1.
Fort Clinch
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Fort Clinch is a 19th-century masonry coastal fortification, built as part of the Third System of seacoast defense conceived by the United States. It is located on a peninsula near the northernmost point of Amelia Island in Nassau County, the fort lies to the northeast of Fernandina Beach at the entrance to the Cumberland Sound, in the northeast part of the state. Today it is included within the boundaries of Fort Clinch State Park and this site was first fortified in 1736 by the Spanish, when they held colonies in Florida. From 1736, various nations to control the territory have garrisoned and fortified this site to protect the entrance to the St. Marys River, after the end of the Second Seminole War, the United States started construction of a fort, later named Fort Clinch, in 1847. It was part of its Third System of coastal defenses conceived earlier in the century, the fortified compound is pentagonal in shape, with both inner and outer walls, and consists of almost five million bricks. There are corner bastions and embrasures in the walls and several structures in the interior courtyards. The fort was named in honor of General Duncan Lamont Clinch after his death in 1849, General Clinch fought in the War of 1812 and was an important figure in the First and Second Seminole Wars. Confederate forces seized the fort in early 1861 and it was used as a safe haven for Confederate blockade runners during the first year of the Civil War. However, changes in technology, specifically, the development of rifled cannon, had improved weaponry to the point that the brick walls were vulnerable to attacks. In March 1862 General Robert E. Lee ordered abandonment of the fort in order to use scarce troops in other areas, federal troops re-occupied the fort in early 1862, taking control of the adjacent Georgia and Florida coasts. They used the fort as the base of Union operations in the area throughout the Civil War, the fort was placed on caretaker status in 1869, it remained so until 1898, when the Army garrisoned it during the short Spanish–American War. In September of that year, the Army abandoned it again, during the Great Depression, workers of the Civilian Conservation Corps began restoration of the fort during the 1930s. It was restored to the Civil War era, in 1935, the State of Florida bought 256 acres that included the then-abandoned fort and the surrounding area. Fort Clinch State Park including the fort, opened to the public in 1938, the fort was closed to the public during World War II and used as a communications and security post. It was re-opened to public visits after the war ended, the fort was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. It is interpreted largely in terms of its use as a base of Union operations during the American Civil War, State Park personnel reenact military life at the fort, which is open from 8, 00am until sundown, year-round
2.
United States Geological Survey
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The United States Geological Survey is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its resources. The organization has four science disciplines, concerning biology, geography, geology. The USGS is a research organization with no regulatory responsibility. The USGS is a bureau of the United States Department of the Interior, the USGS employs approximately 8,670 people and is headquartered in Reston, Virginia. The USGS also has major offices near Lakewood, Colorado, at the Denver Federal Center, the current motto of the USGS, in use since August 1997, is science for a changing world. The agencys previous slogan, adopted on the occasion of its anniversary, was Earth Science in the Public Service. Prompted by a report from the National Academy of Sciences, the USGS was created, by a last-minute amendment and it was charged with the classification of the public lands, and examination of the geological structure, mineral resources, and products of the national domain. This task was driven by the need to inventory the vast lands added to the United States by the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, the legislation also provided that the Hayden, Powell, and Wheeler surveys be discontinued as of June 30,1879. Clarence King, the first director of USGS, assembled the new organization from disparate regional survey agencies, after a short tenure, King was succeeded in the directors chair by John Wesley Powell. Administratively, it is divided into a Headquarters unit and six Regional Units, Other specific programs include, Earthquake Hazards Program monitors earthquake activity worldwide. The National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colorado on the campus of the Colorado School of Mines detects the location, the USGS also runs or supports several regional monitoring networks in the United States under the umbrella of the Advanced National Seismic System. The USGS informs authorities, emergency responders, the media, and it also maintains long-term archives of earthquake data for scientific and engineering research. It also conducts and supports research on long-term seismic hazards, USGS has released the UCERF California earthquake forecast. The USGS National Geomagnetism Program monitors the magnetic field at magnetic observatories and distributes magnetometer data in real time, the USGS operates the streamgaging network for the United States, with over 7400 streamgages. Real-time streamflow data are available online, since 1962, the Astrogeology Research Program has been involved in global, lunar, and planetary exploration and mapping. USGS operates a number of related programs, notably the National Streamflow Information Program. USGS Water data is available from their National Water Information System database
3.
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
4.
