1.
Ontario, California
–
Ontario is a city located in southwestern San Bernardino County, California, United States,35 miles east of downtown Los Angeles. Located in the part of the Inland Empire region, it lies just east of the Los Angeles county line and is part of the Greater Los Angeles Area. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a population of 163,924, up from 158,007 at the 2000 census, making it the fourth most populous city after San Bernardino, Fontana. The city is home to the Ontario International Airport, which is the 15th busiest airport in the United States by cargo carried, Ontario handles the mass of freight traffic between the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and the rest of the country. It is also the home of Ontario Mills and former home of the Ontario Motor Speedway and it takes its name from the Ontario Model Colony development established in 1882 by the Canadian engineer George Chaffey and his brothers William Chaffey and Charles Chaffey. They named the settlement after their province of Ontario. At the time of Mexican and later of American settlement, active Native American settlements were scattered across the entire valley, remains of a Serrano village were discovered in the neighboring foothills of the present-day city of Claremont. Following the 1819 establishment of San Bernardino Asistencia, which may have served as an outpost of the San Gabriel mission, it part of a large. In 1826, Jedediah Smith passed through what is now Upland on the first overland journey to the West coast of North America via the National Old Trails Road, the 1834 secularization of California land holdings resulted in the lands transferral to private hands. In 1881, the Chaffey brothers, George and William, purchased the land and they also created the main thoroughfare of Euclid Avenue, with its distinctive wide lanes and grassy median. The new Model Colony was originally conceived as a dry town, the two named the town Ontario in honor of the province of Ontario in Canada, where they were born. Ontario attracted farmers and ailing Easterners seeking a drier climate, to impress visitors and potential settlers with the abundance of water in Ontario, a fountain was placed at the Southern Pacific railway station. It was turned on when trains were approaching and frugally turned off again after their departure. Agriculture was vital to the economy, and many street names recall this legacy. The Sunkist plant remains as a vestige of the citrus era. The Chaffey brothers left to found the settlements of Mildura, Australia and Renmark, Australia, Charles Frankish continued their work at Ontario. Mining engineer John Tays refined the design of the mule car. At that point, the two mules were loaded onto a platform at the rear of the car and allowed to ride, soon replaced by an electric streetcar, the mule car is commemorated by a replica in an enclosure south of C Street on the Euclid Avenue median
2.
California
–
California is the most populous state in the United States and the third most extensive by area. Located on the western coast of the U. S, California is bordered by the other U. S. states of Oregon, Nevada, and Arizona and shares an international border with the Mexican state of Baja California. Los Angeles is Californias most populous city, and the second largest after New York City. The Los Angeles Area and the San Francisco Bay Area are the nations second- and fifth-most populous urban regions, California also has the nations most populous county, Los Angeles County, and its largest county by area, San Bernardino County. The Central Valley, an agricultural area, dominates the states center. What is now California was first settled by various Native American tribes before being explored by a number of European expeditions during the 16th and 17th centuries, the Spanish Empire then claimed it as part of Alta California in their New Spain colony. The area became a part of Mexico in 1821 following its war for independence. The western portion of Alta California then was organized as the State of California, the California Gold Rush starting in 1848 led to dramatic social and demographic changes, with large-scale emigration from the east and abroad with an accompanying economic boom. If it were a country, California would be the 6th largest economy in the world, fifty-eight percent of the states economy is centered on finance, government, real estate services, technology, and professional, scientific and technical business services. Although it accounts for only 1.5 percent of the states economy, the story of Calafia is recorded in a 1510 work The Adventures of Esplandián, written as a sequel to Amadis de Gaula by Spanish adventure writer Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo. The kingdom of Queen Calafia, according to Montalvo, was said to be a land inhabited by griffins and other strange beasts. This conventional wisdom that California was an island, with maps drawn to reflect this belief, shortened forms of the states name include CA, Cal. Calif. and US-CA. Settled by successive waves of arrivals during the last 10,000 years, various estimates of the native population range from 100,000 to 300,000. The Indigenous peoples of California included more than 70 distinct groups of Native Americans, ranging from large, settled populations living on the coast to groups in the interior. California groups also were diverse in their organization with bands, tribes, villages. Trade, intermarriage and military alliances fostered many social and economic relationships among the diverse groups, the first European effort to explore the coast as far north as the Russian River was a Spanish sailing expedition, led by Portuguese captain Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, in 1542. Some 37 years later English explorer Francis Drake also explored and claimed a portion of the California coast in 1579. Spanish traders made unintended visits with the Manila galleons on their trips from the Philippines beginning in 1565
3.
