North American Numbering Plan
The North American Numbering Plan is a telephone numbering plan that encompasses twenty-five distinct regions in twenty countries in North America, including the Caribbean. Some North American countries, most notably Mexico, do not participate in the NANP; the NANP was devised in the 1940s by AT&T for the Bell System and independent telephone operators in North America to unify the diverse local numbering plans, established in the preceding decades. AT&T continued to administer the numbering plan until the breakup of the Bell System, when administration was delegated to the North American Numbering Plan Administration, a service, procured from the private sector by the Federal Communications Commission in the United States; each participating country forms a regulatory authority that has plenary control over local numbering resources. The FCC serves as the U. S. regulator. Canadian numbering decisions are made by the Canadian Numbering Administration Consortium; the NANP divides the territories of its members into numbering plan areas which are encoded numerically with a three-digit telephone number prefix called the area code.
Each telephone is assigned a seven-digit telephone number unique only within its respective plan area. The telephone number consists of a four-digit station number; the combination of an area code and the telephone number serves as a destination routing address in the public switched telephone network. For international call routing, the NANP has been assigned the international calling code 1 by the International Telecommunications Union; the North American Numbering Plan conforms with ITU Recommendation E.164, which establishes an international numbering framework. From its beginnings in 1876 and throughout the first part of the 20th century, the Bell System grew from local or regional telephone systems; these systems expanded by growing their subscriber bases, as well as increasing their service areas by implementing additional local exchanges that were interconnected with tie trunks. It was the responsibility of each local administration to design telephone numbering plans that accommodated the local requirements and growth.
As a result, the Bell System as a whole developed into an unorganized system of many differing local numbering systems. The diversity impeded the efficient operation and interconnection of exchanges into a nationwide system for long-distance telephone communication. By the 1940s, the Bell System set out to unify the various numbering plans in existence and developed the North American Numbering Plan as a unified, systematic approach to efficient long-distance service that did not require the involvement of switchboard operators; the new numbering plan was accepted in October 1947, dividing most of North America into eighty-six numbering plan areas. Each NPA was assigned a numbering plan area code abbreviated as area code; these codes were first used by long-distance operators to establish long-distance calls between toll offices. The first customer-dialed direct call using area codes was made on November 10, 1951, from Englewood, New Jersey, to Alameda, California. Direct distance dialing was subsequently introduced across the country.
By the early 1960s, most areas of the Bell System had been converted and DDD had become commonplace in cities and most larger towns. In the following decades, the system expanded to include all of the United States and its territories, Canada and seventeen nations of the Caribbean. By 1967, 129 area codes had been assigned. At the request of the British Colonial Office, the numbering plan was first expanded to Bermuda and the British West Indies because of their historic telecommunications administration through Canada as parts of the British Empire and their continued associations with Canada during the years of the telegraph and the All Red Line system. Not all North American countries participate in the NANP. Exceptions include Mexico, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, the Central American countries and some Caribbean countries; the only Spanish-speaking state in the system is the Dominican Republic. Mexican participation was planned, but implementation stopped after three area codes had been assigned, Mexico opted for an international numbering format, using country code 52.
The area codes in use were subsequently withdrawn in 1991. Area code 905 for Mexico City, was reassigned to a split of area code 416 in the Greater Toronto Area. Dutch-speaking Sint Maarten joined the NANP in September 2011, receiving area code 721; the NANP is administered by the North American Numbering Plan Administration. Today, this function is overseen by the Federal Communications Commission, which assumed the responsibility upon the breakup of the Bell System; the FCC solicits private sector contracts for the role of the administrator. The service was provided by a division of Lockheed Martin. In 1997, the contract was awarded to Neustar Inc.. In 2012, the contract was renewed until 2017. In 2015, the contract beginning 2017 was granted to Ericsson; the vision and goal of the architects of the North American Numbering Plan was a system by which telephone subscribers in the United States and Canada could themselves dial and establish a telephone call to any other subscriber wi
San Bernardino Mountains
The San Bernardino Mountains are a high and rugged mountain range in Southern California in the United States. Situated north and northeast of San Bernardino and spanning two California counties, the range tops out at 11,489 feet at San Gorgonio Mountain – the tallest peak in all of Southern California; the San Bernardinos are popular for hiking and skiing. The mountains were formed about eleven million years ago by tectonic activity along the San Andreas Fault, are still rising. Many local rivers originate in the range, which receives more precipitation than the surrounding desert; the range's unique and varying environment allows it to maintain some of the greatest biodiversity in the state. For over 10,000 years, the San Bernardinos and their surroundings have been inhabited by indigenous peoples, who used the mountains as a summer hunting ground. Spanish explorers first encountered the San Bernardinos in the late 18th century, naming the eponymous San Bernardino Valley at its base. European settlement of the region progressed until 1860, when the mountains became the focus of the largest gold rush to occur in Southern California.
