1.
Serrana Bank
–
The Serrana Bank 14°20′N 80°20′W is one of the few atolls in the Atlantic Ocean. Its mostly underwater reef of about 50 km long and 13 km wide has six cays or islets, a former base for the US military, it is now mostly visited by lobster fishermen. Serrana Bank is believed to be named after the Spanish castaway Pedro Serrano and it was first shown on a Dutch map in 1545 with this name. They were mapped more extensively by the English in 1660, on September 8,1972, the United States and Colombia signed a treaty recognizing the latters sovereignty over Quita Sueño Bank, Roncador Cay, and Serrana Bank. This treaty became effective on September 17,1981, on September 3,2007 the eye of Category 5 Hurricane Felix passed over Serrana Bank. On November 19,2012, in regard to Nicaraguan claims to the islands the International Court of Justice found, unanimously, list of Guano Island claims Light House Details Serrana Bank Photos at the Wayback Machine
Serrana Bank
–
Not to be confused with
Serranilla Bank.
Serrana Bank
2.
Caribbean Sea
–
The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. The entire area of the Caribbean Sea, the islands of the West Indies. The Caribbean Sea is one of the largest seas and has an area of about 2,754,000 km2, the seas deepest point is the Cayman Trough, between the Cayman Islands and Jamaica, at 7,686 m below sea level. The Caribbean coastline has many gulfs and bays, the Gulf of Gonâve, Gulf of Venezuela, Gulf of Darién, Golfo de los Mosquitos, Gulf of Paria, the Caribbean Sea has the worlds second biggest barrier reef, the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef. It runs 1,000 km along the coasts of Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, the name Caribbean derives from the Caribs, one of the regions dominant Native American groups at the time of European contact during the late 15th century. During the first century of development, Spanish dominance in the region remained undisputed, from the 16th century, Europeans visiting the Caribbean region identified the South Sea as opposed to the North Sea. The Caribbean Sea had been unknown to the populations of Eurasia until 1492, at that time the Western Hemisphere in general was unknown to Europeans. Following the discovery of the islands by Columbus, the area was colonised by several Western cultures. As of 2015 the area is home to 22 island territories, the International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Caribbean Sea as follows, On the North. In the Windward Channel – a line joining Caleta Point and Pearl Point in Haïti, in the Mona Passage – a line joining Cape Engano and the extreme of Agujereada in Puerto Rico. From Galera Point through Trinidad to Galeota Point and thence to Baja Point in Venezuela, note that, although Barbados is an island on the same continental shelf, it is considered to be in the Atlantic Ocean rather than the Caribbean Sea. The Caribbean Sea is an oceanic sea largely situated on the Caribbean Plate, the Caribbean Sea is separated from the ocean by several island arcs of various ages. The youngest stretches from the Lesser Antilles to the Virgin Islands to the north east of Trinidad, the larger islands in the northern part of the sea Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica and Puerto Rico lie on an older island arc. The geological age of the Caribbean Sea is estimated to be between 160 and 180 million years and was formed by a fracture that split the supercontinent called Pangea in the Mesozoic Era. It is assumed the proto-caribbean basin existed in the Devonian period, in the early Carboniferous movement of Gondwana to the north and its convergence with the Euramerica basin decreased in size. The next stage of the Caribbean Seas formation began in the Triassic, powerful rifting led to the formation of narrow troughs, stretching from modern Newfoundland to the west coast of the Gulf of Mexico which formed siliciclastic sedimentary rocks. In the early Jurassic due to powerful marine transgression, water broke into the present area of the Gulf of Mexico creating a vast shallow pool, the emergence of deep basins in the Caribbean occurred during the Middle Jurassic rifting. The emergence of these marked the beginning of the Atlantic Ocean
Caribbean Sea
–
Roadtown,
Tortola,
British Virgin Islands
Caribbean Sea
–
Caribbean Sea
Caribbean Sea
–
Christopher Columbus landing on
Hispaniola in 1492.
Caribbean Sea
–
Tulum,
Maya city on the coast of the Caribbean in the state of
Quintana Roo (
Mexico)
3.
Geographic coordinate system
–
A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
Geographic coordinate system
–
Longitude lines are perpendicular and latitude lines are parallel to the equator.
4.
Colombia
–
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a transcontinental country largely situated in the northwest of South America, with territories in Central America. Colombia shares a border to the northwest with Panama, to the east with Venezuela and Brazil and to the south with Ecuador and it shares its maritime limits with Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Jamaica, Haiti and the Dominican Republic. It is a unitary, constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments, the territory of what is now Colombia was originally inhabited by indigenous peoples including the Muisca, the Quimbaya and the Tairona. The Spanish arrived in 1499 and initiated a period of conquest and colonization ultimately creating the Viceroyalty of New Granada, independence from Spain was won in 1819, but by 1830 the Gran Colombia Federation was dissolved. What is now Colombia and Panama emerged as the Republic of New Granada, the new nation experimented with federalism as the Granadine Confederation, and then the United States of Colombia, before the Republic of Colombia was finally declared in 1886. Since the 1960s the country has suffered from an asymmetric low-intensity armed conflict, Colombia is one of the most ethnically and linguistically diverse countries in the world, and thereby possesses a rich cultural heritage. Cultural diversity has also influenced by Colombias varied geography. The urban centres are located in the highlands of the Andes mountains. Colombian territory also encompasses Amazon rainforest, tropical grassland and both Caribbean and Pacific coastlines, ecologically, it is one of the worlds 17 megadiverse countries, and the most densely biodiverse of these per square kilometer. Colombia is a power and a regional actor with the fourth-largest economy in Latin America, is part of the CIVETS group of six leading emerging markets and is an accessing member to the OECD. Colombia has an economy with macroeconomic stability and favorable growth prospects in the long run. The name Colombia is derived from the last name of Christopher Columbus and it was conceived by the Venezuelan revolutionary Francisco de Miranda as a reference to all the New World, but especially to those portions under Spanish and Portuguese rule. The name was adopted by the Republic of Colombia of 1819. When Venezuela, Ecuador and Cundinamarca came to exist as independent states, New Granada officially changed its name in 1858 to the Granadine Confederation. In 1863 the name was changed, this time to United States of Colombia. To refer to country, the Colombian government uses the terms Colombia. Owing to its location, the present territory of Colombia was a corridor of early human migration from Mesoamerica, the oldest archaeological finds are from the Pubenza and El Totumo sites in the Magdalena Valley 100 km southwest of Bogotá. These sites date from the Paleoindian period, at Puerto Hormiga and other sites, traces from the Archaic Period have been found
Colombia
–
San Agustín Archaeological Park
Colombia
Colombia
–
Lost City
Colombia
–
Muisca raft. The figure refers to the ceremony of the legend of
El Dorado. The legend and the gold would play a pivotal role in luring Europeans to New Granada during the 16th and 17th centuries.
5.
Departments of Colombia
–
Colombia is a unitary republic formed by thirty-two departments and a Capital District. Each department has a Governor and a Department Assembly, elected by popular vote for a four-year period, the governor cannot be re-elected in consecutive periods. Departments are country subdivisions and are granted a degree of autonomy. Departments are formed by a grouping of municipalities, Municipal government is headed by mayor and administered by a Municipal Council, both of which are elected for four-year periods. Each one of the departments of Colombia in the map below links to a corresponding article, current governors serving four-year terms from 2015 to 2019 are also shown, along with their respective political party or coalition. Estimate for Cundinamarca includes the capital, Bogotá. The indigenous territories are at the level of administrative division in Colombia. Indigenous territories are created by agreement between the government and indigenous communities, also indigenous territories may achieve local autonomy if they meet the requirements of the law. Article 329 of the 1991 constitution recognizes the collective ownership of indigenous territories. Decree 2164 of 1995 interprets Law 160 of 1994, providing, among other things, indigenous territories in Colombia are mostly in the departments of Amazonas, Cauca, La Guajira, Guaviare and Vaupés. When it was first established in 1819, República de la Gran Colombia had three departments, in 1824 the Distrito del Centro was divided into five departments, and further divided into seventeen provices. One department, Istmo Department, consisting of two later became Panama. With the dissolution of Gran Colombia in 1826 by the Revolution of the Morrocoyes, in 1832 the provinces of Vélez and Barbacoas were created, and in 1835 those of Buenaventura and Pasto were added. In 1843 those of Cauca, Mompós and Túquerres were created, at this time the cantons and parish districts were created, which provided the basis for the present-day municipalities. However, the new constitution of 1853 introduced federalism, which lead to the consolidation of provinces into states,1861 saw the creation of the final federal state of Tolima. The Colombian Constitution of 1886 converted the states of Colombia into departments, with the state presidents renamed as governors
Departments of Colombia
6.
Honduras
–
Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a republic in Central America. It has at times referred to as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras. Honduras was home to several important Mesoamerican cultures, most notably the Maya, the Spanish introduced Roman Catholicism and the now predominant Spanish language, along with numerous customs that have blended with the indigenous culture. Honduras has the worlds highest murder rate, Honduras spans about 112,492 km2 and has a population exceeding 8 million. Its northern portions are part of the Western Caribbean Zone, as reflected in the areas demographics and culture. Honduras is known for its natural resources, including minerals, coffee, tropical fruit, and sugar cane, as well as for its growing textiles industry. Honduras literally means depths in Spanish, the name could either refer to the bay of Trujillo as an anchorage, fondura in the Leonese dialect of Spanish, or to Columbuss alleged quote that Gracias a Dios que hemos salido de esas Honduras. It was not until the end of the 16th century that Honduras was used for the whole province, prior to 1580, Honduras only referred to the eastern part of the province, and Higueras referred to the western part. Another early name is Guaymuras, revived as the name for the dialogue in 2009 that took place in Honduras as opposed to Costa Rica. In pre-Columbian times, modern Honduras was part of the Mesoamerican cultural area, in the west, the Maya civilization flourished for hundreds of years. The dominant state within Hondurass borders was in Copán, Copán fell with the other Lowland centres during the conflagrations of the Terminal Classic in the 9th century. The Maya of this civilization survive in western Honduras as the Chorti, remains of other Pre-Columbian cultures are found throughout the country. On 30 July 1502 Columbus sent his brother Bartholomew to explore the islands and Bartholomew encountered a Mayan trading vessel from Yucatán, carrying well-dressed Maya and a rich cargo. Bartholomews men stole whatever cargo they wanted and kidnapped the elderly captain to serve as an interpreter in what was the first recorded encounter between the Spanish and the Maya. In March 1524, Gil González Dávila became the first Spaniard to enter Honduras as a conquistador, followed by Hernán Cortés, bringing forces down from Mexico. Much of the conquest was done in the two decades, first by groups loyal to Cristóbal de Olid, and then by those loyal of Francisco Montejo. In addition to Spanish resources, the conquerors relied heavily on armed forces from Mexico—Tlaxcalans, resistance to conquest was led in particular by Lempira, and many regions in the north never fell to the Spanish, notably the Miskito Kingdom. After the Spanish conquest, Honduras became part of Spains vast empire in the New World within the Kingdom of Guatemala, Trujillo and Gracias were the first city-capitals
Honduras
–
A
Maya stela, an emblematic symbol of the Honduran Mayan civilization at Copan.
Honduras
–
Flag
Honduras
–
Gil González Dávila
Honduras
–
Hernán Cortés, fue uno de los conquistadores de Honduras.
7.
Nicaragua
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Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the largest country in the Central American isthmus. Nicaraguas capital, Managua, is the countrys largest city and the third-largest city in Central America, the multi-ethnic population of six million includes indigenous peoples, Europeans, Africans, and Asians. Native tribes on the eastern coast speak their own languages, the Spanish Empire conquered the region in the 16th century. Nicaragua gained independence from Spain in 1821, since its independence, Nicaragua has undergone periods of political unrest, dictatorship, and fiscal crisis—the most notable causes that led to the Nicaraguan Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s. Nicaragua is a democratic republic. The biological diversity, warm climate and active volcanoes make Nicaragua an increasingly popular tourist destination. The name Nicaragua was coined by Spanish colonists based on the name Nicarao, when Spaniard Gil González Dávila came to Nicaragua in 1521 he found in the areas between Rivas and San Jorge the first pre-Columbian natives of Nicaragua. At the time the city was called Quauhcapolca and the cacique leaders name was Macuilmiquiztli. The Pipil migrated to Nicaragua from central Mexico after 500 BC, meanwhile, the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua was inhabited by other peoples, mostly Chibcha language groups. They had coalesced in Central America and migrated also to present-day northern Colombia and they lived a life based primarily on hunting and gathering. In 1502, Christopher Columbus became the first European known to have reached what is now Nicaragua as he sailed southeast toward the Isthmus of Panama, on his fourth voyage, Columbus explored the Miskito Coast on the Atlantic side of Nicaragua. The Spanish attempted to convert all three tribes to Christianity, Nicaragua and Nicarao and their people converted, but Dirangen, however, did not, the first attempt to conquer what is now known as Nicaragua was by Gil González Dávila, who arrived in Panama in January 1520. The first Spanish permanent settlements were founded in 1524, conquistador Francisco Hernández de Córdoba founded two of Nicaraguas principal towns in 1524, Granada on Lake Nicaragua was the first settlement, followed by León at a location west of Lake Managua. Córdoba soon built defenses for the cities and fought against incursions by other conquistadors, Córdoba was later publicly beheaded following a power struggle with Pedro Arias Dávila. His tomb and remains were discovered in 2000 in the ruins of León Viejo, the clashes among Spanish forces did not impede their destruction of the indigenous people and their culture. The series of battles came to be known as the War of the Captains, Pedro Arias Dávila was a winner, although he had lost control of Panama, he moved to Nicaragua and successfully established his base in León. Through adroit diplomatic machinations, he became the first governor of the colony, many indigenous people died as a result of new infectious diseases, compounded by neglect by the Spaniards, who controlled their subsistence. In 1610, the Momotombo volcano erupted, destroying the capital and it was rebuilt northwest of what is now known as the ruins of Old León
Nicaragua
–
2,100-year-old human footprints called "huellas de acahualinca" preserved in volcanic mud near
Lake Managua.
