1.
EMD SD45
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The SD45 is a six-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between 1965–1971. It had an EMD 645E3 twenty-cylinder engine generating 3,600 hp on the frame as the EMD SD38, EMD SD39, EMD SD40. 1,260 were built for American railroads before the SD45-2 replaced it, other models, like the SD45T-2 Tunnel Motor, were released in 1972. Reliability was not as high as anticipated, the prime mover could break its own crankshaft. But, the block and crankshaft formed the basis of the exceptionally reliable 710G engine. Buyers included the Burlington Northern, Southern Pacific, Santa Fe, Pennsylvania Railroad, the Great Northern Railway, Union Pacific, many SD45s still exist, some rebuilt with sixteen-cylinder 645s for lease companies. SD45s and SD45-2s owned by Montana Rail Link retain their 20-cylinder prime movers, wisconsin Central used to roster a large fleet of SD45s, but its sale to CN has resulted in the retirement of the entire fleet, with mass scrappings. Montana Rail Link is also starting to sell some for scrap, Great Northern 400, named Hustle Muscle, was the first production SD45 and preserved by the Great Northern Railway Historical Society, based out of Saint Paul, Minnesota. Restored to EL colors, this unit is a static display and this high-hood unit is a static display at the Virginia Museum of Transportation. This locomotive is preserved at the Lake Superior Railroad Museum and this locomotive is preserved at the Southern Appalachia Railway Museum. This locomotive is a display at the Utah State Railroad Museum. This locomotive is at the Illinois Railway Museum and is operable and it is one of two WC SD45 units to be painted in an Operation Lifesaver scheme. A Field Guide to Trains of North America, GE and EMD Locomotives, The Illustrated History
2.
Reporting mark
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A reporting mark is an alphabetic code of one to four letters used to identify owners or lessees of rolling stock and other equipment used on certain railroad networks. In North America the mark, which consists of an code of one to four letters, is stenciled on each piece of equipment. The Association of American Railroads assigns marks to all carriers, under authority granted by the U. S, surface Transportation Board, Transport Canada, and Mexican Government. Under current practice, the first letter must match the initial letter of the railroad name, as it also acts as a Standard Carrier Alpha Code, the reporting mark cannot conflict with codes in use by other nonrail carriers. In another example, the mark for state-funded Amtrak services in California is CDTX because the state transportation agency owns the equipment used in these services. This is why the reporting mark for CSX Transportation, which is a railroad, is CSXT instead of CSX. This often resulted in five-letter reporting marks, an option not otherwise allowed by the AAR, the standard ISO6346 covers identifiers for intermodal containers. When the owner of a mark is taken over by another company. For example, when the Union Pacific Railroad acquired the Chicago and North Western Railway in the 1990s, some companies own several marks that are used to identify different classes of cars, such as boxcars or gondolas. If the acquiring company discontinues the name or mark of the acquired company, occasionally, long-disused marks are suddenly revived by the companies which now own them. For example, in recent years, the Union Pacific Railroad has begun to use the mark CMO on newly built covered hoppers, gondolas, CMO originally belonged to a predecessor of the CNW, which passed it on to them, from which the UP inherited it. Some of these still retain their temporary NYC marks. Because of its size, this list has been split into subpages based on the first letter of the reporting mark, railinc, a subsidiary of the AAR, maintains the active reporting marks for the North American rail industry. Railinc offers a free online look-up of reporting marks and other industry reference files through the Railincs Freight Rail 411 website, a railway vehicle must be registered in a national vehicle register using a 12-digit number derived from the old UIC system of vehicle numbering. The number contains the country in the third and fourth digit. The VKM must not contain special signs or digits, the VKM is preceded by the code for the country, where the vehicle is registered and a hyphen. Some examples, When a vehicle is sold it does not normally be transferred to another register, the Czech railways bought large numbers of coaches from ÖBB. The number remained the same but the VKM changed from A-ÖBB to A-ČD, the UIC introduced a uniform numbering system for their members based on a 12-digit number, largely known as UIC number
3.
British Columbia
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British Columbia is the westernmost province of Canada, with a population of more than four million people located between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. British Columbia is also a component of the Pacific Northwest and the Cascadia bioregion, along with the U. S. states of Idaho, Oregon, Washington and Alaska. The first British settlement in the area was Fort Victoria, established in 1843, subsequently, on the mainland, the Colony of British Columbia was founded by Richard Clement Moody and the Royal Engineers, Columbia Detachment, in response to the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush. Port Moody is named after him, in 1866, Vancouver Island became part of the colony of British Columbia, and Victoria became the united colonys capital. In 1871, British Columbia became the province of Canada. Its Latin motto is Splendor sine occasu, the capital of British Columbia remains Victoria, the fifteenth-largest metropolitan region in Canada, named for the Queen who created the original European colonies. The largest city is Vancouver, the third-largest metropolitan area in Canada, the largest in Western Canada, in October 2013, British Columbia had an estimated population of 4,606,371. British Columbia evolved from British possessions that were established in what is now British Columbia by 1871, First Nations, the original inhabitants of the land, have a history of at least 10,000 years in the area. Today there are few treaties and the question of Aboriginal Title, notably, the Tsilhqotin Nation has established Aboriginal title to a portion of their territory, as a result of the recent Supreme Court of Canada decision. BCs economy is diverse, with service producing industries accounting for the largest portion of the provinces GDP and it is the endpoint of transcontinental railways, and the site of major Pacific ports that enable international trade. Though less than 5% of its vast 944,735 km2 land is arable and its climate encourages outdoor recreation and tourism, though its economic mainstay has long been resource extraction, principally logging, farming, and mining. Vancouver, the provinces largest city and metropolitan area, also serves as the headquarters of many western-based natural resource companies and it also benefits from a strong housing market and a per capita income well above the national average. The Northern Interior region has a climate with very cold winters. The climate of Vancouver is by far the mildest winter climate of the major Canadian cities, the provinces name was chosen by Queen Victoria, when the Colony of British Columbia, i. e. the Mainland, became a British colony in 1858. The current southern border of British Columbia was established by the 1846 Oregon Treaty, British Columbias land area is 944,735 square kilometres. British Columbias rugged coastline stretches for more than 27,000 kilometres and it is the only province in Canada that borders the Pacific Ocean. British Columbias capital is Victoria, located at the tip of Vancouver Island. Only a narrow strip of the Island, from Campbell River to Victoria, is significantly populated, much of the western part of Vancouver Island and the rest of the coast is covered by thick, tall and sometimes impenetrable temperate rainforest
4.
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
5.
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
6.
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
7.
Manitoba
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Manitoba is a province at the longitudinal centre of Canada. It is one of the three provinces and Canadas fifth-most populous province with its estimated 1.3 million people. Manitoba covers 649,950 square kilometres with a varied landscape. Aboriginal peoples have inhabited what is now Manitoba for thousands of years, in the late 17th century, fur traders arrived in the area when it was part of Ruperts Land and owned by the Hudsons Bay Company. In 1869, negotiations for the creation of the province of Manitoba led to an uprising of the Métis people against the Government of Canada. The rebellions resolution led to the Parliament of Canada passing the Manitoba Act in 1870 that created the province, Manitobas capital and largest city, Winnipeg, is Canadas eighth-largest census metropolitan area. Winnipeg is the seat of government, home to the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, four of the provinces five universities and all four of its professional sports teams are in Winnipeg. The name Manitoba is believed to be derived from the Cree, the name derives from Cree manitou-wapow or Ojibwa manidoobaa, both meaning straits of Manitou, the Great Spirit, a place referring to what are now called The Narrows in the centre of Lake Manitoba. It may also be from the Assiniboine for Lake of the Prairie, the lake was known to French explorers as Lac des Prairies. Thomas Spence chose the name to refer to a new republic he proposed for the south of the lake. Métis leader Louis Riel also chose the name, and it was accepted in Ottawa under the Manitoba Act of 1870 and it adjoins Hudson Bay to the northeast, and is the only prairie province to have a saltwater coastline. The Port of Churchill is Canadas only Arctic deep-water port and the shortest shipping route between North America and Asia, Lake Winnipeg is the tenth-largest freshwater lake in the world. Hudson Bay is the worlds second-largest bay, Manitoba is at the heart of the giant Hudson Bay watershed, once known as Ruperts Land. It was a area of the Hudsons Bay Company, with many rivers. The province has a saltwater coastline bordering Hudson Bay and more than 110,000 lakes, Manitobas major lakes are Lake Manitoba, Lake Winnipegosis, and Lake Winnipeg, the tenth-largest freshwater lake in the world. Some traditional Native lands and boreal forest on Lake Winnipegs east side are a proposed UNESCO World Heritage Site. Manitoba is at the centre of the Hudson Bay drainage basin, with a volume of the water draining into Lake Winnipeg. This basins rivers reach far west to the mountains, far south into the United States, major watercourses include the Red, Assiniboine, Nelson, Winnipeg, Hayes, Whiteshell and Churchill rivers
8.
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
9.
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
10.
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
11.
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
12.
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
13.
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
14.