Waves of settlers brought in by the gold rush populated the lowlands around the San Bernardinos, began to tap the mountains' rich timber and water resources on a large scale by the late 19th century. Recreational development of the range began in the early 20th century, when mountain resorts were built around new irrigation reservoirs. Since the mountains have been extensively engineered for transportation and water supply purposes. Four major state highways and the California Aqueduct traverse the mountains today; the San Bernardinos run for 60 miles from Cajon Pass in the northwest – which separates them from the San Gabriel Mountains – to San Gorgonio Pass, across which lie the San Jacinto Mountains, in the southeast. The Morongo Valley in the southeast divides the range from the Little San Bernardino Mountains. Encompassing 2,100 square miles, the mountains lie in San Bernardino County, with a small southern portion reaching into Riverside County; the range divides three major physiographic regions: the urbanized Inland Empire to the southwest, the Coachella Valley in the southeast, the Mojave Desert to the north.
Most of the range lies within the boundaries of the San Bernardino National Forest. From its northwestern end, the crest of the mountains rises until they are interrupted by the gorge of Bear Creek; the northern part of the San Bernardinos is a large upland plateau characterized by a series of extensive subalpine basins, including Big Bear Valley, is home to several large water supply reservoirs. South of the Big Bear area the range is cut by the Santa Ana Canyon, the broad valley of the Santa Ana River, rises to culminate at Mount San Gorgonio and eleven other peaks that exceed 10,000 feet in elevation; the mountains feature a steep drop into the Coachella Valley and San Gorgonio Pass – the latter of, one of the deepest mountain passes in the United States, exceeding the Grand Canyon's depth by over 2,000 feet. Many cities lie at the base of the San Bernardino Mountains; these include San Bernardino and Yucaipa in the south. In addition, there are several mid-sized to large towns in the mountains themselves, including Big Bear Lake, Big Bear City, Lake Arrowhead and Running Springs.
Cities within the San Bernardino Mountains total a population of about 44,000, with this number sometimes increasing tenfold during peak tourist season. Several regional streams and rivers have their headwaters in the mountains; the principal drainage is provided by the Santa Ana River, which runs westwards into the Pacific Ocean in Orange County. Other streams flowing off the mountains include the Whitewater River, flowing southeast through the Coachella Valley into the Salton Sea, the Mojave River, which drains northwards into the Mojave Desert; the San Bernardino Mountains are a humid island in the semi-arid southern California coastal plain. Parts of the San Bernardino Mountains have annual precipitation totals in excess of 40 inches, provide an important water resource for the coastal plain below. Most of the precipitation falls between March. During the colder winter storms, snow can fall above 3,000 feet, but most falls above 5,000 feet. Ski resorts capitalize on the most reliable south of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
The San Bernardinos are part of the Transverse Ranges of Southern California, a mountain chain formed by tectonic forces between the North American and Pacific Plates along the San Andreas Fault. An early version of the range rose in the Miocene, between eleven and five million years ago, but has eroded; the range was shaped into its present form during the Pleistocene epoch beginning two million years ago, with regional uplift continuing to the present. The rocks that make up the mountains are much more ancient than the mountains themselves – ranging from 18 million years to 1.7 billion years old. The San Andreas Fault was responsible for the formation of both major mountain passes that mark the east and west ends of the range; these mountains are shaped by several primary tectonic or fault blocks – the Big Bear block, which forms the large montane plateau that character
Palm Springs, California
Palm Springs is a desert resort city in Riverside County, United States, within the Coachella Valley. It is located 55 mi east of San Bernardino, 107 mi east of Los Angeles, 123 mi northeast of San Diego, 268 mi west of Phoenix, Arizona; the population was 44,552 as of the 2010 census. Palm Springs covers 94 square miles, making it the largest city in the county by land area. Golf, tennis, biking and horseback riding in the nearby desert and mountain areas are major forms of recreation in Palm Springs; the city is known for its mid-century modern architecture, design elements, arts and cultural scene. Palm Springs is a popular retirement destination, as well as a winter snowbird destination; the first humans to settle in the area were the Cahuilla people, 2,000 years ago. Cahuilla Indians lived here in isolation from other cultures for hundreds of years prior to European contact, they spoke Ivilyuat, a dialect of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Numerous prominent and powerful Cahuilla leaders were including Cahuilla Lion.
