a modern parliament has three functions, representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government, historically, parliaments included various kinds of deliberative, consultative, and judicial assemblies. The term is derived from Anglo-Norman parlement, from the verb parler talk, the meaning evolved over time, originally any discussion, conversation, or negotiation, through various kinds of deliberative or judicial groups, often summoned by the monarch. By 1400, it had come to mean in Britain specifically the British supreme legislature, various parliaments are claimed to be the oldest in the world, under varying definitions. The Sicilian Parliament, whose first assembly was convened in 1097, the Icelandic Althing, year 930, but only including the main chiefs. Since ancient times, when societies were tribal, there were councils or a headman whose decisions were assessed by village elders, some scholars suggest that in ancient Mesopotamia there was a primitive democratic government where the kings were assessed by council. The same has been said about ancient India, where some form of deliberative assemblies existed, however, these claims are not accepted by most scholars, who see these forms of government as oligarchies. Ancient Athens was the cradle of democracy, the Athenian assembly was the most important institution, and every citizen could take part in the discussions. However, Athenian democracy was not representative, but rather direct, the Roman Senate controlled money, administration, and the details of foreign policy. Some Muslim scholars argue that the Islamic shura is analogous to the parliament, however, others highlight what they consider fundamental differences between the shura system and the parliamentary system. England has long had a tradition of a body of men who would assist, under the Anglo-Saxon kings, there was an advisory council, the Witenagemot. The name derives from the Old English ƿitena ȝemōt, or witena gemōt, the first recorded act of a witenagemot was the law code issued by King Æthelberht of Kent ca. 600, the earliest document which survives in sustained Old English prose, however, the Witan, along with the folkmoots, is an important ancestor of the modern English parliament. As part of the Norman Conquest of England, the new king, William I, did away with the Witenagemot, membership of the Curia was largely restricted to the tenants in chief, the few nobles who rented great estates directly from the king, along with ecclesiastics. William brought to England the feudal system of his native Normandy and this is the original body from which the Parliament, the higher courts of law, and the Privy Council and Cabinet descend. Of these, the legislature is formally the High Court of Parliament, only the executive government is no longer conducted in a royal court. Most historians date the emergence of a parliament with some degree of power to which the throne had to defer no later than the rule of Edward I, like previous kings, Edward called leading nobles and church leaders to discuss government matters, especially finance. A meeting in 1295 became known as the Model Parliament because it set the pattern for later Parliaments, in 1307, Edward I agreed not to collect certain taxes without the consent of the realm
2.
Spreitenbach
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Spreitenbach is a municipality in the district of Baden in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland, located in the Limmat Valley. It lies southeast of the center, directly on the border with the canton of Zurich. It is one of the smallest cities in Switzerland, in Switzerland, a city needs 10,000 or more to be considered as a city. The goalkeeper Diego Benaglio, of the National Football Team of Switzerland, the town lies between Baden and Zurich on the south side of the Limmat, located in the Limmat Valley. The settled area stretches along a plain between the Heitersberg and the waterfront, the old town center, through which the Spreitenbach stream flows, lies to the south and has preserved its original character well. North of that is the city, with wide apartment buildings, industrial areas. To the far north, across the highway and railway, in a bend in the Limmat, is the industrial zone Neuhard. The eastern part of the plain is dominated by the classification yard Zurich-Limmattal, the Franzosenweiher lies in the forested area south of Spreitenbach, near the municipal border with Dietikon. The Altes Bad biotope is made up of a pool and a wetland with a diversity of plants. The municipality has set aside this area and the neighboring forest as a natural zone. The name comes from the fact that Napoleons troops camped at the pond, around 2 km west of the town, at a height of 650 m, lies Heitersberg, a hamlet set on a high plateau in the Heitersbergs. Not far from there is the highest point in the municipality, the lowest point,385 m, is the Limmat. Spreitenbach has an area, as of 2006, of 8.6 square kilometers, of this area,27. 8% is used for agricultural purposes, while 35. 3% is forested. Of the rest of the land,35. 5% is settled, the first historical mention of Spreitenbach was in the year 1124. Along with many convents, the most distinguished landholders were the Knights of Schönenwerd and they were forced to sell all of their farms to the Wettingen Abbey between 1274 and 1287. In 1415 the Old Swiss Confederacy conquered Aargau and Spreitenbach was made part of the district of Dietikon in the County of Baden, in 1541 the Wettingen Abbey acquired low justice. In 1670 and again in 1785, many of the houses in the town were destroyed in fires, in March 1798, France invaded Switzerland and declared the Helvetic Republic. Spreitenbach became a municipality in the canton of Baden, since 1803 the municipality has been in the canton of Aargau
3.