Wisconsin
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Wisconsin is a U. S. state located in the north-central United States, in the Midwest and Great Lakes regions. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, Wisconsin is the 23rd largest state by total area and the 20th most populous. The state capital is Madison, and its largest city is Milwaukee, the state is divided into 72 counties. Wisconsin is second to Michigan in the length of its Great Lakes coastline, Wisconsin is known as Americas Dairyland because it is one of the nations leading dairy producers, particularly famous for its cheese. Manufacturing, especially paper products, information technology, and tourism are major contributors to the states economy. The word Wisconsin originates from the given to the Wisconsin River by one of the Algonquian-speaking Native American groups living in the region at the time of European contact. French explorer Jacques Marquette was the first European to reach the Wisconsin River, arriving in 1673, subsequent French writers changed the spelling from Meskousing to Ouisconsin, and over time this became the name for both the Wisconsin River and the surrounding lands. English speakers anglicized the spelling from Ouisconsin to Wisconsin when they began to arrive in numbers during the early 19th century. The legislature of Wisconsin Territory made the current spelling official in 1845, the Algonquin word for Wisconsin and its original meaning have both grown obscure. Interpretations vary, but most implicate the river and the red sandstone that lines its banks, other theories include claims that the name originated from one of a variety of Ojibwa words meaning red stone place, where the waters gather, or great rock. Wisconsin has been home to a variety of cultures over the past 12,000 years. The first people arrived around 10,000 BCE during the Wisconsin Glaciation and these early inhabitants, called Paleo-Indians, hunted now-extinct ice age animals such as the Boaz mastodon, a prehistoric mastodon skeleton unearthed along with spear points in southwest Wisconsin. After the ice age ended around 8000 BCE, people in the subsequent Archaic period lived by hunting, fishing, agricultural societies emerged gradually over the Woodland period between 1000 BCE to 1000 CE. Toward the end of period, Wisconsin was the heartland of the Effigy Mound culture. Later, between 1000 and 1500 CE, the Mississippian and Oneota cultures built substantial settlements including the village at Aztalan in southeast Wisconsin. The Oneota may be the ancestors of the modern Ioway and Ho-Chunk tribes who shared the Wisconsin region with the Menominee at the time of European contact, the first European to visit what became Wisconsin was probably the French explorer Jean Nicolet. He canoed west from Georgian Bay through the Great Lakes in 1634, pierre Radisson and Médard des Groseilliers visited Green Bay again in 1654–1666 and Chequamegon Bay in 1659–1660, where they traded for fur with local Native Americans. In 1673, Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet became the first to record a journey on the Fox-Wisconsin Waterway all the way to the Mississippi River near Prairie du Chien
15.
Burlington Northern Railroad
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The Burlington Northern Railroad was a United States-based railroad company formed from a merger of four major U. S. railroads. Burlington Northern operated between 1970 and 1996 and that corporation was purchased by Berkshire Hathaway in 2009 which is controlled by investor Warren Buffett. The merged railroad was going to be called Great Northern Pacific & Burlington Lines. The merger was approved in 1970 even though a challenge occurred in the Supreme Court. To further expand the Burlington Northern railroad, a track was constructed in 1972 into the Powder River Basin to serve various coal mines. On November 21,1980, the St. Louis - San Francisco Railway was acquired, in 1971, BN/C&S/FW&D carried 64116 million revenue ton-miles of freight, in 1979 the total was 135004 million. Most of the increase was Powder River coal from Wyoming, a fount of traffic unprecedented in United States railroad history, the Burlington Northern, along with handling freight trains, briefly operated inter-city passenger trains. The BN also operated a commuter line inherited from the CB&Q from Chicago Union Station to the suburb of Aurora. On September 22,1995, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway merged with the Burlington Northern to create the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway, on January 24,2005, the railroad shortened its name to BNSF Railway. The Burlington Northern traversed the most northerly routes of any railroad in the western United States and these routes started at Chicago, Illinois and ran west-northwest to La Crosse, Wisconsin. From here the routes continued northwest through Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota to Grand Forks, from Grand Forks the routes ran west through North Dakota, Montana, and Idaho to Spokane, Washington. At Spokane the routes split into three, the Spokane, Portland and Seattle ran southwest to the Tri-Cities, then followed the north bank of the Columbia River to Vancouver, Washington. With the acquisition of the St. Louis – San Francisco Railway the route was extended into the South Central and Southeastern United States. Transport Statistics shows BN operated 23609 miles of line and 34691 miles of track at the end of 1970, it shows 4547 SLSF miles of line not including QA&P, at the end of 1981 BN showed 27374 miles of line and 40041 miles of track. The livery of the Burlington Northern traces its history to Chicago, Burlington, EMD GP40 #629 was painted in a green, black and white scheme that introduced the BNs lettering and logo. The green color was known as Cascade Green due to the reflections of pine trees. As the final approval of the merger was approaching the Spokane, Portland, by the 1980s the locomotives and rolling stock had an unfortunate habit of camouflaging into the scenery and causing accidents at railroad crossings. By 1987 the study did not show vast improvement of the visibility and was dropped
16.
Track gauge
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In rail transport, track gauge is the spacing of the rails on a railway track and is measured between the inner faces of the load-bearing rails. All vehicles on a network must have running gear that is compatible with the track gauge, as the dominant parameter determining interoperability, it is still frequently used as a descriptor of a route or network. There is a distinction between the gauge and actual gauge at some locality, due to divergence of track components from the nominal. Railway engineers use a device, like a caliper, to measure the actual gauge, the nominal track gauge is the distance between the inner faces of the rails. In current practice, it is specified at a distance below the rail head as the inner faces of the rail head are not necessarily vertical. In some cases in the earliest days of railways, the company saw itself as an infrastructure provider only. Colloquially the wagons might be referred to as four-foot gauge wagons, say and this nominal value does not equate to the flange spacing, as some freedom is allowed for. An infrastructure manager might specify new or replacement track components at a variation from the nominal gauge for pragmatic reasons. Track is defined in old Imperial units or in universally accepted metric units or SI units, Imperial units were established in United Kingdom by The Weights and Measures Act of 1824. In addition, there are constraints, such as the load-carrying capacity of axles. Narrow gauge railways usually cost less to build because they are lighter in construction, using smaller cars and locomotives, as well as smaller bridges, smaller tunnels. Narrow gauge is often used in mountainous terrain, where the savings in civil engineering work can be substantial. Broader gauge railways are generally expensive to build and require wider curves. There is no single perfect gauge, because different environments and economic considerations come into play, a narrow gauge is superior if ones main considerations are economy and tight curvature. For direct, unimpeded routes with high traffic, a broad gauge may be preferable, the Standard, Russian, and 46 gauges are designed to strike a reasonable balance between these factors. In addition to the general trade-off, another important factor is standardization, once a standard has been chosen, and equipment, infrastructure, and training calibrated to that standard, conversion becomes difficult and expensive. This also makes it easier to adopt an existing standard than to invent a new one and this is true of many technologies, including railroad gauges. The reduced cost, greater efficiency, and greater economic opportunity offered by the use of a common standard explains why a number of gauges predominate worldwide
17.
Saint Paul, Minnesota
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Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U. S. state of Minnesota. As of 2015, the estimated population was 300,851. Saint Paul is the county seat of Ramsey County, the smallest and most densely populated county in Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the states largest city. Known as the Twin Cities, the two form the core of Minneapolis–Saint Paul, the 16th-largest metropolitan area in the United States, with about 3.52 million residents. Founded near historic Native American settlements as a trading and transportation center, the Dakota name for Saint Paul is Imnizaska. Though Minneapolis is better-known nationally, Saint Paul contains the state government, regionally, the city is known for the Xcel Energy Center, home of the Minnesota Wild, and for the Science Museum of Minnesota. As a business hub of the Upper Midwest, it is the headquarters of such as Ecolab. Saint Paul, along with its Twin City, Minneapolis, is known for its literacy rate. It was the city in the United States with a population of 250,000 or more to see an increase in circulation of Sunday newspapers in 2007. The settlement originally began at present-day Lamberts Landing, but was known as Pigs Eye after Pierre Pigs Eye Parrant established a tavern there. Burial mounds in present-day Indian Mounds Park suggest that the area was inhabited by the Hopewell Native Americans about two thousand years ago. From the early 17th century until 1837, the Mdewakanton Dakota and they called the area I-mni-za ska dan for its exposed white sandstone cliffs. Following the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, a U. S. Army officer named Zebulon Pike negotiated approximately 100,000 acres of land from the local Dakota tribes in 1805 in order to establish a fort. The negotiated territory was located on banks of the Mississippi River, starting from Saint Anthony Falls in present-day Minneapolis, to its confluence with the Saint Croix River. Fort Snelling was built on the territory in 1819 at the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers, the 1837 Treaty with the Sioux ceded all local tribal land east of the Mississippi to the U. S. Government. Taoyateduta moved his band at Kaposia across the river to the south, fur traders, explorers, and missionaries came to the area for the forts protection. Many of the settlers were French-Canadians who lived nearby, however, as a whiskey trade flourished, military officers banned settlers from the fort-controlled lands
18.
