title: Plitvice Lakes National Park

text: From an aerial perspective, significant differences between the terrain of the Upper and the Lower Plitvice Lakes can be observed. At the Upper Lakes several little lakes have formed parallel to each other and a rather shallow water flow can be observed. The Lower Lakes, however, are much larger and virtually drill their path through the rock. Furthermore, there are only a few lakes at the Lower Lakes. They have formed a canyon, which continues as river Korana.


title: Plitvice Lakes National Park

text: On average, the annual precipitation rate at the Plitvice Lakes is . Usually, in spring and fall (autumn) the largest rain quantities are measured. The average relative air humidity is 81.8 percent. In January, the average temperature is 2.2 °C (36 °F). During the summer months of July and August, the temperature rises to 17.4 °C (63 °F). The general average annual temperature is 7.9 °C (46 °F). Snow falls from November until March. Usually, the lakes are frozen during December and January.


title: Plitvice Lakes National Park

text: The water temperature at the springs is usually below 10 °C (50 °F). Within the rivers and lakes, the water temperature rises up to 20 °C (68 °F). The following example for different water temperatures measured on July 7, 1954 demonstrates large temperature differences within the lakes: Within lake Kozjak at the depth of 4 m a temperature of 18.9 °C (66 °F) has been measured. At a depth of 20 m, 5 °C (41 °F) have been measured. At 44 m depth, virtually at the bottom of the lake, a temperature of 4.1 °C (39 °F) has been measured.


title: Plitvice Lakes National Park

text: The lakes of Plitvice are a result of century-old processes and the sedimentation of chalk, which is abundantly available in the waters of this karst area. These sedimentations are called tufa or travertine (both are called "sedra" or "tuf" in Croatian, apart from many other names like "bigar" or "vapneni mačak").


title: Plitvice Lakes National Park

text: A distinctive feature of the Plitvice lakes is the fact that they do not represent separated, stationary waters. The lakes altogether have always been seen as one composed system of lakes. Due to constant changes it is not even possible to pursue individual analyses of single lakes. The water masses reaching the lakes at the upper or lower part of the system are continuously changing the outlook of the lakes and the surrounding landscape. They finally exit the lakes as river Korana. On the one hand, chalk tufa is being washed away partly. On the other hand, new sediments are continuously being formed. Thus, new waterfalls are being formed while others run dry. Nature itself is continuously adapting to these new conditions. As a whole, the complex of lakes represents a very sensitive and labile (liable to change) ecosystem.


title: Plitvice Lakes National Park

text: In geological terms, the actual phenomena molding the Plitvice Lakes are quite young. The complex processes of dissolution and sedimentation of limestone require specific climatic preconditions. These have only existed since the end of the ice age about 12,000 to 15,000 years ago, according to tufa radiocarbon datings.


title: Plitvice Lakes National Park

text: Apart from weather and temperature factors, the water quality and other natural factors are significant for the creation of these natural phenomena, prevailing at the Plitvice Lakes. By passing through the limestone underground the karst rivers dissolve chalk (calcite), which concentrates in the water. The saturation level of calcite within the frontal flows is thus very high. The water becomes significantly mineralized, super-saturated with calcium and magnesium-hydrogencarbonate.


title: Plitvice Lakes National Park

text: The dissolution of limestone happens through alteration processes and the effects of carbonic acid. In a natural environment, carbonic acid (HCO) is formed by the dissolution of carbon dioxide (CO) from the air or from rainwater (HO). Limestone or dolomite (CaMg(CO)) mainly consists of calcite (CaCO), which is not very soluble in water. Calcite, however, is dissolved by carbonic acid, thus creating calcium hydrogencarbonate (Ca(HCO)). This is shown by the following formulas:


title: Plitvice Lakes National Park

text: The quantity of calcium hydrogencarbonate (also called "calcium bicarbonate") dissolved in water depends on the quantity of dissolved carbon dioxide in the water. Generally, the following could be said: The colder the water, the higher the quantity of dissolved calcium hydrogencarbonate. Depending on the conditions for the alteration processes, scientists identified limestone dissolution rates of 0.01 to 4 millimeters a year. (It is possible that by the effect of rainwater about 1 m of limestone is dissolved in about 10,000 years.)


title: Plitvice Lakes National Park

text: The previously mentioned mechanical and chemical dissolution processes are regularly occurring natural phenomena. A unique process occurring at the Plitvice Lakes, however, is the sedimentation of water-bound chalk at certain places. With regard to other similar phenomena in the world, at Plitvice Lakes the sedimentation of chalk and the formation of tufa happens dynamically all along the watercourse and in various forms (fluviatile sedimentation). It is thus not a static phenomenon occurring at only single places.


title: Plitvice Lakes National Park

text: Another unique and distinctive feature are the natural factors, particularly the influences of the vegetation in the process of sedimentation. While passing the vegetation, barriers are being created by foaming water. These naturally created barriers decelerate and dam the waters, thus forming lakes. At Plitvice, this constant interplay between water, air, rock and vegetation can easily be observed. The foaming water creates ever growing and impressive waterfalls. The thresholds grown up above the water level, create cataracts.


title: Plitvice Lakes National Park

text: About north of the lakes at the conflux of the Korana and Slunjčica rivers, right in the center of the town of Slunj, similar phenomena occur. This part of the town, called Rastoke, is often being referred to as ""the Small Lakes of Plitvice.""


title: Plitvice Lakes National Park

text: Measurements of carbon dioxide quantities in the water show that they correspond with continuous sedimentation processes in the Plitvice Lakes area. Carbon dioxide quantities at the springs are about twenty times higher than in the atmosphere. The quantity of carbon dioxide decreases along the water route. The Plitvica river for example loses even up to 97 percent of its original quantity of carbon dioxide along its route.


title: Plitvice Lakes National Park

text: The sedimentation of calcium carbonate from the water occurs only at certain temperature conditions (only above 14 °C), e.g. when the water warms up or by evaporation or by another loss of carbon dioxide, additionally fostered by water plants and moss. Since sedimentation only occurs under warm, humid climate conditions, these phenomena have only been occurring since the end of the last ice age. Since then, a layer of hardened tufa, also called travertine, has been formed on the limestone ground.


title: Plitvice Lakes National Park

text: The area of a river, in which the formation of tufa occurs, is called precipitation area. Along the Korana river for example, measured from its origins tufa is being formed only along the first 10 to , even if according to pH measurements the conditions would be favorable further down the river. At the ground of Lake Kozjak a constant yearly sedimentation of 0,8 millimeters during the past 3,000 years has been ascertained. Yearly, the barriers are growing up to 13 millimeters in height. Tufa formation processes thus surpass erosion activities, which would destroy the sensitive barriers of the lakes. It is estimated that the tufa sedimentations at the ground of the lakes date back 6,000 or even 7,000 years.


title: Plitvice Lakes National Park

text: The precipitation of calcium carbonate, however, does not occur right at the springs of the rivers that flow into the Plitvice Lakes. For the precipitation of carbonate chalk (calcium carbonate) the water needs to reach a certain mineral saturation level. At the springs this saturation level is about 1. For the precipitation, the water saturation level needs to be higher than 3. At the same time, the pH value of the water needs to be above 8,0 (slightly alkaline).


title: Plitvice Lakes National Park

text: Tufa barriers are the result of continuous sedimentation processes along natural thresholds. As the water flows in thin layers over thresholds, it is splashed up. This disturbs the chemical balance and causes precipitation of the carbonates, which then creates sedimentary deposits. Since the water forms larger surfaces at these places, increased quantities of carbon dioxide (CO) are released. Calcium carbonate is secreted in the form of microcrystals that are deposited, eventually creating tufa sediments (CaCO). This phenomenon particularly occurs on abundantly available mosses, enabling better adherence of the crystals.


title: Plitvice Lakes National Park

text: In the course of time, older barriers can be flooded by rising water levels since other barriers have outgrown the older ones. 400 years ago, there were two lakes in the place of today's Kozjak lake. In the lowest third of the lake, at the level of "Matijaševića draga", a crown of an underwater barrier that is 40 m high, is stretching 4 m below the water surface. This barrier certainly formed a magnificent waterfall in the past. The travertine barrier at the Kozjak bridges (at the current end of the Kozjak lake), however, grew faster. Thus, 400 years ago two lakes merged in one. That is why the greatest depths of Kozjak lake are in its lower basin (north from the little island).


title: Plitvice Lakes National Park

text: Mosses, algae and water plants play a major role in forming the unique landscape of the Plitvice Lakes and its tufa barriers. Up until the 21st century, it was supposed that plants extract carbon dioxide from the water for photosynthesis purposes and that in return oxygen is released, thus resulting in the sedimentation of hydrogen carbonate (phytogenesis). The leading scientist arguing for this theory was Ivo Pevalek. Thanks to his efforts the Plitvice Lakes are now under national protection.


title: Plitvice Lakes National Park

text: Recent scientific evidence indicates that vegetation is not primarily responsible for the extraction of carbonate from the flowing water. However, plants indirectly contribute to tufa formation. For sedimentation to occur it is essential that the water be decelerated, aerated and sprayed. The mosses of the Plitvice Lakes waterfalls provide a substrate for sedimentation, generating travertine (tufa). Depending on the species found locally, various biological types of travertine can be differentiated.


title: Plitvice Lakes National Park

text: Photosynthesis activities of algae and mosses in conjunction with the water, however, foster the crystallization of sediments due to the extraction of carbon dioxide. These effects are fostered by the millions of microscopically-small bacteria and algae that grow on such plants. They secrete mucus to which the first microcrystals of calcite adhere. The most significant plants of this kind are mosses of the species bryum and cratoneuron.


title: Plitvice Lakes National Park

text: The young shoots of mosses are green and soft. They are mostly without travertine, while older shoots are encrusted by a thin and fragile yellow layer, completely covered and petrified by plant-formed travertine. The mosses foster not only the creation of tufa barriers, but also become part of the barrier. The moss becomes encrusted with travertine and fresh moss grows further out. First a crag is formed but later a cave roof forms under the crag. If the water continues flowing, the cave becomes progressively bigger. Older travertine is filled with fossilized algae and mosses. This type of tufa rock typical of the Plitvice Lakes is called "phytogeneous tufa."


