1.
Dubai
–
Dubai is the largest and most populous city in the United Arab Emirates. It is located on the southeast coast of the Persian Gulf and is the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Dubai are the only two emirates to have veto power over critical matters of national importance in the countrys legislature. The city of Dubai is located on the northern coastline. Dubai will host World Expo 2020, Dubai has emerged as a global city and business hub of the Middle East. It is also a transport hub for passengers and cargo. By the 1960s, Dubais economy was based on revenues from trade and, to an extent, oil exploration concessions. Oil revenue first started to flow in 1969, Dubais oil revenue helped accelerate the early development of the city, but its reserves are limited and production levels are low, today, less than 5% of the emirates revenue comes from oil. The emirates Western-style model of business drives its economy with the main revenues now coming from tourism, aviation, real estate, Dubai was recently named the best destination for Muslim travellers by Salam Standard. Dubai has recently attracted attention through many innovative large construction projects and sports events. The city has become iconic for its skyscrapers and high-rise buildings, in particular the worlds tallest building, Dubai has been criticised for human rights violations concerning the citys largely South Asian and Filipino workforce. As of 2012, Dubai was the 22nd most expensive city in the world, in 2014, Dubais hotel rooms were rated as the second most expensive in the world, after Geneva. Dubai was rated as one of the best places to live in the Middle East by U. S. global consulting firm Mercer, Many theories have been proposed as to the origin of the word Dubai. One theory suggests the word was used to describe the souq, another theory states that the name came from a word meaning money, as people from Dubai were commonly believed to be rich due to the thriving trading centre of the location. An Arabic proverb says Daba Dubai, meaning They came with a lot of money, according to Fedel Handhal, a scholar on the UAEs history and culture, the word Dubai may have come from the word daba, referring to the slow flow of Dubai Creek inland. The poet and scholar Ahmad Mohammad Obaid traces it to the same word, an inhabitant or native of the city is a Dubaian. Although stone tools have been found at archaeological sites, little is known about the UAEs early inhabitants as only a few settlements have been found. Many ancient towns in the area were trading centres between the Eastern and Western worlds, the remnants of an ancient mangrove swamp, dated at 7000 BC, were discovered during the construction of sewer lines near Dubai Internet City. The area was covered with sand about 5,000 years ago as the coast retreated inland, pre-Islamic ceramics have been found from the 3rd and 4th centuries
2.
United Arab Emirates
–
In 2013, the UAEs population was 9.2 million, of which 1.4 million are Emirati citizens and 7.8 million are expatriates. The country is a federation of seven emirates, and was established on 2 December 1971, the constituent emirates are Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah and Umm al-Quwain. Each emirate is governed by a monarch, together, they jointly form the Federal Supreme Council. One of the monarchs is selected as the President of the United Arab Emirates, Islam is the official religion of the UAE and Arabic is the official language. The UAEs oil reserves are the seventh-largest in the world while its natural gas reserves are the worlds seventeenth-largest, Sheikh Zayed, ruler of Abu Dhabi and the first President of the UAE, oversaw the development of the Emirates and steered oil revenues into healthcare, education and infrastructure. The UAEs economy is the most diversified in the Gulf Cooperation Council, while its most populous city of Dubai is an important global city, nevertheless, the country remains principally reliant on its export of petroleum and natural gas. The UAE is criticised for its rights record, including the specific interpretations of Sharia used in its legal system. The UAEs rising international profile has led analysts to identify it as a regional. It appears the land of the Emirates has been occupied for thousands of years, there is no proof of contact with the outside world at that stage, although in time it developed with civilisations in Mesopotamia and Iran. This contact persisted and became wide-ranging, probably motivated by trade in copper from the Hajar Mountains, in ancient times, Al Hasa was part of Al Bahreyn and adjoined Greater Oman. Sassanid groups were present on the Batinah coast, in 637, Julfar was an important port that was used as a staging post for the Islamic invasion of the Sassanian Empire. The area of the Al Ain/Buraimi Oasis was known as Tuam and was an important trading post for camel routes between the coast and the Arabian interior. The earliest Christian site in the UAE was first discovered in the 1990s, a monastic complex on what is now known as Sir Bani Yas Island. Thought to be Nestorian and built in 600 AD, the church appears to have been abandoned peacefully in 750 AD and it forms a rare physical link to a legacy of Christianity which is thought to have spread across the peninsula from 50 to 350 AD following trade routes. Certainly, by the 5th century, Oman had a bishop named John – the last bishop of Oman being Etienne, in 676 AD. This led to a group of travelling to Medina, converting to Islam and subsequently driving a successful uprising against the unpopular Sassanids. Following the death of Prophet Muhammad, the new Islamic communities south of the Persian Gulf threatened to disintegrate, with insurrections against the Muslim leaders. The Caliph Abu Bakr sent an army from the capital Medina which completed its reconquest of the territory with the battle of Dibba in which 10,000 lives are thought to have been lost
3.
