1.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
2.
Maine
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Maine is the northernmost state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. Maine is the 39th most extensive and the 41st most populous of the U. S. states and territories and it is bordered by New Hampshire to the west, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the north. Maine is the easternmost state in the contiguous United States, and it is known for its jagged, rocky coastline, low, rolling mountains, heavily forested interior, and picturesque waterways, and also its seafood cuisine, especially clams and lobster. There is a continental climate throughout the state, even in areas such as its most populous city of Portland. For thousands of years, indigenous peoples were the inhabitants of the territory that is now Maine. At the time of European arrival in what is now Maine, the first European settlement in the area was by the French in 1604 on Saint Croix Island, by Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Mons. The first English settlement was the short-lived Popham Colony, established by the Plymouth Company in 1607, as Maine entered the 18th century, only a half dozen European settlements had survived. Loyalist and Patriot forces contended for Maines territory during the American Revolution, Maine was part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts until 1820, when it voted to secede from Massachusetts to become an independent state. On March 15,1820, it was admitted to the Union as the 23rd state under the Missouri Compromise, there is no definitive explanation for the origin of the name Maine, but the most likely origin is the name given by early explorers after a province in France. Whatever the origin, the name was fixed for English settlers in 1665 when the English Kings Commissioners ordered that the Province of Maine be entered from then on in official records. The state legislature in 2001 adopted a resolution establishing Franco-American Day, other theories mention earlier places with similar names, or claim it is a nautical reference to the mainland. Attempts to uncover the history of the name of Maine began with James Sullivans 1795 History of the District of Maine. He made the allegation that the Province of Maine was a compliment to the queen of Charles I, Henrietta Maria. MAINE appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 in reference to the county of Dorset, the view generally held among British place name scholars is that Mayne in Dorset is Brythonic, corresponding to modern Welsh maen, plural main or meini. Some early spellings are, MAINE1086, MEINE1200, MEINES1204, mason had served with the Royal Navy in the Orkney Islands where the chief island is called Mainland, a possible name derivation for these English sailors. Initially, several tracts along the coast of New England were referred to as Main or Maine, Maine is the only state whose name has exactly one syllable. The original inhabitants of the territory that is now Maine were Algonquian-speaking Wabanaki peoples, including the Abenaki, Passamaquoddy, Maliseet and Penobscot, who had a loose confederacy. European contact with what is now called Maine started around 1200 CE when Norwegians interacted with the native Penobscot in present-day Hancock County, most likely through trade
3.
Atlantic Ocean
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The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the worlds oceans with a total area of about 106,460,000 square kilometres. It covers approximately 20 percent of the Earths surface and about 29 percent of its surface area. It separates the Old World from the New World, the Atlantic Ocean occupies an elongated, S-shaped basin extending longitudinally between Eurasia and Africa to the east, and the Americas to the west. The Equatorial Counter Current subdivides it into the North Atlantic Ocean, in contrast, the term Atlantic originally referred specifically to the Atlas Mountains in Morocco and the sea off the Strait of Gibraltar and the North African coast. The Greek word thalassa has been reused by scientists for the huge Panthalassa ocean that surrounded the supercontinent Pangaea hundreds of years ago. The term Aethiopian Ocean, derived from Ancient Ethiopia, was applied to the Southern Atlantic as late as the mid-19th century, many Irish or British people refer to the United States and Canada as across the pond, and vice versa. The Black Atlantic refers to the role of ocean in shaping black peoples history. Irish migration to the US is meant when the term The Green Atlantic is used, the term Red Atlantic has been used in reference to the Marxian concept of an Atlantic working class, as well as to the Atlantic experience of indigenous Americans. Correspondingly, the extent and number of oceans and seas varies, the Atlantic Ocean is bounded on the west by North and South America. It connects to the Arctic Ocean through the Denmark Strait, Greenland Sea, Norwegian Sea, to the east, the boundaries of the ocean proper are Europe, the Strait of Gibraltar and Africa. In the southeast, the Atlantic merges into the Indian Ocean, the 20° East meridian, running south from Cape Agulhas to Antarctica defines its border. In the 1953 definition it extends south to Antarctica, while in later maps it is bounded at the 60° parallel by the Southern Ocean, the Atlantic has irregular coasts indented by numerous bays, gulfs, and seas. Including these marginal seas the coast line of the Atlantic measures 111,866 km compared to 135,663 km for the Pacific. Including its marginal seas, the Atlantic covers an area of 106,460,000 km2 or 23. 5% of the ocean and has a volume of 310,410,900 km3 or 23. 3%. Excluding its marginal seas, the Atlantic covers 81,760,000 km2 and has a volume of 305,811,900 km3, the North Atlantic covers 41,490,000 km2 and the South Atlantic 40,270,000 km2. The average depth is 3,646 m and the maximum depth, the bathymetry of the Atlantic is dominated by a submarine mountain range called the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. It runs from 87°N or 300 km south of the North Pole to the subantarctic Bouvet Island at 42°S, the MAR divides the Atlantic longitudinally into two halves, in each of which a series of basins are delimited by secondary, transverse ridges. The MAR reaches above 2000 m along most of its length, the MAR is a barrier for bottom water, but at these two transform faults deep water currents can pass from one side to the other
4.