Nicaragua
–
Flag
Nicaragua
–
The Colonial
City of Granada near
Lake Nicaragua, is one of the most visited sites in
Central America.
Nicaragua
–
The
Fortress of the Immaculate Conception was constructed in the late 17th century to protect locals in neighboring
Granada from
pirate attacks. Today, it is one of Nicaragua's main tourist attractions.
8.
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
United States
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Native Americans meeting with Europeans, 1764
United States
–
Flag
United States
–
The signing of the
Mayflower Compact, 1620.
United States
–
The
Declaration of Independence: the
Committee of Five presenting their draft to the
Second Continental Congress in 1776
9.
Territories of the United States
–
Territories of the United States are sub-national administrative divisions directly overseen by the United States federal government. These territories are classified by whether they are incorporated and whether they have a government through an Organic Act passed by the U. S. Congress. Currently, the United States has sixteen territories, five of which are inhabited, Puerto Rico, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, the U. S. Virgin Islands. They are classified as unincorporated territories and they are organized, self-governing territories with locally elected governors and territorial legislatures. Each also elects a member to the U. S. House of Representatives. Eleven territories are small islands, atolls and reefs, spread across the Caribbean and Pacific, the status of some are disputed by Colombia, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Nicaragua, and the Marshall Islands. The Palmyra Atoll is the territory currently incorporated. Historically, territories were created to govern newly acquired land while the borders of the United States were still evolving, other territories administered by the United States went on to become independent countries, such as the Philippines, Micronesia, Marshall Islands and Palau. Many organized incorporated territories of the United States existed from 1789 to 1959, currently, the United States has sixteen territories, five of which are permanently inhabited, Puerto Rico, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, United States Virgin Islands and American Samoa. The 11 uninhabited territories administered by the Interior Department are Palmyra Atoll, Baker Island, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, while claimed by the US, Navassa Island, Wake Island, Serranilla Bank and Bajo Nuevo Bank are disputed. Territories have always been a part of the United States, by Act of Congress, the term United States, when used in a geographical sense, means the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands of the United States. Since political union with the Northern Mariana Islands in 1986, they too are treated as a part of the U. S, an Executive Order in 2007 includes American Samoa as U. S. geographical extent duly reflected in U. S. State Department documents. Approximately 4 million islanders are U. S. citizens, about 32,000 U. S. non-citizen nationals live in American Samoa, under current law among the territories, only persons born in American Samoa and Swains Island are non-citizen U. S. nationals. American Samoans are under the protection of the U. S. with freedom of U. S. travel without visas. The five inhabited U. S. territories have local voting rights and protections under U. S. courts, pay some U. S. taxes, depending on the congress, they may also vote on the floor in the House Committee of the Whole. S. Every four years, the Democratic and Republican political parties nominate their candidates at conventions which include delegates from the five major territories. The citizens there, however, do not vote in the election for U. S. President. S. Incorporated territories are considered a part of the United States
Territories of the United States
–
View of
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Territories of the United States
–
Flag
Territories of the United States
–
Protestant Cay in
Christiansted, U.S. Virgin Islands
Territories of the United States
–
Tumon Beach in Guam
10.
Spanish language
–
Spanish —also called Castilian —is a Romance language that originated in the Castile region of Spain, with hundreds of millions of native speakers around the world. It is usually considered the worlds second-most spoken native language after Mandarin Chinese and it is one of the few languages to use inverted question and exclamation marks. Spanish is a part of the Ibero-Romance group of languages, which evolved from several dialects of Vulgar Latin in Iberia after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century. Beginning in the early 16th century, Spanish was taken to the colonies of the Spanish Empire, most notably to the Americas, as well as territories in Africa, Oceania, around 75% of modern Spanish is derived from Latin. Greek has also contributed substantially to Spanish vocabulary, especially through Latin, Spanish vocabulary has been in contact from an early date with Arabic, having developed during the Al-Andalus era in the Iberian Peninsula. With around 8% of its vocabulary being Arabic in origin, this language is the second most important influence after Latin and it has also been influenced by Basque as well as by neighboring Ibero-Romance languages. It also adopted words from languages such as Gothic language from the Visigoths in which many Spanish names and surnames have a Visigothic origin. Spanish is one of the six languages of the United Nations. It is the language in the world by the number of people who speak it as a mother tongue, after Mandarin Chinese. It is estimated more than 437 million people speak Spanish as a native language. Spanish is the official or national language in Spain, Equatorial Guinea, speakers in the Americas total some 418 million. In the European Union, Spanish is the tongue of 8% of the population. Spanish is the most popular second language learned in the United States, in 2011 it was estimated by the American Community Survey that of the 55 million Hispanic United States residents who are five years of age and over,38 million speak Spanish at home. The Spanish Constitution of 1978 uses the term castellano to define the language of the whole Spanish State in contrast to las demás lenguas españolas. Article III reads as follows, El castellano es la lengua española oficial del Estado, las demás lenguas españolas serán también oficiales en las respectivas Comunidades Autónomas. Castilian is the official Spanish language of the State, the other Spanish languages as well shall be official in their respective Autonomous Communities. The Spanish Royal Academy, on the hand, currently uses the term español in its publications. Two etymologies for español have been suggested, the Spanish Royal Academy Dictionary derives the term from the Provençal word espaignol, and that in turn from the Medieval Latin word Hispaniolus, from—or pertaining to—Hispania
Spanish language
–
A page of
Cantar de Mio Cid, the oldest preserved Spanish
epic poem, in medieval Spanish.
Spanish language
–
Spanish is sole official language at the national level
Spanish language
–
Antonio de Nebrija, author of
Gramática de la lengua castellana, the first grammar of modern European languages.
Spanish language
–
Miguel de Cervantes author of
Don Quixote, considered the first modern European novel.
11.
Reef
–
A reef is a bar of rock, sand, coral or similar material, lying beneath the surface of water. Reefs may be up to 261 feet below the surface, artificial reefs such as shipwrecks are sometimes created to enhance physical complexity on generally featureless sand bottoms in order to attract a diverse assemblage of organisms, especially fish. There is a variety of reef types, including oyster reefs. These biotic reef types take on additional names depending upon how the reef lies in relation to the land, Reef types include fringing reef, barrier reefs, as well as atolls. A fringing reef is a reef that is attached to an island, a barrier reef forms a calcareous barrier around an island resulting in a lagoon between the shore and the reef. An atoll is a reef with no land present. The reef front is a high energy locale whereas the internal lagoon will be at an energy with fine grained sediments. One useful definition distinguishes reefs from mounds as follows, reefs are held up by a macroscopic skeletal framework. Coral reefs are an excellent example of this kind, corals and calcareous algae grow on top of one another and form a three-dimensional framework that is modified in various ways by other organisms and inorganic processes. By contrast, mounds lack a macroscopic skeletal framework, mounds are built by microorganisms or by organisms that dont grow a skeletal framework. A microbial mound might be built exclusively or primarily by cyanobacteria, excellent examples of biostromes formed by cyanobacteria occur in the Great Salt Lake of Utah, and in Shark Bay, Western Australia. Cyanobacteria do not have skeletons and individuals are microscopic, cyanobacteria encourage the precipitation or accumulation of calcium carbonate and can produce distinct sediment bodies in composition that have relief on the seafloor. Cyanobacterial mounds were most abundant before the evolution of shelly macroscopic organisms, bryozoans and crinoids, common contributors to marine sediments during the Mississippian, produced a very different kind of mound. Bryozoans are small and the skeletons of crinoids disintegrate, however, bryozoan and crinoid meadows can persist over time and produce compositionally distinct bodies of sediment with depositional relief. The Proterozoic Belt Supergroup contains evidence of microbial mat and dome structures similar to stromatolite reef complexes. Ancient reefs buried within stratigraphic sections are of considerable interest to geologists because they provide information about the location in Earths history. Corals, including some major extinct groups Rugosa and Tabulata, have been important reef builders through much of the Phanerozoic since the Ordovician Period. However, other groups, such as calcifying algae, especially members of the red algae Rhodophyta
Reef
–
Pamalican island with surrounding reef,
Sulu Sea,
Philippines.
Reef
–
A reef surrounding an
islet.
Reef
–
Archeocyathids, the first reef building organisms, from the
Poleta formation in the
Death Valley area
Reef
–
Reefs off
Vanatinai in the
Louisiade Archipelago.
12.
Jamaica
–
Jamaica is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea, consisting of the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles. The island,10,990 square kilometres in area, lies about 145 kilometres south of Cuba, Jamaica is the fourth-largest island country in the Caribbean, by area. Inhabited by the indigenous Arawak and Taíno peoples, the island came under Spanish rule following the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1494, Many of the indigenous people died of disease, and the Spanish imported African slaves as labourers. Named Santiago, the island remained a possession of Spain until 1655, under British colonial rule Jamaica became a leading sugar exporter, with its plantation economy highly dependent on slaves imported from Africa. The British fully emancipated all slaves in 1838, and many chose to have subsistence farms rather than to work on plantations. Beginning in the 1840s, the British imported Chinese and Indian indentured labour to work on plantations, the island achieved independence from the United Kingdom on 6 August 1962. With 2.8 million people, Jamaica is the third-most populous Anglophone country in the Americas, Kingston is the countrys capital and largest city, with a population of 937,700. Jamaicans predominately have African ancestry, with significant European, Chinese, Hakka, Indian, due to a high rate of emigration for work since the 1960s, Jamaica has a large diaspora around the world, particularly in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Jamaica is a Commonwealth realm, with Queen Elizabeth II as its monarch and her appointed representative in the country is the Governor-General of Jamaica, an office held by Sir Patrick Allen since 2009. Andrew Holness has served as the head of government and Prime Minister of Jamaica from March 2016, the indigenous people, the Taíno, called it Xaymaca in Arawakan, meaning the Land of Wood and Water or the Land of Springs. Colloquially Jamaicans refer to their island as the Rock. Slang names such as Jamrock, Jamdown, or briefly Ja, have derived from this, the Arawak and Taíno indigenous people, originating in South America, settled on the island between 4000 and 1000 BC. When Christopher Columbus arrived in 1494, there were more than 200 villages ruled by caciques, the south coast of Jamaica was the most populated, especially around the area now known as Old Harbour. The Taino still inhabited Jamaica when the English took control of the island in 1655, the Jamaican National Heritage Trust is attempting to locate and document any evidence of the Taino/Arawak. Christopher Columbus claimed Jamaica for Spain after landing there in 1494 and his probable landing point was Dry Harbour, now called Discovery Bay, although there is some debate that it might have been St. Anns Bay. St. Anns Bay was named Saint Gloria by Columbus, as the first sighting of the land, the capital was moved to Spanish Town, then called St. Jago de la Vega, around 1534. Spanish Town has the oldest cathedral of the British colonies in the Caribbean, the Spanish were forcibly evicted by the English at Ocho Rios in St. Ann. In 1655, the English, led by Sir William Penn and General Robert Venables, the English continued to import African slaves as labourers
Jamaica
–
Henry Morgan was a famous
Caribbean pirate and privateer; he had first come to the West Indies as an indentured servant, like most of the early English colonists.
Jamaica
Jamaica
–
Prince Charles and the
Duchess of Cornwall during a visit to Jamaica in 2008.
Jamaica
–
Inside the
Jamaican Parliament.
13.
Bajo Nuevo Bank
–
The closest neighbouring land feature is Serranilla Bank, located 110 kilometres to the west. The reef was first shown on Dutch maps dating to 1634 but was given its present name in 1654, Bajo Nuevo was rediscovered by the English pirate John Glover in 1660. Although the bank is controlled by Colombia, it is subject to a sovereignty dispute involving Jamaica, Nicaragua. Bajo Nuevo Bank is about 26 km long and 9 km wide, the satellite image shows two distinct atoll-like structures separated by a deep channel 1.4 km wide at its narrowest point. The larger southwestern reef complex measures 15.4 km northeast-southwest, the reef partially dries on the southern and eastern sides. The smaller northeastern reef complex measures 10.5 km east-west and is up to 5.5 km wide, the land area is minuscule by comparison. The most prominent cay is Low Cay, in the southwestern atoll and it is 300 m long and 40 m wide, no more than 2 m high, and barren. It is composed of coral, driftwood, and sand. The light beacon on Low Cay is a 21 m metal tower and it emits a focal plane beam of light as two white flashes of light every 15 seconds. The beacon was erected in 1982, and reconstructed by the Colombian Ministry of Defence in February 2008 and it is currently maintained by the Colombian Navy, and overseen by the states Maritime Authority. Bajo Nuevo Bank is the subject of conflicting claims made by a number of sovereign states, in most cases, the dispute stems from attempts by a state to expand its exclusive economic zone over the surrounding seas. Colombia currently claims the area as part of the department of San Andrés, naval patrols in the area are carried out by the San Andrés fleet of the Colombian Navy. Colombia maintains that it has claimed these territories since 1886, as part of the archipelago of San Andrés. This date is disputed by other claimant states, most prominent among them Nicaragua, jamaicas claim has been largely dormant since entering into a number of bilateral agreements with Colombia. Between 1982 and 1986, the two maintained a formal agreement which granted regulated fishing rights to Jamaican vessels within the territorial waters of Bajo Nuevo. Jamaicas signing of treaty was regarded by critics as a de facto recognition of Colombian sovereignty over the two banks. The treaty is now extinguished, however, as Colombia declined to renew it upon its expiration in August 1986, however, the territorial waters immediately surrounding the cays themselves were excluded from the zone of joint-control, as Colombia considers these areas to be part of her coastal waters. The exclusion circles were defined in the attached to the treaty as Colombias territorial sea in Serranilla
Bajo Nuevo Bank
–
Bajo Nuevo Bank
14.