title: Plitvice Lakes National Park

text: Even though the vegetation has beneficial effects for the formation of tufa, excessive concentrations of organic substances within the water impede its formation. Excessive plant cover has adverse effects on mineral sedimentation. Along the course of Korana River from the Korana bridge, for example, travertine creation ends quite quickly, in spite of its supersaturation with calcium bicarbonate, as a result of the increased concentration of organic matter in the water. The park authorities have therefore begun systematic removal of excessive vegetation along the barriers. Water purity is the decisive factor for tufa formation. The water at the influx to the Plitvice Lakes is defined as pure from an analytical point of view. The Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC) value of the water barely exceeds 2.5 mg/L at the influx to the Upper Lakes (Matica). At the Lower Lakes higher concentrations are measured (5.15 mg/L). At the springs of other Croatian rivers in the karst region similar concentrations have been recorded.


title: Plitvice Lakes National Park

text: During the 20th century, uncontrolled tourism and water pollution caused by waste water from hotels and agricultural activities in the surrounding area have led to damage. This has led to increasing eutrophication of the lakes (increased concentrations of organic substances within the water). For the sustainable formation of tufa it is therefore imperative to protect this extremely sensitive area from excessively harmful human influence. Since 2006, it has been strictly forbidden to bathe or swim in the lakes. Previously, swimming had been allowed in Lake Kozjak.


title: Plitvice Lakes National Park

text: With regard to plant and animal diversity, the area of the Plitvice Lakes is one of the most significant areas of Croatia, due to climatic conditions and its relatively remote location, since the lakes are at a fair distance from polluted and noisy cities and industrial plants. As a result of the low level of industrial development in this region and the early introduction of protective measures, a nearly untouched landscape has been preserved. In the partially primeval beech and fir forests various rare species, such as the brown bear have survived.


title: Plitvice Lakes National Park

text: The Plitvice Lakes national park is heavily forested, mainly with beech, spruce, and fir trees, and features a mixture of Alpine and Mediterranean vegetation. It has a notably wide variety of plant communities, due to its range of microclimates, differing soils and varying levels of altitude.


title: Plitvice Lakes National Park

text: Scientists have so far identified 1,267 different types of plants belonging to the 109 species so far recorded in the area of the national park. 75 species of plants are endemic, which means that they were first defined and classified in this area of the world or nearby. A great number of these plants and species are protected by law. Within the national park area 55 different species of orchids can be found.


title: Plitvice Lakes National Park

text: The great plant diversity creates a fascinating interplay of colours that change with the seasons. The lake area is surrounded by dense forests. The national park has an area of 29,842 hectares, of which some 22,308 hectares are forests (74.75 percent), 6,957 ha are meadows (23.31 percent) in village areas and 217 ha (0.72 percent) are water areas. A unique area is the forest of "Čorkova uvala", a 79.50 ha large virgin forest in the northwestern part of the park. The beech and fir trees in this area of the park are up to 700 years old.


title: Plitvice Lakes National Park

text: The area of the national park is home to an extremely wide variety of animal and bird species. Rare fauna such as the European brown bear, grey wolf, eagle, owl, Eurasian lynx, European wildcat, and capercaillie can be found there, along with many more common species.


title: Plitvice Lakes National Park

text: The wider area of the national park is one of the last areas in Europe in which a great number of wild brown bears and wolves can be found. The rich fauna of the Plitvice Lakes includes some 50 species of mammals. Scientists have so far discovered 321 different kinds of butterflies, of which 76 are day-flying butterflies, and 245 are nocturnal moths. Scientists, however, estimate that up until now only about 40 percent of the whole population of butterflies has been identified. Furthermore, 12 amphibian species, as well as some species of reptiles have been recorded, including the viviparous lizard ("Lacerta vivipara"), the european green lizard ("Lacerta viridis"), the dice snake ("Natrix tessellata"), Vipera berus, Vipera ammodytes and the european pond turtle ("Emys orbicularis").


title: Plitvice Lakes National Park

text: As regards bird species, the Plitvice Lakes rank third among the Croatian national parks for diversity. Some 157 species have been counted, of which 70 have been recorded as breeding there. The Plitvice Lakes are also home to many kinds of bats. Recent findings list about 20 different kinds of bat species, among them the rare species of Plecotus.


title: Plitvice Lakes National Park

text: Among original species the brown trout ("Salmo trutta fario" and "Salmo trutta lacustris") can be mentioned. "Salmo trutta fario" is found mostly in the Upper Lakes, while "Salmo trutta lacustris" is mainly found in Lake Kozjak. These species developed in different life conditions independently from each other within the various lakes.


title: Plitvice Lakes National Park

text: Due to the spreading growth of vegetation at the barriers, allochthonous (species that originate elsewhere and do not belong to this ecosystem) fish species spread quickly and thus endanger autochthonous trout species. Apart from the trout, common minnows "(Phoxinus phoxinus)" are also found. As a result of human interference the species salvelinus alpinus and the North American rainbow trout have been introduced to this ecosystem. Recently, even European chub "(Squalius cephalus)" and common rudd "(Scardinius erythropthalmus)", species whose emergence may be attributed to climate change, have been discovered. The number of crayfish, which were almost extinct, is now again increasing. Even rare olms "(Proteus anguinus)" can be found in the karst caves of this region.


title: Plitvice Lakes National Park

text: While other nature protection areas are located far away from any interference by man, the Plitvice Lakes have permanently been exposed to human influence in the course of history. The Plitvice Lakes do not represent an abandoned or lonely nature reserve. They are located along an important transport route and have always been a meeting place of occidental and oriental cultural influences.


title: Plitvice Lakes National Park

text: Humans have inhabited the Plitvice Lakes area for thousands of years. It has been settled in turn by Illyrians, Japods, Celts, Romans, Avars, Slavs, Croats and Turks. Under Julius Caesar the region was incorporated as the province of Illyricum into the Roman Empire. The areas of the neighborly tribes of the Pannonians, the Liburnians and Dalmatians were united into the province of Dalmatia. Successively, the Ostrogoths took over the rule. After the Battle of Nedao in 454, the Ostrogoths were rewarded with a federation agreement with the Roman Empire.


title: Plitvice Lakes National Park

text: During the 6th century, Avars settled in this region, which were accompanied by the Croats. The Croats eventually defied Avar control and settled permanently in this region. In medieval times, frequent attacks by Mongols posed a permanent threat to the settled population. The lakes formed part of the medieval kingdom of Croatia which in 1102 elected to be in personal union with Hungary.


title: Plitvice Lakes National Park

text: Croat rule and particularly the rule of the noble families Zrinski and Frankopan led to economic recovery in the wider area. On the remnants of an ancient settlement of the Japods and Romans a monastery was built at the lakes. Presumably, this monastery belonged to the Order of Saint Paul the First Hermit (Croatian "pavlinci") or the Knights Templars. Today, only ancient wall remnants of this building (Croatian "gradina") exist. The foundation was made of travertine rock.


title: Plitvice Lakes National Park

text: In 1493, not far away from the Plitvice Lakes a decisive battle in Croatian history between the Austrian and Ottoman Empire took place. During the Battle of Krbava Field almost the entire Croatian nobility was killed. The Ottomans advanced far into Western lands up to Croatia and Hungary. In 1527, the Croatian Parliament elected the Habsburg monarch Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria as the new king of Croatia in the hope of resources to ward of the Ottoman advance. In 1528, the area fell to the Ottomans and was retaken by the Habsburg Empire 150 years later.


title: Plitvice Lakes National Park

text: In 1538, king Ferdinand I ordered the establishment of the Croatian Military Frontier as a borderland of Habsburg Austria to the Ottoman Empire. The laws that prevailed in this area under special jurisdiction had formative impact on the local population for centuries. As a consequence of the establishment of this special regime, people abandoned these areas in great masses towards the West.


title: Plitvice Lakes National Park

text: In addition to the native Croats already inhabiting the region and serving in the Austrian military, many central Europeans migrated to the region as did Serb Orthodox refugees fleeing Ottoman repression, who were given refuge in the abandoned areas in exchange for military service. The entire population of the military frontier, particularly the so-called frontiersmen, had the duty to protect this area of permanent unrest and terrible destruction. The region once also used to be called "the garden of the devil (hortus diabolus)".


title: Plitvice Lakes National Park

text: The Ottomans succeeded several times to gain control over the area of the Plitvice Lakes for shorter periods. In 1788, this area permanently fell back under Habsburg rule. When the Ottoman threat subsided, the Military Frontier was reverted to the civilian control of the Croatian viceroy (Ban). The area then formed part of Banovina of Croatia within the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and then part of the Socialist Republic of Croatia within the Socialist Yugoslavia. Today, it is part of the Republic of Croatia.


title: Plitvice Lakes National Park

text: In 1805, another major rule change happened, which created an economic upturn. Dalmatia and Lika fell under the rule of Napoleon, who founded the Illyrian provinces. After 1814, the area of the Plitvice Lakes came back under Habsburg rule. Since 1850, only professional soldiers served in the Military Frontier. This was also a time of national awakening in Croatia. In 1871, the famous Croatian politician Eugen Kvaternik was killed north of the lakes at Rakovica. The Croatian rebellion was put down by Austrian authorities. Kvaternik propagated the rule of law and argued for the liberation from Austrian-Hungarian predominance.


title: Plitvice Lakes National Park

text: In former times, the local population lacked the proper comprehension of the natural values of the Plitvice Lakes. Farmers had to focus on securing the daily bread for their families in these dour times, which was accompanied by grave changes to nature. For example, smaller lakes were filled up with earth or people adapted the flow of the rivers to their individual needs.


title: Plitvice Lakes National Park

text: Already in 1861, an accommodation for travelers was erected at "Velika Poljana". The local population called this accommodation the "Emperor's house", since imperial military officers used to reside in this location. For the visit of Crown Princess Stéphanie of Belgium, the wife of Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria in 1888, the Plitvice Lakes and their surroundings were arranged for tourist purposes for the first time in history. Two paths still bear the names of the daughters of the Emperor Franz Joseph: ""Stephanie's Path" (Croatian Štefanijin put)" and ""Dorothea's Path" ()".


title: Plitvice Lakes National Park

text: In 1890, the tradesman Ante Devčić from Senj built the first hotel with a restaurant at Prošćansko jezero. However, he exaggerated in his efforts and also caused partly irreparable damage on the nature. For example, he constructed canals across the travertine barriers for his saw mill that are visible even today.


