1.
West Maui Mountains
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Since its last eruption approximately 320,000 years ago, the West Maui Mountains have undergone substantial stream erosion. The three moku or districts of west Maui are Lāhaina, Kāʻanapali, and Wailuku, Wailuku is also known as Pūʻalikomohana, or Nā Wai ʻEhā which means the four waters. The 4 waters are the ahupuaʻa, which are Waikapū, Wailuku, Waiʻehu, the port of Lāhainā lies on the southwestern slope. The summit peak is called Puʻu Kukui, at 5,788 feet elevation, puu Kukui translates into candlenut hill. Established in 1988, the Puʻu Kukui Preserve is the largest private preserve in the State of Hawaii. Since 1994, the 8, 661-acre preserve has been managed by Maui Land & Pineapple Company in participation with The Nature Conservancy and these groups work together to protect the watershed lands of the West Maui mountain. The West Maui Mountains were formed through at least three series of volcanic eruptions during its shield building period, starting 1.4 million years ago. The mountains used to be over 13,000 feet high, rocks from the latest major shield-building eruptions are call the Honolua volcanics, which are roughly 500,000 years old. However, there were several re-juvenated stage eruptions more recently, the last dating to roughly 320,000 years ago
2.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
3.
National Natural Landmark
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The National Natural Landmarks Program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the natural history of the United States. It is the only national natural areas program that identifies and recognizes the best examples of biological and geological features in both public and private ownership, the program was established on May 18,1962, by United States Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall. The program aims to encourage and support voluntary preservation of sites that illustrate the geological and ecological history of the United States and it also hopes to strengthen the publics appreciation of the countrys natural heritage. As of November 2016,599 sites have been added to the National Registry of National Landmarks, the registry includes nationally significant geological and ecological features in 48 states, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. The National Park Service administers the NNL Program and if requested, land acquisition by the federal government is not a goal of this program. National Natural Landmarks are nationally significant sites owned by a variety of land stewards, the legislative authority for the National Natural Landmarks Program stems from the Historic Sites Act of August 21,1935, the program is governed by federal regulations. The NNL Program does not have the features of Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. Thus, designation of a National Natural Landmark presently constitutes only an agreement with the owner to preserve, insofar as possible, administration and preservation of National Natural Landmarks is solely the owners responsibility. Either party may terminate the agreement after they notify the other, the UKs Site of Special Scientific Interest list is a rough equivalent. The NNL designation is made by the Secretary of the Interior after in-depth scientific study of a potential site, all new designations must have owner concurrence. The selection process is rigorous, to be considered for NNL status, since establishment of the NNL program, a multi-step process has been used to designate a site for NNL status. Since 1970, the steps have constituted the process. A natural area inventory of a region is completed to identify the most promising sites. After landowners are notified that the site is being considered for NNL status, the evaluation report is peer reviewed by other experts to assure its soundness. The report is reviewed further by National Park Service staff, the site is reviewed by the Secretary of the Interiors National Park Advisory Board to determine that the site qualifies as an NNL. The findings are provided to the Secretary of the Interior who approves or declines, landowners are notified a third time informing them that the site has been designated an NNL. Each major natural history theme can be subdivided into various sub-themes. The NNL program does not require designated properties to be owned by public entities, lands under almost all forms of ownership or administration have been designated—federal, state, local, municipal and private
4.
Eiffel Tower
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The Eiffel Tower is a wrought iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed, the Eiffel Tower is the most-visited paid monument in the world,6.91 million people ascended it in 2015. The tower is 324 metres tall, about the height as an 81-storey building. Its base is square, measuring 125 metres on each side, due to the addition of a broadcasting aerial at the top of the tower in 1957, it is now taller than the Chrysler Building by 5.2 metres. Excluding transmitters, the Eiffel Tower is the second-tallest structure in France after the Millau Viaduct, the tower has three levels for visitors, with restaurants on the first and second levels. The top levels upper platform is 276 m above the ground – the highest observation deck accessible to the public in the European Union, tickets can be purchased to ascend by stairs or lift to the first and second levels. The climb from ground level to the first level is over 300 steps, although there is a staircase to the top level, it is usually only accessible by lift. Eiffel openly acknowledged that inspiration for a tower came from the Latting Observatory built in New York City in 1853, sauvestre added decorative arches to the base of the tower, a glass pavilion to the first level, and other embellishments. Little progress was made until 1886, when Jules Grévy was re-elected as president of France and Édouard Lockroy was appointed as minister for trade. On 12 May, a commission was set up to examine Eiffels scheme and its rivals, which, after some debate about the exact location of the tower, a contract was signed on 8 January 1887. Eiffel was to all income from the commercial exploitation of the tower during the exhibition. He later established a company to manage the tower, putting up half the necessary capital himself. The proposed tower had been a subject of controversy, drawing criticism from those who did not believe it was feasible and these objections were an expression of a long-standing debate in France about the relationship between architecture and engineering. And for twenty years … we shall see stretching like a blot of ink the hateful shadow of the column of bolted sheet metal. Gustave Eiffel responded to criticisms by comparing his tower to the Egyptian pyramids. Will it not also be grandiose in its way, and why would something admirable in Egypt become hideous and ridiculous in Paris. Indeed, Garnier was a member of the Tower Commission that had examined the various proposals, some of the protesters changed their minds when the tower was built, others remained unconvinced. Guy de Maupassant supposedly ate lunch in the restaurant every day because it was the one place in Paris where the tower was not visible
5.
Hawaiian language
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The Hawaiian language is a Polynesian language that takes its name from Hawaiʻi, the largest island in the tropical North Pacific archipelago where it developed. Hawaiian, along with English, is a language of the state of Hawaii. King Kamehameha III established the first Hawaiian-language constitution in 1839 and 1840, Hawaiian was essentially displaced by English on six of seven inhabited islands. In 2001, native speakers of Hawaiian amounted to under 0. 1% of the statewide population, linguists were unsure that Hawaiian and other endangered languages would survive. Nevertheless, from around 1949 to the present day, there has been an increase in attention to. Public Hawaiian-language immersion preschools called Pūnana Leo were started in 1984, the first students to start in immersion preschool have now graduated from college and many are fluent Hawaiian speakers. The federal government has acknowledged this development, for example, the Hawaiian National Park Language Correction Act of 2000 changed the names of several national parks in Hawaiʻi, observing the Hawaiian spelling. A pidgin or creole language spoken in Hawaiʻi is Hawaiian Pidgin and it should not be mistaken for the Hawaiian language nor for a dialect of English. The Hawaiian alphabet has 12 letters, five vowels and seven consonants and it contains an additional consonantal sound okina which is a glottal stop. The island name was first written in English in 1778 by British explorer James Cook and they wrote it as Owhyhee or Owhyee. Explorers Mortimer and Otto von Kotzebue used that spelling, the initial O in the name is a reflection of the fact that unique identity is predicated in Hawaiian by using a copula form, o, immediately before a proper noun. Thus, in Hawaiian, the name of the island is expressed by saying O Hawaiʻi, the Cook expedition also wrote Otaheite rather than Tahiti. The spelling why in the name reflects the pronunciation of wh in 18th-century English, the spelling hee or ee in the name represents the sounds, or. Putting the parts together, O-why-ee reflects, an approximation of the native pronunciation. American missionaries bound for Hawaiʻi used the phrases Owhihe Language and Owhyhee language in Boston prior to their departure in October 1819 and they still used such phrases as late as March 1822. However, by July 1823, they had begun using the phrase Hawaiian Language, in Hawaiian, ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi means Hawaiian language, as adjectives follow nouns. Hawaiian is a Polynesian member of the Austronesian language family and it is closely related to other Polynesian languages, such as Marquesan, Tahitian, Māori, Rapa Nui, and less closely to Samoan and Tongan. According to Schütz, the Marquesans colonized the archipelago in roughly 300 CE followed by waves of immigration from the Society Islands
6.
