1.
Mitchell County Courthouse (North Carolina)
–
Mitchell County Courthouse is a historic courthouse located at Bakersville, Mitchell County, North Carolina. It was built in 1907-1908, and is a two-story cast stone building in a vernacular Classical Revival style and it has a hipped roof with a two-stage square cupola crowned by a domical roof. It has four-sided turret-like corner bays and it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979
2.
Bakersville, North Carolina
–
Bakersville is a town in Mitchell County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 464 at the 2010 census and it is the county seat of Mitchell County. In prehistoric times, local mica deposits were mined by Native Americans. The first Euro-American settlers arrived in the area after the American Revolution, the town of Bakersville dates from the 1850s and was named for David Baker, an early settler who lived on the site. Situated on the route leading over Roan Mountain and westward into Tennessee. Traveler Frederick Law Olmsted passed through Bakersville in the early 1850s, following the Civil War, the county seat of newly created Mitchell County was relocated to Bakersville, leading to the construction of a courthouse and a growth in population. In the 1870s, as mica became commercially valuable, the local deposits of the mineral caused a temporary economic boom. Bakersville is also home to the North Carolina Rhododendron Festival, the pageant attracts visitors from across the state and nation, most notably Richard Nixon in 1968. The Mitchell County Courthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, Bakersville is located at 36°0′50″N 82°9′21″W. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has an area of 0.8 square miles. Bakersville is a town, and is the county seat of Mitchell County located approximately 50 miles northeast of Asheville and 25 miles southeast of Johnson City. It has one primary and middle school with approximately two hundred students. As of the census of 2000, there were 357 people,168 households, the population density was 474.4 people per square mile. There were 206 housing units at a density of 273.8 per square mile. The racial makeup of the town was 99. 72% White and 0. 28% Native American, hispanic or Latino of any race were 0. 28% of the population. 39. 3% of all households were made up of individuals and 22. 6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older, the average household size was 2.04 and the average family size was 2.72. In the town, the population was out with 19. 3% under the age of 18,8. 1% from 18 to 24,20. 4% from 25 to 44,26. 1% from 45 to 64. The median age was 46 years, for every 100 females there were 77.6 males
3.
North Carolina
–
North Carolina is a state in the southeastern region of the United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west, Virginia to the north, North Carolina is the 28th most extensive and the 9th most populous of the U. S. states. The state is divided into 100 counties, the most populous municipality is Charlotte, which is the second largest banking center in the United States after New York City. The state has a range of elevations, from sea level on the coast to 6,684 feet at Mount Mitchell. The climate of the plains is strongly influenced by the Atlantic Ocean. Most of the falls in the humid subtropical climate zone. More than 300 miles from the coast, the western, mountainous part of the state has a highland climate. North Carolina is bordered by South Carolina on the south, Georgia on the southwest, Tennessee on the west, Virginia on the north, the United States Census Bureau places North Carolina in the South Atlantic division of the southern region. So many ships have been lost off Cape Hatteras that the area is known as the Graveyard of the Atlantic, the most famous of these is the Queen Annes Revenge, which went aground in Beaufort Inlet in 1718. The coastal plain transitions to the Piedmont region along the Atlantic Seaboard fall line, the Piedmont region of central North Carolina is the states most populous region, containing the six largest cities in the state by population. It consists of rolling countryside frequently broken by hills or low mountain ridges. The Piedmont ranges from about 300 feet in elevation in the east to about 1,500 feet in the west, the western section of the state is part of the Appalachian Mountain range. Among the subranges of the Appalachians located in the state are the Great Smoky Mountains, Blue Ridge Mountains, the Black Mountains are the highest in the eastern United States, and culminate in Mount Mitchell at 6,684 feet, the highest point east of the Mississippi River. North Carolina has 17 major river basins, the five basins west of the Blue Ridge Mountains flow to the Gulf of Mexico, while the remainder flow to the Atlantic Ocean. Of the 17 basins,11 originate within the state of North Carolina, but only four are contained entirely within the states border – the Cape Fear, the Neuse, the White Oak, and the Tar-Pamlico basin. Elevation above sea level is most responsible for temperature change across the state, the climate is also influenced by the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf Stream, especially in the coastal plain. These influences tend to cause warmer winter temperatures along the coast, the coastal plain averages around 1 inch of snow or ice annually, and in many years, there may be no snow or ice at all. North Carolina experiences severe weather in summer and winter, with summer bringing threat of hurricanes, tropical storms, heavy rain
4.
United States
–
Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
5.
Elisha Mitchell
–
Elisha Mitchell was an American educator, geologist and Presbyterian minister. His geological studies led to the identification of North Carolinas Mount Mitchell as the highest peak east of the Mississippi River, Elisha Mitchell was born August 19,1793, in Washington, Connecticut. He was graduated from Yale University in 1813, where he studied under chemist Benjamin Silliman, Mitchell began his career as a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1818, teaching math and natural philosophy. In 1825, he began teaching geology – the field with which he would be associated for the rest of his life. In 1835, he first measured the height of this mountain, through subsequent measurements in 1838 and 1844, Mitchell proved it was higher than New Hampshires Mount Washington, establishing the peak as the highest above sea level in the Eastern US. He was originally buried in Asheville, but was reinterred in a tomb on the mountain in 1858, in 1881–82 the U. S. Geological Survey upheld Mitchells measurements and officially named his peak Mt. Mitchell. At 6,684 feet high, Mt. Mitchell is the highest point east of the Mississippi River, the Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society, published by the North Carolina Academy of Science, was founded in his honor in 1883. On August 18,1888, University of North Carolina Alumni erected an obelisk memorializing him at his grave site atop Mt. Mitchell, on January 1st,1915, high winds destroyed the monument. It was replaced 13 years later by the cairn and plaque currently marking his tomb. Memoir, With the Tributes of Respect to His Memory, Chapel Hill, NC, University of Chapel Hill. Inventory of the Elisha Mitchell Papers, 1816–1905, on the Character and Origin of the Low Country of North Carolina. The American Journal of Science and Arts, Elisha Mitchell at Find a Grave
6.