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
4.
JPMorgan Chase
–
JPMorgan Chase & Co. is a U. S. multinational banking and financial services holding company headquartered in New York City. It is the largest bank in the United States, the third largest bank by total assets, with total assets of roughly US$2.5 trillion. It is a provider of financial services, and according to Forbes magazine is the worlds sixth largest public company based upon a composite ranking. The hedge fund unit of JPMorgan Chase is the second largest hedge fund in the United States, the company was formed in 2000, when Chase Manhattan Corporation merged with J. P. Morgan & Co. The J. P. Morgan brand, historically known as Morgan, is used by the investment banking, asset management, private banking, private wealth management, and treasury & securities services divisions. Fiduciary activity within private banking and private wealth management is done under the aegis of JPMorgan Chase Bank, the Chase brand is used for credit card services in the United States and Canada, the banks retail banking activities in the United States, and commercial banking. The corporate headquarters is located at 270 Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, the retail and commercial bank is headquartered in 270 Park Avenue, Midtown Manhattan, New York City, New York, U. S. JPMorgan Chase & Co. is considered to be a universal bank. As of 2016, JPMorgan Chase is one of the Big Four banks of the United States, followed by Bank of America, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo. JPMorgan Chase, in its current structure, is the result of the combination of several large U. S. banking companies since 1996, including Chase Manhattan Bank, Bank One, Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual. The Chase Manhattan Bank was formed upon the 1955 purchase of Chase National Bank by the Bank of the Manhattan Company, the Bank of the Manhattan Company was the creation of Aaron Burr, who transformed The Manhattan Company from a water carrier into a bank. This of course injected a powerful element of politics into the process and invited what today would be called corruption, the innocuous-looking clause allowed the company to invest surplus capital in any lawful enterprise. Within six months of the creation, and long before it had laid a single section of water pipe, the company opened a bank. Still in existence, it is today J. P. Morgan Chase, weakened by the real estate collapse in the early 1990s, it was acquired by Chemical Bank in 1996, retaining the Chase name. Before its merger with J. P. Morgan & Co. the new Chase expanded the investment, in 1999, it acquired San Francisco-based Hambrecht & Quist for $1.35 billion. In April 2000, UK-based Robert Fleming & Co. was purchased by the new Chase Manhattan Bank for $7.7 billion, the New York Chemical Manufacturing Company was founded in 1823 as a maker of various chemicals. In 1824, the company amended its charter to perform banking activities, in the 1980s and early 1990s, Chemical emerged as one of the leaders in the financing of leveraged buyout transactions. In 1984, Chemical launched Chemical Venture Partners to invest in equity transactions alongside various financial sponsors. At many points throughout history, Chemical Bank was the largest bank in the United States
5.