Maui
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The island of Maui is the second-largest of the Hawaiian Islands at 727.2 square miles and is the 17th-largest island in the United States. Maui is part of the State of Hawaii and is the largest of Maui Countys four islands, bigger than Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi, in 2010, Maui had a population of 144,444, third-highest of the Hawaiian Islands, behind that of Oʻahu and Hawaiʻi Island. Kahului is the largest census-designated place on the island with a population of 26,337 as of 2010 and is the commercial and financial hub of the island, Wailuku is the seat of Maui County and is the third-largest CDP as of 2010. Other significant places include Kīhei, Lahaina, Makawao, Pukalani, Pāʻia, Kula, Haʻikū, native Hawaiian tradition gives the origin of the islands name in the legend of Hawaiʻiloa, the navigator credited with discovery of the Hawaiian Islands. According to that legend, Hawaiʻiloa named the island of Maui after his son, the earlier name of Maui was ʻIhikapalaumaewa. The Island of Maui is also called the Valley Isle for the isthmus between its northwestern and southeastern volcanoes and the numerous large valleys carved into both mountains. Mauis diverse landscapes are the result of a combination of geology, topography. Each volcanic cone in the chain of the Hawaiian Islands is built of dark, iron-rich/quartz-poor rocks, several of the volcanoes were close enough to each other that lava flows on their flanks overlapped one another, merging into a single island. Maui is such a volcanic doublet, formed from two shield volcanoes that overlapped one another to form an isthmus between them, the older, western volcano has been eroded considerably and is cut by numerous drainages, forming the peaks of the West Maui Mountains. Puʻu Kukui is the highest of the peaks at 5,788 feet. The larger, younger volcano to the east, Haleakalā, rises to more than 10,000 feet above sea level, the eastern flanks of both volcanoes are cut by deeply incised valleys and steep-sided ravines that run downslope to the rocky, windswept shoreline. The valley-like Isthmus of Maui that separates the two volcanic masses was formed by sandy erosional deposits, although considered to be dormant by volcanologists, Haleakalā is certainly capable of further eruptions. Maui is part of a larger unit, Maui Nui, that includes the islands of Lānaʻi, Kahoʻolawe, Molokaʻi. During periods of reduced sea level, including as recently as 20,000 years ago and this, and the extreme insularity of the Hawaiian Islands account for the strong marine influence on Mauis climate. Gross weather patterns are determined by elevation and orientation towards the Trade winds. Mauis rugged, irregular topography produces marked variations in conditions, air swept inland on the Trade winds is shunted one way or another by the mountains, valleys, and vast open slopes. This complex three-dimensional flow of air results in striking variations in speed, cloud formation. Maui displays a unique and diverse set of conditions, each of which is specific to a loosely defined sub-region of the island
7.
Hawaii
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Hawaii is the 50th and most recent state to have joined the United States of America, having received statehood on August 21,1959. Hawaii is the only U. S. state located in Oceania and it is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean. Hawaii is the only U. S. state not located in the Americas, the state encompasses nearly the entire volcanic Hawaiian archipelago, which comprises hundreds of islands spread over 1,500 miles. At the southeastern end of the archipelago, the eight main islands are—in order from northwest to southeast, Niʻihau, Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi, Kahoʻolawe, Maui, and the Island of Hawaiʻi. The last is the largest island in the group, it is called the Big Island or Hawaiʻi Island to avoid confusion with the state or archipelago. The archipelago is physiographically and ethnologically part of the Polynesian subregion of Oceania, Hawaii has over a million permanent residents, along with many visitors and U. S. military personnel. Its capital is Honolulu on the island of Oʻahu, Hawaii is the 8th-smallest and the 11th-least populous, but the 13th-most densely populated of the fifty U. S. states. It is the state with an Asian plurality. The states coastline is about 750 miles long, the fourth longest in the U. S. after the coastlines of Alaska, Florida, the state of Hawaii derives its name from the name of its largest island, Hawaiʻi. A common Hawaiian explanation of the name of Hawaiʻi is that was named for Hawaiʻiloa and he is said to have discovered the islands when they were first settled. The Hawaiian language word Hawaiʻi is very similar to Proto-Polynesian *Sawaiki, cognates of Hawaiʻi are found in other Polynesian languages, including Māori, Rarotongan and Samoan. According to linguists Pukui and Elbert, lsewhere in Polynesia, Hawaiʻi or a cognate is the name of the underworld or of the home, but in Hawaii. A somewhat divisive political issue arose in 1978 when the Constitution of the State of Hawaii added Hawaiian as an official state language. The title of the constitution is The Constitution of the State of Hawaii. Article XV, Section 1 of the Constitution uses The State of Hawaii, diacritics were not used because the document, drafted in 1949, predates the use of the okina and the kahakō in modern Hawaiian orthography. The exact spelling of the name in the Hawaiian language is Hawaiʻi. In the Hawaii Admission Act that granted Hawaiian statehood, the government recognized Hawaii as the official state name. Official government publications, department and office titles, and the Seal of Hawaii use the spelling with no symbols for glottal stops or vowel length
8.
Wailuku, Hawaii
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Wailuku is a census-designated place in Maui County, Hawaiʻi, United States. The population was 15,313 at the 2010 census and it is the county seat of Maui County. Wailuku is located just west of Kahului, at the mouth of the ʻĪao Valley, there are two ancient temples near Wailuku, called heiau — the Halekiʻi Heiau and the Pihanakalani Heiau. Both date back hundreds of years and were used for religious purposes by the native Hawaiians, Wailuku is served by Kahului Airport. Wailuku is located at 20°53′31″N 156°30′8″W between the CDPs of Waihee-Waiehu to the north, Kahului to the east, and Waikapu to the south. According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has an area of 5.7 square miles, of which 5.3 square miles is land and 0.42 square miles. The three moku or districts of west Maui are Lāhaina, Kāʻanapali, and Wailuku, Wailuku is also known as Pūʻalikomohana, or Nā Wai ʻEhā which means the four waters. The four waters are the ahupuaʻa, which are Waikapū, Wailuku, Waiʻehu, the area was a center of power and population in pre-historic Hawaii. In the mid-1800s it was changed when New England missionaries brought their religious beliefs, western skills and implements. By the 1860s the Wailuku Sugar Company and other plantations were busy growing and milling sugarcane, miles of ditches were dug, bringing irrigation water from deep in the mountains to the vast fields of central Maui, and the sugar industry flourished. Thousands of skilled and unskilled workers immigrated to Maui from all parts of the world to toil in the fields and they came from China, Japan, Okinawa, Korea, the Philippines, Europe, America - bringing ethnic, cultural and religious diversity to their new home. Many settled in Wailuku, where houses, schools, churches, temples, shops, banks, many homes and buildings in Wailuku town date from that earlier heyday. They offer a window into the past, providing a glimpse of plantation times, with its simple pleasures, along High Street, century-old Monkeypod trees and handsome residences reflect the town’s prosperity in the 1920s. Many private and public buildings have architectural and historical significance, beyond this stylish neighborhood are the narrow lanes where modest bungalow, amidst colorful gardens, preserve the flavor of old Wailuku. On upper Main Street, are remnants of the missionary era, a tiny graveyard contains tombstones of Hawaiian Ali’i and missionary families. Further uphill are the Alexander House and Bailey House, now an excellent museum displaying ancient Hawaiian artifacts and missionary period rooms, a turn on Ilina Street to the top of Vineyard Street brings you to an interesting cemetery with lovely views of the Iao Valley and West Maui Mountains. Follow Vineyard downhill through a charming neighborhood clustered around the Iao Congregational Church, the mature trees, varied architecture and serene vistas recreate the atmosphere of bygone days. As you approach the center of town, new buildings mingle with old, in the business district, where false fronts and art deco facades stand shoulder to shoulder, sidewalks are shaded by canopies, inviting you to stroll and explore the charms of Old Wailuku Town
9.
Volcano
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A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. Earths volcanoes occur because its crust is broken into 17 major, therefore, on Earth, volcanoes are generally found where tectonic plates are diverging or converging. This type of volcanism falls under the umbrella of plate hypothesis volcanism, Volcanism away from plate boundaries has also been explained as mantle plumes. These so-called hotspots, for example Hawaii, are postulated to arise from upwelling diapirs with magma from the boundary,3,000 km deep in the Earth. Volcanoes are usually not created where two plates slide past one another. Erupting volcanoes can pose hazards, not only in the immediate vicinity of the eruption. Historically, so-called volcanic winters have caused catastrophic famines, the word volcano is derived from the name of Vulcano, a volcanic island in the Aeolian Islands of Italy whose name in turn comes from Vulcan, the god of fire in Roman mythology. The study of volcanoes is called volcanology, sometimes spelled vulcanology, at the mid-oceanic ridges, two tectonic plates diverge from one another as new oceanic crust is formed by the cooling and solidifying of hot molten rock. Most divergent plate boundaries are at the bottom of the oceans, therefore, most volcanic activity is submarine, black smokers are evidence of this kind of volcanic activity. Where the mid-oceanic ridge is above sea-level, volcanic islands are formed, for example, subduction zones are places where two plates, usually an oceanic plate and a continental plate, collide. In this case, the plate subducts, or submerges under the continental plate forming a deep ocean trench just offshore. In a process called flux melting, water released from the subducting plate lowers the temperature of the overlying mantle wedge. This magma tends to be very viscous due to its high content, so it often does not reach the surface. When it does reach the surface, a volcano is formed, typical examples of this kind of volcano are Mount Etna and the volcanoes in the Pacific Ring of Fire. Because tectonic plates move across them, each volcano becomes dormant and is eventually re-formed as the plate advances over the postulated plume and this theory is currently under criticism, however. The most common perception of a volcano is of a mountain, spewing lava and poisonous gases from a crater at its summit, however. The features of volcanoes are more complicated and their structure. Some volcanoes have rugged peaks formed by lava domes rather than a summit crater while others have features such as massive plateaus
10.