title: Plitvice Lakes National Park

text: At the same place, today called "Labudovac", Gustav Janeček, a Czech from Zagreb, built a restaurant and accommodation. In 1893, Janeček founded the "Society for the preservation of the Plitvice Lakes" (Croatian "Društvo za uređenje i poljepšanje Plitvičkih jezera"), with the aim of preserving the lakes after all negative influence they have been exposed to. The society also built a hotel at the lakes. In 1898, one of the waterfalls was named after Croatian opera singer Milka Ternina. She gave money from concerts to preserve the park, upgrade tracks and build pathways.


title: Plitvice Lakes National Park

text: During the First World War, the Croatian parliament in Zagreb passed the "Law on the Protection of the Plitvice Lakes" in 1916. However, this law did not contain adequate measures of protection and is thus not regarded as official founding declaration of the national park.


title: Plitvice Lakes National Park

text: During the following decades, preservation efforts reached a deadlock. However, some very significant meetings took place at the Plitvice Lakes during the Second World War, as for example the first secret regional conference of the League of Communists of Croatia (Croatian: "Savez komunista Hrvatske, SKH") in 1940. On June 14, 1943 one of the founding sessions of the National Anti-Fascist Council of the People's Liberation of Croatia (ZAVNOH) took place at Plitvice Lakes. This was the highest governing organ of the anti-fascist movement in Croatia during World War II. The former Secretary General of the Communist Party of Croatia, Rade Končar, was born in Končarev Kraj at the Plitvice Lakes in 1911.


title: Plitvice Lakes National Park

text: After the end of the Second World War, the unique natural phenomena of this area were acknowledged permanently. On April 8, 1949, the Plitvice Lakes were declared as a national park area and rigorous nature protection measures were established.


title: Plitvice Lakes National Park

text: During the 1960s, a modern road connection to the Plitvice Lakes was constructed, which led to increasing traffic volumes. During these years, several hotels and other objects were erected according to innovative plans of Croatian architects. However, some buildings that would fit current standards were already demolished during the 1980s by the Communist authorities.


title: Plitvice Lakes National Park

text: Between 1962 and 1968, many Western film productions of Karl May novels have been shot at the Plitvice Lakes (mainly German-French-Yugoslav cooperations). The most successful film of this series, "Treasure of the Silver Lake" was also produced at some locations within the national park. (Lake "Kaluđerovac" served as scenery for the Silver Lake.)


title: Plitvice Lakes National Park

text: During the 1970s, detailed land registers of the national park were recorded. The park was inscribed on the UNESCO World Natural Heritage List in 1979 in recognition of its "outstanding natural beauty, and the undisturbed production of travertine (tufa) through chemical and biological action".


title: Plitvice Lakes National Park

text: During the 1980s, tourism was booming in Yugoslavia. Plitvice Lakes National Park soon became one of Yugoslavia's most popular tourist attractions. The beginning of the 1990s, however, marked another great turning point in the history of this national park. In March 1991 it became the scene of the Plitvice Lakes incident (also called the "Plitvice Bloody Easter"), the first armed confrontation of the Croatian War of Independence that resulted in fatalities. The park was held by local Serb rebels backed by Slobodan Milošević and the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) as part of the self-proclaimed "Republic of Serbian Krajina" during the conflict and suffered some damage in the process, with hotels and other facilities being used as barracks. During the period under the control of Serb forces loyal to Belgrade, Croats were ethnically cleansed from the region systematically. The region was retaken by the Croatian Army in August 1995 during Operation Storm, and the majority of the Serb population was expelled.


title: Plitvice Lakes National Park

text: During the war from 1991 until 1995, many buildings in the national park were destroyed or burnt down. Due to the apparent risk of mines, the park was even put on the UNESCO List of World Heritage in Danger during the war years. After the war, the Plitvice Lakes were among the first areas to be cleared of mines and renovated, although some of the more remote areas in the park are suspected still to contain landmines. In 1998, the national park was removed from the List of World Heritage in Danger. In 2000, the national park was expanded by a further in order to protect the underground tributary streams.


title: Plitvice Lakes National Park

text: Within the national park continuous scientific research projects are being carried out. The national park administration currently endeavors to introduce new, progressive protection measures. There is a proposal to replace the wooden bridges and paths by floating pontoon bridges. The existing wooden paths are anchored within the travertine sediments, creating the danger of seepage and cracks of the weak travertine.


title: Plitvice Lakes National Park

text: The Plitvice Lakes are today one of the most frequently visited tourist attractions in Croatia. Due to their high natural, cultural and tourist significance, they have become a motor for the local economy. About 1,000,000 visitors per year greatly contribute to the economic development of the wider region.


title: Plitvice Lakes National Park

text: Due to high tourism and illegal construction around lakes, with faecal waste flowing down to surrounding woods and lakes without any treatment, the water in the lakes is polluted and no longer drinkable. In its current state, UNESCO threatens to remove the park's status as a World Natural Heritage site.


title: Plitvice Lakes National Park

text: The preservation of old customs and traditions is of high significance for the local population. The local culture has also been detected as an important factor for tourism. As regards architecture, the region of Lika is well known for its low wooden houses with roofs made of rye straw or shingles. Many features of the ancient living style are mirrored in local costumes. They tell a lot about regional affiliations or social standings of those who have worn those costumes. Under French rule, men were allowed to wear their costumes during military service.


title: Plitvice Lakes National Park

text: Up until the 20th century, social gatherings during the winter months, when no agricultural activities could be performed, called "prelo" represented a typical tradition of this region. These gatherings served for the joint production of textiles or butter or for the further processing of harvest products (production of flour, etc.). These activities used to be accompanied by drinks and dances, particularly during the evenings. A well-known dance of this region is the round dance (Croatian "kolo").


title: Plitvice Lakes National Park

text: Local cuisine consists of drinks, such as Slivovitz (Croatian "šljivovica"), wine and coffee or dishes, such as soft cheese (Croatian "vrhnje"), polenta, pršut, paprika sausage, roasted suckling pig (Croatian: "odojak") or lamb (Croatian: "janjetina").


title: Plitvice Lakes National Park

text: Comparable phenomena to those prevailing at the Plitvice Lakes exist at Rastoke (Slunj), at the Krka National Park, at the rivers Una and the Pliva in Bosnia and Herzegovina and at the Krushuna Falls in Bulgaria. The Band-e Amir lakes within the Hindu Kush mountain range form a similar system of lakes and dams, though diverging tufa formation processes prevail. Calc-sinter formation processes that have not emerged along a river flow can be observed at the Mammoth Hot Springs within Yellowstone National Park (USA) or at Pamukkale in Turkey. Jiuzhaigou is a nature reserve and national park located in the north of Sichuan, China. Also inscribed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, its landscape of cascading lakes is made up of high-altitude karsts shaped by glacial, hydrological and tectonic activity. The area around Ocho Rios Jamaica is another region famous for its calc-sinter rivers. Most popular, particularly with cruise ships, is Dunn's River Falls.


title: UFC 259

text: UFC 259: Błachowicz vs. Adesanya was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 6, 2021 at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States.


title: UFC 259

text: The event was headlined by a UFC Light Heavyweight Championship bout between then champion Jan Błachowicz (also former KSW Light Heavyweight Champion) and former UFC Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya. If successful, Adesanya would become the fourth man to be champion in two divisions simultaneously and fifth fighter overall (after Conor McGregor at UFC 205, Daniel Cormier at UFC 226, Amanda Nunes at UFC 232 and Henry Cejudo at UFC 238), as well as the eighth person overall to win a title in different divisions. This was the sixth time in UFC history that champions in different divisions fought for the same title, following UFC 94, UFC 205, UFC 226, UFC 232 and . Former title challenger Glover Teixeira served as backup and a potential replacement for this fight.


title: UFC 259

text: A UFC Women's Featherweight Championship bout between the current champion Amanda Nunes (also the current UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion) and former Invicta FC Featherweight Champion Megan Anderson served as the co-main event. The pairing was initially scheduled for UFC 256, but Nunes pulled out due to an undisclosed injury and the bout was postponed.


title: UFC 259

text: A UFC Bantamweight Championship bout between current champion Petr Yan and Aljamain Sterling completed the triad of title fights. They were also scheduled for UFC 256, but Yan pulled out due to visa and travel issues, leading to the postponement.


title: UFC 259

text: A flyweight bout between former UFC Flyweight Championship challenger Tim Elliott (also flyweight winner) and Jordan Espinosa was expected to take place at . However, Espinosa tested positive for COVID-19 in late December and the pairing was moved to this event.


title: UFC 259

text: A lightweight bout between Islam Makhachev and Drew Dober took place at this event. They were previously scheduled to meet in April 2016 at , but the bout was scrapped after Makhachev failed an out-of-competition drug screening, testing positive for the banned anti-ischemic meldonium.


title: UFC 259

text: Randy Costa was expected to face Trevin Jones in a bantamweight bout at the event. However on February 16, Costa withdrew due to an undisclosed injury and was replaced by Mario Bautista.


title: UFC 259

text: At the weigh-ins, Askar Askarov weighed in at 127 pounds, one pound over the flyweight non-title fight limit. His bout proceeded at a catchweight and he was fined a percentage of his individual purse, which went to his opponent, former flyweight title challenger Joseph Benavidez.


title: Ellen Pao

text: Ellen Kangourou Pao (born 1970) is an American investor and former CEO of social media company Reddit.


title: Ellen Pao

text: Pao first became known in 2012 for filing a failed gender discrimination suit against her employer, venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins, and has continued to express vocal criticism of the hiring and promotion practices in Silicon Valley.


title: Ellen Pao

text: In 2014, she became interim CEO of Reddit. During this period, the site banned revenge porn, with other social media sites following suit. In 2015, decisions made by the company during her tenure, such as the banning of controversial Reddit communities for harassment, generated a wave of controversy that culminated in her stepping down. The backlash she received sparked debates both on the treatment of women in technology and the need for transparency in a company that relies on volunteers.


title: Ellen Pao

text: Since 2016, she has been the co-founder and CEO of the non-profit diversity consulting organization Project Include.