County seat
–
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is used in the United States, Canada, Romania, China, in the United Kingdom and Ireland, county towns have a similar function. In the United States, counties are the subdivisions of a state. Depending on the state, counties may provide services to the public, impose taxes. Some types of subdivisions, such as townships, may be incorporated or unincorporated. The city, town, or populated place that houses county government is known as the seat of its respective county, a county seat is usually, but not always, an incorporated municipality. The exceptions include the county seats of counties that have no incorporated municipalities within their borders, such as Arlington County, Virginia, likewise, some county seats may not be incorporated in their own right, but are located within incorporated municipalities. For example, Cape May Court House, New Jersey, though unincorporated, is a section of Middle Township, in some of the colonial states, county seats include or formerly included Court House as part of their name. Most counties have only one county seat, an example is Harrison County, Mississippi, which lists both Biloxi and Gulfport as county seats. The practice of multiple county seat towns dates from the days when travel was difficult, there have been few efforts to eliminate the two-seat arrangement, since a county seat is a source of pride for the towns involved. There are 36 counties with multiple county seats in 11 states, Coffee County, for example, the official county seat is Greensboro, but an additional courthouse has been located in nearby High Point since 1938. For example, Clearwater is the county seat of Pinellas County, Florida, in New England, the town, not the county, is the primary division of local government. Historically, counties in this region have served mainly as dividing lines for the judicial systems. Connecticut and Rhode Island have no county level of government and thus no county seats, in Vermont, Massachusetts, and Maine the county seats are legally designated shire towns. County government consists only of a Superior Court and Sheriff, both located in the shire town. Bennington County has two towns, but the Sheriff is located in Bennington. In Massachusetts, most government functions which would otherwise be performed by county governments in other states are performed by town governments. As such, Massachusetts has dissolved many of its county governments, two counties in South Dakota have their county seat and government services centered in a neighboring county
7.
Spruce Pine, North Carolina
–
Spruce Pine is a town in Mitchell County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 2,175 at the 2010 census, Spruce Pine was founded in 1907 when the Clinchfield Railroad made its way up the North Toe River from Erwin, Tennessee. The town was centered around a tavern operated by Isaac English, located on an old roadway that ran from Cranberry, North Carolina down to Marion. The Old English Inn still stands at its location near the center of town. North Carolina Governor Cameron Morrison deployed National Guard troops to Spruce Pine so that the workers could return and complete the road. The railroad, combined with a rapidly expanding mining industry made Spruce Pine the largest town in the Toe River Valley, as it became the hub of commerce and culture for the area. Spruce Pine was the home of The Feldspar Company and Spruce Pine Mica, the town also boasts the moniker of The Mineral City of the World In 1998, the medium-security mens state prison Mountain View Correctional Institution opened in Spruce Pine. On August 4,2007, the area of Spruce Pine was threatened when an arsonist set fire to several buildings downtown. Federal arson officials are investigating the fires, and an arrest has been made in connection with the incident. The Downtown Spruce Pine Historic District and Gunter Building are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Spruce Pine is located at 35°54′49″N 82°04′12″W. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has an area of 3.9 square miles. The town limits are approximately 3 miles from the Blue Ridge Parkway and located 50 miles northeast of Asheville, NC and 40 miles southwest of Boone, NC. As of the census of 2000, there were 2,030 people,888 households, the population density was 522.0 people per square mile. There were 968 housing units at a density of 248.9 per square mile. The racial makeup of the town was 96. 35% White,0. 39% African American,0. 54% Native American,0. 05% Asian,2. 27% from other races, hispanic or Latino of any race were 3. 79% of the population. 32. 1% of all households were made up of individuals and 16. 8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older, the average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.89. Social networks of Waynesville, Franklin, and Spruce Pine, the median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 88.1 males, for every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.6 males
8.
2010 United States Census
–
The 2010 United States Census, is the twenty-third and currently most recent United States national census. National Census Day, the day used for the census, was April 1,2010. As part of a drive to increase the accuracy,635,000 temporary enumerators were hired. The population of the United States was counted as 308,745,538, as required by the United States Constitution, the U. S. census has been conducted every 10 years since 1790. The 2000 U. S. Census was the previous census completed, participation in the U. S. Census is required by law in Title 13 of the United States Code. On January 25,2010, Census Bureau Director Robert Groves personally inaugurated the 2010 Census enumeration by counting World War II veteran Clifton Jackson, more than 120 million census forms were delivered by the U. S. Post Office beginning March 15,2010, the number of forms mailed out or hand-delivered by the Census Bureau was approximately 134 million on April 1,2010. The 2010 Census national mail participation rate was 74%, from April through July 2010, census takers visited households that did not return a form, an operation called non-response follow-up. In December 2010, the Census Bureau delivered population information to the president for apportionment, personally identifiable information will be available in 2082. The Census Bureau did not use a form for the 2010 Census. In several previous censuses, one in six households received this long form, the 2010 Census used only a short form asking ten basic questions, How many people were living or staying in this house, apartment, or mobile home on April 1,2010. Were there any additional people staying here on April 1,2010 that you did not include in Question 1, mark all that apply, Is this house, apartment, or mobile home – What is your telephone number. What is Person 1s age and Person 1s date of birth, is Person 1 of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin. Does Person 1 sometimes live or stay somewhere else, the form included space to repeat some or all of these questions for up to twelve residents total. In contrast to the 2000 census, an Internet response option was not offered, detailed socioeconomic information collected during past censuses will continue to be collected through the American Community Survey. The survey provides data about communities in the United States on a 1-year or 3-year cycle, depending on the size of the community, rather than once every 10 years. A small percentage of the population on a basis will receive the survey each year. In June 2009, the U. S. Census Bureau announced that it would count same-sex married couples, however, the final form did not contain a separate same-sex married couple option
9.