Renens
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Renens is a municipality in the canton of Vaud, Switzerland. It is located in the district of Ouest Lausannois, and is a suburb of the city of Lausanne and it is the fourth largest city in the canton. It is considered a multiethnic town, as more than 50% of the inhabitants are resident foreign nationals from about a hundred different countries. Renens is first mentioned around 888-896 as in villa Runingis, Renens has an area, as of 2009, of 2. 96–2.95 square kilometers. Of this area,0.1 km2 or 3. 4% is used for agricultural purposes, of the rest of the land,2.78 km2 or 93. 9% is settled. Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 13. 9% of the area while housing and buildings made up 41. 6%. Power and water infrastructure as well as other developed areas made up 3. 4% of the area while parks. Out of the land, all of the forested land area is covered with heavy forests. Of the agricultural land,1. 0% is used for growing crops, the municipality was part of the Lausanne District until it was dissolved on 31 August 2006, and Renens became part of the new district of Ouest Lausannois. The municipality is the capital of the new district of Ouest lausannois and it is part of the agglomeration of Lausanne, and Lausanne Métro line 1 terminates at Renens railway station. The Swiss Federal Railway line connects Renens to Lausanne more directly, Renens is located close to junctions 17 and 18 of the A1 motorway. The blazon of the coat of arms is Gules, two Pales wavy Argent, Chief of the same. Renens has a population of 20,537, as of 2008,51. 2% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has changed at a rate of 14. 4% and it has changed at a rate of 10. 4% due to migration and at a rate of 5. 9% due to births and deaths. Most of the population speaks French, with Italian being second most common, There are 567 people who speak German and 11 people who speak Romansh. Of the population in the municipality 2,992 or about 16. 3% were born in Renens and lived there in 2000. There were 4,431 or 24. 1% who were born in the canton, while 2,566 or 13. 9% were born somewhere else in Switzerland. In 2008 there were 92 live births to Swiss citizens and 141 births to non-Swiss citizens, ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens decreased by 16 while the foreign population increased by 112
4.
Switzerland
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Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a federal republic in Europe. It consists of 26 cantons, and the city of Bern is the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in western-Central Europe, and is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland is a country geographically divided between the Alps, the Swiss Plateau and the Jura, spanning an area of 41,285 km2. The establishment of the Old Swiss Confederacy dates to the medieval period, resulting from a series of military successes against Austria. Swiss independence from the Holy Roman Empire was formally recognized in the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. The country has a history of armed neutrality going back to the Reformation, it has not been in a state of war internationally since 1815, nevertheless, it pursues an active foreign policy and is frequently involved in peace-building processes around the world. In addition to being the birthplace of the Red Cross, Switzerland is home to international organisations. On the European level, it is a member of the European Free Trade Association. However, it participates in the Schengen Area and the European Single Market through bilateral treaties, spanning the intersection of Germanic and Romance Europe, Switzerland comprises four main linguistic and cultural regions, German, French, Italian and Romansh. Due to its diversity, Switzerland is known by a variety of native names, Schweiz, Suisse, Svizzera. On coins and stamps, Latin is used instead of the four living languages, Switzerland is one of the most developed countries in the world, with the highest nominal wealth per adult and the eighth-highest per capita gross domestic product according to the IMF. Zürich and Geneva have each been ranked among the top cities in the world in terms of quality of life, with the former ranked second globally, according to Mercer. The English name Switzerland is a compound containing Switzer, a term for the Swiss. The English adjective Swiss is a loan from French Suisse, also in use since the 16th century. The name Switzer is from the Alemannic Schwiizer, in origin an inhabitant of Schwyz and its associated territory, the Swiss began to adopt the name for themselves after the Swabian War of 1499, used alongside the term for Confederates, Eidgenossen, used since the 14th century. The data code for Switzerland, CH, is derived from Latin Confoederatio Helvetica. The toponym Schwyz itself was first attested in 972, as Old High German Suittes, ultimately related to swedan ‘to burn’
5.
