Agkistrodon contortrix
Agkistrodon contortrix is a species of venomous snake endemic to Eastern North America, a member of the subfamily Crotalinae. The common name for this species is the copperhead; the behavior of Agkistrodon contortrix may lead to accidental encounters with humans. Five subspecies are recognized, including the nominate subspecies described here. Adults grow to an average length of 50–95 cm; some may exceed 1 m, although, exceptional for this species. Males are larger than females. Good-sized adult males do not exceed 74 to 76 cm, females do not exceed 60 to 66 cm. In one study, males were found to weigh from 101.5 to 343 g, with a mean of 197.4 g. According to a different study, females have a mean body mass of 119.8 g. The maximum length reported. Brimley mentions a specimen of A. c. mokasen from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, "four feet, six inches", but this may have been an approximation. The maximum length for A. c. contortrix is 132.1 cm. The body is stout and the head is broad and distinct from the neck.
Because the snout slopes down and back, it appears less blunt than that of the cottonmouth, A. piscivorus. The top of the head extends further forward than the mouth; the scalation includes 21–25 rows of dorsal scales at midbody, 138–157 ventral scales in both sexes and 38–62/37–57 subcaudal scales in males/females. The subcaudals are single, but the percentage thereof decreases clinally from the northeast, where about 80% are undivided, to the southwest of the geographic range where as little as 50% may be undivided. On the head there are 9 large symmetrical plates, 6–10 supralabial scales and 8–13 sublabial scales; the color pattern consists of a pale tan to pinkish tan ground color that becomes darker towards the foreline, overlaid with a series of 10–18 crossbands. Characteristically, both the ground color and crossband pattern are pale in A. c. contortrix. These crossbands are light tan to pinkish tan to pale brown in the center, but darker towards the edges, they are about 2 scales wide or less at the midline of the back, but expand to a width of 6–10 scales on the sides of the body.
They do not extend down to the ventral scales. The crossbands are divided at the midline and alternate on either side of the body, with some individuals having more half bands than complete ones. A series of dark brown spots is present on the flanks, next to the belly, are largest and darkest in the spaces between the crossbands; the belly may be a little whitish in part. At the base of the tail there are 1–3 brown crossbands followed by a gray area. In juveniles, the pattern on the tail is more distinct: 7–9 crossbands are visible, while the tip is yellow. On the head, the crown is unmarked, except for a pair of small dark spots, one near the midline of each parietal scale. A faint postocular stripe is present. Several aberrant color patterns for A. c. contortrix, or populations that intergrade with it, have been reported. In a specimen described by Livezey from Walker County, Texas, 11 of 17 crossbands were not joined middorsally, while on one side three of the crossbands were fused together longitudinally to form a continuous undulating band, surmounted above by a dark stripe, 2–2.5 scales wide.
In another specimen, from Lowndes County, the first three crossbands were complete, followed by a dark stripe that ran down either side of the body, with points of pigment reaching up to the midline in six places but never getting there, after which the last four crossbands on the tail were complete. A specimen found in Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana by Ernest A. Liner, had a similar striped pattern, with only the first and last two crossbands being normal. Common names for A. contortrix include: copperhead, chunk head, highland moccasin, narrow-banded copperhead, northern copperhead, pilot snake, poplar leaf, red oak, red snake, southeastern copperhead, white oak snake, American copperhead, southern copperhead, cantil cobrizo. It is found in the United States in the states of Alabama, Connecticut, Northern Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Ohio, Maryland, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and West Virginia. In Mexico, it occurs in Coahuila; the type locality is "Carolina".