North Carolina's 11th congressional district
–
North Carolinas 11th congressional district encompasses most of Western North Carolina. Starting in the 113th Congress, it is represented by Mark Meadows and he replaced Democrat Heath Shuler, who retired in 2013. Shuler had won the seat in the 2006 midterm elections, defeating 8-term Republican Representative Charles H. Taylor, the 11th District was traditionally one of the most competitive congressional districts in North Carolina. This was largely because of the volatile politics. It was historically anchored by Asheville, which was heavily Democratic, however, many of the citys suburbs are among the most conservative areas of North Carolina. The rest of the district was split between Democratic-leaning counties in the south and Republican-leaning counties in the north, consequently, congressional races in this district have historically been very close and hard-fought. In 2011 the Republican-dominated legislature redrew the district, shifting most of Asheville to the 10th district, to make up for the loss in population, the 11th absorbed some strongly Republican territory in the Foothills which had previously been in the 10th. On paper, the 11th was one of the strongest Republican districts in the South, in February 2012 Shuler announced he would not seek a fourth term. Meadows won the seat in 2012, the Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts, Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present Heath Shulers House of Representatives website Political Graveyard List of Representatives
10.
Time in the United States
–
The time zone boundaries and DST observance are regulated by the Department of Transportation. The clocks run by these services are synchronized with each other as well as with those of other international timekeeping organizations. It is the combination of the zone and daylight saving rules, along with the timekeeping services. The use of solar time became increasingly awkward as railways. American railroads maintained many different time zones during the late 1800s, each train station set its own clock making it difficult to coordinate train schedules and confusing passengers. Time calculation became a problem for people travelling by train. Every city in the United States used a different time standard so there were more than 300 local sun times to choose from, Time zones were therefore a compromise, relaxing the complex geographic dependence while still allowing local time to be approximate with mean solar time. Railroad managers tried to address the problem by establishing 100 railroad time zones, operators of the new railroad lines needed a new time plan that would offer a uniform train schedule for departures and arrivals. Four standard time zones for the continental United States were introduced at noon on November 18,1883, the conference therefore established the Greenwich Meridian as the prime meridian and Greenwich Mean Time as the worlds time standard. The US time-zone system grew from this, in all zones referred back to GMT on the prime meridian. It is, within about 1 second, mean time at 0°. It does not observe daylight saving time and it is one of several closely related successors to Greenwich Mean Time. For most purposes, UTC is considered interchangeable with GMT, standard time zones in the United States are currently defined at the federal level by law 15 USC §260. The federal law establishes the transition dates and times at which daylight saving time occurs. As of August 9,2007, the time zones are defined in terms of hourly offsets from UTC. Prior to this they were based upon the solar time at several meridians 15° apart west of Greenwich. Only the full-time zone names listed below are official, abbreviations are by common use conventions, the United States uses nine standard time zones. The Central standard time zone, which comprises roughly the Gulf Coast, Mississippi Valley, the Mountain standard time zone, which comprises roughly the states that include the Rocky Mountains
11.
Eastern Time Zone
–
Places that use Eastern Standard Time when observing standard time are 5 hours behind Coordinated Universal Time. Eastern Daylight Time, when observing daylight saving time DST is 4 hours behind Coordinated Universal Time, in the northern parts of the time zone, on the second Sunday in March, at 2,00 a. m. EST, clocks are advanced to 3,00 a. m. EDT leaving a one-hour gap, on the first Sunday in November, at 2,00 a. m. EDT, clocks are moved back to 1,00 a. m, southern parts of the zone do not observe daylight saving time. The Uniform Time Act of 1966 ruled that daylight saving time would run from the last Sunday of April until the last Sunday in October in the United States, the act was amended to make the first Sunday in April the beginning of daylight saving time as of 1987. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 extended daylight saving time in the United States beginning in 2007. So local times change at 2,00 a. m. EST to 3,00 a. m. EDT on the second Sunday in March, in Canada, the time changes as it does in the United States. However, a handful of communities unofficially observe Eastern Time because they are part of the Columbus, Georgia metropolitan area – Phenix City, Smiths Station, Lanett, and Valley. Florida, All of Florida is in the Eastern Time zone except for the portion of the Florida Panhandle west of the Apalachicola River, as the Eastern–Central zone boundary approaches the Gulf of Mexico, it follows the Bay/Gulf county line. Indiana, All of Indiana observes Eastern Time except for six counties in the Chicago metropolitan area. Kentucky, Roughly, the half of the state, including all of metropolitan Louisville, is in the Eastern Time Zone. Historically the entire state observed Central Time, when daylight saving time was first introduced, the Lower Peninsula remained on DST after it formally ended, effectively re-aligning itself into the Eastern Time Zone. The Upper Peninsula continued to observe Central Time until 1972, when all, Tennessee, Most of the eastern third of Tennessee is legally on Eastern Time. Eastern Time is also used somewhat as a de facto official time for all of the United States, since it includes the capital and the largest city. Major professional sports leagues also post all game times in Eastern time, for example, a game time between two teams from Pacific Time Zone will still be posted in Eastern time. Most cable television and national broadcast networks advertise airing times in Eastern time, national broadcast networks generally have two primary feeds, an eastern feed for Eastern and Central time zones, and a tape-delayed western feed for the Pacific Time Zone. The prime time is set on Eastern and Pacific at 8,00 p. m. with the Central time zone stations receiving the eastern feed at 7,00 p. m. local time. Mountain Time Zone stations receive a separate feed at 7,00 p. m. local time, as Arizona does not observe daylight saving time, during the summer months, it has its own feed at 7,00 p. m. local time
12.