4-8-4
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The type was first used by the Northern Pacific Railway and is consequently most commonly known as a Northern. This was combined with the stability at speed brought about by the leading truck. The evolution to the 4-8-4 type occurred in the United States of America soon after the Lima Locomotive Works introduced the concept of Lima Super Power in 1925, the Timken 1111 was subsequently sold to the NP, where it became NP no. 2626, their sole Class A-1 locomotive, the 4-8-4 proved itself suitable for both express passenger and fast freight service. While it was not suited to heavy freight trains, faster and lighter trains were well suited to the type. Most were two-cylinder locomotives, but four classes of three-cylinder 4-8-4s were built, the simplex H class by the Victorian Railways in Australia. The compound 242A1 class of the Société Nationale des Chemins de fer Français in France, an experimental high-pressure compound locomotive of the New York Central. Since the 4-8-4 was first used by the Northern Pacific Railway, most North American railroads used this name, but some adopted different names. Big Apple on the Central of Georgia Railway, Confederation on the Canadian National Railway. Dixie on the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway, greenbrier on the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway. Niagara on the New York Central Railroad, Niágara on the Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México and in Brazil. Pocono on the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad, Potomac on the Western Maryland Railway. Western on the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad, Wyoming on the Lehigh Valley Railroad. The Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad gave each of its three 4-8-4 classes a separate name, the General of 1937, the Governor of 1938 and the Statesman of 1944. The adhesive weight on a 4-8-4 was limited to about 60% of the engines weight, in a later variant, Bowen added a booster to the trailing truck, enabling the big Selkirk to exert nearly 50% more tractive effort than the similar-sized K-1a Northern. A total of 23 4-8-4 locomotives operated in Australia, built to three distinct designs and this necessitated the replacement of their two-wheel trailing trucks with four-wheel bogies. The booster contributed an additional 8,000 pounds-force to the tractive effort, in their new 4-8-4 configuration, they were reclassified to 500B class. In 1943, the first of twelve streamlined South Australian Railways 520 class locomotives were delivered from the Islington Workshops in Adelaide
19.
Havre, Montana
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Havre is the county seat and largest town in Montana’s Hill County. It is said to be named after the city of Le Havre in France, as of 2015, the U. S. Census Bureau estimated the city’s population was 9,834. Havre was incorporated in north central Montana in 1893 and it was founded primarily to serve as a major railroad service center for the Great Northern Railway with its location midway between Seattle and Minneapolis-St. Paul. A statue of Hill stands near the Havre Amtrak station to commemorate the key contributions his railroad has made to Havres, originally named Bullhook Bottoms, the town met in a series of meetings to determine a new name. The original settlers were given the decision, and due to a strong French influence. Pepin purchased ranch land near Fort Assinniboine, when James J. Hill built the Great Northern Railway across northern Montana, he built locomotive shops on property Pepin owned at the site of Havre. Pepin became a contributor to Havres economic growth through his cattle, real estate. Havre is the eighth-largest city in Montana, and the largest city in the Montana section of the Hi-Line, with the nearest larger city, Great Falls, about 120 miles to the south, Havre serves as a medical and business center for the Montana section of the Hi-Line. U. S. Highway 87 has its terminus at Havre. U. S. Highway 2, running east-west, is the main street. The largest employers are Northern Montana Hospital, Montana State University – Northern, throughout much of the twentieth century, BNSF was the most prominent employer in the city, but the company scaled back its workforce in Havre in the 1990s. The Milk River runs through the town, and the Bears Paw Mountains can be seen to the south, small grids of purple squares can be seen in some of the sidewalks downtown. These are skylights for a mall built in the city at least a hundred years ago. The underground area, now designated Havre Beneath the Streets, currently operates as a tourist attraction, the Wahkpa Chugn buffalo jump, or bison kill, is located behind the Holiday Village Shopping Center near the northwest corner of Havre. Over 2,000 years old, it is one of the largest and best preserved buffalo jumps anywhere, in prehistoric times, Native Americans would drive bison over the edge of the cliff, killing or severely injuring the animals. Afterwards, the Native Americans skinned the animals and preserved the meat, the buffalo jump is now an archaeological site and a small tourist attraction. The buffalo jump is located at the edge of the Havre Badlands. Small fossils, including seashells and petrified wood, can be found in the sediment in this area
20.
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
21.
Railroad classes
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There are six US Class I freight railroad companies. Canada has two Class I freight railroads, both of which have trackage in the US, mexico has two Class I freight railroads, one with trackage in the US. In addition, the passenger railroads in the US and Canada, Amtrak. Initially, the ICC classed railroads by their gross revenue. Class I railroads had an operating revenue of at least $1 million. All such corporations were subject to reporting requirements on a quarterly or annual schedule, if a railroad slipped below its class qualification threshold for a period, it was not necessarily demoted immediately. For instance, in 1925, the ICC reported 174 Class I railroads,282 Class II railroads, since dissolution of the ICC in 1996, the Surface Transportation Board has become responsible for defining criteria for each railroad class. The bounds are typically redefined every several years to adjust for inflation, the initial $1 million criterion established in 1911 for a Class I railroad was used until January 1,1956, when the figure was increased to $3 million. In 1956, the ICC counted 113 Class I line-haul operating railroads and 309 Class II railroads, the Class III category was dropped in 1956 but reinstated in 1978. In a special move in 1979, all switching and terminal railroads were re-designated Class III, Class II and Class III designations are now rarely used outside the rail transport industry. The Association of American Railroads typically divides non–Class I companies into three categories, Regional railroads, operate at least 350 miles or make at least $40 million per year, local railroads, non-regional but engage in line-haul service. Switching and terminal railroads, mainly switch cars between other railroads or provide service from other lines to a common terminal, the Class II maximum criterion was increased in 1992 to $250 million annually, which resulted in the Florida East Coast Railway having its status changed to Class II. Rail carriers with less than $20 million in revenue are designated as Class III, in Canada, a Class I rail carrier is defined as a company that has earned gross revenues exceeding $250 million for each of the previous two years. Class 1 railroads are some of the most efficient forms of transportation, in 2013, eleven railroads in North America were designated as Class I. In the United States, Amtrak and seven freight railroads are designated Class I based on 2011 measurements released in 2013, a Class II railroad in the United States hauls freight and is mid-sized in terms of operating revenue. As of 2011, a railroad with revenues greater than $37.4 million, switching and terminal railroads are excluded from Class II status. Railroads considered by the Association of American Railroads as Regional Railroads are typically Class II, the last major change of the upper bound for a Class II railroad was in 1992, when the Florida East Coast Railway was changed from a Class I railroad to Class II. Changes since then have been adjustments for inflation, a Class III railroad has an annual operating revenue of less than $20 million
22.
Seattle
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Seattle is a seaport city on the west coast of the United States and the seat of King County, Washington. With an estimated 684,451 residents as of 2015, Seattle is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region of North America. In July 2013, it was the major city in the United States. The city is situated on an isthmus between Puget Sound and Lake Washington, about 100 miles south of the Canada–United States border, a major gateway for trade with Asia, Seattle is the fourth-largest port in North America in terms of container handling as of 2015. The Seattle area was inhabited by Native Americans for at least 4,000 years before the first permanent European settlers. Arthur A. Denny and his group of travelers, subsequently known as the Denny Party, arrived from Illinois via Portland, the settlement was moved to the eastern shore of Elliott Bay and named Seattle in 1852, after Chief Siahl of the local Duwamish and Suquamish tribes. Logging was Seattles first major industry, but by the late-19th century, growth after World War II was partially due to the local Boeing company, which established Seattle as a center for aircraft manufacturing. The Seattle area developed as a technology center beginning in the 1980s, in 1994, Internet retailer Amazon was founded in Seattle. The stream of new software, biotechnology, and Internet companies led to an economic revival, Seattle has a noteworthy musical history. From 1918 to 1951, nearly two dozen jazz nightclubs existed along Jackson Street, from the current Chinatown/International District, to the Central District, the jazz scene developed the early careers of Ray Charles, Quincy Jones, Ernestine Anderson, and others. Seattle is also the birthplace of rock musician Jimi Hendrix and the alternative rock subgenre grunge, archaeological excavations suggest that Native Americans have inhabited the Seattle area for at least 4,000 years. By the time the first European settlers arrived, the people occupied at least seventeen villages in the areas around Elliott Bay, the first European to visit the Seattle area was George Vancouver, in May 1792 during his 1791–95 expedition to chart the Pacific Northwest. In 1851, a party led by Luther Collins made a location on land at the mouth of the Duwamish River. Thirteen days later, members of the Collins Party on the way to their claim passed three scouts of the Denny Party, members of the Denny Party claimed land on Alki Point on September 28,1851. The rest of the Denny Party set sail from Portland, Oregon, after a difficult winter, most of the Denny Party relocated across Elliott Bay and claimed land a second time at the site of present-day Pioneer Square, naming this new settlement Duwamps. For the next few years, New York Alki and Duwamps competed for dominance, david Swinson Doc Maynard, one of the founders of Duwamps, was the primary advocate to name the settlement after Chief Sealth of the Duwamish and Suquamish tribes. The name Seattle appears on official Washington Territory papers dated May 23,1853, in 1855, nominal land settlements were established. On January 14,1865, the Legislature of Territorial Washington incorporated the Town of Seattle with a board of managing the city
23.