While Palm Canyon was occupied during winter months, they moved to cooler Chino Canyon during the summer months. The Cahuilla Indians had several permanent settlements in the canyons of Palm Springs, due to the abundance of water and shade. Various hot springs were used during wintertime; the Cahuilla hunted rabbit, mountain goat and quail, while trapping fish in nearby lakes and rivers. While men were responsible for hunting, women were responsible for collecting berries and seeds, they made tortillas from mesquite beans. While the Cahuillas spent the summers in Indian Canyons, the current site of Spa Resort Casino in downtown was used during winter due to its natural hot springs. Native-American petroglyphs can be seen in Tahquitz and Indian canyons; the Cahuilla’s irrigation ditches and house pits can be seen here. Ancient petroglyphs and mortar holes can be seen in Andreas Canyon; the mortar holes were used to grind acorns into meals. The Agua Caliente Reservation consists of 31,128 acres. Six thousand seven hundred acres are located by Downtown Palm Springs.
The Native American land is on long lease land and next to one of California’s high-end communities, making the tribe one of the wealthiest in California. The first name for Palm Springs was given by the native Cahuilla: "Se-Khi"; when the Agua Caliente Reservation was established by the United States government in 1876, the reservation land was composed of alternating sections of land laid out across the desert in a checkerboard pattern. The alternating non-reservation sections were granted to the Southern Pacific Railroad as an incentive to bring rail lines through the Sonoran desert. A number of streets and areas in Palm Springs are named for Native-American notables, including Andreas, Amado, Lugu, Patencio and Chino. All of these are common Cahuilla surnames. Presently the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians are composed of several smaller bands who live in the modern day Coachella Valley and San Gorgonio Pass; the Agua Caliente Reservation occupies 32,000 acres, of which 6,700 acres lie within the city limits, making the Agua Caliente natives the city's largest landowners.
As of 1821 Mexico was independent of Spain and in March 1823 the Mexican Monarchy ended. That same year Mexican diarist José María Estudillo and Brevet Captain José Romero were sent to find a route from Sonora to Alta California. With the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo after the Mexican-American war, the region became part of the United States in 1848. One possible origin of palm in the place name comes from early Spanish explorers who referred to the area as La Palma de la Mano de Dios or "The Palm of God's hand"; the earliest use of the name "Palm Springs" is from United States Topographical Engineers who used the term in 1853 maps. According to William Bright, when the word "palm" appears in Californian place names, it refers to the native California fan palm, Washingtonia filifera, abundant in the Palm Springs area. Other early names were "Palmetto Spring" and "Big Palm Springs"; the first European resident in Palm Springs itself was Jack Summers, who ran the stagecoach station on the Bradshaw Trail in 1862.