Coordinated Universal Time
–
Coordinated Universal Time, abbreviated to UTC, is the primary time standard by which the world regulates clocks and time. It is within about 1 second of mean time at 0° longitude. It is one of closely related successors to Greenwich Mean Time. For most purposes, UTC is considered interchangeable with GMT, the first Coordinated Universal Time was informally adopted on 1 January 1960. This change also adopted leap seconds to simplify future adjustments, a number of proposals have been made to replace UTC with a new system that would eliminate leap seconds, but no consensus has yet been reached. Leap seconds are inserted as necessary to keep UTC within 0.9 seconds of universal time, see the Current number of leap seconds section for the number of leap seconds inserted to date. The official abbreviation for Coordinated Universal Time is UTC and this abbreviation arose from a desire by the International Telecommunication Union and the International Astronomical Union to use the same abbreviation in all languages. English speakers originally proposed CUT, while French speakers proposed TUC, the compromise that emerged was UTC, which conforms to the pattern for the abbreviations of the variants of Universal Time. Time zones around the world are expressed using positive or negative offsets from UTC, the westernmost time zone uses UTC−12, being twelve hours behind UTC, the easternmost time zone, theoretically, uses UTC+12, being twelve hours ahead of UTC. In 1995, the nation of Kiribati moved those of its atolls in the Line Islands from UTC-10 to UTC+14 so that the country would all be on the same day. UTC is used in internet and World Wide Web standards. The Network Time Protocol, designed to synchronise the clocks of computers over the internet, computer servers, online services and other entities that rely on having a universally accepted time use UTC as it is more specific than GMT. If only limited precision is needed, clients can obtain the current UTC from a number of official internet UTC servers, for sub-microsecond precision, clients can obtain the time from satellite signals. UTC is also the standard used in aviation, e. g. for flight plans. Weather forecasts and maps all use UTC to avoid confusion about time zones, the International Space Station also uses UTC as a time standard. Amateur radio operators often schedule their radio contacts in UTC, because transmissions on some frequencies can be picked up by many time zones, UTC is also used in digital tachographs used on large goods vehicles under EU and AETR rules. UTC divides time into days, hours, minutes and seconds, days are conventionally identified using the Gregorian calendar, but Julian day numbers can also be used. Each day contains 24 hours and each hour contains 60 minutes, the number of seconds in a minute is usually 60, but with an occasional leap second, it may be 61 or 59 instead
13.
Daylight saving time
–
Daylight saving time is the practice of advancing clocks during summer months by one hour so that evening daylight lasts an hour longer, while sacrificing normal sunrise times. Typically, regions that use Daylight Savings Time adjust clocks forward one hour close to the start of spring, American inventor and politician Benjamin Franklin proposed a form of daylight time in 1784. New Zealander George Hudson proposed the idea of saving in 1895. The German Empire and Austria-Hungary organized the first nationwide implementation, starting on April 30,1916, many countries have used it at various times since then, particularly since the energy crisis of the 1970s. The practice has both advocates and critics, DST clock shifts sometimes complicate timekeeping and can disrupt travel, billing, record keeping, medical devices, heavy equipment, and sleep patterns. Computer software often adjusts clocks automatically, but policy changes by various jurisdictions of DST dates, industrialized societies generally follow a clock-based schedule for daily activities that do not change throughout the course of the year. The time of day that individuals begin and end work or school, North and south of the tropics daylight lasts longer in summer and shorter in winter, with the effect becoming greater as one moves away from the tropics. However, they will have one hour of daylight at the start of each day. Supporters have also argued that DST decreases energy consumption by reducing the need for lighting and heating, DST is also of little use for locations near the equator, because these regions see only a small variation in daylight in the course of the year. After ancient times, equal-length civil hours eventually supplanted unequal, so civil time no longer varies by season, unequal hours are still used in a few traditional settings, such as some monasteries of Mount Athos and all Jewish ceremonies. This 1784 satire proposed taxing window shutters, rationing candles, and waking the public by ringing church bells, despite common misconception, Franklin did not actually propose DST, 18th-century Europe did not even keep precise schedules. However, this changed as rail transport and communication networks came to require a standardization of time unknown in Franklins day. Modern DST was first proposed by the New Zealand entomologist George Hudson, whose shift work job gave him time to collect insects. An avid golfer, he also disliked cutting short his round at dusk and his solution was to advance the clock during the summer months, a proposal he published two years later. The proposal was taken up by the Liberal Member of Parliament Robert Pearce, a select committee was set up to examine the issue, but Pearces bill did not become law, and several other bills failed in the following years. Willett lobbied for the proposal in the UK until his death in 1915, william Sword Frost, mayor of Orillia, Ontario, introduced daylight saving time in the municipality during his tenure from 1911 to 1912. Starting on April 30,1916, the German Empire and its World War I ally Austria-Hungary were the first to use DST as a way to conserve coal during wartime, Britain, most of its allies, and many European neutrals soon followed suit. Russia and a few other countries waited until the year
14.
County (United States)
–
In the United States, an administrative or political sub-division of a state is a county, which is a region having specific boundaries and usually some level of governmental authority. The term county is used in 48 U. S. states, while Louisiana and Alaska have functionally equivalent subdivisions called parishes, most counties have subdivisions which may include municipalities and unincorporated areas. Others have no divisions, or may serve as a singular consolidated city-county. Some municipalities are in multiple counties, New York City is uniquely partitioned into multiple counties/boroughs, the U. S. federal government uses the term county equivalent to describe non-county administrative or statistical areas that are comparable to counties. Alaskas Unorganized Borough is divided into 11 census areas that are equivalent to counties. As of 2013, the United States has 3,007 counties and 137 county equivalents for a total of 3,144 counties, the number of counties per state ranges from the 3 counties of Delaware to the 254 counties of Texas. Counties have significant governmental functions in all states except Rhode Island and Connecticut, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has removed most government functions from eight of its 14 counties. The county with the largest population, Los Angeles County, counties were among the earliest units of local government established in the Thirteen Colonies that would become the United States. Virginia created the first counties in order to ease the workload in Jamestown. Americas oldest intact county court records can be found at Eastville, Virginia, in Northampton County, maryland established its first county, St. Marys, in 1637, and Massachusetts followed in 1643. When independence came, the framers of the Constitution did not provide for local governments, rather, they left the matter to the states. Subsequently, early state constitutions generally conceptualized county government as an arm of the state, in some states, these powers are partly or mostly devolved to the counties smaller divisions usually called townships, though in New York, New England and Wisconsin they are called towns. The county may or may not be able to override its townships on certain matters, the newest county in the United States is the city and county of Broomfield, Colorado, established in 2001 as a consolidated city-county. The newest county-equivalents are the Alaskan boroughs of Skagway established in 2007, Wrangell established in 2008, there are 40 consolidated city-counties in the U. S. Similarly, some of Alaskas boroughs have merged with their principal cities creating unified city-boroughs. Some such consolidations and mergers have created cities that rank among the geographically largest cities in the world, see also, #County names, regarding Louisiana. Independent cities, These are cities that legally belong to no county, Washington, D. C. outside the jurisdiction of any state, has a special status. The city of Washington comprises the entirety of the District of Columbia, when founded in 1801, the District consisted of two counties and three cities. In 1846, Alexandria County – including the then–City of Alexandria – was given back to Virginia, in 1871, the three remaining entities – the City of Washington, Georgetown City, and Washington County – were merged into a consolidated government by an act of Congress
15.