Shopping mall
–
A shopping arcade is a specific form serving the same purpose. Many early shopping arcades such as the Burlington Arcade in London, the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan, however, many smaller arcades have been demolished, replaced with large centers or malls, often accessible by vehicle. Technical innovations such as lighting and escalators were introduced from the late 19th century. From the late 20th century, entertainment venues such as movie theaters, as a single built structure, early shopping centers were often architecturally significant constructions, enabling wealthier patrons to buy goods in spaces protected from the weather. In places around the world, the shopping centre is used, especially in Europe, Australia. Mall is a term used predominantly in North America, outside of North America, shopping precinct and shopping arcade are also used. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, malls are commonly referred to as shopping centres, the majority of British shopping centres are located in city centres, usually found in old and historic shopping districts and surrounded by subsidiary open air shopping streets. Large examples include West Quay in Southampton, Manchester Arndale, Bullring Birmingham, Liverpool One, Trinity Leeds, Buchanan Galleries in Glasgow and these centres were built in the 1980s and 1990s, but planning regulations prohibit the construction of any more. Out-of-town shopping developments in the UK are now focused on retail parks, planning policy prioritizes the development of existing town centres, although with patchy success. Bullring, Birmingham is the busiest shopping centre in the UK welcoming over 36.5 million shoppers in its opening year, there are a reported 222 malls in Europe. In 2014, these malls had combined sales of $12.47 billion and this represented a 10% bump in revenues from the prior year. One of the earliest examples of public shopping areas comes from ancient Rome, One of the earliest public shopping centers is Trajans Market in Rome located in Trajans Forum. Trajans Market was probably built around 100-110 CE by Apollodorus of Damascus, the Grand Bazaar of Istanbul was built in the 15th century and is still one of the largest covered shopping centers in the world, with more than 58 streets and 4,000 shops. Numerous other covered shopping arcades, such as the 19th-century Al-Hamidiyah Souq in Damascus, Syria, isfahans Grand Bazaar, which is largely covered, dates from the 10th century. The 10-kilometer-long, covered Tehrans Grand Bazaar also has a lengthy history, the oldest continuously occupied shopping mall in the world is likely to be the Chester Rows. Dating back at least to the 13th century, these covered walkways housed shops, with storage, different rows specialized in different goods, such as Bakers Row or Fleshmongers Row. The Marché des Enfants Rouges in Paris opened in 1628 and still runs today, the Oxford Covered Market in Oxford, England opened in 1774 and still runs today. The Passage du Caire was opened in Paris in 1798, the Burlington Arcade in London was opened in 1819
6.
San Bernardino County, California
–
San Bernardino County, officially the County of San Bernardino, is a county located in the southern portion of the U. S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 2,035,210, making it the fifth-most populous county in California, the county seat is San Bernardino. With an area of 20,105 square miles, San Bernardino County is the largest county in the United States by area, although some of Alaskas boroughs and census areas are larger. It is larger than each of the nine smallest states, larger than the four smallest states combined, Spanish Missionaries from Mission San Gabriel Arcángel established a church at the village of Politania in 1810. Father Francisco Dumetz named the church San Bernardino on May 20,1810, the Franciscans also gave the name San Bernardino to the snowcapped peak in Southern California, in honor of the saint and it is from him that the county derives its name. In 1819, they established the San Bernardino de Sena Estancia, following Mexican independence from Spain in 1821, Mexican citizens were granted land grants to establish ranchos in the area of the county. Rancho Jurupa in 1838, Rancho Cucamonga and El Rincon in 1839, Rancho Santa Ana del Chino in 1841, Rancho San Bernardino in 1842 and Rancho Muscupiabe in 1844. Agua Mansa was the first town in what became San Bernardino County, some of the southern parts of the countys territory were given to Riverside County in 1893. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 20,105 square miles. It is the largest county by area in California and the largest in the United States and it is slightly larger than the states of New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware and Rhode Island combined. It borders both Nevada and Arizona, the bulk of the population, roughly two million, live in the roughly 480 square miles south of the San Bernardino Mountains adjacent to Riverside and in the San Bernardino Valley. Over 300,000 others live just north of the San Bernardino Mountains, agglomerating around Victorville covering roughly 280 square miles in Victor Valley, roughly another 100,000 people live scattered across the rest of the sprawling county. The Mojave National Preserve covers some of the desert, especially between Interstate 15 and Interstate 40. The desert portion also includes the cities of Needles next to the Colorado River and Barstow at the junction in Interstate 15, trona is at the northwestern part of the county west of Death Valley. This national park, mostly within Inyo County, also has a portion of land within the San Bernardino County. The largest metropolitan area in the Mojave Desert part of the county is Victor Valley, with the localities of Adelanto, Apple Valley, Hesperia. Further south, a portion of Joshua Tree National Park overlaps the county near Twentynine Palms, additional places near and west of Twentynine palms include Yucca Valley, Joshua Tree, and Morongo Valley. The mountains are home to the San Bernardino National Forest, and include the communities of Crestline, Lake Arrowhead, Running Springs, Big Bear City, Forest Falls, the San Bernardino Valley is at the eastern end of the San Gabriel Valley
7.