Spanish Empire
–
The Spanish Empire was one of the largest empires in history. The Spanish Empire became the foremost global power of its time and was the first to be called the empire on which the sun never sets, the Spanish Empire originated during the Age of Discovery after the voyages of Christopher Columbus. Following the Spanish–American War of 1898, Spain ceded its last colonies in the Caribbean and its last African colonies were granted independence or abandoned during Decolonisation of Africa finishing in 1976. The unity did not mean uniformity, nevertheless, some historians assert that Portugal was part of the Spanish monarchy at the time, while others draw a clear distinction between the Portuguese and Spanish empires. During the 15th century, Castile and Portugal became territorial and commercial rivals in the western Atlantic. The conquest was completed with the campaigns of the armies of the Crown of Castile between 1478 and 1496, when the islands of Gran Canaria, La Palma, and Tenerife were subjugated. The Portuguese tried in vain to keep secret their discovery of the Gold Coast in the Gulf of Guinea, chronicler Pulgar wrote that the fame of the treasures of Guinea spread around the ports of Andalusia in such way that everybody tried to go there. Worthless trinkets, Moorish textiles, and above all, shells from the Canary and Cape Verde islands were exchanged for gold, slaves, ivory and Guinea pepper. The Crown officially organized this trade with Guinea, every caravel had to get a government license, the treaty delimited the spheres of influence of the two countries, establishing the principle of the Mare clausum. It was confirmed in 1481 by the Pope Sixtus IV, in the papal bull Æterni regis, thus, the limitations imposed by the Alcáçovas treaty were overcome and a new and more balanced worlds division would be reached at Tordesillas between both emerging maritime powers. Seven months before the treaty of Alcaçovas, King John II of Aragon died, Ferdinand and Isabella drove the last Moorish king out of Granada in 1492 after a ten-year war. The Catholic Monarchs then negotiated with Christopher Columbus, a Genoese sailor attempting to reach Cipangu by sailing west, Castile was already engaged in a race of exploration with Portugal to reach the Far East by sea when Columbus made his bold proposal to Isabella. Columbus discoveries inaugurated the Spanish colonization of the Americas and these actions gave Spain exclusive rights to establish colonies in all of the New World from north to south, as well as the easternmost parts of Asia. The treaty of Tordesillas was confirmed by Pope Julius II in the bull Ea quae pro bono pacis on 24 January 1506, Spains expansion and colonization was driven by economic influences, a yearning to improve national prestige, and a desire to spread Catholicism into the New World. The Catholic Monarchs had developed a strategy of marriages for their children in order to isolate their long-time enemy, the Spanish princes married the heirs of Portugal, England and the House of Habsburg. Following the same strategy, the Catholic Monarchs decided to support the Catalan-Aragonese house of Naples against Charles VIII of France in the Italian Wars beginning in 1494. As King of Aragon, Ferdinand had been involved in the struggle against France and Venice for control of Italy, these conflicts became the center of Ferdinands foreign policy as king. Only a year later, Ferdinand became part of the Holy League against France and this war was less of a success than the war against Venice, and in 1516, France agreed to a truce that left Milan in its control and recognized Spanish control of Upper Navarre
Spanish Empire
–
Columbus and the Catholic Monarchs (The return of Columbus to Spain).
Spanish Empire
–
Flag
Spanish Empire
–
The death of French general
Gaston de Foix at the
Battle of Ravenna (1512).
Spanish Empire
–
Upon the death of
Ferdinand the Catholic, the lordship of the Spanish Indies became Kingdoms of the Indies.
15.
Atoll
–
An atoll, sometimes called a coral atoll, is a ring-shaped coral reef including a coral rim that encircles a lagoon partially or completely. There may be coral islands/cays on the rim, the coral of the atoll often sits atop the rim of an extinct seamount or volcano which has eroded or subsided partially beneath the water. The lagoon forms over the crater or caldera while the higher rim remains above water or at shallow depths that permit the coral to grow. For the atoll to persist, continued erosion or subsidence must be at a slow enough to permit reef growth upwards and outwards to replace the lost height. The word atoll comes from the Dhivehi word atholhu, meaning an administrative subdivision, the distribution of atolls around the globe is instructive, most of the worlds atolls are in the Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean. The Atlantic Ocean has no large groups of atolls, other than eight atolls east of Nicaragua that belong to the Colombian department of San Andres and Providencia in the Caribbean. Reef-building corals will thrive only in tropical and subtropical waters of oceans and seas. The northernmost atoll of the world is Kure Atoll at 28°24 N, the southernmost atolls of the world are Elizabeth Reef at 29°58 S, and nearby Middleton Reef at 29°29 S, in the Tasman Sea, both of which are part of the Coral Sea Islands Territory. The next southerly atoll is Ducie Island in the Pitcairn Islands Group, at this latitude coral reefs would not develop without the warming waters of the Gulf Stream. However, Bermuda is termed a pseudo-atoll because its general form, while there is no atoll directly on the equator, the closest atoll to the Equator is Aranuka of Kiribati, with its southern tip just 12 km north of the equator. In most cases, the area of an atoll is very small in comparison to the total area. Atoll islands are low lying, with their elevations less than 5 meters, measured by total area, Lifou is the largest raised coral atoll of the world, followed by Rennell Island. More sources however list as the largest atoll in the world in terms of land area Kiritimati, the remains of an ancient atoll as a hill in a limestone area is called a reef knoll. The second largest atoll by dry land area is Aldabra with 155 km², the largest atoll in terms of island numbers is Huvadhu Atoll in the south of the Maldives with 255 islands. In 1842, Charles Darwin explained the creation of coral atolls in the southern Pacific Ocean based upon observations made during a voyage aboard the HMS Beagle from 1831 to 1836. In time, subsidence carries the old volcano below the ocean surface, at this point, the island has become an atoll. Atolls are the product of the growth of marine organisms. Volcanic islands located beyond the water temperature requirements of hermatypic organisms become seamounts as they subside and are eroded away at the surface
Atoll
–
Satellite picture of the
Atafu atoll in
Tokelau in the Pacific Ocean
Atoll
–
NASA satellite image of some of the
atolls of the Maldives, which consists of 1,322 islands arranged into 26 atolls.
Atoll
–
Nukuoro from space. Courtesy
NASA.
Atoll
–
Aerial view of
Bora Bora
16.
Carbonate
–
In chemistry, a carbonate is a salt of carbonic acid, characterized by the presence of the carbonate ion, a polyatomic ion with the formula of CO2−3. The name may mean an ester of carbonic acid, an organic compound containing the carbonate group C2. In geology and mineralogy, the term carbonate can refer both to carbonate minerals and carbonate rock, and both are dominated by the ion, CO2−3. Carbonate minerals are extremely varied and ubiquitous in chemically precipitated sedimentary rock, sodium carbonate and potassium carbonate have been used since antiquity for cleaning and preservation, as well as for the manufacture of glass. Carbonates are widely used in industry, e. g. in iron smelting, as a raw material for Portland cement and lime manufacture, in the composition of ceramic glazes, the carbonate ion is the simplest oxocarbon anion. It consists of one carbon atom surrounded by three oxygen atoms, in a planar arrangement, with D3h molecular symmetry. It has a mass of 60.01 g/mol and carries a total formal charge of −2. It is the base of the hydrogen carbonate ion, HCO−3. The Lewis structure of the ion has two single bonds to negative oxygen atoms, and one short double bond to a neutral oxygen. This structure is incompatible with the symmetry of the ion. This process is called calcination, after calx, the Latin name of quicklime or calcium oxide, CaO, exceptions include lithium, sodium, potassium and ammonium carbonates, as well as many uranium carbonates. In aqueous solution, carbonate, bicarbonate, carbon dioxide, in strongly basic conditions, the carbonate ion predominates, while in weakly basic conditions, the bicarbonate ion is prevalent. In more acid conditions, aqueous carbon dioxide, CO2, is the main form, thus sodium carbonate is basic, sodium bicarbonate is weakly basic, while carbon dioxide itself is a weak acid. Carbonated water is formed by dissolving CO2 in water under pressure, in living systems an enzyme, carbonic anhydrase, speeds the interconversion of CO2 and carbonic acid. Although the carbonate salts of most metals are insoluble in water, in solution this equilibrium between carbonate, bicarbonate, carbon dioxide and carbonic acid changes consonant to changing temperature and pressure conditions. In the case of ions with insoluble carbonates, e. g. CaCO3. This is an explanation for the buildup of scale inside pipes caused by hard water, in organic chemistry a carbonate can also refer to a functional group within a larger molecule that contains a carbon atom bound to three oxygen atoms, one of which is double bonded. These compounds are known as organocarbonates or carbonate esters, and have the general formula ROCOOR′
Carbonate
–
Carbonate
17.
Shipwreck
–
A shipwreck is the remains of a ship that has wrecked, which are found either beached on land or sunken to the bottom of a body of water. Shipwrecking may be deliberate or accidental, UNESCO estimates that worldwide over 3 million shipwrecks, some thousands of years old, lie on seabeds. Military wrecks, caused by a skirmish at sea, are studied to find details about the historic event, they reveal much about the battle that occurred. Discoveries of treasure ships, often from the period of European colonisation, some contemporary wrecks, such as the oil tankers Prestige or Erika, are of interest primarily because of their potential harm to the environment. Other contemporary wrecks are scuttled in order to spur growth, such as Adolphus Busch. Well known shipwrecks include the catastrophic Titanic, Britannic, Lusitania, Estonia, Empress of Ireland, Andrea Doria, there are also thousands of wrecks that were not lost at sea but have been abandoned or sunk. These abandoned, or derelict ships are smaller craft, such as fishing vessels. They may pose a hazard to navigation and may be removed by port authorities, poor design, improperly stowed cargo, navigation and other human errors leading to collisions, bad weather, fire, and other causes can lead to accidental sinkings. Intentional reasons for sinking a ship include forming a reef, due to warfare, piracy, mutiny or sabotage, as part of target practice. A ship can be used as breakwater structure. The stratification not only creates another challenge for marine archaeology but also a challenge to its primary state, stratification includes several different types of sand and/or silt, as well as tumulus and encrustations. These sediments are tightly linked to the type of currents, depth, and the type of water, besides this geological phenomenon, wrecks also face the damage of marine creatures that create a home out of them, primarily being octopuses and crustaceans. All the above offers great challenges to the marine archaeologist when attempting to bind the pieces of a certain shipwreck together, despite these challenges, if the information retrieved does not appear to be sufficient, or a poor preservation is achieved, authors like J. A. Parker claim that it is the value of the shipwreck that counts. Often the only parts of ships that remain after a century are those that were buried in silt or sand soon after the sinking. An example of this is the Mary Rose, steel and iron, depending on their thickness, may retain the ships structure for decades. As corrosion takes place, sometimes helped by tides and weather, thick ferrous objects such as cannons, steam boilers or the pressure vessel of a submarine often survive well underwater in spite of corrosion. Propellers, condensers, hinges and port holes were made from non-ferrous metals such as brass and phosphor bronze
Shipwreck
–
Shipwreck of the
SS American Star on the shore of
Fuerteventura
Shipwreck
–
A
sonar image of the shipwreck of the
Latvian Naval Forces ship Virsaitis in
Estonian waters
Shipwreck
–
Johan Christian Dahl: Shipwreck on the Coast of Norway, 1832
Shipwreck
–
The 1626 Sparrow-Hawk wreck is displayed at the
Pilgrim Hall Museum in
Plymouth,
Massachusetts
18.
Islet
–
An islet is a very small island. As suggested by its origin as islette, an Old French diminutive of isle, use of the term implies small size, but little attention is given to drawing an upper limit on its applicability. Cay or Key – an islet formed by the accumulation of sand deposits atop a reef Motu – A reef islet formed by broken coral and sand. River island – A small islet within the current of a river, rock – A rock, in the sense of a type of islet, is an uninhabited landform composed of rock, lying offshore, and having at most minimal vegetation. Sandbar – An exposed sandbar is another type of islet, Sea stack – A thin, vertical landform jutting out of a body of water. Skerry – A small rocky island, usually defined to be too small for habitation, subsidiary islets – A more technical application is to small land features, isolated by water, lying off the shore of a larger island. Likewise, any emergent land in an atoll is called an islet. Tidal island – Often small islands lie off the mainland of an area, being connected to it in low tide. In the Caribbean and West Atlantic, islets are often called cays or keys, rum Cay in the Bahamas and the Florida Keys off Florida are examples of islets. In the Channel Islands, they are identified by the suffix -hou from the Norse -holm. In Scotland and Ireland, they are often called inches, from the Gaelic innis, which originally meant island, in Ireland they are often termed skerries. In and around Polynesia, islets are widely known by the term motu, in and around the River Thames in England, small islands are known as aits or eyots. One long-term dispute over the status of such an islet was that of Snake Island, there are thousands of islets on Earth, approximately 24,000 islands and islets in the Stockholm archipelago alone. The following is a list of example islets from around the world, Islands or Rocks, Is that the Real Question. The Treatment of Islands in the Delimitation of Maritime Boundaries, in Myron H. Nordquist, John Norton Moore, Alfred H. A. The Law of the Sea Convention, US Accession and Globalization
Islet
–
Bangchuidao Island in
Dalian,
Liaoning Province,
China is a typical rock islet
Islet
–
Mōkōlea Rock in Kailua Bay,
O‘ahu,
Hawai‘i, 2.2 km off North Beach,
Marine Corps Base Hawaii
Islet
–
Danes on the islet
Danmark in
Norway. It is a typical Nordic
skerry.
