1.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
2.
Rhode Island
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Rhode Island, officially the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. Rhode Island is the smallest in area, the eighth least populous, and its official name is also the longest of any state in the Union. Rhode Island is bordered by Connecticut to the west, Massachusetts to the north and east, the state also shares a short maritime border with New York. It boycotted the 1787 convention that drew up the United States Constitution, on May 29,1790, Rhode Island became the 13th and last state to ratify the Constitution. Rhode Islands official nickname is The Ocean State, a reference to the fact that the state has several large bays, Rhode Island covers 1,214 square miles, of which 1,045 square miles are land. Despite its name, most of Rhode Island is located on the mainland of the United States, the official name of the state is State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, which is derived from the merger of four settlements. Rhode Island is now commonly called Aquidneck Island, the largest of several islands in Narragansett Bay, Providence Plantation was the name of the colony founded by Roger Williams in the area now known as the city of Providence. This was adjoined by the settlement of Warwick, hence the plural Providence Plantations and it is unclear how Aquidneck Island came to be known as Rhode Island, although there are two popular theories. Explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano noted the presence of an island near the mouth of Narragansett Bay in 1524, subsequent European explorers were unable to precisely identify the island that Verrazzano had named, but the Pilgrims who later colonized the area assumed that it was Aquidneck. A second theory concerns the fact that Adriaen Block passed by Aquidneck during his expeditions in the 1610s, historians have theorized that this reddish appearance resulted from either red autumn foliage or red clay on portions of the shore. The earliest documented use of the name Rhode Island for Aquidneck was in 1637 by Roger Williams, the name was officially applied to the island in 1644 with these words, Aquethneck shall be henceforth called the Isle of Rodes or Rhode-Island. The name Isle of Rodes is used in a document as late as 1646. Dutch maps as early as 1659 call the island Red Island, Williams was a theologian forced out of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Seeking religious and political tolerance, he and others founded Providence Plantation as a proprietary colony. Providence referred to the concept of providence, and plantation was an English term for a colony. State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations is the longest official name of any state in the Union, advocates for excising plantation asserted that the word specifically referred to the British colonial practice of establishing settlements which disenfranchised native people. Advocates for retaining the name argued that plantation was simply an archaic English synonym for colony, the referendum election was held on November 2,2010, and the people voted overwhelmingly to retain the entire original name. It shares a maritime border with New York State between Block Island and Long Island
3.
Narragansett Bay
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Narragansett Bay is a bay and estuary on the north side of Rhode Island Sound covering 147 mi2,120.5 mi2 in Rhode Island. The Bay forms New Englands largest estuary, which functions as a natural harbor. Small parts of it extend into Massachusetts, there are more than 30 islands in the Bay, the three largest ones are Aquidneck Island, Conanicut Island, and Prudence Island. Bodies of water that are part of Narragansett Bay include the Sakonnet River, Mount Hope Bay, the bay opens on Rhode Island Sound and the Atlantic Ocean, Block Island lies less than 20 miles southwest of its opening. Narragansett Bay can be seen in NOAA chart 13221 Providence, the Rhode Island state capital and largest city, many of Providences suburbs, including Warwick and Cranston, are also on the bay. The city of Fall River, Massachusetts is located at the confluence of the Taunton River and Mount Hope Bay, the southwest side of the bay include the seaside tourist towns of Narragansett and Wickford. Quonset Point, south of Warwick, gives its name to the Quonset hut, Roger Williams University is located in Bristol, Rhode Island on land overlooking the Bay. Narragansett Bay comprises an area of about 4836 square kilometers, the Blackstone and Taunton provide the highest volume of mean, annual freshwater flow into the watershed. River water inflow has a seasonal variability, with the highest flow in the spring, the bay is a drowned river valley estuary which is composed of three ancient river valleys, the Sakonnet River, the East Passage and the West Passage. The bathymetry varies greatly between the three passages, with the depths of the East, West and Sakonnet River passages being 37 m,10 m and 7.5 m respectively. The present shape of Narragansett Bay is instead the result of the most recent glaciation of New England, under the edges of the Laurentide ice sheet at the Last Glacial Maximum, about 18,000 B. P. Sea level was lowered so much that the shelf was exposed, under its weight of ice. Glaciers flowing through an old sedimentary basin carved channels through the younger sediments. As the ice stalled, then retreated, the region became ice-free by about 14,000 B. P, a complicated sequence of marine ingression and isostatic rebound flooded and emptied the landscape. Then salt water filled the valley, as rising sea levels flooded the area. Tides in the watershed are measured at 6 stations, Providence, Fall River, Quonset Point, Conimicut Light, Prudence Island, tides are measured with pressure-sensing tide gauges. In shallow water, sound waves are used to measure water height by measuring the travel time of the waves. In deeper water, tides are measured with pressure-sensing tide gauges that are placed on the floor to measure water height
4.