Southern California
–
Southern California, often abbreviated as SoCal, is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises Californias 10 southernmost counties. The region is described as eight counties, based on demographics and economic ties, Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbara. The more extensive 10-county definition, which includes Kern and San Luis Obispo counties, is used and is based on historical political divisions. Southern California is an economic center for the state of California. The 8-county and 10-county definitions are not used for the greater Southern California Megaregion, the megaregions area is more expansive, extending east into Las Vegas, Nevada and south across the Mexican border into Tijuana.5 million people. With over 22 million people, Southern California contains roughly 60 percent of Californias population, located east of Southern California is the Colorado Desert and the Colorado River at the border with Arizona. The Mojave Desert is located at the border with the state of Nevada while towards the south is the Mexico–United States border, within Southern California are two major cities, Los Angeles and San Diego, as well as three of the countrys largest metropolitan areas. With a population of 3,792,621, Los Angeles is the most populous city in California and the second most populous in the United States. South of Los Angeles and with a population of 1,307,402 is San Diego, the second most populous city in the state and the eighth most populous in the nation. The counties of Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, San Bernardino, and Riverside are the five most populous in the state, the motion picture, television, and music industry are centered in the Los Angeles area in Southern California. Hollywood, a district within Los Angeles, gives its name to the American motion picture industry, headquartered in Southern California are The Walt Disney Company, Sony Pictures, Universal, MGM, Paramount Pictures, 20th Century Fox, and Warner Brothers. Universal, Warner Brothers, and Sony also run major record companies, Southern California is also home to a large homegrown surf and skateboard culture. Companies such as Vans, Volcom, Quiksilver, No Fear, RVCA, some of the worlds biggest action sports events, including the X Games, Boost Mobile Pro, and the U. S. Open of Surfing, are all held in Southern California. Southern California is also important to the world of yachting, the annual Transpacific Yacht Race, or Transpac, from Los Angeles to Hawaii, is one of yachtings premier events. The San Diego Yacht Club held the Americas Cup, the most prestigious prize in yachting, from 1988 to 1995, Southern California is home to many sports franchises and sports networks such as Fox Sports Net. Many locals and tourists frequent the Southern California coast for its popular beaches, the desert city of Palm Springs is popular for its resort feel and nearby open spaces. Southern California is not a geographic designation and definitions of what constitutes Southern California vary. Geographically, Californias North-South midway point lies at exactly 37°958.23 latitude, around 11 miles south of San Jose, however, when the state is divided into two areas, the term Southern California usually refers to the 10 southernmost counties of the state
8.