Hawaiian tropical rainforests
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The Hawaiian tropical rainforests are a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion in the Hawaiian Islands. They cover an area of 6,700 km2 in the windward lowlands, coastal mesic forests are found at elevations from sea level to 300 m. Mixed mesic forests occur at elevations of 750 to 1,250 m, moist bogs and shrublands exist on montane plateaus and depressions. In the lush, moist forests high in the mountains, trees are draped with vines, orchids, ferns and this ecoregion includes one of the worlds wettest places, the slopes of Mount Waiʻaleʻale, which average 460 in of rainfall per year. Coastal mesic forests are found on the slopes of the major islands from sea level to 300 m. These forests have been dominated by the native hala and hau and naturalized kukui and milo for the past 1, the Polynesian-introduced noni, pia, and kī are also common in this zone. Other native species include pololei, ʻākia, loulu fan palms, ʻōhiʻa lehua, the forest canopy, dominated by koa and ʻōhiʻa lehua, is somewhat open, but tree density is rather high. Other trees and shrubs include pāpala, olopua, hame, mēhame, kōpiko, ʻōpiko, ʻiliahi, hōlei, poʻolā, kōlea lau nui, kauila, nioi, aʻiaʻi, and hōʻawa. Wet forests generally occur from 1,250 to 1,700 m and they receive 3,000 to 11,250 mm of rain per year. ʻŌhiʻa lehua is the dominant canopy species in wet forests, other trees include kāwaʻu, ʻalani, ʻōhiʻa ha, kōlea lau nui, ʻohe, and olomea as well as hāpuʻu. ʻApeʻape, ʻoha wai, hāhā, kāmakahala, kanawao, Phyllostegia spp, ʻākala, kāmanamana, Pilea peploides, māmaki, olonā, and ʻalaʻala wai nui are common understory plants. Vines include maile and hoi kuahiwi, puaʻakuhinia and ʻōlapa are epiphytic flowering plants found in wet forests. Epiphytic ferns, such as Adenophorus spp. ohiaku, Ophioglossum pendulum, ʻākaha, ʻēkaha, epyphytic mosses include Acroporium fuscoflavum, Rhizogonium spiniforme, and Macromitrium owahiense. Loulu fan palms may tower over the forest canopy, bogs are found in montane regions where rainfall exceeds drainage. Dominant vegetation in bogs are shrubs, sedges, and grasses, larger shrubs and small trees grow on bog perimeters or on raised hummocks. Oreobolus furcatus, and Rhynchospora rugosa are common sedges, shrubs include ʻōhelo kau laʻau and ʻōhelo, while grasses are represented by Dichanthelium spp. dwarf varieties of ʻōhiʻa lehua are the most seen trees on the edges of bogs. The ferns wāwaeʻiole, ʻamaʻu, and uluhe grow in bogs, rare plants include liliwai, naʻenaʻe, and Argyroxiphium spp
11.
Invasive species
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One study pointed out widely divergent perceptions of the criteria for invasive species among researchers and concerns with the subjectivity of the term invasive. Such invasive species may be either plants or animals and may disrupt by dominating a region, wilderness areas, particular habitats and this includes non-native invasive plant species labeled as exotic pest plants and invasive exotics growing in native plant communities. It has been used in this sense by government organizations as well as groups such as the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The European Union defines Invasive Alien Species as those that are, firstly, outside their natural distribution area and it is also used by land managers, botanists, researchers, horticulturalists, conservationists, and the public for noxious weeds. The kudzu vine, Andean Pampas grass, and yellow starthistle are examples, an alternate usage broadens the term to include indigenous or native species along with non-native species, that have colonized natural areas. Deer are an example, considered to be overpopulating their native zones and adjacent suburban gardens, by some in the Northeastern, sometimes the term is used to describe a non-native or introduced species that has become widespread. However, not every introduced species has adverse effects on the environment, a nonadverse example is the common goldfish, which is found throughout the United States, but rarely achieves high densities. Scientists include species and ecosystem factors among the mechanisms that when combined, while all species compete to survive, invasive species appear to have specific traits or specific combinations of traits that allow them to outcompete native species. In some cases, the competition is about rates of growth, in other cases, species interact with each other more directly. Researchers disagree about the usefulness of traits as invasiveness markers, one study found that of a list of invasive and noninvasive species, 86% of the invasive species could be identified from the traits alone. Another study found invasive species tended to have only a subset of the presumed traits. Repeated patterns of movement, such as ships sailing to and from ports or cars driving up. An introduced species might become if it can outcompete native species for resources such as nutrients, light, physical space, water. If these species evolved under great competition or predation, then the new environment may host fewer able competitors, allowing the invader to proliferate quickly. Ecosystems in which are being used to their fullest capacity by native species can be modeled as zero-sum systems in which any gain for the invader is a loss for the native, however, such unilateral competitive superiority is not the rule. For example, barbed goatgrass was introduced to California on serpentine soils, which have low water-retention, low nutrient levels, a high magnesium/calcium ratio, and possible heavy metal toxicity. Plant populations on these soils tend to low density, but goatgrass can form dense stands on these soils. Some species, like Kalanchoe daigremontana, produce allelopathic compounds, that might have an effect on competing species
12.
Mount Waialeale
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Mount Waiʻaleʻale, often spelled Waialeale in English without the ʻokina, is a shield volcano and the second highest point on the island of Kauaʻi in the Hawaiian Islands. Recent reports though mention that over the period 1978–2007 the wettest spot in Hawaii is Big Bog on Maui, the summit of Waiʻaleʻale features a tropical rainforest climate, with substantial rainfall throughout the course of the year. Similarly, The Weather Network and the Guinness Book of Weather Records quote 335 days with rain here while suggests that rain falls on 360 days per year. The local tourist industry of Waialeale has promoted it as the wettest spot, although the 38-year average at Mawsynram, Meghalaya, both Mawsynram and Cherrapunji in Meghalaya are recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as having higher average rainfall. Mawsynrams rainfall is concentrated in the season, while the rain at Waiʻaleʻale is more evenly distributed through the year. It has a round and regular conical shape, exposing all sides of its peak to winds. Its peak lies just below the so-called trade wind inversion layer of 6,000 feet, the great rainfall in the area produces the Alakaʻi Wilderness Preserve, a large boggy area that is home to many rare plants. The ground is so wet that although trails exist, access by foot to the Waiʻaleʻale area is extremely difficult, a number of rare local plant species are named for this mountain, including Astelia waialealae, Melicope waialealae, and the endemic Dubautia waialealae. Honolulu Star-Bulletin article on Waiʻaleʻale Site with hiking info on routes to Waialeale and Kawaikini, real-time rainfall data from the USGS Waiʻaleʻale Raingauge
13.