title: Ellen Pao

text: Ellen Pao was born in 1970 in New Jersey. She is the middle child of three daughters born to Tsyh-Wen Pao and Young-Ping Pao, immigrants from Taiwan. Her father, Young-Ping Pao, was a professor at New York University's Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences. Her mother, Tsyh-Wen Pao (née Lee) worked as an engineer in computer sciences at the University of Pennsylvania. Pao is fluent in English and Mandarin and first learned to code from her mother at age ten. The Pao family raised their children in Maplewood, New Jersey. Young-Ping Pao died in 1987 when Ellen was in her final year of high school.


title: Ellen Pao

text: Pao's maternal grandparents are Yu-Wen Lee and Ching-Hsin (née Liu) Lee, who were from Baoding in the Hebei province near Beijing. Pao's maternal grandfather was a graduate of the Republic of China Military Academy, who later went on to serve as a commander in the Chinese Civil War under Chiang Kai-shek and, in 1948, moved the family to Taiwan, where he retired with the rank of Colonel in 1960. In October 1972, his wife and daughter Elizabeth moved to the New York City area to join Pao's mother and aunt and uncle who were already studying in the US.


title: Ellen Pao

text: Pao graduated with an A.B. from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University in 1991 after completing a 143-page senior thesis titled "Computer Databases and Business: An Analysis of Informational Privacy." She then attended Harvard Law School, where she earned a Juris Doctor in 1994. After two years of working, Pao returned to attend Harvard Business School, where she received an MBA in 1998.


title: Ellen Pao

text: From 1994 to 1996, Pao worked as a corporate attorney at Cravath, Swaine & Moore. In 1998, Pao worked at WebTV. Pao worked at several companies in Silicon Valley including BEA Systems as Senior Director of Corporate Business Development from 2001 until 2005.


title: Ellen Pao

text: In 2005, Pao joined Kleiner Perkins, an established venture capital firm in San Francisco, as technical chief of staff for John Doerr, a senior partner, a job that required degrees in engineering, law, and business and experience in enterprise software. In 2007 she was appointed a Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute on the recommendation of Doerr, a trustee. Also in 2007, she became a junior investing partner with Ted Schlein as her boss. While at Kleiner Perkins, Pao led the company's expansion into China. After several years with Schlein's team, Pao was passed over for a senior partner position. According to Pao, she had the job title of a junior partner from her date of hiring and was promised an opportunity to move into an investing role. Doerr, who has expressed awareness of what he considers a gender gap at venture capital firms, mentored Pao, liberally providing feedback, but, in the end, agreed with the other senior partners who had made negative evaluations of her work at the firm. It was Pao's contention in her suit for gender discrimination that men with similar profiles were, nevertheless, promoted.


title: Ellen Pao

text: On May 10, 2012, Pao filed a gender discrimination lawsuit against her employer. The lawsuit alleged workplace retaliation by a male junior partner, resulting from his and Pao's romantic affair. She continued to work at the firm until October 1. Pao claimed that she was terminated abruptly while Kleiner Perkins claimed that she was given a month to accept a paid five-month transition to an operating role. Pao's lawyer said she was fired in retaliation for her lawsuit and amended the complaint to add that cause of action. The firm said Pao was terminated for performance reasons unrelated to the lawsuit. On March 27, 2015, a jury decided the case in favor of the company on all counts.


title: Ellen Pao

text: Pao joined Reddit in 2013 as the head of business development and strategic partnerships. One of her first investments made in this capacity strengthened the ties between Reddit and its de facto image host Imgur. She stated that a goal for the following year was making it easier for people to become Redditors. Pao became interim CEO in November 2014 after Yishan Wong resigned. Following efforts by Wong to scale back salary negotiation during the hiring process, Pao decided to give two final offers (one with more cash, one with more equity) to all prospective employees. As motivation for the change, she cited findings that women were more likely to be penalized for attempting to negotiate pay. After seeing that Reddit's previous offers were not correlated with gender, Pao stated that the new policy was still the fairest, as well as a stepping stone to having publicly posted salaries. One of the largest changes made under Pao was the banning of revenge porn in March 2015. Other social networks that removed such images in the following months were widely referred to as following Reddit's model. In June and July 2015, Pao was the subject of criticism and harassment by Reddit users after five Reddit communities (subreddits) were banned for harassment and Reddit's director of talent was fired. A Change.org petition requesting her removal reached 200,000 signatures and on July 10, it was announced that Pao had resigned from Reddit "by mutual agreement".


title: Ellen Pao

text: Pao subsequently founded the non-profit organization Project Include with Erica Baker, Tracy Chou, Freada Kapor Klein and four other women in the technology industry. Aimed at startups with 25 to 1,000 employees, the group develops human resources advice in a series of meetings with clients and publishes anonymized progress reports under a Creative Commons license. Reports on the aftermath of "Pao v. Kleiner Perkins" included speculation that Pao had agreed not to write a book detailing her experiences at the company. In November 2015, Pao revealed that this was not the case and later confirmed that she was writing a memoir. In a May 2016 interview, Pao stated that she planned to finish the book before seeking a full-time job. One month later, the book was acquired by Spiegel and Grau and given the title "Reset: My Fight for Inclusion and Lasting Change". The book was shortlisted for the 2017 "Financial Times" and McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award.


title: Ellen Pao

text: In 2017, she became a partner at Kapor Capital and the Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer at the Kapor Center for Social Impact before leaving in 2018 to focus on her role as Project Include's CEO.


title: Ellen Pao

text: On May 10, 2012, Pao filed a gender discrimination suit against Kleiner Perkins which went to trial in late February 2015. It was covered by the national media and elicited broad comment regarding the issues raised. The case was live blogged and tweeted constantly, to the point of providing both humorous and serious feedback to lawyers and witnesses. The trial, lasting 24 days, resulted in a favorable verdict for Kleiner Perkins.


title: Ellen Pao

text: While the trial was taking place, a gender discrimination suit was filed against Twitter by Tina Huang and a suit alleging sexual and racial discrimination was filed against Facebook by Chia Hong. Law professor Joan Williams commented that it would have been "quite a coincidence" if these actions were not influenced by Pao's suit. More broadly, employment lawyers described an increase in the number of women coming forward with claims of gender inequality and the term "Pao effect" was coined to describe the resulting increase in lawsuits. Though many reporters commented positively on the changing culture, some expressed a foreboding that companies would be less likely to hire women during a period of abundant legal action. Discussion of the trial's influence continued after its conclusion when a discrimination claim was made by Microsoft researcher Katie Moussouris.


title: Ellen Pao

text: Following the trial, Kleiner Perkins sought $972,814 in legal costs but offered to withdraw the request if Pao declined to appeal the verdict. On June 1, 2015, Pao filed an appeal, one week before the deadline. On June 5, Kleiner Perkins claimed that Pao wanted $2.7 million to not appeal, an amount which they called "improper and excessive". A judge ruled on June 18 that Pao would only be responsible for $275,966 citing the economic resources of both parties under the Fair Employment and Housing Act. Pao filed an objection, arguing that an award against her could result in a chilling effect on future discrimination cases. On September 10, 2015, Pao wrote a guest post for Re/code in which she urged companies to be more open about bias accusations made by their employees. The post stated that she was deciding not to appeal but still paying $276,000 due to an additional stipulation by Kleiner Perkins that the fee could only be waived after signing a non-disparagement agreement. However, one week later when Pao formally dropped her appeal, Kleiner Perkins filed to close the case without payment per its original announcement.


title: Ellen Pao

text: On July 6, 2020, Pao claimed in a tweet that she had known about Ghislaine Maxwell's involvement in the solicitation of underage girls for sex since at least 2011; Maxwell was criminally charged with six felonies, including sex trafficking and enticement of minors, on July 2, 2020. Pao stated "We knew about her supplying underage girls for sex, but I guess that was fine with the "cool" people who managed the tightly controlled guest list", in reference to Maxwell's attendance at the 2011 Kleiner Perkins holiday party. Pao's Twitter account was briefly protected from public view shortly after, but the tweet was not deleted.


title: Ellen Pao

text: On June 10, 2015, a post on Reddit, signed by Pao and two other executives, announced that five subreddits were being banned for fostering off-site harassment. One such community, r/FatPeopleHate, had over 150,000 subscribers. Multiple change.org petitions calling for Pao's resignation were created by displeased Reddit users and the most popular one reached 10,000 signatures in the days following the change. Some users began posting hateful comments and images about Pao on Reddit and other websites. Other complaints about the site focused on inadequate moderation tools and the fact that some posts critical of Pao's lawsuit had been deleted by moderators.


title: Ellen Pao

text: Opposition increased on July 2 when large sections of Reddit were set to private to protest the dismissal of Victoria Taylor, Reddit's director of talent, known for co-ordinating the Ask Me Anything interviews. Expressing frustration over the decline in communication from Reddit management, AMA moderators stated that they had only learned about the firing indirectly after it happened. Despite one post to the contrary, Taylor's dismissal was widely attributed to Pao, with some commentators suggesting that the move diminished her credibility as an advocate for female employees. She received increased harassment as a result and the petition for her removal surpassed 200,000 signatures. On July 3, Pao issued apologies through Reddit and "Time" magazine. However, the Reddit post was thought to have been deleted after it received enough downvotes to lose visibility. In a longer post on July 6, she apologized for poor communication between staff members and for not delivering on promises. Pao resigned on July 10 and was replaced by Reddit co-founder Steve Huffman.


title: Ellen Pao

text: On July 12, former Reddit CEO Yishan Wong, who had previously defended the five bans on Quora, began a series of posts which he referred to as "declassifying a lot of things". The first drew attention to the fact that Victoria Taylor was in fact fired by Alexis Ohanian and not Pao. When shown that the media was covering this post, Pao tweeted "thanks for not blaming me for it". In a later post, which recalled two instances of Pao arguing against purging hateful subreddits, Wong sharply criticized the movement against her and warned about stricter policies under the site's cofounders. Huffman followed this by enacting a policy to reduce the prominence of some xenophobic communities and ban some others. On July 13, Reddit's chief engineer Bethanye Blount left the company for unrelated reasons and opined that Pao did not receive enough support from the board. Specifically, she referenced the glass cliff phenomenon in which women are allegedly given disproportionately unstable leadership positions. On July 16, Pao wrote about the difficulty of combating harassment while preserving "edgy content". The editorial described what she called "one of the largest trolling attacks in history" and the subsequent outpouring of support.