Ontario International Airport
–
It is currently owned and operated under a joint powers agreement with the city of Ontario and San Bernardino County. The year 2007 saw the peak in traffic with 7.2 million passengers. More recently, in 2015,4.2 million passengers used the airport, in 2015 Southwest Airlines carried 59% of departing passengers. In 1923 a landing field was established east of Central Avenue on land leased from the Union Pacific Railroad, the airfield was named Latimer Field after an orange-packing company next to the airstrip. An airport was built there by one of the first flying clubs in southern California, in 1929, the city of Ontario purchased 30 acres, now in the southwest corner of the airport, for $12,000, and established the Ontario Municipal Airport. In 1941 the city bought 470 acres around the airport and approved construction of new runways, the 6, 200-foot east/west runway and the 4, 700-foot northeast/southwest runway cost $350,000. On 27 February 1942, an Army Air Corps plane made the first landing at the new airport, by 1943, the airport was an Army Air Corps Lockheed P-38 Lightning training base and North American P-51 Mustang operating base. In 1946 Ontario Municipal Airport was renamed Ontario International Airport because of the cargo flights originating there. On 17 May 1946, two Army surplus steel hangars arrived at the airport, which the Ontario city council had authorized the $50,000 purchase of just the previous week, city officials were pleased to have secured a bargain. Thought to be the only available in the U. S. City Manager Harold J. Martin observed that if they could be acquired at a later date. A Pacific Overseas Airlines flight from Shanghai arrived at Ontario on 18 May 1946, in 1949 Western Airlines began scheduled flights, in 1955 Bonanza Air Lines flights started. Western and Bonanza nonstops did not reach beyond Las Vegas, in 1962 Western began nonstop flights to San Francisco. In 1967 Bonanza began nonstop F27 flights to Phoenix, Ontario and Los Angeles entered into a joint powers agreement, making Ontario International Airport part of the Los Angeles regional airports system. In 1968 the airport saw its first scheduled jet flights, in 1970 United Airlines started a nonstop to Chicago and American started flights to Dallas. In September 1986, Ontario hosted the Concorde supersonic airliner during a promotional round-the-world flight, in 1981 a second east-west runway, 26L/8R, was built, necessitating the removal of the old NE-SW runway 4/22. Remnants of the 4/22 runway are visible in the present-day taxiways, with the completion of the new runway, the existing runway 25/7 became 26R/8L. In 1985, the city of Los Angeles acquired Ontario International Airport outright from the city of Ontario, in 1987, Runway 26R/8L was extended to the east to bring the two runway thresholds side by side, so aircraft would be higher over neighborhoods
9.
Interstate 15 in California
–
The route consists of the southernmost 287.26 miles of I-15, a major Interstate Highway that extends north through Nevada, a short section of Arizona, Utah, Idaho, and Montana to the Canada–US border. It is a thoroughfare for traffic between San Diego and the Inland Empire, as well as between Southern California, Las Vegas, Nevada, and points beyond. South of its junction at Interstate 8 in San Diego, the highway becomes SR15, extending 5.59 miles to Interstate 5, about 12 miles from the Mexican border. This segment was signed as a state route instead of an Interstate. Including this segment, the length of Route 15 is 293.64 miles. Wetterling and San Bernardino County Sheriffs Lieutenant Alfred E. Stewart Memorial Highway, SR15 is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System. SR15 begins south of I-5 at 32nd Street near Harbor Drive, after this, SR15 has an interchange with SR94, which has been cited as not being up to Interstate standards. Between the Polk Avenue and Orange Avenue overpasses, the freeway goes under a city park that was built on top of the freeway during construction in 2001, pedestrian bridges were also built at Monroe Avenue and Landis Street to reduce the effects of the freeway geographically dividing the community. Between I-8 and I-805, SR15 follows the alignment of 40th Street. It continues seamlessly into the terminus of I-15 at I-8 in San Diego. On the northbound conversion to I-15 at I-8, there is no End SR15 sign, there are various local names for the highway, such as the Escondido Freeway between San Diego and Escondido. I-15 between SR163 and Pomerado Road/Miramar Road is known as the Semper Fi Highway in recognition of the nearby Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. I-15 between Scripps Poway Pkwy and Camino Del Norte is known as the Tony Gwynn Memorial Freeway in recognition of Tony Gwynn who played in the San Diego Padres, North of the Escondido city limits it is known as the Avocado Highway, whose designation ends upon entering Temecula. There are other names as noted below. Heading northward, I-15 currently begins at I-8, at the place that its continuation, SR15. I-15 goes through Mission Valley and intersects with SR52, before merging with SR163, after traversing the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, I-15 comes into Rancho Peñasquitos, where it intersects with the end of SR56. Northward, the route crosses Lake Hodges inside the upper San Diego city limits, I-15 continues north into Escondido, where it interchanges with SR78. In Riverside County, SR79 joins I-15 and runs concurrently with the route for a 3. 2-mile portion in Temecula, then, I-15 intersects with the southern end of I-215, which continues the designation of the Escondido Freeway
10.