Phallus
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A phallus is a penis, especially when erect, an object that resembles a penis, or a mimetic image of an erect penis. Any object that symbolically—or, more precisely, iconically—resembles a penis may also be referred to as a phallus, however, such symbols often represent fertility and cultural implications that are associated with the male sexual organ, as well as the male orgasm. The term is a loanword from Latin phallus, itself borrowed from Greek φαλλός, compare with Old Norse boli bull, Old English bulluc bullock, Greek φαλλή whale. The Hohle phallus, a 28, 000-year-old siltstone phallus discovered in the Hohle Fels cave, in traditional Greek mythology, Hermes, god of boundaries and exchange is considered to be a phallic deity by association with representations of him on herms featuring a phallus. There is no consensus on this depiction and it would be speculation to consider Hermes a type of fertility god. Pan, son of Hermes, was depicted as having an exaggerated erect phallus. Priapus is a Greek god of fertility whose symbol was an exaggerated phallus, the son of Aphrodite and either Dionysus or Adonis, according to different forms of the original myth, he is the protector of livestock, fruit plants, gardens, and male genitalia. His name is the origin of the medical term priapism, the city of Tyrnavos in Greece holds an annual Phallus festival, a traditional phallophoric event on the first days of Lent. The phallus was ubiquitous in ancient Roman culture, particularly in the form of the fascinum, the ruins of Pompeii produced bronze wind chimes that featured the phallus, often in multiples, to ward off the evil eye and other malevolent influences. Statues of Priapus similarly guarded gardens, Roman boys wore the bulla, an amulet that contained a phallic charm, until they formally came of age. According to Augustine of Hippo, the cult of Father Liber, the phallic deity Mutunus Tutunus promoted marital sex. A sacred phallus was among the objects considered vital to the security of the Roman state which were in the keeping of the Vestal Virgins, sexuality in ancient Rome has sometimes been characterized as phallocentric. Evidence of phallic worship in India dates back to prehistoric times, stone Lingams with several varieties of stylized heads, or the glans, are found to this date in many of the old temples, and in museums in India and abroad. The almost naturalistic giant lingam is distinguished by its prominent, bulbous glans, linguistic evidence indicates that the post-Vedic Hindus not only adopted the tradition/ cult of the linga from the pre-Vedic non-Aryans, but even the term itself is of Austric origin. Chakravarti further says that when two words entered Sanskrit, they, along with another word langula were derivations of the same root syllable lang or lng. Stone lingams have been found in several Indus Civilization sites, varying in size from 3 feet in length to very small pieces and these are found to be of steatite, sandstone and burnt clay. Some among these are unmistakably naturalistic in their rendition, Phallic worship was prevalent in India from the Chalcolithic period itself, and it was closely associated with magical rites based religion of that time. The phallus played a role in the cult of Osiris in ancient Egyptian religion, supposedly, Isis made a wooden replacement
14.
Battle of Kepaniwai
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The Battle of Kepaniwai was fought in 1790 between Hawaiʻi Island and Maui. The forces of Hawaiʻi were led by Kamehameha I, while the forces of Maui were led by Kalanikūpule and it is known as one of the most bitter battles fought in Hawaiian history. While Mauis king Kahekili II was on Oʻahu, Kamehamehas war fleet landed in Kahului a few kilometers from the base of ʻĪao Valley. An army consisting of twelve hundred skilled warriors led by Kamehameha and Kekuhaupiʻo, advanced on Kahekilis son Kalanikūpule. The two armies were evenly matched and neither side broke after two days of fighting, on the third day Kamehamehas army was helped by the use of two cannons operated by John Young and Isaac Davis, two of Kamehamehas royal advisors. Although none of Mauis major chiefs were killed, many people died resulting in the damming of the waters by the corpses floating in the river and it was said that the river ran red with the blood of the dead. Chiefess Kalola and her granddaughter Keōpūolani were able to escape west through the valley to Olowalu, after the battle, Kalola offered her 11-year-old granddaughter to Kamehameha as a future wife. Meanwhile, Keōua Kuahuʻula, the last independent chief on the Island of Hawaiʻi and this resulted in the 1790 battles of East Hawaiʻi and the 1791 battle of Kawaihae. Kahekili II resumed his rule of Maui and also acquired cannon, in 1791, Kahekili tried to invade the island of Hawaiʻi, but was defeated in a naval battle called Kepuwahaʻulaʻula. Kamehameha had to wait for the war that broke out in 1793 after the death of Kahekili II
15.
Kamehameha I
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Kamehameha I, also known as Kamehameha the Great, full Hawaiian name, Kalani Paiʻea Wohi o Kaleikini Kealiʻikui Kamehameha o ʻIolani i Kaiwikapu kauʻi Ka Liholiho Kūnuiākea was a Hawaiian king. He conquered most of the Hawaiian Islands, formally establishing the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi in 1810, by developing alliances with colonial powers, Kamehameha preserved Hawaiʻis independence. Kamehameha is remembered for the Kānāwai Māmalahoe, the Law of the Splintered Paddle, accounts of Kamehameha Is birth vary. Hawaiian historian Samuel Kamakau published an account in the Ka Nupepa Kuokoa in 1867 and this version was challenged by the oral history of the Kaha family, as published in newspaper articles also appearing in the Kuoko. Her version is verified by others within the Kaha family, Kamehameha is considered the son of Keōua, founder of the House of Keoua, and Kekuʻiapoiwa II. Keōua and Kekuʻiapoiwa were both grandchildren of Keaweʻīkekahialiʻiokamoku, Aliʻi nui of the island of Hawaiʻi, and came from the district of Kohala, Hawaiian genealogy notes that Keōua may not have been Kamehamehas biological father, suggesting instead Kahekili II of Maui. Either way, Kamehameha was a descendant of Keawe through his mother, Keōua acknowledged him as his son and this was recognized in official genealogies. The traditional mele chant of Keaka, wife of Alapainui, indicates that Kamehameha was born in the month of ikuwā or around November. Alapai had given the child, Kamehameha, to his wife, Keaka, Kamakau wrote, It was during the time of the warfare among the chiefs of Hawaii which followed the death of Keawe, chief over the whole island that Kamehameha I was born. However, his general dating has been challenged, abraham Fornander wrote, An Account of the Polynesian Race, Its Origins and Migrations, when Kamehameha died in 1819 he was past eighty years old. His birth would thus fall between 1736 and 1740, probably nearer the former than the latter, a Brief History of the Hawaiian People by William De Witt Alexander lists the birth date in the Chronological Table of Events of Hawaiian History as 1736. At the time of Kamehamehas birth, Keōua and his half-brother Kalaniʻōpuʻu were serving Alapaʻinui, Alapaʻinui had brought the brothers to his court after defeating both their fathers in the civil war that followed the death of Keaweʻīkekahialiʻiokamoku. Keōua died while Kamehameha was young, so Kamehameha was raised in the court of his uncle, Prophecy states that the man who moves the Naha Stone would be the one to unite the islands. Many tried and failed to get the stone to move from its original spot and those who have tried were of high-ranking naha blood. Kamehameha was of nīʻaupiʻo descent and Ululani believed that Kamehameha was not worthy of attempting to move the stone, Ululani then introduced her son Keawe I Kahikona of Keaau Village as the younger brother to Kamehameha, so later they would not fight. In the gathering of the Ohana for Unity, Keawe I Kahi Kona chose Kamehameha I over his father Keawe Mauhili, Kamehameha ignored all negativity and moved the stone. Legend says the stone was overturned, Kamehameha went on to unite the islands through a series of battles. Kamehameha was raised in the court of his uncle Kalaniʻōpuʻu
16.
20th Century Fox
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Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation is an American film studio currently owned by 21st Century Fox. It is one of the Big Six major American film studios and is located in the Century City area of Los Angeles, the studio was formerly owned by News Corporation. 20th Century Fox is a member of the Motion Picture Association of America, in 2015, 20th Century Fox celebrated its 80th anniversary as a studio. Spyros Skouras, then manager of the Fox West Coast Theaters, the studios biggest star, Will Rogers, died in a plane crash weeks after the merger. Its leading female star, Janet Gaynor, was fading in popularity and promising leading men James Dunn, at first, it was expected that the new company was originally to be called Fox-20th Century, even though 20th Century was the senior partner in the merger. However, 20th Century brought more to the bargaining table besides Schenck and Zanuck, the new company, 20th Century-Fox Film Corporation, began trading on May 31,1935, the hyphen was dropped in 1985. Schenck became Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, while Kent remained as President, Zanuck became Vice President in Charge of Production, replacing Foxs longtime production chief Winfield Sheehan. The company established a training school. The contracts included an option for renewal for as long as seven years. For many years, 20th Century Fox claimed to have founded in 1915. For instance, it marked 1945 as its 30th anniversary, however, in recent years it has claimed the 1935 merger as its founding, even though most film historians agree it was founded in 1915. The companys films retained the 20th Century Pictures searchlight logo on their credits as well as its opening fanfare. Also on the Fox payroll he found two players who he built up into the studios leading assets, Alice Faye and seven-year-old Shirley Temple, favoring popular biographies and musicals, Zanuck built Fox back to profitability. Thanks to record attendance during World War II, Fox overtook RKO, while Zanuck went off for eighteen months war service, junior partner William Goetz kept profits high by going for light entertainment. The studios—indeed the industrys—biggest star was creamy blonde Betty Grable, in 1942, Spyros Skouras succeeded Kent as president of the studio. Together with Zanuck, who returned in 1943, they intended to make Foxs output more serious-minded. During the next few years, with pictures like The Razors Edge, Wilson, Gentlemans Agreement, The Snake Pit, Boomerang, and Pinky, Zanuck established a reputation for provocative, adult films. Fox also specialized in adaptations of best-selling books such as Ben Ames Williams Leave Her to Heaven, starring Gene Tierney and they also made the 1958 film version of South Pacific
17.
Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie
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Turbo, A Power Rangers Movie is a 1997 American superhero film directed by David Winning and Shuki Levy and written by Levy and Shell Danielson. It was produced by Saban Entertainment and Toei Company, Ltd. like Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, The Movie, distributed by 20th Century Fox. The film serves as a bridge between the Power Rangers Zeo and Power Rangers Turbo television seasons, with the new cast, as with its television season, the film used concepts and costumes from the Japanese Super Sentai series Gekisou Sentai Carranger. Lerigot escapes Divatoxs forces and travels to Earth in search of Zordon and his friend Alpha 5, weakened by the suns ultraviolet rays, Lerigot meets a pack of common chimpanzees and wanders off with them. Meanwhile, Divatox sets off for Earth in pursuit, in Angel Grove, Rocky, Adam, and Tommy are training for a charity fighting competition to save the Youth Shelter, when Rocky accidentally injures his back. Kat and Tanya arrive with Justin, a kid who admires Rocky, as Rocky is rushed to the hospital, Justin follows the group and learns that they are Power Rangers. Zordon sends Tommy and Kat to search for Lerigot and they manage to find him and return to the Power Chamber. Divatoxs nephew Elgar, searches for two human sacrifices to revive Maligore and he abducts Bulk and Skull, but Divatox rejects them for not being pure of heart. Divatox finds two perfect specimens who are scuba diving nearby and captures them, while recovering, Lerigot is contacted by Divatox, who has captured his family and demands that he surrender himself. Divatox also uses the two hostages, revealed to be Kimberly and Jason, to pressure the Rangers, at the exchange site, Elgar tricks the Rangers and takes Lerigot without releasing their friends. Zordon and Alpha create new powers for the Rangers to defeat Divatox, with the new Turbo powers and their new vehicular Turbo Zords, the Rangers drive across the desert to a ship called the Ghost Galleon. They are joined by Justin, who has received Rockys Blue Ranger powers as the new Blue Turbo Ranger as Rocky is unable to rejoin his friends, on Divatoxs submarine, Jason and Kim work on a plan to escape. Once they reach the island where Maligore is imprisoned, Divatox torpedoes the ship, Bulk, Skull and Kimberly escape the sub, but Jason is trapped and left behind. Kimberly has been captured by the Malicians, inhabitants of the island, at the temple in the volcano, the Rangers fight Divatoxs forces, but unable to free Jason and Kimberly before the two are possessed by Maligore and attack the Rangers mercilessly. The Rangers free Lerigot and his wife Yara, who undo the possession, angered, Divatox sacrifices her nephew and successfully revives Maligore. The Rangers summon their Turbo Megazord to fight Maligore and they defeat him as Divatox and Rygog flee, vowing vengeance. The Rangers pick up Jason, Kimberly, Lerigot, Yara, Bulk and Skull, at the competition, Jason takes Rockys place, and they win the tournament, earning the money in order to save the shelter. Johnny Yong Bosch as Adam Park/Green Turbo Ranger, A martial artist of Korean descent from Stone Canyon and he is also the teams second-in-command
18.
Ethnic group
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An ethnic group or ethnicity is a category of people who identify with each other based on similarities, such as common ancestral, language, social, cultural or national experiences. Unlike other social groups, ethnicity is often an inherited status based on the society in which one lives, in some cases, it can be adopted if a person moves into another society. Ethnic groups, derived from the historical founder population, often continue to speak related languages. By way of language shift, acculturation, adoption and religious conversion, it is possible for individuals or groups to leave one ethnic group. Ethnicity is often used synonymously with terms such as nation or people. In English, it can also have the connotation of something exotic, generally related to cultures of more recent immigrants, the largest ethnic groups in modern times comprise hundreds of millions of individuals, while the smallest are limited to a few dozen individuals. Conversely, formerly separate ethnicities can merge to form a pan-ethnicity, whether through division or amalgamation, the formation of a separate ethnic identity is referred to as ethnogenesis. The term ethnic is derived from the Greek word ἔθνος ethnos, the inherited English language term for this concept is folk, used alongside the latinate people since the late Middle English period. In Early Modern English and until the mid-19th century, ethnic was used to mean heathen or pagan, as the Septuagint used ta ethne to translate the Hebrew goyim the nations, non-Hebrews, non-Jews. The Greek term in antiquity could refer to any large group, a host of men. In the 19th century, the term came to be used in the sense of peculiar to a race, people or nation, the abstract ethnicity had been used for paganism in the 18th century, but now came to express the meaning of an ethnic character. The term ethnic group was first recorded in 1935 and entered the Oxford English Dictionary in 1972, depending on the context that is used, the term nationality may either be used synonymously with ethnicity, or synonymously with citizenship. The process that results in the emergence of an ethnicity is called ethnogenesis, the Greeks at this time did not describe foreign nations but had also developed a concept of their own ethnicity, which they grouped under the name of Hellenes. Herodotus gave an account of what defined Greek ethnic identity in his day, enumerating shared descent. Whether ethnicity qualifies as a universal is to some extent dependent on the exact definition used. Many social scientists, such as anthropologists Fredrik Barth and Eric Wolf and they regard ethnicity as a product of specific kinds of inter-group interactions, rather than an essential quality inherent to human groups. According to Thomas Hylland Eriksen, the study of ethnicity was dominated by two distinct debates until recently, one is between primordialism and instrumentalism. In the primordialist view, the participant perceives ethnic ties collectively, as a given, even coercive
19.
United States Geological Survey
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The United States Geological Survey is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its resources. The organization has four science disciplines, concerning biology, geography, geology. The USGS is a research organization with no regulatory responsibility. The USGS is a bureau of the United States Department of the Interior, the USGS employs approximately 8,670 people and is headquartered in Reston, Virginia. The USGS also has major offices near Lakewood, Colorado, at the Denver Federal Center, the current motto of the USGS, in use since August 1997, is science for a changing world. The agencys previous slogan, adopted on the occasion of its anniversary, was Earth Science in the Public Service. Prompted by a report from the National Academy of Sciences, the USGS was created, by a last-minute amendment and it was charged with the classification of the public lands, and examination of the geological structure, mineral resources, and products of the national domain. This task was driven by the need to inventory the vast lands added to the United States by the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, the legislation also provided that the Hayden, Powell, and Wheeler surveys be discontinued as of June 30,1879. Clarence King, the first director of USGS, assembled the new organization from disparate regional survey agencies, after a short tenure, King was succeeded in the directors chair by John Wesley Powell. Administratively, it is divided into a Headquarters unit and six Regional Units, Other specific programs include, Earthquake Hazards Program monitors earthquake activity worldwide. The National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colorado on the campus of the Colorado School of Mines detects the location, the USGS also runs or supports several regional monitoring networks in the United States under the umbrella of the Advanced National Seismic System. The USGS informs authorities, emergency responders, the media, and it also maintains long-term archives of earthquake data for scientific and engineering research. It also conducts and supports research on long-term seismic hazards, USGS has released the UCERF California earthquake forecast. The USGS National Geomagnetism Program monitors the magnetic field at magnetic observatories and distributes magnetometer data in real time, the USGS operates the streamgaging network for the United States, with over 7400 streamgages. Real-time streamflow data are available online, since 1962, the Astrogeology Research Program has been involved in global, lunar, and planetary exploration and mapping. USGS operates a number of related programs, notably the National Streamflow Information Program. USGS Water data is available from their National Water Information System database
20.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
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The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is an American scientific agency within the United States Department of Commerce focused on the conditions of the oceans and the atmosphere. NOAA warns of dangerous weather, charts seas, guides the use and protection of ocean and coastal resources, and conducts research to improve understanding and stewardship of the environment. In addition to its employees, over 11,000 as of 2015, NOAA research. NOAA plays several roles in society, the benefits of which extend beyond the U. S. economy and into the larger global community. NOAA supplies information to its customers and partners pertaining to the state of the oceans and this is clearly manifest in the production of weather warnings and forecasts through the National Weather Service, but NOAAs information products extend to climate, ecosystems, and commerce as well. A Provider of Environmental Stewardship Services, NOAA is also the steward of U. S. coastal and marine environments. A Leader in Applied Scientific Research, the five fundamental activities are, Monitoring and observing Earth systems with instruments and data collection networks. Understanding and describing Earth systems through research and analysis of that data, assessing and predicting the changes of these systems over time. Engaging, advising, and informing the public and partner organizations with important information, managing resources for the betterment of society, economy and environment. NOAA formed a conglomeration of several existing agencies that were among the oldest in the federal government, NOAA was established within the Department of Commerce via the Reorganization Plan No.4 of 1970. In 2007 NOAA celebrated 200 years of service with its ties to the United States Coast, the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps is a uniformed service of men and women who operate NOAA ships and aircraft, and serve in scientific and administrative posts. And in addition more than a dozen staff offices, including the Office of the Federal Coordinator for Meteorology, the NOAA Central Library and this is done through a collection of national and regional centers,13 river forecast centers, and more than 120 local weather forecast offices. They are charged with issuing weather and river forecasts, advisories, watches and they issue more than 734,000 weather and 850,000 river forecasts, and more than 45,000 severe weather warnings annually. NOAA data is relevant to the issues of global warming. The NWS operates NEXRAD, a network of Doppler weather radars which can detect precipitation. Many of their products are broadcast on NOAA Weather Radio, a network of transmitters that broadcasts weather forecasts, severe weather statements, watches. The National Ocean Service focuses on ensuring that ocean and coastal areas are safe, healthy, in 1960 TIROS-1, NOAAs first owned and operated geostationary satellite was launched. Since 1966 NESDIS has managed polar orbiting satellites and since 1974 it has operated geosynchronous satellites, in 1979 NOAAs first polar-orbiting environmental satellite was launched
21.