Ras Al Khor
–
Ras Al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, is a wetland reserve renowned for attracting migratory birds in large numbers. The wetlands have large numbers of birds, crustaceans, small mammals, Ras Al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary represents an enclave of relative wilderness amidst swirling traffic and sprawling urban infrastructure. Located just as the name in Arabic suggests - at the Cape of the Creek, the Dubai Municipality has taken great efforts to protect and preserve the biodiversity of this delicate ecosystem. The wetland has been fenced off from the public and three birding hides have been built, the bird hides are a first step towards development of more elaborate visitor education facilities in the protected area. WWF UAE Project Office collaborated with Dubai Municipalitys Environment Department, in setting up the facilities that were sponsored by the National Bank of Dubai. Opportunities for experiencing a natural environment in this rapidly building-up emirate are so limited that the opening of Ras Al Khor to visitors is a boon to present, presently there are three birding hides located on the perimeter of the sanctuary open to the public. Entrance is free and operate from 9,00 am to 4,00 pm Saturday to Thursday, Ras Al Khor is also home to about 500 greater flamingoes, which has become something of a mascot for Dubais Wild Life protection program. Some of the visitors to the sanctuary are, Official website
4.
Persian Gulf
–
The Persian Gulf is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Indian Ocean through the Strait of Hormuz, the Shatt al-Arab river delta forms the northwest shoreline. The Persian Gulf was a battlefield of the 1980–1988 Iran–Iraq War and it is the namesake of the 1991 Gulf War, the largely air- and land-based conflict that followed Iraqs invasion of Kuwait. The gulf has many fishing grounds, extensive coral reefs, and abundant pearl oysters, the body of water is historically and internationally known as the Persian Gulf. Some Arab governments refer to it as the Arabian Gulf or The Gulf, the name Gulf of Iran is used by the International Hydrographic Organization. The Persian Gulf is geologically young, having been formed around 15,000 years ago. Its length is 989 kilometres, with Iran covering most of the northern coast, the Persian Gulf is about 56 km wide at its narrowest, in the Strait of Hormuz. The waters are very shallow, with a maximum depth of 90 metres. Various small islands lie within the Persian Gulf, some of which are the subject of territorial disputes between the states of the region. The International Hydrographic Organization defines the Persian Gulfs southern limit as The Northwestern limit of Gulf of Oman and this limit is defined as A line joining Ràs Limah on the coast of Arabia and Ràs al Kuh on the coast of Iran. The Persian Gulf and its areas are the worlds largest single source of crude oil. Safaniya Oil Field, the worlds largest offshore oilfield, is located in the Persian Gulf, large gas finds have also been made, with Qatar and Iran sharing a giant field across the territorial median line. Using this gas, Qatar has built up a substantial liquefied natural gas, the oil-rich countries that have a coastline on the Persian Gulf are referred to as the Persian Gulf States. In 550 BC, the Achaemenid Empire established the first ancient empire in Persis, consequently, in the Greek sources, the body of water that bordered this province came to be known as the Persian Gulf. In the travel account of Pythagoras, several chapters are related to description of his travels accompanied by the Achaemenid king Darius the Great, to Susa and Persepolis, and the area is described. This water channel separates the Iran Plateau from the Arabia Plate, has enjoyed an Iranian Identity since at least 2200 years ago. Before being given its present name, the Persian Gulf was called many different names, the classical Greek writers, like Herodotus, called it the Red Sea. In Babylonian texts, it was known as the sea above Akkad, the name of the gulf, historically and internationally known as the Persian Gulf after the land of Persia, has been disputed by some Arab countries since the 1960s
5.