Providence, Rhode Island
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Providence is the capital of and most populous city in the U. S. state of Rhode Island, founded in 1636, and one of the oldest cities in the United States. It is located in Providence County and is the third most populous city in New England, after Boston, Providence has a city population of 179,154, it is also part of the Providence metropolitan area which extends into southern Massachusetts. The Providence metropolitan area has an population of 1,604,291. This can be considered, in turn, to be part of the Greater Boston commuting area, Providence was founded by Roger Williams, a religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He named the area in honor of Gods merciful Providence, which he believed was responsible for revealing such a haven for him, the city is situated at the mouth of the Providence River at the head of Narragansett Bay. Providence was one of the first cities in the country to industrialize and became noted for its tool, jewelry. The city was nicknamed the Beehive of Industry, it began rebranding itself as the Creative Capital in 2009 to emphasize its educational resources. The area that is now Providence was first settled in June 1636 by Roger Williams and was one of the original Thirteen Colonies of the United States, Williams and his company felt compelled to withdraw from Massachusetts Bay Colony. Providence quickly became a refuge for persecuted religious dissenters, as Williams himself had been exiled from Massachusetts, Providence residents were among the first Patriots to spill blood in the leadup to the American Revolution during the Gaspée Affair of 1772. Rhode Island was the first of the thirteen colonies to renounce its allegiance to the British Crown on May 4,1776. It was also the last of the thirteen colonies to ratify the United States Constitution on May 29,1790, following the war, Providence was the countrys ninth-largest city with 7,614 people. The economy shifted from maritime endeavors to manufacturing, in particular machinery, tools, silverware, jewelry, by the start of the 20th century, Providence boasted some of the largest manufacturing plants in the country, including Brown & Sharpe, Nicholson File, and Gorham Silverware. Providence residents ratified a city charter in 1831 as the population passed 17,000. From its incorporation as a city in 1832 until 1878, the seat of city government was located in the Market House, located in Market Square, the city offices quickly outgrew this building, and the City Council resolved to create a permanent municipal building in 1845. The city offices moved into the City Hall in 1878, during the Civil War, local politics split over slavery as many had ties to Southern cotton. Despite ambivalence concerning the war, the number of military volunteers routinely exceeded quota, by the early 1900s, Providence was one of the wealthiest cities in the United States. Immigrant labor powered one of the nations largest industrial manufacturing centers, Providence was a major manufacturer of industrial products from steam engines to precision tools to silverware, screws, and textiles. From 1975 until 1982, $606 million of local and national Community Development funds were invested throughout the city.4 million ft² Providence Place Mall, despite new investment, poverty remains an entrenched problem as it does in most post-industrial New England cities
5.