International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
22.
Wikimedia Commons
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Wikimedia Commons is an online repository of free-use images, sound, and other media files. It is a project of the Wikimedia Foundation, the repository contains over 38 million media files. In July 2013, the number of edits on Commons reached 100,000,000, the project was proposed by Erik Möller in March 2004 and launched on September 7,2004. The expression educational is to be according to its broad meaning of providing knowledge. Wikimedia Commons itself does not allow fair use or uploads under non-free licenses, for this reason, Wikimedia Commons always hosts freely licensed media and deletes copyright violations. The default language for Commons is English, but registered users can customize their interface to use any other user interface translations. Many content pages, in particular policy pages and portals, have also translated into various languages. Files on Wikimedia Commons are categorized using MediaWikis category system, in addition, they are often collected on individual topical gallery pages. While the project was proposed to also contain free text files. In 2012, BuzzFeed described Wikimedia Commons as littered with dicks, in 2010, Wikipedia co-founder Larry Sanger reported Wikimedia Commons to the FBI for hosting sexualized images of children known as lolicon. Wales responded to the backlash from the Commons community by voluntarily relinquishing some site privileges, over time, additional functionality has been developed to interface Wikimedia Commons with the other Wikimedia projects. Specialized uploading tools and scripts such as Commonist have been created to simplify the process of uploading large numbers of files. In order to free content photos uploaded to Flickr, users can participate in a defunct collaborative external review process. The site has three mechanisms for recognizing quality works, one is known as Featured pictures, where works are nominated and other community members vote to accept or reject the nomination. This process began in November 2004, another process known as Quality images began in June 2006, and has a simpler nomination process comparable to Featured pictures. Quality images only accepts works created by Wikimedia users, whereas Featured pictures additionally accepts nominations of works by third parties such as NASA, the three mentioned processes select a slight part from the total number of files. However, Commons collects files of all quality levels, from the most professional level across simple documental, files with specific defects can be tagged for improvement and warning or even proposed for deletion but there exists no process of systematic rating of all files. The site held its inaugural Picture of the Year competition, for 2006, all images that were made a Featured picture during 2006 were eligible, and voted on by eligible Wikimedia users during two rounds of voting
23.
Protected areas of the United States
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The protected areas of the United States are managed by an array of different federal, state, tribal and local level authorities and receive widely varying levels of protection. Some areas are managed as wilderness, while others are operated with acceptable commercial exploitation, as of 2015, the 25,800 protected areas covered 1,294,476 km2, or 14 percent of the land area of the United States. This is also one-tenth of the land area of the world. The U. S. also had a total of 787 National Marine Protected Areas, covering an additional 1,271,408 km2, some areas are managed in concert between levels of government. The Father Marquette National Memorial is an example of a park operated by a state park system. As of 2007, according to the United Nations Environment Programme, federal level protected areas are managed by a variety of agencies, most of which are a part of the National Park Service, a bureau of the United States Department of the Interior. They are often considered the jewels of the protected areas. Other areas are managed by the United States Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the United States Army Corps of Engineers is claimed to provide 30 percent of the recreational opportunities on federal lands, mainly through lakes and waterways that they manage. The highest levels of protection, as described by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, are Level I, the United States maintains 12 percent of the Level I and II lands in the world. These lands had an area of 210,000 sq mi. A confusing system for naming protected areas results in some types being used by more than one agency, for instance, both the National Park Service and the U. S. Forest Service operate areas designated National Preserves and National Recreation Areas. The National Park Service, the U. S. Forest Service, National Wilderness Areas are designated within other protected areas, managed by various agencies and sometimes wilderness areas span areas managed by multiple agencies. States and local zoning bodies may or may not choose to protect these, the state of Colorado, for example, is very clear that it does not set any limits on owners of NRHP properties. State parks vary widely from urban parks to large parks that are on a par with national parks. Some state parks, like Adirondack Park, are similar to the National parks of England and Wales, about half the area of the park, some 3,000,000 acres, is state-owned and preserved as forever wild by the Forest Preserve of New York. Wood-Tikchik State Park in Alaska claims to be the largest state park by the amount of protected land, it is larger than many U. S. National Parks. Many states also operate game and recreation areas. S, State and tribal wilderness areas Various counties, cities, metropolitan authorities, regional parks, townships, soil conservation districts and other units manage a variety of local level parks. Some of these are more than picnic areas or playgrounds, however
24.
Federal government of the United States
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The Federal Government of the United States is the national government of the United States, a republic in North America, composed of 50 states, one district, Washington, D. C. and several territories. The federal government is composed of three branches, legislative, executive, and judicial, whose powers are vested by the U. S. Constitution in the Congress, the President, and the courts, including the Supreme Court. The powers and duties of these branches are defined by acts of Congress. The full name of the republic is United States of America, no other name appears in the Constitution, and this is the name that appears on money, in treaties, and in legal cases to which it is a party. The terms Government of the United States of America or United States Government are often used in documents to represent the federal government as distinct from the states collectively. In casual conversation or writing, the term Federal Government is often used, the terms Federal and National in government agency or program names generally indicate affiliation with the federal government. Because the seat of government is in Washington, D. C, Washington is commonly used as a metonym for the federal government. The outline of the government of the United States is laid out in the Constitution, the government was formed in 1789, making the United States one of the worlds first, if not the first, modern national constitutional republics. The United States government is based on the principles of federalism and republicanism, some make the case for expansive federal powers while others argue for a more limited role for the central government in relation to individuals, the states or other recognized entities. For example, while the legislative has the power to create law, the President nominates judges to the nations highest judiciary authority, but those nominees must be approved by Congress. The Supreme Court, in its turn, has the power to invalidate as unconstitutional any law passed by the Congress and these and other examples are examined in more detail in the text below. The United States Congress is the branch of the federal government. It is bicameral, comprising the House of Representatives and the Senate, the House currently consists of 435 voting members, each of whom represents a congressional district. The number of each state has in the House is based on each states population as determined in the most recent United States Census. All 435 representatives serve a two-year term, each state receives a minimum of one representative in the House. There is no limit on the number of terms a representative may serve, in addition to the 435 voting members, there are six non-voting members, consisting of five delegates and one resident commissioner. In contrast, the Senate is made up of two senators from each state, regardless of population, there are currently 100 senators, who each serve six-year terms
25.