title: Ellen Pao

text: In June 2020, Pao released a tweet through her official Twitter profile, stating the need to "call out" Reddit's leadership.


title: Ellen Pao

text: The tweet contained arguments against current Reddit CEO Steve Huffman (registered on Reddit as /u/spez). Pao deemed him as responsible for the rampant racism and hatred on the platform, accusing Reddit of "monetizing white supremacy".


title: Ellen Pao

text: Huffman had previously released an open letter on the website in response to the George Floyd protests, in which he affirmed that the platform "[does] not tolerate hate, racism, and violence." Pao, however, found his remarks hypocritical and criticized Huffman.


title: Ellen Pao

text: Several popular subreddits, such as r/NBA and r/NFL, agreed with Pao, shutting down their pages for 24 hours, in a polemic against Huffman, calling out his letter as "hypocritical" and asking Reddit's leadership to take more concrete actions against racism on the platform.


title: Ellen Pao

text: In 2021, amid the fraud trial of former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes, Pao wrote in the "New York Times" that it can both be true that Holmes ""should" be held accountable for her actions" and that male CEOs not being similarly held to account for misjudgement and wrongdoing is a symptom of sexism. As examples, she cited Facebook's role in facilitating the Rohingya genocide and propagating "anti-vaccination propaganda" under Mark Zuckerberg, Juul's misleading promotion of nicotine products, including to children, under Kevin Burns, and numerous scandals at Uber under Travis Kalanick.


title: Ellen Pao

text: Pao married Roger Kuo; they later divorced. She then married Buddy Fletcher in December 2007 in San Francisco. They met through Aspen Institute functions during the summer of 2007, after they were both appointed Crown Fellows. Pao and Fletcher have a daughter, born July 2008. Pao is a vegetarian.


title: Apocryphon of John

text: The Apocryphon of John, also called the Secret Book of John or the Secret Revelation of John, is a 2nd-century Sethian Gnostic Christian pseudographical text attributed to John the Apostle. It is one of the texts addressed by Irenaeus in his "Against Heresies," placing its composition before 180 CE. It is presented as describing Jesus appearing and giving secret knowledge (gnosis) to his disciple John. The author describes it as having occurred after Jesus had "gone back to the place from which he came".


title: Apocryphon of John

text: Many second-century Christians, both Gnostic and orthodox, hoped to receive a transcendent personal revelation such as Paul the Apostle reported to the church at Corinth () or that John experienced on the isle of Patmos, which inspired the "Book of Revelation". As "Acts" narrates what happened after the time Jesus ascended to heaven, so the "Apocryphon of John" begins at the same point but relates how Christ reappeared to John.


title: Apocryphon of John

text: The opening words of the "Secret Book of John" are, "The teaching of the saviour, and the revelation of the mysteries and the things hidden in silence, even these things which he taught John, his disciple." The author John is immediately specified as "John, the brother of James—who are the sons of Zebedee." The remainder of the book is a vision of spiritual realms and of the prior history of spiritual humanity.


title: Apocryphon of John

text: There are four separate surviving manuscripts of "The Secret Book of John". One was purchased in Egypt in 1896 (the Berlin Codex) and three were found in the Nag Hammadi codices discovered in 1945. All date to the 4th century and are Coptic translations from Greek. Three appear to have been independently produced. Two of the four are similar enough that they probably were copied from a single source.


title: Apocryphon of John

text: Although the different versions of the texts have minor variants (the Berlin Codex has many minor differences with Nag Hammadi II and IV), all texts generally agree on the assertion that the main revealing entity was Jesus.


title: Apocryphon of John

text: A book called the "Apocryphon of John" was referred to by Irenaeus in "Adversus Haereses", written about 185, among "an indescribable number of secret and illegitimate writings, which they themselves have forged, to bewilder the minds of foolish people, who are ignorant of the true scriptures"—scriptures which Irenaeus himself helped to establish (see the canonical four). Among the writings he quotes from, in order to expose and refute them, are the "Gospel of Truth", "Gospel of Judas", and this "secret book of John".


title: Apocryphon of John

text: Little more was known of this text until 1945, when a cache of thirteen papyrus codices (bound books) that had been hidden away in the 4th century, was fortuitously discovered at Nag Hammadi in Egypt (CG II). The "Apocryphon of John" was among the texts, in three Coptic versions translated from the Greek. Two of the versions are very similar and represent one manuscript tradition; they incorporate a lengthy excerpt from a certain "Book of Zoroaster" appended to the "Apocryphon" (as chapters 15:29 – 19:8f) A shorter version of the "Apocryphon" found at Nag Hammadi does not contain the interpolation and represents another manuscript tradition. Still another version of this short edition of the text was discovered in an ancient Coptic Codex acquired by Dr. Carl Reinhardt in Cairo in 1896. This manuscript (identified as the "Berlin Gnostic Codex" or BG 8502) was used along with the three versions found at Nag Hammadi to produce the translations now available. The fact that four manuscript "editions" of this text survived—two "long" versions and two "short" versions—suggests how important this text was in early gnostic Christian circles. In the three Nag Hammadi codices the "Apocryphon of John" appears always in the first version.


title: Apocryphon of John

text: The "Apocryphon", set in the framing device of a revelation delivered by the resurrected Christ to John the son of Zebedee, contains some of the most extensive detailing of classic dualistic Gnostic mythology that has survived; as one of the principal texts of the Nag Hammadi library, it is an essential text of study for anyone interested in Gnosticism. Frederick Wisse, who translated it, asserts that "The "Apocryphon of John" was still used in the eighth century by the Audians of Mesopotamia" (Wisse p 104).


title: Apocryphon of John

text: The "Apocryphon of John" has become the central text for studying the gnostic tradition of Antiquity. The creation mythology it details has been studied by Carl Jung and Eric Voegelin.


title: Apocryphon of John

text: There are currently four surviving copies of "The Secret Revelation of John". They are largely the same in their basic structure and content. One notable difference between the codices is their individual length. The Berlin Codex and Nag Hammadi Codex III are shorter than the Nag Hammadi Codices I and II. Another point of departure between codices is the portrayal of the Savior/Christ figure. The Berlin Codex generally uses the term “Christ” more frequently, whereas the Nag Hammadi Codex III narrative often substitutes the term “Lord” or “Savior”. However, the Nag Hammadi Codex III closes its text with the prayer “Jesus Christ, Amen.” An additional distinction, with regards to the Christian framing of the texts, is that Nag Hammadi Codex III goes into greater detail about the descent of the Christ/Savior figure into the prison-world of Demiurge and his role in facilitating the reawakening and liberation of mankind. These distinctions may represent a certain degree of variation in the way that Gnostic cosmology was woven into a Christian context.


title: Apocryphon of John

text: The text begins with John describing his own state of grief and bewilderment after Christ's crucifixion. The Savior then appears, takes various forms, and after banishing John's fears, provides the following cosmological narrative.


title: Apocryphon of John

text: The highest divine principle is the Monad. The Monad is described as a "monarchy with nothing above it". He is supreme, absolute, eternal, infinite, perfect, holy and self-sufficient. However, his transcendent ineffability is also emphasized. He is neither quantifiable nor can his qualities ever truly be described. The Monad exists in inconceivable perfection.


title: Apocryphon of John

text: The Monad produces from his thought a feminine divine entity or principle named Barbelo. She is described as "the first thought", and the "image" of the Monad. While Barbelo is always referred to as a "she", she is also described as both the primordial mother and father. She is also regarded as "the first man", "Holy Spirit", "Mother/Father" and described in various terms of androgyny. She is the first of a class of beings referred to as the Aeons, and an exchange between herself and the Monad brings the other Aeons into being. Additionally, the properties of Light and Mind are born from the Monad's reflection on Barbelo. Light is synonymous with Christ, also called "Christ the Autogenes". The Light and the Mind engage in further creative activity, aided by and glorifying the superior principles of Barbelo and the Monad. Together, they bring forth further Aeons and powers.


title: Apocryphon of John

text: Eventually, one of the Aeons, Sophia "of the Epinoia", disrupts the harmony of these processes by engaging in creative activity without the participation or consent of the Spirit of the Monad and without the aid of a male consort. The creative power of her thought produces an entity named Yaltabaoth, who is the first of a series of incomplete, demonic entities called the Archons. Yaltabaoth, whose character is malevolent and arrogant, also has a grotesque form. His head is that of a lion while he possesses a serpentine body. Recognizing the deformed, imperfect nature of her offspring, Sophia attempts to conceal it somewhere where the other Aeons will not discover it. The act of hiding Yaltabaoth also has the result that Yaltabaoth himself remains ignorant of the upper world and the other Aeons.


title: Apocryphon of John

text: Despite the fact that Yaltabaoth possesses only a single parent and was created without the consent of the Spirit of the Monad, he is powerful enough to mimic the creative processes of the superior Aeons. He creates a whole host of other Archons, each of whom share his own basically deficient character, and creates a world for them to inhabit. This world is fundamentally inferior to the world above. It is fashioned out of darkness, but animated by light stolen from Sophia. The result is a world that is neither "light nor dark" but is instead "dim". In his arrogance and ignorance, Yaltabaoth declares himself the sole and jealous God of this realm.


title: Apocryphon of John

text: Recognizing the imperfection of Yaltabaoth and his counterfeit world, Sophia repents. In forgiveness of her error, the Spirit of the Monad assists the other Aeons and powers in an attempt to redeem Sophia and her bastard creation. During this process Yaltabaoth and his Archons hear the voice of the Monad's Spirit. While they are terrified by the voice, its echo leaves a trace of an image of the Spirit on the "waters" that form the roof of their realm. Hoping to harness this power for themselves, they attempt to create a copy of this image. The end result of this process is the first human man, Adam.


title: Apocryphon of John

text: Recognizing an opportunity to retrieve the light imprisoned in the darkness of Yaltabaoth and his world, Sophia and agents of the higher order, referred to variously as the "plenoria" or the "Epinoia", and later as the "pleroma", devise a scheme. They trick Yaltabaoth into blowing his own spiritual essence into Adam. This simultaneously animates Adam and empties Yaltabaoth of the portion of his being derived from Sophia.