Fourteen years the Southern Pacific railroad was laid 6 miles to the north, isolating the station. In 1880, local Indian Pedro Chino was selling parcels near the springs to William Van Slyke and Mathew Bryne in a series of questionable transactions. By 1885, when San Francisco attorney John Guthrie McCallum began buying property in Palm Springs, the name was in wide acceptance; the area was named "Palm Valley" when McCallum incorporated the "Palm Valley Land and Water Company" with partners O. C. Miller, H. C. Campbell, James Adams, M. D. McCallum, who had brought his ill son to the dry climate for health, brought in irrigation advocate Dr. Oliver Wozencroft and engineer J. P. Lippincott to help construct a canal from the Whitewater River to fruit orchards on his property, he asked Dr. Welwood Murray to establish a hotel across the street from his residence. Murray did so in 1886; the crops and irrigation syst
California's 8th congressional district
California's 8th congressional district is a congressional district in the U. S. state of California. Paul Cook, a Republican from Yucca Valley, has represented the district since January 2013; the 8th district encompasses most of the eastern desert regions of the state. It stretches from Mono Lake to Twentynine Palms, it consists of Mono counties plus most of San Bernardino County. It is one of most sparsely populated congressional districts in California; the largest city in the district is Victorville. Prior to redistricting by the California Citizens Redistricting Commission of 2011, the 8th district was in San Francisco; the new district lines went into effect for the June 2012 elections. The district is 50.2% white, 8.1% black, 3.9% Asian, 35.3% Hispanic, 2.5% other. Among registered voters, 41.9% are registered with the Republican Party and 32.6% are registered with the Democratic Party. Voters affiliated with other or no parties make up 25.6% of the electorate. Before the 2011 redistricting, the 8th district was a Democratic stronghold.
It gave John Kerry his best performance in California in 2004, backing the Democrat with 84.2% of the vote. Barack Obama continued on this trend in 2008 when he received 85.22% of the vote in the district while John McCain received 12.38%. The new 8th district lies in a politically conservative region of the state with a "Strongly Republican" Cook Partisan Voting Index of R+10; the Cook Political Report ranks it the 87th most Republican-leaning congressional district in the United States. In the 2012 election, the 8th district was one of only two in California where two Republicans faced each other in a runoff election. In 2018, it was the only such California district; as of July 2018, there are two former members of the U. S. House of Representatives from California's 8th congressional district that are living. List of United States congressional districts GovTrack.us: California's 8th congressional district RAND California Election Returns: District Definitions California Voter Foundation map — CD08
Private school
Private schools known to many as independent schools, non-governmental funded, or non-state schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments. Children who attend private schools may be there because they are dissatisfied with public schools in their area, they may be selected for their academic prowess, or prowess in other fields, or sometimes their religious background. Private schools retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students for tuition, rather than relying on mandatory taxation through public funding; some private schools are associated with a particular religion, such as Judaism, Roman Catholicism, or Lutheranism. For the past century one in 10 U. S families has chosen to enroll their children in private school. In the United Kingdom and several other Commonwealth countries including Australia and Canada, the use of the term is restricted to primary and secondary educational levels. Private education in North America covers the whole gamut of educational activity, ranging from pre-school to tertiary level institutions.
Annual tuition fees at K-12 schools range from nothing at so called'tuition-free' schools to more than $45,000 at several New England preparatory schools. The secondary level includes schools offering years 7 through 12 and year 13; this category includes university-preparatory schools or "prep schools", boarding schools and day schools. Tuition at private secondary schools varies from school to school and depends on many factors, including the location of the school, the willingness of parents to pay, peer tuitions and the school's financial endowment. High tuition, schools claim, is used to pay higher salaries for the best teachers and used to provide enriched learning environments, including a low student-to-teacher ratio, small class sizes and services, such as libraries, science laboratories and computers; some private schools are boarding schools and many military academies are owned or operated as well. Religiously affiliated and denominational schools form a subcategory of private schools.
Some such schools teach religious education, together with the usual academic subjects to impress their particular faith's beliefs and traditions in the students who attend. Others use the denomination as more of a general label to describe on what the founders based their belief, while still maintaining a fine distinction between academics and religion, they include parochial schools, a term, used to denote Roman Catholic schools. Other religious groups represented in the K–12 private education sector include Protestants, Jews and the Orthodox Christians. Many educational alternatives, such as independent schools, are privately financed. Private schools avoid some state regulations, although in the name of educational quality, most comply with regulations relating to the educational content of classes. Religious private schools simply add religious instruction to the courses provided by local public schools. Special assistance schools aim to improve the lives of their students by providing services tailored to specific needs of individual students.