Interstate 10 in California
–
In the greater Los Angeles area, it is known as the Santa Monica Freeway and the San Bernardino Freeway, linked by a short concurrency on Interstate 5 at the East Los Angeles Interchange. Interstate 10 also has designated as either the Rosa Parks Freeway or the Redlands Freeway. The California Streets and Highways Code defines Route 10 from Route 1 in Santa Monica to Route 5 near Seventh Street in Los Angeles. Route 101 near Mission Road in Los Angeles to the Arizona state line at the Colorado River via the vicinity of Monterey Park, Pomona, Colton, Indio, and Chiriaco Summit and via Blythe. This short section of Route 10 between Route 5 and Route 101, which was defined as Route 110 until 1968, is signed overhead for I-10 eastbound. This I-5/I-10 cosigning is consistent with the Federal Highway Administrations Interstate Highway route logs that such an overlap exists for the segment of I-10 in California, I-10 is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System and is eligible for the State Scenic Highway System. However, it is not actually a scenic highway as designated by Caltrans, the Santa Monica Freeway is Route 10 from Route 1 to Route 5, as named by the State Highway Commission on April 25,1957. The section between the Harbor and San Diego freeways is also signed as the Rosa Parks Freeway, after the African American civil rights activist, the I-10 freeway is signed as the Christopher Columbus Transcontinental Highway in Santa Monica. Interstate 10 begins in the city of Santa Monica when State Route 1 turns into a freeway, SR1 exits onto Lincoln Boulevard and heads south while I-10 continues east. Soon after it enters the city of Los Angeles, I-10 has a interchange with Interstate 405. On the western edge of downtown, I-10 has an interchange with Interstate 110 to the south, I-10 then travels along the southern edge of downtown to the East Los Angeles Interchange. At the East Los Angeles Interchange, State Route 60 diverges east towards Riverside, I-10 then turns north, running concurrently with Interstate 5 for a few miles. Then, Interstate 10 heads east and merges with the traffic from the spur to US101 onto the San Bernardino Freeway, the freeway is 14 lanes wide from the Harbor Freeway interchange to the Arlington Avenue off-ramp. Most of these lanes are full at peak travel times, the remainder of the freeway varies between eight and 10 lanes in width. The whole freeway opened in 1965, with a dedication held in 1966. All three freeway-to-freeway interchanges along its length are notorious for their congestion, and are ranked among the top 10 most congested spots in the United States. Due to the traffic volume, car accidents are so common that Caltrans has constructed special Accident Investigation Sites separated from the freeway by fences. These enable the California Highway Patrol to quickly clear accidents from the traffic lanes
11.
North America
–
North America is a continent entirely within the Northern Hemisphere and almost all within the Western Hemisphere. It can also be considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the west and south by the Pacific Ocean, and to the southeast by South America and the Caribbean Sea. North America covers an area of about 24,709,000 square kilometers, about 16. 5% of the land area. North America is the third largest continent by area, following Asia and Africa, and the fourth by population after Asia, Africa, and Europe. In 2013, its population was estimated at nearly 565 million people in 23 independent states, or about 7. 5% of the worlds population, North America was reached by its first human populations during the last glacial period, via crossing the Bering land bridge. The so-called Paleo-Indian period is taken to have lasted until about 10,000 years ago, the Classic stage spans roughly the 6th to 13th centuries. The Pre-Columbian era ended with the migrations and the arrival of European settlers during the Age of Discovery. Present-day cultural and ethnic patterns reflect different kind of interactions between European colonists, indigenous peoples, African slaves and their descendants, European influences are strongest in the northern parts of the continent while indigenous and African influences are relatively stronger in the south. Because of the history of colonialism, most North Americans speak English, Spanish or French, the Americas are usually accepted as having been named after the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci by the German cartographers Martin Waldseemüller and Matthias Ringmann. Vespucci, who explored South America between 1497 and 1502, was the first European to suggest that the Americas were not the East Indies, but a different landmass previously unknown by Europeans. In 1507, Waldseemüller produced a map, in which he placed the word America on the continent of South America. He explained the rationale for the name in the accompanying book Cosmographiae Introductio, for Waldseemüller, no one should object to the naming of the land after its discoverer. He used the Latinized version of Vespuccis name, but in its feminine form America, following the examples of Europa, Asia and Africa. Later, other mapmakers extended the name America to the continent, In 1538. Some argue that the convention is to use the surname for naming discoveries except in the case of royalty, a minutely explored belief that has been advanced is that America was named for a Spanish sailor bearing the ancient Visigothic name of Amairick. Another is that the name is rooted in a Native American language, the term North America maintains various definitions in accordance with location and context. In Canadian English, North America may be used to refer to the United States, alternatively, usage sometimes includes Greenland and Mexico, as well as offshore islands
12.