Al Ain
–
Al-Ain, also known as the Garden City due to its greenery, is the largest inland city in the United Arab Emirates, the fourth-largest overall, and the second-largest in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. With a population of 650,000, it is located approximately 160 kilometres east of the capital Abu Dhabi, Al-Ain is the birthplace of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the founder of the United Arab Emirates, and has the highest proportion of Emirati nationals. Al-Ain is located in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, inland on the border with Oman, the freeways connecting Al-Ain, Abu Dhabi, and Dubai form a geographic triangle in the country, each city being roughly 130 kilometres from the other two. Historically a part of Ṫawam or Al Buraimi Oasis, Al-Ain has been inhabited for over 4,000 years, with archaeological sites showing human settlement at Al-Hili and Jabel Ḥafeeṫ. These early cultures built beehive tombs for their dead and engaged in hunting and gathering in the area, the oasis provided water for early farms until the modern age. A companion of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad, Kaab Bin Ahbar, was sent to the region to introduce Islam to the people. He settled and died in the oasis, the forts currently in Al-Ain were built in the late 19th or early 20th century to solidify Abu Dhabis control over the oasis. Wilfred Thesiger visited Al-Ain in the late 1940s during his travels across the Empty Quarter and he met Sheikh Zayed and stayed with him at Al-Muwaiji Fort. This network of fortresses protected the Oases and settlements from bandit attacks, in 1952 Saudi Arabia sent raiders to capture Al-Ains fortresses and incorporate the oasis into the Saudi kingdom. Forces from the Trucial Oman Scouts, as well as the army of Muscat-Oman, with British intervention, the Saudi forces surrendered, leaving the oasis back in the hands of Abu Dhabi and Muscat-Oman. In 1971 Queen Elizabeth II visited the Hilton Hotel in the area, still in use, following independence in 1971, Al-Ain experienced rapid growth and investment as part of the emirate of Abu Dhabi, quickly becoming larger and more successful than Omans Al-Buraimi. In 1972 Oman and Abu Dhabi agreed on the borders to divide Al-Buraimi. Until Sheikh Zayeds death in 2004, Al-Ains municipal code forbade construction of buildings over four storeys, with the exceptions of the Hilton, Danat Al Ain Resort, in the 1990s, a serious uprising occurred among the labourers of the industrial district of Al-Ain, Aṣ-Ṣanaiya. This uprising was suppressed by the UAE army and local police forces, all the labourers involved were interned and deported. Until 2006, Al-Buraimi and Al-Ain shared an open border and this border was closed in November 2006, and passport controls were imposed. Al-Ain is located in the region of Abu Dhabi Emirate just south of Dubai. The Eastern region covers an area of approximately 13,100 km², Oman lies to the east, Dubai and Sharjah to the north, Abu Dhabi to the west and the Empty Quarter desert and Saudi Arabia to the south. The topography of Al-Ain is unique and varies as one travel to the east, Jebel Hafeet is considered one of the monuments of Al-Ain, lying just to the southeast and rising to 1,300 m in elevation
6.
Ancient Greece
–
Ancient Greece was a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th-9th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and this was followed by the period of Classical Greece, an era that began with the Greco-Persian Wars, lasting from the 5th to 4th centuries BC. Due to the conquests by Alexander the Great of Macedonia, Hellenistic civilization flourished from Central Asia to the end of the Mediterranean Sea. Classical Greek culture, especially philosophy, had a influence on ancient Rome. For this reason Classical Greece is generally considered to be the culture which provided the foundation of modern Western culture and is considered the cradle of Western civilization. Classical Antiquity in the Mediterranean region is considered to have begun in the 8th century BC. Classical Antiquity in Greece is preceded by the Greek Dark Ages and this period is succeeded, around the 8th century BC, by the Orientalizing Period during which a strong influence of Syro-Hittite, Jewish, Assyrian, Phoenician and Egyptian cultures becomes apparent. The end of the Dark Ages is also dated to 776 BC. The Archaic period gives way to the Classical period around 500 BC, Ancient Periods Astronomical year numbering Dates are approximate, consult particular article for details The history of Greece during Classical Antiquity may be subdivided into five major periods. The earliest of these is the Archaic period, in which artists made larger free-standing sculptures in stiff, the Archaic period is often taken to end with the overthrow of the last tyrant of Athens and the start of Athenian Democracy in 508 BC. It was followed by the Classical period, characterized by a style which was considered by observers to be exemplary, i. e. classical, as shown in the Parthenon. This period saw the Greco-Persian Wars and the Rise of Macedon, following the Classical period was the Hellenistic period, during which Greek culture and power expanded into the Near and Middle East. This period begins with the death of Alexander and ends with the Roman conquest, Herodotus is widely known as the father of history, his Histories are eponymous of the entire field. Herodotus was succeeded by authors such as Thucydides, Xenophon, Demosthenes, Plato, most of these authors were either Athenian or pro-Athenian, which is why far more is known about the history and politics of Athens than those of many other cities. Their scope is limited by a focus on political, military and diplomatic history, ignoring economic. In the 8th century BC, Greece began to emerge from the Dark Ages which followed the fall of the Mycenaean civilization, literacy had been lost and Mycenaean script forgotten, but the Greeks adopted the Phoenician alphabet, modifying it to create the Greek alphabet. The Lelantine War is the earliest documented war of the ancient Greek period and it was fought between the important poleis of Chalcis and Eretria over the fertile Lelantine plain of Euboea. Both cities seem to have suffered a decline as result of the long war, a mercantile class arose in the first half of the 7th century BC, shown by the introduction of coinage in about 680 BC
7.