U.S. state
–
A U. S. state is a constituent political entity of the United States of America. There are 50 states, which are together in a union with each other. Each state holds administrative jurisdiction over a geographic territory. Due to the shared sovereignty between each state and the government, Americans are citizens of both the federal republic and of the state in which they reside. State citizenship and residency are flexible, and no government approval is required to move between states, except for persons covered by certain types of court orders. States range in population from just under 600,000 to over 39 million, four states use the term commonwealth rather than state in their full official names. States are divided into counties or county-equivalents, which may be assigned some local authority but are not sovereign. County or county-equivalent structure varies widely by state, State governments are allocated power by the people through their individual constitutions. All are grounded in principles, and each provides for a government. States possess a number of powers and rights under the United States Constitution, Constitution has been amended, and the interpretation and application of its provisions have changed. The general tendency has been toward centralization and incorporation, with the government playing a much larger role than it once did. There is a debate over states rights, which concerns the extent and nature of the states powers and sovereignty in relation to the federal government. States and their residents are represented in the federal Congress, a legislature consisting of the Senate. Each state is represented in the Senate by two senators, and is guaranteed at least one Representative in the House, members of the House are elected from single-member districts. Representatives are distributed among the states in proportion to the most recent constitutionally mandated decennial census, the Constitution grants to Congress the authority to admit new states into the Union. Since the establishment of the United States in 1776, the number of states has expanded from the original 13 to 50, alaska and Hawaii are the most recent states admitted, both in 1959. The Constitution is silent on the question of states have the power to secede from the Union. Shortly after the Civil War, the U. S. Supreme Court, in Texas v. White, as a result, while the governments of the various states share many similar features, they often vary greatly with regard to form and substance
16.
Prohibition
–
The earliest records of prohibition of alcohol date to the Xia Dynasty in China. Yu the Great, the first ruler of the Xia Dynasty and it was legalized again after his death, during the reign of his son Qi. Another record was in the Code of Hammurabi specifically banning the selling of beer for money, in the early twentieth century, much of the impetus for the prohibition movement in the Nordic countries and North America came from moralistic convictions of pietistic Protestants. Rum-running became widespread and organized crime control of the distribution of alcohol. Distilleries and breweries in Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean flourished as their products were consumed by visiting Americans or illegally exported to the United States. Chicago became notorious as a haven for prohibition dodgers during the known as the Roaring Twenties. Prohibition generally came to an end in the late 1920s or early 1930s in most of North America and Europe, in some countries where the dominant religion forbids the use of alcohol, the production, sale, and consumption of alcoholic beverages is prohibited or restricted today. For example, in Saudi Arabia and Libya alcohol is banned, Sale of alcohol is banned in Afghanistan. In Bangladesh, alcohol is prohibited due to its proscription in the Islamic faith. However, the purchase and consumption is allowed in the country, the Garo tribe consume a type of rice beer, and Christians in this country drink and purchase wine for their holy communion. In Brunei, alcohol consumption and sale is banned in public, in India alcohol is a state subject and individual states can legislate prohibition, but currently most states do not have prohibition. Prohibition is in force in the states of Gujarat, Bihar and Nagaland, parts of Manipur, the state of Kerala has placed some limitations on sale of alcohol. All other States and union territories of India permit the sale of alcohol, election days and certain national holidays such as Gandhi Jayanti are meant to be dry days when liquor sale is not permitted. The state of Andhra Pradesh had imposed Prohibition under the Chief Ministership of N. T. Rama Rao, Prohibition was also observed from 1996 to 1998 in Haryana. Some Indian states observe dry days on major religious festivals/occasions depending on the popularity of the festival in that region, since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the sale and consumption of alcohol is banned in Iran. Alcohol is banned for people who use small shops and convenience stores, the consumption, importation and brewing of, and trafficking in liquor is strictly against the law. Alcohol is banned for Muslims in Malaysia due to its Islamic faith, the Maldives ban the import of alcohol, x-raying all baggage on arrival. Alcoholic beverages are available only to tourists on resort islands
17.
Graham County, North Carolina
–
Graham County is a county located in the U. S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2010 census, the population was 8,861, the county was formed January 30,1872, from the northeastern part of Cherokee County. It was named for William A. Graham, United States Senator from North Carolina and Governor of North Carolina. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 302 square miles. The terrain of the county is mountainous, with elevations ranging from 1,177 feet to 5,560 feet, two-thirds of the county is the Nantahala National Forest. The soil of the valleys is fertile, Fontana Lake, an impoundment of the Little Tennessee River, forms most of the northern border of the county, with the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on the other side of the lake. Fontana Lake is formed by Fontana Dam, the tallest dam in the eastern U. S, the remainder of the northern boundary of Graham County is almost completely formed by another impoundment of the Little Tennessee River, downstream from Fontana Dam, created by Cheoah Dam. Fontana Dam and Cheoah Dam are both operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Appalachian Trail winds through Graham County. Part of the trail is located on top of Fontana Dam, the Cheoah River is noted for its Class IV and Class V whitewater rapids. The river is used for whitewater rafting about 17 days per year, seventy-five percent of Lake Santeetlah shoreline borders national forest. Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest, an example of an old growth cove hardwood forest, is located in northwestern Graham County. Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest is part of the Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock Wilderness area, the eastern terminus of the Cherohala Skyway is located in northwestern Graham County. The 36-mile Cherohala Skyway connects Graham County with Tellico Plains, Tennessee, parts of the Qualla Boundary, also known as the Eastern Cherokee Indian Reservation, are located in Graham County. These sections of the Qualla Boundary are non-contiguous from the part of the Qualla Boundary located in Swain, Jackson, Cherokee. The Cherokees who live in Graham County form the Snowbird Cherokee community, the population density was 27 people per square mile. There were 5,084 housing units at a density of 17 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 91. 91% White,0. 19% Black or African American,6. 84% Native American,0. 16% Asian,0. 01% Pacific Islander,0. 13% from other races, and 0. 76% from two or more races. 0. 75% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race,27. 6% were of American,15. 1% Irish,12. 7% English,10. 6% German and 5. 1% Scots-Irish ancestry according to Census 2000
18.