Okefenokee Swamp
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The Okefenokee Swamp is a shallow,438, 000-acre, peat-filled wetland straddling the Georgia–Florida line in the United States. A majority of the swamp is protected by the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, the Okefenokee Swamp is considered to be one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Georgia. The Okefenokee is the largest blackwater swamp in North America, the swamp was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1974. The name Okefenokee is attested with more than a dozen variant spellings of the word in historical literature, though often translated as land of trembling earth, the name is likely derived from Hitchiti oki fanôːki bubbling water. The Okefenokee was formed over the past 6,500 years by the accumulation of peat in a basin on the edge of an ancient Atlantic coastal terrace. The swamp is bordered by Trail Ridge, a strip of elevated land believed to have formed as coastal dunes or a barrier island. The St. Marys River and the Suwannee River both originate in the swamp, the Suwannee River originates as stream channels in the heart of the Okefenokee Swamp and drains at least 90 percent of the swamps watershed southwest toward the Gulf of Mexico. The earliest known inhabitants of the Okefenokee Swamp were the Timucua-speaking Oconi, the Spanish friars built the mission of Santiago de Oconi nearby in order to convert them to Christianity. Modern-day longtime residents of the Okefenokee Swamp, referred to as Swampers, are of overwhelmingly English ancestry, the Suwannee Canal was dug across the swamp in the late 19th century in a failed attempt to drain the Okefenokee. After the Suwannee Canal Companys bankruptcy, most of the swamp was purchased by the Hebard family of Philadelphia, several other logging companies ran railroad lines into the swamp until 1942, some remnants remain visible crossing swamp waterways. On the west side of the swamp, at Billys Island, logging equipment, most of the Okefenokee Swamp is included in the 403, 000-acre Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. By May 31, more than 600,000 acres, or more than 935 square miles, had burned in the region, in 2011, the Honey Prairie Fire consumed 309,200 acres of land in the Swamp. State Road 2 passes through the Florida portion between the Georgia cities of Council and Moniac, the graded Swamp Perimeter Road encircles Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. Gated and closed to use, it provides access for fire management of the interface between the federal refuge and the surrounding industrial tree farms. Many visitors enter the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge each year, the swamp provides an important economic resource to southeast Georgia and northeast Florida. About 400,000 people visit the swamp annually, with many from distant locations such as Germany, service providers at the refuge entrances and several local outfitters offer guided tours by motorboat, canoe, and kayak. The Okefenokee Swamp is part of the Southeastern conifer forests ecoregion, much of the Okefenokee is a southern coastal plain nonriverine basin swamp, forested by bald cypress and swamp tupelo trees. Upland areas support southern coastal plain oak domes and hammocks, thick stands of evergreen oaks, drier and more frequently burned areas support Atlantic coastal plain upland longleaf pine woodlands of longleaf pine
5.
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
6.
Border
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Borders are geographic boundaries of political entities or legal jurisdictions, such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Some borders—such as an internal administrative border, or inter-state borders within the Schengen Area—are often open. Other borders are partially or fully controlled, and may be crossed only at designated border checkpoints. Mostly contentious, borders may even foster the setting up of buffer zones, a difference has also been established in academic scholarship between border and frontier, the latter denoting a state of mind rather than state boundaries. In the past, many borders were not clearly defined lines, instead there were often intervening areas often claimed, a special case in recent times was the neutral zones that were set up along parts of Saudi Arabias borders with Kuwait and Iraq. In modern times, marchlands have been replaced by clearly defined and demarcated borders, for the purposes of border control, airports and seaports are also classed as borders. Most countries have some form of control to regulate or limit the movement of people, animals. Some borders require presentation of legal paperwork like passports and visas, or other identity documents, moving goods across a border often requires the payment of excise tax, often collected by customs officials. Animals moving across borders may need to go into quarantine to prevent the spread of infectious diseases. Most countries prohibit carrying illegal drugs or endangered animals across their borders, moving goods, animals, or people illegally across a border, without declaring them or seeking permission, or deliberately evading official inspection, constitutes smuggling. Controls on car liability insurance validity and other formalities may also take place, in places where smuggling, migration, and infiltration are a problem, many countries fortify borders with fences and barriers, and institute formal border control procedures. But some borders are merely signposted and this is common in countries within the European Schengen Area and on rural sections of the Canada–United States border. Borders may even be unmarked, typically in remote or forested regions. The frontiers were particularly porous for the movement of migrants. A border may have been, Agreed by the countries on both sides Imposed by the country on one side Imposed by third parties, e. g, in addition, a border may be a de facto military ceasefire line. Political borders are imposed on the world through human agency, political borders are often classified by whether or not they follow conspicuous physical features on the earth. Natural borders are geographical features that present natural obstacles to communication, existing political borders are often a formalization of these historical, natural obstacles. Some geographical features that often constitute natural borders are, Oceans, oceans create very costly natural borders, very few nation-states span more than one continent
7.