James J. Hill
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James Jerome Hill, was a Canadian-American railroad executive. He was the executive officer of a family of lines headed by the Great Northern Railway, which served a substantial area of the Upper Midwest, the northern Great Plains. Because of the size of this region and the economic dominance exerted by the Hill lines, Hill was born in Eramosa Township, Wellington County, Upper Canada. A childhood accident with a bow and arrow blinded him in the right eye and he had nine years of formal schooling. He attended the Rockwood Academy for a short while, where the head gave him free tuition and he was forced to leave school in 1852 due to the death of his father. By the time he had finished, he was adept at algebra, geometry, land surveying and his particular talents for English and mathematics would be critical later in his life. After working as a clerk in Kentucky, Hill decided to move to the United States and settled in St. Paul, Minnesota. His first job in St. Paul was with a steamboat company, by 1860, he was working for wholesale grocers, for whom he handled freight transfers, especially dealing with railroads and steamboats. Through this work, he learned all aspects of the freight, during this period, Hill began to work for himself for the first time. During the winter months when the Mississippi River was frozen and steamboats could not run, Hill started bidding on other contracts, because of his previous experiences in shipping and fuel supply, Hill was able to enter both the coal and steamboat businesses. In 1870, he and his partners started the Red River Transportation Company, by 1879 he had a local monopoly by merging. In 1867, Hill entered the business, and by 1879 it had expanded five times over. During this same period, Hill also entered banking and quickly managed to become member of several major banks boards of directors. He also bought out bankrupt businesses, built them up again, Hill noted that the secret to his success was work, hard work, intelligent work, and then more work. During the Panic of 1873, a number of railroads, including the St. Paul, the StP&P in particular was caught in an almost hopeless legal muddle. For James Hill it was a golden opportunity, for three years, Hill researched the StP&P and finally concluded that it would be possible to make a good deal of money off of the StP&P, provided that the initial capital could be found. Hill teamed up with Norman Kittson, Donald Smith, George Stephen, together they not only bought the railroad, they also vastly expanded it by bargaining for trackage rights with Northern Pacific Railway. In May 1879, the St. Paul, Minneapolis, and his first goal was to expand and upgrade even more
24.
Transcontinental railroad
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A transcontinental railroad is a contiguous network of railroad trackage that crosses a continental land mass with terminals at different oceans or continental borders. Such networks can be via the tracks of either a single railroad, although Europe is crisscrossed by railways, the railroads within Europe are usually not considered transcontinental, with the possible exception of the historic Orient Express. Transcontinental railroads helped open up unpopulated interior regions of continents to exploration, in many cases they also formed the backbones of cross-country passenger and freight transportation networks. In the United States of America, a series of railroads built over the last third of the 19th century created a nationwide transportation network that united the country by rail. Its construction was possible by the US Government under Pacific Railroad Acts of 1862,1864 and 1867. A transcontinental railroad in the United States is any continuous rail line connecting a location on the U. S, Pacific coast with one or more of the railroads of the nations eastern trunk line rail systems operating between the Missouri or Mississippi Rivers and the U. S. The first concrete plan for a railroad in the United States was presented to Congress by Asa Whitney in 1845. The worlds First Transcontinental Railroad was built between 1863 and 1869 to join the eastern and western halves of the United States, begun just before the American Civil War, its construction was considered to be one of the greatest American technological feats of the 19th century. Known as the Pacific Railroad when it opened, this served as a link for trade, commerce. Shipping and commerce could thrive away from navigable watercourses for the first time since the beginning of the nation, much of this line is currently used by Amtraks California Zephyr, although some parts were rerouted or abandoned. The transcontinental railroad provided fast, safe, and cheap travel, the fare for a one-week trip from Omaha to San Francisco on an emigrant sleeping car was about $65 for an adult. It replaced most of the far slower and more hazardous stagecoach lines, the number of emigrants taking the Oregon and California Trail declined dramatically. The sale of the land grant lands and the transport provided for timber. The Central Pacific Railroad faced a shortage in the more sparsely-settled West. It recruited Cantonese laborers in China, who did prodigious work building the line over and through the Sierra Nevada mountains, the Southern Pacific Railroad was completed in 1881. The Pacific Railroad Act of 1862 authorized land grants for new lines that would aid in the construction of a railroad, although through train service was in operation as of that date, the road was not deemed to have been officially completed until November 6,1869. This distinction existed until March 25,1873, when the Union Pacific Missouri River Bridge at Omaha was opened,1881 or 1882, the SP meets the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway at Deming, New Mexico, connecting Atchison, Kansas to Los Angeles. January 12,1883, the SP completes its own section, meeting the subsidiary Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway at the Pecos River in Texas
25.
John Stewart Kennedy
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John Stewart Kennedy was an American businessman, financier and philanthropist. He was a member of the Jekyll Island Club on Jekyll Island, Georgia along with J. P. Morgan and he married Ms. Emma Baker, of Elizabeth, New Jersey in 1858. He was a representative for tubing used in locomotives. Then he came again to New York and entered business with Morris K. Jesup, S. Harris as receiver of the New Jersey Central Railroad. Kennedys 1883 retirement broadened his role as a financier with diverse interests in leading New York financial intermediaries, Kennedy held the post of president pro tem of the Bank of the Manhattan Company, 1883-1884, when he became vice president until he resigned for reasons of health in 1888. Kennedy also served as a trustee of the Central Trust Company from 1882 until he died, Kennedy held similar positions with the National Bank of Commerce, the New York Life Insurance Company, the Title Guarantee and Trust Company, and the United States Trust Company of New York. As a result of his banking activities, Kennedy became a central figure in the history of American banking. As well as his positions in finance Kennedy was a keen art collector. Kennedy died of whooping cough in 1909 at his home in New York, amongst others present in the church were Andrew Carnegie and Mrs Carnegie, Henry De Forest and Eugene Delano. The New York Public Library Digital Gallery
26.
Norman Kittson
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Norman Wolfred Kittson was one of early Minnesotas most prominent citizens. He was best known as first a fur trader, then an operator and finally a railway entrepreneur. He was part of the syndicate that went on to create the Canadian Pacific Railway. Kittson County, Minnesota is named for him, Norman Wolfred’s mother, Ann Tucker of Sorel, was the daughter of Sergeant John Tucker of the 53rd Regiment of Foot. Norman was born 6 March 1814, and baptized on 27 March of the year in Sorel. His middle name Wolfred was given to Norman to honour a family friend, normans grandfather, Thomas Kittson, was in the British Army, probably in the 24th Regiment of Foot and likely was killed or taken prisoner in the fall of 1777 at the Battles of Saratoga. Thomas was married to Julia Calcutt, who has travelled with him with the Regiment in April 1776 from Cork. By 1779, Julia was living with Alexander Henry in Montreal, Julia and Alexander had four children born out of wedlock, and did marry by licence in 1785, Montreal, likely after the official news that her husband was deceased. They had a child after getting married. Kittson received a school education at Sorel, and like everyone in his family he was perfectly bilingual. His step-grandfather Alexander Henry and four of his five paternal uncles had all been active in the fur trade, Kittson served at various posts in what became Minnesota Territory in the United States. Kittson left the American Fur Company in 1833 to become a clerk to the sutler at Fort Snelling, in 1839, he went into business for himself, setting up as a fur trader and supply merchant at Cold Lake, near Fort Snelling. Henry Hastings Sibley, Kittsons old friend from the American Fur Company had risen to managing agent of the AFC, in 1844, maintaining a large degree of independence, Kittson established a permanent post at Pembina, North Dakota, where he made his headquarters. Covering the Red River Valley, he set himself up in direct competition to the Hudson’s Bay Company. Kittsons almost immediate success at Pembina threatened the trade monopoly exerted by the HBC and he served in the Minnesota Territorial Council from 1852 to 1855, while living in Pembina. Kittson collected furs from James Sinclair and established connections to the local French Canadians. Through his first wife, he became attached to the Métis people, employing them as tripmen. All of this enabled him to play a significant part in bringing about free trade to the settlement in 1849, guillaume Sayer was trading with Kittson prior to the trial that ended the monopoly
27.