Estuary
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An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a zone between river environments and maritime environments. They are subject both to marine influences—such as tides, waves, and the influx of saline water—and to riverine influences—such as flows of fresh water and sediment. The inflows of sea water and fresh water provide high levels of nutrients both in the water column and in sediment, making estuaries among the most productive natural habitats in the world. Most existing estuaries formed during the Holocene epoch with the flooding of river-eroded or glacially scoured valleys when the sea began to rise about 10. Estuaries are typically classified according to their geomorphological features or to water-circulation patterns, the banks of many estuaries are amongst the most heavily populated areas of the world, with about 60% of the worlds population living along estuaries and the coast. The word estuary is derived from the Latin word aestuarium meaning tidal inlet of the sea, there have been many definitions proposed to describe an estuary. However, this definition excludes a number of water bodies such as coastal lagoons. This broad definition also includes fjords, lagoons, river mouths, an estuary is a dynamic ecosystem having a connection to the open sea through which the sea water enters with the rhythm of the tides. The sea water entering the estuary is diluted by the water flowing from rivers. The pattern of dilution varies between different estuaries and depends on the volume of water, the tidal range. Drowned river valleys are known as coastal plain estuaries. In places where the sea level is rising relative to the land, sea water progressively penetrates into river valleys and this is the most common type of estuary in temperate climates. Well-studied estuaries include the Severn Estuary in the United Kingdom and the Ems Dollard along the Dutch-German border, the width-to-depth ratio of these estuaries is typically large, appearing wedge-shaped in the inner part and broadening and deepening seaward. Water depths rarely exceed 30 m, examples of this type of estuary in the U. S. are the Hudson River, Chesapeake Bay, and Delaware Bay along the Mid-Atlantic coast, and Galveston Bay and Tampa Bay along the Gulf Coast. They are relatively common in tropical and subtropical locations and these estuaries are semi-isolated from ocean waters by barrier beaches. Formation of barrier beaches partially encloses the estuary, with only narrow inlets allowing contact with the ocean waters, bar-built estuaries typically develop on gently sloping plains located along tectonically stable edges of continents and marginal sea coasts. They are extensive along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the U. S. in areas with active coastal deposition of sediments, barrier beaches form in shallow water and are generally parallel to the shoreline, resulting in long, narrow estuaries
5.