Islet
–
A Tahitian motu off the island of
Raiatea at sunset
19.
Lighthouse
–
Lighthouses mark dangerous coastlines, hazardous shoals, reefs, and safe entries to harbors, and can assist in aerial navigation. Once widely used, the number of operational lighthouses has declined due to the expense of maintenance, before the development of clearly defined ports, mariners were guided by fires built on hilltops. Since raising the fire would improve the visibility, placing the fire on a platform became a practice that led to the development of the lighthouse. In antiquity, the lighthouse functioned more as a marker to ports than as a warning signal for reefs and promontories. The most famous lighthouse structure from antiquity was the Pharos of Alexandria, coins from Alexandria, Ostia, and Laodicea in Syria also exist. The modern era of lighthouses began at the turn of the 18th century, advances in structural engineering and new and efficient lighting equipment allowed for the creation of larger and more powerful lighthouses, including ones exposed to the sea. The function of lighthouses shifted toward the provision of a warning against shipping hazards. The Eddystone Rocks were a major hazard for mariners sailing through the English Channel. The first lighthouse built there was a wooden structure, anchored by 12 iron stanchions secured in the rock. His lighthouse was the first tower in the world to have been exposed to the open sea. The civil engineer, John Smeaton, rebuilt the lighthouse from 1756–59, his tower marked a step forward in the design of lighthouses. He modelled the shape of his lighthouse on that of an oak tree and he pioneered the use of hydraulic lime, a form of concrete that will set under water, and developed a technique of securing the granite blocks together using dovetail joints and marble dowels. This profile had the advantage of allowing some of the energy of the waves to dissipate on impact with the walls. His lighthouse was the prototype for the lighthouse and influenced all subsequent engineers. One such influence was Robert Stevenson, himself a figure in the development of lighthouse design. His greatest achievement was the construction of the Bell Rock Lighthouse in 1810 and this structure was based upon Smeatons design, but with several improved features, such as the incorporation of rotating lights, alternating between red and white. Stevenson worked for the Northern Lighthouse Board for nearly fifty years during which time he designed and oversaw the construction and he also invented the movable jib and the balance crane as a necessary part for lighthouse construction. Alexander Mitchell designed the first screw-pile lighthouse – his lighthouse was built on piles that were screwed into the sandy or muddy seabed, construction of his design began in 1838 at the mouth of the Thames and was known as the Maplin Sands lighthouse, and first lit in 1841
Lighthouse
–
The lighthouse of
Aveiro, west coast of
Portugal
Lighthouse
–
Graphic reconstruction of the
Pharos according to a 2006 study
Lighthouse
–
Winstanley's lighthouse at the
Eddystone Rocks marked the beginning in a new phase of lighthouse development.
Lighthouse
–
John Smeaton 's rebuilt version of the
Eddystone Lighthouse, 1759. This represented a great step forward in lighthouse design.
20.
Coral
–
Corals are marine invertebrates in the class Anthozoa of phylum Cnidaria. They typically live in colonies of many identical individual polyps. The group includes the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans, a coral group is a colony of myriad genetically identical polyps. Each polyp is an animal typically only a few millimeters in diameter. A set of tentacles surround a central mouth opening, an exoskeleton is excreted near the base. Over many generations, the colony creates a large skeleton that is characteristic of the species. Individual heads grow by reproduction of polyps. Corals also breed sexually by spawning, polyps of the same species release gametes simultaneously over a period of one to several nights around a full moon and these are commonly known as zooxanthellae and the corals that contain them are zooxanthellate corals. Such corals require sunlight and grow in clear, shallow water, other corals do not rely on zooxanthellae and can live in much deeper water, with the cold-water genus Lophelia surviving as deep as 3,000 metres. Some have been found on the Darwin Mounds, north-west of Cape Wrath, Corals have also been found as far north as off the coast of Washington State and the Aleutian Islands. In his Scala Naturae, Aristotle classified corals as zoophyta, animals that had characteristics of plants and were therefore hypothetically in between animals and plants, the Persian polymath Al-Biruni classified sponges and corals as animals, arguing that they respond to touch. The phylogeny of Anthozoans is not clearly understood and a number of different models have been proposed, within the Hexacorallia, the sea anemones, coral anemones and stony corals may constitute a monophyletic grouping united by their eight-fold symmetry and cnidocyte trait. The Octocorallia appears to be monophyletic, and primitive members of this group may have been stolonate, the cladogram presented here comes from a 2014 study by Stampar et al. which was based on the divergence of mitochondrial DNA within the group and on nuclear markers. Corals are classified in the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria and they are divided into three subclasses, Hexacorallia, Octocorallia, and Ceriantharia. The Hexacorallia include the stony corals, the sea anemones and the zoanthids and these groups have polyps that generally have 6-fold symmetry. The Octocorallia include blue coral, soft corals, sea pens and these groups have polyps with 8-fold symmetry, each polyp having eight tentacles and eight mesenteries. Fire corals are not true corals, being in the order Anthomedusa of the class Hydrozoa, Corals are sessile animals in the class Anthozoa and differ from most other cnidarians in not having a medusa stage in their life cycle. The body unit of the animal is a polyp, most corals are colonial, the initial polyp budding to produce another and the colony gradually developing from this small start
Coral
–
Coral
Coral
–
Anatomy of a stony coral polyp
Coral
–
Montastraea cavernosa polyps with tentacles extended
Coral
–
A male
great star coral, Montastraea cavernosa, releasing sperm into the water.
21.
Colombian National Armada
–
The Colombian Navy, officially the Colombian National Navy, also known as the Armada Nacional or just the Armada in Spanish, is the naval branch of the military forces of Colombia. The Colombian Navy has a strength of 35,086 personnel as of September 2013 including approximately 22,000 in the Marine Infantry corps. The acronym ARC, is used both as the ship prefix for all the Colombian Navy ships, as well as a common short name for the Navy itself. In order to accomplish its mission, the Colombian navy establishes four strategic objectives, Protection of the population and resources, in addition to functions of security and defense the Navy is called to participate in missions aimed to ensure the integral use of the sea by the Nation. For this purpose it must fulfill both military and diplomatic activities along with implementation and enforcement of law and order and its former slogan was Sailing our pride. But the roots of the Navy can be traced 13 years back, to 1810, the president of the Supreme Board of Cartagena, José María García de Toledo, created the Naval Command Office by means of a decree dated September 17,1810. The Navy was placed under the command of Captain Juan Nepomuceno Eslava, some of these captains would obtain later renown during the independence war, like Luis Brión and Renato Beluche. This small navy was effective in limited operations intercepting Spanish ships, during 1815, a Spanish army headed by Pablo Morillo besieged Cartagena, as the first step of its Pacifying Expedition. The five-month siege was so harsh that earned the city its title of Heroic, but this expedition fizzled out due to infighting amongst its generals shortly after the liberation of Margarita Island. It is only after the Liberation Campaign of 1819 that General Francisco de Paula Santander created the Naval School on June 28,1822, and additional decrees to the provision of the navy. Admiral Jose Prudencio Padilla would go on reorganizing and building the fleet, to support Bolívars plans for the campaign of Zulia and this fleet would be then engaged in the Battle of Lake Maracaibo which crushed the Spanish naval aspirations in South America. In 1824 the first – and only –8 cadet officers graduate from naval school, in March 3,1826, the Ministry of the Navy is created, with Lino de Clemente as minister. This would be a punch that the Navy would not recover from for almost a hundred years. The incipient navy of 1825 would see its ships slowly sold, scrapped or abandoned, during the rest of the 19th century, there was no formal navy to speak of. The conflict with Peru in 1932 made the Colombian Navy reappear, new ships were acquired and the Escuela de Grumetes was founded in 1934 and the Escuela de Cadetes was founded in 1935. Nowadays both schools continue their work of instructing the Colombian men and women of the sea, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 1941 changed things somewhat and prompted Colombia to break diplomatic relations with the Axis countries, but not to formally declare war. These German hunting runs, despite the Colombian Navy patrols, eventually resulted in the sinking of three Colombian ships during 1942–43, under circumstances that were never cleared up. Around 8,00 pm, the Caldas detected the periscope of a U-boat and proceeded to engage it with cannon fire, later accounts identified this U-boat as the German submarine U-154
Colombian National Armada
–
"Acción del Castillo de Maracaibo " Painting by José María Espinosa Prieto (1796–1883)
Colombian National Armada
–
Coat of Arms of the Colombian Navy
Colombian National Armada
–
Colombian destroyer MC Caldas in the 1940s
Colombian National Armada
–
Ships of four nations alongside the US Navy repair ship
Jason at the
Han Estuary, South Korea, 16 January 1952. The ships (L-R) are:
HMAS Murchison, ARC Almirante Padilla,
USS Gloucester and
ROKS Taedong.
22.
Louis-Michel Aury
–
Louis-Michel Aury was a French privateer operating in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean during the early 19th century. Aury was born in Paris, France, in about 1788 and he served in the French Navy as a sailor on a ship stationed in the French colonies of the West Indies, but from 1802 he crewed on privateer ships. By 1810 he had accumulated enough money to become the master of his own vessel. Aury decided to support the Spanish colonies of South America in their fight for independence from Spanish rule, in April 1813 he sailed from North Carolina on his own privateer ship with Venezuelan Letters of Marque to attack Spanish ships. Aury established a base there in September 1816. One of Aurys privateers had captured a Spanish vessel from Tampico, learning this, Gen. Francisco Mina and Col. Henry Perry resolved to make a descent upon the place, and Aury agreed to transport them. They sailed from Galveston April 6,1817, and the town was taken without a fight, the three commanders squabbled, and Aury left with his ships for Galveston. However, while Aury was away, the pirate Jean Lafitte had taken control of the base at Galveston, on his return to Texas, Aury made an ill-fated attempt to establish another base at Matagorda Bay. MacGregor left the island on September 4, and Aury sailed into the port of Fernandina on September 17,1817, Aury surrendered the island to U. S. forces under the command of Commodore J. D. Henley and Major James Bankhead on December 23,1817. Aury remained over two months as an unwelcome guest, Bankhead occupied Fernandina and President James Monroe vowed to hold it in trust for Spain and this episode in Floridas history became known as the Amelia Island Affair. On 4 July 1818 Aury captured Old Providence Island in the western Caribbean with the help of 400 men and 14 ships and he found the island populated by white English-speaking Protestants and their slaves. Under orders of Aury, Agostino Codazzi established the Fort Libertad on Saint Catherine Island. In 1820 Guatemala City was still the capital of the Captaincy General of Guatemala, so Central America was seen as yet under the sway of Spain, on 21 April 1820, the watch-tower at Capiro in Trujillo Port announced the approach of a Colombian flotilla. The ports garrison, commanded by Jose M. Palomar, at once made preparations for the impending attack. The following day Commodore Aury moved the flotilla to the mouth of the Guaimoreto River, the attack started at 9 AM and lasted until 2 PM. The firing ceased when the flotilla was ordered out to sea, a portion of the land force then attempted to enter the town by the rear, but was detected and driven out. During the night of the 24th, the Aury vessels dropped out of sight, on the 25th the flotilla appeared off the port of Omoa and for several days attempted to land. Commodore Aury failed and left the area on the 6th of May, others claim that the flag was modeled on the Argentine flag, but introduced by Commodore Louis-Michel Aury
Louis-Michel Aury
23.
Sovereign state
–
A sovereign state is, in international law, a nonphysical juridical entity that is represented by one centralized government that has sovereignty over a geographic area. International law defines sovereign states as having a permanent population, defined territory, one government, and it is also normally understood that a sovereign state is neither dependent on nor subjected to any other power or state. The existence or disappearance of a state is a question of fact, States came into existence as people gradually transferred their allegiance from an individual sovereign to an intangible but territorial political entity, of the state. States are but one of political orders that emerged from feudal Europe, others being city states, leagues. Westphalian sovereignty is the concept of sovereignty based on territoriality. It is a system of states, multinational corporations. Sovereignty is a term that is frequently misused and that position was reflected and constituted in the notion that their sovereignty was either completely lacking, or at least of an inferior character when compared to that of civilised people. Lassa Oppenheim said There exists perhaps no conception the meaning of which is more controversial than that of sovereignty. It is a fact that this conception, from the moment when it was introduced into political science until the present day, has never had a meaning which was universally agreed upon. In the opinion of H. V. Evatt of the High Court of Australia, sovereignty is neither a question of fact, nor a question of law, but a question that does not arise at all. The right of nations to determine their own status and exercise permanent sovereignty within the limits of their territorial jurisdictions is widely recognized. The Westphalian model of sovereignty has increasingly come under fire from the non-west as a system imposed solely by Western Colonialism. What this model did was make religion a subordinate to politics and this system does not fit in the Islamic world because concepts such as separation of church and state and individual conscience are not recognised in the Islamic religion as social systems. Nation denotes a people who are believed to or deemed to share common customs, religion, language, origins, however, the adjectives national and international are frequently used to refer to matters pertaining to what are strictly sovereign states, as in national capital, international law. State refers to the set of governing and supportive institutions that have sovereignty over a definite territory, State recognition signifies the decision of a sovereign state to treat another entity as also being a sovereign state. Recognition can be expressed or implied and is usually retroactive in its effects. It does not necessarily signify a desire to establish or maintain diplomatic relations, There is no definition that is binding on all the members of the community of nations on the criteria for statehood. In actual practice, the criteria are mainly political, not legal, in international law, however, there are several theories of when a state should be recognised as sovereign
Sovereign state
–
Member states of the
United Nations, all of which are sovereign states, though not all sovereign states are necessarily members
24.
