Some say, however, the meaning of life is simply to give life a meaning. However, life can also be an illusion, or maybe a mere mirror of a different universe. Maybe we really don't have any control over our or the universe's actions, since we are all just imitating a different universe. We can never really know. Philosophies such as nihilism and absurdism deny that life has any meaning.
Or maybe the true meaning of life is to live it completely how you want to, then find out the meaning of it at the end. The meaning could be unique to all of us.
Others, like Solomon, argue that 'life is useless'. (Ecclesiastes 1:2)
Drainage basin
Drainage basin is a geographic term about rivers. It is also called catchment, catchment area, catchment basin, drainage area, river basin, and water basin.
It is an area of land. All water that falls on that land flows into one river. It can flow directly into the river or go through tributaries (smaller rivers that flow into the bigger river) first.
One river can drain a large area. For example, more than half of the United States is drained by the Mississippi and its tributaries. The Amazon basin is similarly large.
River basins are an open system with inputs and, outputs. Water comes in as precipitation and goes out as discharge.
This term can have two main meanings:
There are also a number of figurative meanings as a metaphor.
Great Plains
The Great Plains is a large space of level land or prairie in the middle and western parts of North America. It is a steppe or grassland.
The western boundary is the Rocky Mountains. In the east, the Great Plains grassland becomes the tallgrass of the Mississippi River basin. The prairie is (in whole or part) in eleven U.S. states, and in the southern parts of three Canadian provinces.
In the Great Plains, summers are hot and humid, but winters are cold. Bison used to number millions, and were the main food for people there. Now the area is mainly sown with cereal crops which feed cattle and people.
Mythology
Mythology refers variously to the collected myths of a group of people or to the study of such mythstheir body of stories which they tell to explain nature, history, and customs. It can also refer to the study of such myths.
A myth is a story which is not true. It means it is still subject to debate. Myths may be very old, or new (for example: urban myths). There may not be records or other proof that they happened, but at least some parts of myths may be true. We know about them from older people telling them to younger people. Some myths may have started as 'true' stories but as people told and re-told them, they may have changed some parts, so they are less 'true'. They may have changed them by mistake, or to make them more interesting. All cultures have myths. Stories about the Greek and Roman gods and goddesses are myths.
Many people once believed in legendary creatures and animals. The animals and legendary creatures may have control or has power over a part of human or natural life. For example, the Greek god Zeus had powers over lightning and storms. Whenever Zeus wanted to, he could make a storm, and he made storms to show his anger. Similarly, in Hindu mythology, thunderstorms were said to be the wrath of Indra, the chief of all gods. His most powerful weapon was the "Vajra", or 'thunderbolt'. It was said that no one could survive after an attack from this weapon. Another example is the Egyptian god, Atum, who was said to be the creator of everything in the world.
All cultures have developed their own mythology over time. Mythology includes the legends of their history, their religions, their stories of how the world was created, and their heroes. These stories have great symbolic power, and this may be a major reason why they survive as long as they do, sometimes for thousands of years.
The main characters in myths are usually gods, demigods, or supernatural humans, while legends generally feature humans as their main characters. Many exceptions or combinations exist, as in the "Iliad", "Odyssey", and "Aeneid". Myths are often endorsed by rulers and priests and closely linked to religion or spirituality. In fact, many societies group their myths, legends, and history together, considering myths to be true accounts of their remote past.
Creation myths take place in some early primordial age when the world had not reached its present form. Other myths explain how the society's customs, institutions and taboos were established and sanctified. A separate space is created for folktales, which are not considered true by the people who tell them. As stories spread to other cultures or as faiths change, however, myths can come to be considered folktales. Sometimes myths and legends get merged. Their divine characters get recast as humans or as demihumans (such as giants, elves, and faeries).
Creation myths describe the "official" belief as to how world was created. These myths differ greatly between societies, as any collection of myths clearly shows. Over the last three centuries, the power of myths over the minds of people has been challenged by the growth of science.
Although myths are often considered to be stories of events that have not happened, many historians think myths are about actual events that have become connected with strong symbolic meaning, or that have been changed, or shifted in time or place, or even reversed. One way of thinking about this process is to imagine 'myths' as lying at the far end of an imaginary line. At one end of the line is 'dispassionate account', and 'legendary occurrence' or 'mythical status' is near the other end. As an event progresses toward the 'mythical' end of this line or continuum, the way people think, feel and say about the event changes. It may gain greater historical significance while the 'facts' become less important. By the time one arrives at the mythical end of the line, the story has "taken on a life of its own" and the facts of the original event have become almost unimportant.
Minnesota River
The Minnesota River is a river in the United States. It is in the northern United States, in the state of Minnesota. It is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is about 534 km long.
The source of the river is a lake in western Minnesota. The lake is called Big Stone Lake. The lake is on the border between the state of Minnesota and the state of South Dakota. From its source, the Minnesota flows southeast. At Mankato, it turns northeast. It joins the Mississippi just south of the cities of Saint Paul and Minneapolis.
The Minnesota River was formed after the last ice age in North America.
List of mythologies
Mythology is the collection of myths for a culture. A myth is a story or series of stories used to explain the world around you and describe what is happening, such as why weather happens. Myths usually have heroes, gods, and creatures that are bigger or more fantastic than real life, or sometimes just normal people doing amazing things. Some myths try to explain the natural world. One example is the Greek myth of Arachne. She believed that she could weave far better than anyone else, including the goddess Athena. So, Athena challenged Arachne to a weaving contest. Arachne lost, then was turned into a spider. This myth explains why spiders weave webs.
Wisconsin River
The Wisconsin River is a river in the United States. It is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is located in the state of Wisconsin. It is approximately 692 km long.
The source of the Wisconsin is in the forests of northern Wisconsin. The source is a small lake on the border between Wisconsin and Michigan. The river flows south across Wisconsin. It flows through a plain made by a glacier during the last ice age. It passes the cities of Wausau and Stevens Point.