U.S. state
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A U. S. state is a constituent political entity of the United States of America. There are 50 states, which are together in a union with each other. Each state holds administrative jurisdiction over a geographic territory. Due to the shared sovereignty between each state and the government, Americans are citizens of both the federal republic and of the state in which they reside. State citizenship and residency are flexible, and no government approval is required to move between states, except for persons covered by certain types of court orders. States range in population from just under 600,000 to over 39 million, four states use the term commonwealth rather than state in their full official names. States are divided into counties or county-equivalents, which may be assigned some local authority but are not sovereign. County or county-equivalent structure varies widely by state, State governments are allocated power by the people through their individual constitutions. All are grounded in principles, and each provides for a government. States possess a number of powers and rights under the United States Constitution, Constitution has been amended, and the interpretation and application of its provisions have changed. The general tendency has been toward centralization and incorporation, with the government playing a much larger role than it once did. There is a debate over states rights, which concerns the extent and nature of the states powers and sovereignty in relation to the federal government. States and their residents are represented in the federal Congress, a legislature consisting of the Senate. Each state is represented in the Senate by two senators, and is guaranteed at least one Representative in the House, members of the House are elected from single-member districts. Representatives are distributed among the states in proportion to the most recent constitutionally mandated decennial census, the Constitution grants to Congress the authority to admit new states into the Union. Since the establishment of the United States in 1776, the number of states has expanded from the original 13 to 50, alaska and Hawaii are the most recent states admitted, both in 1959. The Constitution is silent on the question of states have the power to secede from the Union. Shortly after the Civil War, the U. S. Supreme Court, in Texas v. White, as a result, while the governments of the various states share many similar features, they often vary greatly with regard to form and substance
8.
Georgia (U.S. state)
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Georgia is a state in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1733, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies, named after King George II of Great Britain, Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2,1788. It declared its secession from the Union on January 19,1861 and it was the last state to be restored to the Union, on July 15,1870. Georgia is the 24th largest and the 8th most populous of the 50 United States, from 2007 to 2008,14 of Georgias counties ranked among the nations 100 fastest-growing, second only to Texas. Georgia is known as the Peach State and the Empire State of the South, Atlanta is the states capital, its most populous city and has been named a global city. Georgia is bordered to the south by Florida, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean and South Carolina, to the west by Alabama, the states northern part is in the Blue Ridge Mountains, part of the Appalachian Mountains system. Georgias highest point is Brasstown Bald at 4,784 feet above sea level, Georgia is the largest state entirely east of the Mississippi River in land area. Before settlement by Europeans, Georgia was inhabited by the mound building cultures, the British colony of Georgia was founded by James Oglethorpe on February 12,1733. The colony was administered by the Trustees for the Establishment of the Colony of Georgia in America under a charter issued by King George II. The Trustees implemented a plan for the colonys settlement, known as the Oglethorpe Plan. In 1742 the colony was invaded by the Spanish during the War of Jenkins Ear, in 1752, after the government failed to renew subsidies that had helped support the colony, the Trustees turned over control to the crown. Georgia became a colony, with a governor appointed by the king. The Province of Georgia was one of the Thirteen Colonies that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution by signing the 1776 Declaration of Independence, the State of Georgias first constitution was ratified in February 1777. Georgia was the 10th state to ratify the Articles of Confederation on July 24,1778, in 1829, gold was discovered in the North Georgia mountains, which led to the Georgia Gold Rush and an established federal mint in Dahlonega, which continued its operation until 1861. The subsequent influx of white settlers put pressure on the government to land from the Cherokee Nation. In 1830, President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act into law, sending many eastern Native American nations to reservations in present-day Oklahoma, including all of Georgias tribes. Despite the Supreme Courts ruling in Worcester v. Georgia that ruled U. S. states were not permitted to redraw the Indian boundaries, President Jackson and the state of Georgia ignored the ruling. In 1838, his successor, Martin Van Buren, dispatched troops to gather the Cherokee
9.