Exclusive economic zone
–
It stretches from the baseline out to 200 nautical miles from its coast. In colloquial usage, the term may include the continental shelf, the term does not include either the territorial sea or the continental shelf beyond the 200 nmi limit. The surface waters, as can be seen in the map, are international waters, generally, a states exclusive economic zone is an area beyond and adjacent to the territorial sea, extending seaward to a distance of no more than 200 nautical miles out from its coastal baseline. The exception to this occurs when exclusive economic zones would overlap. When an overlap occurs, it is up to the states to delineate the actual maritime boundary, generally, any point within an overlapping area defaults to the nearest state. A states exclusive economic zone starts at the edge of its territorial sea. The exclusive economic zone stretches much further into sea than the territorial waters, thus, the exclusive economic zones includes the contiguous zone. The idea of allotting nations EEZs to give more control of maritime affairs outside territorial limits gained acceptance in the late 20th century. Initially, a countrys sovereign territorial waters extended 3 nautical miles or 6 km beyond the shore, in modern times, a countrys sovereign territorial waters extend to 12 nautical miles beyond the shore. One of the first assertions of exclusive jurisdiction beyond the territorial seas was made by the United States in the Truman Proclamation of September 28,1945. The exact extent of economic zones is a common source of conflicts between states over marine waters. One well-known example of such dispute was the Cod Wars between the United Kingdom and Iceland, Norway and Russia dispute both territorial sea and EEZ with regard to the Svalbard archipelago as it affects Russias EEZ due to its unique treaty status. A treaty was agreed in principle in April 2010 between the two states and subsequently ratified, resolving this demarcation dispute, the agreement was signed in Murmansk on September 15,2010. The South China Sea is the site of a dispute between several neighboring nations. Croatias ZERP in the Adriatic Sea caused friction with Italy and Slovenia, a wedge-shaped section of the Beaufort Sea is disputed between Canada and the United States, as the area reportedly contains substantial oil reserves. France claims a portion of Canadas EEZ for Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon based on a new definition of the continental shelf, Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon is entirely surrounded by Canadas EEZ. Mauritius claims EEZ for Tromelin from France and EEZ for British Indian Ocean Territory from the UK, Northern Cyprus claims a portion of Cyprus EEZ overlaps with that of Northern Cyprus in the south/southeastern part of the Cyprus island. Turkey claims a portion of Cypruss EEZ overlaps with its own EEZ, Lebanon claims that the agreement between Cyprus and Israel overlapped its own EEZ
Exclusive economic zone
–
The
EEZ border between
Northern Cyprus and
Turkey
Exclusive economic zone
–
Sea areas in international rights
Exclusive economic zone
–
Fisheries science
Exclusive economic zone
–
Management
25.
Territorial waters
–
Adjustment of these boundaries is called, in international law, maritime delimitation. Normally, the baseline from which the sea is measured is the low-water line along the coast as marked on large-scale charts officially recognized by the coastal state. Straight baselines can alternatively be defined connecting fringing islands along a coast, across the mouths of rivers, or with certain restrictions across the mouths of bays. An indentation shall not, however, be regarded as a bay unless its area is as large as, or larger than, the baseline across the bay must also be no more than 24 nautical miles in length. Waters landward of the baseline are defined as waters, over which the state has complete sovereignty. Lakes and rivers are considered internal waters, however, archipelagic states may designate certain sea lanes through these waters. A states territorial sea extends up to 12 nautical miles from its baseline, if this would overlap with another states territorial sea, the border is taken as the median point between the states baselines, unless the states in question agree otherwise. A state can also choose to claim a territorial sea. Conflicts still occur whenever a coastal nation claims an entire gulf as its territorial waters while other nations recognize the more restrictive definitions of the UN convention. In the U. S. federal system, individual states exercise ownership up to 3 nautical miles from shore and this will typically be 12 nautical miles wide, but could be more, or less, if it would otherwise overlap another states contiguous zone. However, unlike the sea, there is no standard rule for resolving such conflicts. The United States invoked a contiguous zone out to 24 nmi on 24 September 1999, an exclusive economic zone extends from the outer limit of the territorial sea to a maximum of 200 nautical miles from the territorial sea baseline, thus it includes the contiguous zone. A coastal nation has control of all resources within its exclusive economic zone, including fishing, mining, oil exploration. Indeed, the economic zone is still popularly, though erroneously. Article 76 gives the definition of continental shelf of coastal countries. For the physical geography definition, see the continental shelf page, coastal states have the right of exploration and exploitation of its natural resources, however other states could lay cables and pipelines if they are authorised by the coastal state. The foot of the slope is determined as the point of maximum change in the gradient at its base. The portion of the continental shelf beyond the 200 nautical mile limit is known as the extended continental shelf
Territorial waters
–
Schematic map of maritime zones
26.
International Court of Justice
–
The International Court of Justice is the primary judicial branch of the United Nations. Established in 1945 by the UN Charter, the Court began work in 1946 as the successor to the Permanent Court of International Justice, the Statute of the International Court of Justice, similar to that of its predecessor, is the main constitutional document constituting and regulating the Court. The Courts workload covers a range of judicial activity. Chapter XIV of the United Nations Charter authorizes the UN Security Council to enforce Court rulings, however, such enforcement is subject to the veto power of the five permanent members of the Council, which the United States used in the Nicaragua case. The election process is set out in Articles 4–19 of the ICJ statute, elections are staggered, with five judges elected every three years to ensure continuity within the court. Should a judge die in office, the practice has generally been to elect a judge in an election to complete the term. No two judges may be nationals of the same country, according to Article 9, the membership of the Court is supposed to represent the main forms of civilization and of the principal legal systems of the world. Essentially, that has meant common law, civil law and socialist law, the exception was China, which did not have a judge on the Court from 1967 to 1985 because it did not put forward a candidate. Judicial independence is dealt with specifically in Articles 16–18, judges of the ICJ are not able to hold any other post or act as counsel. A judge can be dismissed only by a vote of the other members of the Court. Despite these provisions, the independence of ICJ judges has been questioned, judges may deliver joint judgments or give their own separate opinions. Judges may also deliver separate dissenting opinions, Article 31 of the statute sets out a procedure whereby ad hoc judges sit on contentious cases before the Court. The system allows any party to a case if it otherwise does not have one of that partys nationals sitting on the Court to select one additional person to sit as a judge on that case only. It is thus possible that as many as seventeen judges may sit on one case, the system may seem strange when compared with domestic court processes, but its purpose is to encourage states to submit cases. Although this system does not sit well with the nature of the body. Ad hoc judges usually vote in favor of the state that appointed them, generally, the Court sits as full bench, but in the last fifteen years, it has on occasion sat as a chamber. Articles 26–29 of the statute allow the Court to form smaller chambers, usually 3 or 5 judges, Two types of chambers are contemplated by Article 26, firstly, chambers for special categories of cases, and second, the formation of ad hoc chambers to hear particular disputes. In 1993, a chamber was established, under Article 26 of the ICJ statute
International Court of Justice
–
Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands, seat of the ICJ
International Court of Justice
–
International Court of Justice
International Court of Justice
–
Public hearing at the ICJ.
International Court of Justice
–
Audience of the "Accordance with International Law of the
Unilateral Declaration of Independence by the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government of Kosovo"
27.
Guano Islands Act
–
The Guano Islands Act is a United States federal law passed by the U. S. Congress that enables citizens of the United States to take possession of unclaimed islands containing guano deposits. The islands can be located anywhere, so long as they are not occupied and it also empowers the President of the United States to use the military to protect such interests and establishes the criminal jurisdiction of the United States in these territories. The Act continues to be part of the law of the United States, the most recent Guano Islands Act claim was made to Navassa Island, however, the claim was discarded because a court ruled the island was already under American jurisdiction. In the 1840s, guano came to be prized as a source of saltpeter for gunpowder as well as an agricultural fertilizer, the United States began importing it in 1843 through New York. By the early 1850s, the U. K. imported over 200,000 tons a year, and U. S. imports totaled about 760,000 tons. The Act enables U. S. citizens to take possession of unclaimed islands containing guano for the U. S. and this encouraged American entrepreneurs to search and exploit new deposits on tiny islands and reefs in the Caribbean and in the Pacific. This is the beginning of the concept of insular areas in U. S. territories, with insular areas, land could be held by the federal government without the prospect of its ever becoming a state in the Union. The provision was considered and ruled constitutional by the U. S. Supreme Court in Jones v. United States,137 U. S.202. More than 100 islands have been claimed for the United States under the Guano Islands Act, but most claims have been withdrawn. The Act specifically allows the islands to be considered possessions of the U. S. on the other hand, it also does not say that the U. S. cannot retain possession though the guano is exhausted. The Act does not specify what the status of the territory is after it is abandoned by private U. S. interests, the implication is that it reverts to its former status as terra nullius. In most cases, the stems from attempts by a state to expand its exclusive economic zone over the surrounding seas. To cement the U. S. claim to Navassa Island against Haiti, control of Navassa Island was transferred by the Department of the Interior to the Director of the Office of Insular Affairs under Order No.3205 on January 16,1997. Both the Department of the Interior and Insular Affairs would later grant administration responsibilities to the United States Fish, Order No 3210 also established a 12-nautical-mile territorial sea boundary for the United States around Navassa Island. Multiple countries have claimed ownership of Serranilla Bank and the Bajo Nuevo Bank, Bajo Nuevo Bank is the subject of conflicting claims made by a number of sovereign states. In 1899, a claim was made on Fox Island, Quebec, neither the US nor Jamaica recognized his claim before the raft was destroyed in a storm in 1966
Guano Islands Act
–
Thirteen Colonies (1776)
28.
Guano
–
Guano is the accumulated excrement of seabirds, seals, or cave-dwelling bats. As a manure, guano is an effective fertilizer due to its exceptionally high content of nitrogen, phosphate and potassium. During the twentieth century, guano-producing birds became an important target of conservation programs, today, guano is increasingly sought after by organic farmers. Seabird guano consists of nitrogen-rich ammonium oxalate and urate, phosphates, as well as some earth salts, the word guano originates from the Andean indigenous language Quechua, which refers to any form of dung used as an agricultural fertilizer. Archaeological evidence suggests that Andean people have collected guano from small islands, spanish colonial documents suggest that the rulers of the Inca Empire assigned great value to guano, restricted access to it, and punished any disturbance of the birds with death. The Guanay cormorant has historically been the most abundant and important producer of guano, other important guano producing species off the coast of Peru are the Peruvian pelican and the Peruvian booby. At that time, massive deposits of guano existed on some islands, in this context the United States passed the Guano Islands Act in 1856, which gave U. S. citizens discovering a source of guano on an unclaimed island exclusive rights to the deposits. Nine of these islands are still officially U. S. territories, control over guano played a central role in the Chincha Islands War between Spain and a Peruvian-Chilean alliance. Indentured workers from China played an important role in guano harvest, the first group of 79 Chinese workers arrived in Peru in 1849, by the time that trade ended a quarter of a century later, over 100,000 of their fellow countrymen had been imported. There is no evidence that enslaved Pacific Islanders participated in guano mining. Between 1847 and 1873, there was a significant increase in Peruvian guano exports, after 1870, the use of Peruvian guano as a fertilizer was eclipsed by saltpeter in the form of caliche extraction from the interior of the Atacama Desert, not far from the guano areas. Since 1909, when the Peruvian government took over guano extraction for use by Peru farmers, South Africa independently developed its own guano industry based on sustained-yield production from marine birds during this period, as well. Both industries eventually collapsed due to pressure from overfishing, DNA testing has suggested that new potato varieties imported alongside Peruvian seabird guano in 1842 brought a virulent strain of potato blight that began the Irish Potato Famine. The ideal type of guano is found in dry climates. Post-depositional decomposition and ammonia volatilization of penguin guano also plays an important role in the evolution of ornithogenic sediments in the cold, Bat guano is usually mined in caves and this mining is associated with a corresponding loss of troglobytic biota and diminishing of biodiversity. Guano deposits support a variety of cave-adapted invertebrates that rely on bat feces as their sole source of nutrition. The greatest damage caused by mining to caves with extant guano deposits is to the bat colonies themselves, bats are highly vulnerable to regular disturbance to their roosts. Some species, such as Phyllonycteris aphylla, have low fat reserves, many species will drop pups when in panic, with subsequent death, leading to a steady reduction in population
Guano
–
The nest of the
Peruvian booby is made of almost pure guano.
Guano
–
The
Guanay cormorant has historically been the most important producer of guano.
Guano
–
Mining guano in the
Chincha Islands off the central coast of
Peru c. 1860.
Guano
–
Advertisement for guano, 1884.
29.