Kennebec River
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The Kennebec River is a 170-mile-long river entirely within the U. S. state of Maine. It rises in Moosehead Lake in west-central Maine, the East and West Outlets join at Indian Pond and the river then flows southward from Harris Station Dam, the largest hydroelectric dam in the state. It is joined at The Forks by the Dead River, also called the West Branch, then continues southward past the cities of Madison, Skowhegan, Waterville, and the state capital Augusta. At Richmond, it flows into Merrymeeting Bay, a 16-mile-long freshwater tidal bay into which flow the Androscoggin River. The Kennebec then runs past the center of Bath, then to the Gulf of Maine in the Atlantic Ocean. Ocean tides affect the height as far north as Waterville. Tributaries of the Kennebec River include the Carrabassett River, Sandy River, the name Kennebec comes from the Eastern Abenaki /kínipekʷ/, meaning large body of still water, large bay. Segments of the East Coast Greenway run along the Kennebec, the Abenaki village of Norridgewock was located on the Kennebec in the 1600s. The English Popham Colony was founded on the Kennebec in 1607, the settlers there built the Virginia of Sagadahoc, the first oceangoing vessel built in the New World by English-speaking shipwrights. The sole remaining shipyard is the Bath Iron Works, one of the few yards still building warships for the United States Navy, the USCGC Kennebec was named after this river. An English trading post, Cushnoc, was established on the Kennebec in 1628, englands 1710 conquest of Acadia brought mainland Nova Scotia under its control, but New France still claimed present-day New Brunswick and present-day Maine east of the Kennebec River. The Kennebec River was a trade corridor to interior Maine from the Atlantic coast. It was the followed by 1,110 American Revolutionary War soldiers during Benedict Arnolds expedition to Quebec in 1775. Ocean ships could navigate upstream to Augusta, the cities of Bath, Gardiner, Hallowell and Augusta, and the towns of Woolwich, Richmond and Randolph developed adjacent to that transportation corridor. The Maine Central Railroad and U. S. Route 201 were later constructed following the river through these towns, during the War of 1812, near the Kennebec River, the Battle of Hampden was fought in Maine. In 1814, Frederic Tudor began to establish markets in the West Indies, in 1826, Rufus Page built the first large ice house near Gardiner to supply Tudor. The ice was harvested by farmers and others who were due to the winter weather. The ice was cut by hand, floated to an ice house on the bank, then, packed in sawdust, it was loaded aboard ships and sent south
6.
Concurrency (road)
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A concurrency in a road network is an instance of one physical road bearing two or more different highway, motorway, or other route numbers. When two freeways share the same right-of-way, it is called a common section or commons. Other terminology for a concurrency includes overlap, coincidence, duplex, triplex, multiplex, concurrent numbering can become very common in countries that allow it. In some countries, however, concurrent numbering is avoided by posting only one number on road signs. Criticism of concurrencies include environmental intrusion, as well as being considered a factor in road accidents, most concurrencies are simply a combination of two route numbers on the same physical road. This is often advantageous as well as economically advantageous, it may be better for two route numbers to be combined into one along riverways or through mountain valleys. Some nations allow for concurrencies to occur, however, some nations specifically do not allow it to happen, in those nations which do permit concurrencies, it can become very common. In these countries, there are a variety of concurrences which can occur, an example of this is the concurrency of I-70 and I-76 on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in western Pennsylvania. A triple Interstate concurrency is found north of Madison, Wisconsin, with I-39, I-90, Wisconsin has another triple Interstate concurrency along the five-mile section of I-41, I-43, and I-894 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The concurrency of I-41 and I-43 on this roadway is an example of a wrong-way concurrency, the longest Interstate highway concurrency is I-80 and I-90 for 265 miles across Indiana and Ohio. There are examples of eight-way concurrencies, I-465 around Indianapolis and Georgia State Route 10 Loop around downtown Athens, Georgia. Portions of the 53-mile I-465 overlap with I-74, US31, US36, US40, US52, US421, SR37, seven of the eight other designations overlap between exits 46 and 47 to create an eight-way concurrency. In the United States, concurrencies are simply marked by placing signs for both routes on the same or adjacent posts, the federal Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices prescribes that when mounting these adjacent signs together that the numbers will be arranged vertically or horizontally in order of precedence. The order to be used is Interstate Highways, U. S. Highways, state highways, and finally county roads, several states do not officially have any concurrencies, instead officially ending routes on each side of one. There are several circumstances where unusual concurrencies exist along state borders, one example occurs along the Oklahoma–Arkansas state line. At the northern end of this border Oklahoma State Highway 20 runs concurrently with Arkansas Highway 43, concurrencies are also found in Canada. In Manitoba, the Trans-Canada Highway from Winnipeg to Portage la Prairie is concurrently signed with Yellowhead Highway, in Ontario, the Queen Elizabeth Way and Highway 403 run concurrently between Burlington and Oakville, forming the provinces only concurrency between two 400-series highways. In the United Kingdom, routes do not run concurrently with others, where this would normally occur, the roadway takes the number of only one of the routes, while the other routes are considered to have a gap and are signed in brackets
7.