Such schools include tutoring schools to assist the learning of handicapped children. Private schools are one of three types of school in Australia, the other two being government schools and religious. Whilst private schools are sometimes considered "public" schools, the term "public school" is synonymous with a government school. Private schools in Australia may be favored for many reasons: prestige and the social status of the "old school tie"; some schools offer the removal of the purported distractions of co-education. Student uniforms for Australian private schools are stricter and more formal than in government schools – for example, a compulsory blazer. Private schools in Australia are always more expensive than their public counterpartsThere are two main categories of private schools in Australia: Catholic schools and Independent schools. Catholic schools form the second largest sector after government schools, with around 21% of secondary enrollments. Most Australian Catholic schools belong to a system, like government schools, are co-educational and attempt to provide Catholic education evenly across the states.
These schools are known as "systemic". Systemic Catholic schools are funded by state and federal government and have low fees. Catholic schools, both systemic and independent have a strong religious focus, most of their staff and students will be Catholic. Independent schools make up the last sector and are the most popular form of schooling for boarding students. Independent schools are non-government institutions that are not part of a system. Although most are non-aligned, some of the best known independent schools belong to the large, long-established religious foundations, such as the Anglican Church, Uniting Church and Pres
Morongo Basin
The Morongo Basin is an endorheic basin and valley region located in eastern San Bernardino County, in Southern California. The Morongo basin is part of the Inland Empire region, is considered to be the easternmost portion of the Greater Los Angeles Area, the 2nd largest metropolitan region in the United States; the drainage basin stretches from the Little San Bernardino Mountains north of Interstate 10 in the south, to the Interstate 40 area in the north. Lying within the Mojave Desert, the Morongo Basin is east of the city of San Bernardino and San Bernardino Mountains, north of the Coachella Valley and Colorado Desert; the Morongo Basin is located within the Mojave Desert and in the High Desert region of Southern California. The area's elevation can range to 3,000 feet in Yucca Valley; the higher sections of Joshua Tree National Park are within the basin. The terrain in the area is a desert landscape of alluvial fans framed by mountain ranges; the Mojave yucca and the Joshua tree are notable native plants in the region.
The basin's habitats are home to Black-tailed jackrabbits and the Mojave Rattlesnake. Yucca Valley Twentynine Palms Morongo Valley Landers Pioneertown Joshua Tree Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms Wonder Valley The climate is arid desert. Hot, dry summers. Snow falls in areas above 1,500 feet in elevation. Joshua Tree National Park supports most of the tourism to the Morongo Morongo Valley; the Desert Christ Park sculpture garden is located in Yucca Valley and attracts visitors from all over the nation. Sand to Snow National Monument surrounds the Morongo Valley on all sides. Local features within it include: Big Morongo Canyon Preserve on the southern approach to the valley; the Pacific Crest Trail passing through it and the San Gorgonio Wilderness area of the San Bernardino National Forest, between the peak and Morongo Basin. Mount San Gorgonio rising above the basin on the west, the highest point in Southern California; the Morongo Basin is home to the Morongo Unified School District, which serves all of the cities and communities in the area.
Copper Mountain College is the only community college serving the Morongo Basin area, located in Joshua Tree. The nearest four year public university is California State University, San Bernardino north of the city of San Bernardino in University Heights, California. Morongo Basin Transit Authority Morongo desert snail Mount San Gorgonio Natural history of the Mojave Desert Mojave and Colorado Deserts Biosphere Reserve
San Bernardino County, California
San Bernardino County the County of San Bernardino, is a county located in the southern portion of the U. S. state of California, is located within the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2010 U. S. Census, the population was 2,035,210, making it the fifth-most populous county in California, the 12th-most populous in the United States; the county seat is San Bernardino. While included within the Greater Los Angeles area, San Bernardino County is included in the Riverside–San Bernardino–Ontario metropolitan statistical area, as well as the Los Angeles–Long Beach combined statistical area. With an area of 20,105 square miles, San Bernardino County is the largest county in the United States by area, although some of Alaska's boroughs and census areas are larger; the county is close to the size of West Virginia. It is larger than each of the nine smallest states, larger than the four smallest states combined, larger than 70 sovereign nations; this vast county stretches from where the bulk of the county population resides (in two Census County Divisions, holding 1,422,745 people as of the 2010 Census, covering the 450 square miles, across the thinly populated deserts and mountains.