Unorganized territory
–
In the United States, an unorganized territory is a region of land without a normally constituted system of government. This does not mean that the territory has no government at all or that it is unclaimed territory, in practice, such territories are always sparsely populated. In modern usage it indicates an area in local government does not exist. However the area is still, at least in theory, governed by the nation of which it forms part and these lightly governed regions were common in the 19th century during the growth of United States. Large tracts such as the Louisiana Territory, Missouri Territory and the Oregon Country were established by Congress, later, a portion of a territory would organize and achieve the requirements for statehood, leaving the remainder unorganized. The U. S. Census Bureau recognizes such separate pieces of territory as one or more separate county subdivisions for statistical purposes and it assigns each unorganized territory a descriptive name, followed by the designation unorganized territory. Unorganized territories were first used for purposes in conjunction with the 1960 census. At the 2000 census there were 305 of these territories within the United States and their total land area was 85,392 square miles and they had a total population of 247,331. South Dakota had the most unorganized territories,102, as well as the largest amount of land under that status,39,785 square miles, North Dakota followed with 86 territories,20,358 square miles, or 29. 5% of its land area. Maine was next with 36 territories,14,052 square miles, Minnesota had 71 territories,10,552 square miles, or 13% of its land area. Several other states had small amounts of unorganized territory, the unorganized territory with the largest population was Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, a United States Marine Corps base with a census population of 34,452 inhabitants. In the 2010 census, unorganized territory areas were identified in nine U. S. states, Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, and South Dakota. An unorganized territory can also be a United States territory for which the United States Congress has not enacted an organic act, currently, all federal unorganized territories are insular areas, administered by the Office of Insular Affairs, U. S. Department of the Interior. American Samoa is technically unorganized, in that Congress has not passed an organic act, as of 2006, Palmyra Atoll is the only unorganized incorporated U. S. territory. The other unorganized and all organized territories are unincorporated, incorporated territories are permanently part of the United States whereas unincorporated territories may be sold, leased or granted independence by the United States. At various times during the 19th century, large parts of the Great Plains were unorganized territory, after the Louisiana Purchase from France in 1803, the entire region was part of the Louisiana Territory until 1812 and the Missouri Territory until 1821. In 1821 the Missouri Compromise created the State of Missouri from the territory, the Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854 created the Kansas and Nebraska Territories, bringing organized government to the region once again. The creation of Kansas and Nebraska left the Indian Territory as the unorganized territory in the Great Plains
Unorganized territory
–
Unorganized territory (dark green) in 1830.
30.
United States territory
–
United States territory is any extent of region under the sovereign jurisdiction of the federal government of the United States, including all waters and all U. S. naval vessels. The United States asserts sovereign rights for exploring, exploiting, conserving and this extent of territory is all the area belonging to, and under the dominion of, the United States federal government for administrative and other purposes. The United States total territory includes a subset of political divisions, the United States territory includes any geography under the control of the United States federal government. Various regions, districts, and divisions are under the supervision of the United States federal government, the United States territory includes clearly defined geographical area and refers to an area of land, air, or sea under jurisdiction of United States federal governmental authority. The extent of territory is all the area belonging to, and under the dominion of, under Article IV of the U. S. Constitution, territory is subject to and belongs to the United States. This includes tracts of land or water not included within the limits of any State, Congress possesses power to set territorial governments within the boundaries of the United States. The power of Congress over such territory is exclusive and universal, congressional legislation is subject to no control, unless in the case of ceded territory. The U. S. Congress is granted the exclusive and universal power to set a United States territorys political divisions, all territory under the control of the federal government is considered part of the United States for purposes of law. From 1901–1905, the U. S. Supreme Court in a series of known as the Insular Cases held that the Constitution extended ex proprio vigore to the territories. However, the Court in these cases also established the doctrine of territorial incorporation, a Supreme Court ruling from 1945 stated that the term United States can have three different meanings, in different contexts, The term United States may be used in any one of several senses. It may be merely the name of a sovereign occupying the position analogous to that of sovereigns in the family of nations. It may designate the territory over which the sovereignty of the United States extends, or it may be the name of the states which are united by. The United States Department of the Interior is charged with managing federal affairs within U. S. territory, the Interior Department has a wide range of responsibilities. The contiguous United States, Hawaii, and Alaska are divided into administrative regions. These are called counties in 48 of the 50 states, and they are called boroughs in Alaska, a county can include a number of cities and towns, or just a portion of either type. These counties have varying degrees of political and legal significance, a township in the United States refers to a small geographic area. Territories are subdivided into legally administered tracts—e. g, geographic areas that are under the authority of a government. The District of Columbia and territories are under the authority of Congress
United States territory
–
Original copy of the
Constitution.
United States territory
–
A map of the Earth, showing the fifty U.S. states in green.
United States territory
31.
Constitution of Honduras
–
It is Honduras twelfth constitution since independence in 1838. Previous charters were adopted in 1839,1848,1865,1873,1880,1894,1906,1924,1936,1957 and 1965. The Constitution of Honduras gained notoriety because of the 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis that removed President Manuel Zelaya, Honduras broke away from the Central American Federation in October 1838 and became an independent sovereign state. Later adopted the name of Republic of Honduras, in 1847 he founded the National Autonomous University of Honduras during the administration of President-elect John Lindo where taught civil law, philosophy and literature, among others. In 1860, after his defeat in Nicaragua, Trujillo came to the U. S. William Walker influenced by the ambiguous Monroe doctrine, came to power in 1876, Marco Aurelio Soto, and implemented liberal reforms in the country. These reforms of administrative, political, economic and social development, Soto managed to improve lines of communication and others service. Construction of sections of railroad, the system and launched an education program unprecedented in the country. Despite the progress made during the administration, Honduras again fell back on social instability by failing to have such as coffee grounds or snuff how to build a stable economy. During the second half of the nineteenth century Honduras continued to participate in efforts to restore political unity of Central America. On 1 November 1898, the Greater Republic changed its name to Central America, since then, the National Congress of Honduras made 26 amendments and 10 interpretations from 1982 to 2005. The 13th amendment to the Constitution was voted by Congress on 30 September 1998, the amendment was ratified by Congress by a vote of 128-0 on 26 January 1999 and signed by President Flores. This ended 42 years of autonomy, the military had previously been governed by a military parliament. President Manuel Zelaya played an important role in the debate and was arrested and exiled to Costa Rica by military officers on 28 June 2009. Following the removal of Zelaya, womens groups in Honduras, in particular Feminists in Resistance, have supported the aim of holding a constituent assembly. She stated, For the first time we would be able to establish a precedent for the emancipation of women, the constitutionality of the removal of Zelaya from Honduras on 28 June 2009 was controversial. Several articles of the 1982 Constitution that were referred to during the crisis include the following, the Constitution forbids handing over or expatriating Hondurans to foreign countries. In the crisis, President Manuel Zelaya was removed from the country by force on the 28th of June after the Supreme Court of Honduras had issued an order on June 26 for his detention. The Supreme Court membership had been renewed in January 2009, afterwards the court published a Special Communication explaining its actions
Constitution of Honduras
–
Honduras
32.
Maritime boundary
–
A maritime boundary is a conceptual division of the Earths water surface areas using physiographic or geopolitical criteria. As such, it usually bounds areas of national rights over mineral and biological resources, encompassing maritime features, limits. Generally, a boundary is delineated at a particular distance from a jurisdictions coastline. Some maritime boundaries have remained indeterminate despite efforts to clarify them and this is explained by an array of factors, some of which involve regional problems. The delineation of maritime boundaries has strategic, economic and environmental implications, the terms boundary, frontier and border are often used as if they were interchangeable, but they are also terms with precise meanings. The terms frontier, borderland and border are zones of indeterminate width, such areas forms the outermost part of a country. Borders are bounded on one side by a national boundary, there are variations in the specific terminology of maritime boundary agreements which have been concluded since the 1970s. Such differences are less important than what is being delimited, features that affect maritime boundaries include islands and the submerged seabed of the continental shelf. The process of boundary delimitation in the ocean encompasses the natural prolongation of geological features, the process of establishing positional borders encompasses the distinction between previously resolved and never-resolved controversies. The limits of maritime boundaries are expressed in polylines and in layers of sovereignty and control. The conditions under which a state may establish such baseline are described in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, a baseline of a country can be the low water line, a straight baseline or a combination of the two. The zones of maritime boundaries are expressed in concentric limits surrounding coastal, inland waters—the zone inside the baseline. Territorial sea—the zone extending 12 nm. from the baseline, contiguous zone—the area extending 24 nm. from the baseline. Exclusive Economic Zone—the area extending 200 nm. from the baseline except when the space between two countries is less than 400 nm, in the case of overlapping zones, the boundary is presumed to conform to the equidistance principle or it is explicitly described in a multilateral treaty. Contemporary negotiations have produced tripoint and quadripoint determinations, the northernmost point in the boundary is a tripoint with the Solomon Islands. The boundary runs in a roughly north–south direction and then turns and runs west–east until it almost reaches the 170th meridian east, the effect of these negotiated specifics is reflected in the map of Australian maritime zones at the right. The concept of maritime boundaries is a new concept. The historical record is a backdrop for evaluating border issues, the development of customary law affects all nations
Maritime boundary
–
Features, limits and zones
33.
Alice Shoal
–
Alice Shoal is a wholly submerged reef, located in the western Caribbean Sea, about 260 kilometres southwest of Jamaica. The mainland of Colombia lies 740 kilometres away to the southeast, alice Shoal is situated 31 km northeast of East Cay of Serranilla Bank, and 48 km west of Bajo Nuevo Bank, at 16°05′N 79°22′W. The bank is about 16 km in diameter as defined by the 200 m isobath, there are no islets, cays or above-water rocks. The bank has a depth of 11 metres, with coral bottom. Depths over the part of the bank are less than 63 metres. The bottom is white sand. Rips mark the edges of the bank, the reef falls within the Joint Regime zone of Colombia and Jamaica, a maritime delimitation zone which allows for co-operative control and exploitation of resources between the two states. Archived from the original on 2010-12-23, cS1 maint, BOT, original-url status unknown — satellite images
Alice Shoal
–
Location of Alice Shoal within the Jamaica-Colombia Joint Regime
34.
List of Guano Island claims
–
The United States claimed a number of islands as insular areas under the Guano Islands Act of 1856. Only the eight administered as the US Minor Islands and one each annexed by American Samoa, any other unresolved claims if they exist are dormant, and have not been contested by the United States in many years with the exception of Navassa. Guano Insular area Territories of the United States Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument United States, division of Insular Affairs, Magoon, C. E. Moore, J. B. Wharton, F. United States
List of Guano Island claims
–
Guano tramway on
Jarvis Island
List of Guano Island claims
–
Hermit crabs on
Baker Island
List of Guano Island claims
–
Navassa Island Lighthouse
35.
National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
–
NGA was known as the National Imagery and Mapping Agency until 2003. NGA headquarters is located at Fort Belvoir in Springfield, Virginia, the NGA campus, at 2.3 million square feet, is the third-largest government building in the Washington metropolitan area after The Pentagon and the Ronald Reagan Building. U. S. mapping and charting efforts remained relatively unchanged until World War I, using stereo viewers, photo-interpreters reviewed thousands of images. Many of these were of the target at different angles and times, giving rise to what became modern imagery analysis. The Engineer Reproduction Plant was the Army Corps of Engineerss first attempt to centralize mapping production, printing and it was located on the grounds of the Army War College in Washington, D. C. Previously, topographic mapping had largely been a function of individual field engineer units using field surveying techniques or copying existing or captured products, in addition, ERP assumed the supervision and maintenance of the War Department Map Collection, effective April 1,1939. With the advent of the Second World War aviation, field surveys began giving way to photogrammetry, photo interpretation, during wartime, it became increasingly possible to compile maps with minimal field work. Out of this emerged AMS, which absorbed the existing ERP in May 1942 and it was located at the Dalecarlia Site on MacArthur Blvd. just outside Washington, D. C. in Montgomery County, Maryland, and adjacent to the Dalecarlia Reservoir. AMS was designated as an Engineer field activity, effective July 1,1942, by General Order 22, OCE, the Army Map Service also combined many of the Armys remaining geographic intelligence organizations and the Engineer Technical Intelligence Division. The agencys credit union, Constellation Federal Credit Union, was chartered during the Army Map Service era and it has continued to serve all successive legacy agencies employees and their families. After the war, as capacity and range improved, the need for charts grew. The Army Air Corps established its map unit, which was renamed ACP in 1943 and was located in St. Louis, ACP was known as the U. S. Air Force Aeronautical Chart and Information Center from 1952 to 1972. A credit union was chartered for the ACP in 1948, called Aero Chart Credit Union and it was renamed Arsenal Credit Union in 1952, a nod to the St. Louis sites Civil War-era use as an arsenal. Shortly before leaving office in January 1961, President Dwight D. Eisenhower authorized the creation of the National Photographic Interpretation Center, lundahl, combining Central Intelligence Agency, Army, Navy, and Air Force assets to solve national intelligence problems. NPIC was a component of the CIAs Directorate of Science and Technology, NPIC first identified the Soviet Unions basing of missiles in Cuba in 1962. The Defense Mapping Agency was created on January 1,1972, dMAs birth certificate, DoD Directive 5105.40, resulted from a formerly classified Presidential directive, Organization and Management of the U. S. Foreign Intelligence Community, which directed the consolidation of mapping functions previously dispersed among the military services, DMA became operational on July 1,1972, pursuant to General Order 3, DMA. On Oct.1,1996, DMA was folded into the National Imagery, DMA was first headquartered at the United States Naval Observatory in Washington, D. C, then at Falls Church, Virginia
National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
–
NGA Campus East, the headquarters of the agency, features trapezoidal windows and color-coded interior sections.
National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
–
Seal of the U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
–
The U.S. national security team gathered in the
Situation Room to await the outcome of
Operation Neptune's Spear. A document from NGA can be seen on the table, although it has been obscured.
National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
–
New Headquarters of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
36.