Winterthur
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Winterthur is a city in the canton of Zürich in northern Switzerland. It has the sixth largest population, estimated at over 108,000 people. The official language of Winterthur is German, but the spoken language is the local variant of the Alemannic Swiss German dialect. In the local dialect and by its inhabitants, Winterthur is usually abbreviated as Winti, Winterthur is connected to Germany by direct trains and enjoys links to Zürich Airport. There are also leading to other places such as Turbenthal. The railway station Bahnhof Winterthur is one of the busiest railway stations in Switzerland, vitudurum was a vicus in what is now Oberwinterthur during the Roman era, fortified into a castrum at the end of the 3rd century, apparently in reaction to the incipient Alamannic invasion. An Alamannic settlement was present at the site in the 7th century, in a battle near Winterthur in 919, Burchard II of Swabia asserted his control over the Thurgau within the Duchy of Swabia against the claims of Rudolph II of Burgundy. The counts of Winterthur, a branch of the counts of Bregenz. With the extinction of the counts of Winterthur in 1053, the passed to the counts of Dillingen. Winterthur as a city was founded by Hartmann III of Dillingen in 1180, from 1180 to 1263, Winterthur was ruled by the cadet line of the House of Kyburg. From 1415 until 1442 Winterthur became reichsfrei or subject only to the Holy Roman Emperor, however, in the Old Zürich War they lost this freedom and came back under the control of the Austrian Habsburgs. Needing money, in 1467, the Habsburgs sold Winterthur to the city of Zürich, in the time under the leadership of Zürich, Winterthurs economic freedom was restricted. It lost many of their rights and the right to trade in some goods. This ended in 1798, when Napoleonic troops liberated the town, because Winterthur lies near Zürich and at the junction of seven cross-roads, the army that held the town held the access to most of Switzerland and points crossing the Rhine into southern Germany. This led to the French defeat a few days later, in the 19th century, Winterthur became an industrial town when companies, like Sulzer, Rieter and SLM, built large industrial plants. Winterthur suffered severely from its investments in and guarantee of loans to the National Railway of Switzerland, the Great Depression, in the 1930s, hit Winterthur extremely hard. 60% of the employees in town worked in the machine industry. Jobs became extremely hard to find, however, with the outbreak of World War II, industry grew again in the city
6.