It spans an area from south of the San Bernardino Mountains in San Bernardino Valley, to the Nevada border and the Colorado River. Spanish Missionaries from Mission San Gabriel Arcángel established a church at the village of Politania in 1810. Father Francisco Dumetz named the church San Bernardino on May 20, 1810, after the feast day of St. Bernardino of Siena; the Franciscans gave the name San Bernardino to the snowcapped peak in Southern California, in honor of the saint and it is from him that the county derives its name. In 1819, they established the San Bernardino de Sena Estancia, a mission farm in what is now Redlands. Following Mexican independence from Spain in 1821, Mexican citizens were granted land grants to establish ranchos in the area of the county. Rancho Jurupa in 1838, Rancho Cucamonga and El Rincon in 1839, Rancho Santa Ana del Chino in 1841, Rancho San Bernardino in 1842 and Rancho Muscupiabe in 1844. Agua Mansa was the first town in what became San Bernardino County, settled by immigrants from New Mexico on land donated from the Rancho Jurupa in 1841.
Following the purchase of Rancho San Bernardino, the establishment of the town of San Bernardino in 1851 by Mormon colonists, San Bernardino County was formed in 1853 from parts of Los Angeles County. Some of the southern parts of the county's territory were given to Riverside County in 1893. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 20,105 square miles, of which 20,057 square miles is land and 48 square miles is water, it is the largest county by the largest in the United States. It is larger than the states of New Jersey, Connecticut and Rhode Island combined, it borders both Arizona. The bulk of the population two million, live in the 480 square miles south of the San Bernardino Mountains adjacent to Riverside and in the San Bernardino Valley. Over 300,000 others live just north of the San Bernardino Mountains, agglomerating around Victorville covering 280 square miles in Victor Valley, adjacent to Los Angeles County. Another 100,000 people live scattered across the rest of the sprawling county.
The Mojave National Preserve covers some of the eastern desert between Interstate 15 and Interstate 40. The desert portion includes the cities of Needles next to the Colorado River and Barstow at the junction in Interstate 15 and Interstate 40. Trona is at the northwestern part of the county west of Death Valley; this national park within Inyo County has a small portion of land within the San Bernardino County. The largest metropolitan area in the Mojave Desert part of the county is Victor Valley, with the incorporated localities of Adelanto, Apple Valley and Victorville. Further south, a portion of Joshua Tree National Park overlaps the county near the High Desert area, in the vicinity of Twentynine Palms; the remaining towns make up the remainder of the High Desert: Pioneertown, Yucca Valley, Joshua Tree and Morongo Valley. The mountains are home to the San Bernardino National Forest, include the communities of Crestline, Lake Arrowhead, Running Springs, Big Bear City, Forest Falls, Big Bear Lake.
The San Bernardino Valley is at the eastern end of the San Gabriel Valley. The San Bernardino Valley includes the cities of Ontario, Chino Hills, Fontana, Colton, Grand Terrace, Rancho Cucamonga, San Bernardino, Loma Linda, Highland and Yucaipa. Angeles National Forest Death Valley National Park Havasu National Wildlife Refuge Joshua Tree National Park Mojave National Preserve San Bernardino National Forest There are at least 35 official wilderness areas in the county that are part of the National Wilderness Preservation System; this is the largest number of any county in the United States. The majority are managed by the Bureau of Land Management, but some are integral components of the above listed national protected areas. Most of these wilderness areas lie within the county, but a few are shared with neighboring counties. Except as noted, these wilderness areas are managed by the Bureau of Land Management and lie within San Bernardino County: The 2010 United States Census reported that San Bernardino County had a population of 2,035,210.
The racial makeup of San Bernardino County was 1,153,16
United States
California