Dhow
–
Dhow is the generic name of a number of traditional sailing vessels with one or more masts with lateen sails used in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean region. Historians are divided as to whether the dhow was invented by Arabs or Indians, larger dhows have crews of approximately thirty, smaller ones typically around twelve. The exact origins of the dhow are lost to history, most scholars believe that it originated in India between 600 BC to 600 AD Some claim that the sambuk, a type of dhow, may be derived from the Portuguese caravel. The Yemeni Hadhrami people, as well as Omanis, for centuries came to Beypore, in Kerala and this was because of the good timber in the Kerala forests, the availability of good coir rope, and the skilled carpenters who specialized in ship building. In former times, the planks of a dhows hull were held together by coconut rope. Beypore dhows are known as Uru in Malayalam, the language of Kerala. Settlers from Yemen, known as Baramis, are active in making urus in Kerala. In the 1920s, British writers identified Al Hudaydah as the center for dhow building and those built in Al Hudaydah were smaller in size, and used for travel along the coasts. They were constructed of found in Yemen. Even to the present day, dhows make commercial journeys between the Persian Gulf and East Africa using sails as their means of propulsion. Their cargo is mostly dates and fish to East Africa and mangrove timber to the lands in the Persian Gulf and they often sail south with the monsoon in winter or early spring, and back again to Arabia in late spring or early summer. For celestial navigation, dhow sailors have used the kamal. The latter is a device that determines latitude by finding the angle of the Pole Star above the horizon. Baghlah – from the Arabic language word for mule, a heavy ship, the traditional deep-sea dhow. Baqarah or baggarah – from the Arabic word for cow, old type of small dhow similar to the Battil. Battil – featured long stems topped by large, club-shaped stem heads, badan – a smaller vessel requiring a shallow draft. Boum or dhangi – a large-sized dhow with a stern that is tapering in shape, the Arab boum has a very high prow, which is trimmed in the Indian version. Ghanjah or kotiya – a large vessel, similar to the Baghlah, with a curved stem, a fishing or trading dhow with a broad hull similar to the Jalibut, common in Lamu Island and the coast of Oman
8.
Intertidal zone
–
The intertidal zone, also known as the foreshore and seashore and sometimes referred to as the littoral zone, is the area that is above water at low tide and under water at high tide. This area can include different types of habitats, with many types of animals, such as starfish, sea urchins. The well-known area also includes rocky cliffs, sandy beaches. The area can be a strip, as in Pacific islands that have only a narrow tidal range. Organisms in the zone are adapted to an environment of harsh extremes. The intertidal zone is home to many several species from different taxa including Porifera, Annelids, Coelenterates, Mollusks, crustaceans, Arthropods. Water is available regularly with the tides but varies from fresh with rain to highly saline, wave splash can dislodge residents from the littoral zone. With the intertidal zones high exposure to the sun, the range can be anything from very hot with full sun to near freezing in colder climates. Some microclimates in the zone are ameliorated by local features. Adaptation in the littoral zone allows the use of nutrients supplied in high volume on a basis from the sea. Edges of habitats, in this land and sea, are themselves often significant ecologies. Along most shores, the zone can be clearly separated into the following subzones, high tide zone, middle tide zone. The intertidal zone is one of a number of biomes or habitats, including estuaries, neritic, surface. Marine biologists divide the region into three zones, based on the overall average exposure of the zone. The low intertidal zone, which borders on the shallow subtidal zone, is exposed to air at the lowest of low tides and is primarily marine in character. The mid intertidal zone is exposed and submerged by average tides. The high intertidal zone is covered by the highest of the high tides. The high intertidal zone borders on the splash zone, on shores exposed to heavy wave action, the intertidal zone will be influenced by waves, as the spray from breaking waves will extend the intertidal zone
9.