Schmidt proposed the type locality be restricted to "Charleston, South Carolina". Unlike some other species of North American pit vipers, such as timber rattlesnake and Sistrurus catenatus, Agkistrodon contortrix has not reestablished itself north of the terminal moraine after the last glacial period, though it is found in southeastern New York and southern New England, north of the Wisconsin glaciation terminal moraine on Long Island. Within its range, it occupies a variety of different habitats. In most of North America, it favors mixed woodlands, it is associated with rock outcroppings and ledges, but is found in low-lying, swampy regions. During the winter, it hibernates in dens or limestone crevices together with timber rattlesnakes and black rat snakes. In the states around the Gulf of Mexico, this species is found in coniferous forest. In the Chihuahuan De
Red River (Kentucky River)
The Red River is a 97.2-mile-long tributary of the Kentucky River in east-central Kentucky in the United States. Via the Kentucky and Ohio rivers, it is part of the Mississippi River watershed, it rises in the mountainous region of the Cumberland Plateau, in eastern Wolfe County 15 miles east of Campton. It flows west, through Red River Gorge in the Daniel Boone National Forest past Stanton and Clay City, it joins the Kentucky 11 miles southeast of Winchester. In 1993, a 20-mile stretch of the river in the Red River Gorge was designated by the federal government as a National Wild and Scenic River; the book The Unforeseen Wilderness by Wendell Berry was written to deter the Army Corps of Engineers from damming the Red River Gorge in 1971. The largest golden redhorse taken in Kentucky was taken in the Red River. Clifty Wilderness List of rivers of Kentucky The Red River Gorge Today U. S. Forest Service: Red River Gorge The Red River Saga RRS: Red River Gorge Biodiversity Arches of the Red River Gorge Red River Gorge Geologic Area Wild and Scenic Red River
Burt Lancaster
Burton Stephen Lancaster was an American actor and producer. Known for playing "tough guys", he went on to achieve success with more complex and challenging roles, he was nominated four times for Academy Awards, won once for his work in Elmer Gantry in 1960. He won a Golden Globe Award for that performance and BAFTA Awards for Birdman of Alcatraz and Atlantic City. During the 1950s his production company Hecht-Hill-Lancaster was successful, making films such as Trapeze, Sweet Smell of Success, Run Silent, Run Deep, Separate Tables; the American Film Institute ranks Lancaster as #19 of the greatest male stars of classic Hollywood cinema. Burton Stephen Lancaster was born on November 2, 1913, in Manhattan, New York, at his parents' home at 209 East 106th Street, the son of Elizabeth and mailman James Henry Lancaster. Both of his parents were Protestants of working-class origin. All four of his grandparents were British immigrants to the United States, from the province of Ulster. Lancaster grew up in East Harlem and spent much of his time on the streets, where he developed a great interest and skill in gymnastics while attending DeWitt Clinton High School, where he was a basketball star.
Before he graduated from DeWitt Clinton, his mother died of a cerebral hemorrhage. Lancaster was accepted by New York University with an athletic scholarship, but subsequently dropped out. At 19, Lancaster met Nick Cravat. Together they learned to act in local theatre productions and circus arts at Union Settlement, one of the city's oldest settlement houses, they formed the acrobat duo Lang and Cravat in the 1930s, soon joined the Kay Brothers circus. However, in 1939, an injury forced Lancaster to give up the profession, with great regret, he found temporary work, first as a salesman for Marshall Fields and as a singing waiter in various restaurants. With the United States having entered World War II, Lancaster joined the United States Army in 1942 and performed with the Army's 21st Special Services Division, one of the military groups organized to follow the troops on the ground and provide USO entertainment to keep up morale, he served with General Mark Clark's Fifth Army in Italy from 1943 to 1945.
Lancaster returned to New York after his Army service. Although unenthusiastic about acting, Lancaster was encouraged to audition for a Broadway play by a producer who saw him while he was visiting his then-girlfriend at work; the audition was successful and Lancaster was cast in Harry Brown's A Sound of Hunting. The show only ran three weeks, but his performance attracted the interest of a Hollywood agent, Harold Hecht. Lancaster had other offers but Hecht promised him the opportunity to produce their own movies within five years of hitting Hollywood. Through Hecht, Lancaster was brought to the attention of producer Hal B. Wallis, who signed him to a non-exclusive eight-movie contract. Lancaster's first filmed movie was Desert Fury for Wallis, where Lancaster was billed after John Hodiak and Lizabeth Scott, it was directed by Lewis Allen. Producer Mark Hellinger approached him to star in The Killers, completed and released prior to Desert Fury. Directed by Robert Siodmak it was a great critical success, launched Lancaster and his co-star Ava Gardner to stardom.