Tide
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Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon and the Sun and the rotation of the Earth. Some shorelines experience a semi-diurnal tide—two nearly equal high and low tides each day, other locations experience a diurnal tide—only one high and low tide each day. A mixed tide—two uneven tides a day, or one high, Tides vary on timescales ranging from hours to years due to a number of factors. To make accurate records, tide gauges at fixed stations measure water level over time, gauges ignore variations caused by waves with periods shorter than minutes. These data are compared to the level usually called mean sea level. Tidal phenomena are not limited to the oceans, but can occur in other systems whenever a gravitational field varies in time. For example, the part of the Earth is affected by tides. Tide changes proceed via the following stages, Sea level rises over several hours, covering the intertidal zone, the water rises to its highest level, reaching high tide. Sea level falls over several hours, revealing the intertidal zone, the water stops falling, reaching low tide. Oscillating currents produced by tides are known as tidal streams, the moment that the tidal current ceases is called slack water or slack tide. The tide then reverses direction and is said to be turning, slack water usually occurs near high water and low water. But there are locations where the moments of slack tide differ significantly from those of high, Tides are commonly semi-diurnal, or diurnal. The two high waters on a day are typically not the same height, these are the higher high water. Similarly, the two low waters each day are the low water and the lower low water. The daily inequality is not consistent and is small when the Moon is over the equator. From the highest level to the lowest, Highest Astronomical Tide – The highest tide which can be predicted to occur, note that meteorological conditions may add extra height to the HAT. Mean High Water Springs – The average of the two high tides on the days of spring tides, mean High Water Neaps – The average of the two high tides on the days of neap tides. Mean Sea Level – This is the sea level
8.
Alna, Maine
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Alna is a town in Lincoln County, Maine, United States. The population was 709 at the 2010 census, home to the Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington Railway Museum, Alna includes the early mill village of Head Tide, noted for its historic architecture. Originally a part of old Pownalborough, the town was settled around 1760, but residents didnt like the name, so it was changed in 1811 to Alna, Latin for alder, the tree which grows in profusion along the banks of the Sheepscot River. Alna was the site of the first fish hatchery in Maine, between 1895 until 1933, Sheepscot Station was a stop on the narrow gauge Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington Railway, which is now a heritage railway in town. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has an area of 21.32 square miles. Alna is drained by the Sheepscot River, the town in crossed by Maine State Route 194 and Maine State Route 218. It borders the towns of Wiscasset to the south, Dresden to the west, Pittston, Whitefield and Jefferson to the north, as of the census of 2010, there were 709 people,295 households, and 210 families residing in the town. The population density was 33.9 inhabitants per square mile, there were 346 housing units at an average density of 16.6 per square mile. The racial makeup of the town was 97. 5% White,0. 1% African American,1. 1% Native American,0. 4% Asian,0. 1% from other races, hispanic or Latino of any race were 0. 6% of the population. 21. 0% of all households were made up of individuals and 6. 7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older, the average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.78. The median age in the town was 45.7 years. 20. 9% of residents were under the age of 18,5. 5% were between the ages of 18 and 24,22. 1% were from 25 to 44,35. 2% were from 45 to 64, and 16. 2% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 48. 7% male and 51. 3% female, as of the census of 2000, there were 675 people,266 households, and 197 families residing in the town. The population density was 32.3 people per square mile, there were 315 housing units at an average density of 15.1 per square mile. The racial makeup of the town was 99. 56% White,0. 30% Native American and 0. 15% Asian, hispanic or Latino of any race were 0. 15% of the population. 19. 9% of all households were made up of individuals and 9. 4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older, the average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 2.94. In the town, the population was out with 25. 0% under the age of 18,4. 9% from 18 to 24,27. 4% from 25 to 44,28. 6% from 45 to 64. The median age was 41 years, for every 100 females there were 99.7 males
9.
