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.
Sequoiadendron giganteum
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The common use of the name sequoia generally refers to Sequoiadendron giganteum, which occurs naturally only in groves on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California. The etymology of the name has been presumed—initially in The Yosemite Book by Josiah Whitney in 1868—to be in honor of Sequoyah. Giant sequoias are the worlds largest single trees and largest living thing by volume, Giant sequoias grow to an average height of 50–85 m and 6–8 m in diameter. Record trees have been measured to be 94.8 m in height, claims of 17 m diameter have been touted by taking an authors writing out of context, but the widest known at chest height is closer to 8.2 m. Between 2014 and 2016, specimens of coast redwood were found to have larger trunk diameters than all known giant sequoias, the oldest known giant sequoia based on ring count is 3,500 years old. Giant Sequoias are among the oldest living things on Earth, Sequoia bark is fibrous, furrowed, and may be 90 cm thick at the base of the columnar trunk. It provides significant fire protection for the trees, the leaves are evergreen, awl-shaped, 3–6 millimetres long, and arranged spirally on the shoots. The seed is brown, 4–5 millimetres long and 1 millimetre broad, with a 1-millimetre wide. Some seeds are shed when the cone scales shrink during hot weather in late summer, the giant sequoia regenerates by seed. Young trees start to bear cones at the age of 12 years, Trees up to about 20 years old may produce stump sprouts subsequent to injury, but unlike coast redwoods, shoots do not form on the stumps of mature trees. Giant sequoias of all ages may sprout from their boles when branches are lost to fire or breakage, at any given time, a large tree may be expected to have about 11,000 cones. Cone production is greatest in the portion of the canopy. A mature giant sequoia has been estimated to disperse 300, 000–400,000 seeds per year, the winged seeds may be carried up to 180 metres from the parent tree. Lower branches die fairly readily from shading, but trees less than 100 years old retain most of their dead branches, trunks of mature trees in groves are generally free of branches to a height of 20–50 metres, but solitary trees will retain low branches. Because of its size, the tree has been studied for its water pull, Sequoias supplement water from the soil with fog, taken up through air roots, at heights to where the root water cannot be pulled. The natural distribution of giant sequoias is restricted to an area of the western Sierra Nevada. They occur in scattered groves, with a total of 68 groves, nowhere does it grow in pure stands, although in a few small areas, stands do approach a pure condition. The northern two-thirds of its range, from the American River in Placer County southward to the Kings River, has only eight disjunct groves, the remaining southern groves are concentrated between the Kings River and the Deer Creek Grove in southern Tulare County
3.
Chainsaw carving
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The art of chainsaw carving is a fast-growing form of art that combines the modern technology of the chainsaw with the ancient art of woodcarving. The oldest chainsaw artist records go back to the 1950s, which include artists Ray Murphy, in 1952 Ray Murphy used his fathers chainsaw to carve his name into a piece of wood. In 1961 Ken Kaiser created 50 carvings for the Trees of Mystery, many new artists began to experiment with chainsaw carving, including Brenda Hubbard, Judy McVay, Don Colp, Cherie Currie, Susan Miller, Mike McVay, and Lois Hollingsworth. At this time chainsaw carvers started loading up their carvings in the back of their trucks, in the 1980s the art form really began to grow with Art Moe getting much exposure for the craft at the Lumberjack World Championships held in Hayward, Wisconsin. The addition of carving contests from the west coast to the east coast brought carvers together to test their skills, the first Chainsaw Carving World Championships was held in 1987 and won by then 24-year-old Barre Pinske. The 80s also brought the first book on chainsaw carving, Fun and Profitable Chainsaw Carving by William Westenhaver and Ron Hovde, other books soon followed, including a book by Hal MacIntosh published in 1988 titled Chainsaw Art and in 2001 Chainsaw Carving, The Art and Craft. He published material on chainsaw carving that predated the popularity of the Internet, the first booking agency dedicated to promoting and preserving the integrity of performance chainsaw art was founded by Brian Ruth in 1992. It was appropriately named Masters of the Chainsaw, the company has represented some of the most respected artists in the U. S. such as Brian Ruth, Ben Risney, Josh Landry, Mark Tyoe and Marty Long, as well as select