Florida
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Florida /ˈflɒrᵻdə/ is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, Florida is the 22nd-most extensive, the 3rd-most populous, and the 8th-most densely populated of the U. S. states. Jacksonville is the most populous municipality in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States, the Miami metropolitan area is Floridas most populous urban area. The city of Tallahassee is the state capital, much of the state is at or near sea level and is characterized by sedimentary soil. The climate varies from subtropical in the north to tropical in the south, the American alligator, American crocodile, Florida panther, and manatee can be found in the Everglades National Park. It was a location of the Seminole Wars against the Native Americans. Today, Florida is distinctive for its large Cuban expatriate community and high population growth, the states economy relies mainly on tourism, agriculture, and transportation, which developed in the late 19th century. Florida is also renowned for amusement parks, orange crops, the Kennedy Space Center, Florida has attracted many writers such as Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, Ernest Hemingway and Tennessee Williams, and continues to attract celebrities and athletes. It is internationally known for golf, tennis, auto racing, by the 16th century, the earliest time for which there is a historical record, major Native American groups included the Apalachee, the Timucua, the Ais, the Tocobaga, the Calusa and the Tequesta. Florida was the first part of the continental United States to be visited and settled by Europeans, the earliest known European explorers came with the Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de León. Ponce de León spotted and landed on the peninsula on April 2,1513 and he named the region La Florida. The story that he was searching for the Fountain of Youth is a myth, in May 1539, Conquistador Hernando de Soto skirted the coast of Florida, searching for a deep harbor to land. He described seeing a wall of red mangroves spread mile after mile, some reaching as high as 70 feet. Very soon, many smokes appeared along the whole coast, billowing against the sky, the Spanish introduced Christianity, cattle, horses, sheep, the Spanish language, and more to Florida. Both the Spanish and French established settlements in Florida, with varying degrees of success, in 1559, Don Tristán de Luna y Arellano established a settlement at present-day Pensacola, making it the first attempted settlement in Florida, but it was abandoned by 1561. Spain maintained tenuous control over the region by converting the tribes to Christianity. The area of Spanish Florida diminished with the establishment of English settlements to the north, the English attacked St. Augustine, burning the city and its cathedral to the ground several times. Florida attracted numerous Africans and African-Americans from adjacent British colonies who sought freedom from slavery, in 1738, Governor Manuel de Montiano established Fort Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose near St
10.
St. Marys, Georgia
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St. Marys is a city in Camden County, Georgia, United States. The city is the gateway to Cumberland Island National Seashore, the largest of the Georgia Coasts barrier islands, the National Seashores visitor center and boat access are both located at the St. Marys waterfront. The city is home to the annual St. Marys Rock Shrimp Festival, the St. Marys Submarine Museum, the Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base. The population of St. Marys was 17,121 at the 2010 census, St. Marys is located along the southern border of Camden County at 30°45′23″N 81°34′17″W, on the north bank of the St. Marys River. The state of Florida is to the south, across the river, the city of Kingsland borders St. Marys to the west. According to the United States Census Bureau, St. Marys has an area of 24.9 square miles, of which 22.5 square miles is land and 2.4 square miles. The closest major city is Jacksonville, Florida,38 miles south, template, Weather warm The St. Marys area was first explored in the mid 16th century as part of the settlement of Spanish Florida, with nearby St. Augustine as the established capital. Settlement for Georgians became legal after the Treaty of Paris in 1763, local inhabitants of Camden County gathered on Cumberland Island and signed a charter for a town on the St. Marys on November 20,1787. There were twenty charter members who received four town lots and one marsh lot, each lot was 4 acres square. These twenty city founders are named on a marker in downtown St. The original boundaries of the town correspond to the waterfront, Bartlett Street, North Street. There were two public town squares, St. Marys was recognized by an act of the Georgia legislature on December 5,1792, with the result of incorporation in November 1802. Oak Grove Cemetery is included in the St. Marys Historic District and was laid outside the border of St. Marys during its founding in 1787. On June 29,1796, the Treaty of Colerain was signed just up the river from St Marys between the United States and the Creek Nation, St. Marys town founder Langley Bryant served as the official interpreter between the Creek Indians and the United States. St. Marys was made a United States port of entry by act of the U. S. Congress March 2,1799, the first Collector was James Seagrove. During the antebellum period, Archibald Clark served as the U. S. Customs Collector from 1807 until his death in 1848, during the War of 1812 the Battle of Fort Peter occurred near the town, at the fort on Point Peter along the St. Marys River. The British captured the fort and the town and occupied it for about a month, the United States Navy bombarded the towns shoreside buildings during the American Civil War. St. Marys served as Camden Countys seat of government from 1869 until 1923, as of the census of 2000, there were 13,761 people,4,837 households, and 3,758 families residing in the city
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