National Park Service
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It was created on August 25,1916, by Congress through the National Park Service Organic Act and is an agency of the United States Department of the Interior. As of 2014, the NPS employs 21,651 employees who oversee 417 units, the National Park Service celebrated its centennial in 2016. National parks and national monuments in the United States were originally individually managed under the auspices of the Department of the Interior, the movement for an independent agency to oversee these federal lands was spearheaded by business magnate and conservationist Stephen Mather, as well as J. Horace McFarland. With the help of journalist Robert Sterling Yard, Mather ran a publicity campaign for the Department of the Interior and they wrote numerous articles that praised the scenic and historic qualities of the parks and their possibilities for educational, inspirational, and recreational benefits. This campaign resulted in the creation of a National Park Service, Mather became the first director of the newly formed NPS. On March 3,1933, President Herbert Hoover signed the Reorganization Act of 1933, the act would allow the President to reorganize the executive branch of the United States government. It wasnt until later that summer when the new President, Franklin D. Roosevelt, President Roosevelt agreed and issued two Executive orders to make it happen. In 1951, Conrad Wirth became director of the National Park Service, the demand for parks after the end of the World War II had left the parks overburdened with demands that could not be met. In 1952, with the support of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, he began Mission 66, New parks were added to preserve unique resources and existing park facilities were upgraded and expanded. In 1966, as the Park Service turned 50 years old, emphasis began to turn from just saving great and wonderful scenery, Director George Hartzog began the process with the creation of the National Lakeshores and then National Recreation Areas. Since its inception in 1916, the National Park Service has managed each of the United States national parks, Yellowstone National Park was the first national park in the United States. In 1872, there was no government to manage it. Yosemite National Park began as a park, the land for the park was donated by the federal government to the state of California in 1864 for perpetual conservation. Yosemite was later returned to federal ownership, at first, each national park was managed independently, with varying degrees of success. In Yellowstone, the staff was replaced by the U. S. Army in 1886. Due to the irregularities in managing these national treasures, Stephen Mather petitioned the government to improve the situation. In response, Secretary of the Interior Franklin K. Lane challenged him to lobby for creating a new agency, Mather was successful with the ratification of the National Park Service Organic Act in 1916. Later, the agency was given authority over other protected areas, the National Park System includes all properties managed by the National Park Service
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National Historic Site (United States)
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A National Historic Site is a protected area of national historic significance in the United States. An NHS usually contains a historical feature directly associated with its subject. As of 2015, there are 50 NHPs and 90 NHSs, most NHPs and NHSs are managed by the National Park Service. Some federally designated sites are owned by local authorities or privately owned, one property, Grey Towers National Historic Site, is managed by the U. S. Forest Service. As of October 15,1966, all areas, including NHPs and NHSs. There are also about 80,000 NRHP sites, the majority of which are neither owned nor managed by the NPS. Of these, about 2,500 have been designated at the highest status as National Historic Landmark sites, National Historic Sites are generally federally owned and administered properties, though some remain under private or local government ownership. There are currently 90 NHSs, of which 78 are official NPS units,11 are NPS affiliated areas, one is managed by the US Forest Service, and one by the Bureau of Land Management. Derived from the Historic Sites Act of 1935, a number of NHSs were established by United States Secretaries of the Interior, in 1937, the first NHS was created in Salem, Massachusetts in order to preserve and interpret the maritime history of New England and the United States. There is one International Historic Site in the US park system, the title, given to the site of the first permanent French settlement in America, recognizes the influence that has had on both Canada and the United States. The NPS does not distinguish among these designations in terms of their preservation or management policies, in the United States, sites are historic, while parks are historical. The NPS explains that a site can be intrinsically historic, while a park is a legal invention. As such, a park is not itself historic, but can be called historical when it contains historic resources and it is the resources which are historic, not the park. Klondike Gold Rush International Historical Park was formally established in 1998 by the United States and Canada, the park comprises Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park in Washington and Alaska, and Chilkoot Trail National Historic Site in British Columbia. It was this trail which so many prospectors took in hopes of making their fortunes in the Klondike River district of Yukon, list of World Heritage Sites in the Americas Designation of National Park System Units
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National Monument (United States)
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Historically, some national monuments were managed by the War Department. National monuments can be so designated through the power of the Antiquities Act of 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt used the act to declare Devils Tower in Wyoming as the first national monument. The Antiquities Act of 1906 resulted from concerns about protecting mostly prehistoric Native American ruins, the Act authorized permits for legitimate archaeological investigations and penalties for taking or destroying antiquities without permission. Among the next three monuments he proclaimed in 1906 was Petrified Forest in Arizona, another natural feature, in 1908, Roosevelt used the act to proclaim more than 800,000 acres of the Grand Canyon as a national monument. In 1918, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed Katmai National Monument in Alaska, Katmai was later enlarged to nearly 2,800,000 acres by subsequent Antiquities Act proclamations and for many years was the largest national park system unit. Petrified Forest, Grand Canyon, and Katmai were among the national monuments later converted to national parks by Congress. Substantial opposition did not materialize until 1943, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaimed Jackson Hole National Monument in Wyoming. He did this to accept a donation of lands acquired by John D. Rockefeller, roosevelts proclamation unleashed a storm of criticism about use of the Antiquities Act to circumvent Congress. A bill abolishing Jackson Hole National Monument passed Congress but was vetoed by Roosevelt, the proclamation authority was not used again anywhere until 1996, when President Bill Clinton proclaimed the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah. This action was unpopular in Utah, and bills were introduced to further restrict the presidents authority. To date, none of them have been enacted, presidents have used the Antiquities Acts proclamation authority not only to create new national monuments but to enlarge existing ones. For example, Franklin D. Roosevelt significantly enlarged Dinosaur National Monument in 1938, lyndon B. Johnson added Ellis Island to Statue of Liberty National Monument in 1965, and Jimmy Carter made major additions to Glacier Bay and Katmai National Monuments in 1978. Marine National Monument List of U. S. National Forests List of areas in the National Park System of the United States List of U. S
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Honouliuli Internment Camp
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The Honouliuli Internment Camp, Hawaiʻis largest and longest-operating internment camp, opened in 1943 and closed in 1946. Located near Waipahu on the island of Oʻahu, the site was designated Honouliuli National Monument by Presidential Proclamation on February 24,2015 by President Barack Obama. The internment camp held 320 internees and also became the largest prisoner of war camp in Hawai‘i with nearly 4,000 individuals being held. Of the seventeen sites that were associated with the history of internment in Hawaiʻi during World War II, as of 2015, the new national monument is without formal services and programs. Run by the U. S. Army, the supervisor was Captain Siegfried Spillner. The camp was constructed on 160 acres of land near Ewa, an 8-foot dual barbed-wire fence enclosed the camp, and a company of military police stood guard from its eight watchtowers. Of the seventeen sites that were associated with the history of internment in Hawaiʻi during World War II, the isolated location in a deep gulch led Japanese American internees to nickname it jigoku dani. The camp was designed to hold 3,000 people, at one time it held 320 U. S. civilians. It was divided by barbed wire into sections, intended to separate internees by gender, nationality, and military or civilian status. By August 1943, there were 160 Japanese Americans and 69 Japanese interned there, eventually, the camp held more than 4,000 Okinawans, Italians, German Americans, Koreans, and Taiwanese as well. The first Korean prisoners were believed to have arrived in late 1943 or early 1944, they comprised non-combatant laborers captured during the Gilbert, beginning in 1943, the Japanese American internees were either released on parole or transferred to Department of Justice camps on the mainland. After the third transfer in November 1944, twenty-one U. S. civilians remained in Honouliuli, at the end of the war, some 4,000 POWs were confined at Honouliuli, repatriation efforts began in December 1945 and continued into 1946. After the camps closure, the land was leased by the Oahu Sugar Company from the Campbell Estate, in 2007, the Monsanto Corporation purchased the land. The fact that Honouliuli Gulch had once held an internment camp was largely forgotten until the late 1990s, jane Kurahara, a volunteer from the Japanese Cultural Center, located it in 2002 by tracing an aqueduct in the background of an old photo. The efforts to more about the camps history attracted the attention of the NPS. A followup NPS survey concluded that the camp was eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, the site and the U. S. Immigration Station in Honolulu played a central role as internment sites in Hawai‘i during World War II. The site met the criteria for national significance and was added to the register on February 21,2012, on July 6,2012, the state created an advisory group to develop and present recommendations for an educational resource center to lawmakers in the next legislative session. The Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai‘i conducts public tours of the former camp, two buildings and some other remnants still remain at the site, which current-owner Monsanto is interested in transferring to the National Park Service
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United States National Marine Sanctuary