Yancey County, North Carolina
–
Yancey County is a county located in the U. S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2010 census, the population was 17,818 and this land was inhabited by the Cherokee prior to European settlement, as was much of the rest of the Southern Appalachian region. Independent and sturdy Scottish, English, and Scotch-Irish settlers of the Carolina frontier had crossed the Blue Ridge Mountains and settled the Toe River Valley by the mid-18th century. In the year 1796, one of the land speculators, John Gray Blount, paid for 326,640 acres of land. In December 1833, the General Assembly established a new county, named Yancey, from sections of Burke. Yancey County was named in honor of one of North Carolinas most distinguished statesmen, Bartlett Yancey, congressman and as speaker of the N. C. Senate, he was instrumental in many accomplishments that benefited the state, in Yanceys boundaries looms Mount Mitchell, the highest peak in the Eastern U. S. at 6,684 feet above sea level. On March 6,1834, Yellow Jacket John Bailey conveyed 100 acres of land for the county seat. John was given the nickname for his famous temper as told in the books The Bailey Family of Yancey County, North Carolina and Heritage of the Tow River Valley by Lloyd Richard Bailey, Sr. The town was named Burnsville in honor of Captain Otway Burns, the grateful people named their county seat for Captain Burns, a naval hero in the War of 1812. The statue of Captain Burns was given to the county on July 5,1909, by Walter Francis Burns, the inscription reads, Otway Burns - Born in Onslow County, North Carolina,1777 - Died at Portsmouth, North Carolina,1850. North Carolinas Foremost Son in the War of 1812-1815 - For Him, This Town Is Named - He Guarded Well Our Seas, Let Our Mountains Honor Him. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 313 square miles. In descending order of height, they are, Mount Mitchell, Mount Craig, Balsam Cone, Mount Gibbs, the population density was 57 people per square mile. There were 9,729 housing units at a density of 31 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 97. 99% White,0. 57% Black or African American,0. 34% Native American,0. 13% Asian,0. 41% from other races,2. 69% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 25. 40% of all households were made up of individuals and 12. 50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older, the average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.81. In the county, the population was out with 21. 20% under the age of 18,7. 00% from 18 to 24,26. 40% from 25 to 44,27. 10% from 45 to 64
19.
Burke County, North Carolina
–
Burke County is a county located in the U. S. state of North Carolina. As of 2010 census, the population was 90,912, Burke County is part of the Hickory–Lenoir–Morganton, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area. Present-day Morganton later developed at this site, the Spanish renamed the settlement Cuenca. The following year the Indians killed nearly all the Spanish garrisoned at this and five other interior forts and it was two centuries before Europeans tried to settle again this far west in the colony. Indigenous peoples inhabited the interior as well as the areas for thousands of years. Native Americans of the Mississippian culture inhabited the county long before Europeans arrived in the New World, the largest Mound Builder settlement was at Joara, a 12-acre site and regional chiefdom near present-day Morganton. It was the center of the largest Native American settlement in North Carolina, dating from about 1000 AD, in 1567, a Spanish expedition arrived and built Fort San Juan, claiming the area for the colony of Spanish Florida. They had been sent by the governor at Santa Elena in South Carolina, captain Juan Pardo, leader of the expedition, left about 30 soldiers at the fort while continuing his exploration. In the spring of 1568 the Indians attacked the fort, killing the soldiers, Indians killed the garrisons at five other Spanish forts in the interior. Introduction of European diseases caused high fatalities among the Mississippians, two hundred years passed before the next Europeans, English, Scots-Irish and German colonists, attempted to settle here again. In 1777, Burke County was formed from Rowan County and it was named for Thomas Burke, then serving as a delegate to the Continental Congress. He was later elected as Governor of North Carolina, serving from 1781 to 1782, the western Piedmont was settled by many Scots-Irish and German immigrants in the mid-to-late 18th century. They were generally farmers and fiercely independent. Most Burke families were not slaveholders, however, some researchers have reported that, the 1860 U. S. Census found 9237 persons living in Burke County, which included 2471 slaves and 276 free persons of color. During the 1920s, five Rosenwald schools were built, making Burke a full participant in the movement that benefited so many African-American families and communities across the South. As population increased, the county was divided to other jurisdictions. In 1791, parts of Burke County and Rutherford County were combined to form Buncombe County, in 1833, parts of Burke and Buncombe counties were combined to form Yancey County. In 1841, parts of Burke and Wilkes counties were combined to form Caldwell County, in 1842 additional parts of Burke and Rutherford counties were combined to form McDowell County
20.
Caldwell County, North Carolina
–
Caldwell County is a county located in the U. S. state of North Carolina in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. As of the 2010 census, the population was 83,029, Caldwell County is part of the Hickory–Lenoir–Morganton, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area. The county was formed in 1841 from parts of Burke County and it was named for Joseph Caldwell, presiding professor and the first president of the University of North Carolina. A series of reductions in the countys territory followed, in 1847 parts of Caldwell County, Iredell County, and Wilkes County were combined to form Alexander County. In 1849 parts of Caldwell County, Ashe County, Wilkes County, in 1861, parts of Caldwell County, Burke County, McDowell County, Watauga County, and Yancey County were combined to form Mitchell County. Finally, in 1911 parts of Caldwell County, Mitchell County, according to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 474 square miles, of which 472 square miles is land and 2.7 square miles is water. The Brushies, as they are called, run across much of Caldwell Countys eastern section. Hibriten Mountain, located within the city limits of Lenoir, the countys largest city, in the western part of the county is the Wilson Creek area. The population density was 176.1 people per square mile, there were 37,659 housing units at an average density of 79.9 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 90. 24% White,4. 92% Black or African American,0. 52% Asian,0. 31% Native American,0. 03% Pacific Islander,2. 47% from other races, and 1. 51% from two or more races. The Hispanic or Latino population was 4. 57%,25. 39% of all households were made up of individuals living alone and 41. 16% of those households had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the family size was 2.91. Of the countys population,22. 63% was under the age of 18,18. 33% were 18 to 34,22. 44% were 35 to 49,21. 17% were 50 to 64. The median age was 41.3 years, for every 100 females there were 96.84 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.06 males, the median income for a household in the county was $34,853, and the median income for a family was $47,028. Males had an income of $36,429 versus $31,221 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,397, about 15. 3% of families and 20. 50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 51. 8% of single mothers and 13. 2% of people age 65 or over. The county is governed by a five-member Board of Commissioners, who appoint a County Manager, the members of the Board of Commissioners are Clay Bollinger, Jeff Branch, Randy Church, Mike LaBrose, and Donnie Potter
21.