Breakwater (structure)
–
Breakwaters are structures constructed on coasts as part of coastal defense or to protect an anchorage from the effects of both weather and longshore drift. Breakwaters reduce the intensity of wave action in inshore waters and thereby reduce coastal erosion or provide safe harbourage, Breakwaters may also be small structures designed to protect a gently sloping beach and put one to three hundred thousand feet onshore in relatively shallow water. An anchorage is only safe if ships anchored there are protected from the force of high winds, natural harbours are formed by such barriers as headlands or reefs. Artificial harbours can be created with the help of breakwaters, mobile harbours, such as the D-Day Mulberry harbours, were floated into position and acted as breakwaters. Some natural harbours, such as those in Plymouth Sound, Portland Harbour, the dissipation of energy and relative calm water created in the lee of the breakwaters often encourage accretion of sediment. However, this can lead to excessive salient build up, resulting in tombolo formation and this trapping of sediment can cause adverse effects down-drift of the breakwaters, leading to beach sediment starvation and increased erosion. This may then lead to further engineering protection being needed down-drift of the breakwater development, Breakwaters are subject to damage, and overtopping in severe storms events. Breakwaters can be constructed with one end linked to the shore, length of gap is largely governed by the interacting wavelengths. Breakwaters may be fixed or floating, and impermeable or permeable to allow sediment transfer shoreward of the structures. They usually consist of pieces of rock weighing up to 16 tonnes each. Their design is influenced by the angle of approach and other environmental parameters. Breakwater construction can be parallel or perpendicular to the coast. Of these three, the angle at which the breakwater is built is most important in the formation of salients. The angle at which the breakwater is built determines the new direction of the waves, a breakwater structure is designed to absorb the energy of the waves that hit it, either by using mass, or by using a revetment slope. In coastal engineering, a revetment is a land backed structure whilst a breakwater is a sea backed structure, caisson breakwaters typically have vertical sides and are usually erected where it is desirable to berth one or more vessels on the inner face of the breakwater. They use the mass of the caisson and the fill within it to resist the forces applied by waves hitting them. They are relatively expensive to construct in shallow water, but in deeper sites they can offer a significant saving over revetment breakwaters, rubble mound breakwaters use structural voids to dissipate the wave energy. Rock or concrete armour units on the outside of the structure absorb most of the energy, the slopes of the revetment are typically between 1,1 and 1,2, depending upon the materials used
10.
Wharf
–
A wharf, quay, staith or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbor or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more berths, and may also include piers, warehouses, a wharf commonly comprises a fixed platform, often on pilings. Commercial ports may have warehouses that serve as storage areas. A pier, raised over the rather than within it, is commonly used for cases where the weight or volume of cargos will be low. Smaller and more modern wharves are sometimes built on devices to keep them at the same level as the ship. In some contexts wharf and quay may be used to mean pier, berth, in old ports such as London many old wharves have been converted to residential or office use. Certain early railways in England referred to goods loading points as wharves, the term was carried over from marine usage. The person who was resident in charge of the wharf was referred to as a wharfinger. The word wharf comes from the Old English hwearf, meaning bank or shore, wharfage also refers to a fee charged by ports for the cargo handled there. Originally, werf or werva in Old Dutch simply referred to inhabited ground that was not yet built on and this could explain the name Ministry Wharf located at Saunderton, just outside High Wycombe, which is nowhere near any body of water. In support of this explanation is the fact that places in England with wharf in their names are in areas with a high Dutch influence. In the northeast and east of England the term staith or staithe is also used, both originally referred to staithes in the sense of jetties or wharves. However, the term staith may also be used to only to loading chutes or ramps used for bulk commodities like coal in loading ships. Quay, on the hand, has its origin in the Proto-Celtic language. Before it changed to its current form under influence of the modern French quai, its Middle English spelling was key and this in turn also came from the Old North French cai, both roughly meaning sand bank. The Old French term came from Gaulish caium, ultimately tracing back to the Proto-Celtic *kagio- to encompass, modern cognates include Welsh cae fence, hedge and Cornish ke hedge. Canal basin Dock Port Safeguarded wharf The dictionary definition of wharf at Wiktionary The dictionary definition of quay at Wiktionary
11.