It has since come to be regarded as a classic. Hellinger used Lancaster again on Brute Force, a prison drama written by Richard Brooks and directed by Jules Dassin, it was well received. Wallis released his films through Paramount, so Lancaster and other Wallis contractees made cameos in Variety Girl. Lancaster's next film was for Wallis, I Walk Alone, a thriller co-starring Scott and a young Kirk Douglas, under contract to Wallis, it was a minor hit. Lancaster had a change of pace with the film adaptation of Arthur Miller's All My Sons, made at Universal with Edward G. Robinson, his third film for Wallis was an adaptation of Wrong Number with Barbara Stanwyck. Hecht kept to his promise to Lancaster to turn producer; the two of them formed a company, Norma Productions, did a deal with Universal to make a thriller in England, Kiss the Blood Off My Hands with Joan Fontaine and directed by Norman Foster. It was critically acclaimed. Back in Hollywood, Lancaster did another film noir with Criss Cross.
It was going to be produced by Hellinger and when Hellinger died another took over. Tony Curtis made an early appearance. Lancaster did a fourth for Rope of Sand. Norma Productions signed a three-picture deal with Warner Bros; the first was The Flame and the Arrow, a swasbuckler movie, in which Lancaster drew on his circus skills. Nick Cravat had a support role and the film was a huge commercial success, making of $6 million, it was Warners' most popular film of the year and established an new image for Lancaster. Lancaster was borrowed by a comedy with Edmund Gwenn. MGM put him in a popular Western, Vengeance Valley he went to Warners to pay the title role in the biopic Jim Thorpe -- All-American. Norma signed a deal with Columbia to make two films through Halburt; the first film was Ten Tall Men. Robert Aldrich worked on the movie as a production manager; the second was a comedy The First Time, a comedy, the directorial debut of Frank Tashlin. It was meant to star Lancaster but he wound up not appearing
Sport climbing
Sport climbing is a form of rock climbing that relies on permanent anchors fixed to the rock for protection. This is in contrast to traditional climbing where climbers must place removable protection as they climb. Sport climbing emphasises strength, gymnastic ability and technique, over adventure and self-sufficiency. For the majority of sport climbers, sport climbing offers an easier, more convenient experience which requires less equipment, less in the way of technical skills required to be safe during the climb, lower levels of mental stress than traditional climbing. With increased accessibility to climbing walls, gyms, more climbers now enter the sport through indoor climbing than outdoor climbing; the transition from indoor climbing to sport climbing is not difficult because the techniques and equipment used for indoor climbing are nearly sufficient for sport climbing. Whereas the transition from indoor climbing to traditional climbing is hard because traditional climbing requires more in terms of techniques and equipment.
While sport climbing is common in many areas worldwide, it is restricted in some places where it is considered ethically unacceptable to bolt climbs. This is due to the local climbing traditions, to the type of rock. Debates over bolting in the climbing communities are fierce. Bolting without a consensus in favour of bolting leads to the destruction, or removal, of the bolts by activists against bolting. Since sport climbing paths do not need to follow climbing paths where protection can be placed they tend to follow more direct, straight forward, paths up crags than traditional climbing paths which can be winding and devious by comparison. This, in addition to the need to place gear, tends to result in different styles of climbing between sport and traditional. Sport climbing is scheduled to make its Olympic debut at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and was tested at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics. On a sport climbing route, pre-placed bolts follow a'line' up a rock face. Sport climbs can vary in length from a few metres to a full 60-metre rope length for multi-pitch climbs.
The climbs might be equipped with many. Sport climbing can be undertaken with little equipment. Equipment used in sport climbing includes: A dynamic rope Quickdraws A belay device Climbing harnesses for belayer and climber Climbing shoes and chalk bag are used, although not technically necessaryTo lead a sport climb means to ascend a route with a rope tied to the climber's harness, with the loose end of the rope handled by a belayer; as each bolt is reached along the route, the climber attaches a quickdraw to the bolt, clips the rope through the hanging end of the quickdraw. This bolt is now protecting the climber in the event of a fall. At the top of sport routes, there is a two-bolt anchor that can be used to return the climber to the ground or previous rappel point; because sport routes do not require placing protection, the climber can concentrate on the difficulty of the moves rather than placing protection or the consequences of a fall. Sport climbing differs from traditional climbing with respect to the type and placement of protection.