artists from other countries. In 2007, Masters of the Chainsaw, under the direction of Jen Ruth, featured in this all-female team are greats like Stephanie Huber, Angela Polglaze, Lisa Foster, Alicia Charlton, Uschi Elias, and Sara Winter. Brian Ruth introduced the art as an art to Japan in 1995. Since then, he has established a division of Masters of the Chainsaw, although the general impression of the public is that it is largely performance art, there are a few chainsaw carvers now producing stunning works of art. These works can be produced in a fraction of the time that would normally be expected if only conventional tools such as mallet, although many carvers continue to use other tools alongside the chainsaw, the chainsaw remains the primary tool. With the growth of the Internet, chainsaw carving has become a phenomenon with chainsaw carvers all over the world. In the United Kingdom, the English Open Chainsaw Competition draws thousands of visitors annually, in 1989 Duncan Kitson was the first British carver, with notable success, to represent Wales and The UK in international competition. His work is recognized for its individual, engineered and tactile qualities, English chainsaw artist Matthew Crabb has carved the largest wooden statue of the Virgin Mary in the world, at 9 meters high, in Schochwitz, Germany. Welsh veteran, Harry Thomas of Thomas Carving is highly respected in the industry and specialises in bears, Harry has appeared on ITVs Daybreak, where he carved Queen Elizabeth IIs head, in celebration of her Diamond Jubilee. In Canada, many wooden statues produced by the chainsaw artist Pete Ryan decorate the town of Hope. In Japan, the Toei Chainsaw Art Club established the World Chainsaw Art Competition, the 2011 World Chainsaw Art Competition at the Toei Dome was to be dedicated to raising money for disaster relief due to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster that has affected the country
4.
Paul Bunyan
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Paul Bunyan is a giant lumberjack in American folklore. His exploits revolve around the tales of his superhuman labors. The character originated in the tradition of North American loggers. Laughead in a 1916 promotional pamphlet for the Red River Lumber Company and he has been the subject of various literary compositions, musical pieces, commercial works, and theatrical productions. His likeness is displayed in several statues across North America, there are many hypotheses about the etymology of the name Paul Bunyan. Much of the focuses on a Franco-Canadian origin for the name. Phonetically Bunyan is similar to the Québécois expression bon yenne, the English surname Bunyan is derived from the same root as bunion in the Old French bugne, referring to a large lump or swelling. Several researchers have attempted to trace Paul Bunyan to the character of Bon Jean or Tit Jean of French Canadian folklore. Michael Edmonds states in his book Out of the Northwoods, The Many Lives of Paul Bunyan that Paul Bunyan stories circulated for at least thirty years before finding their way into print. In contrast to the lengthy narratives abundant in published material, Paul Bunyan stories when told in the lumbercamp bunkhouses were presented in short fragments, Some of these stories include motifs from older folktales, such as absurdly severe weather and fearsome critters. Parallels in early printings support the view that at least a handful of Bunyan stories hold a common origin in folklore. All four anecdotes are mirrored in J. E. Rockwells Some Lumberjack Myths six years later, macGillivrays account, somewhat extended, reappeared in The American Lumberman in 1910. The American Lumberman followed up with a few sporadic editorials, such as Paul Bunyans Oxen, In Paul Bunyans Cook Shanty, in all the articles, Paul Bunyan is praised as a logger of great physical strength and unrivaled skill. Laughead, an independent adman, was the first to utilize Paul Bunyan for commercial use in a series of campaigns for the Red River Lumber Company and his first endeavor was a pamphlet entitled Introducing Mr. Paul Bunyan of Westwood, California, but it did not prove effective. It was not until Tales about Paul Bunyan, Vol. II appeared that the campaign gained momentum, embellishing older exploits and adding some of his own, Laugheads revamped Paul Bunyan did not stay faithful to the original folktales. Among other things, Laughead gave the name Babe to the ox, increased Paul Bunyans height to impossible proportions. This has led to significant confusion regarding the validity of Paul Bunyan as a folkloric character. Nevertheless, the Laughead pamphlets are regarded as one of the most popular collections, often appearing in a single, unabridged volume entitled, the Red River ad campaign ingrained Paul Bunyan as a nationally recognized figure, and it also affirmed his massive marketing appeal
5.