McDowell County, North Carolina
–
McDowell County is a county located in the U. S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2010 census, the population was 44,996, McDowell County comprises the Marion, NC Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Hickory-Lenoir, NC Combined Statistical Area. Archaeological excavations performed by Dr. David Moore, during the early 1980s, revealed the earliest inhabitants of McDowell County to be from the Mississippian, Dr. Moore discovered evidence in an area close to the Catawba River in and around an unusual topographical site known as Round Hill. These early Native Americans lived in this prior to Juan Pardos exploration of the region. Cherokee and Catawba Indians were known inhabitants of what is now McDowell County, in 1566, the Spanish explorer Juan Pardo came to Western North Carolina traveling through the area that is now McDowell county. His purpose was to acquire territory for Spain, but he had hoped to find precious metals. Pardo and his men built a log blockhouse at the headwaters of the Catawba River, apparently intimidated by the formidable range of the Blue Ridge Mountains and the home of the Cherokee Nation, Pardo left the area the following year. During a hunting expedition with his friend Henry Weidner, the two came upon a green valley with thousands upon thousands of acres of virgin forest. During that time, it was customary when settling a dispute to engage in a wrestling match. Hunting John McDowell received two land grants and after establishing residence along the Catawba River of Pleasant Gardens, raised his family and his son, Joseph McDowell, is noted in history as a significant contributor to the Battle at Kings Mountain. McDowell County is named in his honor, today, his home stands as one of the few remaining homes in North Carolina still standing and built by its namesake. The settlement of Old Fort was later established and it had become the westernmost outpost of Colonial civilization at the time and these early pioneers established a close community protected by a series of forts which remained active until the early 19th century. In 1793, Colonel John Carson built a house near Buck Creek in the Pleasant Gardens community. He also operated mines in the southern part of the county. Colonel Carson was a significant historical figure in the American Revolutionary War, Marion, the county seat of McDowell County, was planned and built on land selected by the first McDowell County Commissioners on March 14,1844 at the Historic Carson House. It was not until 1845, however, that the name of Marion was sanctioned as the county seat by the state legislature. The name of Marion came from Francis Marion, the American Revolutionary War hero, known as the “Swamp Fox”, during the Carolina Gold Rush period of the early 19th century, the south county area was known for its gold production. The banks of the Muddy Creek and mines at Vein Mountain were productive areas, in that community someone opened a mine on Toms Creek which may have been a Mica mine
22.
Watauga County, North Carolina
–
Watauga /wɑːˈtɑːwɡɑː/ County is a county located in the U. S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2010 census, the population was 51,079 and its county seat and largest town is Boone. Watauga County comprises the Boone, NC Micropolitan Statistical Area, the county was formed in 1849 from parts of Ashe, Caldwell, Wilkes, and Yancey counties. In 1861 part of Watauga County was combined with parts of Burke, Caldwell, McDowell, in 1911, the county was reduced to roughly its current size when portions of it were combined with parts of Caldwell and Mitchell counties were combined to form Avery County. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 312.56 square miles. Watauga County is extremely mountainous, and all of the terrain is located within the Appalachian Mountains range. The highest point in the county is Calloway Peak, the highest peak of Grandfather Mountain, at an elevation of 5,506 feet above sea level, Beech Mountain is the highest incorporated community east of the Mississippi River. Boone, the countys largest city and county seat, has the highest elevation of any city over 10,000 population in the Eastern United States, dramatic and unexpected changes in the weather are not uncommon in the county, particularly when it comes to precipitation. This is partly due to the elevation of the county, and partly due to orographic lifting, summers can be very warm with temperatures commonly in the 80s and on a rare occasion in the 90s. Snow usually starts in November, and there can be snow falls in April, windy conditions, also, tend to be amplified across the county due to the rugged terrain and high elevation. Many people have noted that the winters of Watauga County tend to resemble those of the northern United States instead of the South, because of the cold weather in Watauga County, the area is home to several ski resorts. Among them is Appalachian Ski Mountain, the population density was 137 people per square mile. There were 23,155 housing units at a density of 74 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 96. 45% White,1. 59% Black or African American,0. 25% Native American,0. 59% Asian,0. 04% Pacific Islander,0. 45% from other races, and 0. 62% from two or more races. 1. 46% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race, according to the 2000 Census the largest self-reported ancestry groups in Watauga County were, English, German and Irish. Most of those claiming Irish ancestry in Watauga county are actually of Scots-Irish/Ulster-Scots Protestant background,28. 60% of all households were made up of individuals and 8. 00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the family size was 2.80. The age distribution is 16. 30% under the age of 18,27. 80% from 18 to 24,23. 40% from 25 to 44,21. 50% from 45 to 64, the median age was 30 years
23.