title: Apocryphon of John

text: Seeing the luminosity, intelligence and general superiority of the now animate Adam, Yaltabaoth and the Archons regret their creation and do their best to imprison or dispose of him. Failing to do so, they then attempt to neutralize him by placing him in the Garden of Eden. In this narrative, the Garden of Eden is a false paradise where the fruit of the trees is sin, lust, ignorance, confinement and death. While they give Adam access to the Tree of Life, they conceal the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. According to this narrative, the Tree of Knowledge actually represents the penetration of the positive forces of the higher world and the Epinoia into Yaltabaoth's realm.


title: Apocryphon of John

text: At this point in the narrative, Christ reveals to John that it was he who caused Adam to consume the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. Additionally, it is revealed that Eve is a helper sent by agents of the higher order to help liberate the light imprisoned in Yaltabaoth's creation and in Adam. She is created when Yaltabaoth attempts to draw the light out of Adam. This results in the creation of the female body. When Adam perceives her, he sees a reflection of his own essence and is freed from the bewitching power of Yaltabaoth.


title: Apocryphon of John

text: The narrative then details Yaltabaoth's attempts to regain control over the essence of Light. His primary scheme is to initiate the activity of human reproduction, by which he hopes to create new human bodies inhabited by a counterfeit spirit. This counterfeit spirit allows Yaltabaoth and his agents to deceive the human race, keeping them in ignorance of their true nature, and is the primary means by which Yaltabaoth keeps humanity in subjugation. It is the source of all earthly evil and confusion, and causes people to die "not having found truth and without knowing the God of truth".


title: Apocryphon of John

text: Following this revelation, the narrative then takes the form of a series of questions and answers between John and the Savior. These address a number of subjects, but are largely soteriological in nature. John asks Christ who is eligible for salvation, and Christ responds with the answer that those who come in contact with the true Spirit will receive salvation, while those who are dominated by the counterfeit spirit will receive damnation. Christ also reveals his own role as a liberating agent of the higher realm, in this context. Christ, who describes himself as the "remembrance of the Pronoia" and "the remembrance of the pleroma", brings light into the darkness of Yaltabaoth's prison. Here, he rouses the prisoners to wakefulness and remembrance. Those who receive and are woken by Christ's revelation are raised up and “sealed… in the light of the water with five seals”. They are thus spared from death and damnation. This aspect of Christ's role is elaborated on more fully by Nag Hammadi Codex III, whereas it is omitted from the Berlin Codex.


title: Apocryphon of John

text: This concludes Christ's message. Finally, the savior states that anyone who shares these revelations for personal profit will be cursed. The Nag Hammadi Codex III version of the text ends with the prayer, "Jesus Christ, Amen".


title: Brit Pack (actors)

text: "Brit Pack" is a term that has been used to refer to specific groups of young British actors who have achieved success in Hollywood, as well as more generally to the entire group of such actors. According to a TalkTalk article, "every decade brings a new Brit Pack, another disparate group of actors backed by the media to achieve simultaneous Hollywood stardom." However, the term is most closely associated with the crop of English actors that emerged in the late 1980s, because of the prominence of the American Brat Pack actors at that time.


title: Brit Pack (actors)

text: In November 1986, Journalist Elissa Van Poznak conducted an interview with Colin Firth, Spencer Leigh, Paul McGann, Bruce Payne and Tim Roth for the January 1987 edition of "The Face". Daniel Day-Lewis and Gary Oldman were also invited, but were unable to attend due to acting obligations (although Oldman gave his own interview at a later date). The title of the article was "The Brit Pack": this moniker stuck and has been referenced in subsequent pieces regarding actors from that period. In the February 1988 issue of "Film Comment", Harlan Kennedy stated that Day-Lewis and Oldman, along with Rupert Everett and Miranda Richardson, were the "pack-leaders". According to a retrospective article by Marlow Stern in "The Daily Beast", the British press anointed Oldman "de facto ringleader" of the Brit Pack.


title: Brit Pack (actors)

text: Unlike the Brat Pack or other similarly defined groups of American actors, Brit Pack actors rarely associated with each other socially or in film. Harlan Kennedy wrote that the group "aren't seen together at parties or in restaurants or in gossip columns. And since British cinema has had no equivalent to Hollywood's Eighties conveyor-belt youth movies – "Weird Science", "About Last Night...", "St. Elmo's Fire", et al. – they don't keep re-meeting each other on-screen either".


title: Brit Pack (actors)

text: A July 1993 article in "The Face" was titled "The New Brit Pack", which included Naveen Andrews, Jaye Davidson, Craig Kelly, Jude Law, Rufus Sewell, David Thewlis and Samuel West. In later years, the phrase 'Brit Pack' has been used to describe disparate groups of young British actors of rising prominence. Publications also began including actresses such as Holliday Grainger, Kaya Scodelario, and Suki Waterhouse.


title: Australian Antarctic Territory

text: The Australian Antarctic Territory (AAT) is a part of East Antarctica claimed by Australia as an external territory. It is administered by the Australian Antarctic Division, an agency of the federal Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. The territory's history dates to a claim on Enderby Land made by the United Kingdom in 1841, which was subsequently expanded and eventually transferred to Australia in 1933. It is the largest territory of Antarctica claimed by any nation by area. In 1961, the Antarctic Treaty came into force. Article 4 deals with territorial claims, and although it does not renounce or diminish any pre-existing claims to sovereignty, it also does not prejudice the position of Contracting Parties in their recognition or non-recognition of territorial sovereignty. As a result, only four other countries — New Zealand, the United Kingdom, France, and Norway recognise Australia's claim to sovereignty in Antarctica.


title: Australian Antarctic Territory

text: The AAT consists of all the islands and territory south of 60°S and between 44°38'E and 160°E, except for Adélie Land (136°E to 142°E), which divides the territory into Western AAT (the larger portion) and Eastern AAT. It is bounded by Queen Maud Land in the West and by Ross Dependency in the East. The Australian Antarctic Territory is the largest of any claims to the continent, and covers nearly 5.9 million square kilometres, which is about 42% of Antarctica.


title: Australian Antarctic Territory

text: The territory is mostly inhabited by the staff of research stations. The Australian Antarctic Division administers the area primarily by maintaining three year-round stations—Mawson, Davis, and Casey—which support various research projects.


title: Australian Antarctic Territory

text: These regions are split into two separate areas geographically, with George V Land and Oates Land lying to the east of the French Territorial claim of Adélie Land, and all other districts lying to its west.


title: Australian Antarctic Territory

text: Australia claims an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) from the Australian Antarctic Territory. However, the Australian proclamation of an Antarctic EEZ is contested. The effect of Article IV of the 1959 Antarctic Treaty (which prohibits new territorial claims or the extension of existing claims in the Antarctic) would seem to be that an EEZ cannot be claimed in relation to territory to which that Treaty applies (south of 60° South). The provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) define the exclusive economic zone of a coastal state as up to from the baseline from which the territorial sea is measured.


title: Australian Antarctic Territory

text: Whaling in Australian Antarctic territorial waters is controversial and has received international attention. Anti-whaling protest groups, in particular Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, have been active within the Australian Antarctic territorial waters. Sea Shepherd small boat crews have had multiple encounters with Japanese ships that claim to be on research expeditions while opponents argue this is only a "cover" for banned commercial whaling. The Australian Whale Sanctuary, in Australian Antarctic territory, is not recognised by the government of Japan. Anti-whaling legislation passed by the Australian Government applies to Australian territorial waters. However, Australia's claims of sovereignty over the Australian Antarctic Territory—and thus sovereignty over Australian Antarctic territorial waters—are recognised by only the United Kingdom, New Zealand, France and Norway.


title: Australian Antarctic Territory

text: The United Kingdom first claimed Victoria Land on 9 January 1841 and then claimed Enderby Land in 1930. In 1933, a British imperial order transferred most of the territory south of 60° S and between meridians 160° E and 45° E to Australia.


title: Australian Antarctic Territory

text: That part of His Majesty's dominions in the Antarctic Seas which comprises all the islands and territories other than Adélie Land which are situated south of the 60th degree of South Latitude and lying between the 160th degree of East Longitude and the 45th degree of East Longitude is hereby placed under the authority of the Commonwealth of Australia.


title: Australian Antarctic Territory

text: Australian Antarctic Territory Acceptance Act 1933That part of the territory in the Antarctic seas which comprises all the islands and territories, other than Adelie Land, situated south of the 60th degree south latitude and lying between the 160th degree east longitude and the 45th degree east longitude, is hereby declared to be accepted by the Commonwealth as a Territory under the authority of the Commonwealth, by the name of the Australian Antarctic Territory.


title: Australian Antarctic Territory

text: The borders with Adélie Land were fixed definitively in 1938. In 1947, Britain transferred Heard Island and McDonald Islands to the territory. On 13 February 1954, Mawson Station was established as the first Australian station on the continent proper.


title: Australian Antarctic Territory

text: Australia's claim to sovereignty over the Australian Antarctic Territory is recognised by the United Kingdom, New Zealand, France and Norway. Japan does not recognise the Australian claim to the Australian Antarctic territorial waters in which Japanese ships conduct whaling.


title: Australian Antarctic Territory

text: During the early 1980s there was a brief debate in Australia on whether or not to allow mining on the mineral-rich continent. Several mining proposals have been discussed and have all been rejected.


title: Australian Antarctic Territory

text: On 9 August 2011, influential Australian think-tank, the Lowy Institute, published a report warning Canberra against complacency when it comes to its claim. The global treaty banning resource exploitation becomes reviewable in 2041, and some states may then decide to withdraw from it considering the continent's mineral deposits. These include coal seams, manganese, iron and uranium, while Antarctica's forecast oil reserves are estimated as among the largest in the world after Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. Lowy's national security fellow Ellie Fogarty said in the paper that Australia cannot adequately patrol its claim, lacking the kind of ski-planes it needs to reach some areas.


title: Australian Antarctic Territory

text: Australia issues postage stamps for the Australian Antarctic Territory. The first issues came in 1957, and sporadically thereafter, settling into a pattern of an annual issue by the 1990s. All have been Antarctic-themed, and all are valid for postage in Australia and its territories, including Antarctica.


title: Australian Antarctic Territory

text: Assigned the country calling code +672 1[0-4] XXXX, the four stations and the Aurora Australis operated by the Australian Antarctic Division can be reached by direct calling from anywhere in the world. The area codes are 10 for Davis, 11 for Mawson, 12 for Casey, 13 for Macquarie Island and 14 for Wilkins and the Aurora Australis, in each case followed by four additional digits.