Donald Smith, 1st Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal
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Donald Alexander Smith, 1st Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal GCMG GCVO PC DL FRS was a Scottish-born Canadian businessman who became one of the British Empires foremost builders and philanthropists. He became commissioner, governor and principal shareholder of the Hudsons Bay Company and he was president of the Bank of Montreal and with his first cousin, Lord Mount Stephen, co-founded the Canadian Pacific Railway. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba and afterwards represented Montreal in the Canadian House of Commons and he was Canadian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom from 1896 to 1914. He was chairman of Burmah Oil and the Anglo-Persian Oil Company and he was chancellor of McGill University and Aberdeen University. King Edward VII called him Uncle Donald and his will was valued at $5.5 million. He personally raised Lord Strathconas Horse, who saw their first action in the Boer War and he funded the building of Leanchoil Hospital. He and his first cousin, Lord Mount Stephen, purchased the land and then each gave $1 million to the City of Montreal to construct and maintain the Royal Victoria Hospital. At McGill, he started the Donalda Program for the purpose of providing education for Canadian women. He also built the Strathcona Medical Building at McGill and endowed its chairs in pathology, Strathcona Park in Ottawa is dedicated to his memory. His father, whose family had lived at Archiestown Cottage as crofters at Knockando, donalds mother was the sister of the Canadian explorer John Stuart, partner of the North West Company who rose to become Chief Factor of the Hudsons Bay Company. Smith was educated at Andersons Free School and on leaving at age sixteen he was apprenticed to become a lawyer in the offices of Robert Watson, Smith chose to follow his uncles career and sailed to Montreal that year. He emigrated to Lower Canada in 1838 to work for the Hudsons Bay Company and he was given administrative control over the seigneury of Mingan in late 1843, where his innovative methods met with the disapproval of HBC governor Sir George Simpson. The Mingan post burned down in 1846, and Smith left for Montreal the following year and he returned in 1848, and remained in Labrador until the 1860s, administering the fur trade and salmon fishing within the region. In 1862, Smith was promoted as the companys Chief Factor in charge of the Labrador district and he travelled to London in 1865, and made a favourable impression on the HBCs directors. In 1868, he was promoted to Commissioner of the Montreal department and that same year, Smith joined with George Stephen, Richard Bladworth Angus, and Andrew Paton to establish the textile manufactory, Paton Manufacturing Company, in Sherbrooke. The person in charge of HBCs nominal head office in Montreal was Smith, Smith travelled to Manitoba, and negotiated at Fort Garry with Louis Riel, who had been voted the leader of the rebellion. Smiths offers, including recognition for the Métis, led to Riel calling a Council of 40 representatives, drawn half-and-half from the Metis. Smith returned to Ottawa in early 1870, and communicated the Royal Commission on the North-West Territories, Smith succeeded in gaining clemency for some prisoners within the region, he was not, however, able to prevent the execution of Thomas Scott by Riels provisional government
28.
Hudson's Bay Company
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The Hudsons Bay Company, commonly referred to as The Bay, is a Canadian retail business group. HBCs head office is in the Simpson Tower in Toronto, Ontario, the company is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol HBC. It was once the worlds largest landowner, with the area of the Hudson Bay watershed, known as Ruperts Land, having 15% of North American acreage. From its long-time headquarters at York Factory on Hudson Bay, the company controlled the fur trade throughout much of the English, undertaking early exploration, its traders and trappers forged relationships with many groups of aboriginal peoples. Its network of trading posts formed the nucleus for later official authority in areas of Western Canada. By the mid-19th century, the company evolved into a business selling everything from furs to fine homeware. They quickly introduced a new type of client to the HBC – one that shopped for pleasure and not with skins, in July 2008, HBC was acquired by NRDC Equity Partners, which also owns the upmarket American department store Lord & Taylor. From 2008 to 2012, the HBC was run through a company of NRDC, Hudsons Bay Trading Company. Since 2012, the HBC directly oversees its Canadian subsidiaries Hudsons Bay and Home Outfitters, on 29 July 2013, the HBC announced its takeover of Saks, Inc. operator of the Saks Fifth Avenue brand. The merger was completed on 3 November 2013, in September 2015, HBC acquired the German department store chain Galeria Kaufhof and its Belgian subsidiary from Metro Group for $3.2 billion U. S. In May 2016, HBC announced it would expand to the Netherlands by taking over up to 20 former Vroom & Dreesmann sites by 2017, v&D was an historic Dutch department store chain that went bankrupt and shut down in early 2016. HBC said the expansion would cost CAD $340 million and create 2,500 jobs in the stores, the Dutch stores would operate under the Hudsons Bay and Saks Off Fifth brands. In January 2016, HBC announced it would also expand deeper in the space with its acquisition of online flash sales site. In the 17th century the French had a de facto monopoly on the Canadian fur trade with their colony of New France. Assuming this was Hudson Bay, they sought French backing for a plan to set up a trading post on the Bay, despite this refusal, in 1659 Radisson and Groseilliers set out for the upper Great Lakes basin. A year later returned with premium furs, evidence of the potential of the Hudson Bay region. Subsequently, they were arrested for trading without a licence and fined, determined to establish trade in the Hudson Bay, Radisson and Groseilliers approached a group of businessmen in Boston, Massachusetts to help finance their explorations. The Bostonians agreed on the plans merits but their speculative voyage in 1663 failed when their ship ran into pack ice in Hudson Strait, boston-based English commissioner Colonel George Cartwright learned of the expedition and brought the two to England to raise financing
29.
George Stephen, 1st Baron Mount Stephen
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George Stephen, 1st Baron Mount Stephen, GCVO, known as Sir George Stephen, Bt, between 1886 and 1891, was a prominent Canadian businessman. Originally from Scotland, he made his fame in Montreal and was the first Canadian to be elevated to the Peerage of the United Kingdom. He was the genius behind the creation of the Canadian Pacific Railway.3 million to the Prince of Wales Hospital Fund in London. He and his first cousin, Lord Strathcona, purchased the land and then each gave $1 million to the City of Montreal to construct and his home in Montreals Golden Square Mile later became the Mount Stephen Club. In 1888, he retired to England, living between Brocket Hall and 17 Carlton House Terrace and his first wife is credited with introducing the canoe to Scotland. In 1829, Stephen was born at Dufftown, Banffshire, in a built by his grandfather. He was the son of William Stephen, a carpenter, and Elspet, daughter of John Smith and his mother was a first cousin of the philanthropic Grant brothers of Manchester, immortalised as the Cheeryble Brothers in Charles Dickens book, Nicholas Nickleby. Stephen began life as a boy running barefoot through fields to carry letters for the Duke of Richmond for a shilling and he was educated at the parish school, leaving at the age of fourteen to work variously as a stable boy, shepherd and in a local hotel. The following year he was apprenticed to a draper and silk mercer at Aberdeen, before moving to London in 1848 - first working for a draper and then at a wholesale dry goods house. George Stephens first cousin, William Stephen, had emigrated to Montreal. At Williams invitation, the Stephen family came to Montreal in 1847, for the next twelve years George worked for his cousin, who left him the business after his death in 1862. George made his brother, Francis, a partner and eventually sold the business to him, driven by a desire to succeed, coupled with a strong work ethic, he was already demonstrating an unusual business acumen. In 1866, Stephen had started to work closely with his first cousin, Donald Smith, one of their first investments was in 1868, when they formed a partnership with Richard B. Angus and Andrew Paton to establish the Paton Manufacturing Company of Sherbrooke, by the late 1860s, Stephen had become one of the foremost financiers in Montreal, forming boards and working alongside Montreals most prominent business names. He remained as president until 1881, resigning to turn his attention to running the company that would build the Canadian Pacific Railway. The associates were Hill, Smith, Hills business partner Norman Kittson, and John Stewart Kennedy and they were later joined by two more Montrealers, R. B. Angus and Duncan McIntyre. S. A. It is now in a collection in Jardin de Metis. In 1879, the syndicate purchased the struggling Saint Paul and Pacific Railroad for $5.5 million, the deal created a sensation in Montreal as it was rumoured that Stephen had used his position as President of the Bank of Montreal to obtain loans at limited rates
30.
Great Northern Railway (U.S.)
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The Great Northern Railway was an American Class I railroad. Running from Saint Paul, Minnesota, to Seattle, Washington, the Great Northerns route was the northernmost transcontinental railroad route in the U. S. The Great Northern was the privately funded – and successfully built – transcontinental railroad in U. S. history. No federal land grants were used during its construction, unlike all other transcontinental railroads, the Great Northern was built in stages, slowly to create profitable lines, before extending the road further into the undeveloped Western territories. In a series of the earliest public relations campaigns, contests were held to promote interest in the railroad, fred J. Adams used promotional incentives such as feed and seed donations to farmers getting started along the line. Contests were all-inclusive, from largest farm animals to largest freight carload capacity and were promoted heavily to immigrants & newcomers from the East. The earliest predecessor railroad to the GN was the St. Paul & Pacific Railroad, James Jerome Hill convinced John S. Kennedy, Norman Kittson, Donald Smith, George Stephen, and others to invest $5.5 million in purchasing the railroad. On March 13,1878, the roads creditors formally signed an agreement transferring their bonds, on September 18,1889, Hill changed the name of the Minneapolis and St. Cloud Railway to the Great Northern Railway. On February 1,1890, he transferred ownership of the StPM&M, Montana Central Railway, the Great Northern had branches that ran north to the Canada–US border in Minnesota, North Dakota, and Montana. It also had branches that ran to Superior, Wisconsin, and Butte, Montana, connecting with the mining fields of Minnesota. In 1898 Hill purchased control of parts of the Messabe Range iron mining district in Minnesota. The Great Northern began large-scale shipment of ore to the mills of the Midwest. At its height, Great Northern operated over 8,000 miles, the railroad’s best known engineer,1889 to 1903, was John Frank Stevens. Stevens earned wide acclaim in 1889 when he explored Marias Pass, Montana, Stevens was an efficient administrator with remarkable technical skills and imagination. He discovered Stevens Pass through the Cascade Mountains, set railroad construction standards in the Mesabi Range of northern Minnesota and he then became the chief engineer in charge of building the Panama Canal. The logo of the railroad, a Rocky Mountain goat, was based on a goat William Kenney, the mainline began at Saint Paul, Minnesota, heading west and topping the bluffs of the Mississippi River, crossing the river to Minneapolis on a massive multi-piered stone bridge. The Stone Arch Bridge stands in Minneapolis, near the Saint Anthony Falls, the mainline headed northwest from the Twin Cities, across North Dakota and eastern Montana. The line then crossed the Rocky Mountains at Marias Pass, and then followed the Flathead River and then Kootenai River to Athol, Idaho and Spokane, the main line west of Marias Pass has been relocated twice
31.