Saks Fifth Avenue
–
Saks Fifth Avenue is an American luxury department store owned by the oldest commercial corporation in North America, the Hudsons Bay Company. Its main flagship store is located on Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, Saks Fifth Avenue is the successor of a business founded by Andrew Saks in 1867 and incorporated in New York in 1902 as Saks & Company. Saks died in 1912, and in 1923 Saks & Co. merged with Gimbel Brothers, Inc. which was owned by a cousin of Horace Saks, Bernard Gimbel, operating as a separate autonomous subsidiary. On September 15,1924, Horace Saks and Bernard Gimbel opened Saks Fifth Avenue in New York City, with a full-block avenue frontage south of St Patricks Cathedral, facing Rockefeller Center. The architects were Starrett & van Vleck, who developed a reticent, the first full-line year-round Saks store opened in Chicago, in 1929, followed by another resort store in Miami Beach, Florida. In 1938, Saks expanded to the West Coast, opening in Beverly Hills, by the end of the 1930s, Saks Fifth Avenue had a total of 10 stores, including resort locations such as Sun Valley, Idaho, Mount Stowe, and Newport, Rhode Island. More full-line stores followed with Detroit, Michigan, in 1940 and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in Downtown Pittsburgh, the company moved to its own freestanding location approximately one block from its former home on the fourth floor in the downtown Gimbels flagship. The San Francisco location opened in 1952, competing locally with I, BATUS Inc. acquired Gimbel Bros. Inc. and its Saks Fifth Avenue subsidiary in 1973 as part of its diversification strategy. More expansion followed from the 1960s through the 1990s including the Midwest, in 1990, BATUS sold Saks to Investcorp S. A. which took Saks public in 1996 as Saks Holdings, Inc. In 1990, Saks Off 5th was launched, an outlet store offshoot of the main brand, in 1998, Proffitts, Inc. the parent company of Proffitts and other department stores, acquired Saks Holdings Inc. Upon completing the acquisition, Proffitts, Inc. changed its name to Saks, since 2000 Saks has opened international locations in Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kazakhstan, and Mexico City. In August 2007, the United States Postal Service began an experimental program selling the plus zip code extension to businesses, the first company to do so was Saks Fifth Avenue, which received the zip code of 10022-SHOE for the eighth-floor shoe department in its flagship Fifth Avenue store. During the 2007-2009 recession, Saks Fifth Avenue had to some stores and to cut prices and profit margins. It took three years before it could start selling at closer to full price, on July 29,2013, the Hudsons Bay Company, owner of the competing chain Lord & Taylor, announced it would acquire Saks Fifth Avenues parent company for US$2.9 billion. Plans called for up to seven Saks Fifth Avenues to open in major Canadian markets, the store opened in February 2016 with a second Toronto area location in the Sherway Gardens shopping center opening in spring 2016. On January 6,2014, Marigay McKee, previously Chief Merchant at Harrods and she stepped down 15 months later on April 2,2015, and was replaced by Marc Metrick, a former executive at Saks’s parent company, Hudson’s Bay. Starting in 2015 Saks began a million, three-year restoration of its Fifth Avenue flagship store. In the summer of 2015, it was announced that Saks will debut a new location in Greenwich, in the fall of 2015, Saks was planning to replace its existing store at the Houston Galleria with a new store