Traditional climbing uses removable protection, tends to minimize the usage of pre-placed protection. Sport climbing involves single pitch routes but can have multi-pitch routes. Long multi-pitch routes may lack pre-placed anchors due to economical, logistical or ethical reasons. Rock types that produce good sport climbs include limestone and quartzite, though sport climbs can be found on all rock types. Sport climbs are assigned subjective ratings to indicate difficulty; the type of rating depends on the geographic location of the route, since different countries and climbing communities use different rating systems. The UIAA grading system is used for short rock routes in Western Germany and Switzerland and most countries in Eastern Europe. On long routes it is used in the Alps and Himalaya. Using Roman numerals, it was intended to run from I to X, but as with all other grading systems, improvements to climbing standards have led to the system being open-ended. An optional + or – may be used to further differentiate difficulty.
As of 2018, the hardest climbs are XII. The Ewbank rating system, used in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, is a numerical open-ended system, starting from 1, which you can walk up, up to 38; the French rating system considers the overall difficulty of the climb, taking into account the difficulty of the moves and the length of climb. This differs from most grading systems where one rates a climbing route according to the most difficult section. Grades are numerical, with the system being open-ended; each numerical grade can be subdivided by adding a letter. Examples: 2, 4, 4b, 6a, 7c. An optional + may be used to further differentiate difficulty. Many countries in Europe use a system with similar grades but not matching difficulties. Sport climbing in Britain and Ireland uses the French grading system prefixed with the letter "F". In the United States, the Yosemite Decimal System is used to rate sport climbs. Current grades for sport routes vary between an easy 5.0 to an difficult 5.16, although the system is open-ended.
Past 5.10, letter g
National Natural Landmark
The National Natural Landmarks Program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the natural history of the United States. It is the only national natural areas program that identifies and recognizes the best examples of biological and geological features in both public and private ownership; the program was established on May 18, 1962, by United States Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall. The program aims to encourage and support voluntary preservation of sites that illustrate the geological and ecological history of the United States, it hopes to strengthen the public's appreciation of the country's natural heritage. As of November 2016, 599 sites have been added to the National Registry of National Landmarks; the registry includes nationally significant geological and ecological features in 48 states, American Samoa, Puerto Rico, the U. S. Virgin Islands; the National Park Service administers the NNL Program and if requested, assists NNL owners and managers with the conservation of these important sites.
Land acquisition by the federal government is not a goal of this program. National Natural Landmarks are nationally significant sites owned by a variety of land stewards, their participation in this federal program is voluntary; the legislative authority for the National Natural Landmarks Program stems from the Historic Sites Act of August 21, 1935. The NNL Program does not have the protection features of Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. Thus, designation of a National Natural Landmark presently constitutes only an agreement with the owner to preserve, insofar as possible, the significant natural values of the site or area. Administration and preservation of National Natural Landmarks is the owner's responsibility. Either party may terminate the agreement; the NNL designation is made by the Secretary of the Interior after in-depth scientific study of a potential site. All new designations must have owner concurrence; the selection process is rigorous: to be considered for NNL status, a site must be one of the best examples of a natural region's characteristic biotic or geologic features.
Since establishment of the NNL program, a multi-step process has been used to designate a site for NNL status. Since 1970, the following steps have constituted the process. A natural area inventory of a natural region is completed to identify the most promising sites. After landowners are notified that the site is being considered for NNL status, a detailed onsite evaluation is conducted by scientists other than those who conducted the inventory; the evaluation report is peer reviewed by other experts to assure its soundness. The report is reviewed further by National Park Service staff; the site is reviewed by the Secretary of the Interior's National Park Advisory Board to determine that the site qualifies as an NNL. The findings are provided to the Secretary of the Interior who declines. Landowners are notified a third time informing them that the site has been designated an NNL. Prospective sites for NNL designation are aquatic ecosystems; each major natural history "theme" can be further subdivided into various sub-themes.
For example, sub-themes suggested in 1972 for the overall theme "Lakes and ponds" included large deep lakes, large shallow lakes, lakes of complex shape, crater lakes, kettle lake and potholes, oxbow lakes, dune lakes, sphagnum-bog lakes, lakes fed by thermal streams, tundra lakes and ponds and marshy areas, sinkhole lakes, unusually productive lakes, lakes of high productivity and high clarity. The NNL program does not require designated properties to be owned by public entities. Lands under all forms of ownership or administration have been designated—federal, local and private. Federal lands with NNLs include those administered by the National Park Service, National Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation and Wildlife Service, Air Force, Marine Corps, Army Corps of Engineers and others; some NNL have been designated on lands held by Native tribes. NNLs have been designated on state lands that cover a variety of types and management, as forest, game refuge, recreation area, preserve.