North America
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North America is a continent entirely within the Northern Hemisphere and almost all within the Western Hemisphere. It can also be considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the west and south by the Pacific Ocean, and to the southeast by South America and the Caribbean Sea. North America covers an area of about 24,709,000 square kilometers, about 16. 5% of the land area. North America is the third largest continent by area, following Asia and Africa, and the fourth by population after Asia, Africa, and Europe. In 2013, its population was estimated at nearly 565 million people in 23 independent states, or about 7. 5% of the worlds population, North America was reached by its first human populations during the last glacial period, via crossing the Bering land bridge. The so-called Paleo-Indian period is taken to have lasted until about 10,000 years ago, the Classic stage spans roughly the 6th to 13th centuries. The Pre-Columbian era ended with the migrations and the arrival of European settlers during the Age of Discovery. Present-day cultural and ethnic patterns reflect different kind of interactions between European colonists, indigenous peoples, African slaves and their descendants, European influences are strongest in the northern parts of the continent while indigenous and African influences are relatively stronger in the south. Because of the history of colonialism, most North Americans speak English, Spanish or French, the Americas are usually accepted as having been named after the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci by the German cartographers Martin Waldseemüller and Matthias Ringmann. Vespucci, who explored South America between 1497 and 1502, was the first European to suggest that the Americas were not the East Indies, but a different landmass previously unknown by Europeans. In 1507, Waldseemüller produced a map, in which he placed the word America on the continent of South America. He explained the rationale for the name in the accompanying book Cosmographiae Introductio, for Waldseemüller, no one should object to the naming of the land after its discoverer. He used the Latinized version of Vespuccis name, but in its feminine form America, following the examples of Europa, Asia and Africa. Later, other mapmakers extended the name America to the continent, In 1538. Some argue that the convention is to use the surname for naming discoveries except in the case of royalty, a minutely explored belief that has been advanced is that America was named for a Spanish sailor bearing the ancient Visigothic name of Amairick. Another is that the name is rooted in a Native American language, the term North America maintains various definitions in accordance with location and context. In Canadian English, North America may be used to refer to the United States, alternatively, usage sometimes includes Greenland and Mexico, as well as offshore islands
6.
Lumberjack
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Lumberjacks are workers in the logging industry who perform the initial harvesting and transport of trees for ultimate processing into forest products. The term usually refers to an era when hand tools were used in harvesting trees. Because of its ties, the term lumberjack has become ingrained in popular culture through folklore, mass media. The actual work was difficult, dangerous, intermittent, low-paying, however, the men built a traditional culture that celebrated strength, masculinity, confrontation with danger, and resistance to modernization. The term lumberjack is of Canadian derivation, the term lumberjack is primarily historical, logger is used by workers in the 21st century. When lumberjack is used, it refers to a logger from an earlier time before the advent of chainsaws, feller-bunchers. Other terms for the occupation include woodcutter, shanty boy and the colloquial term woodhick, a logger employed in driving logs down a river was known locally in northern North America as a river pig, catty-man, river hog, or river rat. The term lumberjill has been known for a woman who does this work, for example, in Australia, the occupation is referred to as timber cutter or cool cutters. Lumberjacks worked in camps and often lived a migratory life. Being a lumberjack was seasonal work and they usually lived in bunkhouses or tents. Common equipment included the axe and cross-cut saw, Lumberjacks could be found wherever there were vast forests to be harvested and a demand for wood, most likely in Scandinavia, Canada, and parts of the United States. In the U. S. many lumberjacks were of Scandinavian ancestry, American lumberjacks were first centred in north-eastern states such as Maine. They then followed the westward migration on the continent to the Upper Midwest. Stewart Holbrook documented the emergence and westward migration of the classic American lumberjack in his first book, Holy Old Mackinaw and he often wrote colourfully about lumberjacks in his subsequent books, romanticizing them as hard-drinking, hard-working men. Logging camps were slowly phased out between World War II and the early 1960s as crews could by then be transported to remote logging sites in motor vehicles. The division of labor in lumber camps led to several specialized jobs on logging crews, such as punk, chaser. The whistle punks job was to sound a whistle as a signal to the operator controlling the movement of logs. He also had to act as a safety lookout, a good whistle punk had to be alert and think fast as the safety of the others depended on him
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