title: Australian Antarctic Territory

text: As of May 2018 the AAT was believed to have a population of around 80 people during winters and 200 during summers.


title: Oakland County, Michigan

text: Oakland County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is part of the metropolitan Detroit area, located northwest of the city. As of the 2020 Census, its population was 1,274,395, making it the second-most populous county in Michigan, behind neighboring Wayne County. It is the largest county in the United States without a city of 100,000 residents. The county seat is Pontiac. The county was founded in 1819 and organized in 1820.


title: Oakland County, Michigan

text: Oakland County is composed of 62 cities, townships, and villages, and is part of the Detroit–Warren–Dearborn, MI Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city of Detroit is in neighboring Wayne County, south of 8 Mile Road. In 2010, Oakland County was among the ten wealthiest counties in the United States to have over one million residents. It is also home to Oakland University, a large public institution that straddles the border between the cities of Auburn Hills and Rochester Hills.


title: Oakland County, Michigan

text: In 1999, Oakland County started the organization Automation Alley, a nonprofit business association for technology and manufacturing businesses in Southeast Michigan. The organization has since expanded into a state-wide, Industry 4.0 knowledge center and home to the World Economic Forum's US Centre for Advanced Manufacturing.


title: Oakland County, Michigan

text: Founded by Territorial Governor Lewis Cass in 1819, sparsely settled Oakland was originally twice its current size. As was customary at the time, as populations increased, other counties were organized from its land area. Woodward Avenue and the Detroit and Pontiac Railroad helped draw settlers in the 1840s. By 1840, Oakland had more than fifty lumber mills, processing wood harvested from the region and the Upper Peninsula. Pontiac, located on the Clinton River, was Oakland's first town and became the county seat. After the Civil War, Oakland was still primarily a rural, agricultural county with numerous isolated villages. By the end of the 19th century, three rail lines served Pontiac, and the city attracted carriage and wagon factories. In the late 1890s streetcars were constructed here and to Detroit.


title: Oakland County, Michigan

text: At that time, developers made southern Oakland County a suburb of Detroit; a Cincinnati firm platted a section of Royal Oak called "Urbanrest." Migration worked both ways. Several thousand people moved from Oakland County farms to Detroit as the city attracted factories. By 1910, a number of rich Detroiters had summer homes and some year-round residences in what became Bloomfield Hills. The auto age enveloped Pontiac in the early 1900s. The Oakland Motor Car Company was founded in 1907 and became a part of General Motors Corp., which was soon Pontiac's dominant firm.


title: Oakland County, Michigan

text: In the 1950s, Oakland County's population boomed as the Detroiters began migrating to the suburbs. Oakland County was for a time the fourth-wealthiest county in the United States, though its position has declined somewhat since the Great Recession. The median price of a home in Oakland County increased to $164,697, more than $30,000 above the national median. Oakland County is home to several super-regional shopping malls such as Somerset Collection, Twelve Oaks Mall, and Great Lakes Crossing Outlets.


title: Oakland County, Michigan

text: According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (4.4%) is water.


title: Oakland County, Michigan

text: Oakland County was originally divided into 25 separate townships, which are listed below. Each township is roughly equal in size at six miles (10 km) by six miles, for a total township area of . The roots of this design were born out of the Land Ordinance of 1785 and the subsequent Northwest Ordinance of 1787. Oakland County itself is a prime example of the land policy that was established, as all townships are equal in size (save for slight variations due to waterways). Section 16 in each township was reserved for financing and maintaining public education, and even today many schools in Oakland County townships are located within that section.


title: Oakland County, Michigan

text: Wayne County, where the city of Detroit is located, borders Oakland County to the south. 8 Mile Road, also known as "Baseline Road" in some areas, is the boundary between these counties. The baseline was used during the original surveying for Michigan, and it serves as the northern/southern boundaries for counties from Lake St. Clair to Lake Michigan. As more working and middle-class populations moved to the suburbs from the 1950s on, this divide (8 Mile Road) became historically known as an unofficial racial dividing line between what became the predominantly black city and almost exclusively white suburbs.


title: Oakland County, Michigan

text: Since the late 20th century, however, the patterns of "de facto" segregation have faded as the suburbs have become more diverse. Middle-class African Americans have left Detroit, settling in inner-ring suburbs, notably Southfield (where the population is 75% Black), west of Woodward Avenue. Based on the 2010 Census, the following cities also have significant non-white populations: Farmington (25.3%), Farmington Hills (31.7%), Novi (30.12%), Oak Park (62.61%), Lathrup Village (72.97%), Orchard Lake Village (16.08%), Rochester Hills (20.94%), Troy (29.4%), Wixom (26.28%), West Bloomfield (24.0%), Bloomfield (18.28%), Bloomfield Hills (14.2%), Ferndale (17.2%), and Madison Heights (17.7%). Ferndale has a concentration of Arab Americans, who also live in nearby areas, and numerous Asian Americans, particularly Indians, have also settled in these areas.


title: Oakland County, Michigan

text: As of the 2010 Census, there were 1,202,362 people and 315,175 families residing in the county. 77.3% were White, 13.6% Black or African American, 5.6% Asian, 0.3% Native American, 1.0% of some other race and 2.2% of two or more races. 3.5% were Hispanic or Latino (of any race). There were 527,255 housing units at an average density of 564 per square mile (218/km).


title: Oakland County, Michigan

text: Regarding ancestry, in 2000 14.4% of the population were ethnically German, 9.0% Irish, 8.5% English, 8.5% Polish, 5.7% Italian and 5.5% American, 87.4% spoke only English at home; 2.0% spoke Spanish, 1.3% Syriac (Neo Aramaic) and 1.0% Arabic. The population density as of the 2000 census was 1,369 people per square mile (528/km). There were 492,006 housing units at an average density of 564 per square mile (218/km).


title: Oakland County, Michigan

text: The 2000 census showed two Native American tribes with more than 1,000 members in Oakland County. There were 2,095 Cherokee and 1,458 Chippewa.


title: Oakland County, Michigan

text: The Jewish community of metropolitan Detroit, with a population of 72,000, is the 21st largest Jewish community in the nation. This community is concentrated in Oakland County, especially in Southfield, Oak Park, West Bloomfield, Bloomfield Hills, Farmington Hills, Troy and Huntington Woods.


title: Oakland County, Michigan

text: There were 471,115 households, of which 32.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them. 54.20% were married couples living together, 9.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.10% were non-families. 27.30% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.09.


title: Oakland County, Michigan

text: Among Asian Americans, eight ethnic groups had more than 1,000 members in the county in 2000. The most numerous were those of Asian Indian descent, with 20,705. Next were those of Chinese heritage, numbering 10,018. Next were those of Japanese (5,589), Filipino (5,450) Korean (5,351), Vietnamese (1,687), Pakistani (1,458) and Hmong (1,210) ancestry.


title: Oakland County, Michigan

text: In 2001, Oakland County had the 36th largest Asian population of any county in the country. In 2002, of the Oakland-Wayne-Macomb tricounty area, Oakland County had 49% of the tri-county area's Asian population.


title: Oakland County, Michigan

text: The county's population was spread out in terms of age, with 25.20% of people under the age of 18, 7.20% from 18 to 24, 32.40% from 25 to 44, 23.90% from 45 to 64, and 11.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.70 males.


title: Oakland County, Michigan

text: The median income for a household in the county was $86,567, making Oakland County the 21st wealthiest county in the United States. Males had a median income of $55,833 versus $35,890 for females. The per capita income for the county was $65,759. About 3.80% of families and 5.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.50% of those under age 18 and 6.50% of those age 65 or over.


title: Oakland County, Michigan

text: The county government operates the major local courts, keeps files of deeds and mortgages, maintains vital records, administers public health regulations, and participates with the state in the provision of welfare and other social services. The county board of commissioners controls the budget but has limited authority to make laws or ordinances. In Michigan, most local government functions—police and fire, building and zoning, tax assessment, street maintenance, etc.—are the responsibility of individual cities and townships.


title: Oakland County, Michigan

text: The Oakland County Sheriff's Office is the largest sheriff's department in the state of Michigan. In 2017 it had 859 uniformed officers, although in 2022 it had nearly 100 unfilled vacancies. Republican Michael Bouchard has served as the Oakland County Sheriff since 1999.


title: Oakland County, Michigan

text: Ten townships, 3 cities, and 2 villages in the county do not have municipal police forces, but rather contract with the sheriff for police services specific to the municipalities. Those municipalities are Addison Township (including the village of Leonard), Brandon Township (including the village of Ortonville), Clarkston, Commerce Township, Highland Township, Independence Township, Lyon Township, Oakland Township, Orion Township, Oxford Township, Springfield Township, Pontiac, and Rochester Hills. The Oakland County Sheriff's Office also operates the county jail, a civil division, marine division, alcohol and traffic enforcement units, and an aviation division. The marine patrol and rescue unit patrols 450 lakes across the county.


title: Oakland County, Michigan

text: Roads that are not maintained by a local community (city/village) are maintained by the independent Road Commission for Oakland County, which is governed by three board members appointed by the Oakland County Board of Commissioners.


title: Oakland County, Michigan

text: The East Campus of the Oakland County Service Center is located in Pontiac. It includes the county courthouse and jail for adults.


title: Oakland County, Michigan

text: The West Campus of the Oakland County Service Center is located in Waterford Township. This includes the Oakland County Executive Building and Conference Center, and the Oakland County Children's Village, the county's juvenile detention center for children. The Children's Village acts as one of the support sites for the Waterford School District.


title: Oakland County, Michigan

text: Oakland County was historically a bastion of suburban conservatism, and was hence a longstanding stronghold of the Republican Party. However, in the 1990s it became highly competitive, and since 2008 it has increasingly shifted Democratic, giving over 50% of its votes to the Democratic candidate for president in each election. Republican strength is concentrated in the many exurban townships of the county, while Democratic strength is concentrated in suburbs such as Royal Oak, Farmington Hills, West Bloomfield, and Southfield. Some suburbs, such as Novi, Troy, Birmingham, and Rochester, were historically strongly Republican but are now relatively split between the two parties, with younger adults tending to support Democrats and older residents tending to support Republicans.