Private lands with NNLs include those owned by universities, scientific societies, conservation organizations, land trusts, commercial interests, private individuals. 52% of NNLs are administered by public agencies, more than 30% are privately owned, the remaining 18% are owned or administered by a mixture of public agencies and private owners. Participation in the NNL Program carries no requirements regarding public access; the NNL registry includes many sites of national significance that are open for public tours, but others are not. Since many NNLs are located on federal and state property, permission to visit is unnecessary; some private property may be open to public visitation or just require permission from the site manager. On the other hand, some NNL private landowners desire no visitors whatever and might prosecute trespassers; the reasons for this viewpoint vary: potential property damage or liability, fragile or dangerous resources, desire for solitude or no publicity. NNL designation is an agreement between the federal government.
NNL designation does not change ownership of the property nor induce any encumbrances on the property. NNL status does not transfer with changes in ownership. Participation in the NNL Program involve
United States
The United States of America known as the United States or America, is a country composed of 50 states, a federal district, five major self-governing territories, various possessions. At 3.8 million square miles, the United States is the world's third or fourth largest country by total area and is smaller than the entire continent of Europe's 3.9 million square miles. With a population of over 327 million people, the U. S. is the third most populous country. The capital is Washington, D. C. and the largest city by population is New York City. Forty-eight states and the capital's federal district are contiguous 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 and across the Bering Strait from Russia to the west. The State of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean; the U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, stretching across nine official time zones. The diverse geography and wildlife of the United States make it one of the world's 17 megadiverse countries.
Paleo-Indians migrated from Siberia to the North American mainland at least 12,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century; the United States emerged from the thirteen British colonies established along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the colonies following the French and Indian War led to the American Revolution, which began in 1775, the subsequent Declaration of Independence in 1776; the war ended in 1783 with the United States becoming the first country to gain independence from a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, with the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, being ratified in 1791 to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties; the United States embarked on a vigorous expansion across North America throughout the 19th century, acquiring new territories, displacing Native American tribes, admitting new states until it spanned the continent by 1848. During the second half of the 19th century, the Civil War led to the abolition of slavery.
By the end of the century, the United States had extended into the Pacific Ocean, its economy, driven in large part by the Industrial Revolution, began to soar. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the country's status as a global military power; the United States emerged from World War II as a global superpower, the first country to develop nuclear weapons, the only country to use them in warfare, a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. Sweeping civil rights legislation, notably the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Fair Housing Act of 1968, outlawed discrimination based on race or color. During the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union competed in the Space Race, culminating with the 1969 U. S. Moon landing; the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the world's sole superpower. The United States is the world's oldest surviving federation, it is a representative democracy.
The United States is a founding member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States, other international organizations. The United States is a developed country, with the world's largest economy by nominal GDP and second-largest economy by PPP, accounting for a quarter of global GDP; the U. S. economy is post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge-based activities, although the manufacturing sector remains the second-largest in the world. The United States is the world's largest importer and the second largest exporter of goods, by value. Although its population is only 4.3% of the world total, the U. S. holds 31% of the total wealth in the world, the largest share of global wealth concentrated in a single country. Despite wide income and wealth disparities, the United States continues to rank high in measures of socioeconomic performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP, worker productivity.
The United States is the foremost military power in the world, making up a third of global military spending, is a leading political and scientific force internationally. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a world map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America in honor of the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci; the first documentary evidence of the phrase "United States of America" is from a letter dated January 2, 1776, written by Stephen Moylan, Esq. to George Washington's aide-de-camp and Muster-Master General of the Continental Army, Lt. Col. Joseph Reed. Moylan expressed his wish to go "with full and ample powers from the United States of America to Spain" to seek assistance in the revolutionary war effort; the first known publication of the phrase "United States of America" was in an anonymous essay in The Virginia Gazette newspaper in Williamsburg, Virginia, on April 6, 1776. The second draft of the Articles of Confederation, prepared by John Dickinson and completed by June 17, 1776, at the latest, declared "The name of this Confederation shall be the'United States of America'".
The final version of the Articles sent to the states for ratification in late 1777 contains the sentence "The Stile of this Confederacy shall be'The United States of America'". In June 1776, Thomas Jefferson wrote the phrase "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" in all capitalized letters in the headline of his "original Rough draught" of the Declaration of Independence; this draft of the document did not surface unti