Mathematics
–
Mathematics is the study of topics such as quantity, structure, space, and change. There is a range of views among mathematicians and philosophers as to the exact scope, Mathematicians seek out patterns and use them to formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proof, when mathematical structures are good models of real phenomena, then mathematical reasoning can provide insight or predictions about nature. Through the use of abstraction and logic, mathematics developed from counting, calculation, measurement, practical mathematics has been a human activity from as far back as written records exist. The research required to solve mathematical problems can take years or even centuries of sustained inquiry, rigorous arguments first appeared in Greek mathematics, most notably in Euclids Elements. Galileo Galilei said, The universe cannot be read until we have learned the language and it is written in mathematical language, and the letters are triangles, circles and other geometrical figures, without which means it is humanly impossible to comprehend a single word. Without these, one is wandering about in a dark labyrinth, carl Friedrich Gauss referred to mathematics as the Queen of the Sciences. Benjamin Peirce called mathematics the science that draws necessary conclusions, David Hilbert said of mathematics, We are not speaking here of arbitrariness in any sense. Mathematics is not like a game whose tasks are determined by arbitrarily stipulated rules, rather, it is a conceptual system possessing internal necessity that can only be so and by no means otherwise. Albert Einstein stated that as far as the laws of mathematics refer to reality, they are not certain, Mathematics is essential in many fields, including natural science, engineering, medicine, finance and the social sciences. Applied mathematics has led to entirely new mathematical disciplines, such as statistics, Mathematicians also engage in pure mathematics, or mathematics for its own sake, without having any application in mind. There is no clear line separating pure and applied mathematics, the history of mathematics can be seen as an ever-increasing series of abstractions. The earliest uses of mathematics were in trading, land measurement, painting and weaving patterns, in Babylonian mathematics elementary arithmetic first appears in the archaeological record. Numeracy pre-dated writing and numeral systems have many and diverse. Between 600 and 300 BC the Ancient Greeks began a study of mathematics in its own right with Greek mathematics. Mathematics has since been extended, and there has been a fruitful interaction between mathematics and science, to the benefit of both. Mathematical discoveries continue to be made today, the overwhelming majority of works in this ocean contain new mathematical theorems and their proofs. The word máthēma is derived from μανθάνω, while the modern Greek equivalent is μαθαίνω, in Greece, the word for mathematics came to have the narrower and more technical meaning mathematical study even in Classical times
24.
Chemistry
–
Chemistry is a branch of physical science that studies the composition, structure, properties and change of matter. Chemistry is sometimes called the science because it bridges other natural sciences, including physics. For the differences between chemistry and physics see comparison of chemistry and physics, the history of chemistry can be traced to alchemy, which had been practiced for several millennia in various parts of the world. The word chemistry comes from alchemy, which referred to a set of practices that encompassed elements of chemistry, metallurgy, philosophy, astrology, astronomy, mysticism. An alchemist was called a chemist in popular speech, and later the suffix -ry was added to this to describe the art of the chemist as chemistry, the modern word alchemy in turn is derived from the Arabic word al-kīmīā. In origin, the term is borrowed from the Greek χημία or χημεία and this may have Egyptian origins since al-kīmīā is derived from the Greek χημία, which is in turn derived from the word Chemi or Kimi, which is the ancient name of Egypt in Egyptian. Alternately, al-kīmīā may derive from χημεία, meaning cast together, in retrospect, the definition of chemistry has changed over time, as new discoveries and theories add to the functionality of the science. The term chymistry, in the view of noted scientist Robert Boyle in 1661, in 1837, Jean-Baptiste Dumas considered the word chemistry to refer to the science concerned with the laws and effects of molecular forces. More recently, in 1998, Professor Raymond Chang broadened the definition of chemistry to mean the study of matter, early civilizations, such as the Egyptians Babylonians, Indians amassed practical knowledge concerning the arts of metallurgy, pottery and dyes, but didnt develop a systematic theory. Greek atomism dates back to 440 BC, arising in works by such as Democritus and Epicurus. In 50 BC, the Roman philosopher Lucretius expanded upon the theory in his book De rerum natura, unlike modern concepts of science, Greek atomism was purely philosophical in nature, with little concern for empirical observations and no concern for chemical experiments. Work, particularly the development of distillation, continued in the early Byzantine period with the most famous practitioner being the 4th century Greek-Egyptian Zosimos of Panopolis. He formulated Boyles law, rejected the four elements and proposed a mechanistic alternative of atoms. Before his work, though, many important discoveries had been made, the Scottish chemist Joseph Black and the Dutchman J. B. English scientist John Dalton proposed the theory of atoms, that all substances are composed of indivisible atoms of matter. Davy discovered nine new elements including the alkali metals by extracting them from their oxides with electric current, british William Prout first proposed ordering all the elements by their atomic weight as all atoms had a weight that was an exact multiple of the atomic weight of hydrogen. The inert gases, later called the noble gases were discovered by William Ramsay in collaboration with Lord Rayleigh at the end of the century, thereby filling in the basic structure of the table. Organic chemistry was developed by Justus von Liebig and others, following Friedrich Wöhlers synthesis of urea which proved that organisms were, in theory
25.
Geology
–
Geology is an earth science concerned with the solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Geology can also refer generally to the study of the features of any terrestrial planet. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth by providing the evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life. Geology also plays a role in engineering and is a major academic discipline. The majority of data comes from research on solid Earth materials. These typically fall into one of two categories, rock and unconsolidated material, the majority of research in geology is associated with the study of rock, as rock provides the primary record of the majority of the geologic history of the Earth. There are three types of rock, igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic. The rock cycle is an important concept in geology which illustrates the relationships between three types of rock, and magma. When a rock crystallizes from melt, it is an igneous rock, the sedimentary rock can then be subsequently turned into a metamorphic rock due to heat and pressure and is then weathered, eroded, deposited, and lithified, ultimately becoming a sedimentary rock. Sedimentary rock may also be re-eroded and redeposited, and metamorphic rock may also undergo additional metamorphism, all three types of rocks may be re-melted, when this happens, a new magma is formed, from which an igneous rock may once again crystallize. Geologists also study unlithified material which typically comes from more recent deposits and these materials are superficial deposits which lie above the bedrock. Because of this, the study of material is often known as Quaternary geology. This includes the study of sediment and soils, including studies in geomorphology, sedimentology and this theory is supported by several types of observations, including seafloor spreading, and the global distribution of mountain terrain and seismicity. This coupling between rigid plates moving on the surface of the Earth and the mantle is called plate tectonics. The development of plate tectonics provided a basis for many observations of the solid Earth. Long linear regions of geologic features could be explained as plate boundaries, mid-ocean ridges, high regions on the seafloor where hydrothermal vents and volcanoes exist, were explained as divergent boundaries, where two plates move apart. Arcs of volcanoes and earthquakes were explained as convergent boundaries, where one plate subducts under another, transform boundaries, such as the San Andreas Fault system, resulted in widespread powerful earthquakes. Plate tectonics also provided a mechanism for Alfred Wegeners theory of continental drift and they also provided a driving force for crustal deformation, and a new setting for the observations of structural geology
Mitchell County, North Carolina