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The National Marine Sanctuary System consists of 14 marine protected areas that encompass more than 783,000 square miles. The program began after the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill off the coast of California brought the plight of marine ecosystems to national attention, the United States Congress responded in 1972 with the Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act which allowed for the creation of marine sanctuaries. The resources protected by U. S. national marine sanctuaries range from coral reef ecosystems in American Samoa, Florida, Hawaii, and Texas, to shipwrecks in the Great Lakes, designation as a National Marine Sanctuary does not automatically prohibit fishing and other activities. Recreational and commercial fishing is allowed in some sanctuaries and it is possible to restrict consumptive or destructive activities through the initial designation process and NMSP actions. There are restrictions in some sanctuaries that are enforced by other governing agencies
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National Wildlife Refuge
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National Wildlife Refuge System is a designation for certain protected areas of the United States managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The National Wildlife Refuge System is the system of lands and waters set aside to conserve Americas fish, wildlife. National Wildlife Refuges manage a range of habitat types, including wetlands, prairies, coastal and marine areas. Among these hundreds of national refuges are home to some 700 species of birds,220 species of mammals,250 reptile and amphibian species and more than 1000 species of fish. Endangered species are a priority of National Wildlife Refuges in that nearly 60 refuges have been established with the purpose of conserving 280 threatened or endangered species. National Wildlife Refuges are also places where visitors can participate in a variety of outdoor recreational activities. The National Wildlife Refuge System welcomes nearly 50 million visitors each year, hunters visit more than 350 hunting programs on refuges and on about 36,000 Waterfowl Production Areas. Opportunities for fresh or saltwater fishing are available at more than 340 refuges, there is at least one wildlife refuge in each of the fifty states. The agency has created Comprehensive Conservation Plans for each refuge, developed through consultation with private and these began a review process by stakeholders beginning in 2013. The CCCPs must be consistent with the Fish and Wildlife Service goals for conservation, the CCPs outline conservation goals for each refuge for fifteen years into the future, with the intent that they will be revised every fifteen years thereafter. Additionally, NEPA requires FWS planners and refuge staff to engage the public in planning process to assist them with identifying the most appropriate alternative. Completed CCPs are available to the public and can be found on the FWS website, equally important is an intimate understanding of the social and economic drivers that impact and are impacted by management decisions and can facilitate or impede implementation success. Consideration of these contributes to the success of the Service’s mission to protect wildlife. The Refuge System works collaboratively internally and externally to leverage resources, according to the Services 2013 Banking on Nature Report, visitors to refuges positively impact the local economies. Prevention and control of fires is also a very active part of refuge management. Completion of controlled burns to reduce fuel loading, and participation in the wildland fire suppression efforts, are vital for management of refuge lands. A considerable infrastructure of physical structures is also essential to management of refuge lands. As of September 30,2015 there were 13,030 roads, bridges and trails,5,284 buildings,8,007 water management structures, the overall facility infrastructure is valued at nearly $30 billion
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Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge
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Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge is a protected area on the Big Island of Hawaiʻi. It is one of two units, along with the Kona Forest National Wildlife Refuge that is managed as part of the Big Island National Wildlife Refuge Complex, access to the Kona Forest is restricted since it contains several endangered species. Hakalau Forest NWR contains some of the finest remaining stands of native montane wet forest in Hawaiʻi, the slopes below 4,000 ft feet receive very high rainfall -250 in annually. Bogs, fern patches, and scrubby forest dominate this area, rainfall decreases to about 150 in at elevations above 4,500 ft, where majestic koa and red-blossomed ʻōhiʻa lehua trees form a closed-canopy forest. Since 1989, over 400,000 koa, ʻōhiʻa, the Pua Akala Cabin, located within the refuge, was nominated to the National Register of Historic Places in August 2008. In 1985,32,733 acres on the slope of Mauna Kea were established as the Hakalau Forest Unit. In 1997, the Fish and Wildlife Service purchased an additional 5,300 acres of land to create the Kona Forest Unit of Hakalau Forest NWR. The Kona Forest Unit includes lands within the Hoʻokena and Kalahiki land divisions on the slopes of Mauna Loa, at elevations of 2. One of the purposes for the creation of this unit was to protect the habitat of the ʻalalā. The Kona Forest Unit is located about 23 mi south of Kailua-Kona, the Kona Forest district is somewhat drier than the Hakalau Unit. Much of Hawaii’s native lowland habitat was degraded following the Polynesians’ arrival over a thousand years ago. In the late 18th century, cattle, goats, and European pigs were released into the forests, and hundreds of alien plants, animals. Most lowland plants seen today like the orchid, ginger, introduced animals such as mosquitoes, wasps, small Asian mongooses, cats, and rats have also harmed Hawaiian habitat and native species. Grazing pressure by cattle and pigs has resulted in the replacement of Hawaiian plants by more competitive alien grasses and shrubs within the upper portions of Hakalau Forest. Below this pasture area, the tree canopy is still intact, but the native understory has been replaced by alien grasses, blackberry, banana poka. The replacement process may have been accelerated by efforts to create more land through bulldozing and burning. Eight of the 14 native bird species occurring at Hakalau are endangered, thirteen migratory bird species and 20 introduced species, including eight game birds, as well as the endangered ʻopeʻapeʻa also frequent the refuge. Twenty-nine rare plant species are known from the refuge and adjacent lands, twelve are currently listed as endangered
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Hanalei National Wildlife Refuge
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The Hanalei National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge on the island of Kauaʻi in Hawaiʻi. It is located within the Hanalei River Valley along the northern shore. The Refuge was established on 30 November 1972 for the conservation of endangered plants and animals, especially the Hawaiian stilt, Hawaiian coot, Hawaiian gallinule and Hawaiian duck. The Refuge is a flat river valley ranging from 20 to 40 ft above sea level and is surrounded by steep wooded hillsides up to 1,000 ft high. The average annual temperature is approximately 73 °F, and annual rainfall usually exceeds 75 in, at the southeastern end of the Refuge, water from the Hanalei River is diverted into an east and west supply ditch. It then flows northwest and irrigates approximately 186 acres of taro and 84 acres of wildlife impoundments before returning to the river, the Refuge encompasses a total area of approximately 917 acres. The Refuge hosts four endangered waterbirds, the āeʻo, ʻalae kea, ʻalae ʻula, koloa maoli, Refuge wetlands are closed to the public to protect the endangered waterbirds and taro crops. Limited access is allowed along a county river road, there are interpretive panels located at the Hanalei Valley overlook, across from the Princeville Shopping Center. A new overlook/visitor center is planned for an adjacent to the refuge near the existing rudimentary overlook. Hanalei National Wildlife Refuge includes the Hoʻopulapula Haraguchi Rice Mill, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, a nonprofit association conducts historic and environmental education activities for local school groups and visitors under a Special Use Permit. This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Government document Hanalei National Wildlife Refuge
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Huleia National Wildlife Refuge
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The Hulēʻia National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge on the island of Kauaʻi in Hawaiʻi. It is adjacent to the Menehune Fish Pond, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Hulēʻia Refuge is approximately 241 acres of bottomlands and wooded slopes along the Hulēʻia River. To protect and minimize disturbance to the endangered species that live there. However, shoreline access is provided just to the east at Niumalu Beach Park, Refuge website This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service
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James Campbell National Wildlife Refuge
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James Campbell National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge on the island of Oʻahu, Hawaii. It was established in 1976 to permanently protect a unit and to provide habitat for native and migratory fauna. It also provides increased wildlife-dependent public uses and flood control within the refuge, James Campbell National Wildlife Refuge lies at the northernmost tip of the Hawaiian island of Oʻahu, between the town of Kahuku to the east and Turtle Bay to the west. It serves as a landfall for migratory birds coming from as far away as Alaska, New Zealand. The refuge is divided into two units, Punamano and Kiʻi, the Punamano Unit, at 21°41′49″N 157°58′18″W, is a natural spring-fed pond, while the Kiʻi Unit, at 21°41′24″N 157°57′20″W, is a remnant marsh that has been drastically modified by agriculture. Wetland habitat is maintained at the Kiʻi Unit by pumping water into seven impoundments, both units are near the coastline and the topography is nearly flat. Historically, the Kiʻi Unit functioned as the settling basins for the Kahuku Sugar Mill. A total of 119 bird species have been documented on the refuge since its inception, unusual vagrant birds include the northern harrier, peregrine falcon, black-tailed godwit, Hudsonian godwit, curlew sandpiper, solitary sandpiper, and snowy egret. There are no mammals, reptiles, or amphibians. Threats to wetland birds at the refuge include nonnative and invasive plants and animals, predation by free-ranging dogs, feral cats, rats, the nonnative American bullfrog, and the small Asian mongoose threatens birds and their nests. These predators are controlled on the refuge to protect the birds, populations of the koloa are affected by hybridization with Mallards. Exotic plants such as grass and marsh fleabanes can degrade habitat quality by invading wetlands. Such plants are controlled with prescribed burning, water level fluctuation, at inception, the refuge was managed under a 55-year lease from the Estate of James Campbell. In 2005, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service purchased 222 acres in fee simple and 38 acres of conservation easements, congress and the president supported the bill and on May 25,2006, enacted the James Campbell National Wildlife Refuge Expansion Act of 2005. Due to the sensitivity of the habitat and its small acreage, however, guided tours are offered on a limited basis twice a week and for special events and education outside the nesting season, generally between October and February. This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Government document James Campbell National Wildlife Refuge
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