Agustin Codazzi
–
Giovanni Battista Agostino Codazzi was an Italian military, scientist, geographer, cartographer, and governor of Barinas. Famous geographer and cartographer born in Lugo, Ravenna, arrived in South America in the 1810s and fought under the corsair Aury, Codazzi was born in the Italian city of Lugo. Since young he appreciated the ideals of the French Revolution and, after his studies at the military academy Scuola di Artiglieria of Pavia, actively served in the Napoleon Army. With the defeat of Napoleon in 1815 Codazzi moved away from Italy and after some travels went to Venezuela, successively he received the task of mapping the area of the Maracaibo Lake and the borders between Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador. The Venezuelan government named him Colonel and ordered the creation of an Atlas of Venezuela, Agustin Codazzi meanwhile took the Venezuelan citizenship from president José Antonio Páez and become Governor of Barinas, a region of southwestern Venezuela. In those years his activity of geographer was continuously interrupted by his duties of military commander. With the fall of Páez after an insurrection, Codazzi was forced to escape to Cúcuta. The town where he died has been renamed Aldea Codazzi, Venezuela honored the memory of Agustin Codazzi placing his remains inside the Panteón Nacional of Caracas in 1942, where he is considered one the Heroes of Venezuela. Colombias national geographical society, a government agency, is named after Agustin Codazzi
Agustin Codazzi
–
Agostino Codazzi
Agustin Codazzi
–
Agostino Codazzi monument (
Colonia Tovar)
37.
Robert F. Marx
–
Robert F. Marx is one of the pioneer American scuba divers and is best known for his work with shipwrecks and sunken treasure. Although he is considered controversial for his frequent and successful forays into treasure hunting, Marx became a diving specialist in the United States Marine Corps in 1953. He has since made over 5,000 dives and has authored over 800 reports/articles and 59 books on history, archaeology, shipwrecks, Marx and his wife, Jenifer, live in Indialantic, Florida. They are co-authors of several non-fiction books and he was a founding member of the Council on Underwater Archaeology and of the Sea Research Society and served on the Societys Board of Advisors. In 1972 he participated in the creation of the degree of Doctor of Marine Histories. Marx was made a Knight-commander in the Order of Isabella the Catholic by the Spanish government for his re-enactment in the Niña II of Christopher Columbus first voyage of exploration, Marx has written extensively about the concept of White Gods. Marx came to the conclusion that White Gods figure in almost every culture in the Americas. A review by Jonathan Kirsch in the Los Angeles Times concluded that Quest is a good yarn, but Marx tries hard to dress it up as something slightly scandalous
Robert F. Marx
–
In the left Bob Marx with the Israeli marine archaeologist Elisha Linder
Robert F. Marx
–
Pioneers of diving
38.
International Standard Book Number
–
The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
International Standard Book Number
–
A 13-digit ISBN, 978-3-16-148410-0, as represented by an
EAN-13 bar code
39.
Government of Colombia
–
The Government of Colombia is a republic with separation of powers into executive, judicial and legislative branches. Its legislature has a congress, its judiciary has a supreme court, the citizens of Colombia cast votes concerning their government, and they employ a public sector office for an inspector general to oversee the public interface of the government. This safeguards the public, and guarantee the human rights spelled out in the Constitution of 1991, which provides the framework for a welfare state, Colombia has control institutions that mixes government and public officials, who work alongside one another. For example, the inspector general works closely with the governments controller general whose job it is to ensure governmental fiscal responsibility. An independent Ombudsman deals with complaints and functions as the national human rights institution. The executive branch of power in Colombia is headed by the President of the Republic and he is supported by the Vice President of Colombia, the Council of Ministers and Administrative Departments of Colombia. Mayors are subordinated to the governors who are representatives of the executive branch of government at a municipal level. Mayors are also elected in regional elections along with the department governors, the legislative branch is the branch that makes laws. Representatives are elected by the people and support there thoughts in government Elections in Colombia Electoral system Corruption in Colombia Government of Colombia
Government of Colombia
–
Casa de Nariño, the presidential palace in
Bogotá houses the
President of Colombia and maximum representative of the
Executive Branch of Colombia.
Government of Colombia
–
Colombia
40.
United Nations
–
The United Nations is an intergovernmental organization to promote international co-operation. A replacement for the ineffective League of Nations, the organization was established on 24 October 1945 after World War II in order to prevent another such conflict, at its founding, the UN had 51 member states, there are now 193. The headquarters of the UN is in Manhattan, New York City, further main offices are situated in Geneva, Nairobi, and Vienna. The organization is financed by assessed and voluntary contributions from its member states, the UNs mission to preserve world peace was complicated in its early decades by the Cold War between the US and Soviet Union and their respective allies. The organization participated in actions in Korea and the Congo. After the end of the Cold War, the UN took on major military, the UN has six principal organs, the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the Secretariat, the International Court of Justice, and the UN Trusteeship Council. UN System agencies include the World Bank Group, the World Health Organization, the World Food Programme, UNESCO, the UNs most prominent officer is the Secretary-General, an office held by Portuguese António Guterres since 2017. Non-governmental organizations may be granted consultative status with ECOSOC and other agencies to participate in the UNs work, the organization won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001, and a number of its officers and agencies have also been awarded the prize. Other evaluations of the UNs effectiveness have been mixed, some commentators believe the organization to be an important force for peace and human development, while others have called the organization ineffective, corrupt, or biased. Following the catastrophic loss of life in the First World War, the earliest concrete plan for a new world organization began under the aegis of the US State Department in 1939. It incorporated Soviet suggestions, but left no role for France, four Policemen was coined to refer to four major Allied countries, United States, United Kingdom, Soviet Union, and China, which emerged in the Declaration by United Nations. Roosevelt first coined the term United Nations to describe the Allied countries, the term United Nations was first officially used when 26 governments signed this Declaration. One major change from the Atlantic Charter was the addition of a provision for religious freedom, by 1 March 1945,21 additional states had signed. Each Government pledges itself to cooperate with the Governments signatory hereto, the foregoing declaration may be adhered to by other nations which are, or which may be, rendering material assistance and contributions in the struggle for victory over Hitlerism. During the war, the United Nations became the term for the Allies. To join, countries had to sign the Declaration and declare war on the Axis, at the later meetings, Lord Halifax deputized for Mr. Eden, Wellington Koo for T. V. Soong, and Mr Gromyko for Mr. Molotov. The first meetings of the General Assembly, with 51 nations represented, the General Assembly selected New York City as the site for the headquarters of the UN, and the facility was completed in 1952. Its site—like UN headquarters buildings in Geneva, Vienna, and Nairobi—is designated as international territory, the Norwegian Foreign Minister, Trygve Lie, was elected as the first UN Secretary-General
United Nations
–
1943 sketch by Franklin Roosevelt of the United Nations' original three branches: The
Four Policemen, an executive branch, and an international assembly of forty UN member states.
United Nations
–
Flag
United Nations
–
The
Chilean delegation signing the
UN Charter in San Francisco, 1945
United Nations
–
Dag Hammarskjöld was a particularly active Secretary-General from 1953 until his death in 1961.
41.
United States Government Printing Office
–
The United States Government Publishing Office is an agency of the legislative branch of the United States federal government. Following signature by the President, the change took effect on December 17,2014, the Government Publishing Office was created by congressional joint resolution on June 23,1860. It began operations March 4,1861, with 350 employees, for its entire history, GPO has occupied the corner of North Capitol Street NW and H Street NW in the District of Columbia. An additional structure was attached to its north in later years, the activities of GPO are defined in the public printing and documents chapters of Title 44 of the United States Code. The Public Printer, who serves as the head of GPO, is appointed by the President with the advice, the Public Printer selects a Superintendent of Documents. The Superintendent of Documents is in charge of the dissemination of information at the GPO, adelaide Hasse was the founder of the Superintendent of Documents classification system. GPO first used 100 percent recycled paper for the Congressional Record and Federal Register from 1991-1997, under Public Printers Robert Houk, GPO resumed using recycled paper in 2009. In March 2011, GPO issued a new illustrated official history covering the agencys 150 years of Keeping America Informed, following signature of this legislation by President Barack Obama, the name change took place on December 17,2014. By law, the Public Printer heads the GPO, Public Printers, Almon M. Clapp John D. Defrees Sterling P. Rounds Thomas E. Benedict Frank W. Palmer Thomas E. Benedict Frank W. Palmer, O. J. Tapella William J. United States Code United States Statutes at Large House Journal, the United States Department of State began issuing e-passports in 2006. GPO produces the blank e-Passport, while the Department of State receives and processes applications, GPO ceased production of legacy passports in May 2007, shifting production entirely to e-passports. In March 2008, the Washington Times published a story about the outsourcing of electronic passports to overseas companies. GPO designs, prints, encodes and personalizes Trusted Traveler Program cards for the Department of Homeland Security, Customs, cumulative Copyright Catalogs Medical and Surgical History of the War of the Rebellion Official Records of the American Civil War US Congressional Serial Set United States. Military Information Division, p. Publications, Issues 33-34, slocum, Carl Reichmann, Adna Romanga Chaffee. Reports on military operations in South Africa and China, cS1 maint, Multiple names, authors list Stephan LH. Slocum, Carl Reichmann, Adna Romanza Chaffee, United States, Reports on military operations in South Africa and China. CS1 maint, Multiple names, authors list United States, Bureau of Foreign Commerce, United States. Commercial relations of the United States with foreign countries during the years, cS1 maint, Multiple names, authors list United States
United States Government Printing Office
–
U.S. Government Printing Office
United States Government Printing Office
–
Official seal
United States Government Printing Office
–
The new
e-passport produced by GPO
United States Government Printing Office
–
Official Presidential Photograph printed by GPO
42.
United States Government
–
The Federal Government of the United States is the national government of the United States, a republic in North America, composed of 50 states, one district, Washington, D. C. and several territories. The federal government is composed of three branches, legislative, executive, and judicial, whose powers are vested by the U. S. Constitution in the Congress, the President, and the courts, including the Supreme Court. The powers and duties of these branches are defined by acts of Congress. The full name of the republic is United States of America, no other name appears in the Constitution, and this is the name that appears on money, in treaties, and in legal cases to which it is a party. The terms Government of the United States of America or United States Government are often used in documents to represent the federal government as distinct from the states collectively. In casual conversation or writing, the term Federal Government is often used, the terms Federal and National in government agency or program names generally indicate affiliation with the federal government. Because the seat of government is in Washington, D. C, Washington is commonly used as a metonym for the federal government. The outline of the government of the United States is laid out in the Constitution, the government was formed in 1789, making the United States one of the worlds first, if not the first, modern national constitutional republics. The United States government is based on the principles of federalism and republicanism, some make the case for expansive federal powers while others argue for a more limited role for the central government in relation to individuals, the states or other recognized entities. For example, while the legislative has the power to create law, the President nominates judges to the nations highest judiciary authority, but those nominees must be approved by Congress. The Supreme Court, in its turn, has the power to invalidate as unconstitutional any law passed by the Congress and these and other examples are examined in more detail in the text below. The United States Congress is the branch of the federal government. It is bicameral, comprising the House of Representatives and the Senate, the House currently consists of 435 voting members, each of whom represents a congressional district. The number of each state has in the House is based on each states population as determined in the most recent United States Census. All 435 representatives serve a two-year term, each state receives a minimum of one representative in the House. There is no limit on the number of terms a representative may serve, in addition to the 435 voting members, there are six non-voting members, consisting of five delegates and one resident commissioner. In contrast, the Senate is made up of two senators from each state, regardless of population, there are currently 100 senators, who each serve six-year terms
United States Government
–
The
United States Capitol is the
seat of government for Congress.
United States Government
–
Great Seal of the United States
United States Government
–
Diagram of the Federal Government and American Union, 1862.
43.
United States Department of the Interior
–
The United States Department of the Interior is the United States federal executive department of the U. S. About 75% of federal land is managed by the department. The Department is administered by the United States Secretary of the Interior, the current Secretary is Ryan Zinke. The Inspector General position is vacant, with Mary Kendall serving as acting Inspector General. Despite its name, the Department of the Interior has a different role from that of the ministries of other nations. In the United States, national security and immigration functions are performed by the Department of Homeland Security primarily, the Department of the Interior has often been humorously called The Department of Everything Else because of its broad range of responsibilities. A department for domestic concern was first considered by the 1st United States Congress in 1789, the idea of a separate domestic department continued to percolate for a half-century and was supported by Presidents from James Madison to James Polk. The 1846–48 Mexican–American War gave the new steam as the responsibilities of federal government grew. Polks Secretary of the Treasury, Robert J. Walker, became a champion of creating the new department. In 1849, Walker stated in his report that several federal offices were placed in departments with which they had little to do. Walker argued that these and other bureaus should be together in a new Department of the Interior. A bill authorizing its creation of the Department passed the House of Representatives on February 15,1849, the Department was established on March 3,1849, the eve of President Zachary Taylors inauguration, when the Senate voted 31 to 25 to create the Department. Its passage was delayed by Democrats in Congress who were reluctant to create more patronage posts for the incoming Whig administration to fill, the first Secretary of the Interior was Thomas Ewing. Many of the concerns the Department originally dealt with were gradually transferred to other Departments. Other agencies became separate Departments, such as the Bureau of Agriculture, however, land and natural resource management, American Indian affairs, wildlife conservation, and territorial affairs remain the responsibilities of the Department of the Interior. As of mid-2004, the Department managed 507 million acres of surface land, energy projects on federally managed lands and offshore areas supply about 28% of the nations energy production. Within the Interior Department, the Bureau of Indian Affairs handles some federal relations with Native Americans, the current acting Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs is Lawrence S. Roberts, an enrolled member of the Oneida Tribe in Wisconsin. Several cases have sought accounting of such funds from the departments of Interior, in addition, some Native American nations have sued the government over water-rights issues and their treaties with the US
United States Department of the Interior
–
Main Interior Building 1849 C Street
NW Washington, D.C., U.S. 38°53′37.11″N 77°2′33.33″W / 38.8936417°N 77.0425917°W / 38.8936417; -77.0425917
United States Department of the Interior
–
Seal of the U.S. Department of the Interior
United States Department of the Interior
–
The
hierarchy of the U.S. Department of the Interior.