Superior, Wisconsin
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Superior is a city in, and the county seat of, Douglas County in the state of Wisconsin. The population was 27,244 at the 2010 census, located at the junction of U. S. Highway 2 and U. S. Highway 53, it is immediately north of and adjacent to both the Village of Superior and the Town of Superior. Its neighborhoods include Billings Park, North End, South Superior, Central Park, East End, Allouez, Billings Park, South Superior, East End, and North End each have small business districts. Superior is at the end of Lake Superior in northwestern Wisconsin. Bordered by Saint Louis, Superior, and Allouez bays, the city is framed by two rivers, the Nemadji and the Saint Louis, Superior and the neighboring city across the bay, Duluth, Minnesota, form a single metropolitan area called the Twin Ports. They share a harbor that is one of the most important ports on the Great Lakes, both cities feature museum ships devoted to the local maritime heritage. Superior was the port of call for the Edmund Fitzgerald before its sinking in 1975. The first-known inhabitants of what is now Douglas County were Mound Builders and these people appeared on the shores of Lake Superior sometime after the latest glacier receded. They mined copper in the Minong Range and at Manitou Falls on the Black River and they pounded this metal into weapons, implements, and ornaments, some of which were later found buried as grave goods in mounds with their dead. Their civilization was overrun by other tribes, mainly of Muskhogean and Iroquois stock. About the time of the European arrival, the Duluth–Superior region transitioned from being predominately Dakota to being predominately Ojibwa/Chippewa, under pressure from the Ojibwa, the Dakota moved west. The City of Superior in the Ojibwe language is called Gete-oodena, the Lake Superior Chippewa continued to migrate, with many settling to the east toward Madeline Island, the Seventh Stopping Place. The Mississippi Chippewa migrated toward what is today Brainerd, Minnesota, the first-known Europeans to visit the area were French. In 1618, Étienne Brûlé, a voyager for Samuel de Champlain, upon returning to Quebec, he carried back some copper specimens and a glowing account of the region. In 1632, Champlain’s map was made of the area, showing “Lac Superior de Tracy” as Lake Superior, settlements developed around the trading posts. Many fur traders, the partners, married high-ranking Ojibwa women. Fur trappers, who lived among the Ojibwa for months at a time and ranged throughout their territory and their mixed-race children were called Métis by the French Canadians. Many of the men entered the fur trade, becoming interpreters
32.
Butte, Montana
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Butte /ˈbjuːt/ is a city in, and the county seat of Silver Bow County, Montana, United States. In 1977, the city and county governments consolidated to form the entity of Butte-Silver Bow. As of the 2010 census, Buttes population was approximately 34,200, Butte is Montanas fifth largest city. In the 19th and 20th centuries, Butte experienced every stage of development of a town, from camp to boomtown to mature city to center for historic preservation. Unlike most such towns, Buttes urban landscape includes mining operations set within residential areas, despite the dominance of the Anaconda Company, Butte was never a company town. It prided itself on architectural diversity and an ethos of rough-and-tumble individualism. In the 21st century, efforts at interpreting and preserving Buttes heritage are addressing both the historical significance and the continuing importance of mining to its economy and culture. Butte was one of the largest cities in the Rocky Mountains in the late 1800s, Silver Bow County had 24,000 people in 1890, and peaked at 100,000 in 1920. The population steadily declined with falling copper prices after World War I, eventually dropping to 34,000 in 1990, in 2013, the population remains at 34,200. The documentary Butte, America, depicts its history as a producer and the issues of labor unionism, economic rise and decline. The city is served by Bert Mooney Airport with airport code BTM, Butte began as a mining town in the late 19th century in the Silver Bow Creek Valley, a natural bowl sitting high in the Rockies straddling the Continental Divide. At first only gold and silver were mined in the area, but the advent of electricity caused a demand for copper. The small town was called the Richest Hill on Earth. It was the largest city for hundreds of miles in all directions. Among the migrants, many Chinese workers moved in, and amongst them set up businesses that led to the creation of a Chinatown in Butte, the Chinese migrations stopped in 1882 with the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act. The business owners fought back by suing the unions and winning, the history of the Chinese migrants in Butte is documented in the Mai Wah Museum. The influx of miners gave Butte a reputation as a town where any vice was obtainable. The citys famous saloon and red-light district, called the Line or The Copper Block, was centered on Mercury Street, behind the brothel was the equally famous Venus Alley, where women plied their trade in small cubicles called cribs
33.
John Frank Stevens
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John Frank Stevens was an American engineer who built the Great Northern Railway in the United States and was chief engineer on the Panama Canal between 1905 and 1907. Stevens was born in rural Maine, near West Gardiner to John Stevens, a tanner and farmer and he attended Maine State Normal School for two years. At the conclusion of his schooling in 1873, bleak economic conditions held little promise of a job, entry into the field of civil engineering evolved from his experience in the Minneapolis city engineers office. For two years he carried out a variety of engineering tasks, including surveying and building railroads, and at the time gained experience. He became an engineer, self-taught and driven by a self-described bull-dog tenacity of purpose. In 1878 Stevens married Harriet T. OBrien and they had five children, two of whom died in infancy. By the age of 33, in 1886, Stevens was principal assistant engineer for the Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic Railway, marie, Michigan, across the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Although a large part of his work involved surveying, he assisted in all phases of railroading, reconnaissance, locating, organizing, in 1889, Stevens was hired by James J. Hill as a locating engineer for the Great Northern Railway. Stevens earned acclaim in 1889 when he explored Marias Pass, Montana, Stevens was an efficient administrator with remarkable technical skills and imagination. Hill promoted him to engineer in 1895, and later to general manager. During his time at the Great Northern, Stevens built over a miles of railroad. Stevens Pass in the Cascade Range was named for him, Stevens left the Great Northern in 1903 for the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad, where he was promoted to vice-president. Then, in 1905, at Hills recommendation, he was hired by Theodore Roosevelt as chief engineer on the Panama Canal, Stevens primary achievement in Panama was to build the infrastructure needed for the completion of the canal. The digging, he said, is the least thing of all and he proceeded immediately to build warehouses, machine shops, and piers. Communities for the personnel were planned and built to include housing, schools, hospitals, churches and he authorized extensive sanitation and mosquito-control programs that eliminated yellow fever and other diseases from the Isthmus. Stevens argued the case against a sea level canal like the French had tried to build and he convinced Theodore Roosevelt of the necessity of a high-level canal built with dams and locks. Stevens resigned suddenly from the Canal project in 1907 to Roosevelts great annoyance, as a railroad engineer, Stevens had little expertise in building locks and dams, and probably realized he was no longer the best person for the remainder of the job. The true reasons for his resignation have never been known, following the collapse of Imperial Russia in 1917, leaders of the provisional government appealed to President Wilson for help with their transportation systems
34.
Marias Pass
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Marias Pass is a high mountain pass near Glacier National Park in northwestern Montana in the United States. The pass traverses the Continental Divide in the Lewis Range, along the boundary between the Lewis and Clark National Forest and the Flathead National Forest, the Great Bear Wilderness in Lewis and Clark National Forest is south of the pass and Glacier National Park is to the north. During the winter, the pass is the way to cross the Continental Divide by road in the United States north of Montanas Rogers Pass. The pass was charted by John Frank Stevens, principal engineer of the Great Northern Railway, construction of the railroad through the pass began on August 1,1890, starting from Fort Assinniboine toward Marias Pass. The railroad followed the Middle Fork of the Flathead River west of the Continental Divide, today, U. S. Highway 2 uses the pass, along with the BNSF Railway, a successor to the Great Northern Railway. The railway line, which sees freight traffic, as well as Amtraks Empire Builder, is part of BNSFs Northern Transcon line linking Chicago, a statue of John Frank Stevens stands at the summit of Marias Pass
35.
Stevens Pass
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Stevens Pass is a mountain pass through the Cascade Mountains located at the border of King County and Chelan County in Washington, United States. U. S. Highway 2 travels over the pass, reaching an elevation of 4,061 feet. The Pacific Crest Trail crosses the highway at Stevens Pass, the BNSF Railways Cascade Tunnel lies 1,180 feet below the pass summit. The pass is near Stevens Pass Ski Area, which is on Cowboy Mountain, Stevens Pass is named after John Frank Stevens, the first non-indigenous person to discover it. Native Americans familiar with the area knew of the pass, although little is known about Native American routes through the mountains. Neither Ward nor Rogers had time to explore the area. In 1890 John Stevens conducted a survey, located the pass. Steven wrote, the region promised nothing to the prospector, while Indians, on February 23,1910, the two Great Northern Railway trains, the Seattle Express local passenger train No.25 and Fast Mail train No. 27, were stalled on the tracks at the Cascade Tunnel Station on Stevens Pass because of a snow storm. Then on March 1, six days later, another avalanche pushed both trains 150 feet down into the Tye River Valley, thus burying the train cars in snow and debris. Stevens Pass experiences an alpine subarctic climate, with short, mild, dry summers. Stevens Pass road conditions from Washington State Department of Transportation Stevens Pass ski area official site
36.