title: Oakland County, Michigan

text: In 1996, Bill Clinton became the first Democrat to carry Oakland County since Lyndon Johnson in 1964, and only the fourth to do so since 1892. Al Gore and John Kerry also carried the county, by narrow margins, against George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004, respectively. In 2008, the county swung significantly to Barack Obama, who became the first Democrat to win a majority in the county since LBJ, and only the third to do so since 1884. ("See table at right".) He again carried the county in 2012, though by a smaller margin. Hillary Clinton won a narrow majority in 2016. In 2020, Joe Biden won 56 percent of the vote. He received over 400,000 votes, and became the first Democrat to carry the county by a margin of over 100,000 votes.


title: Oakland County, Michigan

text: While the Democratic Party has found increasing success in presidential elections in Oakland County, the state Republican Party has remained strong in some recent gubernatorial and state elections. The county favored Republican Rick Snyder by a 22-percent margin in the 2010 Michigan gubernatorial election and again by a 12-point margin in the 2014 election; conversely, Democratic candidate Gretchen Whitmer carried the county by 17 points in the 2018 race. Republicans held a majority on the County Commission for most of its history, but following the 2018 elections, Democrats won a narrow 11-10 majority on the commission.


title: Oakland County, Michigan

text: In the 117th Congress, Oakland County is represented by four Democrats, Brenda Lawrence (14th), Andy Levin (9th), Haley Stevens (11th) and Elissa Slotkin (8th). Slotkin and Stevens were first elected in 2018, flipping Republican-held seats.


title: Oakland County, Michigan

text: Amtrak's Wolverine serves Oakland County with 3 daily trains each way, stopping in Pontiac, Troy, Royal Oak, and continuing on to Chicago. In pre-Amtrak years Birmingham, Pontiac and other stations were stops for Grand Trunk Western passenger trains from Detroit to points north and west. Until 1960, passengers could board trains in Birmingham and Pontiac for Grand Rapids and Muskegon on the Lake Michigan coast. From the above trains passengers could transfer at Durand Union Station for Bay City-bound mixed trains.


title: Oakland County, Michigan

text: The conditions on most non-residential roads in Oakland County are not favorable to bicycling. Exceptions to this are primarily in the inner-ring suburbs within the southeast corner of the county. This is due to their street grid.


title: Oakland County, Michigan

text: A primary reason for these unfavorable cycling conditions is the Road Commission for Oakland County has a policy of not accommodating bicycles on the road. As a result, some communities have designated sidepaths (locally called "safety paths") as bike routes which do not meet the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) guidelines for bicycling facilities and have been found to be less safe than on-road bike facilities.


title: Oakland County, Michigan

text: Only the city of Ferndale has a built comprehensive bicycle network of bike lanes and signed shared roadways.


title: Oakland County, Michigan

text: The County of Oakland counterpart in public education (K–12) is the Oakland Schools, an Intermediate school district. The county is also home to multiple renowned private elementary and high schools, including The Roeper School and Cranbrook.


title: Oakland County, Michigan

text: The NFL's Detroit Lions played their home games at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac from 1975 through 2001, when they moved to Ford Field in Downtown Detroit. The Detroit Pistons played at the Silverdome from 1978 to 1988. The Silverdome was also the site of Super Bowl XVI, where the San Francisco 49ers defeated the Cincinnati Bengals, the first of 5 Super Bowl titles for the 49ers. The Pontiac Silverdome also hosted various other sporting events, prior to being demolished in 2017.


title: Oakland County, Michigan

text: From 1988 to 2017, prior to the move to Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, the Detroit Pistons played their home games at The Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills. The Palace of Auburn Hills was demolished in 2020.


title: Zhang Zuolin

text: Zhang Zuolin (; March 19, 1875 June 4, 1928), courtesy name Yuting (雨亭), nicknamed Zhang Laogang (張老疙瘩), was an influential Chinese bandit, soldier, and warlord during the Warlord Era in China. The warlord of Manchuria from 1916 to 1928, and the military dictator of the Republic of China in 1927 and 1928, he rose from banditry to power and influence.


title: Zhang Zuolin

text: Backed by Japan, Zhang successfully influenced politics in the Republic of China during the early 1920s. In the fall of 1924, during the Second Zhili–Fengtian War, he invaded and gained control of Peking, including the internationally recognized government, in April 1926. His appointment as grand marshal of the Republic of China in June 1927 represented the height of his success, but was quickly followed by defeat: the economy of Manchuria, the basis of his power, was overtaxed by his adventurism and collapsed in the winter of 1927; and he was defeated by the National Revolutionary Army of the Kuomintang under Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek in May 1928. Leaving Beijing in early June to return to Manchuria, he was killed by a bomb planted by infuriated Kwantung Army officers on June 4, 1928; his brief reign presaged the end of Chinese warlordism by December.


title: Zhang Zuolin

text: His assassination by members of the Japanese Kwantung Army made way for the eventual invasion of Manchuria.


title: Zhang Zuolin

text: Zhang was born in 1875 in Haicheng, a county in southern Fengtian province (modern Liaoning) in northeastern China, to poor parents. He received little formal education, and the only non-military trade that he learned in his lifetime was a small amount of veterinary science. His grandfather had come to the northeast after fleeing a famine in Zhili (modern Hebei) in 1821. As a child, Zhang was known by the nickname "Pimple." He spent his early youth hunting, fishing and brawling. He hunted hares in the Manchurian countryside to help feed his family. In appearance he was thin and short.


title: Zhang Zuolin

text: When he became old enough to work, he got a job at a stable in an inn, where he became familiar with many bandit gangs operating in Manchuria at the time. As early as 1896 (aged 21) Zhang himself was a member of a well-known bandit gang. In one version of his beginnings as a warlord, during a hunting trip he spotted a wounded bandit ("Honghuzi") on horseback, killed him, took his horse and became a bandit himself. By his late 20s he had formed a small personal army, acquiring something of a Robin Hood reputation. His bandit career was euphemistically referred to as his experience in the "University of the Green Forest", as he was illiterate.


title: Zhang Zuolin

text: In 1900 the Boxer Rebellion broke out, and Zhang's gang joined the imperial army. In peacetime he hired his men out as security escorts for traveling merchants. In the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–05 the Japanese Army employed Zhang and his men as mercenaries. At the end of the Qing dynasty Zhang managed to have his men recognised as a regiment of the regular Chinese army, patrolling the borders of Manchuria and suppressing other bandit gangs. The American surgeon Louis Livingston Seaman met Zhang during the Russo-Japanese War, and took several photographs of him and his troops as well as writing an account of his journey.


title: Zhang Zuolin

text: During the 1911 Xinhai Revolution some military commanders wanted to declare independence for Manchuria; but the pro-Manchu governor used Zhang's regiment to set up a "Manchurian People's Peacekeeping Council", intimidating would-be rebels and revolutionaries. For his efforts in preventing civil disturbance and revolution, Zhang was named the Vice Minister of Military Affairs.


title: Zhang Zuolin

text: On 1 January 1912 Sun Yat-sen became the first President of the Republic of China in Nanjing. Yuan Shikai, operating out of Beijing, sent other northern military commanders a series of telegrams, advising them to oppose Sun's administration. To gain Zhang's loyalty, Yuan sent him a large shipment of military provisions; Zhang sent Yuan an enormous (and costly) ginseng root in return to symbolize their friendship. Zhang then murdered a number of leading figures in his base city of Shenyang (then known as "Mukden"), and was rewarded with a series of impressive-sounding titles by the nearly defunct Manchu court. When it became obvious to Zhang that Yuan would usurp control of the central government, he endorsed Yuan's rule over that of either Sun or the Manchus. After Zhang put down a rebellion in June 1912, Yuan raised him to the rank of Lieutenant-General. In 1913 Yuan attempted to move Zhang away from Manchuria by having him transferred to Mongolia, but Zhang reminded Yuan of his successful efforts to keep local order, and refused.


title: Zhang Zuolin

text: In 1915, when it became clear that Yuan intended to declare himself emperor, Zhang was one of the few officials who supported him. Besides political opportunism, Zhang saw Yuan as a central, unifying, and legitimate figure. Furthermore, Yuan had promoted him to military governor of Fengtian to gain his support. Zhang's main rival for power in Manchuria, Zhang Xiluan, had been asked about Yuan's ambitions, and suggested to Yuan that he "think about it a bit more", for which Zhang Xiluan was recalled to Beijing while Zhang Zuolin was promoted.


title: Zhang Zuolin

text: In March 1916, after many southern provinces revolted against Yuan Shikai's government, Zhang supported him but expelled a local military governor sent by Duan Qirui to replace him, with some support from local Japanese officers in the Kwantung Army. Beijing accepted Zhang's authority and Yuan appointed Zhang superintendent of military affairs in Liaoning (known as "Fengtian" until 1929). After Yuan died in June 1916, the new central government named Zhang both military and civil governor of Liaoning, the essential components of a successful warlord.


title: Zhang Zuolin

text: Zhang, a pragmatist, had always remained cordial with Puyi, the last Emperor of China, and had sent him a gift of £1,600 for his wedding as a token of loyalty. Zhang sought good relations with Puyi in order to increase his power and cement his legitimacy if a restoration was ever attempted. In 1917 he plotted with Zhang Xun, a Qing-loyalist general, to restore the abdicated Puyi to the throne. Zhang Zuolin proposed talking to the National Assembly about a possible restoration. After Zhang Xun rebelled, Zhang Zuolin remained neutral and actually supported Duan Qirui in suppressing Zhang Xun after it became clear that Duan would win. Zhang was able to absorb soldiers of nearby commanders who had been linked to the rebellion, increasing his own power. He intervened and took control of China's northernmost province, Heilongjiang, after a rebellion there forced the local governor to flee. Because the governor of Jilin province had been linked to the attempt to restore the monarchy, Zhang had allies from Jilin successfully agitate for the governor's dismissal in Beijing. By 1918 Zhang's control of Manchuria was complete, except for the small areas held by the Japanese Empire.


title: Zhang Zuolin

text: In 1920 Zhang was the supreme ruler of Manchuria. The central government acknowledged this by appointing him Governor-General of the Three Eastern Provinces. He began to surround himself in luxury, building a chateau-style home near Shenyang, and had at least five wives (an accepted practice of any powerful or wealthy Chinese at the time). In 1925 his personal fortune was estimated at over 18 million yuan (roughly $2.6 million).