Narrow-gauge railway
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A narrow-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge narrower than the 1,435 mm of standard gauge railways. Most existing narrow-gauge railways are between 600 mm and 1,067 mm, narrow-gauge railways also have specialized use in mines and other environments where a very small structure gauge makes a very small loading gauge necessary. Narrow-gauge railways also have general applications. Many narrow-gauge street tramways are used, particularly in Europe, where 1,000 mm metre gauge tramways are common, the earliest recorded railway is shown in the De re metallica of 1556, which shows a mine in Bohemia with a railway of about 2 ft gauge. During the 16th century, railways were mainly restricted to hand-pushed narrow-gauge lines in mines throughout Europe, during the 17th century, mine railways were extended to provide transportation above ground. These lines were industrial, connecting mines with nearby transportation points and these railways were usually built to the same narrow gauge as the mine railways from which they developed. The worlds first steam locomotive on rails, built in 1802 by Richard Trevithick for the Coalbrookdale Company, during the 1820s and 1830s, a number of industrial narrow-gauge railways in the United Kingdom used steam locomotives. In 1842, the first narrow-gauge steam locomotive outside the UK was built for the 1,100 mm gauge Antwerp-Ghent Railway in Belgium, historically, many narrow-gauge railways were built as part of specific industrial enterprises and were primarily industrial railways rather than general carriers. Some common uses for these industrial narrow-gauge railways were mining, logging, construction, tunnelling, quarrying, extensive narrow-gauge networks were constructed in many parts of the world for these purposes. For example, mountain logging operations in the 19th century often used narrow-gauge railways to transport logs from mill sites to market, significant sugarcane railways still operate in Cuba, Fiji, Java, the Philippines, and Queensland. Narrow-gauge railway equipment remains in use for the construction of tunnels. Extensive narrow-gauge railway systems served the front-line trenches of both sides in World War I and they were a short-lived military application, and after the end of the war, the surplus equipment from these created a small boom in narrow gauge railway building in Europe. Narrow-gauge railways usually cost less to build because they are lighter in construction, using smaller cars and locomotives, as well as smaller bridges, smaller tunnels. Narrow gauge is often used in mountainous terrain, where the savings in civil engineering work can be substantial. It is also used in populated areas where the potential demand is too low for broader gauge railways to be economically viable. This is the case in some of Australia and most of Southern Africa, the use of such railways has almost vanished due to the capabilities of modern trucks. In many countries, narrow gauge railways were built as feeder or branch lines to feed traffic to more important standard gauge lines, the choice was often not between a narrow-gauge railway and a standard gauge one, but between a narrow-gauge railway and none at all. Some bulk commodities, such as coal, ore, and gravel, can be transshipped, but this still incurs time penalties
10.
Wiscasset, Maine
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Wiscasset is a town in and the county seat of Lincoln County, Maine, in the United States. The municipality is located in the Mid Coast region of the state, the population was 3,732 as of the 2010 census. Home to the Chewonki Foundation, Wiscasset is a tourist destination noted for early architecture, the town is home to the world-renowned Reds Eats restaurant. In 1605, Samuel de Champlain is said to have landed here, situated on the tidal Sheepscot River, Wiscasset was first settled in 1663. The community was abandoned during the French and Indian Wars, in 1760, it was incorporated as Pownalborough after Colonial Governor Thomas Pownall. In 1802, it resumed its original Abenaki name, Wiscasset, during the Revolutionary War, the British warship Rainbow harbored itself in Wiscasset Harbor and held the town at bay until the town gave the warship essential supplies. In 1775, Captain Jack Bunker supposedly robbed the payroll of a British supply ship, Falmouth Packet and he was chased for days and caught on Little Seal Island. His treasure reportedly has never been found, because of the siege during the Revolutionary War, Fort Edgecomb was built in 1808 on the opposite bank of the Sheepscot to protect the town harbor. Wiscassets prosperity left behind fine architecture, particularly in the Federal style when the seaport was important in privateering. Two dwellings of the period, Castle Tucker and the Nickels-Sortwell House, are now operated by Historic New England. The seaport became a center for shipbuilding, fishing and lumber, Wiscasset quickly became the busiest seaport north of Boston until the embargo of 1807 halted much trade with England. Most of Wiscassets business and trade was destroyed, Maine was officially admitted as a state in 1820 with the passage of the Maine-Missouri Compromise. The town of Wiscasset was considered for the capital. During the Civil War, Wiscasset had many of its residents joined the 20th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment. Its regiment was commended for fighting bravely at the Battle of Gettysburg, rail service to Wiscasset began with the Knox and Lincoln Railroad in 1871. The Knox and Lincoln was merged into the Maine Central Railroad in 1901, Wiscasset was connected to the national rail network by the completion of the Carlton bridge over the Kennebec River in 1927. Wiscasset was the terminal and standard gauge interchange of the 2-foot gauge Wiscasset, Waterville. Construction began in Wiscasset in 1894, train service began in 1895 as the Wiscasset and Quebec Railroad
Media related to Sheepscot River at Wikimedia Commons