Panama Canal
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The Panama Canal is an artificial 48-mile waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a key conduit for maritime trade. The original locks are 33.5 metres wide, a third, wider lane of locks was constructed between September 2007 and May 2016. The expanded canal began operation on June 26,2016. The new locks allow transit of larger, Post-Panamax ships, capable of handling more cargo, France began work on the canal in 1881 but stopped due to engineering problems and a high worker mortality rate. The United States took over the project in 1904 and opened the canal on August 15,1914, Colombia, France, and later the United States controlled the territory surrounding the canal during construction. The U. S. continued to control the canal and surrounding Panama Canal Zone until the 1977 Torrijos–Carter Treaties provided for handover to Panama. After a period of joint American–Panamanian control, in 1999 the canal was taken over by the Panamanian government and is now managed and operated by the government-owned Panama Canal Authority. Annual traffic has risen from about 1,000 ships in 1914, by 2012, more than 815,000 vessels had passed through the canal. It takes six to eight hours to pass through the Panama Canal, the American Society of Civil Engineers has called the Panama Canal one of the seven wonders of the modern world. Such a route would have given the Spanish a military advantage over the Portuguese, during an expedition from 1788 to 1793, Alessandro Malaspina outlined plans for its construction. Given the strategic location of Panama and the potential offered by its narrow isthmus separating two great oceans, other links in the area were attempted over the years. The ill-fated Darien scheme was launched by the Kingdom of Scotland in 1698 to set up a trade route. Generally inhospitable conditions thwarted the effort, and it was abandoned in April 1700, another effort was made in 1843. They referred to it as the Atlantic and Pacific Canal and it was a wholly British endeavor and it was expected to be completed in five years, but the plan was never carried out. At nearly the same time, other ideas were floated, including a canal across Mexicos Isthmus of Tehuantepec. Nothing came of that plan either. )In 1846 the Mallarino–Bidlack Treaty, negotiated between the U. S. and New Granada, granted the United States transit rights and the right to intervene militarily in the isthmus. In 1849, the discovery of gold in California created great interest in a crossing between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, the Panama Railway was built by the United States to cross the isthmus and opened in 1855
37.
Mountain goat
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The mountain goat, also known as the Rocky Mountain goat, is a large hoofed mammal endemic to North America. A subalpine to alpine species, it is a sure-footed climber commonly seen on cliffs and ice. Despite its vernacular name, it is not a member of Capra, the mountain goat is an even-toed ungulate of the order Artiodactyla and the family Bovidae that includes antelopes, gazelles, and cattle. It belongs to the subfamily Caprinae, along with 32 other species including goats, sheep, the chamois. The mountain goat is the species in the genus Oreamnos. The name Oreamnos is derived from the Greek term oros mountain, both billy and nanny mountain goats have beards, short tails, and long black horns, 15–28 cm in length, which contain yearly growth rings. They are protected from the elements by their woolly white double coats, the fine, dense wool of their undercoats is covered by an outer layer of longer, hollow hairs. Mountain goats molt in spring by rubbing against rocks and trees, with the adult billies shedding their extra wool first and their coats help them to withstand winter temperatures as low as −50 °F and winds of up to 100 mph. A billy stands about 1 m at the shoulder to the waist, male goats also have longer horns and longer beards than females. Mountain goats can weigh between 45 and 140 kg, though even billies will often weigh less than 82 kg, the head-and-body length can range from 120–179 cm, with a small tail adding 10–20 cm. The mountain goats feet are well-suited for climbing steep, rocky slopes with pitches exceeding 60°, with pads that provide traction. The tips of their feet have sharp dewclaws that keep them from slipping and they have powerful shoulder and neck muscles that help propel them up steep slopes. Its northernmost range is said to be along the fringe of the Chugach Mountains in southcentral Alaska. Introduced populations can also be found in areas as Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, Oregon, Colorado, South Dakota. Mountain goats are the largest mammals found in their high-altitude habitats and they sometimes descend to sea level in coastal areas although they are primarily an alpine and subalpine species. The animals usually stay above the line throughout the year. Winter migrations to low-elevation mineral licks often take them several kilometers through forested areas, daily movements by individual mountain goats are primarily confined to areas on the same mountain face, drainage basin, or alpine opening. Daily movements reflect an individual’s needs for foraging, resting, thermoregulation, seasonal movements primarily reflect nutritional needs, reproductive needs, and climatic influences
38.
Stone Arch Bridge (Minneapolis)
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The Stone Arch Bridge is a former railroad bridge crossing the Mississippi River at Saint Anthony Falls in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the arched bridge made of stone on the entire length of Mississippi River. The bridge was built to connect the system to the new Union Depot. The bridge was completed on 1883, costing an amazing sum of $650,000 during the time,117 Portland Avenue is the general address of the historic complex. For a time, the bridge was dubbed Hills Folly until the value of Hills new bridge as a rail link became evident. The structure is now used as a pedestrian and bicycle bridge and it is an Historic Civil Engineering Landmark, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971 as a part of the Saint Anthony Falls Historic District. In 1880, Minneapolis was a flourishing city with major commerce mostly located on the west bank of the Mississippi River, while smaller. At that time, the Hennepin Avenue bridge was overused and in desperate need of upkeep, the city’s network of railroads, which was crucial for urbanization, was also located on the east side of the river. With the rapid increase in commercialization, Minneapolis businessmen sought a plan to accommodate the flow of traffic. The idea was to build a depot, similar to the St. The initial planning was conducted during a meeting held near the end of 1881, the stockholders met for the first time immediately the following year and Col. Charles C. Smith was selected as the head engineer. The bridge has been altered somewhat from its original appearance, when the lock and dam was built at Saint Anthony Falls, two of the arches were replaced with a truss so barges could pass through the locks. Later, in 1965, flood waters undermined three of the piers and caused the bridge to sag fourteen inches, the bridge was repaired by strengthening the piers and reinforcing underneath two of the arches. When it was in service, the bridge carried trains of many railroads to and from the Minneapolis Great Northern Depot. The bridge ceased to be used as a bridge in 1978. The most recent renovations—including indirect lighting—were completed in late 2005, the lighting was paid for by private donations. During the summer months, the Stone Arch Bridge is a focus of festivals in the area of St. Anthony Main. The Stone Arch Festival of the Arts occurs Fathers Day weekend, fireworks displays on the Fourth of July and during the Minneapolis Aquatennial in late July also bring crowds, fireworks are launched from nearby Hennepin Island
39.
Saint Anthony Falls
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Saint Anthony Falls or the Falls of Saint Anthony, located northeast of downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, was the only natural major waterfall on the Upper Mississippi River. The natural falls were replaced by an overflow spillway after it partially collapsed in 1869. Later, in the 1950s and 1960s, a series of locks, from 1880 to about 1930, Minneapolis was the Flour Milling Capital of the World. These locks were built as part of the Upper Mississippi River 9-Foot Navigation Project, the area around the falls is designated the St. Anthony Falls Historic District and features a 1. 8-mile self-guided walking trail with signs explaining the areas past. Before European exploration, the falls held cultural and political significance for native tribes who frequented the area, the falls was an important and sacred site to the Mdewakanton Dakota and they called the Mississippi River, hahawakpa, river of the falls. Dakota associated the falls with legends and spirits, including Oanktehi, god of waters and evil, the rocky islet where the woman had pointed her canoe towards doom thus was named Spirit Island which was once a nesting ground for eagles that fed on fish below the falls. Dakota also camped on Nicollet Island upstream of the falls to fish, since the cataract had to be portaged, the area became one of the natural resting and trade points along the Mississippi between Dakota and Anishinaabe peoples. The Anishinaabe term was recorded as kakabikah, Hennepin named them the Chutes de Saint-Antoine or the Falls of Saint Anthony after his patron saint, Anthony of Padua. Later explorers to document the falls include Jonathan Carver and Zebulon Montgomery Pike, by the 1860s, however, industrial waste had filled the area and marred the falls majesty. The districts archaeological record is one of the historic sites in Minnesota. The National Register of Historic Places is facilitated by the National Park Service, a Heritage Trail plaque nearby says, For untold generations of Indian people the Mississippi River was an important canoe route. To pass around the falls, the Dakota and Ojibway used a portage trail. Starting at a landing below the now occupied by the steam plant. From here it followed the east bank along what is now Main Street to a point well above the falls, geologists say that the falls first appeared roughly 10,000 years ago several miles downstream at the confluence of the glacial River Warren. Estimates are that the falls were about 180 feet high when the River Warren Falls receded past the confluence of the Mississippi River, over the succeeding 10,000 years, the falls moved upstream to its present location. The water churning at the bottom of the falls ate away at the soft sandstone, from its origins near Fort Snelling, St. Anthony Falls relocated upstream at a rate of about 4 feet per year until it reached its present location in the early 19th century. Tributaries such as Minnehaha Creek begot their own waterfalls as the Mississippi River valley was cut into the landscape, when Father Louis Hennepin documented the falls he estimated the falls height to be 50 or 60 feet. Later explorers described it as being in the range of 16 to 20 feet high, the discrepancy may have been due to scope, as the current total drop in river level over the series of dams is 76 ft
40.