New Netherland
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New Netherland was a 17th-century colonial province of the Seven United Netherlands that was located on the East Coast of North America. The colony was conceived as a business venture to exploit the North American fur trade. The settlement of New Sweden encroached on its flank, while its northern border was re-drawn to accommodate an expanding New England. During the 1650s, the colony experienced dramatic growth and became a port for trade in the North Atlantic. The surrender of Fort Amsterdam to England in 1664 was formalized in 1667, in 1673, the Dutch re-took the area but relinquished it under the Second Treaty of Westminster ending the Third Anglo-Dutch War the next year. The inhabitants of New Netherland were Native Americans, Europeans, and Africans, descendants of the original settlers played a prominent role in colonial America. For two centuries, New Netherland Dutch culture characterized the region, during the 17th century, Europe was undergoing expansive social, cultural, and economic growth, known as the Dutch Golden Age in the Netherlands. Nations vied for domination of trade routes around the globe. Simultaneously, philosophical and theological conflicts were manifested in military battles across the continent, the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands had become a home to many intellectuals, international businessmen, and religious refugees. He was turned back by the ice of the Arctic in his second attempt and he ended up exploring the waters off the east coast of North America aboard the vlieboot Halve Maen. His first landfall was at Newfoundland and the second at Cape Cod, Hudson believed that the passage to the Pacific ocean was between the St. Lawrence River and Chesapeake Bay, so he sailed south to the Bay then turned northward, traveling close along the shore. He first discovered Delaware Bay and began to sail upriver looking for the passage and this effort was foiled by sandy shoals, and the Halve Maen continued north. After passing Sandy Hook, Hudson and his crew entered the narrows into the Upper New York Bay, Hudson believed that he had found the continental water route, so he sailed up the major river which later bore his name, the Hudson. He found the water too shallow to proceed several days later, at the site of present-day Troy and his report was first published in 1611 by Emanuel Van Meteren, an Antwerp émigré and the Dutch Consul at London. This stimulated interest in exploiting this new resource, and it was the catalyst for Dutch merchant-traders to fund more expeditions. Flemish Lutheran émigré merchants such as Arnout Vogels sent the first follow-up voyages to exploit this discovery as early as July 1610. In 1611–1612, the Admiralty of Amsterdam sent two expeditions to find a passage to China with the yachts Craen and Vos, captained by Jan Cornelisz Mey and Symon Willemsz Cat. The results of explorations, surveys, and charts made from 1609 through 1614 were consolidated in Block’s map
6.
Barrington, Rhode Island
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Barrington is a suburban, residential town in Bristol County, Rhode Island. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 16,310, located approximately 7 miles southeast of Providence, the town was founded by Congregationalist separatists from Swansea, Massachusetts. Following its incorporation in 1711, Barrington was ceded to Rhode Island and merged into Warren, Barrington was a sparsely developed, agricultural community until the arrival of brickmaking companies in the 1850s, which employed large numbers of French-Canadians and Italians. Along with the availability of the automobile, the baby boom furthered existing suburbanization trends. Schools were constructed throughout the 1950s to accommodate this population, three Barrington schools are National Blue Ribbon Schools, and its high school was ranked No.200 in the United States by Newsweek in 2014. Money noted the appeal of Barringtons high test scores and relative affordability, nine sites in Barrington are listed under the National Register of Historic Places, a listing of sites, buildings, and areas deemed worthy of preservation by the United States federal government. The land that comprises modern-day Barrington was originally occupied by the Wampanoags, the Narragansett term for the area, Sowams, is usually used to refer to this area. In 1653, investors from Plymouth Colony bought Sowams and Parts Adjacent from the Wampanoags, a territory corresponding to modern-day Barrington with portions of Bristol, Warren. Some areas in Barrington draw their name from the proprietors of this land, such as Princes Hill. Thomas Willett, another early proprietor, was responsible for the establishment of a Baptist church at Nockum Hill, religious differences between settlers of Sowams and the neighboring Wannamoissett and Rehoboth prompted the incorporation of Swansea in 1667. Baptist residents petitioned for separation from Swansea in 1711, and Barrington was incorporated as an independent town in 1717, Barrington likely received its name from Barrington, Somerset, the origin of several English settlers. Barrington was ceded to Rhode Island in 1747, and made a part of Warren, in 1770, its independence was restored by the Rhode Island legislature. Agriculture provided the basis for the economy in the following decades. Farmers typically cultivated grains, especially corn, rye, oats, many farmers planted fruit trees, some developing large orchards, as apple cider was an important commodity for trade. Farming significantly affected the landscape, separating large grassland fields with fencing. Religion continued to influence Barrington politics, the new Congregational Society was formally declared the towns religion, following Massachusetts custom. Until 1797, taxes supported the Congregational minister, who was employed by the town meeting, baptists and other religious groups were given the option of supporting their own meetings in 1728. In 1737, discussions regarding a relocation of the Congregational church proved divisive amongst the southern and northern portions of Barrington, the southern area was the historical center of town, hosting the Congregational church and buildings by the original Sowams proprietors
7.