Ship
–
Historically, a ship was a sailing vessel with at least three square-rigged masts and a full bowsprit. Ships are generally distinguished from boats, based on size, shape, Ships have been important contributors to human migration and commerce. They have supported the spread of colonization and the trade, but have also served scientific, cultural. After the 16th century, new crops that had come from, Ship transport is responsible for the largest portion of world commerce. As of 2016, there were more than 49,000 merchant ships, of these 28% were oil tankers, 43% were bulk carriers, and 13% were container ships. Military forces operate vessels for naval warfare and to transport and support forces ashore, the top 50 navies had a median fleet of 88 surface vessels each, according to various sources. There is no definition of what distinguishes a ship from a boat. Ships can usually be distinguished from boats based on size and the ability to operate independently for extended periods. A legal definition of ship from Indian case law is a vessel that carries goods by sea, a common notion is that a ship can carry a boat, but not vice versa. American and British 19th Century maritime law distinguished vessels from other craft, ships and boats fall in one legal category, a number of large vessels are usually referred to as boats. Other types of vessel which are traditionally called boats are Great Lakes freighters, riverboats. Though large enough to carry their own boats and heavy cargoes, in most maritime traditions ships have individual names, and modern ships may belong to a ship class often named after its first ship. The first known vessels date back about 10,000 years ago, the first navigators began to use animal skins or woven fabrics as sails. Affixed to the top of a pole set upright in a boat and this allowed men to explore widely, allowing for the settlement of Oceania for example. By around 3000 BC, Ancient Egyptians knew how to assemble wooden planks into a hull and they used woven straps to lash the planks together, and reeds or grass stuffed between the planks helped to seal the seams. Sneferus ancient cedar wood ship Praise of the Two Lands is the first reference recorded to a ship being referred to by name, the ancient Egyptians were perfectly at ease building sailboats. A remarkable example of their skills was the Khufu ship. Aksum was known by the Greeks for having seaports for ships from Greece, a panel found at Mohenjodaro depicted a sailing craft
12.
Anchorage, Alaska
–
Anchorage is a unified home rule municipality in the U. S. state of Alaska. All together, the Anchorage metropolitan area, which combines Anchorage with the neighboring Matanuska-Susitna Borough, had a population of 401,635 in 2016. Anchorage is located in the portion of Alaska at the terminus of the Cook Inlet on a peninsula formed by the Knik Arm to the north. The city limits span 1,961.1 square miles encompass the urban core. Due to its location on the globe, being almost equidistant from New York City, Tokyo, Anchorage has been named an All-America City four times, in 1956,1965, 1984–85, and 2002, by the National Civic League. It has also named by Kiplinger as the most tax-friendly city in the United States. Russian presence in south central Alaska was well established in the 19th century, in 1867, U. S. Secretary of State William H. Seward brokered a deal to purchase Alaska from Imperial Russia for $7.2 million. His political rivals lampooned the deal as Sewards folly, Sewards icebox, by 1888, gold was discovered along Turnagain Arm. Alaska became a United States territory in 1912, Anchorage, unlike every other large town in Alaska south of the Brooks Range, was neither a fishing nor mining camp. The area surrounding Anchorage lacks significant economic metal minerals, a number of Denaina settlements existed along Knik Arm for years. By 1911 the families of J. D. Bud Whitney, jack Brown, and his bride, Nellie, in 1912 to have lived in the Ship Creek valley in the 1910s prior to the large influx of settlers. The city grew from its choice as the site, in 1914, under the direction of Frederick Mears. The area near the mouth of Ship Creek, where the headquarters was located. A town site was mapped out on higher ground to the south of the tent city, greatly noted in the years since for its order and rigidity compared with other Alaska town sites. In 1915, territorial governor John Franklin Alexander Strong encouraged residents to change the name to one that had more significance. In the summer of year, residents held a vote to change the citys name. However, the government ultimately declined to change the citys name. Anchorage was incorporated on November 23,1920, construction of the Alaska Railroad continued until its completion in 1923
.jpg)