Uster
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Uster is a city and capital of the district Uster in the Swiss Canton of Zürich. It is the third largest city in the Canton of Zürich, with over 30,000 inhabitants, Uster is located next to lake Greifensee. The official language of Uster is German, but the spoken language is the local variant of the Alemannic Swiss German dialect. The city of Uster received the Wakker Prize in 2001, the village of Riedikon was first mentioned in year 741, while Uster was first mentioned in 775. In 1099 first mentioned, the donation of the St. Andreas Church was given by the House of Rapperswil as a spacious three-naved country church, the Burg Uster was first mentioned in 1267, in the possession of the Freiherr von Bonstetten. In 1438 the church rights were sold to the Rüti Abbey, the church was considered as a part of the so-called Laubishof estated thath possibly was located at the nearby plateau where the Uster Castle is situated. The town was captured after four weeks, on May 27, even in times of war, mass execution was widely considered a cruel and unjust deed. On May 29, the Castle of Greifensee and the city walls were broken, in 1473 the church comrades, based on an older Jahrzeitbuch which now is lost, created a new one which is among the best preserved of the Canton of Zürich. With the dissolution of the monastery Ruti during the Reformation in Zürich its rights fell on the government of the city of Zürich in 1525, in 1824 the new Reformed church was consecrated. On 22 November 1830 about 10,000 men of the Canton of Zurich gathered near Uster and this assembly, known as the Ustertag, together with other assemblies in Switzerland led to the Restoration and the creation of the Swiss Federal State. Uster has an area of 28.5 km2, of this area,44. 4% is used for agricultural purposes, while 27. 1% is forested. Of the rest of the land,26. 2% is settled, in 1996 housing and buildings made up 18. 4% of the total area, while transportation infrastructure made up the rest. Of the total area, water made up 0. 4% of the area. As of 200722. 2% of the municipal area was undergoing some type of construction. Uster has a population of 33,853, as of 2007,21. 6% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. As of 2008 the gender distribution of the population was 49. 6% male and 50. 4% female, over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 14. 2%. Most of the population speaks German, with Italian being second most common, in the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP which received 31. 3% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SPS, the CSP and the Green Party, the age distribution of the population is children and teenagers make up 22. 2% of the population, while adults make up 65% and seniors make up 12. 8%
7.
Limmat
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The Limmat is a river in Switzerland. The river commences at the outfall of Lake Zurich, in the part of the city of Zurich. From Zurich it flows in a direction, after 35 km reaching the river Aare. The confluence is located north of the town of Brugg. The main towns along the Limmat Valley downstream of Zurich are Dietikon, Wettingen and its main tributaries are the Linth, via Lake Zurich, the Sihl, in Zurich, and the Reppisch, in Dietikon. The hydronym is first attested in the 8th century, as Lindimacus and it is of Gaulish origin, from *lindo- lake and *magos plain, and was thus presumably in origin the name of the plain formed by the Linth. Like many Swiss rivers, the Limmat is intensively used for production of power, along its course of 35 km. These include, Historically, the Limmat was an important navigation route, in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, voyages from Zurich to Koblenz are recorded. In 1447, the Emperor Frederick III granted the privilege of free navigation on the Limmat, because of the current, navigation was typically downstream only, with the barges being sold on arrival. Today, the Limmat is navigable for much of its length by small craft only, the traditional boat type used on the river is the weidling, a flat-bottomed vessel that is usually 10 metres long. The uppermost stretch of the river through the centre of Zurich is navigable by larger vessels. On this stretch of the river the Zürichsee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft operates its Limmat boat service, from the Landesmuseum to Lake Zurich, zürich–Enge Alpenquai is located on Zürichsee lakeshore in Enge, a locality of the municipality of Zürich. Media related to Limmat at Wikimedia Commons Media related to Limmat in Zürich at Wikimedia Commons Limmat in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland
8.