Iway
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The Iway is the $610 million project by the Rhode Island Department of Transportation to relocate the Interstate 195 and Interstate 95 intersection in Providence, Rhode Island. As of Spring 2013, all reconstruction and demolition is complete, the project freed up space in downtown Providence and the Jewelry District. Back in the 1980s, RIDOT reviewed many plans to deal with the section of I-195 in Providence. Along with having to complete repairs on one of the busiest stretches of highway in Rhode Island. The highway designed for 75,000 vehicles a day now carries more than 160,000 cars daily, the old design had other problems. As RIDOT worked on the Iway’s Environmental Impact Statement in the early 1990s, the EIS noted deteriorated bridges, substandard roadway alignments, sharp curves and substandard shoulder widths. RIDOT looked at three alternatives before choosing the one that was built, an alignment just to the north of the current highway was not selected as it would have corrected only the congestion and tight curves on I-195 itself. The plan outlines how the land occupied by the highway will be reused. Another idea that was considered was an alternative, one in which the existing alignment would be reconstructed. This would have addressed problems with deteriorated structures, but done nothing about the congestion, weaving conflicts, additionally, traffic would have been severely impacted during construction. Consideration of these choices led RIDOT to choose the alignment south of the Fox Point Hurricane Barrier, also, the redevelopment would complement other projects including the construction of Memorial Boulevard, Waterplace Park and the Riverwalk system, and the Capital Center projects. On November 4,2007, the new Iway bridge opened to traffic from I-95 north to I-195 east. Old exit 20 from I-95 north to I-195 east remained open for access to I-195 exits 1 and 2, I-195 exit 3 eastbound became accessible from new Iway bridge only. Five days later, a new onramp from Wickenden and Point Streets to I-195 east opened, on May 27,2008, the Friendship Street onramp to I-195 east closed, followed by the closure of the I-95 north exit 20 to old I-195 east, two days later. On June 13,2008, the Pine Street overpass over I-95 closed, on October 15,2008, the New India Point Park pedestrian bridge over I-195 opened, and on October 29,2008, a temporary ramp opened from Blackstone Street to I-95 south. On November 7,2008, the onramp from Broad Street to I-95 south closed, by December 6,2008, the new exit 20 from I-95 south to the new I-195 east opened, and the new onramp from Plain Street to I-195 east also opened. Then, the old I-195 eastbound roadway was closed, including all on, on June 18,2009, the new Iway bridge opened to westbound I-195 traffic to I-95 south, while the old I-195 west remained open to funnel traffic to I-95 north. All ramps to/from old I-195 west also remained open, on October 20,2009, the new Exit 20 from I-95 NB to Point Street opened, and two days later, the new ramps from the Iway bridge to I-95 north and Point Street opened
8.
United States Geological Survey
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The United States Geological Survey is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its resources. The organization has four science disciplines, concerning biology, geography, geology. The USGS is a research organization with no regulatory responsibility. The USGS is a bureau of the United States Department of the Interior, the USGS employs approximately 8,670 people and is headquartered in Reston, Virginia. The USGS also has major offices near Lakewood, Colorado, at the Denver Federal Center, the current motto of the USGS, in use since August 1997, is science for a changing world. The agencys previous slogan, adopted on the occasion of its anniversary, was Earth Science in the Public Service. Prompted by a report from the National Academy of Sciences, the USGS was created, by a last-minute amendment and it was charged with the classification of the public lands, and examination of the geological structure, mineral resources, and products of the national domain. This task was driven by the need to inventory the vast lands added to the United States by the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, the legislation also provided that the Hayden, Powell, and Wheeler surveys be discontinued as of June 30,1879. Clarence King, the first director of USGS, assembled the new organization from disparate regional survey agencies, after a short tenure, King was succeeded in the directors chair by John Wesley Powell. Administratively, it is divided into a Headquarters unit and six Regional Units, Other specific programs include, Earthquake Hazards Program monitors earthquake activity worldwide. The National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colorado on the campus of the Colorado School of Mines detects the location, the USGS also runs or supports several regional monitoring networks in the United States under the umbrella of the Advanced National Seismic System. The USGS informs authorities, emergency responders, the media, and it also maintains long-term archives of earthquake data for scientific and engineering research. It also conducts and supports research on long-term seismic hazards, USGS has released the UCERF California earthquake forecast. The USGS National Geomagnetism Program monitors the magnetic field at magnetic observatories and distributes magnetometer data in real time, the USGS operates the streamgaging network for the United States, with over 7400 streamgages. Real-time streamflow data are available online, since 1962, the Astrogeology Research Program has been involved in global, lunar, and planetary exploration and mapping. USGS operates a number of related programs, notably the National Streamflow Information Program. USGS Water data is available from their National Water Information System database
9.