Rocky Mountains
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The Rocky Mountains, commonly known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than 3,000 miles from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the Southwestern United States. Within the North American Cordillera, the Rockies are somewhat distinct from the Pacific Coast Ranges, the Rocky Mountains were initially formed from 80 million to 55 million years ago during the Laramide orogeny, in which a number of plates began to slide underneath the North American plate. The angle of subduction was shallow, resulting in a belt of mountains running down western North America. Since then, further tectonic activity and erosion by glaciers have sculpted the Rockies into dramatic peaks, at the end of the last ice age, humans started to inhabit the mountain range. The first mention of their present name by a European was in the journal of Jacques Legardeur de Saint-Pierre in 1752, the Rocky Mountains are commonly defined as stretching from the Liard River in British Columbia south to the Rio Grande in New Mexico. The United States definition of the Rockies includes the Cabinet and Salish Mountains of Idaho and their counterparts north of the Kootenai River, the Columbia Mountains, are considered a separate system in Canada, lying to the west of the huge Rocky Mountain Trench. This runs the length of British Columbia from its beginnings in the middle Flathead River valley in western Montana to the bank of the Liard River. The Rockies vary in width from 70 to 300 miles, also west of the Rocky Mountain Trench, farther north and facing the Muskwa Range across the trench, are the Stikine Ranges and Omineca Mountains of the Interior Mountains system of British Columbia. A small area east of Prince George, British Columbia on the side of the Trench. In Canada geographers define three main groups of ranges, the Continental Ranges, Hart Ranges and Muskwa Ranges, the Muskwa and Hart Ranges together comprise what is known as the Northern Rockies. The western edge of the Rockies includes ranges such as the Wasatch near Salt Lake City, the Great Basin and Columbia River Plateau separate these sub-ranges from distinct ranges further to the west, most prominent among which are the Sierra Nevada, Cascade Range and Coast Mountains. The Rocky Mountain System within the United States is a United States physiographic region, the Rocky Mountains are notable for containing the highest peaks in central North America. The ranges highest peak is Mount Elbert located in Colorado at 14,440 feet above sea level, Mount Robson in British Columbia, at 12,972 feet, is the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies. The Continental Divide of the Americas is located in the Rocky Mountains, triple Divide Peak in Glacier National Park is so named because water that falls on the mountain reaches not only the Atlantic and Pacific, but Hudson Bay as well. Farther north in Alberta, the Athabasca and other rivers feed the basin of the Mackenzie River, see Rivers of the Rocky Mountains for a list of rivers. Human population is not very dense in the Rocky Mountains, with an average of four people per square kilometer, however, the human population grew rapidly in the Rocky Mountain states between 1950 and 1990. The 40-year statewide increases in range from 35% in Montana to about 150% in Utah
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Flathead River
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The river is part of the Columbia River drainage basin, as the Clark Fork is a tributary of the Pend Oreille River, a Columbia River tributary. The Flathead River rises in forks in the Rocky Mountains of northwestern Montana, the largest tributary is the North southwards. The North Fork is sometimes considered the stem of the Flathead River. Near West Glacier the North Fork combines with the Middle Fork to form the main Flathead River, the river then flows westwards to join the South Fork and cuts between the Whitefish Range and Swan Range via Bad Rock Canyon. All of the forks are entirely or in part designated National Wild. Near Polson the river leaves the basin of Flathead Lake, but first passes through Kerr Dam. After flowing through the dam the river turns south and meanders through the Flathead Valley west of the Mission Mountains, at the Jocko River confluence it turns west, and a few miles after flows into the Clark Fork near Paradise. Fur traders employed by the North West Company and Hudsons Bay Company entered the Flathead Valley in the early 19th century, trading posts were established north of Flathead Lake. The first settlers arriving in the 1860s. Irrigation agriculture began in the 1880s, the river is a Class I river in Montana for purposes of recreational access. It is part of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, reaches designated wild and scenic include the entire North Fork south of the Canada–US border, the entire Middle Fork, and the South Fork above Hungry Horse Reservoir. The North Fork Flathead River in Montana is designated a National Wild, the river is not afforded any protection in British Columbia. This has been the subject of 33 years of dispute between the United States and Canada, in 1988 the International Joint Commission, ruled that a proposed open pit coal mine would violate the 1909 Boundary Waters Treaty. Energy development once threatened the North Fork, which was deemed the wildest river in the continental United States by The New York Times in 2004, on February 21,2008, BP announced to drop plans to obtain drilling rights for coalbed methane extraction in the rivers headwaters. However, the Cline Mining Corporation still intends to start a coal mining project. S. There is a proposal to protect one-third of British Columbias Flathead River by adding it to the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, in 2003 Parks Canada requested the province of British Columbia to take part in a park feasibility study. British Columbia has yet to agree to this, saving Homewaters–The Story of Montana’s Streams and Rivers
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Kootenai River
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The Kootenay is a major river in southeastern British Columbia, Canada and northern parts of the U. S. states of Montana and Idaho. It is one of the uppermost major tributaries of the Columbia River, born in glaciers and flowing through a rugged landscape of mountains and valleys, the river drains an isolated and sparsely populated region of the Pacific Northwest. From its highest headwaters to its confluence with the Columbia River, people of the Ktunaxa tribe were the first to live along its banks, and for hundreds of years, they hunted and fished on the river, quite isolated from neighboring indigenous groups. In the 19th century, a Canadian explorer, David Thompson, became the first recorded European to reach the Kootenay, as with many Pacific Northwest rivers, dams were built on the Kootenay in the 20th century to generate hydroelectricity, and protect against floods and droughts. The river was described with different names by two groups of the local Ktunaxa Indian tribes. These indigenous people who lived along the upper river knew it as aqkinmiluk, the people along the lower river called it aqkoktlaqatl, a name whose meaning is not certain. The name Flatbow River comes from the name the Blackfeet used to call the Ktunaxa, for their powerful, stylish bows, thence he applied the name McGillivray’s River to the real Kootenay in honor of his trading partners William and Duncan McGillivray. In his writings, the Columbia from Columbia Lake to the Big Bend was actually called the Kootenae, the name Kootenai was also used by French Canadians to refer to the Ktunaxa in the 19th century. Kootenai is thought to be a word meaning water people in an Algonquian language and these include Kootanie, Kootenie, and Kootienay. The Geographic Names Information System of the USGS lists Swan River as a name although the origin of this name is uncertain. The Kootenay rises on the northeast slopes of the Beaverfoot Range of southeastern British Columbia and its first few kilometers are quiet, threading slowly through a series of marshes and small lakes. The river becomes significantly enlarged as it reaches the confluence with the Vermilion River and it continues southeast, receiving the Palliser River from the left, and swings southwards into a gorge at the confluence with the White River. At Wardner, British Columbia, the Kootenay widens into the Lake Koocanusa reservoir, formed by Libby Dam over 130 kilometres downstream at Jennings, Lake Koocanusa, fed by the Elk River spans the U. S. -Canada border. The Kootenai then drops over Kootenai Falls in a gorge, in Idaho the Kootenais current slows significantly as it enters the Kootenai Valley, passing the city of Bonners Ferry, where it turns north. Near Balfour an arm of the lake branches westwards into canyons near Nelson, where below Corra Linn Dam the Kootenay becomes a river again, the river drops over several waterfalls at Bonnington Falls, all of which are taken advantage of to generate hydropower. Four run-of-the river dams impound the river in the 22-kilometre stretch that follows, at Brilliant it widens into a small inland delta, then at Castlegar it joins with the Columbia River. At 50,298 square kilometres in size, the Kootenay rivers watershed is one of the largest sub-basins of the Columbia Basin. Its drainage basin encompasses an area almost 400 kilometres from north to south and 250 kilometres from east to west, over 70 percent of the Kootenays watershed is in Canada while the Montana and Idaho portions occupy 23 and 6%, respectively
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Athol, Idaho
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Athol is a city in Kootenai County, Idaho, United States. The population was 692 at the 2010 census, up from 676 in 2000 and it is part of the Coeur dAlene Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes the entire county. Athol is notable for the nearby Silverwood theme park, several miles east of town is Farragut State Park at the southern end of Lake Pend Oreille. The U. S. Navys Acoustic Research Detachment in nearby Bayview conducts research with large-scale submarine models in the deepwater lake, a post office called Athol has been in operation since 1895. The city may be named after the Duke of Atholl, Athol is located at 47°56′46″N 116°42′26″W, at an elevation of 2,392 feet above sea level. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 0.79 square miles. As of 2000 the median income for a household in the city was $30,595, males had a median income of $28,438 versus $17,813 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,632, about 11. 0% of families and 14. 5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10. 3% of those under age 18 and 23. 7% of those age 65 or over. As of the census of 2010, there were 692 people,282 households, the population density was 875.9 inhabitants per square mile. There were 305 housing units at a density of 386.1 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 97. 0% White,0. 9% Native American, hispanic or Latino of any race were 0. 3% of the population. 28. 0% of all households were made up of individuals and 10. 3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older, the average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 3.05. The median age in the city was 41.8 years. 23. 7% of residents were under the age of 18,6. 7% were between the ages of 18 and 24,23. 2% were from 25 to 44,30. 8% were from 45 to 64, and 15. 6% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 52. 2% male and 47. 8% female