Glacial erratic
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A glacial erratic is a piece of rock that differs from the size and type of rock native to the area in which it rests. Erratics take their name from the Latin word errare, and are carried by glacial ice, Erratics can range in size from pebbles to large boulders such as Big Rock in Alberta. Geologists identify erratics by studying the surrounding the position of the erratic. Erratics are significant because, They can be transported by glaciers and their lithographic origin can be traced to the parent bedrock, allowing for confirmation of the ice flow route. They can be transported by ice rafting and this allows quantification of the extent of glacial flooding resulting from ice dam failure which release the waters stored in proglacial lakes such as Lake Missoula. Erratics released by ice-rafts that were stranded and subsequently melt, dropping their load, Erratics dropped by icebergs melting in the ocean can be used to track Antarctic and Arctic-region glacial movements for periods prior to record retention. Also known as dropstones, these can be correlated with ocean temperatures and levels to better understand, and examination of their mineralogical character leads the identification of their sources…. In geology, an erratic is material moved by forces from one location to another. Erratics are formed by ice erosion resulting from the movement of ice. Glaciers erode by multiple processes, abrasion/scouring, plucking, ice thrusting, glaciers crack pieces of bedrock off in the process of plucking, producing the larger erratics. In an abrasion process, debris in the basal ice scrapes along the bed, polishing and gouging the underlying rocks, similar to sandpaper on wood, producing smaller glacial till. In ice thrusting, the glacier freezes to its bed, then as it surges forward, evidence supports another option for creation of erratics as well, rock avalanches onto the upper surface of the glacier. Rock avalanche–supraglacial transport occurs when the glacier undercuts a rock face, the characteristics of rock avalanche–supraglacial transport includes, Monolithologic composition - a cluster of boulders of similar composition are frequently found in close proximity. Commingling of the multiple lithologies normally present throughout the basin, has not occurred. Angularity - the supraglacially transported rocks tend to be rough and irregular, the sides of boulders are roughly planar, suggesting that some surfaces may be original fracture planes. Great size - the size distribution of the boulders tends to be skewed toward larger boulders than those produced subglacially, surficial positioning of the boulders - the boulders are positioned on the surface of glacial deposits, as opposed to partially or totally buried. Orientations - the boulders may be enough that original fracture planes can be matched. Locations of the boulder trains - the boulders appear in rows, Erratic materials may be transported by multiple glacier flows prior to their deposition, which can complicate the reconstruction of the glacial flow
9.
Spring (hydrology)
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A spring is any natural situation where water flows from an aquifer to the Earths surface. It is a component of the hydrosphere, a spring may be the result of karst topography where surface water has infiltrated the Earths surface, becoming part of the area groundwater. The groundwater then travels through a network of cracks and fissure—openings ranging from intergranular spaces to large caves, the water eventually emerges from below the surface, in the form of a karst spring. The forcing of the spring to the surface can be the result of an aquifer in which the recharge area of the spring water table rests at a higher elevation than that of the outlet. Spring water forced to the surface by elevated sources are artesian wells and this is possible even if the outlet is in the form of a 300-foot-deep cave. In this case the cave is used like a hose by the higher elevated area of groundwater to exit through the lower elevation opening. Non-artesian springs may simply flow from a higher elevation through the earth to a lower elevation, still other springs are the result of pressure from an underground source in the earth, in the form of volcanic activity. The result can be water at elevated temperature such as a hot spring, the action of the groundwater continually dissolves permeable bedrock such as limestone and dolomite, creating vast cave systems. The term seep refers to springs with small flow rates in which the water has filtered through permeable earth. Fracture springs, discharge from faults, joints, or fissures in the earth, tubular springs, in which the water flows from underground caverns. Spring discharge, or resurgence, is determined by the springs recharge basin, factors that affect the recharge include the size of the area in which groundwater is captured, the amount of precipitation, the size of capture points, and the size of the spring outlet. Water may leak into the system from many sources including permeable earth, sinkholes. In some cases entire creeks seemingly disappear as the water sinks into the ground via the stream bed, grand Gulf State Park in Missouri is an example of an entire creek vanishing into the groundwater system. The water emerges 9 miles away, forming some of the discharge of Mammoth Spring in Arkansas, human activity may also affect a springs discharge--withdrawal of groundwater reduces the water pressure in an aquifer, decreasing the volume of flow. Springs are often classified by the volume of the water they discharge, the largest springs are called first-magnitude, defined as springs that discharge water at a rate of at least 2800 liters or 100 cubic feet of water per second. The scale for spring flow is as follows, Minerals become dissolved in the water as it moves through the underground rocks and this may give the water flavor and even carbon dioxide bubbles, depending on the nature of the geology through which it passes. This is why spring water is bottled and sold as mineral water. Springs that contain significant amounts of minerals are sometimes called mineral springs, Springs that contain large amounts of dissolved sodium salts, mostly sodium carbonate, are called soda springs