Tributary
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A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean, tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage basin of its surface water and groundwater, leading the water out into an ocean. A confluence, where two or more bodies of water together, usually refers to the joining of tributaries. The opposite to a tributary is a distributary, a river or stream that branches off from, distributaries are most often found in river deltas. Right tributary and left tributary are terms stating the orientation of the relative to the flow of the main stem river. These terms are defined from the perspective of looking downstream, where tributaries have the same name as the river into which they feed, they are called forks. These are typically designated by compass direction, for example, the American River receives flow from its North, Middle, and South forks. The Chicago Rivers North Branch has the East, West, and Middle Fork, the South Branch has its South Fork, forks are sometimes designated as right or left. Here, the handedness is from the point of view of an observer facing upstream, for instance, Steer Creek has a left tributary which is called Right Fork Steer Creek. Tributaries are sometimes listed starting with those nearest to the source of the river, the Strahler Stream Order examines the arrangement of tributaries in a hierarchy of first, second, third, and higher orders, with the first-order tributary being typically the least in size. For example, a second-order tributary would be the result of two or more first-order tributaries combining to form the second-order tributary, another method is to list tributaries from mouth to source, in the form of a tree structure, stored as a tree data structure
10.
Dredging
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Dredging is an excavation activity usually carried out underwater, in shallow seas or freshwater areas with the purpose of gathering up bottom sediments and disposing of them at a different location. This technique is used to keep waterways navigable. It is also used as a way to replenish sand on some public beaches, fishing dredges are used as a technique for catching certain species of edible clams and crabs. Capital, dredging carried out to create a new harbor, berth or waterway, preparatory, work and excavation for future bridges, piers or docks/wharves, often connected with foundation work. This is often carried out with a trailing suction hopper dredge, most dredging is for this purpose, and it may also be done to maintain the holding capacity of reservoirs or lakes. Land reclamation, dredging to mine sand, clay or rock from the seabed and this is typically performed by a cutter-suction dredge or trailing suction hopper dredge. The material may also be used for flood or erosion control, beach nourishment, mining sand offshore and placing on a beach to replace sand eroded by storms or wave action. This is done to enhance the recreational and protective function of the beaches and this is typically performed by a cutter-suction dredge or trailing suction hopper dredge. Harvesting materials, dredging sediment for elements like gold, diamonds or other valuable trace substances, seabed mining, a possible future use, recovering natural metal ore nodules from the seas abyssal plains. Construction materials, dredging sand and gravels from offshore licensed areas for use in construction industry, very specialist industry focused in NW Europe using specialized trailing suction hopper dredgers self discharging dry cargo ashore. Anti-eutrophication, Dredging is an option for the remediation of eutrophied water bodies. Contaminant remediation, to areas affected by chemical spills, storm water surges. Disposal becomes a large factor in these operations. Removing trash and debris, often done in combination with maintenance dredging, flood prevention, this can help to increase channel depth and therefore increase a channels capacity for carrying water. This tradition has now more or less obsolete and the tools used to do this have also changed significantly. Oyster dredging or harvesting, in Louisiana and other states with salt water estuaries that can sustain bottom oyster beds. A heavy metal rectangular scoop device is towed astern of a boat with a chain bridle attached to a cable. The device is periodically hauled aboard and the oysters in it are sorted and bagged for shipment to a processing facility