44.
Federal Communications Commission
–
The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the media, public safety and homeland security, and modernizing itself. The FCC was formed by the Communications Act of 1934 to replace the radio regulation functions of the Federal Radio Commission, the FCC took over wire communication regulation from the Interstate Commerce Commission. The FCCs mandated jurisdiction covers the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the FCC also provides varied degrees of cooperation, oversight, and leadership for similar communications bodies in other countries of North America. The FCC is funded entirely by regulatory fees and it has an estimated fiscal-2016 budget of US$388 million. Consistent with the objectives of the Act as well as the 1993 Government Performance and Results Act and these are, Broadband All Americans should have affordable access to robust and reliable broadband products and services. Competition Competition in the provision of services, both domestically and overseas, supports the Nations economy. The competitive framework for communications services should foster innovation and offer consumers reliable, Media The Nations media regulations must promote competition and diversity and facilitate the transition to digital modes of delivery. Public Safety and Homeland Security Communications during emergencies and crisis must be available for public safety, health, defense, the Nations critical communications infrastructure must be reliable, interoperable, redundant, and rapidly restorable. The FCC is directed by five appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate for five-year terms. The U. S. President designates one of the commissioners to serve as chairman, only three commissioners may be members of the same political party. None of them may have a financial interest in any FCC-related business, importantly, commissioners may continue serving until the appointment of their replacements, but may not serve beyond the end of the next session of Congress following term expiration. In practice, as of 2016 this means that commissioners may serve up to 1 1/2 years beyond the term expiration dates listed above if no replacement is appointed. The Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau develops and implements the FCCs consumer policies, CGB serves as the public face of the FCC through outreach and education, as well as through their Consumer Center, which is responsible for responding to consumer inquiries and complaints. CGB also maintains partnerships with state, local, and tribal governments in such areas as emergency preparedness. The Enforcement Bureau is responsible for enforcement of provisions of the Communications Act 1934, FCC rules, FCC orders, major areas of enforcement that are handled by the Enforcement Bureau are consumer protection, local competition, public safety, and homeland security. S. The International Bureau also oversees FCC compliance with the international Radio Regulations, the Media Bureau also handles post-licensing matters regarding direct broadcast satellite service. The Wireless Telecommunications Bureau regulates domestic wireless telecommunications programs and policies, the Wireline Competition Bureau develops policy concerning wire line telecommunications. The Wireline Competition Bureaus main objective is to promote growth and economical investments in technology infrastructure, development, markets
Federal Communications Commission
–
Federal Communications Commission seen in
Washington, D.C., in 1937. Seated (l-r) Eugene Octave Sykes,
Frank R. McNinch,
Chairman Paul Atlee Walker, Standing (l-r)
T.A.M. Craven,
Thad H. Brown,
Norman S. Case, and George Henry Payne.
Federal Communications Commission
–
official seal
Federal Communications Commission
–
FCC Commissioners inspect the latest in television, December 1, 1939.
Federal Communications Commission
–
Federal Communications Commission in
Washington, D.C.
45.
Government Accountability Office
–
The Government Accountability Office is a government agency that provides auditing, evaluation, and investigative services for the United States Congress. It is the audit institution of the federal government of the United States. The GAO was established as the General Accounting Office by the Budget and Accounting Act of 1921. reports recommendations looking to greater economy or efficiency in public expenditures. The name was changed in 2004 to Government Accountability Office by the GAO Human Capital Reform Act to better reflect the mission of the office, while most other countries have government entities similar to the GAO, their focus is primarily on conducting financial audits. The GAOs auditors conduct not only financial audits, but also engage in an assortment of performance audits. News media often draw attention to the GAOs work by publishing stories on the findings, members of Congress also frequently cite the GAOs work in statements to the press, congressional hearings, and floor debates on proposed legislation. The GAO is headed by the general of the U. S. a professional. The comptroller general is appointed by the president, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, for a 15-year, the president selects a nominee from a list of at least three individuals recommended by an eight-member bipartisan, bicameral commission of congressional leaders. During such term, the general has standing to pursue litigation to compel access to federal agency information. The comptroller general may not be removed by the president, since 1921, there have been only seven comptrollers general, and no formal attempt has ever been made to remove a comptroller general. Labor-management relations became fractious during the 9-year tenure of the 7th comptroller general, on September 19,2007, GAO analysts voted by a margin of two to one, in a 75% turnout, to establish the first union in the GAOs 86-year history. The analysts voted to affiliate with the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, there are more than 1,800 analysts in the GAO analysts bargaining unit, the local voted to name itself IFPTE Local 1921, in honor of the date of the GAOs establishment. On February 14,2008, the GAO analysts union approved its first-ever negotiated pay contract with management and these standards pertain to auditors professional qualifications, the quality of audit effort, and the characteristics of professional and meaningful audit reports. In 1992 the GAO hosted XIV INCOSAI, the triennial convention of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions. Due to its nature of a specific meta-study, the Ig Nobel Prize motivation described it as a report about the report about reports about reports, GAO often produces highlights of its reports that serve as a statement for the record for various subcommittees of the United States Congress. Many reports are issued periodically and take a view of U. S. agencies operations. GAO also produces annual reports on key issues such as Duplication and Cost savings, the GAO prepares some 900 reports annually. GAO publishes reports and information relating to, inter alia, Each year the GAO issues a report on the financial statements of the United States Government
Government Accountability Office
–
GAO headquarters in
Washington
Government Accountability Office
–
Seal of the Government Accountability Office
46.
American University
–
American University is a private research university in Washington, D. C. United States, affiliated with the United Methodist Church, although the curriculum is secular. The university was chartered by an Act of Congress on February 24,1893, as The American University, AU was named the most politically active school in the nation in The Princeton Reviews annual survey of college students in 2008,2010, and 2012. As of 2016, roughly 7,710 undergraduate students and 5,230 graduate students are currently enrolled, the school has grown increasingly competitive in recent years, with a 25% acceptance rate for the Class of 2020 versus a 46% acceptance rate for the class of 2018. A member of the Division I Patriot League, its sports compete as the American University Eagles. The American University was established in the District of Columbia by an Act of Congress on December 5,1892, after more than three decades devoted principally to securing financial support, the university was officially dedicated on May 15,1914. The first instruction began on October 6 of that year, when 28 students were enrolled, the First Commencement, at which no degrees were awarded, was held on June 2,1915. The Second Annual Commencement was held on June 2,1916 where the first degrees were awarded, shortly after these early commencement ceremonies, classes were interrupted by war. During World War I, the university allowed the U. S. military to use some of its grounds for testing, in 1917, the U. S. military divided American University into two segments, Camp American University and Camp Leach. Camp American University became the birthplace of the United States chemical weapons program, and chemical weapons were tested on the grounds, Camp Leach was home to advanced research, development and testing of modern camouflage techniques. As of 2014, the Army Corps of Engineers is still removing ordnance including mustard gas, during the next ten years, instruction was offered at the graduate level only, in accordance with the original plan of the founders. In the fall of 1925, the College of Liberal Arts was established, since that date, the University has offered both undergraduate and graduate degrees and programs. In 1934, the School of Public Affairs was founded, during World War II, the campus again offered its services to the U. S. government and became home to the U. S. Navy Bomb Disposal School and a WAVE barracks. For AUs role in wartime efforts, the Victory ship SS American Victory was named in honor of the university. The present structure of the university began to emerge in 1949, the Washington College of Law became part of the University in that year, having begun in 1896 as the first coeducational institution for the professional study of law in the District of Columbia. In the early 1960s, the Department of Defense and the Central Intelligence Agency operated a tank under the guise of Operation Camelot at American University. The government abandoned the tank after the operation came to public attention. AUs political intertwinement was furthered by President John F. Kennedys Spring 1963 commencement address, from 1965 to 1977, the College of Continuing Education existed as a degree-granting college with responsibility for on- and off-campus adult education programs
American University
–
Hurst Hall is the oldest building on campus. Originally the history department, it now houses the Department of Biology and Environmental Studies
American University
–
American University
American University
–
Birthplace of Army Chemical Corps
American University
–
President
John F. Kennedy delivers the commencement address at American University, June 10, 1963
47.
Wayback Machine
–
The Internet Archive launched the Wayback Machine in October 2001. It was set up by Brewster Kahle and Bruce Gilliat, and is maintained with content from Alexa Internet, the service enables users to see archived versions of web pages across time, which the archive calls a three dimensional index. Since 1996, the Wayback Machine has been archiving cached pages of websites onto its large cluster of Linux nodes and it revisits sites every few weeks or months and archives a new version. Sites can also be captured on the fly by visitors who enter the sites URL into a search box, the intent is to capture and archive content that otherwise would be lost whenever a site is changed or closed down. The overall vision of the machines creators is to archive the entire Internet, the name Wayback Machine was chosen as a reference to the WABAC machine, a time-traveling device used by the characters Mr. Peabody and Sherman in The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, an animated cartoon. These crawlers also respect the robots exclusion standard for websites whose owners opt for them not to appear in search results or be cached, to overcome inconsistencies in partially cached websites, Archive-It. Information had been kept on digital tape for five years, with Kahle occasionally allowing researchers, when the archive reached its fifth anniversary, it was unveiled and opened to the public in a ceremony at the University of California, Berkeley. Snapshots usually become more than six months after they are archived or, in some cases, even later. The frequency of snapshots is variable, so not all tracked website updates are recorded, Sometimes there are intervals of several weeks or years between snapshots. After August 2008 sites had to be listed on the Open Directory in order to be included. As of 2009, the Wayback Machine contained approximately three petabytes of data and was growing at a rate of 100 terabytes each month, the growth rate reported in 2003 was 12 terabytes/month, the data is stored on PetaBox rack systems manufactured by Capricorn Technologies. In 2009, the Internet Archive migrated its customized storage architecture to Sun Open Storage, in 2011 a new, improved version of the Wayback Machine, with an updated interface and fresher index of archived content, was made available for public testing. The index driving the classic Wayback Machine only has a bit of material past 2008. In January 2013, the company announced a ground-breaking milestone of 240 billion URLs, in October 2013, the company announced the Save a Page feature which allows any Internet user to archive the contents of a URL. This became a threat of abuse by the service for hosting malicious binaries, as of December 2014, the Wayback Machine contained almost nine petabytes of data and was growing at a rate of about 20 terabytes each week. Between October 2013 and March 2015 the websites global Alexa rank changed from 162 to 208, in a 2009 case, Netbula, LLC v. Chordiant Software Inc. defendant Chordiant filed a motion to compel Netbula to disable the robots. Netbula objected to the motion on the ground that defendants were asking to alter Netbulas website, in an October 2004 case, Telewizja Polska USA, Inc. v. Echostar Satellite, No.02 C3293,65 Fed. 673, a litigant attempted to use the Wayback Machine archives as a source of admissible evidence, Telewizja Polska is the provider of TVP Polonia and EchoStar operates the Dish Network
Wayback Machine
–
Wayback Machine
48.
Panoramio
–
Panoramio was a geo-located tagging, photo sharing mashup owned by Google. Accepted geo-located tag photos, uploaded to the site could be accessed as a layer in Google Earth and Google Maps, the sites goal was to allow Google Earth users to learn more about a given area by viewing the photos that other users had taken at that place. The website was available in several languages, the headquarters of Panoramio were originally located in Zurich, in the office building of Google Switzerland but subsequently were moved to Mountain View, California, USA. Panoramio commenced in 2005 and officially closed on November 4,2016, Panoramio was started in the summer of 2005 by Joaquín Cuenca Abela and Eduardo Manchón Aguilar, two Spanish entrepreneurs. It was officially launched on October 3,2005, and by March 19,2007, three months later, on June 27,2007, the number of photos reached two million. After a further four months, on October 25,2007, in October 2006, Google began approaches to acquire Panoramio but these were rebuffed. However, on May 30,2007, Google announced plans to acquire the website, Eduardo Manchón left the company in January 2010 to focus on his new project Askaro. He was replaced by Gerard Sanz Viñas, Joaquín Cuenca left the company in May 2010. As of September 2014, Panoramio was a community of several million people and was available in 47 languages. In May 2015, the number of uploaded photos exceeded 120 million. On October 8,2016, the number of uploaded photos was 94,370,531 by 4,159,004 users. On September 16,2014, it was announced, that Google intended to close Panoramio, during the migration important Panoramio features, such as comments, favorite photographers and groups would disappear. It requested that Google refrain from closing Panoramio, the information about the Panoramio protest and petition, quickly made headlines on international media. Panoramios strength had been that many geo-positioned Panoramio images were selected to appear on Google Earth software, however, photos selected for Google Earth since May 14,2015 did not appear on the desktop version of Google Earth. Google did not publicly acknowledge this decision nor did the Company explain the reason for it, on June 2,2015, it was suddenly announced that Googles plans for Panoramio were revised and that it would continue to operate until a better solution is developed. Achieving this balance can be a challenge, especially when publishing tools are managed under separate products, such as Panoramio, Views, Google+ and Google Maps. So today, after listening to community feedback about the future of the platform, instead of aligning the community with Views, we’ve gone back to the drawing board to work on a more integrated solution that supports you and your content directly within Google Maps. We’ll be taking the time to get this right as we build a solution that strives to meet the majority of your needs
Panoramio
–
Joaquín Cuenca and Eduardo Manchón, the creators of Panoramio.
Panoramio
–
Panoramio: Photos of the World
